The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 8, 2004 - 3B Welcome to the Biggie' House GENNARO FILICE The SportsMonday Column "The future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious." - Ted Levitt, Harvard Business School e transcript of ABC's broadcast of Michigan vs. Ohiq State, minutes before kickoff, 25 years from now ... Keith Jackson III (Tre): Whoa Nellie! Welcome, college football fans, to the ABC Pre-Kickoff Show brought to you by Pepsi, which reminds you, "Coca Cola blows." I'm Tre Jackson, alongside my partner - a legend in the booth - Brent Musburger. Brent, quite a nightcap we have ahead of us. (Awkward silence) KJ: BRENT! I said, Brent, quite a nightcap we have ahead of us! Brent Musburger: (elderly mumbling followed by ... ) Hold on folks ... Let's send it down to our ol' buddy Jack Arute! KJ: (Puzzled look) Brent, Jack's no longer with us. BM: Gary, my man, in the college game, you need just one foot in bounds. KJ: Anyway, we've got a Jewelry-Exchange-located-in- Livonia gem of a game to finish off the 2029 Bash at the Wendy's Biggie House. BM: Ricky Williams cuts left ... hello record book! KJ: Hard for me to follow up that random citation from Brent's glory days of the mid-90s, but this epic battle between the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wolverines of the University of Michigan will be the dessert following the full plate of pigskin that was served in the Wendy's Biggie House earlier today. The festivities kicked off with a dandy high scfbjol showdown at 9 a.m. between the junior varsity squads from Pioneer and Ann Arbor Huron. While Huron triumphed in this initial battle, Pioneer fought back by taking the varsity bout that commenced at noon and set the high school football national attendance mark. Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State then took the field at 3:30, renewing a rivalry that began back in '04. The Techies prevailed and were crowned Burger King of the Michigan's Division II Mountain. BM: Diving, spinning *... touchdown Nebraska! KJ: It's not 1997, Brent. Moving right along ... we're just moments from the kickoff of the main event - the 126th meeting between two of college football's most storied pro- grams. And yes, the "ESPN Classic Michigan-Ohio State Classical Epic" will decide the Big 20 champion, as the con- ference still refuses to play an official Big 20 title game. At this time, I'd like to introduce our new field correspondent. Itest at K tankers TS " *are afloat By Ian Robinson Daily Sports Writer David Chappelle. David, what's the vibe like at field level? Dave Chappelle: First off, Tre, I have a question for you: Why don't you white folks use washcloths? I can't believe y'all, applying the same bar of soap to all of your bare as- KJ: Huh, seems like we lost the feed. Thanks anyway, David. We'll check up with you later. BM: HOLY BUCKEYE! KJ: My sentiments exactly, Brent, because this contest is going to feature the biggest crowd to watch football in the universe today. University officials expect to go way over the Biggie House's capacity mark of 175,501 - a number that has vastly expanded in the last 20 years. Late in the aughts, back around 2009, Michigan responded to Texas A&M's threat of increasing stadium size to 115,000 by reducing the gaps between bench-seat numbers from seven inches to five inches and surrounding the stadium with luxury boxes, I MEAN, enclosed seating. But then along about 2018, the state of Idaho imposed a Potato Tax to fund the purchase of an even bluer playing turf for Boise State's Bronco Stadium. After unexpectedly raising almost $1 billion, the athletic depart- ment also decided to add 120,000 seats to the stadium, giving Boise State the nation's largest capacity of 150,000 people. The Michigan athletic department reacted by again repainting the bench numbers (three-inch gap) and placing a 10,000-seat grandstand atop the newly erected Amaker Arena. BM: And here ... come ... THE BUCKEYES! KJ: Disregard Brent's last comment - Ohio State's been on the field for five minutes. But, while we're on the subject of Buckeyes, Ohio State won't be the only school on the field sporting helmet accessories. After an absence of almost 40 years, Michigan reinstated spirit stickers this fall. But rather than receiving stickers in the shape of a wolverine or a block 'M,' Michigan players are rewarded for good play with "JJs" - sandwich-shaped stickers representing the "Italian Night- club" from Jimmy Johns delicatessen, which currently boasts 137 locations in Ann Arbor's Central Campus area. BM: Watch out partner - IT'S A FOOT RACE! KJ (With hand covering microphone, motioning towards production staff): Ix-nay rent-bay's icrophone-may. (Collects himself) Well, before we head down to the field for the kickoff of this grand ole rivalry, let's get everyone's keys to the game. David, your thoughts? DC: Can't believe you white collars gave me this job. I'M RICH BEE-YA- KJ: Splendid. Brent, do you have any rational thoughts to add. (Awkward silence) KJ: OLD MAN RIVER, I'M SPEAKING TO YOU! BM: HOLY BUCKEYE! KJ: Very intriguing. Well, the Wolverines are about to receive the kick and you folks will catch your first glimpse of my keys to the game: Mike Hart Jr.'s legs ... which are brought