The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 30, 2002 -3B

STEVE
* JACKSON

- ;

Let sleeping dogs lie or
Griese will trip on them

If you ever get drunk and hurt your-
self, don't bother asking Brian
Griese for advice on drafting a
story to explain it. The former Michi-
gan and current Denver Bronco quar-
terback is obviously out of ideas. This
week he claimed that his random
ankle injury was caused by his dog, a
golden retriever named Bella.
"I was walking down the stairs and
my dog came barreling down the stairs
after me and clipped me, and I kind of
twisted my ankle on the stairs," Griese
told reporters at his weekly press con-
ference. "These things happen. Unfor-
tunately, it happened to me."
I'd be tempted to give Griese the
benefit of the doubt;
after all, he did lead
the Wolverines to a Dogs, driv
national title in 1997. alcohol are
But given his history, the many
I'd say it's much more items that
likely that this ankle
injury was the result heroes c
of some sort of themsel
drunken mishap.
While at Michigan, he was arrested
after he shattered the main window at
Scorekeepers bar in Ann Arbor. Wit-
nesses said he was more liquored up
then the coach who recruited him,
Gary Moeller.
Back in May, Griese claimed that he
was sacked for a loss by the driveway
£of teammate Terrell Davis. If you want
Wto believe his story, Griese fell down
because the driveway was too steep.
Regardless of how the injury occurred,
the fact remains that Griese was
knocked unconscious and an ambu-
lance was called to the scene. He
needed seven stitches on his face and
he chipped his tooth.
This wonderful story took place at a
barbeque, during which Griese had
consumed "a few beers." A few beers
to Griese might be a half-barrel to the
rest of the Denver community.
"It was a barbeque, and it wouldn't
be a barbeque without (beer)," Griese
told ESPN in May. "But that had no
bearing on whether I fell or not."
Oh, I beg to differ. If not for alco-
hol, I think that a reasonable person
would catch his fall with something
other than his teeth. When sober peo-
ple fall, they hurt their wrists, not their
faces. Oh, and last time I checked you
could grill without beer - unless
you're an alcoholic.
Last year, Griese pleaded guilty to
driving while impaired and was placed

ve
on
ye
oL
ca
Ive

on 12 months probation after failing a
breathalyzer test when he was stopped
for speeding.
Griese is listed as probable for
tonight's game against Baltimore. His
backup, Steve Beuerlein, has two little
yippy Shih Tzus dogs in his house.
The Denver coaches will make sure he
wears a helmet at all times.
Unfortunately, stories of ridiculous
injuries are all too common in the
world of sports. Dogs, driveways and
alcohol are only a few of the many
everyday items that our athletic heroes
can injure themselves with. Despite
the best efforts of all the other ath-
letes, major league baseball dominates
the discussion of ran-
dom and ridiculous
nays and injuries.
ly a few of Former San Francis-
veryday co Giants' manager
Ur athletic Roger Craig cut his
hand on a bra strap. I
n injure imagine that he
s with. "played" through that
injury. One of his best
players, Kevin Mitchell, missed a
few games because of an unknown
mishap that occurred while he was
eating a cupcake.
Wade Boggs will be in the Hall of
Fame some day, and while many will
remember him for his self-pro-
claimed "sex addiction," his trainers
will never forget the time he threw
out his back while trying to put on
his cowboy boots.
Ricky Henderson, a.k.a. the best
leadoff hitter of all time, missed a
game because of frostbite - in
August. Atlanta Braves' closer John
Smoltz burned himself while ironing
his clothes - while he was still wear-
ing them. Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine
gave new meaning to the term "star
hurler," when he broke a rib while
vomiting up airline food.
Amazingly, every single one of those
moronic injuries took place without the
aid of any mind-altering substance. So,
when you think about it, Griese was
capable of just about anything.
No one will ever know for sure
exactly what took place in the Griese
house Wednesday. Only the quarter-
back and his dog know the truth, and
the dog is more likely to urinate on a
Denver newspaper than to talk to one.
Steve Jackson can be reached at
sjackso@umich.edu.

