INSIDE: Kansas men's basketball recruit signs with Kentucky. SEE PAGE 7A INSIDE: Kansas football captain Nate Dwyer ready for Buffs. SEE PAGE 7A
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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
Brandon
Stinnett
Columnist
sportsakansan.com
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2001
Sports help nation deal with losses
Educators often challenge students to think outside the box, to use reason beyond the usual scope of reason. Funny thing is, no one ever explains exactly what the box is.
As I understand it, the box is the sum of all the knowledge and beliefs one has acquired in one's life. It is the culmination of philosophies and wisdom learned from parents, pastors, friends and Oprah.
For most, the box is a comfort zone, a familiar place that allows us to interpret and understand life. For instance, my box tells me to watch football on Saturdays. It also says not to drink pop late at night or eat too much candy.
For every obstacle and dilemma I've faced, my box has had an answer. But last Tuesday, my box stopped talking.
That was the day terrorists stole the lives of more than 5,000 people. There isn't a box in this world that can help deal with something like that. And, while I'd like to think that after a week of mourning and a whole lot of Dan Rather, things would start to feel normal again — it just isn't so.
Remember headlines that made news in the days leading up to the attacks? The Jayhaws had just been whipped by UCLA. Kansas players Mario Kinsey and Reggie Duncan had been named suspects in a purse theft. A story about a new radio station on the Internet made the top of the University Daily Kansan's front page.
Now, the news is filled with images of terror and loss. There's talk of war and revenge and no one knows what comes next.
But in the midst of all this chaos, there still are sports.
After six days off, Major League Baseball is playing again. The NFL will resume play on Sunday, and NCAA football games start again tonight.
People will turn to sports as an outlet, a way to ease tension and pain. It's the right thing to do. Life won't stop after this tragedy, nor should it. But one thing is certain: watching the Jayhawks play Colorado on Saturday or the Kansas City Chiefs/New York Giants game on Sunday will not be the same.
Overcoming that feeling won't be easy. There's no guide to dealing with things of this magnitude. No professor's theory or chapter in a textbook teaches how to deal with what happened.
No game-winning catch or fourthquarter comeback can provide solace in the wake of the tragedy. The importance once placed on sporting events seems trivial. Most everything does.
Time is the only remedy.
It will take awhile, maybe months — maybe years — but sports will regain the role it once had in our lives. Americans will still gather around televisions to watch the Super Bowl. Students still will obsess on Kansas basketball. Life will slip closer and closer back to the way it was before.
But until that happens, sports will carry a new significance. Instead of being a matter of life and death, they will be a break from matters of life and death.
Priorities have a way of changing in times of crisis — at least that's what my box used to say.
Stinnett is a Shawnee senior in journalism and psychology.
'Hawks stall Cyclones for win
10-0 volleyball team continues record start
By Steve Laurenzo Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks defeated the Iowa State Cyclones last night, 3-1, at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center.
The Kansas volleyball team is off to its best start in program history with 10-0 record
The Jayhawks dominated game one, 30-17, but had to battle through the next three games.
They lost the second game, 30-25, but were able to fend off an improved Iowa State squad, narrowly winning the final two games, 30-25 and 30-28.
Coach Ray Bechard said the team knew it was facing a different Iowa State squad than last year's 2-27 team.
"They've got a renewed enthusiasm and a renewed confidence," Bechard said. "They felt when they came in here tonight they could win. That was unlike last year."
The Jayhawks had several chances to put the Cyclones away early in game four, leading 24-15 midway through the game. However, the Cyclones drew the match out to the end.
"Game four I was really disappointed," Bechard said.
"With a lead like that you shouldn't have to sweat out a game and rally. We didn't do some of the things we normally do. I was a little bit disappointed in our passing, sometimes we were out of system and really scrambling."
Junior middle blocker Kylie Thomas said the Jayhawks knew what they were up against.
"We were expecting them to be better than last year, so we came out and tried to play our hardest," she said. "I think everybody knew that we had to step it up tonight because we're starting conference play."
