10A
The University Daily Kansan
Yesterday in sports
Sports
Who was the quarterback who led his team to a 23-7 Super Bowl IV victory against the Vikings despite gambling allegations that surfaced a few days before the big game?
See answer on page 9A.
SEE PAGE 9A
Inside: The football team has to find inspiration for its final game because Texas dashed its Bowl hopes.
Inside: The bowling team did not perform as well as it would have liked in a tournament this weekend in Chicago.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2009 For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM4SPORTS
SEE PAGE 9A
Freshmen get chance to shine
By Michael Riag
sports@kanson.com
Kanson sportswriter
Forget about getting tossed into the fire.
For Kansas basketball freshmen Mario Kinsey and Bryant Nash, last week was like sitting in Bremuda for a week without sunscreen, getting thrown back in time and subjected to Quantrill's burning of Lawrence, getting basted and cooked for Thanksgiving dinner, and then getting tossed into the fire.
Most freshmen start their college careers with relative anonymity at home, beating up on one of those schools with a hyphen or a direction — such as southwest or northwest or just west — in their names.
But Kinsey and Nash started their college basketball lives on national television, at Madison Square Garden in New York, playing the likes of UCLA and St. John's.
To make matters more intimidat
ing, an injury to forward Luke Axtell and foul trouble by point guard Kirk Hinrich meant the two not only had to play a lot, but were relied on to become key elements in the Kansas wins.
With the two victories, the Jayhawks jumped three spots in the Associated Press poll to No. 4—and they may not have escaped New York unscathed without both freshmen.
Point guard Kinsey logged 17 minutes against St. John's on Friday, scoring four points to go along with four assists. Forward Nash, meanwhile, didn't play as much, but scored his first points as a collegian with a key dunk as St. John's was surging with just under seven minutes to go in the first half.
"Coming here, I really didn't think I'd get so much playing time this early," Kinsey said. "It meant a lot."
Throughout Friday's game,
Kinsey was matched against talkative
St. John's freshman Omar
Cook. Kinsey, who also is known to be confident, didn't back down from Cook's attempts to intimidate. In fact, Kinsey relished the role of helping limit Cook to 6-for-20 shooting from the floor.
"A lot of people say I'm conceived, but I'd just say I'm confident," Kinsey said. "I know deep inside that I have the ability to compete."
Nash's ego is a complete U-turn from that of Kinsey. A subdued Texan, the backup forward calls reporters "sir" and "ma'm" while answering questions with a subdued expression.
The Jayhawks may need Nash more in the coming weeks. Axell's sprained ankle will keep him sidelined until after Thanksgiving. But instead of lamenting the loss, Kansas is just giving thanks for its two freshmen.
"I'm still trying to adjust," Nash said.
- Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
The Associated Press Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' men's college basketball poll, with firstplace votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 12, total points based on 25 points for a firstplace vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and last week's ranking; Recorded Pts. Run
1. Arizona (35) 0-1, 1,538, 1
2. Duke (21) 0-1, 1,522, 2
3. Michigan St. (5) 0-0, 1,337, 3
4. Kansas (1) 2-0, 1,330, 7
5. Stanford 0-0, 1,293, 4
6. Maryland (1) 0-0, 1,267, 5
7. North Carolina 2-0, 1,244, 6
8. Illinois 0-0, 1,093, 8
9. Tennessee 0-0, 1,065, 9
10. Setah Hall 0-0, 1,032, 10
11. Florida 0-0, 926, 11
12. Utah 0-0, 680, 13
13. Connecticut OO, 654, 14
14. UCLA 1-1, 619, 17
15. Arkansas OO, 568, 18
16. Notre Dame OO, 578, 15
17. Cincinnati OO, 551, 18
18. Wake Forest OO, 432, 20
19. Wisconsin OO, 431, 19
20. Kentucky OO, 2, 373, 12
21. Oldahoma OO, 312, 22
22. DePaul OO, 308, 21
23. Southern Cal OO, 256, 23
24. St. John's 1-1, 243, NR
25. Virginia OO, 164, 24
Others receiving votes: Iowa St.
