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SPORTS


michigandaily.com/
sportsdesk@umich.edu

THURSDAY
MARCH 28, 2002

8A


JOE
SMITH

Intense rivalry nothing
new to recruits in goal

Passion, patience and
three birthday wishes

Well, the day has finally
come. The past few weeks
have seemed like years,
but today marks my 21st birthday.
And with the bars calling- and my
demise rapidly approaching - I just
have three simple wishes that would
make my big day complete.
1) The Detroit Tigers would
bring back some flash of '84:
So, the Tigers are having trouble
finding a spark at the top two spots
in the lineup? It's nothing new -
just ask supposed sparkplugs-
turned-revolving-doors at the lead-
off spot, such as Milt Cuyler, Luis
Polonia and Brian Hunter (don't for-
get Gary Pettis).
One suggestion in helping the
hapless Tigers find a winning record
for the first time in eight years?
Bring in should-be-Hall-of-Famers
Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker to
jumpstart the lineup.
With the two gold glovers batting
one-two in the lineup and anchoring
the middle of the infield, the Tigers
went on to their best season in team
history in 1984 - reaching the 104-
win plateau and winning the World
Series.
Yes, the two may be in their for-
ties now, and they may have lost a
step or two. But no one can question
their knack for hitting in the clutch
- something that no one has seen
from the 2002 double-play combo of
Jose Macias and Shane Halter. Plus,
after getting passed over for the Hall
of Fame on several ballots, these
two old-timers will have something
to prove.
2) Chris Webber would have
followed Amaker's life lessons:
Passion. Patience. Be Honest.
Have Fun. Be Michigan.
These aren't any ordinary cliches.
The life lessons that first-year
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
brought in with him are what he said
his teams will live by - on and off
the court - in order to bring the
Michigan basketball program back
to the top.
But if only Amaker were here a
decade earlier.
Chris Webber, golden boy of the
Fab Five - arguably the greatest
recruiting class ever to never win
anything - will ultimately be
remembered by many Michigan fans
for calling a timeout he never had
and allegedly collecting $280,000
from banned booster Ed Martin. But
if Webber had the foresight to fol-

low all of Amaker's five virtues,
things could have turned out a lot
different.
Webber sure had the "passion"
and "have fun" rules down pat,
being a monster on the court and
enjoying his celebrity-nature in Ann
Arbor.
However, if he used the
"patience" virtue by waiting for an
open teammate instead of calling
timeout in the 1993 national title
game or by waiting for the millions
he'd eventually receive in the NBA
instead of accepting dirty money
from Martin, those two dark clouds
may not be hanging over his head
right now.
Webber sure didn't own up to his
mistakes by using rule No. 3 ("Be
Honest") with investigators, and
now he's just "annoyed" by the
whole thing.
Everyone knows that isn't "being
Michigan."
3) Ed Martin would give me
cash for my towing bills:
It has to be one of the worst feel-
ings in the world. Rushing out of my
apartment complex after quickly
changing clothes only to find an
overweight schmuck from a towing
company - let's call them "T Tow-
ing" - laughing as he jumps out of
the bushes and hitches my car up to
his truck. He then offers to extort
me, saying he'll take my silver Sat-
urn off the blocks for a small fee of
$150 (paid in cash, so he can pocket
it himself) - all because I didn't
dish out $1,300 in September to
purchase a parking spot behind my
apartment complex.
Ed Martin could have solved that
problem for me in no time.
Now, I know that the latest indict-
ment was a big black eye for the
Michigan basketball program and
the University. But since I'm not an
athlete (just an old, washed-up has-
been), it wouldn't be against any
rule for Eddie to give me a few
grand just to pay off my debt in tow-
ing bills. It'd be awfully nice to drop
a few hundreds in their face and tell
"T Towing" to shove it.
Just remember Eddie: No cakes,
just cash - that's all the
"respectable towing business"
accepts.
Joe Smith can be reached tonight at
Scorekeepers or any time at
josephms@umich.edu.

