Tuesday January 7, 2003 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu Oe R TSligtnjailp 8 DAVID HORN Bowling for a column: One man s bowl week ungover was I. It was New Year's Day, and it was eight in the morning on New Year's Day. And I'm a square, sure, but I'm not that bad a square, and my stomach was in a knot that would only be untwisted by coffee, a cigarette, or more booze. I opted for the first two, as I had an 11 a.m. game to cover for this newspaper. Who schedules a bowl game for 11 a.m. on the day after New Year's Eve? The Outback Bowl, that's who. The Outback Bowl. Tampa. I'll tell you - at eight I was so not inter- ested in crawling out of bed. But I am a journalist, and my respon- sibilities are to The Michigan Daily and to you, the reader. So I shaved and showered and journeyed with my col- leagues to Raymond James Stadium (hereafter RayJay). All week I had been getting myself psyched about the prospect of free Outback Steakhouse food, and upon arrival I was outraged to find breakfast food. Breakfast food. Are they fucking kidding? It's like going to a Bowl game sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts and being served pasta. Breakfast food. Granted, it was 10:30, but I wanted my Bloomin' Onion, and I did not care what God-like event coordina- tor decided that it was too early for Outback food. If I hadn't been so tired I would have gone Michael Douglas (in "Falling Down") on their ass, but for lack of energy, I buttered a bagel and let the carbs soak up what was left of my inside. The game. Oh the game. I had cho- sen Florida against the 1-point spread in my Staff Picks, and was struggling all game with the conflict between win- ningStaff Picks and Michigan winning the game. When the Michigan offense sputtered early on, I resigned to a Ten- nessee-like thrashing at the hands of Florida and a leg-up in the Staff Picks scramble. Then Chris Perry and John Navarre decided to throw it down and began their journey toward playing for the national championship in 2004. That's right. You've been thinking it and you've heard the whispers: There is no reason why this team shouldn't be col- lege football's best team in 365 days. What a delight. The day was made ever the more glorious when Texas beat Louisiana State by 15, assuring at least a tie for me in Staff Picks. Even more glorious still was watching Florida State play something resembling foot- ball against a Georgia team that I picked, in August, as the nation's most overrated. So much for that. But does the fact that Florida State, Florida, Miami, Nebraska and Tennessee all lost mean that the '90s are officially over? I couldn't have imagined how satisfying it would be to see the teams that you loved to hate over the past decade fall one by one. As for the rest of the bowl season, Rose Bowl East was a complete dud. That was definitely the game I was most looking forward to, and Iowa looked like they hadn't picked up a football in, well, two months. I'm will- ing to give the Hawkeyes the benefit of the doubt and say that their play suf- fered primarily from their absurdly long hiatus. Ohio State, of course, made it possible for the rest of the Big Ten to claim this season as our own, rather than just the Buckeyes'. Congrats though, boys. My hat is off to Jim Tressel, and Iam giddy at the prospect of Ohio State-Michigan 2003. But just because Ohio State's national championship was legitimate, thus suggesting the BCS's legitimacy, let's not forget that college football is still in dire need of a playoff. The BCS worked this time, sure. But as any dun- geon master worth his salt will tell you, if you rolla 20-sided die enough times ... uh... the right team will win it every once in a while. Sorry. That analogy broke down before I could stop it. So, happy 2K3. May every bowl sea- son be as entertaining as this one - BCS or not. Watson's first year not what he expected By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor TAMPA, Fla. - Michigan freshman defensive tackle Gabe Watson was one of the only 340-pounders talented enough to clock below five seconds in the 40- yard dash during high school. He was the prized recruit that, upon his commit- ment last winter, led Michigan coach Lloyd Carr to tell him, "I'm the luckiest coach in America." Carr even said after summer workouts that Watson "can do just about anything he wants to." FOOTBALL Anything, that is, other than play significant minutes for the Notebook Wolverines as a true freshman. Watson was limited to just a handful of plays each game, and he said he's starting to question whether he should have redshirted-this season. "I'm starting to get disappointed to be honest. I don't know what else to say," Watson said immediately following Michigan's 38-30 victory in the Outback Bowl. "I should have redshirted because (Norman Heuer and Shantee Orr) got hurt, and they wanted me to step in and play a big role. But then after they came back I was right back on the bench." While the rest of his teammates were celebrating on New Year's Day like they had just won a Big Ten title, Watson slowly walked out of the lockerroom, seem- ingly on the verge of tears. He hadn't seen the field. Watson's biggest problem was his weight entering camp. The recruit billed as the top lineman in the country showed up at 363 pounds, nearly 50 pounds mbre than his ideal playing weight. Even now, his cur- rent 326-pound frame is considerably larger than almost all of his peers. But despite his weight issues, Watson said he still felt he'd get more playing time than he did. The coaches "told me I was going to be a good player. They told me all kinds of stuff," Watson said. The former star offensive and defensive lineman at DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Former Michigan defensive line coach Brady Hoke is leaving a defensive line stacked with talent, Including