2B - December 6, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
2B - December 6, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Gator Bowl puts Michigan's
coaching farce in spotlight
Caporusso and
Wohlberg help *
Blue end drought
There's one thing that's clear
to me after waiting on
bated breath for Michigan's
bowl invitation:
Rick Catlett is the smartest man
in the room.
The Gator Bowl president's
elation at his
committee's
unanimous
choice for the
Wolverines to
play in the New
Year's Day bowl
was surprising
at first.
After all, RYAN
both Michigan KARTJE
and No. 21 Mis-
sissippi State
lost two of their last three games
and aren't exactly tearing up the
college football landscape.
The logical choice for a Big Ten
counterpart would have been Iowa,
a team that beat Michigan when the
Wolverines were playing arguably
their best football of the year and a
team whose fan base travels incred-
ibly well.
But Catlett and the rest of the
Gator Bowl selection committee
saw something stronger than a pas-
sionate fanbase - they saw dollar
signs.
Better yet, they saw dollar signs
attached to a flaming trainwreck.
And don't kid yourself, fans love
nothing more than watching immi-
nent doom unfold before their eyes.
Catlett told the Daily lastweek
that he was certain the game would ,
come downto Penn State, Iowa or
Michigan, with Penn State probably
accepting a bid to the Outback Bowl.
When it came down to Michigan
or Iowa though, there's only four
words that Catlett and the rest of
the committee probably needed to
hear: "You Raise Me Up."
At the team's banquet last
Thursday, in an effort to convince
God-only-knows-whom to sup-
port him as Michigan's coach, Rich
Rodriguez made an absolute fool
of himself, standing hand-in-hand
with his entire team and staff while
Mr. Josh Groban's song blared over
the loud speakers.
He emotionally addressed the
attendees at Laurel Manor in Livo-
nia, assuring them that he wanted
to be a Michigan Man - two words
that have clearly haunted him since
his arrival in Ann Arbor.
It was the second time Rodri-
guez had "gotten emotional" at the
podium during his tenure here -
the first being when the NCAA alle-
gations were announced. And for a
coach at the helm of America's win-
ningest college football program,
twice is two times too many.
Josh Groban himself couldn't take
the embarrassing display seriously.
@joshgroban: Coach Rodriguez,
I'm veryflattered but crying to You
Raise Me Up is SOfive years ago.
#playwelcomnetothejungle
When Josh Groban makes fun of
you for playing his own song, then
you know you've become a laugh-
ingstock.
And that's all the nation will be
thinking about come New Year's
Day at 1:30 p.m., when the Wolver-
ines kickoff in Jacksonville, Fla.
Because, let's be honest, it matters
very little to the rest of the nation
whether a 7-5 Michigan team wins
this game.
Instead, the nation will be tun-
ing in to watch Rodriguez go down
in flames. They'll be listening for
talk of his job security. They'll take
over/unders on how many times
"You Raise Me Up" is mentioned.
(Hint: take the over).
And that's exactly what's wrong
with this coaching farce. This all
could have been prevented. With
one flick of the wrist, Athletic
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS -- The top shelf
is usually reserved for momma's
cookies, but inside Value City
Arena this weekend, it was only
filled with pucks.
In both games of the No. 11
Michigan hockey team's series
split with Ohio State, the Wolver-
ines sent the puck just under the
crossbar. For the culprits, senior
forward Louie Caporusso and
junior forward David Wohlberg,
the top shelf was the key to break
out of their goal-scoring slumps.
But more important, both goals
broke 1-1 ties in the third period.
On Friday, Caporusso carried the
puck into the Buckeye zone. After a
forehand-to-backhand deke, Capo-
russo pulled the puck wide back to
his forehand and let go of a quick
shot just inside the blue line. Ohio
State goalie Cal Heeter couldn't
even get a piece of it.
It was Caporusso's first goal
since he scored two against Alas-
ka six games ago.
