8 - Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Blue
knocks
out
.
Ttans
By CHRIS HERRING
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan women's basketball coach Cheryl
Burnett knew her team had to find a way to stop
Detroit's Joyce Massey going into last night's
game.
And as the Wolverines kept Massey in check, it
became clearer and clearer that the Titans had no
idea what to do once their star scorer struggled.
Massey, who entered the contest averaging 20
points a game, was held scoreless by a persistentq
Wolverine defense, and Michigan cruised to a,
dominating 86-35 win at Crisler Arena.
The 35 points the Wolverines allowed were the 4
second-lowest total given up -
in program history. DETROIT 35
Michigan led the game MICHIGAN 86f
from start to finish, jumping
out to a 21-5 lead to open play.
While the Wolverines caught fire in the first3
half, hitting five-of-six from the 3-point line
to start the game, the Titans couldn't find a-
rhythm.
Michigan (3-1) locked downdefensively, holding
Detroit (1-3) to just 11 percent (3-of-27) shooting in
the openinghalf.
"We knew what Detroit's strengths on offense
were coming in," Burnett said. "I thought our
players did an excellent job of taking away those
strengths."
The most impressive thing about Michigan's
defensive performance was its ability to contain
Massey. In the Wolverines' last game, they came
out victorious despite getting burned by UNLV's
Sequoia Holmes for 34 points.
This time around, Michigan stifled Massey, who
was 0-for-11 from the field and fouled out.
"The gameplan for Massey was for everyone to RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
know where she was at all times," said co-captain Junior Janelle Cooper paced Michigan with 14 points in last night's 86-35 win over Detroit. It was her third double-
Janelle Cooper, who had a game-high 14 points. digit scoring effort of the season.
"If she ever got through the lane and was able to "That helps me a lot," said point guard Jessica rebounds) and Benson (nine points, four rebounds)
penetrate, someone was always there to help. We Minnfield, who tallied season highs of 10 points benefited most from Michigan's hot perimeter
played excellent defense on her, and everybody fol- and five assists. "Anybody can bring the ball up to shooting. Most of their baskets came from the low
lowed the gameplan." set the offense. That gives us more fast breaks and post.
The offense ran according to plan as well. In scoring opportunities." The 51-point win - tied for the fourth larg-
order to take advantage of Michigan's versatility, Even without the fast breaks, the Wolverines est in program history - once again showcased
Burnett played:' bigger lineup for the second con- would have been fine against the Titans. the team's depth. The Wolverines won the bench
secutive game. Michigan's strong outside shooting early in the scoring battle for the fourth straight time to open
Undoubtedly, the decision was a successful one. first half helped create good looks inside. the season; Michigan reserves tallied 50 points to
Michigan out-rebounded Detroit 56-31 during Junior Carly Benson, Cooper and Minnfield all Detroit's 17.
the contest and scored 38 points in the paint. notched threes within the game's opening min- Two games above .500 for the first time since
Even though the Wolverines went with a taller utes. 2004, the team is eager to keep improving.
set, they were able to push the ball up the floor. From that point on, the Wolverines dominated "We're really excited," Cooper said, grinning
Forwards LeQuisha Whitfield and Melinda Queen down low, scoring seven consecutive buckets in from ear to ear following the win. "We've got two
ran the floor to start the breaks, taking pressure off the paint. straight wins under our belt, and I feel like we're
the guards. Forwards Stephany Skrba (eight points, nine finally readyto go."

I

Rivals watch
The Game in
peace abroad

LONDON - I can say with
complete certainty that Lon-
don was not where I imag-
ined finding myself for the
college football game the
world dubbed "one of the
games of the century."
Nor did I
imagine that I
would find myself
explaining the
rules of American
football (not to
be confused with
fufiball or le foot-
ball, the German. by Eie
and French words
for soccer, respectively).
Nor did I imagine that
by the end of the evening, I
would find myself chanting
"allez les blues" - French for
"Go Blue" - during Michi-
gan's final-defensive stand.
But London's Sports Cafe
on Haymarket Street played
host, for one evening at least,
to the tamest mix of maize
and scarlet since before the
Toledo War.
The bar, filled to the max
with roughly 500 people, did
not resemble the Horseshoe.
Michigan fans were not
shoved into a distant corner
in hopes of being forgotten
or cursed at in hope that they
would leave.
Michigan and Ohio State
fans weren't separated by
floor. Instead, fans mingled
with each other - without
using expletives.
Not a single fight broke
out; no couches were set on
fire.
In fact, an Ohio State fan
offered me some of her fries.
London is no Columbus
or Ann Arbor, and that's not
such a bad thing.
"This might be the first
time I've watched a Michi-
gan-Ohio State game where
alcohol was involved that
fights did not break out," said
Jason Merszei, a recent Uni-
versity grad.
Atonepointduringtheeve-
ning I found myself standing
next to a young Englishman,
Dave Nolan, decked head to
toe in Ohio State garb. Nolan
studied abroad at Ohio State

