Tuesday, March 14, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Pitcher to test worth for'Hawks
Kansas looks for win against Corpus Christi
By Amanda Kaschube
By Amanda Kashubi sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
When Brandon O'Neal took to the mound during the seventh inning Friday, not only did he have worry about throwing his first pitch in three months, but he also had 4,000 Texans taunting him.
"The Texas crowd was really nervewracking, but I wasn't too nervous," said O'Neal, who made his first appearance on the mound since suffering tendinitis in his throwing arm. "It felt really good to throw, but I'm still not 100 percent."
His experience pitched him out of a trying seventh inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, the first batter grounded into a double play, and the next fled out to center. He earned the save in the 'Hawks' 8-7 win, just like coach Bobby Randall knew he could.
"He came in to a tough spot and got the save," Randall said. "He pitched three innings extraordinarily. That's good considering he hasn't pitched in a game or scrimmage in three months."
O'Neal, a righthanded junior who went 2-2 with one save last season, was supposed to be a key member of the Kansas bullpen before his injury. Now, he just wants to keep his pitch
count down and his appearances up.
"There's no difference in starting a game or coming out in relief," he said. "I just want to help the team any way I can, and I'll do whatever that takes. I need to work on my strength, but I'm ready to come out of the pen."
He joins senior Ryan Schmidt, junior Sam Gish and sophomore Dan Olson as the go-to pitchers in tight situations for the 'Hawks.
“It’s pretty obvious that we needed Brandon,” Randall said. “It’s a big difference to know he’s available — he’s a valuable part of the team.”
O'Neal will get another chance to prove his worth today when the 'Hawks play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a noon doubleheader at Hoglund Ballpark, Kansas. 13-7, defeated the Islanders last month in a Tuesday doubleheader. 15-3 and 19-9.
The mid-week games don't count toward the 'Hawks' conference standing, but it gives them a chance to get a lot of pitchers some innings. Kansas is in a tie for fifth along with four schools.
"It helps us develop depth in our pitching staff, but it's not a time to rest," Randall said. "Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hit a lot on us, and we gave up a lot of runs. It's not a sure thing at all."
O'Neal's pitching slanted the game in the 'Hawks' favor Friday — the only win in the three-game series against No. 4 Texas. And Randall said his team needed to have the same enthusiasm toward a weaker team as well.
"These games come right after an emotional series with Texas," he said. "We can't have a letdown. We need our best effort to win."
Kansas senior pitcher Rachm Schmidt fires a pitch toward the plate against Baker University Feb. 29 at Hogland Ballpark. Fellow pitcher Brandon O'Neal throw well against Texas last weekend and will be ready for today's doubleheader against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Kansan file photo.
DAVIE, Fla. — Dan Marino, the NFL's most prolific passer, retired yesterday after 17 years as quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.
Marino announces NFL retirement
The Associated Press
"I'm going to miss it." Marino said, struggling to keep his composure at a news conference. "I'm going to miss everything about it."
The 38-year-old Marino wanted to go out like John Elway and retire as a Super Bowl champion. But after parting ways with the Dolphins, he reluctantly rejected an offer to play this year for the Minnesota Vikings.
"I can say I have been blessed with a career greater than I could imagine," Marino said. "Most of all, I am going to miss Sunday afternoon."
Marino's wife, children, parents and former coach Don Shula were with him for the news conference in the team meeting room — the same location used for departure speeches by Shula and Jimmy Johnson.
"Just because you didn't win a Super Bowl doesn't mean that you are not a champion, because we all know it otherwise." Uhizaenga said.
"This is a day of celebration of a great career," Shula said. "You just want to applaud."
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga hugged Marino after his announcement.
The owner said the Dolphins would retire No.13, build a statue
for marino and name a street after him near their stadium.
Marino read a statement, then answered questions for an hour. He said health and family were the main reasons for retiring. He said he made up his mind Thursday while sitting in his kitchen with his wife, Claire.
"I called my dad over, my mom, and I just told them," Marino said. "It wasn't a big deal or anything. We just kind of decided that and went on with the rest of the day."
Claire Marino cried during much of the news conference. Her husband managed to fight back tears.
"This is not easy," he said at one point.
Marino departs owning many of the NFL passing records. He completed 4,967 passes for 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns, all league records. In 1984, his second season, Marino threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, both still league records.
More than a dozen current and former Miami players attended the news conference, as did coach Dave Wannstedt, regarded by some Miami fans as a villain because he never said he wanted Marino to play this season.
Marino's only Super Bowl appearance in his second year in the NFL ended in a disappointing 38-16 loss to San Francisco. Marino spent the next 15 years trying unsuccessfully to return to the title game.
Duke finishes at No.1 for second straight year
The Associated Press
Duke, Michigan State, Stanford and Arizona, the No.1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, held the top four spots yesterday in the final Associated Press college basketball poll of the season.
The Blue Devils (27-4) jumped from third to No. 1, the second straight season they finished the season on top of the rankings. It is the eighth season, and third in a row, of coach Mike Krzyewski's 19 at Duke that the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 at some point during the season.
The Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament champions received 58 first-place votes and 1,729 points from the national media panel, easily outdisting Michigan State (26-7), which got six No. 1 votes and 1,628 points.
The Spartans moved from fifth to second after winning the Big Ten tournament for the second straight year.
Stanford and Arizona, the Pac-10 co-champions, were third and fourth.
The Cardinal (26-3) dropped one spot from last week after losing to Arizona and beating Arizona State, while the Wildcats (26-6) jumped
from ninth to No.4 after closing the regular season with wins against Stanford and California. Temple and Iowa State each moved up one spot to fifth and sixth.
