Thursday, April 22, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Pollard hopes for more minutes
Continued from page 1B
But,man,it's still frustrating.
"It's kind of like the 'Field of Dreams' saying, 'If you play me, I will do good,'" said Pollard, who has averaged 9.7 minutes in each of the 42 games he's played in the NBA.
On March 30 against the Utah Jazz, Pollard had an opportunity to prove the validity of the movie line. With starting forward Chris Webber suffering from the flu, Kings coach Rick Adelman shuffled the lineup. The result: Pollard played, and he did well.
Being guarded by all-star forward Karl
Mindy, who missed the game because she was home tending to the couple's 5-month-old daughter Lolli (as in lollipop, Scot later explains), shed tears of happiness when her parents called to tell her about her husband's career night. Scot hopes that the night helps continue his career.
Malone, Pollard played 36 minutes, finishing with 11 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
"That game has made me believe in myself again, but also, I probably made some money that night," he says. "It's unfortunate you have to look at it that way,
Despite a promise from Adelman for more playing time, Pollard has played an average of five minutes during the 10 games played since starting against the Jazz.
but that's the way the NBA is."
Just another stinging truth revealed about the NBA.
"When I was teammates with him in Detroit, I remember Grant Hill said, 'The NBA is not nearly as glamorous as it seems.'" Pollard says. "And it's not."
Harrity is a Kansas City, Kan., senior in journalism.
Struggling NY Knicks demote manager
The Associated Press
PURCHASE, N.Y. — New York Knicks president and general manager Ernie Grunfeld took the fall today for his team's poor season when he was reassigned within the organization and stripped of his power.
a decade.
Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts will be the team's de facto general manager for the final eight games of the regular season.
The Knicks (21-21) are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in more than
After a 2 1/2 hour practice, the team was taken to a meeting at which Checkets told them of the
"It's tough
b e cause
Erie doesn'
e not play. He
doesn't go
out there in
the shirts
and sneakers to perform. It's a tough business," guard Childs said. "It's tough to pinpoint him as the guy who is the rea-
The Knicks have been inconsistent all season, often breaking down in the fourth quarter and unable to blend well with several new players.
son why we're not winning."
Those acquisitions were made by Grunfeld, who had been the team's general manager and president since 1996. He's been in the team's front office since 1990.
Grunfeld traded the team's most popular player, Charles Oakley, to Toronto for Marcus Camby. He also traded John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings in the State of Water
Sprewell and Camby have not fit in with the Knicks, and both are unhappy in their roles coming off the bench.
Asked if there would be any changes to the starting lineup tomorrow night against Charlotte, Van Gundy said: "I don't know. We'll see."
The Knicks are on a fourgame losing streak, their longest of the season.
Grunfeld's new title will be special assistant to Checkets, Madison Square Garden spokesman Barry Watkins said.
Colorado pro teams cancel games after shooting
The Associated Press
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks today postponed their first-round NHL playoff series after a deadly shooting at nearby Columbine High School.
The teams were scheduled to open the Stanley Cup playoffs yesterday and today at McNichols Arena, but games 1 and 2 will be played Saturday and Monday in San Jose. Calif.
The series is scheduled to return to Denver for Games 3 and 4 on April 28 and April 30. If necessary, the series would stay in Colorado for Game 5 on May 1.
"There's nothing more important than respect to our community," Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix said. "It's the least we could do for the community to show them the respect that they deserve."
The Colorado Rockies also called off a game for the second-straight day because of the killings at the high school in Littleton.
Rockies officials said today the players and coaches would wear a Columbine High School patch on their right sleeves for the rest of the season. Twelve students and a teacher were killed at the suburban high school Tuesday, and the alleged gunmen are dead after apparent suicides.
"We are deeply saddened by the events in Littleton yesterday and now is not the time to play baseball," Rockies vice chairman Charlie Monfort said.
This was the second postponement in the three-game series between the Rockies and Montreal. The teams will play two split doubleheaders when the Expos return in August.
Both split doubleheaders will be played in what had been a three-games series Aug. 13-15, but the exact date of either was not set.
The Rockies open a four-game series in San Francisco on Thursday. Montreal has a day off Thursday and worked out at Coors Field today.
