2B - December 14, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com14
Detroit a familiar opponent for 'M'
It's a shame to see some
FCS teams lose football
his weekend, Brian Kelly
called a team meeting to
tell his Cincinnati play-
ers that he had accepted the head
coaching job at Notre Dame.
The Bearcats' standout receiver
and vocal team leader, Mardy
Gilyard,
immediately
walked out of
the room and
told the Asso-
ciated Press,
"He went for
the money. I'm
fairly disgusted
with the situa- ANDY
tion, that they REID
let it last this
long."
I sympathize with Gilyard, but
only to a point. His team has a
chance to upset a deflated Florida
team and finish the season 13-0,
but the situation could be much,
much worse.
Mardy, you lost your coach. Ask
Northeastern senior defensive
lineman Chris Byrne what it's like
to lose your program.
A few weeks ago, his FCS foot-
ball team met with athletic direc-
tor Peter Roby, in a similar setting
to Cincinnati's meeting with
Kelly. But Roby dropped a much
bigger bombshell.
At his recommendation, the
school decided to drop the team
forever.
"I am convinced that this
decision is in the best interest
of the university," Roby wrote
in an open letter, explaining the
situation. "The past several years
have been disappointing for our
football program despite the best
efforts of our staff and players."
After Kelly's meeting, Gilyard
was worried about what he would
tell his younger teammates who
needed motivation for the bowl
game.
It could be much worse, Mardy.
You could have to console the
younger guys - the ones who are
now faced with potentially life-
changing decisions, like whether
to transfer or stay in Boston.
"I had some younger friends on
the team who were crying in my
arms," Byrne told AthleticBusi-
ness.com after the decision. "It
was pretty ridiculous how it all
went down, because nobody saw it
coming. We felt betrayed and lied
to. Even though we thought there
was a chance the program might
get cut, Peter Roby assured us it
wouldn't be."
Northeastern is just one school
in a sad trend this offseason. Not
as publicized as the annual fir-
ing of coaches, smaller schools
around the country are canning
their entire football teams, clearly
for monetary reasons.
Western Washington cut foot-
ball in January 2009, and Hofstra
and Northeastern cut their teams
after this season. According to the
Associated Press, the move will
save Hofstra's athletic depart-
ment $4.5 million annually, and a
combined 13 new sports programs
are being planned between North-
eastern and Hofstra.
In an ideal world, every school
could have every sport, and every
athletic department could be as
comfortably independent and
financially stable as Michigan's.
But the reality is - especially in
this economy, when people might
not want to pay to watch a 3-8
FCS team like Northeastern -
that's not how college athletics
work.
Football is, hands down, the
most expensive team a school
can field. Though the benefits of
having ateam can often outweigh
the negatives, it's a shame when a
school just can't sustain the sport
any longer.
I love football, especially col-
lege football, because of its pas-
sion. And I can't think of anything
more passionate than playing for
a struggling FCS team just for
the love of the game. It's a shame
these kids are losing out on that
opportunity.
I'm sure it hurt Mardy Gilyard
to hear of Kelly's departure, and
I really respected that he told the
city, "Cincinnati, I got you, we got
you." But imagine, Mardy, that
you had to tell Cincinnati that
your program was just dropped to
save a few bucks.
-Reid can be reached at
andyreid(4umich.edu.
ByJOESTAPLETON
Daily Sports Writer
Yesterday's win against Detroit
nmsy have seemed like just a tune-
up for the Michigan men's basket-
ball team, especially with a game
against Kansas looming on Dec.
19. But to the Wolverines' two
stars - junior Manny Harris and
senior DeShawn
Sims - it meant NOTEBOOK
more.
"I know most of the guys who
play a lot on their team, and a lot
of us played together and grew up
together," Sims said. "I used to go
to U of D games, so it meant a lot
for us to get this win."
Harris and Sims are the only
two Michigan players from the
city of Detroit, and they matched
up against former AAU team-
mates and opponents yesterday.
"I know quite a few of them,"
Harris said. "(Sophomore guard)
Chase Simon actually played on
my AAU team, (senior guard)
Eulis (Stephens) played on my
AAU team, a couple of those
guys."
Michigan coach John Beilein
said potential Detroit bragging
rights played a part in the Wol-
verines' strong performance in
the second half after trailing at
halftime.
"They know these guys, they
played with a great deal of pride,"
Beilein said. "And we need to
make sure we play like that every
day."
NOVAK THE BARBER: Fresh-
man Matt Vogrich ran through
the tunnel onto the court for war-
mups yesterday sporting a brand-
new 'do.
