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10A
SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TALK TO US: Contact Jay Krall or Sarah Warren at (785) 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
Commentary
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2001
Michael
Rigg
Columnist
sportsukansan.com
Bad choices mar sports at Kansas
I must be the worst athlete in the history of mankind.
Every Sunday for the past four months, I drove to Overland Park the first stop on the way to the National Hockey League: men's recreational ice hockey. Bad idea.
Four months, a few hundred dollars, and all I have to show for my new sport is a busted thumb, an aching rear end and a strange rash that my pads give me.
Forget about the NHL. I worry every week that my league organizer is going to come up to me and say, "Mike, the hockey gods called, and they really don't think that you should play anymore."
So in honor of my dishonor to the sport of hockey, I give you the worst five ideas in the history of Kansas sports.
5. Necessary Roughness: Ten years ago, somebody called the Athletics Department, and made this pitch.
Movie director: Okay. We've got this movie we're making, you see, about a horrible football team that's going to lose to a bunch of made up colleges, but we're looking for a real school that they can almost beat. Could you guys be that terrible team that almost loses to this band of misfits?
Athletics Department: Sure.
Sounds great.
Movie Director: Oh, one more thing. We cast Kathy Ireland to be the kicker, and we need a Jayhawk to try and attack her at the end of the game, only to be kicked in the crotch
Athletics Department: A Kansas player getting kicked in the crotch in a major motion picture? Where do we sign?
4. DeShawn heads to the NBA:
I know that this topic has already been well covered this year, but one time Kansas recruit DeShawn Stevenson was picked up during the summer for having sex with a 14-year-old.
Stevenson, who went to the NBA instead of college, has surely regretted his decision. Instead of honing his game — and life — under the tutelage of Roy Williams, Stevenson had to plea bargain his way out of the pen. Nice call. DeShawn.
3. Men's intramural football: So I was watching some intramural games the other day, (the television was broken, and I didn't want to resort to human interaction for entertainment) and I realized what a joke this was.
It was 16 guys who think that they're in the NFL running no-huddle offenses, yelling at the officials and generally making morons out of themselves. Seriously, guys. Settle down or don't play.
2. Talk of a new basketball arena: Need I say more than "Naismith Court at Sprint Fieldhouse?"
1. Jersey Retirement: At Allen Fieldhouse, the names and numbers of Jayhawk greats are hanging from the rafters. But the numbers of players such as Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning aren't retired, their jerseys are. So anybody can wear, say, Chamberlain's number 13 — such as Jeff Boschee.
I don't understand why Kansas doesn't retire jersey numbers like everybody else. But I don't understand a lot of things in my life right now,including ice hockey.
Rigg is a Greenwood Village, Colo., senior in broadcast news.
Tigers nip'Hawks at home
Loss marks the end of team's perfect home record
By Steve Laurenzo
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team's perfect home record came to an end last night as the Jayhawks fell to the Missouri Tigers at Horejsi Family Athletic Center.
The Jayhawks took game two on the strength of a 10-0 run, winning 30-21, but lost games one, three and four, 30-21, 30-25 and 30-17.
But despite the loss, sophomore outside hitter Abbie Jacobson had her third outstanding game in a row. She led the Jayhawks with 11 kills and added nine digs.
"She's still trying to feel her way through the game," said coach Ray Beachard. "She's got a lot of good energy, and she's very athletic. We're excited about her progress."
Bechard said the team adjusted well after a poor performance in the first game.
"Game one I was really disappointed in," Bechard said. "I just didn't think we really responded very well. I didn't think either team was necessarily sharp, but they won more of the bigger points."
After the first point, starting sophomore outside hitter Sarah Rome ran hard into the scoring table and had to leave the game. Freshman outside hitter Danielle McHenry came in for Rome. Rome returned 13 points later.
"She jolted her sternum a little bit and got her wind knocked out," Bechard said. "I think she's OK.
McHenry is very capable, so we gave her a chance and then when Abbie and Dani needed a little break, we brought Rome in. Those three players will platoon a lot. They all provide certain things for us, so they'll all get their chance in a match like tonight."
Bechard was impressed by his team's play in game two.
"We didn't give them any cheap points," Bechard said. "We really did a nice job getting them stuck in one rotation, but we needed a little bit more of that in games one and four."
