The Final: 12 Shining Moments

They won't win the Heisman or the Outland, but their feats and words won our attention

By John Walters

North Carolina's Rashad McCants Bob Rosato/SI

As a study aid, herewith a semester review. None of this will be on your final, since it's in ours:

 "Where I come from, 'WAC' isn't a conference." Maryland athletes were required to attend a Sept. 12 seminar at which reputed mobster Michael Franzese, a.k.a. the Long Island Don, spoke about the evils of gambling.

"Just don't hit on her." -- Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway, after giving a reporter his mom's home phone number for a story.

"True/false: quarterback + quarterback = halfback." At Kansas State football players can earn four academic credits -- which can be counted toward degree requirements -- for playing football.

And if he ever transfers to Kansas State, that's two credit hours right there. Cornell freshman running back Chi Chi Madu was given a remedial running lesson by the school's track coach, Nathan Taylor, in late August after football coach Jim Knowles noticed a flaw in Madu's form.

Ask Planned Parenthood, they'll tell you: Once is enough. Despite getting only one shot on goal in a women's soccer match, Ball State upset Indiana 1-0 on Sept. 5. The Hoosiers, by the way, shot 18 blanks.

"That was just instinct. Kind of like running from the cops." -- Virginia's Marquis Weeks, on his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against North Carolina on Sept. 11.

Win one for the Kippur! Wisconsin fullback Matt Bernstein, who is Jewish, fasted from 4:45 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24, until sunset on Saturday for Yom Kippur. The Badgers had a 4:45 p.m. Saturday kickoff against Penn State. With the Badgers' top three tailbacks injured, Bernstein, who to conserve energy did not participate in pregame warmups, rushed for a career-best 123 yards on 27 carries in Wisconsin's 16-3 win.

Can we please get a comment from Coach Krzy ... Krzye ... from Coack K on this? Because his surname was too long, Lehman freshman Rafal Czerniawski substituted the word polish on the back of his warmup jersey before a 121-29 exhibition loss at Virginia on Nov. 5. c

"I would hate to see what their shower scene looks like." -- N.C. State swingman Julius Hodge, on the assertion by North Carolina guard Rashad McCants (left) that playing for the Tar Heels is like "being in jail."

At first they were afraid, they were petrified. In September, Illinois State women's volleyball coach Sharon Dingman bought her squad a karaoke machine for their locker room. Then the Redbirds went on a five-match winning streak and added a disco ball.

Nobody was injured, though five of the six came up limp. Six freshmen on the Indiana men's cross-country team were arrested on Aug. 27 for running naked through campus.

The bad news? We checked. There are no D-I football players named Gigli. Alabama defensive tackle Rudy Griffin claims that he watches his namesake film Rudy every night for inspiration.

Issue date: December 2, 2004