Sports
University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, September 18, 1990
11
Iowa State University's Wendy Lerberg takes to the air. Lerberg competed Saturday in the jump competition during KU's Fall Festival Waterski Tournament.
Waterski club has successful history
By Derek Simmons
Kansan sportswriter
It may surprise a few people to learn that the University of Kansas has a waterskiing team. It may surprise a few more to learn that Kansas has been a dominant team in the Midwest for more than a decade.
Corbett, Forest Lake, Minn,
senior, said Kansas has never won
the 10 team national championship
because of a difference in attitude.
The KU Waterski Club has qualified for the National College Waterskiing Association championship tournament in 10 of the past 12 years, Matt Corbett, club president, said yesterday.
"We're not out for blood," he said. "We ski because it is fun. We can't compete with schools in Florida and California where they ski 12 months a year."
year.
"In waterskiing there is no distinction between professionals and amateurs. Some schools like Rollins (College, in Winter Park, Fla.) have two world recorders skiing for them. But it is fun to ski with the big guns."
The men's team placed three of its five skiers in the top five in all three events. In the slalom, Tim Shellenberger, Gainesville, Fla., sophomore, took second, Chris Benset, third, Kristin Cogan, placed fifth. In the trick ski, Corbett was second, Brian Shurtleff, Overland Park senior, was third and
DennyTKok, Kansas City, Kan.
junior, was fourth. In the jump,
Corbett and Shurtlief were second
third, and Shellenberger was fifth.
Most club members join to ski recreationally, Corbett said, but competition adds an edge to an already physical sport. The most enjoyable — and dangerous — competition in a ski meet is the jump.
"There's just no feeling like flying through the air at 50 mph or faster." Corbett said. "It's like driving off of a cliff. You get nervous every time."
One jumper was injured in the meet. Shurtleff hit the ramp wrong on his final attempt, and the jump worsened from there.
"I had poor body position when I hit the ramp and did a 360 (degree) turn in the air," he said. "I landed on
my head."
Shurtlef said the jump was videotaped, and the crash was spectacular. He was knocked unconscious and sprained an ankle.
Corbett that although Kansas is 1,200 miles from the nearest ocean, the University has a surprising number of waterkings enthusiasts.
"The club has about 70 members now," he said, "and I get 10-15 calls a night from people wanting to join the team.
"I tell them真, although it's not very practical because the season is only about three weeks longer, and it hasn't been dropping nearly fast recently."
Corbett had he expected the team to do well at regional competition Sept. 29-30 in Illinois. The top two teams in each of five regions qualify
for nationals.
"Kansas and Michigan State have always been the teams to beat," he said. "Our women's team is in a rebuilding year right now, but our men's team should be extremely competitive."
Amy Grazier, Loveland, Colo. sophomore, said many women who were members of the club didn't know once the time commitment involved
"Before the meet I went to the lake four days a week from 1 to 5 p.m., she said "I always take books and study between turns in the boat."
Grazier said there were very important reasons to ski.
"You have to do something to relax," she said. "And I can build muscle and get a tan at the same time."
Broncos rally late, defeat Chiefs 24-23
The Associated Press
DENVER — John Elway completed a 49-yard, fourth-down pass to set up David Treadwell's 22-yard winning field goal as the Denver Broncos blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to beat Kansas City 24-23 last night.
Treadwell's field goal came after the Chiefs' Steve DeBerg had thrown two touchdown passes in the final 8 minutes and turned a 21-9 deficit into a 23-21 lead for the Chiefs. The second scoring pass was an 83-yarder to Stephone Paige, who caught 10 passes for 206 yards.
But facing a fourth-and-10 at his own 17, Elway, who was 14-for-30 for 263 yards, found Vance Johnson on the field. He scored the ball carried the ball to the Kansas City 34.
Elway then hit Mark Jackson for 16 yards, and Bobby Humphery, who finished with 132 yards on 19 carries, scored 53 points in the feelwell's kick as the clock ran out
The win kept Denver from falling into a deep hole in the AFC West as it evened its record at 1-1. Kansas City, Mt. Vernon, beat Denver at Denver since 1982, is also one 1-1.
DeBerg, who finished 26-for-45 for
395 yards, hit Paige about his own 40 on the right sideline and Paige broke a tackle by Kip Corrington and raced untouched into the end zone.
