Thursday January 12, 2006 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com PjeORThiS 3tilg 9A Forward battles bruises to help team By Daniel Levy Daily Sports Writer Injuries and hockey go hand in hand. In a sport where fans crave the big hit and a gloves-off, sweater-pulled-over-the- head brawl, getting banged up becomes a natural part of playing. No one knows this better than Michigan alternate cap- tain Brandon Kaleniecki, whose physi- cal style of play has resulted in various injuries throughout his career. "There's been a lot of experiences with injuries in hockey, at least for me," Kaleniecki said. "I've had my fair share." But this season has by far been the worst for Kaleniecki - if only because of the timing. He sat out the third period in last Saturday night's loss to Alaska- Fairbanks, and he won't take the ice this Friday when the Wolverines face the U.S. NTDP Under-18 squad in an exhibition game. As one of five seniors on the team, Kaleniecki sees the end of his Michigan hockey career nearing, and the last thing he wants to do is watch his final games from the bench. "It's very frustrating," Kaleniecki said. "This is the last run for me, and to not be able to play every game is frus- trating." Come on fans, let the boo-) STEVEN TAI AND JASON COOPER/Daily Alternate captain Brandon Kaleniecki has played through numerous injuries to further the Wolverine cause. Lately, the Wolverines have been going through a rocky stretch and they can't afford to lose any of their leaders for a substantial period of time. Know- ing this has fueled his drive to get back on the ice as quickly as possible. "We're struggling, and things haven't gone our way," Kaleniecki said. "We're still a good team. We just need to get things straightened out. We're trying to do that right now, and to not be able to help out as much as I want to, that's the worst part." To his credit, Kaleniecki has not sat around and sulked while he's been miss- ing practices and games. Instead, he's been finding different ways to make an impact from the bench. "I try to be supportive," Kaleniecki said. "The most important thing is when you aren't playing, you are supportive of the guys who are playing." Besides giving his moral support, Kaleniecki has also taken on the role of player-coach. Kaleniecki gets a different view of the game from the stands, and if he notices anything that he thinks can help the team, he isn't hesitant to speak up. "You see a couple little different things (from the stands) that they might not notice on the ice," Kaleniecki said. "It can be very helpful to hear things from anoth- er player rather than from a coach:" The support is a two-way street. While Kaleniecki tries to help the team despite his injuries, his teammates try to help him recover so that he can get back to helping them on the ice. "The guys around you appreciate the effort you're putting in," Kaleniecki said. "They help you get through (the injuries). I think your teammates are the most important part of it." If there is any benefit to getting injured, it's that Kaleniecki learned how to play through pain. "Once you take that first hit, you real- ize it's not that bad," Kaleniecki said. "That's the way I like to approach it. Just go out there, give it a run and see how bad (the injury) is really going to hurt." That's good news for Michigan, which currently sits six points behind of Miami (Ohio) for first place in the CCHA. The Wolverines will need their senior alternate-captain to be on the ice as much as possible if they are to compete for the conference title in the second half of the season. New Year's resolutions are tough. They require introspec- tion, honest self-assessment and a strong sense of discipline. On the night of Dec. 31, 2005,I was ... well ... not cogent enough to engage in any of the previously men- tioned activities. So for 2006, I decid- ed to defer my resolu- tion to a more qualified source - famed moralist, philosopher and world-renowned "SportsCenter" anchor Stuart Scott. "When you go to the' sporting events and you're M watching the athletes SIN compete as hard as they The1 can, stop booing, OK?" Scott said during ESPN2's New Year's Eve special. "There's no point in booing these athletes. They've all worked hard. They've all trained hard, and let's see you get out there and do it, all right? "If you want to go and have fun and cheer your team, do that, but if your team, if your guy, if your girl doesn't do anything, c'mon, man, don't boo them." On second thought, maybe I'll just scrap the resolution thing altogether. Maybe it's my New York upbring- ing, but I find Scott's suggestion offen- sive. It's not a perfect analogy, but I liken booing's role in sports to voting's role in a democracy. In a democracy, the only way most citizens can get through directly to a politician is in the voting booth. If Joe Schmo is unhappy with the perfor- mance of his representative, he can cast a vote against him. While the politician may not enjoy being voted out of office, he understands that the possibility is inherent in his chosen profession. Similarly, in a stadium, average fans have few (legal) options for express- ing disappointment. Booing allows disgruntled fans to harmlessly tell their team, "We, the fans of Team X, are profoundly unhappy about your perfor- mance at this juncture" (or, colloquially, "You suck!"). And although the voices of a scattered few are