2020-02-10 by The Michigan Daily

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Monday, February 10, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Deliverance

SPORTSMONDAY

Isaiah Livers returns and helps lead Michigan to a potentially seasonchanging win over Michigan State

» Page 1B

AAPD Chief Michael Cox placed on leave for two weeks City administrator: department head sidelined, acting chief will fill role CLAIRE HAO

Daily News Editor

PENNY LAM/Daily State Director Michael Kurtz speaks at presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s Ann Arbor office opening Saturday afternoon.

Bloomberg 2020 campaign opens downtown Ann Arbor headquarters Dhani Jones, former U-M football player, endorses presidential candidate JULIA FORREST & EMMA RUBERG Daily Staff Reporters

About 100 people dressed in campaign shirts, pins and various accessories gathered into 217 S. Fourth Ave. on Saturday to support Michael Bloomberg, Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor.

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s campaign opened an office in Ann Arbor this weekend, bringing together students and community members to support his candidacy and hear from Dhani Jones, former University of Michigan threetime All-Big Ten linebacker, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.

ACADEMICS

Graduate school hosts educational conference Panel examines future of higher education at day-long symposium VARSHA VEDAPUDI Daily Staff Reporter

Approximately 100 community members attended a panel hosted by Rackham Graduate School titled “Adapting to Change and Maintaining Excellence” as part of an all-day faculty symposium on advancing graduate education Friday morning. The discussion was moderated by Earl Lewis, professor of history, Afroamerican and African studies and public policy as well as the founding director of the University of Michigan Center for Social Solutions, and featured academic leaders from different institutions in the nation. The panel discussed topics such as diversity during business recruiting, incentives to keep graduate students in academia and how to predict student success. Robin Garrell, chemistry professor at the University of California Los Angeles, discussed how her institution’s faculty members seek to minimize risk while recruiting graduate students.

About 100 people dressed in campaign shirts, pins and various accessories gathered into 217 S. Fourth Ave. on Saturday to support Bloomberg, a billionaire and former New York City mayor. The event started with remarks from Michael Kurtz, Bloomberg’s state director, who spoke about the campaign’s efforts to organize throughout the state,

including here in Ann Arbor. “What we’re doing in this state is we are organizing it every quarter, we’re not going to concede one inch to Donald Trump,” Kurtz said. “We are building momentum. You see the turnout today. We are building this campaign and there is real momentum on the ground.” See BLOOMBERG, Page 2A

Michael Cox, police chief of the Ann Arbor Police Department, has been placed on paid administrative leave for two weeks, according to an email from City Administrator Howard sent on Friday afternoon. The email was addressed to the mayor, members of City Council and Lisa Jackson, the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission chair. “I am writing to inform you that I have placed Police Chief Cox on Administrative Leave due to a personnel matter,” Lazarus wrote. “Deputy Chief Forsberg will serve as the Acting Chief.” Deputy Chief Jason Forsberg will assume Cox’s duties while Cox is on leave. Forsberg was one of three finalists who interviewed for the police chief position over the summer.

County prosecutor candidates discuss criminal justice system Hugo Mack, Eli Savit, Arianne Slay vie for voters’ support at town hall SARAH PAYNE For the Daily

Three candidates for Washtenaw County prosecutor spoke to a group of about 60 community members regarding the upcoming election for county prosecutor at the Arrowwood Community Center in Ann Arbor on Sunday afternoon. Arrowwood Democratic Party hosted the event, which was moderated by Ann Arbor City Councilmembers Anne Bannister, D-Ward 1, and Jeff Hayner, D-Ward 1. The candidates — Arianne Slay, Hugo Mack and Eli Savit —

emphasized a need for change to the current local prosecution system and proposed unique plans to solve criminal justice problems facing Washtenaw County. Slay spoke first about her platform, arguing that Washtenaw County is at a crucial moment and underscoring the need to reform the criminal justice system. “The criminal justice system of Washtenaw County is at a point of catastrophic institutional failure,” Slay said. “And that’s a big statement. We have policies in place in our current administration at the

prosecutor’s office that have reinforced these institutional harms. We have a lack of flexibility, we have a lack of looking at our community in the same respect that we have not just humans on the prosecution side with our victims but we have humans on the other side, we have lost compassion and empathy and I will bring that change back.” Slay asked attendees to back her campaign, emphasizing the changes she would implement if elected. “I’m not just asking for your support today, I’m asking for your support indefinitely to be committed to this cause and

please, by all stretches of the imagination, vote,” Slay said. Hugo Mack, a defense attorney based in Ypsilanti, then discussed what he hopes to bring as Washtenaw County’s next prosecutor. “I am a law enforcement officer; I make law enforcement first, and reform second,” Mack said. “And if that costs me the election then so be it, but know where I’m coming from. I believe that incarceration should be the final option, not the first choice.”

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Monday, February 10, 2020 — 3A

Coronavirus Epidemic: a Conundrum on Chinese Imperialism and Xenophobia SAMUEL SO MiC Contributor

News Flash! You can criticize the Chinese Communist government and the Chinese imperialism sympathizers for the coronavirus epidemic while standing against racism and xenophobia, as you should. For the past month, Asians in the diaspora have been speaking up against racism and xenophobia they have encountered because of the coronavirus epidemic. The narrative that Asian folx are dirty and diseased based on the fact that coronavirus started in China skews the perception of Asians in the public eye. For example, the UC-Berkeley health center received backlash by saying that “recognizing any of [the xenophobic actions] can be normal reactions.” Yesterday, a man in Chinatown in Sydney suffered from a heart attack and people were scared to give CPR because of the fear of the epidemic. Many insensitive memes about the epidemic and negative connotation of Asians have also surfaced on the internet and around our communities in the U.S. lately. In reality, if you are currently living in the U.S. and have not been to China for the past month, you are more likely to catch the f lu and die from it than the coronavirus. On the other hand, leftists on social media, specifically the tankies, have criticized the racialization and are also so quick to draw conclusions that it is western propaganda to report the epidemic in a way that vilifies the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government. Whenever any political issue involving the United States and China relations comes up, it is exhausting to see that a lot of diasporic Asian folx in “leftist spaces” have such a U.S.-centric understanding of the imperial power in the 21st century. I always have to let you gaslight my lived experiences as a Hongkonger before I

can chip in my two cents to debunk your fake-wokeness on China. The PRC government doesn’t actually care about the well-being of its everyday citizens, it only cares about economic stability so that the ones who hold political and economic power in China can harvest their fruits of social capitalism in the name of being “communist.” Let me be clear here, we should stand against all forms of racism and xenophobia and we will continue to do so while living under oppressive structures upheld by white supremacy. Criticism of the crisis control on the PRC government’s end does not make it acceptable at all for anyone to make microaggressive jokes about the epidemic or make hateful comments about any Asian people. This is not only extremely disrespectful to patients, everyday citizens and clinical staff who are suffering from the epidemic in Asia, but it also feeds into the racist narrative that people of color are dirty and diseased. In short, people who care about social issues should start having more intuitive thoughts and discussions about the root causes of these problems and how countries use borders as a colonial construct to impose their nationalist agendas in the 21st century. I am writing from the perspective that I have witnessed fear from the epidemic and government mishandling in the last few days of my winter break in Hong Kong and have close friends and family back home who are terrified. It is important to recognize that I am NOT analyzing from a diasporic lens. Today, China is not a developing country, it is an imperial power, actively commiting genocide and colonizing Lands in Tibet, “Xinjiang,” Sri Lanka and countries in Africa. Since the Great Leap Forward and economic reform in 1978, the class barriers and wealth disparity we all witness in the capitalist countries like the U.S. can also be seen in mainland China under social capitalism.

Photo from MACAU PHOTO AGENCY/Unsplash

It is dangerous to think in a binary sense that standing against U.S. imperialism is to deny Han Chinese imperialism, when in fact they are mutually exclusive. It is reasonable to critique the lack of health measures and policies in any fascist, imperial country. Here are some puzzle pieces I have gathered of this epidemic: During 2003, the PRC government covered up the SARS epidemic, until it spread across Hong Kong, leading to 286 deaths confirmed in Hong Kong alone. The SARS virus is fundamentally the same as the coronavirus in terms of its root causes and biostructure. It is reasonable for the PRC government to take the SARS epidemic as a lesson to take more preventative actions. However, PRC covered up data and figures of coronavirus for at least two weeks before it realized the escalation and eventually declared emergency. While food culture and habits should not be mocked or racialized, research has proven that both the 2003 SARS epidemic and coronavirus potentially stemmed from the wildlife markets. Medical researchers around the world have warned China to stay alert when consuming wildlife during the aftermath

of the SARS epidemic and to establish heavier health measures and legal actions on endangered animals. Despite having Wildlife Protection Law in place since 1988 and last amended in 2003, many loopholes exist, leading to failure in actual implementations. A few days before China declared an emergency in Wuhan, 8 people on the Weibo blog posted about the urgency and escalation of the coronavirus. Not only did the local district government not act upon it, but they also arrested them for “misinformation,” potentially destabilizing the state, when they were telling the truth. These 8 people are still jailed at this moment. Additionally, a self-proclaimed Wuhan citizen has publicly expressed fear over the lockdown and anger towards the PRC government recently in a video. Contrary to many news sources stating that the first case of coronavirus was confirmed on December 31st in Wuhan, recent medical research from the medical school at the University of New England has shown that the earliest signs of human transmitted coronavirus can be traced back to mid-December. Due to increased tension between Taiwan and PRC,

