The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, January 30, 2020 — 5A

‘Do I think aliens are real? No.’

The Daily sits down Cam York and Johnny Beecher to talk about hot dogs, Deflategate and Area 51

The Daily hockey beat used 
to run a video series during the 
2011-12 season called “Quick 
Hits.” They were one-on-one 
interviews with players that 
covered everyday life and all 
of its funny moments. Now, it’s 
back in written format.
For the first edition of the 
semester, The Daily’s Molly 
Shea and Bailey Johnson sat 
down 
with 
freshmen 
Cam 
York and Johnny Beecher to 
discuss 
conspiracy 
theories, 
Deflategate and if a hot dog is a 
sandwich.
***
This 
transcript 
has 
been 
lightly edited for length and 
clarity.
Molly: 
Is 
a 
hot 
dog 
a 
sandwich?
Cam: No.
Johnny: I wouldn’t say it is, 
no.
Molly: Why not? It has meat 
and it has bread, and those are 
the two main components of a 
sandwich.
Cam: Yeah, but there’s not 
two pieces of it.
Johnny: Yeah that’s true, it’s 
only one piece of bread.
Molly: But isn’t a sub a 
sandwich? And that’s one piece 
of bread.
Johnny: A sub? Why would 
you call it a sub?
Associate 
head 
coach 
Bill 
Muckalt walked through the 
office.
Bill: Do you call it a grinder 
or a sub?
Johnny: I call it a sub. Would 
you say a hot dog’s a sandwich?
Bill: You know what, at 
Portillo’s it might be. I love 
Portillo’s. Have you been to 
Portillo’s?
Molly: The chocolate cake 
shake is so good!

Bill: Not only that, the Italian 
beef with the hot peppers. Ugh, 
it’s the best. I would call it a 
grinder, hero, it’s all subs.
Johnny: I wouldn’t call a hot 
dog a sandwich.
Cam: I wouldn’t either.
Bailey: If the team was 
stranded on a deserted island, 
who would survive?
Cam: I would 
say myself, to be 
honest.
Johnny: 
What? You’d be 
one of the first to 
go, man.
Bailey: 
Why 
do you think it’s 
you?
Cam: 
I’m 
a 
good fisherman, 
I know how to 
fish. I can catch fish.
Johnny: That is true, you 
could eat.
Cam rubs his hands together 
like he’s going to start a fire.
Cam: I know how to make a 
fire out of wood.
Johnny: That’s a blatant lie.
Cam: I’m not kidding.
Johnny: I don’t know, I’d 
probably say (senior goaltender 
Hayden) Lavigne. He would just 
be good at the weird stuff and 
he would be able to do that stuff 
and survive somehow.
Cam: Jeez, he has a family.
Molly: 
If 
you 
were 
a 
superhero, what would be your 
power and your name?
Cam: Probably to fly, and I 
would say Forny.
Johnny: I don’t know. I’d say 
super strength or something 
like that, I don’t know what my 
name would be. Beech?
Molly: Do you guys believe in 
aliens?
Johnny: I think they’re out 
there somewhere. I feel like 
there’s gotta be another life 
form somewhere else in the 
universe, I don’t know.
Cam: I don’t know. We 
would’ve had an interaction 
with them already.

