6B - Monday, November 27, 2006
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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Brady, Patriots topple Bears
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -
The Patriots mystique is back.
That's not necessarily because
they beat Chicago 17-13 yesterday.
It's because they beat the Bears the
way the Bears have beaten other
people.
It's also the way New England
beat the rest of the NFL when they
won three Super Bowls in four sea-
sons between 2001-2004.
Never mind that it was ugly.
There were nine turnovers in the
game, five by the Patriots and three
of them inside the Chicago 20.
Not quite the formula for winning
Super Bowls.
"You win, it doesn't matter, you
come back the next day and cor-
rect the mistakes," said linebacker
Tedy Bruschi, one of the core play-
ers from the three championship
teams.
That's one thing that makes the
Patriots unique. They're not into
looking good. Only winning.
What made this unique was how
it was accomplished and who did
it:
- Tom Brady, with an 11-yard
run for a first down at the Chi-
cago 14 that set up the winning
touchdown in the fourth quarter.
En route, he put a move worthy
of LaDainian Tomlinson on Brian
Urlacher, probably the game's pre-
mier defender.
- Richard Seymour, who has
been the NFL's best defensive line-
man for the last two or three years
but only ordinary this season. Not
on Sunday. He tipped a field goal
attempt (Robbie Gould's first miss
of the season); recovered a fumble,
and sacked Rex Grossman. "Feels
pretty good," said Seymour, who
has been bothered by elbow and
groin injuries and actually sat out
part of the loss to the Jets two
weeks ago.
- Asante Samuel, who had three
interceptions, including one that
clinched the game with 1:46 left.
He's only 25 and in his fourth sea-
son so he normally isn't listed with
the usual playmaking subjects
- Brady, Seymour, Bruschi, Mike
Vrabel and other veterans are the
guys in that category. But those
things are contagious, and Samuel
may be the next guy on the list.
Freshman Billy McKay placed ninth this weekend at the Nike Purdue Kiahu-
na Collegiate Invitational, and got rave reviews from his coach in the process.
M posts top
finish
Tom Brady, New England quarterback and Michigan alum, led the Patriots to a17-13 win against the NFC-leading Chicago Bears.
By MATT JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
A late-November trip from
frigid Michigan to tropical
Hawaii would probably mean
carefree relaxation and lei-
sure for most students. But the
Michigan men's golf team took
its trip to the Aloha state as an
opportunity to showcase its
continued improvement in the
last tournament of the fall sea-
son.
At the Nike Purdue Kiahuna
Collegiate Invitational, the
Wolverines finally got their
breakthrough performance of
the fall.
After strurgling against
tough competition in tourna-
ments earlier this season, Mich-
igan more than held its own in
Hawaii with a second-place fin-
ish out of nine teams. Just No.
23 Texas finished higher than
the Wolverines in a field that
also included No. 1 Alabama
and No. 5 Clemson.
Coming on the heels of a
fourth-place finish at its last
tournament, the 49er Collegiate
Classic, Michigan's perfor-
mance in Hawaii might indicate
that the program is onthe verge
of becoming competitive on the
national scene. Victories over
nationally ranked teams will
help the Wolverines against Big
Ten teams and especially dur-
ing the Big Ten tournament,
where they have struggled in
the past.
Michigan coach Andrew
Sapp credited hard work for the
Wolverine's surprising finish.
"Our team has worked
extremely hard over the past
month or so preparing for this
tournament, and they really
earned this," Sapp said through
the athletic department. "I'm
just so proud of them because
they did a great job."
Sapp noted that an extra
three days of preparation in
Hawaii to prepare before the
tournament even helped the
team immensely.
Three Wolverines finishing
in the top 10 didn't hurt the
team's performance, either.
Junior Tim Schaetzel finished
in a tie for third, while senior
Kevin Dore and freshman Billy
McKay finished tied for eighth
and ninth, respectively.
"Tim (Schaetzel), we kind
of expected to play well, but to
have Kevin (Dore) back him up
really well and finish eighth was
awesome," Sapp said through
the athletic department. "Billy
(McKay) we knew was play-
ing well, and we really felt like
he was getting more and more
mature throughout the fall, as.
far as his golf was concerned,
and really starting to come into
his own."
Michigan has the winter off
before the spring season starts
with the Puerto Rico Classic on
Feb. 25.
No, at 8-3, the Patriots probably
won't get home-field advantage
throughoutthe playoffs - they trail
Indianapolis and San Diego and
have already lost to the Colts. But
do they need it? This win on their
new Field Turf was just their third
in six games at Gillette Stadium.
On the other hand, they are 5-0 on
the road, where they also won two
of their three AFC title games.
Beyond that, they are just differ-
ent.
Good different.
Just ask Vinny Testaverde, who
signed two weeks ago after play-
ing 19 years against New England.