"Sometimes goals, they come in
weird ways and sometimes, they
are not always going to come to
you," Caporusso said after Friday's
game. "Youjust got to keep battling
and keeping working hard you'll
get your bounces. Stay positive
that's the biggest thing because
you gotto keep shooting the puck. I
just took that shot and it happened
to find its way into the net. "
Ever since Caporusso scored
24 times in his sophomore year,
he's been expected to score big
goals for the Wolverines (8-3-1-0
CCHA, 9-5-4 overall).
Michigan hadn't scored a goal
in the third period to tie or take
the lead since early November.
And despite Michigan giving up
a late goal and losing in overtime,
Caporusso's individual effort
revealed that he can be the clutch
scorer the Wolverines desperately
need.
"I want to be looked upon,"
Caporusso said. "I like having that
pressure on me to come up big in
the big games. Hopefully I can do
that this year."
But it's been Caporusso's line-
mate, Wohlberg, who has scored
the big goals for Michigan this
season. Wohlberg scored to tie
the game with 13 seconds left a
month ago against Ferris State.
But after leading the team in goals
at the beginning of the year, he hit
a slump in November, with only
one goal and one assist since the
matchup with the Bulldogs.
On Saturday, with Michigan in
danger of getting swept by Ohio
State (3-6-1-1, 6-8-i) for the first
time since 1989, Wohlberg stepped
around the opposing center off the
faceoff, intercepted the puck and
put it on net. The puck eventu-
ally came back to Wohlberg on the
backdoor and he sent a backhand
over Heeter and into the upper
netting for the winning goal.
The goal was his seventh of the
year and his second game-win-
ning tally this season. Because of
his fast start, the slump-breaker
put him in a three-way tie for the
team lead in goals.
"He's way overdue," Berenson
said. "Here's a guy, he scored five
goals in the first seven games and
then for one reason or another he's
been snake bit, so good for him."
Wohlberg's goal also gave the
Wolverines their first win in the
past four games.
And though Michigan filling up
the top shelf didn't break mom-
ma's cookies, it did break the Wol-
verines' slumps.
Michigantcoach Rich Rodriguez walks out of Ohio Stadium after the Wolverines'
37-7 loss to Ohio Stole two weeks ago.
Director Dave Brandon could have
made this all go away.
If he wants to keep Rodriguez
for another year, it easily could have
been done by now. If he wanted
to can him and start the coaching
search, that could have been done
too. But instead, Rodriguez will
remain under the pressure cooker
while the rest of the nation laughs
and points.
And as far as I can tell, there's
only one logical reason Brandon
is sitting silently on the sidelines,
watching while Rodriguez gets
tossed around in the national
media, one reason this comedy of
errors is all worth it: Brandon is
waiting for a certain coach from
Stanford to finish coaching his bowl
game.
If that really is the case, if this
whole embarrassment was neces-
sary to ensure that Jim Harbaugh
quietly packs his bags for Ann
Arbor, then so be it. I just hope in
the long run that it was worth it for
Brandon and the program.
Because with the way this cha-
rade has been going, it sure will be
worth it for the Gator Bowl and its
viewers, who get to watch the car-
nage along the way.
Daily Sports Editor Tim Rohan and
Daily Sports Writer Nicole Auerbach
contributed to this report. Kartje can
be reached at rkartje@umich.edu
Stanford AD: Harbaugh
indicated he will accept
sweetened contract deal
Youngsters impress in Las Vegas
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Stan-
ford athletic director Bob Bowlsby
has made a pre-emptive offer to
sweeten Jim Harbaugh's contract
before the coach even gets offered
other jobs.
"We have a proposal in front of
Jim and he's indicated he plans to
accept it," Bowlsby said Sunday.
"He's got this year and four more on
his contract. I expect that he will be
our coach in the foreseeable future."
Bowlsby spoke Sunday after the
fifth-ranked Cardinal (11-1) accept-
ed a bid to play in the Orange Bowl
against Virginia Tech on Jan. 3, a
remarkable turnaround from the
1-11 team Harbaugh took over four
years ago.
Harbaugh's name has been men-
tioned as a possible NFL coachor for
higher-profile college jobs, includ-
ing his alma mater of Michigan if
the Wolverines decide to fire Rich
Rodriguez. Michigan athletic direc-
tor Dave Brandon has said he will
not make a decision on Rodriguez
until after the Wolverines play in
their bowl game Jan. 1.
