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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on channel 4, I'd watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy."
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FACT OF THE DAY
— BobbyKnight, www.quotemountain.com
The Detroit Pistons are leading the National Basketball Association in attendance during the 2008-09 season, averaging 22.076 fans per home contest. The Sacramento Kings are last, drawing only 12.210 fans per home game.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: What was the least-
watched NBA Finals since Niel-
son television rating began
tracking viewers?
— National Basketball Association
A: The San Antonio Spurs' sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007 was the least-watched NBA Finals. Just more than nine million people tuned in as Tim Duncan spoiled LeBron James' first final trip.
www.tvbythenumbers.com
@KANSAN.COM
The Full Monty: On Saturday, MMA's greatest fighter carries the hope The FULL MONTY of an entire promotion on his shoulders. Sports columnist Stephen Montemayor previews Affliction's Day of Reckoning.
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THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY (No events)
SATURDAY Women's basketball
Kansas State 11 a.m.
Lawrence
Men's basketbal
Iowa State
1 p.m.
Ames, Iowa
Swimming
South Dakota/UNI
3 p.m.
Lawrence
SUNDAY (No events)
MONDAY (No events)
TUESDAY (No events)
Forget the names. Forget the situation.
COMMENTARY
Self's words to recruit drew undue criticism
Just read the conversation below and determine whether or not it is a "cordial greeting."
WEDNESDAY
Men's basketball
Nebraska
6:30 p.m.
Coach: "Great win, man. You really played well."
Player: "Thanks."
Coach: "I'm not supposed to be talking to you, and you know that, but it just wanted to tell you that was a great
That's the exchange the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader reported between Kansas coach Bill Self and John Wall, the
that was a great ."
nation's No.1 high-school recruit from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.
Wall
That's the exchange that some are alleging breaks NCAA recruit
ing rules by going beyond a cordial greeting.
In the four days since the conversation after a basketball tournament in Springfield, everyone has been talking about it. Radio shows have designated segments to ripping on or defending Self. It even made it onto ESPN.
Odds are, we'll never hear about the encounter again because there's really nothing to it. Not if you believe Self's version of what happened.
"By no means am I going to deny that it happened," Self said. "But the reason I was in the back was to go say 'hi' to the coaches."
Self said it was common procedure for college coaches to bid high school coaches farewell after watching their teams play.
after nothing to it.
But last Friday, Wall walked out of the locker room while self walked back to talk to his coach. Self is a friendly guy. He basically told Wall, "Good game."
In sports, "great win" is about as common a greeting as asking, "What's up?" Maybe Self will be more careful next time. Maybe the NCAA will tell him to ignore the recruit next time. It will end at that.
"If what has happened here is an issue — which I'm not saying it is by any means — then you've got to do better," Self said. "The thing has gotten a little more play than a lot of situations have or more play than it's deserved."
Charles Boozer, who will play for Iowa State when it meets
RELATED?
Kansas on Saturday in Ames. Iowa, is the brother of NBA star Carlos Boozer, who plays for the Utah jazz.
At least the Iowa State media guide says he is. These things have to be checked out now after the farce pulled by Missouri freshman guard Miguel Paul.
Paul claimed to be a first cousin of New Orleans Hornet
and Missouri even listed it in the media guide. Miguel recounted made up conversations he had with Chris to Columbia reporters.
Then, someone asked Chris Paul about it and he said he had never met Miguel. 0oops.
Did I mention my uncle is Kiefer Sutherland?
RECOMMENDED
READING
All this recruiting talk calls for a shout-out to Bruce Feldman's book entitled "Meat Market." Feldman spent a year following around football recruiting guru and former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron. Feldman's book reveals a number of secrets and is a quick read.
THE FRIDAY GRIDLOCK
Edited by Justin Leverett
Hardest college course?
Mario Little
unior guard,
nen's basketball
Math. I used to be nice with math until they added letters
A weekly glimpse into the lives personalities and opinions of Kansas athletes and coaches
Brady Morningstar sophomore guard, men's basketball
Favorite pregame music?
