i SPRTS michigandaily.com/sports TUESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2001 8 . Defense now proud of its aggressive play By Aun Gopal Daily Sports Writer A huge factor in Michigan's 45-20 win over Illinois was the play of the Wolverines' defense. After, having success moving the ball in the first quarter and the first few minutes of the second quarter, the Fighting Illini were almost totally stymied for the rest of the game. Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner was virtually helpless in the face of a wicked Michigan pass rush and had little or no time to look downfield for his main deep threats, Brandon Lloyd and Walter Young. For their part, the Wolverines' defenders can sense a marked improvement in their play. Coming off of a nightmarish 2000 season in which Michigan's defense was repeatedly torched, the performance thus far this season is uplifting for the Wolverines, to say the least. "This year, I think our defensive mentality is more aggressive," junior strong safety Julius Curry said. "We're-attacking teams more, and our defensive line is so good this year as far as giving the quarterback pres- sure. That's where it starts." MICHIGAN'S NOT-So-SECRET WEAPON: Walter Cross has seen spot duty at tailback in his four years at Michigan. But, on Saturday, Cross found a new niche - quarter- back. Cross' 22-yard halfback option pass to Marquise Walker gave the Wolverines their first points of the game. At the time, Michigan was struggling mightily on offense, but after Cross and Walker surprised the Fighting Illini, Michigan rolled to victory. Not surprisingly, Cross was only too happy to talk : : ::ax.. . .,. _.. ..... JON SCHWARTZ 111 years later, Daily Sports is still rolling 14 BRANUUN.ZLOFF/ uDaily This season, Roy Manning (left) and Michigan have been shutting down opposing offenses with a more aggres- sive style of play. On Saturday, the Wolverines held Greg Lewis (middle) and Illinois to 300 yards of offense. about his touchdown toss, which nearly fell incomplete when Walker momentarily bobbled the ball in the end- zone. "I was kind of upset," Cross said with a smile. "He was open, and then he bobbled it, and I thought he had dropped it. But then he caught it." When asked what he would have done if Walker had dropped the pass, Cross replied,,"I don't know if I would've talked to 'Quise the rest of the game." Two plays before Cross heaved his scoring pass, Walker threw a pass of his own. After taking a lateral from Jermaine Gonzales - who had entered the game at quarterback - Walker threw back to Gonzales, who raced 51 yards down the right sideline to the Illinois 21-yard line. After the game, Walker went so far as to claim that he had a better arm than Cross. Cross' reply to that assertion? "Of course he's going to say that," Cross said, laughing. BULLETIN-BOARD MATERIAL?: If anyone thought Michigan might be looking past Penn State, think again. The Nittany Lions are currently 0-3, and both Penn State's offense and defense have been horrible this year - in their first two games alone, the Nittany Lions gave up over 1,000 yards of total offense while scoring a total of just 13 points themselves. In addition, Michigan has beaten Penn State four consecutive years, including a 33-11 pasting last year. So, what do the Wolverines think of Penn State? "I know that they have a lot of talent on that team," junior linebacker Victor Hobson said. "They're a dan- gerous team." Lowe s injury serves as deja vu for Boilermakers By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor Just when Purdue coach Gene Keady thought the injury bug had left his Boil- ermakers for good, it nipped his team once again - and this time, it didn't give Purdue a head start. Junior guard Kenneth Lowe will be out of action until at least January - if not the entire year - after having surgery over the summer to repair a shoulder injury "Kenny's pretty much the life of the team," senior John Allison said. "He still always has a smile on his face and even though he knows he'll be out for a while, BIG TEN PREVIEWS As the college basketball season approaches, the Daily basketball writers will give you thee inside scoop on every Big Ten team as they nl count down the days until they release their spe- CONFERENCE cial section "Tipoff" in November. he's telling us not to worry about it. "But he brings a lot to the team on offense and defense and the fact that he's out is a huge blow." Lowe averaged 12 points per game last season for a Purdue team that began with promise, but was later plagued by injury. After starting the season 17-6 - high- lighted by an upset over then-No. 1 Ari- zona - the Boilermakers' momentum came to a screeching halt when leading scorer Rodney Smith and leading shot- blocker Allison , each broke a bone in their right foot. Purdue went 1-7 in their absence, finishing 17-15 while making it to the NIT quarterfinals. "Last year was definitely a roller- Northern Trust coaster," said Allison, who said that his injured foot s'till plays mental games with him. "For me, it