Why 'M' should be No. 1 and other sports tragedies

JOHN LEROI Out of Bounds SPORTSMonday Column

Pollsters can be so capricious. Especially those who are coaches. Since USA Today joined up with CNN and invented a coaches poll in 1991, those who lead on the field have proven they are idiots off of it.

This week the coaches' poll - now a joint venture between USA Today and ESPN - has Florida State ranked No. 1 and Michigan at No. 2 - an abomination to those who follow college football.

The Wolverines deserve to be No. 1. They play a more difficult schedule than Florida State, which hasn't beaten anybody good all season. And Michigan's 34-8 demolition of previously unbeaten Penn State was far more impressive the Seminoles' victory over the overrated Tar Heels.

But coaches are stupid. They are human after all. They have friends, just like you and me. So when Bobby Bowden, who's been at Florida State about 80 years longer than Lloyd Carr's been coaching Michigan, they give him the benefit of the doubt.

And it's easy to rank Florida State higher than Michigan. The Seminoles have been in the national championship hunt during the last four years, something you can't say about Michigan.

But that doesn't mean the Wolverines don't deserve a No. 1 ranking if they are the best team in the country, a claim that neither Nebraska nor Florida State should make.

But the biggest problem with the coaches poll is that the coaches aren't even voting. Often, a school's sports information director or athletic director will place the coach's vote for him, a practice that totally defeats the purpose of having a coaches poll.

Coaches like to say that their poll is more accurate because college coaches know the game far better than sports writers. That may be true, but the Associated Press only gives votes for their poll to those who truly deserve it, and the media generally ranks teams on merit alone, not nepotism and history.

A kick in the face

It came as no surprise, but this week, Dane Fife, a high school basketball star from Clarkston, passed up Michigan and made an oral commitment to Indiana. This is just the latest in a string of events that proves the Michigan basketball program is losing respect.

For the second time in as many years, another school has waltzed in and stolen the state of Michigan's best basketball player. And, Fife, like Detroit Country Day's Shane Battier the year before, is one of the best prep players in the country.

If Michigan can't win the recruiting battle in its own state, how does it expect to win any recruiting wars? The Wolverines' last two freshman classes have been horrendous, and this one is off to a terrible start. As bad as Michigan will be this year, next season will be 10 times worse.

What makes Fife's choice of schools even more painful is that his brother, Dugan, and his father, Dan, were captains of the Michigan basketball team. Dane visited Michigan, but only gave it serious consideration when his father was mentioned in a newspaper article as a possible candidate to replace Steve Fisher.

Speaking of programs changing directions

Four years ago, the Michigan soccer team didn't even exist. Yesterday, Amber Berendowsky's second-half goal netted the Wolverines their first Big Ten title. For a program that is just 4-years old, that accomplishment is absolutely incredible.

Michigan coach Debbie Belkin deserves a lot of the credit for leading a team with really just two seniors to the conference championship.

Michigan field hockey coach Marcia Pankratz garnered Big Ten coach of the year honors on Thursday, and her team made it to the Big Ten title game yesterday in Iowa City before falling to Penn State.

With so much attention being paid to the football team, non-revenue sports have been more overshadowed than usual. But, as usual, some of the best stories in Michigan athletics aren't written in Michigan Stadium or in Crisler Arena. These athletes deserve more of our support.

- John Leroi can be reached via e-mail at jrleroi@umich.edu

11-10-97