2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY KANSAS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"We have some really good athletes going to Arkansas. There's going to be great competition there."
— Kansas track and field coach Stanley Redwine
FACT OF THE DAY
US spinter Tyson Gay, a favorite to win the 100 in Beijing before suffering a hamstring injury, finished his collegiate career at the University of Arkansas. Before that, Gay ran at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Arkansas Athletics
Q: How many times will Kansas's track and field team compete in Fayetteville, Arkansas this year?
A: Five. Kansas already competed at the Razorback Invitational and this weekend select competitors will go there for the Tyson Invitational. Later, the Jayhawks will also compete in the Arkansas Last Chance meet, the Arkansas Twilight and those who qualify will go to Fayetteville for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
— KU Athletics
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Mizzou moves back one game, awarded publicity
game, awarded publicity ST. LOUIS - Missouri's agreement to move its game with Nebraska to a Thursday night will lead to much more exposure than just one ESPN game
In exchange for playing the Big 12 opener on Oct. 8 — five days later than originally scheduled — coach Gary Pinkel said the defending North champions will get two more games nationally televised by ESPN in the first five games.
Associated Press
If we stay No.3,we may not play in KC
COMMENTARY
Mike Slive, chairman of me NCAA tournament selection committee, announced Tuesday that the state of the economy would not change the landscape of the NCAA Tournament.
Slive said teams would not be geographically placed closer to home to make it financially easier for fans to travel. This could be bad news for Kansas.
The Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., is one of eight locations hosting first and second round tournament play. Playing less than an hour away from Lawrence would be an obvious advantage for the lavhawks.
Slive's announcement means it won't be any easier for Kansas to be assigned to play in Kansas City. Kansas coach Bill Self never thought about it to begin with.
"We're not mature enough to be thinking like that," Self said. "That's not something we've ever even remotely discussed with our team is where regional or sub-regional sites are."
In other words, Self left it to the Morning Brew to do the honors. Here are the eight first round sites Kansas City; Minneapolis; Dayton, Ohio; Philadelphia; Greensboro, N.C.; Miami; Boise, Idaho; and Portland, Ore.
Barring an epic collapse. Kansas (19-5, 8-1) will be in the 65-team field. Depending on who you ask, the Jayhawks are somewhere in the range of a three to six seed right now.
Only top four seeds get geographical consideration. But it's usually only the top two that are rewarded — meaning as of right now, the Jayhawks playing at the Sprint Center is a long shot.
ESPN.com's bracketology, compiled by expert Joe Lunardi, projects Kansas as a No. 3 seed in Boise at the moment. What does Self think about that? Doesn't care, of course.
"There's a reason why it's done," Self said. "But I think all coaches would tell you it's pretty ridiculous that bracketology is coming out in December."
It's done because it's fun for fans to speculate where their favorite teams will wind up. It's done because the NCAA
Tournament is one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year.
For those reasons, let's contem plate how Kansas could defy the odds and land an hour up I-70 come mid-March. The Jayhawks need to lose no more than two more games in the regular season and cap off their season with the Big 12 Conference tournament title.
If they do that, a No. 2 seed looks in reach. If they do that, Slive's announcement will have no effect on them.
JACKSON BACK WITH CAVALIERS
That was fast.
The Cleveland Cavaliers sent former Jayhawk Darnell Jackson down to the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA Development League Monday. Jackson played in one
game — a 102-89 victory against the Utah Flash — and scored a game-high 26 points with six rebounds. Then, the Cavaliers called him back.
"They sent me down there to get some work in," Jackson told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Basically, it's the same system down there. It was fun to get in the rotation with those guys and get some contact."
the brew goes digital
Edited by Justin Leverett
It's part blog, part column,
part pop-culture melting pot.
It's The Morning Brew. A daily dose of Kansas sports, college life and pop culture.