during the Buckeyes' 2002
title year.
"I hate Michigan, but I
hate the Scottish more,"
Nolan said.
I also found numerous
Michigan alumni who lived in
mydorm-West
Quad - their
freshman year.
I even had
conversations
with Buck-
eyes about Ann
E ADArbor. Every-
.Hngel . thing from
what it's like to
go to a game in the Big House
to the three-story beer bong
on Packard Street.
It's not every day for an
expatriate gets to reminisce
about State Street - even if
it is with an Ohio State fan.
We are the outnumbered
ones here. I rarely go to a bar
where I'm not yelled at for
being an American. Often I
am accused killing Iraqis.
Every American, Buck-
eyes included, is outnum-
bered outside the bar. Quite
frankly, as far as Michigan
and Ohio State fans are con-
cerned, we are more alike
than we are different.
By the forth quarter I was
surrounded by Austrians
who were perplexed by the
phenomenon of American
football.
I explained what offsides
meant and answered who the
guys in the black and white
were (referees). And it wasn't
just me: I was helped by two
men clad in scarlet and-grey.
Here was an expatriate Wol-
verine and two Buckeyes
explaining to two Austrians
what the quarterback's job is
- quite a sight to be seen.
As the crowd flooded out,
numerous Ohio State fans
leaned across the table to
shake a Wolverine's hand.
No punches were thrown.
Daily Sports Writer
Eileen Hengel is currently
studying abroad in England.
She will offer updates about
her sporting adventures
throughout the semester.

I

a

Streaking Icers face
MSU before Showcase

g
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By JAMESV. DOWD
Daily Sports Writer
Apparently, getting a green-and-
white monkey off its back was all
No. 7 Michigan needed to get back
on track.
The Wolverines have played five
games since defeating rival Michi-
gan State for the first time in 10
meetings (a 6-2 victory on Nov. 4).
Michigan has won all five con-
tests.
With the streak, the Wolverines
find themselves in second place
in the CCHA heading into their
toughest week of the season. Over
the next five days, they will take on
three top-tier opponents.
The gauntlet begins tonight when
Michigan again hosts the Spartans
at Yost Ice Arena.
The Wolverines will have to
make a quick turnaround from last
weekend's series at Ferris State.
But Michigan coach Red Berenson
believes the short layoff might be a
good thing for his team.
"It should be a test for our team,"

Berenson said. "We're coming off
of a pretty good stretch, but I can't
tell you that we're as good as that,
and I can't tell you that we're not.
We need a good test, and (Michigan
State) is the kind of team we want to
play. ... We've got some confidence
now, we've got a little momentum,
so hopefully, that will show up
(tonight)."
The Wolverines (6-2-0 CCHA, 9-
3-0 overall) didn't have momentum
on their side the last time the Spar-
tans skated into Ann Arbor.
At that point, Michigan had lost
three of four, including a 7-4 drub-
bing at Michigan State's Munn Ice
Arena the night before. The Wolver-
ines had also struggled offensively,
averaging fewer than three goals
per contest during that four-game
stretch.
But Michigan turned things
around quickly, scoring just 17 sec-
onds into that contest. Since then,
the Wolverines' offense has been
prolific, scoring five goals per game
during its winning streak.
Berenson said he's pleased with

his team's offensive success, but
points to defense as the key to victory
against the Spartans (4-3-1, 6-3-1).
"If you want to win every night,
you can't expect to score five or six
goals," Berenson said. "We've had
games where we've only given up
one goal, and we end up scoring
more. But in the games where we've
given up more, we've found it tough-
er to score. It's kind of a catch-22."
Now that the Wolverines have
broken their winless streak against
Michigan State; it might be easier
for them to look past tonight's game
to this weekend's College Hockey
Showcase, where Michigan plays
No. 1 Minnesota and defending
national champion Wisconsin.

