2B
SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY HAIRY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The only thing I can ask of the American people is to judge me from this day forward."
Alex Rodriguez, after he admitted to using steroids from 2001-03
FACT OF THE DAY
During his three years with the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez accumulated 156 home runs and 395 RBIs. in the same time, only Barry Bonds had more home runs (164), and Albert Pujols drove in the second-most runs with 381.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: What was Alex Rodriguez's worst finish in the American League MVP race during his years in Texas?
A: Sixth, Rodriguez won the AL MVP in 2003 — the last year he admits taking steroids — and finished second in 2002. His sixth-place finished came in 2001, when he had 52 home runs, 135 RBIs, 133 runs and a 318 batting average.
@KANSAN.COM
BEWARE OF "THE BLOG"
"Blog" Allen: Case Keefer's "Double Overtime" is exactly what you need to wrap up tonight's game against Iowa State.
The Jav Report:
The Jay Report.
Case Keefer
and Taylor Bern
will activate their wonder-twin
powers to bring you the latest
edition of The Jay Report.
The Give and COURTSIDE Go: Jayson Jenks BLOG and Clark Goble get you ready for the women's basketball game at Colorado.
COMMENTARY
Phelps' legal woes come to end
Now that the Michael Phelps witch hunt is officially over, it's time to take a critical look back at what amounted to an enormous waste of taxpaver money.
Richland County (S.C.) sheriff Leon Lott announced yesterday that his department would no longer consider pursuing charges against Phelps for smoking from a glass bong at a University of South Carolina party the Olympic champion attended more than three months ago.
"We had a photo and we had him saying he was sorry for his inappropriate behavior. That behavior could've been going to a party." Lott said at the press conference announcing charges would not be pursued against Phelps. "He never said, 'I smoked marijuana.' He never confessed that."
And this took more than two weeks to figure out! I thought this investigation was under the control of professional investigators.
The facts were apparent from the very beginning. Even Phelpy didn't dispute what happened.
though he never came out and explicitly said he smoked marijuana.
He attended a party when he visited South Carolina's campus in November. He smoked something — which one can guess was probably marijuana — from a glass bong. He drank. He acted like a 23-year-old letting off a little steam after the years of training, promotions and worldwide travel that allowed him to win eight gold medals this summer in China.
He admitted it. He was wrong. He knows it. I know it. And Leon Lott knows it. But to pursue charges or even entertain the thought? That was blatant self-promotion by a public official elected to protect and serve the 340,000 residents of Richland County.
Come on, Leon. How many people are smoking pot in Richland County as if type this? Go after them. Go after violent criminals. What how about dead beat dads? Forget even them. Sexual predators deserve your utmost attention, Mr. Lott.
Put money into preventive measures. Do something, anything, productive, Just don't drum up national media attention for something so inconsequential.
PERFECT TIME FOR CLEMENTE SUSPENSION
Is it just me, or did this whole Denis Clemente disciplinary issue come at exactly the right time for Kansas State?
Wildcats coach Frank Martin had to discipline his junior guard in some way after two heavily publicized incidents involving Clemente during Saturday's Sunflower Showdown, one with Brady Morningstar and another with Tyrel Reed.
Luckily for K-State, Clemente's conduct came one game before a scintillating matchup with North
Carolina Central Tuesday night, for which he was suspended.
Wait ... North Carolina who?
Here is a brief glimpse of what the Wildcats had to overcome without Clemente.
The North Carolina Central Eagles are 2-24 this season following Tuesday night's defeat. Not surprisingly, they are also 0-17 on the road, including losses to Kansas State, Wake Forest, Arkansas, Michigan and South Carolina, among others.
If the Wildcats go on to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, they can look back at this stroke of luck as a small part of what helped get them there.
Edited by Chris Horn
women's golf
CENTRAL
DISTRICT
INVITATIONAL
After two rounds:
Kansas +49
(12th of 15 teams)
Spring sneak peek
Emily Powers:
+10 (80, 74)
Meghna Bal:
+11 (77, 78)
Kalydn Carson:
+11 (78, 77)
Sydney Wilson:
+17 (84, 77)
Jennifer Clark:
+23 (87, 80)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Women's basketball Colorado, 8 p.m. Boulder, Colo.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
Men's basketball Iowa State, 7 p.m. Lawrence
TODAY
From left, cousins Justice, 6, from Oakland, Calif., Josh Rubinstein, 7, from Trombull, Conn., and Zach Justice, 4, from Oakland hang on a fence to watch the Texas Rangers workout during baseball spring training Sunday in Surprise, Artz.
THURSDAY
Softball
Oregon State,
8 p.m.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Softball
North Carolina,
12:30 p.m.
