8 — Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Harbaugh calling for
league-wide changes
Jim Harbaugh didn’t mince
words.
Michigan’s head coach was
unhappy
with
the
facilities
provided to his team during
Saturday’s game at Purdue. He
wasn’t pleased with the visitor’s
locker room, comparing it to
a “hot box,” and he certainly
wasn’t pleased with the medical
equipment
on
hand.
While
speaking at his weekly press
conference Monday afternoon,
Harbaugh made it very clear that
he believes there needs to be
league-wide reform to prevent
the type of situation his team
encountered.
“We are going to look at
everything
we
can
do
for
the visiting team here at the
University of Michigan as it
relates to a standard of care
for visitors,” Harbaugh said.
“It’s
become
apparent
after
going around to all the visiting
schools the last couple years that
(there’s) a conscious effort of
gamesmanship.
“It’s unsportsmanlike when
you have locker rooms that are
too small, (and) they’re not
heated or cooled properly. In
this case, (there was) no air
conditioning.”
Part
of
Harbaugh’s
frustration stemmed from the
measures the Wolverines had
to take to deal with the heat
Saturday afternoon. According
to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports,
Michigan staffers told him that
“it was like 110-plus (degrees)”
inside the locker room, while
the temperature outside climbed
to 89 degrees by kickoff. On
Monday, Harbaugh confirmed
that he had allowed players to
wait onboard the team’s air-
conditioned bus before the game
for a brief reprieve from the
elements.
It
appears,
though,
that
the biggest sticking point was
Purdue’s insufficient medical
equipment.
“I wish I’d have taken a
picture of the actual table that
was given to the visitors to put
the players on when they’re
injured,” Harbaugh said. “It
looks like it was from the ‘20s.
It was ripped. Just not good. I
think that’s a pattern in the Big
Ten.”
Harbaugh was particularly
displeased with the fact that
redshirt
junior
quarterback
Wilton Speight — who suffered
an injury in the first quarter —
had to leave the stadium when he
needed further medical testing.
“There needs to be a way to
X-ray a player at the stadium,”
Harbaugh said. “There needs
to be a minimum standard of
care for players. We put a lot of
emphasis on health and safety
of the players, but it didn’t even
seem sanitary.
“... Injured players can’t get
an X-ray. (Speight was) taken to
a student health center in a van.
We needed a brace for a player,
and there wasn’t one at the
facility we were taken to. A lot of
things needed to be addressed.
I would ask the rest of the Big
Ten coaches to look into this as
well. Make this a priority. We’re
talking about all our players
here.”
Harbaugh is no stranger to
gamesmanship. It’s well-known
that he searches for any way to
gain a competitive advantage
over opponents. But this is one
area that he believes should be
left alone — and he’s willing to
take charge in leading efforts for
reform.
“We’ll start first with us
and make sure that when you
have guests, when you have
visitors coming in, their health
and safety needs need to be
addressed,”
Harbaugh
said.
“... It needs to be addressed by
the commissioner and I would
hope it would be looked into
immediately.
“...
Gamesmanship
should
cease at the line of health and
safety for the players.”
Michigan’s coach cites experience at Purdue in his plea for
the Big Ten to establish standards for visiting locker rooms.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
It looks like it
was from the
‘20s. It was
ripped. Just
not good. I
think that’s a
pattern in the
Big Ten.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was vocal in saying that the Big Ten needs to establish standards for locker rooms.
I would ask
the rest of
the Big Ten
coaches to
look into this
as well. Make
this a priority.
Notebook: Harbaugh talks MSU night game
In less than two weeks, No.
8 Michigan and Michigan State
will play under the lights for
the first time in series history.
Both athletic departments
announced Monday that the
annual meeting between the
two in-state rivals will kickoff
at 7:30 p.m. this year. It will be
the first night game at Michigan
Stadium since 2014 — an 18-13
win over Penn State — and just
the fourth in program history.
The University announced
in a statement that the game
is already sold out and warned
fans
it
has
already
seen
counterfeit
tickets
on
the
market.
Meanwhile, Michigan coach
Jim
Harbaugh
reiterated
a
point that he has made clear
in the past: he’s not a fan of
night games — or later starts in
general.
“I prefer if they’re kicked off
at 12, 1 on a Saturday afternoon,”
Harbaugh said. “It most appeals
to my football sensibility.”
The
contest
against
the
Spartans may not be the only
night
game
that
Harbaugh
will have to deal with this
year, though. It’s likely the
Wolverines will also have to
play at night against No. 4 Penn
State, which has already picked
its Oct. 21 home contest against
the Wolverines as its famed
‘Whiteout’ game. A Nov. 18 road
game at Wisconsin, meanwhile,
could be a late start as well.