China has prevented Taiwan’s involvement in the World’s Health Organization including the international emergency implementation against the coronavirus epidemic. Since the geographic distance between China and Taiwan is so close, this deeply impacts Taiwan, as they do not receive information from WHO in a timely matter or have any say within WHO. China also has close ties with WHO. Diplomatic sources in Geneva criticized the late declaration for an emergency, suspecting that the close ties between China and the UN lead to biases and questionable credibility of WHO. Since hospitals in China are mostly occupied, high-speed rail border entry increased by 40% in Hong Kong last Monday. Many rushed to Hong Kong last week to seek treatment when most hospitals in Hong Kong were already overcrowded by an average of 113% in the first place, having huge health and fire hazards. Clinical staff in HK were so frustrated that 3600 clinical staff are unionizing and planning to go on strike. Chief executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, described the medical staff strikers as “using extreme means to beleaguer Hospital Authority.” HKU medical school has

successfully developed a coronavirus preliminary vaccine, but the Hong Kong government decided to withdraw $250M of research funding for HKU medical teaching facilities due to the Hong Kong protests. Public hospital staff has not received any overtime compensation working overtime in highstress environments either. To give you a comparison, Hong Kong police, infamous for its brutality for the past 7 months in Hong Kong protests, has just received $950M of funding from the Hong Kong government for overtime compensation last month. To reiterate, speaking on the PRC government’s failure on health measures doesn’t mean it’s okay for anyone to make fun of this epidemic, but rather get everyone to think more critically of the root cause and what is actually happening here. You can be critical of a government without being racist or xenophobic. It is unproductive to twist criticisms as U.S. propaganda. In fact, while we are criticizing the health measures from this epidemic, let’s also have discussions on the U.S.’s poor public health implementation as well, especially when 34,200 Americans died during f lu season last winter. Comparatively, measles is one of the most common viral infections in the U.S. since the 1900s largely affects patients who are not vaccinated. Let’s start having conversations about what kind of global changes in public health we should be implementing as we carry hope for our future generations. If health crises aren’t thrown onto a political playground by imperial regimes, we can be way more productive with healthcare systems and more cognizant with epidemics. And to white people in the west, next time you joke about having coronavirus when you cough without covering your mouth, consider asking yourself if you have gotten your f lu shot yet this year.

Beyond the ‘Most Searched’ CAMILLE MOORE MiC “Off the Record” Blogger

During the television airing of the 2020 Grammy Awards Ceremony, Google released its new Black History Month advertisement. The 1-minute commercial titled, “The Most Searched: A Celebration of Black History Makers” demonstrates the amazing feats Black people have accomplished throughout history based on how many people have looked them up on the search engine. The Civil Rights Movement holds the spot of the “most searched movement,” Maya Angelou is the “most searched female poet,” and so on. I personally enjoyed the video. It reinforces the fact that Black people have been

vital to American culture and history since the creation of our country. It is a small but powerful way of getting the recognition we, as a community, deserve. However, it had me and other Black folks wondering about the integrity of companies who use Black History Month as a marketing tool. This isn’t a new suspicion. People are often wary of the motivations of companies who use Black History Month and Pride Month to appeal to those communities and sell them products. This is because once the month is over, the support is wiped away along with the exclusive merchandise that comes along with it. While it is nice that big companies like Google celebrate Black culture, they are not

successful in supporting their Black employees. In 2018, Black people made up a disappointing 4.8% of Google’s workforce, while the population of Black people in the United States is 13%. In addition, multiple former Google employees have released memos expressing the hardships they faced while working there. One former employee has even said they, “never stopped feeling the burden of being Black at Google.” This situation opens up a major conversation about companies, institutions and people adoring Black culture while neglecting and marginalizing Black people. Black History Month is important, no one is denying that. Year after year, people take the time during Black History Month to look further than the prominent figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., uplifting Black people from our past that have done great things to make a better future. It’s a time of ref lection and celebration. Further, there are calls for Google to include “the good

Photo from GOOGLE

and the bad” experiences of being Black in America. While many Black people excel in their respected fields, this does not mean that the racism, discrimination and violence our group faces has magically disappeared. While we celebrate the greats, we need to acknowledge that there are systemic disadvantages Black people face that stop them from being able to become the next great judge or heart surgeon. But Black people deserve more. We deserve to be hired at companies that are making strides to be anti-racist and have equitable hiring practices

that eliminate racial biases in the employment process. We deserve to be present and represented in history books but also lecture in classrooms, in front of and behind the camera, serve on city councils, and act as CEO at our dream jobs. We are more than the

entertainment, scientific advancements and political quotes we give to the world. So this Black History Month, if you plan on creating an advertisement, program or event celebrating Black culture, make sure you move beyond that and uplift Black people too.

Opinion

4A — Monday, February 10, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

KEITH JOHNSTONE | COLUMN

Trump’s two worst enemies you’ve never heard of

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ALLISON PUJOL | COLUMN

Waiting outside the golden door

oet Emma Lazarus’s words displayed on the Statue of Liberty will likely be remembered for decades to come. The text of her poem “The New Colossus,” which experts have praised for both its poise and defiance, ends with an iconic, powerful call to action: “ ‘Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’ ” While speaking to NPR’s Morning Edition to announce a new immigration regulation, Ken Cuccinelli, acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), suggested in a smirking aside to “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.” “No one has a right to become an American who isn’t born here as an American,” said Cuccinelli, director of the agency primarily responsible for immigration and citizenship applications in the United States. Many in immigration policy circles have been attentive to the recent Supreme Court ruling about Cuccinelli’s proposed public charge rule that has restricted legal immigration in the U.S. Put simply, the “public charge” rule renders an individual ineligible for permanent legal residence status (also known as a “green card” or LPR) if they receive in-kind (i.e., non-cash) government assistance such as Medicaid, housing vouchers or food stamps. For some, perhaps the logic seems intuitive enough: Given that government assistance is funded by taxpayers, the cost of thousands of immigrants qualifying and receiving welfare every year would be enormous for U.S. citizens. (Please do note that non-citizens also do pay taxes, and that is often a condition to receive LPR).

The reality is that there are already fairly restrictive guidelines in place that determine who can and cannot obtain legal permanent residence in the U.S. To have a decent chance at legal permanent residency, immigrants need to produce an affidavit of support that indicates they or a close relative who is already a citizen earns a steady, substantial income. And that’s just one example — there are many biometric screening procedures in place to confirm that immigrants or their families are considered adequate for legal permanent residence.

Many immigrants come to the U.S. in search of better employment.

Now, under the new public charge regulation, an immigrant who has received assistance within 36 months (three years) of applying for legal permanent residence or seems “likely” to receive assistance at some point in the future will be ineligible. For example, a single mother who receives government benefits while she searches for employment in the U.S., secures a job and then applies for legal permanent residence would be ineligible even if she or her children never received government assistance ever again. Many supporters of the new regulation insist that the regulation is only an extension of prior policy. Prior to the new USCIS regulation, immigration officials did not typically enforce the public charge rule as it was difficult to assess what

it meant for somebody to be “likely” to receive assistance and the rule seemed fairly counter-intuitive. After all, many immigrants come to the U.S. in search of better employment, housing or education opportunities than in their home countries. Some immigrants who flee the social or political conditions in their home countries may be unable to take forms of material wealth with them into the U.S., and it’s unreasonable to assume that everyone should have the means to make it in America immediately upon arriving. It is also worth noting that over-arching regulations and bans are unprecedented in American immigration law. Both President Jimmy Carter’s Iran order and President Ronald Reagan’s Cuba proclamation, which invoked the need for a national securitybased limit on immigration visas, adopted a case-by-case approach. In the dissenting opinion in Trump v. Hawaii, Justice Stephen Breyer pondered, “... if those two Presidents thought a case-by-case exemption system appropriate, what is different about present circumstances that would justify that system’s absence?” It is important to call out the new regulation for exactly what it is. The new public charge rule sends the message that immigrants are only welcome if they can come to the U.S. with substantial means and resources, which is both disconnected from reality and socially irresponsible. Public health experts are also worried that the new rule won’t limit immigration flows into the U.S. but rather convince immigrants to stop seeking healthcare through Medicaid or other public health benefits.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com Allison Pujol can be reached at ampmich@umich.edu.

KEVIN MOORE JR. | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT KEVINJR@UMICH.EDU

n Sept. 24, 2019, Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press conference launching the official impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. That day, she introduced America to the six-headed monster of committee chairmen who were investigating Trump. If you pay attention to politics, you probably know U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Maxine Waters, D-Calif. and the late Elijah Cummings, D-Md. Each has become famous via their frequent appearances on cable news or viral clips berating cabinet secretaries — or, in the case of Nadler, buckets of fried chicken. However, unless you’re from the East Coast or pay too much attention to politics, you probably did not recognize the chairmen of the Congressional Ways and Means Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee. The two men, Reps. Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., have planted several landmines just waiting to explode on Trump. Neal, a grown man who goes by “Richie,” has spent his entire career devoted to budgetary and economic issues. His record is an economic policy treasure trove, focused on simplifying the tax code, repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax and supporting lower trade barriers. He operated in Washington under the radar for years until he came to prominence in 2007 when he clashed with another prominent policymaker, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., over the Alternative Minimum Tax. While Neal’s bill eventually lost out, his new notoriety in policy circles allowed him to chair the Ways and Means subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures the following year. He then became the ranking member of Ways and Means in 2017, once again sparring with Ryan through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — another fight he ultimately lost. However, he got the ultimate win over Ryan by becoming the chairman of Ways and Means when Ryan left office. Though he has been quiet, preferring to operate out of the public eye, Neal has had a busy year. First, he and the committee built a comprehensive legal argument for

subpoenaing Trump’s tax returns and he is now the lead plaintiff in a court fight over that subpoena. Soon after he became one of the leading Democrats on the President’s NAFTA 2.0 trade agreement, also known as the United States-MexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA). In his spare time, Neal has been chairing the Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation and trying to pass Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s prescription drug bill. Such a large profile prompts one question: How is he doing? The answer: Not bad, but there are still some big issues on the table. The USMCA passed both chambers, the Joint Committee released a large-scale report earlier this week and the tax returns case is working its way through the federal court system. However, the USMCA contained lower labor standards than Neal initially set out for, the prescription drug bill has stalled and he still hasn’t received those tax returns. Putting his mixed record aside, though, Neal could be easily described as Democrats’ largest domestic policy asset, and with China’s “Phase 1” trade deal coming to the House floor, this might not be the last time you hear about him. In contrast to the rank-and-file Neal, Engel, whose mustache might be more prominent than the man it’s attached to, has been one of the few members of Congress whose career has been defined by bipartisan compromises. First elected in 1988 based on his progressive idealism, Engel was an early proponent of single-payer healthcare, paid family leave and an assault weapons ban. However, Engel’s career path was altered forever when he fell in love with foreign policy in 1996. He came to prominence in Washington as the leader of a bipartisan group criticizing the Clinton administration’s noninterventionism in the Kosovo genocide. In fact, he became so intertwined with justice for the small nation that a street in its capital is named after him. This trend of criticizing presidents from both sides of the aisle contributed to his credibility in Washington’s foreign policy circles as a principled member. This was especially reflected in 2015 when

