-40.2
SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1995
SECTION B
A tough question to answer
We, as Americans, have been suffocated by stories of the turmoll in professional baseball. But we can ignore the newspapers or turn off the television
Berblinger, who
Jeff Berblinger cannot. He lives it every day.
berbinger, who played second base at Kansas from 1990 to 1993, is a minor leaguer in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and played single-A ball, the lowest division, last season in Savannah, Ga.
SPORTS EDITOR
Now, because professional teams are holding trouts to gather
replacement players for the strikers,
Berblinger has a real-life dilemma.
The decision: He could abandon a players' union he doesn't even belong to and fulfill his lifelong dream, or he could wait his turn in the minor leagues behind a picket line he doesn't even walk.
Berblinger would prefer not to make that decision and hopes the
new governmental pressure put on the negotiations between players and owners will produce a settlement. He isn't a member of the union — no minor leaguer is
Jeff Berblinger
- until he makes
40-man Major
League roster.
"We are a separate entity from the major leagues," Berblinger said. "We don't get the benefits of the players' union. At the same time, they want us to uphold the beliefs of the union. I think it really comes down to the fact that the players' union has worked very hard for the best conditions."
But none of us, including Costner, is a professional baseball player. And none of us is Jeff Bblinger.
It would seem to us the decision is cut-and-dry—go with the dream. As Kevin Costner said in the movie "Field of Dreams," "It would kill some people to get that close to their dream and not touch it. They'd consider it a tragedy."
If Berblinger is invited to tryout for a replacement team, he wouldn't go. The makeshift rosters would consist of washed-out veterans and never-will-be rookies. Berblinger said.
And if you want a professional baseball career, crossing the picket line is not something you want on the resume.
"Those guys are going to play until the strike's over," he said. "I guess I'm looking at baseball as more of a career."
Take the comments from Boston Red Sox veteran pitcher Roger Clemens. He said he would throw at any dissenting player in a game.
"You hate to hear that kind of thing, but intimidation plays a big part in it," Berlinger said. "It's the history of labor. There's a double standard. There are players who have been in the league many years and make a lot of money. They are loyal to the union. Then, there are guys who haven't played very many years and have financial responsibilities. It just comes down to financial reasons for them. It's a tough deal."
It's a lose-lose decision. What's a player to do? The numbers are scarier still. If a player makes the replacement team, he gets $10,000 up front. Compare this to the first-year salary of a minor leaguer who makes $330 a month.
The replacements then get the major league minimum of $115,000 a year protrated depending on how many games they play. Add on the additional $20,000 compensation fee a player gets when the strike is resolved, and you've got a hefty sum of cash.
The pressure mounts from all sides, and the consequences of either decision are enormous.
Berblinger feels the pressure
"I never thought about it, but I enjoy the game so much. For me, it is an outlet," he said. "Baseball provides a relief for problems."
"I try to put this thing out of my mind and just do what I can when I get there."
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Oklahoma State senior center Bryant Reeves takes a jump shot over Kansas senior center Greg Ostertag. The Cowboys beat the Jayhawks, 79-69.
Kansas croons sad 'Big Country' tune
Cowboys squelch 'Hawks, 79-69
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
STILLWATER, Okla. — The No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks didn't have enough time while the Oklahoma State Cowboys had too much Big Country.
Oklahoma State took over sole possession of first place in the Big Eight Conference last night with a 79-69 victory against the Jayhawks in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Jayhawks fell to 17-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference while the Cowboys improved to 16-6 and 6-1
His counterpart, senior center Greg Ostertag, had eight points and two rebounds.
The force behind Oklahoma State's victory was senior center Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. Reeves had 33 points and 23 rebounds.
"He just completely whipped my tail today."
Ostertag said of Reeves. "I didn't show up today."
But Reeves showed up in force, and Kansas coach Roy Williams said that Reeves probably wanted to improve upon his previous encounters with Kansas.
"The last couple of times we've played, Greg has been pretty effective against him," Williams said. "He might have been more fired up tonight than Greg was. I don't know."
The first play of the game seemed to set the tone for Reeves. He went up for a shot and had it blocked by
Ostertag. But Reeves got the rebound and was fouled by Ostertag. After that play, Big Country controlled the lane the rest of the game.
And so did the Cowboys' defense, not allowing Kansas to score for a seven minute stretch during the first half.
"It was a combination of their defense and our lack of execution," said Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase, who led the Jawhacks with 15 points.
Kansas senior forward Greg Gurley said that he and the other Jayhawks knew that although the Cowboys' defense was good, Kansas had to execute better.
vas an 11-point halftime
team, but with our system n o b o d y should be able to shut us down."
Although Reeves played 39 minutes, Kansas did not go at him on defense, something that frustrated Williams.
"You've got to make him play on the defensive end of the floor a little bit, and we didn't do a good job of doing that," he said.
The Jayhawks did a good job during the second half cutting the Cowboys' lead down to four with 33 seconds left.
