2B - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS IN BRIEF
MONDAY, FEB. 18, 2002
HOROSCOPES
Today's Birthday (Feb. 18).
You're a birthday (for 10). You're undergoing a transition this year. You're going from analytical to emotional, from left brain to right brain. Your experience goes against what you had thought to be logical. Trust your experience. To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Aries (March 21-April 19). Today is a 7. It's perfectly natural for you to experience a let-down after an adrenaline rush. Besides, the sun is going into Pisces—it's the start of your annual pensive phase.
Taurus (April 20-May 20). Today is a 7. A person who has been difficult to deal with is losing importance in your eyes. You're starting to care less about what he or she thinks. Keep asking those tough questions.
Cancer (June 22-July 22). Today is a 7. You're getting stronger. Can you feel it? New friends are standing by, watching to see what you need. You'll be able to follow through on promises recently made.
Gemini (May 21-June 21). Today is a 6. All of a sudden you're surrounded by work that should have been out yesterday. Should you have been working instead of having fun? Heck not! Having fun is important. Reschedule, and call to let folks know if you'll be late.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22). Today is a 7.
Time to get back to business. A stern taskmaster wants to know if you're really solid. Prepare to answer a few tough questions. Prove your intentions are honorable, and really mean it.
Virao (Aua. 23-Sep. 22). Today is a 7.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Today is a 7.
All that work you've been doing hasn't gone unnoticed. New opportunities are arising. All the work you still have to do is in the way, however. It'll be down to a dull routine in no time.
Lihra (Sent. 23-Oct 22). Todav is a 7.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct 22). Today is a 7.
You're entering an intensely creative phase. It'll be fun and satisfying, but also a lot of work. You may also have to stick to a budget. For you, that's annoying, but it can be done. Prepare.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21). Today is a 6. Is there any way you could hand the reins over to somebody you trust? Let somebody else fight your battles for a change. You'd do the same for them.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Today is a 7. You're getting stronger, smarter and even more creative. You're also very stubborn. The person who tries to talk you out of your earnings now will be sadly disappointed.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Today is a 7. You're moving into a more contemplative phase. You'll be using all those plans you've made to actually produce results. At first it may seem as if none of them work, but you'll find a way.
Pisces(Feb.19-March20).Today is a 7. The more you learn,the more of what you know gets reassessed. It's a natural part of the growing process. Be willing to abandon some old assumptions.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.18). Today is a 7. This is the letdown after the big rush, the hangover from going on a mental binge. It may be hard to convince your boss that you ought to stay home and sleep.
Duke falls to Maryland boosts Kansas to No.1
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No last-minute collapse. Not even a home loss.
The Associated Press
"Every game you play here is special because it's the last year here," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "You want to win each game. The situation makes it special. You don't put special emphasis on it with your players because what if you lose? You just get ready to play."
Maryland finally beat Duke at Cole Field House and the venerable building claimed one more No.1 victim.
With the win, Maryland ascended to No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll, while Duke fell to No. 3 and Kansas moved to No. 1 with 21 first-place votes.
The third-ranked Terrapins, who had lost four years in a row on their own floor to the Blue Devils, beat them 87-73 yesterday, the seventh time a top-ranked team lost in the building that is closing after this season.
Williams didn't do a good job of selling that attitude to his players.
"This whole week the coach has been upright on us about Duke. Duke this, Duke that," said sophomore Chris Wilcox, who had a career-high 23 points. "I just feel better for my coach because Coach wanted this win more than we did."
Cole and Notre Dame's Joyce Athletic Center had been tied with six No. 1 losses, but the Terrapins (21-3, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) made sure there was no heartache like last season with the convincing win.
Last year, the Terrapins lost 98-96 to Duke at home in overtime when they squandered a 10-point lead with a minute left in regulation. The Blue Devils won three of four against Maryland last season, including in the NCAA semifinals, rallying from a 22-point deficit on the way to the national championship.
"We're only moving about a half-mile and we're
suit on campus," Williams said of the $20 million Comcast Center which will replace the 46-year-old Cole Field House. "Any time you can beat a No. 1 team like Duke it's a great win. Duke is Duke. They've earned it. They've been the best team in college basketball. That makes it special."
Maryland made it almost impossible to blow a lead this time, going up by 25 points three times, the last at 68-43 with 9:55 to play, on the way to improving to 12-0 at home this season.
Duke (23-2, 11-2) did get within 11 twice, the last time at 81-70 with 2:09 left.
But Juan Dixon hit a short jumper with 1:47 left and Lonny Baxter added two free throws 14 seconds later to make it 85-70 and the party started in Cole.
Dixon had 17 points for Maryland, which continued its best conference start with its eighth straight win, and Byron Mouton had 15.
"This is the first time we've beaten Duke here since I've been here and it's a tremendous feeling," said Dixon, one of Maryland's three senior starters.
Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who had won 11 straight since their only loss to Florida State. Mike Dunleavy added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Jason Williams had 17 points.
"The team that should have won did win, and they won in convincing fashion," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We made a good run in the end but the game was never in doubt. It was a winnable game in the last eight minutes but it was too big of a hump to get over."
In the four games these teams played last season, the eventual loser led by at least 10 points in each game.
