INSIDE: Big 12 football teams eager to see action. SEE PAGE 2B. Inside: Crossword. SEE PAGE 4B.
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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2001
Commentary
Brandon Stinnett Sports Columnist sportsskansan.com
Kansas is OK on traditions, but tailgating is bad idea
Ever thought that storied Jayhawk traditions like Allen Fieldhouse and the Rock Chalk chant didn't get the respect they deserved?
In an article titled "The Rating Game," $ SI $ writers give props to two of Kansas' most well-known traditions. The article listed the most underrated and overrated people, places and things in sports. It called Allen Fieldhouse the most underrated college basketball arena, citing its prime on-campus location and ample student seating sections.
Sports Illustrated thinks so.
Leonard Hansen, Edmond, Okla., sophomore, leads a group of cross country runners through their first jawt on the river trails of the season.
The Rock Chalk chant was listed as the most underrated rallying cry. SI's Grant Wahl wrote, "Listen to it only once at a packed Allen Fieldhouse before a Jayhawks' basketball game and try not to get goose bumps."
Elsewhere in college sports, "Boomer Sooner" was named the most overrated rallying cry (take that Oklahoma fans), and the Heisman Trophy was named college football's most overrated award.
Excuse me for being skeptical about the effect of allowing beer sales in or around Memorial Stadium will have on attendance at Kansas football games. They sell beer at Kauffman Stadium, and attendance at Royals games is still dreadfully low.
While selling alcohol outside the stadium might increase revenue a bit, the only way to increase attendance is for the Jayhawks to start winning games. Of course, beer would give fans a way to numb the pain from inevitable Kansas defeats.
I've got another sure-fire way to bolster attendance and revenue at Kansas football games this season. Let the first 25 fans in attendance play quarterback for one play while Kansas has the ball in the first half.
Until yesterday, and the suspension of a player who shall go nameless, the Jayhawks had a quarterback controversy thanks to coach Terry Allen's decision to shuffle between Mario Kinsey and Zach Dyer during the first three games of the season.
But the truth is it shouldn't have mattered who the Jayhawk quarterback is. With new offensive coordinator Rip Scherer's plan to implement the no-huddle offense and a shotgun formation on first down, the Jayhawks should be able to score at will, regardless of who takes the snaps.
Never mind that Kansas averaged just 23.7 points per game last season — eighth in the Big 12 Conference and 77th in the country. Back up the quarterback a few yards and start calling plays at the line of scrimmage, and suddenly the Kansas offense is an efficient, touchdown-scoring machine. Sounds like a plan.
Good columnists often make bold predictions in their inaugural column to show readers they're not afraid to take a stand. I, too, am not afraid. Bold Prediction One: No Rose Bowl for the Kansas football team this season. Bold Prediction Two: If the Jayhawks don't start winning games, Allen's job might be in jeopardy by the end of the season.
Cross country team looks for guidance from veterans
Stinnett is a Shawnee senior in journalism
Team learns lessons from last season, hopes to improve
By Matt Norton Kansan sportswriter
Despite tough competition within the Big 12 Conference, both the Kansas men's and women's cross country teams stand to improve on last year's finishes in the Big 12 and District 5 championships, said head coach Stan Redwine.
All five scorers from last season's conference meet in Boulder, Colo., return to both squads, and Redwine hopes to better the men's sixth place and women's 11th place finishes.
"I think both programs did improve dramatically last year but we want to continue that," Redwine said. "That improvement is definitely not a resting place."
Redwine said the runners learned some lessons last year that he thought would continue to pay off for them this season.
"I think they learned last year that they can achieve if they go out and give that effort," he said. "As long as there is excitement within the team and they're having fun it is achievable."
Redwine and assistant coach Doug Clark took over the program just over a year ago, and Clark said he thought the athletes were much more comfortable with what was expected from them coming into this season.
"They're a lot better prepared mentally and physically for what we expect," Clark said. "If we needed to do something different last year, that would have been to prepare better before the season started."
"I couldn't be happier with the way things are going," Clark said.
