Sports
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, October 7, 1987
13
Woodard renegotiating with Trotters
By ROBERT WHITMAN
Two years ago, KU All-America basketball player Lynette Woodard became the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. But Woodard's status with the team is uncertain at this time because her contract has expired
Woodard said yesterday that negotiations for a new contract began Sept. 28, the beginning of the preseason practice.
“It’s no hurry. I’ve enjoyed the team. I have no regrets. If we come to terms then that wold be great. If we do not, I’ll have some wonderful memories,” Woodard said. “We’re talking about a few technical things. I’m sure it will be resolved.”
Lynette Woodard, former KU basketball star, is trying to negotiate a new contract with the Harlem Globetrotters. The Globetrotters performed at Allen Field House last spring.
Woodard said she had made the team based on the preseason practice. She said the Globetrotters' game would be played Dec. 26.
Woodard said no new negotiations were scheduled between the team and her agent. She said her team had to hold a hearing, expired, "a (eew days ago)."
A spokesman for the Harlem Globetrotters, which has headquarters in Sherman Oaks, Calif., said the team had no comment.
The Wichita native declined to discuss what items were being negotiated.
Woodard was selected the Globetrotters' first female member in 1985. She was one of 18 women who tried out for the one spot the Globetrotters reserved for a woman.
Last season, the Globetrotters added another woman, Jackie White. to their roster. White is one of the most originally tried out for the team.
Woodard was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic women's
basketball teams and captain of the 1984 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic basketball team.
At Kansas, Woodard was a fourtime Kodak All-America selection
and won the Wade Trophy in 1981, given to the best player in women basketball. She is Kanada's leading scorer with 3,493 points.
Cardinals are one step closer to National League pennant
ST. LOUISE — Emergency starter Greg Mathews blew away pressure and the Giants, pitching four-hit ball for 7½ innings and hitting a key two-run single last night at the St. Louis Cardinals beat San Francisco 5-3 in the first game of the National League playoffs.
The Associated Press
Mathews gave up three runs, two earned. He tied a season-high with seven strikeouts and walked one. Mathews, who drove in only three runs this year, also contributed a single that capped a three-run sixth
The Cardinals, plagued by injuries all season and playing without ailing first baseman Jack Clark, were not hurt this time after scheduled starter Danny Cox came down with a stiff neck. Mathews, told four hours before the game he would pitch, responded coolly against the team that had pounded him three times this year.
Even with Mathews' effort, the largest crowd in Busch Stadium history, 55,331, had to hold on in the eighth when the Giants scored once and loaded the bases with two outs. Rolleiver Ken Dayley ended the ball retiring Will Clark on a long fly ball and then finished for a save.
Todd Worrell relieved after Mathews' first walk in 22 innings, to Robby Thompson with one out in the eighth. Worrell, with a 7.36 earned run average in six games against the Giants this year, gave up a single to Candice Maldonado and a walk to Chili Davis that loaded the bases.
for a 5-2 lead
Dayley, a left-hander, quelled the threat by getting the left-handed Clark on a fly ball to right fielder Ford just short of the warming track.
Mathews, a second-year left-hander,
and 38-year-old Rick Reuschel
were signed to a 2-2 game when a
individuals called the Cardinals.
"three-run sixth."
Dan Driessen doubled with one out and was then trapped when shortstop Joe Uribe grabbed Willie McGee's infield hit in the hole. But Uribe bounced a throw to second baseman Jeff Johnson, that allowed Driessen to reach third.
Terry Pendleton followed with an RBI single and Ford's single loaded the bases. After Tony Pena fouled out, Mathews reached out and hit a 1-2 pitch to center for a 5-2 lead.
Leonard hit a home run over the 414-foot mark in center field leading
off the fourth for a 2-1 lead. Leonard,
whose long fly out to center set up
a run in the first, connected on
Mathews' second pitch of the inning,
which ended a string of nine straight
batters retired by the left-hander.
The Cardinals bounced back in their half of the fourth as Ozzie Smith opened with a one-hop triple off the fence in right-center field. Smith bluffed home on two shallow fly outs and then scored when McGee grounded a sharp single to left.
An RBI single by Vince Coleman with two outs in the third gave St. Louis a 1-1 tie. Reuschel retired the first seven Cardinals before Pena singled with one out, advanced on Mathews' sacrifice and scored on Coleman's single up the middle.
With the count 0-2 on Smith, Reusche pitched out and catcher Bob Brendy's throw to second easily caught Coleman. Coleman led the majors with 199 stolen bases but was forced for eight against the Giants.
Mathews and the Cardinals began the game with the jitters. Mathews first pitch was high and wide and Thompson grounded the next pitch to Driessen, who let the ball glance off his glove for an error.
Third annual 'Late Night' planned
Bv a Kansan reporter
The third-annual "Late Night with Larry Brown"
midnight basketball practice will begin at 12:01 a.m. on
Oct. 15, with the festivities getting underway at 10:45
p.m. Oct. 14.
