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The Netherlands handed the United States baseball team its first pre-Olympic loss, a 4-3 defeat in Gold Coast, Australia.
Yesterday in Sports:
The University Daily Kansan
Sports
Inside; A Kansas soccer player was named Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year.
SEE PAGE 7B
Inside: Kansas State will spend more than $600,000 to buy out the contract of former men's basketball coach Tom Asbury.
SEE PAGE 6B
11:52 DW SEPTEMBER 12, 2000 For comments contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Shifts made to alleviate Hill's illness
By Jason Franhuk sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
It's a three-hour trip from Wichita to Lawrence, but it had to feel like so much more to Harrison Hill when he was thirsty for the whole trip.
He was parched for answers, waiting to be quenched with a solution to the problem that has plagued him for most of his football career.
Hill, a Kansas wide receiver, returned to practice last week after sitting out for most of preseason practice suffering from chronic dehydration. At the time, he tried every way to fix the problem. But even trips to Wichita — his hometown, and where he knew doctors who had helped him through this in high school — and seeing a specialist in Kansas City, Mo., came up as dry as Hill's body was when he was too dehydrated to sweat.
"I knew a lot was going on," Hill said. "I went home and to Kansas City hoping that I could find a solution."
Really, there is no answer. Hill must drink a lot, and he's good for a few intravenous units after practices when the weather is particularly hot. He has tried to make variations in his diet, which now includes vegetables and fruits, instead of just the chicken sandwiches he loves to devour.
Hill groats at the thought of veggies, but it beats being sick. The worst was in high school when he dropped 25 pounds during the days after a came.
"I was throwing up for days," Hill said. "But when it gets that bad, all the days feel the same."
Hill is back now and said he couldn't be happier. His first game back Saturday revives fond memories.
As a redshirt freshman in 1998, Hill made a career-best eight catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama-Birmingham. Both scoring plays went for 25 yards in the four-overtime game that eventually Kansas won.
Of course, the game did not go without Hill experiencing dehydration. On the last play of the first half, he had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown. Immediately, the dizziness set in. So did the fatigue and cramps. Hill had to take an IV unit at halftime, and he missed the first drive of the second half.
"I wasn't feeling too good," Hill said.
"But by the end of that game, everybody was pretty fatigued."
Back at the University, along with returning as a receiver, Kansas coach Terry Allen said Hill will field punts and be the holder on field-goal attempts. The temperature is supposed to cool down for Saturday, but Hill said it didn't matter.
Allen still watches Hill closely.
Allen still watches Hir closely.
"He's been practicing well." Allen said. "Obviously, it's been hot again the past few days, so I've had to keep an eye on him."
Hill's taken plenty of pain before.
His true freshman year, 1997, was hailed when he broke his left ankle.
But anything beats air conditioning,
which is what Hill had to sit in as he listened to Kansas' season-opening loss at Southern Methodist.
"It was killing me," Hill said. "I just wanted to play, to be part of the team."
Tina Taduran, Santana junior, digs a serve at last Thursday's practice. Taduran also was a member of the club team last year. Photo by Melissa Carr/KANSAN.
Edited by Kimberly Thompson
Macy Fairman, El Dorado sophomore, dives for a serve during practice Thursday. The club volleyball team practices every Tuesday and Thursday night at Robinson Center. Photo by Melissa Carr/KANSAN.
Club pumped for big season
By Michael Sudhalter
By Michael Sudhalte
sports@kansan.com
Kansas writerwriter
This fall, Scott Decoursey will find out experience as a player helps in making a good coach.
Decoursey, Belton, Mo., senior, a former member of the men's club volleyball team, will make his coaching debut with the women's club volleyball team this season. He left the men's team to experience the coaching side of the sport and said he should not have much trouble being a player's coach.
"I will help out with technical skills such as passing, hitting and setting," Decoursev said.
This year's squad will feature many fresh faces, but several members from last year's team are returning this season.
Expected to lead this year's young team are club president Erin Scheckells, Aurora, Colo., sophomore; vice president Shana Sisson, Hoisington junior, and treasurer Randi Rose, Independence, Mo., sophomore.
While the team may be young and have few college years under their belt, both Decoursey and Scheckells think the numbers are deceiving.
"A lot of our freshmen who just came out of high school played intense high school volleyball," said Scheckells.
Despite only a year of
intercollegiate club play. Scheckells is an experienced member of the team. After three years of playing for competitive club teams in the Denver area, Scheckells turned down a volleyball scholarship to a Division II school to attend Kansas because the University appealed to her. Even though she has played only one year of club volleyball, Scheckells is one of the team's stronger leaders and said she would like to pass her experiences on to the less-experienced players.
Scheckells is expecting a season where the team will have a healthy balance of intense competition and fun.
"We want to excel as a team and shoot for nationals," she said. "We also want to have fun and become better volleyball players."
Last year's team was a mere 13 players, but this season's opening practice had 45 players attend. Decoursey and the three team leaders formed a second squad.
To help new players gain
experience, the team will be playing in two different leagues this season. They will field an "A" and a "B" squad in the Heart of America League, a league that features companies, groups and other colleges.
The team will also focus on an intercollegiate-only league. National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association.
The club will play host to a six-team tournament Saturday, November 11. Scheckells, who is responsible for inviting other colleges to the event, said she was expecting to see Colorado, Kentucky, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska universities. The team also is planning on competing in tournaments at Nebraska and Kentucky.
While last year's team did not compete at the NIRSA national competition in Reno, the members would like to attend nationals this year.
