The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 4, 2002 - 3B

JEFF
PHILLIPS

No doubt

that Pats are
destiny s
children
A s John Madden sat up in the
booth with just over a minute
remaining in the Super
Bowl, saying that he wouldn't be
surprised to see the Patriots run the
ball and take the game to overtime,
was there any doubt that they would
come out throwing? It was a
thrilling end to an amazing game.
Just as it had all season, New
England broke conventions and
marched down the field with the
clutch, second-year quarterback
Tom Brady at the helm.
The stars weren't just aligned this
night for the Patriots; they have
been all season. They have done just
enough to win, and on the biggest
night of them all it was no different.
New England caught its biggest
break against Oakland (it can thank
a glitch in the system for that one),
but it still had to win, not just get
possession back. But how many
players on this roster have had a
season that M. Night Shyamalan
would deem improbable?
You could make the argument that
this entire team got a group dis-
count by selling their collective
soul, but I think the short list of
players with a dream season
includes kicker Adam Vinatieri,
wide receiver Troy Brown, corner-
back Ty Law and of course, Brady.
These four made their mark on the
Patriots' season and throughout the
Super Bowl.
Vinatieri came through in the
most sickening and exciting posi-
tions in football. Against Oakland
he kicked the field goal to tie the
game, then tacked on the game-win-
.ner in overtime. He followed it up
by knocking in the NFL title-win-
ning kick with authority.
As a nine-year veteran, Brown
battled to make the New England
roster and made the most of it.
Brown, another Patriot bound for~.,
the Pro Bowl, followed up his
breakout 2000 season by catching
101 balls for nearly 1,200 yards,
which Jn itself is impressive. But he
also was a superb punt returner.
In the playoffs, Brown's knack for
making plays shone through. He
returned a punt for a touchdown
against Pittsburgh in the AFC
Championship and got the assist on
another New England touchdown on
a field goal block. It was only fit-
ting that Brady hit him across the
middle to set up the win against the
Rams.
Law, an injury replacement in the
Pro Bowl, sparked the Patriots with
a 47-yard interception return for a
touchdown to score their first points
of the game. His tremendous effort
in the game could have warranted
the Super Bowl MVP - were it not
for the Patriots' final drive.
No discussion of Patriots' destiny
would be complete without talking
about Brady - especially in Ann
Arbor.
 Last night, every bar and living
room filled with Brady-backers no
doubt had a chump that was cheer-
ing as Tebucky Jones' fumble return
was called back, but nearly every
Michigan fan could not help but get
swept up in the Brady-saga. He
became the first Michigan quarter-
back to lead his team to a Super

Bowl victory, and nobody could
have predicted it.
It was nice for Wolverines' fans to
see him in a starting position when
incumbent starter Drew Bledsoe
went down in week three, but most
thought he was just keeping Bled-
soe's seat warm. But Brady beat out
Bledsoe, not once, but twice and
became the hero of New England.
Brady personified this New Eng-
land team by having the most
unlikely season and doing just
enough to get the win. He had a
solid but unspectacular game until
the final drive, which earned him
the Super Bowl MVP even though
he passed for fewer than 150 yards
and just one touchdown.
New England coach Bill
Belichick stressed "team" all week,
but it was Brady who was the heart
and soul of this team.
The Brady-led Patriots sent
Bostonians into the streets, celebrat-
ing a title that seemed most impos-

Guevara not
satisfied with
an ugly win
Blue still alive for NCAAs
By Jim Weber
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan has won three out of its last four
after starting the Big Ten season 1-6, but the
Wolverines aren't fooled - they know their
problems haven't been fixed.
Michigan coach Sue Guevara was angry the
past two days because of
the numerous mistakes she BASKETBALL
saw during Saturday's prac-
tice and yesterday's game Notebook
against Northwestern. Both
days, Guevara said the Wolverines also were not
focused and lacked leadership.
"We only had 14 turnovers, we shot 77 percent
from the free-throw line, but there are obviously
some things I was not happy with," Guevara said
after the game. "I addressed those with the team
and will continue to address those, specifically
with our seniors and any other person that will
step up and show some leadership."
Guevara did not fault her players for a lack of
intensity during the game yesterday, but did
question their intelligence at points.
"(They) are students at the University of
Michigan," the coach said. "They are supposed to
be smarter than the average bear. So when the
mistakes are coming from the same people, then
I'm (asking), 'Where are you right now?'
"When we run a sideline out-of-bounds play
and we don't have someone set the screen, it's
like 'Yoo-hoo, what are you thinking?"'
BUBBLE TROUBLE: Michigan (4-7 Big Ten, 14-8
overall) still has the opportunity to earn an
NCAA Tournament berth. Michigan is No. 26 in
the RPI despite a poor conference record.
Guevara believes the Wolverines can still earn
a bid, but that getting into the tournament will
require four wins in their last five regular season
games.
Despite its current ranking, Michigan is ranked
No. 37 in the projected RPI standings, which
would be the standings at the end of the regular

