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.”

