The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, February 8, 2008 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
VIENNA, Austria
Iran develops
advanced nuclear
centrifuge
Iran's nuclear project has
developed its own version of an
advanced centrifuge to churn out
enriched uranium much faster
than its previous machines, diplo-
mats and experts said yesterday.
They said that few of the IR-
2 centrifuges were operating
and that testing appeared to be
in an early phase, with the new
machines rotating without pro-
cessing any uranium gas.
More significant, the officials
said, is the fact that Iran appears
to have used know-how and
equipment bought on the nuclear
black market in combination with
domestic ingenuity to overcome
daunting technical difficulties
and create highly advanced cen-
trifuges.
WASHNGTON
Romney exits GOP
race, McCain looks
to unite party
John McCain sought to mend his
tattered relationship with conser-
vatives and unify a splintered GOP
as he all but clinched the party's
presidential nomination yester-
day. Mitt Romney, his former chief
rival, dropped out, and a parade of
prominent Republicans swung be-
hind the Arizona senator.
"We're continuing campaign-
ing and not taking anything for
granted," McCain said in an Asso-
ciated Press interview, still reluc-
tant to call himself anything more
than the front-runner. "I certainly
think that we have enhanced our
chances."
Only Mike Huckabee and Ron
Paul remained in what has been a
crowded and wide-open nomina-
tion fight for the past year. Both
have narrow voting constituencies
and are far behind in the hunt for
delegates to the GOP's nominating
convention this summer.
NEW YORK
Stocks inch
up after three
days of losses
Wall Street finished moderately
higher in fitful trading yesterday
as investors, still nervous about the
economy, decided to buy back into
a stock market pummeled by three
straight days of losses.
With the market having largely
priced inthe possibility of a recession,
many believethere are plenty of valu-
able stocks at cheap prices. Before
yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial
average had fallen this week by 543
points,or 4.26 percent,givingup allof
last week's sharp gains.
Though the market ended up
rising yesterday, trading was
extremely fickle due to a batch of
gloomy data that included declin-
ing January sales at major retailers,
a drop in December sales of pend-
ing homes, and a disappointing
outlook from Internet networking
supplier Cisco Systems Inc.
WASHINGTON
Waterboarding
debate flares
A debate over waterboarding
flared yesterday on Capitol Hill, with
the CIA director raising doubts about
whether it's currently legal and the
attorney general refusing to investi-
gate U.S. interrogators who have used
the technique on terror detainees.
Vice President Dick Cheney,
meanwhile, said "it's a good thing"
that top al-Qaida leaders who under-
went the harsh interrogation tactic in
2002 and 2003 were forced to give up
information that helped protect the
country.
"It's a good thing we had them
in custody, and it's a good thing we
found out what they knew," Cheney
told the Conservative Political Action
Conference in Washington.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
3 9
Number of American service mem-
bers who have died in the war in
Iraq, according to The Associated
Press. There were no deaths identi-
fied yesterday.
WRESTLING isn't much room for pain. Luke
continues and finishes the prac-
From Page 1 ' tice. .
His mind isn't even on the inju-
As Michigan coach Joe McFar- ry, though. Luke has two chap-
land begins speaking to the group ters of biochemistry reading and
to signal the start of practice, Calculus 2 problems to do before
everyone pays attention. Late going to a class. Then he has to
wrestlers getclucky, scurrying into prepare in the morning for tomor-
the room just in time. row's match againstcPurdue --ifhe
McFarland is as down to earth doesn't succumb to exhaustion.
as they come, literally and figu- "I'll probably change my plans,"
ratively. Having wrestled in the Luke said. "After my 11:30 a.m.
126-pound weight class during his class, I could come home and say,
days as a four-time All American 'I'm way too tired and fall asleep
wrestler at Michigan, McFarland and don't end up reading'."
is rarely taller or bigger than the
person he's speaking with. FRIDAY, THE DAY OF
It's that combination of slight THE PURDUE MATCH:
statureandloftyaccomplishments
that allow him to relate with any- No one on the team will say it
body onthe team, whether a walk- directly, but tonight's matchup
on or a 275-pound heavyweight. against the Boilermakers is noth-
Today's practice, like most ing more than a tune-up for the
McFarland-run practices, starts Minnesota dual meet tomorrow.
with an hour of drills building Purdue has just one ranked wres-
toward two seven-minute simu- tler in its lineup. The sixth-ranked
lated matches. Wolverines have six.
