2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 29, 2001 a ATHLETE OF THE WEEK I Who: Lavell Blanchard Hometown: Ann Arbor Height: 6-7 Sport: Basketball Year: Sophomore Why: Blanchard has tallied 20 points or more in each of the past three d games, a stretch where Michigan has finished 2-1. In the win over Northwestern Saturday night, Blanchard finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. In Thursday night's loss to Illinois, Blanchard tied a career high with 13 rebounds, and recorded his fifth double-double of the season (14th in his career). Blanchard MICHIGANN T13 'M' VAJrnT SCHEDULE Tuesday. Jan. 30 Men's basketball vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1 Women's basketball vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2 Wrestling vs. Iowa, 7 p.m. Women's gymnastics at Florida, vs. Auburn, 7 p.m. Women's swimming and diving at Nebraska Invitational, 7 p.m. Hockey at Nebraska-Omaha, 7:05 p.m. Men's gymnastics vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m. Men's track and field at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational Saturday, Feb. 3 Women's swimming and diving at Nebraska Invitational, 11 a.m. Men's basketball vs. Wisconsin, 12:17 p.m. Men's swimming and diving at Michigan State, 1 p.m. Wrestling vs. Wisconsin, 7 p.m. Men's gymnastics at Penn State, 7 p.m. Hockey at Nebraska-Omaha, 7:05 p.m. Men's track and field at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational Women's track and field at Central Michigan Invitational CLUB SPFRTSWEEKLY A n I ~ *( , r DAILY TRIVIA Starting today, Daily Sports is offering two pairs of tickets to the Feb. 17 Michigan-Michigan State hock- ey game at Joe Louis Arena. Every day until Feb. 9, a.new trivia question will appear in the sports section. Answers should be e- mailed to sports.contest@umlch.edu. The tickets will go to the two respondants that answer the most ques- ions correctly. Today's question (it's an easy one to get things started): What NHL team owns the rights to Jeff Jillson? SOUND. OFF!I Softball snags No. 11 ranking in preseason Michigan's softball team will enter the 2001 season with a No. 11 rank- ing in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Preseason top-25 poll. Last season, the Wolverines (45- 16-) won the Big Ten championship and finished second in NCAA Region 8 - missing the College World Series by one game. They finished the 2000 campaign ranked 13th nationally. "As is the case every year, it only matters where you finish, not where you started," said Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins in a released statement. "There will be teams that are not even receiving votes right now that end up in the top 20 at some point this season." The Wolverines open the season February 15-18 at the Campell Cartier Classic in Pomway, California. In its home debut, Michigan will face Purdue in a dou- bleheader on April 16. fr-om staff and wire reports USA Today/ NFCA Preason Top 25 1. UCLA 2. Oklahoma 3. Arizona 4. Washington 5. Alabama 6. Arizona State 7. California 8. Lousiana State 9. Fresno State 10. DePaul 11. Michigan 12. Nebraska 13. Iowa 14. Cal State Fullerton 15. Stanford 16. Oregon State 17. Florida State 18. South Carolina 19. Notre Dame 20. Oregon 21. Southern Mississippi 22. Long Beach State 23. Mississippi State 24. Texas 25. Utah Your chance to speak out on issues in Michigan sports Tell us what you think about the Michigan hockey team defeating Michigan State in overtime. ® Talk about Michigan's academic standard. ® How does the defense of the Ravens compare to the great teams of the past? Daily Sports wants Michigan sports feedback! Select fanfares will be printed in SportsMonday every week. This is your chance to sound off! daily. fanfare@umich.edu. S Por TsBRIEFS Wannstedt not read to commit to Fiedler DAVIE, Fla. (AP) - Miami coach Dave Wannstedt might be thinking of giving Jay Fiedler some competition next season as the Dolphins' starting quarterback. Fiedler led the Dolphins to a wild- card victory against the Indianapolis Colts in the postseason before being eliminated by the Oakland Raiders the next week. While Wannstedt is