A win would have given Duke the best start in school history, but now this team stays tied with the 1998-99 team at 23-1. The Blue Devils finish with a 26-21 record at Cole.
Men's golf team begins season takes eighth in first tournament
The Kansas men's golf team opened its spring season in solid fashion with an eighth-place finish this weekend at the Taylor Made/Big Island Invitational in Walkoloa. Hawaii.
"This was a nice start to the spring season," coach Ross Randall said. "Especially with the strong field of opponents at the Taylor Made Invitational."
In the 24-team field, Kansas was as high as fourth place after the second round, but high winds resulted in high scores in Friday's final round.
The Iavhawks had been
within striking distance of a possible second place finish behind perennial power Georgia Tech. But the 'Hawks could not fight against nature in Friday's final round.
"The wind really blew today making the scores go up" Randall said. "We would have liked to be closer to the top, but we battled and finished within four shots of third place."
Kansas' top individual finish in the tournament came from senior Travis Hurst, whose three-round total of 217 tied him for ninth place.
Junior Chris Marshall shot a final round 75 to finish in a tie for 17th place, and sophomore Tyler Hall shot a 76 on Friday to finish in a tie for 26th place.
Senior Casey Harbour shot a final round 81 to tie for 59th place, and freshman Kevin Ward's final round of 80 put him in 112th place.
The team will travel to Lafayette, La., next month to compete in the Louisiana Classics Intercollegiate, which begins March 11th.
Ryan Greene
Women's golf swings into spring
The Kansas women's team opens its spring season today. The squad will play in the Islander Spring Invitational, a 54-hole tournament held during two days in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Third-year coach Nicole Hollingsworth said she hoped that the team gelled quickly for the spring after a fall season trimmed by a tournament cancellation.
a Big 12 championship and peak at the right time." Hollingsworth said. "Because the terrorist attacks cut short our fall season, we didn't get to see how good we really are."
The Jayhawks will look for an improvement this spring after a fall campaign which saw the team place no higher than 14th in its four tournaments.
"Our main goals are to finish in the top five in our tournament appearances, compete for
Despite tough outings during the fall season, the Jayhawks want to build on some solid individual performances heading into the spring. The Jayhawks posted three top-20 finishes, including a first place finish at the Sunflower Cup by sophomore Jennifer Bawanan.
With no seniors in the lineup, the team will rely heavily on juniors Jennifer Cassell, Tiffany Kruggel, Jill MacDonald, Heather Rose, and Kristy Straub.
Sopnomores Bawanan and Tegan Thornberry along with freshmen Megan Elgethun, Lauren Phlegar, Lauren Widell and Meredith Winkelmann round out the lineup.
Ryan Greene
Got a Game This Weekend?
The University Daily Kansan wants to print scores and highlights from club and intramural sports. If you would like information from your game to be published in each Monday paper of the semester, please call Mike Bauer between noon and 4 p.m. Sundays at 864- 4815 or e-mail sports@kansan.com anytime with the sport, score, place, date, team highlights, team record, date and place of your next game and contact information.
Any information submitted after 4 p.m. Sunday will appear the following Monday.
For additional information contact Sarah Warren or Levi Chronister at 864-4858.
NBA
Phoenix Suns' coach fired assistant coach fills position
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Scott Skiles was forced out yesterday as coach of the Phoenix Suns and replaced by assistant Frank Johnson as the team tried to salvage a disappointing season.
The Suns, who have made the playoffs every year since the 1987-88 season, currently are out of postseason contention with a 25-26 record. They fell under the .500 mark by losing their past two games.
Skiles, the NBA's second-youngest coach at 37, became the team's coach 20 games into the 1999-2000 season, replacing Danny Ainge.
He finished the season with a 40-22 record and led the Suns to a 51-31 mark last season.
Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said Skiles was not fired and that he agreed to leave. The move came shortly before the Suns played the Dallas Mavericks, the Midwest Division leader.
AUTO RACING Burton wins Daytona 500, notches fourth career win
Following a late red flag, Burton won a three-lap dash to the finish line for his fourth career win in 251 starts.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Sterling Marlin handed Ward Burton the biggest gift of his life — a victory in Sunday's Davtona 500.
Marlin, who received hate mail and death threats from people who blamed him for the crash that killed Dale Earnhardt at last year's Daytona 500, appeared to have his third victory in "The Great American Race" in hand.
Marlin had spun out Jeff Gordon as a pack of cars crashed behind them, then beat Burton back to the yellow flag by less than half a car-length.
Then, NASCAR stopped the sometimes bizarre race to give the remaining leaders a chance to race for the win. After the cars halted on the backstretch, Marlin got out of his car to check for damage on the right front fender.
He started to pull the bent sheet metal away from the tire before an official warned him to get back in his Dodge. That little effort to repair the damage was enough for NASCAR to penalize him, sending his car back to the rear of the lead pack after the cars restarted.
"I tried to get it pulled off, but NASCAR didn't like it, and they sent me to the rear." Marlin said.
Burton called the last three laps "nerve-racking."
"I didn't even look at the flag," he said. "I wasn't going to stop. When the other guys backed off, I backed off."
— The Associated Press