Fronzoni ends
drought; Blue
shuts the door
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
It seems unfair to call two games without scor-
ing a drought. But when the player is Michigan
field hockey's April Fronzoni, it can be cause for
concern. Fronzoni scored a
goal in Saturday's 3-0 defeat
of Boston University, her FIELD HOCKEY
second in the past five Notebook
games.
"Even though I wasn't scoring, I still feel that I
was playing to the best of my ability and still
contributing," Fronzoni said. "On any given day,
anyone can put one in the back of the net."
During Saturday's game it appeared that Fronzoni
had scored her second of the match, but it was
called back by the officials.
Defender Stephanie Johnson launched a shot off
a restart just outside the circle and hit off the Terri-
ers' goalkeeper. Fronzoni was standing right next to
her, and appeared to tap in the loose ball. The offi-
cials overturned the goal, saying it went off her
foot.
"I thought I saw it tip off her stick into the
goal," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "We
didn't need it, so that was nice."
Despite the recent slump, Fronzoni is still a
major threat on offense. She is Michigan's lead-
ing scorer with 10 goals and three assists through
10 games this season. And the junior is on pace
to set personal bests in goals, assists and points
on the year.
Fronzoni's personal marks (17 goals, four
assists and 38 points) could be in reach in the
next few weeks.
In addition to setting new personal records this
season, Fronzoni is moving up in the Michigan
record book. Her goal on Saturday gives her 40

Junior April Fronzoni, Michigan's leading scorer, ended her scoreless streak with a goal in the Wolverines' 3.0
win over Boston University this weekend.

for her career, and she is tied for fourth place on
the career goal scoring list.
The all-time leader in goals is Mary Callam, who
tallied 64 during her four years from 1976-79.
DAUNTING D: While the offense has been one of
the hallmarks of this year's team, the defense is
proving to be equally solid.
Goalkeeper Molly Maloney recorded her
fourth shutout of the season, breaking her career
best of three set in 2000 (she was redshirted in
2001). Maloney has also posted a higher save
percentage (.724) and lower goals against aver-
age (0.78) this season.
Michigan's solid defense has made Maloney's
job easier. The Wolverines' defense has shut

down opponents' scoring chances by not allowing
many shots, especially rebounds. In Saturday's
game against Boston, Maloney didn't face a sin-
gle shot on goal.
The defense "was solid as a rock," Pankratz said.
STREAKY: The Wolverines are currently in the
middle of two streaks, and coincidentally they are
overlapping. They are currently riding an eight-
game winning streak, the second longest in
school history, while playing their longest home-
stand of all time.
The nine-game home stretch will conclude
next week, when the Wolverines host Michigan
State. Michigan will finish the season with seven
of its last eight games on the road.

Spikers split opening weekend in Big Ten

By Albert Kim
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan volleyball team
found out quickly that this year's
Big Ten season may be an up - and
- down ordeal. After easily defeat-
ing the Hawkeyes on Friday (3-1),
the Wolverines got swept by the
eighth-ranked Gophers on Saturday
(30-26, 30-23, 31-29).
Any good feelings about the Iowa
win quickly disappeared Saturday,
as the balanced attack was not
enough for Michigan to win in
Minnesota.
Michigan kept it close in all three
games and actually had game point
in the third game. But the Gophers
pulled out the big points when it
mattered, and their clutch runs were
the difference.
"We were right with them until
late in the game," Rosen said.
"They're big, very balanced and

they were more consistent in the
critical points of the match. We're
not far off though."
Leading the Michigan charge on
Friday were Jennifer Gandolph, Erin
Moore and Nicole Poquette, who
combined for 53 kills and 43 digs.
Each registered a double-double,
leading a balanced Michigan attack
that also featured 14 kills and 9 digs
from Chantel Reedus.
"The biggest thing our kids did
was that they really started execut-
ing more consistently," Michigan
coach Mark Rosen said. "They got
more mentally strong as the game
went on."
Winning on the road in the Big
Ten is very difficult, and the
Wolverines were not too disappoint-
ed with coming out of their first trip
with a split. Michigan had struggled
against Iowa in previous years, and
the Minnesota team was the best
Rosen had seen in years.

"I thought the kids handled it
well," Rosen said. "Everyone's got
to play on the road, and got to try to
win on the road."
Michigan will be bolstered by the
fact that the next three matches will
be in the friendly confines of Cliff
Keen Arena.
The Wolverines will continue to
work on their defense and passing
each game.
Michigan actually out-dug Min-
nesota, which very rarely happens
in losses. Setter Lisa Gamalski con-
tinued to grow into her role as the
setter, and Rosen couldn't be more
pleased.
"Without a question, Minnesota is
known for being an unbelievably
tough serving team, and they pass
really well," Rosen said.
"We knew going in we had to be
able to pass really well, and I
thought our kids really stepped up
and did a great job."