to you by Firestone Tires. Gennaro Filice hates what corporate America is doing to his favorite sport. He can be reached at gfilice@umich.edu. TONY DING/Daily Michigan's Chris DeJong broke Wisconsin's pool record in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:45.28 in Friday's meet. Fast start for By Ben Voss Daily Sports Writer When junior Chris DeJong entered the water in the 200-yard hackstroke in Friday's meet at Wisconsin, he wanted to post a good time to start the season. As he touched the wall 1:45.28 later, he not only achieved his goal, he broke the Wisconsin pool record in the event by 0.60 seconds. The time wasn't a personal best for DeJong, but it still marked the fastest he's ever started a season in the event. "This is the first time I've swam (the 200-yard backstroke) this season, and I'm glad I got this time under my belt," DeJong said. Many other members of the No. 9 Michigan men's swim- ming and diving team also posted better-than-expected times as the team won its Big Ten opener against No. 16 Wisconsin, 142-93, and improved its record to 2-0. The meet was the Wol- verines' first chance this season to swim in their regular events, after swimming an off lineup against Eastern Michigan on Oct. 29. Michigan won eight out of 11 races and both diving events to beat the Badgers by a comfortable margin. While Michigan coach Bob Bowman expected his team to win the meet, the victory was much easier because each of his swimmers "rose up to the level of competition." "The best thing (about the meet) was that we won all the close races," Bowman said. "We didn't get touched out all night, and that was very good." Olympic gold medalist Peter Vanderkaay also started his season strong, winning both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events with times of 44.28 seconds and 1:38.38 seconds, D ejong, BlueI respectively. Going into the meet, Vanderkaay felt comfortable, despite the long drive to Wisconsin. "We prepared ourselves mentally," Vanderkaay said. "Our focus was on the meet, not the hassle of traveling." Michigan captured the lead early, winning the first three events of the meet. The 400-yard medley relay team of Nicho- las Douville, Michael Galindo, Andrew Hack and Andrew Albright placed first with a time of 3:26.50 seconds. Seniors Brendan Neligan and Zayd Ma finished one-two in the 1,000- yard freestyle with times of 9:22.66 and 9:30.34, respectively. Wisconsin's Josh Bonner placed first in both the one- and three-meter diving events, but competed as a non-scorer, allow- ing Michigan divers Jake Boehm and Jon Donadee to notch points for first and second place in both events, respectively. After the Wolverines swept the Badgers in the 200-yard but- terfly and the 500-yard freestyle - finishing first, second and,, third - it was clear Michigan would win. Bowman decided to race exhibition in the last two events - the 200-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard freestyle relay. "Once you reach 122 points, you know you've won the meet," Bowman said. By racing exhibition, the swimmers still post their times but don't score any points. The tactic was used to show good sports- manship by not running up the score on a decided victory. Michigan's win at Wisconsin showed Bowman that his team is in the right position for a productive season. The meet also provided swimmers a chance to focus on their best events. "Our goal is to improve individually," Bowman said. "And when we do that, the team's performance will take care of itself." e WRnEaT UNG Tannebued By Mark iannotto Daily Sports Writer YPSILANTI - It was a day for the fresh faces of the Michigan wrestling team to shine. Four freshmen placed in the top five in their respective weight classes Sat- urday at the Eastern Michigan open. No team scores were recorded, and no return- ing starters wrestled for the Wolverines in their season-opening event. Michigan was led by redshirt freshman Eric Tannenbaum, who defeated John Cox of the United States Naval Academy for the 149-pound weight class championship. Tannenbaum was the lone Wolverine to finish in first place. Tannenbaum had little trouble through- out the tournament, as he defeated all of his opponents by pinfall or 4-point major decision. "I've been working real hard because we have the lest practices in the country," he said. "Going hard against real tough guys in practice makes (matches) much easier." Tannnenbaum - who is ordinarily better on his feet in the neutral position - also wrestled well from the top posi- tion. In the championship match, he was able to turn Cox to his back for three near-fall points. This maneuver increased Tannenbaum's lead and put the match out of reach for Cox. "(Tannenbaum) is outstanding on his feet," Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "He likes to dominate from the neutral position, but he's made some mat improve- ments. I saw him in some matches where he was doing a good job working some guys (from the top position)." True freshmen Craig Gilleson and Steve Luke also had strong showings in their col- legiate debuts by recording second-place finishes in the 133- and 165-pound weight classes, respectively. "(Gilleson and Luke) are great competi- tors," McFarland said. "They work hard, they wrestle hard