Thursday March 20, 2003 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu SPORTS 7A Bulldogs gunning for CCHA title The show mi .* go on for NCAA Tourney By Kyle O'Neill Daily Sports Editor DETROIT - Two weeks ago, after his team had defeated Bowling Green, Ferris State coach Bob Daniels stood outside the visitor's lockerroom and was visibly worried. His first-place Bulldogs would have to face - gasp! - last- place Lake Superior State in the best-of- three round of the CCHA Playoffs at home. Don't laugh. He was actually worried. After thoroughly sweeping the Lak- ers by scores of 6-1 and 6-1, though, Daniels has more confidence now - going into the Super Six - than he did last weekend. "I think the pressure's off," Daniels said. "I know this is crazy, but early on (in the season), we didn't have the bullseye, but we were wire to wire. By the time we hit our series at Notre Dame, the very first weekend after the holiday break, it was pretty clear-cut that we were a team in the hunt. "Of all the times our team felt the pressure, I think it was last week against Lake State. Because to have the season we did and lose last week would have been devastating. We felt pressure to hold onto our spot the entire second half of the year, then we felt an enormous amount of pressure last weekend. But now, it's almost as if we're playing with someone else's money." For Daniels, this season has been a dream ride after last year's disappoint- ing ninth-place finish, despite having the league's leading scorer in Chris Kunitz. "I still think it was a surprise," A Daniels said of the jump from ninth to first. "I didn't think it was a surprise we did well. I don't think it was a surprise that we got home ice (in the first round) and we're at the Joe. I do think it was a surprise we won the league. I really think this validates our membership in the league." Now as a "valid" member, the Bull- dogs will play Michigan State, Northern Michigan or Notre Dame tomorrow. Ferris State, as the No. 1 seed, will play the lowest remaining seed from today's games at Joe Louis Arena. Third-seeded Ohio State is the only team Ferris State cannot face (if Ohio State beats the sixth-seeded Irish, it will play Michigan in the semifinals tomorrow). Though the No. 1 seed guarantees safety from seeing the Wolverines or Buckeyes until the final, the Bulldogs - making their first trip to the Super Six since 1993, when they pulled a stunning 3-2 overtime upset on Michi- gan State - are now worried about the hot streak of this year's Spartans. "One of the big stories of the year is Michigan State starting off a bit slow, and I think people were thinking, 'This is going to be an off year,' " Daniels said. "Now they're one of the top teams in the conference and the coun- try. I think (Michigan State head coach) Rick Comley has done an out- standing job with that - I don't know too many coaches that could have withstood that pressure. But even with the red-hot Spartans possibly standing in the way of Ferris State, the Bulldogs are still focused on the task at hand. "As crazy as it sounds, it means as much to us to win the playoff series maybe as much as it would to win a Michigan forward Milan Gajic (right) had to be separated by a referee when the Wolverines faced off against the CCHA regular season champion Bulldogs at Yost. national title," Daniels said. If Daniels and the rest of the Bull- dogs add to their first regular season title ever with a first-ever playoff title, Joe Louis is expected to be filled with many wearing maroon and gold. "We always had a pretty good core group of support, but obviously this year we've brought in some other ele- ments that have excited alumns that may have lost touch with the program a little bit," Daniels said. "There's a cer- tain buzz around the city that's really exciting. Certainly the players are enjoying the opportunity to be big celebrities." Besides the extra support from fans, Daniels did have a separate thanks to the media who wrote them off as being the No. 9 team in preseason polls earlier this season. "It was one last kick in the butt, but it was a deserved kick in the butt," Daniels said. JOE SMITH The Daily Grind You can't postpone terrorism by shutting down daily life. Nor can you solve the world's problems by postponing the NCAA Tournament. NCAA President Miles Brand's decision to "let the games go on" despite an impending war in Iraq is the right one. And it's not because of the money - CBS has a $6 bil- lion contract with the NCAA for televising it. It's not because I have already filled out four tourney brackets - which are all destined to lose. It's about living our life without looking over our shoulder. It's about not letting a tyrant control our lives. It's about sending a message that "We will not waver. We will not go quietly into the night." The only reason to postpone the tournament is if the participants, the fans, the administrators - the American people - are in danger. Brand's checked his sources in the government, and they said not to worry. "We are also concerned that life go on as normal," Brand said. "We see no reason, after consulting with (Homeland Security Secretary Tom) Ridge, to make any alterations to our plan." Playing the tournament games doesn't undermine the incredibly courageous and important effort that U.S. troops are about to embark on. It's just excercising the liberty and freedom that they are fighting to provide. It would do a disservice to them - and their confidence - if we live in fear and not attempt to keep the "normalcy." And it does hit close to home for me as well. Currently, my 19-year old stepbrother is stationed in Kuwait. He enlisted just months ago, went through boot camp, and now he's been thrown into the mess. Less than a year ago, we were sharing laughs at his high school graduation party. Now, I just hope that I'll get to laugh with him again. War is a serious issue. It's scary: And it's our ability to lose ourselves in entertainment venues such as "March Madness" that can help us escape the everyday madness, the constant CNN updates and the dis- turbing daily headlines in newspa- pers. We're already going to have war smothered in our face with minute- to-minute coverage on nearly every single network. We're already going to get more than a mouthful of edu- cation on the situation in the Mid- dle East and the terror introduced by Saddam Hussein. What's wrong with having on a station we can look to that makes us smile, that makes us laugh, that makes us remember how easy and carefree life can be when its not toiled in a bitter