Cincinnati, which was No. 1 last week, dropped to seventh following its loss to Saint Louis in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament. Star center Kenyon Martin broke a leg three minutes into that game, the third loss in 31 games for the Bearcats, who still received one first-place vote.
Ohio State dropped four spots to eighth, while St. John's, the Big East champion, leaped from No. 19 to ninth, the same ranking the Red Storm had in last year's final poll. LSU rounded out the Top Ten for the second straight week.
Tennessee dropped from No. 8 to lead the Second Ten and was followed by Oklahoma, Florida, Oklahoma State, Texas, Syracuse, Maryland, Tulsa, Kentucky and Connecticut.
The last five teams were Illinois, Indiana, Miami, Auburn and Purdue. Auburn replaced Kansas, which dropped out from 24th after losing to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 quarterfinals, the only week this season the Jayhawks weren't ranked.
AP MEN'S TOP 25
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press" men's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
rank team rec pts pvs
1. Duke (58) 27-4 1,729 3
2. Michigan St. (6) 26-7 1,628 5
3. Stanford (3) 26-3 1,522 2
4. Arizona (2) 26-6 1,510 9
5. Temple 26-5 1,482 6
6. Iowa St. 29-4 1,441 7
7. Cincinnati (1) 28-3 1,414 1
8. Ohio St. 22-6 1,192 4
9. St. John's 24-7 1,050 19
10. LSU 26-5 1,035 10
11. Tennessee 24-6 986 8
12. Oklahoma 26-6 919 15
13. Florida 24-7 853 11
14. Oklahoma St. 24-6 748 17
15. Texas 23-8 729 13
16. Syracuse 24-5 701 12
17. Maryland 24-9 670 20
18. Tulsa 29-4 550 14
19. Kentucky 22-9 496 16
20. Connecticut 24-9 452 21
21. Illinois 21-9 444 25
22. Indiana 20-8 394 18
23. Miami 21-10 181 23
24. Auburn 23-9 166 —
25. Purdue 21-9 100 22
Other receiving votes: Oregon 19, Kenan 55, UCLA 50, Arkansas 39, Freeson 13, Utah 38, Salem 70, Hall 51. Ball 8, Louisville 6, Utah 8, Vanderbilt 6, UNV 11. Ball 8, Louisville 6, Utah 8, Vanderbilt 6, UNV 11. Ball 8, Louisville 6, Utah 8, Vanderbilt 6, UNV 11. Saint 1, Louis F
UConn women remain atop AP poll all season
The Associated Press
Connecticut completed a season-long run at No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll, just the fourth time a team had been on top from start to finish.
The Huskies (30-1) received 41 of a possible 44 first-place votes from a national media panel and open the NCAA tournament later this week as the No.1 seed in the East Regional.
Connecticut won the Big East regular-season and tournament championships and rolled to most of its victories in dominating fashion. The Huskies reached 100 points seven times this season and have outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points.
Tennessee was the most recent team to last all season at No.1, accomplishning that feat in 1997-98. Texas did it in the 1985-86 season and Louisiana Tech in 1980-81. The AP poll started in the 1976-77 season.
Xavier made the poll for the first time as the only newcomer in the season's final round of voting. The Muskeeteers (26-4) are in at No. 24 after winning the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
George Washington, which had been 23rd, dropped out.
The top four teams in the poll all were seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tournament. Tennessee is the top seed in the Mideast, Louisiana Tech in the Midwest and Georgia in the West.
Connecticut received 1,097 points in the voting. That was 42 more than Tennessee (28-3), which received the three other firstplace votes. Tennessee handed UConn its only loss, 72-71 at Storrs, Conn., on Feb. 2. That came a month after Connecticut won at Tennessee.
Xavier, which gave Connecticut a scare before losing 86-84 in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament, relies on balance and excellent shooting. The Musketeers have made 49.8 percent of their shots, and four players average between 10 and 15 points.
they became the 37th team to be ranked this season after beating George Washington 80-66 in the Atlantic 10 finals. It's the third time this season George Washington has fallen out of the poll after being ranked for just one week.
AP WOMEN'S TOP 25
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press' women's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
rank team rec pts pvs
1. Connecticut (41) 30-1 1,097 1
2. Tennessee (3) 28-3 1,055 2
3. Louisiana Tech 28-2 1,001 3
4. Georgia 29-3 970 4
5. Notre Dame 25-4 860 5
6. Penn St. 26-4 843 7
7. Iowa St. 25-5 785 10
8. Rutgers 22-7 770 8
9. UC Santa Barbara 30-3 736 9
10. Duke 26-5 712 11
11. Texas Tech 25-4 662 6
12. Mississippi St. 23-7 605 12
13. Purdue 22-7 567 13
14. Old Dominion 27-4 543 14
15. LSU 22-6 503 15
16. Auburn 21-7 377 16
17. Boston College 25-8 312 17
18. Oklahoma 25-8 270 18
19. Virginia 23-8 265 19
20. Oregon 23-7 226 24
21. Arizona 24-6 216 22
22. Tulane 26-4 214 21
23. N.C. State 20-8 210 20
24. Xavier 26-4 96 —
25. Michigan 22-7 892 25
Others receiving votes: Texas 79, North Carolina 40
George Washington 33, Washington 32, Marquette 26,
Dickens 15, Illinois 19, Kent 13, Vanderbilt 13, Udah 12,
Michigan 11, Wisconsin 4, St. Joseph's 4, Nebraska 1, Wisconsin 1