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THE GREATEST
Forget that Michigan is struggling for bowl eligibility.
Forget that Ohio State has already clinched a spot in
this year's Rose Bowl. And forget that it's almost been
2,200 days since Michigan beat the hated Buckeyes.
Today, on the 40th anniversary of the classic 1969
Michigan win, the Maize and Blue is lining up against
the Scarlet and Gray.
Regardless of the circumstances, that's something
special.
So, sit back and enjoy it - but only if you're watching on
TV. If you're in the Big House, plan to get a little rowdier.
The Daily hopes you have fun rushing the field after a 'W'.
Michael Eisenstein * Ruth Lincoln
Courtney Ratkowiak a Andy Reid
HIGHLIGHTS
3 Icinian Trophy winners Desmnid IHoward and
Archi, Griftfin reflet on their experienc es playing in the
greatest rivalry in sports history.
,,...,, ................
"Whal riakes ,iMi tiigin Man?" 1 hat question is harder
to answer than i you might think.
8 trr'lle Pryorhit a blo k irty dit tl (ohim in Ann Arbot
during hii, rio miting pro somiehow, ' theDaily toubs hi.
'rlcreption won'tl b as w'lcome this t'imarouncd.
2009 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SEASON
Sept. 5 vs. Western Michigan: ttefore this win, it had beena while since
Michigan fans had anyithing to cheer about during the opening weekend.
Sept.12 vs. Notre Dame: So Charlie weis doesn't like Big ten offitials. Boo hoo.
Formral crplaints must e pant ot the internship process or something.
t-Sept. 19 vs. Eastern Michigan: The fEagles put upa ngodtigtrt iin the'tirst tralt, hut Mitthirg ii
ont a toin proved the're's only room ton one (collegte tootball teami in waski traw Conunty.
Sept.26 vs.Indiana: tor the uirst time -well, mayhe ever hoth wolverine and
Hoosier fans are thinking the exact same thing: "Is it baskethall ' sor yet?"
Oct.-3 at Michigan State: So the Spartans heat Michigan for t h second year
in a row. whatever.Keep Paul Bunyan.1hat thing is trt ugly anyway.
Oct.10atiowa: Kirnitk Stdi itiut would rank is un' ot ic ut i tlic Bi hiTen it ttepdidn't play
"GotdtaItteiny" t3,t00,000 tiir' anrd their tart didn't stotrtr tir lld agaiinst Unrankedtrains.
Oct.17 vs. Delaware State: As it Michigan students needed monc irrottvation to
skip ithis agme, the Athletic Departrment sh tedulei it during Fill Preik.
Oct. 24vs. Penn State: toe Pat 'tino's Iit ievenr victory aisa si<aItw.h s
.igai'.the Spartans I ike, twi t-il in's . i int an, is he old.
Oct. 31 at Illinois:1t I, IFighiting Illiti ifiwodI otry tiwsifIrsittliht i 200(-iit'. tit
[ / s "'until P"ii ""igit" 11.0deu"r'Willi iVl k'it Irisrirar' carididic' Agin,
Nov. 7 vs. Purdue: Danny Hop', you wally think teating a terible
Mic higan te~iiiishmuld (owdstiute rs "making histor y"? C'mo"
O yt Nov.14 at Wisconsin: Okay, It'( ,a II' wa,'a'It iUh to watc h. But Maiitttnlinti't disrppoint
onehlit. sein . utu t li un t vt ywai iii
wihi rs y Kre'neaa bun.I hiat c ity i,,i hartl attack waiting to hap "'".
Nov. 21 vs. Ohio State: onivn e o,n uolly h I I i.ll -,11- to fly a Mi( I i 1 fl l n t he headt
ofIe ho oe (<,ull lto l lienvi( wo viimon t ( c(- ephdo obelow>,
MICHIGAN MAN
From page 5B
the difference between a Michi-
gan Man. Because Lloyd Carr
would never bolt to go to some
other university, because he's
at the greatest university on the
planet.
The people who are at Michi-
gan believe that Michigan's the
place to be, and embrace that and
live it."