McFarland said each session But there's still some mental
is largely dependent on how hard angst among the Michigan wres-
each wrestler is willing to work. tIers as weigh-ins approach. Mak-
"It can't be something where ing weight is a part of wrestling
you justwalk into practice and flip that those outside the sport don't
a switch on," he said. understand and those involved in
And this practice has an awk- it detest talking about. Many har-
ward twist, one that stems from bor the memories of decades past
something McFarland decided when some wrestlers would be so
before the session began. Red- weak after weighingin thatthey'd
shirt sophomore Aaron Hynes need to be hooked up to IVs.
had approachedthe coachingstaff The Michigan wrestling pro-
a few days before, asking for an gram knows all too well about the
opportunity to earn the starting dangers of weight cutting. In 1997,
position in the 157-pound weight then-junior Jeff Reese, a Michi-
class over Marsh. gan wrestler, died of kidney and
Because Hynes did well at heart failure after working outin a
an open tournament - a set of rubber suit. It's something McFar-
matches that allow non-starters land won't talk about, but it's also
to gain experience - the week an event that sparked change in
before, McFarland decides to collegiate wrestling policies.
grant an indicator match between Back when weight cutting
the two to determine if a wrestle- went mostly unsanctioned -
off is warranted. before Reese's death - weigh-ins
It's a sticky situation and one occurred the day before a match,
Marsh is all too familiar with. Just allowing wrestlers to cut as much
last season, Marsh held the start- weight as possible and replenish
ing spot at the 157-pound weight themselves overnight in order to
class onlyto lose itrightbefore the have strength. Today, weigh-ins
Big Ten Championships. occur one hour before match time.
Unlike other sports at the Uni- Because of this, it's nearly impos-
versity,whereteammates are loyal sible for someone to starve him-
tothe end, thewrestlingroomcan self and wrestle well.
sometimes become an "every man And while some of this year's
for himself" environment. Of the Wolverines have worn sweatpants
28 wrestlers on the roster, just 10 and sweatshirts duringpractice to
are able to start each match. lose weight quicker, McFarland
As a result, Marsh knew he does everything in his power to
had to go after Hynes as if he make sure his wrestlers are eat-
were an enemy. The strategy paid ing properly. He's more concerned
dividends, too. Marsh won 8-0, aboutchiscteam wrestling at its best
keeping his starting position for thanhavinghis wrestlers compete
another day. at the lowest weight.
"I had the idea that this was To address the issue, McFar-
my spot, you're not going to take land has started scheduling mini-
it away from me," Marsh said. "I workouts before weigh ins. The
don't care who you are. I don't workouts serve as a warm up for
care if you're myteammate or not, the match that night and allow
I'm not givingyou any respect." wrestlers to eat normally without
Come match time, though, worrying about getting too heavy.
Marsh and his teammates will "In the morning, I want them
have to switch gears and rely on eating," McFarland said. "Then
each other if they are to beat Pur- I want them eating a light lunch,
due or Minnesota. come in, get a little drilling and
then getcready for weigh-ins."
THURSDAY, ONE DAY Later that night, it appeared
BEFORE THE PURDUE MATCH: that the training paid off. Michi-
gan has little trouble dispens-
Injuries are an inevitable part ing the Boilermakers, 24-12. But
of wrestling, and the Wolverines the win comes at a price. Sopho-
are no aberration. more Anthony Biondo, the team's
Two heavyweights went down surprisingly solid 197-pounder,
earlier in the season because of sprains an elbow ligament during
various ailments, forcing McFar- a match against Purdue's Logan
land to bump up a 197-pounder for Brown. It's just another leak in the
the team's loss to Central Michi- dam holding together this fragile
gan. Todd, the team's starting team.
184-pounder and vocal leader, was McFarland can'tchelpbut worry
hospitalized with a staph infec- about the ramifications.
tion earlier in the season. "I'm worrying about is this
Today, though, McFarland is going to be nagging? How long is
more worried about the problems this going to keep him out for? Is it
facing two of his star wrestlers: something he can wrestle with?"
seniors Josh Churella and Steve McFarland said. "It's a little frus-
Luke. Both of them are returning trating. You don't want your guys
All-Americans, but very question- getting hurt."
able heading into the weekend. Especially when the No. 4 team
Luke sprained his ankle against in the country is coming to Ann
the Chippewas and Churella is Arbor the next day.
battling a chest cold.
"Just staying healthy is a trick," SATURDAY, THE DAY OF
Todd said. "Hardly anyone gets THE MINNESOTA MATCH:
through without something going
wrong, but you have to maintain The atmosphere tonight is
doing the right thing, trying to decidedly different than the
heal up after each week." match against Purdue. Biondo has
Luke tweaks his ankle even already been ruled out because of
more during the practice, almost his injury, and Churella has been
stopping at one point because of re-inserted into the lineup.
the pain. But in wrestling, there Butclosing just one person could
prove costly for the Wolverines
since Minnesota has five ranked
wrestlers. Like all teams, though,
the Golden Gophers are battling
injuries themselves. Their 149-
pounder, Dustin Schlatter, will
miss tonight's match. His match
with Churella could have gone
either way.
