THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
2B SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"They probably run the fewest number of offensive sets in the league but when you have a kid that can make a lot of plays, you probably don't need to run as many plays. She can make plays."
Coach Bonnie Henrickson on Oklahoma State's explosive guard Andrea Riley
FACT OF THE DAY
Oklahoma State junior guard Andrea Riley is averaging a league-high 26.6 points per game in Big 12 play. Second in that category is Kansas 'Danielle McCray, who's scoring 19.2 points against conference fees.
Big 12 Conference
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q:When was the last time Oklahoma State guard Andrea Riley scored fewer than 10 points in a Big 12 game?
A: Jan. 27, 2007. Riley, then a freshman, shot 2-of-12 against Baylor and scored just six points. Since then she's been on a torrid scoring pace, pacing the league in scoring the last two seasons.
OSU Athletics
KANSAN.COM
The Give and Go: Looking into the crystal ball, Clark and Jayson forecast what Kansas needs to do to make the WNIT. Along the way, the guys talk
about avoiding getting killed on the road and avoiding road kill on the way
avoiding road kill on the way to Stillwater.
NFL
Murder suspect of Denver player charged again
DENVER — A suspect in the shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams has pleaded not guilty to an unrelated charge of having a homemade knife in his tail cell.
Willie D. Clark was in Denver County Court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing on a charge of introducing contraband.
Clark is charged with murder in the Jan. 1, 2007, slaying of Williams. A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Authorities say they found a plastic spoon sharpened into a weapon in Clark's cell on Dec. 8. Clark's attorney says Clark had been in the cell only three days when the knife was found and suggested the previous occupant made it.
He also faces a murder charge in the unrelated shooting death of Denver woman in December 2006.
Associated Press
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THE BOTTLENECK
There are a couple of cat and dry titleholders this season in college basketball.
A non-concussed Blake Griffin is the best college basketball player in the nation. Courtyard paris is the most dominating female post player in America Tennessee's Pat Surmitti is America's most successful coach. And finally, Alabarba State senior center Chief Kickingtallions owns the best name in college basketball
Honestly, can there be any competition? Kickingstallionsims, whose full name is Grlennrtys Chief Kickingstallionsims it. is a nightmare for public address, radio and television announcers as well as opposing Southwestern Athletic Conference post players.
COMMENTARY
Player has best name, not game
He is listed
at 7-foot 1 and
260 pounds,
and, unsurprisingly, leads the conference with
2.8 blocks per
game — a full block more than the next doset
player, Alabama
State is also at the top of the conference with a 13 - record, a vast improvement on the 7- mark it
owned after the non-conference portion of the schedule.
As undeniably awesome as his name is, Kickingstallions isn't a great soaker, or even a good rebounder for that matter. Case in point: he lifts his greatest athletic accomplishment as being named "Best Name in College Sports" by Sports Illustrated.
THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE IS BACK
After two months spent wait ingor the knockout stages to begin soccer fans are once again in looty heaven as the Champions League got back under way Tuesday afternoon.
the day's marquee matchup — Manchester United against Inter Milan — was a ho-hum 0-0 draw at the Stadio San Siro in Milan, but there is plenty to look forward to today as heavyweights Liverpool and Real Madrid clash
in Madrid. Also on the card is another English-Italian matchup between Chelsea and Turin giants Juventus.
The competition's format in this stage calls for two matches to determine which team advances — one at each team's stadium — with aggregate goals deciding the victor and away goals separating the two in case of a tie.
You can see Chelsea play Juventus on ESPN2 (Channel 34) at 1:30 p.m. and Real Madrid face Liverpool on ESPN Classic (Channel 35) at 4 p.m.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
I love baseball as much as the next red-blooded American.
Rodriguez
but the World Baseball Classic marketing department may have made a mistake making Alex Rodriguez one of the faces of its marketing campaign.
andIchiro are both decent choices — although I wonder if it
But A-Fraud? I know he apologized for the steroids controversy and all, but why not choose another player from what amounts to a stacked Dominican Republic roster?
