2B - November 3, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com I The Athletic Department's presidential hopefuls "He was interested in politics tactically, as he might be in a football game - who was ahead, who was behind, who was gaining. Politics was like sports." DAVID HALBERSTAM on famed Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee 0 I ven sports can't seem to steer clear of politics any- more. Tonight, just hours before the polls open across the country, both presidential candidates will participate in one-on-one NATE interviews via SANDALS satellite with ESPN's Chris Berman dur- ing the halftime of Monday Night Football. Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain don't have a back- ground in sports. They can't break down game film or solve one of the state of Michigan's biggest prob- lems: the Lions. But with the line between sports and politics blurring more and more, why not just mesh the two entirely? So I asked myself, which current Michigan coaches, athletes and administrators would makethe best U.S. President? Remember, this isn't entirely out of the ordinary. President Gerald Ford was abigname on campus dur- inghis time at Michigan as the start- ing center onthe football team. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BILL MARTIN Martin is the very model of a chief executive, and that's what a president is, right? Worried about the financial crisis? So was former University President Lee'Bollinger when the Athletic Department was bleeding money in the late 90s. So Bollinger hired Martin, the best businessman in town. Today, the Athletic Department is turning profits. If Martin can turn things around on - South State Street, reducing the national debt should be easy. SOFTBALL COACH CAROL HUTCHINS To put it simply, Hutchins is a winner - the winningest coach in Michigan sports history, to be exact, with more than 1,000 vic- tories in her career. She has also broken down barriers, making her 2005 team the first softball National Champion from east of the Missis- sippi River. Hutchins is an intense motivator and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Imagine that - an honest politician. FOOTBALL COACH RICH RODRIGUEZ If you're looking for a change candidate, Rich Rodriguez is your man. Even though he's young, Rodriguez has already changed the world of college football with his spread offense. Rodriguez is taking Michigan in a whole new direction, for better or worse. If he can change the culture in tradition-rich Schembechler Hall, he shouldn't have any prob- lems turning Congress into a well- oiled machine. GOLFER ASHLEY BAUER Bauerisalreadybuildingupallthe tools to be a great president. She's in the business school and was a 2008 Academic All-Big Ten honoree. On top of that, Bauer is a great golfer, and because so many of the world's most important business decisions get worked out on the golf course, her skills could come in handy. HOCKEY COACH RED BERENSON Berenson has the perfect back- ground to be president. He took a proud prtfgram that had fallen on hard times and built it back up to greatness. Sound familiar? Just one problem: the Constitution says the president has to be a "natural-born citizen." Berenson hails from Can- ada, which makes him ineligible to seek the highest office inthe United States. OFFENSIVE LINEMAN DAVID MOOSMAN Moosman is an intelligent student of the game and, by all accounts, excellent in the class- room. He has stepped up asa leader on an inexperienced offensive line and is taking a larger role within the Athletic Department as one of twostudent-athleterepresentatives on the Advisory Board on Intercol- legiate Athletics. Building name recognition shouldn't be a problem. President Moosman has a nice ring to it, don'tyou think? None of these names will appear on your ballot tomorrow. But if sports and politics keep mixing at this rate, they could someday. -Sandals hopes that readers will vote tomorrow. Infact, vot- ing is mandatory for readers of this column. He can be reached at nsandals@umich.edu cHRIS DZOMBAK/Daily Junior Sean McNamara was the top individual performer for the Wolverines, finishing in sixth place. Michigan finished in second place behind Big Ten power Wisconsin HOME, (BITTER) SWEET HOME 'comes just short of ending the Bad gers' Big Ten dominance I Wisconsin wins conference-record 10th straight Big Ten title By FELIX CARREON Daily Sports Writer With temperatures in the 40s and moderate wind gusts, the weather may not have been ideal for a golf game - but they were prime conditions for the No. 9 Michigan men's cross country team to host the Big Ten Champi- onships