8A - Thursday, October 26, 2006 The Michigan Daily - rnichigandailyxbkk Left guard stays strong ByKEVIN WRIGHT Daily Sports Editor When Adam Kraus went home last Thanksgiving,his hometown of New Orleans wasn't like he remembered it. Hurricane Katrina had ravaged the land- scape of the city as well as the now redshirt junior's house. "I was prepared a little bit from the news," Kraus said. "Nothing can really prepare you for the way itreally is. It's total devastation. It was quite a sight." His parents - who originally evacuatedto a small town outside of Jackson, Miss. - are now living in a rental home, which a friend of Kraus's parents are leasing to them. And that's where the Kraus family enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner. While Kraus's house may not be in fit liv- ing condition, his family's life has basically returned to normal. His sister, who spent a semester last year enrolled at Michigan, has gone back to Tulane. By end of the month, his family should be moved back into the house - which has been rebuilt by contrac- tors. Kraus's dad even went to the Monday Night football game to watch the NFL's New Orleans Saints play their first game in the city since the hurricane. "My dad was at the game, and he said it was unbelievable," said Kraus, who watched the first quarter on TV. And Kraus has returned to Michigan with a starting role. Playing both guard and center last season, Kraus anchors the left guard position on an offensive line that blocks for the third-best rushing attack in the Big Ten. Running back Mike Hart has already rushed for more than a 1,000 yards and recorded seven games of at least 100 yards EMMA NOLAN-ABRA: Adam Kraus has started every game at left guard for Michigan this season. After struggling with injuries last season, the redshirt junior has helped offensive line make holes for 1,000-yard rusher Mikef behind the rebuilt Michigan line, which was oft-injured last season. With the same five men in the trenches for all eight contests clearing the way for Hart, Heisman talk has started circling around the junior. "That's great if he is," Kraus said. "I take pride in the fact that he's running that well and getting all that mention. It's definitely a credit to the rest of the guys on the team, the way that everybody's been playing." The running game has returned to form after floundering last season, but Kraus knows that the offense needs to get off to a better start in the Wolverines' first few drives of the game. Against both Penn State and Iowa, Michi- gan struggled to move the ball on its open- ing drive. The Wolverines didn't score in the first quarter in either game and went Hart. three-and-out on their first two drives last Saturday. "It's evident that when you get off to a fast start, you get control of the game," Kraus said. "It's a lot easier for us to be able to go in there and score on the first drive." After coming to Michigan as a tight end, the 6-foot-6 lineman switched posi- tions. Last year, he beat out Mark Bihl for the starting center position. This season, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has kept Kraus cemented in the left guard spot - right next to All-America left tackle and roommate Jake Long. "I think (Kraus) stepped in there and he came back in great shape," Carr said. "He's done an excellent job." It's easy to get overshadowed playing next to the 6-foot-7 giant that is Long, but Kraus doesn't mind. With the talent Long brings to the field, he's happy just lining up next to him. He'll even admit he's having a pretty good year on his own. "I'm doing OK," Kraus said. "I have a lot room to improve; you can always get a lot better. But I'm playing well." NOTES: Chad Henne, Mike Hart, LaMarr Woodley and Lloyd Carr were all named finalists for awards yesterday. The Maxwell Football Club Advisory Committee named Henne and Hart as semi- finalists for the Maxwell Award for Colle- giate Player of the Year. Woodley and Carr were named semifinalists for Chuck Bed- narik Award for the outstanding defensive player of the year and George Munger Award for college coach of the year, respectively. Living up to a legacy O n Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced the winner of the Roberto Cle- mente Award, given annually to a player who best exempli- fies Clemente's dedication to humanitarian Y work. For those of you who don't know about Clemente he was one H. JOSE of the great- BOSCH est baseball players (and The Bosch Watch arguably the greatest rightfielder) of all tithe. Famous baseball broadcaster Vin Scully had one of the most famous descriptions of the Pittsburgh Pirate: "Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw oat a guy in Pennsylvania." Accordingto the book "Clem- ente" by David Maraniss, pro scout Al Campanis had this to say about the 18-year-old high schooler: "Arm: A+ (Good Carry) Accuracy: A Fielding: A (Good at his age) Reaction: A Hitting: A (Turns head but improving) Power: A+ Running speed: + Base running: A Definite prospect?: Yes Physical condition: Well built, fair size, good agility Remarks: Will mature into big man. Attending high school, but plays with Santurce. Has all the tools and likes to play. A real good looking prospect." It was clear Clemente was des- tined for greatness. And he went on to prove Campanis right. Dur- ing his first World Series in 1961 Clemente batted .310 and hit safely in each game. Solid numbers for someone play- ing in his first World Series. And although he didn't return to the Fall Classic until 1971, he made the most of his second opportunity, hitting.414 and knockinga solo home run that provided the win- ning margin in Pittsburgh's 2-1 Game 7 win. He also became the first Latino ballplayer to earn a World Series Most Valuable Player award (five have won the award since). Over his 18-year career, Cle- mente amassed 12 straight gold gloves (1961-1972), four National League batting titles, 12 All-Star selections, a career .317 batting average and collected exactly 3,000 career hits, all while playing during a time in America's history when racism was prevalent. But what set Clemente apart from most ballplayers wasn't his gaudy batting numbers or smooth fielding. Clemente is most remem- bered for