Thursday, October 5, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 11A

DEFENSE
Pink hats?"Cell phones? Continued from page 8A
get upset when a team gets a
first down or runs for a 20-yard
Juist a W oT m y J fgain. Well, those people don't
Statistically, Michigan has
been less impressive defending

But much of that success
through the air is a result of Mich-
igan shutting down opponents'
ground game. If teams can't run,
they are forced to throw the ball,
inevitably leading to an accumu-
lation of passing yards.
Michigan fans and critics
alike have praised the Wol-
verines' new and improved
defense. Some national pundits
have started to liken the unit's
fast, aggressive style to that nor-
mally found in the Southeastern

Conference, where defenders
fly to the ball and tackle with
authority.
Still, unlike the SEC, play-
ing defense in the Big Ten is all
about stopping the run. And like
Branch, the Wolverines won't
be happy unless they shut down
their opponent's run game.
"We take great pride in stop-
ping the run," Taylor said. "We
just want to continue holding
teams under certain yardages."
Apparently, that yardage is zero.

t's happened to all of us at than th
least once in our academic as you
careers. happer
You go to class. You forget your Guy
homework assignment. The teacher do you
doesn't collect it. And you almost Guy
get away with it until
that one person raises
his hand as everyone
gets up to leave and
says, "Professor, aren't
you going to collect our
homework?" Busted.
You get a zero.
Don't you just hate
that?'
I g ive you th is
scenario because H. JOSE
in sports, just like
in the classroom, BOSCH
certain things can The Bosch
just drive you crazy: fsatch
Sports pet peeves
(SPP).
Your SPP can come from a out wa
variety of categories, ranging from body.
chatty sorority girls at Michigan who lo
football games to something more orthop
low key like playing Madden foot-
ball against a play watcher. 3. P
But in honor of the Detroit The
Tigers' playoff run, I've compiled one of
my top-five baseball SPPs. Please, pink is
if you've insulted the game in these some I
ways, get some help. Tigers
from p
1. Guys who take their mitts to that yo
baseball games ... and are older it look
than 13 years old. goes ft
So it was cool growing up and Guiller
bringing your mitt to the game. Tigers
We all did it. But once you pass 13, true to
the mitt should stay home. Don't those c
get me wrong: A souvenir ball at your P
any age is awesome. But bringing an afte
a mitt to the game will only tempt Saturd
you to topple over that four-year- nothing
old in the seat next to you when womat
Pudge Rodriguez fouls one off into jersey
your section. And nothing is more tell me
despicable than a grown man fight- them e
ing a kid for a baseball.
Exception: You can bring a mitt 4. U
if you're accompanying a small Dur
child. That's fine. Tiger
ticket
2. The "Guess your pitch close t
speed!" game. right fi
Society loves to tap into the hung o
male machismo ideal and what bet- meant,
ter way to prove your masculinity if you
in front of hundreds of strangers point o

hrowing a baseball as hard
can? This is what usually
ns:
No. 1: Hey man, how fast
ithink I can throw?
y No. 2: Probably like 50,
dude.
Guy No.1: No
way! I can throw at
least 70. Watch me.
(Guy No.1
screams in pain as he
tears his rotator cuff.
The gauge reads 47)
Face it guys and
gals, nobody cares
how fast you throw
a baseball unless
you're doing it for
a Major League
Baseball team. And
besides, stepping up
and hurling a ball as
hard as you can with-
rming up isn't ideal for your
But for those of you out there
ve this game, you're local
edic surgeon will thank you.
ink baseball caps
last time I checked, not
the 32 MLB ball clubs had
n their color scheme. And yet
girls insist on wearing a pink
or Red Sox cap. Why? Aside
perpetuating a stereotype
u are clueless about sports,
s stupid. The same rules
or pink jersey shirts. Carlos
n has never worn a pink
jersey, why should you? Stay
your team's colors, even if
olors don't match well with
rada bag or Guess jeans. It's
rnoon at the ballpark, not
ay night at Necto. Besides,
g is more attractive than a
x wearing a real baseball
and cap. And girls, you can't
guys don't look good in
ither.
pper-deck hecklers
ing the good ol' days at
Stadium, an upper deck
meant you could still feel
o the players. Especially in
eld, where the upper deck
ver the lower deck. It also
that a player could hear you
heckled him, which is the
f heckling a player. But at


