ellRiTSugmttilp michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu WEDNESDAY APRIL 17, 2002 13 0-line must readjust again neXt season By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Writer The Michigan offense has already found a theme for the upcoming season: Please be better than last year. Just about every position has made this rally- ing cry in spring practice, and the unit that could make or FOOTBALL break the Wolverines' quest Notebook for improvement is the offen- sive line - a group that per- formed below Michigan's lofty standards last season. The unit allowed 30 sacks, the most given up by a Michigan offensive line in more than four seasons, and the Wolverines' rushing attack pro- duced just 143 yards per game - 72 yards fewer than in 2000, when future NFL first-round draft picks Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus and Mau- rice Williams manned the line. Like last season, there is significant turnover on the line. Stalwarts Jonathan Goodwin and Kurt Anderson - the only holdovers from 2000 - are gone, and the makeup of this year's line remains uncertain. "Last year, when times got rough, we stuck together," junior offensive lineman Courtney Morgan said. "We have to step it up from our performance last year. We just know we got a job David Stern and his capitalist conspiracy DAVID KATZ/Daily Fifth-year senior Joe Denay (No. 73) and sophomore Adam Stenovich consult with new offensive coordinator Terry Malone on the sidelines during last Saturday's spring game. to do." tem. The line's job description is simple, yet Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has made the demanding: Resurrect a running game that aver- establishment of consistent running attacks para- aged 3.6 yards per carry last season and protect a mount in preparation for this season. The run- group of quarterbacks that desperately needs ning backs' goals are to average at least four time to deliver the ball, while also learning yards per carry and to break out for more size- offensive coordinator Terry Malone's new sys- See 0-LINE, Page 15 t has become fashionable in recent years to not just criticize the NBA, but to pick it apart - piece by piece - to expose its overall sucki- ness. It is the worst organiza- tion in sports, and perhaps in the entire world. If the NBA were a president, it would be Taft. If the NBA were a drink, it would be DAVID carrot juice. If the HORN NBA were a Tootin baseball team, it would be the my own Tigers. If the NBA were a building, it would be Frieze. If the NBA were a television station, it would be Oxygen. So at the risk of coming off as hackneyed and cliche, I want to take my shots at the once-magnificent league that has become nothing more than an uninteresting, exploitative, irrelevant and greedy excuse for a governing body. My purpose here is to expose a very specific aspect of the NBA that is particularly germane, given the approaching two-month odyssey that is the NBA Playoffs. I want to clue ya'll in to something called the NBA conspiracy. Take me very seriously. The NBA Finals, like every other aspect of the league, are dictated by the greed of the league and its owners. The NBA's primary sources of rev- enue come via television and market- ing, and nothing sells more for them than winning basketball. Folks who don't tune in for a Heat-Cavs game in January do watch a Kings-Timber- wolves playoff game in May, and sales of Kobe Bryant and Allen Iver- son jerseys are at their peak when those players are playing in the Finals. More to the point,People in Sacra- mento don't watch the Heat and Cavs ever, but do watch their hometown Kings, and they do buy Chris Webber jerseys for their kids. So in order to capitalize most on the playoffs and the Finals, the NBA has figured out a way to ensure that a team from one of the league's top media markets is represented in the Finals every year. The three biggest markets are as follows: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Look back over the last 22 years and tell me how many NBA Finals did not include a team from one of those markets. The answer? Four. 1981 Boston-Houston, 1986 Boston-Houston, 1990 Detroit-Port- land and 1995 Houston-Orlando. Since the early '80s when television and basketball became so chummy, only one team from a city not among the top-10 television markets - the 1995 Orlando Magic, led by the always marketable Shaquille O'Neal - made it to the championship, when one of the top-three marketable teams did not. Obviously, two of the teams that represent those media markets - the Knicks, Nets, Lakers, Clippers and Bulls - have benefited from two of the best players in the league's history (O'Neal and Michael Jordan). But think of how those players got to their teams. O'Neal was drafted by Orlan- do, but found his way to L.A. after just four seasons. The league just couldn't deal with all that marketabili- ty lost in a second-tier market like Orlando. As for Jordan, we're all familiar with how he slipped to third in the 1984 draft. There is no way the