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Tuesday
October 1, 2002
michigandaily.com
sportsdesk@umich.edu

the Alicbigau itl
SPORTS

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Young icers
searching for
new leaders
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Writer
Yost Ice Arena might not have been filled with
fans, the pep band might not have been playing and
no stats may have been kept.
But the road to the Frozen Four started here on
Thursday, when the Michigan hockey team officially
began practice for the 2002-03 season.
For the fourth straight year, the Wolverines took the
ice after the loss of a couple of stars. This year scoring
leader Mike Cammalleri and defensive enforcer Mike
Komisarek left school for the professional ranks.
In what has become an annual event, Michigan and
Michigan State have been picked to finish one-two in
the CCHA by both the league's coaches and the
media. Michigan was also voted No. 3 in the
USCHO.com national preseason poll that came out
yesterday, trailing behind Minnesota and Denver.
While the Wolverines are picked to win the CCHA,
the league might be as close as it has been in years.,
According to Michigan coach Red Berenson, the
Wolverines were' only picked first because no other
team in the league stood out.
"We've had this before where we weren't necessari-
ly the best team on paper," Berenson said. "But there
wasn't necessarily anyone better than Michigan, and
based on the fact that we finished first and that we did
have a good playoff experience (we were picked first)
not because we were the best team on paper."
The Wolverines also boast an 11-man sophomore
class that's going to assume a leadership role this sea-
son. From this summer's three NHL draftees (Eric
Nystrom, Dwight Helminen and Jason Ryznar) to
walk-on contributor' Charlie Henderson, the entire
cast should have an impact.
The team is looking to the second-year players to
fill the scoring void left by Cammalleri, who led the
team with 23 goals despite missing 25 games to the
World Junior Championships and mononucleosis.
"Everyone's looking for us to step it up," Nystrom
said. "We're a big part of the team, so we got to play a
leadership role. The freshmen coming in, they're
looking at a small senior class, a small junior class
and a really big sophomore class, and they're going to
be looking at us to make an example."
The Wolverines may be starting a 17-year-old
between the pipes. Since Berenson took over the
Michigan program 18 years ago, three goalies have

JEFF
PHILLIPS

*

Footballfever at fever

pitch i*n

'T he Simpsons

There are two things that I can't
live without: Football and
"The Simpsons." When these
two elements combine, they have a
power so great that no mortal can
withstand them. And thanks to
Homer being a huge football fan, we
are treated to several Simpsons' foot-
ball commentaries.
A clever reference will bring the
house down on a Football Saturday.
Here are my four favorite football
references followed by an explana-
tion, which should give the novice a
good start.
They are in no particular order,
because picking your favorite Simp-
sons' moment is like picking your
favorite child.
Announcer: This could be the
most remarkable comeback since
Lazarus rose from the dead!
Homer: Laza-who?
The announcer, who is meant to be
ABC's Keith Jackson, is voiced by
Harry Shearer and is the show's
announcer for everything from the
Olympics to college football. While
Jackson only works college football
games (and now, after his "retire-
ment" only Pac-10 games) the mes-
sage is still the same: Announcers
use hyperbole. If you don't believe
me, tune in to the next game with
Brent Musburger on Saturday or the
next Sunday night NFL game with
Mike.Patrick and you will see what I
am talking about.
On another level, the announcer is
like Dennis Miller, leaving less-
knowledgeable viewers scratching
their heads.
Brockman: Big game fever is
reaching a fever pitch as the fevered
rivalry between Springfield U and
SpringfieldA&M spreads like wild-
fever. This is writing?
Intern: I'm sorry Uncle Kent; I lost
my thesaurus.
Brockman: "My thesaurus"...
you'll lose more than ... In prepara-
tion for the big game, Springfield

Stadium has caught additional seat-
ing capacity fever
How many times do you watch the
evening news and the local sports
guy says something like this? Plenty.
These hacks have about two minutes
to fill and they barely fill it. But I
digress ... the point is that leading up
to the game, both the players and
media drop sports cliches more often
than the f-bomb in "Goodfellas."
Announcer: Oh, doctor, with SU
behind and seconds left, my supply of
homespun sayings is lower than a
doodlebug in Aunt Tilly's root cellar
On another Keith Jackson-esque
comment, the writers pegged this one
perfectly.
This comes from a more recent
episode so they had more time to
hone in on their impression. This line
isn't especially funny, but it is so
true. It's funny because it's true.
Smooth Jimmy Apollo
(explaining his poor prediction):
Well, folks, when you're right 52-
percent of the time, you're wrong
48-percent of the time.
Homer: Why didn't you say that
before!!
I'll be honest; I didn't really think
this was gold until I started betting ...
on Staff Picks, of course. Any kind of
gambling expert knows that it is near-
ly impossible to be much better than
52 percent against the spread. Check
out Chris Berman's "The Swami;" on
ESPN. He is never more than two or
three games above .500, if at all.
Another great betting quote to use
from this episode is Jimmy's "Shoe-in
of the week." It's a pretty big shoe.
. So there you have it, four great
Simpsons' references for football
season. Use them wisely and look for
them every week, here at Daily
Sports.
If you think Jeff Phillips has missed
some good quotes, he can be reached
atjpphilli@umich.edu.

