I Tuesday November 11, 2003 www.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com ReTiS11gan ilg 10 'M' Sugar Bowl hopes hurt in BCS Standings Winslow's apology may not be able tofix image By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Editor Around 11 o' clock Saturday night, Michigan football fans couldn't help but feel like their Wolverines were a team of destiny. Waking up Saturday morning with their team ranked No. 8 in both polls, the maize-and-blue faithful had the pleasure of watching No. 3 Florida State, No. 5 Virginia Tech and No. 6 BCS STANDINGS... TEAM REC PTS PVS 1. Olahomna 100 1.68 1i 4. Loulstane State &4 13.17 7 S. Texas$2 17.O5 ±2 6. Texas Cbristian 9.0 ±7,85 9 7. Tense 1.2 ±1&32 13 9. Georgia '7.2 20.27 10 10. Wsangton1 $tate &2 20.49 1± 11. Purduie $2 24.64 14 12. MiarnI (FRa.) 7-2 27.93 4 iS.FotidState NR289 ~ 15. Vhiriia Teeh 7-2 34.13 6 Miami (Fla.) each suffer their second loss of the season. Apparently fans weren't the only ones who noticed that two-loss Michi- gan could be back in the hunt for the Sugar Bowl. "I actually yelled at a few of the younger guys (Sunday),. telling them to stop looking at those things," wide receiver Jason Avant said. Judging by the Bowl Championship Series standings released last night, Avant made a wise decision to ignore Michigan's faint hopes of a national championship run. Ranked No. 8 in last week's BCS standings, it seemed logical that Michi- gan would jump to No. 5 in the BCS after this weekend, much like the Wolverines did in the Associated Press and coaches' polls released Sunday. Instead, Michigan stood still at No. 8 in the BCS, as two-loss Texas (No. 5), undefeated Texas Christian (No. 6) and two-loss Tennessee (No. 7) vaulted the Wolverines. Texas, ranked No. 12 in the BCS with a schedule ranked No. 44 in the country before Saturday, took advan- tage of a huge road win over Oklahoma Longsnapper Ross Mann and the Wolverines stayed at No. 8 In the new BCS standings, while Texas, Texas Christian and Tennessee jumped ahead. State to bump its schedule strength to No. 18. The Longhorns also improved from 15.83 to 7.83 in the computer rankings average, whereas the Wolver- ines dropped from 9.67 to 11.17 in the BCS computers. Texas Christian, No. 9 last week, remained undefeated by beating Louisville, which increased the Horned Frogs' schedule strength from No. 98 to No. 87. Texas Christian's computer average skyrocketed this week to 4.67, almost seven points less than Michigan. Tennessee, No. 13 last week, knocked off then-BCS No. 6 Miami, increasing its schedule strength from No. 16 to No. 8. The Volunteers' biggest improvement came in the com- puters, where they went from 13.5 to 5. In other words, the Wolverines' only hope of backing their way into the Sugar Bowl is to beat BCS No. 3 Ohio State, receiving a boost in schedule strength and computer average big enough to jump Texas, Texas Christian and Tennessee. Oh, and Southern Cal. and Louisiana State still have to lose. Luckily, it doesn't seem the Wolver- ines will spend too much time the next See BCS, Page 12 NAWEED SIKORA Blowin' smoke n Sunday, Miami (Fla.) tight end Kellen Winslow apologized for his outburst in the lockerroom following Miami's 10-6 loss to Ten- nessee. In case you missed it, Winslow was nailed for a costly 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the fourth quarter, and was also nearly flagged for taunting Tennessee's Corey Campbell after laying him out with a bone-rattling block. Following the game, when asked about his conduct, Winslow got hot, and in a raised voice, referred to the game as a "war," and to himself as a "soldier." The following day, in a statement released through the University of Miami, Winslow tried to make amends for exploding after the game and letting his anger loose. "After speaking with the press, I immediately regretted my comments and felt embarrassed for my family, my team, the University of Miami, our fans, alum- ni and myself," Winslow said. "What I have learned from this experience is to take my triumphs and failures in stride. My outburst should in no shape or form be a reflection on this institution or the Miami football program. "As for my reference to being a sol- dier in a war, I meant no disrespect to the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in the armed forces. I cannot begin to imagine the magnitude of war or its consequences." The apology was in good faith, but for Winslow, it was too little, too late. After watching Winslow rant and rave about the officials and the game, I had only one thought in my mind: "Dude, you gotta chill." College football is just a game, and no player should ever think otherwise, no matter how hard he is get- ting hit or how important a game might be. As Winslow put it in his apology, outbursts