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THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Players need to keep improving
AP PHOTO
Freshman quarterback Michael Cummings runs with the ball in the spring game at Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
SPRING FOOTBALL NOTEBOOKS
With the Spring Football season in the books, it now falls onto the players' shoulders to continue improving until the coaches can resume practices in the fall. In the spring game, the Jayhawks looked like they made great strides, but summer training will show how disciplined the team became in the first few months under Charlie Weis.
OFFENSE:
Dayne Crist: Crist looked good in the spring game and Weis frequently praised the quarterback he initially recruited to Notre Dame out of high school. In the spring game, he moved around well in the pocket, and made the throws he needed to make. At the same time, the spring game defense was far less skilled than anything he will face this season. The real proving ground for Crist won't come until the regular season starts. He has to prove he has the mentality to become a player who can succeed in games after struggling to establish himself during his time at Notre Dame.
Mike Cummings: Cummings is in position as the number two quarterback, and Jayhawk fans should not fret too much about his lack of production in the spring game, as he was playing with the less talented white squad. Third string quarterback Blake Jablonski didn't do anything special that would apply pressure to Cummings' spot. After the game, Weis came quickly to Cummings' defense and praised his strong arm. Cummings' biggest competition will come when Junior College transfer Turner Baty arrives on campus in the fall. Baty's biggest advantage is that, while Cummings spent last season as a red shirt, Baty gained starting experience playing in
game situations, leading his team to an undefeated 12-0 record.
Marquis Jackson: Jackson showed promise in the spring game, reverting back to his running back roots. Weis might use Jackson and his bigger body more in short yardage situations, which would give him plenty of opportunities to bruise his way across the goal line. While he scored three touchdowns, at times he looked unsure, clearly showing signs that the transition is not complete.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
to it the situation calls for a last minute field goal. As the Boise State Bronco's have shown the past two years, a reliable kicker can be the difference between a BCS birth and a spot in the MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas. But honestly, the Jayhawks will be happy if their season ends in any bowl this year.
Last year Alex Mueller started the season as the place kicker before being replaced by punter Ron Doherty towards the end of the season. While Doherty made three of his four kicks, neither player has truly established himself as the go-to guy in the clutch. In order for the Jayhawks to compete week each week, they'll need a guy they can turn
Edited by Jeff Karr
LEGAL
Pettitte testifies in Clemens'trial
WASHINGTON — With two short answers, Andy Pettit called into question the validity of his testimony against Roger Clemens, part of a discouraging day for prosecutors in the retrial of the seventime Cv Young Award winner.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
After stumbling its way to a mistrial of Clemens last year, the government is struggling again in the retrial — to the point that the crux of Pettitte's testimony might be tossed out. First, the exasperated judge criticized the questioning of Pettitte on Wednesday, then he ruled against prosecutors in another matter. Finally he cried out: "You're taking positions that are totally absurd to me."
Pettitite, Clemens' longtime friend and former teammate, was on the stand for a second day in the trial that is to determine whether Clemens lied at a 2008 congressional deposition and hearing when he denied taking steroids and human growth hormone.
"I could have," Pettitte answered. Is it fair to say there is a "50- 50" chance that Pettitte misunderstood?
Might Pettitte have misunderstood when Clemens supposedly acknowledged using human growth hormone to Pettitte in a conversation during the 1999-2000 offseason?
During cross-examination,
Clemens' lawyers got exactly the
answers they wanted.
"I'd say that's fair" Pettitte replied.
The government tried to salvage their witness, but prosecutor Steven Durham's follow-up questions were lacking — at least in the minds of Clemens' lawyers and, more importantly, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton. Clemens' lawyers moved to strike Petitite's testimony about the 1999-2000 conversation as "insufficiently definitive."
The judge seemed to agree, openly wondering why Pettitie
wasn't asked for a current, definitive recollection of the conversation. He repeatedly berated Durham, who was also part of the government team last July when prosecutors showed the jury a snippet of inadmissible videotaped evidence, prompting the mistrial.
"I was waiting for you to ask, and you didn't ask that," Walton said.
"My understanding is that (Pettitte's) position is at this time, he is conflicted. ... His testimony now before the jury is 'I don't know,' the judge continued. "I thought that what we would hear is, 'Mr. Pettitte, currently, what is your memory of what Mr. Clemens told you back in 1999?"
In other words, the jury might have concluded that maybe Pettitte did "misremember" the conversation, as Clemens has claimed.
Durham tried to contend that he addressed the matter in a different way. The defense will file a brief in support of its position, and Walton could rule on Pettitte's testimony as early as Thursday.
During his first day on the stand Tuesday, Pettitt recalled the crucial conversation, which took place at Clemens' home during a workout, as: "Roger had mentioned to me that he had taken HGH." Pettitt's testimony — as a reluctant witness with no ulterior motive — is considered vital for the prosecution's case, which otherwise relies heavily on Brian McNamee, a former strength coach for both Pettitt and Clemens who says he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone.
After his testimony, Pettitte signed a baseball in the hallway and left the courthouse in a black SUV without commenting, free to continue his comeback with the New York Yankees.
Inside, the government's woes continued. Its next witness wasn't even allowed to take the stand.