"He was like, 'What are you doing here? Why aren't you going to KU? The girls down there are much hotter. You belong there.' Nicole Wenger, sophomore at Kansas State, relating a conversation with Iowa State basketball coach Larry Eustachy at a party after a K-State-Iowa State game
Inside Sports
2B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Joey Berlin jberlin@kansan.com
Hail recruits for avoiding Roy-like bail
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2003
If you ever happen to meet any of the Kansas men's basketball team's four incoming recruits next year, stop them and thank them. Pucker up and give them Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy-style kisses on the cheek. They deserve it.
After the events of two weeks ago, David Padgett, J.R. Giddens, Omar Wilkes and Jeremy Case didn't have any ethical obligation to come to Kansas. They were recruited under false pretenses.
Last year, when each of the four signed their national letters of intent to play at Kansas, they were foolish enough to believe that Roy Williams would be their coach — because Williams had told them so.
The four recruits he promised to coach are still coming to Kansas, much because they don't have the luxury of changing travel plans without losing playing time.
Now, Williams is in North Carolina living out his dream of coaching the Tar Heels. He gets to start his new job immediately, without penalty.
As William lives out his dream, Padgett, Giddens, Wilkes and Case will be denied their dream of playing for Williams. On ethical grounds, the letters of intent they signed have all the value of an Eric Chenowith rookie card.
But in the hypocritical, screw-the-kids world of the NCAA, recruits have to be granted a full release from their letter of intent to switch immediately to another school, and a full release is almost never granted. If they're granted a partial release, they have to sit out for at least one year before beginning their college careers.
Meanwhile, coaches such as Williams—and Bill Self—simply resign and take another job on a whim. No begging for a contract release, no sitting out a year.
With Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison leaving, the four recruits are just what the program needs. Padgett and Giddens were both selected as McDonald's All-Americans. And Wilkes has been ranked among the nation's top 100 seniors by several recruiting services.
Case isn't a highly regarded all-around prospect, but Williams called him the best shooter he had ever signed.
Despite losing the coach they dreamed of playing for, they're still coming — mostly because they have almost no choices. Don't take that for granted. Embrace them as much as you've embraced any group of Kansas players ever. Give them the treatment you thought Roy Williams deserved.
Berlin is a Leawood senior in journalism
Minority hiring lessens in sports
The Associated Press
Women and minorities are losing ground with jobs in professional and college sports, reversing a trend toward greater diversity, according to a study released yesterday.
Every professional sport had lower averages for employing women compared with the last Racial and Gender Report Card two years ago, and minority hiring slipped in pro and college sports, the study found.
"While we are creeping toward fair play, we still have a long road ahead," said sports sociologist Richard Lapchick, author of the report published by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
Only baseball, the NBA and NHL improved their grades for minority hiring.
The 12th issue of the report card studied players, coaches and front office/athletics department employees of major league baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL, WNBA, Major League Soccer and college sports. It found:
Minorities (blacks, Asians, Latinos, Pacific Islanders and American Indians) lost ground in most of the top management positions in college and professional sports, including general managers, team vice presidents and college athletics directors.
The percentage of African American men playing college and pro sports continued its decade-long decline in all sports except college and pro basketball and college baseball.
The percentage of international
Women held less than 45 percent of the head coaching positions for women's college teams in all NCAA divisions.
players continued to grow in major league baseball, the NBA, NFL and soccer.
"This is a disappointing reversal from the 2001 report, when historically best hiring records were noted both on the basis of race and gender," said Lapchick, who has been tracking gains and losses by women and minorities in sports for 14 years.
The report covered the 2001-02 seasons in the NBA and NHL; 2001 in the NFL; 2002 in major league baseball, soccer, and the WNBA; and the 2000-01 academic year for colleges.
Two of the most noteworthy highlights from the report, Lapchick said, were that:
Black Entertainment Television founder and CEO Robert Johnson was awarded the right to purchase the NBA's new Charlotte franchise, which made him the first African American majority team owner in pro sports.
There was an all-time high of 24 head coaches/managers who were minorities in the three biggest professional leagues.
The best news for minority coaches was in the NBA, where African Americans held a record 14 head coaching jobs in the 2001-02 season, reaching 48 percent of the total, the highest in the history of any sport.
"Traditionally, we've made an effort to hire the best people, period," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said. "That's worked well for us over the years, and it continues to work well for us."
The report card issued grades in relation to overall patterns in society. For
example, with minorities accounting for about 24 percent of the population, an A was achieved if 24 percent of the positions were held by minorities.
The WNBA got the highest combined grade for race and gender at A-minus, the NBA got a B-plus, and the NCAA a B. Major league baseball, the NFL, NHL and Major League Soccer all received combined grades of C on the report card.
On race, the NBA led with an A; the WNBA, baseball and soccer each got a Bplus; the NCAA got a B; the NFL a Bminus; and the NHL a C.
On gender, the WNBA led with an A; followed by the NCAA with a B; the NBA and NHL with C's; baseball with a D; the NFL with a D-minus; and soccer with the first F ever issued in the history of the report.
