Thursday
September 9, 2004
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SPORTS
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Manning rises to role
in new 3-4 formation
Not that you care, but
NHL A is bi trouble
By Sharad Mattu
Daily Sports Editor
Roy Manning has had trouble getting
onto the field, but it's never been because
he's lacked talent. Head coach Lloyd Carr
has known all about his ability for five
years, ever since the outside linebacker
won every award at the Michigan football
camp during the summer before his senior
year of high school.
For reasons varying from being stuck
behind Victor Hobson to suffering a sea-
son-ending leg injury two years ago,
Manning has seen little action outside of
special teams. But Michigan's with shift
to a 3-4 defense, that features four line-
backers instead of three, and a newfound
sense of urgency, the fifth-year senior has
vaulted himself into the starting lineup.
His sudden rise is ddji vu for Carr.
Carr saw the same thing happen to Brian
Townsend, back when he was an assistant
coach in the late eighties.
"He was a guy that didn't play much
except maybe on special teams," Carr said
of Townsend, who played for the Wolver-
ines from 1988-1991. "Then as a fifth-year
senior - his approach, his attitude - I
have never seen such a dramatic change
on a guy as I did with him. As a senior, he
was an all-Big Ten performer.
"1 think with Roy Manning, the change
in his performance has just been dramatic.
He's always been a guy that's very ath-
letic, runs very well, but he's just played
exceptionally well this fall."
Carr believes that Manning can have
similar success in his last season in Ann
Arbor.
"Coach Carr talks to me about him,
but I don't really know who he is," Man-
ning said with a laugh. "If I can accom-
plish the things that Brian Townsend did,
that'd be great."
In the last year, Manning has realized that,
to improve, the work he'd have to put in was
not on the field or in the weight room, but in
the film room. When he did that, he immedi-
ately saw what the problem was.
"Early on, I was just getting by," Man-
ning said. "The thing about football is the
film doesn't lie. The film showed I wasn't
giving my all and competing every play
every game."
The emergence of Manning is a sig-
nificant reason for the change to the new
defense. Inexperience at defensive line
had been a concern, but the depth at line-
backer has eased the pressure.
"Ever since I've been here I knew when
he got his chance he'd do a great job," fel-
low linebacker Lawrence Reid said. "His
whole demeanor has changed this year.
Everyone gets a little more serious when
they're a senior, and that's definitely what
TONY DING/DAILY
Roy Manning played on special teams last season, such as here against Central
Michigan, but now has broken into the linebacker rotation in the new 3-4 defense.
happened with him. He knew the oppor-
tunity was there and he did everything he
needed to do."
While Manning is just now becom-
ing a contributor on defense, he has had
a knack for always surrounding himself
with standout performers.
His first two years he roomed with last
year's Heisman finalist Chris Perry, and the
last two years he lived with defensive ends
Shantee Orr and Larry Stevens, respectively.
"All my roommates so far have made
it to the NFL, so I hope I can join them,"
Manning said.
BRIAN SCHICK
Schick Happens
round the same time of year that
Johnny Freshman waves fare-
well to his parents from the steps
of Couzens Residence Hall, National
Hockey League players normally return
to their "home away from home" cities
for another season. But with an impend-
ing labor strike, NHL players will miss a
good chunk (most likely all) of their sea-
son due to the lockout. And the greatest
trophy in all sports - the Stanley Cup
- might not be awarded for the first
time since 1919, when a flu epidemic in
Canada canceled the finals.
But you couldn't possibly care less,
could you? At least if you're an Ameri-
can anyway.
Hockey in America has slowly fallen
off our sporting radar in recent years,
and it currently resides slightly above
Major League Soccer and the WNBA in
terms of prestige. You'll be lucky to find
an NHL boxscore located before page
6B in most sporting sections across the
country.
The only thing that could take it
one step lower would be to not play
any games. Oh wait, they're doing that
already.
Are you even aware that the World
Cup of Hockey is taking place right
now? (Wait ... I thought the World Cup
was for soccer ...) Could you name
the eight teams? Can you name three
American players? (Yes, the United
States is in it.)
I may be one of the few die-hard NHL
fans left in the United States, but even
I'm finding it tough to endure another
embarrassment. I've been a fan of the
San Jose Sharks since their inception in
1991, and lived and died with their suc-
cess and multiple failures. I might be one
of the few Americans to name an NHL
team as my favorite sports organization.
My biggest moment was watching the
Sharks advance to the conference finals.
this past season with expectations of a
possible trip to the Stanley Cup finals
this year - but it looks like it will still
be a dream of mine.
