Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 31

'FRIDAY, AUGUST 81; 2001 SPORTS DETROIT FREE PRESS 5D TIGERS CORNER Western Michigan romps Ham games shaded In gray. GENE GUIDII DASEDALL Tigers sap Gamer's well of Welsh passes for 5 TDs; Illinois State falls 48-7 By JACK SAYLOR FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER SUH I MON I TUE I WED THU 1 FRI SAT 2t 27 28 29 30 31 1 Oak. 7, Chi. 8 Chi. 8 Det.

3 Tor. Tor. Det.6 Det. 6 Det. 3 Chi.

1 7:05 4:05 FSN FSN 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tor. ChlSox ChiSox ChiSox Tor. Tor. 1:05 8:05 2:05 7:05 5:05 UPN (7 so. fsni FSN FSN UPN optimism Banged-up Clark loses some boom When this season ends, Tigers manager Phil Garner will have two years left on his contract.

At times it must seem like 200 years. wide-open passing offense that had the Normal, 111., team looking abnormal as it tried to chase down a squadron of Western receivers going multiple directions. Four of WMU's five first-half touchdowns came on passing plays; the other was a two-yard run by tailback Charles Woods after Welsh had hit wideout Marco Wolverton with a 54-yard strike on the game's first play. The next four came in a 27-point second quarter as Welsh connected with Anthony Kiner, a sophomore tight end, for nine yards and wide receiver Josh Bush with a 65-yard slam down the middle. Harris found Kiner for his second score from two yards, then Welsh returned to rehearse a two-minute drill in the final 1:20 of the first half.

It took only 45 seconds, with the result a Welsh-to-Kendrick Mosley touchdown from 21 yards out. Welsh added TD tosses to Brandon Johnson and Micah Zuhl in the third quarter. It made for a good starting point as the Broncos head for Blacksburg, on Sept. 8, with a date against Michigan at Ann Arbor following that. But they'll enjoy it while they can.

Contact JACK SAYLOR at 313-222-2503 or saylorfreepress.com. cos nor did it exhibit much of an offense. Of course, the Redbirds were behind after the first 2:10 had been played, then were buried under Western's 27-point second quarter. With all-time school ground gainer Robert Sanford gone, coach Gary Darnell opted to throw the ball. And the result extended WMU's Waldo Stadium record to 18-3 in his four-year-plus tenure, including 13 of the past 14 on home grounds.

"We executed well in a number of areas," Darnell said. "We got in a rut in practice and didn't work on a high-level passing attack. Now we should have some confidence, and with a nine-day split before the next game we can work on some areas that need work." Welsh and backup Ryan Harris teamed to complete 19 of 22 passes in the first-half mayhem for 309 yards and a 34-0 lead. When the fun ended, the Broncos had piled up 462 passing yards 330 by Welsh, who spread his touchdowns among five receivers and 613 yards total offense. "It was good enough, but we've got to be better for the next game," Welsh said.

"Maybe we should have run the ball more, but it was all right." Western suffocated the Redbirds in the first half with a diversified and By GENE GUIDI FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER KALAMAZOO Bring on Virginia Tech Michael Vick or no, Western Michigan looks ready to give the Hokies a tussle. The Broncos lit up the sky with a blizzard of first-half passes and crumpled Illinois State, 48-7, on Thursday night before 33,976 fans, fifth-largest in Waldo Stadium history. And they enjoyed the on-field festivities as much as their pregame CommUniverCity tailgate party. Jeff Welsh tied a Western Michigan record by pitching for five touchdowns as the Broncos romped over their new NeXturf playing surface, in control from the opening play. OK, OK, so the Redbirds aren't in the Big East, as is Virginia Tech, or even the Mid-American.

But they were ranked in Division I-AA and had built a six-game winning streak in their own neck of the woods, the Gateway Conference. But coach Denver Johnson's team had no defensive answer for the Bron Chippewas roar back in second half ti Central 's 23-0 run grinds E. Kentucky in 42-28 win COLLEGE FOOTBALL ByJEMELEHILL free press sports writer 5 I Tony Clark's home run drought of more than a month is not what you would expect from the Tigers' primary cleanup hitter. But there are extenuating circumstances to explain that Clark has been stuck on 15 homers since July 27. He has been playing with a sore wrist and a damaged shoulder, causing him to alter his swing.