defensive tackle Gabe Watson. Hoke accepted the head coaching job at his alma-mater, Ball State. Southfield High School has no plans to switch sides of the ball or transfer to another school. But to earn extra playing time next season, he will compete with return- ing starters Grant Bowman and Heuer. Bo KNows BCS: Former legendary Michigan foot- ball coach Bo Schembechler said he wouldn't watch this year's Rose Bowl out of disgust for its lack of the traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup. And apparently he wasn't the only one who boy- cotted. The attendance on the 70-degree day was 86,848 - the bowl's smallest turnout since 1944, when just 68,000 were on hand to see Southern Cal. beat Wash- ington 29-0. This year's game, featuring Washington State and Oklahoma, marked the first time since 1947 - with the exception of last year's BCS title game - that Big Ten and Pac-10 schools didn't face each other in Pasadena, Calif. Schembechler said he blames the conference com- missioners, not the Rose Bowl representatives, for the bowl losing its luster. "They threw the tradition out the window," Schem- bechler said of the commissioners. "They don't give a damn what it means to the players.... If you can make more money, let's use these guys and make it - that's what it boils down to." HOKE HEADS ouT: Watching the Wolverines' victory in the Outback Bowl was a bittersweet moment for Michigan defensive line coach Brady Hoke. It was Hoke's last game on the Michigan sideline, as the Ball State alum accepted the job as new head coach for his alma mater earlier last month. "It was sad to leave Michigan because it's such a special place," said Hoke, who has spent eight seasons on Carr's staff. "I worked for the best coach there is, in my opinion. But I'm excited to take the next step." Hoke said he has spent nearly all his time helping Michigan prepare for the Outback Bowl. That is, except for Christmas Day, when he called all incoming Ball State recruits to reaffirm their commitments. "It took about 4 1/2 hours," Hoke said. 0 9 Bench strange territory for Horton By Seth Klempner Daily Sports Writer Between meeting the needs and demands of teammates, coping with his classes and getting enough sleep, BASKETBALL freshman point Noebok guard Daniel Hor-Noteboo ton has a lot of things to worry about. Luckily for the Texas native, getting splinters is not one of them, as he rarely gets a chance to sit on the bench. The rookie has averaged 37.8 minutes in his last five games with the least amount of minutes coming in a blow out of Eastern Michigan, in which Horton played 34 minutes. In that span, he has spent 39 of the possible 40 minutes on the floor in three of those five games. One of the other major reasons for all of this floor time has been Hortons' ability to avoid foul trouble. The only time Horton has had more than three fouls was in his effort to guard Duke point guard Chris Duhon, an All-Amer- ica candidate. "My legs are tired every day in prac- tice," said Horton. "It normally takes two or three days to recover after every game, but considering that we play every two or three days, I am not recov- ering well enough. I think I am still being effective, but I need to get more rest." Horton's playing time increased after backup point guard Avery Queen was dismissed from the team for violating unspecified team rules after the third game of the season. Since then, only walk-on Sherrod Harrell has been available to substitute for Horton. Horton has the highest playing time average on the team (34.5) with senior LaVell Blanchard and junior Bernard Robinson as the next closest with 31.2 and 30.8 minutes respectively. David Horn can be reached at hornd@umich.edu. O o A00 °0 jjjo 00 e - o Q Need Books? Buy USED BOOKS & Save 25%! wi i31 31, Faceoff Frenzy After Saturday night's 3-2 overtime win over Miami, Michigan hockey players and coaches expressed con- cern about the way that the linesmen enforced this season's new 15-sec- ond faceoff rule. For more on this story, visit www.michigandaily.com. All this time has proven valuable for both Horton and the Wolverines, as he is second on the team in scoring aver- age with 14.9 points - 2.7 behind Blanchard. The fast track learning and extra experience has allowed Horton to increase his production in assists (4.3 per game) while decreasing his number of turnovers - he did not have any turnovers in the first half against IUPUI. Unfortunately for Horton, it does not look like he will get much chance to rest, as the intensity will only increase when the Big Ten season starts tomor- row night against Wisconsin. "(They have told me) about the phys- icality and the intensity required," said Horton of what teammates have told him of Big Ten competition. "About how things are a lot harder offensively as well as defensively because teams scout you, and they know most of our stuff by the time the game comes around. "I think I will be able to handle it, but right now I am paying for it." STATUS IN DOUBT: Michigan coach Tommy Amaker is still unsure of the playing status of junior Bernard Robin- son. The forward injured his knee dur- ing practice last week and sat out of Saturday's game after warming up with the team. Robinson gave no indication of whether his knee would be better in time to play in tomorrow's Big Ten opener. He has been wearing a wrap around his knee to keep it heated and hopes to have a better idea of his status tomorrow. Robinson, who is considered Michi- gan's most versatile player, is the team's third-leading scorer with 12.8 points per game and second in rebounds with six per game. JOBS P!0 WINTER TERM Apply now at the Law Library- * Erolled students only UtAc* 'a Bookstore and MICHIGAN BOOK & SUPPLY Open Extended Hours This Week 0 o ° \\\I\ All clinIcs are held at the Intramural Sports Building. Basketball- January 7th, 7:00PM