2B - Monday, February 11, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaiiy.com It might not be pretty but Michigan hoops is worth it Senior Eric Tannenbaum captured a 10-4 victory against Ohio State, but a controversial no-call on a takedown in the closing seconds gave him just a minor decision. The match was a deciding factor in the Wolverines' 16-15 loss. Lak ofbonus points dooms iI nweeken1-ld road tripd By IAN KAY . Such missed opportunities ulti- Daily Sports Writer mately loomed huge for Michigan as it fell to the No. 7 Buckeyes, 16- On a weekend of missed oppor- 15, yesterday at St. John Arena in tunities for the Michigan wres- Columbus. tling team, even fifth-year senior "It was one of those losses captain Eric Tannenbaum's key where every single point that victory MICHIGAN 15. could have gone against us did," 't OHIO STATE 16 Tannebaum said. be con- The same could be said of the sidered a MICHIGAN 14 Wolverines' 20-14 loss to No. 10 complete PENN STATE 20 Penn State in State College Fri- success. day. Leading 10-4 with just 12 sec- With Penn State ahead, 17-14, onds left in his 165-pound match, the dual's final match went to the third-ranked Tannenbaum overtime. shot at Ohio State's eighth-ranked In the waning seconds of the Colt Sponseller, bringing him to extra frame, the Nittany Lions' the mat. Though Tannenbaum 18th-ranked heavyweight John appeared to have control over Laboranti used a single-leg shot both of Sponseller's legs, the ref- to bring Michigan redshirt fresh- eree refused to issue a takedown. man Chad Bleske to the mat for a Tannenbaum settled for a six- takedown. point decision win, giving No. 6 Though the Michigan bench Michigan three team points. Had protested vehemently that the he gained the extra takedown, the clock had run out before Laboran- victory would have been a major ti gained control, officials upheld decision and would have provided the ruling, giving Penn State the the Wolverines an extra bonus match and the dual. point. Against Penn State, Michigan briefly took the lead after picking up major decisions from Tannen- baum at 165 pounds and redshirt junior captain Tyrel Todd at 184. But Saturday, the Wolverines were unable to record bonus points in any match. Ohio State gained one at 149 pounds when fifth ranked Lance Palmer defeated redshirt junior Justin Chrzanowski 10-2. Chr- zanowski, who originally did not even make the trip to Columbus, filled in for fifth-year senior cap- tain Josh Churella, who was ill: Churella did wrestle, and won, against Penn State. Todd, who had provided the Wolverines with bonus points in 13 of his previous matches, broke his 21-match winning streak in a 6-5 loss to Ohio State's 3rd-ranked Mike Pucillo. "Bonus points are huge," Mich- igan coach Joe McFarland said. "We need to continue to build on our leads, look to get those majors, those pins, tech falls. Those kinds of things that can help us at the (Big Ten) tournament." The Michigan men's bas- ketball team won a game Saturday. I'm hoping you already know this, since the game story is on the front page. But in case you missed it, there's my PSA. A few years ago, an announcement a- would have ; been unneces- sary. It's not that front-page reading skillst have greatly SCOTT diminished S during my time BELL at Michigan. Instead, inter- est in the basketball team has shifted. Three years ago, the team wasn't all that different. It still had some youngtalent:bu couldn t get over the hump and consistently win games. But it had one plus this year's squad doesn't have (and the answer isn't Tommy Amaker): Support. Games sold out. The Maize Rage was filled to the brim. If a wide- eyed freshman like me wanted a good seat, he had to get there 90 minutes before tipoff and sneak into the section. The scene now? You can come at halftime and have your choice of about a hundred spots in the Maize Rage. The Michigan men's basketball team has become an afterthought on campus. And that's sad, because this should be an exciting time for fans. Much like with next season's football team, now's a great time to see an exciting new brand of ball. John Beilein's squad is obviously struggling in its first season, but the Rich Rodriguez juggernaut won't be at full steam without some struggles, either. Still, I doubt Bill Martin is worried about selling out the Big House next year. Yet, a sellout is laughable for the basketball program these days. The joke "I wouldn't see those guys play for free" has become a reality in the past few years, when Crisler Arena hasn't filled up even when there are free student vouchers offered. But aside from the occasional voucher (more a way to save face on national TV during the ACC/_ Big Ten Challenge than a true attempt to market the basketball team), the Athletic Department is doing very