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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 editor@kansan.com
Commentary
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2001
Brandon Stinnett Columnist sportsokansan.com
Local teams don't satisfy fans' desire
In times of national crisis, people, me included, want a team to root for, a team to push their hopes and dreams upon.
I'd like to write a cheerful, shamelessly gushy column urging fans to blithely shower their praise and admiration on a local sports team.
I'd talk about the team's heart and courage and its legitimate shot at a conference or even a national championship.
Then reality sets in. There's no team within 60 miles of Lawrence that is any good. There is no local team on the collegiate or professional level worth our excitement or our hearts.
A closer examination of area teams provides proof.
The most fitting example of ineptitude among local sports teams resides at the University of Kansas. The Kansas football team, fresh off a gutsy and spirited performance on the road against Colorado, embodies everything that isn't exciting and wonderful about local sports.
The Jayhawks kept close to the Buffaloes for three quarters and even led 16-13 early in the fourth quarter before falling, 27-16. The outcome wasn't surprising. Nobody who watched Kansas play its first two games thought a victory against Colorado was likely.
Let's not forget that one year ago Kansas beat these same Buffaloes, who at the time were 1-5. The seemingly easy 23-15 victory at Memorial Stadium prompted many jubilant fans to rush the field and rip at the goal posts.
At the time, I was offended, thinking it was foolish for Kansas fans to react in such a way after beating a hapless Big 12 Conference rival. If you recall, the Jayhawks had beaten them the last time the two teams played in Lawrence.
Now it makes sense. No wonder Jayhawk fans celebrated with such fervor after beating Colorado. In the Terry Allen era, that's as good as it gets. Loyal fans saw a rare opportunity to celebrate their team's success and seized it. Who can blame them? Victories in the Big 12 don't come along very often.
Heck, it has gotten so bad that no one was the least bit surprised to see Kansas lose to Colorado on Saturday, even though both teams entered with identical 1-1 records, and Kansas had beaten the Buffaloes in two of its previous three meetings.
Sports fans looking for solace won't find it with other local teams, either. The Kansas City Royals, as usual, sit last in the American League Central and have been out of the Major League Baseball playoff hunt since the season began in April.
The Kansas City Chiefs, once a proud franchise that made the NFL playoffs each year, are coming off a 7-9 season and is 0-2 after losing to the New York Giants on Sunday.13-3.
The team closest to Lawrence that is worthy of our affection is the one team Kansas students can't root for. The Kansas State Wildcats are 3-0 and fresh off a 64-0 shellacking of New Mexico State. K-State looks strong and has a legitimate shot at the Big 12 championship. But rooting for the Wildcats is like rooting for Darth Vader in Star Wars.
Kansas students in dire need of a team to root for have to look elsewhere.
Stinnett is a Shawnee senior in journalism and Psychology
'Mario's going to make it happen'
After game two, QB controversy ends with Kinsey
By Jeff Denton Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Terry Allen said in early August that he would choose a clear-cut starting quarterback by the Sept. 22 away game against Colorado.
It took 60 minutes of watching one player Saturday to convince the fifthyear coach to make freshman Mario Kinsey the final answer.
After watching his team collapse in the second half Saturday during its 27-16 loss to the Buffaloes, Allen ended the quarterback controversy. Kinsey will control the starting quarterback reins for the rest of the season instead of sophomore Zach Dyer, Allen said.
"What can you say?" Allen said to a slew of reporters crammed in a small room adjacent to the visiting locker room at Colorado's Folsom Field. "Mario's a young player but a skilled player. There's no question about that. He's got some quickness, and obviously he can throw the football. He's going to be a very good player."
Dyer could have played through the pain Saturday, Allen said, but he stuck with Kinsey for the whole game because he thought that the freshman's presence on the field was the best way for his team to capture its second win of the season.
"Mario's going to make it happen," Allen said. "We've got to live and die with what Mario can do for us."
In Kinsey's first career college start, he completed 12 passes in 25 attempts for 165 yards and a touchdown. He managed 36 yards rushing on 19 tries despite being sacked four times for a loss of 22 yards. Kinsey also showed flashes
of the athleticism and ability for which his coach has praised him all season.
On Kansas' first drive of the game, Kinsey rolled out to his left on second down and five. With his body facing the Jayhawks sidelines, he stopped suddenly, planted his feet toward downfield, and fired a 45-yard completion to senior wide receiver Termaine Fulton. He showed composure when he rifled a 38-yard touchdown to senior Roger Ross. Just after letting the ball go, Kinsey was ransacked by two Buffaloes.