powerless, if fan sentiment is united, the resulting chorus of boos can send an unmistakable mes- sage to a team and its coach. Of course, I'm not a Philadelphia fan. I don't believe in booing every bad play, loss or draft pick. In fact, there are many occasions when boos should be stifled. I agree with Michi- gan basketball coach Tommy Amaker that booing has no place in collegiate sports. Middle-aged men and women A birds fly have no business jeering 18-year old kids who (usually) play sports for free. But once athletes make it to the pros, booing should be considered fair game. There are many benefits to becoming a professional athlete: large sums of money, fame, widespread admiration and beautiful, beautiful women practically lining up to satisfy your every desire. If the cost of that is a couple of jeers after you throw three intercep- tions in a playoff game (I'm looking at you, Eli Manning), I can't feel bad kTT for you. Every job has its GER drawbacks, so if you don't Balls like being booed, give up the money, fame and mod- els. Instead, become an accountant or something. No one will boo you then. I know goody-goodies will say:, "You should support your team, no matter what." To some, sports are merely a diversion, a source of enter- tainment, like going to a movie or watching an opera. These people can sleep well at night after their team loses a crucial game. For these indi- viduals, booing athletes seems silly, pointless. But as far as I can tell, booing is evidence of how deeply fans care about their favorite squads, not proof of malevolence. These are the people who won't turn on "SportsCenter" for days for fear of seeing a highlight of their team's loss. These are the people who are silent on a two-hour drive home because they're analyzing every botched play, every missed opportu- nity. These are the true diehards. There are plenty of individuals who fit this description but rarely, if ever, boo their teams. That's fine - in fact, I'd put myself in that category. But Scott's pandering "resolution" is still ridiculous. If you've paid preposterous sums for your ticket, for merchandise, for parking, for food ... if you've made an intense emotional commitment to a team ... if you've devoted time and energy that could be spent more productively in order to attend a sporting event, you should be permitted to express your displeasure in a nonabusive, nonthreat- ening, nonvulgar way - by booing. No matter what Stu Scott and a few coddled, whining pro athletes say. - If you didn't like this column, feelfree to boo Matt Singer on the Diag or in class. He can be reached at mattsing@umich.edu. 0 WOMEN'S SWIM MING AND DIVING Puerto Rico perfect place to bond for M' By David VandeVusse Daily Sports Writer Standing over a cliff in a Puerto Rican rain for- est, Michigan freshman Noelle Martin had to make a choice: jump into the water below or turn back. Her teammates cheered her on while she waited in fear. Bravely, she eventually took the plunge. "I was so scared," Martin said. "It took me about 10 minutes to finally jump." That was the scene two weeks ago when the Michigan women's swimming and diving team traveled to San Juan for the Copa Coqui . Martin and her teammates each took the leap of faith on their hike through the jungle. Aside from cliffs, the team also endured hundreds of dangerously slippery rocks on its excursion. "Some people took some falls," junior captain Lind- sey Smith said. "We were amazed no one got hurt." But the hazards and troubles forced the girls to work together. "People were helping one another" Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "It was probably one of the best team bonding things I've ever done in my 21 years here." Although the team was able to have fun, it didn't travel to Puerto Rico strictly for vacation - it also trained. "It was an extension of our normal training plan." Richardson said. "It gave us the opportunity to train in some warm weather and sunshine. It's kind of a tradi- tion with northern schools." In contrast to Ann Arbor's bleak winter weather, San Juan's climate offered the Wolverines the luxury to practice outside in the fresh air. To go along with the new setting, Richardson introduced new training techniques focused on speed and power in place of the usual aerobic exercises. The team responded well to the program, much to Richardson's delight. "Everyone seems to be at or ahead of pace for achiev- ing their goals for the season," he said. "I think we're setting ourselves up to perform really well at Big Ten's and NCA A's. That's really where our focus is." Even though the team took the trip primarily to practice, it still participated in one competition: Copa Coqui 2006. Michigan dominated, winning each event in which it participated. But, because the Wolverines left early to catch their plane, they missed the final three events. Consequently, they finished second to Yale. Still, from a training standpoint, the trip proved to be quite a success. "A lot of people had really good practices," Smith said. "It's easy to focus more on swimming when you're away from home and school. It makes training easier" Michigan now faces the tough task of returning to class and maintaining the same level of intensity it trained with over break. "It will be good to get back into a routine," Martin said. "I think that we can get back to where we were if we just keep training like we've been all season." The