Denver had led most of the game on two touchdown runs by Humphery and another by Elway and was still one of the few teams with Chiefs Albert Lewis, just activated after a bitter hole, blocked a punt by Mike Harron. It rolled 40 yards down the field and was recovered by Kevin Porter at Denver 12. Two plays later, the Colorado touchdown yard TD pass for the Chiefs' first touchdown following three early
field goals by Nick Lowery
The loss was the eighth straight at Mile High Stadium for the Chiefs, and Marty Schottenheimer, their coach, in Cleveland and elsewhere in Cleveland and Kansas City.
Kansas City took a 3-0 lead with 3:38 left in the first period on Lowery's 39-yard field goal, set up when Horan shanked a punt just 16 yards to give the Chiefs a first down at the Denver 16.
But the Broncos need less than two minutes to come back, going 76 yards in just five plays capped by Humphrey's 35 yard run.
Atlanta braced for Olympic committee's decision
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Confident yet braced for disappointment, Atlanta learns today when its $7 million effort to win the NCAA Tournament Olympics will produce a lightened torch.
Two years of intense lobbying by the Atlanta Organizing Committee, a mostly volunteer group, comes down to a vote of the International Olympic Games which has convened in Tokyo and decide between six finalist cities.
The decision is expected by 7 a.m.
EDT today, with the official
announcement about 45 minutes
later. The AOC has set up two huge
television screens at Underground Atlanta for a party scheduled to begin with entertainment from local musicians at 6 a.m.
If Atlanta wins, the moment will be marked with the firing of four confetti-filled cannons, the release of a gun that will light up the morning sky. The celebration at the shopping and entertainment mall in downtown Atlanta would continue throughout the weekend. Works show planned for the evening.
"If Atlanta wins, the party will go on for six years," said AOC volunteer Laurie Olsen, who helped coordinate
the victory celebration.
"One way or another, there's going to be a lot of crying here after the announcement," AOC spokesperson Drew Meyer told Tokyo. "We're optimistic, though."
Sports briefs
Atlanta's competition includes Athens, Greece; Melbourne, Australia; Toronto, Manchester, England; and Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Because the vote is secret and most of the 88 candidates choose closely to the veil handicapping is based mostly on hearsay and second information.
"I'm reminded constantly that in 1988 when the IOC selected Lilleham-
mer, Norway, to host the 1994 (Winter Games), that city by general speculation was believed to be fourth as the vote approached. 'Brennan
Anchorage, Alaska spent more than $3 million to bid for the 1994 Games — its second bid — and was considered a favorite.
"The idea that one city is first and another is second is based largely on the need of journalists to have some kind of chart against which to measure the thinking of the IOC and the relative merits of each city." Brennan said. "It is not a profitable exercise."
Big Eight Conference names players of week
Colorado linebacker Greg Biekert and Kansas State tailback Patrick Jackson were named players of the Big Eight Conference yesterday.
Biekert, a sophomore, was named defensive player of the week after he made 20 tackles — a school record 19 of them solo — in the Saturday's 23-22 loss to Illinois. One of his tackles was for a safety.
Jackson, a senior, rushed for a career-high 156 yards and tied a Kansas State record with four touchdowns in a 42-7 defeat of New Mexico State. He won the honor in a split over Oklahoma City and Kayhall, who rushed for 93 yards in 12 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 45-10 victory over Utah State.
Gwynn to miss season because of hand injury
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres announced yesterday that four-time National League batting champion Tony Gwynn will miss the rest of the season because of a hand injury.
Gwynn injured his right index finger when he ran into the outfield wall in the third inning of Saturday night's game at Atlanta while trying to catch a ball hit by the Braves' Jeff Treadway.
Conference realignment hurts sports
Oklahoma, Nebraska could join trend of jumping conferences
It's too bad that greed and hunger for power can exercise such a strong influence over college athletics.
With Florida State's not yet-week-old move to the ACC, the focus on realignment has been rejuvenated, making it just another facet of the businessline competitiveness that now controls college athletics. The inevitable Superconferences are in the not-too-distant future.
Ann Sommerlath
Associate sports editor
To bring this point a little closer to home, consider the threat of power houses like Oklahoma and Nebraska leaving the Big Eight. For now, both schools have quelled the rumors that they want to jump ship. Were either of these schools to leave, they would be accelerating the conference shuffling that has turned college athletes into a house of cards.
