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This week in sports
The University Daily Kansan
Clyde Sukeforth, the scout who helped bring Jackie Robinson to the major leagues, died Sunday at age 98. Sukeforth scouted Robinson when he played for the Kansas City Monarchs and helped arrange the meetings with the Brooklyn Dodgers that led to Robinson breaking into the majors.
Sports
Inside: Kansas punter Joey Pelfanio had a rough day Saturday in the Jayhawks' 31-17 loss to Southern Methodist.
SEE PAGE 6A
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2000 For comments contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com. WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Fans made trek to Texas; must attend at home,too
Saturday afternoon in Dallas had so much promise.
it was the start of a new season, one with high expectations. A strong contingent of Jayhawk fans made the long drive to Texas to support Kansas football in its season opener and crammed into a corner of Southern Methodist's new Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
And what better place to start a season than in Dallas, the heart of football country? Texans live for the fall football season. Even a local high school game drew 15,000 fans Friday evening.
On Saturday, the Jayhawks poured onto the field shortly before 6 p.m. and appeared hungry for a road win and a strong start to the season. Fireworks filled the sky after the national anthem and goose bumps seemed the norm, as if something big was going to happen.
It did. SMU scored 24 points faster than the thermometer hit 105.
I had a sunburn from swimming Saturday afternoon, but that was no big deal. Surely the new football season would take my mind off the unfavorable skin condition. But then SMU went on a tear, and the excursion to Dallas that was supposed to be fun suddenly wasn't.
Frustration and disbelief set in as visions of last year's San Diego State debacle danced in my head. These bad things that were happening to the Jayhawks were devastating to the Kansas contingent at SMU.
Supposedly about 3,000 Jayhawk fans were at the game. And judging by the noise Kansas fans made before SMU touched the ball, the estimate was accurate.
It was great to see so many fans on the road following the Jayhawks in something other than basketball. Unfortunately, the Hawks have had a hard time keeping a solid football fan base in the past. If teams aren't in a national championship hunt, fair-weather fans tend to iump ship abruptly.
Hopefully those in attendance Saturday will help fill Memorial Stadium this season. If most of those Kansas fans drove from Lawrence for the game, surely they'll be on hand in two weeks when the 'Hawks play host to Alabama-Brimingham on Sept. 16.
One Jayhawk fan at the SMU game might want to take some time off, though.
The supporter, who probably had some strong beverages before the game, was informing Mustang fans near him about former receiver Michael Chandler's infamous gunshot wound to the groin from last year.
When the Jayhawks finally scored, the apparently uneducated fan encouraged everyone to "wave the wind," instead of the usually preferred waving of the wheat
Oh well, it was something to laugh about in an otherwise rough evening. And hopefully, future Kansas games this year won't need laughs to break up the monotony of being on the losing side of the scoreboard.
The Jayhawks still have so much football left, but a golden opportunity to start on the road with a win, especially with such fan support, was incredibly wasted.
Linberger is a Washington, Kau., senior in journalism.
Loss doesn't deter Jayhawks
Kansas defensive back Carl Nesmith could only watch the action Saturday in Dallas after he was suspended from playing for violating a team code of conduct. Photo by Matt J. Daugherty/KANSAN
Practices become more upbeat after another road defeat
By Jason Franchuk
Kansas sports writer
sports@kansan.com
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da.
Players gently chided one another yesterday in drills, regaining the competitive spirit that had been sapped from them Saturday. Once again, after a few days of aches and pains that tend to stick around a little longer after a loss, the players were smiling and encouraging one another to get through Saturday's setback, a 31-17 loss at Southern Methodist University.
Early in practice, senior running back Moran Norris charged forward, plowing through teammates. Onlookers cheered. Coach Terry Allen, who normally allows his assistants to do the majority of boosting and scolding, even clapped.
Life goes on.
And senior safety Carl Nesmith, the team's vocal center, is back after sitting out Saturday for breaking a conduct rule sometime before the season started.
"The Butcher Shop was closed last week." Nesmith said, "It's open now."
week," Nesmith said. "It's open now. Nesmith presented the Butcher Shop theme at the Big 12 Conference Media Day in Kansas City, Mo., but was arrested later that night for an outstanding warrant of driving with a suspended license, which is speculated to be the reason Nesmith did not play in the opener. But just like his teammates, he's back and ready to play again.
"I think I could have helped a lot," he said. "I don't know about winning because it still takes 22 guys. I think
the guys needed some inspiration."
So now Nesmith can help Kansas carve through its schedule.
After this week's bye, Kansas plays Alabama-Birmingham and Southern Illinois at home before hitting the road again at Oklahoma. The Jayhawks are 1-15 on the road under Terry Allen.
The trick for Kansas right now is to convince itself that it can make up ground after what could have been a momentum-building win to start the season.
But the Jayhawks are sick of dwelling on another road opportunity that slipped away:
Out of anybody, Garcia should be able to stay optimistic despite Saturday's game. The senior nailed a 23-yard field goal and both extra-point attempts.
"The season is still young," said kicker Joe Garcia. "We still have 10 games to play."
One small step for Garcia's foot, one large step for his psyche after missing 11 of 18 field goals last year along with two extra point attempts. Garcia also missed four of eight of his field goals that were within 30 yards.