In order to place for nationals, the team must compete in five intercollegiate tournaments before the competition.
Several returning members said they were optimistic that this year's season would be better than the last.
"I hope that our team will be more unified this season," Rose said. "Last year we didn't have enough people."
Sports Columnist
Amanda Kaschube
sports@kansan.com
White Sox team worth watching as wins pile up
Good guys wear black, not red and blue. No, I'm not a Missouri fan and I haven't given up on the Jayhawks yet. I'm from the south side of Chicago and I love my White Sox. So by default, I loathe the Cubs.
While most of you probably don't care about Chicago baseball, there are more than 400 students at the University of Kansas from the area. Most are from the northern suburbs — where cell phones run rampant in Wrigleyville and socializing at the game takes precedent over the score.
But as a south-sider, I live and breathe White Sox baseball. When I go to Comiskey Park, it's not to get stock tips on my cell phone — it's to watch first baseman Frank Thomas and the boys nummel the competition.
So I think I deserve some credit for the team's recent glory since I've stuck with them through all the hard times and tried to find a silver lining.
When Old Comiskey Park was torn down, I found high points in the new park — namely, Best Kosher hot dogs and churros. When Jerry Reinsdorf sold away the pitching staff as a part of the 1997 team dismantling, I thought he was turning the Sox into the newest "Baseketball" team — the Chicago Sellouts.
But those pitchers received in the trade — Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Mike Caruso and Lorenzo Barcelo — have helped pave the way for this season's success. The Sox have a seven and one-half game lead over Cleveland going into yesterday's game against Detroit.
And unlike 1997, the White Sox aren't going to throw this season. This year is an opportunity for the Sox to amaze critics who thought they were a fluke earlier this season.
While the Cubs own the second-worst record in the National League, the Sox have a good chance of sealing up home-field advantage for the playoffs. And with solid pitching from starters James Baldwin and Mike Sirotka, the postseason looks bright for the south side.
Finally.
With six series to go — including a possible American League Championship preview with the New York Yankees — the Sox have a chance to prove their merit and take away the spotlight from Sammy Sosa and the Cubs.
Sosa has 48 home runs and the hot bat again this year, but Thomas is close on his tail with 41 long balls and a team-high 134 RBI. And even though Thomas was shafted in the All-Star selection process, he has completely turned around from his dismal performance last season.
Add Thomas' reversal to a pitching staff that commanded clutch performances against the Indians last weekend, and the White Sox could be carrying a division pennant faster than a north-sider can order Starbucks.
With the Bulls still coping with Michael Jordan's retirement, the Bears being mauled 41-0 by Tampa Bay last weekend and the Blackhawks still learning how to skate, the White Sox are now Chicago's only winning team.
Proof that good guys and winners do wear black.
Kaushube is a Flossmoor, Il., senior in Journalism.
Shock waves from Knight's firing spread through basketball world
By Michael Rigg
By Michael Rigg
Kansan sportswriter
In Bloomington, Ind. — the epicenter of Knight news — bizarre incidents ranging from a near on-campus riot to players threatening to transfer rocked the Indiana campus.
One day after the firing of Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight, the college basketball world remained shaken.
Monday, the country awakened from a Knightmare.
Knight was fired Sunday by school president Myles Brand for violating the school's zero-tolerance behavior code. The most-publicized violation came when Knight grabbed the arm of Indiana freshman Kent Harvey and allegedly shouted obscenities at the student.
Public reaction started late Sunday night, when a group of an estimated one thousand Indiana students gathered outside the school's basketball arena to protest the coach's firing. While the demonstration was relatively peaceful, campus police arrested 10 students — most for disorderly conduct.
Knight: Calmed infuriated students
Just after midnight, Knight emerged from the building to address the students. "In the next couple of days, I'm going to get together everywhere with as many students who want to come out, and I'm going to tell you my side of this thing," Knight said.
The specifics of Knight's meeting with Indiana students weren't known yesterday evening.
The crowd slowly dispersed after Knight's short speech. A burned effigy of Harvey and a banner that screamed, "Burn in hell. Brand." remained
Yesterday's action around campus mirrored the controlled chaos of the night before. Junior guard Dane Fife announced his intentions to transfer from Indiana, and Hoosier assistant coach Mike Davis also said his future at the school was doubtful.
Knight, meanwhile, met with his players and let it be known that he plans on coaching again.
again. "He's going to be our friend now instead of our coach," said Indiana forward Jarrad Odle. "He told us he's going to coach again. There's no doubt in my mind. He's one of the best coaches in the nation and for him not to move on to another school would be a shame."
Meanwhile, in Lawrence, Kansas coach Roy Williams took time out of his recruiting schedule to weigh in with his opinion of Knight's firing.
In Iowa, athletics officials called a press conference for this morning to address Hawkeye coach Steve Alford's future at the school. Alford is considered the prime candidate to replace Knight.
"it's a tragic way for a great coaching career to end, and it's a very sad day for
me personally," Williams said in a written statement. "Bobby Knight is a great coach and teacher, and his teaching wasn't just to his players."
Williams also mentioned the impact Knight had on his career.
Knight had on his career.
"I've learned a great deal from him and,
yes, I do believe that imitation is a great
tribute to someone," Williams said. "He
has been a mentor to me and a true friend.
I hope we have not seen the final stage of
his brilliant career."
Steve Lambert, Shawnwe senior, disreed with Williams.
— The Associated Press contributed to this story
"I think Indiana did the right thing," he said. "Rules are rules, and he broke them."
Edited by Clay McCuliston
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