Engel vocally opposed the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal. As the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Engel has led bipartisan trips abroad that tour everything from war zones to the Munich Security Conference, which grants him significant goodwill on both sides of the aisle. Recognizing his bipartisan history, House Republicans were not upset with Engel’s appointment to the Foreign Affairs chairmanship after the 2018 midterms. The Trump administration’s plethora of foreign policy blunders have kept Engel busy over the past year, but none more than the Ukraine scandal. This scandal and subsequent impeachment saga threatened to put Engel on center stage, with his committee being one of the three allowed to attend closed-door depositions. When the televised impeachment hearings were looming, Engel was faced with a decision: go on the cable news circuit or forego the spotlight. He quickly chose the latter and allowed Schiff and Nadler to be mocked nightly by journalistic paragons like Greg Gutfeld, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. In the following weeks, the news cycle churned on and Engel returned to his largely thankless day job of having his subpoenas ignored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. However, with about 10 months until election day and countless foreign policy decisions, from Russia to Iran to whatever Jared Kushner is doing, this is likely not the last you will hear of Engel, either. Simply put, both Neal and Engel have consciously avoided the gaze of the general public, preferring to silently lay traps for Trump using their high offices and large portfolios. When the administration inevitably encounters one of these traps — my bet is Neal’s tax return subpoena or Engel’s Ukraine revelations — they will find a foe with tremendous respect and without a demeaning nickname bestowed by Fox News or Trump’s Twitter feed. That is the point. Keith Johnstone can be reached at keithja@umich.edu.

NOAH ENTE | COLUMN

Palestine’s missed opportunity

ast week, President Donald Trump released his much-anticipated and self-titled “Deal of the Century,” the administration’s framework to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. With the deal finally published in detail, a wide spectrum of responses arose into the discourse. Overall, there appeared to be approval from Israel’s government, led (for now) by Trump confidant and veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with mixed reviews from the American public and the American Jewish community. There were also expected responses of disapproval and rejection by Palestinians, among whom Mahmoud Abbas — president of the Palestinian National Authority — stood out with his declaration of “a thousand no’s.” The use of the term “Arab-Israeli conflict” to refer to the tension that has lasted — in one way or another — for over a century, is purposeful. Arab states and their leaders have always played a significant role in shaping the course of the conflict throughout the decades. Such examples include former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s casus belli that set both the consequential 1967 Six-Day War into motion and the 2002 Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative that conditioned the establishment of formal ties between Israel and Arab states on the premise that Israel withdraw to the 1949 armistice lines, or as they have often been called, the “1967 Lines.” It is clear that the position taken by Arab leaders has proved influential in determining much of the discourse surrounding the conflict, if not the facts on the ground themselves. With such context in mind, the response of many important Arab figures to the release of the Trump plan is quite notable. On Jan. 28, when the details of the plan were put out in full, dignitaries from many Arab countries either came to Washington to show support for the deal or released statements encouraging the diplomatic efforts and urging acceptance of the plan as a basis for ongoing talks. Such countries include Bahrain, Oman,

the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Their support for the plan as a start to future negotiations, and even support for the plan itself, is telling because it reveals the beginnings of a shift in the attitude of the Arab world towards the plight of Palestinian nationalism. With each solution that has been proposed for resolving the ArabIsraeli conflict, those who now identify themselves as Palestinians have received a less generous offer. Indeed, even plans for peace during the British Mandate period were almost completely sympathetic to Arab desires. The 1947 United Nations partition plan, the design of which gave Arabs much of the agriculturally viable and historically meaningful land and gave Jews the desert for most of their territory, was quickly accepted by then-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion (whose partner, would-be Israeli President Chaim Weizmann, would have accepted much less) and the Jewish Yishuv, and so the formal framework for Israel’s establishment was advanced. Even after the existence of Israel was solidified through law and survival from multiple wars of attempted annihilation, rejections continued, leaving Palestinians without a state as a result of their inflexible demands. Negotiations from the 1990s until 2000 led by former President Bill Clinton were known to have stalled due to Yasser Arafat’s unwillingness to budge, and Clinton himself has blamed the Palestinian leader for dooming peace prospects at the Camp David summit. Even with all parties under new leadership in 2008, with a surprisingly generous proposal that included Israel ceding its claim to a united capital in Jerusalem in favor of establishing it as international territory, met Palestinian rejection. The pattern can be seen here, clear as day. To paraphrase Israeli diplomat and U.N. Ambassador Abba Eban, the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” It is important to know and recognize this history when

evaluating the offer the Palestinians currently find in front of them. Yes, it is significantly less sympathetic to their demands and desires compared to previous proposals, and addresses Israeli concerns prominently. However, if Abbas and the rest of the Palestinian leadership find the “Deal of the Century” to be unacceptable, they have only their predecessors and themselves to blame. They repeatedly refused compromise and even a small waiting period to receive everything they desired, and now question how they find themselves in such a predicament. The reactions by many Arab states to the release of a peace plan generally understood to be favorable to Israel reveal that their leaders, to some degree, also acknowledge the true history of Arab-Israeli negotiations. They are at least subtly calling on the Palestinians to finally accept something after over a century of dispute that they have perpetuated through stubbornness, delusion and often ill will. Many Israelis, Palestinians and their supporters all have varying gripes with the terms of the Trump plan or the future it may lay out. Yet if the Palestinian leadership has learned anything from past or current patterns of the conflict, and truly wants to accomplish something rather than simply seeking victimhood, representatives should at least come to the negotiating table and civilly voice their concerns. After Abbas’s boycott of the Trump administration following its recognition of the basic fact that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and the subsequent relocation of the U.S. Embassy, they have no right to complain about not influencing the original formation of the plan. If they seek to have any control over their future, Abbas must swallow his pride and come prepared to talk. If not, Palestinians will continue to have only their own leaders to blame for their current plight. Noah Ente can be reached at noahente@umich.edu.

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Monday, February 10, 2020 — 5A

Swimming in ‘Circles’: On Mac ’s posthumous release DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer

I didn’t know who Mac Miller was until he died. I knew he dated Ariana Grande. I knew he wrote a song about that one guy who hosted NBC’s “The Apprentice.” I knew I didn’t like Blue Slide Park when it came out. These were my thoughts as I read “RIP MAC MILLER” from a slab of ply-wood leaning on a frat house on my way back from a football game on Sept. 8, 2018. I didn’t have many more thoughts until later that night when I first listened to Swimming. I sat in my dorm room with the lights off and played it once all the way though, sorting its highlights like “Ladders” and “What’s the Use” into various playlists. I hadn’t listened to an album that captured depression quite like it, and I wished I could’ve heard it at least once before Mac’s passing. The wounded album trailed Mac’s shattered interiority following a career grounded in a seemingly high-spirited, humorous demeanor. His struggle with drug addiction and depression weren’t new topics as much as they were pillars to a notoriously fun discography. Take “Rain” from Faces: “That’s a f lex though, cover up the issues that I kept close / Sober I can’t deal, I’m in the corner with my head low / Runnin’ from my shadow, never

ending chase / Ease the pain and the battle that’s within me / Sniff the same shit that got Whitney, the high heel depression / My temple feel the metal comin’ out the Smith & Wesson, bang / Say a prayer, leave my brains on the tile f loor.” Swimming amalgamated these themes and the emotions

Circles Mac Miller Warner Records

that easily hovered under the radar and slipped past the media’s gaze. Whereas The Divine Feminine is an ode to love and togetherness, Swimming is lonesome. Swimming is stopping to catch your breath after a long jog. Mac struggled to stay af loat amid a livelihood accustomed to the support of others. Whereas sonic soulmate Ariana Grande seemingly moved on romantically with ease, Mac was emotionally and mentally stagnant. Circles is an album designed

in the same mindset of its sister Swimming. Envisioned alongside another concept album that never came to fruition (Oblivion), Circles was left nearly complete when Mac died. The early versions of the album were worked through Mac and producer Jon Brion, who took the initiative of finishing the album following Mac’s passing. “This is a complicated process that has no right answer. No clear path,” Mac’s family wrote in an Instagram post. “We simply know that it was important to Malcolm for the world to hear it.” Circles was developed to loop back to Swimming. This idea harkens back to Swimming’s closer “So it Goes,” an eerie reference to death in Kurt Vonnegut’s “SlaughterhouseFive.” “My god, it go on and on,” he raps. “Just like a circle, I go back to where I’m from.” Both albums are centered on depression and its ensuing anxieties, but Circles is a lot more optimistic, more willing to wait out the storm. On Swimming track “Come Back to Earth,” Mac raps “I just need a way out of my head / I’ll do anything for a way out of my head.” Circles responds to this predicament across multiple songs. He is “spring cleaning” in plucked single “Good News” and recognizes that “(it) is getting pretty cluttered” and hard to “clean up” the mess he’s made in his head on “Complicated.” Mac tries to clean up a lot on Circles,

