FRIDAY,APRIL25,2003
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5B
'Big guys' to dominate first-round draft picks
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — It's a "Save The Whales" draft.
While Carson Palmer, the Heisman-winning quarterback, will be chosen first by Cincinnati tomorrow in the NFL's annual lottery. This is a draft for big guys.
"Without question, this is clearly one of the best years for defensive linemen in recent memory," Cleveland coach Butch Davis said. "You could arguably say that as many as 10 and maybe even as many as 12 defensive linemen might go in the first round. That's one third of the entire group."
That's not to say all whales are equal in this draft, which will go seven rounds and 262 picks.
The top three, all expected to go in the first 10 selections, are very different players; 260-pound pass-rushing end Terrell Suggs of Arizona State; 325-pound tackle Jimmy Kennedy of Penn State, who not so long ago was close to 400 pounds; and Dewayne Robertson of Kentucky, a tackle in the now "average" 300-pound range. The other potential first-round defensive linemen come in all sizes and shapes.
But as is often the case, quarterback comes first — for the fifth time in six years, starting with Peyton Manning in 1998. Tim Couch was chosen in 1999, Michael Vick in 2001 and David Carr a year ago.
Not surprisingly, the only nonquarterback taken No. 1 overall in that span was a defensive lineman, Courtney Brown by Cleveland in 2000
Palmer, who followed a mediocre first three seasons at Southern California with abrilliant senior year, agreed to a contract with the hitherto frugal Bengals, although new Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis probably prefers a defensive player.
Actually, quarterbacks seem to have been devalued beyond the top pick because so many high choices at that position have flopped: Ryan Leaf, Rick Mirer, Cade McNown and the Bengals' own Akili Smith to name four.
So where in the past there might have been six quarterbacks taken in the first round, onlythree seem definite: Palmer, Marshall's Byron Leftwich and California's Kyle Boller.
Rex Grossman of Florida could sneak into the late first round, Pittsburgh and Green Bay like him. And some scouts think Chris Simms of Texas could, too. But Simms, son of 1987 Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, and Louisville's Dave Ragone seem more likely to go later, say to Chicago with the fourth pick of the second round.
Still, nobody really knows what will happen when the first round begins at noon EDT at Madison Square Garden.
"Between now and draft day, anything you hear from a coach or a general manager is a lie." Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said last week. "It's a high stakes game, and you've got a group of cards in your hands. It just makes sense not to show them."
As usual, after the top 10 or 12, the rest of the cards are relatively equal — there's not much difference between picks 15 and 50, depending on needs and preferences.
So teams are likely to move up and down to grab a specific player, although probably not until the clock is ticking down to the deadline — 15 minutes per team in the first round.
"You have to just be prepared to make changes and be flexible," says Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the New York Giants, who have broken a long-standing policy and traded up in the first round the past two seasons to take cornerback Will Allen and tight end Jeremy Shockey.
Blues reflect on early playoff exit
The Associated Press
ST.LOUIS - Cooler heads will prevail before the St. Louis Blues deal with the fallout of their first-round playoff exit.
General manager Larry Pleau acknowledged that the future of coach Joel Quenneville could be in question. Pleau's future, too. He planned to speak soon with owner Bill Laurie.
"We're not going to make any knee-jerking decisions," Pleau said. "We're not going to make any emotional decisions."
Players who gathered at the Savvis Center for end-of-season meetings are behind Quenneville.
"I think he"s done a great job,"
Pleau and Quenneville have produced unprecedented regular-season success for the franchise since arriving five months apart in 1997, with 100-point range seasons on an annual basis.
defenseman Chris Proner said. "This time of year, you"ve got to question everybody."
But the Blues have been eliminated in the first round three times during the past seven seasons. They've also been on a backward slide since reaching the Western Conference finals in 2001, falling in the second round last year and being eliminated Tuesday by Vancouver after blowing a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
Pleau refused to give Quenneville a vote of confidence, saying he's seen that given too many times and then the coach gets fired anyway. He said Quenneville's performance will be a component of the off-season evaluation process.
"He'll be part of the process, just like I will be," Pleau said. "If I'm going to wake up after what we did and everything is all right, that's wrong. I'm not sitting here worried. But the expectations weren't met, and I'm responsible."
Quenneville is looking forward to working next season with a healthy Pronger, who missed almost the entire season with
wrist and knee injuries.
"I'm planning on coming back," Quenneville said. "The nature of this business is coaches get hired and fired all the time.
"We're definitely miserable at the outcome, but we've got a lot of good things in place."
Laurie already has told Pleau that the team payroll probably will remain in the $60 million range. Pleau said the nucleus of high-priced stars likely will remain in place, but said others definitely will not be back.
Pleau refused to name players who won't be back, saying, "I would never discuss that in public."
Kentucky football looks to get in shape
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, KY. — Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks says a lot of teams already have penciled in a 'W' beside Kentucky's name on their 2003 schedules.
The way Brooks sees it, most teams figure the Wildcats will fade during the fourth quarters of games, as they have in the past.
"That will change," said Brooks, the former coach of the St. Louis Rams. "They can put
that 'W there, but then they're going to have to go out and earn it."
To make the other teams do that, the new coach is putting an emphasis on getting the Wildcats in top shape before the season even starts.
"There is no excuse to be outconditioned," Brooks said. "I'm not going to say we're going to win every game in the fourth quarter, but it won't be for lack of conditioning."
"He is a guy who has great energy and enthusiasm, not only for life, but for college football," said his boss, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. "He is committed to getting it done."
That, in a nutshell, is Brooks' coaching philosophy.
Kentucky's players certainly have noticed a change since Brooks' hiring on Dec. 30. Senior defensive end Jeremy Caudill said Brooks has emphasized conditioning.
"He let us know we would be an in-shape football team," Caudill said. "At the end is when
we're tired, and (the coaches) start pushing us."
But Caudill said players get the point.
The conditioning, he said,
"emphasizes the fourth-quarter thing. We want to be a team that is fighting to the very last second."
"There are very few things on the surface that need to be changed," he said. "The facilities are outstanding. The commitment is here administratively."
He said he has a great situation at Kentucky.
Suns' Stoudemire lands top rookie honors
The Associated Press
for the official announcement was scheduled for later in the day.
PHOENIX Amare Stoudemire won the NBA Rookie of the Year award yesterday, the first player to do so after coming to the league directly from high school.
Several players and coach Frank Johnson acknowledged that Stoudemire had won the award after the team practiced yesterday, and a news conference
high school since Moses Malone.
The Phoenix Suns' power forward — quick, powerful and barely out of his teens — beat out Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, last year's No. 1 draft pick.
Stoudemire, who turned 20 two weeks into the season, averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds, better rookie statistics than any player to turn pro out of
Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady all had less impact in their rookie seasons than did Stoudemire. At 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, he gave the Suns an inside presence crucial to their surprising drive to the playoffs.
Stoudemire didn't begin playing basketball until he was 14, and he had no serious coaching until he came to the Suns.
He began the season as a reserve, but moved into the starting lineup when Tom Gugliotta went down with a foot injury after 11 games.
Stoudemire scored 38 points and grabbed 14 rebounds at Minnesota on Dec. 30. Against Memphis on Jan. 10, he grabbed 21 rebounds, a Suns' rookie record and the most by a Phoenix player since Charles Barkley's 26 against Houston in 1996.