Ron Kramer says that the Wol-
verine tradition is different than
other schools, simply because it
has been canonized more than
any other. And Hutchins does her
part to make sure her Michigan
Women realize they are stepping
stones in that Michigan legacy.
She talks to her freshmen at the
beginning of each year about the
honor of wearing the block 'M'.
She requires new team members
to write a research paper about
the Michigan softball players
who wore their jersey number
before them.
And if her athletes won't cher-
ish the importance of the tradi-
tion, Hutchins eventually gives
them an ultimatum. You don't just
get to wear the block 'M.' You're
not entitled to it just because you
worked hard in high school.
For those reasons - even with
the 2005 National Championship
on her coaching rtsum6 - her
favorite story from her time in
Ann Arbor isn't during a game.
It was after Stephanie Bercaw
hit a two-run, game-winning
homer to push Michigan into that
year's Women's. College World
Series inals.
"Liverybirsy thinks sill these
athletes are or'iltulli's, bitt
this kid was oi like, not very
tiict inst nit tof state tuition is
e'tnrrmturns," Hutchins says ot ltil
Wooster, hio native. ''ut ..
she catie here and hit a home run
that putli us into tle national finals.
And oil the podium at this press
conterence. they asked her. 'is
this the greatest mroment of your
"And she said, 'Noh. 'eit say I
gotto sign a scholarstip to go t
Michigan was the greatest stay ifi
nit life:,
SA -11, TOWN,
Aflter growing up in mid Mich
igan and playing football for live
years (1999 2003) in Ann A rbor,
I'hil Brabbs needed some breath-
ing root. So the former kicker
leit the state to start anew in
North Carolina.
But lie was in Ati Annrbor to
visit family during a summer
vacation when lie made his first
trip to the emergency om. The
doctors told him he had ai puirno-
nary embolism. But when he still
wasn't getting better, a hematolo-
gist finally found that Brabbs had
multiple myeloma, a cancer of the
white blood cells.
The median age for multiple
myeloma diagnosis is 66. Brabbs
is 29 years old.
Brabbs and his wife, Cassie,
needed to make a long-term deci-
sion on where to live. They chose
Ann Arbor because of the net-
work of family and friends they
knew they would have.
"Ann Arbor's the promised
land, don't you know?" he jokes
now.
It wasn't long after his cancer
diagnosis when he ran into his old
football coach - in the check-
out line to buy groceries at Ann
Arbor's Plum Market. Carr knew
about Brabbs' blood clots, but he
hadn't yet heard about the cancer
diagnosis. As soon as the coach
heard the news, he started asking
his former kicker about his fam-
ily, his plan and his emotional
state. They held tip the line, talk-
ing, as Carr made sure Brabbs felt
he had the support he needed.
Some of that support came
from what he had learned on the
gridiron. Brabbs believes you
have to stick it out through col-
lege in order to be called a Michi-
gan Man, that you can't truly be
delined as one until you receive
your 'M' ring.
And almost every day during
his treatment, he thinks of two
quotes from two of footbail's
Michigan Men.
Begin with the end in iind.
Carr always told Brabbs' tea.s,
Anis,. ifcititese. I'/trrui'is'ttrstun
"Start tie gaie sittil the end in
mind, but each day, its persever
ance '" abbs says. "As I iarch
forward each stay, Whether it ie
the constipation ortise extreme
vomiting, it's like, ' K. We've
already defined what tse end goal
is, ow in t iIWorldaitI going to
get oni to tie next day?, "
lie stated tinfirst round of'
cliemotlerapy oi lOct. 6. Since
lie end of ' September, lit'esti
iates hundreds or maybe
tit"iIS - i-0' teirClis' i lie
'steln d sd Mislhigati lautinly have
reaCid Outt to in.
I'li ust I donst feellike I
diserve this kind of love and sup
port fro tpeopleI I don't know."
Itrabbs says. "ittit that's just how
Michigan Ms) sipelrate."
And yesterday, lie got another
e trail froit someone ie didn't
know, former Michigan defensive
back Vada Murray (1998-90).
Murry, a nonsmoker, was diag
Dosed in -2008 with stage 3i lung
cancer, sne level lower than the players! b
woirst diagnsosis. Ohio Stadit
"He sent me this beautiful But in th
e-mail today inviting me over to ply says, "I
have dinner with his wife and the Ohio S
three children," Brabbs says. guys."
