DAILY SPORTS BREAKS DOWN THE WEEKEND THAT WAS
2B - Monday, January 8, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
'M' SCHEDULE
TUESDAY-1.9
ICE HOCKEY VS BOWLING GREEN,735
PM,
THURSDAY-1.113
W BASKETBALL VS. WISCONSIN,7RM.
FRIDAY-112
W Track/Field
at Kentucky Invitational,' A.M.
M SWIM/DIVING VS. PURDUE4 P.M.
W SWIM/DIVING-
MICHIGAN INVITATIONAL, 6 PM.
W Gymnastics at WestVirginia, 7:30 PM.
ICE HOCKEY VS NORTHERN MICHIGAN,
7.35 PM.
WTENNIS - MICHIGAN INVITATIONAL
SATURDAY--1.13
M Track/Field'at
Eastern MichiganInvitaional
W SWIM/DIVING -
Michigan Invitational, 9 A.M.
M SWIM/DIVING VS. INDIANA,l PM.
M Gymnastics -
- at Windy City Invitational,7 PM.
ICE HOCKEY VS. NORTHERN MICHIGAN,
7:35 P.M.
M Basketball at Purdue,8 P.M.
M Tennis at Miami Invitational
Wrestling at
Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals
SUNDAY -114
W Basketball at Penn State, 2 PM.
'home games in all caps
'all times EST
DAILY SPORTS.
WE'RE ALWAYS
READY TO DANCE.
SAID AND HEARD ATHLETE OF THE W
"I haven't won a Big Ten game in over a year ANDREW COGLIANO
and a half. I just felt good to be out there.... ICE HOCKEY
As long as (wins) keep coming, we'll be hap-. For the second straight year, the sopho-
py, but we need to continue to work hard." more helped Canada win the gold medal in
the World Junior Championships. Cogliano
scored the game's first goal in Canada's 4-2
- Michigan guard KELLY HELVEY defeat of Russia in the final game.
Things to count on in 2007
4
a
S portswriters love making predictions.
And with all of 2007 ahead, there are
plenty to make.
I'm making no guaran-
tees, but don't be sur-
prised to see any of the
following news briefs
tick across the bot-
tom of your TV screen
throughout the next 12
months.
" Lloyd Carr pinches
himself, realizes Mich-
igan's 32-18 Rose Bowl JA'CI
loss was not a night- HERMAN
mare.
- Following the
recent news that general manager Matt Mil-
len will be retained for at least one more
year, no Lions' season tickets are purchased.
" Construction on Charlie Weis Stadium
begins after the coach once again reiterates
he is in South Bend for the long haul. The
stadium becomes the only thing in South
Bend bigger than the coach himself.
" Construction on Charlie Weis Stadium
halts after the coach accepts an offer to
become head coach of the New York Giants.
" University President Mary Sue Coleman
introduces a new revenue stream for the
University: luxury boxes in Angell Hall.
" Finally bowing to the pressure of fans,
Lions owner William Clay Ford reneges on
his early promise, firing Matt Millen. Agents
of graduating wide receivers rush to cancel
leases on new Porsches and sell condos in
Florida.
- After 72 hours of ESPN special coverage,
the crisis is over: Brett Favre will not retire
" Indiana super-freshman Greg Oden
crushes Courtney Sims on way to 30-point,
15-rebound, 10-block performance ... in the
first half.
" The Michigan hockey team shows up to
a big game.
" The White Stripes cancel their tour after
Jack White injures himself playing as Joel
Zumaya in a Nintendo Wii baseball game.
- In a shocking move, the Lions hire
Detroit legend Isiah Thomas to run the team
(into the ground). Knicks fans rejoice; New
York columnists and back-page headline
writers weep.
- Excited by Michigan's thrilling run to
the NIT finals, Athletic Director Bill Martin
signs coach Tommy Amaker to a life long
contract. Martin also purchases a hotel near
Madison Square Garden, noting it will make
things much easier in the long run.
* Ten people watch the NHL playoffs, and
hockey officials celebrate that the fanbase
has doubled. Only a few more until it tops
that of lawn bowling.
" Impressed by Dwayne Jarrett's Rose
Bowl performance, Isiah Thomas selects
him with the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft.
"A good wide receiver is like a shoot-first
point guard, you can never have too many,"
Thomas said.
" Greg Oden once again crushes Court-
ney Sims. This time it's on his way to the
podium, after being picked first in the NBA
Draft.
" New sports movie comes out. The
underdogs prevail.
" Mark McGwire is elected to baseball's
hall of fame. Unfortunately, he can never be
officially inducted because his head will not
fit on a plaque.
" Upset with the poor quality of hot dog
buns, the competitive eating union strikes.