Just two weeks earlier, Michi-
gan defeated Minnesota, 23-16.
But tonight's rematch starts out as
poorly as it possibly can.
Jason Lara gets pinned in the
125-pound contest and so does
sophomore Chris Diehl in the 133-
pound match. Freshman Kellen
Russell, ranked No. 3 in the 141-
pound weight class, loses a close
decision to Minnesota's Manuel
Rivera, giving the Gophers an
insurmountable 15-0 lead. Minne-
sota holds on, cruising to a 24-15
win.
"A big part of wrestling is
believing in yourself, guys,"
McFarland said to a silent locker
room afterwards. He's not yelling.
That's not in his nature. But there
is something different about the
way he looks at the team. He's no
longer down to earth like he nor-
mally is.
"You have to carry thatonto the
mat," he continues. "You have to
believe in yourself first."
Lara and Diehl are sitting in
the corner, heads down, avoid-
ing McFarland's face at all costs.
Todd stands in the back of the
locker room, arms folded, listen-
ing intently. It's clear he wants to
add his own two cents to the con-
versation.
"You guys that didn't wrestle
well, remember how tired you
were in the third period," said
Todd, who, like McFarland, isn't
yelling but speaking with convic-
tion. "That pain should drive you.
If it doesn't, you don't belong in
this sport."
As Todd's last words sit in the
air for a few seconds, the discom-
fort lingers like a morning's fog.
McFarland breaks the silence,
addressing the entire room. He
goes back to what he said about
practice habits on Thursday.
"You guys have to start wres-
tlingwithachiponyourshoulder,"
McFarland said. "Understand
this, it has to be there every day
in practice. It's not something you
just flip a gear on the night we're
going to wrestle."
The team's fractures begin to
emerge immediately following
the loss. There's a certain ten-
sion between the Wolverines'
best wrestlers and those who are
merely average.
"It's hard to ratchet up the
intensity with the starters, with
five or six guys that are doing
well," a frustrated Todd said out-
side the locker room. "We need
guys pushing us, making us work
harder and making us feeluncom-
fortable in practice."
The Wolverines are at a cross-
roads. The Minnesota loss could
hurt the team in the weeks lead-
ing up to the National Champion-
ships. Or it could prove to be the
defining moment that motivates
the team to step things up.
Either way, the tension and
stress never end for these wres-
tlers. Saturday's loss will quickly
turn into another Monday prac-
tice leading up to another Friday
match. It's how Michigan deals
with this reality that will define
the season.
A week later, Michigan gets
back on track with a 22-16 win
over Illinois. The same success-
ful formula is followed: The stars
carry the team, and the Wolver-
ines capture six consecutive vic-
tories in the middle of the meet.
But again, the lower weights
struggle with junior Michael
Watts - taking over for the inef-
fective Lara - getting pinned and
Diehl losing by major decision.
There is a surprise, though.
After battling to keep his start-
ing spot earlier, Marsh pulls off
the upset of the year, defeating
Illinois's Mike Poeta, the nation's
top-ranked wrestler in the 157-
pound weight class. The unlikely
result is the deciding factor in the
team's win.
Those waffles have probably
never tasted better.
UNDER THE RRTGHT ITGHTS
LSA sophomore Ben Lee sings "Isn't She Lovely" yesterday in the basement of She
Michigan League. He was competing in Michigan Idol, which airs live on WOLV-TV.
The winner of the contest gets $500.
FUNDING
From Page 1
cent increase.
Cynthia Wilbanks, the Universi-
ty's vice president for government
relations, said she's "not enam-
ored" with the idea of incentives,
but it's something universities
have to deal with. She said while
she understands the legislature's
intentions, incentives usually vary
from year to year, making it dif-
ficult for the University to make
long-term plans based on state
funds.
"One size doesn't really fit all,''
she said.
But Wilbanks said she's opti-
mistic about the potential funding
increase.
"A'3-percent increase is wel-
come news," she said.
Last year Granholm proposed a
2.5 percent increase in appropria-
tions to all universities, but they
only received a 1-percent increase.
The proposal also suggests that
universities should use a portion of
the newly allocated funds to keep
tuition increases as small as pos-
sible.
Wilbanks said she's unsure
how the new budget might affect
tuition. She said discussions are
underway to determine the Uni-
versity's budget, which should
be finalized in June or July. Last
summer the University Board of
Regents raised tuition 7.4 percent.
Granholm's proposal still has a
long way to go before it becomes
law. It has to be negotiated and
passed by Senate and House com-
mittees before being passed by
both houses of the state legisla-
ture.
Wilbanks said she was pleased
to see the University, along with
Michigan State University and
Wayne State University, recog-
nized in a separate section of the
proposal as the state's three major
research universities. But the
three universities are still push-
ing to have their appropriations
split into a bill separate from the
state's 12 other public universities.
