2B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17,2005
ATHLETICS CALENDAR
FRIDAY
- Men's basketball vs. Idaho State, 7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse
- Swimming, Minnesota Invite, all day, Minneapolis, Minn.
Swimming, Minnesota invite, all day,
Minneapolis, Minn.
SUNDAY
- Women's basketball vs. Binghamton, noon. Allen Fieldhouse
- Swimming, Minnesota Invite, all day, Minneapolis, Minn.
- MONDAY
- Men's basketball vs. Arizona,
EASports Maui Invitational, 8 p.m.
Maui, Hawaii
TUESDAY
Cross Country, NCAA Championships, time TBA, Terre Haute, Ind.
- Men's basketball vs. Arkansas or Connecticut, EA Sports Maui Invitational, 8 or 3:30 p.m., Maui, Hawaii
- Women's basketball vs. Detroit, 7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse
Japanese outfielder resigns with Yankees
MLB
NEWYORK - Hideki Matsui is staying with the New York Yankees after agreeing to a $52 million four-year contract that makes him the highest-paid Japanese player in the major leagues.
"I'm most very happy to be able to come back again and wear the pinstripe again and play in that uniform," Matsui said at a news conference Wednesday. "My first desire was to play here."
Kansan file photo
Matsui's agent, Arn Teillem and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met the Nov. 15 deadline contained in Matsui's first contract with the team.
That deal stated that if there was no agreement by then, New York would have to place the outfielder on unconditional release waivers, which would have prevented the Yankees from re-signing him until May 15.
"I know Hideki is relieved. This is where he always wanted to be" Tellem said after reaching the agreement Tuesday night. "His hope is to finish his career as a Yankee and help the Yankees win the World Series."
Matsui is to earn $13 million in each of the next four seasons and gets a no-trade clause. He was coming off a $21 million, three-year contract in which he earned an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Associated Press
Juniors Laura Major and Dena Seibel contributed to the Kansas women's cross country team's victory at the Bob Timmons Invitational earlier this season. The women's team finished 11th last Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in Iowa City, Iowa. The finish was an improvement on the 16th place finish at the same meet last year.
Better placements show team has made strides
BY ANTONIO MENDOZA
amendoza@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
This season the Kansas women's cross country team placed higher in every meet than it did in the same meets last season.
Coach Stanley Redwine said he was pleased with the women's improvement.
"Even at the conference meet they placed better," Redwine said, "because they ran better as a group."
The team's most prominent victory was over in-state rival Kansas State in the Kansas State Wildcat Invitational on Sept. 9 in Manhattan.
Another important accomplishment this season was Kansas' fourth place finish out of 13 teams at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Invitational in
"V
You have your good days, you have your bad. But overall, we are a lot better than last year, for sure."
Lisa Morrisey Sophomore runner
Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 15. Last season at the same meet, the team finished 36th out of 36 schools.
"We made good decisions; we make the effort," sophomore Lisa Morrisey said.
"You have your good days, you have your bad. But overall, we are a lot better than last year, for sure."
This women's team will lose only two members next year from its 15person roster; seniors Lindsay Mc
Cracken and Angela Pichardo.
This year's team was young, with three freshmen and six sophomores.
The maturity of the young runners showed in various meets this season, including the Midwest Regional Championship on Nov. 12 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Kansas finished 11th out of 23 teams this year, compared to last season's finish of 16th out of 26 teams.
Redwine said the team would train to improve further in the offseason.
"With the athletes we are bringing in next year," he said, "I think it's really going to be good for us and we are going to continue to get better."
Edited by Erin Wisdom
NFL
Rams' coach defends his defensive line
BY R.B. FALLSTROM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Rams coach Joe Vitt had little to say Wednesday about a Sports Illustrated article critical of his defensive tackles.
In Michael Silver's story in this week's edition, an overview of the Rams' troubles and front-office squabbles, an anonymous player ripped the team's trio of first-round picks at defensive tackle.
