2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's an unbelievable honor. Unless you've ever been in (Allen Fieldhouse) and understand the tradition, it's hard to explain. Thinking back to when we were freshmen going through orientation to this is amazing. My jersey will be in the rafters of one of the most historic basketball arenas in the world."
- Kirk Hinrich on his jersey being retired as told to the Chicago Tribune
FACT OF THE DAY
Kirk Hinrich is averaging 9.6 points and 4.6 assists this season for the Chicago Bulls. He has made only one start in 27 appearances. Hinrich's career averages are decidedly higher, and he has started 377 of 416 career games. In five-plus NBA seasons, the combo guard is averaging 14.1 points, 6.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds.
— NBA.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Who was the player Sioux City, Iowa, native Kirk Hinrich split the 1999 Iowa Mr. Basket ball award with?
A: Hinrich shared the award with future Kansas teammate and current Seattle SuperSonic Nick Collison. The two went on to help lead Kansas to two Final Four appearances.
— NBA.com
@ KANSAN.COM
The Jay Report: Last time Kansas played Missouri, the guys both said they would
have picked the Tigers in a live
or death situation. So who do they like this time? Put a gun to The Jay Report and find out.
Kansan.com video: Go to Kansan.com/videos for footage of Thursday's press conference with coach Bill Self, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins. Will revenge be a factor against Missouri? How will he the rematch in Allen Fieldhouse be different? All that and more.
long, boi
stillwater the guys,
along with
photographer
The Give and Go: On the long, boring road back from Stillwater
Ryan Waggoner, discuss ex-actly how the layhawks finally got a road win in the Big 12.
Courtside: Jayson Jenks recaps Kansas' first Big 12 road
win since 2007, then looks
ahead to Saturday's game against Nebraska.
First Pitch Baseball buffoon Josh Bowe breaks down Kansas' walk-off defeat and how the Jayhawks can hold on to a lead.
Tennessee coach stirs up trouble
COMMENTARY
Your football program is one bad season away from becoming totally
irrelevant. It's on the brink of cementing its place as the fourth best program in a six-team division.
This is new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin. With spring football set to kick off around the nation
So what does the coach do?
He starts talking trash. He makes false allegations. He masks his lack of experience with taunts.
over the next few weeks, a lot of attention is focused on Knoxville, Tenn., where Kiffin has created more riffraff than
Stefhon Hannah at a nightclub.
In the last few months, Kiffin — whose Tennessee team went 5-7 last season, including a defeat to Wyoming under coach Phillip Fulmer — has managed to start feuds with Southeastern Conference rivals Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
Kiffin accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of violating NCAA rules by phoning a recruit while he was on the Tennessee campus. Too bad that's legal and not a violation.
Kiffin said assistant coach Lance Thompson, whom he hired away from Alabama, was the reason for Alabama coach Nick Saban's recruiting success. Good idea, insult the 2008 National Coach of the Year.
Kiffin said Georgia only signed Marlon Brown, a top-rated receiver from Memphis, because his grandmother didn't want him to commit to Tennessee. Didn't mention that Brown might be interested in an SEC Championship and that Georgia has had two in the last 10 years as compared with Tennessee's zero.
He's also gotten into a public
All of this from a guy who has never served as a college football head coach and went 5-15 in two seasons as the coach of the Oakland Raiders.
argument with South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier over recruiting rules.
Sure, he spent some quality years on coach Pete Carroll's staff at USC. But Kiffin is in for a rude awakening this fall when he tries to compete in the SFC, the nation's unquestioned best football conference.
He'll quickly learn that the Volunteers don't have the talent to match up with the teams he's targeted. He's going to find out that while running his mouth was fun in the offseason, getting pounded during the season isn't as enjoyable.
Kiffin needs to make the most of Tennessee's upcoming spring practices. Ultimately, the Volunteers are going to-need a lot more than that to drown out their arrogant coach.
MISSING: HATED COACHES IN THE BIG 12
Between Kiffin, Spurrier and
TRACK & FIELD
Meyer, the SEC is full of coaches who are infamous for stirring up controversy with their cookiness.
The Big 12 is not. Think about it. There are no truly despised football coaches in the Big 12. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Texas coach Mack Brown are envised. Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is eccentric. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and Colorado coach Dan Hawkins are famous because of press conference rants.
But none of the guys initiate inner-conference coaching feuds. Someday, that will charge. It only takes one guy like Kiffin to do the job.
Edited by Liz Schubauer
Jayhawks ready to place strong in standings
The team has been training to rise to its fullest potential
BY JASON BAKER
jbaker@kansan.com
Freshman spinner Keith Hayes knows the importance of swagger at a track meet.
Ryan McGeenev/KANSAN
"That's one of the key elements in track; to be successful is to know that you're going to be successful and to carry yourself like that." Haves said.
Freshman Keith Hayes clears a series of hurries during the Jayhawks' Jan. 16 meet against Missouri in Lawrence. The Big 12 Indoor Championships begin today in College Station, Texas.
The Kansas track and field team will need to carry that swagger into College Station, Texas, as it competes at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
"Everyone's in really good shape and for those that are going, were looking forward to them competing and having the opportunity to compete against some very good competition," coach Stanley Redwine said.