He didn't play Thursday. "He's banged up a little," manager Phil Garner said, "but he would be available if we needed him." And then there's the Comerica Park factor. "The park is just not conducive to home runs," Clark said. "I'm not talking about the 440-foot shots. You're going to get those wherever you're playing.

But how often do you hit a ball that far? What I'm talking about are the 390-foot fly balls to the gap, the 360-foot fly ball to straightaway left, the 410-foot fly balls to left-center. Those are home runs somewhere else, but not here." Clark said he doesn't want his comments taken as a complaint. "I'm just saying this is how the ballpark plays," he said. "It affects power hitters, but for a line-drive guy, someone who might hit 10-12 homers a year, this is an outstanding hitter's park." REDMAN'S KNEE HURT: Left-hander Mark Redman wore a brace on his left knee in Wednesday night's start against the White Sox. Tigers trainer Russ Miller said the problem might be the result of reconstructive knee surgery Redman had in 1991.

Redman, acquired in the July 28 trade for Todd Jones, made his second start for the Tigers. He had been on the disabled list with a strained left triceps. "There's no problem with my arm," Redman said. The Tigers think Redman's arm problems might have been caused by the pitcher altering his motion and delivery because of soreness in his knee. "It does give us some concern in the long term," Garner said.

NOTEBOOK: The Tigers discussed September call-ups before Thursday's game. As many as five or six players could be coming from Triple-A Toledo when the Mud Hens' season ends next week. Garner said a couple of Double-A players could join the Tigers later next month. Two players on the disabled list, Dave Borkowski and Mitch Meluskey, will play in the Tigers' instructional league starting in mid-September. Borkowski said he also might pitch in winter ball for a second straight year.

Contact GENE GUIDI at 313-222-2378 or guidifreepress.com. ON DECK: BLUE JAYS Series: Detroit at Toronto, three games, tonight through Sunday. TVradio: Tonight 7:05 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit, WXYT-AM (1 270), WTKA-AM (1 050), CFCO-AM (630); Saturday 4:05 p.m., Fox Sports Net, WXYT, CFCO; Sunday -1 :05 p.m. Channel 50, WXYT, CFCO. Pitching: Tonight RH Steve Sparks (9-8, 4.03 ERA) vs.

RH Kelvim Escobar (6-5, 3.00); Saturday RH Jeff Weaver (1 0-1 3, 4.02) vs. RH Brandon Lyon (3-2, 5.61 Sunday RH Jose Lima (4-5, 4.72) vs. RH Esteban Loaiza (9-1 TIGERS AVERAGES 1 i i 'ttniiiiwiifcfr: mm "0 AL GOLDiS Associated Press Central Michigan's Rob Turner soars into the end zone for a first-quarter touchdown. The Chippewas defeated Eastern Kentucky, 42-28. vj Garner is by na ture an eternal optimist.

He always )yants to believe that a 10-game winding streak is right around the I But this bunch of Tigers is trying his patience and sapping him of optimism. What Garner sees is a team lack-; mg talent and on-field discipline. How's that for a deadly combination? "I don't see quit in this team, but what I do see is the departure from 'the right way to do things," Garner said after a recent loss. "The disci- pline required to play the game isn't "there. "I'm disappointed in the lack of Just plain and simple execution, from 'at-bats, to fielding plays that need to be made, to making your pitches." So let's summerize: The Tigers can't hit, field or pitch.

Is it any wonder their manager is disappointed and depressed? Wouldn't you be, -in his position? Not only is this team closing in on an embarrassing 90-loss season, it has to be hard for Garner to see 'better times in 2002. The Tigers have yet to decide on a budget for next season, or if they ihave, it hasn't been made public. But with attendance off dramatically this season, how can we believe the payroll won't be cut again next year? Owner Mike Hitch looks at this $50-million team and has to figure he can lose 90 games for a lot less money next year. That means a roster full of young, cheap talent, which brings us back to Garner. This was not the scenario he expected when he took the job in -October 1999.

