MEN'S BASKETBALL: Post-halftime play elevates Jayhawks. See page 3B. BOWLING: Teamwork strikes chord for team. See page 6B
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SPORTS
1B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2002
COMMENTARY
Jeff Denton
jdenton@kansan.com
Dickie bleeds crimson, blue for Drew, KU
Of all the bone-chilling sounds made by the 16,300-person crowd that watched Kansas obliterate Missouri Monday night, none were more penetrating than the blurbs and -isms from the mouth of Dick Vitale.
Love him or loathe him, "Dukie" Vitale is a college basketball icon. A legend. An expert.
But a pest, at that.
Dickie V can be flat-out irritating especially if you tune in to any Duke broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2. Vitale has the hots for the entire Blue Devils starting five and a long-running infatuation with coach Mike Krzyzewski. Vitale worships Duke, hence his pseudonym. But ignore the cheerleading.
What makes Vitale famous is the voice — the unmistakable blabber, the unprecedented enthusiasm for the game.
An exaggerated squeak that slithers through the television set, scratching chalkboards, shattering windows and horrifying young children who mistake the commentator for a ghost with undying vocal cords.
("It's OK honey," the mother says to her 3-year-old son, as he wails and screams, pointing his flabby fingers toward Vitale's face on big screen. "It's not a monster, it's just Dick Vitale." Before the mother finishes explaining, the toddler already has soiled his Pampers.)
Dickie V has always liked Kansas, but his "lifetime" contract calling Duke games has lessened his affection for the Jayhawks. This all changed as Vitale started vapping.
Drew Gooden starred. Dick Vitale screamed. New love blossomed.
"Big timer. Double doubles consistently," Vitale bellowed at the top of his lungs as Gooden sunk a floater in the lane. "The best power forward in America, making a run for National Player of the Year honors."
The Gooden show had just begun — a pump fake and drive to the basket, a spin move and turnaround jumper from 15 feet, a leaner on the baseline. Gooden was sizzling. And Vitale had jumped on the bandwagon.
"He is putting a show on, on national TV. He wants America to know that he is one of the premier players in the land...If I pick my top five right now, he is in it, Brad," Vitale rumbled to his play-by-play partner Brad Nessler. "There is no doubt that he is one of the five premier players in America." (Shame on you, Dick. In his ESPN the Magazine's College Basketball Preview, Vitale left Gooden out of his top 15 players in the country. Ironically, Dickie V tabbed Missouri's Kareem Rush as a member of his first five.)
Funny how even the best make mistakes.
Right after a TV time out, Gooden shook the stadium and brought Vitale to a one-breasted frenzy.
Gooden stole the ball at midcourt, took one power dribble with his left hand, jump-stopped eight feet from the rim, leapt off two feet and powered the ball through the basket with a ferocious, one-handed flush.
Go ahead, Dickie V. We know you're anxious.
"Oh, what a monster jam. Dipsey-Doo-
Dunkaroo. The Phog fanatics love Mr.
Gooden, and that's not Dwight Gooden
with a 95-mph fastball," Vitale exclaimed.
Make no mistake. The voice that America loves to hate has a new crush.
Dickie V is sweet on Drew.
Contact Denton atjdenton@kansan.com.
Team focuses on future games
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Kansas sophomore forward Bryant Nash goes up to block a shot from Missouri freshman guard Duane John during Monday's game. Kansas' next opponent will be Colorado on Feb. 2.
Despite the huge win over Missouri, Kansas won't let victory go to their heads
By Doug Pacey Kansan sportswrite
Slow down Kansas fans.
Don't go calling high school friends at other colleges and start bragging about your Jayahwaks just yet.
Yeah, Kansas is the second-ranked team in the country and beat the tar out of rival No. 22 Missouri 105-73 Monday.
And, of course, the Jayhawks are perched atop the Big 12 Conference standings with a 7-0 record, 18-2 overall, but Roy Williams' team has been in this situation before and the outcome has not been pretty.
pretty.
