The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Tuesday, January 9, 2007 - 9

'M' drops puck on new stretch

ByAMBER COLVIN
Daily Sports Writer
If it's possible to have a fresh
start in the middle of a six-month
long, 39-game
season, the Bowling Green
Michigan at Michigan
hockey team
is getting one Matchup: Michi-
right now. gan 13-8-0; Bowl-
When fans ing Green 5-16-1
last left the When: Tonight
slumping Where: Yost Ice
13th-ranked Arena
Wolverines TV/Radio:
in December, Comcast Local
the team had
a long list of injuries, struggled
against CCHA bottom-feeder
Western Michigan and got swept
by then-No. 4 Notre Dame - all
en route to its 10th straight Great
Lakes Invitational without a
championship trophy.
But now at the regular season's
halfway mark, Michigan will
attempt to build off a first half that
had few highs and many lows.
"We had a meeting (Thurs-
day), and we reviewed our last
STAFF PICKS
Predictions against the spread
for the bowl games
Jack Herman, the Daily's man-
aging sports editor, takes his
shot at his football writers, hop-
ing to hold onto the celebrities'
lead.
No. 3 Michigan (-1) vs No. 8 Southern Cal
Northern lilnois (+12.5) vs No. 25 TCU
No19OBYU(-4) vs Oregon
Troy State (+6) vs Rice
East Carolina (+4) vs South Florida
San Jose State (+4) vs New Mexico
iUtah(-2)vs Tulsa
Arizona State (+8) vs Hawaii
MiddleTen. St. (+10) vs Central Michigan
Florida State (+4.5) vs UCLA
OklahomaState (-2) vs Alabama
Kansas State (+7.5) vs No.16 Rutgers
No.21 Texas A&M (+5.5) vs No.20 California
Kentucky (+10) vs Clemson
Missouri (+3) vs No. 24 Oregon State
Houston (+7) vs SouthCarolina
Minnesota (+6.5) vs Texas Tech
Purdue (even) vs Maryland
Navy (+6) vs N6.23 Boston College
Iowa (+11) vs No.18 Texas
No.14 Virginia Tech (-3) vs Georgia
Nevada (+3) vs Miami (FL)
Penn State (+4.5) vs No.17 Tennessee
No. 22 Nebraska (+3) vs No. 10 Auburn
No.6 Wisconsin (+1.5) vs No.12 Arkansas
Georgia Tech (+7) vs No. 13 West Virginia
No. 9 Boise State (+7.S) vs No. 7 Oklahoma
No.15 Wake Forest (+10) vs No. 5 Louisville
No.11 Notre Dame (+8.5) vs No.4 LSU
Western Michigan (+8) vs Cincinnati
Ohio (+6,5) vs. Southern Mississippi
No. 2 Florida (+8) vs No.1 Ohio State
Best Bet
Record
Overall Record
Standings"

10 games," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "No matter how
you look at it - penalty kill, power
play, even-strength goals for,
even-strength goals against - it's
embarrassing. And we were 6-4 in
those games."
The Wolverines (8-5 CCHA,
13-8 overall) will hope to get an
immediate remedy in the form of
Andrew Cogliano and Jack John-
son. Over the holidays, the star
sophomores played in the IIHF
World Junior Championship in
Sweden representing Canada and
the United States, respectively.
The players compose two parts
of Michigan's top power-play unit,
and in the GLI championship game
against No. 10 Michigan State, the
Wolverines clearly missed them.
Michigan ached for some offense
throughout the 4-1 loss.
Johnson and Cogliano returned
to practice yesterday. Last year,
both played in the World Juniors
in Canada and flew back on a Fri-
day to play in a Michigan game
that night. That was just the begin-
ning of a slump for Cogliano, who
struggled to return to his usual

form after the tournament.
But this year, with no games
scheduled over the weekend, the
two could fly back from Sweden on
Saturday, relax and gear up for the
rest of the season.
"I'm not that tired anymore,"
said Cogliano, who scored a goal
for tournament-champion Canada
in the gold-medal game. "I slept
really well the past few nights....
(This year) I think I just had time
to wind down and kind of think
about the next half of the season.
We're looking to have a much bet-
ter half than we did."
The forward had been on a hot-
streak before he left the country,
scoring six goals over a three-game
span, including his first career hat
trick.
In the games prior to World
Juniors, Johnson didn't suit up
for Michigan because of a shoul-
der injury he suffered at West-
ern Michigan at the beginning of
December.Hisshoulderhealedjust
as the team broke for the holidays
and just as he headed to Sweden. In
the tournament, the defenseman
scored three goals in seven games

to help secure a bronze medal for
the United States.
Now he's happy to be home to
contribute in Ann Arbor.
"We got a good team; there's no
reason why we shouldn't be one of
the top teams in the league and do
well in the NCAA Tournament,"
Johnson said. "It's not like there's
a real secret or anything to the
second half of the season, we just
have to keep playing hard."
Fortunately for the Wolverines,
they get to ease into this leg of the
season with tonight's matchup
against Bowling Green. At the bot-
tom of the CCHA, the Falcons (3-
11, 5-16-1) shouldn't pose too much
of a threat.
Granted, Michigan will need
more than a win against Bowling
Green to climb out of fifth place in
the CCHA, but it could be a start.
"That's pretty much unaccept-
able," Johnson said of his team's
standings in the conference.
"Michigan's expected to win the
CCHA. These players expect to
win it, as do I. We pretty much
shouldn't lose a game the rest of
the year in the CCHA."