It was an interesting look -
buzzed pretty short, but with a
4
W
CLIF REEDER/Daily
Junior Manny Harris, a Detroit native, scored 27 points against the Titans. He
knows several of the Detroit basketball players from AAU and high school ball.
strange shaved patch on the back
of his head.
The stylist behind the new
look? Sophomore Zack Novak.
Apparently, it all started when
Vogrich asked Novak if he could
borrow his car to go to a barber.
"I wasn't gonna let him," Novak
said. "Then I decided to let him,
but I waited until all the places
were closed."
So Novak told him to go get a
razor. After Novak buzzed most of
Vogrich's hair off, the sophomore
he took a chunk off the back.
And apparently, Vogrich is OK
with it.
"He loves it," Novak said.
"He calls it his Rasheed Wallace
patch."
HAPPY FOR THE HEISMAN
WINNER: On Saturday, Alabama's
Mark Ingram hoisted the 75th
Heisman Trophy. And while plen-
ty of Southerners were rooting for
the running back, so were many
in his hometown of Flint.
One fellow Flintstone in par-
ticular was pulling from Ingram:
Michigan redshirt sophomore
Laval Lucas-Perry.
"We went to the same school
together in Grand Blanc, and we
played against each other," Lucas-
Perry said. "There's a little bit of
camaraderie there."
When asked about Ingram's
basketball skills, Lucas-Perry,
who logged 36 minutes and scored
10 points on Sunday, laughed and
said the Heisman winner was
where he needed to be.
"He should probably stick to
the football field, but he's ahell of
football player," Lucas-Perry said.
"I like to see -he's representing
Flint town, so it's a great moment
for him."
Wolverines continue brutal road stretch at Xavier, look for eighth 'W' of season 6
In eight-game road
slate, Michigan
has already
notched four wins
By ALEX HERMANN
Daily Sports Writer
To put it succinctly, the Michi-
gan women's basketball team is
learning how to win. And the Wol-
verines are doing it at a pace that
has coach Kevin Borseth pleasant-
ly surprised.
Six games into an eight-game
road trip, the Wolverines have
picked up four crucial wins,
including Thursday's 76-70 vic-
tory over Boston College.
Michigan looks to continue
its impressive road performance
tonight at No. 8 Xavier.
Its four road N
wins already
quadruple the
team's road victory totals from a
year ago.
KEEPING PACE: Whether it's
an up-tempo brand of playground
hoops - as witnessed in the Wol-
verines' three 85-plus point efforts
this year - or the grind of Big Ten
basketball, Michigan has kept pace
with its opponents.
"We like to push the ball this
year," freshman guard Jenny Ryan
said. "That's one of our points of
emphasis.... We have a lot of speed
between (freshman guard Day-
eesha Hollins) and (junior guard
Veronica Hicks). And then we have
the shooters that are capable of
putting up the big numbers."
The team is constructed per-
fectly to run the floor. Hollins,
Hicks and Ryan have proved they
can force turnovers on the perim-
eter that turn into easy baskets.
Senior center Krista Phillips and
sophomore forward Carmen Reyn-
olds are as comfortable shooting
from beyond the arc as they are
patrolling the paint.
Itwasn't clearifMichiganwould
be able to compete with physical
conference opponents, but in their
only chance so far this season, the'
Wolver
In th
far, th
those q
to s
we
The
Michig
of the s
Reynolc
ines looked impressive. the starting lineup, all scoring in
eir lone opportunity thus double digits. The Hawkeyes, with
me Wolverines answered five freshmen of their own and
uestions triumphantly. three in the starting lineup, are
fairly young themselves, and the
game served as a good measuring
ven if you try stick for the Wolverines.
0/ y "I think this win was something
low us down great for us," Hicks said. "It shows
I that even if you try to slow us
can fight that down we can fight that adversity
and come out on top. I think that's
adversity." something that's really huge."
YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE:
Even though Michigan relied
on its more experienced players
54-51 win over Iowa was against the Hawkeyes, the fresh-
an's lowest scoring affair men showed they could step up
eason. Phillips, Hicks, and when it counted, against Boston
ds, the three veterans in College.
"Dayeesha did a great job down
the stretch," Borseth said after
Thursday's win over the Eagles.
"She had a tip-in, she had a layup,
a crunch layup, and then she hit
some free throws that were pretty
darn critical. She came to life right
at the end of that game."
Both Hollins and Ryan sunk a
pair of free throws with under a
minute to go in the game.
The Wolverines managed to
seal both games in the final min-
utes, proof that the team is playing
more mature than its age.
Michigan has shown it can play
any style of basketball it needs in
order to secure victories, whether
in the comforts of Crisler or in
hostile environments.
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