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Wednesday
November 6, 2002
michigandaily.com
sportsdesk@umich.edu

SPORTS

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4


Williams' firing raises
issues of responsibility

Kaleniecki's offense
progressing quickly
Berenson not worried about CCHA standings yet

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By David Horn
Daily Sports Editor

The news of Michigan State head
coach Bobby Williams' termination has
raised questions as to what is expected
of a head coach. Specifically, the ques-
tion is whether he is responsible for
what happens to his players off the field
to a degree that trumps what is other-
wise considered the bottom line - wins
and losses.
Michigan State lost two of its captains
to off-field issues in the days leading up
the firing of Coach Williams. Quarter-
back Jeff Smoker's problems with sub-
stance abuse and tailback Dawan Moss's
arrest early Sunday morning for drunk
driving added to the embarrassment of
Michigan State's on-field play.
On Sunday, Wisconsin wide receiver
Lee Evans was picked up on marijuana
possession charges and Wisconsin tail-
back Anthony Davis was stabbed by his
girlfriend in a domestic dispute. Wiscon-
sin coach Barry Alvarez had little to say
on his players, but weighed in on the
responsibilities of a coach.
"Everyone has to deal with these

things at one time or another," Alvarez
said. "Nobody likes to, but you have to.
Most importantly, try to get your team
focused on the next opponent. That's the
staff's responsibility."
All the Big Ten coaches have different
opinions on whether there are more off-
the-field incidents now than in years
past, or if the growth of the media and
the speed of communication simply
uncover more.
"It's probably a little bit of both,"
Alvarez said.
Alvarez's colleague at Indiana, Gerry
DiNardo, believes the problem comes
from hypocritical college administrators.
"I think the numbers have increased,
perhaps not as much as perception
because it is communicated much
quicker," DiNardo said. "But I would
suspect that if someone studied this, the
percentages (today) would be much
higher. I think it's an institutional issue;
I think the only ones who can control
these things are the presidents, the
CEOs, the board members that we
work for. When they say that enough is
enough, then we'll toe the line. Until
then, the message is clear that winning

By Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writer

BRENDAN^O'D^NELL/uaily
Michigan State coach Bobby Williams, right, was fired Monday after a disappointing
season and two embarrassing off-the-field incidents involving his players.

is the most important thing. I think that
if it wants to be stopped, it's stopped at
the top.
DiNardo went on to discuss whether
the timetable for a coach to succeed has
changed. Williams had been at Michi-
gan State just three seasons before being
fired.
"I do think the timetable has
changed," DiNardo said. "It's no longer
connected to the academic and the edu-
cational experience. It's purely financial,

it's purely fan base, it's purely generated
by money, by board members, by presi-
dents that need the athletic department
- specifically the football and basket-
ball programs - to run smoothly so he
or she can run the university. If football
and basketball are not running smoothly,
then he or she has too many distractions
to run the English department and the
math department.
"The education component has been
taken out of coaching," DiNardo said.

When coach Red Berenson saw
freshman forward Brandon Kaleniecki
work out at Michi-_
gan this summer, HOCKEY
he knew that the
Livonia native Notebook
would be an offen-
sive force before his college career was
done. But what Berenson didn't realize
was how quickly Kaleniecki would
make his presence felt.
Through six games, the freshman
has already tallied four goals and an
assist. His line, with sophomores
Michael Woodford and David Moss,
has already combined for 21 points -
the highest total of any of the Wolver-
ines' groupings.
Despite standing just 5-foot-8, Kale-
niecki has gained his team's respect for
his fearless physical play on the ice.
His toughness has even earned him the
nickname "The Pitbull" from his team-
mates.
"He's always in the right spot at the
right time," Woodford said. "He's a
tough player to play against when he's
around the net because you can't move
his stick and you can't move him out
of the way. Me and Moss just try to get
the puck to the net and he's right there
for the rebound."
Scoring goals is nothing new for
Kaleniecki. With the Cleveland Barons
of the North American Hockey
League, he scored more,-than twice the
number of goals of anyone else on his
team (52). He was the league's leading
scorer with 89 points and was named
its Most Valuable Player.
Berenson has been most impressed
by how Kaleniecki has improved since
the season began.
"I think every game I see him play, I
see him do more things that I like,"
Berenson said. "He's really taking
advantage of the opportunity. You can
just see him improving every week and

