FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2005
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
BASKETBALL: Jayhawks fueled by revenge
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the team won't overlook the Cornhuskers this time around
"We'll be pumped up because they are a good team, obviously, and it is another tough challenge for us on the road," senior guard Mike Lee said. "The game got kind of intense the first time around, I expect the same thing."
Lee remember's just how intense last year's game got. Lee and Nebraska's freshman guard Joe McCray were diving for a loose ball out of bounds when McCray kicked in what appeared to be the stomach.
"It wasn't in the stomach," Lee said. "It was, you know, there."
Both teams scratched and clawed for rebounds and played
grity defense when they met earlier this year. The halftime score was just 24-21. Nebraska had an answer for every Kansas score. Nebraska had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but senior reserve guard Corey Simms missed a wide-open, three-point attempt as time ran out.
Self said that after that game, the Jajawks learned a few things about tomorrow's opponent.
"We know that they can play with us, we know that they are capable because they almost did it here, and we have to play very, very well to win in Lincoln." Self said.
The Cornhuskers' physical play was most apparent on the glass. They out-rebounded Kansas 43-36. But what made the game close — other than
aggressive play from Nebraska — was that Kansas missed shots in critical moments of the game.
Kansas shot just over 50 percent from behind the free throw line and went just 2-7 in the last three minutes of the game.
Nick Bahe, a sophomore from Lincoln and Kansas guard, knows how tough this game could be.
Missed free throws is not what the Jayhawks remember. Team members recall a team that knocked them off last year and almost did it again this year.
"They play hard. They play together. They are well-coached," Bahe said. "We know that they bring it night in and night out and we know that we are going to get their best shot."
- Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
GYMNAST: Breaks hand, leaves mat for good
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of the gym, Norton was where she wanted to be — excelling at the sport that had become her passion. She made three trips to nationals and recorded first-place finishes in five total events. By the end of her junior year in high school, a gymnastics scholarship was clearly in her sights.
Then her coach moved to Texas, and Norton's downward spiral began. Instead of staying with her family and friends in Kansas and living out a normal end to her high school career, Norton followed her coach to the one stop sign town of Krum, Texas.
First came the broken hand. It
was the second day of a gymnastics camp, and Norton landed a jump awkwardly off the vault and paid the price. The break was set wrong, so the projected six weeks of recovery time became two months. Then there was the hardship of learning that she couldn't live with her old coach and she had to experience living with an unfamiliar coach, who enforced strict 9 p.m. bedtimes and rigorous training schedules. And there was a week-long trip to visit her college-student boyfriend in North Dakota, a week that exposed her to what her college life could be like if it wasn't dominated by gymnastics. When her coach suggested she train through the holidays instead of
going home to visit her family, a tearful Norton decided she'd had enough, and that was the end of her gymnast dreams.
Now, just more than a year later, she's here at Kansas, attending school in the one state that doesn't have a single NCAA gymnastics program.
Norton contents herself with helping and encouraging her peers, recruiting new members to the club and teaching her students. It's a long way from where she saw herself heading a couple years ago, but sometimes the path our hearts mandate is different from the one we expect.
Joe Bant is a Colorado Springs, Colo., senior in journalism.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cowboys' three-time champion says goodbye
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith retired yesterday, calling his 15-year career "a tremendous ride."
Smith, who starred for the Dallas Cowboys for 13 seasons and spent the last two years with Arizona, made the announcement at the Super Bowl — a fitting spot for a three-time champion.
"I've given everything I can possible to the game, on and off the field." Smith said.
"The memories that I have, the relationships that I'm taking away from the game are something dear and something I will take with me for the rest of my life," he said. "I'm moving on to another chapter in my life and that's a chapter I'm looking forward to."
Smith said he planned to pursue some business opportunities but vowed to stay close to the game and give something back to the fans.
Wearing a pinstripe suit — blue, of course — Smith thanked dozens of people from Pee Wee football to the Cardinals and every stop in-between. He broke down several times and had tears streaming down his face as he clutched his wife's hand.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, one of the many Smith thanked through tears, gave the best reason for the long list of saluta-
"When you've established yourself as royalty, then you have to mention everybody," Jones said. "That's the price you pay."
tions.
The 35-year-old Smith ran for 18,355 yards and 164 touchdowns in his career, both NFL records. He rushed for 937 yards and nine touchdowns for the Cardinals this season.
Smith said the Cardinals had decided not to re-sign him for next year.
"That made my decision a whole lot easier," Smith said, adding that he turned down offers to continue his career elsewhere. "I have a home. It's with my family."
Smith was more consistent than he was spectacular, a running back who could be relied on to get tough yards when tough yards were needed.
He rushed for 1,000 yards or more every year between 1991 and 2001. He led the NFL in rushing in 1991, 1992 and 1995 and in touchdowns in three different seasons.
But despite his impressive statistics, he won just two major awards in 15 seasons — NFL MVP in 1993 and the Super Bowl MVP that same season, when he rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys' 30-13 win over Buffalo in Atlanta.
He won those despite missing the first two games in a contract
dispute with Jones. Smith finished the year with perhaps his greatest game, an overtime win over the New York Glants at the Meadowlands.
The Cowboys and Giants were both 11-4. The winner got the NFC East title, home-field advantage in the playoffs and a first-round bye. The loser got a wild-card game the following week.
Smith separated his shoulder in the third quarter but returned to the game, which went into overtime tied at 13. He carried the ball on nine of the Cowboys' 11 plays in the extra period — at one point raising his aching shoulder to stiff-arm Lawrence Taylor on his final run, which set up Eddie Murray's game-winning field goal.
He finished with 229 total yards and a touchdown on 32 carries, along with 10 receptions — the heaviest workload in team history. Then he spent the night in a hospital.
Had the Cowboys lost that game, Smith probably wouldn't have been able to play the following week in a wild-card game. That would have made the road much more difficult in what turned out to be the Cowboys' second of three Super Bowl victories in four seasons.
"Emmitt has never forgot he was part of a team and what the team meant," Jones said. "You're place in our franchise has always been secure."
HAWAII: Baseball team aims for perfect season
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"We've got more depth this year than we've had any year I've been here," Price said.
Jayhawk batters are also looking forward to the opportunities
the Vulcans present. The Vulcans were swept in their season-opening, five-game series last weekend against San Diego University. San Diego batted .331 as a team and created 55 runs.
After scrimmaging against
themselves since the beginning of the semester, Kansas is more than ready to get off the practice field.
"We're excited to see what we can do against someone other than ourselves," senior catcher Sean Richardson said.
Although the team is looking forward to the beautiful weather and scenery, players are determined to focus on baseball. Kansas lost a couple of games last year in Hawaii, something that Baty vows will not happen this time.
— Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
"I don't think there's any reason why we shouldn't win all six games this year," Baty said.
After today, the series will continue with games in Kona, Hawaii, Saturday and Sunday before wrapping up in Hilo Monday through Wednesday.
Baseball coach
this year than we've had any year I've been here."
"We've got more depth