The Michigan Daily - I uesay, October 10, 1995 - 11 Webber signs: 6 years, $59 million Associated Press LANDOVER, Md. - Chris Webber could have gotten more money to play elsewhere, and he certainly could have picked a team with a more illustrious tradition. Yet, when Webber put his name on a six-year contract with the Washington Bullets on Monday, he finally got whathe had been striving for since becoming the NBA's top draft choice in 1993. "It's about being happy. I have peace of mind, something I've been searching for for two years," he said. "That's a hard thing to d6 without, but now I1 have a fmily andaplace ,that ILcan call home." .Webber didn't have Webber .eitherinGolden State, where he spent one season before forcing the Wamors to -trade him. He didn't have it last year, either, because when he came to the Bul- lets in November he signedacontract that expired at the end of the 1994-95 season. Now Webberis planning to spend the rest of his career in Washington. The 6- -fot-10 forward will receive about $59 .million over the next six years. What the Bullets want in return is no small thing. "When I first saw him last year, I thought, 'You're going to be my man. You're going to bring me a champion- 'ship,"' owner Abe Pollin recalled. a Webber dislocated his left shoulder east December and missed 19 games. Washington went onto finish2l-61,miss- ing the playoffs for a seventh straight season, and Webberncried after some par- ticularly tormenting losses. He led the Bullets in scoring (20.1 points per game) and rebounding (9.6), but he says it is the number in the victory column that matters most. 'This is my chance to start all over. I have something to prove,"he said." I'm just tired of losing." So is Pollin, who hasn't been this ex- cited about signing a player since he got Wes Unseld as a rookie draft choice in 1968. Unseld ended up spending his en- tire career with the Bullets and was an integral part ofthe 1978 worldchampion- ship team. Pollin gave Webber a big hug at the signing ceremony and wore a smile as wide as the free throw lane. "Today is probably one of the most exciting, important days in my career of owning the Bullets," Pollin said. When the Bullets got Webber from Golden State last November, there was some question as to whether he would stickaround. Afterall,Webberhadbolted from the Warriors, so there was certainly a chance that he would do the same thing again. But Pollin and Webberhit it off imme- diately, and Webber made it clear Mon- day he would love to keep it that way - in part because he reveres the rapport that Pollin has with Unseld, who now works in the front office. "I wantto be here fora longtime. Iwant to retire here, and I told Mr. Pollin that," Webber said. "I want to be his second Wes Unseld. I don't know ifI can ever be that type ofplayer, and I don't mean it that way. I just admire the relationship they have." Webber and Golden State coach Don Nelson just didn't get along, and that's why Webber walked away from a con- tract that would have paid him much more than he's getting with the Bullets. "He just wanted to be happy. People vilified him forwalking away from Golden State when they could have paid him more money than any team in the league," said Webber's agent, Bill Strickland."He realizes that being out there and being paid a large amount of money doesn't mean anything if you're not happy going to work every day." Webber will reclaim the No. 4he wore in college, when he led Michigan into the 1993 NCAA championship game. Scott Skiles wore No. 4 last year and Webber wore No. 2. Fmndley poses little chlenge for Blue fy Chaim Hymm Daily Sports Writer Although the game was played at Elbel Field, it might have been a task for spectators to recognize the Michigan men's club soccer team during its 5-1 routing of Findley yesterday. The usual Wolverines were not on the playing field. Rather, they were on the bench watching their second-string teammates play for most of the game. After they took an early 4-0 lead, Michigan coach Steve Burns decided to pull his starters midway through the first half of the game. "This was an interesting win for us," Burns said. "This was a game where we got everyone playing time." One starter who sat out the entire game wasjuniorgoalkeeper Mike Milman. His position was taken, at least for the day, by freshman Steve Scanio. "It was definitely a good experience forme," Milman said."It gave me a chance to watch the game from another view, and Steve did a good job." Michigan was notas successful in the second halfofthe game, however. The Wolverines were only able to tack on a single goal, and allowed an opposing goal that stopped a potential shutout. Although Milman said he feelt that the win was good for his team, he admits Findley was not