that's what you want to see in the
younger players."
Despite his early success, Kaleniecki
has remained humble. He credits his
offensive flurry to his linemates.
"They're pretty nice plays by Moss
and Woodford, I've just been lucky
enough to be in the right place at the
right time," Kaleniecki said.
But what the freshman calls luck,
Berenson recognized as instinct from
the first day he saw Kaleniecki play.
"He seemed to have a nose for the
net," Berenson said. "He had hockey
smarts. And yet he didn't have some of
the physical attributes that other people
have. He didn't have the size or the
breakaway speed that some players
have that catch your eye. But he had
some subtleties about him."
STILL LOOKING UP: Despite a 5-1 over-
all record and a 2-0 mark in the
CCHA, Michigan finds itself eight
points behind first-place Ferris State.
The Bulldogs have jumped out to an
early lead by winning their first six
league games.
But Berenson is not too concerned.
"We won't catch up to some of these
teams for some time in terms of games
played," Berenson said. "So I'm not
worried about that, I'm just worried
about how we play on Friday."
Beware of dog
After the second game of the sea-
son, freshman Brendan Kaleniecki
has been lined with David Moss
and Michael Woodford. Since that
change, he has had five points in
four games.
When lined with Andrew Ebbett and Mark Mink
Opponent Goals Assists
Niagra 0 0
North Dakota 0 0
When lined with Woodford and Moss
Merrimack 0 0
Merrimack 2 0
Alaska-Fairbanks 2 0
Alaska-Fairbanks 0 1

4

Schmieder muscles 'M' to draw with Detroit

By Gennaro Filice
Daily Sports Writer
Jurgen Schmieder - the newest challenger for
Magnus Ver Magnusson to pummel in the World's
Strongest Man Competi-
tion? At 5-foot-11, 189 , MICHIGAN 1
pound, it's not likely. But,
with the relative strength I DETROIT 1
Michigan's mohawked jun-
ior forward has been showcasing around the goal,
you may not want to count the Wolverine out of this
year's international muscle matchup just yet.
Schmieder, a native of Regensburg, Germany, has
made the most of his minutes this season by having
the best goals-per-game average on an offensively
savvy Michigan team. Although Schmieder's playing
time has been limited, his seven goals in 10 games
played (including two hat tricks), give him a 70 per-

cent chance to put the ball in the back of the net
every-time he steps on the field.
Yesterday against Detroit (11-5-3), Schmieder
continued his habit of delivering a touch of instant
offense to the Wolverines (8-6-2) when he entered
the game as a substitute at the 15-minute mark. In his
first touch of the game, Schmieder displayed his
knack for scoring by receiving a Kevin Robinson
serve at the top of the box, and volleying the ball off
the inside of the left post and into the goal. The goal
established a 1-0 lead for the Wolverines, and fur-
thered Schmieder's campaign for more playing time.
"Jurgen is a guy who, in games, plays big and
he did it here again today," Michigan coach Steve
Burns said. "We have always wanted to see more
of him in practice, but with the vacancy caused by
Knox Cameron, he is going to get more playing
time for us."
The game stayed 1-0 Michigan until the 64:09 mark,

when Detroit evened the score at one by converting a
penalty kick, which the Titans earned because Michi-
gan was called for a penalty inside the box.
After one overtime period couldn't break the 1-1
score, the match was called a tie due to darkness.
The Michigan defense, led by freshman goalkeep-
er Peter Dzubay and his seven saves, played a stellar
match. Dzubay gained some key assistance from
sophomore defender Dawson Stellberger, who put
the shackles on the Titans' most dangerous offensive
force, forward Ablaye Camara.
Even though the game didn't end in a Michigan
"W," Burns wasn't upset with his team's play.
"Overall it was a game that both teams wanted to
win, but knew that the tie wouldn't hurt," Burns said.
"The players played hard from both teams, but the
field and the conditions made it hard to get any kind
of offensive flow going. The 1-1 tie is a fair and jus-
tified result for both teams."


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