Tuesday February 7, 2006 sports.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily. com POeRlitSigan tily 10 al Olympics full of 'cool' sports High-speed sports. Low-speed sports. No-speed sports. Violent crashes. Guns. Spandex body suits. Women in sequined outfits. Men in sequined outfits. Naked emotion. Precious metals. Internation- bulky sled, then hopping in and praying that their driver can navigate down a chute of ice. In 2002, the Jamaican two-man bobsled team came within five seconds of a gold medal. Of course, their time of 3:14.94 was only good enough for 27th place (out of 37). al intrigue. Based-on-a-true-story Disney movies. No matter what your taste is, you'll probably enjoy at least a few events in the upcoming Turin Winter Olympics, which begin on Friday. To help you decide which sports to watch, I've decided to break down a few selections from the smorgasbord of Olympic entrees. Alpine skiing: When the com- petitors have 0.00 blood alcohol contents, alpine skiing is dangerous enough. Austrian skier Hermann Maier was, presumably, sober when I °" Cross-country skiing: Because literally anyone can ski cross-country with- out killing himself (unlike downhill skiing or bobsled), it's the perfect sport for heartwarming lovable-loser stories. Kenyan Philip Boit's performance in the 1998 Olympics opened the flood- gates for hopelessly over- matched competitors from warm-weather countries like Cameroon and Thailand. MATT SINGER Spitting Ice T REVOR CA MPBE LL/Daily The Wolverines hope senior Noah Ruden can build on his career high of 39 saves as they get set to face the Broncos. Brg battle on tap for Iers Western By H. Jose Bosch Daily Sports Writer The echoes of the two massive hits from last Tuesday's game at Yost Ice Arena can still be heard. In the first period of Michigan's last game against Western Michi- gan, Bronco forward Sean Weaver and Michigan freshman Jason Bai- ley were knocked out cold on the ice. The hits provide evidence of how physical that game began. And there is no indication that tomor- row's matchup in Lawson Arena will be - any different. "(Western Michi- TON gan isn't your ordinary last-place team. "We know they're going to come out flying, especially at their home rink," captain Andrew Ebbett said. "They love playing there, and their fans love to see Michigan come to town." In the last meeting between the two teams, the Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead but, midway through the second period, the score was tied at three. In the end, Western Michigan's physical gan) is not as badN as their record," Weste Michigan coach 7.3 Red Berenson said. as "Every game is a battle. They'll play this game like it's a Stanley Cup game. If they don't win another game all year, they will be happy they beat Michigan." The Broncos sit dead last in the CCHA with 15 points and a con- ference record of 6-14-3. But they are a respectable 5-6-1 at home, with four of those wins coming against Ohio State, Michigan State and Northern Michigan - three teams who are still in the thick of things for the CCHA's top four spots. With its physical brand of hockey, Western Michi- i t < f h gan at Mclgan 'p~m, style of play couldn't hold on long enough, and Michigan broke out with four unan- swered goals to win 7-3. "We can't let them get a lead at home like that," Ebbett said. "They won't let us come back. We have to be ready goals-against average of 2.87 and a save percentage of .916. "He gave us a good game (against Ohio State)," Berenson said. "He kept us in a game that we probably didn't deserve to be within a goal after the first or second period. And all you ask from your goalie is that he gives you a chance when you're not at your best" No. 7 Michigan (11-7-3 CCHA, 16-10-3 overall) will hope that Kaleniecki can stay hot tonight. The Livonia native is in the midst of a five-game goal-scoring streak. According to Berenson, Kaleniecki is a "blue collar" goal scorer who is willing to fight for the puck in front of the net. Ebbett had the same sentiment, mention- ing that the entire team must play more like Kaleniecki and score the "ugly goals." "We have to be able to work in front of the net and find your open spots," Ebbett said. "There aren't many pretty goals come playoff time. So, we're looking for the ugly one and, we're tying to get more guys to follow Kal's lead." With the end of the CCHA sea- son just three weeks away, it is now crunch time for the Wolver- ines, who want to finish in one of the top four spots in the CCHA to secure a bye in the conference tournament. A win tomorrow will propel the team past Michigan State for sole possession of second place. he went tumbling off the mountain during the 1998 Nagano Olympics downhill competi- tion. American skier Daron Rahlves was also, presumably, sober when he violently crashed during a giant slalom race in Switzer- land last year. So, it should be exciting to see Bode Miller ski "wasted" (his word, not mine). The loud- mouthed American skiing star went on "60 Minutes" proclaiming his affinity for skiing under the influence. Although Miller later apologized for his comments, he never said he'd stop racing drunk. Needless to say, I'll be glued to the TV when he jumps (or stumbles) out of the gate. Biathlon: I pondered and pondered. Why would anyone combine cross-country skiing (basically walking on skis) with rifle shoot- ing? Then, it dawned on me. This must be how Scandinavians fight wars. Bobsled: This event has been a favorite of mine since I first saw the closing scene of Cool Runnings, where Sanka Coffie, Yul Brenner and the Jamaican bobsled team carry their broken sled past the finish line. It con- sists of two- or four-person teams pushing a Horton's ends at 42 By Jack Herman Daily Sports Editor For now at least, Todd Leary can sleep easy. After hitting 41 consecutive foul shots to start the Big Ten season, Michigan guard Daniel Horton prepared to take two more with 15 seconds remaining in the first half of Saturday's 94-66 loss at Iowa. He hit his first one, but the second didn't fall. Just like that, two months of hard work went down the drain. Horton's miss stopped his steak just four shy of Leary's 46 in a row, which stands as the all-time record for most consecutive free throws made during the Big