4 DAILY SPORTS BREAKS DOWN THE WEEKEND THAT WAS 2B - March 24,2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com ATHLETE OF THE WEEK I SAID AND HEARD "I just tried to tackle Bill as hard as I (could). He gave us a chance to win and that's all you can do. He played out of his mind today." - Michigan defenseman Chris Summers on goalie Billy Sauer's CCHA Tournament performance EMILY BRUNEMANN The junior made history this weekend when she won the 1,650-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships in Columbus. She became the first Wolverine ever to win a dis- tance national title. A I S w Spinig a March without madness arch Madness doesn't exist in Ann Arbor. This is nothing new. It's like me telling you the sky is blue or Michigan State fans like to riot. But why should a March without madness automatically be one filled with sadness? Sure, Michi- gan fans have to look back a decade to find a time its team made the NCAA Tourna- SCOTT ment, and even BELL then it didn't officially count. Sure, cheering against the Dukes of the world can only be fun for so long. And sure, it's not just college hoops specific. All March long, it seems any team or player I'm root- ing for has something wrong going for it. All this is true. But all hope is not lost. Luckily for area sports fans, spin is in. So after adopting some rather generous outlook tweaks I've made to some of the most dire sports sit- uations, hopefully you can have a positive look on sports, too (or just lose any concept ofreality, depend- ing on how you look atlit). The Michigan men's basket- ball team hasn't made the NCAA Tournament in a decade. Let's get the elephant out of the room right away. It's not fun get- ting a chance to shamelessly pick your home school to go deep when they're not even listed on a brack- et. But at least you have a better chance at bracket success with- out the dreaded homer pick going wrong. And Michigan fans always have the bragging rights over the summer of "Your team lost more recently than ours." The Michigan hockey team has to travel out East to Albany for the NCAA Tournament. Sure, it sucks. If the Wolverines had been placed in Madison, a lot of students could have made the trek out West to watch. But the Wolverines avoided a Michigan State team that has played them tough all year long and secured the No. 1 overall seed with the CCHA Tournament Title. It's inconve- nient travel-wise, but it's good Frozen Four-wise. The Celtics are in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed over the Pistons in the East. Home court advantage is nice, but I'd gladly trade it for not hav- ing to face LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. is good news for everyone except the Ann Arbor News, which was probably licking its chops for a potential academic "scandal." The Michigan football team doesn't exactly have a quarter- back next season. Minor technicality. , Steven Threet should emerge as the start- er and be more than adequate. He ran a similar offense in high school and Rich Rodriguez's teams at Clemson and Tulane showed you don't have to be "mobile" to suc- ceed in his offense. If you want another approach, there's always the obvious "I'd rather have no quarterback than Ryan Mallett" joke. Then again, I guess it's not a joke if it's true. The Lions are considering bringing in Pacman Jones to play cornerback. I've got nothing. The Michigan economy is bad. Well, now we have an excuse not to go to Lions games. Actually, if Jones ends up a Lion, an economic quick-fix may be in order. It's like trickle up economics: pump money into strip clubs, see the results spread elsewhere. Pure genius. - Bell can be reached at scottebdumich.edu. 4 I AP PHOTO Terrelle Pryor enthusiastically announces he will attend "The University of Ohio State" and try to uphold the tradition built by Maurice Clarett. The Cavs and Celtics can beat themselves up for seven full games while the Pistons cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals fresh as can be. Curtis Granderson has to start the season on the disabled list. Winning 155 games this regu- lar season is good enough. There's always 2009 for the full 162. Terrelle Pryor choosing Ohio State over Michigan. Or should I say, the University of Ohio State. Let's be honest, Pryor isn't a frontrunner for the Aca- demic All-Big Ten team next year. Pryor going to school in Columbus 4 Wolverines vanquish Buckeyes in dual for the first time since 2004 Senior savors final year of competition By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer The Buckeyes thought they had it. The No. 7 Ohio State men's gym- nastics team had OHIO STATE 356.25 beaten MICHIGAN 359.20 the Wol- verines three years running, and looked to be clawing its way to a comeback at Cliff Keen Arena on Saturday night. But the fifth-ranked Wolverines knew the meet was theirs. They didn't panic. Not after two roughroutinestoleadofffloorexer- cise. Not after Ohio State took the lead after three events. Not when the first five Michigan parallel-bars sets all had major mistakes. And on Senior Night, the Wol- verines finally bested Ohio State head-to-head for the first time since 2004, winning 359.20-356.25. "It feelslike we can'tlose,"senior Dan Rais said. "It feels absolutely amazing. ... We can do anything now." Having received an impassioned speech from Professor John Bacon on Friday about the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, the gymnasts were more fired up than normal for their big meet. "At the time, we were ready to compete then and there," junior Joe Catrambone said. "We stayed really positive today. I think this is the most positive we've ever been, as a group." The Wolverines needed the posi- tive attitude from the start. Two rough routines led off the open- ing rotation, floor exercise, but freshman Thomas Kelley