0 Tuesday December 9, 2003 www.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com ibe 1R idtigan&Dail iPO:RTrS 10 4 Edwards considers leaving Michigan BCS reveals how deep the rabbit hole really is By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Editor Two days after Michigan's season- saving comeback against Minnesota on Oct. 15, wide receiver Braylon Edwards said he had no plans of leaving the program after this year. He said$ he wanted to win a national championship and finish school, and both those goals required him to stay for his senior sea- son at Michigan. "I love Michigan football, and I'm not ready to leave yet," Edwards said at the time. But now, Edwards is back on the fence about his future with the pro- gram, bad news for Michigan fans who were expecting a dominant receiving corps next season, led by Michigan's top trio of Edwards, Jason Avant and Steve Breaston. The junior cited several factors for what might have changed his mind, mainly that the chance of get- ting injured was not one he wanted to take. "The way I've been playing right now, things are just flowing to me," Edwards said. "Sometimes you don't get a second chance." Edwards says he will not be ready to make a decision until after the Rose Bowl is over, but feels that leaving could possibly be the best decision when the time comes. "So many things could happen, and I have to make the best decision for my family and myself," he said. "There are a lot of things out there that my family has talked about. I'm not trying to go back on what I said, but you have to look at it from my point of view. Sometimes, leaving is the best decision." Edwards fought through on- and off-the-field struggles earlier in the year and wasn't having the type of breakout season that he was expect- ing in the beginning. Lloyd Carr pub- licly expressed his displeasure with Edwards' discipline and attitude trou- bles, saying the two were "not on the same page." But he has been a large part of Michigan's revival this season down the stretch. Edwards is aware that the reevalua- tion of his future with the program leaves the door open for NFL specu- lation, but he says he's not thinking about that right now. "Everybody wants to talk about the NFL, and I have opened myself up for that," he said. "But I'm not wor- ried about that right now - it's in the back of my mind. Right now we have to focus on what we need to do to beat USC." ALL FOR ONE: Michigan wide receiver Jason Avant, who suffered an ankle injury during Michigan's first offensive drive against Ohio State on Nov. 22, is expected to be ready to play in the Rose Bowl. Avant's return will be crucial for the Wolverines, who will need to bring a formidable passing attack out west to match the Trojans' potent aerial game. "He's coming around, and he'll definitely be back by that game," Edwards said. "It's going to mean a lot for us, he's a clutch guy, you can always count on Jason to make the big catch- es - to make any catches. He adds a dimension of a big receiver who can catch and get open by finding the soft spot." HEISMAN WATCH: The finalists for this season's Heisman Trophy award will be announced tomorrow evening, and Chris Perry is expected to be one of the candidates who will earn a trip to New York to be part of the presen- tation show. The Heisman Trophy presentation will be held Saturday night. Perry's teammates weighed in on why he should win the award for the most valuable player in college foot- ball. "Without Chris Perry we wouldn't be in this situation," Edwards said. KYLE O'NEILL The Daily Janitor ROM INSIDE THE MATRIX - Hello, Kyle. Who are you? Iam the Architect. I created the BCS. I've been waiting for you. You have many questions. Though the recent process of sending a non-con- ference champion to the national title game has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human (and surprisingly the best option in deciding a national champion). Ergo, some of my answers you will understand and some you will not. Concordantly, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant. Why am I here? Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the strength of scheduling in the BCS. You are the eventuality of an anom- aly, which despite my sincerest efforts, I've been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathe- matical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected and, thus, not beyond a measure of control which has led you inexorably here. You haven't answered my question. Quite right. Interesting. That was quicker than the others. Others? What others? How many others? The BCS is older than you know. I count from the emergence of one inte- gral anomaly to the next. In which case, this is the sixth version. Wait a damn minute. You're telling me this has been going on for five pre- vious seasons, and no one has stopped you yet? Precisely. As you are undoubtedly gathering, the anomaly is systemic, creating fluctuations in even the most simplistic equations. For instance, you actually gave purpose to that Boise State-Hawaii game. Had Hawaii actu- ally won, Southern Cal. would be going to the national title game. Choice. The problem is choice of opponent. But wait, you're asking teams to plan out schedules on the basis of preseason rankings, so that they can get screwed when their oppo- nents don't pan out. We shouldn't blame Southern Cal. for not having a tough schedule when six of its oppo- nents were in the top 25 before the sea- son began. Have you learned nothing from the past? The first BCS I designed was natu- rally perfect... No it wasn't. Had both Kansas State and UCLA won along with Tennessee on Dec. 5, 1998, your entire system would have crashed under the weight of three unbeaten teams. As I was saying, before you inter- rupted me, I stumbled upon a solution whereby 99 percent of subjects accept- ed the program, as long as they were given a chance, even if they were only eligible for the chance to win the title by playing at a near-impossible level of perfection for 20-year-olds to compete at. While this answer functioned, it was fundamentally flawed, thus creating the otherwise contradictory systemic anomaly that, ifleft unchecked, might threaten the system. Ergo, those that refused the program, while a minority, would constitute an escalating proba- bility of disaster if unchecked. Then this is about the players ... finally. You are here because college football legitimacy is about to be destroyed. Its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existence eradicated. Bullcrap. Denial is the most predictable of all human responses. But rest assured, this will be the sixth time we have destroyed the credibility of the game and we have See O'NEILL, Page 11 BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards is mobbed by students after Michigan's 35-21 win over Ohio State Nov. 22. Want a free PowerBook? * ~ Rgt ..tth...eshowcas..be...en..2/./....nd..2/.....12/3 frahaetowin a17 PowerokG4r nofwny- five (25) gift certificates to the iTunes Music Store for $20. Customers who purchase an iPod between 12/8/03 and 12/12/03 will be entered in a drawing for one of ten (10) gift certificates to the iTunes Music Store for $50-. REGISTRAR'S BULLETIN BOARD WINTER TERM CLASSES BEGIN JANUARY 6, 2004 WINTER TERM REGISTRATION Registration, drop/add, modify, and swap transactions are available on Wolverine Access (http://wolverineaccess.umich.edu) from your appointment time through January 26. The wait list option is available through January 5. 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WITHDRAW FROM WINTER TERM In accordance with Regents' Policy, students who register and subsequently withdraw (drop all courses after the term has begun) will be responsible for the registration and disenrollment fees. This assessment of $130.00 for Winter Term will be made regardless of whether or not you attend classes. Once the term begins, you must obtain a Withdrawal Notice from your school or college and bring it to a Student Service Site (413 East Huron Street or B430 Pierpont Commons) for processing. Please check the Office of the Registrar's Web site (http://www.umich.edu/-regoff/) or the Schedule of Classes for the fee adjustment calendar. FALL GRADES Fall grade rosters are due in the Registrar's Office by 2:00 p.m. on December 22. Grades are available via Wolverine Access: (http://wolverineaccess.umich.edu). Select Student Business, Fall 2003, Grades & Transcripts, Term Selected. If your grades are missing after December 22, please contact your instructor or department directly. GRADUATING IN DECEMBER? Commencement will be held in Crisler Arena at 2 p.m., Sunday, December 14. A maximum of 6 tickets per graduate or candidate will be available at the Michigan Union, Pond Room from Monday, December 8th through Thursday, December 11, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. You must show your student ID to receive tickets. Extra tickets, if available, will be distributed on Friday, December 12, 8:30 a.m. - noon. REGISTRAR'S HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS Closed - 5 p.m. December 24, 2003 Reopen - 8 a.m. January 2, 2004 I t