With the strength of the Big Ten
schedule, the Wolverines know that
winning streaks may be hard to
come by.
The key will be staying focused
and competitive, win or lose.
"In the Big Ten, you have to be
resilient," Rosen said. "You can't
get too up and down, because you
turn around the next night or next
week and play a great team."
A look at the
underside of U of M
www.universitysecrets.com


Even without top runners,
'M' still leaves with first win


By Mustafizur Choudhury
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's cross country team earned it's
first victory of the season in dominant fashion, as it
crushed the field at the Central Collegiate Competition
in undulating Buhr Park in Ann Arbor.
Three Michigan runners placed in the top four spots
and five of the first seven runners to cross the finish
line were Wolverines. Nate Brannen had the leading
stride for the Wolverines, finishing the 8,000-meter
course in second place with a time of 25:22. Sophomore
Tarn Leach and junior Nick Stanko finished third and
fourth, respectively, with identical times of 25:23.
"We ran pretty well," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst
said. "We had an extremely hard week of practice. Nick
Stanko is really running well this year. Tarn Leach per-
formed mediocre at the Spartan Invitational, but he
bounced back this week. Ryan (Hesselink) has been
running very steadily."
The Wolverines were missing top runner Brian Turner

due to upper thigh pains and Tom Greenless due to
stomach cramps.
Chris Stine of Western Michigan finished first in
24:48, but the Broncos only managed a second place
finish as the Wolverines defeated them by a staggering
51 points. Marquette rounded out the top three teams,
finishing one point behind the Broncos.
Smaller races like this one are expected to prepare the
team for competition against bigger and better teams, as
well as for the Big Ten season.
"I think we're a whole lot better than (we're ranked)
in the country," Warhurst said. "I'd love to upset some
people and be in the top three in the Big Ten."
Michigan's next race will be on Oct. 24 at the Notre
Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind. The race, which will
be run on a flat and fast course, will feature No. 1 Stan-
ford, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 23 Michigan, and a number
of other well-respected teams in the NCAA.
"Each week is progressing. We've been getting bet-
ter," Warhurst said. "I'd like to be able to beat Notre
Dame and other ranked teams."

Harrington helps Lions avoid 0-16 season

DETROIT (AP) - Joey Harring-
ton showed yesterday why he was
worth the third pick in the draft. The
rookie threw for 267 yards and a
touchdown as the
Lions beat New
Orleans 26-21. It was
Detroit's first win of
the season and just
the third in 20 games
for coach Marty
Mornhinweg, and the
Saints' first loss.
Harrington was
20-of-36 and did not Harrington
throw an interception after throwing
four in his first NFL start last week.
Harrington threw three passes to Az-
Zahir Hakim for 98 yards.
"Young quarterbacks go on

and Donte Stallworth (hamstring).'
New Orleans (3-1) cut its deficit
to 20-7 late in the first half, pulled
within eight late in the third quarter
and made it 26-21 on Aaron Brooks'
6-yard pass to Jerome Pathon with
3:41 to go.
After New Orleans chose to kick
deep instead of attempting an onside
kick, Harrington connected with
Larry Foster for a first down and
James Stewart ran for 36 yards just
after the two-minute warning to seal
the win. Harrington took a knee to
end the game.
Detroit's defense and special
teams also helped Detroit. Brooks
was 27-of-48 for 269 yards with two
touchdowns, but lost a fumble and
had two second-half interceptions in

Stallworth became the first rookie to
catch touchdown passes in his first
four games since 1982.
The Saints threatened on the first
possession of the second half, but
Corey Harris intercepted Brooks'
overthrown pass to McAllister at
Detroit's 10 and returned it to New
Orleans' 41.
Jason Hanson's 23-yard field goal
put Detroit ahead 23-7.
On the ensuing possession, McAl-
lister ran through a huge hole for a
touchdown and Brooks' sneak on the
2-point conversion pulled the Saints
within eight.
Detroit punter John Jett pinned the
Saints to their one and that eventually
led to Hanson's fourth field goal.
Hanson's 38-yarder was his 244th,

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