confident Fiedler can improve in 2001, the Dolphins' coach refused to call off a search for a new signal-caller, possibly former Washington Redskin Brad Johnson. "Do I believe we can win with Jay Fielder? Yes," Wannstedt told the Miami Herald. "Do I believe he'll be better next year? Yes. But we want to improve the position. If there's anyone out there we think can help us, we'll look at him ... But there are not a lot of great quar- terbacks in this league. It's not that easy." Sixers win 13th straight on road INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Philadelphia played like it was at lioie in Indiana - just as it has everywhere it's traveled for nearly two months. Allen Iverson scored 27 points, ipcluding 16 in the fourth quarter, and fed the 76ers to their 13th-straight toad victory, an 86-81 come-from- behind win over the Pacers. "I've lost games for years since I left," said 76ers coach Larry Brown, a former Pacers coach: "And we've started to win now." Philadelphia isn't just winning in Indianapolis, though. The victory Sunday gave the 76ers the fifth-longest road winning streak in NBA history, matching the Boston Celtics of 1964-65 and the Chicago Bulls of 1995-97, who needed two seasons to accomplish the feat. Maclnnis. to be absent from All-Star game ST. LOUIS (AP) St. Louis Blues defenseman AlMacInnis will miss the NHL All-Star game after sustaining an eye injury in a game against San Jose. MacInnis was examined yesterday by a doctor, who determined he has an eyelid laceration, a corneal abra- sion and blood in the eye chamber. Maclnnis left Saturday's game in the third period after taking a high stick from San Jose's Scott Hannan. MacInnis received stitches to his left eyelid and did not return. The 37-year-old Macinnis, who was to play in his 12th NHL All-Star game on Feb. 4, will miss the Blues' next three games and will be evaluat- ed on a daily basis. The loss of MacInnis is another blow to the Blues. Defenseman and captain Chris Pronger is out for at least another month after having knee surgery. Forward Reed Low is day to day with a thumb injury. The injury list also includes Jochen Hecht (pulled oblique muscle), Brent Johnson (sore knee), Lubos Bartecko (high ankle sprain), Michal Handzus (abdominal injury), Pavol Demitra (eye injury) and Sean Hill (abdomi- nal strain). Table tennis: Just don't call it ping pong By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer Michigan senior Ashoo Jain loves his sport -just don't call it ping pong. "I used to get insulted," Jain said of people erroneously calling table tennis by it's slang term, "But not anymore. I've overcome it." Ok, maybe he's loosened his concern with the name, but Jain is dead serious about his sport. In December, he won the U.S. Under-22 National Tournament in Las Vegas. He now has a rank of 2,445th, good enough for third in the country among under 22-year olds. "I made No. I for both under-16 and under-18 before, so now my goal is to be No. 1 in under-22," Jain said. "The higher your rating the better. When you beat someone (at a tournament), depending on their rating, you gain (or lose) anywhere from one to 50 points." Jain, who attends about five-to-six major tournaments a year and about 10 smaller ones, also won the National College Championships in April. Now Jain wants to focus on winning a spot on the national team so he can compete in the World Championships in San Diego Feb. 7-11. "From what I have heard, I am top- 10 seed in the tournament," Jain said. "The top five people make the team." If all goes well, he can then set his sights on the 2004 Olympics. "I gave it a thought for the 2000 Olympic tryouts," Jain said. "But I was- n't a U.S. citizen so I was not allowed to compete." Last July, the India-born Jain acquired his U.S. citizenship, giving him the opportunity to shoot for American gold. Jain started playing table tennis when he was 10, but didn't get serious- lv into it until taking lessons from past Olympians David Zhuang and Lily Yip at a club in New Jersey. "I played all sports actually, but none entertained me like this one," Jain said. "Its very complex, and there are always surprises" Illinois 