126. Alabama 120, Georgetown
72. Iowa 68, Missouri 66, Indiana
30. Xavier 30, Texas 26, Utah St.
30. Memphis 41, N.C. State 41,
SMU 11, South Carolina 11,
Temple 9, Dayton 7, LSU 7
Wyoming 6, BYU 5, CS Northbridge
3, Mississippi St. 3, Charlotte 2,
Gonzaga 2, Pepperdine 2, Tusaha
UNLV 2, Louisiana-Lafayette 1,
Oregon 1, Florida South 1
Experience expected to guide lacrosse club
By Michael Sudhalter sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's lacrosse club will rely on the experience of 15 returning members to compete in the nation's No.5 regional division this spring.
The team hopes to build on a two-game split with Truman State in a fall exhibition game as it heads into the spring season. But if Kansas wants to have a successful season, it will have to build its team unity and integrate 10 new members into the program.
JoEllen Wang, St. Louis freshman, takes a shot during lacross practice Sunday at the Shenk Complex. Photo by Aaron Lindhhero/KANSAN
Our main recruiting areas are St. Louis and Denver," Wiley said. "But we also have Kansas natives who pick up the game when they come to college. Lacrosse is right on the edge of exploding in the Midwest."
The Jayhawks return an unproven goalkeeper who hails from the heart of a lacrosse hotbed.
Coach Dave Wiley, who played lacrosse at Division III Wittenburg, is entering his fourth season of coaching at Kansas. Wiley said players were recruited from other Midwestern areas, and the team also included inexperienced Kansans.
Amy Fortney, Syracuse, N.Y., junior, transferred to Kansas from Hamilton College in upstate New York where she did not play lacrosse competitively. But Fortney played the sport as a youth; lacrosse was a unit in her gym classes.
Fortney said she embraced the challenge of being the goalkeeper in a fast-paced sport.
"It is a challenge to read other teams' offenses and to keep the defense informed." Fortney said. "This team has a lot of potential."
To reach its full potential, the club must develop its team unity. Some team members have learned the difference between a team sport and an individual one.
"Lacrosse is an exciting team sport," said Jill Tisdale, lawrence junior. "It has been a big adjustment from the individual game of tennis."
Lauren Waterson, Manhattan sophomore and a former high school swimmer, said she enjoyed the team atmosphere.
"Lacrosse has a lot less individual focus than swimming did," Waterson said. "It is nice to be part of a team again."
The Hawks have set a goal of placing second in their seven-team division, which is made up of Illinois, Iowa, Knox College, Missouri, Truman State and Washington University of St. Louis.
Jesse Bird, Olathe sophomore and club co-president, said the club would like to finish higher than in previous seasons.
If the club reaches its goal, it will travel to Toledo, Ohio, this spring for the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League Championships.
— Edited by Warisa Chulindra
Laura Lavid, Lorton, Va., senior, front, and Jessie Bird, Olathe sophomore, battle for the ball Sunday during the women's lacrosse club practice. Photo by Aaron Lindberg/KANSAN
Senior guard Jennifer Jackson takes a shot Wednesday. The '59 Hawk beat the Basketball Travelers. 69-50. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
Women's basketball defeats Travelers
By Zac Hunter
Sure, the 19-point victory wasn't spectacular; the Jayhawks were down by double-digits in the first half and trailed by three at halftime. But the second half was a different story, as they outscored their Hungarian guests by 22 points in the last 20 minutes.
After the Kansas women's basketball team beat the Basketball Travelers 69-50 Wednesday, there was an air of subdued confidence among the players.
sports@keenan.com
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The confidence came from the fact that the Kansas starting lineup had minimal time to practice as a group.
"Those five people only practiced together once, and we were able to click and read each other so well," said senior forward Jaclyn Johnson.
Coach Marian Washington said she hadn't known who her starters would be until the day of the game, and no positions had
been solidified yet.
"I didn't go with a specific lineup until today," she said. "I worked with a certain crew yesterday, but I'm still not sure about who I'm going to start, particularly in the five spot."