"He made them." Allen said. "That's all you can ask."
Besides Garcia, Allen mentioned newcomer Roger Ross and defensive back Andrew Davison as standouts. Ross, a transfer from Garden City Community College, caught a team high four passes for 61 yards. Davison, who struggled like Garcia last year, played solid in the secondary.
But now Kansas is left to convince itself that there's still so much to play for, and that it does not matter that it is 0-1 instead of 1-0. Allen said that practice Monday, Kansas 'first since it returned to Lawrence, was sluggish. But yesterday's practice showed improvement.
"Kids sometimes are a little more resilient than the coaches," Allen said.
Edited by Warisa Chulindra
Junior Holly LaMere sets the ball. Kansas will play tonight at 7 p.m.
at Hornsby Family Athletic Center. Photo by Aaron Lindberg / KANSAN
'Hawks to face Shockers in team's home opener
Flying high with a 30 start after the Purdue Mortar Board Premier Tournament last weekend, the Kansas volleyball team teams in familiar territory with its home opener at 7 p.m. tonight against Wichita State.
By Sarah Warren sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportwriter
A happy homecoming for the 'Hawks is likely, as they
A happy homecoming for the Haw. haven't lost a home opener since 1992.
The Jayhawks, in contrast, finished 17-14 and set a new school record by winning eight Big 12 Conference matches last season.
But Kansas coach Ray Bechard is still skeptical, even though the last time these two teams met, the Jayhawks swept the Shockers 15-10, 15-2, 15-6.
While on paper tonight's match seems to be just a beefed-up practice, Bechard and his team won't let this one slide by.
"We beat them last year, but they were at a point in their season when they weren't doing so well." Bechard said. "They have a new coach this
"I just know we have to come out and play them like we'd play any other team," said Molly LaMere, junior setter. "We're going to give it all."
"Ijust know we have to come out and play them like we'd play any other team. We're going to give it all."
Molly LaMere
said. They have a new Coach and this season, and I'm sure he's doing a good job with them."
junior setter
However, the Shockers lost their opening match to Missouri last weekend, setting them off to a 0-3 start. This comes after a 9-22 record and a ninth-place finish out of ten teams in the Missouri Valley Conference in 1999.
setter. "We're going to giv
Chris Lamb took the helm at Wichita State after a successful career at California State-Bakersfield, where he helped the volleyball team to four straight appearances in the NCAA DII division II volleyball Final Four.
The Shockers do have a pair of middle hitters that are an offensive/defensive force to be reckoned with. Junior Carrie Gerth leads the team with 26 kills on the season, while her 6-foot2 counterpart, senior Amy Smith, led the team with 40 solo blocks and 79 block assists last season.
Kansas is led by a pair of senior outside hitters, Amy Myatt and Nancy Bell, who lead the 'Hawks with 52 and
35 kills, respectively, on the season:
With tonight's opener, Richard is gearing up his team for a comeback.
"I think we're just using all week to prepare for next Wednesday," Bechard said, "which is the conference opener."
The Jayhawks will begin conference play against Colorado at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13 in Lawrence.
- Edited by Erin McDaniel
Soccer teammates learn to connect at Creighton
Bv Yoshitaka Ebisawa
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
After suffering two consecutive losses, the Kansas women's soccer team bounced back and defeated Creighton 4-1 Monday in Omaha. Neb.
The more they understand one another, the better they play.
Coach Mark Francis said the team had a meeting at its hotel Sunday to discuss what they could do to improve its performance on the field.
The key to success was connection.
"I think that made the difference." Francis said about the meeting. "Also, they were just tired of losing, and I think players really picked it up."
Junior forward Natalie Hoogveld agreed.
"We were in control of the game, winning the game comfortably and then we blew it."
Mark Francis
women's soccer coach
"That meeting was important because it helped a lot of newcomers get to know the older people," she said. "I think the couple of games we struggled, we've been learning new formation, just learning to understand each other and how we play on the field."
Hoogweld had a goal and two assists in Monday's game, but seemed to care more about the team than her individual performance.
Kansas opened the season strongly on Aug. 25 with a 3-0 victory against Northwestern, but didn't play well in a 4-0 loss against Illinois two days later. Francis said that except for two or three players, the team looked tired. He thought the same Kansas team that had dominated Northwestern didn't show up on the field for the game against Illinois.
"I got some results, so I guess that's a good thing," she said. "We connected a lot of things, and I just happened to be there for the goals."
Although the Jayhawks lost to St. Louis University 3-2 Friday, they pushed the defending Conference USA champion hard and almost upset the Bidikens.
"The team definitely got better," Francis said. "We actually played well on Friday. They were probably the best team we've
played.
"We were in control of the game, winning the game comfortably and then we blew it. Even though we played well Friday, I think everybody was very disappointed how we lost."
Francis said the Creighton victory was a big boost to the 'Hawks self-esteem.
we scored four goals and created a lot of chances," he said. "So I think that's going to give the team confidence."
The Jayhawks would like to accomplish two goals this year: Making the Big 12 Conference tournament and breaking a winning record. Hoogveld said achieving the goals was realistic for this year's team.
"I think we have everything we need," she said. "We've got the players to do it. We just have to connect on the field."
—Filled In by Anne Bouldick
—Edited by Amy Randolph
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