10A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 1, 2006
Shorts
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
Question #4: What is the key to the baseball team's success this season?
Answer: Pitching. The Jayhawks have some issues to work out in the starting rotation. Kansas coach Ritch Price said the team had never been deeper, but the quality of that depth has yet to be seen. They'll start evaluating tonight against Hawaii-Hilo. With junior Sean Land and senior Kodiak Quick as locks to be in the weekend rotation. Price will be looking for a third man to solidify a staff that lost southpaw Mike Zagurski to graduation. Price will look to senior Ricky Fairchild, a transfer from Tulane, who posted a less-than-stellar 6.29 ERA in relief last season for the Green Wave. Freshmen Nick Czyz and Andy Marks are also possibilities.
Question #5: Can the softball team get over last year's shower scandal and build off its NCAA tournament appearance?
Answer: What was forgotten in the tumultuous offseason for coach Tracy Bunge and her squad was that they were a success between the lines. Kansas finished sixth in the Big 12 and advanced to the tournament for the first time since 1999. This season the league's coaches picked
the Jayhawks to finish seventh despite the return of four all-Big 12 performers, including senior Serena Settlemier, the ace of last year's pitching staff. With seniors Destiny Frankenstein, Heather Stanley and Jessica Moppin still in the lineup, this team will surprise the detractors and improve upon last season's results.
O yeah, and ladies, we love those shorts.
There you have it. Five questions, all answered. That's probably the most I've ever accomplished on a Friday.
Wilson is a Windsor, Mo. senior in journalism.
NHL
St. Louis feeling a little Blue Fire sale begins; Weight and Sillinger traded
BY R.B. FALLSTROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — No offense to the Carolina Hurricanes, but just a few hours after joining them in a trade former St. Louis Blues forward Doug Weight was plotting how he might boomerang back to his old team by next season.
Right now, the fire sale is in full swing for the Blues, formerly a model of consistency with 25 consecutive playoff appearances but presently saddled with the NHL's worst record. For the first time in decades, they're selling off talent instead of stockpiling for the postseason with Weight and Mike Sillinger getting shipped out in a 24-hour period.
This follows the preseason trade of star defenseman Chris Pronger, and the trade deadline is more than a month away. The remaining veterans are left to wonder who'll be next.
Claiming a loss of $40 million in the season before the lockout, team owners Bill and Nancy Laurie put the franchise on the market last summer and then gutted the roster to facilitate a sale that could be finalized this week. The favorite, for the second time during the process, is a group headed by former NBA executive Dave Checketts.
Thus, Weight's ambivalence about going from worst to first in the trade to the Hurricanes, who have the best record in the NHL for prospects and draft picks. Sure, he'll love playing on a Stanley Cup contender, but he hates uprooting his family and has nothing but positive things to say about the Blues organization.
"It stinks," he said of being traded. "but I'm excited."
son and said the Hurricanes did not mention a long term contract. Before leaving town he said he'd love to return to the Blues once the bonfire has burned out and new owners interested in building a contender are in change.
Then again, he'll be an unrestricted free agent after this seating, they long ago conceded the end of a playoff run that dated to the 1979-80 season.
"I'm not afraid to say I love St. Louis," Weight said. "It's a place that's dear to me and it's a place where I'd love to end up. Who knows? Before you turn around I could be back here."
In the meantime, the team has nothing to look forward to. With only 32 points and a roster filled with no-names due to the cost-cutting, they long ago conceded the end of a playoff run that dated to the 1979-80 season.
On Monday night the team responded to the latest trade with an inspired 3-2 shootout
In the long term, the team believes, the Blues will be better for it. Most of the playoff appearances in professional sports' longest run were short and sweet, punctuating mediocre seasons.
They paid for it with lower draft picks, which kept them firmly stuck in the middle of the NHL. Their appearance in the 2001 Western Conference final was the first time since 1986 that they made it past the second round.
Among the bounty for Weight is the Hurricanes' first-round pick in this spring's Entry Draft, which will help the team rebuild from
"C
Sometimes when you go 25 years making the playoffs, you're accepting mediocrity."