THE DOWN-LOW
GUEVA-RANT:
"They are students at the University
of Michigan. They are supposed to
be smarter than the average bear."
KEY STAT:
The Wolverines converted on 17-of-
22 free throws, while the Wildcats
made it to the charity stripe just
10 times.
TURNING POINT:
With 11:53 remaining in the sec-
ond half, Michigan surged to a 10-
point lead while Northwestern's
leading scorers, Sara Kwasinksi
and Melissa Culver sat on the
bench.
YoU KNEW IT WAS OVER WHEN:
With less than a minute left, Michi-
gan thew an inbounds pass behind
the Northwesten press for an easy
layup by Stephanie Gandy.
THE DAILY'S MVP:
For the second straight game, Jen-
nifer Smith led the team in points and
rebounds. Yesterday, Smith tallied 17
points and seven boards.

Northwestern
Michigan

67
74

DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
LeeAnn Bies checks on a dazed Jennifer Smith after Smith was thrown to the floor by Northwestern's Sarah
Kwasinski. Despite being tackled late in the second half, Smith led the Wolverines in scoring yesterday.

season if every team defeats every team lower
than it in the RPI.
Last season both No. 34 Virginia and No. 36
Wisconsin made the tournament with 8-8 confer-
ence records - the same Big Ten record Michi-
gan would have if it won four out of its last five
games.
Guevara also said that the Wolverines will
need a 20-win season, which would require the
Wolverines to win a couple of games in the Big
Ten Tournament as well.
But the Wolverines won't reach any of those
goals if the team fails to get its act together.
Michigan will have a week to correct its mis-
takes before it faces Ohio State next Sunday, one
of just five games remaining for the Wolverines.
The game against the Buckeyes is especially
important because its next two games are against
Purdue and Penn State, teams it lost to earlier in
the season.
"We cannot play like we played today and
expect that we will be near a bubble," Guevara
said.

SMOOTH SMITTY: Jennifer Smith is not part of
Michigan's leadership problems - she's led by
example the last two games.
Thursday against Iowa, Smith had career highs
in points (26) and rebounds (19). Yesterday,
Smith recorded 17 points and seven rebounds
and also displayed her toughness.
With less than three minutes remaining in the
game, Northwestern center Sarah Kwasinski
fouled Smith and threw her to the ground.
Kwasinski then glared at Smith to a chorus of
boos from the crowd. But Smith regained her
composure and Guevara did not take her out of
the game.
Guevara's only concern is how tough Smith is
on herself. With two minutes remaining, Smith
missed an open layup. While Smith swung her
arm in frustration, Guevara yelled from the
bench, "Smitty! Focus!'
"I think (Smith) is trying to do a better job of
not letting it affect her," Guevara said. "When
she misses some easy puppies (layups), she tends
to stay with that mistake."

'M' STATS
Through Feb. 3

Player G
Bies 22
Ingram 21
Smith 22
Gandy 21
Pool 21
Oesterle 19
Mason 20
Jara 19
Hauser-Price11
McPhilamy 9
Goodlow 5

Min
31.5
37.8
30.8
29.5
24.2
20.6
8.6
15.6
7.1
3.31
26.0

A
1.9
4.5
1.6
1.7
1.7
1.9
.3
1.7
0.4
0.0
2.4

Reb
8.8
3.3
7.9
4.5
4.3
3.9
2.7
1.6
0.7
0.8
5.6

Pts.
16.3
14.6
13.6
10.7
8.0
4.2
3.2
1.7
0.8
0.0
8.8

Field-goal percentage leader
Bies 121-228 .531
Free-throw percentage leader
Ingram 73-91 .802
3-point percentage leader
Ingram 42-100 .420

Wildcat woes
The Northwestern women's basketball team has not had a good season. In fact,
it has not even had a good millenium. The Wildcats have not won in the Big Ten
since March 2, 2000 and are riding a 28 game losing streak in conference play.
Here are a couple of the Wildcats' lowlights in the past seasons.
Jan.14, 2001: Northwestern traveled to West Lafayette where the Boilermakers
pounded the Wildcats 94-37. The 57-point defeat was one of the worst in the his-
tory of the program.
Jan. 30, 2000: Playing at Purdue, Northwestern barely reached the 30 point
mark, as the Boilermakes pounded the Wildcats 70-31. Northwestern managed
just 12 points in the first half.

