3B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - Monday, February 12, 2001 Henson prefers 'spring break' over spring training DAVID DEN HERDER GAME Continued from Page 1 without any equivocation there has been to this point no contact with anybody about being a participant with us,' Molin said. While there has been no contact with a possible oppo- nent for the game, Molin said that Michigan would be "moving very quickly" in discussing the situation - especially since it must have the letter of intent from another school by April 16. The NCAA football subcomittee will be making its final decision in meetings April 24-26. If Michigan does indeed search out an opponent, Molin said it will be a school that is an "academic peer, an athletic peer that would be a peer institution" while also a team that would give the game a "national draw" for many reasons - most likely having to do with tele- *ision coverage. ANOTHER SIDE TO THE STORY: In this past Wednesday's press conference, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr responded to the charges by two Michigan hope- fuls - linebacker Doug Justice and offensive lineman Brett Trott - who have told the media that the Michigan coaching staff reneged on their scholarship offers. "The truth is (Justice) waited too long for Michigan," Carr said. "When he visited in December, when he came or his visit and when he left, he knew clearly that there was a very good possibility there wouldn't be a scholar- ship left for him. It's very disappointing to read some of his comments." _ Carr would not comment on Trott's accusation. Justice is headed to North Carolina, while Trott will play at Middle Tennessee State: INJURY UPDATE: Carr told the media that defen- sive lineman Jake Frysinger and offensive lineman Andy Christopfel will miss spring practice despite having suc- cessful surgeries in the offseason. Safety Cato June and wideout Tyrece Butler are get- *ing in better health as well, but could also miss spring Pros and cons With the decision still loom- ing whether Michigan is going to host an extra, pre- season exempted game, there are many positives and negatives that will be weighed. Why play? Another chance for Michigan to get national exposure - and more televi- sion money. Gives new recruits extra chance to get adjusted to the collegiate level. coaches have another opportunity to evaluate players before non-confer- ence schedule begins. Selected charities will be benefit from the game. Why not? e Potential risk for early-season loss that could hurt national title aspira- tions. Chance for key players to get injured before the regular season even starts. DAVID KATZ/Daily Marquise Walker and the rest of the Wolverines could open season early. practice. Tight end Shawn Thompson is improving as well after missing the season with a knee injury. The spring game will take place on April 14. Spring practice begins March 17. QB HAPPENINGS: Carr said that quarterback Drew Henson will be taking a break from spring train- ing, including a spring break. The past two years, Henson went to spring training with the New York Yankees. Henson is currently hitting the batting cages, but won't report to spring training until after final exams in April. The news is likely disappointing for the Cincinnati Reds, who owns Henson's rights after they acquired him from the Yankees last summer. Meanwhile, Carr is already excited about a possible future replacement for the soon-to-be senior Henson. Spencer Brinton, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarter- back, who will come to Michigan next season after traveling with a Mormon mission is a protypical Michigan quarterback - one that Carr especially wanted. "We were interested in a couple of guys early on," Carr said. "But once Spencer Brinton made up his-mind I didn't really have an interest in anybody else" Brinton has three years of NCAA eligibility remain- ing after playing for San Diego State for a year. Michigan i, s past weekend found me again iquestioning my unique propensity r useless and/or random knowl- edge. While the swirling facts and half- truths in my head have often provided for awkward moments where silence would have been preferable, I find that the space otherwise reserved for things like names and correct test answers is, for me, better occupied by the cognitive equivalent to whipped cream. Awakening Saturday morning in Ann Arbor was something of a treat - for the first time in months, the football practice fields monopolizing my balcony view reflected their natural, happy green- ish hue instead of the usual sense-numb- ing snow-covered white. A sign of spring? Probably not. But it was certainly enough to trigger any aim- less knowledge I've ever acquired about. Michigan football. Now, I'd always figured that by the time graduation rolled around, most of these tidbits and meanderings would have gone unused, only to be accrued over the next four years by a football fanatic as perceptive to fluff as myself. But this weekend's unseasonable weather combined with the convenience of a weekly column has provided the ideal forum to pass this filler along. Everybody on campus has surely heard one of these, and some students might even be familiar with all of them. But for those that care - and even more for those that don't - a quick lesson in Things Every Michigan Football Fan Really Doesn't Need To Know But Probably Should. No. 1: T HE ONE. The capacity of Michigan Stadium is one hundred seven thousand five hundred and one. The extra seat is a long-standing tradition in stadi- um history - and the one thing every- body seems to agree on is that it's reserved for the "ghost" of a legendary former coach. Exactly which coach, how- ever, is the matter of slight debate. Some athletic officials have contended that the seat is set aside for the spirit of Fritz Crisler, Michigan's coach from 1938-47. But a more widely accepted story is that "the one" is reserved for Fielding H. Yost, the coach that lobbied for and oversaw construction of the stadi- um. Upon its completion in 1927, Michigan Stadium's capacity was 84,401, lending more credibility to the Yost edi- tion of the tale. No.2: CHAMPIONS OF THE WEST? This famous lyric has been the source of subtle confusion for many fans. "The Victors," Michigan's well-known march, was written in 1898 immediately after a heroic 12-11 victory over the University of Chicago. The dramatic win gave Michigan the Western Intercollegiate Conference crown. No, Ann Arbor is not the untamed frontier, but back in the day, teams in the " wanderings Western Conference were said to play in "the West." No. 3: IRISH TIMEs. Which is the win- ningest program in historic Division I football? Going by total victories, Michigan. Going on winning percentage, it's Notre Dame. But which has more tray dition? Not surprisingly, local lore has given the nod to the Wolverines - rumor has it that students from Michigan actually taught undergrads from Notre Dame the rules of the early game