Scabs cross the picket line as replacement
eaters, not intimidated by star Takeru
Kobayashi.
" Tiki Barber quits hostingtalk show after
one month. He expresses a desire to go out
on top and explore other avenues, like play-
ing football.
Bench-clearing brawl breaks out at a
game between the Kansas City Royals and
Chicago White Sox. Round-the-clock cover-
age on ESPN does not ensue.
" Inan effort to further crack down on
excessive celebration, the NFL bans smiling.
" College football coach says he isn't going
to leave his school. He stays.
" George Steinbrenner sells old World
Series trophies to help raise $75 million
needed to purchase the rights to look at a
fire-throwing lefty from Tibet. Rumor has it
the southpaw is asa good as Sid Finch.
. Bengals equipment manager arrested.
" Commissioner David Stern announces
the NBA will add MTV Rock N' Jock's 50-
point basket to help increase scoring. The
rule is removed after the new year.
" Lloyd Carr pinches himself after beating
Ohio State, realizes it isn't a dream.
- Have your own predictions for 2007?
E-mail Herman at jaherman@umich.edu.
Arrival determined by
numbered nicknames
By COLT ROSENSWEIG
Daily Sports Writer
For members of the Michigan men's gym-
nastics team, the sign that they've made it
isn't when they receive their official ath-
letic gear, or when their profile goes up on
MGoBlue.com.
They've arrived when they are given a
numberby the upperclassmen.
Numbers usually refer to a personal quirk
or some well-remembered event (eating an
entire foot-long hot dog in one mouthful, for
example), and develop into an often-comic
reminder of that gymnast's first year.
Some numbers have simple origins. Soph-
omore Ralph Rosso became 23 because he
completed 23 handstand pushups in his first
week asa freshman.
No. 17 went to junior Arren Yoshimura for
winning a strength contest with a 17-second
cross on the still rings.
Senior co-captain Andrew Elkind is No.11
because his older teammates noticed he did
about 11 balances before a tumbling pass or
vault.
"My number is 32 because everyone says
when I smile, you can see all 32 teeth," soph-
omore Joe Catrambone said.
But sometimes a more detailed explana-
tion is necessary.
"I'm 98 - they got that from 98 degrees
(the body temperature) and Degree, the
deodorant," junior Paul Woodward said.
"(During freshman year) I had a reputation
of coming into morning strength at seven
in the morning not smelling the best. When
we're doing hard circuits and sweating a lot,
and you haven't had a shower that day, it's
just not good. That was me as a freshman.
My first-semester time management was not
always the best."
Junior Dan Rais was tagged with 13, a
baker's dozen - and not just for his love of
sweets.
"In the beginning of my freshman year,
I was a little heavier, so I got made fun of
for being fatter on the team," Rais said. "So
one time I was on vault, and I did my double
full. They (said I was) like a Krispy Kreme
- warm and soft in the middle, butgood."
The storybehind sophomore Ryan McCar-
thy's No. 4 is a little more complicated.
The number refers to both McCarthy's
fondness for bubble tea and his engineering
aspirations. After trying and loving bubble
tea in Los Angeles, he was delighted to dis-
cover Bubble Island inAnn Arbor.
"I go to it like once or twice a week,"
McCarthy said. "I'm also kind of a nerd
because I'm an engineer and I like computer
stuff. My number has to do with the address
of Bubble Tea in binary. When it's all added
together, it equals four."
As of yet, this year's freshmen haven't
received their numbers. They'll probably get
them after the first regular-season meet of
the year, the Windy City Invitational in Chi-
cago.
The numbers might be embarrassing,
complicated or just plain silly. But for the
freshmen, as for their older teammates,
they will be one more sign that the young
gymnasts have officially become part of the
Michigan tradition.
And it's a safe guess that the numbers will
keep drawing smiles and laughs for years to
come.
M'hangs
tough vs.
top teams
By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Writer
After a near upset, the Michigan men's
swimming and divingteam was anything but.
Despite posting a 1-2 record over the past
two days, the Wolverines were satisfied with
the results of their West Coast weekend after
a surprisingly strong showing against two
top-five NCAA teams.
After traveling to Tuscon, Ariz., on Fri-
day from its training camp in Mexico, No. 12
Michigan swam to a one-point loss against
No. 5 Arizona. The Wolverines also swam
an exhibition against No. 3 California before
competingagainst the Golden Bears for points
in Saturday's short-course meet.
Each event in Friday's long-course compe-
tition was divided into two scoringheats, with
the fastest seeds from each team competing in
the second heat.
