DAILY SPORTS BREAKS DOWN THE WEEKEND THAT WAS

2B - Thursday, January 4, 2007
'M' SCHEDULE
THURSDAY--1.4
W BASKETBALL VS. ILLINOIS, 7p.m.
FRIDAY -1.5
M Swim/Dive @Arizona 4 p.m.
SATURDAY -1.6
W TRACK (aMichigan Women's Open,
9 a.m.
M Swim/Dive (@ Arizona State, 2 p.m.
M Basketball tNorthwestern, 2:30 p.m.
WRESTLING VS. HOFSTRA, 7p.m..,
SUNDAY--1.7
W BASKETBALL VS. PENN STATE, 2p.m.
home games snail caps
all times EST

SAID AND HEARD
"If they line up one way, if
they're in certain formations, it
doesn't take a rocket scientist
to pick out what they were
going to do."
- Souther Cal defensive end LAWRENCE JACKSON

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Lester Abram
MENS BASKETBALL
Abram dropped 25 points in Michigan's confer-
ence-opening win against Illinois last night. He
also grabbed nine rebounds for a Wolverine
squad coming off a tough loss to Georgetown
last week.

Rose blooms and wilts in the same day

Michigan's Jack Johnson scored the
overtime winner against Sweden to
send the U.S. to the medal round.
IIHF World Junior
Hockey Championship
Where: Leksand, Sweden
Who: Michigan ice hockey
players Jack Johnson (USA)
and Andrew Cogliano (Can-
ada). The teammates faced
off in the semifinal yesterday,
with Canada winning in a
seven-round shooutout, 2-1,
to advance to the gold medal
game. Tohnson scored twice'
in the shootout, and Cogliano
added one goal.
Medal Round - Friday, Jan. 5
USA vs. Sweden
Bronze Medal Game, 10 a.m.
Canada vs. Russia
Gold Medal Game, t:30 p.m.
'For more information, including how
to watch or listen to the games, visit
mgoblue.com/icehockey.

PASADENA, Calif. -
woke up at 3:15 a.m. on New
Year's Day, afraid I had over-
slept.
Fortunately, I still had 15 min-
utes before my alarm would go off,
welcoming me
to the 15-hour
ordeal that was{
my Rose Bowl
experience.
It began'
when I arrived
at Old Pasa-
dena, excited
about the __
chance to KEVIN
finally see theW
Tournament of WRIGHT
Roses Parade,
the one I had
always avoided watching on TV.
My friend's dad, uncle and I made
the trek over deserted Los Angeles
highways to reach Pasadena before
the break of dawn: 4:30 a.m.
Much to our surprise, we weren't
the first people on the streets.
Reaching Colorado Street - the
route the parade took - we saw
what looked like a line outside
stores waiting for the new PS3
strung out on both sides of the
street. Families huddled around
heat lamps or small fire pits. Others
gathered inside select coffee shops
- which took advantage of those
who spent New Year's Eve night
on the streets to turn a little more
profit out of the parade experience.
Stores boarded their windows, and
police braced for the high density
of people who would line the side-
walks later that morning.
After three and a half hours

trolling the parade route, we set-
tled into a spot near its beginning.
Just as the clock struck 8 a.m., we
heard the crowd roar and turned
our eyes skyward to awe over a
stealth-bomber flyover. .
The scream of the v-shaped
aircraft was more than enough
to ready me for one of the most
nationally watched parades. From
the police motorcade slowly clear-
ing the way for the parade to the
high school bands to the legion of
Stormtroopers and Grand Marshall
George Lucas, the parade provided
quite a pleasant experience - more
so than the televised version ever
appeared.
From there, my party traversed
across the town and took a shuttle
to the Rose Bowl. Nothing could've
prepared me for the historic site.
When the bus rolled into the park-
ing lot, the majesty of the venue
finally became clear. The surround-
ing mountain peaks proved a perfect
backdrop for a stadium somewhat
hiddenfromviewbynumerouspalm
trees planted close to its walls.
As I stepped slowly into Tunnel
12, which led me to my seat, the
darkness gave way to the glare of
the sun. I emerged to finally see
firsthand the field that had been
the stage of so many of my Michi-
gan memories.
The Southern Cal fans scattered
throughout the Michigan section
were cocky but respectful. (They
apparently enjoyed the vast num-
ber of Wolverine cheers involving
clapping.)
An hour before kickoff, the Mich-
igan fans couldn't wait for the game
to start, with numerous chants and

cheers that even drowned out the
three-fourths of the stadium that
consisted of Southern Cal fans. We
had waited just more than a month
to finally avenge the loss at Ohio
State and show the nation that we
had, in fact, earned a rematch with
the Big Ten Champions.
About 10 minutes before kickoff,
the funniest moment played out on
the Rose Bowl JumboTron. Instead
of the traditional naming of the
players, position, hometown and
school year, the Rose Bowl took it to
another level: computer animation.
Using EA Sports technology, the
screen showed each of the play-
ers introduced excelling at their
assignments. I don't think I'll ever
see a computer image of right guard
Alex Mitchell pancaking that many
defenders in one play again.
Unfortunately for anyone asso-
ciated with the Michigan football
program, the game finally kicked
off. And the Spirit of Troy took
it from there. The Trojan band
clearly had the upper hand as the
game progressed, mostly because
its team on the field actually played
well ... no, spectacularly.
After a combined six-point first
half effort from the two squads, I
felt lucky that the two were knot-
ted. Southern Cal played the bet-
ter half, and Michigan struggled
to move the ball consistently. (The
only Wolverine fan who enjoyed
the game was probably the guy two
seats down from me. He arrived
five minutes into the game with a
handle of Southern Comfort and a
drunken grin on his face).
The second half was a half-an-
hour of football I wish I could for-

Michigan faithful turned out in force to sup
get. . , " . t;
Going into my trip to Pasadena,
I thought the Rose Bowl would be
my chance to finally put the Ohio
State disappointment behind me
and walk away with a fresh Michi-
gan Rose Bowl Champion T-shirt.
But the Trojans robbed me of that
satisfaction.

0
Otto DZtADOSZ/DAtLY
port the Maize and Blue.
With every pass Southeti ;,Cal
quarterback John David Booty
lofted high into the crisp, cool Cali-
fornia night sky, a little part of me
died. When wide receiver Dwayne
Jarrett pointed a single finger at
Michigan safety Willis Barringer
as he trotted into the end zone, he
personally taunted me.
The Rose Bowl JumboTron com-
puter graphics, which before the
game had displayed such hilarity
as Mitchell's blocks, now mirrored
reality. Southern Cal's offense pass-
ing over the Michigan defense with
computer-generated Barringer left
shaking his head.
The game mercifully ended, the
Trojans stormed the field, confetti
shot into the sky and I headed for
the nearest exit.
But before I could leave, one
Michigan fan - wearing a faded
Anthony Thomas jersey - summed
up the experience with a single
question addressing no one in par-
ticular:
"What can you say now to prove
that Michigan belongs in the
National Championship?"
I had no answer.

Summer 2007 in Paris
A multitude of undergraduate, credit-bearing courses
oTwo 5-week Sessions
e Fast Track Intensives www.aup.edu
* French Immersions

M lege
College Textbooks. Buy for Less, Sell for More.
It's almost too good to be true.
Lf AND> &W OK.S
F ISt TOT INCSe aUj n o !
SIEUU UOC.ALULYANT> NO .Sf-l'P>N4
T1?AT>C oKS FO1R OOOSAS WI~UL!

0

r