After a fairly uneventful game three, the Tigers dominated the Jayhawks in game four, resulting in the most lopsided game of the match. Bechard said the Tigers played a near-perfect game.
"With just two hitting attack errors in the fourth game, they really played well, and they deserved to win," Bechard said. "They were more in system as the night went along and made adjustments better. Our staff and our team will take responsibility for that and try to bounce back."
Senior setter Molly LaMere had eight kills, following a seven-kill game against Colorado. LaMere said an offensive attack from her at the setter position could open up opportunities for her teammates.
"It just helps give our hitters on our side of the net a wider range of places to hit because the blockers have to respect me, and it opens up a lot of holes for our hitters," LaMere said.
Contact Laurenzo at 864-4858
Molly Scavuzzo, junior middle blocker, spikes the ball past Missouri defenders. Kansas was picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 this season in a preseason vote by the league's coaches.
EN-KAE CHANG/KANSAN
Kliff's notes reveal big passing yards
By Jeff Denton Kansan sportswriter
The Red Raider football team has nothing to hide—its 6-foot-4,210-pound junior is going to let the football fly this weekend against the 1-2 Jayhawks.
Kansas freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey has thrown 42 passes in two games this season. Saturday in Austin, Texas, Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury completed 40 passes.
"He's probably one of the best," said Andrew Davison, Kansas senior cornerback. "They probably got one of the best offenses in the Big 12. He should be an exciting guy to watch."
Kingsbury aired the ball out 57 times against Texas and has flung 152 passes in three games. His gaudy passing numbers have pushed him to the top of the Big 12 Conference statistical charts. His 303 yards per game, 105 completions and 69 percent completion rate are all league-
high figures. Oklahoma junior quarterback Nate Hybl has one more touchdown (six) and 36 more passing yards (946) than Kingsbury, but he also has played in one more game.
Kingsbury's climb has not wowed Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. The second-year coach has said publicly in the past few weeks that the conference's best quarterback — if not the country's — took snaps for his 2-1 football team.
Against the Longhorns, the Red Raider offense played in the hands of its quarterback. Kingsbury fielded each snap from the shotgun. Four wide receivers and a single running back gave Kingsbury five potential options on each play. Texas Tech ran the ball just eight times. The Jayhawks defensive backfield knows it has to be prepared.
"I guess you got to be excited and nervous," said sophomore cornerback Carl Ivey. "I know I'm going to be tired."
Saturday will not be the first time the
Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury let the ball fly during a previous game against the 'Hawks. Kingsbury will be a major threat during the game Saturday.
Kansas defense has seen the Red Raider torched the Kansas secondary for 405 aerial attack led by Kingsbury. Last Octo- yards on 32-48 passing and four touch ber at Memorial Stadium, Kingsbury
SEE PASSING PAGE 7A
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Top recruits cut Kansas
Texas forwards drop Jayhawks from lists
By Ryan Malashock
Kansan sportswriter
Brad Buckman, a 6-foot-8 native of Austin, Texas, who visited Kansas on Sept. 8, has narrowed his choices of schools to North Carolina and Texas. He's expected to make a decision this week concerning his future.
Two power forwards join Kentucky recruit Bernard Cote as possible recruits that have dropped the University of Kansas from their lists of schools.
"Kansas is a great school, but I wanted to narrow my list even more and don't see myself going to school there," Buckman said.
Ike Diogu, a 6-8 forward from Garland, Texas, considered Kansas for one of his official visits but narrowed his list of finalists to five this weekend, and Kansas was not one of them.
Perhaps the most talented basketball player on Kansas' list of recruits, Shavlik Randolph, will announce his college
SEE CUT PAGE 7A
Nixing by the Knicks leaves out Chenowith
By Ryan Malashock Kansan sportswriter
Former Kansas center Eric Chenowith had his rights renounced by the New York Knicks. This means that the native of Orange, Calif., will not be invited to the Knicks' training camp.
guard/forward out of Texas A&M Corpus Christi, will take Chenowith's place at training camp.
Chenowith worked out with Knicks' coaches last summer after averaging six points and three rebounds in six games for the Knicks' Summer Pro League team.
Chenowith started 25
out of Kansas' 33 games last season and averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Chenowith, one of New York's second-round picks, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Contact Malashock at 864-4858
Boston
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