little to change this apathetic culture. Sure, they've put in a new lighting system this year, and it looks great. But what was almost certainly Beilein's suggestion dur- ing his contract negotiations isn't enough for now. If fans are going to be stuck with the eyesore that is Crisler Arena for the foresee- able future, then renovations need to begin now. And hey, it won't even screw up people's graduation plans, either. . It's embarrassing to walk past the BigHouse, which is currently undergoing work that costs a quarter billion dollars, and set your eyes upon Crisler Arena, which the Athletic Department apparently thinks has cooties. Having been to nearly every Big Ten basketball venue, it's safe to say that Crisler Arena is among the worst. That's pretty embarrassing considering the University of Michigan's Ath- letic Department is one of the few in the NCAA that doesn't operate in the red. It's not that Martin doesn't care or isn't willingto spend the money - other teams are seeing improve- ments and reaping the benefits. The Fish is going to look complete- ly different this spring. There will be anew soccer facility next sea- son. And oh yeah, I hear Michigan Stadium might be getting a little tweaking done, too. So why can't this translate to the basketball program? It's been nearly a decade since the Ed Mar- tin scandal. Officials shouldn't be afraid to promote a once-proud program that gave the university a black eye. It's time to move on. It's not all on the Athletic Department, though. Fans should be there no matter what facility the games are played in. Two weekends ago, fans "cel- ebrated" - I use that term lightly, because of the funeral vibe that reverberated through Crisler - the 40th anniversary of the House that Cazzie built. Michigan met Minnesota on that day, definitely a winnable home game. Fans should have been excited for the chance of a rare win and for the Michigan legend they'd see at the game. Cazzie Russell, the man who put Wolverine basketball on the map, was in attendance. Most of you, however, were not. Michigan lost, and like this past week, the majority of students had no idea until they picked up the Daily to read about it. After the game, Michigan fan and university alum Jerry, Acker wrote to the Daily with his thoughts on the dismal show- ing, but he wasn't referring toathe Wolverines' poor play against the Gophers. Instead, he was upset with the student body's atten- dance. Here's an excerpt: "The ones who didn't show up were the Michigan students," he wrote. "It was embarrassing that the meager student section was a third empty. Where is the student body at these games? Do you only show up when you are guaranteed a win? Our team, though not very good yet, works hard and shows up. It's about time for the students of Michigan to do the same." I can remember standing up in the Maize Rage as a freshman and getting on the "old fans" for not cheering. In close games and Michiganblowouts, we'd motion for the older crew to stand up and chant "Onyour feet." Three years later, they're taunt- ing us, laughing at our lack of sup- port. So here's a solution: instead of one side waitingfor the other to act in good faith, how about both sides step up and push for change? Athletic Department: put some money into Crisler Arena. Promote the team. Give Beilein whatever resources he needs to make this team into a winning program like he's had everywhere else. If you build it, they will come. Fans watch winning programs. Fans: Act like fans. Your team doesn't always win? Boo hoo. Sticking with a team through the rough times will make the good times all the more enjoy- able. And if you come to games and show you're dedicated, the Athletic Department will invest money in the program with greater confidence. Five years from now, the Michigan men's basketball team will be among the upper echelon of the Big Ten teams. Instead of fighting to be a part of March Madness, it will be jockeying for a good seed in the NCAA Tour- nament. Ican make that predic- tion with no reservations. I truly believe it. Make sure it's the team you followed through the struggles, not one you have to reacquaint yourself with after a decade- long breakup. - Bell can be reached at scotteb@umich.edu. t Annenberg Auditorium 1120 Weill Hall 735 S. State Street, Ann Arbor February 13, 2008, 4:00-5:30 pm Free and open to the public, reception to follow. 0 ie IIarry A. and Margaret D. TI Cltwsley Foundation P licymaker in Residence The Czech Republic Martin Palous in the Beginning of the Permanent Rep rpsentative of then Cech Repub i to the United Nat:ons, orrer Ahbassador of the21st (er t r Cze h u1 l c to lte United States. 10 CRI Es Center for Russian and Eastern Eu Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Zan Studies UmNiEsm 'iOF MIC~ANo