Molly: 
But 
what 
if 
the 
government’s covering it up?
Cam *dead serious*: They 
wouldn’t do that to us.
Bailey: 
Are 
there 
any 
conspiracy theories y’all believe 
in?
Bill and program assistant 
Steve Shields entered the office 
from the smoothie room.
Johnny: Hey 
Shieldsy, you got 
any 
conspiracy 
theories?
Steve: 
I’ve 
got 
problems 
with conspiracy 
theories.
Molly: Which 
one?
Steve: All of 
‘em.
Molly: 
The 
moon landing?
Steve: That is the biggest 
conspiracy I have problems 
with.
Molly: That it was fake or 
that it was real?
Steve: No, the fact that 
you’re even saying that. I’ve 
got problems with the moon 
landing, with flat earth people.
Jay “The Beav” Flannelly, 
known acquaintance of Tom 
Brady, entered the room.
Bill: What’s your favorite 
Deflategate conspiracy theory?
The Beav: Uh, that it even 
existed. That’s the whole point.
Steve: Cheating’s a part of 
the game. If you’re not cheating, 
you’re not trying.
The Beav: Tom was never the 
target of that. I think we know 
who the target was. I don’t 
know, his coach?
Steve 
*suddenly 
reappearing*: Area 51.
Molly: You don’t think that’s 
real?
Steve: Do I think that aliens 
are real? No. There is a place 
called Area 51, but there’s no 
UFOs there.
Molly: But do UFOs in 
general exist?
Steve: No.

Molly: The universe is so big, 
there’s no way that they don’t.
Steve: The universe is so big? 
Prove it.
Molly: 
It’s 
constantly 
expanding. 
That’s 
physics. 
There are billions of galaxies.
Steve: 
If 
there 
were 
intelligent life forms somewhere 
in the universe, they would 
secretly 
come 
to 
this 
small 
little 
planet 
in a spaceship 
that 
we 
could 
recognize as a 
spaceship? 
It 
doesn’t 
make 
sense. Yeah, in 
theory, 100 years 
ago, before you 
knew 
anything 
existed 
beyond 
our sun, yeah. Yeah there’s 
people from outer space. But 
if they’re coming here, they’re 
coming here to kill us. It’s like 
the movies.
Assistant coach Kris Mayotte, 
who was standing next to Steve, 
chimed in.
Kris: Area 51’s real, what’s at 
Area 51 is fabricated.

Cam: Alright, let’s get this 
interview going.
Kris: Where do you gotta go?
Johnny: 
Eat 
dinner, 
homework.
Cam: Hang out with my 
girlfriend. Jeez.
The 
coaches 
trailed 
back 
to their half of the office, still 
arguing about aliens and Area 51.
Bailey: 
Who 
has 
the 
worst 
hair on the team?
Cam: 
Keto 
(freshman 
defenseman 
Keaton Pehrson).
Johnny: 
I 
don’t 
want 
to 
throw 
anybody 
under 
the 
bus. It’s kinda 
mean. 
I’d 
say 
(sophomore defenseman Nick) 
Blankenburg right now. He’s got 
a greasy mullet.
Cam: He does have a greasy 
mullet. We’ll both go with 
Blankenburg. Keto would be so 
pissed.
Johnny: He’d be mad at that.
Molly: When we did this 
with Keaton and Jack Summers, 

they said they wanted to be you, 
Cam. Which one of those two 
would you rather be?
Johnny: Definitely Sums.
Cam: Is neither an option? 
No, I’d be Sums.
Molly: Why?
Cam: He’s got good flow, he’s 
a pretty nice person.
Bailey: Johnny, what about 
you?
Johnny: 
Probably 
Luke 
Martin. 
He’s 
an 
absolute 
beauty. He’s one of the big boys 
with me, so I like that guy a lot. 
He’s funny. Fun to be around. If 
you’re him, you’re around him 
24/7. Just having a good time.
Bailey: Do either of y’all have 
any useless talents?
Johnny: Useless talents? Not 
really, honestly. I don’t really do 
weird stuff.
Cam: I definitely do, but I 
can’t think of any.
Johnny: Do you like juggling?
Cam: I can tie fishing knots 
really good.
Johnny: That’s not useless, 
though.
Cam: That’s true.
Johnny: If we’re on the 
stranded island, you need it.