By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Sports Writer
For the past two seasons, Michigan
and Michigan State hockey games
have been synonymous with one
matchup - Spartans' goaltender
Ryan Miller against the Wolverines'
netminder Josh Blackburn.
But with Blackburn's upcoming
graduation and Miller's possible exit
to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres on the
horizon, fans will most likely have to
get used to seeing new faces between
the pipes next season.
The loss of a top goaltender is
always hard to handle, and thanks to
the graduation of backups Kevin
O'Malley (Michigan) and Nathan
Shopbell (Michigan State), each
team could be left begging on the
corner for a hot-shot freshman goal-
tender to man the nets next fall.
On March 12 at the Ann Arbor Ice
Cube, Michigan and Michigan State
fans got a sneak preview of what
they may be seeing at Joe Louis
Arena, Munn Ice Arena and Yost Ice
Arena next season. It was Michigan
recruit Alvaro Montoya in the net for
the U.S. National Development
Under-17 team against Michigan
State recruit Justin Tobe, who lined
up for the NAHL's Compuware
Ambassadors.
Tobe and the Ambassadors won
the game 6-1 and have a 6-2 record
this season against Montoya and
Team USA.
"It'll be different next time," said
Montoya, who has not officially
signed with Michigan but is expect-
ing to don the maize and blue next
fall.

Since returning from a suspension
for fighting last month, Montoya has
not been treated too kindly by his
opponents, who have heard that he is
going to Michigan.
"Everybody's been going after me
now," Montoya said. "Since the
Michigan thing, everyone's been run-
ning me. It's nuts."
With a few minutes left in the con-
test, the Illinois native was "almost
knocked out" by an opposing player,
but recovered to finish the game.
"Some kid just plowed me over
and didn't stop," Montoya said.
"Every time they knock me out, they
say, 'Have a fun time next year.' "
If Montoya earns the starting posi-
tion next season at Michigan, he'll
have to deal with the same treatment
game in and game out in the CCHA.
"It is (good preparation), but it's
sort of ridiculous because they know
we're 16 years old, and they're 20
years old, so they can do it all night
long," Montoya said.
Montoya hasn't spoken with Tobe
since he committed to Michigan
State in late February and said he'd
"rather not deal with him."
"We've had a big rivalry this year,"
Tobe said of Montoya. "He's a good
goalie, too. It was exciting playing
against him.
"It's weird to think that next year
I'll be wearing that green jersey, and
he'll be wearing the maize and blue.
There will be some awesome games."
Tobe, who grew up in Northville
and has always wanted to play for
Michigan State, said it was a "no-
brainer" when he received an e-mail
from the Spartans earlier this season,
asking him if he would be interested

6

0

DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
With the departure of Josh Blackburn, Michigan will be forced to entrust Its future
to a true freshman. Alvaro Montoya can't wait to accept that responsibility.

in fast-tracking through high school.
Replacing Miller, who won the
Hobey Baker Award last season as a
sophomore, is something that the
highly-touted goaltender feels he is
ready to do. He'll be competing with
current freshman netminder Matt
Migliaccio for the job if Miller
decides to leave.
"Ryan's a great goalie," Tobe said.
"Somebody's got to (replace him), so
I just have to go in there and play my
best."
The Michigan-Michigan State
rivalry is something that has con-

stantly surrounded Tobe, meanwhile
Montoya has just begun to get
involved.
"It's been right there in front of me
the whole time," Tobe said. "Grow-
ing up half an hour from Ann Arbor
and an hour from Michigan State,
you always know those are the two
places that the Michigan kids want to
go. It's the biggest rivalry in all of
college hockey. It's going to be nice
to have a part of it."
"I've been to a few games this
year," Montoya said. "I'm all about
the intensity."

6
6

Golfers pray for sun in Kentucky

By Matt Kramer
Daily Sports Writer

favor, th
unfamili
tournam
this year

e Wolverines will be playing on a course
ar to them. Unlike previous years when the
ent was played at Kearney Hill Golf Club,
's tournament was moved to the new 7,000-

Michigan men's golf coach Jim Carras
stand if his golf team doesn't shoot very
well when the Wolverines compete in
the 20-team Johnny Owens Invitational
tomorrow in Lexington, Ky.
"We haven't had much time to prac-
tice with the bad weather," Carras said.
"It's late March, and we are still practic-
ing in Oosterbaan Field House. We
aren't even able to practice on grass, in
bunkers, nothing like that. It's been very
difficult."
The weather hasn't been kind to the

will under-
LEXING
Who: Michigan
Johnny Owens Ii
When: Tomorro
Saturday.
Latest: Even aft
place place finis
tournament, Mc
heads to Kentu
expecting atop-

