10 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 1, 2000 'M,' State anticipate rematch By Arun Gopal tending. As always, Michigan coach Dai Sports Writer Red Berenson and Michigan State coach Ron Mason are two of the most LAST LANSING - The revered coaches in the collegiate game. Roadrunner and the Coyote. The "When Red came back from pro ilatfields and the McCoys. The hockey and came in the league, it was a Wolverines and the Spartans. real benefit to the CCI IA," Mason said. On Saturday night, Yost Ice Arena "The fact that the Michigan program will again host one of college hockey's established itself as one of the top in the most bitter rivalries M ichigan versus country, when it was floundering, really Michigan State. helped our league. And as is so often the case, the stakes Participants on both sides know this are high. Michigan and Michigan State rivalry is unique in collegiate athletics. are currently two of the top three teams Unlike Miami-Florida State, which is in the CCHA. The Wolverines enter the confined to football, or Duke-North game ranked No. I in the nation - the Carolina, which is restricted to basket- Spartans are ranked No. 6. ball, Michi-an-Michigan State tran- "I think it's a great rivalry," Michigan scends the boundaries of any one sport. State senior captain Rustyn Dolyny Regardless of the event, fans know that said. "It's good for not only the schools, the determination and effort from both it's good for college hockey." sides will be at maximum levels. This year's miatchup won't disappoint. "It's not just the major sports, it's Both teams possess four solid lines, everything," Michigan State senior for- strong defensemein and topflight goal- ward Damon Whitten said. "Volleyball, Prep defensive t women's basketball, just everything Separated by only 60 miles, Michigan and Michigan State stand as pillars of athletics in the Midwest. "I think that's a huge part of it," Whitten said. "Coach talks about how Wisconsin and Minnesota have a big rivalry, but they're out of state rivals. This is one of the biggest rivalries any- where in college. It's in-state and they're only about 40 minutes away."' With any rivahy, there are going to be some nasty incidents, and Michigan- Michigan State is no exception. Fans of the two schools are still talking about the infamous bench-clearing brawl at Munn Ice Arena on Jan. 7, that resulted in multiple suspensions and generated a lot of bad blood between the two pro- grams. Could it happen again? "That's happened before," Mason said. "You can always blame anybody you want to blame, but it falls on the DAVID MOLOSHOK/Daly Port Huron native and assistant captain Scott Matzka knows all about the intensi- ty of Michigan-Michigan State intrastate rivalry in all sports. that, and there was no problem. The both sides, and because of it you see game we had down there, it was just some great plays. Now, you add to that good hard-nosed hockey." the emotion of the event - and that's As the days count down to Saturday created by our fans - and you can't ask night, the intensity can only increase. for better hockey." "You'll see a lot of skill out there," Wrestlingoverloaded at 125-pound class lineman commits By David Mosse D)ailv Shorts Writer What would a week be without another blue-chip prospect committing to the Wolverines? On Monday night, Michigan received its 20th verbal commitment for the class of 2001, in the form of Pierre Woods from Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Woods - rated the sixth-best defensive end in the country by Rivals.com, and the second-best outside linebacker by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report -- chose Michigan over the likes of Miami (Fla.), Michigan State. Ohio State and Tennessee. "Michigan has always been his dream,' Glenville coach Theodore Ginn said. "Once he went up there, saw the campus .and spoke to all the coaches, he fell in love." Ginn also cited Michigan's tradition as a hardworking, fam- ily-oriented program and the opportunity for a quality educa- tion as reasons behind Woods' decision. At 6-6 and 225 pounds, Woods plays a variety of positions for the Glenville team which begins the state playoffs next weekend. Woods has seen action