Frankly, Garner was misled by Hitch, who courted the prospective manager by indicating that he would spend to contend. It's not that Garner doesn't think he can manage in a rebuilding situation, it's just that he had quite enough of penny-pinching in Milwaukee, where he suffered through seven straight losing seasons after going 92-70 in his rookie year as a manager in 1992. Garner has been around long enough to realize that a team with a lot of young players won't get to the playoffs. He wants a chance to manage a legitimate contender, something that doesn't figure to happen soon in Detroit. Despite all those losing seasons in Milwaukee, Garner was a hot commodity after the Brewers fired him.

But Garner has to worry that if he puts two more losing seasons on his resume with the Tigers, will teams still be lining up for his services? HERE AND THERE: If the Giants clinch a playoff berth, manager Dusty Baker said he would consider batting Barry Bonds leadoff to give the slugger more at-bats in his quest to break Mark McGwire's home-run record. I'm not sure why, but I want to see Sammy Sosa hit more homers than Bonds. Actually, I'd like to see anyone hit more home runs than Bonds. Former Tiger Chad Curtis likely won't be back with the Rangers next season and said he would be interested in playing in Japan. ni Yankees outfielder Paul O'Neill, 88, is the oldest player to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in the same season.

Retiring Tony Gywnn has expressed interest in the San Diego State coaching job. Know who Orlando Cabrera is? Didn't think so. He plays for the Expos and leads National League shortstops in fielding percentage. The Rangers' Alex Rodriguez is the ninth player in major league history to hit 40 or more homers in four consecutive seasons. jvst asking: Did you ever think the Jay would come when a pair of earrings would be the cause of a near 1 Tbench-clearing brawl? How is it that the Japanese Little League champions are more fundamentally sound than some major league jteams? Even before the birth-certificate flap, didn't it seem that Danny Almonte was just a little too good to be true? Isn't it a prob-.

lem for our local nine that they're in the entertainment business, but they Just aren't entertaining? Good grief Josh Paul? MT. PLEASANT At first, it seemed as if not much had changed about Central Michigan. But the Chippewas' most significant improvement from the off-season eventually became clear with a 42-28 victory Thursday night over Eastern Kentucky at KellyShorts Stadium. The Chippewas have taken the first step in shedding their reputation as a team that can't handle leads or comebacks. TheChippewasoutscoredtheColonels, 23-7, in the second half behind the debut of their no-huddle offense.

Eastern Kentucky scored with 13 seconds to go. "We've been preaching so hard that whatever happens, whether it be the first quarter, second quarter, you finish the game," Central coach Mike DeBord said. "We could be up 21 points or down 21 points, we finish the game and try to win." The Chippewas' no-huddle offense wore down Eastern Kentucky's defense, which played a solid first half and helped the Colonels to a 21-19 halftime lead. But the second half belonged to Central Michigan. Quarterback Derrick Vickers, who completed 7-of-18 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the first, engineered the comeback.

He finished with 195 yards after completing 9-of-11 in the second. "(The no-huddle) really gives our offense the opportunity to make plays," Vickers said. The Chippewas' second-half dominance resulted in 23 unanswered points. Backup halfback Kenan Lawhorne scored on runs of one and two yards and Paul Savich kicked a 45-yard field goal. Tailback Robbie Mixon, their leading rusher with 26 carries for 78 yards, completed Central's scoring with a two-yard TD run.

The second half was a sharp departure from the beginning. The Chippewas trailed by two points at halftime after giving up three rushing touchdowns and 172 yards to tailback C. J. Hudson. The soft rushing defense was a carryover from last season, when Central's rushing defense finished last in the Mid-American Conference.

The bulk of Hudson's yards came on big plays, an 80-yard run 55 seconds into the game and another one with 1:33 left in the first quarter. Hudson finished with 189 yards. yard touchdown run with 9:22 left in the first quarter sent Grand Valley on its way to a school-record 56 first-half points. He finished 18-of-23 for 230 yards. Northern Michigan 27, St Cloud State 24: Dustin Ramoie scored on a 2-yard run with 3:57 left as host Northern rallied from a 21-0 deficit.

