I

A


Friday
November 21, 2083
www.michigandaily.com
sports@michigandaily.com

SPORTS

1OA

0


Dad: You might have
won battle, I'll win war


I

'Tresselball'should be
just enough once again

T)

JIM WEBER
The Michigan Daily
Dear Dad,
You're a pretty funny guyYou
might be a little sick in the head
sometimes, but you're definitely
funny.
A Since I decided to attend the Uni-
versity of Michigan midway through
my senior year at Upper Arlington
High School in Columbus, you've
done everything in your power to
make my life hell. You always reach
into your bag of tricks before The
Game to pull out a variety of practi-
cal jokes.
So when I picked up my phone
Wednesday night from a caller that
proclaimed he was responding to my
advertisement in The Michigan Daily,
the first thought that crossed my mind
was, "What did you do now?"
Previously, your high jinx included
the following: putting an ad in The
Lantern last year where "I" predicted
Michigan would "crush Ohio State
like clockwork," lunch with Neutron
Man and trashing my front yard -
twice.
But this year you really outdid
yourself.
First, you placed a personal ad in the
Daily. My Daily readers can even see
the ad themselves by turning to today's
classified section (you decided it was
best to run the ad for three days).
But for my Lantern readers, the ad
goes a little something like this:
"An Ohio man, lost and looking for
love, seeking a big blue male lover,
please call me @ 614-562-2152 and
ask for Little Lost Jimmy Weber."
When I found the classified
myself, my emotions were mixed. I
found it hilarious you paid for the ad,
but really creepy that someone actu-
ally responded to it.
Apparently this prank wasn't
enough. As those reading The
Lantern might already know, you ran
a contest for Ohio State fans to find
the next big prank, with the winner
receiving two tickets to last week's
Purdue game (by the way, congratula-
tion to John Chess). I'm still not sure
whether the aforementioned personal
ad was the winning prank or not ...
You even launched a website,

screwblueandjimtoo.com. Then you
sent me a T-shirt and sweatshirt with
the website plastered on them, as if I
would wear them around town.
Finally, you put flyers all over the
Michigan Business School that said
"I'm a closet Buckeye fan." I'm sure
you will be happy to know that -
like the personal ad - this prank
resulted in phone calls. Yes, voice
mails of, "Ohio State sucks!" and,
"You suck!" were waiting for me
when I got out of class.
It really does amaze me how much
energy you and everyone else in
Columbus spends hating the Univer-
sity of Michigan. You are just a step
below those people with that picture
of a kid flicking off the Michigan
football team as a desktop, those that
go on the message boards to swap
Michigan jokes and those that call
into the local radio station to state,
"Anyone from Michigan should go
straight to hell!" - all of which I
have witnessed.
Michigan is the team you love to
hate.
In your mind, there is nothing
greater than beating the shit out of
the Wolverines because they are the
egotistical snobs from "up north."
Fine. Who am I to tell you how
pathetic that is? Like they say: Don't
get angry, get even. But I guarantee
this: you'll wish you never came up
to Ann Arbor this weekend.
Now that I think of it, that goes for
all Ohio State fans.
Best wishes from Ann Arbor,
Jim
Jim Weber can be reached at
jweb@umich.edu and
encourages Bucknuts to e-mail him
about tailgating at his house
(408 E. Jefferson St.) before The Game.

NICK HOUSER
The Lantern
ep, I've smelt it, too. The gusty
winds Wednesday finally
brought the stench of arrogance
southward, making the 191 miles down
from Ann Arbor. While all the readers
up north finally think they are in prime
position to take down the Buckeyes,
just hold on a second.
Things are certainly different now.
Everyone says we have no chance, but
think again. So what? John Cooper
will be doing the studio show for the
ESPN Plus game of the week. It
should be insightful to see what he
says the Northwestern Wildcats must
do to become bowl eligible and send
Illinois to another Big Ten loss.
Instead of a history of losing, just
waiting for Coop to blow it, again, and
looking awkwardly trying to embrace
the tradition of the game, we've got a
little thing called Tresselball out on the
field.
In case you have not been formally
introduced, take time before Satur-
day's game to watch last year's tape.
For the record, Michigan did not score
any touchdowns, kicked three field
goals and had to settle for bad field
position - that just about follows the
script.
At the time, not many around the
Big Ten knew it, but the second
straight victory over the Wolverines
was a preview of this season and a lit-
tle thing called the Fiesta Bowl. The
glitz, glamour and high scores of
Cooper's teams may not be around
anymore, but Ohio State has traded the
high octane Ferrari for a steady Chevy,
and as a part of the deal, had a national
title thrown in at no extra cost. It may
be ugly, nerve wracking and causing
most of Ohio to develop ulcers, but all
it does is win games.
Reports have it one Buckeye fan
broke two bones in his wrist following
Mike Nugent's blocked field goal at
the end of regulation against Purdue
last Saturday. The game was not even
over, and fans were already at a boiling
point. Ah, another side effect of Tres-
selball.

