The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 13 Tigers remove SPujols' 1nterim Slabel, fire two DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Tigers named Luis Pujols manager for the rest of the season and fired two coaches yesterday, one day after firing manager Phil Garner and general manager Randy Smith. Detroit also offered former Montreal manager Felipe Alou a three-year deal to spend at least one year as Pujols' bench coach, with an option to be a special assistant for two years. New club president Dave Dombrowski, who assumed general manager duties on Monday, has orchestrated the two-day shake-up in the hopes of reviving a franchise that hasn't had a winning season since 1993 and opened the season with six straight losses. Alou, who was fired last season, worked with both Pujols and Dombrowski in Montreal. Dombrowski was an Expos executive from 1986-91, one year before Alou was promoted to manager. "It would take a book to describe everything I've learned from Felipe," said Pujols, who was on Alou's staff from 1993-2000. "I just finished talking to him, and he's still 50-50. I hope it works out for him, and the organization, but he's older and smarter than me. So, he's got to make the choice." The 66-year-old Alou, reached at his Florida home last night, said he's considering the offer. "It's 50-50;" he said. "I'm a man that spent 29 years with one organization in Montreal, so loyalty and com- mitment mean a lot to me. I was offered the manager's position in Boston, but that was for only one year. "Detroit is offering me a three-year offer, but Luis has just a one-year contract, so it is kind of a paradox for me. And it puts me in an uncomfortable and unique position because there may be no better place for me than Detroit. "Luis is my friend, that is almost like a son. And I've known the GM since we rode buses together in the minor leagues. I just don't know what I want to do, and I don't know when I will decide what I'm going to do." Pujols was named interim manager on Monday afternoon and had a long phone interview with Dom- browski after the Tigers-White Sox game was post- poned due to rain. Pujols is Detroit's fourth manager since Sparky Anderson's 17-season tenure ended in 1995. The Dominican Republic native is the Tigers' first minor- ity manager. "We had talked about managers, and we had some LM9NOTES Olson named most outstanding wrestler The Michigan wrestling team named Otto Olson its most out- standing player for the second year in a row on Saturday. The sixth-year senior, who won his second Big Ten title and fin- ished fifth at the NCAA Champi- onships on his way to a 40-2 record this sea- son, received the Cliff Keen Award at the wrestling banquet. Olson The Steve Fraser Award, given to a the player who best displays men- tal toughness, was presented to sen- ior captain Andy Hrovat. Hrovat battled a severe back injury throughout the season, but still earned All-America honors with a 15th-place finish at NCAAs. Michigan also recognized Kyle Smith as the most improved wrestler. He was presented with the Jeff Reese Award. Pat Owen was given the 11 th Man Award. Ryan Bertin received two honors, the Most Outstanding Freshman Award and the Dr. Donahue Award for Academic Excellence. Bertin, who plans to apply to Michigan's Business School, boasts the highest GPA on the team, with a 3.90. -from Staff reports Stickers will face stiff competition next year The Michigan field hockey team will not have an easy route when it attempts to defend its NCAA Cham- pionship next season. The 2002 schedule, which coach Marcia Pankratz released yesterday, has the Wolverines meeting seven oppo- nents who competed in the 16-team 2001 NCAA Tournament After hosting the U.S. National team in an Aug. 24 exhibition, Michigan will open the regular sea- son in Chapel Hill, N.C., when it takes on North Carolina and Wake Forest Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The Wolver- ines eliminated the Tar Heels last season on their way to winning the national title, and the Demon Dea- cons joined them in the Final Four. Michigan will play its home open- er against Central Michigan on Sept. 8, and its first Big Ten match will be at home against Ohio State on Sept. 27. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships last year. The Wolverines hope to be head- ing to Columbus in November to make a fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Senior midfielder Krista Meckley and junior defender Stephanie John- son will lead the Wolverines in their title-defense next season. They were named the 2002 co- captains at the team's annual ban- quet on Saturday. The 2001 Wolverines received their national championship rings at the ceremony, and awards were presented. The team voted the Player's Play- er Award, given to the athlete who best exemplifies a Michigan field hockey player, to senior Ali Balmer. Sophomore April Fronzoni was given the Brian Fishman Award for her hard work, passion and pursuit of excellence. -from Staff reports Second varsity eight honored by Big Ten For the first time in its three years of rowing in the Big Ten, Michigan received conference Boat of the Week honors yesterday. The