Northern Iowa 34, Wayne State 14: Northern iowa scored 24 of its 34 unanswered points in the first quarter after the visiting Warriors took a 7-0 lead when Pierre Brown caught a 28-yard scoring pass from Jason Charron. Nate Collins closed the scoring for Wayne State when he returned a blocked punt 40 yards. Temple 45, Navy 26: Jason McKie ran for 1 23 yards on 1 1 carries and Devin Scott passed for 1 18 for the host Owls. McKie did most of his damage on one play, an 80-yard touchdown burst in the second quarter. Arkansas 14, UNLV 10: Arkansas' Ryan Sorahan completed two fourth-down passes and then hooked up with Richard Smith on a 23-yard play that set up Cedric Cobbs' one-yard run with 1 8 seconds to play.

Notebook: The NCAA has suspended 12 Marshall football players, including an undetermined number of starters, for improperly receiving extra work benefits. Two of them must sit out one game and 1 0 will miss three games. The Herd opens the football season at No. 1 Florida on Saturday. Two men's basketball players also were suspended and will miss 30 percent of the upcoming season.

The penalties will be served immediately while the university appeals. Ashley Martin became the first woman to play and score in a Division I football game Thursday night, kicking three extra points for Jacksonville State against Cumberland. "They did a great job in the second half of taking away our option play," said Eastern Kentucky coach Roy Kidd, who was denied his 300th career win. "We couldn't make any first downs. Our kids got tired.

Our defense just wore down." Contact JEMELE HILL at 313-223-3215 or hillfreepress.com. Toledo 38, Minnesota 7: Chester Taylor rushed for 1 86 yards and scored four touchdowns, leading the host Rockets in their second straight season-opening win over a Big Ten team. Toledo, using a new spread offense, scored the first four times it had the ball. Rutgers 31, Buffalo 15: Dennis Thomas rushed for a career-high 177 yards and scored a touchdown for visiting Rutgers. Buffalo, with an offensive line featuring four players making their first college starts, managed just 1 6 first downs and 235 total yards of offense.

Akron 31, Ohio 29: Zac Derr kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired for host Akron. Derr's field goal capped a 12-play, 55-yard drive as the Zips spoiled the debut of Ohio coach Brian Knorr. Ohio rallied from a nine-point deficit and took a 29-28 lead on Kevin Kerr's 32-yard field goal with 2.45 left. Grand Valley State 56, Minnesota-Crookston 0: Curt Anes ran for the host Lakers' first touchdown, then threw five TD passes to tie a school record. Anes' 32- U-M I Navarre finds confidence in earning job Through Thursday Batting PLAYER 6 AB 26 3B HR RBI BB 50 5B BA Simon 55 160 16 54 12 1 1 19 8 20 2 338 Cedeno 120 483 76 143 13 11 5 45 36 74 10 53-67 .2 Clark 115 3 63 115 26 2 15 71 60 100 2 0-1 .290 Higsinson 118 435 68 124 25 6 12 62 65 49 5 16-26 .285 Halter 106 348 42 97 24 6 9 48 22 81 19 0-3 .279 Fiefc 105 351 59 97 21 1 18 56 31 56 7 0-3 .276 Matiai 107 369 43 101 20 5 7 44 20 47 10 13-16 .274 Easlty 124 475 63 120 21 7 11 55 43 68 12 8-13 .253 Criu 91 350 32 88 25 1 4 40 12 40 14 3-3 .251 Cardona 33 68 6 17 4 0 1 7 1 11 3 .250 Encanution 116 413 52 101 19 7 12 52 25 92 6 9-14 .245 Maaw 66 149 20 35 9 3 4 15 19 26 1 2-2 .235 i-Palrwf 57 216 34 48 11 0 11 40 27 59 0 4-5 .222 Jackson 69 111 IB 24 4 2 2 11 4 22 1 2-3 .216 TOTALS 132 4551 HI 1207 246 53 115 586 384 794 OPR.