"When you have high quality
people you're going to have others
coming after him," Bowlsby said.
"Whether it's the NFL or another
university, we have to be prepared
to make pre-emptive offers and do
the things it takes to put tools in
place that make Jim or any other
coach want to stay here. In the case
of a football coach, those things tend
to be a little more expensive than
with some of our other coaches."
Harbaugh has said he will not
talk about other jobs and is happy at
Stanford.
By DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Just two weeks after an embar-
rassing loss at Lehigh, the No. 21
Michigan wrestling team headed
to the Cliff Keen Invitatiorfal in Las
Vegas looking to bounce back. It did
just that, in abig way.
The 36-team tournament field
featured eight of the nation's top 11
teams. And the Wolverines finished
sixth, thanks to another dominant
performance from 3rd-ranked junior
Kellen Russell and a surprise run by
sophomore Ben Apland. Freshman
Dan Yates and senior Anthony Bion-
do also placed.
"We're definitely making some
strides, no question about it," Michi-
gan coach Joe McFarland said.
"Overall, considering the depth and
the quality of the teams here, if you
can be in the top 10 it's a good per-
formance. But we were capable of
more, we didn't have a good round
Saturday morning, and that hurt us a
little bit in what we were capable of.
I was really proud of the four guys
that placed."
Russell set the tone for the Wol-
verines, winning the 141 lb. weight
class. Success in Las Vegas is noth-
ing new to the junior, who placed
first and third in his previous two
appearances there.
"I wasn't really surprised by my
win," Russell said. "I've been wres-
tling pretty well and working hard. I
went into the tournament expecting
to win. It was a good tournament for
me to make a statement."
As the second seed, Russell had
highlight wins over the third seed,
Illinois's Jimmy Kennedy, and
fourth seed, Cal Poly's Boris Nova-
chov. Russell made quick work
of Kennedy, pinning him 1:16 into
the match. And after a strong start
against Novachov, he hung in long
enough to secure the championship,
3-2.
"It's not a surprise," McFarland
said. "He's solid, he's a great com-
petitor and he wants to win in the
worst way. He's willing to do what-
ever it takes to win. That's the best
way I can put it. He knows what he
needs to do to gethis hand raised."
While Russell's play came as no
surprise, Apland's performance was
arguably the top story of the week-
end. Apland, the 12th seed, stormed
through the heavyweight bracket.
He was finally defeated in the finals,
but not before knocking off three of
the top five seeds. His highlight vic-
tory came over in-state rival No. 1
Jared Trice of Central Michigan.
"It was a great (feeling) knowing
that I'm one of the top heavyweights
in the country," Apland said. "Com-
ing into this tournament, I really
wanted to make a name for myself
because I knowI'm good. I'mtrying
to prove it to other people, too. But
being a12-seed, it was nice upsetting
some of the higher seeds, which is
surprising. But deep down, I knew
I had it in me."
In the finals, a matchup of two
Cinderellas, Oklahoma's Nathan
Fernandez, the 11th-seed, came
away with a convincing 4-0 victory
over Apland.
"I think he turned a lot of heads
this weekend, and he was right there
to win the championship," McFar-
land said. "It's got to do a lot of good
things for his confidence. To come in
here and dowhathe did,it wasgreat"
Michigan benefited from sur-
prisingly strong play from another
youngster, Dan Yates. The redshirt
freshman was forced to default
out of his last match due to a knee
problem he suffered in his previ-
ous match, but his three wins were
enough to place him eighth. McFar-
land held Yates outfor precautionary
reasons and hopes that he'll be able
to compete this weekend. Despite
strong play from a few underclass-
men, some of the team's veterans left
hoping that "what happens in Vegas
stays in Vegas." Though McFarland
was pleased with what he saw out of
No. 2 Biondo, losses to two Big Ten
opponents limited him to a fourth-
place finish. Junior Zac Stevens
got off to ahot start Friday, but two
Saturday-morning losses prevented
him from placing.