Senior Brent Behrens stayed in Lawrence over the summer and said
his summer preparation had gone well.
Running a little over sixty miles a week now, Behrens said he would up that to about 75 later in the season.
That's slightly lower than his regimen last year. Behrens said he believed a steady, smart approach to
"Personally, I'd like to be all-conference and make nationals as an individual," Behrens said.
his training would lead him to his lofty goals for this season.
SEE HOPES PAGE 2B
Two players suspended, yanked from Sept.1 game
By Jeff Denton
Kansan sportswriter
Starting sophomore running back Reggie Duncan and freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey have been suspended for Saturday's season opener against Southwest Missouri State for violating team rules, coach Terry Allen said in a statement released yesterday.
Janay Leddy, assistant sports information director, said both athletes refused to comment.
Allen left yesterday's three-hour practice a half-hour early to tape his weekly radio show. He did make a statement in a release by the Sports Information Office.
"Both players understand the mistakes they have made," Allen said. "We stress to our players that they are accountable for their actions and they understand the penalties involved when they break rules."
Sophomore Zach Dyer will be Allen's quarterback on Saturday. He had been battling Kinsey throughout the spring and summer. Sophomore Dan Coke, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder from Moore Haven, Fla., will start in place of Duncan. He only carried the football 10 times for 54 yards last season but relished the chance to be the Jayhawks' featured back.
However, he regretted that he was rewarded for his teammates' mistakes.
"I feel I need to go in there and prove myself," Coke said. "I was a little disappointed that they were not going to be playing, but other guys got to step it up."
Coke also declined to speak about the suspensions.
Contact Denton at 864-4810
After rough start to college career junior golfer hits her stride
Heather Rose, Martinsville, Ind., junior looks at her chip shot at it rolls toward the cup at Alvamar Golf Course. This year Rose is one of the team captains.
ANTHONY REYES/KANSAN
By John Domoney
Kansan sportswriter
As the Kansas women's golf team gets into full swing, golfer Heather Rose is looking forward to continuing the uphill battle that her career has followed since she came to Lawrence three years ago.
The Martinsville, Ind., junior helped her high school team win the state championship each of her four years there, and then joined a Kansas team that offered the lure of playing Division I golf in a top conference
Freshman year didn't go as Rose had planned, however, as she got little play and didn't qualify to compete in the Big 12 Conference Championship.
Instead of complaining about her lack of playing time, Rose worked hard during the off-season to return for a sophomore year that allowed her the opportunity to be the only returning player on this year's team to play in all 12 tournaments the Jayhawks competed in, along with a tie for 28th at last year's Big 12 Championship.
"Last year I got used to the traveling and keeping up with the school work," Rose said. "I was really nervous at Big 12s, but it was a major boost for my confidence."
SEE CAPTAIN PAGE 2B
Trio of KU receivers run toward success in senior season
By Brent Briggeman
Kansan sportswriter
"Trips right" is the call in the huddle at a Saturday morning scrimmage. The team breaks and Kansas' three receivers take their place next to each other at the line.
The first thing that stands out is the three receivers' height — or lack thereof.
roger Ross stands at 5-foot-7, Termaine Fulton at 5-10 and Harrison Hill, the tallest of the group, is just under 6foot.
Texas' top three receivers, by contrast, average more than 6-foot-3.
Despite the squad's appearance, many, including coach Terry Allen and offensive coordinator Rip Scherer, think the unit is among the conference's best.
Quarterback Zach Dyer takes the snap in the Kansas scrimmage and immediately fires to his right. Hill catches it just three yards up field, makes a move on the first defender and heads up field.
Hill has been doing this for the past four years at Kansas. He's the veteran of the group. He was a starter immediately upon arriving at Kansas from Wichita Collegiate five years ago. He was granted a medical red-shirt following his first season, which was cut short by a broken left ankle. He returned the next year and has been a constant in the passing game ever since.
SEE SCHERER PAGE 3B
New York 5
San Diego 8
Florida 3
Dallas 21
Oakland
6
Charlotte
New Yor
48
New York 44