The confidence also comes from the five newcomers who got into the game and all managed to contribute in some way. Junior guard KC Hilgenkamp had seven points and six assists. Freshman guard Lella Mengtic and junior guard Fernanda Bosi combined for 28 minutes against the Travelers.
Senior guard Jennifer Jackson said the team had its weak moments, but everyone pulled together in the second half to get the win.
"Getting out there and doing it for the first time was something that we had to go through," Jackson said. "I'm glad it's over so we can move on from here."
So where do the 'Hawks go from here?
According to Johnson, they have nowhere to so but up. She said the team
would be incredible when the players got more familiar with each other.
Before the game, Washington said this game served as a good chance to learn about her team's strengths and weaknesses.
The biggest weakness was the first-half defense. The Jayhawks didn't get back on defense, so the Travelers took many uncontested shots. The visitors pushed the tempo, and Kansas didn't respond very well.
Facing a substantial deficit in the first half, the 'Hawks found a way to turn the game around and wound up running away with it.
"When you are scrambling, you really have to talk, and I don't think we that we communicated very well until the second half." Washington said.
But through that weakness, Washington may have found one of Kansas' greatest strengths — resiliency.
"To their credit, they didn't give up." Washington said of her team.
Sports Columnist
— Edited by Casey Franklin
Shawn Hutchinson
sports@kansan.com
Monday Night Football linked to low test scores on Tuesdays
If you haven't heard the late-breaking news, it has now been declared official — Monday Night Football and low test scores are related.
See if this sounds familiar: You're sitting at home on a Monday night before a big test. You're cramming, things are going pretty well, and then you turn on MNF and all hell breaks loose. You stop studying and thus begin the journey down the road to that D-.
Sure, some people could argue if you kept up on your reading during the semester, you wouldn't need to cram the night before a big test. But that's not really the point.
Students will have plenty of time to cram the night before, grades will improve and graduation rates will increase.
An easier solution would be for professors to eliminate tests on Tuesdays during football season. Just push the tests back a couple of days to Thursday.
This is what transpires during a typical Monday night study session for fans of MNF.
(F.Y.I. For women reading this column, substitute the name "some hunky football player" for "Melissa Stark"):
8:04 p.m. — Turn on the television, pat yourself on the back because you're studying so hard you forgot what time it was and thus missed the beginning of *MNF*. You nestle in for a long night of studying.
8:06 p.m. — Commercial break. You use the time wisely and finish up chapter four in your book on Nietzsche.
8:08 p.m. — MNF comes back on; you put the book down. Sideline reporter Melissa Stark makes appearance.
8:17 p.m. — Opposing team scores touchdown. You vow that once the home team scores, you'll turn off the television and hit the books for good.
8:38 p.m. — Home team scores; television stays on.
8:46 p.m. — End of first quarter. You reason because you have watched one quarter, another quarter couldn't hurt.
9:33 p.m. — Halftime. You use the time to take a short 10-minute nap to rejuvenate your fried-out brain cells.
9:47 p.m. — Wake up late; third quarter has already started. Kick yourself for missing latest appearance of Melissa Stark.
10:01-10:10 p.m. — Both teams exchange field goals. Get confused when Dennis Miller compares it to how wedding vows were exchanged in Semitic Akkadian culture back in ancient times.
10:23 p.m. — Come back inside after taking out trash; kick yourself for missing latest appearance of Melissa Stark.
10:24 p.m. — Roll your eyes while sideline reporter Eric Dickerson tries to explain that a running back's chief responsibility is to run the ball.
11:03 p.m. — Two-minute warning.
Find your book on Nietzsche buried under bag of Cheetos and latest issue of Sports Illustrated.
11:11 p.m. -- End of game. Decide you're too beat from the game to study, so you go to bed. Proceed to get a D- on test the next day.
That's about the extent of the research. I would have had more, but I had to finish this column before MNF came on last night. But, obviously, there's enough information here to prove that there is a problem somewhere.
Eliminate tests on Tuesdays, and the problem will be solved.
Hutchinson is an Overland Park senior in Journalism.