THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27. 2003
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 9A
SPORTS
'September 11' group threatens embassies
The Associated Press
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A group calling itself "September 11" sent terror threats to the U.S., Australian and British embassies in New Zealand, warning it has 55 pounds of cyanide to use against American interests if Iraq is attacked, police said today.
A squad of anti-terror police is working to find the author of the threat contained in four letters that mentioned the America's Cup yacht race in Auckland.
One of the letters, which were intercepted by postal workers at the Auckland mail center, contained cyanide crystals, according to counterterrorism police chief Assistant Commissioner Jon White.
Britain's Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that a suspect package "containing traces of cyanide" had been sent to the British High Commission in Wellington but said it had no information on the group September 11.
White said all the letters also contained a white powder. Authorities have not identified that substance but have ruled out anthrax, he said.
The identical letters, addressed to the ambassadors of the United States, Australia and Britain and to an Auckland newspaper, said the group aimed "to challenge the actions of the great satan America and resist its imperialist ambitions in the Islamic world."
Australian group that called itself September 11. But they were unaware of a group in New Zealand by that name.
White said police knew of an
The name seems an obvious reference to the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington by Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
"September 11 waits at the Americas Cup for instruction if Iraq is attacked by the host of satan all interests and there supporters will be attacked by September 11," the letters said. They were written in English and thick with errors in spelling and punctuation.
"September has stockpiled 25 kilo weapon grade cyanide and will use those against those interests wherever they are," the threat adds.
White said there were similar features between the letters sent last Friday and one sent to the U.S. Embassy last year.
That letter, which contained enough cyanide to kill 20 people, had threatened the New Zealand Golf Open in which Tiger Woods played in January 2002.
Cyanide is widely used in animal pest control, mining and other industries.
Police were reviewing security at the America's Cup, already high before the threat. They recommended people be careful about eating food served in public.
At the America's Cup venue on Viaduct Harbor in downtown Auckland, restaurant and cafe operators removed open sugar bowls, salt and pepper shakers and self-service water jugs yesterday.
Missouri upsets Oklahoma
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA. Mo. — Rickey Paulding rescued Missouri from a second-half letdown, scoring 8 of his 14 points in a 2:18 span, as the Tigers stayed perfect on their home court with a 67-52 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma on last night.
Ricky Clemons, playing with a broken left hand, had 13 points and three assists for Missouri (17-7, 8-5 Big 12 Conference). The Tigers are 7-6 in their last 13 games and dropped out of the Top-25 last week. But they are 14-0 at the Hearnes Center and pulled away late to end a nine-game losing streak against the Sooners, who shot a season-low 27.3 percent.
Arthur Johnson added 20
points and 11 rebounds and Travon Bryant had 14 points for Missouri.
Coach Quin Snyder had been 0-6 against Oklahoma, and Missouri hadn't beaten the Sooners since the 1997 Big-12 tournament. It was only the second loss in 11 games for the Sooners this season.
Fans stormed the court after the buzzer to celebrate the victory.
Oklahoma (19-5, 10-3) was red-hot in its last game against Kansas, leading by as many as 32 points in a 77-70 victory. The Sooners were frustrated by a zone early against Missouri and had a scoring drought of more than eight minutes in the first half, falling behind 30-22.
A 13-0 run that featured six free throws and was capped by a 3-
pointer by Hollis Price was the lone shining sequence for the Sooners, giving them a 37-36 lead with 10:40 to go. Paulding responded with two free throws and two 3-pointers for a 46-39 lead with 7:57 left.
Bryant hit a 3-pointer and had a dunk on consecutive possessions to put the Tigers ahead 55-43 with 4:47 to go.
Clemons broke his non-shooting hand in a 21-point loss at Colorado on Saturday and on Monday the school said he would be sidelined indefinitely. After testing the hand with 200 shots after the mid-afternoon walk through he played with it wrapped to the wrist and the initials "NPNG," presumably standing for "No pain, no gain," etched in marker
on the tape.
Price led Oklahoma with 16 points, and also had five rebounds, but was 4-for-12 from the field. Ebi Ere, averaging 14.6 points, was held to 5 on 1-for-11 shooting. Quannas White, who had 19 points against Kansas, was 2-for-12 and had 6 points.
Clemons had two three-pointers during an early 13-0 run that gave Missouri a 20-9 lead. Oklahoma missed eight straight shots before Ere ended a drought of 8:40 with a three-pointer at the 6:10 mark.
Missouri built its early cushion with minimal contribution from Paulding, the team's leading scorer at 16.7 points per game. Paulding scored on a drive for his first points with 3:09 to go, and had four in the half.
Royals to bring home new player
"Independent ball is like start-
The Associated Press
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Morgan Burkharwart was a longshot to leave spring training as a member of the Kansas City Royals, but he defied bigger odds to make it to the majors with the Boston Red Sox.
intrasquad game yesterday.
Burkhart is a first baseman and designated hitter. Mike Sweeney, a three-time All-Star who hit .340 last year, is set at first base for the Royals. Rookie Ken Harvey, the MVP of the Arizona Fall League and the Royals' top hitting prospect, is the leading candidate to play DH.
But betting Burkhart won't appear at some time this season for Kansas City would likely be a mistake. The switch-hitting Burkhart homered right-handed off Darrell May and doubled left-handed off Zack Greinke in an
Burkhart helped Central Missouri State win the 1994 NCAA Division II championship, but was not drafted. He signed with Richmond (Ind.) in the independent Frontier League, where he became a minor-league legend.
Burkhart was named to four Frontier League All-Star teams and won three consecutive MVP titles. He captured the 1998 Frontier League triple crown with a .404 average, 36 home runs and 98 RBIs in 80 games.
The Boston Red Sox then signed Burkhart and he hit 23 home runs with 77 RBIs in 105 games with Triple-A Pawtucket in 2000. Promoted to the majors June 27, he went 2-for-4 in his debut and hit a single off Mike Mussina in his first at-bat.
ing in the lower level," Burkhart said. "I was there for four years and Boston gave me a shot. I was thankful for the opportunity."
Burkhart, who grew up in St. Louis as a Cardinals fan, said he put up decent numbers, but "not unbelievable" numbers at Central Missouri.
"Nothing that would probably stand out," he said.
His Frontier League numbers, however, were off the charts.
Burkhart had never been to Fenway Park when the Red Sox called him up.
"I got a little stronger and matured a little bit," said Burkhart, who turned 31 in January. "I learned a little bit and put up good numbers in that league."
"The best thing is I flew in and was in the lineup that night, which made it easier," Burkhart
said. "You don't have time to take in things."
Burkhart hit .288 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 73 atbats with the Red Sox. He played mostly with Pawtucket in 2001, and hit .182 in 11 games with Boston.
Burkhart, who has also played winter ball in Mexico and Colombia, spent last year in Japan with Fukuoka, but was limited to 47 games because of a shoulder injury, which required surgery last July.
He said the Royals were the first team to contact him during the off-season and he signed in November.
"When I was at Central Missouri, it was only about 45-50 minutes to Kauffman Stadium and I came up to watch many games," Burkhart said.