Section:
14A
The University Daily Kansan
Yesterday in sports
The Cleveland Indians played games against both the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox for the first three-team doubleheader since Sept. 13, 1951.
Sports
Inside: Olympic track star Marion Jones' husband, C.J. Hunter, tested positive in an Olympic drug test.
SEE PAGE 9A
Inside: Michael Johnson became the first man ever to win the 400 in consecutive Olympics.
SEE PAGE 10A
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Jayhawks focusing on Sooners
By Jason Franchuk sports@kansan.com Konson sportswritter
Looking past an opponent worked out fine last week, but the Kansas football team will not be inclined to try it again heading into Saturday's game at Oklahoma.
The Jayhawks will not start prepping yet for the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State and overlook the Sooners. Kansas scripted its practices last week toward facing the Sooners, and it obviously made no difference in a 42-0 win against Southern Illinois.
After the game, Kansas coach Terry Allen revealed his ploy.
Southern Illinois, a Division I-AA opponent, could not match up physically with the Jayhawks. Kansas could squeak by on talent alone.
So Allen took a risk and chose to focus last week on preparing for the Sooners, who are ranked No. 14 nationally, although most players were unaware how much Allen was worrying about Oklahoma.
"Obviously, Oklahoma is a very good team and can throw the ball," Allen said. "Whether this will give us an advantage or not we'll find out."
It's called gambling, and Allen was concerned early against Southern Illinois after Kansas went scoreless for almost the entire first half. Sometimes when rain falls, and the ball and surface get wet, talent becomes moot.
"I thought it was just a matter of time," Allen said. "But we knew that if the weather got worse, we could be setting ourselves up for real trouble."
What could cause Kansas real trouble in Norman, Okla., is the Sooners' passing attack, which has been a big concern for Allen. After losing at Southern Methodist and surrendering 164 passing yards in the process, the Jayhawks held Alabama-Birmingham and the Salukis to low double digits. However, neither of those teams made any particular commitment to throwing the ball. They chose to run the option or a variety of running plays.
"I think part of that was because of how good our secondary has been playing," said Kansas cornerback Andrew Davison. "Their guys couldn't get open, so they didn't want to try and throw."
Davison enjoyed Kansas' win against the Salukis, but he is quick to note that the Sooners will be an entirely different matter. The Sooners, he said, are going to pass and pass, and then pass some more.
"We're not going to shut them out," Davison said. "They throw an awful lot. But we think we can keep up with them."
He said as a group, the secondary was playing well and needed to continue its strong play.
Allen said he hoped the extra time spent focusing on Oklahoma would give Kansas an advantage.
"It was a calculated risk," Allen said.
"Did I think long about it? Yeah. Could it be scary? Yeah. But it should give us a leg up next week."
- Edited by Warisa Chulindra
Rocco Danna, St. Louis, Mo., senior, passes off during practice at Shenk Complex, 23rd and Iowa streets. This year's team will try to overcome losing eight seniors and will rely heavily on newcomers. Photo by Aaron Lindberg/KANSAN
Rugby rich in history
Team ready for intense competition
By Michael Sudhalter sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
The University of Kansas Rugby Club has the essential elements of intense competition, rivalry and tradition that make a team unique.
Coach Rick Renfro, who has been associated with the
Kansas rugby program since 1975, describes the sport as tackle basketball.
"When Naismith invented basketball, he said it was indoor rugby." Renfo said.
While the more popular sport of basketball has evolved into a game very different from rugby, the older sport has expanded on college campuses. There now are 450 university clubs teams in the United States.
Despite its early roots, the game has more in common with football and soccer. Rugby consists of a try, which is worth five points
and the equivalent to a touchdown in football. Three points can be gained from penalty kicks, and two points are awarded for field goals. Two 40-minute halves make up the game.
To prepare the 30-member squad for the nonstop competition, team captain J.P. Davies, Overland Park junior, schedules a variety of different workouts.
"We do lots of running and conditioning," Davies said. "Simply playing rugby is a workout because it is constantly going."
Jasón Santy, Overland Park sophomore, sprints down the field heading a string of rugby players during a practice drill last Thursday. The team has three home meets this season. Photo by Aaron Lindberg/KANSAN
This year's team will attempt to overcome the graduation of eight seniors. Its success will rely heavily on newcomers, who make up half the squad.
Unlike many of the newcomers, one player has prior experience because of the sport's exposure in his homeland, Canada.
"I am looking forward to pliying new positions and learning new stuff about the short." Keselvak said.
Brian Keselyak
Vancouver, Canada, freshman, he played rugby during high school.
Davies said the Jayhawks would play a variety of teams before their serious intercollegiate play began.
"We will play men's club teams from the Kansas City area as well as Division II
teams such as Central Missouri State, Pittsburgh State and Southwest Missouri State." he said.
While the non-conference intercollegiate matches give the Jayhawks experience, the matches also present a different type of game plan.
"Those non-conference teams are less technically sound, but their play is more aggressive," said Brent Zluticky, Wichita junior and club president.
The club competes in the three-member Heart of America Union division, part of the Western Rugby Union conference. In order to qualify for the Western regionals, the team must defeat or tie the other two members, Kansas State and Truman State.
The spirit of the rivalry with Truman State has taken on a life of its own.
"We gear our entire season around the two matches with Truman State," Davies said. "The rivalry is good because it gives us a goal to work towards every year."