award went to the Wolverines' second Var- sity eight. Last Saturday in East Lansing, the boat beat Michigan State for its 13th consecutive win. The Wolverines turned in a time of 7:19.90, almost 14 seconds better than the Spartans. -from Staff reports Luis Pujols (center), who replaced Phil Garner on Monday, will manage the Tigers for the remainder of the season. Detroit continued its shake-up yesterday, firing its pitching and first base coaches. names, but we felt that the person that gave us the best opportunity to win, was Luis," Dombrowski said. "He knows the players, and he has the best knowledge of our organization." Pujols spent last season, his first in the Tigers' organization, as manager at Double-A Erie following his stint in Montreal. The 46-year-old was a major- league catcher in Houston (1977-83) - with Garner as a teammate - Kansas City (1984) and Texas (1985). "I think I'm prepared for the challenge," Pujols said. "I've spent a lot of years in baseball, and I managed in Double-A last year. I know that's not the majors, but with all my years in the game, I think I'm ready." Pitcher Nate Cornejo, who played for Pujols in Erie last season, agreed. "I think everybody will be really happy with Luis, as long as he is here, and I think he'll do a good job," Cornejo said. "He's just a players' manager, everybody likes him. He's relaxed, he brings a little comedy and he's kind of a funny guy. And he's also a great baseball guy." Dombrowski, who joined the Tigers in November after serving as a Florida Marlins' executive from 1991-2001, fired pitching coach Dan Warthen and third base coach Doug Mansolino yesterday as part of a major shake-up on the coaching staff. Steve McCatty was promoted to pitching coach from a similar position at Double-A Erie. Juan Samuel, who was Detroit's first base coach, shifts to third, and hitting coach Merv Rettenmund kept his job. Rafael Landestoy is the new first base coach, after working with the organization as a roving infield instructor. Jeff Jones is now the bullpen coach, after being the Triple-A Toledo pitching coach. On Monday, Dombrowski also fired bullpen coach Ed Ott and special assistant Randy Johnson. After an 0-6 start, the dismissal of Garner tied the quickest firing of a manager who started the season since 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Bal- timore fired Cal Ripken Sr. in 1988 after the Orioles lost six games en route to an 0-21 start. Cancer-free captain lifts Habs into playoffs Football ticket deadline MONTREAL (AP) - Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu was greeted with a lengthy ovation last night as he resumed his playing career seven months after being diagnosed with abdominal cancer. The Canadiens capped an emotional night, beating the Ottawa Senators 4-3 to clinch their first playoff berth in four seasons. A sold-out Molson Centre crowd of 21,273 greeted the 27-year-old Finn with a standing ovation that lasted eight minutes - from the time he stepped on the ice until the opening faceoff. Koivu, who underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatments to combat the disease, was given his first stand- ing ovation of the night when his arrival on the ice for warmups brought the 8,000 or so fans on hand out of their seats. Four minutes before the Canadiens took the ice for the game, the crowd chanted "Saku! Saku! Saku!" The cheers grew as the video scoreboard showed the Canadiens preparing to leave their dressing room, and the sound of their applause rose to a crescendo as the last player - Koivu - took the ice. Even members of the Senators looked on and tapped their sticks on the ice as Koivu took his first few turns around the ice. Ottawa backup goalie Jani Hurme clapped his trapper and blocker togeth- er as he stood on the ice in front of the Senators' bench. A sustained ovation that lasted nearly five minutes began when Koivu was introduced as a member of the Canadi- ens' starting lineup. The crowd staved off public address announcer Pierre Lacroix's first two attempts to introduce the Canadian national anthem and continued cheer- ing once it had begun. Koivu took a 22-second shift to begin the game and played a total of 3:08 while taking part in four shifts during the first period. The deadline for season ticket applications for the 2002 Michigan football season is today. Next year, a student ID must be presented upon entering Michigan Stadium with a student tick- et. Student tickets can be validated for unre- stricted use by paying the difference between student and public prices. Where: Applications should be turned in to the Michigan Ticket Office. They can be found there or at www.mgoblue.com. Cost: Student season ticket prices have raised to $135 from last year's $110. DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Michigan coach Uoyd Carr L Clever title inspired by an unexpected reference on Questia~comn. Read and researched this online at Questia's 70,000-title library. Not only that, but I spent half Lovig inViolncethe timne on this paper. A dscutssion of the love-war duality in Othello as reflected in the Hemzd's Speech; ot a paper due? 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