MLS spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald questioned the grade because two of the league's eight vice presidents during the reporting period were women.
"An F indicates that we would be doing nothing. That certainly isn't the case." Fitz-Gerald said.
Baseball declined to comment on the report, but last week commissioner Bud Selig said the sport has done "very well" on minority hiring.
The NFL, with two minority head coaches in the 2002 season, was at its lowest point since the 1991 season. A third minority coach was hired when Marvin Lewis joined the Cincinnati Bengals in January.
Whites held all the coaching jobs in the NHL, which historically has had few minority players. NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur noted that there were 16 black players in the league this season, up from 13 last year.
Penn State player sits out for alleged role in fight
By Patrick Abdalla
By Patrick Abdalla
Daily Collegian via U-wire
Pennsylvania State University
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State football coach Joe Paterno acknowledged one player who sat out Saturday's Blue-White game was held from the game partly because of his possible involvement in an April 13 altercation involving two members of the Penn State wrestling team.
In a pre-game press conference, Paterno said senior fullback Paul Jefferson would not play because of his possible involvement in the altercation, which resulted in freshman wrestler A.J. Cummins receiving treatment at Centre Community Hospital and a State College Police Department investigation. Senior wrestler Ryan Cummins was also injured in the altercation.
"He'll dress, but I probably won't play him," Paterno said. "But two things: First, he doesn't need it, and we're not going to play [tight end] Casey Williams, and I wouldn't want anyone to read into that at all. And I think there is some question right now about whether Paul was involved in something. I don't know what he was involved in yet."
A police statement issued last week
said several males assaulted the students, who were treated at the hospital. The statement also said the assailants remain unidentified and labeled the incident as alcohol-related.
The statement said several members of the football team were present at the incident, which took place at 445 E. Foster Ave. However, it remains unclear what involvement any players had in the altercation.
An Associated Press report said A.J. Cummins suffered a broken cheekbone and fractured orbital bone. Penn State assistant sports information director Brian Siegrist confirmed Thursday that Cummins had to miss the University Nationals and Fila Cadet Nationals.
Paterno also discussed his decision to play defensive back Anwar Phillips in the Capital One Bowl Game Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla., after the university put him on temporary expulsion — to begin with the spring semester — for his involvement in a sexual assault case.
Phillips, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault, is awaiting a jury selection for his upcoming trial.
"I played him," Paterno said. "It is nobody's business but mine."
ROWING
Rowing wins at Cincinnati, claims second straight dual
The University of Kansas rowing team won its second consecutive dual meet by defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday at Harsha Lake in Cincinnati.
Like the dual win over Kansas State on April 19, the Jayhawks claimed victories in the 2nd Varsity 8, Varsity 4, Novice 8 and Novice 4 races over the Bearcats. This weekend improved the Jayhawks' dual record to 2-2.
Cincinnati beat Kansas in the 1st Varsity 8 race 7 minutes 45 seconds to 7:51.12.
Kansas took the 2nd Varsity 8 crown with a time of 8:01.5 compared to Cincinnati's 8:16.8.
Kansas's Varsity 4 boat over took the Cincinnati crew by nearly 40 seconds at 9:12.5.
The Jayhawk Novice 8 notched a victory in their race at 8:37.3 while the Bearcats came in at 9:13.7. In the Novice 4 race, the Jayhawks won with a finishing of 4:45 over the Bearcats' 4:59 finish.
The Kansas rowers will conclude the spring season by hosting the Big 12 Championships on Saturday at Clinton Lake.
The Jayhawks will compete against Texas and Kansas State.
Jason Hwang
POLI
kansan.com What does the University of
Kansas need in an Athletics
Director?
Afundraiser
Someone who treats all sports fairly
An AD who knows where the money is — Football and Basketball
Log on to www.hansan.com to cast your vote.
CORRECTION
Most important is a person who has a good relationship with Mark Mangino and Bill Self
Yesterday's The University Daily Kansan contained an error. On the page 1B photo cutline for the baseball story, Kansas catcher Sean Flinn and Baylor designated hitter Ross Bennett were misidentified.
Kansas Athletics Calendar
TODAY
Men's golf at Big 12 Championships, all day, Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Okla.
Baseball vs. Wichita State, 7 p.m.
Hooglund Ballpark
THURSDAY
Softball at Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma City
FRIDAY
Baseball vs. Texas, 7 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
Softball at Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma City
SATURDAY
Rowing, Big 12 Regatta, all day
Track at Ward Haylett Invitational, all day,
Manhattan, Kan.
Softball at Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma City
Baseball vs. Texas, 2 p.m., Hoglund Ball-park
SUNDAY
Softball at Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma City
Baseball vs. Texas, 1 p.m., Hoglund Ballp
l
I'm sitting here blazing with my buddies and we just realized that Jeff Graves and Manny Ramirez were separated at birth. They are the same person.
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I was up at Robinson with my friends playing basketball earlier, and I just want to know what kind of kid wears khaki shorts and a belt while playing basketball?
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All are welcome!
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