While the Jayhawks have a few heated rivals on the field, Davies said the teams had time to enjoy some camaraderie after the matches.
On the field, you hate the other team, but both teams hang out and socialize after the game," he said.
- Edited by Casey Franklin
Home is where the burnt bluegrass is
By Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
Crisp winds blew across the Kansas wasteland yesterday or, more specifically, the biggest piece of wasted land in Lawrence SuperTarget Field
Built in 1995 to be the home of the Kansas soccer team, SuperTarget Field, 19th Street and Naismith Drive, has remained dormant this fall. For the second time in its three-year history, the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Classic tournament was forced to find a new location after the home field was deemed unplayable.
"We just had an awful summer," said Darren Cook, director of facilities for athletics. "The temperatures were extreme. We did a lot of watering and tried to maintain it but we just got caught with the heat."
Those extreme temperatures
included two 109-degree days three weeks ago that scalded the bluegrass field. The aftermath of the heat was three burnt scars and a broken sprinkler head that flooded part of the field. Efforts were made to combat the heat, but all were unsuccessful.
"The sodding in August we did in preparation for the first couple of matches didn't make it because of the heat." Cook said.
A second round of sodding began Thursday. The three burnt spots were torn up, and new bluegrass sod was laid. Immediate watering began in hopes of helping the grass become playable soon.
Kansas' last two scheduled home matches are Friday, Oct. 6, against Texas Tech and Sunday, Oct. 8, against Colorado.
Problems from the beginning This isn't the first time games
"We're shooting to get our last two matches there." Cook said.
have been relocated from SuperTarget Field. Games have been moved in the past because of flooding problems.
A donation from Target, combined with Athletic Department funding, allowed $200,000 to go toward the building of the field behind Oliver Hall.
During the program's first five seasons, four home games were relocated because of soggy conditions on the field, including three in 1998.
When ground was leveled to build the field, the good topsoil was removed to flatten the surface, leaving a layer of clay as the base for the field. The topsoil was respread across the field, but when it was removed, it became mixed with clay, leaving a clay-based surface that few grasses will grow on. Cook said. He said that clay held water rather than letting it soak into the ground or drain off the field.
While clay causes the flooding
SuperTarget Field, at 19th Street and Natismith Drive, received new sod to help replace the bluegrass that the drought Lawrence endured this summer killed. The Kansas soccer team hopes the field, behind Oliver Hall, will be finished in time for the final two home games of the season. Photo by Acron Lindberg/KANSAN
problem, the bluegrass is the cause of heat-related problems. Cook said. Rather than spending $80,000 on Bermuda grass
for the field in 1996, Kansas opted for $30,000 bluegrass.
See BAD on page 11A
Sports Columnist
Jason Walker
sports@kansan.com
Olympics lack spirit they had in Atlanta
A little more than a week into the Olympics, and the thrill is already gone.
Sydney 2000 fever, which was supposed to captivate a nation and conjure up 1996 Atlanta memories of Kerri Strug's vault and Michael Johnson's record-breaking sprints, has left.
Or was it even there to begin with? After hearing all the hype surrounding the games, such as bizarre ads about how some company claims it makes the Official (insert product name here) of the U.S. Olympic Team, it's hard to not be apathetic.
It all started with the opening ceremonies. Hours of coverage of an event that, while probably entertaining in person, can be compared to watching grass grow. It was estimated that Billions of people worldwide at least caught a glimpse of the opening ceremonies.
Billions? That's a lot of bored people. Why watch things like four-person teams from obscure Pacific Island countries walking around the track when there's a Facts of Life marathon on Nick at Nite?
Throw in NBC's delayed coverage of Olympic events, and the drama is totally gone. The Internet has made prime-time coverage of the games a joke when people can log onto Web sites such as espn.com each morning and see the results of events not televised until that night.
And half of NBC's coverage consists of athlete profiles about someone who beat the odds to make it to Sydney and his/her Olympic dreams. A nice thought, but it's kind of ridiculous for people to get teyeary about an obscure athlete who overcame (insert setback here) to become one of the best team handball players in the world.
America also doesn't need hundreds of hours of Olympic coverage. Talk about overkill. People don't care to see Bob Costas talking up ridiculous sports like synchronized swimming and how the U.S. has probably always dominated it. It would be interesting to see what Costas, who is one of the most respected and intelligent American journalists, says when the camera is turned off. Probably something like, "Pass me a Foster's."
And you thought the University of Kansas was commercialized for its contract with Coke? Take a look at the Olympics.
What makes the whole matter even worse is the scandal that has followed the International Olympic Committee. The IOC had to expel members for the first time in its 105-year history for accepting bribes related to awarding Salt Lake City the 2002 Winter Olympics. It's hard to respect an event that is supposed to be about pride rather than money when top-level Olympic officials get caught accepting tainted money.
Americans now can win stuff such as free Big Macs at McDonald's, which, well, OK, free food is cool. But Big Macs and Egg McMuffins shouldn't be associated with great athletes, and Ronald McDonald has never won an Olympic medal.
But there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. The 2004 summer games will be in Athens, the birthplace of the Olympics. Hopefully, Greece will put on a traditional show that focuses on the actual events rather than making money off the games and lose the negative Olympic baggage.
Because it's hard to respect an event that gives gold medals for table tennis.
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Walther in a Mulvano senior in Journalism.