Wolverines will test their mettle against Notre Dame and Illinois this weekend when they host the Michigan Invitational at Canham Natatorium. - He's back! Petway electrifies Crisler and teammates L NOTE Running back Martin By Kevin Wright But on Oct. 8, the team declared Petway aca- - .:.t included two ferocious dunks. leaves for Tuscaloosa Daily Sports Writer It had been 307 days since junior Brent Petway last donned his maize and blue No. 23 jersey in Crisler Arena. But it didn't take long for Michigan fans to remember how he could affect a game. In Saturday's win over Purdue, Petway entered the Wolverines' lineup six minutes into the first half. Two minutes later, the 6-foot-8 forward brought the Crisler crowd to its feet. Senior Daniel Horton dribbled to the left side of the court while Petway brought the Boilermaker guarding him up to the right wing. Then, fresh- man Jerret Smith set a back screen, and Petway cut to the basket. Horton lobbed the ball to Pet- way, who threw it down with a familiar tenacity. "It was pretty much a dream play," Petway said. "I got the alley-oop play, and it worked. I didn't think that (Horton) was going to throw it at first. It was great to hear the crowd chant, 'Air Georgia.' " Coming off a sophomore campaign in which he averaged seven points and five rebounds a game, Petway looked to improve on last season. demically ineligible for the first semester. The announcement left the junior to watching his teammates race out to a successful 10-1 record. "Sitting (was the hardest part)," Petway said. "(I wasn't) even in uniform, so I didn't even have a chance to check into the game:" Even though Petway ached to get back on the court and contribute, he took advantage of his time on the bench. He learned more about the intricacies of basketball strategy and the Michi- gan offense. "I was able to study the game," Petway said. "Now, when I'm on the bench, I'm a student of the game. I can see what's going on in the game and where I can have more of an impact." Petway returned to action when the Wolverines traveled to Bloomington to face then-No. 16 Indi- ana. He waited behind in Ann Arbor until he got official word that he could once again suit up for Michigan. He then flew to Bloomington with sev- eral assistants who had stayed behind and arrived an hour and a half before tipoff. He registered just two points in his first action of the season, Petway looked remarkably more comfortable in the cozy atmosphere of Crisler Although the junior may feel the pressure to make up for lost time, he knows that he can't jeop- ardize Michigan's season with his personal stat line. "You can't do that, because you start hurting the team," Petway said. "You just have to stay within yourself. I just have to come in and energize the team like I did before." The impact of Petway's return isn't lost on his teammates. "We love when he's on the floor giving us ener- gy," sophomore Ron Coleman said. "He always brings a lot of energy to the game. He's always on the backboard getting rebounds and dunking, and that helps us out a lot." With Petway back, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker can utilize a much deeper frontcourt. The junior's return also allows Coleman - who played as a forward in Petway's absence - to rotate back to his natural guard position. Playing in a Big Ten ranked first in the nation in nonconference winning percentage, the Wolver- ines have entered what will be a dogfight for the rest of the season. And they're glad that Brent Petway can pull on Sophomore running back Max Mar- tin will leave Ann Arbor and enroll at Alabama, the Huntsville Times reported yesterday. Martin was part of a highly touted backfield coming into the season and split time with freshman Kevin Grady and junior Jerome Jackson as backups to: starter Mike Hart. But at the end of Mich- igan's 7-5 season, he didn't travel with the Wolverines to the Alamo Bowl because he broke an undisclosed team rule. Mar- tin finished the year with 53 attempts for 226 yards, 217 of which came before Oct. 25. He also had two touchdowns and one fumble, in Michigan's loss to Wisconsin. The Madison, Ala.,native went to Bob Jones High School in his hometown. He shunned Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Notre Dame and more to come to Michigan two years ago. It is unclear whether Martin will receive a scholar- ship, and the Daily could not reach Ala- bama coaches for confirmation. Arena last Saturday. During pregame warmups, he entertained those who had trekked to the arena early, performing a variety of slam dunks. In the game, he scored seven points in 14 minutes, in a performance that Amom Michigan announced full football schedule Tuesday SEPTEMBER 4 VANDERBILT 9 CENTRAL MICH. 1 eNotre Dame 23 WISCONSIN 30 Minnesota OCTOBER 7 MICHIGAN STATE ~EASTERN MICHiiIGAN VUNI'VERSITY. Commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. JU4 Friday, Jan. 13 Fifth Annual Color of Drums: Progres 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30p.m), Pease Saturday, Jan. 14 Hip-Hop Explosion Talent Competition 7:30 p.m., Pease Auditoriim S 0e H s Through Poetry Auditorium Monday, Jan. 16 Step, Look, Listen and Breakfast: Bringing the Past into the Present 8:30-10 a.m., McKenny Ballroom Concurrent Sessions 10-11:35 a.m., McKenny Union 25th Annual President's Luncheon Noon-1:30 p.m., Lakeshore Ballroom, Ypsilanti Marriott at Eagle Crest 47I I