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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008
SPORTS
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» HOCKEY
Adam Crohn, St. Louis senior, works his way past Nebraska during a game Friday night at Pepsi Ice Midwest.
Team sticks to season streak
Lisa Lipovac/KANSA)
Luke Tippleton/RAMA Brent Pitts, Olathe junior, blocks a shot at Friday night's game. The KU club ice hockey team played Nebraska Ice Pepsi Midwest
BY JOE PREINER
jreiner@kansan.com
preiner@kansan.com
The KU club ice hockey team extended its winning streak to four games after two dominating performances this weekend against Nebraska.
The team was pumped up and ready to defend its home ice on Friday. Within the first 90 seconds of the game, the layhawks recorded their first goal and never looked back, coasting to a 9-1 victory.
The team dominated Nebraska in every aspect of the game. The Jayhawks out shot, scored and even fouled its opponent. A total of 17 penalties were called in the game, with just more than half going against the KU team.
Despite the generally negative nature of penalties, the Jayhawks played their best hockey when they were down one player. Throughout the game, Kansas effectively shut down every power play Nebraska had. Kansas was so solid defensively during the game that it translated into offense. The Jayhawks scored four of their nine goals when the Huskers had a one-man advantage.
Coach Tom Prendergast was pleased with the team's effort.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Jayhawks' scoring spree was their willingness to shoot the puck. Kansas took 41 shots during the game, putting Nebraska's goalie and defense to the test. Nebraska was able to manage only 19 shots during the entire night, thanks to Jayhawks' stifling defense.
"The game plan was to get a lot of shots on goal, and we did that," Prendergast said. "And then also to
limit the amount of opportunities their team got, so I thought in that regard it was very good."
Nebraska looked lethargic for all but a few minutes in the final period of play. In those few minutes, the Huskers unleashed a barrage of shots on the KU goal. None of those shots reached the destination, as Brent Pitts, Olathe junior, was in position every time. Pitts admitted it was difficult to stay focused in the blowout victory.
"it hard in a game like that," Pitts said. "When you get flurries like that, where you will be down there for 10 minutes without a shot, and then they come down and get 5 to 10 shots, it kind of catches you off guard."
Pitts adjusted well to the streaky pace of the game, saving 18 of the 19 shots he faced. During the weekend, both active goalies for KU performed at a high level. Adam Paulitsch, St. Louis senior, denied 21 of Nebraska's 22 attempts on goal to help Kansas to a 4-1 victory on Saturday, completing the season sweep against Nebraska.
With the remaining schedule dwindling, the team looks ahead to next weekend's challenge: the Big 12 Classic Tournament. Kansas, which boasts a No. 3 seed in the event, knows it has its work cut out.
"There are a couple teams that we have to knock off first before we get to face Mizzou, which we are anticipating will be our toughest opponent," Prendergast said. "So we are going to try not to look past teams, while at the same time trying to focus on playing a solid defensive game."
The tournament begins Feb. 1 at Pepsi Ice Midwest, 12140 West 135th St., Overland Park, with Kansas playing Iowa State. Should the Jayhawks win that game, they would then face the winner of a matchup between Texas Tech and Nebraska. The team would not meet Missouri, the No. 1 seed, until the championship game on Feb. 3. The Jayhawks have not defeated the Tigers this season, falling in both their home and away contests.
- Edited by Katherine Loeck
Brady's condition still unclear
NFL
BY HOWARD ULMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Mystery surrounds the condition of Tom Brady's right foot like a protective boot.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, speaks to a crowd of 15,000 fans during a send off rally at Stade Tennesse in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday. At right is New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, and second right, team owner Robert Kraft.
After limping while wearing the footwear in New York on Monday, the Patriots star wasn't seen or heard during the time on Thursday and Friday when reporters and photographers had access to the players in the locker room and at practice.
The club isn't shedding any light on the issue despite coach Bill Belichick's statement that it would.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
When asked at his news conference Friday if he could say whether Brady would practice later in the bed, Belichick said: "Not now. We'll see. Let you know after practice, or does everybody have a deadline before then?"
But the team never announced if the NFL MVP was at practice. New England vice president of media relations Stacey James said Friday night he had no update.
