10- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 5, 2002
Adversity aids
teambodig h.
for Wolverines
By Kyle O'Neill
EEK~ a Daily Sports Writer
ALYSSA WOOD/Daily
Boban Savovic and his Ohio State teammates sit in first place in the Big Ten, but
the Buckeyes will be challenged with four road games in the next two weeks.
First-place Buckeyes
face tough road tests
For Michigan's women's swimming and diving
coach Jim Richardson, this season couldn't have
been much sweeter. His team, depleted by
injuries since day one, has shown the type of
teamwork and work ethic that he has never seen
before at Michigan. And for-all the success his
team has had on the scoreboard this year, the per-
sonal battles his team has won are what he will
most remember about this year's squad.
"I've told this team from December on that
we've had faster teams, we've had deeper teams,
but we've never had a better team than this one,"
Richardson said. "I think we've had some very
fast teams in the past that I would not call great
teams. Very talented, yes - they were able to
score a lot of points, win conference champi-
onships and finish very high at NCAAs.
"But this team has an understanding of com-
mitment to themselves and to each other that
some of those other teams didn't have."
And while this team hasn't produced a high
number of record-setting swimmers like in years
past, this team is no slouch when it hits the pool.
The Wolverines are already sending four repre-
sentatives - Lindsay Carlberg, Annie Weilbach-
er, Amy McCullough and Kelli Stein - to
Austin, Texas this March for the NCAA Champi-
onships, and they are looking to have more quali-
fy at the Big Ten Championships, Feb. 20-23.
The four NCAA qualifiers, no matter what
they do in Austin, have already left their legacy
in another school's pool this season.
In January, Weilbacher, Carlberg, Stein and
Laura Kaznecki set the pool record at Michigan
State's Charles McCaffree Pool in the 400-yard
medley relay. McCullough also set a pool record
in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:00.97
McCullough, a freshman, and sophomore
Emily-Clare Fenn have also formed one of the
most dominant distance freestyle duos in Michi-
gan history, as one of the two has captured first-
place in all but three meets this season.
But what makes this team stand out is not just
its accomplishments in the pool, but who the
swimmers are outside of it.
"They are a wonderful group of young
women," Richardson said. "They represent this
university so well in the classroom and on Friday
and Saturday nights. We haven't had a team that's
done a better job at being a representative of
what college athletics is all about."
One quality that this team has that many do not
is its ability to adjust to adversity. Injuries took
away its 2000 Olympic gold medalist in Saman-
tha Arsenault and NCAA All-American Traci
Valasco, but the Wolverines did not concern
themselves with "moaning and groaning about
what could've, would've and should've been,"
Richardson said. Instead, "they're engaged and
involved" in making this team the best it can be.
Richardson has had the pleasure of watching a
new breed of Michigan swimmers develop this
year.
The primary focus is no longer just to win Big
Tens or place well at NCAAs, but instead to
develop into a team strengthened by the concept
of teamwork in this traditionally individual
sport.
"Our team is so close and we train so hard,"
McCullough said. "College swimming is so much
tougher than I've ever had to work before. But
this has been the most fun in a season I've ever
had, and I'm looking forward to three more."
DAVID ROCHKINDU/Daily
Because of its commitment and work ethic Michigan coach Jim Richardson believes that this year's women's
swimming and diving team is the best all-around group that he's ever coached.
BIG TEN
Continued from Page 9
Taylbr suffered a concussion when he
hit his head on the floor after becom-
ing entangled with Illinois forward
Lucas Johnson. He has already been
injured this season, and Izzo has had
to improvise with a shallow lineup
throughout the year. It is unlikely that
Taylor will suit up for the Spartans'
game against Northwestern tomor-
row.
"Injuries still seem to be a prob-
lem," Izzo said. "We don't know what
Marcus Taylor's status will be for
Wednesday."
