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SOCCER: Soccer splits 1-1 in tournament. SEE PAGE 3B FOOTBALL: Big 12 Conference football roundup. SEE PAGE 4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
1B
MONDAY, SEPT. 24, 2001
Commentary
Aaron Fulk
Columnist
opinionkansan.com
Player should not suffer for his mistake
"Everything happens for a reason" is something you can say to comfort just about anybody in any situation. It's an explanation. It makes sense out of the senseless.
Someone might have said it to Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams last year when top recruit DeShawn Stevenson, one of Kansas' most sought after recruits for the 2000-2001 season, decided to forego college and head straight for the NBA and the Utah Jazz.
A little more than a year later, I'm sure Williams is thanksing his lucky stars as he prepares for a drama-free year, focusing on basketball and basketball alone.
However, Stevenson is concentrating on an Oct. 25 court case after being charged with a statutory rape that occurred June 6.
The charge was already reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, but it should be dismissed completely.
As the story was reported, Stevenson and his best friend and teammate in high school, DeShawn Anderson, were in Fresno, Calif., when they took a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old to a hotel where the four of them drank alcohol.
When first questioned, Stevenson admitted to officers that he did engage in sexual activity with the 14-year-old. She admitted it was consensual.
Last Thursday, the story changed. The two were facing felony charges in Fresno until the 15-year-old changed her story, and admitted she was lying about having sex with Anderson.
She said she wanted to get back at him. But Stevenson still faces a charge of statutory rape.
When the story broke, columnists wrote their opinions about how the Jazz would react.
Some of them made the case sound bad — really bad. Jazz owner Larry Miller implied that if Stevenson was found guilty, he would not be welcomed back on the team.
Many people don't see it the same way I do. I think the charges should be dropped completely.
He had turned 19 just two months before the incident occurred. The girl was 14, maybe almost 15 — her birth date was never released. That's a four- or five-year difference. That's really not that bad.
By no means do I think that a 14-year-old girl is an adult. But I do think that at 14, she is conscious of her decisions and responsible for them.
Stevenson should have known better. He should have been smarter.
But after all, he's really not all that grown up himself. He's still a kid, adjusting to a very grown-up world, just now realizing that people are watching everything he does.
In high school, at least in mine, the first day of the fall semester, the senior boys weren't paying any attention to the girls who had been there for a couple of years.
They wanted to check out the freshman girls — probably 14-year-olds — while many of those were boys at least 18.
What Stevenson did is really the same thing. But those boys aren't big-name ball players with big bank accounts, and it just wouldn't make as good a story.
Fulk is a senior in journalism.
Despite record kick,team falls again
By Jeff Denton Kansan sportswriter
Kansas football team members came out Saturday with American flag decals plastered on the backs of their helmets. But while the colors of red, white and blue shimmered under the sunny skies of Boulder, Colo., it was another flag—a yellow one—that punished the Jayhawks.
Victimized 11 times on the afternoon for 106 yards, Kansas was plagued by penalties that opened up doors for Colorado to run its way to a 27-16 victory in front of 47.495 at Folsom Field.
"We had quite a few penalties on both sides of the ball," said Kansas coach Terry Allen after watching his team drop its fourth consecutive Big 12 Conference opener. "A week off may have made people play a little sloppy. But when the flags start to fly they are going to keep flying."
Colorado was also infected by the penalty epidemic — the Buffaloes had 10 miscues on the day
but they only committed three penalties after halftime. Colorado coach Gary Barnett
said a week off led to some of the sloppiness.
"The first thing you have to say is that it looked like we took two weeks off," Barnett said. "We lost some of our crispeness, but we haven't played any harder than we played today."
Kansas started its first drive with freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey directing a madeover offense that replaced the no-huddle shotgun offense Kansas had stuck with during its first two games.
As they did in their 24-point loss to UCLA on Sept. 8, the Jayhawks scored first.
But the new offense moved the football.
After Kinsey broke from a Colorado pass rush on an 11-yard jaunt on third and 15, Kansas sent out freshman kicker Johnny Beck to attempt a field goal. Beck, who is a perfect five for five on the year, booted a 41-yarder that grazed the left upright before falling through for three points.
Things looked good early for the Javhaws.
did." Allen said. "The kids played hard and they played competitive; we can be a pretty good football team."
"People didn't expect us to come out and play the way we
With just under three minutes gone by in the second quarter, Kinsey found senior wide receiver Roger Ross crossing the field on a deep slant. He fired the ball to Ross for a 38-yard touchdown. It was Kinsey's first career touchdown pass for Kansas.
The touchdown deadlocked Kansas and Colorado at 10.
After exchanging possessions during the next 12 minutes, the Jayhawks had the football at the end of a physical first half. After running toward the middle of the field on third and long, the Jayhawks sent out their field goal team.
With the wind behind him, Beck would be attempting more than just a 59-yard field goal. He would be attempting to make history.