Those schools have resisted the
move, saying it would put them on
a lower tier.
The proposal also includes an
increase in Michigan Promise
Grants, the Michigan Merit Award
Program and the Tuition Incentive
Program.
The $43.6 million increase for
higher education was made pos-
sible in part by a $350 million sur-
plus from the 2007 fiscal year, said
Leslee Fritz, a spokeswoman for
the State Budget Department.
Just under a third of the surplus
will be saved for a rainy day fund.
The rest of the money is going to
the state's general fund. Fritz said
the extra money eased the pres-
sures of increasing costs.
Fritz said she doesn't anticipate
that this year's budget process will
be as contentious as last year's.
Legislators negotiated down to the
wire on Sept.30, failingto agree on
a budget by the time the new fiscal
year started on Oct. 1. After the
state government shut down for
four hours, they agreed on a con-
tinuationbudgetfor amonthbefore
reaching a compromise. That was
due in large part to a tax increase
proposed by Granholm and rev-
enue shortfalls that required deep
cuts in the budget.
"We'll have our disagreements,
but it won't be anywhere near what
it was last year," said Sen. Alan
Cropsey (R-DeWitt). "The gover-
nor very clearly does not want to
create the angst and the vitriol of
last year."
GOP happier with
th is year's budget
Lack of tax hikes won't make it through the Legisla-
ture without being "massaged."
fee increases makes "We start with more agreement
out of the chute. That's important,"
Granholm plan more he said.
Unlike last year, when an
palatable impasse over how best to balance
the budget led to a temporary gov-
LANSING (AP) - Gov. Jennifer ernment shutdown on Oct. 1, the
Granholm yesterday proposed a budget could be done this year by
budget that spends more on educa- July 1, Jelinek said.
tion, cities and the poor, but does it Appropriations subcommit-
without any tax or fee increases. tees in the House and Senate are
That fact alone had Republican expected to begin working soon on
lawmakers feeling more mellow parts of the budget before the bills
toward the Democratic governor, go to the full House and Senate.
who took pains to avoid cutting "We'll have our disagreements,
GOP favorites such as tuition grants but it won't be anywhere near what
for students at private colleges and it was last year," said Sen. Alan
the Michigan Agricultural Experi- Cropsey (R-DeWitt). "The gover-
ment Station. nor very clearly does not want to
"I wrote this in the spirit of col- create the angst and the vitriol of
laboration and cooperation," Gra- last year."
nholm told reporters after budget It didn't hurt, of course, that the
director Robert Emerson delivered increase in the state income tax and
her proposal for the budget year surcharge on the state's main busi-
that starts Nov. 1 to lawmakers. "It ness tax passed last year will bring
invests in the things that citizens in an extra $1.54 billion - enough
value." money to cover the state's costs in
The governor's $44.8 billion the year ahead.
budget proposal is 2.9 percent That hasn't been the case in the
higher than what's being spent in earlier years of Granholm's term,
the current budget. when she not only faced shortfalls
It includes $9.8 billion in general in the upcoming budget year but
fund spending and $13.5 billion in often had to deal with unexpected
school aid. deficits in the current budget year
Last year, the governor rec- as well.
ommended a 2.2 percent overall The state's financial situation
increase. also has been helped by falling
Senate Appropriations Chair- interest rates, which will make
man Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks) it possible for the state to save
gave the governor's proposal high money by refinancing some of its
marks, although he also noted it debt.
Kilpatrick tried to keep messages secret
Detroit mayor's
whistle-blower suit
cost city $8.4
million
DETROIT (AP) _ Mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick approved a
secret agreement to keep confi-
dential intimate and sometimes
sexually explicit text messages
with his chief of staff in an $8.4
million whistle-blower settle-
ment, the Detroit Free Press and
The Detroit News reported yes-
terday.
The newspapers said Kil-
patrick and Chief of Staff
Christine Beatty signed a con-
fidential agreement that would
conceal the text messages as
part of the city's settlement of
the lawsuit.
Under the agreement, Michael
Stefani, lawyer for two former
officers in last summer's law-
suit, would surrender all origi-
nal records and copies of those
records from the city's commu-
nications provider, SkyTel, the
newspapers said.
Those messages show that
Kilpatrick and Beatty had an
intimate, physical relationship
in 2002-03, something they both
denied under oath during the
whistle-blower's lawsuit.
Wayne County Circuit Judge
Robert Colombo Jr. has ordered
the release of a number of docu-
ments involving the lawsuit
settlement and a deposition of
Stefani by attorneys for the Free
Press and News.
The city yesterday appealed
the release of some of the docu-
ments and the deposition to the
state appeals court, but agreed
to make some of the documents
public.
Sharon McPhail, the mayor's
legal adviser, denied yesterday
there was a secret deal.
"In fact, no secret deals exist
or have ever existed," she said.
A