55 Michigan 51 Oh Mr. Groninger, where have you gone? When you came to this school last year, you had loads of promise to become a serious 3-point threat, some- thing our basketball team needs very badly. I have one piece of advice for you, watch five minutes of tape from the courtesy of Ashoo Jain Upon winning a spot on the table tennis national team, Michigan senior Ashoo Jain could enter the 2004 Olympics. Jain believes that most people laugh- ingly pass off his sport for just a recre- ational activity in the basement or one of those wacky Forrest Gump accom- liishments. "Believe it or not but you have to be in great physical shape to be very good in this game," Jain said. "The ball approaches or sometimes even crosses 100 miles per hour and 7200 rpm." But that's the easy part. "You have 10-15 feet to cover, with- in a second of time," Jain said. "To get to the ball isn't that hard either. It's all the spin that the person (puts on the ball). "You have to get behind the ball, and counter the spin with a full stroke. And for that, you need to be in really good position all in one second" Is that intense enough'? "Actually that's the first remark that people say, when they haven't seen table tennis before: Wow, I didn't real- ize it was so intense!"' Jain said. "Hey, it's the second most-popular sport in the world outside of soccer, so there's something behind the sport." Jain also holds position as the presi- dent of the Michigan Table Tennis Club, which meets three times a week and has about 35 members. Jain encourages new members to join and it even provides some fun exercise. "I go throug'h three or four shirts full of sweat from playing a couple of hours, so its a good workout," Jain said. FROM THE WIRE Special instant replay spices up Super Bowl coverage on CBS NEW YORK (AP) - This was not your father's Super Bowl telecast. From the six hours of pregame hoopla, to the MTV influences and ref- erences, to the often spectacular debut of rotating replays, CBS Sports' first Super Bowl broadcast in nine years was decid- edly a nod to the video generation. And CBS certainly has a winner in "EyeVision," the instant replay system that-seems inspired by arcade games. Announcers Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms were solid when they weren't shilling for the network, and the report- ing, graphics and other production ele- ments were also fine. But "EyeVision" was the true TV star during the Baltimore Ravens' 34-7 vic- tory yesterday over the New York Giants in Tampa, Fla. The system employed 30 digital cam- eras that synchronized to focus on a par- ticular player, showing views that spun about 270 degrees. Think of the action scenes in "The Matrik." CBS used its new toy about twice per, quarter, and it was most impressive on two second-half plays. The TV audience was shown three dif- ferent points of view during Jermaine Lewis' 84-yard kickoff return for a Baltimore touchdown. Then, on the game's final TD, "EyeVision" was used to demonstrate that Ravens running back Jamal Lewis did indeed have the ball across the goal line before fumbling. It's the kind of breakthrough that could end living room arguments consisting of "It was a touchdown!" and "No it wasn't!" Fittingly, CBS was the first network to use what could soon be known as "plain old" instant replay - employing it once during the telecast of the Army-Navy game on Dec. 7, 1963. When Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh scored on a short run, viewers saw the play again seconds later. "This is not live!" announcer Lindsey Nelson screamed. "Ladies and gentle- men, Army did not score again" Simms and Gumbel, of course, did not have to make any such assurances for what were expected to be upward of 120 million people tuning in to at least;: part of the game. And since CBS was hoping a sizable segment would stick with the network for the premiere of "Survivor 11" after the game, the production wound up hav- ing the feel of a setup for that show. The low points of the broadcast included a shot of last year's "Survivor' winner Richard Hatch in the stands at@ Raymond James Stadium, Simms imploring viewers, "You gotta keep