ALBUM REVIEW

WARNER RECORDS

whether it be his head or his public image. Circles depicts Mac as lonely, but still alongside others. He isn’t afraid to question his capacity for love on “Woods.” Produced by longtime collaborator E. Dan, Mac questions his own emotions following a rift in a relationship. “Do I, do I, do I love?,” he sings in the chorus. Mac does rap on songs like “Hand Me Downs” but the aura is loose and contemplative. With Baro as the album’s only feature in the chorus, Mac envisions a future alongside a family: “You remind me / Shit, I need to stay in line / You damn well are a great design,” Baro croons. “You, despite being an only child / Say you need more of a family ‘round / Let’s turn these genes into hand me downs.” Thematically and sonically, Circles is his most naked release. The album never breaks out into traditional rap with the exception of “Hands,” a song about negative self-destructive behaviors in

Cage enlivens otherwise drab ‘Color Out of Space’ ANDREW WARRICK Daily Arts Writer

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‘Briarpatch’ is a breath of fresh air for neo-noir genre Daily Arts Writer

“Briarpatch” opens on a 99-degree morning in San Bonifacio, Texas. A landlady, who is also a police detective, exits her apartment to inquire about the rent from a standoffish upstairs tenant. She gets into her cruiser to leave for work and is promptly killed in a carbomb explosion. From its opening moments, “Briarpatch” presents itself as a trope-subverting, expectationdestroying amendment to the neonoir genre. Following the disturbing explosion sequence, “Briarpatch” introduces its reluctant heroine Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson, “Luke Cage”) who returns to the small Texas town to mourn her sister, the murdered detective. Allegra sweeps into San Bonifacio, a chaotic town plagued by corruption and a recent zoo animal breakout, with a cool exterior entirely at odds with the heat and confusion of her surroundings. As Allegra digs into the circumstances of her sister’s killing, her career as a private investigator for a Senate sub-committee interferes. She is soon asked by her employers to depose an old friend Jake Spivey (Jay R. Ferguson, “Mad Men”) about his role in an organized crime network surrounding an elusive fugitive, Clyde Brattle.

about the future / First, can I please get through a day?” a reprise to the first verse: “Some people say they want to live forever / That’s way too long, I’ll just get through today.” Circles was a surreal release for me; I never expected myself to know the anticipation of waiting for a Mac Miller album. The circumstances were completely different, but Circles looped me back to my discovery of Swimming. I knew a lot more about Mac this time around, and I knew that this album would resonate with me, something I hadn’t expected from Swimming. Circles, as anguished and tired as it is, is a comfortably ephemeral closing to Mac Miller and the legacy he left behind. This album takes us back to the heartbreak of Swimming; we’ll never know how Mac would’ve progressed beyond this point. The one thing I do know is that there couldn’t have been a better musical send off to Mac than an album that epilogues his spirit and style the way this one does.

FILM REVIEW

TV REVIEW

ANYA SOLLER

the sound and style of Faces. Despite Jon Brion finishing much of the production for Circles, the aesthetic is very Mac. The lo-fi beats and soulful, jazzy glimmers gather the same energy as Mac’s Space Migration Tour with The Internet in 2013. Circles is iridescent. With a hypnotic grip on elements from Mac’s everevolving music style, it grooves as easily as a traditional Mac album. Whether it be Mac laying in his grave in his final music video “Self Care,” the eerily fated prediction to “join the 27 club” on “God Speed” or his posting “So it Goes” as his last Instagram story, the writing on the wall and fatalistic undertones grip you. This is not the case with Circles. Mac’s exhaustion coats every lyric but with a subtle, gentle hope. Whereas Swimming considers living in the long term, Circles takes itself one day at a time. I think a lot back to the moment in “Complicated,” where Mac sings, “‘Fore I start to think

Allegra, compelled by her work and complicated feelings for her late sister, has no choice but to immerse herself back into the town she left 12 years earlier, after a mysterious accident that killed her parents. Soon injured in another car-bomb explosion, Allegra and her stoic composure begin to unravel as she delves deeper into San Bonifacio’s bizarre world of lies and corruption.

Briarpatch Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2 USA Network Thursdays @ 10 p.m.

“Briarpatch,” based off the novel of the same name, seeks to separate itself from other works of the neo-noir genre and present a unique response to tired tropes in TV crime drama. Dawson shines as the guarded and self-assured Allegra. Confident and unflinching, her character takes the “hardened private investigator” role to new territory, especially with her status as a woman of color in a mainly

white, Southern town. In one scene, Allegra interrogates a police beat reporter (John Aylward, “ER”) over dinner at the local press club. Upon seeing her charm the Latino wait staff, he remarks, “How come they treat you like white man?” By acknowledging the racist past of its setting and genre, “Briarpatch” again subverts viewer expectations and skillfully places power back into Allegra’s hands as a competent and talented protagonist. Part Southern Gothic and part surreal, the visuals of “Briarpatch” reinforce its impact on audiences. The show weaves the worlds of the ultra-wealthy and impoverished seamlessly into its backdrop to create an unmistakably American setting. With the added pressures of political and economic factors, Allegra’s journey to avenge her sister works as a representation of how difficult navigating the country’s moral climate can be. “Briarpatch” knows exactly what it is and what it wants to be. With this self-awareness in mind, the show near-flawlessly resurrects the noir genre with equals parts grit and levity. The solid cast and compelling writing hold up an already intriguing premise and bring life to a world simultaneously real and fantastical. If the beginning of “Briarpatch” is any indication, the show will continue to captivate its audience with its gorgeous conspiracies and abundance of zoo animals.

“West of Arkham the hills rise wild,” begins H.P. Lovecraft’s famous short story “Color Out of Space” and the 2020 film adaptation of the same name. The movie starts off with the story’s entrancing opening passage in which its main character, a water surveyor, details a particularly creepy woodland in Massachusetts. The new film sets this monologue to shots of a dark, nearly otherworldly forest which seems almost normal, if not for certain patches of strange trees and some deep shadows. This scene captures what makes Lovecraft’s work so haunting. His terrors typically remain unseen, but are always felt, lurking in the dark. The movie departs from all of this pretty quickly. From the second scene on, “Color Out of Space” becomes a mess. Essentially, the story is this: a meteorite lands on a family’s farm and carries with it a life force that mutates the flora and fauna around it and grows like a cancer. While this sounds like an intriguing premise (and makes for an amazing short story), the movie wastes it. Highbrow, literary sci-fi horror is shredded into B-movie carnage and camp. Basically, it’s as if the team behind “The Room” made “Annihilation.” The dialogue is atrocious, the characters and

their decisions are nonsensical and, along with some terrible CGI, frequently threaten to derail the entire movie. Yet Nicholas Cage (“Mandy”), who plays the father, does what he does best and raises this seemingly destined-to-be forgotten schlock to another sublime level. He gives the most Nicholas Cage performance possible, filling every one of his scenes with (often unintentional) hilarity. His wild-eyed, screaming,

Color Out of Space The State Theatre RJLE Films

lisping, expletive-hurling, alpacamilking persona is so extreme that it will live in one’s brain long after the plot and all its details have disappeared. Sadly, however, when Cage isn’t on screen, no one else can carry his manic weight. The scenes without Nicholas Cage in “Color Out of Space” mostly drag, with characters exchanging abysmal dialogue and making exaggerated

facial expressions to match. The screenwriters also must have determined that a modern audience would have difficulty following the relatively simple story, so multiple characters spell out what exactly is happening multiple times, draining the situation of any kind of Lovecraftian mystery. Even if certain images still retain some shocking, cosmic horror, they’re frequently deflated by overused CGI and bad acting. When a hippie character played by Tommy Chong (“Cheech and Chong”) tells another character in painstaking detail what the alien inside the meteorite is doing, one can almost feel Lovecraft turning in his grave. Yet somehow, again and again, Nicholas Cage shows up to remind us to keep watching. His insanity frequently and impossibly eclipses itself in each progressive scene. He seems to be in an entirely different film, though what kind is impossible to tell. His personas change on a dime, and he flits between conserative farmer, drunken dope, psycho murderer and tragic hero over the course of the story. If anything’s from an alien planet, it’s definitely this deranged shapeshifter. “Color Out of Space” would be a great movie for late on Halloween night, after a party or two, when one can just sit back, half asleep, to watch the wild, blood-soaked hilarity. It’s pretty terrible but, thanks to Nicholas Cage’s heroic efforts, pretty terrible in all the best ways.

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ALBUM REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

Dan Deacon embraces all of indie pop on his new LP DREW GADBOIS For the Daily

WARNER BROS.

