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Volume 126 Issue 118
kansan.com
Monday, May 5, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & KANSAN
COMMENTARY Finding the right words
I've thought about what I would say in this column for the last four years,studied how others have bid adieu and what makes a good farewell and now here I am: 500 words away from submitting my last piece for the Kansan and staring at a blank screen.
They don't teach you how to say goodbye.
Believe me, over the past eight semesters I've written this column in my head at least 80 times.
The truth is they don't teach you everything in journalism school. Sure, they do a great job covering ethics, basic principles, how to ask to smart questions and even smarter follow-ups, but they don't teach you this.
First it was about how I got my start at the Kansan. How a luck-of-the-draw roommate sucked me into his world of sports writing on the first day of my freshman year. How I tried to my best to follow his footsteps and not screw up. Well Mike, we know that didn't go according to plan.
But that couldn't be the last thing I wrote in this paper because too much stuff has happened since.
You see, this column was supposed to cover how I left the Kansan during the spring semester my sophomore year, fed up with getting passed over for beats I felt I deserved (I definitely didn't) and how a friend at the student radio station picked me back up and gave me my first shot at covering Kansas basketball. This space was going to detail my trip to the Final Four in 2012 when I ended up sitting across press row from the editor who I felt had wronged me.
Really, I wanted to explore my return to the Kansan the following semester when I learned that the people here really care about you. That it becomes as much of a family as any greek house on campus and how bad I felt for betraying the staff in the first place.
No, this column couldn't be about that because that would leave out how the 60 best people I know in this world helped me through my darkest time. You are all my brothers.
But that wouldn't cover everything. It wouldn't touch on a brief run-in with the Kansas football program. It certainly wouldn't touch on how I tried not to let my mouth being wired shut for eight weeks during the fall of 2012 stop me from getting back to reporting and writing. And none of that happens without my roommates Jamie, Matt and Julian forcing me back out of our house.
I finally thought I had this thing pegged when I got a call last Wednesday that my dream job of covering the NHL was suddenly open and I needed to jump on a plane to Chicago immediately. Yet, sitting in the press box at the United Center on Sunday after writing about the team that first made me fall in love with sports no words came to mind.
See, they don't teach you how to do any of this. How to say goodbye and mean it, how to say thank you and not sound cheesy.
So here I go. 500 words left in
So here I go, 500 words left in my college career and ...
Shit, I'm out of space.
Edited by Amber Kasselman
BASEBALL
AARON GROENE/KANSAN
Soophomore infielder Tommy Mirabell connects with the ball, leading to a run to first base. Kansas completed a sweep of No. 19 Texas Tech in Lawrence.
Kansas sweeps Texas Tech in Lawrence
SHANE JACKSON
sports@kansan.com
The Kansas dugout was filled with laughter after junior first baseman Blair Beck gave senior pitcher Frank Duncan a face full of shaving cream moments after Kansas' 4-1 victory over Texas Tech Sunday afternoon in Hoglund Ballpark.
"That does not taste good," said Duncan as he wiped victory celebration off his face to complete his interview with the media.
There was plenty to rejoice about after the game for the Jayhawks, who completed the sweep over the 19th ranked Red Raiders. The victory on Sunday was the seventh in a row, which was enough to put the Jayhawks alone in third place in the conference with one conference series remaining. They were previously tied with Texas Tech for third place.
"In order to make the tour
nament, you have to have two special weekends," said coach Ritch Price. "We started that with Baylor and continued it this weekend with Texas Tech. I feel like we have played our
up against right-handed batters."
Duncan tossed his sixth complete game of the year to record his sixth win (6-2). He allowed one run off five hits,
RITCH PRICE Coach
"In order to make the tournament, you have to have two special weekends. We started that with Baylor and continued it this weekend with Texas Tech."
way into the tournament."
"They came in one of the best hitting teams in the Big 12," Duncan said. "We had a good matchup with right-handed pitchers going
Coming into the series, the Red Raiders had won 12 of their last 14 games thanks to a juggernaut of an offense that ranked best in the conference in every statistical category. That was until they faced the pitching staff of the jav Hawks.
striking out seven.
In the fourth inning, Duncan allowed his first hit of the afternoon, which led to the lone run by the Red Raiders with the help of a pair of fourth-inning doubles.
Fortunately for Duncan, the offense was there to keep the weight off his shoulders as it scored two runs in the first inning and two in the sixth. Sophomore second baseman Colby Wright had a one-out,
bases-loaded single in the sixth to drive in two.
"We feel like if we get four or five runs, we put ourselves in a good position to win with how good our pitching staff is," Wright said.
Senior Jordan Piché, reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, got this whole streak going with his one-hit shutout performance against Baylor back on April 25.
Piché followed up with his second consecutive win as a starter, an 11-3 trumping in a complete game effort on Friday night.
On Saturday, junior pitcher Robert Kahana got the nod, although he didn't pitch a complete game, he aided the Jayhawks to a 6-4 victory to keep the win streak intact.
The last time the Jayhawks suffered a defeat was on April 23 when the bullpen collapsed in a 6-5 loss to Missouri State at home. Price knew that if this team had any hopes of competing in the
postseason, it would need to do something it hasn't done before — have fun.
"We felt some of our position players were pressing at the plate, the whole message was to relax," Price said. "I think the great thing within in this clubhouse during this streak is they are having fun."
Duncan with shaving cream dripping from his face echoed Price, saying that this loose attitude within the clubhouse has been the key to this seven-game winning streak.
"The last couple of years we have always played our best baseball towards the end of the season," Duncan said. "I think we know how important these games are, we come out with a lot of energy and just have fun, and definitely have a few more energy drinks going around."
Edited by Emily Hines
TRACK & FIELD
Kansas earns 17 event wins over the weekend
BEN BURCH
sports@kansan.com
No matter what sport it may be, gaining momentum at the right time is key to success in the postseason. For track and field, it is no different, which is why the Jayhawks were hoping to have a solid outing on Saturday at the Ward Haylett Invitational, their final meet before the Big 12 Conference Championships. Although the meet in Manhattan featured a small field with only four universities competing, the 17 event wins and 21 career bests collected by the Jayhawks were still a good sign with the conference meet just two weekends from now.
One of the Jayhawks's stand-out performers in Manhattan was senior Diamond Dixon, who recorded two of Kansas 17 wins. The first of these
wins came in Dixon's specialty event, the 400 meters, where she recorded a 52.45, which was nearly two seconds better than her previous best time of the outdoor season. This moved Dixon into the top 10 in the NCAA rankings, as her time on Saturday was the ninth fastest so far this outdoor season.
Dixon then posted the second-fastest 200 meters time of her career, running a 23.44 to beat out her second-place teammate, sophomore Tianna Valentine, for the event victory. Dixon's time also moved her up the NCAA leaderboards, putting her at seventh in the Big 12 and 23rd in the West Region going into the conference meet.
"It was a good weekend and
SEE TRACK PAGE 9
AARON GROENE/KANSAN
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Freshman James Hampton jumps a hurdle during the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Kansas Relays. The Jayhawks collected 17 career hests on Saturday at the Ward Haylett Invitational in Manhattan.
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