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sportds Editor

MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer

‘M’ faces bad matchup against ‘Cats

Throughout the season, the 
Michigan women’s basketball 
team has been plagued by one 
issue: turnovers. Last Sunday, 
against Rutgers, it survived 
the first half unscathed, taking 
care of the ball and instead 
forcing the Scarlet Knights into 
turnovers.
But as the teams came out 
of the locker room, Rutgers 
pressed — it needed to cut into 
the Wolverines’ 17 point lead as 
soon as possible. It couldn’t, but 
that wasn’t because Michigan 
broke through the press. In fact, 
the Wolverines continuously 
lost the ball, their turnover 
margin 
plummeting 
to 
a 
negative throughout the second 
half.
The Scarlet Knights just 
couldn’t 
capitalize, 
missing 
uncontested 
layup 
after 
uncontested layup — shooting 
34.8 percent in the fourth 
quarter.
“Then towards the end they 
turned it up a little bit, and 
we had a couple turnovers,” 
sophomore 
forward 
Naz 
Hillmon said. “We’re gonna see 
our strengths and weaknesses 
in that and figure a couple 
more things out. With Kayla 
(Robbins) out, that’s another 
long person, tall person that 
could jump out of the gym, get 
those passes out of the air. But 
we’re gonna work on it.”
In Michigan’s upcoming game 
against No. 23 Northwestern, 
the turnover battle will be key. 
The Wildcats are second in 
the Big Ten in steals — behind 
only No. 17 Maryland, which 
dismantled 
the 
Wolverines’ 
offense earlier in the season, 
forcing 22 turnovers.
Northwestern also has a solid 
plus-6.7 turnover margin on the 
season while Michigan is in the 
middle of the pack in the Big 
Ten — barely squeaking out a 
positive ratio at plus-0.9.
The 
turnovers 
for 
the 
Wolverines 
have 
been 
notoriously topsy-turvy, though 
they 
rarely 
have 
two 
bad 
games in a row. After their first 
game against the Terrapins, 

they capped their turnovers 
in the low teens, sustaining 
a successful portion of their 
season. Until the rematch.
After 
struggling 
with 
turnovers in the last quarter 
against Rutgers, Michigan will 
need to continue its pattern of 
rebounding from large turnover 
games 
if 
it’s 
to 
compete 
Thursday.
It’ll also look to continue 
dominating the glass, where 
its 
plus-7.5 
rebounding 
margin 
is 
second best in 
the conference, 
while 
the 
Wildcats 
are 
one 
of 
three 
teams 
in 
the 
Big Ten with a 
negative margin 
at minus-0.4.
Second 
chance points, as they usually 
are, will be vital for Michigan 
against 
one 
of 
the 
best 
defenses in the conference — 
Northwestern holds opponents 
to 54.9 points per game.
But 
perhaps 
the 
biggest 
challenge for the Wolverines 
will come at the 3-point line. 
The Wildcats’ senior forward 
Abi Scheid stretches the floor 
and shoots at a team-leading .475 
clip, and Michigan has struggled 
throughout the season to match 
the momentum booster of the 
three with its post play.

“Most of the time going into 
the game (opponents have) had 
a poor shooting night before or 
multiple poor shooting nights, 
so we don’t really — I’m not 
saying we don’t defend the 
three — but we don’t exaggerate 
it as much as we should,” senior 
guard Akienreh Johnson said 
last week. “And then in the game 
when they start hitting them 
we don’t adjust. So we need to 
adjust getting out, taking away 
the 
shot 
and 
giving away the 
drive more the 
remainder 
of 
the game. Being 
able to adjust 
is 
something 
we 
have 
to 
consistently 
have to learn to 
do.”
Northwestern, 
though, 
isn’t 
coming into the game cold from 
downtown — it shot 40 percent 
in its last game, and Michigan 
will come into the match laser 
focused 
on 
defending 
the 
3-point arc. It won’t need to 
adjust.
The Wolverines face a tall 
task 
Thursday 
when 
they 
visit the Wildcats, a team that 
has strengths that appear to 
perfectly 
match 
Michigan’s 
weaknesses. The Wolverines 
will need to play one of their 
best games of the season in 
order to come out with a win.