Palm Springs, Calif.
FRIDAY
Air Force, 1 p.m.
Millington, Tenn.
Baseball
Softball
BYU, 2:30 p.m.
Palm Springs, Calif.
SATURDAY
Baseball
Memphis, 4 p.m.
Millington, Tenn.
Tennis
DePaul, 10 a.m.
Iowa City, Iowa
Baseball Bradley, 1 p.m. Millington, Tenn
Men's basketball Nebraska, 3 p.m. Lawrence
Softball
UC Santa Barbara,
7:30 p.m.
Palm Springs, Calif.
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Morris, Kansas' second-leading scorer, has been less aggressive on offense since her return from a concussion on Ian. 31. While it's unlikely the two are directly related, Morris needs to return to being the attacking, drive-to-the-basket player she was before the injury.
relax on the defensive end."
Morris has the opposite problem of McCray.
"You just want to say to her.
'Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.' Herickson said. "And there's a little bit of that in her. I don't understand that from a kid that I just think is unbelievably talented on both ends of the floor."
Twenty-five minutes of edited film won't completely solve either player's problems, but Henrickson said the session seemed beneficial enough to warrant repeating it again this season.
CREATIVE CAMPUS LECTURE SERIES FREE and Open to the Public
LIZ LERMAN, Founding artistic director of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, choreographer, performer
Connecting Bodies, Apples and DNA Through Dance
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART AUDITORIUM
Friday, Feb. 20 - 4:30 p.m.
785-864-2787
lied.ku.edu
TREE OF LIFE: Creativity-Origins and Evolution April 24-25, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets available for
This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Creative Campus innovations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Diversity Foundation.
LIED CENTER OF KANSAS
"It's something we both need to work on." Morris said. "Danielle needs to get better on her defense, and I need to get better on my offense."
Now, McCray and Morris must put those lessons into action against Colorado tonight.
P Kansas Ht. Yr. PPG
G Ivana Catic 5-8 Sr. 2.4
G Sade Morris 5-11 Jr. 11.8
F Danielle McCray 5-11 Jr. 19.2
F Nicollette Smith 6-2 So. 7.2
F Crysten Booqard 6-5 So. 9.4
Kansas vs. Colorado
When/Where...
Tipoff scheduled for 8 pm at the Coors Events Conference Center in Boulder, Colo. Radio: 1320 AM (KWLN).
Who to watch for...
"What we can do is take from each other. I can learn from her on how great she is on offense, and she can learn from me how good I am on defense. Once we do that, we'll be all right."
What to expect..
An extremely close game. Colorado's best player, forward Brittany Spears, didn't play well in the last meeting. Expect Spears, and subsequently the Buffaloes, to show improvement this time around.
Ashish Sutherland. Colloquial post players are more bulky than quick — a trend that greatly benefits Sutherland's athletic style of play. She scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in the last meeting and could easily improve upon those numbers.
Edited by Andrew Wiebe
Why Kansas will win..
It's not that difficult to understand: Kansas is simply a better team than Colorado. The Jayhawks are looking for their first road victory since Feb. 18, 2006. That alone should be enough incentive for Kansas.
P Colorado Ht. Yr. PPG
G Brittney Blythe 5-9 So. 2.6
G Bianca Smith 5-9 Jr. 10.0
G Allyssa Freles 5-10 Fr. 8.4
F Brittany Spears 6-1 So. 18.0
C Kara Richards 6-1 Sr. 11.8
How the game is important...
this game is about pride. No, it isn't going to greatly affect the standings, but neither team wants to slip further down in the Big 12.
21 — Turnovers by Colorado in the first meeting between the teams on Feb. 4. The Jayhawks must force a similar amount of turnovers to keep the Buffaloes from getting into their effective half-court offense.
Magic number...
Jayson Jenks
BRACKINS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Marcus, who fouled out in 19 minutes against Brackins in January, is trying to keep all that in mind. Marcus knows how important guarding Brackins will be.
off the free-throw line, as Brackins made 17 of 21 attempts in the first game.
"If we take him out of the game, it's going to be hard for them to beat us," Marcus said. "I think that's going to be the main thing I focus on — forget about scoring — just defending him."
Brackins will score. The only question is how much. If Kansas
could hold him below his Big 12 average of 22 points, it would be a success.
Brackins takes 36 percent of his team's shots. He has scored in double digits in 23 of the Cyclones' 25 games this season. This is why Self won't make any guarantees. He's promising only effort.
"We'll try to come up with some ways to limit his good touches, but he's going to score some points," Self said. "He's scored pretty much against everybody."
Edited by Brandy Entsminger