NBA was letting that guy play in Houston or Portland. How is the league so manipulative? I don't know. I don't know what those conniving capitalists do to make the wheels turn on the NBA greedmobile. But there's something at play here. Looking again at the recent history of the NBA Finals, consider this: Those other four teams that have played in the Finals over the last 22 years (Houston, Philadelphia, Boston and Detroit) are still top-10 media market teams. The question is, where are the Milwaukees and the Cleve- lands? They haven't sucked because the cities do; they suck because it's profitable for the NBA that they do. The league has gone to great lengths to see that New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have fielded strong teams over the years. Look at the year San Antonio made it to the Finals. Now, San Antonio happens to be the worst market in the entire Western Conference. So who did Commissioner David Stern decide should represent the East? Surprise, surprise. The Knicks. A coincidence? Of course not. For the NBA to sur- vive, people need to watch the games and buy the merchandized crap. There really aren't any people in San Anto- nio, but there are plenty in the New York tri-state area. When the Spurs made it to the Finals, the league made damn sure the Knicks did too. Oh ... one more thing about that Knicks run to the Finals. That year - See HORN, Page 16 WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS TUSKALOOSA, ALA. CHAMPIONSHIPS M' needs fast start to win first NCAA crown, By Josh Holman Daily Sports Writer As members of the Michigan's women's gymnastics team prepare for this weekend's NCAA Championships in Tuscaloosa Ala., they can only won- der: Could this be the year? The Wolverines are making their 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Champi- onships, but they have never been crowned national champions. They've managed runner-up finishes in 1995 and 1999 and have always hit a roadblock against one of the nation's other premier programs. If the Wolverines are to beat this year's elite, they'll have to do it right away. No. 5 Michigan drew the after- TUSCALOOSA, ALA. what: NCAA Championships When: 2 p.m. tomorrow, 8 p.m Friday (if nec- essary). Individual finals on Saturday, 8 p.m.. Latest: No. 5 Michigan looks for its first NCAA title in 10 consecutive trips to the NCAA Championships. noon session at 1 p.m. tomorrow along with No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Utah, No. 6 Louisiana State, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 12 Arizona. Just the top three teams will advance to Friday's Super Six. "In the past, teams have felt like they needed to save something for Friday," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "We're not going to be able to save anything See CHAMPIONSHIP, Page 14 ALYSSA WOOD/Daily Sophomore Calli Ryals concentrates on perfecting her uneven bars routine during the NCAA Regional last weekend in State College. First place at stake for softball By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Writer Catcher Monica Schock has recorded a base hit in each of Michi- gan's last six games, but she isn't doing anything superstitious to keep the streak alive. In fact, she wasn't even aware of it until someone informed her yesterday afternoon. Schock's hitting streak, her longest of the year and currently the longest of any Wolverine, has been U U Looking for a job that makes a difference? Learn about part-time teaching opportunities at Washtenaw Community College Part-time Faculty Job Fair, Friday, April 19, 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. Artists' Gallery Dining Room, Student Center Building, first floor Spring/Summer and Fall 2002 openings are expected to include the following areas: the result of routine before her at bats and creating a g a mn e atmosphere in practices. "In prac-, tice, I've been trying to have the same mind- set as I do in the game, sticking to a simple KALAMAZOO, EVANSTON AND IOWA CITY Who: No. 12 Michigan at Western Michigan, North- western and No. 20 Iowa When: 2 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Latest: The Big Ten named Marissa Young Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week. and I think that's helped a lot," Schock said, adding that she has been "trying to see the ball all the way in on every pitch instead of real- ly just going out there and hitting." The sophomore, batting .385 - second on the team behind Stefanie Volpe's .404 - and leading the team with 31 RBIs, enjoys the expectations placed upon a clean-up Behavioral Sciences Biology Business Office Systems CS Computer Repair/Networking Drafting Electricity/Electronics English/Writing Humanities Industrial Technology Mathematics Physical Sciences Social Sciences Visual Arts Technology ...and many more If you're looking for an extraordinary job in which you can really make a the job for you. The job of Wilderness Camp Counselor is a year-round, iv-nnncitinn wta,;I n ovrPllnnt (minimum qualifications vary by department)