Wednesday March 30, 2005 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com able ArttianEail PORTrS 8 Butler wins award again By Pete Sneider Daily Sports Writer Listed charitably at 5-foot-6, senior co-captain Matt Butler of the Michigan baseball team is doing some big things. Butler was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday after going 1l-for-16 with five RBI, two walks and zero strikeouts in this weekend's home-opening series against Oakland University. It was the second time this season Butler received the weekly honor - the first came on March 7. Even though Butler didn't produce any go-ahead runs this weekend, if Michigan (15-3 overall) was threaten- ing to score, he was involved. Whether it was a bloop single or an opposite- field base hit, Butler constantly found ways to keep an inning alive. "When there are runners on base in a tight situation, I tell myself the pitcher needs to come in the zone - he can't afford to walk me," Butler said. "There's also going to be more holes because infielders are holding guys on." The Lombard, Ill. native is post- ing some serious numbers this sea- son. Butler has managed to fill up just about every offensive category on the stat sheet, batting .436 while Excuse me, but don't call me lady* FILE PHOTO Senior Matt Butler has helped spark Michigan to 15-3 record. He leads the conference In hits, doubles and total bases. RICHARD SPELLS RELIEF: Throwing mid-90 MPH fastballs is like riding a bike - you never forget how. In Friday's home opener, Michigan sophomore Clayton Richard pitched three scoreless innings of relief, allowing zero hits and fanning three. Last season's backup quarterback for the football leading the conference in hits (34), doubles (10) and total bases (57) - he also ranks among the top five in runs scored (22) and RBI (21). One stat eluding the leadoff man is stolen bases. In fact, Butler has more home runs (3) than stolen bases (2). "That is pretty strange," Butler said. "But I think k<>:n ;< : Mic;ga y~ ,;.;: tms x :1k sadu C team was pretty much unhittable in his fourth appearance of the sea- son. Richard, who hadn't thrown a fastball since his senior year of high school, is making a smooth adjustment to a new role in an old sport. "It's a little bit of an adjustment (coming bullpen)," Richard said. "It feels great to be out (on the baseball field)," Richard said. "I'm finally getting back to strength, and the coaches have done a lot of work to help. I'm feeling really comfortable with everything right now." Richard has surrendered just one hit in seven innings of work this season. SONIC BOHM: It took him eight at bats to figure it out, but when he did, oh boy, it was big. With two outs, two aboard and a 3-2 count, Michigan senior Kyle Bohm drilled a two-run double to even the game at four runs apiece. A passed ball and wild pitch later, Bohm crossed the plate for the game- winning run. Bohm's big knock came in the sec- ond game of the home-opening series against Oakland University - a game the Wolverines won 5-4. "(Oakland pitcher Paul Phillips) had struck me out earlier, so I was looking for the ball to come up and away," Bohm said. "I got a pretty good piece of it." The senior co-captain also came up big in Game two of Saturday's dou- bleheader. In the third inning, Bohm roped a two-run, two-out single to left field, tying the game at two runs. The Wolverines went on to win that game, 8-2. After starting the weekend 0-for-7, Bohm ended the series batting 4-for-8 with six RBI and two doubles. "I wasn't feeling all that great the first two games - they made some good pitches at me," Bohm said. "I just didn't have it." It was the second weekend in a row that Bohm opened the series 0-for-5. The Stevens Point, Wisc. native was looking to remedy his chronic slow starts before the Big Ten season get under way. "I'm just going to try to be a little more aggressive and not fall behind on the counts," Bohm said. "When you get going early, it makes things easier." Despite his streakiness, Bohm is batting .386 with a team-best 27 RBI through the first 18 games. CLOUD NINE: Michigan has won nine straight, marking the longest winning streak since 1997 when the Wolverines captured the Big Ten Championship. This weekend's sweep was the sec- ond straight of the year. The last time Michigan served up two straight was in 1988. Its 15-3 start is the best since the 1985 team, which included Barry Lar- kin and Hal Morris. MEGAN KOLODGY My Way . et me preface this by saying that, normally, I am not an angry person. I am a self-proclaimed pacifist, and it is rare that I get too riled up about anything. That being said, I, like everyone else, have my pet peeves, and one of them - the use of the word "lady" in reference to women's sports teams - has been seriously exacerbated by the onset of the NCAA women's basketball tournament Baylor has the Lady Bears, Tennessee boasts the Lady Vols and LSU claims the Lady Tigers - and those are just among the Elite Eight teams. Although this par- ticular usage is far more prevalent south of the Mason-Dixon Line (I will not bother to hypothesize as to the reasons behind this phenomenon), the impression that I have is that most people are not bothered by the word when it is used in this context, and most people do not really know why it might be offensive. Well, here's the breakdown: First of all, just look at the dictionary definition of "lady" - which I