2B - September 22, 2008

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Being an out-of-town fan
takes work but it's worth it

Tennis program
draws talented
grad students

t's four o'clock on a Sunday after-
noon and I have a dilemma.
Two of my hometown teams are
playinginbiggames
this afternoon. I
have to find a way
to follow both.
As an out-of-
state student, I've
had plenty of expe-
rience finding ways
to avoid watching
the Lions on Sun- NATE
day afternoons. SANDALS
Ann Arbor's many
sports bars are the
obvious choice, but when you have to
work on Sunday, being a sports fan of
your hometown team requires some
creativity.
Yesterday, the first five minutes were
easy.
The Philadelphia Phillies, rapidly
closing in on a second straight playoff
appearance, started their game at the
Florida Marlins at 4:10.
But five minutes later, the Philadel-
phia Eagles kicked off against Pitts-
burgh.
For the next three hours, I tried to
follow those two games. Below are some
thoughts, observations and recommen-
dations for anyone who is tempted to
make a similar attempt at fandom.
- Slingbox is the greatest invention of
all time. It's a device that allows you to
watch and control your home television
from anywhere in the world. The units
start at less than $200, and there's no

monthly fee. For a serious sports fan liv-
ing far from home, the price is definitely
right. I have a Slingbox hooked up to my
TV back in Philly, so I've been able to
watch any Phillies/Eagles game I want.
The only drawback: If someone watch-
ing the physical TV changes the channel,
you're likely to get involved in an awk-
ward, long-range cyber-remote battle.
- My original plan was to watch the
Eagles on the Slingbox and use MLB.TV
for watch the Phils. What I didn't antic-
ipate was a dramatic conclusion to the
Ryder Cup. At 4:15, I just couldn't bring
myself to switch over from NBC. Golf is
rarely as exciting as football, but there
are five exceptions: the four majors and
the Ryder Cup. Even if you don't like
golf, those are must-watch events for
any sports fan. I focused on the Ryder
Cup as it finished up and then devoted
my attention to the Eagles for the sec-
ond half.
- Around 4:45 something hor-
ribly familiar happened. Donovan
McNabb appeared to injure his shoul-
der on a sack. Philadelphians know that
McNabb's health tends to be the differ-
ence between a playoff run and a .500
record. I held my breath, no one else
in the newsroom seemed to care. Two
minutes later McNabb fired a strike to
convert on third and.15. For now, all is
well in the City Of Brotherly Love. This
doesn't really count as advice; but if
you're going to be a long-distance fan, be
prepared to handle agony on your own.
- MLB.TV keeps crashing my brows-
er. This is annoying for two reasons.

First, it makes it difficult to write a
column about watching three sports at
once. Second, I missed the Phillies take
a 2-0 lead in the third inning. I guess
that's just one of those risks that comes
with relying on an Internet connection
to follow your favorite team.
- If you're the only one watching
something, don't cheer about it in the
middle of a crowded room. People just
don't get it.
The final results of the games I fol-
lowed aren't the real point here. (Philly
fans will be happy to know that the Phil-
lies beat the Marlins, 5-2, and the Eagles
stuffed the Steelers for a 15-6 win. The
games ended within five minutes of each
other.) Really, this exercise was about
staying connected to your hometown
team no matter where you are.
Today's technology makes it pos-
sible to be a fan anywhere in the world.
That doesn't mean it comes without the
annoyances of a channel-changing fam-
ily member on the other end, a crashing
web browser and other possible pitfalls.
But For a lot of us, rooting for the
local teams was a big part of child-
hood. There's no reason to give it up just
because it takes a little more effort when
you're away from home.
You just have to figure out which.
team to watch and when.
- Sandals probably should have
paid more attention to editing this
section than watching the Phillies
and Eagles. Let him know what he
missedat nsandalsiumich.edu.

