Section B·Page 2
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, March 18, 1998
Column'srantings open floodgates for ravings
In response to Harley Rattliff's column in Monday's Kansan, which suggested that Roy Williams be nicknamed "Mr. Regular Season".
ERIC: Boy, Harley, the fan letters just keep pouring in.
HARLEY. Yep, Eric, I really think that the good people of this campus are starting to warm up to my point of view.
ERIC: Face it, Harley, they hate you and your hat.
HARLEV: My mom hates my hat too. Geez, I hope she doesn't hate me as well.
NCAA curse no reason for heartless column
Dear Harley.
Have you no heart?! Your commentary was unnecessary and unwarranted. The team did choke. They should have trampled Rhode Island.
It does seem as if there is a curse on the Jayhawks and the NCAA as of late, and I do not dispute or disagree with anything you wrote in your article. However, I find it hard to believe that a fellow Jayhawk would turn the knife that is already in the stomachs of all the players and the coaches.
Their heartbreak happened a mere 24 hours ago, and you immediately put your demented mind to work to produce this sarcastic and heartless piece of writing. Don't you think that they feel worse than anyone? Imagine the self-doubt and extreme disappointment that they all must be feeling.
Perhaps you were just doing your job, but morality and ethics fall into every profession. The Kansan could have done without your derogatory and egotistical comments. As well could have I.
Ratliff slights Williams, who has great record
Jamie Tillett
Augusta freshman
I am writing in response to your comment: Should we call Coach Williams "Mr. Regular Season?"
It is absolutely absurd that you would mention such a thing like that to the greatest coach in the game today.
Little do you remember, I guess, that Coach Williams has guided two teams to a Final Four. One of those teams made the final game. Do you remember that?
Or, were you back in Soonerland still living the good old days of Stacy King and Mookie Blaylock?
I think we should all be very thankful that he is here and has yet to bolt for the NBA or another college job. He is what Kansas basketball needed at a time when it was at its lowest of points (probation).
Coach Williams has brought this program from the ashes of probation to the most dominant team in the '90s. So please treat the man who works so hard for this University with the respect he deserves.
I hope you do not tell people in Norman that you are a Jayhawk because obviously you are not.
David Tacha Lawrence junior
Rhode Island's desire carried team to victory
Well, now that everyone is deciding whether or not to be angry or sympathetic toward the Jayhawks, does anyone know why we lost? I do, and I'll tell you why. Because Rhode Island wanted it more than we did, plain and simple. I could tell from the first five minutes that we were in for a possible heartbreaker. I was right. Anyone could have pointed this out. Anyone except the Jayhawks themselves.
Instead, we decided to start trying during the last five or six minutes left in the second half. No wonder we lost. The reason why this tournament is so unpredictable and exciting is because teams like Rhode Island have nothing to lose when they play someone like the Jayhawks. They play with the utmost intensity and eagerness to win for the entire 40 minutes, not the last five or six. Take Valpo, for example. They played great basketball for 40 minutes against Florida State.
were down by two points and
won the game. Why?
Because they wanted it more. Valparaiso has never won an NCAA tournament game in the history of the entire school. On the other hand, we're ranked No. 1, have two All-Americans and one of the best coaches in college basketball, but we lose to whom? Rhode Island. Never heard of them until now.
The point is obvious. Rhode Island wanted it more than we did. What's to be learned from this? It doesn't matter if you're ranked No. 1 or No. 8.
Whether you want it bad enough — that's what counts.
Scott Lastovica
Phoenix, Ariz., senior
Team left everything on the court for fans
I personally think that you need to re-evaluate your ideas and feelings toward Coach Roy and the rest of the team. Obviously you have never played competitive sports in your life.
Kansas has been the most winning program in the '90s, and every single game night the opposing team is out to knock off the best team in the nation. They are getting everything possible thrown at them. I know the team members put their hearts and souls into this and every single game they have played.
In a tournament, especially the NCAA tournament, it is not a matter of a team choking. Being a No. 1 seed, everyone is out to upset you.
Every night they go out, they put everything on the line and for an insignificant spectator like yourself to destroy the guys like you did makes the most uncredible person on campus. The article which you wrote should not have even been placed in the paper let alone in the mind of a KU student. I think you owe the school, Coach Roy and the entire team an apology for what you have said.
In no way should the guys be ashamed of the record season which they assembled. I am proud to support the Jayhawks, and we need to grieve with them in this loss and support them in the next season. We should be honored to have such great tradition and an amazing team in which to follow. Rock Chalk Jayhawks, Go KU!