DAMIR DOUBTFUL: Before he had a
chance to reaffirm his value to the
Fighting Illini, Illinois forward Damir
Krupalija reinjured his left foot in
Sunday's loss to Michigan State. Illi-
nois had been playing with a full
deck of cards for only about a week,
as Krupalija and fellow big man
Lucas Johnson had been sidelined
with injuries. Illinois is reeling from
three straight losses (Indiana, Ohio
State and Michigan State) and coach
Bill Self doubts that Krupalija, one'of
the conference's most versatile for-
wards, will return soon.
"He could be done," Self told
ESPN.com yesterday. "He had the
infant stages of a stress fracture even
when he came back. We'll see what
happens."
READY TO BE BUCKED?: Ohio State
is still in first place in the Big Ten at
8-1, but the Buckeyes leave the com-
fortable confines of Value City Arena
this week with difficult road contests
at Wisconsin and at Michigan State.
They don't get a chance to return
home anytime soon either, as the fol-
lowing week the Buckeyes travel to
Iowa City and Bloomington for road
matchups against Iowa and Indiana.
These next two weeks serve as a good
opportunity for Ohio State to be
knocked off its perch atop the confer-
ence, standings.
But Illinois coach Bill Self believes
though that Ohio State has what it
takes to win on the road.
"I think a lot of it is confidence,
and going into games knowing that in
order to win it you're going to have to
win it in the last five minutes," Self
said. "I think good starts is one thing
that's very important - and Ohio
State has been strong."
Tyson still gunning for
0
April bout v
NEW YORK (AP) - Lennox Lewis
claims he won't be fighting Mike Tyson on
April 6. Then again, he might be.
"I'm unaware that the April 6 fight is out,"
Tyson adviser Shelly Finkel said yesterday.
"We'll meet to discuss it."
Tyson, who has been refused a license to
fight in Nevada, is expected to apply for a
license in California later this month.
"The April 6 date is definitely out the
window for the Tyson fight, but it may be
OK for another fight," Lewis told BBC
Radio on Sunday. "Later in the year for a
Lewis-Tyson fight, definitely."
However, there's the matter of contracts
signed by both fighters for what would be a
joint pay-per-view venture between HBO
and Showtime.
"We are eager to sit down with Lennox
Lewis and discuss his future in the ring,"
said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO
Sports, which has a multi-fight contract with
the WBC-IBF heavyweight champion.
"We're in uncharted waters, and we're not
going to engage in any speculation," Green-
burg said.
Showtime, which has a deal with Tyson,
declined comment.
vithi Lewis
The organizers of the fight have until the
end of this week to find a site. That could
change because it might be difficult to
secure a site before Tyson gets a license, in
the wake of what happened in Nevada.
The MGM Grand in Las Vegas was to
have been the site, but then came the melee
at a news conference in New York on Jan.
22, followed by the Nevada State Athletic
Commission's rejection of Tyson's license
application a week later.
What happens if California refuses to
license Tyson remains to be seen. Finkel has
said seven states and two foreign countries
are interested in the fight.
He declined to identify them. There have
been published reports of interest by four
countries - Denmark, Germany, Nether-
lands and South Africa.
As for Lewis fighting anyone else on
April 6, that seems highly unlikely, and it
would be for much less money than he
would get for fighting Tyson.
Should Lewis fight another opponent
April 6, it probably would be Chris Byrd in
mandatory IBF title defense. A fight
against Tyson would be a WBC mandatory
defense.
HALL OF FAME
Continued from Page 9
its first baseball national title and Neer
(earned eight letters in three varsity
sports) each made their presence
felt in their particular sports.
Two basketball stars, Fishman and
Russell, rounded out the inductees.
Fishman, one of Michigan's most
versatile athletes, lettered three
times in basketball and baseball
before playing in the Cincinnati
Reds' minor-league system and
eventually becoming a World War II
intelligence veteran.
Russell was an All-American bas-
ketball player who was the No.1
draft selection by the Cleveland
Cavaliers in 1974.