being ahumanitarian. He loved to give back to the community, especially those in his native Puerto Rico. When my father (who was born and raised in Puerto Rico) was 11, he attended a skills clinic held by Clemente. Clad in his Pittsburgh Pirates uniform, Clemente used the clinic to instill the proper base- ball techniques in young children. What stood out the most to my father was that Clemente didn't just stand up in front of the chil- dren and talk down to them. He stood amongst them, right in the middle. Just Clemente and the kids. See BOSCH, Page 11A I Not even close: Blue blows past Spartans By ANDY REID Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING-The 200- yard medley relay, the first event in yesterday's women's swim- ming and diving meet between Michigan and Michigan State, was a microcosm of the entire contest. The two top swimmers were neck-and-neck, racing tightly for first place. Unfortunately for the Spar- tans, their best swimmer came in a distant third. No. 9 Michigan dominated a Spartan team (0-2 Big Ten, 1-2 overall) that finished dead last in the Big Ten last year. The Wolverines controlled the meet, winning 11 out of 12 events and breaking multiple pool records on their way to a 153-85 victory. Junior Justine Mueller, who won two individual events and participated in the winning 200-yard medley relay, smashed two pool records on the evening. Her time of 4:19.52 in the 400- yard individual medley easily bested the old record at Charles McCaffree Pool. Her 200-yard medley relay also broke the pool record. "It's always fun to break pool records," Mueller said. "I like being able to go to a team's pool and see my name on their record board." Michigan coach Jim Rich- ardson, although happy with the outcome, stressed that his team has a lot more work to do. He said the team emphasizes getting better and faster every week. "We don't place too much value on the meet because, the way we see it, it's just one day out of seven in the week," Richardson said. "The other six days of the week, are just as vital to the team's improve- ment as the meet is." Richardsonwas pleasedwith the performances in the 200- yard medley, 400-yard indi- vidual medley and 1000-yard freestyle, but he realized that a more back-to-basics approach would be necessary in practice for the team to improve. Tighter turns and streamlin- ing were problems Richardson wants to address in the next week of practice. He also saw a need for better underwater swimming. "We just have to learn to swim in meets how we can swim in practice," Richardson said. "We'll address these prob- lems and be back in the pool tomorrow." Even though the Wolver- ines (1-0, 1-1) work hard in the pool, their ultimate goal is not always winning. The team created a mission statement at the beginning of the year, which stresses char- acter attributes, like responsi- bility, commitment and work ethic. The goal of the mission statement, which Richardson said is more important to the team than win-based goals, is to teach each member of the team to use integrity in every asset of her life. "I want to see these values transfer in what the players do after the sport," Richard- son said. "At a place like the University of Michigan, we're trying to make great people, not just great players. We're trying to turn out people that will make a difference in the world." The Wolverines travel to Athens, Ga. for a two-day meet against Georgia this weekend. 4 EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAMIAN/ Justine Mueller lit up Michigan State's Charles McCaffree Pool. The junior set two pool records, helping the Wolverines to a dominant win over Michigan State. d Students Fly'CheaPer Sample Roundtrip Airfares From Detroit to: Philadelphia $151 Paris $35; Madison $161 Florence $42 Tulsa $202 Shanghai $86( Terms All fareare based on roundirip travel a ncudema tu deentnvefse servae feetof $5. Domesic fares inlude a 7 %t US transportatio Oherraxes atfeevydpnanrnrre "iineay a d a seo i.rsar subjectoaa ltyadhangeh to sno :mi Wed with a8 day advance purchase. Europe/Asiafare valid for departures between Nov 5 and Dec 19. Latin Americafares valid for departures t Dec 9, Australia fares valid for departures between Ott and Dec 8. 4 day ay required and max stay is 90 days. Blackout dates and other restrictionsmay apply. IC I StudentUniverse.com rriuayr uismber 211n 10 pm - Close Prizes For: Best Costume - Naughtiest Costume - Worst Costume Ask Us About Our Drink Speclals YOU HAVE TO BE HERE' 205 SOUTH STATE STREET - ANN ARBOR e 734.997.9143 Rain pushes game four to Thursday ST. LOUIS (AP) - Pitchers tory behind ace Chris Carpenter dominated the first three games on Tuesday night. A silver tarp of the World Series and then the covered the infield all evening, rain took over. players didn't come out to warm Game 4 was postponed up and Game 4 never got started. Wednesday night because of rain "You want to go out there and will be made up Thursday at and play, but you can't control 8:27 p.m. EDT, potentially send- the weather. It's not that big of a ing the World Series into sched- deal," St. Louis outfielder Preston uling chaos. More showers are Wilson said. expected the next two days, and Steady showers all day led to nobody was certain when the the first World Series rainout Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Car- since the 1996 opener between dinals would play again. the Atlanta Braves and New York "They're going to be dicey," Yankees. The rain fell harder as said Jimmie Lee Solomon, execu- the night progressed, and the tive vice president of baseball game was called after a delay of 1 operations in the commissioner's hour, 51 minutes, the first time a office. Series game in St. Louis has been Game 5 at Busch Stadium was rained out. pushed back to Friday night, It also was the fourth washout which was supposed to be a day of a wet postseason. The Cardi- off in the Series. It doesn't look nals had two games rained out much better this weekend in in the NL championship series Detroit, with a forecast of rain against the New York Mets, and and cold. Game 2 of Detroit's first-round The Cardinals lead the best-of- series at Yankee Stadium also was seven Series 2-1 after a 5-0 vic- postponed. I