0 Wednesday April 16 3 michigandaily. com sportsdesk@umich.edu PORTS 12 No. 1 leads deep group of receivers After four years, kid bids adieu to Hub By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Editor By choosing to wear the No. 1 jer- sey, Braylon Edwards showed that he wants the spotlight. But if he doesn't produce next season, the man who gave him the number just might take it away. "You might see him wear Number 1 one day and Number 80 the next," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr joked. Edwards earned the prestigious num- ber - worn by Michigan wide receiv- ing greats Anthony Carter, Derrick Alexander and David Terrell - by catching 67 passes for 1,035 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, establishing himself as one of the top receivers in the Big Ten. "I got a deal with Edwards, which I won't go into," Carr said. "When we recruited him, he wanted (No. 1). I told him he could earn it. So he's earned the opportunity to wear it." "I noticed that the great receivers wore Number 1, so I just wanted to be a part of that tradition, and coach Carr gave me the nod," Edwards said. But there's more to wearing that number than just running crisp routes and being faster than the guy across from you. Carr is hesitant to give out the number for a reason. "To me, that number signifies that you will play with certain characteris- tics," Carr said. Time will tell whether Edwards pos- sesses those, but it's obvious that the junior wants to prove to Carr and his teammates that he does. "I see myself as a leader, because anybody who has success is looked up to as someone who has to lead the team," Edwards said. "I definitely have to lead by example. This summer, we're going to practice hard. "(No. 1) is a significant number on any team, and people will go after (No. 1), but even if they go after me, we have a great receiving corps." Edwards' prediction for his unit may not be far off. Sophomore Jason Avant and junior Jermaine Gonzales are the front-runners to accompany Edwards in two- and three-wide receiver sets, and seniors Tyrece Butler and Calvin Bell give the Wolverines experienced depth that could explode at any minute. "We'll be able to have four or five wide receivers at a time," Edwards said. Avant logged significant minutes as a true freshman last season =- an oddi- ty at Michigan, and Carr is so excited about him that he wouldn't even distin- guish between Edwards and Avant (regardless of what the jerseys say) as No. 1 or No. 2 on the depth chart. Carr stressed how important it was that Avant was involved in every gameplan last season. "Avant you just love, because Avant is an all-out, all the time, pure football player," Carr said. "He is a great block- er, a tenacious competitor, and he's having a very, very good spring. He will catch the ball over the middle. He's smart, he can play any of those posi- TONY DING/Daily Braylon Edwards struggles to corral a pass in the final spring practice Saturday. Edwards recieved All-Big Ten honorable mention honors last season. tions. We have four- and three-wide receiver sets, so the more a guy knows, the more valuable he is. I like him. I like him a lot." Gonzales, who switched from quar- terback just one year ago, showed in the final spring practice Saturday that he has learned how to find holes in the defense. While redshirt freshmen Carl Tabb and Steve Breaston are still unknown quantities, they both are in contention for playing time next season. SETHEFORD KLEMPNER Klempie's Korner Some people take this space to complain about unfulfilled prom- ises made by the Michigan athlet- ic department. "Why haven't we won more national titles?" they bemoan as if Michigan sports bounced a check on them. Sure I could complain - and do often enough - but the fact is that the Michigan athletic department has ful- filled its end of the bargain. It has provided us all with four exciting years of athletics and, accom- panying those games, some of the best memories of our lives. And what's more, covering some of those teams for the Daily has afforded me the opportunity to gain access to stories and events that I would not otherwise be privy to. While I have done my best to allude to some of those events, there are lots that I haven't had the chance to get in the Daily. And as I will probably never write a memoir on my time here, I fig- ure why not use this parting shot to get some things out in the open. Some of them were more benign than others - like passing first round draft pick Troy Murphy at the Notre Dame tennis center while at a women's tennis match between Notre Dame and Michigan. But others were less so, like the time two summers ago I enjoyed the festivities of the Michigan hockey reunion/golf outing. While riding around with some of the alumni, I got the chance to see Blake Sloan, a defenseman from 1993- 97, have to do a dickie - whipping "it" out and taking a swing with "it"- after shanking a tee shot that didn't manage to pass the woman's tees. I also ran into Marty Turco, the two- time national champion goaltender. After an afternoon of golf and heavy boozing, Turco admitted what had been suspected for years - that the freshman class from 1997-98, coach Red Beren- son and the rest of the team road the coattails of his super-hot goaltending to the 1998 national championship. And there is no way of forgetting my first class at Michigan when B.J. Askew, upon entering the classroom five minutes late, was asked by the professor if he had any nicknames he would like to be referred to. Without a flinch in the most serious voice he could find, B.J. answered, "Yea -just call me Heisman." The