Next chapter of the Harley Quinn story empowering hold on her. She is a new woman, doing what she wants to do, living with her hyena as company. In “Birds of Prey,” we follow Harley’s journey in finding a diamond for Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor, “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace”). She

SABRIYA IMAMI Daily Arts Writer

“Do you know what a harlequin is? A harlequin’s role is to serve. It’s nothing without a master.” That’s not the case anymore. Margot Robbie’s (“Suicide Squad”) Harley Quinn is much, much more than that, as she proves in the new movie “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.” I had the opportunity to see a pre-screening for this movie along with several other U of M students, and I wasn’t sure what to think initially. I hadn’t seen “Suicide Squad,” so most of my knowledge of Harley Quinn was from Batman cartoons, “The LEGO Batman Movie” and the internet. However, this movie reveals so much more of her character. Most people only really knew her as the “Joker’s girlfriend” before this, but in this film we find out that he is inconsequential in her new life. She is truly emancipated from his

Birds of Prey GQT Quality 16 Warner Bros.

soon learns that a young girl named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco, “Teachers”) posseses the diamond … and isn’t exactly able to just hand it over. To keep an eye on Cassandra, Harley begins to teach the younger girl all about being Harley Quinn. She’s like a hilariously psychotic

older sister. Their blossoming relationship is easily one of the best things to watch in the film. Harley’s plotline is intertwined with that of other women, namely Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez, “Untamed Heart”), Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell “One Last Thing”) and Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “10 Cloverfield Lane”), aka the soonto-be-dubbed Birds of Prey. The fight scenes in this movie are incredible. Harley’s unique style of hitting people with baseball bats and using glitter and paint bombs is an amazing way of meshing together femininity with strength. She doesn’t have to give up her glitter in order to kill people. It is truly inspirational. The other top-tier performance in this movie is without a doubt Ewan McGregor’s. He manages to play a hilarious villain without making himself seem incompetent. His character, Roman Sionis, is always sharply dressed, utterly despicable and sinister while wearing an innocent smile.

The genre of indie pop has always maintained a code of individuality, given its roots within the psychedelic movement of the ‘60s and early ‘70s. It was celebrated at the time of its inception for introducing a new sound in pop, while also preserving the “transcendence” mantra that stems from the psychedelic movement. Its focus was on connecting with nature in a spiritual and life-affirming manner. By the new millennium, however, artists like Death Cab for Cutie and The Decemberists shifted the aims of the genre to be about the relationship humans have with themselves. They began to ask questions about the fragility of humanity in the face of a world that was looking more and more hostile. In effect, they changed the values of indie pop from being outwardly oriented and nature-

driven to introspective and individualistic. It seems that most people have forgotten the original roots of the genre; it hasn’t always been about selfref lection. Enter Dan Deacon. Though the Baltimore-based musician

Mystic Familiar Dan Deacon Domino Recording Company

first became known as a highly subversive, electronic artist (the video of him performing on local news from 2006 is proof ), he has since thrust himself into the underground pop scene. With his newest record Mystic Familiar, Deacon manages to craft an album

that brings back the earthen spirituality of early indie pop while also diving deep into his own personal anxieties. Throughout the record, there is an emphasis on impermanence, particularly death and old age. With Deacon nearing his 40s, it isn’t all that surprising that these matters are occupying his thoughts. Mystic Familiar acts as a sort of therapeutic solution to these ideas that have been tormenting him. The spiritual essence of nature combats the questions that haunt him. He’s trying to, as the opening track title states, “Become a Mountain.” If he can convince himself that the memory of his existence is indomitable like a mountain, then old age and death become less threatening inevitabilities. This idea of combating impermanence with transcendentalism is a perfect marriage between the two iterations of indie pop. Deacon is looking outward to look inward.

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ACROSS 1 Depletes, with “up” 5 Pod in Creole cuisine 9 Theme park that retired its IllumiNations show in 2019 14 Tall and skinny 15 Umpire’s call 16 Greek played by Anthony Quinn 17 Bit of insurance paperwork 19 Earlier offense 20 Series-ending abbr. 21 Set as a price 22 Accumulates 24 Letters shown in the “Wheel of Fortune” bonus round 26 PC panic key 27 No longer in style 34 Public tantrum 37 Hydroplaned 38 Writer Ferber 39 Novelist Levin 40 Charge card charge 43 Tarzan player Ron 44 Owlet’s home 46 With everything in place 47 ER images 49 Work out regularly at the gym 52 __ ring: foot jewelry 53 Postgame rundowns 57 Domed hall 61 Watergate pres. 62 Sigma follower 63 Soft palate part 64 Fungus on an old loaf 67 Latish wake-up hr. 68 James of “Elf” 69 Charitable offerings 70 Catch by trickery 71 Prefix with formal or final 72 Potter’s material associated with the end of 17-, 27-, 49- and 64-Across

DOWN 1 Worrier’s stomach woe 2 Seasons with crystals 3 Make official 4 Tackle moguls 5 Cancel out 6 Eccentric sort 7 Capek play about automatons 8 __ mater 9 Toll-paying convenience 10 Sports car that has two syllables in German 11 NFL analyst Collinsworth 12 Slender wind 13 Seasoned sailors 18 “Hamilton” creator Lin-__ Miranda 23 Victor at Gettysburg 25 Chaney of silents 28 Bone: Pref. 29 Pet peeves? 30 Saks __ Avenue

31 Mental flash 32 “I’m __ human” 33 Negative votes 34 Act the fink 35 First Nations tribe 36 “__ of Eden” 41 Paid for a hand 42 Use, as energy 45 In name only 48 DVR button 50 Like a generic brand

51 Designer Giorgio 54 Ring-shaped reef 55 Director Brian De __ 56 Like dishwater 57 Boring routines 58 Baking appliance 59 Fish in cat food 60 Preschool basics 61 Paper quantity 65 Grammy winner Corinne Bailey __ 66 PC alternative

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LIVERS GIVES ‘M’ BOOST AGAINST MSU - CONNOR BRENNAN MICHIGAN SETS TONE IN STATEMENT WIN - DANIEL DASH SIMPSON’S SHOOTING PROPELS WOLVERINES - JACOB KOPNICK

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Livers is back. Can Michigan change its season?

urning points are often arbitrary. They are judged retroactively, frequently in an attempt to ascribe meaning to results rather than default to the randomness of sports. But if the Michigan men’s basketball team finds itself and rounds MAX into form MARCOVITCH here, we will look back on Saturday’s 77-68 win over Michigan State as a catalyst. Not just because the Wolverines beat the Spartans for the first time in nearly two years, nor simply because Michigan stopped a two-game skid and added an all-important conference win over a KenPom top-15 team. But because, four months into the season, we still don’t know how good this team can be with Isaiah Livers on the floor. Livers returned Saturday from an injury; he’d sat eight of the previous nine games, of which Michigan lost six. With Livers in the lineup, Michigan started the year by winning 11 of 14 games, including a win over No. 2 Gonzaga in the Bahamas. In 31 minutes against the Spartans, Livers scored 14 points and made 2-of-5 attempts from 3-point range. He did not play in the teams’ first matchup on Jan. 5, an 87-69 loss in East Lansing. “We already said it after — (with) me or not, this game was going to be a tone-setter,” Livers said. “... We didn’t get rattled at all. We were just excited to come out with the ‘W’. It was meaningful for us.” Livers did not play in the Jan. 5 loss, but Saturday he helped direct a defensive game plan that was executed to perfection. His defensive prowess aside, Livers’ steadying presence

alone adds a layer of comfort this team needs right now. “When you’ve got coaches, players, especially, that’s been around for a little bit, like me, (Zavier Simpson) and (Jon Teske), we’ve been here,” Livers said. “We can adjust.” Livers, to his credit, has been just about everywhere and done just about everything in his three years at Michigan. He took a starting gig from a senior midseason and then started in the Final Four during his freshman campaign; he was subsequently upended by a freshman the year after, and so he moved back to the bench without a fuss. He’s won conference titles; he’s lost them, too. He’s battled

confidence issues and mental lows; he’s endured a coaching change; he’s re-shaped his body and his game; he’s evolved into one of college basketball’s best shooters. And you just get the sense the story of his collegiate career is still to be written. Michigan lost plenty you can see when Livers was out. Taking a 50-percent 3-point shooter out of the lineup causes spatial issues that are aesthetically obvious. That loss is compounded by the dearth of

wing depth on the roster. For all of Brandon Johns Jr.’s merits, there is no like-for-like replacement for Livers on the roster — no one else who can both defend three different positions and stretch defenses on the other end. The Wolverines shot 29.6 percent from 3-point range in the eight games Livers was sidelined. If extrapolated out to the full season, that figure would rank them dead last in the conference.

I’m already back, talking, just pointing and directing.

There’s also plenty we can’t see when Livers is out. Here’s a subtle example. This is how Isaiah Livers answered a question about transition defense: “The best thing I can do is direct traffic. We have young guys that, as they sprint back, they don’t know what to do. I’m already back, talking, just pointing and directing them. ‘Go to that area, I’ll go to this area, go up there and guard the ball.’ “Just little things like that can help. I think we need more of that.” “Little things” are precisely what’s plagued this team most all year. “We missed him a lot, and we

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Junior forward Isaiah Livers made his return from injury on Saturday, scoring 14 points in a win over Michigan State that could help turn around Michigan’s season.

missed having another guy like Zay,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said, “who can not only make shots but also a guy that has a higher basketball IQ, that knows how to make plays.” Veterans matter in college basketball, as Tom Izzo reminded us when he so eloquently groveled about how his freshman “just aren’t ready.” There’s a reason why the successful teams in the one-and-done eras are rarely littered with one-and-done players. For all the cringeworthy abuse of this phrase, Isaiah Livers is a winning player. But is it that simple? Are the flaws that plagued and nearly killed Michigan in his absence simply in the rearview? Saturday certainly was a step in the right direction. Presuming the Wolverines take care of their next two games (at Northwestern and home to Indiana), they’ll have clawed back to .500 in conference play. They’ll head to Rutgers — a team they’ve already beaten on a neutral court — brimming with confidence. For the first time all year, they’ll likely have everyone healthy and happy. If that comes to fruition, they’ll be a team no one wants to play in March. And they’ll certainly point to Saturday’s win over Michigan State as a paradigm shift. It could just as easily prove a momentary boon, Livers’ return plugging only one hole on a sinking ship. Saturday’s result could just as easily say more about where Michigan State is than anything else. Is Saturday a sign of things to come or a mirage? Will Livers’ return prove to be a turning point or merely a momentary respite? We’ll have to wait two more months to pen that narrative. Marcovitch can be reached at maxmarco@umich.edu or on Twitter @Max_Marcovitch.