Comerica Park, if you're in the
upper deck, you might as well be at
Tiger Stadium because no player is
going to hear you. So please, don't
feel the need to heckle players as
if they were just a few rows ahead
of you. The occasional sarcastic
comment will get a chuckle or two,
but screaming at Neifi Perez and
calling him a bum for nine-straight
innings can get annoying. Shut up,
drink your beer and relax.
5. Cell phone conversations
It's unrealistic to ask for all cell
phone conversations to be prohib-
ited at a ball park, but sometimes
I wish they could be. No, I don't
care about how your stocks are
doing. It's not important for me
to know what you're doing three
weeks from now on Saturday night,
and I definitely couldn't care less
about the bunion on grandma's toe
getting better. Private cell phone
conversations are supposed to be
private, and just because we can
hear only one person in the con-
versation doesn't mean it's accept-
able to hold it in the middle of the
game. It's ten times worse when
people are trying to find each other
on opposite sides of the park.
Hey! Yeah, I'm wearing the
pink hat. Yeah, can you see me?
I'm waving my arms now ... I'm
next to the throwing game ... no?
How about now, I'm jumping up
and down ... Yeah I'm holding up
my mitt now, too. Can you see me?
You can? Awesome!
Great, now what are you going
to do? Hug from across the park?
Limit those cell phone conversa-
tions to short phrases like "bring
milk home after the game" or
"meet me at Hockeytown." Any-
thing more, and you're being a
nuisance.
So before you head off to your
next Tigers game, whether it be
next season or this Friday (I'll be
there!), remember not to commit
one of these five baseball SPPs.
Because if I see you at the game,
I may have to make fun of you in
my next column.
- Have an SPP of your own, like
columnists who write lists? You can e-
mail Bosch at hectobos@umich.edu.

the pass than it's been against
the run. The Wolverines' pass
defense ranks 70th in the
nation, giving up an average of
202 passing yards per game.

TUURA
Continued from page 8A
But Tuura and the Wolverines have used the dis-
appointment as motivation.
Coming back focused and striving for improve-
ment, Tuura doubled her shutout total from last sea-
son after the first two games, leading Michigan to a
3-0-2 start.
"She came (into this season) super fit and super
ready to go," Cottrell said.
Tuura already boasted terrific hands, great
play-reading skills and a strong ability to distrib-
ute the ball to teammates. These attributes cou-
pled with her renewed focus and determination
has made her an elite goalkeeper of the Big Ten.
But what would sports be without a tad of adversity?
Tuura hurt her shoulder on Sept. 17 in a collision
with an attacking Notre Dame player. The injury
forced Tuura out of that game, and she subsequently
missed the next two games.
"(The injury) was really frustrating, and I had
so much trouble thinking about being on the bench
since it's my last season of soccer," Tuura said.
IRISH
Continued from page 8A
college career after having only seen limited action in
eight games before yesterday. When he recorded his
first career shot.
"Notre Dame has seven upperclassmen starters,"

She spent one weekend on the sideline before
returning to the lineup last Friday against No. 19
Purdue.
She didn't miss a beat.
In typical fashion, she shut out the Boilermakers.
Her defense was especially mindful of easing Tuura
into action, as she only had to make one save to earn
the victory.
With Tuura on the bench, backup goalkeeper
sophomore Madison Gates admirably filled in.
Gates has played a role in Tuura's reemergence this
season.
"Madison is a great goalkeeper and knowing
somebody is on her tail is making (Tuura) better,"
Rademacher said.
Tuura's hard work in the offseason ensured
that she continued as Michigan's starter.
Although it might appear that the rivalry
between Tuura and Gates could trigger a shaky
relationship, the competition is nothing short
of affable.
"(Gates) is a great girl, and I have a lot of fun with
her," Tuura said.
The spotlight is on this senior leader, and she is
delivering. It's hard to argue with stats that good.
Burns said.
"They are a really experienced team. We have a
young team, but we're still dangerous. We are playing
an underdog role now, and I think that suits this team
well. No one should come in here and take this team
lightly"
The team faces off against in-state rival Michigan
State at home Sunday at 2 p.m.

Michigan failed to notch a goal in last night's, 2-0, loss to the Fighting Irish.


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