at defensive end, outside line- backer, tight end, and wide receiver. But Ginn has no doubt at which position Woods can do the most damage at Michigan. "Defensive end," Ginn said. "He can get up field when lie puts his hands on the ground. He's an athletic, hard working kid with super god-given ability." Woods commitment comes after Pat Massev, another stand- out defensive end from Cleveland, gave his pledge to the Wolverines. Massev's high school, St. Ignatius, is roughly five miles from Glenville and the two Michigan recruits play bas- ketball together. "I don't think it made a big difference." Ginn said. "Pierre would have gone to Michigan anyway but they are friends and it will be nice for them to play together." Woods, Massey and fellow Michigan commitment David Spytek give the Wolverines three highly-touted defensive ends for next year The Wolverines are also the favorite to land defen- sive lineman Marquise 6ill from New Orleans, as Michigan coach Lloyd Carr tries to rebuild this area of the team. By Nathan Linsley Daily Sports Writer Michigan wrestling coa McFarland is in a predicament coaches want to be in. The most highly acclaimed r the history of the program Rodrigues, signed with the Wo last year before his senior sea finished his high school care four Georgia state champions] three prep national champi Rodrigues also won the Out Wrestler Award at prep natio sophomore and senior year. Because of his prep succes expected Rodrigues to have im impact on a squad that finishe the Big Ten and 13th in the na season. But with returning NCAA< A.J. Grant at 125 pounds, M found himself with a decision' With Grant's progress from son and his determination to be mier .125-pounder in the B Rodrigues will most likely red season. "It will be a good year for develop a bit, and get accl McFarland said. Possible injuries and other stances dictate that the plans to Rodrigues are not set in stone. "That's what I'd liket McFarland said. "That doesn' happen." The chance for the two team practice together and wrestle against each other should be valuable -in the years to come. ch Joe "I want depth in my weight classes, t that all and I want competition in my weight classes." McFarland said. "Great ecruit in wrestlers make other wrestlers great." , Chris The highly anticipated lineup with lverines Rodrigues at 125, preseason top- son. He national wrestler Otto Olsen at 174 and 4er with highly touted redshirt freshman Foley hips and Dowd at 133 will be put on hold. onships. With Olsen petitioning for another standing year of eligibility for next season and nals his Rodrigues joining the lineup, Michigan could be a national contender next s, many year. imediate The Wolverines, ranked No. 7 in the d fifth in "nation by Intermat and No. 9 by the tion last Amateur Wrestling News, should be a solid team with or without Rodrigues. qualifier As a true freshman last year, Grant cFarland finished fifth in the Big Ten, qualifying to make. for the NCAA tournament. He was last sea- named one of the top five freshmen the pre- wrestlers for his weight class after fin- ig Ten, ishing the season strong, winning two shirt this matches at NCAAs. After a great offseason, Grant is Chris to ready to make a run at the conference imated," championship. His attitude to this point has shown the coaching staff that he circum- expects to pick up where he left off last redshirt year. "I expect big things from A.J. this to do" year, and he expects big things from t always himself, as well," McFarland said. "He really has come a long way from last mates to year." Vick may not start at QB against Miami RICHMOND, Va. (AP)-- A deci- sion on whether to play Michael Vick against No. 3 Miami (Fla.) on Saturday might be delayed until just before kick- off. Vick thinks he'll know long before then if he'll start. The Virginia Tech quarterback, who sprained his right ankle against Pittsburgh last weekend and is hob- bling around on crutches, unable to put weight on his foot, said Monday that his ankle is improving, but that he thinks he'll have to practice by Wednesday to start. I think by Wednesday, I'm going to have to start getting some reps in prac- tice. You can't go a whole week without practicing," he said in a