Michigan

"If we call a cow's tail a leg," President Abraham Lincoln once asked members of his Cabinet, "how many legs would a cow have?""Five," the cognitively challenged Cabinet members answered."A cow only has four legs," our nation's most sagacious chief executive reminded his advisers, "no matter what we call its tail."A child is still a child, Honest Abe would probably remind us in 1999, no matter how the state of Michigan tries to make him an adult.Several weeks ago, 13-year-old Nathaniel Abraham was tried as an adult and found guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting a man when he was 11. After the conviction, there was much crowing and bragging among conservatives about how Michigan had gotten tough with a 13-year-old.

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- In sports, every second counts. The University of Maryland field hockey team proved that yesterday, winning its third NCAA championship, thanks in large part to a goal as time expired in the first half.Freshman Carissa Messimer tipped in a long free hit by Dina Rizzo to give Maryland a two-goal lead. It was the margin of victory in a 2-1 win over Michigan (20-7) before 3,350, the largest field hockey crowd ever at Northeastern University's Parsons Field."It feels great.

WASHINGTON -- Like converging weather systems, the old and new politics of gun control collided over Michigan this spring. Predictably, turbulence followed.Michigan has long been a stronghold of the National Rifle Association and few were surprised when the state legislature approved bills that would make it easier for state residents to carry concealed weapons -- a top NRA priority.Then came the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Suddenly the weather changed. A formidable alliance of Michigan gun-control advocates announced that, if the bill became law, they would place a repeal referendum on next November's ballot.

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- "Geoff Fieger never called Jesus a 'goofball.' What Geoff Fieger said was "Mr. Fieger does not always talk about himself, as some celebrities like to do, in the third person. Here is Mr. Fieger, first person singular: "There was a certain point that Muhammad Ali realized he was the greatest fighter on earth. I'm positive Wayne Gretzky realized he was the greatest hockey player. And there was a point at which I realized I was as good as they make them."But the Democratic nominee for governor in Michigan is feeling ill -- used by the media.

They saw their coach fired in October. Then they lost their opener at home to Western Michigan in mid-November. It didn't appear that December would be any better for the Michigan Wolverines, with losses to Eastern Michigan and Bradley.And it didn't appear that Brian Ellerbe, the former Loyola coach who was named interim coach for the season when Steve Fisher was let go, had much chance of being named to a permanent position once the season was over. But things have changed dramatically in the past month.

ATLANTA -- Steve Lavin and UCLA exorcised some ghosts of John Wooden.Streaking Kentucky moved a step closer to a region final showdown with vintage rival Duke.Brian Ellerbe and Michigan's quest to duplicate Steve Fisher's 1989 NCAA championship run ended.And wisecracking Saint Louis coach Charlie Spoonhour ran out of one-liners.That was the scenario at the Georgia Dome yesterday as the sixth-seeded UCLA Bruins and second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats picked up NCAA tournament Sweet 16 berths with second-round South Regional victories.

BaseballReds: Signed P Jim Crowell and C Justin Towle to one-year contracts.FootballJaguars: Re-signed DE Joel Smeenge. Signed LB Tyrone Hines and RB Malcolm Thomas from practice squad.HockeyCapitals: Recalled G Stephane Beauregard from IHL Chicago.Sabres: Recalled D Jay McKee from AHL Rochester.Stars: Placed LW Greg Adams (knee) on IR. Recalled LW Jamie && Wright from IHL Michigan. Activated LW Patrick Cote from IR and assigned him to Michigan.Pub Date: 1/01/98

Going to San Antonio: North Carolina earned the East's top seed -- and the chance to return to Greensboro for the Sweet 16 -- by winning the Tobacco Road rubber match with Duke on Sunday. After beating Navy and either sister school UNC-Charlotte or Illinois-Chicago in the Hartford subregional, the Tar Heels will enjoy a huge home-state advantage in Greensboro.Team on the rise: UNLV was 11-10 last month when it suspended star center Keon Clark, who promptly quit the team. Since then, the Runnin' Rebels are 9-2. Coach Bill Bayno produced UNLV's first NCAA berth since 1991, when Jerry Tarkanian held the job.Team on the decline: Michigan State hit the skids after clinching no worse than a co-championship in the Big Ten's regular season.

PASADENA, Calif. -- The top-ranked Michigan Wolverines had all they could handle yesterday, but they handled No. 8 Washington State just well enough to remain undefeated and, apparently, win their first college football national championship in 50 years.Quarterback Brian Griese, who stayed largely in the shadow of Heisman Trophy-winning teammate Charles Woodson and Cougars quarterback Ryan Leaf during the pre-game buildup, threw three touchdown passes to lead Michigan to a heart-stopping 21-16 victory in the 84th Rose Bowl.

PASADENA, Calif. -- There should be no debate this season.Michigan deserves college football's No. 1 ranking after completing an undefeated season with a 21-16 victory over Washington State yesterday in the Rose Bowl.The Wolverines didn't dominate, by any means -- Washington State was 26 yards away from a winning touchdown at the final gun -- which means there'll be plenty of lobbying for Nebraska if the Cornhuskers hammer Tennessee tonight in the Orange Bowl to finish with an undefeated record like Michigan, and in coach Tom Osborne's final season, no less.

