I I L !LIORLTk~reniav Coluimn.~ I The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, October 2. 1995 - 3B Angels win, force one-game playoff RYAN WHITE White on Target Wo's in charge of this wholeAP poll thing, anyway.? An open letter to the Associ- ated Press: Dear keepers of the college football poll, I write you with a simple request -I want a vote. Now, I know you don't just give these things out. In actuality, you have begun keeping an eye on how people vote, to make sure it isn't being abused. It just doesn't look that way all the time. But bear with me and I'll show I can vote as well as everyone else. I cover the Michigan football team and I work for an AP paper. I also, and this may be my most important qualification, have figured out most of the little known rules on voting. Take, for example, the shoe rule: Any win, by 30 or more points, by a big name Nike school over a small- time college wearing Keds, is impressive. Under those circum- stances, move Nike up at least one spot in the poll. There is also the Notre Dame provision: The Irish, no matter who they lose to, can only leave the poll for a week. After that week is up, they can re- enter the rankings. Actually, because it is Notre Dame, Lou Holtz can rank the team where ever he sees fit. Finally, as a voter, you can only watch three games each Saturday. Every team, except those you see, must then be rated on final score alone. Now, I know at this point you at AP must be thinking, "This kid has us figured out, but he is only a college writer." So, as further proof I should have a vote, here is how I would rate the top 10 teams in the country. No. 10 - Ohio State The Buckeyes were ranked No. 7 in last week's poll. Saturday, ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Chili Davis and J.T. Snow each hit three- run homers as the California Angels rallied twice and avoided playoff elimination by beating the Oakland Athletics, 9-3, Saturday night. California's fifth win in its last six games cut Seattle's lead to one game in the AL West following the Mari- ners' 9-2 loss to Texas. The Angels remained one game behind the Yan- kees in the wild-card race. New York beat Toronto 9-2 earlier Saturday. The Angels have to beat Oakland again Sunday to have a shot at either the division title or a wild-card berth. A California victory combined with a loss by the Mariners would force a one-game playoff between the teams Monday night in Seattle for the West title. Ifthe Angels and Mariners win Sun- day and the Yankees lose, California ° would meet the Yankees in New York on Monday to decide the wild-card spot. If the Mariners and Yankees win their last games, the Angels would be eliminated from the postseason. Mike Harkey (8-9) relieved starter Shawn Boskie and retired 17 of 21 batters from his former team for the victory. He gave up three runs - none earned - and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. Oakland led 3-1 in the fourth when the Angels chased rookie John Wasdin (1-1) with four runs, highlighted by Davis' 20th homer. Wasdin, who pitched just five ma- jor-league games this season, gave up six hits and five earned runs, while striking out three and walking two in three-plus innings. - For more baseball, see page 9,. AP PHOTO Despite Saturday's loss to Ohio State, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz can still make a case for No. I in the polls. however, they beat Notre Dame, 45- 26. Obviously, if you beat the Irish, you should drop in the polls. Plus; the whole new bowl setup would be ruined if Big Ten and Pac- 10 teams were rated too high and in the hunt for the national champion- ship. No. 9-- Northwestern Okay, I know they beat Notre Dame too. But the Wildcats are also 3-1. Can anyone else remember the last time any team from Evanston was two games over .500? For that accomplishment alone we should rank them in the top 10. Plus, it sets up a big matchup next week against ... No. 8 - Michigan Now, personally, I would rank Michigan a little higher. But the Wolverines' game Saturday wasn't on television and most voters didn't get to see it. By judging Michigan's 38-19 win over Miami (Ohio) by score alone (as the rule states we must) the Wolverines can't go much higher. No. 7 - Notre Dame I didn't actually get a hold of Holtz to find out where he wanted to be ranked; I just assumed that seventh would be OK. Granted, the Irish lost to last week's No. 7, but the game was at Ohio State and all things considered, it looked like Holtz's neck still hurt. Overall, I think the weekend warranted moving the Irish up eight places. No. 6 - Virginia This space in the poll was left open due to Penn State's 17-9 loss to Wisconsin in Happy Valley. Virginia beat Wake Forest, 35-17, Saturday. The Cavaliers did lose to Michi- gan in the Pigskin Classic Aug. 28, and conventional wisdom would say that Virginia should not move ahead of the Wolverines. This, however, has nothing to do with conventional wisdom. This has to do with football polls. No. 5 --Southern Cal The Trojans were impressive Saturday - at least according to the score. They beat Arizona State 31-0 while playing without three sus- pended players. Still, because they're not in the bowl alliance, they can't go much higher than this. No. 4 - Colorado Oklahoma gave its best attempt at an upset against the Buffaloes Saturday, but Colorado hung on and eventually blew out the Sooners, 38-17. It would be nice to move the Buffaloes up, but since this is a poll the top three spots are reserved for ... Nos. 3, 2 and 1 - Nebraska and any two teams from Florida These days it's a given that that's who'll be at the top of the poll. They also tend to be at the top of most-wanted lists, but that has nothing to do with football. I hope you will take a look at this and consider giving me a vote. I know some of this sounds ridiculous - but that's not any different from the AP poll most of the time. AP PHOTO California's Rex Hudler collides with Oakland's Terry Steinbach in the fourth inning of yesterday's game. The Angels won, 9-3, keeping their postseason hopes alive. 'M' stickers get rare win in Evanston By Jed Rosenthal Daily Sports Writer Routine had been the word to de- scribe the Michigan field hockey team this season. In each contest the Wolver- ines played, they had no need for late- game heroics. Until now, that is. Yesterday, with a flare for the dra- matic, No. 14 Michigan startled No. 8 Northwestern in Evanston, 1-0, in double overtime. Senior Aaleya Koreishi scored with less than one sec- ond remaining in the second extra pe- riod as the Wolverines eked out the victory. A second-team all-conference selec- tion last season, Koreishi took control of the ball inside the circle as time was winding down. As Wildcat goaltender Cody Stephens came out of the cage to challenge the charging forward, Koreishi shot the ball from the right side and put it past Stephens for the upset. Michigan's defense and stellar goaltending again proved to be the de- ciding factor in the victory. Throughout the first overtime, Michigan was outshot by Northwestern, 8-1, but Wolverine goalie Rachael Geisthardt disposed of the pressure. She fended off every Wild- cat attack, including three penalty cor- ner plays. The second overtime period was a complete turnaround for Michigan. The Wolverines stormedNorthwestern,con- trolling the tempo and allowing only two shots while attempting seven of their own. Regulation permitted Michigan to display its methodical play. With nu- merous scoring opportunities from their first 18 shots, the Wolverines struggled on offense. As usual, they weren't able to capitalize until the second extra stanza. Michigan (2-I Big Ten, 8-3 overall) outshot the Wildcats, 26-24, for the game, along with a 12-9 advantage in penalty corners. However, the Wolver- ines were outshot by Northwestern, 10- 8, in the extra sessions, but were still able to pull out the win. Geisthardt was pummeled by the Wildcats in the first half, as they teed off on the senior for 10 shots. But the Michigan goalie remained composed, knocking six away and letting four slide out of play. Northwestern (2-2, 8-3) also had five penalty corner chances in the half, but was unable to finish its opportunities against the Wolverine defense. For the game, Geisthardt stopped 14 of the Wild- cats' 24 shots. The victory in Evanston marks only the second time in school history that Michigan has defeated the Wildcats, a span of28 contests. Last season, North- western outscored Michigan, 7-0, in two games. The Wolverines finally close out their road trip against Miami (Ohio) in Ox- ford Wednesday. 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