A plan fulfilled and a reluctant goodbye
T
his column, I’m fairly
certain, is the product
of a long and arduous
brainwashing
process by
my dad.
It started
when I was 6
years old. I’d
noticed that
he always
read The
Philadelphia
Inquirer
every day
before he left
for work and I left for school.
He’d tell me what was in the
paper, and by the end of first
grade, I wanted to read it, too.
So every single morning at
6:30, we’d sit at our kitchen
table to split the sports section
and discuss its contents. I
wanted to know everything,
and when I held the newspaper,
it seemed as if the world was at
my fingertips. I wanted to hold
on to that feeling forever.
Simultaneously, my dad,
who had earned his MBA from
Michigan, had another plan.
He’d give me a few pieces
of Michigan clothing every
year for Chanukkah and then,
on Saturdays, he’d turn on
Michigan football games. We’d
watch together, dancing around
the living room after every
Braylon Edwards touchdown.
When I was 11, he took me
to the Big House for the first
time. The game was a relatively
boring blowout of Eastern
Michigan, but I was hooked
anyway. By the time I was a
sophomore in high school, I
wore Michigan T-shirts three
days a week (I was really
freaking cool).
When it came time to pick a
college, my mom forced me to
look at other schools, convinced
I only thought Michigan was
the best fit because of my
dad’s prerogative. I ended up
here anyway, writing about
Michigan sports for the
newspaper.
And now, four years later, it’s
time to say goodbye. And shoot,
I’ll admit it, I really don’t want to.
Saying goodbye means no
more walking through the Diag
exchanging fist bumps with
passing friends while complete
strangers offer free hugs. It
means no more nights at Red
House full of Admiral Nelson
and beer pong until everyone
is too drunk and too tired to do
anything but sleep. It means
no more sitting at the Daily
until 4 a.m. with Max and Jake,
ranting and yelling and talking
about life until we remember
we have to go to class in just a
few short hours.
Sure, it hasn’t all been perfect.
Simon and I (somehow) never
met our wives at Rick’s, and I
wish we had shut out The State
News every year instead of merely
embarrassing them. There were
times I could’ve studied more,
and there were times I ignored
my non-Daily friends for way
too long. Even worse, people still
don’t believe I’m actually in Ross
(tell them, Henry).
It’s funny how life works
out sometimes. Because of the
Daily, I’ve done things I would
have only dreamed about as
a little kid. I’ve played catch
under the lights on the field
at the Big House, I’ve driven
all over the Midwest to cover
football road games and I even
had a summer internship at the
newspaper I grew up reading.
I’ve also spent the last four
years listening to athletes and
coaches utter platitudes about
toughness only to realize the
best example of it has been in
front of me for my entire life.
My mom has had multiple
sclerosis since 1983, when
she was 22 years old. In 1992,
one year before I was born,
the disease rendered the left
side of her body numb. On the
rare occasions when she feels
it’s necessary to mention the
disease, she says the sensation
is comparable to a normal
person’s foot falling asleep.
The only difference is that her
affliction is permanent.
When she was diagnosed, she
didn’t know how much longer
she’d be able to walk. She’s 55 now,
and she isn’t stopping any time
soon. For that, I’m truly lucky.
I’ve been fortunate, too, to have
friends who have helped me along
the way. It doesn’t feel as if it was
all that long ago when Austin had
to convince a scared freshman to
drive across the country with him
to the Final Four.
But the problem with college,
it seems, is that it’s so fleeting.
One moment Spike Albrecht
is scoring 17 points in the
National Championship game
and then, in the blink of an eye,
he’s a graduate transfer.
I suppose we’ll all go places
after graduation, too. We don’t
really have much of a choice.
Matan’s moving to Africa,
Karly’s going to Boston and I’ll
go to New York. It will be weird,
being so far away from this big,
beautiful, confusing place.
They don’t have Zingerman’s
out in the real world, I’ve been
told. The same goes for the
other places we’ve all grown to
cherish, from Hill Auditorium
to the Diag to the Law Quad.
Sometimes, I’m quite confident,
the most frequent reminder of
Ann Arbor will be seeing Jim
Harbaugh in the news.
But when Lev comes to visit
or when I get a text from Marc,
it will be as if we never left this
place that’s known for a 107,601-
seat football stadium but has
given us all so much more.