"I don't know who the anonymous player was, what I will tell you is this: I'm here to answer football questions, not tabloid questions." Vitt said. "Let's go on from there."
The Rams (4-5) took Damione Lewis and Ryan Pickett in 2001 and Jimmy Kennedy in 2003. Pickett by far has been the best of the three.
"We have three No. 1 picks at tackle and those guys are killing us," the player was quoted as saying on the field after Sunday's 31-16 loss at Seattle. "They're not playing hard and they can't stop anybody. It's horrible."
Vitt said he had not read the article. But he did defend the play of the three, except for Sunday's 31-16 loss at Seattle.
"I thought our defensive tackles have played well this year," Vitt said. "I think we're getting pretty good inside pressure. I think we could have been better last game, but there's a lot of guys who could have been better last game."
Veteran defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson, the players' unofficial spokesman, said the assessment was not accurate and ripped the anonymous nature of the comment.
"I'm not surprised we don't have a name attached to it," Jackson said. "If there's not a name attached to it, it doesn't carry a whole lot of weight with me."
"Ask his opponents, watch the film, don't take my word for it," Jackson said. "The film doesn't lie."
The Rams likely will be without starting of offensive guard Adam Timmerman and cornverbback Travis Fisher this week.
Timmerman is being held out of practice due to an assortment of ailments and Fisher has a lingering groin injury.
Neither player was on the field as the team began preparations for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
"Adam was taking a rest, 'Vitt said.' Maybe he'll be active for the game but we'll not start him."
Vitt said he was sorting out his options at cornerback after Chris Johnson and rookie Ron Bartell took snaps there.
Timmerman has played in 167 consecutive games and appeared in two Pro Bowls.
He underwent offseason surgery on both shoulders and a foot.
"He's sore and we've got to get him better."
"He's hurting a little bit right now," Vitt said.
"He wanted to play, he wanted to practice and this was a decision we made to hold him out.
Blaine Saipiaa will start at right guard in place of Timmerman.
He's started three games, two at right tackle and one at tight end.
▼ NFL
K.C. tentatively awarded Super Bowl
BY STEVE BRISENDINE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — NFL owners voted Wednesday to tentatively award Kansas City a Super Bowl, largely as a tribute to owner Lamar Hunt, who gave the game its name.
The award comes with one giant string attached: improvements to Arrowhead Stadium, including a rolling roof to keep out the February cold. The team estimates the cost of the roof alone at $100 million to $200 million — and that's not counting $300 million or so the Chiefs say they need in stadium upgrades.
The approval is for a 10-year window, starting in 2011, but
Hunt said the most likely prospects would be for the 49th or 51st Super Bowl, after the 2014 or 2016 seasons.
The team is now in lease negotiations with Jackson County and hopes to have a sales tax issue on the April ballot for Kansas City residents who live in the county. Last year, a bi-state sales tax proposal, for stadium improvements and arts in the area, failed to gain approval.
"This is a very happy day, and in some respects a surprising day," he said at a news conference after the second day of the owners' two-day fall meeting adjourned. "This is something our organization has talked about for a number of years."
The Chiefs, and other backers of stadium renovations, hope the prospect of landing an event with an estimated $400 million economic impact will provide enough reason to vote "yes" this time.
"The tremendous benefit to Kansas City, both in economic terms and prestige, are beyond calculation," Mayor Kay Barnes said in a written statement.
whose Kauffman Stadium sits across a parking lot from Arrowhead, would also have benefited from that tax.
Jack Steadman, the Chiefs' vice chairman, said lease talks were to resume Thursday and that he hoped they would be completed by December.
An artist's rendering released Wednesday by the Kansas City Chiefs shows Arrowhead Stadium with a removable roof. If the renovation goes as planned, the Chiefs will play host to the 2014 or 2016 Sunoco Bowl.
The Associated Press
LIBERTY HALL 644 Mass
149-192
EVERYTHING IS LILUMMATEDPg13
4:40 7:10 9:20
PROOF(pg13)
4:30 7:00 9:15
students $6.00
The Kansas City Rovals.
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