"Gave me his home phone, his It's abo
cell phone, and said call when- character. I
ever. - tion isn't c
"And at the end of his e-mail, ning.
he said, 'As Michigan Men, we Novemb
have so much in common.'" it his gre
"TI E GA ME" State game
MAKES THE MAN Michigan
the game w
It has been 20 years since after Sch
Schembechler pushed the idea 1969 victo
of the Michigan Man into the capped M
national consciousness. But 20 regular sea
years before that was one of the There's
defining games in the greatest crowd in t
football rivalry: the 1969 Michi- that day, th
gan-Ohio State game. long afterI
Listening to Carr, it's clear that after the t
being a true Michigan Man on the The Victor
gridiron is not just about experi- sports i
encing the rivalry, but living it. Bruce Mad
"There's not a day that I was the room.
head coach that Ohio State wasn't "Lloyd, I
somewhere in my thotights," Carr leaving. Yo
says. "This is where they are.
This is what they did yesterday. *
'rhis is who they're playing this
week. And they're getting better.
It's an everyday thing."
'that also includes knowing A
what exactly what the Buckeyes
are saying about Michigan, just
as Carr's 1995 team knew about
Glenn's offhanded comments. ' ' C
And it involves doing dam-
age control, like when Michi
gan quarterback Jim Harbaugh
guaritesd a victory against the
Bluckeycs in 1986
"io wts livid. lle was livid
Carr says. "hut ... itf I took all
tine experienices I hitsvithn him,
its' ilylire hasndlet'h aist situtin
w s just unbelievably good For
ori sntt. t'secause tie went il ltse
meeting oin Tuesday and ihe said,
'(iK, Harbatigh shot his moutth
oT, and thie only thing we cal do
now is back hi up .'
The Wolverines found a way to
back ilthat giisttrts stee and win
that gsne in a coe I rom behind. 7
20 2A thrillerat th e Horseshoe.
in front oif 90,74 io their fiercest
Hated, l l lit rsp cted. It's a
stnsttInge' cic'lt t ha mtt'eass-
sign Michigasit sti unght not
understand. but a Michigan Mars
has .town pat.
That hostile environment was 6
clear in Columbus during Carr's
assistant coaching y esrs, with
water shut off at thie Michigan
tea hotel oln stwo searatceaway
trips. And what thie forner coach
reseCtd thie most tic', still
cearly bothered, callsthhe 21004
incident "over the edge" was
when police dogs sarchId his
ags as they entered
atm.
he next breath, he sim-
I've always found that
tate players are classy
ut class, values and
But it's clear that tradi-
'omplete without win-
er 22, 1997. Carr calls
eatest Michigan-Ohio
in his 28 years on the
coaching staff -and
was 28 years to the day
embechler's defining
ry. The 20-14 victory
lichigan's undefeated
son.
never been a louder
he Big House than on
e coach says now. And
the clock had expired,
eam had already sung
rs in the locker room,
information director
lej came into the locker
that crowd. They're not
on gotta take that team
back tot there."
So they did. Why wouldn't
they? The Big Ten title was theirs.
And they would go on to win a
share of the national champion-
ship, the first one in 60 year,.
"What I've always felt defines
you, each team here, is champion-
ships," Carr says. "As important
as Michigan-Ohio State is - and
it's the greatest rivalry in sport,
I believe it is - but it still is
defined by championships.
"This program has been built
around championship football.
And no school is gonna win
them all, but we've won more
than oue share. And that, to me,
is the pinnacle. That's what it's
all about."
Want play-by-play
detail of The Game?
Follow our live blog at
michigandaily.com.
U-,,m
A proud 'M' in Columbus
It may be a little blurry, dark and hard to see,
but this is a picture that was sent to the Daily
of a Michigan flag that was hoisted at the heart
of the Ohio State campus this week. Who
said this rivalry had lost luster this season.?
Follow (dmichdailysports for live
Twitter updates all game long.
'I t) tImII ; II A ImMIIV I k ,n I. 7P