Now that he's an insider, he has a
new different perspective.
"How are they different?" the
43-year-old third-string QB asked.
"The guys like to play football.
That doesn't sound so unique, but
it is. There are just more of them
on this team. On some teams, they
just like to get paid, or like to be on
TV shows. They just love the game.
Everyone who sticks here is ofgood
quality."
The most obvious of that group
are the survivors from the Super
Bowl teams - the Bradys, Bruschis
and Seymours. Now maybe Samuel.
It's why they pick up veteran win-
ners, like Junior Seau, who injured
his right arm on Sunday and didn't
return to the game.
No matter - they win. And they
beat good teams like Chicago in a
game that both sides seemed to
enjoy.
Urlacher and Brady, both stars
of major magnitude, were two guys
having fun.
"After that play, he told me 'You
embarrassed me,"' Brady said. "I
told him, 'You've been embarrass-
ing us all afternoon."'
Naturally, it all flows up the guy
in the tattered sweatshirt - no, Bill
Belichick did not follow the lead of
Mike Nolan and Jack Del Rio and
don a suit for Sunday's game.
But even Belichick, not exactly
a ball of laughs at any time, rec-
ognized that a winning is more
important than form.
"It's not exactly the way you
draw it up," he said. "Not for either
team."
Yes, but his was the one that
won.
it usually is.
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Amato out as head of Wolfpack
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina State
fired football coach Chuck Amato yesterday, a
day after he completed his seventh season at his
alma mater.
The former Wolfpack linebacker had a 49-
37 record at the school and led the team to five
bowl games. But his squads were 25-31 in the
Atlantic Coast Conference and never finished
higher than fourth.
This season, North Carolina State (3-9) lost
seven straight games to finish with a losing
record forthe second time in three seasons since
quarterback Philip Rivers went to the NFL. On
Saturday, the Wolfpack finished the season with
a 21-16 home loss to East Carolina.
In a statement Sunday, athletic director Lee
Fowler credited Amato with helping the Wolf-
pack improve their football facilities and ticket
sales, but said the program needed a change in
leadership.
Fowler said a search for a replacement would
begin immediately.
"No Wolfpack fan can question the excite-
ment and enthusiasmthatcChuck Amato brought
to the NC State football program when he came
here in 2000," Fowler said. "However, because
the results on the field in two of the last three
seasons have fallen far below where we feel our
program should be at this point, we have decid-
ed to take the program in a new direction."
Amato, who had three years remaining on his
contract, said he was disappointed by the deci-
sion but proud of what he accomplished during
his tenure.
"My vision was to take this program to places
that it had never been before in 100-plus years
of playing football," he said in a statement. "I
didn't come here to use this job as a stepping
stone like many others have or could. I wanted
to surround myself with people who would help
me stretch my vision and not choke my dreams.
"This is obviously a disappointing decision
for me, but I would never do anything to hurt
North Carolina State University."
Amato met with the players Sunday night
at Carter-Finley Stadium. Most of the play-
ers emerged from the meeting dejected and
declined to comment.
Ernest Jones, a junior linebacker, said Amato
was positive as he addressed the players and
offered his best wishes.
Jones said the blame for the Wolfpack's
struggles this year shouldn't have fallen entire-
ly on Amato.
"It's not only the coaches' fault, but the play-
ers," Jones said. "We let the coaches down, so
it's coaches and the players also."
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Blue drops to last place
By ALEX PROSPERI champion Purdue was not how the
Daily Sports Writer Wolverines planned on leaving
Hawaii.
Even though the women's golf Ali Stinson provided the Wolver-
team traveled to vacation destina- ines' lone highlight of the competi-
tion Hawaii to participate in the tion. The senior tied her season-best
Aloha Purdue Collegiate Classic, score by shooting a 72 during the
which featured nine teams from second round. Stinson finished
across the country, there was noth- highest among Michigan golfers
ing exciting about the team's play. for individual overall score, placing
After the team shot a 312 over the 23rd after shooting a 229 over the
first 18 holes at the par-70 Kiahuna three rounds.
Golf Club, the Wolverines found The Wolverines took part in five
themselves in eighth place behind tournaments this fall, finishing in
Pepperdine. And things didn't get the top half of the field three out of
any better from there. five times, Michigan won the Wol-
A second-round score of 308 verine Invitational in Ann Arbor
dropped the Wolverines into last earlier this fall.
place, and a final-round score of 309 In the spring portion of the
left Michigan eight strokes behind season, which begins on Feb. 19,
Iowa State and Tulsa, the two sev- Michigan will play in five more
enth-place finishers. Finishing in tournaments and then wrap up the
last place with a 54-hole score of season at the Big Ten Chapion-
929 and 51 shots behind tournament ships April 27 to 29.
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