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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 - 9A

BASEBALL
Rain delays Worlderies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Soon-
er or later, someone will win this
World Series.
Just not Tuesday night. Too wet.
Besides, the baseball commissioner
went home to Milwaukee.
Maybe the Phillies and Rays can
play ball tonight. But snow showers
are in the forecast.
So just sit tight, folks, we'll get
back to you when we can. Right
now, bad weather is turning the Fall
Classic into a Rainfall Classic.
Players and fans remained in
limbo yesterday, with Game 5 still
suspended from the previous night.
It was tied at 2 in the sixth inning
when a steady downpour turned
Citizens Bank Park into a quagmire,
washing away the foul lines and
turning home plate into a puddle.
The Phillies lead 3-1 in the best-
of-seven matchup, meaning Phila-
delphia could be close to winning a
championship the city desperately
craves.
Or perhaps not.
"It's kind of like overtime in a
sense, I guess," Tampa Bay man-
ager Joe Maddon said. "Or sudden
victory."

"It's just the way it is," he said.
"There's no crying about it."
OK, no crying here. The manager
who listens to Springsteen while
filling out his lineup card was real
calm - he'd already lost one game
at1:47a.m., then saw this unexpect-
ed break force his Rays to relocate
to a hotel 25 miles south in Wilm-
ington, Del.
Too late for complaining, any-
way. A Series studded with big bop-
pers such as Ryan Howard and B.J.
Upton was no longer whacky - it
was downright wacky.
The teams are tentatively set to
resume at 8:37 p.m. Wednesday.
Since the Phillies will come to
bat in the bottom of the sixth, fans
won't have to wait long for the sev-
enth-inning stretch. They might not
even have time to get a hot dog.
Hard to tell how many people
will tune in even if - for once - a
World Series wraps up before kids
have to go to bed. The TV ratings
for the first four games dipped by
25 percent from last year.
Tickets from Game 5 are good for
the resumption, provided everyone
can scramble back with their soggy

stubs. The Phillies' ballpark holds
nearly 46,000 people and surely
logistics will prevent some of them
from returning.
Then again, a $160 seat in the
upper deck is suddenly more valu-
able for someone eager to see the
Phillies try to win their first cham-
pionship since 1980, and the city's
first major sports title since the
NBA's 76ers in 1983.
By Tuesday evening, over 50
tickets were available for resale
on StubHub.com, spokeswoman
Joellen Ferrer said. The prices
ranged from $599 to $3,500.
Commissioner Bud Selig, who
flew home for a day, was ready to
return to Philly for as long as nec-
essary.
"We'll stay here if we have to cel-
ebrate Thanksgiving here," he said
in announcing the suspension.
If the Phillies win a battle of the
bullpens when Game 5 resumes,
they'll soon parade up Broad Street.
If they lose, time to fly to Tampa
Bay.
Delays in the World Series are
rare. There has never been a rain-
shortened game and this was the

first suspension.
There were three straight
washouts in 1962 with the Yan-
kees and Giants, and a series of
rainouts set up the classic 1975
game between Boston and Cin-
cinnati that Carlton Fisk won
with a home run off the foul pole.
In 1989, an earthquake interrupt-
ed Oakland and San Francisco for
a week.
While baseball purists deride
Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field as
an antiseptic dome that's ringed
with crazy catwalks, at least wet
weather isn't a factor.
Rain intruded in Game 3 Sat-
urday night, with the first pitch
pushed back to 10:06 p.m. - the
latest start time in Series history
- and the last pitch came shortly
before 2 a.m.
Despite a shaky forecast, base-
ball tried to play Monday night.
It was raining lightly at the start.
Within a few innings, it was clear
the showers weren't going to
quit.
. "You're not going to win
against Mother Nature," Phillies
pitcher Cole Hamels said.

RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
Michigan strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis, shown here at Michigan
Medi* Day, is excited to work for both the men's and women's basketball programs.
New strength
coach helping
Blue reach
new heights

Curtis brings
NBA experience
to the Big Ten
By JOE STAPLETON
Daily Sports Writer
Mike Barwis, the Michigan
football team's highly touted
director of strength and con-
ditioning, isn't the only new
strength coach making an
impact in Ann Arbor this year.
Mike Curtis, who spent the
past six years working with
the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies,
is the new women's basket-
ball strength and conditigning
coach.
He said his main objective is
to "make better athletes."
"Whether that be movement,
whether that be getting them
stronger," Curtis said. "What-
ever it takes for them to perform
better on the floor."
Men's basketball coach John
Beilein originally approached
Curtis, but he signed to coach
both the men's and women's
teams, and Olympic sports. He
said he was drawn to Michigan
because he was excited to be
part of a program that is still
defining itself.
"There was somethingspecial
about Michigan," Curtis said.
"It's' a program that's trying to
make a statement, and I wanted
to be apart of that."
He said the full effects of the
training may not show them-
selves for several years.
VAUGHAN
From Page 8A
. together. And if Pateryn needs
some extra tutoring, he knows
where to turn to for advice.
"I think we feed off each other
when we play together," Pateryn
said. "He's helped me out a lot
throughout the season so far."
Vaughan knows he might have
HARRIS
From Page 8A
game," Purdue coach Matt
Painter said. "He plays hard, he
plays the game the right way."
Hummel's intangibles earned
the respect of the media and
. former Purdue coach Gene
Keady.
"I love it," Keady said of
Hummel's game. "One of the
most versatile kids in the country.
He's really an all-around good
. player.",
RIVALRY BUZZ: Ohio State
sophomore Evan Turner and
junior David Lighty represented
the Buckeyes at Big Ten Media
Day.
Though the Buckeyes were
left out of the media's preseason

"We're looking for what's
hampering in their athletic abil-
ity, and we're addressing those
needs," Curtis said. "Over the
course of three or four years,
they're going to be more explo-
sive athletes."
Senior forward Ashley Jones
said the players are seeing
results already.
"It's really beneficial. We can
combine what we're learning in
the weight room on the court.
It's helping a lot."
Jones said Curtis's NBA expe-
rience gave him instant cred-
ibility with the team.
But assistant coach Mike Wil-
liams said it had little to do with
his hiring.
"The NBA thing wasn't
important at all," Williams
said. "He's very well-read in the
newer modes of training. He's
very updated."
Curtis often works 15-hour
days. According to Williams,
when Curtis isn't working with
players, he spends much of his
time on the team's elliptical
machine, reading books on new
training methods.
Along with increasing the
team's explosiveness and agil-
ity, Williams said injury preven-
tion was a significant aspect of
Curtis's job.
To lower the risk of injury,
Curtis has focused on stretch-
ing, balance movement and
strengthening the muscles sur-
rounding joints.
With Curtis, the Wolverines
are looking forward to a strong,
healthy start of the season.
to provide some coaching in case
others need to be brought up to
speed.
"I do feel leadership has to
become a factor," Vaughan said.
"Summers is our only captain
right now. I've got to help him
out a little bit. Just make sure
that they're doing alright, make
sure that they know what to do.
If they do have any questions,
help them."
poll, which only published the
top three teams, Turner was
confident in his team.
"I think I know my team well
enough and we worked hard
enough to say we're the best
team in the Big Ten," said Turner
when asked to name the best
teams in the Big Ten.
Michigan's 80'-70 victory at
home against Ohio State last year
was one of the lone bright spots
for the Wolverines, and it was
the first time Michigan beat the
Buckeyes since 2004.
According to Turner, Ohio
State will be ready for this
season's matchup.
"Without a doubt," Turner
said when asked if he was happier
to beat Michigan than another
team. "A lot of people pay close
attention to Michigan. You just
can't lose to Michigan."

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