NSAN
2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2. 2009
SPORTS
---
7B
FOOTBALL
Mangino presents awards
Players receive 15 awards from coaches for their performance in the weight room, classroom, community and on the playing field
BY STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
smontemayor@kansan.com
As he sent off his latest senior class at Saturday's award ceremony, coach Mark Mangino made no mistake about his expectations for a program that has continually progressed.
("The seniors) left their mark and I wish those young guys the best as they take on life's challenges now," Mangino said. "For the other classmen we have much work to do but I'm excited about it. I'm looking forward to winning a championship."
"If you sum it all up, it seems to me the season finished with a great sense of pride and a great sense of respect for what the Jayhawk team has achieved." Hemenway said. "And that's what I want to thank you for, the fantastic season you had and the chance for the rest of
In all, 15 awards were doled out in the ceremony hosted at the Lied Center. Interspersed with the presentations were brief addresses by Mangino, Athletics Director Lew Perkins and — for a final time — Chancellor Robert Hemenay.
The Kansas soccer team handed out its annual awards on Sunday morning at Allen Fieldhouse in front of friends and family. The awards were voted on by the team.
The junior class collected three of the five individual awards, and the Jayhawks' six seniors were recognized for their career accomplishments.
Kansan staff report
soccer awards
us to take pride in what you do."
Junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky was named Offensive MVP following a season in which she scored nine goals to go along with 10 assists. Junior defender Estelle Johnson was named Kansas' Defensive MVP and junior forward Shannon McCabe was awarded Most Improved Player. Freshman forward Kortney Clifton was named Rookie of the Year as well.
Junior safety Darrell Stuckey led recipients with three awards: Outstanding Performance in the Weight Room, Special Teams MVP and
the nolan Cromwell Award for Leadership , which he shared with junior quarterback Todd Reesing.
Reesing and Stuckey were not the only pair to share an award. Reesing's favorite targets, wide receivers junior Kerry Meier and sophomore Dezmon Briscoe, shared the award for Most Improved Offensive Player and Meier and junior running back Jake Sharp were named Co-Most Courageous Player.
Kansas' senior linebacker corps was commemorated a final time with Mike Rivera taking home the award for Exemplary Service to Campus & Community. Meanwhile, James Holt was named
"I'm so proud of our football team and our coaches and what they've done..."
LEW PERKINS
Athletics director
Defensive MVP and earned the award for Most Tackles for the Season. However, he was not on hand to receive his award as he competed earlier that day in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Game.
Other recipients
senior offensive lineman Adrian Mayes for Offensive Lineman of the Year and senior defensive end Russell Brorsen for Senior Academic Scholar Award.
"I'm so proud of our football team and our coaches and what they've done, but more important to me as athletics director is the quality of young men we have at our program." Perkins said. "They represent our University with the highest integrity."
during the night included sophomore defensive end Jake Laptad for Most Improved Defensive Player.
It was a night for celebration — the audience erupted when Reeing connected with Meier on the highlight video as if they were back at Arrowhead Stadium — yet it was also a time for Kansas to give credit where it was due in 2008 and assess the year ahead.
"Players know it's no fun talking about the ones you lost," Mangino said. "What we do is we'll watch videotape, learn in the winter and spring and we'll be better because of it."
Edited by Realle Roth
Phelps sorry for behavior
OLYMPICS
Photo in newspaper shows Olympic athlete smoking from pipe at a house party; some sponsors may reconsider financial deals
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
Olympic great Michael Phelps acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper Sunday showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games did not dispute the authenticity of the exclusive picture published Sunday by the tabloid News of the World.
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment." Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."
News of the World said the picture was taken during a November house - party while Phelps was visiting the University of South Carolina. During that trip, he attended one of the schools football games and received a big ovation when introduced.
While the newspaper did not specifically allege that Phelps was smoking pot, it did say the pipe is generally used for that purpose and arnomously quoted a party-goer who said the Olympic champion was "out of control from the moment he got there."
The party occurred nearly three months after the Olympics while Phelps was taking a long break from training, and his actions should have no impact on the eight golds he won at Beijing. He has never tested positive for
banned substances. The case is unlikely to fall under any doping rules.
Phelps' main sanctions most likely will be financial — perhaps doled out by embarrassed sponsors who might be reconsidering their dealings with the swimmer.
Phelps was in Tampa, Fla., during Super Bowl week to make promotional appearances for a sponsor. But he left the city before Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, abandoning his original plan to be at Raymond James Stadium.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said it was "disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps," who was selected the group's sportsman of the year. He also was honored as AP male athlete of the year, and his feat in Beijing — breaking Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record for most gold medals in an Olympics — was chosen as the top sports story of 2008.
"Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people," the USOC said in a statement. "In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities."
USA Swimmingsaid its Olympic champions were "looked up to by people of all ages, especially young athletes who have their own aspirations and dreams"
"That said," the governing body added, "we realize that none among us is perfect. We hope that Michael can learn from this incident and move forward in a positive way."
Phelps was part of a group of elite athletes who agreed to take part in a pilot testing program
designed to increase the accuracy of doping tests. His spot in the program could be at risk, said Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
"For one of the Olympics' biggest heroes it's disappointing, and we'll evaluate whether he remains in that program," Tygart said. "But some good education comes from this because he's going to suffer some penalties."
Marijuana is viewed differently from performance-enhancing drugs, according to David Howman, executive director of the World Anti-Doping Agency. An athlete is subject to WADA sanctions only for a positive test during competition periods.
Phelps returned to the pool a couple of weeks ago. He plans to take part in his first post-Olympics meet in early March, a Grand Prix event in Austin, Texas.
This isn't the first embarrassing episode for Phelps after an Olympic triumph. In 2004, a few months removed from winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, the swimmer was arrested on a drunken driving charge at age 19. He pleaded guilty and apologized for the mistake.
In his book "No Limits: The Will to Succeed," Phelps recounted how his first phone call was to his agent, and not his mother or coach Bob Bowman, because he knew they would yell at him.
Later, he called Bowman, who was supportive but told him, "Michael, just because you want to blow off some steam doesn't mean you can be an idiot."
Debbie Phelps, his mother,
cried at the news.
"That hurt worse, maybe, than anything," Phelps wrote. "I had never seen my mother that upset."