yesterday at the Univer- sity of Michigan Golf Course in front of over 2,000 fans. The Wolverines placed sec- ond (57) behind Wisconsin (40) in a meet that was close until the finish line. Minnesota's Has- san Mead finished the difficgilt 8,000-meter first overall (24:26). Michigan believed that the home-field advantage would be critical to end Wisconsin's domi- nance in the Big Ten for the last decade. The Badgers have been crowned conference champions every year since 1999. Many cross country alums attended the race, hoping to see Michigan win its first title since 1998, the year before the Badgers started their Big Ten winning streak. Redshirt junior Sean McNa- mara paced the Wolverines with a sixth-place finish (24:48), earn- ing him All-Big Ten first-team honors. Behind McNamara were senior Justin Switzer in tenth (24:53), redshirt sophomore Ciaran O'Lionaird (24:56) and sopho- more Craig Forys, who finished 11th and 12th, respectively. "I'm disappointed in the score, but I'm not disappointed with the team," Warhurst said. "We thought we had a shot and came up a little short. It doesn't take away with the way the kids per- formed in the race." The Wolverines started the meet in a tight pack. The first mile's slow pace indicated the difficulty of the course, which Warhurst described as one of the toughest in the nation. It features many rolling hills and forces runners to alter their strategies, especially those who excel on flatter routes. At 5,000 meters, Michigan started to pull away from the rest of the field. With 2,000 meters to go, the Wolverines had three run- ners in the top eight and seven in the top 15. It seemed the Wolver- ines had secured the Big Ten title and ended Wisconsin's reign. "We were really keying off Wisconsin," McNamara said. "Last year, we were the hunted - this year we wanted to be the hunter." But Wisconsin closed the gap within the final two kilometers to capture a conference-record 10th straight Big Ten title. The Badgers' Landon Peacock pulled away from the field at 6,000 meters and his teammates followed his lead. The Wolverines finished with four in the top 15. However, Michigan needed a strong perfor- mance from senior and co-captain Lex Williams in order to have a chance at passing the Badgers for the title. Williams finished a disappointing 47th place (25:39), after suffering several small inju- ries. The Wolverines will face their next test Nov. 15 at NCAA Region- als, aiming to qualify for Nation- als on Nov. 24. "We're not going to kill each other at regionals," Warhurst said. "Our goal is to advance to Nationals." Tauro steps up for Blue at Big Tens Injured Kohlmeier, Edwards don't have big impact in conference meet 4 Too Shy? Do you consider yourself excessively shy? Do you have anxiety about social situations? If this sounds like you, you may be suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder. Dr. K. Luan Phan, M.D. at The University of Michigan is conducting a medication research study. You may qualify to participate. In this study, we are testing to see what genes, behavior and brain function can tell us about treatment success in Social Phobia using a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder. Interested volunteers should be right- handed, have no major medical or neurologic illness, and no metal parts in their body. Women should not be pregnant or trying to become pregnant. To find out more call: 734-232-0199 Or email: socialphobia@umich.edu UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN g Cleveland Clinic EY UWI VEs TIV.Y s Molecular Medicine PhD Program Make an impact on tomorrow's health discoveries! This program integrates medical knowledge into graduate training to produce scientists trained in translational research - the application of basic or applied research to understanding, preventing, and treating human diseases. Graduates will be well prepared to collaborate with physicians to translate scientific observations from the research bench to clinical care. * Supported by the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute . Students receive a stipend and free tuition throughout their graduate training " Students receive a free laptop and textbooks for the core curriculum " Students work with a Research Thesis Advisor and a Clinical Mentor For more information and application instructions see www.lerner.ccf.org/molecmed/phd/ By KATIE FIELD tling a recurring ankle problem, Daily Sports Writer Kohlmeier donned a walking cast instead of her racing spikes Sun- In the void left by two of the day. Michigan women's cross country The absence of Kohlmeier was team's three senior captains, a new