0 Wednesday March 12, 2003 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu ate fiitrb-ign oiIy IPO]RTS g w Rewards a plenty 'M' four prepare to make goal a reality Honors given to Blue in its final charge By Chris Burke Daily Sports Editor Michigan may not have been able to capture the Big Ten's regular season crown, but the league took notice of the Wolverines nonethe- less. Senior LaVell Blanchard, freshman Daniel Horton and junior Bernard Robinson were all honored yesterday when the All-Big Ten teams were announced. Blanchard was named first team All-Big Ten for the first time in his career by both the media and coaches. The Ann Arbor native has enjoyed a stellar final campaign, averaging 16 points and 6.9 rebounds per game - good enough to have him in position to finish his career as the first Wolverine to ever lead the team in scoring and rebounding for four straight years. "I am very happy and proud to see LaVell Blanchard, being a senior, was able to make first team all-conference," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I think that is a significant achievement." "It's definitely an honor," Blanchard said. "But I would trade all the individual awards in for a Big Ten championship." Horton walked away with impressive acco- lades as well. Michigan's point guard was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and also grabbed a spot on the conference's second team. Horton has been rewriting the Michigan record books, setting the Michigan freshman record for most 3-pointers made and attempted in a season, 73 and 211, respectively. He is also just 11 assists away from breaking the Michigan freshman mark for a season. Starting all of the Wolverines' 29 games this year, Horton has averaged 15.7 points per game - highlighted by a 31-point performance in an upset victory at Purdue - and has also added 4.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds per contest. "It feels good," Horton said. "There are so many other freshman players in this league, to be honored as one of the best is special. It just shows how hard we worked as a team and how hard I have worked throughout the year." Amaker, expectedly, was also thrilled that Horton was recognized with one of the league's highest honors. "I think it is tremendous for one of our players 0 By Benjamin Lawless For the Daily "We wanted to qualify for the national championships." Michigan men's track coach Ron Warhurst leaves little to the imagination on the preseason goal for the distance medley relay - team, and his ambition has 1H'..:y paid off. - Four Michigan run- ners - sophomores Seth Waits, Nate Brannen and freshmen Nick Willis and Andrew Eller- RandalT ton - will be competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayet- teville, Ark. this coming weekend. While each of the runners excels in his individual event, the focus this week- end will be on the distance medley relay. The medley relay is composed of four legs. Brannen will be running the first leg, a distance of 1,200 meters, followed by Waits in the 400, Ellerton in the 800 and anchored by Willis in the mile. The chance to win the medley relay has meant personal sacrifice for the miler, as Brannen will not be partici- pating in the individual mile to con- centrate on the relay. Brannen will still run in the 800 meters, and Nick Willis will be competing in the 3,000 meters, but as coach Warhurst said, "The focus of the weekend is on the relay." Despite having just run this relay together once before, this inexperience does not bother Warhurst. In their one race together, the quartet finished with a qualifying time of 9:35.80 at the Boston Games. According to their coach, though, there is still room for improvement. "The school record is 9:32, but I think that is in danger," Warhurst said. This optimism is certainly not unfounded. All four have run individual times faster than the times they ran dur- !"Kt:A elf~shp ing the one relay. The olose bond between Brannen and Willis should also help the team this weekend. Since Willis' arrival in the fall from his home country of New Zealand, the two have become good friends both on and off the track. "It's worked out really well to have another team- mate (Willis) who knows what you are going through," Brannen said. While both are outstanding in their own right, each has improved as a result of the other's presence. "We feed off of each other," Willis said. The expectations for this weekend are high. "There are four or five teams that could win (the relay), and we have to be included among those," Warhurst said. Besides Michigan, Stanford, Villanova, Arkansas and Eastern Michigan will be in the hunt for first place. While current- ly ranked seventh in a field of 10, the team's time is just two seconds out of first place. Despite the pressure, the runners and coach are confident that they can come away with a victory. "There is a fine line between cocky and confident, and you have to be con- fident to do well in this sport," Bran- nen said. DAVID KATZ/Daily Junior Bernard Robinson was selected to the All-Big Ten third team - his first conference honor - after a year in which he led the team on the defensive end and averaged 11.6 points per game. to be named Player of the Year in any capacity. I think with Daniel Horton being Freshman of the Year, it is obvious that was an honor well deserved by a youngster who had a tremendous first year here." Robinson wrapped up Michigan's honors, being voted to the All-Big Ten third team, the first time Robinson has been honored by an All- Big Ten team. The junior has posted 11.6 points and a career-high six rebounds per game while also fulfilling the role as Michigan's defensive stop- per all season. Said Amaker: "(This year) was an opportunity for (Robinson) to make his mfark with the play he has displayed, especially on the defensive end, which is probably one of the main reasons he was able to become an all-conference player." Illinois' Brian Cook, Purdue's Willie Deane, Wisconsin's Kirk Penney and Minnesota's Rick Rickert rounded out the coaches' selections to the first team. Jeff Newton of Indiana replaced Rickert in the media's choices. Cook, to the surprise of no one, walked away with the Big Ten Player of the Year. Coach of the Year, an award that Amaker was thought to be one of the main contenders for, was given to Wisconsin head man Bo Ryan, who led the Badgers to the outright conference cham- pionship. MICHIGAN