Sweeping through South Florida

Michigan notches five straight wins, getting past Fresno State with Hoogenraad walk-off to cap undefeated USF Invitational NICHOLAS STOLL Daily Sports Writer

Sophomore catcher Hannah Carson stood at the plate, dialed in. Florida’s Natalie Lugo readied her pitch and delivered. The ball rocketed off Carson’s bat through the right side of the infield — two runs scored. The two runs marked the beginning of No. 17 Michigan softball team’s (5-0) signature win over No. 7 Florida (4-1) in its opening weekend at the USFRawlings Invitational. With two outs, the runs broke the floodgates open in a five-run first inning en route to an 11-2, runrule victory in the Wolverines’ first marquee game of the season. “Our first inning was huge,” Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. “And obviously, the opponent, when you’re down by something in the first inning, it affects their ability to be free. And we did a good job of we just kept coming at them.” The Wolverines certainly kept coming. Michigan went undefeated on the weekend in Tampa, also notching wins against Georgia State (1-3), Illinois State (1-4), South Florida (0-4) and Fresno State (3-2). The five wins came across a three-day slate, which included doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. Spearheading the Wolverines’ weekend success were sophomore right-hander Alex Storako and junior left-hander Meghan Beaubien. Storako opened Michigan’s season Friday afternoon against Georgia State by throwing a career-high 16 strikeouts in a complete game. She allowed just five hits and one run in a 6-1 victory over the Panthers. Storako also pitched innings against Illinois State, Florida and Fresno State for a weekend earned-run-average of 1.0. “I felt really good,” Storako said. “I was able to throw one pitch at a time. It was really nice to really rely on my defense and having a lot of trust in them back there.”

Beaubien found her stride lineup that was not set, according it done behind me.” ABBIE TELGENHOF as well, earning wins against to Hutchins, a week ahead of the Hoogenraad’s heroic moment Daily Sports Writer Illinois State, the University invitational. One new player who was indicative of her success of South Florida and Fresno appeared to claim her spot was Michigan softball needed a over the entire weekend. She State. Beaubien finished the freshman Julia Jimenez. accumulated four runs and three hero moment. Jimenez, the 20th-ranked 2019 weekend with 21 strikeouts and Against Fresno State, in the RBI en route to a .429 batting four earned runs in 16 innings recruit by FloSoftball, saw starts bottom of the ninth inning, locked average over five games. She also at second base and designated pitched. in a scoreless tie, senior outfielder had four doubles on the weekend. On the offensive side, player. Jimenez played in all five “She didn’t hit particularly Haley Hoogenraad stepped up to Michigan found its bats early. games — the only freshman to do well in our preseason practices the plate. The Wolverines averaged 1.4 so — and contributed on both the Pinch-running for Taylor and really she came out (this runs in the first inning and 2.6 offensive and defensive sides of Bump, freshman utility player weekend),” Michigan coach Carol the ball for the Wolverines. runs in the first three innings. Lauren Esman was on third, Hutchins said. “I thought she “It’s why we recruit people,” “Hitting is contagious,” advancing from second on a cleared her mind and she knows Hutchins said. Hutchins said. sacrifice bunt after being placed she can hit the “We want them to “We get a few there via international tiebreaker. ball. She was come in. We don’t hits, and it With seemingly no effort, just one-pitch want them to take frees everybody Hoogenraad drilled the ball into focused.” their freshman up because Starting all the right-center field gap — where year off. We want they don’t feel it fell between the Bulldogs’ right five games in them to come in pressure.” field, fielder Kelsey Hall and center center and contribute. Production fielder Mckenzie Wilson. As Hoogenraad I think she’s came from proved Esman crossed home, the extra- again definitely a kid everywhere, but innings were over, the game her ability at the who’s ready to Michigan had finished. Michigan 1, Fresno State plate and in the contribute at this some notable 0 — the final win in the Wolverines field. During level. She had a standouts. perfect 5-0 weekend at the USF- Saturday’s game Junior first baseman Lou really strong weekend for us.” against Florida she robbed a grand Rawlings Invitational. As a team, the Wolverines Allan batted .375 with two home “I was just thinking about slam with a catch over the wall. runs, four RBI and four runs overcame any uncertainties trying to stick to my game plan, Against the Gators she went 2-forover the weekend. Allan made they had entering their opening stuff that we had talked about in 3, with three runs and two runs a statement with her hitting weekend. The only question the dugout, stuff that we knew batted-in. During Friday’s game opening weekend after missing that remains is how they’ll build the pitcher was throwing,” against Georgia State, she totaled a large part of her sophomore on the impressive start — with Hoogenraad said. “I tried to one run, contributing to the 6-1 season due to injury, proving continued success or a fall back remember that if I didn’t get it victory. her value in the starting lineup. to earth. Despite an overall stellar done, that my teammate would get Junior Morgan Overaitis hit .588 over the three-day invitational, contributing three runs and three RBI to the Wolverine offense. Senior outfielder Haley Hoogenraad hit .429 with four runs and three RBI, sparking the back-end of the batting order in the seventh slot. Her third RBI came as a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth against Fresno State on Sunday to claim Michigan’s 1-0 victory and preserve its perfect record coming back to Ann Arbor. But the heroics weren’t only left to Hoogenraad. “Our pitchers got us out of it,” Hutchins said. “Our pitchers did everything they could so we could find a way to muster up a run. I was very pleased with the pitchers.” ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily Over the five game stretch, the lineup also seemed to solidify — a Senior outfielder Haley Hoogenraad hit a walk-off single against Fresno State to give Michigan its fifth win of the weekend.

Hitting is contagious. ... It frees everybody up.

performance, her highs couldn’t come without their lows. Against Illinois State she went 0-for-3, only getting on base after a walk. “They’re independent things,” Hoogenraad said. “You can only control the one pitch, and I think the biggest thing to focus on all the time is that how you have been doing or what you’ve been doing, doesn’t necessarily dictate what you’re going to do.” Hoogenraad’s response to the ups and downs was echoed by the rest of the team. Playing five games over a span of three days could be challenging for some teams. Instead, Michigan capitalized on its initial momentum against Georgia State, its opening game of the season. Michigan hasn’t won all five games of its opening weekend series since 2012. In a true team effort, the Wolverines’ success can be attributed to their commitment to staying level. “I think our best quality was that we didn’t get too high and we don’t get too low,” Hutchins said. “We just slug away one pitch at a time. We were playing some of the best one-pitch softball I’ve seen in a while. We didn’t let our tough times hitting the ball get to us. It’s a great quality, it can make a great team really good.” Hoogenrad’s hit came during a clutch moment in Michigan’s lows. Being able to rely on a player during the pitfalls to break through the wall and make big plays can be instrumental throughout the course of a season. If Hoogenrad’s personal success this weekend is in any way indicative of her upcoming season, she’s going to be a player to watch out for. After graduating five starting seniors last year, Michigan is looking to fill the gaps in its lineup. With tremendous athleticism in the outfield coupled with a high batting average, she might be the senior leader the Wolverines are looking for.

Just thinking about trying to stick to my game plan.

SportsMonday

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

February 10, 2020 — 3B

‘M’ holds off Michigan State, 77-68, in win

Livers’ return gives Wolverines a boost

ABBY SNYDER

CONNOR BRENNAN

When Michigan went to East Lansing in early January, it was ugly. The Wolverines didn’t seem to have answers for anything that Michigan State threw their way. They couldn’t contain the volatile Spartan offense, led by star senior point guard Cassius Winston and junior forward Xavier Tillman. Their own offense was lost without junior forward Isaiah Livers. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo seemed to quite literally have their number at every turn. Michigan drowned in the chaos of the Breslin Center. Saturday in Ann Arbor was a different story. Michigan State was still Michigan State. Winston and Tillman were still Winston and Tillman; Tom Izzo was still Tom Izzo. But with Livers back and a home crowd decked out in maize behind them, the Wolverines finally had some answers. Michigan (14-9 overall, 5-7 Big Ten) managed to grit out a win over the 16th-ranked Spartans, 77-68, on Saturday as Livers and sophomore guard David DeJulius led a 3-point-heavy offense and the defense did enough to propel the Wolverines past an unusually quiet Michigan State (16-8, 8-5). “Any time you can beat those guys, it feels amazing,” senior center Jon Teske said. “Especially being a senior, (point guard Zavier Simpson) and I, this may be our last time playing them. It’s special. “We just had to come out from the start. And that’s what we did. Just start to finish, everyone played well; defensively, offensively.” Livers made his return to the starting lineup, his re-aggravated groin injury healed, to the delight of the Crisler Center crowd. His offensive presence, tipping rebounds and firing off passes, was felt immediately. When he put up a three from in front of the Spartan bench to give Michigan an early 6-3 lead, the arena erupted. “[Livers] makes this team better in many ways,” Simpson said. “His leadership, his voice. On the offensive end, he spreads the floor. He can attack. It’s just his presence. “Sometimes it’s not about the stat sheet, or anything else. Sometimes it’s just about someone’s presence, and I think Isaiah definitely gave us a confidence boost before the game.” The Wolverines needed Livers to return some spark to the offense that had been inconsistent at best in his prolonged absence. With Livers back, but wearing a brace, the offense channeled the junior forward’s tenacity, and against one of Michigan’s toughest conference opponents, it worked. Behind a series of drained 3-pointers and a solid defensive effort, the Wolverines managed to take a 29-23 lead into halftime. The second half was even harderfought. Coming out of the break, the Spartans seemed to find the shots they weren’t making in the first half, and they brought it to a one-point margin by the under-16 timeout. But Michigan remained unshaken, getting junior guard Eli Brooks the look he wanted on a pass from Simpson. The resulting 3-pointer found nothing but the sweet swish of nylon. They allowed a layup to freshman guard Rocket Watts, but followed up with a Simpson layup and a massive one-handed dunk from Teske on a perfect alley-oop from Brooks. “Eli and I locked eyes, and I saw him throw it up, and I went up and got it — I’m not really sure how,” Teske laughed. “I’m not really sure how I got it, but I saw enough.” This time around, Michigan finally had the answers that had been missing. The factors that cost them the game in January were still present. But they weren’t gamedeciders. Instead of allowing Winston and Tillman to dictate the game, the Wolverines did that themselves. “Every player is not always going to be perfect,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “But I loved the way we were able to respond when we did make mistakes.” After dropping their previous three conference home games to Penn State, Illinois and Ohio State, in a conference where defending home court has been essential this season, it was a statement win this Michigan team badly needed. Until this game, much of its tournament resume was based off wins in late November and early December, and the slump that encompassed most of January was far from a glowing endorsement. Two-and-a-half months later, the Wolverines seem to have rediscovered the clutch genes that lifted them to those nonconference wins, if only for an afternoon. With a demanding conference schedule yet ahead of them, if they can continue to deliver like they did on Saturday, there may yet be enough momentum to carry them through March.

