Basketball 0 falls short Both the men's and women's basketball teams lose in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. PAGE3E Fall 2005 SPONTRTS NEW STUDENT EDITION Baseball earns a spot Despite losing in the Big Ten tournamnet, the baseball team earned a bid to the NCAA regionals. PAGE GE SECTION E, Yost has the best fans in A 2 An instant classic MICHIGAN 45, Michigan State 37 (30T) Blue beats Spartans in overtime thriller B y now, you have probably received that manila envelope with your student football tickets. Section 31, Row 50, right? You'll enjoy those seats behind the end zone. I promise. Just imagine last year's overtime win over Michigan State. Imagine watching the Wolverines and Spartans battle in a heavyweight fight, scoring over and over in that end zone. There's no question that you'll have similar moments and remember them forever. Those are the moments (along with all- nighters in the fish bowl) that define a tenure at Michigan. But believe me, there's a lot more to sports at Michigan than the four hours you'll spend in the Big House every fall Saturday. In fact, some of the most exciting sports moments I've enjoyed in Ann Arbor have transpired just a few hundred feet from the Big House. To be honest, my freshman year was not the best year for the Wolverines. Quar- terback John Navarre was seriously strug- gling, and the football team lost the first road game of the year (something they've done each of the last five years now, damn). That loss to Washington essentially ended all hope of a national title. To make it even worse, we later suffered through a heart- breaker to Michigan State in a game that lasted 60 minutes plus one extra second and lost to Ohio State at home. So the football season was a wash. My life-long friend Sam and I wanted something more. And since the basketball program had just hired Tommy Amaker as its new coach, we felt as if Crisler Arena would be the best place to take our loud, screaming voices and maize t-shirts. Boy were we wrong. The team went 11-18 that year, and all I can remember is the 104-83 clobbering by Duke (that, sadly, wasn't even that close) and one other game - I think it was against Boston College - that was quite probably the only other game I went to that season. The crowd was dead, the seats were empty and the team was flat. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't take yourself to Crisler. Especially this year, basketball games could be pretty exciting. Daniel Horton and Lester Abram should be back, and Brent Petway might be able to stay healthy too and perhaps touch the ceiling. Who knows? Maybe Courtney Sims will finally figure out how to be a dominant big man. But Crisler is not where the real action is. Maybe try Cliff Keen Arena for a volley- ball game. The fans there are always rowdy. You can stay in the winter for men's gym- nastics and hear the gymnasts themselves bang on the cowbell and yell into the stands to get the fans hyped. Water polo at Canham Natatorium is always a blast, and the team finished sixth in the country last year. Field hockey won the school's only national cham- pionship in my first four years here. Give them a try in the fall before it's too late. Don't forget about the up-and-coming baseball team or the softball team that was No. 1 in the country for most of the year last year, either. But whatever you do, make sure you buy yourself some hockey tickets. Yost Ice Arena houses some of the best athletes in Ann Arbor, and it definitely hosts the best fans in the city - probably even farther than that. If you go to Yost, you'll quickly learn all the right cheers. You'll learn when to tell the ref that he has a "porno mus- tache" and when to tell the opposing goalie that his mom just called. Of course, you can't just sit there on a cell phone like a sorority sister at a football game. When you go to Yost, you have to pay attention. Because it's your responsibility to ask "how much time is left" when there's one minute left in each period. You have to keep track of the score and know the opposing goalie's name. It's not easy, but you'll have a blast. And they say that the Yost crowd is good enough to add a goal to the Wolverines' total each game. The team pretty much always wins at home, and it's as professional as any college team in the nation - probably because more than half of the team's players have already been drafted by NHL squads. When I got a chance to cover the icers last season I asked legendary coach Red Beren- son about Yost. "You could write a chapter about that," he said. "It's a players' rink. The