answer sent everyone into laughter, and I haven't stopped laughing since. But not everything has been funny, nor have I been able to get players to be honest with me. In fact, I often had to nod and smile when knowing that I was being lied to. Countless times Berenson would look a reporter in the face and talk about the parity in the CCHA or how Bowling Green was just as talented as Michigan. And there were also things that I wish I hadn't seen - in addition to crying, naked hockey players after the Frozen Four loss in 2002. During an icebreaker event at fresh- man orientation, a football player from the Deep South exposed his unawareness of the liberal setting ofAnn Arbor. When asked what his pet peeve was, the player went into deep thought and came out with an answer in a heavy Southern drawl that surprised everyone in the room - "gay people." As jaws through- out the room dropped, the player expand- ed on his pet peeve until another player was finally able to step in and shut up the player expounding on his peeve. There were also factual errors that we never owed up to. On Feb. 13, 2003, it was reported that the Michigan basket- ball team was the only loser against Indi- ana. But in fact, the Hoosiers also suffered a loss that night, in the form of a giant red cheerleading flag that several rabid and disgruntled Wolverine fans were seen removing from Assembly Hall hours after the game ended. These are just a few of the memories that had never gotten into the Daily (before today), but they are in no way exclusive. They are incidents that are experienced by every sports fan at this school, and invoke the swelling of fuzzy feelings during the end of our Michigan experience. We all recall with warm nostalgia the first time we entered Michigan Stadium as students, feeling as if we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. Nearly getting killed on a road trip, burning like a bad French souffle on a hot September Saturday at the Big House or being so drunk or hungover for a game that you were amazed you could stand, are experi- ences that every fan goes through in their own unique way. They are the events that make our experience at Michigan memorable. And, in the end, the scores of the games will fade into ether, but what will remain are the memories of com- peting with Jamal Crawford for the same girl, and all the friends along the way that helped you through it. Seth has lots of other stories that he would love to tell you ifyou have the time. Ifyou want to hear them, you can email him at sklempne@umich.edu. 4 9 U Cagers announce new team tn-captains By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Editor Following Michigan's loss to Indi- ana in the Big Ten Tournament on Mar. 14, soon-to-be senior Bernard Robinson expressed his excitement about the upcoming season. He said that with Michigan's added depth and experience, the Wolverines could be a tougher team down the stretch, and a serious competitor for the Big Ten title. Robinson will get an opportunity to lead this team to victory, as he, along with Colin Dill and J.C. Mathis, were elected tri-captains for the 2003-04 Michigan men's basket- ball team by their teammates. Every player was given a vote except the graduating seniors. The announce- ment was made by coach Tommy Amaker at last night's team awards banquet. "We have a great deal of faith and trust in our players, and that's why we allowed them to elect their own captains," Amaker said. Amaker spoke about team defense, and how with Robinson leading by example out on the floor, the Wolverines should keep oppo- nents' scoring to a minimum. The junior emerged a solid and depend- able defensive stopper for the Wolverines this season. "We take pride in our team defense. One person each game was going to be responsible to guard their highest scorer. I will be disap- pointed if you don't win this award for the Big Ten next year," said Amaker, as he presented Robinson with the team defensive player of the year award. Each member of the team was acknowledged at last night's ban- quet, as the Wolverines honored SCOREKEEPERS ~75CALL>B - T E 0 A I M TANQUERAY AC3(K p i9- FDm FRI DAY 0. 28 Taps! Full Menu! 75 Cent BOTTLES B R 0-cl SATURDAY 310 MAYNARD .995.0100(21 & OVERYITH PROPER 10) their departing seniors and took a glimpse into the future. LaVell Blanchard was recognized, alongside freshman Daniel Horton, as co-MVP. Blanchard also took home some more hardwood - the Loy Vaught Rebounding Award for leading the team in rebounds for four consecutive seasons. Blanchard hugged Amaker as he approached the podium to be recog- nized, but did not shed any tears. He did reminisce about his long and illustrious career. "It seems like yesterday I was looking at a photo of five freshman walking down the tunnel," said Blanchard about his freshman class. "I'll be watching you guys for the rest of my life. I sat here with (Chicago Bulls guard) Jamal Craw- ford saying how this would never happen. But here it's happening." Crawford did not attend the ban- quet because he was busy racking up 33 points and eight assists in the first half of the Chicago Bulls/Philade- phia 76ers game in Chicago. But if things go well for Blan- chard in the upcoming NBA draft, he could be rejoining his former teammate in the professional ranks very soon. Amaker also recognized Rotolu Adebiyi and Gavin Groninger, Michigan's other departing seniors, for their effort, determination and leadership through the years. An individual video composed of sea- son highlights was shown for each player. "I didn't know I had that many highlights," said Adebiyi jokingly. 6 a _________ .RK5O, OO64o Q i I