Isaiah Livers was giving out highfives courtside. Moments earlier, the junior forward — in his first game back since re-injuring his groin against Illinois two weeks ago — had supplied the final nail in Michigan State’s coffin. Showing no signs of his former impediment, Livers rose up and swatted Aaron Henry’s layup attempt off the backboard and into Wolverine hands. Now, with just 1:42 remaining, his team up by nine and freshman forward Franz Wagner at the foul line, he could bask in the triumph — a 77-68 win over the Spartans. “It felt good,” Livers said. “It honestly didn’t matter who we were playing. Whether we were playing nonconference, low-major, a non-D1 team, I was just excited about getting back out there. All the work you put in, the love you have your teammates and the game of basketball, I just wanted to get back.” While Michigan was able to weather Livers’ most-recent absence, going 2-1, his return was a welcomed sign for a team that lost by 18 in East Lansing last month. He missed his first two shots — both from beyond the arc — but settled into the game on the defensive end rather quickly. A block and steal within the first three minutes was an early indication that he was up for the challenge. Gradually, that effort paid off on the other end of the floor too, knocking down two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in the first half. “I was proud of the way he came out and competed,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “There were some possessions out there where it was tough for us to score and (Isaiah) came up big and made some clutch shots. Defensively, he was very active with his length in protecting the basket. It was good that we had opportunities we had to switch ball screens and he was able to keep a man in front of him.” Even though Livers tweaked his groin on a dunk attempt against the Illini, he showed no apprehension in attacking the rim against the Spartans. Just 12 minutes into the game, he went right at Michigan State’s Malik Hall for an attempted slam, landing harder than most Wolverines’ fans would’ve liked. “I’m still going to attack with a lot of force, go up and finish, do what I do,” Livers said with a smirk. “I know I said I wasn’t going to try to dunk but I definitely tried in the first half and got fouled. But I let go of the rim so there was no tragedy there.” Livers played 18 minutes in the first half and 31 in total, second to only Wagner. Over the past few weeks, it was clear Howard and his staff weren’t going to rush Livers back too soon, regardless of which direction the Wolverines were trending. But, when he was ready to go, they weren’t going to hold him back at all either. “Not with coach Howard,” Livers said. “He’s a winner man. And I don’t even believe in that because you go out there, you’re just giving half, you come out and you’re like a liability out there. I like to go out there, zero to 100. I can’t play 75 percent. I told coach Howard this, too, and he agreed with me. He said ‘Go out there and if you’re tired, tug that jersey.’ ” Livers’ contribution went well beyond his 14 points and four boards though. With his return, Michigan got back another floor general. In the Wolverines’ last matchup against the Spartans, they gave up 21 points in transition. This time they gave up just six. Livers’ guidance on defense was a big reason why. “The best thing I can do is direct traffic,” Livers said. “We have young guys that as they sprint back they don’t know what to do. I’m already back, talking, just pointing and directing them. ‘Go to that area, I’ll go to this area, go up there and guard the ball.’ Just little things like that can help. I think we need more of that.” Beating the Spartans now gives Michigan yet another opportunity to gain some momentum as it heads into the final weeks of the regular season. Getting Livers back healthy almost felt like a win in and of itself. While they’ve scraped by just enough without him, it goes without saying that the Wolverines are at their best when he’s available. Saturday proved that once again. “(Isaiah) is a talent, it’s that simple,” Howard said. “We missed him a lot. We missed having another guy who can make shots and has a high basketball-IQ that knows how to make plays.”

Daily Sports Writer

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Senior guard Zavier Simpson scored 16 points including four 3-pointers in Michigan’s 77-68 win over Michigan State on Saturday.

lord and zavier

Simpson’s shooting ignites rivalry win JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Editor

As Zavier Simpson sat quietly watching film, one pervading thought kept tugging away at his psyche. He diligently watched game after game of Michigan falling to Michigan State over the course of his career, and had one nagging idea staring him right in the face: If the senior and unequivocal leader of this team hits a few more 3-pointers, the Wolverines f lip the script. Four straight losses over the last two seasons against a bitter rival become wins — or at least closer games — and Simpson is cemented as one of the greatest to ever throw on a maize and blue jersey, if only the ball falls through the hoop a few more times. Simpson knew he had one more opportunity in his career to change the narrative around the rivalry, his 3-point shooting ability and his place in Michigan basketball history. And that chance sat behind the 3-point line. So what did the senior do? One of the worst statistical 3-point shooters on the Wolverines temporarily squashed all doubt and went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc to put the Spartans away, 77-68, and finish with a team-high 16 points. For Simpson, it all boiled down to confidence. Whether it came from playing on his home court or a desire to put recent controversy surrounding

his one-game suspension to rest, Simpson was a different player on the f loor than from games of the rivalry’s recent past. The last time the senior faced Michigan State on Jan. 5, he limped his way to a 1-for-6 performance from 3-point land. The confidence was clearly missing. “I just wanted to come out and play confident,” Simpson said. “I watched a lot of film from last year’s games and the previous game where we played them earlier in the season, and I just wanted to come out and be confident in my shot. I’m confident in my shot, my coaches trust me, my teammates trust me. I wanted to just come in there and knock ‘em down. At the same time, don’t take it personal, try to make smart plays.” Confidence aside, it is unimaginable the game plan revolved around Simpson rising up and drilling 3-pointers. Simply put, sets where Simpson shoots 3-pointers are typically not smart plays. His career mark from beyond the arc is a measly 31 percent, and the Wolverines were significantly helped in that regard with the return of junior forward Isaiah Livers. On paper, the plan can recently be derived as creating open looks for Livers and other more prolific shooters on the roster. On the f loor, it played out as forcing the Spartans into making defensive errors and fighting for every 50-50

ball in order to generate more offensive looks for Michigan. Simpson was clearly the benefactor of this change in fortune. Ironically, the plays that never originated in coach Juwan Howard’s playbook ended up all but sealing the game for the Wolverines. “There was nothing I was doing, it was all about the players,” Howard said. “Zavier made some tough shots, but he was open, and those are shots that he’s practiced. Those are shots that he comes in on off days and shoots, and it’s good to see that during the game. He was confident. “I want him as well as his other teammates, when they’re open to don’t be afraid to take the open shot. If they miss a shot, my philosophy is if you get another open one, take the next one.” What makes that philosophy work — whenever it actually does — is that it’s tough to defend. How are you going to game plan for a system that empowers all of its team’s shooters? All of them. Not just those who specialize in the craft. Maybe that’s why when wrapping up his post game press conference, Spartans coach Tom Izzo queued the audience into his surprise over how the game played out: “Some guys hit some shots that they weren’t supposed to.” On Saturday, that was Simpson. And it all started in a Crisler Center film room, staring down the root of the problem.

Michigan turns tone-setter into statement DANIEL DASH

Daily Sports Writer

For better or worse, Juwan Howard had a feeling Saturday would dictate the direction of the Wolverines’ season. Before the Michigan men’s basketball team left its locker room to face No. 16 Michigan State, the first-year coach called it a “tonesetter.” Following a sub-.500 month defined by Isaiah Livers’ absence, the junior forward returned to the Wolverines’ lineup for the muchanticipated in-state rivalry. His presence, Michigan hoped, would be a tone-setter of its own. The first few minutes of the game, however, looked anything but promising. The Wolverines missed 10 of their first 11 shots. Three minutes elapsed before they scored. In the midst of a three-game losing streak in which Michigan hadn’t shot above 40 percent from the field, it appeared Saturday would set a tone in the worst possible way. But after a slow start, a 3-pointer from senior point guard Zavier Simpson — who entered the game as a 29-percent 3-point shooter in conference play — gave the Wolverines their first lead. He followed it up by burying his next two attempts, giving Michigan a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in an eventual 77-68 win. In the process, he set the tone Howard sought.

