University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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o o o FDR YDITR amusement much ado about movies Lfter casting a spell on the literary world, Harry Potter brought his magic to the big screen with the November release of the much anticipated film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer ' s Stone. Hitting the box office just in time for Thanksgiving, the movie adaptation received some criticism for staying too true to the book. Apparently undeterred by this, adults and children alike lined up to see the two and a half hour film starring their young wizard hero. While Harry Potter proved to be a hit, not all highly promoted films were so lucky. Pearl Harbor earned back its studio price tag in ticket sales, but was still considered a disappointment at the box office. Planet of the Apes experienced a similar fate and while Haley Joel Osment ' s love may have been real, the profits for Al: Artificial Intelligence were not. In contrast, the surprise hit came in the form of a green ogre named Shrek. Anticipation over the release of films was common to the industry. Producers contributed to the frenzy by generating as much buzz as possible or by staying silent and provoking mys- tery. George Lucas released select footage from Star Wars Epi- sode II: Attack of the Clones prior to its theatrical debut, but was hesitant to reveal much more beyond that. Leaving an audience excited about a film was often enough to guarantee that they turned out to see it. by elizabeth sprang 142 | Entertainment George Harrison heads into a London court to recover rights to an early Beatles recording in this 1998 photo. Harrison died in late November 2001 after a battle With throat Cancer, photo courtesy ofThr Asso- ciated Press former beatle succumbs to cancer I-T-I . r hank you George, it was grand knowing you, rema rked Yoko Ono as she spoke to The Associated Press follow- ing the death of former Beatle George Harrison. Fifty-eight-year- old Harrison had been battling throat cancer for several years and he lost the fight on November, 29. With his wife and son by his side, he died at a friend ' s home in Los Angeles. Harrison was theyoungestmemberof the Beatles and was commonly referred to as the quiet one. While John Lennon and Paul McCartney often collaborated on songwriting, Harrison preferred to write alone. Following the break-up of the band, he continued to experiment and grow musically. Harrison ' s death left fansaround the world saddened by the loss, but grateful for all he gave. by elizabeth sprang liter i pious tours, ' atone chang jaformance, h we recent ma jeapression Through the different ro jimp, with stif ! weappropri; prayed that Mi tntertainthep MS second r it in late P ' oductonthf Pe throne, irosoftintrc konNovi nation, the i Theconcep dominant, nd Bft

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a dynasty ' s end F. or the first time since 1 997, the New York Yankees no longer remained the World Champions of baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks tookthe title in an action filled seven game series. The whole series came down to the ninth inning of the seventh game when Luis Gonzalez softly lined a base hit off of Marian Rivera and drove in Jay Bell for the win. Arizona became the champions after only four years in the league as an expansion team. The Diamondbackscontained many veterans, including Roger Clemens, Mark Grace, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. Two of these veterans- Schilling and Johnson- both pitchers, were voted co-most valuable players. Schilling started three games, winning one, while Johnson recorded victories in games two, six and seven. The series went back and forth, with Arizona winning games one and two and then giving up games three, four and five to the Yankees, only to come back and win the last two games for the title.The World Series took on a whole new mean- ing for the country after the attacks on September 11. Many people rooted for the 26-time World Champion Yankees. The thought remained that if the Yankees won, it would show that New York and the United States remained strong. LSA sophomore Roberto Vega-Morales said of the series, It was definitely one of the most exciting in years. It was exciting up until the last minute. The World Series still brought the country together after September 11. People were comforted by the October classic and the excitement of America ' s favorite pastime. by early mcentee hellos and good-byes S, ' ports fans saw an exciting year with major players saying good-bye and others coming back for more after retire- ment. Michael Jordan returnedtotheNBAasthesameold No.23 for his personally owned Washington Wizards. With a respect- able game point average of 25, Jordan was his same old self from his Bull days, but with a much less impressive season for his new team. Mario Lemieux came back to the ice after a three-year hiatus returning to his roots with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played well upon returning in the 2000-2001 season with a total of 35 goals, although down from his total of 50 upon retiring in the 1 996-1 997 season. Baseball saw Mark McGwire ' s last game as he ended his 1 6-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the 2000-2001 season. Known best for his record number of home runs, specifically the memorable summer in 1 998 of the Great Home Run Chase, Big Mac left his mark on the sport with a total of 583 homers and one World Series title with Oakland in 1 989. Cal Ripken Jr. ended his 20-year career in his last game as a Baltimore Oriole this year as well. Commonly known as the Iron Man, Ripken attained worldwide fame for his dedication to the game. As major league commissioner Bud Selig told the Associ- ated Press, He has become the symbol of the American work ethic, a symbol for the American working man. He also became a symbol of everything that is great about the game of baseball . by tiffany marsch In his first game with his new team, the Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan drives to the basket. Jordan returned to the NBA after two years of retirement. photo courtesy of The Associated Press Retrospect | 141

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the drowned world tour Lfter an eight year absence, Madonna made her re- turn to the stage over the summer. Seats for the Drowned World Tour sold out nationwide as dedicated fans found the high ticket cost a small price to pay to see the singer perform live. Like her previous tours, the concert series included an elaborate stage show with extensive choreographic sequences and multiple costume changes to accompany the vocals. Missing from the performance, however, were many of the older songs which originally made her famous. As promised, she focused on her more recent material, which she considered to be a more accu- rate expression of herself. Through the course of the concert, she transitioned through five different roles, beginning as a punk rocker and closing as a pimp, with stints as a geisha, a cowgirl and a Latin diva in between. While in costume, Madonna performed songs which were appropriate for the character she personified and even provided guitar for a few numbers. The highly anticipated tour proved that Madonna still had the ability to draw crowds and entertain the public like virtually no other performer. For those unable to attend the show, HBO broadcast the concert from the tour ' s second night in Detroit. by elizabeth sprang Madonna performs a high engery num- ber on stage in Philadelphia. The Drowned World Tour was her first con- cert series in eight years, photo amnesy of The Associated Press clash of the consoles hen the Sony PlayStation 2 made its American debut in late fall 2000, it was the most sought after gaming product on the market. A year later, it still reigned atop the video game throne, but it had some competition to contend with. Microsoft introduced its company ' sfirst video game console, the Xbox, on November 15, 2001 and Nintendo released its latest creation, the GameCube, three days later. With three options available, consumers faced the dilemma of deciding which con- sole to purchase and brought on the new era of video game wars. The concept was nothing new; companies had been battling for dominance in the industry since the glory days of Atari. While Nintendo and Sega took control of the 1 980s, it was Sony who ruled the 1 990s and at the dawn of the new millennium. Once a power holder in the industry, Sega suddenly found itself unable to compete with the PlayStation 2 and ultimately decided to discontinue production of its own console, the DreamCast. Microsoft quickly seized the opportunity to fill the void left by Sega and enter the industry with a console of its own. While the three products were similar, there were enough differences for each to distinguish itself from its competitors. The PlayStation 2 offered the ability to play its predecessor ' s games as well as provided its own impressive list of game titles. With an established fan base and the added bonus of a DVD player built into the console, Sony appeared to be in control of the market, at least for the short term. After conquering the home computer market, Microsoft hoped to have similar success in the video game industry by granting the Xbox the ability to go online. With this feature and a DVD player of its own, Microsoft planned to establish itself as a serious competitor. Nintendo ' s GameCube entered the market with a significantly lower price tag than either of the other consoles and hoped that the company ' s experience and reputation in the industry would win over new members to its already substantial fan base. Entering the holiday season, each company was prepared to fight for a share of the market in the latest battle of video game wars. by elizabeth sprang Retrospect | 143