01

DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Michigan defenseman Eric Werner is one of 11 sophomore players that the Wolverines will look to this year in
the absence of Mike Cammalleri and Mike Komisarek. The Wolverines opened practice last Thursday.

come in and started their freshman year: Steve
Shields, Marty Turco and Josh Blackburn. Al Mon-
toya hopes to be the fourth. Montoya should be a sen-
ior at Huron High in Ann Arbor this year, playing
with the United States National Development Pro-
gram. But the Glenview, Ill. native fast-tracked
through high school so he could start this season in
place of Blackburn.
Michigan did, however, bring in two other goalies,
Chris Gartman and Noah Ruden, who will see play-
ing time should Montoya have difficulty adjusting to
the college game.
"We recruited Montoya with the idea that he would

be our starting goaltender," Berenson said. "And I
think he'll get that opportunity. If he looks like he
needs help, I will be quick to throw in one of the
other goalies because they're a little more experienced
then he is."
But Montoya isn't worried about being replaced as
he - just like the entire freshman class including
Danny Richmond and Jeff Tambellini - is happy to
finally get on the ice.
"Ever since I committed last year, all I have been
waiting for this year is to get on this ice at Yost,"
Montoya said. "And to be part of the tradition and add
to it."

0

Sac ster' finally makes imp act

By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Sports Writer

Michigan defensive end Alain
Kashama is the first to admit that as far
as his football career is concerned, "The
sky's the limit."
That is, if he gets an opportunity to
play like he did Saturday in the absence
of injured defensive end Shantee Orr.
Kashama, a French Canadian
"Sackmaster," hasn't made the impact
he expected to make in his first two-
plus years at Michigan. Coming in
with a 6-foot-4, 236-pound frame and
a 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash, many
thought he would be an immediate
force in college football.
But Kashama, who grew up in Zaire
before moving to Montreal when he
was 10, fell victim to something most
players don't have to deal with - a
drastic language barrier. He speaks six
languages, including "Swahili, English,
French and Ebonics," but it has taken
him too long to fully understand the
language of American football.
"I really think that if you speak
another language, you can relate to
what Emmanuel (Casseus) and I are
going through," said Kashama, who

joins Casseus and Deitan Dubuc as
French-Canadian players on the
Michigan roster. "When they call the
play in the huddle, it takes us an extra
45 seconds to understand what was
said. I don't think people understand
how hard it is."
Kashama, a
cousin of former
Michigan running
back Tim Biaka-
batuka, is not your
average defensive
end. He plays soc-
cer, hockey and,
according to fellow
end Larry Stevens,
he can do 18 backK
flips in a row.
"I do some back flips," Kashama
said. "Maybe not 18, but 15."
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said
that Kashama is one of the fastest
players on the entire team. But learn-
ing how to harness his uncanny natu-
ral ability hasn't been as easy as a
succession of back flips.
"My freshman year, I was just using
my speed and God-given talent, and I
came to find out that there are other
people who can run here," Kashama

said. "In order to be a great one, I had to
become a better student of the game."
There are many people who still
believe Kashama can be "a great one"
- and a quick answer to some of
Michigan's defensive problems.
Kashama receives a lot of e-mails from
students who are wondering why he
isn't playing more.
"I answer them with one thing: 'Ask
coach Carr,' " Kashama said. "Some-
times, I felt forgotten, or whatever.
When somebody wonders why I don't
play as much, that makes me feel good
because they're thinking about me."
Carr has begun to think about
Kashama more and more, as the junior
has improved his technique and under-
standing of the game, as well as his
ability to read the keys of opposing
offenses.
And when Orr went down with an
injury to his right knee against Utah,
Kashama finally got to "do his thing" in
a Michigan uniform. In his first sub-
stantial action with the first unit, he hur-
ried Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer
countless times and used his vertical
leap to block an Illini field goal attempt
to end the first half.
"I've been doing this for a long time,"