By AMY SCARANO
For theDaily
Anyone who thinks only undergraduate
students play competitive sports at Michi-
gan doesn't know about the old timers on
the club tennis team.
Four of the 40 members of the Michi-
gan club tennis team already have college
diplomas.Year after year, the teamincludes
students who are in law school or earning
their masters degrees playing side-by-side
with undergraduates.
"I feel very old at tryouts," engineer-
ing graduate student Myra Epp said. "It's
weird to think that Iam a different genera-
tion."
Epp is in the first year of her masters
program but her fifth year on the club ten-
nis team. During her four undergraduate
years, she served as vice president and
presidentof the team. This year, she is glad
to be back on the court as a grad student.
"I'm in a sequential program to get my
masters in one year, and it allows me to
play tennis for one more year, which is
great," Epp said.
Alumni of the tight-knit club tennis pro-
gram visit Ann Arbor often. They come to
hang out with old teammates, and it seems
like they never left.
"Some of my best friends have been on

the team," she said. "You see them come
and go, but when alumni come back, we
hang out like they are still part of the
team."
The team has an alumni page on its
website, so old teammates can keep in
touch with each other. They also keep their
younger teammates still at Michigan up to
date on jobs and life. Alumni post their
most recent tennis accomplishments after
leaving Michigan on the site, too.
"The club tennis team is my family at a
school," Epp said.
The Wolverines practice twice a week
and compete in weekend matches in cities
such as Chicago, New York and Toronto.
They try to play two to three matches per
month.
Now that this year's roster is set, the
team is preparing to face Wisconsin at
the Varsity Tennis Center on Sept. 28. It
should be an exciting first game because
over the last four years, the Badgers have
been the only team to steal the Wolverines'
top regional ranking.
"Our first goal is winning regionals,
because we would really like to get to
Nationals on a high note," club president
David Murav said. "We have performed so
well that it would be a let down if we didn't
this year. Placing in the top 10 in Nationals
would bea great goal for us."

FOOTBALL
From Page 1B
much Todd Boeckman (and the rest
of the team) struggled at Southern
Cal, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel
needed to make a change.
With incoming quarterback
recruits Shavodrick Beaver and
Tate Forcier, do you think Threet
and Sheridan will be competing
for No.2 next year?
Next year, I see a situation similar
tothisyear,whenRodriguezrefused
to name a starting quarterback until
just before the season. Threet and

competition, and because of his
experience in the spread, I think,
Threet will be the starter, at least at
the beginning of next season, until
the freshmen quarterbacks adjust.
Justin Feagin showed how difficult
it can be a for a true freshman to
start in the spread offense.
How good is Sam McGuffie
going to be?
Really good.
He tore up Miami (Ohio) and
Notre Dame's defenses, but those
teams are unranked. We will know
a lot more this weekend when he
faces No. 9 Wisconsin.
If McGuffie continues pro-

junior Brandon Minor, redshirt bit more. he runs between the tackles. As his
junior Kevin Grady, junior Car- Last week, Rodriguez saidBrown touchdown run against Notre Dame
los Brown and true freshman started working more in the slot, showed, Grady is not afraid to lower
Michael Shaw? which is something he wants all of his shoulder and draga tackler with'
Every week, Rodriguez has his running backs to do. him.
insisted that the only thing holding Shaw received quite a bit of hype Since Steve Breaston gradu-
Minor, Brown and Shaw back from during fall camp and showed some ated two years ago, Michigan's
getting more carries is injuries. The of his potential at the beginning of return game hasn't been a factor.
coaching staff says that if a player the season, but a groin injury limit- Do you see anybody on this roster
can't practice during the week, he ed his touches against Miami (Ohio) changing that?
won't play as much. And because and Notre Dame. If healthy, Shaw Freshman Boubacar Cissoko
McGuffie has been the only back would probably be the No. 2 back might not have -Breaston's moves,
who hasn't missed practice because behind McGuffie. but he has already displayed the
of and injury at some point, he has Grady was suspended for the speed and shiftiness needed to give
gotten more reps. As these other season opener, after he pled guilty Michigan some decent field posi-
backs get healthier, McGuffie should to driving while intoxicated in the tion. Shaw also has the potential
continue to get the most carries, but offseason. He offers a change of to do this. But as they both showed

when they both dropped kickoffs,
they are still freshmen and prone to
making some freshman mistakes.
On punts, Rodriguez has said that
sophomore cornerback Donovan
Warren is a few feet from breaking
a touchdown return. Maybe so, but
Warren should also work on call-
ing fair catches. Sooner or later, he's
bound to lose the ball by choosing to
return it when he shouldn't.
At this point, I wouldn't worry as
much about the returners breaking
the long runs as I would about them
holdingonto theball.
To read the answers to more ques-

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