Forward Chad Kolarik has six points in Michigan's five-game win streak.
The Wolverines' senior class has "Michigan State is always huge,"
gone 0-6 in the Showcase, which Dest said. "But now we have five
has left a bitter taste in its mouth wins, and we have to keep it going.
and given it plenty of motivation for Every game we get more and more
this weekend. excited to play, and this time it's
Even so, alternate captain Jason Michigan State, so it will always be
Dest knows his teammates will be a good game."
focused on the Spartans tonight. If the Wolverines beat Michigan

State, they will string together their
first six-game winning streak since
the 2004-05 season.
A win might also give Michigan
enough momentum to notch its first
wins against Wisconsin and Minne-
sota since the Wolverines swept the
pair on the road in 2002.

4
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I

FOOTBALL
Daily reporter goes inside Ohio State's student section

By DAVE MEKELBURG
Daily StaffReporter
COLUMBUS - Do you remember play-
ing capture the flag when you when you
were a kid?
When you're the only one left on your
team, deep in enemy territory, knowing
that at any moment you might get caught?
That's what being in Buckeye country is
like for a Michigan fan.
That anxiety never quite left during my
24 hours in Columbus, though in the hours
leading up to the game, I was welcomed
in a friendly way that threw me off. The
treatment was comparable to my experi-
ence in East Lansing last year. In fact,
these fans were, at times, much more will-
ing to chat.
An old man spent 15 minutes telling me
about Ohio State's gameday tradition, and
several Buckeye fans asked to make sure
I was enjoying myself. Sure there were

the expletives and an alarming number of
insults comparing me to a homosexual, but
nothing that made me openly weep. The
highest point of my day was walking down
the residential Neil Avenue and having an
entire street chant "assholes" at my friend
and me.
All day, the only thing on my mind
- other than The Game, of course - was
how overrated these fans really were.
Of course, that was before the game.
And as Penn State coach Joe Paterno used
to say in those Big Ten ads, sportsmanship
is important "before, during and after the
game."
Apparently, Buckeye fans didn't have
the attention span to listen to the entire
commercial.
What erupted after the game was sim-
ply pandemonium.
The Columbus landscape already
seemed hellish to me before the game,
with its spewing smokestacks and build-

ings swathed in scarlet lighting. Following
the game, the city completed its transfor-
mation into hell on earth.
Demons cloaked in scarlet were jump-
ing up and down on cars and screaming at
everyone walking by. Even though Michi-
gan had lost in Ohio State's closest game
all season, the fans decided that a three-
point margin was enough to prove that
Michigan sucks.
The harassment before the game was
language fit for wedding vows compared
to what I heard afterward. I was told
several times that I perform fellatio and
Michigan does, too.
I had to push away several Buckeye
faithful who tried to touch me whilst let-
ting me know that I sucked, had sex with
other men and was stupid and a commu-
nist.
Someone even told me that I would be
watching Michigan play Boise State at the
Motor City Bowl, a literally impossible

scenario.
I didn't understand what happened. It
was as if beating Michigan instantly got
every fan drunker than an alcoholic at a
Bar Mitzvah.
Eventually, fans in Columbus had
enough time to actually get drunk again,
and their vocabulary descended into three
words: Ohio (which they proved they can
spell), fuck and Michigan.
What was amazing about the Ohio State
fan base was its absolute joyless attitude
toward its football team. While our go-to
phrase is "Go Blue," theirs is "Fuck Michi-
gan." During the game, they booed the
Maize and Blue much louder than they
cheered for the Scarlet and Gray. Sure,
they love their Bucks, but they hate the
Wolverines a lot more.
Their promotional football poster
summed it up. At the bottom, after display-
ing the team's schedule, were two words:
"Beat Michigan." That is the Buckeyes'

season.
After getting back to the car, I assumed
that Ihad seen the worst of what Ohio
State had to offer, but I was wrong.
While waiting to turn out of the park-
ing lot, I noticed two Buckeye fans who
looked like they were roughly 65 years
old. They peered into the car and noticed
our Michigan gear. As they walked
around the back of the car, I heard a
shaking noise and realized that two
senior citizens had banged the antenna
on the back of the car.
After two hours of driving, we finally
stopped at a Waffle House in Lima, Ohio,
assuming we were far enough away to
finally sit down and relax.
But sure enough, we walked in and
there was a family dressed in scarlet and
gray. The family's little girl, no older than
six, caught us from her table and said,
"Michigan sucks." That's what being in
Buckeye country is like for a Michigan fan.

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