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Volume 126 Issue 68
kansan.com
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
COMMENTARY Former Jayhawk to appear in Super Bowl
Matt Corte sports@kansan.com
Although men's basketball is currently in the midst of an elusive 10th straight Big 12 conference championship with a pivotal game against Iowa State tonight, there's only one sporting event that holds the trump card for this week.
The Super Bowl - it's special. An internal clock seems to reset for those lucky enough to win, turning professional athletes into their ten-year-old selves when they mimicked game-winning throws and dreamt of winning the Super Bowl.
For former Kansas football players Chris Harris Jr. and Steven Johnson, those dreams could now be a reality. "Winning this game and being able to go to the Super Bowl is a dream come true. I have been playing this game since I was five years old, and it has always been my dream," Johnson told KU Athletics.
Both Harris Jr. and Johnson will have the chance of being the first Jayhawks to raise the Lombardi Trophy since Justin Hartwig of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.
Unfortunately, only Steven Johnson will have the opportunity of playing in Super Bowl XLVII, as Chris Harris Jr. tore his ACL during an AFC divisional round win against the San Diego Chargers. There may be no words to describe what emotions Harris felt after he was given the news, but his positivity on Twitter the next day showed his devotion as a team player.
"Blessed to be able to help the team get this far, and will still do my part in meeting rooms to help my guys out," Harris said in a tweet. In another tweet he vowed to come back next year better than ever. No doubt a lahawks mentality.
During the regular season, Harris was a routine starter and a vital key in the Broncos' secondary. He tied for first on the team with three interceptions and his 65 tackles were second among defensive backs.
With that being said, maximize your opportunities to watch Steven Johnson on the field. Special teams plays might be your time for a bathroom break or twitter feed update, but not on this Sunday. Five years have passed since we saw a Jayhawk play in the Super Bowl, and another five could pass before we see another. Don't miss out.
While watching this Sunday, remember it's never a guarantee that a college will have a player represent them in sports' most hallowed game. Just look at national power-houses Alabama and Ohio St., both of whom have exactly zero players in the Super Bowl.
Steven Johnson is officially listed at linebacker, but most of his playing time in the regular season came on special teams. It's true he won't garner as much attention or play as Peyton Manning, but he could be just as important. During the season, Johnson blocked and returned a punt for a touchdown and was also tied for the team lead in special teams tackles with seven. Yes, it's very likely that Manning will have a bigger impact on the game, but sometimes it comes down to the little guy. Does the name David Tyree ring a bell?
Edited by Cara Winkley
NCAA
STATING A UNION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
College athletes take first steps toward unionization
Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter speaks at a news conference in Chicago, Tuesday, Jan., 28, 2014. Calling the NCAA a "dictatorship," a handful of Northwestern football players said Tuesday they are forming the first labor union for college athletes, the College Athletes Players Association.
BLAKE SCHUSTER sports@kansan.com
Northwestern football players took the next step in creating a Labor Union for college athletes by submitting paperwork to the Chicago office of the National Labor Relations Board requesting representation by the new College Athletics Players Association.
In the 108th year of the NCAA's reign over college sports the players have taken the first step in forming their own union.
Some Kansas football players joined the cause against Texas Tech on Oct. 7 last season. The Kansas players built on the momentum stemming from Northwestern University by marking their armbands with the letters "APU" before taking the field. The letters stand for All Players United, a rallying cry for college athletes seeking a voice to speak to the NCAA on their behalf.
Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter spurred the latest wave, working with the president of the National College Players Association, Ramogi Huma. It was Huma who filed the petition for the players on Tuesday with backing from the United Steelworkers Union.
"This union-backed attempt to turn student-athletes into employees undermines the purpose of college: an education." NCAA Chief Legal Officer Donald Remy said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. "Student-athletes are not employees, and their participation in college sports is voluntary. We stand for all student-athletes, not just those the unions want to professionalize."
Yet with backing from the United Steelworkers, and under the guidance of Huma,
a former UCLA linebacker who formed the NCPA in 2001, Northwestern football players have started the fight for unionization in earnest. Because public universities will have to go through state boards before players can try to join the union this is more of a stepping-stone than a victory for student-athletes.
Regardless, legal battles will ensue with whatever the National Labor Relations Board decides. For the athletes involved currently, this means they won't be college athletes to see their work come to fruition.