Michigan sophomore Andrew Cogliano will look to resume his three-game scaring
streak, tonight at Yost Ice Arena.

,4

E
Fa.: V.
° E s. ;
,
,,, ^ r

End of bowl season
finally marks end of

Amilk

Scott man
Bell Singer

Southern Cal
Northern Illinois
Oregon
Troy State
South Florida
New Mexico
Utah
Arizona State
Central Michigan
Florida State
Alabama
Kansas State
California
Clemson
Oregon State
South Carolina
Minnesota
Purdue
Boston College
Iowa
Virginia Tech
Miami (FL)
Tennessee
Auburn
Arkansas
West Virginia
Boise State
Louisville
Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Southern Mississippi
Florida
Central Michigan
14-17-1(1-0)
128-129-9 (4-7-1)
2nd

Michigan
Northern Illinois
Oregon
Troy State
South Florida
San Jose State
Tulsa
Hawaii
Central Michigan
UCLA
Oklahoma State
Rutgers
California
Clemson
Missouri
Houston
Minnesota
Maryland
Boston College
Texas
Virginia Tech
Miami (FL)
Penn State
Auburn
Wisconsin
West Virginia
Oklahoma
Louisville
LSU
Cincinnati
Ohio
Ohio State
Ohio State
15-16-1 (0-1)
126-131-1 (5-7)
3rd

Wright
Michigan
TCU
Oregon
Troy State
South Florida
New Mexico
Utah
Hawaii
Central Michigan
UCLA
Oklahoma State
Kansas State
California
Clemson
Missouri
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Purdue
Boston College
Iowa
Virginia Tech
Miami (FL)
Tennessee
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Georgia Tech
Oklahoma
Louisville
LSU
Cincinnati
Ohio
Florida
California
16-15-1(1-0)
124-133-9 (6-6)
4th

Michigan
TCU
BYU
Rice
South Florida
New Mexico
Utah
Hawaii
Central Michigan
UCLA
Oklahoma State
Rutgers
Texas A&M
Kentucky
Oregon State
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Purdue
Navy
Texas
Virginia Tech
Miami (FL)
Tennessee
Auburn
Arkansas
West Virginia
Oklahoma
Wake Forest
LSU
Western Michigan
Southern Mississippi
Ohio State
Central Michigan
14-17-1 (1-0)
121-136-1 (6-6)
5th

Michigan
Northern Illinois
Oregon
Rice
South Florida
San Jose State
Utah
Hawaii
Central Michigan
UCLA
Alabama
Rutgers
Texas A&M
Kentucky
Oregon State
South Carolina
Texas Tech
Purdue
Boston College
Texas
Virginia Tech
Miami (FL)
Tennessee
Auburn
Arkansas
West Virginia
Oklahoma
Louisville
LSU
Cincinnati
Ohio
Ohio State
Rutgers
10-21-1 (1-)
132-125-1 (7-4-1)
1st

bad picks
Jack Herman's embar-
rassing performance was
apparently not embarrassing
enough - somehow. After
a stellar regular season, the
celebrities almost lost their
overall title when the Daily's
outgoing managing sports
editor took the reigns of the
celebrities' overall title hopes.
Herman's 10-21-1 mark
was one of the worst weekly
records in the history of Staff
Picks, but he'd like to let it
be noted that he did get his
best bet right by riding New
Jersey's own Rutgers. Gee
Jack, great job.
It is his 21st birthday once
midnight strikes, though, so if
anyone sees him out at the bar
tonight - or throwing up in an
abandoned alley - wish Jack a
Happy Birthday.
As he guaranteed he
would at the beginning of the
season, Scott Bell beat his
colleagues at the Daily for the
overall writer title. But a 128-
129-1 record is far from sterling
or even far from respectable.
But Bell's mediocrity was
better than the other writers'
even weaker performances,
and the end of the bowl sea-
son completed his wire-to-
wire win as Daily winner.
. There was a little drama
last night: had Matt Singer's
best bet (Ohio State) covered
the spread, he would have tied
Bell for the overall title.
Kevin Wright won the
week with the only above-
.500 performance of the
bunch. That performance kept
him slightly ahead of Stepha-
nie Wright in the cellar, a spot
she is now forced to sit in. But
she's already had her taste of
success - she won last year's
title.




Gators chomp their way to BCS title

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Not even close.
Florida - yes, Florida - owned the field it
wasn't supposed to be on, embarrassing Heis-
man Trophy winner Troy Smith and No.1 Ohio
State 41-14 on Monday night to run away with
the college football national championship.
Chris Leak and Tim Tebow showed off
coach Urban Meyer's twin quarterback system
to perfection as the No. 2 Gators became the
first Division I school to hold football and bas-

ketball titles at the same time.
"I'm not surprised at all. Nobody never
gave us a chance at all," Florida receiver Dal-
las Baker said. "We came here with a chip on
our shoulder and something to prove. Nobody
gave us a chance, but finally we can throw up
the No. 1."
Now, only one question remains: What
about Boise State, the last undefeated team left
standing?

The Broncos (13-0) stunned Oklahoma on
the very same field in the Fiesta Bowl on New
Year's Day, while Florida and the Buckeyes fin-
ished with identical 13-1 records.
Wisconsin and Louisville also had one loss,
and that surely will renew calls for a playoff.
Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kickoff
93 yards for a touchdown, then it quickly fell
apart for the Buckeyes. He hobbled off minutes
See GATORS,10


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