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14A - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 2, 2003
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ALLEN PARK (AP) - Olandis Gary was play-
ing in an exhibition game against the Detroit Lions
less than a week ago. On Monday, he was in a
Lions uniform.
The running back was traded from Buffalo to
Detroit for an undisclosed draft pick over the week-
end and reported to the Lions practice facility in time
for Monday morning's practice.
"Everything has been going pretty fast in the last
few days," Gary said. "It never entered my mind on
Thursday that I was going to be a Lion, but that's
what the NFL is all about. You have to learn to adjust
in a hurry or you will be out of the league."
Getting Gary became a priority for Detroit when
starting tailback James Stewart separated his shoul-
der in Thursday's game. Within minutes, Lions presi-
dent Matt Millen was talking to his Buffalo
counterpart about acquiring the fifth-year back.
"We didn't want to end up short-handed like we
did at that position last year," he'said.
The Lions already were familiar with Gary, who
came to town as a free agent last winter before sign-
ing with the Bills. He spent his first four seasons
with Denver.
"His years with the Broncos give him a head start
on learning our offense, but he's still got a lot to do,"
Lions head coach Steve Mariucci said. "He's in good
shape, so we will work him through the week before
we make a decision about how much we can use him."
STEEL TOUGH: The Pittsburgh Steelers tried to put
on the appearance that Monday was like any other
day of practice. Obviously, it wasn't.
Players huddled in groups of two and three in the
locker room, talking quietly, the verbal by-play that
normally precedes every practice noticeably absent.
There was no laughter, no cross-the-room yelling
about the past weekend's college scores. Clearly,
someone was missing - someone important.
No one went near Joey Porter's locker, often the
gathering spot for the defense and the noisiest area in
an almost never quiet room. The Steelers know the All-
Pro linebacker and their vocal leader will play again
but they don't know when, and they are still struggling
with the news that he was shot over the weekend.
"It was a tragic incident," Pro Bowl receiver Hines
Ward said. "We're handling it as it comes and hope-
fully get a better chance of understanding it when
Joey gets back"
Porter was standing outside a Denver sports bar
following Saturday night's game between his alma
mater, Colorado State, and rival Colorado when he
was struck by a bullet that entered his left buttocks
and lodged in his right thigh. Police say he was an
innocent bystander during what may have been a
gang-related shooting.
The injury is not career-threatening, but will side-
line him for an indefinite period. Porter was released
Monday from a Denver hospital and flew back to
Pittsburgh to be examined by the Steelers' doctors.
STILL IN THE NEST: All-Pro center Barret Robbins
survived the Oakland Raiders' final cuts Sunday,
4
THE MICHIGAN
DAILY CRITICS'
PRESEASON PICKS
*bold denotes Super Bowl champion
Lions Record
Gennaro Flice
5-11
Jim weber
Lions MVP
AP PHOTO
After six years with the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Steve Mariucci enters his first season with Detroit.
He already suffered a setback with the injury of James Stewart, who is expected to miss the first month.
keeping his roster spot despite playing behind Adam
Treu and Matt Stinchcomb in the preseason.
The Raiders trimmed 15 players from their roster,
but Robbins wasn't among them. Oakland's starting
center since 1997 thought earlier in the week he
would be cut.
"I had some conversations (Saturday) that pretty
much led me to believe that I would be here," Rob-
bins said. "It's been a tough couple of weeks, but we
rode it out and had faith that whatever happened
would be the right thing for us, my family and I."
The Raiders suspended Robbins hours before the
Super Bowl after he left the team for a well-publi-
cized drinking binge. He was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder and underwent treatment for alcoholism
during the offseason.
Robbins also had surgery on his right knee, which
was slow to heal. He reported to camp 30 pounds over-
weight, and he sat out the first four days of workouts.
He's still working with the backups, but Robbins is
sober and getting treatment for his illnesses. His
knee also is nearly back to full strength.
NFC Champion
AFC Champion
Surprise Team
League MVP
Breakout Player
Best uniforms ever
Worst uniforms ever
Probability of Tupac's rumored
"resurrection" on Sep. 13
The Defensive Line
Philadelphia
Miami
New Orleans
Donovan McNabb
Ashley Lelie
Raiderettes
6-10
Joey Harrington
Tampa Bay
Denver
Carolina
Ricky Williams
Jake Plummer
Throwback Tampa Bay
I
Throwback Tampa Bay Current Seattle
110 percent
Stop it. Let him R.I.P.
THANK YoU U. FOR A WoMpEPU. SPRING I4AD FOS r.**(,4 ,
I WAA TnRY EN~oYEP WORKING WITH4 EACHI ANDP EVERY c*Eof
YOU AND AP M4CIATE YOUR HAM WO.rqNS ;COW N'T HAV, EENf
A Ca ASvu IT WAS WITHOXa - oYU!
gold bond
cleaners
Quality Dry Cleaning
and Shirt Service
332 Maynard St.
across from Nickels Arcade
Field leads 'M' cross
country in 5K open
4
By Ryan Sosin
For the Daily
The Michigan women's cross country
team began its Big Ten title defense Sat-
urday at Buhr Park in a 5K open hosted
by Eastern Michigan. A large crowd
braved the first brisk morning of the
year to watch the Wolverines claim
three of the top five spots in the meet.
The Wolverine runners managed to
stay together in the middle of the pack
for most of the race, before a late push
would earn Michigan three top-five fin-
ishers. As the runners entered the final
1,000 meters, sophomore Arianne Field
(19:23) and senior Anna Jones (19:33)
pushed toward the front of the pack, fin-
ishing second and fourth respectively.
Freshman Erin Webster (19:26), who
was running unattached, split Field and
Jones by taking third place.
"Erin Webster ran excellent on Satur-
day," Jones said. "I think she turned a lot
of heads and surprised a lot of people."
Sophomores Lesley Jurasek (19:54),
Laura Brosius (19:58) and Amy Baker
(19:59) stuck together in the middle of
the pack, securing the 11 through 13
spots for Michigan. Rounding out the
pack of Wolverines, sophomore Jessica
Wagner finished 19th and junior Erika
Flannery (21:47) crossed the line in 26th.
Redshirt freshmen Jackie Gaydos
(19:49) and Rachel Ward (20:30), along
with Webster, also competed unattached
for the Wolverines.
The non-scored event was a warm-
up for the Wolverines, who are look-
ing to build on last season's No. 15
national ranking.
"(We are) definitely looking at the
Big Ten Championship again, and (to)
go to Nationals again," said Field.
The race could prove a good jumping
off point for a team that lost only one
senior. The Wolverines were also with-
out senior captain Andrea Parker and
last year's Big Ten Freshman Of The
Year, Rebecca Walter, for the race. The
pair sat out the race so some younger
runners could get a look in competition.
Rain stops
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I
matches at
U.S. Open
NEW YORK (AP) - Roger Federer
stood on the court at Arthur Ashe Sta-
dium, hitting tennis balls to scattered
fans in the stands equipped with
umbrellas, hats and parkas.
The Wimbledon champion would
point to a section and smack a ball to
the appointed spot, displaying the same
accuracy as when he plays for real.
Unfortunately for ticket-holders,
though, that was about the extent of the
action during the day session at the
U.S. Open on a rainy Monday. Only
two matches even got under way
before being suspended.
Jennifer Capriati took a 6-2, 3-2 lead
in her fourth-round encounter against
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