He booted the football with his right foot, sailing it high and deep through the Colorado sky. The kick was good — the longest field goal ever at Folsom Field and the second longest kick in Kansas history. Dan Eichloff made a 61-yard field goal in 1992.
Junior offensive tackle Justin Sands battles with Colorado outside linebacker Drew Wahlroos as sophomore runningback Reggie Duncan finds a hole. The Jayhawks lost 26-17 Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field in Boulder, Co.
"With a tie game and the crowd going, you have to find a way to silence them," Beck said. "All I had to do was get the ball in the air. I think I hit it excellent,
probably one of the best balls I ever hit."
SEE LOSS ON PAGE 3B
Leading by a field goal at half.
Receiver finds familiar faces in Colorado
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Kansas junior linebacker Leo Etienne brings down Colorado tailback Cortlen Johnson as three more linebackers, senior Algie Atkinson, sophomore Glenn Robinson and senior Marcus Rogers, approach. Johnson gained 113 yards on eight carries in the game Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's football game is homecoming for family and friends
By Jeff Denton
Kansan sportswriter
More than 47,000 fans packed into Folsom Field on Saturday afternoon to watch Kansas and Colorado battle in the Big 12 Conference opener for both schools.
For Jayhawk wide receiver Roger Ross, only 70 of these people mattered — his friends and family who saw him play in his home state as a Jayhawk
Sept. 22 marked the homecoming for the Jayhawks' 5-foot-19, 190-pound senior, who grew up in Denver and played high school football with a handful of Colorado players.
"I enjoyed playing at CU," Ross said. "It motivated me that they were all out there to watch me play. It was fun out there."
And Ross was motivated to perform when freshman quarterback, Mario Kinsey, needed him the most.
With 12:03 to play in the second quarter, Kinsey dropped back to pass on third down and seven. As two Colorado defenders converged on the Kansas quarterback, Kinsey zipped the ball over the middle to a sprinting Ross. The ball hit Ross' outstretched hands at the Colorado 20-yard line.
He caught the pass in traffic, ricocheted off Buffalo defensive back Medford Moorer, and raced the rest of the way for a 38-yard touchdown reception.
"As soon as I caught it, I cried the football and used my body," Ross said. "I bounced off and saw the end zone."
Ross also excelled on special teams.
Ross also excelled on special teams.
Late in the third quarter, when the game was tied at 13, Ross dropped back to receive a Colorado punt at the 49-yard line of Kansas.
SEE ROSS ON PAGE 3B
Volleyball team ends 10-0 streak with loss to Oklahoma
By Steve Laurenzo
Kansas sportwriter
The Jayhawks, now 10-1, suffered their first loss of the season to the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners, now 2-9, defeated the Jayhawks in four tight games: 30-24, 27-30, 29-31, 28-30.
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team's record-setting streak came to an end Saturday at the University of Oklahoma Field House in Norman, Okla.
Both teams are now 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play. Kansas joined Texas A&M as the only
The Jayhawks led the Sooners in kills, 61-54, and digs, 80-67. However, Kansas had 39 hitting errors and seven service errors. Those mistakes resulted in 46 of Oklahoma's 115 points.
teams that have lost to Oklahoma.
"Our hitting errors and service errors were a big problem for us tonight," Bechard said. "Anytime you give an opponent over 40 percent of their points, it's going to be tough, especially on
Kansas coach Ray Bechard was disappointed in his team's play.
the road. We relaxed a little bit after the first game and you just can't do that in this conference and expect to win."
The Jayhawks also struggled to contain a threesome of Oklahoma outside hitters. Oklahoma sophomore Logan Pierce, junior Denise Griffin and junior Lindsey Hoyt each had double-digit kill totals. Hoyt and Pierce added 15 and 13 digs, respectively.
For Kansas, senior setter Molly LaMere recorded a match-high 47 assists and was one of six Jayhawks with 10 or more digs. LaMere said the Jayhawks simply didn't get the job done.
"There were some things that we could have done better tonight," LaMere said. "We just didn't execute the way we needed to. Give Oklahoma credit — they took advantage of everything we gave them."
Junior middle blocker Molly Scavuzzo totaled 15 kills, 11 digs and one block. Freshman outside hitter Danielle McHenry added 12 kills and 13 digs in the loss. The loss was Bechard's first to Oklahoma since coming to Kansas in 1998.
The Jayhawks' next game is against Texas at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Austin, Texas.
Notion:
Kansas' home opener against Missouri, which was postponed after the terrorist attacks, has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 1. The game originally was scheduled for Sept. 12.
The postponed match against Baylor in Waco, Texas, which was scheduled for Sept. 15, has not yet been rescheduled.
Contact Laurenzo at 864-4858.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Braves 5
Mets
MAJORLEAGUE BASEBALL
4
10
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Pirates
Pirates 2
Cardinals
NFL
1
NY Giants 13
Chiefs
Chiefs 3
NFL
Rams 30
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49ers 26