put the Wolverines back on track with a smooth hit. Junior Jamie Thompson - in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 2 - delivered anear-flawless floor set for a career-high 15.65. It was aper- fect setup for junior Kent Caldwell, who performed his new, upgraded routine in competition for the first time. Rais rises to the occasion on Senior Night,-hitting all three routines By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer It began slowly in the back of the team bus, a few voices join- ing in with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." Riding back from a defeat at Illinois on March 9, the Michigan men's gymnastics team suddenly decided it was time to sing. Within minutes, a team-wide karaoke party was in full swing. For senior Dan Rais, the moment was "euphoric." "At first, I didn't think any- thing of it," Rais said. "But after we stopped for a little bit, it was so different. It felt like it was just a different team. ... It was like hav- ing all my best friends, and doing what we love to do." And for him, it meant just a lit- tle more. This is Rais's last season, and there won't be too many more moments like that one. "I don't think it's set in yet," Rais said. "I've been sitting here saying, 'Yeah, I'm about done,' but it doesn't feel like I'm going to be done with gymnastics." Though Rais will finish with gymnastics this year, he likely won't be done competing for Mich- igan. Athletes can have a fifth year of eligibility if they switch sports, and the Livonia native plans to walk onto the men's swimming and diving team. Rais lettered in diving all four years of high school and eventually captained the team. Michigan currently has just two male divers, juniors Charlie Ken- nedy and Kyle Schroeder. In his first home meet this sea- son, Rais provided a crucial boost for Michigan during the high bar rotation, during which the Wol- verines wrested victory away from defending national champion Penn State. Rais said it was one of the best high bar routines of his life, and earned a 14.80. "He got up after a rocky set from somebody else and really rocked his set," junior Jamie Thompson said. "He lifted everybody, say- ing, 'We can still do this, we have to hit.,'" Since then, thanks in part to a nagging neck problem that affects his right arm, Rais has had diffi- culty competing. It's particularly frustrating as he tries to make his final season count. "There's times when I know I should have worked harder and it would have helped, not only me but the team," Rais said. "That's what I've been trying to do this year, work harder than I have been." That work paid off against Ohio State on Senior Night, when Rais turned in his best overall perfor- mance of the year. He capped the floor rotation with a 15.05 set. On vault, an event that's plagued him in recent weeks, he earned a 15.70 and placed second overall. And on high bar, Rais best- 'ed even his Penn State perfor- mance. His mother, Cathy, held her breath as Rais willed him- self to a smooth set culminating in a stuck double front over the bar. After screaming in triumph, Rais was picked up in a bear hug by senior co-captain Paul Wood- ward. When his feet touched the ground, senior co-captain Arren Yoshimura wrapped him in another embrace. It was a near-perfect finish to Rais's career at Cliff Keen Arena. Even though he'll remain in Ann Arbor, Rais's absence will leave a hole in the gym, especially for Woodward. Of the team's three seniors, Woodward is the only one returning for a fifth year. "If Dan and (senior) Arren (Yoshimura) both leave and it's just me here, I'll definitely feel old," Woodward said. "There's definitely a bond that me, Dan and Arren have that I probably don't have with the rest of the team." RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Junior Kent Caldwell performs on the floor exercise during Michigan's win over Ohio State. He won floor with a 15.70. "I was feeling good, confident that I'd be able to hit it, butI was so proud of(Thompson) after that set," said Caldwell, who won the Newt Loken award for his meet-topping, career-high 15.7 set. "I think Jamie took that set from beingjust a hit to having the level of polish I was able to give it." The Wolverines' trend of late- meet struggles surfaced dra- matically during the parallel-bars rotation - the same event that led to a close defeat to top-ranked Stanford on March 2. But in what Michigan coach Kurt Golder called his top performance of the night, Catrambone knocked out his set in the anchor slot. With five subpar routines ahead of him, Catrambone posted a career-high 15.10 score, good for second overall. Michigan then moved to high bar, the last rotation. Rais and senior co-captain Arren Yoshimura prepared for their final home per- formances. Rais, for one, was decidedly ticked off, feeling that the team had opened the door for the Buckeyes during parallel bars. After a clean opening routine from junior Ryan McCarthy, Rais swung onto the bar. He swept through the routine, stuck his dis- mount and yelled with joy. It was his third hit set of the night. His score of15.OOwasbested only by Catrambone's 15.40. Yoshimura rounded out Michigan's high bar sweep, placing third and offering a salute to the roaring crowd as he left the mat for the final time. "I feel like this was the best way for them to end at Cliff Keen," junior Jamie Thompson said. "They both hit the last event they did and were so happy with how everybody did." Even with a meet that left sig- nificant room for improvement, Michigan proved itself superior to its archrival, outscoring Ohio State on four of the six events and col- lecting three individual titles. "I knew we could have done it all along," Caldwell said. "I never told anyone this, but I expected to win. ... It's always good to go out with a bang - and with a win."