Derek Jeter
Just a few who deserved consideration: David Ortiz, Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes. Of course, Rodriguez would be the obvious choice minus the current controversy, and odds are the television spots were recorded months ago, but you would think officials could scramble to find a replacement without a media cloud hanging over his head.
might be time to put Jeter in the background as his skills continue to slide — and they couldn't get anyone from 2006 runner-up Cuba for obvious reasons.
Edited by Chris Horn
High steppin'
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, right, challenges for the ball with Inter Milan forward Davide Santon, center, and defender Cristian Chiu during a Champions League, Round of 16, first leg soccer match, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Baseball
Arkansas, 3 p.m.
Fayetteville, Ark.
Women's basketball Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. Stillwater, OKa
Swimming & Diving Big 12 Championships Columbia, Mo.
THURSDAY
Swimming & Diving Big 12 Championships Columbia, Mo.
FRIDAY
Track & Field
Big 12 Indoor
Championships
College Station, Texas
Swimming & Diving Big 12 Championships Columbia, Mo.
SATURDAY
Softball Harvard, 11 a.m. Denton, Texas
Softball North Texas, 1:30 p.m. Denton, Texas
Women's basketball
Nebraska, 7 p.m.
Lawrence
Swimming & Diving Big 12 Championships Columbia, Mo.
Track & Field
Big 12 Indoor
Championships
College Station, Texas
Colts call it quits with star Harrison after 13 years
NFL
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have released Marvin Harrison, ending the star receiver's 13-year stay with the team.
MLB
Agent Tom Condon said a day earlier that the Colts had agreed to release Harrison after he declined a pay cut. Harrison had the highest salary-cap number of any NFL receiver at $13.4 million.
Harrison is second in NFL career receptions. He turns 37 in August and is coming off the least productive season of his career in which he was not injured. Cutting him could save the Colts about $6 million on next season's salary cap
Associated Press
After stellar season, Ludwick finds comfort in Cards' outfield
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUPITER, Fla. — Security was something Ryan Ludwick never felt during his first decade in professional baseball. But that has changed, thanks to a breakout 2008 season and a new $3.7 million contract.
Your University, Your History kuhistory.com
The Cardinals definitely have a spot for him in the outfield, but he said the deep talent there keeps him motivated. Whether he plays right or left field depends on several factors,
I work out in the offseason I'm always going in the gym or out to the field with the intention
"We're loaded here in the outfield," Ludwick said. "Whenever
"I love playing this game. I feel blessed being able to do this every day."
desire to move outfielder Skip Schrumaker to second base.
RYAN LUDWICK
Cardinals outfielder
that no one is going to outwork me in the country that day. If you take that approach you know you're at least working as hard as that other guy who's behind you or ahead of you."
Ludwick hit .299
with 37 home runs and 113 RBI in 2008, his first full season in the big leagues.
He then avoided arbitration by settling for the one-year deal, which was a victory of sorts for the 30-year-old. Ludwick was seeking $4.25 million while the Cardinals were offering $2.8 million. Teams and players typically meet halfway when they settle, but Ludwick's
base salary is $175,000 above the midpoint.
He was thrilled with how it worked out, noting he has come a long way from where he was in the past.
"Worst case scenario, if you would have told me I was going to be making $2.8 million four years ago I would have said, 'awesome.' Ludwick said.
"For me, it's not about the money; it's about being here. I've been healthy for three years. That's that main goal, staying healthy and being able to play this game. I love playing this game. I feel blessed being able to do this every day."
Ludwick was derailed by a series of injuries that limited him to fewer than 70 games per year in the minors and majors from 2002-05. "It's not an easy game to play, even if you're playing it every day," Ludwick said.
"What last year did for them is it gives them a foot in the door," La Russa said about his outfielders. "Their attitude is not any different than last year except they should have more confidence. We don't want anybody getting comfortable.
The Cardinals revamped their outfield last season, making the transition from the Jim Edmonds years, with Ludwick, Rick Ankiel and Skip Schumaker.
Chris Duncan and Colby Rasmus also are fighting for playing time. That's one reason manager Tony La Russa decided to give Schumaker first dibs on the second base job. With five talented players in the outfield, moving Schumaker to second base gives the other two more opportunity to play.
"Confident good. Comfortable bad," he said.