The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday, September 10, 2001- 3B RAPHAEL GOODSTEIN Rich Hill decides to stay at Michl*gan Lesson learned. It's still too early to worry S EATTLE - Michigan looks bad and wins. Then, for 59 minutes, looks really good and loses. So, what do we now know about these Wolverines? First and foremost, this team is not good enough to overcome big mistakes, unlike last year's team. Last year's team had multiple big- playthreats capable of scoring at any time. This year's team, with the excep-. tion of receiver Marquise Walker, lacks a home run threat. But that isn't this team's persona. These Wolverines won't fall behind 14 or 17 points against Illinois and still win. Then again, this year's team proe- ably won't fal behind 14 to begin with. On Saturday, these Wolverines proved that they are a good team, one capable of winning another Big Ten title. While that is not surprising to the players and.coaches, there were some who did not think quarterback John 0Navarre could regain his poise and con- trol after starting slowly against a high- ly-ranked defense, or that Michigan's defense could dictate the tone of a game the way it did. Nor did many thinkthat Michigan's return game could make a major imnpact. All of these things happened. Obviously it's disappointing when a team does all of the things it needs to *win yet loses. But it's like Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca when asked if a handshake agreement was good enough. It's' not good enough, but it'll have to do. Losses like Saturday's happen from time to time; sometimes. you fail a test that you're prepared to ace. That does- n't mean that you deserve to fail the test or that you won't ace the next one. More often than not, the team that *plays best wins and make no mistake about it, Michigan outplayed Washing- ton. This should be apparent to those who saw the game, as even Washing- ton coach Rick Neuheisel used the word "lucky" to describe his team's win. If Michigan continues to play as well as it did Saturday, they will play in the Bowl Championship Series, likely the *Orange Bowl, which had committee members at the Washington game. The reality is that a BCS bid would be a great accomplishment for this team. While it talked about returning to the Rose Bowl - something Michigan hasn't done in four years, the reality is that this team is not one of the two best teams in the country, so the Rose Bowl -home of the BCS Championship game - was never much of a possibili- ty. If this team finds a way to win the Big Ten crown, coach Lloyd Carr will have once again gotten the most out of his team.. While no loss is a good loss, this loss probably will not affecq where Michi- gan spends its holiday season. Keep in mind, only five visitors have come in to Husky Stadium and beaten the 13th- ranked Huskies in their last 48 games, so this was not a bad loss, in fact Michigan was the underdog heading into the game. The Big Ten champion receives an automatic BCS bid, regardless of how many losses it has. Just ask last year's four-loss Purdue team, who played in the Rose Bowl. There'ยง no reason to think this year's team can't do the same. Defensively, with the exception of back Todd Howard, the Wolverines were very, very good. The line consis- tently applied pressure and closed gaps, the linebackers played as well as any linebackers in the country, and even the defensive backs weren't their normal, putrid selves. What's more, it appears that Michi- gan might finally have an up-and-com- ing cornerback to replace Charles Woodson - something that has yet to be done in three seasons- in freshman Marlin Jackson. Will the defense continue to play this well? Who knows. Remember, last year's defense pitched back-to-back shutouts. The offense, again, at times mixed up the run and pass really well, keeping the opposing defense guessing, and if Walker continues playing the way he did Saturday, and if Julius Curry con- tinues putting the offense in good field position by returning punts, another problem that Michigan has yet to solve since Woodson's departure, this is will be a Top 10 team by season's end. If these things happen, there's not a team on the schedule that will beat Michigan. Raphael Goodstein can be reached at raphaelg@umich.edu By Steve Jackson Daily sports Writer Many students chose to attend the Classical Civilization 372 lecture on Friday morning. But for Michigan pitcher Rich Hill, that choice was a life altering decision. In Major League Baseball, a team loses the rights to a draft choice as soon as the player attends a college class in the fall. Hill was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 7th round (210th overall) in June's First-Year Player Draft. Hill decided against attending his classes on Wednesday and Thursday last week while his contract negotia- tions continued. Talks continued until late on Thurs- day night. But in the end, the Angels' offer just wasn't enough to lure Hill away from the Wolverines. "I just didn't feel comfortable start- ing my professional career with that amount of money," Hill said. "We were really close. Just a little more and we would have been in my comfort range." Hill would not disclose any of the figures from the negotiations, but did say that the contract was going to last for three years. Despite the unsuccessful talks, Hill harbors no ill feelings for Anaheim. "The Angels are a great organiza- tion," Hill said. "They treat their play- ers well. They are a first-class team." During the negotiation process, Hill received a lot of help from his advisor, Jack Tossey. "We had a lot of guys call, wanting to represent me if I signed," Hill said. Tossey currently represents former Michigan State Spartan and current Oakland Athletic's star pitcher Mark Mulder. Michigan fans should expect one - and only one - more season from Hill. "If things go well next year, and I get a good situation, then I probably won't be back," Hill said. Returning for a senior year could cripple Hill chances at a large contract. "When you are a graduated senior, you have no leverage," Hill explained. "You basically just have to take what they offer you." Returning for his junior season will make it easier for Hill to get his degree. After next season he will need just 34 credits to graduate. "I thought about that a lot," Hill said. "Graduating is important to me." Hill is majoring in Sports Manage- ment and Communication in the School of Kinesiology. As a sophomore last season, Hill went 3-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 10 starts Courtesy of the Michigan Athletic Department Michigan left-hander Rich Hill chose to stay and play, at Michigan for another year. He was 3-5 with a 3.84 ERA last season. for the Wolverines. He led the team with 72 strikeouts in just 43 innings pitched, but also gave up a team-high 53 walks. After June's draft, 1-1111 pitched in the Cape God league, which has produced major leaguers like Boston Red Sox's shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. Hill had a 1-2 record with a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings. Hill's former teammate, pitcher Bobby Wood, opted to leave school early when he was signed by the. New York Yankees this past June. it ~7Sports :.::::::::: ::.::"::A p p a r e l I:. 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