like that can do no good. Winslow is a perfect example of how an extremely talented and physically dominant player can ruin his chances for a Heisman Trophy with poor behav- ior, both on and off the field. If you remember, this is the same guy that struck the pose after making a touchdown catch in Miami's first game of the season against lowly Louisiana Tech - a decision that even had his own father, Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow Sr., shaking his head in frustration. The younger Winslow was not just a preseason Heisman candidate; for many people, he was the favorite. But his gaudy actions and excessive trash talk- ing have overshadowed his pure ability to play the game, and he has been pushed to the bottom of most charts. It's no secret that if you're not an emotional player, you won't have suc- cess in college football. Emotions are what drive players to make that extra push or gain that extra yard. But when players allow these emotions to take control, this is when they have crossed the line. "The only thing I can say about it is that he was just angry at that point of time," Michigan wide receiver Jason Avant said. "I don't even think he should have done that interview right there. But emotions get high, and some- times things get said like that." "Obviously, he said something crazy," Michigan's Larry Stevens said. "If that was said here, he wouldn't be here any more, and that's all I can say about that." Although Winslow's apology seems genuine, he has a lot of work to do before he even begins to earn back the respect he lost over this past weekend. For his sake, and for the sake of his friends, family and school, Winslow should stop worrying about the scrutiny and start worrying about playing the game. 4 Netherlands hears 'Fout!' too much to beat Blue By Eric Ambinder Daily Sports Writer "Fout!, fout!" was the apparent battle-cry yelled by coach Gert Jan ver der Linden of the Netherlands National Team during a majority of last night's 73-35 exhibition loss to the Michigan E women's basketball team. Jan ver der Linden had good reason to yell, "Fout" (mistake). His team committed almost as many turnovers (32) as points (35). Michigan's tenacious defense, which held the Netherlands to a .244 shooting percentage, has been the main focus of coach Cheryl Burnett's practices from day one. "I think our players are doing a good job of trying to execute what we want them to execute," coach Bur- nett said about Michigan's defense. "They're all like freshmen in terms of their first year trying to execute these things." Early on, the Wolverines executed their defensive scheme to perfection, holding the Netherlands score- less for the first eight minutes of the first half. Michigan continued its solid defense early and even- tually found its offensive rhythm. After center Jennifer Smith grabbed a fierce offensive rebound off a missed Sierra Hauser-Price free throw and scored a bucket, the Wolverines took an early 25-4 first-half lead. "I think the team came out sharper than they did the first game, and overall we have improved our defense over that short period of time," senior Stephanie Gandy said. "We can look at this game as a positive and keep working on our defense." The Wolverines struggled on offense late in the sec- ond half because of the effective trap defense used by the Netherlands, but still led 34-15 entering halftime. Michigan's Tabitha Pool exploded in the second half, helping Michigan get going in the second half by scoring 10 points and missing just one shot. When the Netherlands went on its longest scoring steak of the night, a 4-0 run near the beginning of the half, Pool quickly stole back the momentum for the Wolverines when she notched a steal, offensive rebound and bucket in one sequence. Up 49-22, Gandy launched a 3-pointer from the corner and was fouled, but couldn't convert the four- point-play, missing the ensuing free throw. Her three was Michigan's fourth of the night, a scor- ing option that Burnett has emphasized in practice. "Our rule is two defenders or less, blow it up;' Bur- nett said about her team's decision to shoot 3-pointers during game situations. "I mean they love that in practice." Center Jennifer Smith nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and freshman Kelly Helvey followed suit with a triple down the stretch for the Wolverines, giving them a 64-30 lead. Smith dominated inside all night, scoring 22 points and shutting down the Netherlands' interior offense, a key in the team's blowout victory. Naweed Sikora can be reached at nsikora@umich.edu. UU 4 It's not a curse term. Let's keep all Michigan cheers that way. 4 "We want Michigan to continue being a place that cheers vociferously for the Michigan team." -Lloyd Carr, UM Football Coach 4 Him x 'I A