Pardon my French
Alain Kashama has made an impact
filling in for Shantee Orr, but the
Montreal native always has a role on
the team as one of a few Canadians.
Doing what Canadians do
"Me and Alain were skating on the ice
rink and people were kind of amazed
that black people were skating. We
were really good, and they couldn't
understand that." - fellow Canadian
Emmanuel Casseus
Chicks dig French accents
"They love it. The guys make fun of it,
but the girls are cool with it. They have
a happy face, and that makes me happy
too." - Kashama
Kashama said. "I just haven't had the
opportunity to show my talent yet."
Kashama said he has to get back in
game shape because he hasn't seen
consistent action since his freshman
year, when he recorded 14 tackles and
one sack.
But his chance to find a rhythm may
end quickly if Orr comes back from his
injury (Carr has not disclosed Orr's
expected return date).
"I came here to play," Kashama
said. "I know that when I play my 'A'
game, I don't think there are a lot of
offensive linemen out there that can
really stop me."

Untested Badgers host
inconsistent Penn, State

*

U U

Where in the world do
you want to go?
Discover your options at the
STUDY ABROAD FAIR

Are You Questioning Your
Sexual Orientation?
We have two programs just for you!
New Beginnings:
First Steps To Coming Out
This informational workshop is for students who
might be questioningtheir sexual orientation or
are in the early stages of acknowledging their
same sex attractions. Information will be
provided about our ongoing coming out group.
Wednesday, October 2, 2002, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the
Office of LGBT Affairs, 3200 Michigan Union
I Coming Out Support Group I

By Michael Nisson
For the Daily
After the first week of Big Ten
play, the pretenders have been sepa-
rated from the contenders. Last year's
conference champ Illinois is in the
Big Ten's cellar, while perennial
favorites Michigan and Ohio State
stand at the forefront of the confer-
ence race.
ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA, THURSDAY,
8 P.M., ESPN2: Any optimism that
Illini fans had last year after winning
the Big Ten Championship has gone
down the drain. With losses to San
Jose State and
Southern Missis- AROUND
sippi, along with The Big Ten
last week's drub-
bing at the hands
of the Wolverines, Illinois seems to
have been relegated to the rebuilding
stage.
Luckily for the Illini, the Gophers
are not the hottest team in the Big
Ten either. Although Minnesota is 4-
1, it has not played anyone above
Purdue's level,aand the Gophers lost
to the Boilermakers.
Quarterback Jon Beutjer should
have a big day throwing to Brandon
Lloyd and Walter Young, and in the
end, the Fightin' Illini will prevail by
a narrow margin.
Illinois 24, Minnesota 21
No. 20 PENN STATE AT No. 19
WISCONSIN, SATURDAY 3:30 P.M.,
ABC: The game of the week in the
Big Ten, this one promises to be a
barnburner. Undefeated and unchal-
lenged, Wisconsin looks to continue
its winning ways after having last
week off.
Althoughhtheyrhave looked
imnressive thus far. the Badigers

Still, the Badgers have the best
home-field advantage in the Big Ten
at boisterous Camp Randall Stadium.
With the likes of running back
Anthony Davis and Evans leading
the way, look for the Badgers to pre-
vail in a workmanlike victory and
stay undefeated.
Wisconsin 31, Penn State 24
No. 5 OHIO STATE AT NORTHWEST-
ERN, SATURDAY 7 P.M., ESPN2:
After a brief foray into mediocrity
two weeks ago in Cincinnati, the
Buckeyes returned to form last week
against Indiana.
The turnaround occurred thanks to
fantastic freshman Maurice Clarett,
who returned to the lineup and ran
for 104 yards and three touchdowns.
But Ohio State also has the Big Ten's
best safety in senior Mike Doss.
Doss is a lock for All-America hon-
ors and will likely be a high draft
pick in the NFL.
That is not good news for the
Wildcats, who come home to
Evanston after losing a relatively
close game last week in East Lans-
ing. After being annihilated 52-3 in
its opener against Air Force and then
barely squeaking past lowly Duke,
things look bleak for Randy Walker's
team.
Look for Clarett to run wild, and
Ohio State to run roughshod over the
helpless Wildcats.
Ohio State 48, Northwestern 6
PURDUE AT IOWA, SATURDAY 12:0
P.M., ESPN: Last week's game
against Penn State was no fluke;
Iowa is for real.
Led by senior quarterback Brad
Banks, the Hawkeyes can light up the
scoreboard, averaging 42 points a
game, third best in the Big Ten. Kirk

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Wednesday October 2

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