Both plays came in the first half. Kinsey was dumbfounded about how the Kansas offense crumbled in the game's last two quarters, during which it produced 76 yards of total offense.
"In the first half, we were really mixing it up with the run and the pass," Kinsey said. "I really liked that. When I came in after the game, I just tried to think to myself what made the difference in the second half. I don't want to say that we went away from what worked, but in a way we did."
Kinsey said that the lack of offensive variety in the second half killed the momentum Kansas had carried into the break when it led 13-10.
"We came out in the second half and had some drives when we ran the ball three straight times," he said. "Then we had some times when we passed the ball three straight times. I think that hurt us a lot."
Despite the loss, Kinsey was relieved that the quarterback controversy had ended. Kansas has a rough road of Big 12 Conference opponents after taking its bye week Sept. 29, but it has its starting quarterback situation set for the first time since last fall.
"It loosens me up a lot knowing that if I make a mistake the coaches won't pull me," he said. "I think it's going to be best for the team that we go with one quarterback."
Contact Denton at 864-4858
LAUREN SISK/NARAM
Red-shirt freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey runs for a short gain against Colorado last Saturday. The Jayhawks lost 26-17, dropping its second straight.
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Soccer players' aim to set team records
Hilla Rantala, senior forward, fights for control against a North Texas defender in Kansas' season opener. Rantala set a single season record Sunday with her seven goal. Rantala tied the career mark for the Jayhawks with 12.
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Senior forwards start season with impressive scores
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas soccer team is just six games into the season, and already, Hilla Rantala is gathering team records.
The senior forward has been a key factor in the team's best start in school history, 4-2. She scored seven of the team's 15 goals this season, breaking the previous record of six, which was co-owned by senior forward Natalie Hoogveld and three former Jayhawks.
"When Hilla is healthy like she is right now, she's dangerous," said coach Mark Francis.
Rantala is also within one point of the single-season scoring record of 16, which she set in 1999.
After scoring three goals in the San Diego State Invitational, Rantala was named player of the week by the Big 12 Conference, the fourth Jayhawk to receive that honor. Hoogveld was the last to earn it in October 1999.
Rantala and Hoogveld have their sights on becoming the alltime leading scorer. Former Jayhawk Colleen Colvin has the 36-pound record. Hoogveld, with
three goals and one assist this season, has moved within two points.
Rantala, who transferred from the University of South Alabama before her junior year, has 32 career points.
Still, Rantala said that rewriting the record books was not her main concern.
"It was never my goal to come here and break records," she said.
The Jayhawks begin conference play on Friday with a home game against Oklahoma.
Contact Wood at 864-4858
Talented club soccer team off to a strong start
By Jessica Scott
Kansan sportswriter
An unexpectedly cool weekend did not affect the sizzling Kansas men's club soccer team.
After tying Wichita State 1-1 on Saturday, Kansas returned to its home field on Sunday to face Pittsburg State. This time the Jayhawks (3-0-2) finished off the Gorillas 3-2. A match against rival Kansas State is set for this weekend in Manhattan.
The Jayhawks belong to the Mid-Continent Soccer League
with Missouri, Pittsburg State, Wichita State, Central Missouri, Kansas State and Northwest Missouri. The season begins early in the fall semester and, providing they make it to nationals, could consist of more than 20 games. Last season Kansas was regional runner-up and attended nationals in Texas, where the team took ninth place.
The team, which plays its home games at Super Target Field, consists of 19 undergraduates and one graduate student. To stay on the team, athletes must pass at least nine hours of college classes. The 20-player roster was formed from a field of more 65 athletes who tried out at two-a-days during the first week of school.
Coach Matt McCune can identify easily with his players. After playing on the team years earlier, McCune went on to play for professional teams such as the Minnesota Thunder and the Colorado Rapids. He
began his first season with optimism as Kansas' coach.
Forward Jimah Rogers, a fourth-year student from Liberia, Africa, came to the United States to play collegiate soccer. After two years at Johnson County Community College, he was on his way to play at the University of New Mexico until an injury forced him to alter his plans.
"I blew my knee out last year," Rogers said. "Next school year I'll try to go to New
Mexico again or somewhere on the East Coast.
Until then, the club team continues to serve as an outlet for talented athletes to stay involved with soccer.
"When I came to KU, I decided to try out for the club team," said Joey Rayl, sophomore left-midfielder. "I can't imagine going to school and not playing soccer."
Contact Scott at 864-4810