This weekend's meet will take place at Texas A&M's Gilliam Indoor Track stadium, and the team is ready to take on all of its conference rivals.
It's been two weeks since the team competed in Arkansas
Bradley, seniors Charity Stowers and ShaRa Ray Butler and freshman Shayla Wilson, will be competing in the 400-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay.
and Iowa at the Tyson Invitational and Iowa State Classic. But the lajahaws are ready to perform at their best to place strong in the Big 12 standing.
Bradley said the competing
"it's very important to show that we're improving every year," sophomore sprinter Kendra Bradley said.
Bradley
teams train differently than the layhawks.
"They train to run fast early in the season. We train to run fast when it matters." Bradley said, "I'm not really worried about what they've done in the past, all that matters is what happens that day."
Last year the women placed third behind Texas A&M and Nebraska respectively, while the men placed ninth. Senior spinner Victoria Howard said there's no reason the women can't build on that impressive finish.
"This year, we're all going to have to step up on the women's side and get as many points as possible." Howard said. "It's going to be tough but that's what the Big 12 is."
itself at every meet.
Howard will be competing in the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Last year Howard placed eighth in the 200.
"It's going to be a whole other Kansas team than we showed at the Kansas-Missouri duel, than we showed at the lyson Invitational," said Hayes, who will compete in the 60-meter hurdles. "We're coming to compete, we're coming to win."
On the men's side, Hayes said Kansas shows a different side of
In the distance events, sophomore Amanda Miller will be competing in both the 3,000 and 5,000 runs. Miller said her focus was on the 5,000 because she felt confident in scoring points for the team. Running both of those events for the men is senior Colby Wissel. Wissel provisionally qualified for indoor nationals in the 5,000 in Washington at the Husky Invitational on Feb. 14.
In the field events, all eyes will be on junior Jordan Scott as he goes for his third straight Big 12 title in the pole vault. Scott said he's trying not to put too much pressure on himself, but he won't be happy unless he wins.
BIG 12 INDOOR
TRACK AND FIELD
CHAMPIONSHIP
WHEN: Friday and Saturday
WHERE: College Station, Texas
Watch Live at www.big
12sports.com
Redwine just wants the team to compete to the best of its abilities.
"I'll be just as excited if everyone reaches their potential versus some people not doing what's expected of them," Redwine said. "We want everyone to go out and do what's expected of them and it's an opportunity for the team to step up and get the job done."
- Edited by SamSpeer
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Vick to finish sentence under house arrest
NFL
RICHMOND, Va. — Imprisoned NFL star Michael Vick will be allowed to serve the last two months of his sentence under home confinement because
there is no room at a halfway house for him, a government official told the Associated Press Thursday.
Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth after pleading guilty to bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a
home he owned in eastern Virginia's Surry County.
Vick will be on electronic monitoring and will only be allowed to leave home for activities approved by his probation officer, the official said. He is eligible for release in July.
- Associated Press
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THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Track & Field
Big 12 Indoor
Championships
College Station, Texas
Swimming & Diving
Big 12
Championships
Columbia, Mo.
SATURDAY
Softball Harvard, 11 a.m. Denton, Texas
Women's basketball
Nebraska, 7 p.m.
Lawrence
Softball
North Texas,
1:30 p.m.
Denton, Texas
>
Track & Field Big 12 Indoor Championships College Station, Texas
Softball
Swimming & Diving
Big 12
Championships
Columbia, Mo.
SUNDAY
Harvard, 9 a.m.
Denton, Texas
Men's Basketball Missouri, 1 p.m. Lawrence
Softball North Texas, 2 p.m.
Denton, Texas
Baseball
No events
fennis UMKC, TBA Lawrence
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Baseball
WEDNESDAY
North Dakota, 3 p.m.
Lawrence
North Dakota, 3 p.m.
Lawrence
Women's basketball
Baylor, 7 p.m.
Lawrence
Men's basketball Texas Tech, 8:30 p.m. Lubbock, Texas
NCAA
MU is one game behind KU, tied with OU for second
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Up 23 points at halftime, Missouri players easily could have allowed their minds to wander to the upcoming 1-2 punch against the Big 12 leaders.
The 11th-ranked Tigers refused to blame such daydreaming for a so-so finish that ran their home record to 17-0.
The Tigers (24-4, 11-2) are tied for second in the conference with Oklahoma, one game behind Kansas, and have won seven in a row in Big 12 play for the first time since 1999-2000. The 11 conference wins ties the school's most in the conference and they've clinched a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Missouri likes to keep the heat on everybody else, thriving under coach Mike Anderson's all-out, full-court pressing style. The Tigers come at their opponents in waves, 11 deep in the rotation, winning by an average of 26.1 points at home and by 21 in Big 12 play.
A 2-point thriller over Kansas earlier this month is the lone exception to a string of double-digit wipeouts at home.
Coach Frank Martin is getting weary of constant NCAA tournament questions.
"If we win today, tomorrow morning they come out and say 'OK, Kansas State is in.' Martin said. "Then we lose again next week and they say 'OK, K-State is out."
"Every game at this time of the year is important."
Associated Press
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