noise in here, By Gennaro Filice NOVEMBER 1, 2004 Daily Sports Writer With just under nine minutes left in the game, the Big House was as quiet as it has been in years. DeAndra Cobb's 64-yard touchdown run gave Michigan State a seem- ingly insurmountable 27-10 lead. But the Wolverines weren't quite ready to fold in the 97th meeting with their in-state rival. "One of the things that we always talk about around here (is) the things that it takes to be a championship team," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "There's a lot of things you have to be able to do: You have to continue to believe in yourself when things look bleak." True freshman quarterback Chad Henne, who finished 24-of-35 for 273 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, adhered to Carr's demands for optimism: "We were sitting on the sideline and everybody was down, and I was thinking in my head, 'There's still a chance.' " And following an unbelievable finish to reg- ulation, three Braylon Edwards touchdowns and three overtime periods, the Wolverines had completed one of the most improbable wins in school history, prevailing 45-37. "This is the greatest game I've ever played in," senior cornerback Marlin Jack- son said. "The feeling is unexplainable. It's one of the greatest victories I've ever been a part of, and maybe one of the greatest ever at the University of Michigan." Michigan moved from 12th to 10th in the Associated Press rankings and remained unbeaten in the Big Ten. Michigan began on the comeback trail in its drive following Cobb's touchdown. The Wol verines put together a nine-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard Garrett Rivas field goal with 6:27 left to bring Michigan within 14. The drive was fueled by a 46-yard bomb to Edwards, who had struggled in the game's first three quarters. - On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore fullback Brian Thompson recovered Rivas's onside kick. "It was not meant for us to lose," Edwards said. "If you get an onside kick, it's like maybe we're supposed to win. It's divine intervention - it comes from above. I got down on my knees and thanked God. I said, 'God, you put us in a situation to make it happen.'" Henne got the Wolverines in the endzone in just 15 seconds, completing an li-yard pass to Mike Hart - which was coupled with a 15-yard face-mask penalty against Michigan State - and then airing it out to Edwards for a 36-yard touchdown. On the reception, Michigan State cornerback Jaren Hayes had positioning, but Edwards just reached over Hayes's head and ripped the ball away before coming down in the endzone. After two penalties on Michigan State's next drive - a problem that marred coach John L. Smith's team all day as it accumulat- ed 14 penalties for 123 yards - the Spartans punted to Michigan with 3:24 left. Hart started the drive with a 26-yard run up the Michigan sideline. Immediately following the run, Edwards reflected the mounting excitement with a shimmy at the Michigan State 20-yard line. And on the very next play, Edwards sent Michigan Sta- dium into absolute pandemonium, as he once again beat Hayes in single coverage for a 21- yard touchdown, tying the game at 27. "(Edwards) made some unbelievable catches, and if he doesn't make those plays, we're not standing here," Carr said. "He was an All-American today, and he's been an All-American all year long." Michigan State (3-2, 4-4) tried to end the game with a 51-yard field goal into a strong wind as time expired, but kicker Dave Rayner missed short and left. In overtime, Michigan State won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. The Wolverines failed to get a first down in their drive and took a 30-27 lead on a 34-yard field goal by Rivas. Michigan State drove the ball effectively in its pos- session and faced a third-and-one from the four-yard line. The Spartans sent See STATE, page 2E RYAN WEINER/Daily Senior Braylon Edwards makes the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Michigan State to send the game into overtime. Edwards's clutch touchdowns lead 'M' to win in 01 A s Michigan State running back 1 DeAndra Cobb scampered down the sideline for his secondI touchdown, you were all thinking the i same thing - "Hello, central Florida." t Saturday's game came dangerously closet to joining a seemingly endless number ofc other Michigan football disappointments in recent years.1 Braylon Edwards was thinking the c same as well.1 Edwards became emotional with fel- low senior Marlin Jackson before the c game, realizing that it was the duo's sec-t ond-to-last game ever at the Big House. 