Western Civ
Best way to celebrate a victory?
LeBron,
because he's
younger
With your teammates
Going back to the dorm room and having a good meal
Sports role model?
Over-easy
I like Kobe because he likes Mike,and we all fall under the same category
LeBron.he's the king of the NBA
BIG 12 SPORTS K-State athletic director paid for departure
MANHATTAN — Former Kansas State athletic director Tim Weiser's departure last year will cost the university about $3 million.
A separation agreement shows Weiser will get about $1.9 million over the next five years. The settlement allowed him to leave and become deputy commissioner of the Big 12.
Differences between Weiser and university president Jon Wefald over personnel, including former football coach Ron Prince, led to Weiser's departure. Kansas State was considering an increased buyout for Prince. Wefald supported the larger buyout, but Weiser didn't.
The two sides reached an impasse that ended in Weiser's departure. New athletic director Bob Krause gave Prince a contract extension in August 2008 that raised Prince's 2008 buyout from $300,000 to $1.2 million. The coach was fired three months later.
COLLEGE SPORTS Congress fights to reform BCS system
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers used a resolution commending the University of Florida's national football championship Thursday to protest college football's much-maligned BCS system.
A dozen House members voted "no" or "present" on the resolution. Many were from Utah and Texas. Each state has schools that made a case to play for this year's national championship but were passed over.
"A fine school with a great team deserves better than a national championship that was decided inside somebody's computer," said Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican who has introduced legislation to force a playoff system.
President Barack Obama also has repeatedly criticized the BCS, saying he plans to "throw (his) weight around a little bit" to pressure the NCAA to adopt a playoff system.
Associated Press
Within reach
Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Amer Delic of the United States during their men's singles match at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Orlando Magics center Dwight Howard dunks during a game against the Toronto Raptors. Howard was voted to the East team for the NBA All-Star basketball team on Thursday, receiving a record number of votes.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NBA
Howard will be All-Star game highlight again
BY TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — He was the first to dress as Superman and win a dunk contest.
He's now the first player to get 3 million votes from fans.
"That's his element there. He's an entertainer. He loves it," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The Orlando Magic center — who leads the NBA in rebounds, blocked shots and double-doubles — got a record 3,150,181 votes to lead this season's All-Star team, released Thursday.
Yes, the All-Star game is fast becoming Dwight Howard's personal showcase.
The Feb. 15 game in Phoenix will mark the third All-Star trip for Howard, who'll be starting for the second time and easily topped the previous record of 2,558,278 votes
"Wow, what a blessing," said Howard, the 6-foot-11 center who dressed in full Superman regalia, cape and all, on the way to winning last year's slam dunk competition. "That is what I took it as, a blessing from God and then the fans. It's just a great honor and I was surprised, but like always I thank the fans for everything they have done for us."
collected by Houston's Yao Ming four years ago.
The final results of fan balloting didn't exactly bring any major surprises.
Miami's Dwyane Wade (2,741,413) and Detroit's Allen Iverson (1,804,649) will be in the East's backcourt, alongside reigning All-Star MVP LeBron James of Cleveland (2,940,823) and Boston's Kevin Garnett (2,066,833), who beat New Jersey's Yi Jianlian for the starting nod by 253,004 votes.
Your University, Your History
kuhistory.com
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers (2,80.597) was the West's top vote-getter, and will be joined at guard by New Orleans Chris Paul (2,134,798). At center, Yao
"The All-Star game is always so meaningful to me because of the fans," said lames, whose 24.3 point scoring average is the highest in All-Star game history for players with four or more appearances.
(2,532,958) will start for the sixth time, along with forwards Tim Duncan of San Antonio (2,578,168) and Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix (1,460,429).
"When I first heard I was leading in votes, I was shocked, to be honest with you," Howard said. "I really didn't expect anything, considering you have guys like Kobe, LeBron and Dwyane."