The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I September 8, 2009
A day in
the life
of a Cape
Leaguer
By NICOLE AUERBACH
Daily Sports Editor
WAREHAM, Mass. - Ryan La-
Marre didn't take out his golf clubs
until the beginning of August.
Golfing is just a hobby to him, so
that wasn't necessarily a problem.
But for someone spending an entire
summer on Cape Cod, the home of
many sprawling golf courses, it was
certainly surprising.
Ryan, the junior starting cen-
terfielder for the Michigan base-
ball team, played for the Wareham
Gatemen in the vaunted Cape Cod
Baseball League this summer.
Widely considered the nation's
top amateur summer league, the
Cape League boasts 10 teams filled
with the best collegiate baseball
players. It's known for wooden bats,
MLB draft hopes and tough com-
petition - and the movie Summer
* Catch. Only two Michigan players
earned roster spots on Cape League
teams this summer, Ryan and relief
pitcher Tyler Burgoon.
The normal season includes 44
games in two months with plenty
of time for off-days. But this past
summer, one marked by torrential
rain instead of sunshine, rainouts
and subsequent doubleheaders
provided even more challenges for
Cape League players to overcome.
So if that meant no golfing on off-
days, so be it. Dry days meant base-
ball, and baseball provided a chance
to get noticed by scouts and coaches.
Cape Cod, the vacation hotspot, was
a place for work, not play.
While many on the Cape this
summer enjoyed beaches, par 4s
and sunsets, Ryan was focusing on
the barrel.
See LAMARRE, Page 6B
Former
captain
* launches
clothing line
By TIM ROMAN
Daily Sports Writer
It was a simple sign of affection.
But for David Merritt, a captain
of last year's Michigan basketball
team who recently graduated, it
represented more.
In September 2008, Merritt re-
ceived a text message from a friend
that read: "IMU." In tech-speak,
those three letters represent the
phrase, "I miss you," which provid-
ed inspiration for a future idea.
After some work and planning,
Merritt launched his company
IMU on Friday night at the Michi-
gan League in front of a crowd
that included several of his former
teammates and coaches.
Merritt's company currently
sells T-shirts exclusively online,
where it has 10 different T-shirt
designs, five for men and five for
women. The designs range from
the plain IMU logo to shirts with
quick sayings and unique designs.
The mission of IMU is "to spread
happiness while appreciating the
people and experiences who make
us who we are." IMU is different
from other apparel companies -
Merritt said "care" was the word
that best described the company.
The twist that differentiates it from
other apparel companies is that ev-
ery full-time employee must serve
8 to 10 hours of community service
per month.
But the "care" doesn't stop
there.
Every customer who completes
one hour of community service
within eight weeks of a purchase
and provides specific proof of the
See IMU, INC., Page 10B
Fifth-year senior Brandon Graham put constant pressure on the Broncos' senior quarterback Tim Hiller, who finished the day with an uncharacteristic two interceptions and often looked flustered.
DAYS LATE R
Wolverines win
first home game
since Sept. 27, 2008
By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Editor
It was an odd feeling, coming into
a season opener against a Mid-Amer-
ican Conference team with absolutely
no idea what to expect.
An offense dependent on
two true freshman quarter-
backs, a defense that Michigan
coach Rich
Rodriguez MICHIGAN 31
has read- WESTERN MICH. 7
ily admit-
ted has very
little depth and a team that faced a
tumultuous week of allegations can be
thanked for that.
But somewhere in the first 15 minutes
of the Wolverines' opener against West-
ern Michigan on Saturday, they managed
to make everything look easy again.
"It feels -it feels good," redshirt soph-
omore wide receiver Junior Hemingway
said after the game, pausing as he tried
to find the right words. "I don't want to
say it feels weird, but it kind of feels like
I'm starting over again, and I think I just
want to start it off right this time."
Hemingway was referring to how
frequent injuries have prevented him
from makinga real impact until his sur-
prising two-touchdown performance
Saturday. But he may as well have been
talking about the entire team's fresh
start.
The offense was flashy, scoring 31
points before halftime with quarter-
backs Denard Robinson and Tate Forci-
er putting on a show in their debuts
- Robinson with his quick feet and
Forcier with his confident decision-
making.
The defense was fierce, making
Western Michigan quarterback Tim
Hiller look more like a freshman than a
fifth-year senior, as he threw erratically
and couldn't hold onto the ball.
Michigan (1-0) convincingly started
its season Saturday with a 31-7 win over
the Broncos, its first home opener vic-
tory in three years.
This fresh start showed little indica-
tion oflast year's season-opening issues
- excessive turnovers, shaky quarter-
backs, offensive line woes and fumbled
punt returns.
Instead, it highlighted what wasn't
possible during all of last year's 3-9 di-
saster.Rodriguez gave four quarterbacks
playing time, not because anyone was
underperforming, but simply because
with a 24-point lead, he could afford to.
Fans held pro-Rodriguez signs and
loudly chanted his name twice, once
after Hemingway's second touchdown
and the other in the waning seconds
of the game. The two skyboxes may
have kept in extra crowd noise, but the
109,019 fans didn't need the help.
And the old Michigan swagger re-
turned, from Forcier's bold postgame
comment that he doesn't get nervous -
"never have and I don't thinkI ever will"
- to veteran players like senior defen-
sive end Brandon Graham pumping his
arms in the air between plays to make
the crowd roar just a little louder.
After Western Michigan started the
game with a three-and-out, Forcier
wasted no time leading Michigan to a
score on its first drive. From the 28-yard
line, the freshman started to run the ball
See BRONCOS, Page 4B
Freshman Denard Robinson electrified fans with a 43-yard touchdown runon his first snap.
It may look differe.n t
but it's stil Michigqan
T here's no question that Michi- And the Wolverines, who sprinted
gan football is an institution to the student section to celebrate
largely resistant to change, and sing The Victors for the first time
and what happened in the since Sept. 27, 2008, were
Big House Saturday was not way too relieved and excit-
- even remotely - a Schem- ed to beat a Mid-American
bechler-esque performance (if Conference team. They
we can use the famous coach's would gave been told by
name as an adjective). the coach to act like they'd
The offense was way toofast- been there before.
paced and flashy for the man During the longest
who obsessed over field posi- offseason in the last 30-
tion and time of possession. ANDY plus years, any talk about
The crowd was having way REID Michigan football was near
too much fun with the newly apocalyptic. The end of an
installed loudspeaker music era. Time to pick up the
- including the well-timed pieces.
rendition of "Don't Stop Believing" - But with everything that was dif-
for Bo, who never wanted to change ferent, it still felt like a fall Saturday in
anything about Michigan's game-day Michigan Stadium.
pageantry. See REID, Page 4B
Why the pre-game handshakes this
weekend could help make college football
classier - even at Ohio State. Page 28.
The Michigan men's soccer team is coming
off its best season in years. Catch up on the
upcoming season with our preview. Page 38.