watching to see 'Survivor,"' and that program's music and logo accompany- ing a graphic about Ravens' opponents' offensive statistics in previous games. Oh, and then there was the juncture when Simms and Gumbel chatted dur- ing game action about their upcoming guest appearance on a network sitcom. On the other hand, when they stuck to@ the game, they were quite good. Gumbel -- who made a tittle history as the first black play-by-play announcer to work a Super bowl telecast - didn't miss a call, while Simms - the third man in the booth for NBC at the 1996 and 1998 Super Bowls -- provided his customary clear explanations. Their give-and-take was almost uni- formly smooth. This was respite from the overdone pregame programming - the six hours* were nearly twice as long as the game itself took, and 50 percent more than ABC's pregame last year - was wel- comed. Except, perhaps, the "battle of the bands" halftime show produced by MTV, CBS's Viacom sibling. JEFF HURVITZ/Daily DAILY FANFARE Illinois game. Watch how Sean Harrington ran around to get open. Maybe the problem is in the design of the plays. but I have never seen any Michigan player run that hard. If you would follow this lead, I am confident you will find yourself facing many' more opportunities to hit open threes,, and give this team the extra boost it needs from you Reid Wainess LSA Junior On top of the world ~:a DAILY SCREBOARD a w NBA STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE NHL STANDINGS COME LEARN ABOUT DAILY SPORTS AT OUR MEETING ON WEDNESDAY AND NEXT MONDAY. BOTH MEETINGS START AT 7 P.M. DAILY SPORTS - WHAT ELSE ARE YOU DOING THAT'S ANY BETTER? Atlantic Division WL Philadelphia 33 New York 25 Miami 27 Orlando 19 Boston 17 New Jersey 14 Washington 11 central Division Milwaukee 26. Charlotte 24 Toronto 23 Cleveland 20: Indiana 20: Detroit 16 Atlanta 15 Chicago 6 WESTERN CONFERENCE Midwest Division L 10 16 18 23 26 l31 34 Pct GB .767 - .610 7 600 7 .452 13.5 .395 16 .311 20 .244 23 EASTERN CONFERENC Atlantic Division New Jersey Philadelphia Pittsburgh NY Rangers NY islanders Northeast Division *Ottawa Toronto Buffalo Boston Montreal Southeast Division Washington Carolina Atlanta Florida Tampa Bay W 26 25 24 20 13 W 29 24 25 21 16 W 22 21 15 11 13 L Pct GB 16 .619 - 21 .533 3.5 21 .523 4 21 .488 5.5 22 .476 6 28 .364 11 .27 .357 11 37,.140 20.5 AP PHOTO Baltimore's Brian Billick was once noted for his offensive genius, but won a Super Bowl with his stifling defense. New York's only points came on special teams. L T 12 9 15 9 186 27 3 30 5 L T 13 6 16 7 18 5 19 6 27 5 L T 19 19 6 249 9 26 8 29 5 LT 104 15 4 24 7 234 26 4 8 8 17 4 21 8 103 1~2 3 RT 2 1 2 1 2 RTPts GF GA 1 65 165 122 4 59 150 123 1 56 125 110 5 53 128 149' 3 40 126 14f" Pts 63 60 56 44 33 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Divitsion RT 1 2 2 7 3 RT 2 4 2 2 3 GF GA 172 120 147 136 159 151 159 179 115 i.60 Pts GF GA 53 133 128 50 124 133. 41 134 169 37 111 157 34 121 174 Pts GF GA 72169 105 66 151 134' 49 121 139.~ 46 131 139 41 112 149 W L Pct GB V x. The Department of Communication Studies presents a lecture by Professor Michael Bromley 2000-2001 Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor E G ROUND 1432 Washtenaw Ave. Frproa ,rm I.The center or origin of rapid, intense activity or change... 2.A college Ministry program involving discussion, connection with other students and drinking coffee. Utah San Antonio Dallas Minnesota Denver H oust on Vancouver Pacific Division Sacramento Portland LA Lakers Phoenix Seattle Golden State LA Clippers 27 15. 26 15. 28 18. 27 18 26 18. 18 18. 11 25 W L 29 11. 32 14 27 14. 24 18. 26 21 14 29 13 31 643 .634 .609 .600 .591 .500 .256 .5 1 1.5 3 6 16.5 Detroit Nashville Chicago Columbus Northwest Division Colorado Edmonton Vancouver Calgary Minnesota Pacific livis'o" San Jose Dallas Phoenix Los Angeles Anaheim 33 29 20 20 17 w 34 26 23 5 5 w 29 28 23 22 :5 RT Pts 1 77 4 60 1 55 3 16 1 14 GF GA 167 1110 165 148 138 144 4? 61 44 59 Pct GB .707 - .696 .5 .659 2 .571 5.5 .553 6 .326 16 .295 17.5 i L T, RT Pts GF GA 13 8 0 66 145 113 174 1 61 138 115 14 121 59 129 116 207 1 52 163 154, 286 4 40 123 165 'The Nl- I ii .