Offseason fun helps build chemistry

Last weekend, the Michigan 
softball team took on a new 
challenge. A challenge that had 
coach Carol Hutchins worrying 
whether she or a team member 
would end up in the emergency 
room with an axe sticking out of 
their leg. 
Fortunately, 
everyone 
came 
out of the axe-throwing excursion 
unscathed, and the team had 
crowned an axe champion: junior 
infielder Taylor Bump.
This outing was part of the 
team’s offseason activities and 
one of the things the team got to 
do together that wasn’t directly 
softball-related. 
After practicing six days a week 
the entire offseason, Hutchins 
decided the team needed to do 
something fun to get away from the 
grind. The Wolverines had lunch 
together after practice, watched 
the men’s basketball game against 
Iowa and then she took them to the 
night’s main event.
“We just had fun together,” 
Hutchins said. “We’ve got to enjoy 
being around each other. You 
know, we’re different. We’re all 
diverse. We don’t all agree about 
everything, but we’re a team and 
you’ve got to get along with your 
teammates. So, we try to create 
some of those moments.”
Despite her fear that someone 
might 
put 
an 
axe 
through 
themself, Hutchins recognized 

the importance of taking time as 
a team off the field and what it 
means for the players. 
The Wolverines have gone on 
excursions in the past to find a 
relief from practice, laser tag being 
cited as a Hutchins favorite, but 
typically at the end of the season. 
In Hutchins’ 36 years of coaching, 
this is the first time they have done 
anything in the preseason. This 
is not to mention the team’s Cuba 
trip over fall break — also a first.
The Wolverines went to the 
country and spent time with each 
other as well as with a Cuban 
softball team. They brought over 
toiletries, gave the team gloves and 
dumped out their backpacks at the 
end of the trip to give to the team. 
In December, the team had its 
annual Christmas party where it 
played a game of white elephant 
and requipped with gifts of new 
gloves. This, along with the new 
experiences provided by the Cuba 
trip and axe throwing, gave the 
players a chance to bond with each 
other.
“I mean the most important 
thing, I think, is getting to 
know an individual teammate,” 
sophomore outfielder Lexie Blair 
said. “That’s what I feel like can 
build chemistry. … Us doing the 
team axe throwing, our Christmas 
parties, going to Cuba together. 
You kind of get to learn more about 
each other.”
And the hope, for Hutchins, is 
that the chemistry translates to 
the field.

Last year, Michigan started 
out its season 12-10 before coming 
home and straightening out to 
33-3 down the stretch. The slow 
start could be attributed to a lot of 
things — competition, readiness, 
overall performance — but the 
importance of teamwork and 
cohesion was not lost on Blair.
“Yeah, last year was a really 
slow start,” Blair said. “It’s just 
finding that chemistry within the 
team. Learning to mesh within 
each other, kind of finding a 
common ground and working 
together as one. That’s what you 
need to find for each team.”
Connection. 
Cohesion. 
Chemistry. However it’s stated, 
it’s important to the success of a 
softball team. Outs are made as 
a team. Runs are made as a team. 
Wins and losses come as a team. 
Blair recognizes this, and so does 
Hutchins. 
After losing five senior starters 
the Wolverines will need to find 
unity on a relatively young team. 
And quickly — the season starts in 
just nine days.
It is possible that a trip to Cuba, 
a Christmas party and an axe 
throwing competition could have 
done that for the Wolverines.
The only hint will be on the 
players’ faces. 
“A team that’s happy together 
plays better together,” Hutchins 
said. “No question.”
So when the team takes the field 
for the first time this season on 
Feb. 7 — watch for smiles.

NICHOLAS STOLL
Daily Sports Writer

KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman defenseman Cam York thinks he could last longer than any other Wolverine if he was stranded on an island.

EMMA MATI/Daily
Kim Barnes Arico will need her team to overcome turnover issues Thursday.

I’ve got 
problems with 
... flat earth 
people.

The Italian beef 
with the hot 
peppers. Ugh, 
it’s the best.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
The Michigan softball team increased its chemistry in the offseason with multiple team bonding activities.

We need to 
adjust to getting 
out, taking 
away the shot.

