GENNARO FILICE A departing sports editor reflects on one thing he learned in college. PAGE 3B The SportsMonday Column Ups AND DowNs Michigan's sports teams have had plenty of highs and lows this year. We take a look at the best and worst. PAGE 8B FILuNG THE HOLES The Michigan football team has a lot of holes to fill this spring. Here's a look at how they're doing it. PAGE 6B SPORTSC IvTDAY 0 April 18, 2005 1B u rlstpf tackle-fre e spnng game By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Editor In the only contact drill of the day, the Michi- gan offense fell just short of scoring when soph- omore quarterback Chad Henne was picked off by cornerback Leon Hall with one second left. But there was still time for one more play - a two-point conversion with no time left. The Wol- verines lined up Michigan coach Lloyd Carr at wide receiver and sent him across the back of the endzone. When the pass was thrown his way, Carr made a spectacular, diving grab and rolled on the ground to break his fall. Carr's catch drew a flurry of cheers from both the 10,000 or so fans in atten- dance and the Michigan players, who gathered around and jumped on their coach in celebration. "I told him right when we got in the locker room that that was better than any catch I ever made," senior wide receiver Jason Avant said. "That was fantastic. He hasn't made a play like that in my whole four years here." Carr, 59, said afterwards that he might have tweaked his back during the celebration. How- ever, he was the only one of the Wolverines who risked injury. Because of numerous injuries this winter - most nagging, correctable prob- lems - the annual spring game did not feature any tackling. Carr said more than a month ago that anyone who wanted to see a physical game should wait for the season opener against North- ern Illinois on Sept. 3. Without big hitting, one of the main attractions was freshman running back Kevin Grady. The highly touted recruit split time with them other run- ning backs and fit in well with all the other blue jerseys. But the coaching staff managed to keep practice physical with the "Michigan Drill" and a two-min- ute-drill finale. In the final two minutes, Henne and the offense took the ball from their own 35-yard line, but the quarterback was fairly unsuccessful on his first few snaps. His first pass attempt was broken up at the line of scrimmage by inside linebacker Prescott Burgess, and the next throw was a couple feet behind junior Steve Breaston, the intended receiv- er. But then, Henne found his rhythm. He hit Breaston on two short outs for a first down and went to his favorite target again on a 20-yard curl up the middle between the safeties and linebackers. "Breaston is a big-play guy any time he touches the football," Carr said. Breaston was impressive the rest of the day - laying out and narrowly missing a one-handed grab at one point during the drill. And he wasn't the only Wolverine putting a good foot forward. Hart got just one carry in the two-minute offense but made the'most of it, run- ning for 12 yards off the left tackle before the play was blown dead. "It all starts with the guys up front," Avant said. "If the guys up front are going to knock some people back, then Mike is going to do what he does. I don't know how he does it, but he does it, and he does it well. He can run the ball with the best of them, and he can make guys miss with the best of them." Other than the scrimmage at the end of the game, the fan favorite was the Michigan Drill, something that Carr enjoys as well. "It's a great drill because you have a full-contact drill but you don't have a drill that has a high injury risk," Carr said. The drill pits an offensive player against a defen- sive player in a one-on-one matchup. The two fight for position, and the defender tries to shed the block- er and make the tackle on a pursuing running back. In most cases this weekend, the blocker pre- vented the tackle, but the drill ended with defen- sive tackle Alan Branch getting past Alex Mitchell and making a strong tackle on the running back, junior Jerome Jackson. The tackle got strong reac- tions from both the crowd and the Wolverines' defensive team. Although "the game" didn't feature tackling, Carr said that the experience was productive. He said that the only downside was the fact that inju- ries kept them out of full-contact drills. "We got a lot done, but we still have a lot of work to do," Carr said. "We'll see what happens now between now and September." RYAN WEINER/Daily Wide receiver Steve Breaston made a handful of catches in Saturday's spring game. -- - - - --- ------------ . ... .. ..... ..... . WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Liberty take Pool in second nounJ r By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Editor ~r.;. Coming out of high school in 2002, former Michigan forward Tabitha Pool was one of the most highly recruited players in the nation. Pool could have attended an established national power in women's college basketball such as Tennessee. But the Ann Arbor native chose to stay home and help rebuild a Michigan program that has seen more downs than ups in recent seasons. Four years later, Pool has another chance to play on a national stage. And this