132 4566 722 1314 270 37 144 678 459 687111 93-132 .288 Pitching PITCHER Wit 85 IP ER HR BB 50 ERA P.Patttrswi 5 4 52 59') 59 22 20 3 11 25 3.03 Sairtw 2 2 24 3-7 65 53 27 24 8 43 44 3.32 i-Mothltr 0 0 1 1-1 8 6 3 3 0 1 2 338 Pintda 0 0 6 0-0 9Vi 11 4 4 1 6 4 3.86 Warn 10 13 27 16-27 188 189 95 84 16 59 119 4.02 Spark! 9 8 28 14-26 176V 192 94 79 19 50 86 4.03 Lima 4 5 12 6-12 74V, 80 41 39 17 12 27 4.72 Andwon 3 0 52 0-0 48 47 29 26 2 13 42 4.88 Cornojo 3 1 5 2-5 25'fi 33 18 15 3 11 10 533 Holt 7 9 27 8-22 144 187 99 94 19 54 77 5.88 Redman 0 2 2 0-2 9 11 6 6 0 4 4 6.00 Ptrnho 2 3 21 04 34 44 27 23 3 13 17 t.09 -Boriiowkl 0 2 15 04 30 21 21 5 15 30 637 Pettyjohn 0 5 9 3-7 A)'h 55 35 31 6 14 25 639 TOTALS 54 78 60-132 U69'i 1331 730 663 144 461 693 5.10 OPR. 78 54 65 132 1171 1207 611 542 115 384 794 4.14 preparation and knowing what to expect, it's a total different feeling this year. That's going to be one of my assets that work in my favor this season." In the past three weeks, Navarre competed for a starting job for the first time since his sophomore year at Cuda-hy (Wis.) High. Playing poorly is tough, but not playing at all is worse. Every day, his job was on the line.

The pressure wasn't as high as it is in a game, but it was awfully high. That's one reason coach Lloyd Carr likes these competitions it makes inexperienced players deal with pressure. "The competition level is a struggle all in its own, I believe," Navarre said. "Just playing quarterback here is a struggle in itself. That's a mark of a great quarterback that can compete and play well.

Coming in here and competing was a different thing for me. It's From Page ID Maybe Thomas really was unhappy with Navarre and maybe he wasn't, but one thing was clear. Michigan wasn't John Navarre's team then. Now it is. "I'm not saying it's just my team, but you've got to step up and be a leader," said Navarre, who will start Saturday in the season opener against Miami (Ohio).

"The offense is looking to you for all the answers, because you're running the offense, you're running the show. You have to have all the answers. Even if you don't, you've still got to pretend you do." Navarre had enough answers to beat out Spencer Brinton for U-M's starting job this fall. That gives him a legitimacy he didn't have last year. Navarre is starting because he earned it, not because somebody else got hurt.

If any Michigan player is frustrated with Navarre this year, he probably will keep it to himself better than Thomas did. Henson isn't waiting on the sideline this time. Navarre is the man. That doesn't mean he'sthe man for the season, though. Never does.

Brinton and Jermaine Gonzales are still in the mix, and if U-M blows out Miami, both backups probably will take a few snaps. And if they do well, the competition will fester, especially if Navarre struggles. But he doesn't expect to struggle like he did last year. In his last full game, Navarre was 8-for-28 against UCLA, the first big-time team he had faced. In that game, he looked exactly like what he was: a redshirt freshman making his third career start.

"The big surprises were dealing with adversity and changes, defenses doing different things you hadn't seen before," Navarre said. "You've got to rise above that." The UCLA game appeared to have a carryover effect against Illinois the next week. Navarre walked out of the Rose Bowl in tears, and he did not look confident in Champaign. At a press conference Monday, he sounded like a different person. "The feelings of confidence are absolutely much higher," he said.

"I'm not saying I'm overconfiddht, but as far as Savei (28): Anderion 16, Jonti 11, D.Patttrun. SNitoutitf): Sparki, one combined. Complete famci (12): Starki 5, Wentr 4, Lima 2, Holt 05-0ualiti itarti and oamel rtarted. A quality start one in wMtk pitcher allows three earned runs or lexer and ooes at least sin mninjs. i-disaaled Hit Team made me a better quarterback." Vs.

AL Central: 11-40 One-nn lames: 10-17 Vs. AL East: 1113 Eitra Innlnjs: 3-7 Vs. AL West: 15-17 2001 record: 54-71 Vs. HI: 10-8 2O00 record: 66-66 Vs. rieMT starters: 39-52 2001 attendance: 1,650327 Vs.

letri starters: 15-26 2000 attendance: 2,176,674 On onm fields: 52-71 2001 attendance 124,269 BnaWiticHltiirf: 2-7 2000 attendance 32,018 He hopes to prove it, starting Saturday. Contact MICHAEL ROSENBERG at 313-222-6052 or rosen Contact GENE GUIDI at 313-222-2378 or I guidifreepress.coiu.