2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY MAY 5, 2009
TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"You have to have something inside of you to make you a terrific human being. And that's what he is."
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown at LeBron James' MVP news conference
FACT OF THE DAY
LeBron James became the first-ever Cleveland Cavalier to win the NBA MVP award on Monday. He also finished second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
Associated Press
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Who is the only player besides James to average at least 27 points, six rebounds and six assists for five straight seasons?
A: Oscar Robertson. The Big O is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double in a season (1961-62), a feat he said he believes James could match in his career.
Associated Press
Find time for fun summer events
COMMENTARY
W ith summer comes the realization that every year, our favorite season grows tougher to notice
Summer jobs and/or classes keep us so busy, we don't realize this treasured stretch of time has begun until we wake up to 100-degree heat.
Yet as Alice Cooper's "School Out for Summer" slowly becomes a misnomer, sports serve as an effective reminder of what season we are in and gives us something to keep it special.
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Misty-eyed ruminations aside, it seems a fitting opportunity for a summer sports primer. Light up the comments section or my inbox with any other events that should make the cut.
It's a cool sight to see an NCAA championship decided in the summer. This time around, Kansas may find itself in the College World Series, which will take place at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., June 13-24. Of course, to reach the CWS the Jayhawks will have to survive the May 29 June 1 Regionals and the following week's Super Regionals.
But this team, worthy of Top 25 consideration, appears as primed as any recent squad for a run. Kansas seems to have cured one of the year's biggest ills — playing
on the road — by taking two of three games at No. 9 Oklahoma last weekend. Kansas has shown it can play with the contenders, with highlights including a sweep of them-No. 1 Texas in March. It's certainly encouraging to see them gaining some traction on the road, which is imperative to their advance to Omaha.
NFL TRAINING CAMP
If that cracked jaw from your "touch" football game hasn't healed, trek up to River Falls, Wisc., for the Kansas City Chiefs' training camp, set to begin July 24. This is likely the last time the Chiefs hold camp at the spot that has hosted them for the last 18 preseasons.
Bengals. I'm still coping with the 2007 departure of "The Sopranos," so I'm relieved to see the channel take such an original approach to crime drama.
And let's be honest, NFL training camp is much better than April's overblown draft. Unless watching analysts collect paychecks to knowingly make false predictions for eight hours is your thing, you will find higher entertainment in HBO's latest installment of "Hard Knocks." This year's focus? The Cincinnati
The summer will also give us ample time for mock fantasy football drafts, annual preview mags and release of the latest installments of the Madden, Aug. 14, and NCAA Football, July 14, video game franchises. For an impeccable look at the goings-on at training camps, the late George Plimpton's "Paper Lion" is a must read.
KC MASTERPIECE
FIGHT NIGHT
Save some extra cash for a trip to a sports bar or host a party of your own for the summer's hottest fights. May 23 will bring UFC 98, when light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans (18-0-1) will defend his belt against Lyoto Machida (14-0). The winner likely to defend against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson later this year.
B be sure to get out to the Kansas Speedway and CommunityAmerica Ballpark for a day of racing or T-Bones minor league baseball. Tickets and lists of events can be had at www.
tbonesbaseball.com and www.
kansaspeedway.com.
The Big One will be July 11's
UFC 100, headlined by the tilt for the undisputed heavyweight title between Brock Lesnar (3-1) and Frank Mir (12-3). Lesnar earned the strap with a knockout of Randy Couture last November. Mir is the only fighter to have stopped Lesnar. But, as evidenced by his defeat of Couture, Lesnar has improved much since his loss. Also on the card will be welter-weight champ Georges St-Pierre (18-2) defending against Thiago Alves (22-4).
Floyd Mayweather Jr. ended his brief retirement on the eve of Manny Pacquiao's decimating of Ricky Hatton last weekend. Mayweather, considered one of the all-time best, will return July 18 to fight Juan Manuel Marquez. Should the 32-year-old Mayweather Jr. emerge successful, expect the fight of the century between him and Pacqiuao, something this sport desperately needs.
Edited by Justin Leverett
NFL
Collapse injures Cowboys special teams coach
Possible microburst caused a protective structure to collapse on about 70 people
BY DANNY ROBBINS Associated Press
IRVING, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys' special teams coach was set for surgery Monday on his fractured cervical vertebrae after the team's tentlike practice facility collapsed in fierce wind.