The love of money may not be the root of all evil, but it sure isn't helping college athletics.
Consider: Nebraska was thinking about switching to the Big Ten, a conference with more prestige than the Big Eight. More prestige equals more television coverage, equals more money, equals Big Seven. Big Seven minus a considerable amount of revenue, that is
Coastal conferences also are big markets and big moneymakers. Arkansas already packed its bags for the east and Oklahoma was considering a move to the west. Again. Big Seven minus Oklahoma equals Big Six.
It's simple math in one aspect, a multi-billion dollar transition in another.
Prestige also plays an important role in conference realignment. Nobody wants to belong to a weak conference, and when schools change, the competitive balance is disrupted.
Yes, if one or two teams left the Big Eight, one or two probably would be added to replace them. This would leave the Big Eight a relatively weak conference except for Colorado football and Kansas basketball.
Theoretically, schools should want to join a conference like this, to insure competitive fairness. However, the moneymaking capabilities of this conference would be diminished significantly, which would make the Big Eight a less desirable conference to join.
As in all business, that would result in a gain of power for one at the expense (this time in dollars) of someone else.
By allowing this shift in conference alignment, college athletics is condoning a principle it should not take pride in. In doing so, it is only hurting itself. It is instilling in its athletes a desire for money instead of a desire for competition, which provides the wrong motives for success.
In the end, all you end up with are monopolies - Superconferences.
Conference shuffling is a bad bet.
I'd put money on it.
Roof installation begins at field house
Ann Sommerlath is a St. Louis senior majoring in journalism.
By Rob Wheat
Kansan sportswriter
Wayne Walden used to hate going to work after it rained.
The rituals the day after a storm included the staff looking for new leaks and explaining to students that they were not their fault by buckets, were not their fault.
After every storm, the air in Wail-
den's office at the student academic
support services in Allen Field House
within the musty smell of soaked
carpet.
Walden, the assistant director of the support service, said that he hoped the leaks in the field house would end now that the installation of a new roof on the field house will be the first new roof on the field house since it opened in 1955.
"It was mostly that musty smell that got to," Malden said. "It didn't create too great of a work atmosphere. I just dreaded going to work the next day. Especially if it wasn't so bad, and had to start up a Monday like that."
Jim Modig, campus director of facilities planning, said it would cost $451,779 to lay the galvanized steel over the existing 85,000 square feet of tar and felt-based shingles. Work is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 2.
with the old roof," Modig said. "The sun's ultraviolet rays would break down the oil and tar base, and the second problem was that the roof expanded and contracted, causing leaks."
There were two main problems
Although the Athletic Department has planned for a new roof for five years, the University didn't receive funds from the state until this summer.
He said that there would be expansion joints built into the new metal roof that should help it last more than 25 years.
"We have been trying the Band-Aid approach for quite a while," Modig said. "There were some expansion joints put in several years ago, but it wasn't as good as that later. Repairs cost about $1,000 last fall, and it didn't work very well."
Floyd Temple, director of operations at the field house, said that most of the time had been spent ordering materials and getting the field house ready, including setting up fences in front of the field house.
"It would be nice if we could have done it this summer, but it was not possible," Temple said. "The fences will cause some disruption with the business." But Temple's business fair and late-night practice coming up, but I think everyone will
be real happy about the roof when it's finished."
He said that the leaks were most severe on the west side of the field house, but that the track office, sports information office, and studios were all closed. There was even danger of water damage to the basketball court.
"I remember the last big rain we had, the water was about 10 feet away from the court," Temple said. "It tainted really bad right before the K-State game. It was pretty difficult taking care of the leaks and prepare for the 15,000 students that were about file in there."
The new roof is only a part of an effort to keep water from flooding the field house, which began with the installation of a water-retaining system built in the parking garage by the Burge Union.
Temple said that he thought the roof should work as well as the system does but feared that there would be a startling work on the new roof already.
"The workers were supposed to start today, but I don't know if they will be able to because it looks like it's about to storm," he said. "The weather doesn't look too good either. That rain is always getting in the way."
Jane Rudolph/KANSAN
A barbed wire fence surrounds Allen Field House, where a new roof is being constructed.