"I couldn't have played," Expos third
baseman Shane Andrews said Tuesday. "I had a hard time just being on the field. Thinking about it makes me sick."
Tuesday night the Denver Nuggets also postponed their NBA game with Portland at McNichols Arena.
"Where can your kids be safe? On the streets?" Nuggets forward Eric Williams said. "I feel for those families. You send your kids away to school this morning on a peaceful note and come home to something tragic like this."
Nuggets general manager Dan Issel said, "I guess the scary thing is it could happen anywhere, it could happen anywhere at any time."
Since 1997, 12 students have been killed in shootings at schools in Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas and Oregon.
"It can happen to anyone," said Colorado pitcher Brian Bohanon, who has five children. "The way things are going nowadays, it's popping up all over the country. It's a tragedy. They're just kids."
Commentary
Haircuts add to medley of great Kansas memories
During the past few weeks I have searched my soul trying to think of something that would help bring this college career to fitting close.
Of course, there are the memories — Jacque Vaughn spinning through the
UCLA defense to push the Jayhawks to an improbable comeback victory in 1995, Lauryn Hill and the Fugees rocking the Granada, tearing down the goal posts last October, lying on the soft green grass in front of Fraser on those warm sun-drenched spring afternoons. I could go on forever. We all could.
Harley Ratliff
There are talented
sports@kansan.com
There are talented professors who have helped me mature. My wonderful friends that I've been lucky enough to meet and my beautiful girlfriend, who knocked me upside the head with a big love punch when I wasn't looking. Each one of them has brought a special aspect to my life that I will be able to take with me into the real world.
And all these things are great
But, I think there is thing I will miss the most about this sleepy little college town. The one thing that I won't be able to pack in a suitcase or keep in a memory. The one thing that will no longer be a regular part of my life is the haircuts.
That's right, the haircuts.
For the past four years, two or three times a month, I have been a regular at Downtown Barbershop on 824 Massachusetts St. And when I leave Lawrence, a part of me always will stay at the tiny little barbershop (and no, I don't mean my hair).
Four years ago, as a wide-eyed freshman I ventured out of the residence halls and down to Mass Street looking for a place to rid me of my floppy locks. As with many things I did as a freshman, I was attempting to do something I had never done before. When I was growing up, my mom booked my haircuts. It was always at some fancy salon with women named Pamela and Sandy who used too much hair gel and too few clippers. When I asked for "High and Tight," they thought I was talking about their skirt preference (which, I have no complaints about, but it
doesn't help get you the haircut you want.
So as I wandered down Mass Street I peeked my head into the numerous barbershops, searching for the right one.
When I glanced in Downtown Barbershop, I knew I had found my spot. There it was: hardwood floors, walls adorned with various jerseys, cabinets filled with football helmets and a television that seemed permanently stuck on ESPN.
I walked in, plopped myself into Rex's chair and told the man what I wanted. I'll never forget that first conversation. I told him I was from Oklahoma and that I had grown up a die-hard Sooner fan. Before I could finish. Rex had cut me off.
"I'll never forgive that jerk Billy Tubbs," Rex snapped. "I'll never forgive him for cutting down our nets at Kemper!"
I was stunned. My barber had just called the most popular basketball coach of my youth a "jerk".
But then it dawned on me: This was my kind of sports fan. Even if I didn't like the haircut, how could I not like a guy who was still bitter about something that had happened nearly seven years ago? That is something that gets respect in my book. I mean, I found myself two nights ago cursing the New York Mets' Ron Darling for blowing the seventh game of the 1988 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. I know bitter.
This place isn't so bad, I thought to myself as I walked out of the store. And I even liked the haircut.
The rest, as they say, is history.
During the years, Rex (and John) and I have discussed it all. From solving the problems of the Royals bullpen to the art of coaching baseball to how Roy should run his team down at Allen Fieldhouse. And regardless of our answer, we were always right.
Always.
So wherever I end up in the real world, I'm going to have to find a new Downtown Barbershop. Maybe it's out there. Maybe not. But I doubt it will be as good as the one down on Mass Street.
I only wish that when I come back in 20 years, hopefully with a wonderful family and a job that forces University officials to beg me for money, that the Downtown Barbershop is still around — and I still have hair to cut.
Rattliff is a Norman, Okla., senior in journalism.
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