“This game was going to be a tone-setter,” Livers said. “I think we all did a good job coming out focused and staying disciplined to what the coaches believe we can do and the stuff that we do in practice. There’s no reason to get away from it. We weren’t rattled at all, we were just excited to come out with the ‘W.’ It was meaningful for us.” Following a three-week span that included two losses at the buzzer and a narrow double-overtime win, Saturday proved to be exactly what the Wolverines needed. They played with the lead for nearly 35 minutes, trailing only at a score of 1-0. “A lot of downers (lately),” Livers said. “A lot of games that came down to free throws. … Just little stuff that we did at the end of the close game was just like, ‘Dang, man, we could’ve had it.’ We put a lot of work in and I think it was good for us to actually see that all the work we put in in the gym actually works during the game time, so I was very happy with that.” Just over a month ago, Michigan was run out of East Lansing in an 18-point blowout. Twenty-one of Michigan State’s points came in transition. Whether it was a product of the team’s lack of communication, mental lapses or the Spartans’ sheer will, it ultimately defined the Wolverines’ most lopsided loss of the season. “It was very disappointing how our transition defense failed us the last time we played Michigan State,”

Howard said. “As I recall, we gave up 21 points in transition because we were not good at communicating. … It was a big emphasis on me as well as my staff (today) on taking away some of those transition buckets because Michigan State does a really good job.” On Saturday, they held Michigan State to just six fastbreak points. Michigan suffocated Spartans’ g uard Cassius Winston, who poured in a career-high 32 points in their last meeting, to the tune of a dismal 5-of-18 shooting performance. Howard’s responsibilities aren’t limited to just X’s and O’s, though. On Saturday, he took it upon himself to set a tone of his own. “(Howard) is loud coming out of that coaching room,” Livers said. “You can hear him, already pumped up, like he’s about to play. … This dude is all up in your face like, ‘Let’s go, let’s go!” As a player, when you see that you got a coach that’s in your face — I don’t know about for other people, but my opinion is that I love it. When he’s got energ y, we’ve got to match it.” Howard wanted Saturday to be a tone-setter. The Wolverines delivered. Now, it becomes a matter of whether the tone becomes permanent. “(Saturday) was huge,” Livers said. “Like I said, I think it’s a tonesetter. It’s letting the Big Ten know, don’t overlook Michigan.”

SportsMonday

4B — February 10, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

HOCKEY

SQUAD GOALS MICHIGAN SWEEPS WISCONSIN WITH 13 GOALS ON WEEKEND

Asha Lewis/ Daily | Design by Jack Silberman

Jack Summers and Keaton Pehrson add offense from defense in win TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

Last season, two of the five top point scorers for the Michigan hockey team were defensemen. It was part of the system — defensemen creating offense — an emphasis coach Mel Pearson made sure to call out after Michigan swept Notre Dame in mid-January. It was the reason for its success then, and against Wisconsin, Saturday, a defensive pairing stepped up to fit that role in the 5-3 win to seal another sweep. Jack Summers and Keaton Pehrson have had their fair share of disappointment. Against Ohio State the prior weekend, Summers made a dive for a loose puck that jeopardized his defensive positioning. The Buckeyes scored off his turnover,

sealing the game in their favor. Pehrson had a puck deflect off his skate against the Wolverines’ last matchup with the Badgers to convert a game-winning goal for Wisconsin. But Saturday, the two generated much-needed offense in a high-scoring affair. “Both (Pehrson) and (Summers) have to be a little more aggressive,” Pearson said. “They play a lot of hockey, our team has done extremely well and they continue to play as a good solid pair.”

Pehrson opened the scoring by tapping in a rebound from a poor goaltender catch. Wisconsin Daniel Lebedeff saw Pehrson approach and swing his body to face the defenseman. Pehrson saw his options. He had a teammate waiting on his far side, but there were two Badger skaters in front of him, blocking the passing lane. He took the smart approach, a simple flick on net to see if the goaltender would slip-up. And Lebedeff did. He dropped the puck and was unable to cover it immediately. Upon seeing the error, Pehrson perked with excitement and drove in with his stick for a tap-in goal — the first of his career.

Both (Pehrson) and (Summers) have to be ... aggressive.

2 02 0 TA N N E R L E C T U R E O N H U M A N VA L U E S

Pehrson has never been pegged as an offensive-minded defenseman. He’s stout defensively and plays fundamentally — to the point where Pearson noted he’s one of the only players Pearson doesn’t harp on in-game for his defense. But Saturday, he played aggressive and determined, and it resulted in a goal. On the other hand, Summers, his defensive-pair partner, focused on controlling the aggression. Often times, he would play the puck too forcefully and if the puck didn’t bounce his way, the opposing team would create a Grade-A breakaway. But he sat back and played a safer

I was just trying to get something on the net.

Daily Sports Writer

The City University of New York

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 4–6pm | Rackham Auditorium

lsa.umich.edu/philosophy Lecture is free and open to the public

passing it out to Summers camped at the point. Summers simply wanted to send it to the net so one of them could make the play. But instead, he scored. Head held high, arms around his teammates, Summers’ celebration couldn’t have been any more contrasting to the look of disappointment he had shown just last week, wearing his head deep into his gloves after his turnover. And the first one to his side was his partner, Pehrson. “We’ve been trying to play well together and to get a couple points really helps our confidence,” Pehrson said. “So it felt good.” Added Pearson: “They don’t get the press or the coverage or the points the other guys do. But they’re a solid pair for us. A freshman and a sophomore, they’re doing well.”

Michigan earns sweep with 5-3 win ROHAN KUMAR

CHARLES W. MILLS

game to ensure his turnovers wouldn’t be costly. And playing at the point, he received the puck near the start of the second period and swung it on target. “Honestly, I was just trying to get something on the net,” Summers said. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in.” The purpose of the play was to spread the defense out for an easier time to crash the crease for rebounds. The Badger skaters had packed center ice. Freshman forward Nick Granowicz recognized this and played the puck low to high to create space,

Less than five minutes into the third period Saturday night, senior forward Jacob Hayhurst went hunting solo. He entered the attacking zone near the left side, with multiple defenders headed his way. Hayhurst quickly got to the net to set up his trap. He had the puck stretched far and away, which lured goaltender Daniel Lebedeff to bite left. But then Hayhurst seamlessly brought the puck back in and across to finish the job backhanded. That goal widened the Michigan hockey team’s lead to three in an eventual 5-3 victory over Wisconsin (10-17-1 overall, 5-14-1-1 Big Ten). The outcome helped the Wolverines (13-12-3, 8-8-2-1) seal their second sweep of the new year. After the 8-4 victory on Friday, Michigan coach Mel Pearson was disappointed in how his team performed despite the wide margin of victory. Preparation, defense, turnovers and effort were areas that troubled him. But on Saturday — Pearson’s birthday — he saw improvement. “Better effort tonight,” Pearson said. “Even though you could look at the score and say, well better effort? But we did. We played with more urgency and they played hard, too, tonight. I thought it was a good game.” Less than six minutes into the contest, senior forward Nick Pastujov won a faceoff in his team’s defensive zone. Soon after, freshman defenseman Keaton Pehrson got the puck and went on the attack. He took a shot at the left side of the net that Lebedeff appeared to have under control, but then Pehrson crashed in to grab a quick rebound and score through Lebedeff’s legs. Michigan extended its lead with under three minutes to go in the first frame. Sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert skated the puck down the right side of the offensive zone, with freshman forward Nick Granowicz on

his left. Granowicz grabbed the opposing defense’s attention, getting close to the crease. Lambert then swung the puck across the ice, to senior forward Jake Slaker who came trailing in down the left side. Without hesitation, Slaker rifled the puck into the net to double the margin. Nearing the end of the opening period, the Wolverines went on their first penalty kill of the night after Summers got called for roughing. The Badgers made the most of the extra man.

We played with more urgency and they played hard. Sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann collected a loose puck near the goal line and handed it over to senior defenseman Luke Martin. Martin wrapped around the net and attempted a pass across the low slot, but it hit an opposing player right in front of the crease. Right away, forward Cole Caufield sent a pass to forward Max Zimmer who found twine from the left side with less than six seconds to go in the first frame. Michigan returned from the initial intermission ready to go. Less than two minutes into the second frame, Summers helped his team regain the two-goal lead. Lambert collected the puck at the far left side of the goal line and sent it directly backwards to the blue line. Summers was waiting there, and soon took a strong shot that sounded the buzzer. After that goal, Slaker got a one-on-one opportunity with Lebedoff but couldn’t convert. And a short while later, Pastujov’s shot clanked off the right post. Both goaltenders got involved with seven minutes

remaining in the second period, starting with Lebedeff. He charged far away from the net and dove to flick the puck away before a streaking Slaker could touch it. And then right away, forward Sean Dhooghe went on a rush but crashed into Mann with force. Dhooghe got called for charging, sending the Wolverines on their sole power play of the night. Michigan couldn’t convert. Each side faced calamity in the final frame. First, Lambert dove to try and block a passing lane near his goal but then hit the boards awkwardly. And a bit later, Dhooghe collided with Beecher in the neutral zone and hit the ground hard. Both needed help coming off the ice and never returned. “We won’t know much till Monday or Tuesday,” Pearson said of Lambert’s injury. “I’d say he’s questionable for the weekend. I don’t think it’s, hopefully as bad as what it was. But they’ll look at him, probably some time tomorrow. But we need him. I mean, he was really good. But again, it’s next man up, that’s what we need to do and injuries are part of the game.” Wisconsin tallied a second goal midway through the final period when forward Linus Weissbach found the puck near the crease for a tap-in. And then with just over a minute left, defenseman K’Andre Miller fired a shot from the right side to bring the game within one while Lebedeff was pulled. But by then the Wolverines had enough separation that it didn’t matter. Lebedeff stayed on the sidelines as the Badgers tried to level the game, and sophomore forward Garrett Van Wyhe notched an empty-netter with six seconds remaining for the final say. “It’s late in the season and as you can see in the standings, it’s really tight, so every game counts,” Hayhurst said. “Obviously a sweep just lifts morale in the room and makes everyone that (much) more happy and makes them want to work that much harder to continue to win.”