Volume 124 Issue 88
kansan.com
Thursday, February 2, 2012
JAYHAWKS BEAT SOONERS IN FIELDHOUSE
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Love is in the Air Ways to celebrate Valentine's Day
PHOTO BY MORGAN LAFORGE
Q&A: Kristen Spacek, owner of Owens Flower Shop, 846 Indiana St.
Q: What's the most popular flower people order for Valentine's Day?
A: Typically, roses are the most popular but a lot of people are now starting to order the mixed assortment of flowers, which is really fun for all of the designers to put the arrangement together.
Q: What percentage would you say sales increase this time of year?
A: Typically during Valentine's Day we have a whole month's increase in sales.
Q: During Valentines Day do you have to hire more workers?
A: We hire more designers, more processors and more delivery help.
Thankfully, we always have a few ladies who come in and volunteer their time to help out around Valentine's Day.
Pink and red roses surround your bed, while a smoldering omelet and a perfectly mixed mimosa wait to be devoured at the foot of your bed. Sound nice? This is just the beginning. During the afternoon you are taken on a shopping spree down Mass Street, followed by a picnic in the park for lunch. The night will conclude with a movie of your choice while you enjoy a glass of bubbling champagne to top off the day's festivities. Zach Finkelstein, a sophomore from Overland Park, not only planned this vision, but brought it to life on what some call the most romantic holiday of the year—Valentine's Day.
Zach did all this for his girlfriend Caitlin Doornbos, a sophomore from Hutchinson. The couple has been dating for three months, and Zach started planning his perfect Valentine's Day midway through January.
"Valentine's Day is more than a day full of roses and chocolates," Zach says. "More than anything else, it's a time to show the ones in your life how much they mean to you."
With the start of February comes the start of grocery stores displaying an array of "Be Mine" Valentine's Day cards, heart-shaped boxes filled with an assortment of chocolate and stuffed teddy bears or puppies with big eyes that scream those three little words. When strolling through Target, it's unavoidable to run into pink and red hearts in the form of candy and cookies, while different flower shops begin to order quadruple the amount of flowers they would normally order.
Kristen Spacek, owner of Owens Flower Shop, says last year Owens made about 450 flower deliveries on Valentine's Day alone, proving that it's the highest sales time of the year for the flower shop.
While some couples like to go all-out for the holiday, others have a simpler approach. Morgan Hutcherson, a junior from St. Louis, Mo., always saw her friends getting chocolate and flowers for their boyfriends, so when she was in a relationship her senior year of high school, she also wanted to buy all the traditional merchandise that was sold for the
holiday. But as the years passed, Morgan spent less time worrying about the commercialized gifts and more time expressing how much she cared for her boyfriend by making him elaborate handmade cards.
For couples, Valentine's Day is all about showing your special someone how much you love or deeply care about them, but what about singles? As soon as February begins, singles are constantly reminded of the holiday. Even when watching TV, a sappy commercial will fill the screen displaying a couple kissing after the man slips a diamond necklace around the woman's neck, ending with the sing-song voice clip "Every kiss begins with Kay." For some singles, the holiday can be a harsh reminder that they don't have someone to share it with.
Kevin Kitsis, a junior from Minneapolis, spent the last two Valentine's Days showering his girlfriend with elaborate gifts and winning and dining her at fancy restaurants, but this year he is single for the holiday.
"It will not be the same because the remembrance of prior Valentine's Days is a hard time," Kevin says. "I'm a little down about it, but the great thing is when you wake up the next day it's just another ordinary day."
Sometimes being single during Valentine's Day isn't all bad, as you still get the opportunity to show your family and friends how much they mean to you. Stephanie Higin-botham, a sophomore from Wichita, prefers to spend the holiday single because she doesn't have to worry about anyone else and can do whatever she wants, or even hang out with the girls. "I'm just not a sappy person," Stephanie says. "But it's cute if you're single and do little gestures for your friends to be festive."
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, take this opportunity to really think about the people in life you care about. Regardless of your relationship status, this holiday should be about expressing your love and appreciation to those who have stuck by your side through the thick and thin, as well as the up's and down's life has thrown your way.
perimeter. Drawing more detenuers to guard the paint allows a slash to the basket.
Saturday's game against rival Missouri is one that must be won in the paint and on the boards. Because Missouri is a guard-oriented team that counts on one big man, Ricardo Ratliffe, Kansas cannot abandon its front-court offense. The Jayhawks have the height advantage against the Tigers. Ratliffe will pose problems, but Withey and Robinson have no excuse to get into foul trouble. They must be the aggressors like they were against Oklahoma and attack Missouri's big men, especially Ratliffe, and get Missouri into foul trouble.
Both Robinson and Withey cannot have off nights because the front-court bench players, Justin Wesley and Kevin Young, are unreliable. The Jayhawks will go as far as where their front-court offense takes them. Kansas has no business launching ill-advised three-pointers when they can work their offense through a 7-footer and an All-American candidate.
Edited by Amanda Gage
Halfway through league play, Kansas is fighting to defend a .500 record. Going into Wednesday's game, Kansas was ranked No. 25 by the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, but that excitement was lost in the overtime loss.
TEXAS ACOUNTRY and Oklahoma.
"You look at all three of them and it has been gut-wrenching" coach Bonnie Hendrickson said.
"In this league you have got to be able to take care of your home court and we have not done that."
Kansas looked like it had the game decided midway through the second half with a series of stunning offense and stifling defense. Up seven, the jayhawks started to slide again and needed a three-pointer to send it into overtime. Junior guard Angel Goodrich and junior guard Monica Engelman hit clutch shots to keep the jayhawks in the game and turnovers and defensive breakdowns helped lead to the swift demise of No. 25.
Two short weeks ago when Kansas hosted Texas A&M it was in a completely different position coming off three road wins and in sole possession of second place in the conference.
teams are currently ranked in the Associated Press poll and another three are receiving votes including Kansas. But as the Jayhawks reach for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000, they are left with no guaranteed victories in this talented league.
"I really believe if Kansas would have won this ball game it would have punched their ticket even this early to the tournament," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said.
To reach that goal the Jayhawks need at least 20 wins and around nine or 10 in expanded conference play. The Jayhawks start the second wind of their round robin conference schedule this weekend. They will face three of the four teams they lost to on the road and host No.1 Baylor
Personnel wise, the Jahawks have struggled. Sophomore guard Keena Mays and freshman guard Donielle Breaux left the team earlier in the season leaving Kansas with 10 women on the roster. Even with the downsizing, freshman guard Asia Boyd who entered the program as the No. 37 recruit is playing minimal minutes.
After Texas A&M this weekend. Kansas will return home to host Texas before hitting the road again with stops at Kansas State and Iowa State.
the country with junior girls. Angel Goodrich who leads the nation in assists and junior forward Carolyn Davis who leads in shooting percentage. The team as a whole ranks sixth in the nation in overall shooting percentage, but in the last two games that hasn't translated. The Jayhawks shot just 38.2 percent from the field, well under their average of 47.9.
Edited by Amanda Gage
COACH BONNIE HENRICKSON looks concerned down the court during Tuesday's game against Oklahoma where Kansas was defeated in overtime 68-72. Kansas is now 16-5 for the season and 5-4 in 12 play.
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