Firefighters investigate the collapsed canopy that covered the Dallas Cowboys indoor football facility in Irving, Texas. Four Cowboys staff members were injured when the roof collapsed. Cowboys spokesman Rich Darylpley all of the players and coaches were accounted for, and he didn't know the extent of the injuries to the four staff members who were hospitalized.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Government inspectors were on site and began investigating the collapse, said Elizabeth Todd, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Officials with the city of Irving were examining construction and inspection paperwork regarding the $4 million structure built in 2003.
Joe DeCamillis was one of 12 people injured and three Cowboys staff members still in the hospital following Saturday's accident. The Cowboys didn't immediately return a call regarding whether surgery on the 43-year-old assistant had begun early Monday.
The most seriously injured was Rich Behm, the team's 33-year-old scouting assistant who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed. Behm and assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither, 35, remained hospitalized. Gaither had surgery on his
fractured upper and lower right leg and was expected to be released this week.
The company that built the facility — Summit Structures LLC of Allentown, Pa. — said the roof had been replaced in 2008. The statement said proper engineering was used during the original construction and the installation of the new roof.
Summit president Nathan Stobbe said he was in Irving on Monday, working with team and local officials to "fully assess this severe weather event." The company said it has few answers now on precisely what happened.
About 70 people, including 27 players attending a rookie minicamp, were in the structure when the storm hit. Wind in the area was clocked at 64 mph, 1 mph shy of the threshold for a weak tornado. National Weather Service officials said a "microburst" may have pushed the wind beyond 70 mph at the top of the structure that was built in 2003.
Media were restricted from the Cowboys headquarters through at least a week because of "ongoing work that is scheduled to take place in the aftermath of the accident."
Most players at the minicamp were drafted the previous weekend or signed as undrafted rookies, but none were hurt. No veterans were involved. Coaches, support staff and media were also in the nofrills building, which is essentially a 100-yard football field with a few more yards of clearance all the way around. The roof was 80 feet high.
Behm, DeCamillis and Gaither were standing on the field when the $4 million structure gave way, sending debris such as the framework and lights crashing to the ground.
A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said the school has had no problems but will reevaluate its policy on practicing in bad weather in light of this collapse.
"Our facility was put to the test this past fall when Hurricane Ike hit the Texas gulf coast," he said in a statement. "Our buildings withstood the high winds and our football team was not in the facility at that time."
A Pennsylvania court ruled in 2006 that Summit was negligent in the design and construction of a membrane-covered building that collapsed in 2003 after a major snowstorm in Philadelphia. The building was constructed for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY No events
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
BASEball
Wichita State,
7 p.m.
Wichita
THURSDAY Women's Golf NCAA Regionals All Day
FRIDAY
Baseball Missouri, 6:30 p.m. Columbia, Mo.
Softball
TBD
Oklahoma City,
Okla.
Women's Golf NCAA Regionals All Day
SATURDAY
DAY Baseball Missouri, 2 p.m. Columbia, Mo.
Women's Golf NCAA Regionals TBA
SUNDAY
Baseball Missouri, 1 p.m. Columbia, Mo.
CRIME
Top recruit charged with breaking and entering
RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the nation's most sought-after basketball recruits has been charged with a misdemeanor taking and entering after
police found him walking out of a vacant house in North Carolina. Raleigh police said Monday that
Wall
John Wall was detained briefly April 27 but not arrested. He and two other teenagers were cited. Police said there was no indication of forced entry at the empty house or that anything was taken.
Wall, a point guard at Raleigh Word of God, was voted The Associated Press men's prep basketball player of the year for North Carolina in March.
He has not announced a college choice, but has been pursued by Duke, North Carolina State, Kansas, Memphis, Miami, Kentucky, among others.
Associated Press
MLB
MLB Cardinals juggle bench before playing Phillies
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals have jugged their bullpen, recalling right-hander Brad Thompson from Triple-A Memphis and optioning rookie right-hander P.J. Walters to Memphis.
The moves came before opening a two-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Thompson was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four games over 62-3 innings before being demoted April 15. Walters has a 9.58 ERA in five games, including one start in place of injured Chris Carpenter, while allowing three home runs in 10-13 innings.
The move keeps the Cardinals with 13 pitchers and only four bench players.
Associated Press