12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Zid ane
and foe
to hug it
out foe {
BERLIN (AP) - Soccer's
governing body wants Zinedine
Zidane and Marco Materazzi to
make peace after the infamous
World Cup head-butt.y
"We are definitely working '
on that," FIFA president Sepp -
Blatter said Monday before a
two-day conference to assess
the World Cup in Germany.-
One suggestion was for them
to meet at Robben Island in
South Africa, where former
President Nelson Mandela and
other anti-apartheid leaders
were once imprisoned, Blatter
said.
The next World Cup is sched-
uled to take place in South
Africa in the summer of 2010.m
"We are working on bringing
together Zidane and Materazzi
and to bring to end this story,"
Blatter said.-
Zidane, the France captain
playing the final game of his ,.;
career, rammed his head into
the Italian defender's chest dur-
ing extra time of the World Cup
final July 9 in Berlin.
Italy went on to win the title
on penalty kicks.
Zidane had already
announced his intention to
retire after the World Cup. The
play marred one of the great-
est soccer careers of the past
decade.
Materazzi acknowledged;
last week that he had insulted
Zidane's sister, and was ready
to resolve this matter. AP PHOTO
Zidane told Canal Plus tele- Zinedine Zidane was given a red card during this summer's World Cup final for headbutting Italian defender
vision the play is now "in the Marco Materazzi. The assault was apparently In response to a derogatory statement about Zidane's sister.
past," although he has had He will serve his punishment Penalties take out the essence members of UEFA.
nightmares about losing the by doing community work. He of soccer as a team sport and it "I am still a happy FIFA
World Cup. also was fined $6,000, while becomes 1-on-l." president," Blatter said. "For
"But things happened the Materazzi was suspended for The two-day conference is- four weeks, positive emotions
way they happened," he said. two games and fined $4,000. organized by FIFA and Euro- went into the world."
"We have to live with it." Blatter is unhappy with a World pean soccer's governing body He said the television audi-
Zidane was banned by FIFA Cup decided by penalty kicks. for national team coaches and ence for the four-week tour-
for three games for his actions, "We have no other solution," technical directors of the 32 nament surpassed 30 billion
even though he is retired. he said. "But we will find one. World Cup teams, plus all-other viewers.

SPRO FOOTBALL
Vikes down
Skins in MNF
season opener

A

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -
The Minnesota Vikings have a
new coach, a new attitude and
an old quarterback who knows
how to win.
Brad Johnson led a 54-yard
fourth-quarter drive, capped by
Ryan Longwell's 31-yard field
goal with one minute remain-
ing, to give the Vikings a 19-16
victory over the Washington
Redskins on Monday night.
The victory made Brad Chil-
dress a winner in his head coach-
ing debut, and made Johnson a
winner for the 66th time as a
starter two days before his 38th
birthday. Johnson, who com-
pleted 16 of 30 passes for 223
yards and a touchdown, has won
an impressive 61 percent (66 of
109) of his starts with four teams
in his 15-year career.
The Redskins had a chance to
tie after Longwell's kick, but John
Hall - who has struggled with
leg injuries for the last two years
- was wide left with a poorly hit
48-yard field goal attempt with 12
seconds remaining.
"My heart was kind of stop-
ping there. I was tying my shoes
getting ready for an overtime
game," Johnson said. "Fortu-
nately, it went a little wide left
for us and turned out great."
Chester Taylor, the Vikings'
free agent signing from Balti-
more, rushed 31 times for 88
yards and a touchdown, upstag-
ing Clinton Portis's surprise
return for Washington. Portis,
who spent the week downplaying
his chances for the game because
of a shoulder injury, entered the
game late during the Redskins'
first drive and finished with 39
yards on 10 carries.
The loss subdued a Wash-
ington crowd that turned the
stadium into sea of flutter-
ing red, white and blue as they
waved American flags to com-
memorate the fifth anniversary
of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks.
A game that had no turnovers
was decided with a winning
Vikings drive that began at Min-
nesota's 33 with 5:34 remaining.
A 13-yard pass to Troy William-
son converted a key third down,
and 15 yards were added to the
play when Redskins safety Sean
Taylor grabbed Williamson's
face mask.
From there, Chester Taylor
carried five straight times to the
Washington 13, forcing the Red-
skins to use all their timeouts
before Longwell's winning kick.
The game featured a Hall of
Fame coach (Joe Gibbs) against
a first-time head coach mak-
ing his debut, as well as two
of the oldest quarterbacks in
the league. Washington's Mark
Brunell turns 36 on Sunday.