During the week before a game, teams are required to issue reports on Wednesdays and Thursdays listing the players who missed practice or were limited in their participation. On Fridays, they must report players as probable, questionable, doubtful or out of the next game.
Because the Super Bowl against the New York Giants won't be played until a week from Sunday, the first report isn't due until Wednesday.
Brady reportedly has a minor high ankle sprain, according to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald.
The team has given no indication
Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby learned Tuesday, the day after Brady was photographed with the boot, that he would miss 6- to 8 weeks with the injury. Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard sustained the injury last Oct. 22 and didn't play again until four weeks later.
of the nature of the injury to the right foot, which Brady plants when he throws a pass. It's an encouraging sign, though, that Brady wasn't seen wearing the boot by reporters and photographers since Monday.
Recovery times from high ankle sprains vary.
Dr. Steven Weinfeld, chief of foot and ankle surgery at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center, said the recovery time is generally longer for a high ankle sprain than a lower one, the Hartford Courant reported.
"Bill actually brought me in his office earlier this morning and asked me if I wanted to move to quarterback, and we're going to put in a whole new offense," Donte Stallworth said. "He wants me to run the option."
Two of Brady's wide receivers joked about filling in for him.
Not quite, according to Wes Welker.
"Well, actually, coach pulled me into the office and told me I was going to be the quarterback, so I don't know where he's hearing that from," Welker said of Stallworth. "I think he kind of overheard our conversation."
>> PGA
Woods dominates Buick Invitational
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tiger Woods holds the trophy after his victory at the Buckinvital invitational golf tournament Sunday in San Diego. Woods tied Arnold Palmer for fourth in all-time wins (62) on the PGA Tour.
BY DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO - Tiger Woods joined the King, and left everyone else at the Buick Invitational feeling like paupers.
Woods built an 11-shot lead Sunday until his game and the weather turned cold on the back nine. A birdie on the last hole gave him a 1-under 71 and an eight-shot victory, giving him 62 for his career to tie Arnold Palmer on the PGA Tour list.
"I'm sure that there are many, many more coming in the future." Palmer said.
Woods opened with a 40-foot birdie putt, threw in a 60-foot birdie just to keep a four-deep gallery from falling asleep, and only looked mortal when he made three straight bogeys toward the end of his round.
Woods finished at 19-under 269 to win the Buick Invitational for the fourth consecutive year, tying a PGA Tour record for consecutive wins in a single tournament. Woods is the only player to own such a streak at two events, having also won four in a row at Bav Hill.
Ryuji Imada matched the best score of the final round with a 67 and was the runner-up.
Woods returns to Torrey Pines in June for the U.S. Open. The world's No. 1 player now has won six times as a pro at Torrey Pines, and his comment that the Grand Slam is "easily within reason" looked every bit of that.
"What he's going to do is screw the U.S. Up, open up for everyone else," Fred Couples said. "If he had shot 10 or 11 under, the USGA would have said, 'Well, we may we have it in the right spot.' Now, they may have to regroup a little."
Then again, it might not matter.
Woods has won his last two PGA Tour events by eight shots, and this was the ninth time in his
Woods planned to leave Sunday night for the Dubai Desert Classic, and he likely won't return to the PGA Tour until the end of February at the Accenture Match Play Championship. Next in line on the career list is Ben Hogan with 64 victories, and each win moves Woods closer to the record 82 won by Sam Snead.
The 71 ended Woods' streak of 14 consecutive rounds in the 60s, dating to the second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. He has finished no worse than second since the British Open in July, when he tied for 12th at Carnoustie.
"You'd like to think it's surprising, but it's not," Charles Howell III said. "It's Tiger."
The Buick Invitational is the third PGA Tour event Woods has won six times. The others are the Bridgestone Invitational and the CA Championship, both World Golf Championship events.
"This is the Tiger Woods Invitational, isn't it?" he said. "I thought he was the host."
to finish alone in second at 11- under 277 and was thrilled.
Imada birdied his last two holes
"My goal going into today was to finish second," Imada said. "That's almost like winning the golf tournament to me."
Rory Sabbatini also had a 67 to tie for third with Stewark Cink (73).
"I'd say this is the best I've seen him play," Cink said.