Ctbe 1MidciganBail PORTS michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu TUESDAY APRIL 9, 2002 11I ... . ....... ARUN GOPAL My years at Michigan: A sports fan S o here it is -my last column for The Daily. The years at this place have flown by pretty fast. With graduation approaching, I've found myself reminiscing about my senior year of high school in 1997-98, when I was anticipating what four years in Ann Arbor would be like. I applied to three other schools, but Michigan was always my top choice for one reason: Sports. I'd been a rabid fan of Michigan sports for years, and as I dreamt about four years at this school, I couldn't contain my excitement. You see, 1997-98 was an especially good year for Michigan's revenue teams. How good, you ask? How do national titles in football and hockey and a Big Ten Tournament title in basketball sound? From my home in the Upper Peninsula (insert your tired, rehashed U.P joke here), I watched all of this ath- letic success unfold, and all I could think to myself was, "Man, Michigan sports are going to be sweet while I'm there. This is going to be great." As my fellow seniors will readily attest, the last four years haven't exactly been all wine and roses for the Wolver- ines. For the rest of you, I decided to dedicate this column to a little game of "1997-98" and "Now" for each of the Big Three - football, men's basketball and hockey. FoomAu. THEN: Charles Woodson winning the Heisman, Brian Griese playing like Joe Montana and Lloyd Carr looking like a genius. I watched every one of Michigan's games that year, and I just kept waiting for the Wolverines to stumble. Coming off four consecutive four-loss seasons, not even the most die-hard Michigan fan could've foreseen a national title. But, the improbable kept happening. This was largely thanks to Woodson - a man I will worship until the day I die - who capped off an unforgettable reg- ular season by single-handedly beating Ohio State to clinch the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth. I went to the Rose Bowl and watched Michigan beat Washington State to win the national title. Simply indescribable. To this day, whenever I hear what Carr told the Wolverines after the game - "Congratulations, gentlemen. You just won the national championship" - I get goosebumps. FooTBAU Now: Three Citrus Bowls. Three Citrus Bowls!! A horrible defense one year, a horrible offense the next year. Two of the worst cornerbacks in the history of football, James Whitley and Jeremy LeSueur (interesting ques- tion: Who do you think was worse?). John Navarre. And, last but not least, hearing "Rocky Top" so many times this past New Year's Day that the song is still stuck in my head. MEN'S HOOPS THEN: Basically, they were the Ed Martin All-Stars. But, man, s nightmare was that team ever sweet. Tractor Tray- lor. Jerod Ward. Maceo Baston. Louis Bullock. Hell, even Travis Conlan was- n't entirely awful. In Brian Ellerbe's first season as coach, the Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament and earned a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance. Granted, watch- ing Bullock shoot 4-for-50 in a second- round loss to UCLA wasn't much fun. But Michigan still won 25 games that year, including a win over Michigan State (yes, that's right, once upon a time, we beat Michigan State). MEN'S HOOPS NOW: One postseason game in four years (no, the BTT doesn't count). Three losing seasons in four years. I think I've witnessed the worst four-year stretch in the history of Michigan basketball. I remember going to the Michigan State game at Crisler my freshman year. There were about 9,000 of Sparty's biggest fans in attendance, and the "Flintstones" quickly turned the game into a rout. With about 10 seconds left, Jason Klein came down on a fast break and tossed an alley-oop to Morris Peter- son, whose tomahawk dunk brought down the house (which was devoid of Michigan fans by that point). As my friends from Michigan State celebrated, I buried my head in my hands. That pretty much sums up my four years of watching this pitiful excuse for a bas- ketball team. ICE HOCKEY THEN: Michigan wasn't an underdog in the NCAA Tournament - the Wolverines were usually a favorite. Michigan posted eight consecutive sea- sons of 30 or more wins from 1990- 1997. In that time, the Wolverines advanced to six Frozen Fours and won two national titles. The 1996-97 team was particularly dominant - led by Hobey Baker Award winner Brendan Morrison, Michigan compiled a 35-44 record and scored at least seven goals in a game 15 times. ICE HOCKEY NOW:Zero 30-win sea- sons -in fact, during my freshman year, Michigan had its worst team in a decade. The Wolverines won just 25 games and broke a run of four straight Frozen Fours by falling in the quarterfi- nals. After losing in the quarters again the next year, Michigan returned to the Frozen Four last season and made it two in a row this year. Not too shabby, espe- cially in comparison to the basketball team, but not nearly up to the standards