while visiting South Bend late in the 19th Century. Two years ago, when the Irish were discussing joining the Big Ten, we found that the Golden Domers still con- . cede. "It was a group of University of Michigan students, you may recall," said Notre Dame president Edward Malloy, "who first taught Notre Dame students to play the game of football." No.4: WmG rr. Indeed, Michigan's head gear may be the coolest in college football. But what is the significance of the winged helmets? Few dispute the case that Crisler actually introduced the design, back when protection was made of leather. But what Michigan enthusiasts may not want to admit is that Crisler likely brought the pattern with him from Princeton, where he coached before coming to Michigan in 1938. While the wing may have provided extra padding, University historians have reported that Crisler felt helmet patterns helped his quarterbacks distinguish receivers from defenders. Princeton has since returned to the pattern which in all honesty resembles a tiger much more than it does a wolverine. No. 5: STICK TO THE SCRIPT. The -pregame "Script Ohio" is a staple of Ohio State tradition, and being the tuba player who dots the "i" is apparently an honor. But the famous routine was actu- ally first performed by the Michigan Marching Band as a goodwill gesture before the 1932 game in Columbus. The Wolverines prevailed, 14-0, and went on to win the national title - but the Buckeyes did not come away from the game empty handed. My brain, for better or worse, has ded- icated far more space to the trivial and obscure than this column can provide. By now, you likely think it's for the better. You're probably right. There are a thousand things more relevant than what bounces around in my head. Plenty of people, for instance, care about the turf conditions at Michigan Stadium. Few care that the stadium itself was built on a natural spring that until 1926 provided the campus with drinking water. I guess spewing random facts isn't always pointless - most of the time, it's simply useless. That always brings a spring-time smile to my face. Women motivated after heartbreaking loss BEAM Continued from Page 11B t that point, it seemed as though aeorgia's all-time season record of 11-0 against Michigan was in jeop- ardy. With a commanding lead, Michigan needed only not to falter in its final event to finally put away the Bulldogs. But, with the capacity crowd howl- ing, Michigan fell to the intense pres- sure and lost its focus - and the meet - on the balance beam. Melissa Peterson, Elise Ray and annon Mackenzie each fell, forc- ing Michigan to take a team score of 48.300. This gave Georgia the opportunity it had been waiting for. With the meet hanging in the balance, Sears, last year's floor exercise national champi- on, delivered with a 9.975 on Georgia's final routine to put the &ulldogs ahead for good. For Michigan, there is no easy solution for its beam difficulties. "If I had the answer to that I would have done it a long time ago," Plocki said. "There is no room for error in this event. The slightest lapse in con- centration and it's over. Plus, it was really hard when the crowd cheered every time we fell." Aside from their performance on the beam, the Wolverines also demonstrated their vulnerability in pressure situations. Thus far through the season, Michigan has been unable to capture wins over ranked oppo- nents that help build confidence and turn out to be so essential late in the season. Still, Plocki feels that her team's performance in Georgia built their confidence for future meets. "Initially, I think they were devas- tated," Plocki said. "But, I think after we got together and talked about the positive aspects, we settled down a bit. It will provide great motivation in the future. We just have to get on with it and focus on the next meet." Balance problems on the balance beam Michigan had almost assured its win over Georgia until prob- lems during the final rotation allowed the Bulldogs to barely beat it out. A look back at the highlights of the final rota- tion and where things went wrong for the Wolverines Michigan entered the final rotation with a commanding 1.225 point lead.. Michigan suffered three con- secutive falls on the beam and< could only manage to finish with { a 48.300, easily its lowest score p of the night.- With the door now wide open, Georgia capitalized by finishing '' with a 49.525 on the floor exer- cise, highlighted by Suzanne Sears' 9.975, the final routine of the night. Michigan remains winless BRANDON SEDLOFF/Daiy against Georgia during then regular season. * David Den Herder can be reached at dden@umich.edu. Key injuries continue to plague for high ranked men gymnasts I I T 11 By Rohit Bhave Daily Sports Writer Justin Toman is possibly out for the season with an ACL injury. Kevin Roulston is dealing with a serious knee injury, as well. Scott Vetere is nursing a pulled muscle in his back. Without its top three gymnasts, the Michigan men's gymnastics team needs its other weapons to bear the * oad. While his teammates recover, Kris Zimmerman continued to demon- strate that he is capable of carrying the team by placing sixth at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas last week- end. In an individual competition fea- turing American gymnastics' finesti athletes, he narrowly missed the top- three finish required to make the U.S. National Team. All season, the Wolverines pour heir sweat into team goals..But this past weekend, they were able to mea- sure themselves individually against the nation's best. Though none of them were able to qualify for the National team, Zimmerman and three of his teammates showed that they have improved enough to lessen, if not completely offset, the impact of their team's injury problems. * Coming off a first-place finish in the all-around against Penn State last weekend, Zimmerman has stayed solid. Last year, he was predominant- ly successful on the still rings and parallel bars - he had yet to make his mark in other events. N Saturdav. Zimmerman scored horse. Friday in the individual event finals, Diaz-Luong and Dehr notched second-place finishes on the high bar and pommel horse, respectively. Diaz-Luong's strong performance in the high bar bodes very well for the Wolverines in the second half of the season. Michigan's traditional weakness has been the high bar - the Wolverines appear to have found someone who can bail them out with a high score. Dehr's high individual event finish on the pommel horse comes as a remarkable achievement as well. The fifth-year senior had earlier expressed his joy about simply com- peting in the Winter Cup. Friday, he showed that he was among the best pommel-horse performers in the Guaranteed growth never looked so good! Its not too late!!! . *FITNESS Classes are prorated-- join today! Swimming, Water Aerobics, Yoga, Kickboxing, Step, Tae Kwon Do, Hip Hop, Ballroom Dance,Butts & Guts, Super Circuits!!! 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