was incredibly painful and frustrating in knowing that we could be playing." While the season may have been respectable for some, it was Keady's second-worst record in his 21 years at Purdue. Smith and Allison "were our two best players, but if they can stay healthy we'll be in pretty good shape," Keady said. While Lowe's injury is a big blow, Keady has reason to be optimistic as eight of his top players are returning. A veteran team may be just what the doctor ordered to end Purdue's five-year Big Ten title drought. Keady's previous six Purdue teams that had at least four seniors combined for an 85-23 Big Ten record and four conference titles. The Boilermakers will have their two biggest guns back in Smith and Allison, and with Keady's best recruiting class since 1994 added tothe mix, this may be Purdue's best chance in years to contend with the conference's elite. Keady said that the Boilermakers will likely utilize their team speed in becom- ing a run-and-gun team. Allison's return should aid one of the Big Ten's worst rebounding teams from a year ago, while his shot-blocking skills will allow his teammates to be more aggressive. "It's paramount to our success this year to be more successful rebounding the ball," Allison said. Lowe's injury, combined with the graduation of point guard and important team leader Carson Cunningham, leaves a huge hole in the Purdue backcourt. "The guard position is a question mark for us right now," Allison said. If no one steps up to run the show or can prove to be a stopper on defense in a conference filled with talented guards, Keady's goal of a Big Ten crown will be an uphill climb. Inside the paint PURDUE BOILERMAKERS 2000 RECORD: 6-10 BIG TEN, 17-15 OVERALL RETURNING STARTERS: Pos. NAME 2000 STAT G Rodney Smith 14.0 ppg C John Allison 5.0 rpg G Maynard Lewis 10.0 ppg KEY ADDITIONS: POS. NAME G Andrew Ford F Matt Carroll G Darmetreis Kilgore KEY LOSSES: Carson Cunningham - graduation Kenneth Lowe - shoulder injury Food for Thought Lessons from Terrorist Acts This past Saturday, The Michigan Daily celebrated its I1lth birth- day. It was an inauspicious cele- bration - did anyone on campus actually notice yesterday morning that it is now celebrating "One hundred eleven years of editorial freedom?" Probably not. It's not that I expected birthday cards and cakes waiting when I got into the building on Sunday morning. Nothing of the sort. The anonymity with which the Daily aged a year is one of the things that I like most about working here - reliability. The DAily is as reliable as Ann Arbor's sudden weather changes. And from day one, Daily Sports has been there. In that first paper, the front page showed a story about Michigan's rugby club - a pretty different look than it has now. But then again, what did you look like when you were one day old? Today, Daily Sports is doing the same thing that it was doing I1I years ago. It is printing everything that happens in the world of Michigan sports. But it's doing it from a different perspective than that of any other paper - a student's per- spective. That altered vision is what makes the Daily so special. It's Rich Eisen, current- ly an anchor for ESPN SportsCenter, deciding that he had to forgo the mass hysteria that had taken over Ann Arbor's streets on April 3, 1989. Sure, Eisen wanted to celebrate Michigan's first ever national championship in basketball, but he had a job to do. So he ran across cam- pus right after Rumeal Robinson hit the fateful free throws and got to work on the next day's Daily. It's about football writers that couldn't wait to leave the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1998, because they couldn't handle the fact that decorum forbid them from exploding when the Wolverines won the title. When you tead up on a game in Daily Sports, you're getting predominantly the same information that you would from most professional papers. What's differ- ent, though, is that you're getting it from people represented by those who wear the winged helmets on the Michigan Stadium turf. You're getting the news from people who have a real stake in the outcome. What's special is that you're hearing from people who often feel a need to tap "The Victors" quietly in the Yost Arena pressbox after a Michigan goal, but who are more than ready to criticize the team that, deep down, they love. Just a week after the first Daily was printed, the sports staff made it very clear that it would not print blind support for any team. As it said, I11 years ago this coming Saturday, "We believe that a spirit of mild criticism will do more to help our athletics than promiscuous adu- lation." Dan Perrin, a Daily sportswriter in the late 1970s, was not too intimated' by Bo Schembechler to ask a question critical of Michigan's kicking game, which in the 1979 season started off 1-10 on field goal attempts. Perrin also wasn't about to back down after Schembechler grabbed him by the throat. As was reported in the Daily 22 years ago today," I was confused,' he said. 