1 But the first 50 minutes of Saturday's i game were far from what Edwards had envisioned when deciding to return for 'M' edges Bruins for national title By Scott Bell JUNE 1, 2005 Daily Staff Writer OKLAHOMA CITY - After 1299 days of waiting, three more innings couldn't hurt. The No. 1 Michigan softball team put together its second comeback victory in as many nights, defeating No. 7 UCLA 4-1 in 10 innings to win the 2005 Women's Col- lege World Series. The national champion- ship is the first title that any of the 26 varsity teams at Michigan (65-7) has won since the field hockey team won its title in 2001. "This is obviously a great moment for his senior season. A potential third-down catch went right through his hands. He fumbled the ball after a reception deep inside Michigan State territory, a play that could have cost the Wolverines dearly. On top of that, Edwards hadn't had a big catch in the Wolverines' previous two games against Illinois and Pur- BOB HU due. While this did not bother Edwards at first, Unleash he started to become NOVEMBER: increasingly frustrated against the Boilermakers because he was unable to change the game like he had earlier on in the season. Edwards did not forgo the NFL in order to be another face in the crowd. During a Michigan career in which he was considered by many people a selfish player who dropped passes, Edwards has often felt that he is misun- derstood. That started to change this season when Edwards changed his image both on and NT off the field. He was making incredible catches, and helping ?d his team through his excellent 2004 blocking and leadership. That image started to fade - fairly or unfairly - after his recent perfor- mances. But then Edwards turned Saturday's game into what Lloyd Carr told his team afterwards was the greatest game ever played at Michigan Stadium and broke the all-time Michigan career receiving yardage record. Down by 17 with eight minutes to go after Cobb's run, the Wolverines were in dire straits. For a team that had trouble scoring in the red zone all sea- son, they had just one option - throw it to Braylon. "If we don't get something going, it's not going to happen," Edwards said to his teammates. The plan worked. Michigan quarterback Chad Henne connected on a 46-yard bomb to Edwards, setting up a field goal. Then backup fullback Brian Thompson recovered an onside kick, allowing Henne - who had been uncharacteris- tically inaccurate with his passes going into the fourth quarter - to throw it up again. The throw was short and was headed for the hands of Michigan State cornerback Jaren Hayes. But Edwards jumped up from behind Hayes, used his six-inch height advantage and snatched the ball away. One minute, Michigan State was well on its way toward its first win in Ann Arbor since 1990. The next, it was hold- ing on for dear life. "If (Edwards) doesn't make those See HUNT, page 2E U: he I, SICE HOCKEY Icers blow a 3-0 lead at regionals By Gabe Edelson MARCH 28, 2005 Daily Sports Writer GRAND RAPIDS - The players on the Michigan hockey team didn't travel to the NCAA Midwest Regionals for this. They didn't take the ice at Van Andel Arena to see their three-goal lead evaporate into the tension-filled air, their national title hopes obliterated by four unanswered goals from the Tigers of Colorado College. They didn't pour out blood, sweat and tears all season long only to be denied a trip to the Frozen Four for the second straight season. And they certainly didn't plan on Saturday's game being the swan song for Michigan's 10 seniors. But that's exactly what happened in the Wolverines' heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Colorado College on Saturday night, just a day after ousting Wis- consin in an impressive 4-1 win. The defeat knocked Michigan out of the NCAA Tournament and ended its season earlier than senior captain Eric Nystrom would have liked. "It's ridiculous," Nystrom said. "I'm so upset. I'm so pissed that we lost this game tonight that I can't even talk about it without wanting to throw this micro- phone across the room." Despite first-period power play goals by juniors Jeff Tambellini and Bran- don Kaleniecki and Nystrom's own score 1:32 into the second frame, the Wol- The Wolverines beat UCLA 4-1 in the final game of the National Championship series. the plate to give Michigan a 4-1 lead. "I tried to keep my head down on the ball because I had been pulling it out earlier," early. Seldon then got junior Grace Leutele to strike out looking with a pitch that caught the outside corner of the plate.