After the 1994-95 season had a late
start due to a player lockout and teams
played a condensed 48-game season, I
was confident that the NHL learned its
lesson to avoid pissing off its dwindling
American fan base. Unless something
drastic happens in the next few days -
which is highly unlikely, as both sides
are as far apart as they were a year ago
- the NHL will never regain its claim
as a major professional sports league.
Since most Americans are unfamiliar
with the NHL to begin with, I'll bet that
there are more Americans that know the
words to "O Canada" than are familiar
with the NHL collective bargaining
agreement (O Canada, our home and
native land ... Oh. Sorry.), so I'll give
you the Cliff's Notes version. Basically,
the N HL owners are losing money faster
than Mike Tyson. According to the NHL
website, 16 of the league's 30 franchises
lost money last season, four of them los-
ing more than $30 million. This is based
in large part to rising salary costs, as the
average NHL player makes $1.79 mil-
lion - a number that is increasing an
average of 9 percent each season.
While I believe that NHL players
are the most athletic of the four major
leagues (Disagree? You try to move a
rubber disk around a player trying to
run you over on quarter-inch skates),
their salaries have ballooned at a rate
owners can no longer support. The
owners want to put a salary cap on each
team to limit the amount each team can
spend. The players association counters
that the players should be paid what
the market should bear and the owners
shouldn't have shelled out the big bucks
in the first place. So who's to blame? A
little of both, but mostly the players.
One would think that the players
would be willing to take a pay cut to
save the league. ("Hey Peter Forsberg
- would you be willing to take a pay
cut in your $11 million salary to save
the NHL?") Sounds reasonable, right?
Well, Forsberg is one of a growing
number of players who has decided to
sign a contract with European clubs for
this season. ("Pay cut? You mean I'd
have to sell my third vacation house in
Aruba? Forget it! ") That's what makes
this situation especially dangerous for
the NHL -.unlike when the NFL went
on strike in 1987, the NHL players have
alternative and, more importantly, com-
petitive leagues to turn to. A new league
has even been formed in America -the
World Hockey Association - to try and
woo unemployed NHL players.
See SCHICK, Page 18A
'M' swimmers team with
Phelps to bring home gold
By Seth Gordon
Daily Sports Writer
Junior Peter Vanderkaay and senior Dan
Ketchum teamed with Michael Phelps to help
the phenom earn one of his six gold medals in
the 800-meter freestyle relay. Both of the Wol-
verines returned to Ann Arbor with Olympic
hardware - and Phelps.
The two Michigan swimmers went to
Athens as part of a six-member relay team
steeped with Michigan connections. Phelps
will follow his coach, Bob Bowman, to
Michigan this fall to train for the 2008 Olym-
pic games in Beijing. Bowman was hired to
replace the outgoing Jon Urbanchek as coach
of the men's swimming team and both served
as assistant coaches on the U.S. Olympic
swimming team.
Anchoring the final leg of the 800-meter
relay team was Klete Keller, a Club Wolverine
member who served as a volunteer assistant
to the team and Vanderkaay's training partner
and mentor.
Going into the preliminaries, the coaches
had already tabbed Phelps - who needed
as much rest as possible due to his ambitious
schedule - and Keller for the event final. This
meant that Vanderkaay and Ketchum would
swim in the preliminary round along with
Ryan Lochte and Scott Goldblatt. At the same
time, all four would be competing for the last
two spots in the final.
The team competition worked out well for
the group as the United States finished first in
its qualifying heat. However, the individual
competition for the final two spots was very
close for the Wolverines, as Vanderkaay fin-
ished his leg .01 seconds ahead of Ketchum to
take the last spot.
"It was hard," Ketchum said. "After the
morning, initially, I thought it was going to
be hard to watch the night race and watch
See OLYMPICS, Page 17A
AP PHOTO
Michigan senior Dan Ketchum's efforts in the preliminaries of the 800-
meter freestyle relay helped take the United States to gold.
Soccer Officials
Needed!
Why officiate Soccer???
"Very flexible scheduling
~ We provide all training - first time officials welcome
Uniforms provided and yours to keep!
Earn $7.00 an hour
Meet new friends
I X
tP
F ,
2~A
Training clinics
begin on
Thursday,
September 9th,
at 7:00 PM at
the Intramural
Sports Building.
Please contact
David Siegle at
763-3562 for
further
information.
ilk
All clinics are held at the Intramural Sports Building.
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