2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2009
THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Coach Self brought it up. He told me if things worked out, I could be the only player in history with five Big 12 championship rings. I think that'd be very cool. I came to Kansas hoping to win a Matt not five." — Kansas forward Matt Kleinmann
Kansas forward Matt Kleinmann, Lawrence-Journal World
FACT OF THE DAY
Senior forward Matt Kleinmann has now won five regular season Big 12 championships. He's believed to be the only player in Kansas history to accomplish that feat.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: When was the last time the men's basketball team clinched the Big 12 title on the road?
A: Last season. Kansas clinched its fourth straight regular season crown at Texas A&M on March 8, 2008. It was the Jayhawks' last regular season game of the year.
@ KANSAN.COM
The Give and Go: Jayson
The Give and Go: Jayson Jenks and Clark Goble discuss Kansas' victory and what it means for the rest of the season.
Courtside: Can Kansas win
COURTSIDE
a community of helpful
BLOG
ment? Jayson Jenks discusses that and more in the Courtside blog.
The Strike Zone: After a chilly home opener, Kansas played under sunny skies yesterday. Josh Bowe and Tim Dwyer discuss the pleasantries of watching afternoon baseball in perfect weather.
First Pitch: Check the First Pitch blog for Josh Bowe's "Extra Innings" following the series against North Dakota.
MLB
Cardinals offer tickets for a discounted price
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals are putting single-game tickets on sale Friday, some at deep discounts reflecting the economic downturn.
The Cardinals have exceeded 3 million in attendance 10 of the last 11 seasons, including all three years at the new Busch Stadium. But for the first time, the team does not expect to sell that many tickets by opening day.
The team's "kids fan-friendly values" include children's prices as low as $7 for every home game, families getting a free hot dog and soda with reserved seats for most Sundays, and free ice cream in the Ford Plaza before all Sunday names
Among other offers: a Cardinals ticket and a Six Flags pass for $50; four terrace reserved seats, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for $60 at most Monday and Thursday games; 13 games with half-price ticket offers; a gas fill-up at participating Phillips 66 stations that earn a buy-one, get-one-free ticket offer.
The team already had discounted some season-ticket package deals,including offering 12 tickets for the price of 10 and seven for the price of five.
Associated Press
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
FRIDAY
No events
Tennis BYU, 1 p.m Lawrence
Baseball
Northwestern, 1 p.m.
Lawrence
Softball
North Dakota State,
3 p.m.
Lawrence
Softball
Baseball
Northwestern, 4 p.m.
Lawrence
Baseball
Women's golf
Rio Verde Invite
Rio Verde, Ariz.
Track & field
Arkansas Last Chance
Favetteville, Ark.
SATURDAY
Softball
N. Iowa, 10 a.m.
Lawrence
Softball
Eastern Illinois, noon
Lawrence
Softball
Tennis
Tulsa, 1 p.m.
Lawrence
Men's basketball
Texas, 3 p.m.
Lawrence
Women's basketball Iowa State, 7 p.m.
Ames, Iowa
Baseball Northwestern, 7 p.m. Lawrence
Baseball
Track & field Iowa State NCAA Qualifier Ames, Iowa
Women's golf
Rio Verde Invitationa
Rio Verde, Ariz.
SUNDAY
Baseball
Softball NDSU, Noon Lawrence
Baseball
Northwestern, 1 p.m.
Lawrence
Softball
Northern Iowa, 4 p.m.
Lawrence
Women's Golf
Rio Verde Invitational
Rio Verde, Ariz.
Taking a trip down March Madness lane
So many great stories came out of Kansas' run to the NCAA title last March. There were so many little tales about old men weeping in joy and students swarming Massachusetts Street.
And then, of course, there was the team.
There was Sasha Kaun coming to the rescue during the Davidson game.
It was the Sunday before the
There was Russell Robinson, who was so amped up the day before the championship game that he just kept repeating the words, "This is what you live for, this is what you live for"
There was Roderick Stewart, who dislocated his kneecap during a Final Four practice session and was robbed of his dream of playing on college basketball's biggest stage. And then there were the tears that rolled down his cheeks as the fans chanted his name during the final minutes of the North Carolina game.
There were so many great stories, but this one is my favorite.
national championship game, and both Kansas and Memphis were addressing the media at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
All of Kansas' starters were placed in small rooms located along a hallway in the bowels of the Alamodome. Reporters could roam from room to room and ask questions.
Of course, you have to remember that the players had been under intense media scrutiny for three weeks. And Final Four media free-for-alls are beyond chaotic — hundreds of reporters running around, all with a deadline, all wanting to get the perfect quote. And Kansas' players were 24 hours from the biggest game of their lives, so you can imagine
they were a little tired of hearing the same questions over and over
But that was the beauty of this day. Maybe Darnell Jackson was tired of the questions, maybe he was just goofing around, maybe he was serious. Who knows?
Whatever it was, Darnell Jackson offered up the greatest quote I have ever heard.
left in the session, and I was busy listening to Memphis Chris Douglas-Roberts tell a funny story about his hyphenated name.
There were just a few minutes
Across the hall, Darnell Jackson sat behind a microphone.
As I recall, Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent and a local Kansas City television reporter were the only reporters left in jackson's room.
Jackson
(Wait for it...)
"We just say 'let your nuts hang,' Jackson said. "Just let them hang. Just have fun because this is it for most of the guys, and we're just having fun with it."
Of course, we know what happened the next night against Memphis.
Eleven months later, we're two weeks away from the start of the NCAA tournament — actually, we're 12 days away if you count the awful "play-in" game.
We're two weeks from the tears and the joy and the Cinderellas and Greg Gumbel.
We're two weeks away from the greatest sports tournament in the world.
And as Darnell Jackson said, it's March and it's time to let your nuts hang.
WHERE'S RUSSROB?
before being released. And after a brief stint in Turkey, Robinson has settled in with the Reno Bighorns of the NBDL.
MLB
And he had his best game of the season on Sunday against the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Robinson finished with a season-high 25 points — on 9-of-16 shooting — and four assists.
Edited by Realle Roth
BY BETH HARRIS Associated Press
Ramirez and Dodgers reach preliminary deal
LOS ANGELES — The winter of discontent in Mannywood is just about over.
Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday on a $45 million, two-year deal, keeping him with the NL West champions.
The stalemate was broken during a 6 a.m. meeting that brought
the sides face-to-face at owner Frank McCourt's Malibu home. The gathering came after weeks of protracted negotiations that led to starts, stops, offers and subsequent rejections.
At times, McCourt's frustration with Ramirez's agent Scott Boras surfaced, with the owner describing the agent "challenging to work with."
All that was forgotten on a rainy late-winter morning when
The deal is subject to Ramirez passing physical, a person familiar with the talks said. The person spoke anonymously to The AP because the contract was not final.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Manny Ramirez reacts after sliding into home during an October game. Ramirez and the Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday, on a $45 million, two-year contract following months of talks.
told KCAL-TV as he emerged from his mandatory physical in suburban Inglewood. "I'm happy to be here. We got some unfinished business, and that's why I'm here."
"Wegotagreatmeeting," Ramirez
FOR SALE
Ramirez surfaced in the Malibu mist to rejoin the team and city that embraced him after he left Boston at the July 31 trade deadline.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
KANSANCLASSIFIEDS
Omega Phi Alpha - KU's FIRST Service Sorority. Low dues, great opportunities, no house. Deadline to join is March 2nd. Email: omegaphialpha.org/hawkcalm.com/3042
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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www.hqcc.lawrence.ks.us
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