"It was somewhat logical," Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel said of the petition. "College athletics is a business and the other major sports that are businesses have players associations. It made
sense that this would at least be broached."
Both Colter and Huma have expressed their desire to focus on health benefits and medical protection. For the time being, those seeking representation from CAPA won't be getting a payday.
"If you look right now the NCAA does not guarantee that any of our medical expenses while we are playing there," Colter told ESPN's Outside The Lines. "And definitely not after out eligibility has expired. For us that's not fair."
While these issues have persisted for decades there has never been legitimate action taken by the players. According to Max Utsler, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas who specializes in the business of sports, the current system doesn't encourage athletes to speak up.
"No freshman or sophomore in college is going to lead an uprising because you're going to run the risk of getting your scholarship pulled," Utsler said. "If you're a senior and not playing, nobody is going to listen to you. If you're a senior and you're playing you're going to shut up so you get a chance to play in the NFL. It's a pretty suppressed system."
"They are being taken advantage of, but they have chosen to be taken advantage of."
Colter isn't necessarily an outlier here - he's still hopeful a job awaits him in the NFL - yet with the Steelworkers Union and Huma the players have access to enough resources to sustain a fight
against the NCAA.
Utsler believes the current actions will force some of the bigger conferences, such as the Big 12 and Big 10, to increase stipends for players. Wetzel isn't as sure. With it's current backing he believes the fight won't end until there is a definitive yes or no on the players right to unionize and even that poses difficult questions.
"Is Andrew Wiggins an employee of the University of Kansas who is compensated with room and board? Or is he a student who's doing an excruciarcular activity?" Wetzel said. "Who knows how that might get ruled in a federal court?"
Edited by Allison Kohn
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Longhorns' offense tramples Kansas
KYLE PAPPAS
sports@kansan.com
It was a tale of two halves for the Kansas women's basketball team during their 80-55 loss to Texas at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday.
"I thought the first half we came out very aggressive," junior guard Asia Boyd said. "Second half, we just came out too flat."
The Jayhawks looked fantastic to begin the game. After missing their previous 11 3-point shots dating back to the second half of last week's match-up against Oklahoma State, Kansas made six of its first seven attempts from deep Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks fought hard in a competitive first half that saw 10 lead changes. Even with junior forward Chelsea Gardner neutralized in the post (0-5, 0 points in the first), the Jayhawks were able to stay in the game as the threes kept
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
falling.
"[Gardner] is a huge focal point, but I also think their guards are good." Texas coach Karen Aston said. "You kind of have to pick your poison with them."
Initially, both teams were incredibly sharp from long range. What was thought to be a defensive battle coming in quickly turned into a three-point contest. The two went a combined 13-24 in the first half, trading threes on consecutive possessions several times throughout the game.
Kansas junior guard Asia Boyd trys to keep up with an opposing player.
Kansas fell to Oklahoma 64-56 at home on Jan. 22. Their 80-55 loss to Texas on Tuesday marks the second straight home loss for the Jayhawks.
But the threes quickly disappeared for Kansas, as it promptly followed its hot start behind the arc by missing another 11 straight to end the game. Texas outs scored the Jayhawks by 21 in the second half as the proverbial wheels began to fall off. Kansas was held to only 28.6 percent from the field while allowing the Longhorns to just under 59 percent, including 3-5 from
"I'm obviously disappointed," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "It's not who or where, it's how, and that was terrible."
three.
As the rest of the team fell apart, Gardner finally got things going. After sitting the first half's final five minutes with two personal fouls, a revitalized Gardner was 5-5 shooting for 10 points after the intermission. But that was the peak of the game for the Jayhawks during an otherwise miserable second half performance.
"I think we're disappointed in ourselves as a whole," Boyd said. "We didn't play as hard as we know we could've in the second half."
Outside of Gardner, Kansas was only 3-25 from the field in the second, including 0-7 from three. A crucial 11-0 Texas run midway through the second put the Longhorns up 60-42.
The Jayhawks allowed Texas numerous uncontested looks throughout the game, and more often than not, the Longhorns took advantage. Senior guard Chassidy Fussell led the way with 18 points on 6-9 shooting (4-5 3PG) while junior forward Nneka Enemkali added a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) to
put the nail in Kansas' coffin Henrickson said her team has to put Tuesday's loss behind them and focus on their impending two-game road trip.
"We've got to learn from today and then probably let go of it," she said. "Myself included."
Edited by Cara Winklev
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