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SPORTS
7A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2002
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
The University Daily Kansan sports desk has gathered Kansas football news from other newspapers to bring Jayhawk fans different insights into the team and its recent game against Southwest Missouri State.
Look for "What Others are Saying" every Monday during the season. You can also find a pre-game version every Thursday.
Compiled by Jessica Tims Associate sports editor
By Jason King
The Kansas City Star
Mark Mangino had an extra twinkle in his eye Saturday. And it wasn't because his Kansas football team had just defeated Southwest Missouri State.
"I have every reason in the world to stand here and be optimistic," Mangino said. "And I am."
Mangino wasn't just talking about the next few weeks, but the next few years. Saturday's game was a clear indicator that KU has a solid core of young players that could help turn around the Jayhawks' struggling program quicker than some people expect.
Eight of the 23 players that recorded tackles are freshmen. So, too, is Greg Heaggans, who set a school record with 195 yards in kick returns. Tailback Clark Green rushed for 131 yards in just his third college game. Defensive tackle Travis Watkins and safety Johnny McCoy -- both of whom earned post-game praise from Mangino -- are only sophomores.
By Chuck Woodling Lawrence Journal-World
As Kansas University punt returner Remuise Johnson turned the corner on the way to a 34-yard return, KU special teams coach Clint Bowen may have established a school record.
Bowen raced down the sideline, leaped into the air and raised a fist before finally landing.
No one measured how high or how far Bowen had leaped, yet the KU aide's exuberant, gravity-defying feat early in the fourth quarter punctuated how special the Jayhawks' special teams really were in Saturday night's 44-24 triumph over Southwest Missouri State.
Freshman Greg Heaggans basked in most of the spotlight with his four kickoff returns for a school-record 195 yards, including a 100-yard scamper to answer the opening bell, but Bowen was just as pleased with Johnson.
SEE OTHERSON PAGE 10A
Intramurals are open to all
Intramurals can provide students with activities to occupy free time, alleviate pressures
By Steve Vockrodt
Kansan sportswriter
A common complaint for students as they make the transition into college is the amount of unused free time outside of class. That is one reason almost 8,000 students opted to participate in various intrural sports offered by Student Recreation Services.
"It's a good opportunity to participate and have fun and be active," said Betsey Lafferty, Recreation Services intramural director.
Intramurals offer an opportunity for students to engage in team sports or individual sports. Intramurals play in a less competitive atmosphere than club sports, many of which operate on a tryout basis.
Vishal Patel, Shawnee junior, organized a team of friends through Recreation Services to play softball last year. Free time and an interest in sports were reasons Patel joined the intramural sports program.
"It was fun to get away from the perils of school and relax for an hour or two," Patel said.
Team sports offered by Recreation Services range from widely popular sports such as basketball and flag football to less conventional sports including floor hockey and volleyball.
The team sports schedule consists of a regular
Individual and dual sports include tennis and bowling. Athletes who play individual sports have no regular season and participate in one tournament.
season and a post-season tournament.
Previous talent and experience in sports is not required as intramurals are open to any interested student and have no entrance sheet.
"We are on all spectrums, we have those people who are very good athletes and then we have those people who want to have a good time as their main objective."Lafferty said.
Nearly all sporting events take place at Robinson Center with the exception of outdoor sports such as ultimate frisbee, flag football and softball which are played at the Shenk Sports Complex located at Iowa and 23rd streets.
The opening of the new student recreation center scheduled for July 2003 will expand the opportunities for intramural sports by increasing the number of racquetball and basketball courts.
Anyone interested in participating in team sports can organize a team with friends or aquaintances and come to a organizational managers' meeting for the sport. Dates for the meetings are available on the Recreation Services Web site. Students interested in officiating must also attend these meetings.
For more information, check out the Recreation Services website at http://www.ku.edu/~recserv/,
or call 864-3546.
Contact Vockrodt at svockrodt@kansan.com. This story edited by Andrew Vaupel.
Derek Wiedenmeyer, Blue Valley sophomore from Sigma Phi Epsilon, runs the ball in an intramural football game at Memorial Stadium.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Fans must pay for Internet coverage
Kansan staff writer
Lewis, a Tulsa, Okla., senior, said the audio broadcasts had broken up at times.
From an Internet cafe in Spain, Kristen Lewis listened to a Kansas men's basketball game last spring.
