I
12A - Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
CATFCHINA.-G (ON
Nearly deaf walk-on goes from team manager to team player
By Dan Feldman -Daily Sports Editor
The day was taking too long to end.
The Michigan softball team opened play at Alumni
Field last year with a doubleheader against Western
Michigan.
The first game was an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller. Lori-
lyn Wilson came within one out of throwing a no-hitter, and
then-freshman Angela Findlay hit a walk-off grand slam.
The second was mundanely one-sided. After a rain delay
stretched the break between the games, the Wolverines led the
Broncos 7-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning of game
two. A few more outs, and everyone could go home.
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins decid-
ed to let some bench players pinch hit,
giving a bit of life to the dragging eve-
ning.
"I try not to forget how important that
is to akid," Hutchins said.
With one on and one out, Hutchins
called on Rachael Herrmann to step up to
the plate.
Herrmann was surprised. A team
manager the past two years, the walk-
on didn't expect to do anything other
than catch in the bullpen and cheer on
her teammates. This time, the roles were
reversed.
"I was so excited," sophomore pitcher
Nikki Nemitz said. "I was up on the fence
just cheering for her, wanting her to hit
that ball so hard."
But Herrmann, who grounded into
a fielder's choice, didn't hear her team-
mates' encouragement.
AT A LOSS
Last year in the Donald R. Shepherd
Softball Building, Hutchins was asked
whether anything surprised her about
Herrmann since she joined the team.
"She still can't hear a word I say,"
Hutchins said. "She has one good ear and
one bad ear."
And then, a voice came from around
the corner: "I heard that!"
Herrmann is nearly deaf. The Owens-
ville, Ohio native has no hearing in her
left ear and 20-to-40 percent loss in her
right.
One night when she was a year old, Her-
rmann fell ill. Her parents thought she
had the flu because she was "very stiff,
very pale," her father Scott Herrmann
See HERRMANN, Page 13A
I
Taking on campus, one more time
Allow me to preface this column with a
few statements:
I love the University of Michigan. I
wouldn't trade my four years here for anything.
Ann Arbor has become one
of my best friends, and Iwill
keep visiting her no matter
where life takes me.
That said, there are so
many maddening things
about this school, this town
and the people here that I
just can't stay quiet any lon-
tAMRKl
over the past four years. Or maybe it's because
I've been bugging them about giving me back my
column since they decided to cancel it.
I'm hoping this breakdown of what really
grinds my gears on this campus will make some-
one buy me a beer the next time they see me at
the bar. More than likely, though, most will want
to hunt me down and drive a knife into my back.
Either way, at least I'll know you read the col-
umn. So enough with the introduction - this is
what's been on my mind recently.
" I realize helping out sick children is the
worthiest of worthy causes, but has anyone else
noticed that C.S. Mott Children's Hospital has a
monopoly on charitable donations in this town?
Everywhere I look on campus, I see a new fund-
raiser and then the disclaimer, "benefiting C.S.
Mott's." I'm not mad about it, because that's just
evil. I'm more frustrated than anything.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling for the
end of donations to Mott's, but I think we can
all get a little more creative here. There needs
to be some sort of donation sharing (like rev-
enue sharing in baseball) where every charity
- whether it's for kids, the homeless, veterans,
etc. - gets a decent amount of the bounty. Plus,
Mott's already has the financial backing of the
University, the state and the rest of the country
because of its esteemed reputation. And it's not
like patients there are just getting treatment for
free.
And where is all this money going to anyway?
There's still no cure for cancer and many other
terrible diseases. And yet, Mott's is currently
building a state-of-the-art hospital complete
with crucial medical innovations like a workout
facility, several courtyards and scenic views of
the Huron River.
On the other hand, there are places for the
homeless like soup kitchens or shelters that
barely receive enough public funding to stay
open and could really use the private donations.
" Ever since I set foot on campus, a debate has
raged among my friends, and I don't think there
has ever been a concrete answer.
What is the better burrito, Panchero's or
BTB? Most people have told me BTB is head
and shoulders better than anything Panchero's
could ever concoct.
Unfortunately, most of you are wrong and
don't deserve to enjoy any sort of burrito at all.
See GIANNOTTO, Page 14A
ger. --
I'm not sure if anyone GIANNOTTO
remembers, but I had a col- -.--
umn in The Statement two What Grinds
years ago, where I detailed My Gears
some of these peculiarities
and nuances that drove me particularly insane.
Well, after raising some controversial points of
view, the powers-that-be at the Daily stopped
lettingme write the column after a single semes-
ter.
Two years later, they are allowing me one last
hurrah. I guess it's a reward for allimy hard work
By JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
Three years ago, outfielder Kenny
Fellows wasn't donning a Michigan
baseball cap or lacing up his spikes.
Instead, he was in a suit and tie,
manning a clipboard, behind former
Michigan basketball coach Tommy
Amaker's bench.
Fellows had put baseball behind
him.After all, hewasn'tgood enough
to play for Michigan. He discovered
that when he tried to walk on in the
fall of his freshman year -he wasn't
even the best player at the tryout.
"In the tryouts, you got to do
something to really impress them,"
Fellows said. "There was only one
spot open when I tried out my fresh-
manyear, andunfortunately, I wasn't
Fellows rediscovers
passion for baseball
the guy they were looking for."
Fellows wanted to stay involved
in athletics, but didn't know how
until a flyer in the CCRB caught his
eye.
The women's basketball team
was looking for student managers,
so Fellows decided to give it a shot.
"They gave me an interview, and
they must have really been looking
for managers, because they a job
right on the spot," he said.
After receiving the position so
easily, Fellows decided to try for a
spot as a manager of the men's bas-
ketball team. The team had already
filled all its positions, but Fellows
got lucky when one manager quit.
He was hired a week after his inter-
view.
See FEL LOWS, Page 14A
4
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