time, she's heading to New York. On Saturday, the New York Liberty selected Pool with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft. "All of us that have coached or played with Tabitha have understood just how much ability she has," Michi- gan women's basketball coach Cheryl Burnett said in a statement Saturday. "We are excited she has this opportu- nity to display that ability at the high- est level because she earned it with her work ethic." Following a disappointing season in which the Wolverines won just one Big Ten game and finished last in the con- ference, Pool's selection highlighted her hard work and natural athletic tal- ent. An All-Big Ten third team honoree for the 2004-05 season, Pool finished the year as Michigan's leader in scor- ing and rebounding, averaging 16.3 points and nine rebounds per game. She ranked in the top 10 in the conference in both categories. Pool's scoring prowess and ability to drive to the basket could help a Liberty team that is in need of offensive weapons this season. Last year, guard/forward Vickie Johnson - the seventh leading scorer in WNBA history - failed to S post a double-digit scoring average for the first time since her rookie season in 1997. If Johnson is unable to bounce back from her rough year, and New York struggles with injuries for the second straight season, Pool may be able to make an early impact on the team. Pool is the sixth Michigan player - and the fifth in the past six seasons - to be picked in the WNBA Draft. The forward matched former All-America honorable mention selection Stacey Thomas - a standout for the Wolver- ines from 1996 to 2000 - for the high- est draft selection by a Michigan player. Kamp Fire Michigan 3, Michigan 6, N_. Michigan 1, Michigan 8, splits -seres with leader of Big Ten. By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Throughout its frustrating start to the Big Ten season, the Michigan baseball team saw just about every bounce, break and call go its opponents' way. But in the second inning of yesterday's game against Illinois, the Wolverines' fortunes finally took a positive turn. Riding a four-run second-inning outburst, Michigan took home an 8-5 victory over first- place Illinois yesterday (9-3 Big Ten, 20-10 over- all). Junior pitcher Derek Feldkamp shined in his second relief appearance of the year, pitch- ing four shutout innings to close the door on the Illini. The crucial win earned the Wolverines a series split, which was a huge momentum boost going into their upcoming series at home against Ohio State. "We've had a lot of things not going our way; but the kids kept battling and beat a really good team," Michigan coach Rich Maloney said. "We earned a split - and it was earned - and (we) darn nearly took three of four. We're on the cusp, and that was nice." Illinois had jumped out to an early lead thanks to a mammoth three-run blast by cleanup hitter Dusty Bensko, who planted the ball way over the left-centerfield fence. But in the bottom of the second, Michigan struck back in unconventional fashion. With Wol- verines on first and second and no outs, freshman Derek VanBuskirk hit what appeared to be a tay- lor-made double play ball to Illinois starting pitch- er James Morris. But the lefty turned and fired the ball about 10 feet to the left of second base, and it sailed into centerfield, allowing Michigan junior Jeff Kunkel to score from second. Just like that; the tone for the inning was set. Junior Leif Mahler came up next and hit anoth- er comebacker to the pitcher's mound. It deflected off Morris and was scooped up by Illinois short- See ILLiNI, page 51 TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily Junior Derek Feldkamp pitched four shutout innings of relief in yesterday's 8-5 win over Illinois. Senior pitcher brings in clutch wins By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Michael Penn isn't con- sidered the stud of the Michigan pitching staff. His fastball isn't the hardest, he's never been drafted, and his starts are mostly limited to seven-inning doubleheader games. But recently, the senior has done what other Wolverine pitch- ers haven't - come up with victories when his team needs them the most. "Michael's really done an outstanding job," Michigan coach Rich Maloney said. "He's an outstanding competitor. And when the team needed a lift both of (the last two) weekends to get us a 'W,' he's answered the bell." Exactly one week after Penn (4-1) beat Iowa for Michigan's first Big Ten victory of the sea- son, Maloney trotted out the righthander for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Illinois. The situation was desperate. The night before, the Wolverines had suffered a heart- breaking 4-3 defeat that dropped their Big Ten record to 1-8. Michigan needed a win, and it needed one badly. "At this point, every game is a big game for us," Penn said. "So there's a little more pres- sure on me. But that's all right; I like pressure. It's fun. It's a game, and you've got to keep that perspective." Penn rose to the occasion. He allowed just one run on five hits, striking out five Illini batters in See PENN, page 5B 0 SOFTBALL Ritter pitches perfect game 1n four-game sweep ttT..f_ __.._.._11__ --'--_____'.__. /al__a TIu.___ - _11 r-"._ --'*-_\9e