THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY,AUG.24,2001
Quagmire: Backs vie for position
Kinsey: Risk-taking, leadership and speed will be assets
"Zach takes risks too, but I think that I am more of a risk taker," Kinsey said. "Coach Scherer always tells us that in this offense you are going to have to take risks. I feel that we have the players on the field to make plays, so whn not let them."
"I feel that I a playmaker. In a crucial point of the game, fourth quarter, at 1:15 left, we're down by six, I feel that I can drive the ball 80 yards and score."
But Kinsey is not only playing for himself. His daughter, Jakayla, will turn 4 in November. He's playing for his aunt and uncle too, Charles and Johnnie Johnson, who have been his legal guardians since he was 6 days old.
Most importantly, he said, he is playing for his teammates. He is playing for his coaches. He is playing to put Kansas back on the map. This family inspires him as much as his blood.
"We have our differences every now and then, but me and Zach, we will always be cool."
Troy Mailen KU Public Safety Office
And Zach Dyer is a part of this family
"When you are a part of KU football, you are a part of a big family." Kinsey said. "We have our differences every now and then, but me, Zach, we will always be cool.
"I feel that we are at the opportunity where we are about to turn the corner. We just need somebody to jump behind the wheel and make the turn. And I feel like I can be that person."
Dyer: Strong arm to be tested in next three games
"I think I am that team leader, that team winner," he said, while he started to unravel the athletic bandages from his shoulder and elbow. "Nothing is really given. There's always somebody else waiting to take your job. If it comes to it, it may be frustrating playing behind Mario, but it made us it both better faster."
If not named the starter, Dyer said he had no intention playing elsewhere. He is more than halfway finished with his degree in business administration and enjoys it in Lawrence. Transferring would be too much of a hassle, he said.
The 15 minutes were up. Dyer jumped off the training table and grabbed a Gatorade from a nearby cooler. His arm numbed as he opened his drink.
School reprimanded for overzealous tutors
USC receives probation after three athletes cheat to make grades
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The NCAA placed the University of Southern California athletic program on probation for two years and cut scholarships yesterday because tutors wrote papers for three athletes three times in the late 1990s.
The NCAA and the university refused to identify the athletes two football players and a woman diver.
The diver was expelled in 1997, right after the academic fraud was discovered. Two tutors were fired while the third quit.
The probation covers the entire athletic department. Two football scholarships for the 2002-03 academic year were cut and half a scholarship for the women's swimming and diving team was canceled.
The probation will have no ramifications on postseason football bowl games.
The school said it had changed the athlete tutor program in an effort to prohibit more fraud.
USC initiated the investigation — one violation each in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Jack Friedenthal, chairman of the NCAA Infractions Committee and law professor at George Washington University, said during a telephone conference call.
One football player got an A- in political science in 1996 after submitting a tutor-written paper.
The diver turned in a rough draft of a paper for a 1997 writing class handwritten by the tutor, then submitted the final paper in her own handwriting.
A second football player got a C in a religion course in 1998 after a fraudulent paper was submitted.
The NCAA and the university refused to release the names of the tutors involved. Friedenthal said that when the school learned the diver had committed academic fraud, her grade was changed to F and she was expelled.
Two professors, whose names were not disclosed, refused to change the grades for the football players and they remained at the university. It was not immediately known whether they were allowed to remain on the team. The school also wouldn't say if the students were still enrolled.
"We do not tolerate cheating at USC, and this case should signal our seriousness and our determination to root out those who do," said Mike Diamond, USC executive vice provost. "Even a single instance of improper assistance for a student-athlete is too many."
The NCAA said it had no evidence that coaches or assistant coaches or tutor directors asked the athletes or tutors to take part in the deception.
When the NCAA asked the professors
"We do not tolerate cheating at USC, and this case should signal our seriousness and determination to root out those who do." Mike Diamond USC Executive Vice Provst
involved why they didn't change the grades and expel the football players, it was told it was "a matter of academic freedom." Friedenthal said.
"The athletes were very forthcoming," Friedenthal said. "We don't have any information to indicate that the coaches inadvertently or deliberately had specific knowledge that anything improper was going on."
All of those involved were placed under a show-cause order, meaning for the next two years any NCAA-covered university that hires any teacher, tutor or student who took part must show they are not engaging in activities that would be in violation of NCAA rules, Friedental said.
CHEERLEADING
SPORTS BRIEFS
Tryouts announced for KU cheerleading squad
The Kansas Spirit Squad will have tryouts for its 2001-2002 squad this weekend at the Anschutz Sports Pavilion.
The co-ed tryouts will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow, with additional tryouts on Sunday at the same time. The squad is looking for experienced co-ed cheerleaders who have participated on any level, male cheerleaders are especially needed. The squad members will be chosen based on their cheering and tumbling skills.
Students interested in going out for the team must have a minimum 2.0 grade point average and be enrolled in at least 12 hours. For more information, call Chris Barnes at 841-5633.
Kansas baseball team to hold meeting for walk-on tryouts
The Kansas baseball team will have an informational meeting next week for students interested in trying out for the team.
The meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Tuesday on the second-level of Allen Fieldhouse in the southeast corner of the arena. Attendants are asked to bring proof of a physical examination and proof of insurance. They will also be asked to sign a Kansas University Athletic Corporation indemnification agreement and complete NCAA paperwork.
Summer run-ins with law plague Cornhuskers
BASEBALL
Arrest keeps top running back away from field for season opener
The Associated Press
Solich shepherded his Cornhuskers through practice yesterday in preparation for tomorrow's season opener against Texas Christian in the Pigskin Classic, which they will play without top running back Dahrran Diedrick.
LINCOLN, Neb. — After weeks of headlines about Nebraska football players in trouble with the law, coach Frank Solich knows that no news is good news.
The junior was suspended for the game after being cited last weekend for disturbing the peace outside a Lincoln bar.
He is one of four players who were arrested on various misdemeanor offenses during the summer. A fifth player, linebacker Randy Stella, was kicked off the team for violating undisclosed team rules.
Sollic said Diedrick had a hand in deciding his punishment.
"He just felt it was so bothersome to the team ... he wanted to get it settled right away." Solich yesterday." I just wanted to make sure I was as right as I felt I could be."
Solich said he wanted the team to get on with the season.
"Getting back to football is great," he said. "The guys are wanting to get in the routine of playing games. I think the coaches are too."
Diedrick is the second Cornhusker suspended for the opener.
Starting kicker Josh Brown will be on the sidelines after his assault conviction for fighting with another student who was dating his former girlfriend.
Thunder Collins, who will start in place of Diedrick, was arrested in June for allegedly fighting with his girlfriend, Nebraska basketball player Shannon Howell. Assault charges against Collins were dropped this month when he agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program.
Diedrick and backup linebacker Tony Tata, who is out with a knee injury, both spent about an hour in jail early Sunday after being arrested for disturbing the peace in separate incidents at the same bar.
Solich said he thought Collins would play well.
"I feel confident with Thunder starting," he said. "He's shown that he can do what we ask him do to with our offense"
LAWRENCE AUTOMOTIVE DIAGNOSTICS INC.
842-8665 2858 2858 Four Wheel Dr.
EVERYTHING BUT ICE
BEDS • DESKS
CHEST OF DRAWERS
BOOK CASES
unclaimed freight &
damaged merchandise
936 Mass.
"Why Count Sheep...Get a Good Night's Sleep!