Ten season. "I knew it wasn't going to last forever," Horton said. "I mean, I'm still mad that I missed it, because I didn't bend my knees like I normally do" This season, Horton's performance from Since I have a soft spot in my heart for sappy, overproduced NBC Olympic feature stories, Boit's trailblazing is fine by me. Curling: Out of shape? Enjoy sweeping floors? Big shuffleboard fan? If any of these describe you, curling could be your ticket to the Olympics. Curling teams push a stone across an ice surface, then sweep the ice to control its speed. Canadians say it's a great time. I'll take their word for it. Figure skating: As far as I'm concerned, there are three reasons to tune into figure skating: 1) Watching the drama unfold as the skat- ers head to a closet-sized room to wait for their scores. Showered in flowers and teddy bears, the competitors' reactions cover the entire emotional spectrum. Shrieking celebra- tions, stunned silence and complete emotional breakdowns are all par for the course. 2) The potential for international conflict. In a sport where the scoring is inherently subjective, international intrigue and judg- ing shenanigans are nearly inevitable. Figure skating's governing body has instituted reforms in hopes of avoiding a repeat of 2002's "French-Judge-Gate". But I'm still rooting for a repeat of the Salt Lake City Olympics, when a figure skating controversy between Russian and Canadian skating pairs nearly sparked another Cold War. 3) Sasha Cohen (Check out this week's Sports Illustrated if you don't know what I'm talking about). Luge: It's similar to bobsled, but lugers lie on a tiny sled instead of sitting in a modified go-kart. And a wipeout in luge is even nastier. Fall off your sled, and you'll go speeding down the ice chute protected by nothing but your spandex bodysuit and crash helmet. Ouch. Skeleton: It's luge. Head-first. But the real action for the United States skeleton team has taken place outside the ice chute. Female racers recently accused U.S. skeleton coach Tim Nardiello of sexual harassment. And America's best racer, Zach Lund, has been caught using a banned substance. What "performance-enhancing" drug did Lund test positive for? Propecia, an anti-balding medication. "Sex", "drugs" and sliding headfirst down an ice chute. That's what I call extreme. If, somehow, none of those sports suit your fancy, there are even more reasons to watch the Winter Olympics. There's ice hockey, ski jumping (the original extreme sport) and snowboarding. There are the opening and closing ceremonies, grand and ridiculous pageants celebrating world brotherhood. There are the official Olympic mascots: Neve, whose head is a snowball, and Gliz (pictured above), whose head is a block of ice. Still think the Olympics are lame? Good luck avoiding them. NBC and its affiliates are airing 416 hours of Olympic coverage, so you'll almost definitely stumble across some of the XX Winter Olympic Games, whether you want to or not. - Matt Singer is excited to watch live Biathlon coverage at 4 a.m. He can be reached at mattsing@umich.edu. r i 0 anArmn ast Local for that first period and keep their fans down." The play of Ebbett and fellow seniors Brandon Kaleniecki and goaltender Noah Ruden will be key to the Wolverines' success. Berenson announced that he will start the Bloomfield Hills native in goal. Ruden is coming off a solid performance against Ohio State on Saturday night when he made a career-high 39 saves in a 3-2 win over the Buckeyes. For the season, Ruden is 5-5-0 with a ALEX I On Saturday, Horton's consecutive free throws ended four shy of the Big Ten record. the charity stripe has been nothing short of extraordinary. The stats speak for themselves. Horton ranks second in the Big Ten this season, shoot- ing 91.8 percent (78-for-85). The percentage also places him at fifth in the nation. And Horton's efforts have added up to more than just individual accolades. Horton's free-throw shooting has come up clutch for the Wolverines a number of times. Against Boston University, he hit four late foul shots on a night when his teammates went just 8-of-17 from the line. Horton's 8-for-8 showing See HORTON, page 11 ____ Y I LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO SUMMER SESSIONS Your Summer Classroom: Get Ahead or Try Something New! E MEN'S SWIMMING M' resets record books in win By Anne Uible Daily Sports Writer On Saturday, the No.6 Michigan men's swimming and diving team closed out the regular season by leaving its mark on the wall of Northwestern's Norris Aquatics Center. In the process of outscoring the Wild- cats 166-125, the Wolverines managed to break four pool records - which means the record board needs some revising. "This was a good ending to the regu- lar season," Michigan coach Bob Bow- man said. "We had some fast races, and I was very pleased with our times. We've worked out some of our problems, and I'm confident about heading into the Big Ten Championships." Freshman Matt Patton began the Wol- verines' record-breaking theme in the 1,000-yard freestyle - the second event of the afternoon. Patton led the entire 40- lap race, holding splits between 26.50 and 27.47 for all but two laps. "I was focused on this race," Patton said. "My plan was to take out in the race fairly strong and then come back faster." Following the event, Patton broke another pool record in the 500-yard free- style. After sitting out last week against Indiana, Patton was happy to make such a dominating return to racing. Break- ing two pool records was just an added bonus. "It was exciting to come back after not swimming last week and prove myself like that," Patton said. "I've never really broken any pool records before, so it was pretty cool. I think the meet gave me a lot of confidence as I head into the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Champion- ships." Senior co-captain Chris DeJong joined 0 Experience lakeside campuses near Chicago internships and summer fun. M Earn a year's worth of science or foreign language credit. Study abroad in eight exciting destinations! } Choose from more than 100 courses Early Session May 22 -.June 16 Summer Session May 22 -June 30 Summer Session July 3 - August 11 Summer Session June S - July 28 1.800.262.2373 r :YY P 9 : I I 1 I ..