THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013
SPORTS
8A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
9A
NASCAR's Stewart'tumor-free,' ready to race
The Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH. Fla. — He seems relaxed and refreshed, perhaps even at peace.
The only immediate sign that it's still the same Tony Stewart is the three-day growth of beard and wrinkled T-shirt.
Otherwise, Stewart has wiped the slate clean from his tortuous and triumphant Winston Cup championship season and is looking to make his title defense as smooth a ride as possible.
"I've eliminated all the brain tumors over the offseason, so I'm 'tumor-free' right now," Stewart said. "I've put everything behind me."
The "brain tumors" are Stewart's description of the on-track anguish and off-track anxiety of last year.
Some of it was self-inflicted; He punched a photographer and sought anger management training afterward. There were many other conflicts with fans and the media.
Some of it wasn't his doing: His engine blew on the second lap of the season-opening Daytona 500 and he had to overcome five other drives who didn't finish to become the first driver to climb from worst to first in the standings.
When he found himself on the verge of his first Winston Cup title, he had to withstand unprecedented scrutiny as doubters wondered if he was fit to represent NASCAR.
Less than three months later, he simply shrugs at his past while acknowledging he'll have his share of bumps in the future.
He's back in Daytona, looking to win his third-straight Budweiser Shootout Saturday night and make this year strictly about racing.
Stewart said he was still going to make mistakes, and he had thought about that a lot lately.
"So you get to a point where you ask yourself, 'When is that going to end? When are people finally going to let it go?' I don't know and I don't worry about it."
There are some who believe it's the same old song from Stewart, who starts every year promising it will be stress-free.
This time, however, those closest to him sense a real change.
"Tony seems very focused," car owner Joe Gibbs said. "I visited with him during the offseason and he was totally relaxed, had a good sense of humor and seemed a lot less irritated than in the past. Winning the championship has been very good for him."
Others say Stewart doesn't deserve all the criticism, that he should be left alone to be who he is and not held to NASCAR champion standards.
"He deserved to win the championship because of what he did on the race track, and off the race track he certainly keeps us entertained," said four-time series champion Jeff Gordon. "We hear all the time about not giving 'politically correct' answers and letting your personality come out."
Sometimes, that gets him in trouble.
Even if Stewart has put his demons behind him, there will still be struggles to deal with.
"But if that's him and his personality, he needs to stick with it."
Gibbs has switched Stewart to a Chevrolet from a Pontiac this season, so he'll have to adjust to a new car.
And as champion, his responsibilities as NASCAR's ambassador will be greater than any scheduling demands he wrestled with in his first four seasons on the circuit.
Stewart knows that and is applying several of last year's hard-learned lessons to help meet his obligations. He's already said he wouldn't compete in the International Race of Champions, and his dream of winning the Indianapolis 500 has been put on hold.
Those two omissions will trim time constraints from his schedule, and he'll continue to chip away at his packed calendar.
As he closed in on his title last season, Gibbs restricted the
amount of non-NASCAR events Stewart competed in. Allowed to resume his extracurricular activities this season, Stewart will continue to hopscotch around the country, competing in smaller events in his free time.
But he'll try to do a better job of balancing it with his sponsor obligations and heavy appearance schedule.
"I ran myself in the ground last year," he said. "So I've cut back on some of the extra races, I'm cutting back on some of my appearances and trying to streamline my schedule a little bit more to where it gives me some time to get away and hit a reset button a little more often."
That should finally allow him to be happy, an emotion he admitted he rarely felt last season. It hounded him as he was asked often if a championship would finally bring some joy to his life.
"will be happiest when everybody quits asking me if I'm happy," he said with his trademark smirk.
Free for All
I'll bet you anything that official is really glad Jeff Graves lost all that weight before he ran him over.
--a second of his blinding rage
I have to go to Lamaze class before I watch the KU-MU game just so I can remember how to breathe.
Hey Roy, how about you play Moulaye once in awhile? He rocks my world.
--a second of his blinding rage
a second of his blinding rage
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
I would like to suggest that during all KU basketball games, there be a Roy Williams Cam in the bottom left of my TV screen so I don't miss
I'm sitting between Jonathan Ng and Loren Malone, and they both think Mizzou sucks.
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
I have two things to say. Mike Lee, he's clutch. The other? B. Nash.
From every hill and valley, from every forest and plain alike, from every rooftop, treetop and mountaintop will the truth be proclaimed: Mizzou sucks.
To the snotty sorority chicks who didn't camp out, stole our seats and made my friend stand sideways the whole game and then proceeded to steal her sweatshirt: poo on you, go back to Mizzou.
