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.