Obviously, the Terps could have tougher nonconference opponents leading up to their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, which begins Jan. 10 against Georgia Tech at home. But think about it: Would that leave them battle-tested or battle-weary? Under different circumstances, I would say that it helps to deal with adversity early because it toughens your team, makes it stronger. Maryland is in the midst of six nonconference home games during which it plays teams that are not only several tiers below ACC-caliber, but also have losing records.

A year ago, the holiday season brought little cheer for Maryland as the Terps were roughed up in December, losing four of six nonconference games, a dismal early-winter start that haunted them throughout the season. That makes tonight's meeting with George Washington in the second game of the BB&T Classic doubleheader at Verizon Center more important than at first glance. A loss would reprise the way last December began, which was with a defeat to Virginia Commonwealth in this same local showcase.

COLLEGE PARK - Coming off its biggest defeat in four years and one of the worst in the two decades since coach Gary Williams returned to his alma mater, Maryland needed something to evaporate the memory of the 27-point evisceration the Terps took at the hands of Georgetown on Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Would Michigan comply? Would Maryland compete? The Wolverines didn't roll over last night at Comcast Center, but the Terps recovered - Greivis Vasquez in particular. The mercurial junior guard, who had only two points against the Hoyas, led Maryland (5-2)

DeShawn Sims scored 18 points and Manny Harris added 15 to help Michigan upset No. 4 UCLA, 55-52, last night in the semifinals of New York's 2K Sports Classic. With his team trailing 48-46 with 4:16 left, Stu Douglass hit a long three-pointer to give Michigan (3-0) the lead. Darren Collison of UCLA (2-1) was stripped on the other end, leading to a layup by Sims that made it 51-48 Wolverines. SETON HALL 63, NO. 19 USC 61: : Jeremy Hazell scored 17 points and Eugene Harvey made a free throw with five seconds remaining to lead the Pirates (3-0)

If Vernon Gholston were your typical kid leaving college to look for a job, he might have put this on his resume: He beat Michigan's Jake Long, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, for a sack. That's only part of the reason the 6-foot-4, 258-pound defensive end and linebacker from Ohio State will be chosen pretty quickly in tomorrow's draft. While Long was made the No. 1 pick earlier this week by the Miami Dolphins, some mock drafts have Gholston going right behind him to the St. Louis Rams at No. 2. But some draft scenarios have Gholston falling to the Ravens at No. 8. Gholston's sack was one of two Long surrendered during his career in Ann Arbor, one of three Gholston got that day against the Wolverines, and one of a school-record 14 he made as a junior last season.

Ten donors to Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign - including Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos - offered yesterday to give Michigan $12 million to hold a rerun of its Democratic primary, as Clinton and her rival Sen. Barack Obama traded sharp words over the proposed June 3 contest. With state lawmakers facing a deadline today for approval of the plan, Clinton made a quick stop yesterday in Detroit, where she called on Obama to endorse the do-over election. "Senator Obama speaks passionately on the campaign trail about empowering the American people," she said.

Of course Michiganders, of all people, would be worried about the economy, but no American state or region is immune from the woes that are threatening to make 2008 a penny-pinched year. Mitt Romney won a clear victory in Michigan's Republican primary Tuesday, and though some of that had to do with his being the son of a favorite son, he garnered strong support from those who said the economy was the most pressing issue. Among that group, he won 42 percent to 55 percent of those voting, according to exit polls.

Mitt Romney stopped John McCain cold yesterday with a favorite-son victory in icy Michigan that threw the Republican presidential race wide open again. No clear front-runner has emerged after the first four state tests, and at least four Republicans have a credible chance to become the nominee. In the Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton finished ahead of "uncommitted" but the vote had no bearing on the delegate count. Michigan was not among the four states authorized to hold Democratic primaries before Feb. 5, and Barack Obama and John Edwards removed their names from the ballot.

Romulus, Mich. -- Michigan takes its turn today as a presidential primary battleground after a week of sharpening arguments by Republican contenders over how to revive a state laid low by disappearing auto factories and jobs. With only the Republican primary a contest of consequence here because of an earlier pullout by most of the Democratic contenders, the GOP's leading rivals have carefully tweaked their campaign messages to emphasize economic concerns. The two candidates with the most at stake, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have sniped at each other over how best to cure Michigan's ills - and in the process, shed light about how they might tackle signs of a looming national recession.

The University of Hawaii fired athletic director Herman Frazier yesterday after he failed to re-sign football coach June Jones. In a brief statement, the university said the move was made "in the best interest of the athletics program." It came a day after Jones, the most-winning coach in school history, accepted a five-year deal worth about $2 million a year to coach at Southern Methodist. Frazier's contract was set to expire July 31, 2010. Rutgers -- Running back Ray Rice will skip his senior year to enter the NFL draft after becoming the leading rusher in school history and transforming the Scarlet Knights into a Top 25 team.