Oklahoma St. 79, Kansas 69
lead, but it could have been a two- or three-point game," he said. "They have a really good defensive
Player
Pearson 4-10 fg/fa ftm/ta tp
LaFrentz 4-5 0-1 8
Overtagt 3-8 2-2 8
Vaughn 1-5 2-2 4
Haase 6-15 1-3 15
Thomas 3-6 0-0 8
Williams 2-6 0-0 4
McGrath 1-1 0-0 2
Pollard 3-9 0-0 6
Gurley 1-2 0-0 3
Totals 28-63 7-10 69
**OLKLAHOMA STATE (16-6, 6-1)**
Pierce 1-2 6-1 8
Collins 2-4 0-0 4
Reeves 10-15 13-16 33
Rutherford 5-15 0-0 14
Owens 2-6 4-7 8
Miles 1-1 0-2 2
Roberts 3-6 1-3 7
Skaer 1-2 0-0 3
Baum 0-0 0-0 0
Nelson 0-0 0-0 0
Totals **25-51** **24-24** **79**
Halftime Kansas, State 31, Kansas 20 3-point goals Kansas 6-22 (Thomas 2, Haseau 2-8, Gurley 1-2), Kansas State (Rutherford 4-11, Skeer 1-1, Collins 0-1) Robbonsville Kansas 30 (Hasse 8), Oka. State (Vaughn 9), Oka. State (Waughn 9), Oka. State 16 (Owens 8) Total foula Kansas 27, Oka. State 17 Attendance 6,381
bonds left in the game, which Williams expected. "I knew we'd come back," he said. "I've never
Jerod Haase
Kansas sophomore guard
coached a team that doesn't come back, regardless of what the deficit is."
But the deficit was just too large for the Jayhawks to overcome.
"We just didn't get that one big stop we needed," Gurley said.
The Jayhawks didn't help themselves with their shot selection during the second-half comeback.
"We were very impatient, and at the same time we weren't getting the basketball inside." Williams said. "We rushed some shots down the stretch, and regardless of
what your deficit is, you got to take an extra two or three seconds to make sure you get a decent shot.
Guard scores big on and off court
AP Top 25
The Top Twenty Five teams in The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, record through Feb. 5.
rank team record pts. pr
1.UConn (32) 19-0 800 1
2.Tennessee 21-1 768 2
3.Colorado 18-2 721 4
4.TexasTech 21-2 680 6
5.La. Tech 18-3 650 7
6.Stanford 17-2 634 3
7.Vanderbilt 19-4 611 8
8.Virginia 18-3 561 12
9.W.Ky. 18-1 553 9
10.Georgia 18-1 526 11
11.UNC 20-3 502 5
12.Wash. 17-5 419 13
13.Penn St. 16-4 404 10
14.Miss. 17-3 358 17
15.Kansas 16-5 322 19
16.GW 15-3 313 18
17.Purdue 16-6 286 21
18.Florida 16-6 259 15
19.Alabama 16-5 223 16
20 Arkansas 16-4 216 22
21.Duke 16-4 141 14
22.Shrn Cal 16-4 84 24
23.Oregon St. 14-4 78 —
24.Oklahoma 15-5 74 25
25.Wisconsin 15-5 56 —
Other teamreciving votes:
Texas A&M 26, DePaul 21, Seton Hall 20, Old Dominion 17, San Diego St. 16, Clemson 14, Southern Mississippi 10, St. Joseph's 9, Oregon 8, Fla. International 7, Ohio, U. of. Virginia Tech 4, North Carolina St. 2, Tulane 1, Villanova 1.
Source: The Associated Press KANSAN
Halbleib has been named as Jayhawk Scholar twice
But Halbleib must be doing something right
and was the vau-
dictorian of her
class. Recently,
she was named a
Jayhawk Scholar
for the second
time in her career
at Kansas. To
earn the honor,
student-athletes
must record a
GPA between
3.00 and 3.99.
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
"Hablebish is just doing a great job representing what a real student-athlete is about," said
The sophomore guard admitted her study habits are not the best. Halbleib does most of her homework while watching television, and it takes her twice as long.
Angie Hablbleb probably isn't the person to present a "how to study" seminar.
At Middleton High School in Middleton,
Wis, she earned a 4.0 grade point average
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington.
Halbieib is pursuing a career in math education. Halbieib said she hopes to teach and coach at the high school level, combining her math and basketball knowledge.
"When you choose a college, you've got to choose it for a coach."
10. 6 points a game this season and has started the last three games. Halbleib's 39.3 percent average from behind the three-point line is third-best in the Big Eight Conference.
"I've always wanted to go back and teach the kids what I've learned," she said.
Halbleib said she was comfortable starting or coming off the bench. Like most of her Kansas teammates, though, Halbleib was the go-to player on her high school team. She scored 2,378 points in her career and became the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history in the state of Wisconsin.
But until that time comes, Halbleib can be seen giving Kansas a boost on the basketball court. After making 49 threepointers and averaging 10.3 points a game as a freshman, Halbleib has continued her productivity. She is averaging
Because of her high school success, Halbleib said more than 100 NCAA Division I schools recruited her. However, she nearly canceled the remainder of her campus visits after traveling to Kansas
Angie Haiblelb
Kansas sophomoreguard
and meeting Washington
"It seemed like the place for me," Holbleb said. "When you choose a college, you've got to choose it for a coach. If you don't click with the coach, you're going have a horrible four years."
Not only did she click with Washington, but Halbleib clicked with the Kansas program, Washington said.
Halbieb's productivity may continue to rise as her strength increases.
es and her ball release gets quicker, Washington said.
"She doesn't care if I go 0-for-10," Halbleib said. "She's confident I can make the next 10."
"You've got to be able to catch and be set," Washington said. "The game is at such a level defenses aren't going to let you set to easily."
Nonetheless, Halbleb already has scored in double digits in 12 games this season, including a 24-point performance against Illinois State. As a proven long-range threat, Halbleb has the green light to shoot the ball at any time, Washington said.
U
Valerie Crow / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore guard Angie Halbleib, who has the third highest Big Eight average in three point shooting, was recruited by more than 100 NCAA dDivision i schools.