and they are tough - those guys have done a great job so far." On his way to the championship match, Gilleson was involved in some close match- es, but he was able to grind out victories in the preliminary rounds. His luck ran out in the finals when he lost by minor decision to Shawn Bunch of Edinboro College. "(Bunch) was really good and he was grapplers quicker than I thought he would be," Gilleson said. "I wrestled my hardest, but I found some things I need to improve. I need to work out with someone a little quicker than me." Luke, on the other hand, was dominant until the semi-final round of the tourna- ment. He was able to defeat every opponent by major decision or pinfall. In the semi- final match, he narrowly defeated Jim Bert- lis of Bloomberg College. In the finals, Luke was tied with Nate Yetzer of Edinboro with 30 seconds remaining in the match. During a scram- ble, Yetzer was able to get a two-point take- down on Luke, which turned out to be the deciding points. "In college, (the wrestlers) never get tired, so I need to work on my stamina a little more," Luke said. "I will get that take- down next time." The Michigan women's swimming and diving team learned a lot about itself this weekend at the Boilermaker Challenge in West Lafayette. "We were better in some cases than we thought we would be," coach Jim Rich- ardson said. "We are very optimistic." No. 17 Michigan finished in fifth place against a highly competitive field of eight CSCAA top-25 teams. The Wolverines placed ahead of Virginia, the No. 15 team in the country, and proved that they could swim with some of the best teams in the country. "The teams that finished ahead of us were all in the top-10," said Richardson. "We were a spitting distance behind the No. 8 team. Everyone swam in-season- best times:" Michigan finished 71 points behind UCLA, the eighth-best team in the coun- try. Sophomore Susan Gilliam's NCAA qualifying times of 4:45.02 in the 500- yard freestyle and 16:20.85 in the 1650- yard freestyle paced the Wolverines in their high finish. "(Susan) had the best in-season meet Kaltlyn Brady qualified for the NCAA "B" standard in the 100-yard backstroke. of her life," said Richardson. "She is way ahead of her progression." Three other Wolverines posted NCAA- consideration times. Justine Mueller bettered the "B" qualifying stan- dard in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley races. Lindsey Smith's finish in the 200-yard freestyle and Kaitlyn Brady's times in the 100-yard backstroke and freestyle also qualified for an NCAA "B"-standard time. "I am pleased with the ability of our young team to compete effectively with top teams," said Richardson. Despite. the optimism, the team sees room for improvement. Richardson iden- tified two things that Michigan especially needs to work on. "We're not good on the walls because of long-course training," said Richardson. "Aerobically, we are not where we will be at the end of the season. Those are our greatest weaknesses." If the team can improve in these areas, it will be able to accomplish its goals as the season progresses. The coach also believes maintaining focus and prepara- tion will allow the team to reach its expec- tations. "We need to keep our heads screwed on straight and do the things we have been doing," said Richardson. On the diving boards, Michigan was led by Elyse Lee's 1lth place performance on the one-meter springboard, and Ellen Van Cleve's eighth-place finish on the three-meter springboard. c- 0 04- 44'. 4)4 $10 Rush Tickets on sale 9 am - 5 pm the day of the performance or the-Friday before for weekend events at the UMS Ticket Office, located in the Michigan League. 50% Rush Tickets on sale for 50% off the original ticket price beginning 90 minutes before the event at the oerformance hall Stu d ents Fly Cheaper holiday travel, study abroad, spring break Visit StudentUniverse.com for cheap student airfares on the world's major airlines to 1,000 destinations across the US and around the world. Fly on major airlines for discount airline prices. Sample roundtrip Student Airfares from Detroit to: Ticket C St. Petersburg Philharmonic TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 8 PM Hill Auditorium E A N P R O G R A M Prokofiev The Love for Three Office. Oranges, Op. 33 Dvorak Rachmanincff Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 SymphonicrDance O)n .4 Kremerata Baltica FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 12 8 PM Hill Auditorium PROGRAM Schnittke Concert Shostakovich Violin So c em Shostakovich Chambe n , r Vf lil. VQI Il.C.3l k-/P. -T o Grosso No. 3 onata (arr. for string orchestra) er Symphony (arr. of String rtet No. 8) o Grosso No. 1 Miami New York Minneapolis/St. Paul San Francisco London Paris/Rome Mexico City $194 $199 $209 $259 $225 $262 $429 &A4M quart Concert Schnittke N,,..,' ~4, *45~~ 44~ .*744' *'4*~' -,,." .4.4,' .~ '0 E.S.T. (Esbjorn Svensson Trio) & The Bad Plus Esbjorn Svensson, piano Reid Anderson, bass Dan Berglund, bass Ethan Iverson, piano Magnus Ostroim, drums David King, drums With live DJ sets provided by Ghostly International SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 8 PM Michigan Theater 1. ..................... .................... Lima $54 ADVEKIR Fneamhla Al:Kindi and fha