KU and ESPN+ have an Internet subscription service through Yahoo! Sports that broadcasts live audio from Kansas football and men's and women's basketball games.
An improvement in service will make games clearer, but the update will come at a price.
For die-hard fans like Lewis, the new service costs $5.95 per month or $29.95 per year.
lne old service was also controlled by KU and ESPN+ but was offered free. The new service began in August,but the fee went into effect after Saturday's football game.
Doug Vance, associate athletics director for communications, said the cost meant a better quality of service.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
ESPN will be providing an internet radio service through YAHOO that will allow listeners to hear the games no matter where they are. The service has also been improved for greater clarity, but fans will have to pay a fee to use it.
Vance said the subscription fee cov.
"We're trying to deliver a better package and more things," said Vance.
The subscription service also offers more programs to fans. Listeners can hear Hawk Talk with coach Mark Mangino and coach Roy Williams. Fans will also be able to hear weekly press conferences for football, men's basketball and some baseball.
ered the costs of Yahoo! Sports and ESPN+, which handle the broadcast of all Kansas sporting events.
Contact McNearney at
kmncearney@kansan.com. Erin Ohm edited this story.
Kansas teams demonstrate progress in march to top 25
University of Kansas athletics teams moved a little closer to athletics director Al Bohl's goal last weekend.
Men's basketball was at that level already and showed no signs of faltering. Every other team was far from the upper echelon of college athletics and the goal seemed a long-term one at best.
Improvement by the tennis and soccer teams last year proved the goal wasn't that far-fetched and it was an early highlight in Bohl's march towards athletic supremacy.
When Bohl was hired in June of 2001, he said it was his desire to have every Kansas athletics team in the top 25.
The four teams in action last weekend showed progress as well, proving that the top 25 might not be too far from the grasp of some of the following squads.
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas's dominant showing in the Hampton Inn/Jayhawk Classic was the
highlight of last weekend. The Jayhawks' performance three wins and no games lost in three matches—in Horjesi Family Athletics Center showcased their ability to handle opponents, as they bumped off Marquette, Purdue and Southeast Missouri State like they were stool pigeons on The Sopranos.
It wasn't seniors leading the charge, either. Senior defensive specialist Jennifer Kraft was named to the All-Tournament team, but two of the other three Jayhawks named to the team — middle blocker Josiane Lima and setter Andi Rozum — are freshmen.
Lima, the Brazilian wunderkind, was named tournament MVP, her second such honor of the year. Fortunately for coach Ray Bechard, Lima should star for another three years as there is no nationally known professional volleyball league for Lima to jump to after the season.
COMMENTARY
Levi Chronister
lchronister@kansan.com
Attnough the three schools the Jayhawks faced this weekend aren't at the same level as Nebraska, Texas A&M, Colorado or Kansas State, Kansas' dominance en route to its 8-0 record and the youth of its players means it should be ranked in the top 25 for the first time ever in the next few years.
SOCCER
Two road victories were a major step for this team, which struggled in its first two home matches.
Freshman forward Caroline Smith
scored two goals in each of the week-end's matches, including the game-winner in the final minutes against Arkansas. Smith leads the team with six of the team's 12 goals, including three game winners.
Fellow freshman forward Holly Ryder scored her first goal in Sunday's victory over Tulsa. Kim Karfonta and Jessica Smith round out this year's talented freshmen class.
With these 11 youngsters and Soccer Buzz magazine's 2001 Central Region coach of the year, Mark Francis, at the helm, it won't be long before the Jayhawks make a showing in the soccer rankings.
Last year's group of seven freshman — which helped the team to its first winning record, a trip to the Big 12 Tournament and a spot in the NCAA Tournament — are also solid and will form the team's foundation for another two years.
Both the men's and women's teams are undefeated through two competitions. Emporia State, Illinois-Chicago and Pittsburg State aren't the greatest competition, but they're good schools to run past on the way to the bigger and better opponents.
CROSS COUNTRY
As with the volleyball and soccer teams, there's a lot of talented youth on the cross country squad. Sophomore Chris Jones finished second for the men at the Wildcat Invitational last weekend, and freshman Cameron Schwehr was eighth.
The women's side is just as impressive, with junior Laura Lavie picking up her second victory this season. Sophomore Megan Manthe finished second and freshman Jenna Bimbi, in her first race for Kansas, finished seventh.
SEE CHRONISTER ON PAGE 10A
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