"I told the girls there was a lot to be proud of there," he said. "But there is also another sentiment tonight that that wasn't our best effort from an execution standpoint. But, in this conference you don't ever take winning for granted. Ten wins in a row is a great way to start. Now we'll head down to Norman and see if we can't make it 11."
As for the Jayhawks record start of 10-0, Bechard said he was happy for the team but that there were other concerns about their play.
The Jayhawks' next match is against Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Saturday in Norman, Okla.
Contact Laurenzo at 864-4858
Abby Jacobson, freshman outside hitter, goes up for a hit while Kylie Thomas, junior middle blocker, covers Jacobson in the match against Iowa State.
LINDSEY MURRELL/KANSAN
Receiver's future remains in question
By Brent Briggeman Kansan sportswriter
Hill may return next season if unable to play
Harrison Hill is struggling to sleep at night.
Not only is the Kansas wide receiver in constant pain from a shoulder that is broken in four places, but he's also wrestling with a decision about his future.
Hill's options are clear cut: try
to return from his shoulder injury for the last few games of this season or petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.
"Right now I just don't know what I'll do," said Hill, a senior captain from Wichita. "I'll know a lot more in two weeks when I get another CAT scan."
Hill injured his shoulder just two minutes into the Jayhawks' 41-17 loss to UCLA on Sept. 8. Hill was returning the game's first punt toward the Kansas sideline
when he got knocked out-of-bounds by a UCLA defender.
"He just hit me with his helmet or shoulder pad. It didn't even knock me down," Hill said of the hit that caused what he called a "spider web" fracture in his left shoulder.
After receiving three different opinions, doctors told Hill the injury would likely cause him to sit out anywhere from six to 10 weeks.
anything like it, so they don't know how long it will take to heal," Hill said.
"They haven't really seen
If he is unable to play a substantial amount the rest of this season, Hill said he would try to come back for one more year. However, he will graduate in December, so staying longer would require him to take graduate classes. Hill's undergraduate degree will be in psychology, but he hasn't decided on a graduate field of study.
Further complicating the issue is Hill's long-term goal: to play in the NFL. Without ample time to show his skills, he doubts NFL teams will give him a look.
"I won't get invited to the combine or drafted if my only game this year is against Southwest Missouri State," he said.
Hill hasn't decided how many games it would take to get him back on the field this year.
SEE HILL PAGE 7A
Jayhawk golfers battle more than just Big 12
Teams define season by district play, regional rivals
By John Domoney Kansan sportswriter
Most Jayhawk supporters would agree that one is located to the northwest in Manhattan, while the other is just down Interstate 70 in Columbia, Mo. That is not to mention that Kansas wages war with nine other teams in the Big 12 Conference on a yearly basis
It's never been hard to identify Kansas' main rivals in athletic competition.
Team rivalry can be an afterthought in a sport in which there are no hungry tacklers aiming for your knees or long-armed defenders lunging at your shot. In golf, a
But does Kansas have any rivalries in men's and women's golf?
"The hardest thing to do is not play other people." said junior Chris Marshall. "You must overcome all the things in the back of your head while playing the golf course and yourself. You can't pay attention to what others do, and I just focus on my game and the golf course."
player's main opponent is himself.
Beyond battling their own inner feelings and demons, golfers look to the course as their challenge.
Just as defenders attempt to halt players' progress, the golf course creates barriers in the form of sand bunkers and unforgiving greens.
"It's the challenge put forward by the course," men's coach Ross Randall said. "The added pressure is the competition because you're playing players from other teams, and you don't want to lose to them."
SEE RIVALS PAGE 7A
Jill MacDonald, junior, tees off during team practice at Alvamar Golf Club. The team is preparing for a dual meet with Kansas State Sept. 26.
J. E. WILSON/KANSAN
MLB
Chicago 10
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Pittsburgh
2
St. Louis
8
Milwaukee 2
MLB
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Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens became the first pitcher in major league history to go 20-1, the best start on record. Clemens struck out just one batter in 6 1/3 innings and became the oldest pitcher in 42 years to win 20 games.
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