much competition for the Wolverines, now on a seven-game winning streak. "We didn't expect much from (Findley)," Milman said. "This game was just a good stepping stone for our game Wednesday." Tomorrow, Michigan will play its neighborhood rival East- em Michigan at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in a game in which Burns believes his team will have to play better than it did against Findley if it is to win. "I'll cut us some slack because we won," Bums said. "The truth is we didn't look that good, and I'm hoping we'll play a little better on Wednesday." Others on the team said they agree with Burns' sentiment, but feel there is no need for concern. "We played pretty sloppy in the second half of the game," senior Rob Holt said. "I think ifwe hadn't come out flying in the first half though, we would have picked it up in the second. "It's more mentality than anything else, but when we play Eastern under those lights, I know we'll be inspired to play hard and win." Burns acknowledgedthat his team has been performingbetter than he anticipated by continually winning. But he said he believes his players have to improve various aspects of their game if they hope to beat some of their tougher competition, incuding Eastern Michigan. "What we now do is get three or four touches onthe ball when all we should be adjusting to one and two to get the job done," Burns said. "We have to get better field awareness, start playing away from pressure, and have quicker mental speed during our remaining games if we're going to win." S. DAMIAN CAP/Daily The Michigan men's soccer team defeated Findley, 54, yesterday. Wolverines look to win second straight said. "We've been taking shots all season ByD mlm Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's soccer team willattempttowin two consecutive games for the first time this season when it visits Yalparaiso (Indiana) today. Michigan (0-3 Big Ten, 3-7-1 overall) is coming off an impressive 5-0 victory over Creighton Sunday, which snapped the Wolverines'three-gamelosing streak. The burst of goals contrasted sharply with the scoring drought the Wolverines have suffered throughout the season. Valparaiso enters today's game with a dismal 1-10 record and the memory of a 5-0 loss to Michigan last year. The Wolverine to watch is newly in- stalled freshman midfielder Kelly Lukasik. Michigan coach Debbie Belkin switched Lukasik from defender to midfielder two games ago. The move paiddividendswhenLukasikscoredtwice on three shots Sunday. Michigan could be tempted to think past Valparaiso. Today's game precedes a big-time Big Ten weekend. The Wolverines will try to sneak back into the Big Ten race when they host 1994 Big Ten Tournament Champion Wiscon- sin (8-4-1) Friday and runner-up Penn State (9-4) Sunday. "We haven't talked about the games this weekend," Belkin said. "We had to prepare for a good Creighton team, and we have to focus on Valparaiso also." THEY SHOOT, THEY sCORE! ... FINALLY: Michigan's five goals against Creighton was the Wolverines' highest total of the season. Prior to Sunday's game, Michigan had not scored more than two goals in a game, despite outshooting its foes, 176-125. "There's no magic formula," Belkin long; they're finally going in." EXPERIENCE SHOwS: Among a team ofupstart fresh- man, junior midfielder Kim Phillips leads all Wolverineswithfour goals and eight points. Socer Notebook GOALIE COMPARISON: Junior goaltender JoriWelchans and freshman goaltenderJessica Jones have shared goal duties all season. Belkin has said that she will determine the starting goalie on a game-to-game basis depending on who is playing well at any given moment. Jones (1-2-1, 1.66 goals-against aver- age), who earned her first victory of the season Sunday, has recorded 23 saves in 435 minutes. Welchans(2-5,1.85 GAA)hasstopped 28 shots in 585 minutes. Sophomore forward Ruth Poulin is second on the squad with two goals and six points. r ___ ® °° I I II Ir wY A I R 11 1111 101 11 /1 /1 I 1® I i Your sneakers would have no sole Your tape player would have no rhythm Your jeans would not be blue And your boots would not have stood up to Woodstock II BASF is one of the world's leading chemical companies with more than 100,000 employees in 170 countries around the world. We don't make many consumer products. We do, however, supply thousands of materials that make the products you use better - from the indigo in your blue jeans to the paint on your car. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WITH BASF and its Professional Development Program you'll have an "General Motors. A global leader with global concerns. As the world's largest corporation, we understand the responsibility that comes with success. 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