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
Somebody should tell the guys on SportsCenter that it's Kirk Hinrich, not Kirk Hinisht.
Does anyone else think the Crimson Girls look like drag queens?
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
Jeff Graves, you are the best
□
My roommate's sitting here and she's a little pissed that she can't be a member of the Moody Maniacs. What's up with that?
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
I just want to be in the Moody Maniacs. Will you please let me in your club?
图
My roommate just told me that Brett Olson is her favorite player. Should I be worried?
图
The girls of Chi Omega decided to commemorate their camping for the Mizzou basketball game by making T-shirts. Seriously, do they wonder why we mock them?
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
Since he obviously doesn't know anything about sports, we should all choke Ryan Greene instead. Mizzou sucks, and so does Ryan Greene.
Hallelujah, KU has finally compiled with Title IX. It's only been 30 years
--sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
图
Ryan Greene's an idiot. Ricky Clemons belongs in jail, not on the basketball court.
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
I couldn't agree more with Ryan Greene's column in the newspaper about the classless behavior of the KU fans. Enough said.
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
I have a poem for Ryan Greene:
roses are red, violets are blue,
you're a moron.
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
Keith Langford has doubled his scoring since last year. He has almost doubled his rebounds since last year. However, he has tripled his minutes since last year, so his production per minute is actually down from last year. Ryan Copeland, explain to me again why Langford's so much better?
sitting there first. And by the way, Mizzou sucks.
To the white trash Mizzou fan that tried to sit in my seat; I paid for that ticket. I don't care how much you paid for a scalped ticket, I was
If Clemons beat his girlfriend, the least that should happen to him is that he should be embarrassed on ESPN.
---
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And another thing, if Quin Snyder would have benched the guy in the first place, we never would have had to taunt him.
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I'm watching the Kentucky-Florida game, and is it just me or is Dick Vitale the most annoying person on the planet?
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Hey Ryan Greene, get off your soapbox and shut up.
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Ryan Greene needs to invest in a box of tissues. Being classy is the last thing on my mind when we're facing Mizzou.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2003
Moulaye Niang's new nickname is Moulin Rouge.
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kansan.com How many Big I.2 Conference games will the women's basketball team win this season?
Log on to www.lansan.com to cast your vote.
TOMORROW
Kansas Athletics Calendar
Softball vs. Bethune-Cook-
man College at the Triple
Crown Sports/UCF Tournament
hosted by Central Florida, 12:45 p.m., St.
Augustine, Fla.
POLL
SATURDAY
Softball vs. Mississippi at the Triple Crown Sports/UCF Tournament hosted by Central Florida, 10:15 a.m., St. Augustine, Fla.
- They will not win anymore. They will stop at two conference victories.
- They will win three to five games.
- They will win six to eight games.
- They will win nine or 10.
http://www.businessinsider.com/business/2014/10/29/they-will-win-nine-or-10
Men's basketball at Kansas State, 12:45 p.m., Manhattan
Women's basketball at Texas, 1 p.m., Austin, Texas Swimming vs. Iowa State, at 2 p.m., Robinson Natatorium
National, Champaign, Ill.
*Baseball at Arkansas-Little Rock, noon, Little Rock, Ark.
*Baseball at Arkansas-Little Rock, 3 p.m., Little Rock, Ark.
Softball vs. Purdue at the Triple Crown Sports/UCF Tournament hosted by Central Florida, 11:15 a.m., St. Augustine, Fla.
- Because of cold weather the Kansas baseball game against the University of Arkansas- Little Rock that was scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m. has been postponed for one day. The teams will now play a double-header on Saturday with a nine-inning game at noon and a seven-inning game at 3 p.m.
kansan.com The student newspaper of the University of Kansas Front Page News Sports Arts Opinion Extra
The University of Kansas Theatre for Young People Presents a Faithful Adaptation of the Classic Animal Tale
Jungalbook
Direction and Scene, Costume and Sound Design by Dennis Christies
Lighting Design by Jennifer Lack
Choreography by Hannah Bolton
Adapted by Edward Mast from Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories
2:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 9, 2003
Crafton-Preyer Theatre
General admission tickets are on sale through the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982; Lied Center, 864-ARTS; SUA Office, 864-7469; and on-line at www.kuatheatre.com; $6 public, $3 all students, $5 senior citizens; VISA and MasterCard are accepted for phone and on-line orders.
The University Theatre is partially funded by the KU Student Senate Activity Fee.
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