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.