'At first, I didn't understand why he lost his temper. In retrospect, I think Bo was just 4 frustrated with his kicking game, not nec- essarily angry with me as an individual."' Daily Sports is about a lot more than the free trip to the events that you cover. It's about more than a chance to see your name in print. It's about seeing - in depth - all the good and all the bad that Michigan sports has to offer. It's about breaking the story that for- mer Michigan quarterback Brian Griese 4 was arrested-in 1996 at Scorekeepers, a local sports bar, for throwing a brick through a window. The Daily knew not because it was in a police report, but because staff members happened to be at the bar at the time. "When Griese got arrested, we broke that story because we knew more people at Scorekeepers than anyone else," said former Daily Editor in Chief Michael Rosenberg, who currently covers Michi- gan sports for the Detroit Free Press. "The joke at the time was that he could- n't have been aiming for the window. That was before he made $80 million." It's about Bob Wojnowski, who cur- rently writes for The Detroit News, get- ting arrested in Columbus in 1982. Wojnowski and a Daily photographer, in town for the football game the next day, were taken into custody after pho- tographing a police officer arresting another man. The way I have heard the story told is that Wojnowski and the photographer spent four hours in jail simply because the officer was an Ohio State fan, and they were Michigan boys. Personally, I'll always remember being called a sonofabitch by Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse's athletic director, for catching him in a lie during, a phone interview. A freshman at the time, it was at that moment, as I listened to the phone on the other end click silent, that I real- ized that the Daily was the place for me. "It's the best thing I ever did," Eisen said of devoting his college life to the Daily. The same goes for me. Happy birthday, Daily. To 111 more. Jon Schwartz can be reached at jlsz@umich.edu On a tear, Wolverines prepare for Oakland A Vibrant History of Developing Talent. With $1.7 trillion in trust assets, Northern Trust is a leading international asset management firm and the 14th largest money manager in the nation, with 85 locations in 14 states in the U.S. alone. Our commitment to our employees' personal and professional growth has provided us our winning edge and has earned us widespread recognition as an employer of choice. From being voted "One of the Best" by Worth readers, to our listing in both FIortune and Chicago magazines' "Top Corporations to Work For," to our recognition by the U.S. Department of Labor for our high profile diversity initiatives and equal employment practices (EVE award), Northern Trust has always been about providing our professionals with the global resources, community programs, and legacy of success that they need to create a fulfilling career. Win $100 $50 or $25 Random cash drawing held at our Presentation. All attendees are eligible.. INFORMATION SESSION Tuesday, October 9th Cottage Inn 512 E. Williams St. 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Northern Trust offers competitive salaries, in-depth training, exceptional benefits and opportunities fort By Rohit Bhave Daily Sports Writer Last Friday's 2-1 victory over defend- ing Atlantic-10 champion Dayton marked an important step in Michigan's (1-I Big Ten, 7-1 overall) progression as a team. In their important game against the Flyers at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School's Hollway Field, the Wolverines dominated with superior athleticism, competitiveness and intensity. Michigan showed that its speed can force other teams out of their strengths. Dayton liked to play an aggressive game with its outside defenders joining the midfield attack. Speedy Michigan for- wards like Jody'Keeling and Robert Turpin flew past the Flyers' defenders to create scoring opportunities from the wing. In addition, freshman Mychal Tutpin emerged as a dangerous one-on- one player from the midfield position.' Showing savvy in addition to athleti- cism, the Wolverines recognized Friday that they were in an ugly game, and This might have been helped by Michi- gan's evident tenacity to the ball - the Wolverines seemingly won every 50-50 ball, and: chased down anything loose in space. Sunday, the Wolverines conquered a different challenge--complacency- in their match against underdog Western Michigan. In Michigan's up-tempo 5-2 win over the Broncos, it showed improvement on the offensive end. Many times, the Wolverines exploited the Broncos' aggressiveness to create excellent scoring chances. Leading just 1-0 at halftime, Burns. made the decision to play possession soccer in the back two-thirds of the field. Trailing, the Broncos tried to pressure the ball, which produced gaps in their defer, ;-t1 -4" '^"l1arnes mercilessly exploited for four goals in the second half. Against Oakland tomorrow, the Wolverines will have to fight the urge to overlook the Grizzlies. Though it may be easy to overlook Oakland, Wednesday's match could