Childress has vowed to
change the culture of a Vikings
team that was belittled follow-
ing last year's infamous "Love
Boat" party involving several
players. He made a statement
before the game by deactivating
safety Dwight Smith, who was
cited for indecent conduct two
weeks ago.
But the Vikings often looked
like a team adjusting to a new
system. Their mistakes included
a mishandled extra point, sever-
al drops and untimely penalties,
including a roughing-the-passer
call on third down that kept a
Redskins drive alive.
Still, they were able to beat a
Redskins team that unveiled a
new offense designed by assis-
tant coach Al Saunders. Saun-
ders' arrival meant Gibbs wasn't
calling plays for the first time
in his head coaching career,
and the attack relied heavily on
laterals and screens, making for
some odd stats. At halftime, a
receiver, Santana Moss, led the
team in rushing, while a run-
ning back, Laddel Betts, led the
team in receptions. Receiver
Antwaan Randle El lined up in
the backfield several times.
The Vikings took the open-
ing kickoff and marched 80
yards in 10 plays, converting on
third-and-9 and third-and-7 and
scoring on third-and-goal from
4. A 46-yard pass to Williamson
set up Taylor's touchdown run
three plays later, but the extra
point was botched when holder
Chris Kluwe fumbled the ball
and was tackled attempting to
run toward the end zone.
Portis, recovering from a left
shoulder that was partially dis-
located on Aug. 13, played as a
backup for the first time since
Sept. 30, 2002, the fourth game
of his rookie year with Denver.
He took hits on the shoulder
and kept on going, scoring the
Redskins' only touchdown on
a 5-yard pitch-sweep that put
Washington ahead 10-6 in the
second quarter.
Minnesota safety . Darren
Sharper saved another touch-
down with a jarring hit that
knocked the ball out of Moss's
hands in the end zone late in 4
the half. The Redskins settled
for a field goal, but the Vikings
matched it with a 3-pointer on
the final play of the half to cut
Washington's lead to 13-9.
Marcus Robinson beat cor-
nerback Carlos Rogers for a
20-yard touchdown catch to
give the Vikings a 16-13 lead
in the third quarter. The Red-
skins tied the game on the next
drive. Unable to get in the end
zone after having second-and-3
from the 4, Washington settled
for Hall's third field goal.

IRISH
Continued from page 11
fumble. It made us extra cautious, a blessing in disguise," he
said.
It became evident that the Irish were not the same team that won
the National Championship last season. For the first time since
1963, they lost consecutive home games, ending that season 2-7.
The Irish, who host Purdue next week, have never started a
season with three losses.
For Michigan, the Duke contest in Ann Arbor will have to be a
letdown. Getting the team to make an emotional commitment to
next Saturday will be the coaching staff's biggest problem.
The win was only Michigan's second on natural turf in three-
plus years, the other coming at Purdue last season.
Leach said he might have been rusty in the first half because of
missing practice early in the week, but his teammates were quick
to praise his performance.
"Leach bailed us out last week, and he bailed us out again
today," Huckleby said.
"We had to get to work to help the Kid," guard John Arbeznik
said. "Because without the Kid, we're nothing."
Wants You!
Does the opportunity for travel, being part of a
team and personal growth excite you?
If so, then you may be who we are looking for as
a student manager for the 2006 season.
Please call 615-9502 to find out how you can
become part ofthe excitement this fall.

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