Jeff Lightcap Hutchinson sophomore
Players are students too; remarks were insensitive
It was irresponsible and insensitive of Mr. Ratliff to write an article that directly insulted a group of his fellow students and Coach Williams. It was equally irresponsible of the editor of the sports section to print such an article.
Do you think that the players don't read the paper? Mr. Ratlift, place yourself in Coach Williams' position for a moment (not that you would ever deserve such an honor) and think about how you would feel if you came to work and found that some kid on the school newspaper staff called your team "perennial chokers" and called you "Mr. Regular Season" as if to say that you were not even capable of winning big games (which the record shows is not true).
Did you forget that the players are not millionaire athletes but kids? They are students at the University of Kansas just like you and me. It must have been hard enough for them to see big pictures and half-page articles about their loss all over the paper.
They deserve a lot better treatment from their fellow students than to also have to listen to some guy in a dirty hat tell them that they belong "in the tournament's all-time chokers' hall of fame."
I understand that you were just voicing your opinion, which you have the right to do. But you should put some thought into what you write.
As a journalist, it is your right to say what you want, but as a person, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are not unfairly insulting another person.
Tom Partridge
Olathe junior
'Big one' hard to win even for best coaches
How can you let Harley Ratliff even type a word on this Web site? To say that the fans of Kansas are disappointed is an understatement, but to say what he did is downright rude. What has this guy ever done?
If you look back through history, Lute Olson and his team, Arizona, dropped out prematurely five years in a row. Tom Osborne and Nebraska dropped the championship game how many times in a row?
Dean Smith didn't win his first until his 21st year of coaching, and he is still the greatest coach of all
For this idiot to say what he did is down right wrong. This is why reporters are treated like dirt, and people jump down their throats.
time in most eyes. Wooden was great, but that was a different era.
I would take a regular season the way we did every year and end the tournament without a national championship. Let us remember that in 1988 when we won it was on the back of one man, Danny Manning, and the team had lost, I think, 11 games.
The best team does not always win, and any team can beat any other team any given day. That is what is called parity in college basketball.
Kevin Barone UDKi reader, St. Louis
Kansan needs writers who support athletics
Harley Ratliff is a typical tar-
wester风 fan with a bad attitude. It’s not even apparent where his affiliations lie: He writes for the Kansan, but he wears a Texas A&M hat in his picture.
It would be nice to see a sportswriter for the Kansan who would help boost support for our football program and respect our basketball programs. I don't think he has done either one. Mr. Ratliff does not help sports programs at Kansas by publicizing his lack of commitment and bad attitude.
They support the sports programs no matter how many games the football or basketball teams win or lose, and more importantly, they allow for a little sympathy when we lose a big game rather than pouring salt into the wound that is our disappointment.
I would like to see someone write something that at least supports the sports programs here at Kansas. Maybe you can hire Max & Bob from the Lazer.
Tell Harley Rattifl to go back to Oklahoma or Texas or wherever he is from, because Kansas sports fans don't want to hear any more of his trash.
Todd Kofford Research Assistant Natural History Museum
Just call columnist 'Mr. Fickle Opinion'
You know something? Your commentary entitled "They choke once
more. Are we surprised?" is an offensive piece of juvenile rambling that does no justice to the traditions of the University of Kansas.
So what if they lost? Does that take away from the fact that they will always be remembered as an incredible and special team?
You were probably among the screaming fans at Allen Field House or in some bar somewhere countless times throughout this season and the seasons before, yet you are the first to howl and whine about the Jayhawks "choking "It's disingesting and disrespectful. Perhaps, when you are starting your career in journalism, you should be careful that you don't receive the nickname "Mr. Fickle Opinion." College basketball is not about rooting for a team only when they win! Sorry if it injured your pride to see our team lose, but your pride is nothing compared to the heart of that team.
Shelley Manis
Lenexa senior
Despite ending, season deserves better story
To start things out, last time that I checked, you work for the Kansan not A&M. Get a new hat. Second, the article that you wrote, "They choke once more. Are we surprised?" really offended me and my friends. I am a die-hard Kansas basketball fan, and I will go to my deathbed defending my Jayhawks.
The whole thing about not having any excuses was a bunch of crap. Sorry, but the last time that I checked, there are five players on the court — not just two.
The Jayhawks do seem to have a problem when it comes to the month of March, but the way I look at it is, "Who cares?"
The boys played their hearts out for us the whole season, and I give them props for that. If I was a player and had to read all the negative stuff you write about us every time we lose, I probably would have quit a long time ago.
These guys gave us a great season, and they deserve to see positive things in the paper when they return from a hard loss. But no, you just write about the negative.
Shanna Koelling
Holyrood freshman
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