compounded by an uncharacter- leader fought her way into the spot- istically shaky performance from light at the Big Ten cross country Edwards. Although she had eyed championships. the Big Ten Championship title all Sophomore Danielle Tauro season long, Edwards watched her attained All-Big Ten second team dream disintegrate shortly after honors Sunday at the University of the gun went off at the start of the Michigan Golf Course, placing13th race. overall and leading the No. 8 Mich- "I knew she was in trouble two igan women's cross country team K into the race," McGuire said. to a fifth-place finish (116 points). "The race was in control of her, she Tauro ran her best race ever as a wasn't in control of the race." Wolverine (21:19). She improved on Edwards seemed to fold under her 51st place finish at last year's the pressure to win asa senior lead- conference championship, where er, and it ultimately cost her the the Wolverines finished third. championship. Influenced by the "Tauro is going to step up as our high energy and excitement sur- leader of the future," Michigan rounding the course, the front pack coach Mike McGuire said. ran an adrenaline-fueled opening Though Tauro was the bright kilometer. Edwards, unable to get spot for the Wolverines, Michigan into her usually easy and strong finished fifth and posted its worst strides, came in a disappointing Big Ten finish in seven years. 24th place (21:36). Without the typically strong "It definitely was such a big performances of redshirt senior thing for her," McGuire said. "She's tri-captains Nicole Edwards and on the end of her career with us and Aly Kohlmeier, Michigan's former she's at home. I mean it's all of this two-time Big Ten Championship ... look at this atmosphere. I thought winners, the Wolverines struggled that they were running a little bit to keep pace with the fast field. Bat- too hard three, four minutes into Field hockey ends regular season on four-game skid I I cHRIS DZOMBAK/Dal Sophomore Danielle Tauro took 13th place in her best-ever collegiate race. The Michigan field hockey team couldn't muster much offense this weekend,falling3-2to Miami (Ohio) onFridayand 3-0toIowayesterday. The Wolverines (3-3 Big Ten, 8-11 overall) didn't record a shot on goal in the second period of Sunday's contest, and they were outshot by the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes 14-2. Sophomores Meredith Way and KellyFitzpatrickwerethe only Wol- verines to test the opposing goalie with shots. Michigan has now been held scoreless for three consecutive halves of play. Redshirt junior goaltender Paige Pickett stopped seven shots while allowing the three tallies in Sunday's loss. The Wolverines end the regu- lar season with a four-game losing streak, but they hope to right their ship headinginto postseason play. The Big Ten Tournament begins ThursdayinBloomington. the race. It justhappens. If you're in this long enough things can come up. If anybody can bounce back off of this, it's Nicole Edwards." The Wolverines' fifth-place fin- ish shows just how much the two senior tri-captains were missed. No. 7 Minnesota won the meet (63), followed closely by No. 16 Wiscon- sin (67) and No. 9 Michigan State (83). With the top seven finishing teams at the meet ranked within the top 21 nationally, the Big Ten is a tough conference to run in. The Wolverines had a specific plan to reclaim the conference title, clustering their top five run- ners together so they came into the chute within 36 seconds. But without a front-running athlete in contention for the individual title, Michigan lost ground. Cross country is a sport in which one teammate can have the best day of their career and another can come crashingdown. "It's bittersweet," Tauro said. "I know that everyone gave their best efforts, soI cannotexpectanything more, and I can't be disappointed. I am definitely happy with my per- formance, and alot of girls stepped itup. Obviously, everyoneisentitled to their day and a few girls didn'tdo as well as they normally would." After this year, all but one run- ner who raced on the 2006 Big Ten Championship team will have graduated. Michigan's legacy of five consecutive Big Ten Champi- onship titles will be something the team has heard about, but not expe- rienced personally. "When I was a freshman, they won and I got to see it," redshirt junior Kelly Sampson said. "I don't know what it feels like to win." Tauro envisions what a returnto the top of the Big Ten podium will take. "It's going to be up to the young girls to rally the troops and get everyone motivated and use every race as a growing and learning experience," she said.