Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Rounding the bases:
Six separate stories from around the Michigan diamond
By LIZ NAGLE
Daily Sports Writer
to a college career across Lake He would rush to his side. hard White Sox fan - further
Michigan. "Dad, let's go out and play nurtured his dream, ingraining
John was fortunate to grow up catch." players and stats into his head.
on a block full of kids, and he spent Joe knew a thing or two about And that generational love of the
many summer days playing pickup the old ball game. After playing game trickled down the family
Six people with vastly different
lives, backgrounds and reasons
found their wayto Michigan. They
came to write a new chapter, dis-
cover their purpose and recapture
their love for the game.
Six paths merged into a single
direction that led them to the
heart of Ann Arbor.
As the seniors stepped off the
field at Ray Fisher Stadium for the
last time, their footprints sank
into the crimson dirt, deepening
their mark on tradition.
Though the impressions have
since disappeared, raked over and
smoothed into the ground, small
traces of the rust-colored dust
stuck to the bottom of their cleats
and will follow them wherever
their next journey lies.
Their stories were unwritten
and untold until now.
The Apple Doesn't Fall Far:
A young John Lorenz slipped his
hand into a glove.
As soon as he could walk, John
was in the backyard of his home
on Chicago's South Side, learning
the basics that would carry him
games in the street and a nearby
empty lot.
But John always saved enough
energy for when his father, Joe,
would come home from work.
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for Lewis University, he spent
the next four years in the minor
leagues at third base - the posi-
tion he would one day pass down
to his son.
After Joe's stint in professional
baseball with the San Francisco
Giants and Atlanta Braves, he
started taking his young son to
high-school games and Lewis
alumni games - where John got
his first taste of competition, and
that sparked a hunger that has yet
to be satisfied.
John was in second grade and
the sun was just peeking out of the
early morning darkness. He woke
up early to get ready for school -
his mother, Erin, was impressed.
But she soon realized there was
an ulterior motive as her son sat
in front of the television, mes-
merized by last night's double
plays and home runs on ESPN's
"SportsCenter."
During elementary school and
beyond, teachers would ask him,
"What do you want to be when you
grow up?"
John never hesitated to answer,
"A baseball player."
John's grandmother - a die-
tree.
With baseball at the forefront,
John added basketball and vol-
leyball to his already hectic sched-
ule. On the weekends, he would
rush from one game to the next,
switching uniforms in the car,
barely making it in time for tip off
or the first pitch.
Erin, who played collegiate
volleyball and is the director of
Ultimate Volleyball Club, and Joe
were happy to share their passions
with their son, but they never
pushed him - John was competi-
tive by his own nature.
At 14 years old, John made it to
the Junior Olympics for volleyball,
but his team fell short. Upset as he
passed the bracket boards, John
looked over the USA Volleyball
All-American list. With determi-
nation in his eyes, he turned to his
mother and said, "I want to be on
that list."
One year later, he made it, and
he took his team to the champion-
ships.
But as the level of competition
rose, John had a decision to make.
In the back of his mind, he always
knew his heart was in baseball.
John knew the rule.
"You can't commit on the spot
- we need to go home and discuss
it as a family."
After months of recruiting let-
ters, scholarship offers and visits
to different universities, John was
faced with another decision that
would define his future.
As soon as he stepped onto the
Ray Fisher field, he imagined him-
self playing on that very grass. He
felt at home.
During the tour of the facilities,
John's certainty only grew stron-
ger. Then-head coach Rich Malo-
ney escorted the Lorenz family
into the Stephen M. Ross Academ-
ic Center, where he turned off the
lights in the theater.
A feature of Michigan history
played before them, ending with
footage of the team that won three
straight Big Ten titles. This was
the legacy of which John so des-
perately wanted to be a part.
He leaned over to his mother in
the dark and mouthed the words,
"I'm committing right now." But
he knew the rule.
Walking through the rest of
the Academic Center, three mem-
bers of the reigning championship
team - Chris Berset, Kevin Cislo
and Ryan LaMarre - coinciden-
tally crossed their path. That's
when Erin, too, was sold.
"Oh my gosh, these guys are
what I want my son to be," Erin
thought to herself. "It made a huge
impression on me as a mother
with my 17-year-old kid, trying to
project what he's going to be like
when he's 22."
So on the five-hour drive back
to Frankfort, Ill., Erin and Joe lis-
tened to their son in the back seat
plead his case, repeating with con-
fidence, "This is it. This is the one
for me."
Almost immediately, John can-
celed his pending visits and called
Maloney to accept - to become a
Wolverine.