"Anthony was pretty disappoint-
edwithhismatches,butIthoughthe *
battled hard," McFarland said. "He
was right there in all of his matches.
Saturday morning, I don't think Zac
had a good match. He really need-
ed to pick his intensity up and he
never got himself back in the match.
There's no reason he shouldn't have
placed this weekend, but it didn't
work out for him. You just can't
make big mistakes in a tournament
like this."
The Wolverines now turn their
attention to next Sunday's Big Ten
opener with Wisconsin. The fourth-
ranked Badgers finished second in
Las Vegas. The meet in Madison
will have two sets of rematches
from the Invitational, where Apland
knocked off No. 4 Eric Bugenhagen
and junior Justin Zeerip was defeat-
ed by No. 9 Benjamin Jordan.
"Obviously, we had a good chance
to see Wisconsin this past weekend,"
McFarland said. "We were battling
with them and they've got a great
team. We've just got to be ready to
wrestle up there. We'll have to have 0
some guys extend themselves and
wrestle tough with a lot of grit."
208 E. Woshington St. Ann Arbor, Ml 48104
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Blue unable to repeat last year's comeback *
By ALEX STEINHOFF
For TheDaily
Entering the final day of com-
petition, the Wolverines had their
opponents right where they want-
ed them. Or so they thought.
Last year at the USA Swim-
ming Short Course Nationals, the
Michigan men's swimming team
was in second after two days, only
to come from behind and clinch a
second consecutive Short Course
Nationals win. This year, how-
ever, the third day wasn't as kind.
The Wolverines couldn't complete
the three-peat and finished sec-
ond to rival and host Ohio State.
But the Wolverines were con-
tent with their second place fin-
ish, given the circumstances. This
year, the team competed in many
more events than it had in the
past two years at the Short Course
Nationals, which meant less rest
and more swimming.
Junior Dan Madwed was the
lone Wolverine to medal at this
year's Short Course, finishing
third in the 200-yard butterfly.
For Madwed, who was a member
of Michigan's previous two Short
Course champion teams, the meet
wasn't about medaling or even
coming in second place as a team
- it was about learning what this
team has going forward and how
hard it can push itself.
"We swam in as many events as
possible," Madwed said. "Other
teams didn't do that and scratched
some events, but we really wanted
to see what we have for later in the
year. You never know how hard
you can push yourself until you do
it."
The Wolverines didn't view the
event as a must-win, but rather
as a chance to improve and bond
together as a team. The Short
Course Nationals was the last
opportunity for Blue, before the
Orange Bowl Classic in January, to
see what theyhad in the tank.
"We treated this like a train-
ing meet to see what we have for
later in the year," Madwed said. "I
think it was a good step forward
although it may not look like it."
For many swimmers, the meet
was a great learning experience.
Freshman Kyle Whitaker was
among the many swimmers who
stepped up and contributed to the
Wolverines' effort.
He notched a fourth-place
finish in the 400-yard individ-
ual medley, sixth place in the 200-
yard individual medley and also a
12th-place finish in the 200-yard
butterfly.
Whitaker was the highest scor-
er of all Wolverine swimmers this
weekend.
"Confidence and being excit-
ed really helps swimming fast,"
Whitaker said. "We really did a
great job of supporting each other,
and getting behind each other."
This great team spirit didn't
go unnoticed by Michigan coach
Mike Bottom.
"(Finishing second) this week-
end was a matter of swimming
against teams that were ready to
go," Bottom said. "The fact that
we were able to compete against
more prepared teams gives us the
confidence that we can step up and
swim against anybody."
Despite losing to the Buckeyes,
the second-place finish gave them
swimmers confidence moving for-
ward.
For some swimmers, they
learned their limits. For others,
they learned what it takes to win
races.
But for all swimmers, this
weekend gave a taste of competi-
tion they'll be facing all season
and a great deal of confidence to
go with it.
"When you do good jobs in
races, you build confidence,"
Whitaker said. "Swimming fast
also really builds our confidence
and confidence helps with swim-
ming fast. It comes hand in hand.
Where we are at this point in the
season we were really happy with
how we swam."