You can read daily postings
from The Morning Brew guys at Kansan.com/blogs/morning_brew, and if you have any questions or comments, please give us a holer at morningbrew@kansan.com.
NATIONAL
Shotgun misfire explanation not accepted by family
BY SHELIA BYRD Associated Press
LUCEDALE, Miss. — The family of star Mississippi high school football player Billey Joe Johnson isn't done pressing for an explanation of how the 17-year-old accidentally shot and killed himself with his own shotgun during a traffic stop, as a grand jury has concluded.
Thursday, "We are going further and we are going higher."
"I aint buying that," said his mother, Arnette Johnson, after the 16-member grand jury ruled
Her pursuit is joined by her attorney, who plans to continue his own investigation, and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which said it would submit evidence to the U.S. Justice Department and ask for a federal probe.
Johnson, a junior at southern Mississippi's George County High School, died of a wound to the left side of his head on Dec. 8 after a deputy pulled him over for running a red light. After an initial investigation, authorities said the wound was self-inflicted.
The grand jury, after listening to 30 witnesses and looking at forensic evidence for weeks, concurred, saying the teen accidentally shot himself. The report said no evidence, including DNA, indicated the deputy who pulled Johnson over had fired the shotgun and that no other people were involved in the shooting.
"The grand jury finds ... that Deputy Joe Sullivan was in his patrol car at the time of Billey Joe
The mystery surrounding the death has inflamed suspicion, with Johnson's family and the NAACP rejecting any notion that the black teen committed suicide. They said the talented running back, once clocked at 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had too much to live for, including a chance at playing in college and maybe the NFL.
Johnson Jr.'s death," the ruling said.
Johnson family attorney Jerome Carter said he was glad the grand jury did not rule the teen committed suicide but still had concerns that make his own investigation necessary.
FOOTBALL Two offensive coaches receive job promotions
don Blaney received promotions on coach Mark Mangino's staff yesterday.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ed Warinner and tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Bran-
Warinner
Warinner, entering his fifth season
at Kansas, will now also be the team's associate head coach. Blaney, who enters his eighth season at Kansas and 10th with
Mangino, will now also be assistant offensive line coach.
"Ed and Brandon are very deserving of these promotions." Mangino said in a prepared statement. "They will continue to have a positive impact on our offense with their expanded responsibilities."
Warinner — offensive line coach and run-game coordinator from 2003-04 — returned to Kansas to serve at his current position in 2007 after having spent 2005-06 with Illinois as offensive line coach and run-game coordinator. Under his tutelage, the 2007 Jayhawk offense finished second in the NCAA in scoring with 42.77 points per game and eighth in total offense with 479.79 yards per game. Last season Kansas was eighth nation-
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
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TO DAY
Softball
South Carolina
10 a.m.
Orlando, Fla.
Softball
Western Carolina,
2:30 p.m.
Orlando, Fl.
Track & Field
ISU Classic/
Tyson Inv.
Ames, Iowa/
Fayetteville, Ark.
SATURDAY
Softball
Bradley, 4:30 p.m.
Orlando, Fla.
Men's basketball
Kansas State,
2:30 p.m.
Manhattan
Softball
Tennessee,
6:30 p.m.
Orlando, Fla
Women's basketball Oklahoma, 7 p.m. Lawrence
Track & Field
ISU Classic/Tyson
Inv.
Ames, Iowa/
Fayetteville. Ark.
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Softball Bowling Green, noon Orlando, Fla.
Women's golf
Central District
Inw.
Parrish, Fla.
TUESDAY
Women's golf Central District Inw. Parish, Fla.
ally in passing with 305.62 yards per game and finished in the top 25 in total offense and scoring.
Blaney
Blaney joins John Reagan in coaching Kansas' offensive line.
his previous distinctions with the Jayhawks include helping turn in what analysts call the team's best recruiting class this year and watching former tight
end Derek Fine being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2008 National Football League draft.
Stephen Montemayor
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