GOLF
Larry Pleau
St. Louis Blues General Manager
the ashes.
victory over the Calgary Flames. Big games from the likes of Lee Stempniak and Jay McClement, two of the minor leaguers they called up to replace the departed players, spelled the difference.
"This was a terrific win," coach Mike Kitchen said. "To go through what we've gone through, the guys really pulled together."
"Sometimes when you go 25 years making the playoffs, you're accepting mediocrity," general manager Larry Plaeu said. "If you look at anybody that's ever won the Stanley Cup in the last 15-20 years, they've gone through something like this before they got there. Our goal is still the same and we're taking some tough, tough steps right now."
More often, the team is simply outgunned. It's a situation that's testing the patience of the everloyal fan base who used to fill the Savvis Center on a nightly basis but now appears increasingly alienated. There were rows upon rows of empty seats at the Flames gane, the norm for this season, along with an inflated announced attendance of 13,310 based on tickets sold.
Players seem to understand it's the cold, hard business side of the game.
"That's part of it as you get older and unrestricted," Drake said. "No offense, I'd trade all of us, too."
Fans who showed up for Monday's loss to the Flames seemed to understand the tough love.
Pleau said fans would soon be rewarded.
"What I would tell them is stick with us," Pleau said. "This franchise is going to get healthy again.
'Hawks looking to make strides in '06
Players seek to overcome earlier poor performances
HAD BY ASHER FUSCO
afsuco@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
File photo
After a slew of mediocre results last fall, the Kansas men's golf team is hoping to rebound as the spring season begins.
The Jayhawks placed sixth or worse in their final three tournaments of the fall after starting the season with a promising firstplace finish in the Kansas Invitational.
Kansas coach Ross Randall, in his 27th season at the University, said he believed his team had the potential to show improvement throughout the spring.
They face a challenging spring schedule leading up to the NCAA Regionals on May 18.
"I'm thinking this year the guys are going to start playing a little better as the season goes, and we'll peak at the right time, which is April and May." Ralland said.
Randall's optimism was based on the work his players had done to stay sharp during the winter months.
Many Jaawkh golfers spent winter break polishing their skills in warm locales such as Arizona
"I think the biggest key for me is believing that I deserve to be out there with the best players."
and Florida.
The unseasonably warm conditions of January had even allowed the players who stayed in Lawrence to get some practice in.
"I think the biggest key for me
Junior Gary Woodland competes at the men's Kansas Invitational last September. Woodland and the team will start the season off in Waikoloa, Hawaii on Feb. 8.
Gary Woodland
Junior
No. 4 in the nation, appeared primed to provide excitement and regularly finish at the top of the leaderboard.
He said he had spent time working with a sports psychologist to gain a mental edge over the competition.
WE
is believing that I deserve to be out there with the best players," Woodland said.
The team will tee off February 8th at the University of Hawai'i Hilo Intercollegiate Tournament in Waikoloa, Hawaii. Randall has already set his lineup for the event, choosing to start seniors Pete Krisnich, Luke Trammell and Jason Sigler alongside Woodland and redshirt freshman Zach Pederson.
Randall said he realized the importance of getting off to a good start against a strong field of
teams in Hawaii.
"It's good to be able to play against some really good teams right away and see how we compare to them," he said.
Woodland said the team seemed poised to overcome all obstacles and become a more competitive force in the Big 12 Conference.
"We're making strides to get off to a good start in this first tournament," he said. "The sky's the limit from there."
- Edited by Matt Wilson
AUDITION UNIVERSITY DANCE COMPANY 7 p.m. Wednesday February 1, 2006
STUDIO 242 ROBINSON CENTER
NO SOLO MATERIAL REQUIRED
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
CALL 785-864-4264
KU TSA is going to have a Chinese New Year Party (semi-formal) on February 4th. We would like to invite everyone to join our celebration. Please come to enjoy the food and show. Also win some prizes!
Date: February 4th
Location: ECM Church
Location: ECM Church 1204 Oread, Lawrence, KS 66044
Reserved Ticket Price: $10
Children under age of 12:$5
Please reserve your ticket before February 2. Ticket at the door is $12 Ticket Reservation: Contact Michelle @ michelle626@hotmail.com
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