SPORTS

10 MONDAY
AUGUST 4, 2003

www.michigandaily.com
sportsdesk@umich.edu


Truth hard to find
when judgement
rides true blue
J: BRADY McCOLLOUGH
All About the Cause
Nobody loves the Bill of Rights more than the Michi-
gan football team. Suit up until proven guilty.
If you're worried about Michigan's season collapsing
under the weight of the recent "serious" charges against
Marlin Jackson - he is accused of hitting a 26-year-old
man over the head with a bottle after a June 1 campus party
on E. University - don't be. Even if Jackson is convicted,
it won't happen until after the Wolverines' annual trip to
central Florida. So, season saved.
Think about it. When's the last time a big-name player
was kicked off the team for something like this? Don't say
Kelly Baraka; the kid was barely on the team to begin with.
Plus, he had three strikes (or three puffs, should I say?).
Even at Schembechler Hall, three strikes mean you're out.
Markus Curry (accused of domestically abusing his girl-
friend and tampering with her phone line) and Shantee Orr
(accused of raping his girlfriend and sending an e-mail later
apologizing) were re-instated to the team.
Jackson's quandary should be compared to former
Michigan receiving star David Terrell's in December 2000.
The best player on the defense. The best player on the
offense. Precious goods.
Terrell said he and starting cornerback James Whitley went
to Terell'ss ex-girlfriend's house to mediate an argument
between her and her new boyfriend. The girlfriend reported
her apartment being broken into at 4 a.m. Dec. 14, 2000. Ann
Arbor police arrested Whitley and charged him with firearm
possession. On the spot Carr immediately kicked Whitley off
the team, but what of Terrell, the big star? Terrell's punish-
ment was not starting the Citrus Bowl game.
"David Terrell has never had any kind of a problem at
Michigan," Carr said, defending Terrell. "He made a mis-
take; he was out too late at night."
Overall, Jackson's alleged attack doesn't seem so bad,
now does it?
I was just commenting on what an uneventful Ann Arbor

LIKE FATHER,
UNLIKE SON
Hensick follows heart to the 'U'
By Brian Schick Daily Sports Editor

4

Marlin Jackson's future as a Wolverine is in doubt as he faces
multiple charges of assault after an altercation on June 1.
summer it was for Michigan athletes off the field. But even
though there were no headlines, I was still skeptical. Were
the football players infatuated with Top of the Park, Ann
Arbor's summer film festival? Were basketball players
spending time soaking up the art fair? I didn't really care
how the athletes were staying out of trouble. I was having
too much fun reading about Maurice Clarett and the Evil
Empire in Columbus.
There are so many reasons to be angry - but angry
at whom?
Of course, there's Jackson. What was he thinking? He
obviously wasn't at all, if the story is true. How could he
throw away the chance at All-America status, a Jim Thorpe
Award and a promising NFL career because a man pushed
a door into him?
Then there's us. Yeah, you and me. I know - you don't
want any part of this. But you wanted a part of it when
Jackson returned a Carlyle Holiday pass for a touchdown
against Notre Dame last season. And when Jackson finally
shut down Penn State's Bryant Johnson in overtime, you
were the first person to say you had never lost faith - no
matter how many times Johnson abused Jackson. He was
your best cover cornerback.
When Carr made Charles Woodson comparisons in the
2002 media day press conference, I believed. When a fea-
ture story that ran in this newspaper discussed all the things
through which Jackson persevered on his way to Michigan,
I believed his experiences would make him appreciate the
opportunity he had been given. He wouldn't throw it away.
Not for a door in the face.
See Jackson, Page 31

For many people, when presented
with two similar choices and one
seems more challenging than the
other, the decision is obvious - take
the easy way. But T.J. Hensick has
been picking the tough ones from an
early age.
Hensick will arrive
in Ann Arbor this fall
as the top player in the
Michigan hockey
team's recruiting class
and one of the top
prospects nationally.
But if his dad had his
choice, T.J. would Hensick
have been playing for Lloyd Carr rather
than Red Berenson.
Tim Hensick played two seasons at
wide receiver for Western Michigan,
and hoped his son would follow in his
path to earning a collegiate football
scholarship.
"He told me that he wanted me to
play (football) once, and I played it
when I was in seventh grade," the
younger Hensick said.
By that point, T.J. had already discov-
ered that hockey would motivate him
the way football had for his father. But
coming from a household that wasn't
actively involved in the sport, he had to
find his inspiration from the outside.
"No one in my family is real big into
hockey," Hensick said. "When I was
about four, I was watching the Red
Wings on T.V, and I said, 'Hey Dad, I
want to play.'
"It was a playoff game, so the intensi-
ty made it stand out more to me."
As soon as the father took his son to
the rink, he was hooked. But Hensick's
father wanted one last chance to try and
win him over with football. TJ hadn't

dabbled with the pigskin long before he
realized he had already found his call-
ing. So, he had a decision to make:
either follow his father's advice and take
a shot at gridiron glory, or venture off to
his newfound love, hockey.
"(Football) was fun, but I didn't have
a passion for it like I do for hockey,"
Hensick said. "He said that was fine'
Like all good fathers, Tim has sup-
ported T.J. in his decision to play hock-
ey, despite his ownpersonal feelings.
"He told me to do what makes you
happy" Hensick said.
Ever since that fateful day, Hensick's
love of the sport has made a profound
impact on his life, and he has balanced
everything else around it. From his club
team through high school and into the
United States National Team Develop-
ment Program, the sport has impacted
all aspects of his life.
And as is usually the case, the bal-
ancing act forces young athletes to
make choices that will determine their
future - even if they don't know it at
the time. For those people who have
been given the gift of exceptional talent,
the pressure to play at increasingly
tougher levels is high.
It didn't take long for scouts from the
U.S. Development team to take notice
of Hensick, as he continued to steadily
improve for the seven years he was on
his club team.
When the U.S. Development team
offered an invitation to a try-out, it was
tough to turn down.
"When you get invited to go play for
your country, it's an automatic 'yes,"'
Hensick said.
The team scouts players from across
the country, and offers about 40 of the
See Hensick, Page 11
"Don't let your
H A I R
ahead of
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