1

yard Wildcat Course, Kentucky's home
course.
TON "We haven't seen the course yet," Car-
at the ras said. "Thursday is going to be our
nvitational. first look at it, and that should tell us a
w and lot about it."
Even though his team hasn't seen the
hr a 10th- Wildcat Course, Carras is confident that
h in it's s Michigan can finish in the top three.
h an "We really need to be in the top five,"
ky
Aive finish. he said.
If they plan on finishing "ideally in
the top three," according to Carras, the Wolverines
will need another solid performance out of senior
Andrew Chapman. The senior fired rounds of 71-
74-73 to finish in a tie for sixth two weeks ago at
the El Diablo Intercollegiate in Florida. The Wolver-
ines as a team finished tied for 10th.
"Andrew is very focused," Carras said. "He's
always working on his game, and he's serious about
it. He's the best kid in the world. There is no one I
think more highly of."

Wolverines all winter. Michigan's own tournament
- The Wolverine South Invitational in Savannah,
Ga. - was cancelled earlier this month because of
rain.
And there is no guarantee that the tournament this
weekend will be played.
"They had four inches of rain down there just five
days ago, so we aren't sure what the weather will be
like this weekend," Carras said.
If the weather just happens to work in Michigan's

DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Sophomore David Nichols and the Wolverines
will tee off against 20 teams this weekend.

I

Siciliano seeks fourth national title in IM
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By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan will begin competition
in the NCAA Men's Swimming and
Diving Championships today in
Athens Ga., but the Wolverines have
already acknowledged that the top
spots in the team standings might
already be decided.
"It's pretty much going to be

Texas and Stanford," Michigan sen-
ior Tim Siciliano said.
The two rivals are ranked No. 3
and No. 1, respectively, and also led
last year's NCAAs, when the Long-
horns won their second consecutive
title over the runner-up Cardinal.
Michigan finished 10th last year,
and, though a championship is prob-
ably out of reach, the 10th-ranked
Wolverines think they can improve



M.

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Michigan Athletics

Presented by:
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their standing in Athens, where 10
swimmers and diver sophomore
Jason Coben will compete.
"We're shooting for at least a top-
six (finish)," Siciliano said. "There's
a lot of talent on this team and a lot
of areas to score points."
The freestyle should be one of the
best strokes for Michigan to pick up
points.
Sophomore Dan Ketchum, who is
the 2002 Big Ten Champion in the
500- and 200-yard freestyle, will
race in both events as the top-seeded
swimmer, and junior Garrett Mang-
ieri qualified in the 200 and 100
freestyle.
"Dan has a really good chance at
the 200 free, and I think Garrett has
a chance to be up there with him,"
Siciliano said, adding that the team
also has high expectations for the
800 freestyle relay.
Brendan Neligan will join
Ketchum in the 500 today before
swimming his strongest event, the
1,650 freestyle, on the final day of
competition.
Although most first-year swim-
mers might be at a disadvantage
against the top competitors in the
country, Michigan coach Jon
T__.i%,ha asin ea l _ ow

win four NCAA titles in the 400
individual medley.
A victory would also place Sicil-
iano's name on a prestigious list of
eight men who have won four
national championships in any
event.
Siciliano will have an extremely
strong field to contend with, but he
doesn't expect a nagging shoulder
injury, which limited his training
time this season, to be a factor.
"I think (my shoulder) is doing
really well," he said. "There hasn't
been any throbbing pain, and I
haven't woken up with pain. So I'm
really happy."
Siciliano will race in the 200-yard
individual medley today, and he
hopes a fast morning swim can put
him into the finals tonight. His
expectations for Saturday's 1,650-
yard freestyle - his final race -
aren't quite as lofty.
"It's 15 minutes of hard swim-
ming, so I just want to make it
through," he said.
Siciliano has no plans to pursue
an Olympic career when his tenure
at Michigan comes to an end. While
he would be pleased if Michigan
earned a top-six finish in his last
r _.rnna. 4. hann , n. n anthr team

U

Sat., March 30 1 p.m.
(DH)
Sun., March 31 1 p.m.
Ray Fisher Stadium

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