Shortly after, he received a card
from his new coach that he dis-
played on the refrigerator, remind-
ing him every day to "always do a
little extra ... work hard and then
some."
To read the full story, visit
MichiganDaily.com
A reenactment of a Civil War skirmish at Greenfield Village in Dearborn on May 27, 2012, Memorial Day weekend.
ANN ARBOR CITY COUNCIL
City Council approves 2013 budget
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
ORSFlRVI MT E AMOfRI AT. DAV
THE BIG HOUSE
Winter Classic
to serve alcohol
House passes law
allowing alcohol
sale in Big House for
NHL Classic
By STEVE ZOSKI
Daily News Editor
A day where beer taps flow
freely inside the Big House got
one step closer to being a reality
last week.
House Bill 5611-Introduced by
State Rep. Mark Ouimet (R-Scio
Township) on May 9 - passed last
Monday in the House with a 105
to 3 vote. It will allow a National
Hockey League vendor to legally
serve alcohol at the NHL Winter
Classic inside the Big House on
January 1, 2013 and permit alco-
hol companies to advertise on
University premises.
Before the bill went to the
House it unanimously passed
a vote in the House Regulatory
Reform committee.
Ouimet and Cynthia Wilbanks,
the University's vice president for
government relations, testified in
favor of the bill before the com-
mittee on May 16. Ouimet also
testified before the committee
on May 23 where Julie Wendt,
executive services director of the
0
O.
o"
'a
Nt
OI
N1
Wl
After six-hour
session, members
come to decision
By GIACOMO BOLOGNA
Managing Editor
At last Monday's Ann Arbor
City Council meeting, Ann Arbor's
2013 budget was voted on after
much deliberation and even some
amendments to amendments. The
2013 budget will officially start on
July 1.
By the end of the meeting, the
budget was approved despite
INDEX
Vol.CXXI, No .140 e2012 The Michigan Daily
miigandailyrom
NEWS ..............2
OPINION. ...........4
CLASSIFIEDS.............6
CROSSW ORD.......................6
ARTS .......................................8
SPO RTS ................................10
Michigan Liquor Control Com-
mission, and Justin Winslow, vice
president of public affairs of the
Michigan Restaurant Associa-
tion, endorsed the bill.
The legal freedom to sell alco-
hol inside the venue was a condi-
tion between the University and
the NHL in order to lease the sta-
dium for an outdoor hockey game
between the Detroit Red Wings
and Toronto Maple Leafs on New
Year's Day.
Inan interview with The Mich-
igan Daily the day after she testi-
fied in Lansing, Wilbanks said
she thought the bill made sense
because it would allow the stadi-
um lease to go through and let the
NHL obtain a temporary liquor
license rather than the University.
Wilbanks said there may be
critics of the bill but she said the
committee seemed receptive.
"I'm sure there may be some
who are not enthusiastic, but I
didn't experience a chilly reaction
to the legislation," she said.
Wilbanks said obtaining liquor
licenses for large sporting events
in Michigan has a history of prec-
edent.
"Several professional sports
events like the Ryder Cup and
Super Bowl in previous years
have held events in Michigan
that involved a specific legislative
See WINTER CLASSIC, Page 7
Jane Lumm (I-Ward 2) and Mike
Anglin (D-Ward 5) - voting
against the 1-a.m. decision.
In an interview with the Michi-
gan Daily after the meeting, Ann
Arbor MayorJohn Hieftje (D) said
he was pleased with the final bud-
get, which includes slightly less
than $300,000 in surplus for the
city.
"It's a solid budget," he said.
"One of the mistakes that cities
and states make, I think, is when
they have budgets moving forward
that are not funded with recurring
revenues they do one-time fixes -
We didn't do any one-time fixes."
Lumm said the budget did not
reflect the needs of Ann Arbor
residents.
"There were very reasonable
things we could have done to
realign our spending priorities
with what I think are the commu-
nities' priorities, and we failed to
do that," she said after the meet-
ing.
Lumm said there were various
programs and projects that should
have been funded and were not,
adding that they would have been
"minimal added costs in the grand
scheme" of the budget.
"I see us setting aside $300,000
for something that we know is not
See BUDGET, Page 2
NEWS OPINION ARTS SPORTS
DnRather visits A2 Female body image Back in black Crew at nationals
Former CBS anchor speaks Sarah Skaluba encourages Will Smith and Tommy Lee Women's rowing barely
about new book, which women to change how they Jones are at it again with lat- edged out of first place at
reveals some of his secrets. view each other. est franchise installment. national championship.
>> SEE PAGE 7 >> SEE PAGE 5 >> SEE PAGE 8 >> SEE PAGE 11