Thursday September 9, 2004 sports.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com SPORTS 15A . . . . . .... . . .............................. . . . . . .......... . ..... ............ .. . . . . . ....................... . ........... . . . . . .. . ..... . ................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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. 11 1 I