4B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005
Softball team relies on captains
By Drew Davison
ddavison@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWINTER
As the 2005 softball season approaches, the Kansas captains are preparing to carry the team.
Co-captains Serena Settlemier, pitcher, and Destiny Frankenstein, infielder, had different 2004 seasons.
Settlemier is coming back from two injury-plagued years while Frankenstein is coming off a great year where she led the team in steals and batting average and had a great defensive year at shortstop.
Frankenstein also had a great
onseason, when she focused mostly on weights and running. Look for Frankenstein to be a leader both offensively and defensively this season. She said she was excited about this season, especially with Settlemier back on the field and pitching well.
Settlemier will be back on the mound for 2005, the first time in two years. Serena had an injury to her wrist, which required a metal plate inserted inside her wrist and 18 months of rehab. After the injury, the doctors told Settlemier that she might not be able to throw again.
"I used it as motivation more than anything." she said.
She said she remembered some really rough days, but she never contemplated giving up.
With Settlemier back in the pitching rotation, along with sophomore right-hander Kassie Humphreys and freshman left-hander Christina Ross, look for the Jayhawks to be in a position to win every game.
Frankenstein and Settlemier are also looking forward to playing with the four freshman newcomers.
Jackie Vasquez, starting center fielder, and Cyndi Duran, outfielder, bring much-needed speed to the lineup. Settlemier looks forward to playing with catcher Elle Pottorf, who will
start this season. Finally, Christina Ross will make an immediate impact for Kansas being the first left-handed pitcher recruited by coach Tracy Bunge.
The 2005 Jayhawk softball team, predicted to finish eighth in the Big 12 Conference, according to the softball preseason coaches' poll, has a full pitching staff and the speed for the first time in several seasons.
Frankenstein and Settlemier said they each expected to exceed the poll's expectations.
The Jawahars start their 37th season Feb.4 in Arizona.
— Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
Kansan file photo
Sophomore infielder Destiny Frankenstein attempts to tag out Iowa State junior Heather McLatchie during a game last season.
Cubs rid themselves of Sosa, make deal with Baltimore for infielder, prospects
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BALTIMORE — Sammy Sosa could be tapping his heart and blowing kisses to Baltimore Orioles fans in a matter of hours.
Sosa was scheduled to take a physical yesterday, and the Orioles were already making tentative plans for a news conference to introduce him if baseball commissioner Bud Selig gives his approval. Selig's office was still waiting on some final paperwork, but it expected to receive it yesterday.
Chicago would get Jerry Hairston Jr. and two minor leaguers for Sosa, whose up-and-down ride with the Cubs is nearing a conclusion. The Cubs.would pay $12 million of Sosa's $17 million salary this year.
The swap cannot be completed without Selig's blessing because more than $1 million will change hands, but no problems are anticipated. Selig has been informed of the negotiations, and his office just needs
that last paperwork before it forwards him the trade. Missing is Sosa's waiver of his no-trade rights as a 10-year veteran with at least five years on the same team, and formal agreement to the restructuring of his contract by the league and union.
Sosa's contract with Chicago contains a provision that calls for the team's $18 million option for 2006 to become guaranteed if he is traded, and for a $19 million team option for 2007 to be added — one that would carry a $4.5 million buyout. As part of the trade, Sosa will sign an addendum to his contract voiding that provision.
In addition, Chicago is responsible for a $5.5 million severance payment that must be made within 30 days of the deal. Baltimore becomes responsible for the 2006 option, which carries a $4.5 million buyout.
The deal also is contingent upon Sosa passing the physical, to be administered by Orioles team physician Charles Silberstein.
Finalization of the trade can't happen soon enough for the
Cubs, who are ready to sign free-agent outfielder Jeromy Burnitz to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2006. That deal wouldn't be finalized until the Sosa trade is completed.
The Cubs initiated the swap with the Orioles in an effort to unload the 36-year-old Sosa, once a hero in Chicago. But his popularity and numbers dwindled over the past two years, and the Cubs found him to be expendable after a season in which he hit 253 and struck out 133 times.
Yet his 35 homers were more than any Orioles player hit in 2004, and his new teammates expect his bat to experience a revival this season.
"I'm looking for him to have a monster year," said Jay Gibbons, whom Sosa will replace in right field. "We needed a right-handed power hitter, and here's a guy who hit 35 despite missing time with a bad back. I'd say that makes the middle of the lineup pretty dangerous."
Sosa will certainly add punch to the lineup, but will he be a positive addition to the clubhouse? He was suspended for corking his bat in 2003, and last season left early during the Cubs' final game and was critical of manager Dusty Baker for dropping him to sixth in the batting order.
"Yeah, some things happened last year, but I'm sure there was a lot of stuff behind the scenes that we don't know about," Orioles outfielder Larry Biggie said. "I think he will fit right in. Take away the last two years and give him a fresh start, and I bet everything will be fine."
Bigbie has spent much of the offseason in Indiana, about 20 minutes outside Chicago. He knows what Cubs fans think of Sosa, and expects that opinion might change by July.
"They're happy to have him out of Chicago, and I'm happy to have him in Baltimore. I think he'll be a great addition to the team and to the city," Biggie said. "I might end up calling all those Cubs fans around the All-Star break and see how many want him back. Maybe all he needs is a clean slate."
T.O. takes center stage in Super Bowl circus
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — He's not limping. He's not feeling any pain. He's embracing the biggest spotlight in sports.
And the way Terrell Owens is talking, it's ludicrous that anyone would doubt he'd be ready for Sunday's Super Bowl.
Owens didn't waste any time Tuesday pronouncing himself fit for the Philadelphia Eagles' first try at the NFL title since 1981. Less than a minute into media day, he let the world know that TO. would be in the house — Altelt Stadium — and in uniform against the New England Patriots.
"I feel great, I'm proving people wrong, the sky is the limit for me," he said. "There are no limitations."
Well, maybe a few, but the All-Pro wide receiver basically is ignoring them. He doesn't have clearance from the doctor who performed surgery on his right leg after he severely injured it on Dec. 19 against Dallas. Nor has he taken a regular role in any practice sessions.
No matter to Owens, who confidently predicted last month he would be in the lineup when the Eagles got to the big game.
"I will play on Sunday," he reiterated during a question and answer session that often resembled a monologue. "I know the type person I am; I have a lot of faith in my ability.
"I told the guys in the locker room: You guys just get us into the Super Bowl and I'll be there. They've done their job, now it's time to do my job."
Where T.O. is concerned, part of that job involves controversy. Whether he's pulling a Sharpie from his sock during a game, or being teased by actress Nicollette Sheridan, there is no middle ground for Owens.
Nor does he expect there to be.
"I was T.O. before I got here," said the player who forced a trade from San Francisco, refused to report to Baltimore, where the 49ers dealt him, then got the trade reworked for him to land in Philly. "I didn't ask to be controversial, but I guess it follows me."