REPRESENTING First team All-Big Ten Pos. Team Brian Cook C Illinois Willie Deane G Purdue Kirk Penney 0Wisconsin LaVell Blanchard F Michigan Rick Rickert F Minnesota a I First-round series makes 28 games feel useless BOB HUNT ON THE CMlA Since October, the Michigan hockey team has played 28 CCHA games, compiling the league's sec- ond-best record and has been ranked as one of the top 10 teams in the nation in both the polls and the computer-generated Pairwise Rank- ings. But that means nothing now. That's because every CCHA team FOOD FOR THOUGHT Vietnam/Iraq Comparisons The Vietnam War protestors felt that they helped to end the war. But a serious stu- dent, studying the writings that come out of Vietnam, may come to just the opposite conclusion. Are the Iraq pro- testors likely to prevent war, or insure that it happens by giving Hussein the resolve to hang on? Gary Lillie & Assoc., Realtors www.garylillie.com - regardless of its record - enters into the CCHA playoffs with a chance of accomplishing a goal that each team sets for itself each sea- son: A trip to Joe Louis Arena for the Super Six. It doesn't matter if you're Lake Superior State, which has won three games, or Ferris State, which has won 22. If you win your best-of-three series this weekend, you get to attend the biggest event the league holds all season and a chance at the Mason Cup. For many squads, it's their only chance of playing at an NHL rink, and instead of using 28 conference games to decide who receives this privilege, the league uses two or three. This takes away months of hard work the conference's top teams have put into the season. "You wonder what the whole reg- ular season means," Michigan asso- ciate head coach Mel Pearson said. "Obviously, it's for seeding and what not, but when all 12 teams get in, it does get a little redundant." Michigan - in lieu of its second- place finish - will host 11th-place Bowling Green in a best-of-three series starting Friday. While the Wolverines will be heavily favored, anything can happen. This past weekend, when the Hockey East (all of college hockey's major conferences have a similar system) started it's playoffs, Maine, which started its season 20-2-3, was swept by Massachusetts and will now have to watch its league finals at Boston's FleetCenter on local tel- evis ion. The Wolverines almost had the same thing happen to them last sea- son when they lost the first game of their first-round series to Lake Superior State. While it can be argued that this adds excitement, it undermines everything the Black Bears did this season. Maine achieved much more than Massachusetts this season, but the Minutemen get to compete at the league finals because they had a better weekend. For financial reasons, the CCHA has expanded its playoffs over the past few years from eight to 10 to 12 teams, taking away anything special about making the confer- ence tournament. "I liked it when we had eight teams in the playoffs," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "It was a great race, and every game was huge. Making the playoffs was big. Now, it's just a matter of who you play and getting home ice." Much of the reason for this expansion is the additional revenue it creates. But after playing as many as 38 regular season games, how much difference does adding an additional two games really create? Even if the schools insist on playing an extra two games, schools would be better off playing two additional non-conference games. Although many of the major bas- ketball conference tournaments occurring this week have been suc- cessful including all comers, hockey conference tournaments are differ- ent in that only a select amount of teams get to play at the tourna- ment's final venue. Every Big Ten team will have a chance to play on the court at the United Center this week in Chicago, while just six CCHA teams will skate at The Joe because hockey teams cannot play four consecutive days. While Berenson likes the playoff atmosphere this weekend will pro- vide, it is an unnecessary addition to the five-month college hockey season. Next weekend will provide for a fun and exciting atmosphere, and the league's top teams deserve to be in attendance. Who gets to go should be a deci- sion based upon four months, not one weekend. BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily Michigan shot put specialist April Phillips will take her skills to Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA Championships this weekend. Fre enwomen lead track to NCAAs By Anne Ulbe Daily Sports Writer Six well-prepared athletes, two intense days of tough rivalry, and a chance to prove what makes them better than the compe- tition. cTrIS With an Indoor Big Ten Championship title under their belt, Michigan's Katie "dor< Erdman, Lindsay Gallo, April Phillips, Rachel 2pm Sturtz, Stephanie Linz and Randal Vera Simms of the women's Fayeti track and field team will be heading off to the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. "We've had a great season so far, and we were rewarded with the Big Ten Championships," associate head coach an1 1 Mill, Mike McGuire said. "Ultimately we've got cream of the crop athletes, and a well-balanced championship team. You can't ask for much more." After a tough winter season and a grueling practice sched- -- ule, the athletes are E N primed for the Champi- onships. This is the best at RN chance to prove their " nh endurance and stamina. "The first-year fresh- men have had a huge on Centers impact on the team this Ad year. Rebecca Walter's -- presence has made a name for the middle-dis- tance program, and Katie Erdman has done the same for the long-distance program," McGuire said. "It will be See TRACK, Page 9 I a REGISTER FOR SUMMER CLASSES NOW. Our summer classes match your lifestyle: A variety of summer sessions enables you to schedule courses around your other summer plans. University of Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH BRADFORD GREENSBURG IOHNSTOWN' Interested in a publishing career? Two editors from the Gale Group, a-Detroit-area reference publisher, will be on hand in the Michigan Union's Welker Room on Thursday, March 13 at 6p.m., to talk about opportunities and their experiences at the Denver Publishing Institute. This graduate- level program offers four weeks of summer instruction-in beautiful Colorado!-with top professionals in the publishing industry. Students get an inside look at: trade publishing, i