_' 4 4 DAILY SPORTS BREAKS DOWN THE WEEKEND THAT WAS 2B - Monday, October 22, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com SAID AND HEARD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK "I've been coaching college football since 1980, and I've never seen a guy go through what he went through for his team. He's the ultimate warrior in my mind." - Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson on senior Chad Henne's performance at Illinois KELLY FITZPATRICK The sophomore forward notched a goal with just 1:40 left in regulation play against Northwestern to clinch the regular season Big Ten Championship for the Michigan field hockey team. 4 4 Why no night games for Blue? Curious how men's and women's tennis did? How about volleyball and rowing? Go to michigandaily. com CHAMPAIGN - Jt was a scene unfamiliar to Ann Arborites. There were American flags being waved around, fire- works explod- ing to cheers from onlookers and a general; excitement in a j nighttime set- ting. No, this SCOTT wasn't a Fourth BELL of July celebra- -- tion, though I guess Ann Arbor could look into getting one of those, too. This was a football game, and an environment Michigan football fans definitely miss out on for games at the Big House. Early Saturday night, Memorial Stadium was rocking. A unified group of fans supplied deafening roars and there was an immeasur- able excitement throughout the crowd before the opening kickoff even took place. What was the difference? Is Memorial Stadium set up better than Michigan Stadium? Hardly. The Big House holds 40,000 more fans, and Memorial Stadium had even fewer people than its capac- ity because of ongoing renova- tions. Did their fans have more to cheer for than Michigan would have if it was at Michigan Sta- dium? No. The game was equally important to both teams, consid- ering a loss for either would put a huge damper on their Big Ten Championship hopes. The biggest difference had nothing to do with physical struc- tures or how much the fans cared (though it was refreshing to see a crowd wearing one unified color instead of the grab bag of colors I've seen in the Big House all six home games this season). It was nighttime. Night game. Remember those? For seniors like myself, contests like the Michigan State game our freshman year may ring a bell. Are you a junior? How about the Penn State game? Neither of those were true night games, but they ended well afterthe sun went away and the drama unfolded under the lights. Remember that feeling? Now multiply that by three. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr may hate night games, and at least some of the higher ups in the Ath- letic Department feel the same way. But it's impossible to ignore the excitement that night games bring to a campus. Students are generally more excited for the nighttime match- ups. It makes the anticipation even greater for games, and primetime television certainly is great exposure for programs (especially ones trying to erase recent embarrassing losses from people's memories). Potential recruits are much more likely to watch a game available all over the nation than something that's nearly impossible to locate (cough, Big Ten Network). Sure, there are downsides to night games. Temporary lights need to be brought in, and that costs money. Players also have to adjust to playing at unfamiliar times and sitting around all day to wait and play. Then there's the alcohol issue. Students are much more likely to show up wasted at a game that kicks off at night instead of noon. But why can't compromises be made? In Wis- consin's primetime night-game earlier this season, students were randomly breathalyzed at the games. Now I'm not going to say tar- geting lots of drunk kids is a good idea, but maybe there are some sacrifices that could make the Michigan Stadium experience both more enjoyable for fans and more intimidating for visiting teams. This won't happen overnight - it's certainly tough to change long-standing traditions when people in power do things "Because that's how we've always. done it." But for a program whose sta- dium and fanbase isconsistently called out for being incredibly overrated, maybe it's a step worth taking. - Bell can be reached at scotteb@umich.edu. Not a vet? Not a problem By CHARLES CLINTON For the Daily It's interesting that rugby is the most played full contact sport in the world, but it's relegated to club sports at the college level, which leads to a lot of inexperi- enced players on the teams. The Michigan women's club rugby team doesn't have any players with previous experience according to their coach Herb Birch. Fortunately for the team, this is not a problem. "The first rugby game most people play is the one thatthey're in," Birch said. With that problem, the line between coaching and teaching is blurred. "It's hard to separate both teaching and coaching," Birch said. "But due to the lack of expe- rienced players on the team, it becomes more of a teachingexpe- See RUGBY, Page 3B 6 I r 1 0 Follow the signs to a& gcareer. at Ernst & Young., 0 a Trying to decide which way to take your career? At Ernst & Young, you'll gain invaluable experience delivering quality services to world-class clients. And with each new challenge, you'll take another step towards a great future. So join a team where all signs point to your growth and success... and keep moving in the right direction. Visit us at ey.com/us/careers and our Facebook.com group. FORTUNE' 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR ° #25 on the list. 0 © 2007 ERNST & YOUNG LLP QaiyIn Everything vve J I r