war thousands of miles away? We need a break. We need a reprieve. And those young men and women participating in the tourney need the chance to chase their dreams. No, the battles that these players are fighting are not even close to the significance or magnitude of the battles the proud men and women in the Army, Air Force and Marines will be in. Sorry, Tyronne Lue. You're out of your mind. Your fighting for a playoff spot for the NBA's Washington Wizards is NOT "the same" as the soldiers fighting for peace. But as insanely idiotic as Lue's comments were, he still should get a chance to "fight" for his playoff spot, just as the college athletes deserve to dream about ending their senior season bringing home a national title to their school. They shouldn't put their lives on hold, as Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "There's the old saying that you can't quit. living," Izzo told the Detroit Free Press. We can't quit living. We can't quit going to work. We can't quit going to school. Wehave to more forward and keep our heads high. And that doesn't mean we quit praying, quit honoring our soldiers or quit putting everything in the right perspective. We just can't stop playing. And there's nothing wrong with that. Rebuilding M' aims for solid NCAA showing By Eric Chan Daily Sports Writer You're not supposed to be able to find the words "Division I NCAA title" near the word "rebuilding." For Michigan, this season was all TO about rebuilding. The Wolverines grad- Michi uated three All-Americans last year in NCAA Ch Otto Olson, Andy Hrovat and Matt Tie-11 Brink. The trio was replaced by three today thro unproven redshirt freshmen - R.J. Kempe Boudro, Willie Breyer and Greg Wagn- Ka,0 er. Another spot opened up at 149 pounds when All-American Mike Kul- czycki decided that he was too big for the weight class, and another redshirt freshman, Ryan Churella, DA gai ham a1 n ugh r AN City stepped up to fill the gap. Michigan wrestled a total of five freshmen this season at the Big Ten Championships (the afore men- tioned four plus Shaun Newton replacing an injured Foley Dowd). To put that in perspective, Michigan wrestled just one freshman last kY season in 157-pounder Ryan Bertin, and at the ' he later went on to become an All-Amer- pionships ican. 'Ihis year, Bertin is older and more lS csrexperienced, but he sits in one of the SaLuray toughest weight classes in the country. e to 9 "I like where he's at in the bracket," yM Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "He's going to face tough competition, but I think he can meet the challenge." Michigan's highest-seeded wrestler at this year's three-day long NCAA Championship in Kansas City, Mo. is 125-pounder A.J. Grant. Grant was the only Wolverine to make it to the Big Ten finals season. If the favored wrestlers win, Ci'nt ereat a tough quarterfinals match against Big Ten rsh- man of the Year Nick Simmons of Michigan State. In their meeting in East;Lansinglearlier this year, Grant needed a last-second score to beat the fresh- man phenom. Two Michigan wrestlers barely made it to the NCAA Championships, finishing seventh at Big Tens. This duo, 141-pounder Clark Forward and 174- pounder Pat Owen, will have to battle stiff competi- tion to gain All-America status. "Getting both of those guys through and qualify- ing for the NCAAs was great," McFarland said. "For Clark, that was a monkey off his back, and he felt See NCAA, Page 10A Joe Smith can be reached at . josephms@umich.edu. EARTH AND SKY: ISLAMIC SCIENCE IN THE OTTOMAN ERA Friday March 21, 2003 at 1:00 in the Pemberton Room, Michigan Union Opening Remarks by Fawwaz T. Ulaby, Vice President for Research and the R. Jamison and Betty Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan An Introduction to Islamic Astronomy by Rudi P. Lindner, Department of History, University of Michigan Astronomy in the Service of Religion in Medieval Christendom and Islam: Shared Concepts as a Basis for Cross-cultural Communication by Steve McCluskey, Professor of History at West Virginia University and Honorary Fellow in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester The Reception of Copernicanism in the Ottoman Empire by Robert Morrison, Assistant Professor of Religion at Whitman College An Introduction to Islamic Geography by Gottfried Hagen, . Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan Saturday March 22, 2003 at 10:00 in Anderson D, Michigan Union A Hands-on Workshop on the Astrolabe and Islamic Scientific Instruments by Sara Schechner, David P. Wheatland Curator, Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, History of Science Department, Harvard University This workshop is aimed at teachers and will provide hands-on experience constructing and using two significant astronomical instruments that any student can use including a kit for each teacher. Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies Phone: 734-764-0350 Email: cmenas@umich.edu U. Silences Attorneys Of Color! Let's Stop This The University is denying any time to the intervenors to speak in the Supreme Court affirmative action cases. And there are intervenors besides "BAMN": see 3/11/03 Detroit News, Ted Shaw of NAACP Legal Defense Fund: "The voice of African-American students and Latinos will not be heard at oral argument", and attorney Godfrey Dillard: "U-M lied to us."; 3/11/03 Detroit Free Press, Dillard: "They are supposed to be representingus, and now the black man is up in the damn gallery again." Intervenors shouldn't have to petition the Court for time that the U; itself should give them. Please speak out publicly in individuals and groups, and also e-mail President Coleman at marysuec@umich.edu, to ensure the U. gives at least 5 minutes to each set of intervenors, both law school and undergrad, to speak in court. If the U. can't, U. counsel including general counsel Marvin Krislov should resign. How. can a university which lies (per Dillard) and perhaps defacto racially discriminates in its own Court presentation, be taken seriously when arguing for diversity and integration? Thank you, "Alumnus U.M. Law '02" Wonders of All Creation: Geography in the Ottoman World by Kay Ebel, Assistant Professor of Geography at Ohio Wesleyan University Visit our website for updates http://WWw.umich.edu/'iinet/cmenas 02/03 spring season $10 Rush Tickets on sale 10 am,- 5 pm the day of the performance or the Friday before a weekend event at the UMS Ticket Office, located in the Michigan League. 50% Rush Tickets on sale beginning 90 minutes before the event at the performance hall box office.