think is lame but critical in understanding this con- cept. According to merriamwebster.com, "lady" means "a woman of refinement and gentle manners." Whether or not these terms accurately describe the athletes on women's teams, these are not adjectives that, as an athlete, you really want associated with your game. I mean, according to this definition, these women should excel at balancing books on their heads and selecting the appropriate fork for a given course - not hitting treys or breaking down defenses and driving to the hole. Again, I want to stress the point that being a "lady" and being an athlete are not mutually exclusive endeavors. Of course these players can be polite and courteous before and after the buzzer sounds. There's nothing wrong with that. But during the game, it's a different story. The connotation brings to mind images of relative helplessness and social, not athletic, superiority. It conjures up pictures of women being rescued from dragons, or, at the very least, women who wouldn't care to defy their traditional place in soci- ety. At its most negative, the word could lead both spectators and commentators to take these women less seriously than their male counterparts. When one witnesses the accomplish- ments and behavior of women on the floor, most would agree that they are appropriately unladylike. Consider Minnesota's Janel McCarville, the Golden Gophers' star forward who was a first- team All-America pick last year. Before her Sweet 16 game against Baylor, McCa- rville stared down the Lady Bears' (aaah- hhh) entire starting lineup, and, by the end of the game, she played a role in a small altercation on the court. Well-mannered? Not that day. Effective? You bet. McCarville averaged 16 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season. Which brings me to my next point - the word "lady" suggests a secondary status for women's teams at schools that use the term. The men's teams are simply the Vols or the Tigers. No modifier needed. While Title IX has helped NCAA teams make great strides in helping facili- tate equality between men's and women's programs, I would argue that "lady" sets the programs that use the word back about 30 years. It seems particularly inappropriate that so many elite women's hoops squads are still known as the "lady" version of the school's team. I didn't see the men's teams from Baylor or Tennessee anywhere when I filled out my tourna- ment bracket, yet no one goes around gentrifying them. I have yet to hear them be called the "gentlemen" Vols or Bears. Seems counterintuitive to me. Mercifully, Michigan and most of the Big Ten has managed to keep up with the times and has avoided using this term, opting instead for the more equal and fitting men's and women's modifiers. I am personally grateful. The Big Ten exception is, of course, Penn State, whose Lady Lions made it into the NCAA tournament. The Nittany Lions, however, finished last in the conference. But even when schools specifically avoid "lady," it is not uncommon for announcers, particularly those who are men, to still throw the word around and not think twice about it. I know that I cannot convince anyone else to go crazy every time they hear "lady" or any of the other inherently sexist terms that are used to describe women athletes. But, seriously, just lis- ten carefully to exactly how pervasive this terminology is and think about the way that it affects the overall portrayal of women in sports. And if you do decide to get mad about this anti-feminist word, don't be scared to be "unladylike" about it. 0 it's mostly out of the circumstantial. We've gotten out to a lot of big leads, so I'm less likely to steal then." Michigan coach Rich Maloney couldn't be any more pleased with Butler's recent play. "Matty is just an ultimate gamer," Maloney said. "The kid gets more out of his ability than anybody I know. Who doesn't love guys like that - he's the heart and soul of our club." "But it's something that doesn't take too long to get used to. With Malo- ney and our other assistant coaches, it's been real easy to make the adjust- ment." Most people remember Richard as an Elite-ll, blue-chip gunslinger who committed to the Michigan football program. But Richard was also a two- time all-state pitcher and was named Indiana's "Mr. Baseball" in 2003. Megan Kolodgy can reached at megkolo@umich.edu. Blue will not look past any opponent By Scott Bell Daily Sports Writer only 49 runs in their 24 games this season. Bowling Green's weakness seems to play right into Michigan's strength. After allowing seven runs in their opening game loss to Baylor, the Wolverines have allowed just 22 runs in the past 31 games. But despite the apparent mismatch between the two With a long string of games before the beginning of conference play, it's possible to lose focus for a game or two. But if there is one thing that Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins emphasizes over anything else, it is focus. "We're looking to do the same thing we always do, just play good softball," Hutchins said. "That's all we're looking to do." Whether it's playing a top-tier opponent or playing a team with a less than flatter- ing record, No. 1 Michigan (31-1) remains focused on the game ahead. Bowling Green stands as the game at hand for the Wolverines today. The T0DA Michigax~ at ~v1in~ Oreen +00 p.i~ ~0SU Softball F~ld teams, Michigan's concentration remains on Bowling