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WILDCATS
Continued from Page 18
practiced pretty well before the
Iowa game. And you want to keep
building on that, you want to take a
step forward."
Although the Wolverines had four
scorers in double figures, they were
outrebounded by the Wildcats 39-
36, despite their superior strength in
the interior.
"They got a lot of team
rebounds," Bies said. "And that's
just us not grabbing in, balls going
out of bounds and loose balls."
While the team improved its
shooting and cut down its turnovers,
Guevara griped about the continued
lack of leadership.
Despite the way that Michigan
seems to find a big time scorer each
night - Bies scored 36 at Illinois
and Jennifer Smith put in 26 points
and 19 rebounds against Iowa -
the Wolverines still have no one to
lead them when they are down or in
a tight contest. That is going to
have to change if Michigan wants to
earn a bid to the NCAA Tourna-
ment.
Michigan has the week off before
it plays at Ohio State next Sunday.

YESTERDAY'S GAME
Northwestern (67)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Will 34 6-9 0.0 25 5 2 12
Dolland 13 14 4-4 0-2 1 3 6
Kwasinski 33 12-210-0 5-8 1 4 24
McComb 27 0-5 34 0-2 2 1 3
Culver 35 5-14 0-0 0-0 4 2 14
Morrison 20 1-2 0-0 0-3 0 5 2
Daniels 12 0-5 0-C0 0-2 1 0 0
Messenger 12 0-1 2-2 0-1 0 0 2
Zylstra 14 2-4 0-0 1-2 0 2 4
Totals 200 27-659-10 16-39 14 19 67
FG%: .415 FT%: .900 3-point FG: 4-8, 500 (Culver
4-6, McComb 0-2). Blocks: 2 (Kwasinski 2)
Steals: 11 (Culver 3, McComb 2, Will 2, Kwasinksi
1. Morrison , Daniels , Zylstra). Turnovers: 20 (Will
4, Culver 4, Dolland 3, McComb 2, Morrison 2,
Messenger 2, Kwasinksi, Zylstra, Team ). Techni-
cal Fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (74)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Oesterie 25 1-4 2-2 0-3 4 1 4
Smith 33 5-11 6-8 3-7 0 3 17
Bies 36 6-9 4-6 4-6 3 2 16
Hauser-Price 14 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
Ingram 40 5-14 0-0 1-6 4 1 12
Gandy 30 7-15 3-4 1-5 0 1 17
Mason 11 1-2 0-0 0-1 1 1 2
Pool 11 1-4 2-2 1-3 1 2 4
Totals 200 27-61 17-2213-3613 12 74
FG%: .443 FT%: .773 3-point FG: 3-10,.300
(Ingram 2-4, Smith 1-1, Gandy 0-2, Oesterle 0-3).
Blocks: 2 (Bies 2). Steals: 11 (Gandy 3, Ingram 2.
Cesterle, Bies, Hauser-Price, Mason, Pool) .
Turnovers: 14 (Bies 4, Ingram 3, Gandy 3, Smith,
Hauser-Price, Mason, Pool). Technical fouls: none.
Northwestern...........-.....27 40 67
Michigan..-............... .. 33 41 74
At: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor
Attendance: 2,113

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4


REC
INTRAMURALS

The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports
INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM

WHAT'S
HAPPENING

p

TABLE TENNIS
SGLS & DBLS
ENTRIES DUE:
Thurs 2/7,4:30 PM, lMSB

ENTRY FEE:
$5 for Singles
$9 for Doubles

PRE-SEASON
VOLLEYBALL
ENTRIES TAKEN:
Mon 2/11 to Weds 2/13
9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
ENTRY FEE:
$35 per team
MANAGER'S MEETING:
MANDATORY
Thurs 2/14,6:00 PM, IMSB
TOURNAMENT DATES:
Sat 2/16 & Sun 2/17, IMSB

TOURNAMENT DATE:
Sat 2/9
Sports Coliseum


2.

BROOMBALL
(Ind Women, Sor, CoRec)
ENTRIES DUE:
Monday 2/18 ONLY
11:00 AM to 5:30PM,IMSB
ENTRY FEE:
$78 per team
MANAGER'S MEETING:
MANDATORY
Weds 2/20, 7:00 PM, IMSB
PLAY BEGINS:
Monday 3/4
Yost Ice Arena

t

MINI-SOCCER
ENTRIES DUE:
Monday 2/18 ONLY
11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, IMSB
ENTRY FEE:
$78 per team
MANAGER'S MEETING:
MANDATORY
Weds 2/20,8:00 PM, IMSB

I

31
o °

PLAY BEGINS:
Tuesday 3/5
Sports Coliseum

Volleyball entries will be taken
11:00am - 5:30pm Monday February 18 while
the entry deadline for the Relays Meet is 4:30 pm Tuesday February 19.
The entry deadline for Racquetball - Singles and Doubles is 4:30pm Thursday March 14.

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