conference call. Earlier, coach Frank Beamer said Vick's availability could be a game time decision, even if the sophomore doesn't get any reps in practice all week. Beamer also said he won't risk further injuy to his star quarteback, big game or no big gane. "Whether it's Michael or anyone else, we're not going to put them out there if the doctors feel like there's any chance of them not being able to per- form and perform well without chance of further injury," he said on the 13ig East coaches' conference call. Vick agreed that he has his own future in football to consider, and added, "I won't do anything to put this team in jeopardy or hurt this football team." Assault charges dropped against Penn State's Casey STATE COLLEGE (AP) -- Assault charges have been dismissed against Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey in the alleged beating of an off-duty policeman, a New Jersey. prosecutor said yesterday. Casey and high school teammate Desnond Miller had been accused of assaulting Patrick Fitzsimmons as the officer left a bar in Hoboken, N.J., on May 14. Ed DeFazio, deputy first assistant prosecutor for Hudson County, N.J., said the grand jury did not find probable cause to return an indictment against Casey, but returned a third-degree assault charge against Miller. The grand jury's action ends the case against Casey, although the quarterback could be called as a witness against Miller, DeFazio said. Last week, several newspapers report- ed that Casey had been indicted by the grand jury. Prosecutors said at the time they could not comment until the grand jury had completed its business. "He never hit anybody," McAlevy said. "There's no question in my mind that the chief of police of Hoboken knew that, and he's the reason that this happened," McAlevy said. Chief Carmen LaBruno did not return a message seeking comment. DAILY SCOREBOARD NHL results CAROLINA 6, Tampa Bay 5 (OT) COLUMBUS 4, Los Angeles 1 OTTAWA 4, Toronto 3 NY ISLANDERS 4, Boston 2 WASHINGTON 6, Detroit 2 St. Louis at NASHVILLE, InC. NBA results Charlotte 106, ATLANTA 82 Cleveland 86, NEW JERSEY 82 ORLANDO 97, Washington 86 DALLAS 97, Milwaukee 93 Philadelphia 101, NEW YORK 72 Detroit 104, TORONTO 95 Sacremento at CHICAGO, inc. Minnesota at HoUsToN, inc. Indiana at SAN ANTONIO, inc. LA Clippers at UTAH, inc. Phoenix at GOLDEN STATE, inc. LA Lakers at PORTLAND, inc. Seattle at VANCOUVER, inc. J aIexss Rot u Wagn's 734.827-2837 One Mile West of Weber's Inn STATE Continued from Page 9 Tot, OF THE WORLD: Michigan now tops both major polls for the first time in the regular season since the 1996-1997 season, ahead of Wisconsin by three points it the USCHO poll and one in the USA Today/Al-HM coaches poll. As was expected, Berenson and his players downplayed the ranking, claiming that it is still far too early in the season to get excited about such things. "I'm on one of those polls, too," Berenson said. "And I respect the fact that a team like North Dakota can go from No. I to No. 7 or 8 real quickly so you've got to take this all with a grain of salt. "We just want to focus on playing our best hockey. The ranking can be a negative thing as well as a positive thing. The flattery's good and the respect our program has around the country is good. I think those things are important, on the other hand, we have to live up to that." Another valuable lesson I 74 learned from Hollywood:1 Everyone spe -aks Eny ish. Especilly Rssians. $S.00 Matinees til 6pm & all dayTuesday $4.75 Kids & Seniors all shows $5,75 with Student ID $5.75 Late Shows Fri & Sat.' -I i i ONo passes or Tuesday discounts Unlimited Free Drink Refills & .25t Corn Refills " Sell advertising to local and national businesses " Manage your own account territory * Create ad copy and layout " Work for an exciting student- run newspaper O LUCKY NUMBERS (R) 1230. 100.2.45,3:15. 5:00, 5:30. 7157:45.9.30,1000 Q BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 (R) 1205. 1:00. 2:00 2 50, 3:50. 4:45, 5:40. 6:45 7:30. 9-0O 9:30 O THE LITTLE VAMPIRE (PG) 1:103:10 5710 7:05, 855 0 LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER (R) 12.35. 2:55, 5:15. 7-25. 9.45 O PAY IT FORWARD (PG-131 1135 14021541545,700 7:30.9:50.10:00 LADIES MAN (R I II