The day before classes started
my freshman year, I sat by
the Cube and waited for Wass
to take me to my first sports
section meeting. I was sweaty,
nervous and had no idea what
I’d say when I was meeting new
people. I thought writing for the
Daily would be a hobby, a nice
little way to spend time outside
of pursuing a business degree.
I ended up having more fun
than I ever thought I could. And
now that it’s all over and I’m
writing my final sentences for
this newspaper, I’m once again
at a loss for words.
So I’ll say this: Thanks, Dad.
Your plan worked to perfection.
Cohen can be reached at maxac@
umich.edu and on Twitter @
MaxACohen. He wants to thank
his mom and Rachel, too. He will
be writing for the sports section
of The Wall Street Journal this
summer. Thanks for reading.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
COURTESY OF THE COHEN FAMILY
Max Cohen’s path to Michigan started at a young age, when his dad got him hooked on the Wolverine football team.
MAX
COHEN
2B — April 18, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
‘M’ capitalizes in rare top-25 series
By AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 2 Michigan softball
team entered its conference
schedule with just two losses:
against No. 1 Florida and then-
No. 9 Washington.
After garnering eight straight
Big Ten Championships, the
Wolverines rarely encounter a
conference foe they cannot beat.
And this year, Michigan’s Big Ten
schedule consists of three of the
bottom five teams in last season’s
standings. It does not face No.
14 Minnesota, the other team
that consistently challenges the
Wolverines’ spot at the top.
Instead, Michigan’s conference
schedule consists of only one
ranked team: No. 23 Ohio State.
And the Wolverines took advantage
of this rare opportunity to compete
with a top conference team and
swept the Buckeyes (9-4-1 Big Ten,
25-11-1 overall), while showing a
strong effort from top to bottom.
The Wolverines’ cruised in
their first two games, outscoring
Ohio State, 13-1, including an
8-0 run-rule victory on Friday.
Sunday, though, provided some
suspense, with the Buckeyes
taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth
inning before Michigan came
back to win, 5-3.
“Occasionally we have more
of a sense of urgency when we
go down,” said junior third
baseman Lindsay Montemarano.
“It’s like, ‘Oh shoot, we really
gotta get going,’ and we focus in
a little bit better.”
Though Michigan’s hitting
gives it most of its victories, its
pitching was crucial over the
weekend. Before allowing three
runs in Sunday’s game, junior
right-hander
Megan
Betsa
pitched 21 scoreless innings,
including two shutouts.
“Megan
was
tough,”
said
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins.
“She was tough because she
didn’t allow herself to go in any
direction
but
stay focused on
her
moment.
You
can’t
control
what
they
do.
I
thought
she
was fantastic.
She
should
be
proud
of
how hard she
worked.”
Betsa faced Ohio State right
fielder Alex Bayne seven times
in her two starts. Bayne leads the
nation in home runs with 18 and
ranks in the top 20 in RBI with
44. But in seven appearances
against Betsa, Bayne failed to
get a hit and walked twice while
striking out five times.
On
the
offensive
side,
sophomore catcher Aidan Falk
raised
her
average
29
points to .289
while
hitting
a
home
run
and
driving
in four runs.
Sophomore
first
baseman
Tera
Blanco
hit a two-run
home run and
had five RBI in the series. In one
of the few moments this Big Ten
season that the Wolverines faced
a top pitcher, the team delivered.
In 11 innings against Buckeye
right-hander Shelby Hursh, the
Wolverines scored 11 runs and
walked nine times.
“Give (Ohio State) credit —
they’re a good team,” Hutchins
said. “Hursh pitched fantastic
today. She had us. She was in
our head.”
Michigan’s remaining games
include only one team with a
winning record. It played nearly
every remaining team on its
schedule last season and lost
only once, when Iowa beat the
Wolverines, 6-4.
Because
of
the
lack
of
nationally ranked competition
in
the
Big
Ten,
Michigan
looks to make the most of its
opportunities in these infrequent
matchups with top teams.
This past weekend, it took
advantage.
KRISTINA PERKINS/Daily
Sophomore catcher Aidan Falk raised her batting average to .289 over the weekend and added four RBIs.
“Hursh pitched
fantastic today.
She had us. She
was in our head.”