But the achievement that Russell
is most proud of is the degree in
Sports Management and Communi-
cation that he returned to Ann Arbor
to complete in 2000. With the help
of former Athletic Director Tom
Goss, Russell fulfilled a promise he
made to his mother years ago and
said that receiving a University
diploma is important in becoming a
true "Michigan Man."
"My concern is that there are a lot
of guys who come through here and
don't get their degree and still are
recognized as a great athlete," Rus-
sell said.
0
AP PHOTO
After being refused a license to fight In Nevada, Mike Tyson will
attempt to find somewhere else to battle Lennox Lewis in April.
Contraction all but dead for Twins in 2002
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minneso-
ta's Supreme Court refused to consider
an appeal of an injunction that forces
the Twins to fulfill their Metrodome
lease, all but killing baseball's contrac-
tion plan for this season.
The high court's action yesterday
means that an injunction issued by a
Hennepin County judge in November
will stand - barring intervention by
the U.S. Supreme Court, which is
unlikely.
Unless there is a strike or a lockout,
the Twins will take the field for their
42nd season in Minnesota. Their sea-
son opener is April 1 at Kansas City
and their home opener is April 12
against Detroit.
"We've anticipated for the last
month or so that we would be playing,"
Twins president Jerry Bell said. "We
have a good team, we had a good year
last year and we expect to have a good
year this year."
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig
did not return a telephone call seeking
comment. Selig's spokesman, Rich
Levin, said baseball was reviewing the
decision.
Union head Donald Fehr, who filed
a grievance to block contraction,
thought Monday's decision will keep
the major leagues at 30 teams this year.
"Obviously, we are very pleased that
the matter in Minnesota appears to
have been resolved for 2002, which is
good news for the fans," he said. "We
can now look forward to spring train-
ing and the continuation of the collec-
tive bargaining process."
Meanwhile, baseball owners moved
forward with plans to meet Feb. 12 in
the Chicago area - two days before
the start of spring training - to
approve the contemplated sales of the
Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins.
The Senate Judiciary Committee
will hold a hearing on baseball's
antitrust exemption the following day,
a spokesman for committee chairman
Patrick J. Leahy said yesterday.
Baseball owners voted Nov. 6 to
eliminate two teams without specify-
ing which ones.
Management negotiators Rob Man-
fred and Paul Beeston told the Players'
Association in late January that the
Twins and the Expos were the only
candidates for elimination this season,
according to two people who spoke to
The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity.
The Twins and Expos ranked 29th
and 30th in revenue last year, and both
have failed to obtain government
financing for new ballparks.
The Twins' landlord, the Metropoli-
tan Sports Facilities Commission, sued
following the owners' vote to force the
team to honor its lease, which expires
after the 2002 season. On Nov. 16,
Hennepin County District Judge Harry
Seymour Crump issued the injunction.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals
upheld the order Jan. 22 in a 3-0 deci-
sion, ruling Crump did not abuse his
discretion in issuing the injunction.
Selig said then he still thought he
could go forward with the plan to elim-
inate teams before opening day, but
yesterday's ruling appeared to end his
options.
Contraction has been further com-
plicated by baseball's ownership
chances.
A group headed by Marlins owner
John Henry was given approval Jan. 16
to buy the Boston Red Sox for $660
million from the Jean R. Yawkey Trust.
Henry is negotiating to sell the Mar-
lins to Expos owner Jeffrey Loria for
$158.5 million and Loria is negotiating
to sell the Expos to the remaining 29
teams for $120 million.
Unable to eliminate the Expos, Selig
began planning .to have the commis-
sioner's office appoint a chief execu-
tive officer/general manager to run the
team this season.
Loria intends to bring much of his
Expos' staff to Florida, including man-
ager Jeff Torborg, interim general man-
ager Larry Beinfest and executive vice
president David Samson - who was
in Florida yesterday to visit the Mar-
lins' facilities.
Are You Feeling Sad or Blue?
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