"Last year we were 6-0 and we didn't win the seventh game," Williams said. "We're only one game better than we were last year. The year before we were 4-0. I think and we're only three games better than we were then and we finished in some Godawful spot, fourth or fifth or something."
A 75-66 loss in Columbia, Mo., last year sent the then-No. 3 Jayhawks into a 2-4 tailspin and ruined any chance Kansas had of winning its first Big 12 championship since the 1997-98 season.
The previous season saw the Jayhawks win their first four Big 12 games before going 3-4 over their next seven games on their way to an 11-5 Big 12 record and fifthplace finish.
"In this league you've got to play 16 games," Williams said. "We've got some big-time games left against some people that have very, very good basketball teams."
Barring a complete collapse and lack of effort like last year's 85-77 upset loss at
Only two ranked opponents are left on Kansas' schedule: Missouri, which is the last game of the regular season for both teams on March 3, and No. 20 Texas Tech (15-3 overall, 4-2 Big 12), Feb. 9 at Allen Fieldhouse. Two days after the game against the Red Raiders the Jayhawks will play at Texas (14-5 overall, 5-1 Big 12), the Big 12's current second-place team.
Kansan women suffer another loss at Boulder
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 38
Buffaloes continue winning streak with 80-41 win over Hawks
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Kansas left for Boulder before the frigid weather hit Lawrence last night, but the Jayhawks' play against No. 20 Colorado remained as ice-cold as it has been all season.
The Buffaloes (16-6 overall, 6-3 Big 12 Conference) defeated the 'Hawks 80-41, extending their winning streak to six games while handing Kansas (5-17, 0-9) its ninth straight loss. The 39-point loss tied for the second-worst loss in Jayhawk history.
"We are struggling," Kansas coach Marian Washington said. "We did not do much on the defensive end, so they got some easy looks."
The problems for Kansas started almost as soon as the game began. The 'Hawks simply could not find offensive production from anyone in the first half, and Colorado took advantage. The Buffaloes held Kansas to 12 first-half points and led by 24 at the break.
The Hawks troubles only continued in the second. With the inside game next o non-existent, Washington tried a number of players in the middle with little result.
Freshman guard and forward Chelsey Thompson drives the ball at last night's game against Colorado.
Reserve Valerie Migicovsky did provide a lift off the bench for Kansas, finishing with five points and three rebounds.
Sharonne Spencer suffered a game-ending knee injury early in the half, and freshman Blair Waltz failed to score in 15 minutes of action.
kansas' seniors provided even less help inside. Center Kristin Geoffroy and her substitute Nikki White
SEE WOMEN PAGE 3B
Swimmer hopes to finish final season with success
Rebecca McFall will miss her sisters the most next year when she concludes her diving career with Kansas. While there won't be another McFall competing on the 3-meter board next season, she thinks of the other four divers as family.
"The most, I'll definitely miss my sisters," McFall said. "I'll miss the swimmers too, but the divers, we're such a tight-knit group. I've been through a lot with them."
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
"They're like a little bitty family," diving coach Kevin Lawrence said.
Lawrence considers McFall a silent leader but one who isn't afraid to stand up and tell the underclassmen what needs to be done.
"She makes decisions, and she makes choices based on what a leader should," he said. "She's very loyal too."
JOHN NOWAK/KANSAN
After quitting club gymnastics in the seventh grade, McFall started diving because of her father.
With the Kansas swimming and diving team's final home meet this Saturday at the Robinson Center natatorium, sportswriter Ali Brox will be profiling one of the four senior team members each day this week.
Her dad, who lived in Washington, was a block away from a pool that was built for the 1990 Goodwill Games.
Senior diver Rebecca McFall will compete in her final meet at Robinson Center natatorium this Saturday.
"They had really good coaches and everything down there too," McFall said. "He suggested why don't you try it out, so I did. That's how I got started."
The senior wasn't always sure she was going to dive in college, but the promise of being close to family and friends in Kansas and the lure of the diving program brought McFall to the University. Many of McFall's relatives will be at her final home meet on Saturday at the
SEE McFALL PAGE 3B
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