Winovich earns award,
praise
With his new hair, Chase
Winovich may remind some of
Green Bay’s Clay Matthews,
another fearsome pass-rusher
with long, flowing blonde locks.
Yet on Monday afternoon,
his coach made a different —
and even more impressive —
comparison.
“Chase is playing like JJ
Watt,”
Harbaugh
said.
“I
thought he had his best game
ever as a football player.
“... Constant hustle from him.
He had a great game. It looked
like he was in great shape. It
looked easy for him, and it
wasn’t.
Those
were
tough
elements.”
Harbaugh
wasn’t the only
one
to
take
notice of the
redshirt junior
defensive end’s
performance
against Purdue.
Winovich,
who tallied six
tackles (four for loss) and three
sacks in the 28-10 win, was
named Big Ten co-Defensive
Player
of
the
Week
along
with Iowa linebacker Josey
Jewell. Winovich also earned
the
Walter
Camp
National
Defensive Player of the Week
award on Sunday.
Through four games, he leads
the conference and ranks third
nationally in sacks.
Harbaugh calls hit on
Speight “egregious”
When
asked
Saturday
night
for his thoughts
on
the
hit
that
injured
redshirt
junior
quarterback
Wilton
Speight,
Harbaugh didn’t
have much of a
reaction.
He
did,
however, have a
lot more to say two days later.
“Having
seen
it
now,
I
thought
it
was
egregious,”
Harbaugh said. “If I had a
stronger word to use, I would
use it. With all the emphasis on
protecting defenseless players,
it appeared that the player knew
what he was doing. He targeted
the head and neck area when a
player was on the ground and
then accelerated into it.
“I was surprised you had two
officials standing back there,
both looking at it, plus a review
in the press box and that wasn’t
targeting and wasn’t a personal
foul.”
After the hit, Speight was
attended to by trainers for
several minutes before leaving
the game. He eventually left
the stadium to receive X-rays
at Purdue’s student health
center.
Harbaugh was unwilling to
delve into the specifics of his
starting quarterback’s injury,
so Speight’s status remains
mostly unknown. One thing is
clear though — he’ll need more
than a week to recover.
“If we were playing a game
this week he wouldn’t be able
to play,” Harbaugh said. “And
we’ll assess it as we go.
“... He’s a very tough guy. Very
hopeful he’ll be back soon.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Redshirt junior defensive end Chase WInovich drew praise from Jim Harbaugh on Monday for his play against Purdue.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
I prefer they’re
kicked off at 12,
1 on a Saturday
afternoon.
Seniors shine for ‘M’
Behind strong performances
from its seniors, the Michigan
men’s golf team finished in
fifth place at the Northern
Intercollegiate at Sugar Grove,
Ill.
this
past
weekend.
The
first
day
of
the
outing — which
contained
two
rounds
—
started
rough for the
Wolverines,
as they shot a
lackluster
295
(+7). But thanks
in part to a 67 (-5) from senior
Ian Kim, Michigan rallied for
a final score of 284 (-4) in the
second round.
“The first day we started
slow, but Ian really picked it up
for us and had a fantastic second
round,” said Michigan coach
Chris Whitten.
The Wolverines carried their
momentum into the second
day, shooting a 285 in the third
round to help
them come back
to even overall
on
the
score
card.
“We
came
out
stronger
today,
and
really got some
good
help
from
senior
Kyle Mueller,”
Whitten said.
Mueller isn’t
new to Michigan, and his steady
play isn’t either. Mueller was
tied for eighth overall, and shot
eight birdies over the weekend.
When asked about Mueller’s
play, Whitten said he wasn’t
surprised by it.
“Kyle is capable of that,”
Whitten
said.
“It
wasn’t
surprising, he actually could’ve
done even better.”
Even with the solid showing
at
the
outing,
Whitten
believes
there
is still room for
improvement.
The
fifth-place
finish isn’t what
Whitten or the
Wolverines
want, citing that
they believe that
they
have
the
ability
to
win
every outing.
“Our goal is to
keep learning as a whole, and to
keep eliminating the mistakes,”
Whitten said.
Some of the Wolverines’
potential could be reached with
the help of some new faces.
Michigan is bringing on three
freshmen this year, and it has
just two seniors on the entire
roster. Whitten believes this to
be a sign that his team will grow
with each outing.
The
Wolverines
do
have
a
couple
more
opportunities
this
fall
to
improve,
with
invitationals
at
both
Alabama
and
Texas
in
the
month
of
October.
If
Michigan
can continue to
get contributions from its upper
classmen while the freshmen
develop, then Whitten’s goals
for his team may be within
reach.
MEN’S GOLF
Mueller, Kim help Wolverines finish
fifth at the Northern Intercollegiate
PATRICK REED
For the Daily
It wasn’t
surprising, he
actually could’ve
done even better.
Our goal is to
keep learning
as a whole and
... eliminating
mistakes.