Sophomore Curtis Dauw, competing in the
first heat of the 200-meter butterfly, clocked a
faster time than all second-heat swimmers to
win the event. The Wolverines completed the
sweep with junior Alex Vanderkaay in second
and junior Dane Grenda in third.
Michigan coach Bob Bowman described
the recent meet schedule as "hectic" due to
long travel days and the intensity of the team's
training.
"It was a great challenge for them," Bow-
man said. "We want to get the best possible
performances under the worst possible condi-
tions. That's a good way to train your team.
Anybody can swim fast when the conditions
are perfect, but teams who can really give
their best performances when the conditions
Freshman Ralph Rosso earned the nickname of 23 because of his impressive strength.
Triathion takes-
serious sacrifice
Sophomore Alex Vanderkaay finished second in the 200-meter butterfly on Friday.
are less than ideal are the ones who really suc-
ceed in the long run."
The following day, in Tempe, Michigan
defeated No. 21 Arizona State, 164-136, but
lost to California, 173-127. Freshman Scott
Spann won the 100- and 200-yard breast-
stroke events, concluding his weekend with
wins in every breaststroke event he entered.
Sophomore Matt Patton, who won the
400- and 800-meter freestyle on Friday and
the 1,000-yard freestyle on Saturday, said his
team surpassed expectations against both
teams.
"It was definitely a disadvantage, living out
of a suitcase and going from hotel to hotel,"
Patton said. "Going in, we knew it would be
a tough battle, and I think it came a lot clos-
er than we thought. I don't think Arizona or
(California) thought twice about us, but we
were within one point (against Arizona)."
On Friday, Michigan lost by just three
points while swimming exhibition against
California in a SO-meter pool. Comparing the
Wolverines' close exhibition results to their
official 50-point short course loss, Bowman
said his team's weaknesses were exposed in
the 25-yard pool.
"Right now, what separates us from (Cali-
fornia) or Arizona is their work on the walls,"
Bowman said. "When we swam in a SO-meter
pool, we were right there, dead even with them
... but (the difference) is largely to do with
turns, underwater kicking and starts, so those
are the things we'll be trying to improve."
Spann said the success of Michigan's com-
petitions against the three teams will pro-
vide a "great boost" for Friday's Big Ten meet
against Purdue. His victories, along with
the strong performances of his teammates,
proved the Wolverines could work through
the toughest traveling of their season with
respectable results.
"We were the underdogs, and we surprised
the competition," Spann said. "We grabbed
the attention of other programs around the
country, which was a big step for what we're
trying to accomplish here - we want to be a
national championship team."
By ALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
Rolling out of bed to run a triath-
lon without any preparation is not a
good idea. It takes months of dedica-
tion and hard work tobe successful.
People like John DePaul, president
of the Triathlon Club, spend asignifi-
cant amount oftimeoutside the class-
room training for such occasions.
Many might wonder why DePaul
would want to train for four months
in order to compete in a mere one-
day event. But for DePaul, the work
has become routine.-
"I've been doing triathlons since
my junior year of high school,"
DePaul said. "Soit seemed logical to
join the team and see what I could
do."
The logical choice soon became
more than just a hobby. Since joining
the club, DePaul has become presi-
dent, in addition to finishing second
in his age group in a recent junior
triathlon.
DePaul has a strong passion for
running triathlons, but that doesn't
take away from allthe hard work that
he and the other 22 official members
of the club have to endure.
The team practices theuswimming,
cycling and running portions once or
twice a week apiece. DePaulsaid that
training with people who have more
experience or success helps.
But the sacrifices DePaul and his
teammates make to practice aren't
even the hardest parts of the triath-
lon.
"Mental toughness is the really
big key because you have to be doing
three different things per race,"
DePaul said.
In most of the events, the team
swims 1.5 kilometers, bikes 40 kilo-
meters and then runs 10 kilometers.
It's obviously no walk inthe park.
"It takes a lot of concentration,"
DePaul said.
There isone part of atriathlonthat
oftengoes unnoticed. In order for the
participant to go from swimming to
biking and from biking to running,
there is atransition period.
"The transitions between parts
are key as well," DePaul said. "That
time counts so youhavetobe as quick
as possible."
Triathlon participants have to be
completely focused at these stages
because races can be won or lost
there.
DePaul said that after completing
the swimming and biking portions,
the feeling of finishing up the race
and seeing the finish line is "awe-
some," despite his total exhaustion.
"You completed the race, you did
it, and you are done," DePaul said.
DePaul hopes to experience that
feeling this spring at the team's next
big race, the Collegiate Nationals in
April.
The team understands why most
people would consider the work
necessary to prepare for a triathlon
crazy.
But for DePaul and the rest of the
Triathlon Club members, it's well
worth it.