In addition to physically wearing
their opponents out, the Buckeyes have
simply made them crack under the
pressure. Sitting up in the press box
rewriting my game story a few hun-
dred times this season has been aggra-
vating. Watching kicks falling short or
just wide with the game on the line is
not what I call dominating football, but
again it just wins games - all a part of
Tresselball.
So Michigan is undoubtedly the
toughest test the Buckeyes have faced
all season. Shouldn't it be that way? Its
only fitting the 100th game is a his-
toric battle, not a war Kellen Winslow,
but reminiscent of the Woody Hayes
and Bo Schembechler eras.
Personally, the advantages are all on
the Buckeyes' sideline. Both teams are
coming in ranked in the top five, but
the odds makers say the Wolverines are
nearly a touchdown favorite. No wor-
ries. While the Cooper era was filled
with finding every possible way to
lose, Tresselball just wins.
Go back two years ago, to Tressel's
first trip up north. While Jonathan
Wells exploded for 129 yards and three
touchdowns in the first half, the Buck-
eyes overcame the underdog tag to win
26-20.
Last season, on the strength of
booming punts and defensive
turnovers, the ghosts of Cooper were
eliminated by a 14-9 win in typical
Tresselball fashion.
With the Big Ten outright title on the
line and a chance to play for another
national title, do not be suprised if the
Buckeyes open the playbook up.
Watch out for the lethal short pass
on 3rd-and-3 or the unexpected draw
play on 3rd-and-13.
For all those up North, consider
yourself warned. The Buckeyes will
limit Chris Perry out of the backfield,
the secondary will be a little shaky, but
the Silver Bullets will make it difficult
to find the endzone. Meanwhile the
Michigan kid, Craig Krenzel, will pro-
duce another clutch performance to
burn his home state once again. Buck-
eyes will once again overcome the
underdog billing, win 16-14 and start
preparing for Oklahoma. Just another
Grade-A guaranteed product of Tres-
selball.
-.Nick Houser is a senior in journalism
and can be reached at
tresselballjustwins@yahoo.com.

I

DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Ohio State players and fans celebrate their 14-9 victory over Michigan last season.
The Buckeyes went on to win the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State hangs on,
Secures championship

EDITOR'S NOTE: In preparation
for The Game, the Daily will count
down to Saturday's historic 100th
meeting between Ohio State and
Michigan by running excerpts from
the past fouames between the
Buckeyes anWolverines.
By Jeff Phillips
Daily Sports Editor (Nov. 25, 2002)
COLUMBUS - To earn its Fiesta
Bowl bid, Ohio State did what it had
been doing all season: holding tight
defensively and getting just enough
points to squeak out a victory.
After the Buckeyes' Will Allen inter-
cepted John Navarre's last-gasp pass
attempt in the endzone to preserve Ohio
State's 14-9 victory, Buckeyes fans
rushed the field in jubilation. Much less
jubilant were the security personnel on-
hand, who pepper sprayed the celebra-
tors as they tried in vain to pull down
the goalposts.
Soon after Michigan players hurried
off the field, running back Chris Perry

had to be yanked off the field as fans
taunted him while he watched the fes-
tivities of another Ohio State win.
The victory was Ohio State's second
consecutive in the rivalry, and with it,
the Buckeyes again send the Wolverines
to central Florida for New Year's Day.
Last season, Michigan ended the season
in the Citrus Bowl after losing to Ohio
State 26-20. This season, the Wolver-
ines will either play in the Capital One
Bowl (formerly the Citrus Bowl) in
Orlando, Fla., or the Outback Bowl,
played in Tampa, Fla.
The bids for the two bowls will likely
go to Penn State and Michigan, with the
Capital One Bowl getting first choice.
Despite the disparity in the prestige
of the bowls that Michigan and Ohio
State will attend, the two teams were not
much different on the field. Michigan
was better than the Buckeyes in nearly
every offensive category - most signif-
icantly, time of possession and total
offense. Michigan possessed the ball.
See 2002, Page 11A

U
a

U

U of M Men's
Glee Club
Professor Steven Lussmann, Director
Presents its 144 annual
fall concert
Saturday November 22, 2003
6 pm and 9 pm
Rackham Auditorium
Ann Arbor MI
For tickets, call (734)764-1448
www.unmgc.org
$12 for reserved seating,
$10 for general admission
and $5 for students,
payable by cash, check, or credit card

ASPEN5SNWM3 ASSY
Ready to have the most exciting winter of your life?!
Take a semester off!
Come work for
Aspen Skiing Company
Get a FREE season pass!
Visit our website
www.jobswithaltitude.com
for all the fun job possibilities!
Equal Opportunity Employer

DOAK WALK-IN AROUND
Michigan senior running back Chris Perry was named a se mifnalist for the Doak
Walker Award given to the nation's totaack. There are t
tention to receive the award for the nation's best running back., Beow is how ery
stacks up with them.
Running back Team Yards Per game TDs
Perry Chris Michiga 1,435 130. 4 > 5
Jackson, Stephen Oegon Stae 1,266 126. 3
JonesKevin Wginia Tech 1 l254 125 . 'T
Knight,eDetrrick oson C le t,402 1?7.45 ;t
s proes, Darren Kn13sSat 144 -1t <
T' rnerMkhad 'N the Illi ns 1,4 2 t347
Williams, Shaud Alama 1,169 106,27 1
Wilson, Quincy WesWgiia K 1226 t22.6 2
I Free hBS
400 S. Division, Ann Arbor
995-1545 :":: >' >K>K %
Voted Best Indian Restaurant
Everyday lunch buffet, carryout & catering
10% Student Discounts
I Special discounts for student organizations d ~Q
L www.rajaranirestaurant.comp-
ANN ARBOR REALTY
LOCATION - LOCATION - LOCATION
Central Campus
Efficiencies, 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apts.
Starting at $575/mo. Includes some utilities.
ANN ARBOR REALTY
616 CHURCH
/N~%A r mA a a

Attention Students!
Professionally whiten your teeth
For Free!
After a cleaning, complete set of x-rays and
initial exam, you are entitled to a free
teeth whitening home system
Regularly $500.00!

Mal