10A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2005
Chiefs fumble home match
Too many turnovers make victory unrecoverable
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The day after, everybody was still blinking their eyes and wondering how in the world this happened.
How could the Kansas City Chiefs, with what they feel is one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL, let a robust 18-point lead dissolve into a disquieting 37-31 loss?
One part of the equation is clearly Donovan McNabb and the strength of a Philadelphia team that represented the NFC last year in the Super Bowl. Once he got rolling, McNabb was unstoppable, jumping on every mistake and leading the Eagles on a stunning 31-0 scoring blitz.
But another, more painful reason was poor execution by the Chiefs after they seized leads of 17-0 and 24-6.
The feeling around Arrowhead Stadium on a gloomy
Monday afternoon was that without four Kansas City turnovers, not even McNabb and the Eagles could have come all the way back.
"It was very disappointing," said Dante Hall, who returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, but whose fumble during a later return led to a Philadelphia score.
Well, it had something to do with them. Although he was supposedly playing with an assortment of aches and pains including a painful sports hernia, McNabb threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns.
it's hard to swallow when you beat yourself. That's just tough, tough, tough to digest when you look back at all the mistakes you made."
Not in Arrowhead.
Terrell Owens caught 11 balls for 171 vards and a TD.
Coaching may also have been a factor. The Chiefs got two touchdown and a field goal early and seemed to be moving at
will. But then the Eagles adjusted their defense and the Chiefs managed only 72 total yards in the second half until their final touchdown drive.
By then, the Eagles had taken a 37-24 lead.
"The best thing that could have happened to us in the second half is to convert some third downs and not turn the ball over," said coach Dick Vermeil. "They got 23 points off turnovers. We had a couple of dropped passes."
It was the second straight loss for the Chiefs after a 2-0 start. A slow start at Denver on Monday night led to a 30-10 defeat.
"We were down 17-0 (at Denver) and we weren't able to come back," said tight end Tony Gonzalez. "They (Philadelphia) were down 17-0 and the crowd was in it, the team was in it and we just couldn't get it done."
Roaf's hamstring injury is expected to be healed in time for the next game against Washington on Oct. 16. Also back will be cornerback Eric Warfield and offensive lineman John Welbourn after serving their fourgame suspensions.
Orlin Wagner/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil looks at the scoreboard during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday. The Eagles beat the Chiefs 37-31.
FOOTBALL
Athletics Department to honor Aloha team
The Kansas Athletics Department is planning a ceremony to honor the 1955 Aloha Bowl championship team at the Kansas-Oklahoma game at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 15.
Players, coaches, support staff and managers from the 1995 team will be recognized at halftime.The Jayhawks finished 10-2 during that season, setting a school record.
Members of the team are asked to contact Pat Henderson with the Athletics Department if they plan to attend the ceremony.
- Ryan Colaianni
Togetherness
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
"Being a part of a team like this is indescribable," Sauer said. "We have tons of fun together off the field, but then when it comes time to play soccer, we work hard for each other and against each other, but the moment we step off the field we are best friends again."
In fact, when players have free time, they spend that time together, too. Bush said some of her older teammates would spend time in her residence hall room just to watch television.
"Being a part of a team like this is indescribable. We have tons of fun together off the field, but then when it comes time to play soccer, we work hard for each other and against each other, but the moment we step off the field we are best friends again."
"Michelle (Rasmussen, junior midfielder) and I are into Sweet Sixteen." Bush said, as she broke into the MTV show's
"D
Afton Sauer
Junior defender
theme song. "Everybody watches it."
The team's chemistry also helps newcomers to succeed. Kansas started four freshmen in its last match at Iowa State. Bush and freshmen midfielders Missy Geha and jenny Murtaugh have started all 12 matches.
"Everybody just helped us ease into it and were like 'OK,
class doesn't matter here. You guys are freshmen, but you're a part of this team. It doesn't matter when you step on this field. Do what you've got to do and we're going to win — together," Bush said.
“It’s definitely something that has gotten better every year,” Karfonta said. “Just like anything, you have to work at it. We all want it so we work at it.”
Despite falling into a three-game winless slump, the Jayhawks knew they had something unique. No amount of talent could match the way the team played the game together or how they defined teamwork.
Karfonta said the sense of family among the Kansas seniors had always been there but seemed to have gotten stronger.
"I think teamwork is knowing that you're going to go out every game and bust your butt off, not only for yourself, but for each other," Bush said. "It's picking each other up off the ground when you've had a bad day. It's about each other — not about yourself."
MLB
Edited by Theresa Montaño
Chicago looks to end slump
BY MIKE FITZPATRICK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trying to end an 88-year championship drought, the White Sox need only look across the field to find hope.
After all, the Red Sox finally won it on. Why not Chicago?
"It would be comparable if we could ever pull this thing off; it would be a lot of parallel lines to what they have done," slugger Paul Konerko said Monday.
Shoeless Joe Jackson, Happy Felsch and Eddie Cicotte led Chicago to its last World Series title in 1917, just a few years before the famous Black Sox scandal ended their major league league
As these White Sox prepared for their playoff opener against Boston, other teams were thinking big, too.
The St. Louis Cardinals want to make up for last year's wipeout in the World Series, and the Atlanta Braves are fired of their annual October flops.
Boston is the AL wild card for the third straight season — and that might be the perfect spot in these playoffs, which begin Tuesday afternoon with the NL West champion San Diego Padres playing in St. Louis.
In the American League, Derek Jeter and the Yankees haven't won it all in five years, and that's too long as far as they're concerned.
The Los Angeles Angels have the bulpen to get deep into October, and the Red Sox are hoping to repeat after winning their first title since 1918.
The last three World Series champions have been wild cards, including the Angels in 2002. They upset New York that year and are looking forward to opening the rematch at home tonight.
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