that previous Michigan teams had set. So there you have it. Four years at this school, and not a whole lot to smile about. With my luck, things will be bet- ter next year. If (more like when) that happens, well ... I'm sure I'll be at a bar somewhere, cheering. This is Arun Gopal'sfinal columnfor the Michigan Daily. He can be reached at agopal@uzmich.edu. BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Michigan shortstop Brandon Jominy runs down an Iowa baserunner during the Wolverines' series with the Hawkeyes on Mar. 29-31. The Wolverines will take a break from Big Ten action this afternoon as they try to improve their nonconference record against Division I St. Joseph's (Ind.). Baseball welcomes Pumas in a hastily scheduled matchup By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer The Michigan baseball team has faced a tough nonconference sched- ule this season. That difficult slate, featuring teams like San Diego, is one of the main reasons the Wolver- ines have gone just 4-12 outside of the Big Ten. But today should be different. Michigan will play St. Joseph's (Ind.), a Division II team, this after- noon at 3 p.m. at The Fish. Because previous games against Kansas and Western Michigan were canceled due to bad weather in the last few weeks, the game was added to Michigan's schedule last week. It has been on St. Joseph's schedule all season. The reason for the discrepancy is that until the cancellations, Michigan was already scheduled to play the maximum number of games allowed by the NCAA. The Pumas have an unusual record. After Oakland City swept them last weekend, St. Joseph's is 18-16-2. That's right - two ties in one season. The Wolverines didn't come close to a tie last season when the two schools met. Michigan crushed St. Joseph's, 11-1, and 22 different Wolverines got the opportu- nity to play because of the rout. St. Joseph's is busy with its own problems this season. Because of that, assistant coach John Russo said that his team has not had a chance to scout Michigan. It might not have done much good anyway, as Michigan is plan- ning on using a variety of pitchers, as it did a week ago in a 10-0 victo- ry over Detroit. - St. Joseph's coach Rick O'Dette isn't concerned about the lack of preparation or about playing a Big Ten school. In fact, he said the play- ers are not even looking forward to playing the Wolverines more than the Division II schools they ordinari- ly face. "Every team we play we get excited for," O'Dette said. "The size of the school doesn't make a difference. It's the guys you put on the field." About 80 percent of the guys O'Dette will play today come from a junior varsity program that he also coaches. The junior varsity squad practices with the varsity and allows younger players to develop for the Pumas. RAY FISHER STADIUM Who: Michigan (4-4 Big Ten, &16 overall) vs. St. Joseph's (66 Great Lakes, 1&16.2) When: 3 p.m. Latest: The Wolverines look to improve their record against St. Joseph's, a Division II school that they defeated 11-1 last year. Like last year, this game should improve Michigan's nonconference record and give valuable experience to seldom-used players. But the question remains: Why does a Division II team like St. Joseph's schedule a game against a superior, Division I opponent? "I don't really know," Russo said. Hopefully, St. Joseph's will find a good reason before it leaves The Fish. If last year's shellacking is any evi- dence, there's a good chance that rea- son won't be an improved record. Webb battles Kwan for top amateur honor By Steve Jackson Daily Sports Editor It may be two more weeks before Michigan track star Alan Webb competes in the maize and blue again, but the spotlight is still shining on America's best young miler. Today in New York, Webb will be vying for the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award, which honors the best amateur ath- lete in the United States. Along with Webb, the other finalists will be figure skater Michelle Kwan, swimmer Natalie Coughlin, gymnast Sean Townsend and former Southern Cal. pitcher and current Chicago Cubs' prospect Mark Prior. The candidates were chosen based on their leader- ship, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of ama- teurism in 2001. Despite the fact that Kwan makes millions of dollars in endorsements each year, many people feel that she is the leader heading into tonight's presentation. Kwan won the bronze medal at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. ,k "This is iust an educated guess, but I think it's between offer topportunity to earn college credits e Q Y-- wile still having time to enjoy the summer. Sand and all. i BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily Michigan freshman miler Alan Webb was the first high school runner to break the four-minute mile since Jim Ryan in 1965. "It hasn't really been fully felt yet," Warhurst said. "Every- body hasn't really been interested in watching us because he hasn't been running (Webb has missed the last several months