Green and not on the loom- ing Big Ten season. "We're not in Big Ten play (today)," Hutchins said. "We'll be in Bowling Green, and they're in a different confer- ence. We scheduled the game because nonconference games are important to play and to win. If we stay focused on playing good softball then our outcome looks positive." Because there are so many games "Obviously, the biggest thing with only playing one game is what we do with our pitching," she said. "We lean toward just giving them all a couple of innings because we want them all to have two or three sharp innings." One of those pitchers is senior Nicole Motycka, who understands the importance of using nonconference games as an opportunity to improve on her own game. "If I have a chance to pitch (today), I definitely have a lot of work to do in that area," Motycka said. "I need to work on my rise ball and changeup, which need to become more consistent. With my hitting, I just need to become more relaxed. I was pretty tense in Louisville." As the Wolverines take the field today, they will be looking to make adjustments for the good of the team. But don't expect them to compromise a win in exchange for improvement. "We need to play every game like we're playing the No. 1 team," freshman first baseman Samantha Findlay said. "We just need to go out there and play our game and know that anybody can win on any given day. If we play our best defense, then we'll be all right." Falcons (8-16) are the defending MAC Tourna- ment champions but have yet to find their grove this season. Bowling Green's lack of offense has been the main culprit - the Falcons have scored in a season, picking up the win can't be the lone goal. Hutchins stresses the importance of getting all of her pitchers some playing time, especially in the scenario they face tomorrow. TONY DING/Daily Nicole Motycka has compiled a 0.98 ERA while winning five games. WOMEWS TRACK & HELD Adjustments are nothing new for former two-sport athlete By Chastity L. Rolling Daily Sports Writer Having actress Fay Hauser for a mother and recording artist Louie Price for a father may seem like a big deal, but for California native Sierra Hauser-Price, "It's the norm." "It's funny," Hauser-Price said. "After com- ing here, I see that's a big deal to everybody, but back home, it's the norm. In my high school, it was like, 'Oh, your dad's a Temptation; my dad sings too.' So I think it's just the context of where you are." Hauser-Price said that she is grateful for her parents' individual professions. "It was exciting because I used to actually go :nt. t --A:otiA -:Qv h .m Ant a n nn - et+ m;+h and basketball." Coming into Michigan, Hauser-Price knew she had the potential to start on Michigan's basketball team. She fulfilled her potential, playing in 17 of 30 games and starting six as a freshman. For her first three years at Michigan, she played basketball until the season was over in February or March and concluded her semester with the outdoor track season. While basketball was her first love as a freshman, track has now become her top priority. "(Track is) something I enjoy doing now," Hauser-Price said. "But if you would've asked me three years ago to pick one, I would have chosen basketball." NiacrPrier. hc AeonediA nto one of the accepted the challenge like any good athlete. "I knew coming into the indoor season that I was going to be in the DMR, so I had it in my head that I was going to have to run the 400 meters for the relay," Hauser-Price said. "(Michigan coach James) Henry helped me a lot with that in practice and training for it. Most importantly, I felt ready when I got there." Practice for Hauser-Price consisted in part of running 600-meter, but mostly of running three sets of 300-meter runs only five minutes apart. Henry acknowledged that Hauser-Price is not a 400-meter runner, but, at the same time, he knew she had unlimited potential. "(Hauser-Price) is very focused and driven," Henry said. "Because she never ran indoors, I wantedt cn ros train her n he dnn't burn I said this is what I'm going to do, but, some- times, it doesn't always work out that way. I think the biggest thing I've learned is to be able to adjust." Just as it was when she was adapting from Michigan to California, adjusting from the security of basketball to the uncertainty of track was another hard endeavor for Hauser-Price. She loved basketball. "Basketball is exciting because it is ever- changing," Hauser-Price said. "You could run up and down the court five times in a row, get a steal, then get a turnover. So it's so much more unpredictable than track." Leaving the comfort zone of a team sport like basketball, Hauser-Price was not confident in her track ahilities She knew that with track. me. But after you make such a big decision, you have to go with it and never look back. And I haven't." Running indoors was not an easy task for Hauser-Price, and the hardest aspect was the sharper turns. Indoor tracks are often half the length of outdoor tracks, just 200 meters rather than 400.. As a result, indoor tracks have sharper curves, and it can be hard to adjust for a runner who is used to running outdoors. "Since this was my first season running indoors, I had to deal with these tight turns," Hauser-Price said. "Running indoors was defi- nitely harder on me because most runners ran indoor all four seasons, and I've never run indoor - not even in high school. So I had to 0 I