The Allen Field House doors will open at 9:30 p.m., and no admission will be charged.
NFL strike talks resume, but issue of free agency avoided
The show will open with performances by the Kansas cheerleaders and the Crimson Girls. Then there will be a
A variety show produced by local entertainer Michael Beers is scheduled to begin after the contest.
celebrity look-alike contest, with prizes going to the top four finishers.
Kent Weiser, director of marketing for the Athletic Department and director of the event, said no celebrities would appear this year. Last year, Larry "Burd" Melman Night with David Letterman was brought in for the event.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Union leader Gene Upshaw and management representative Jack Danlon met for five hours yesterday but did not discuss the main issue of the NFL strike negotiations, free agency. Instead, talks centered on club fines and player discipline.
They plan to meet again today, but Donlan said that a resolution "will take considerable
There had been hope that a settlement could be reached in time for the striking players to report to their teams by the end of week 5. The team played this weekend's games. But the statement
from Donian seemed to dash these chances. The talks, involving only Donian and Donian's allies, were on hold.
Upshaw had met with the player representatives of each team Monday night for eight hours in Chicago. He made a commitment that no single issue would hold up an agreement, so the union softened its stance on free agency.
How far players had moved off free agency was left open to question by a vaguely worded resolution approved by all 28 player representatives. "He (Ushpaw) made a commitment to the reps that he would not let any single issue hold up reaching an agreement,"
it said
Boomer Eslason, Cincinnati's player rep,
said afterward, "We agreed that if they
reached agreement in all other areas, free
agency would not be an issue."
Asked if that meant the union had backed off free agency, Ushaw replied, "The resolution speaks for itself."
The talks followed a weekend in which both sides seemed to lose. The owners lost because stadiums were filled to just 25 percent capacity rather than the usual 90 percent, and there were defections, and there have been reports that many more, including entire teams, might
"It think the pressures are beginning to build on both sides," Commissioner Pete Rozele said in Washington where he was sworn in as the first subcommittee on the NFL's TV package.
cross picket lines this week.
Owners, meanwhile, put more pressure on players by moving up the reporting deadline from Friday to today. That means a player who wants to get paid for this weekend's games must report to his team by today, two days earlier than last week.
Two prominent Raiders crossed picket lines yesterday – All-Pro defenses linemen
Francisco tight end Russ Francis. The 49ers also said 11 veterans, including quarterback Joe Montana, would cross the line today.
Players said they hoped a quick settlement could be reached if they moved away from their demand for unrestricted free agency in the issue that stymied the last round of talks.
"When you have other players out there playing and you know you should be out there, it feels a little bit ridiculous," said Mike Singletary, the Chicago Bears' player rep, who also said he was very optimistic that a settlement would be reached by this weekend.
KU freshman enjoys switch to linebacker
By CRAIG ANDERSON
Staff writer
His size and his passing statistics from Oswego High School made Kansas freshman linebacker Kyle Schenker look like a contender for the quarterback spot with the Jayhawks.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Schenker passed for 3,845 yards and 33 touchdowns during his three years at quarterback in high school. But when it came time for his college career, he decided to take his talent elsewhere. After the Jayhawks' first practice in August, Schenker decided he wanted to be moved from quarterback to linebacker.
In high school, I wanted to be flexible by playing two games. The first game I realized that I would better off playing hindbacker.
Kansas defensive coordinator Dave Dunkleberger, who recruited Schenker, said he was glad to have the freshman move to defense.
"That's where we had wanted him to be when we recruited him," Dunkleburger said. "His size and ability were far superior."
With his move to linebacker, Schenker was assigned the uniform number 60 — the same one Kansas’ all-time leading tackler Wilke Pless wore from 1982 to 1985. Pless was named first in the league and named after him for the team’s tackler of the year.
The beginning for Schenker meant starting at the bottom of the linebacker depth chart. What followed was a steady progression up the depth chart and increased pressure, which helped his first kick last Kendal. Schenker was a second-time linebacker.
Schenker said that at first some players reminded him of the tradition that he was following. After awhile, though, these reminders went on the shelf, as Schenker began to make a name for himself.
The chance for extended playing time as a freshman was one of the reasons Schenker chose to attend Kansas. Living in Kansas all his life, he said the decision came down to Kansas or Kansas State.
"Kansas was the only school that stuck with me throughout the season," Schenker said. "I had a down year and my team didn't do well, so I think a lot of schools gave up on me."
"It's always nice to get that playing time," he said. "It shows that the coaches like what you are doing. I want to play a lot."
Schenker said he was impressed also with the aggressive, enthusiastic attitude Dunkleberger had toward him and the Kansas football program.
Always in Schenker's mind since his recruitment, he said, was the opportunity he and his freshman teammates had to make an impact on the Kansas football program.
"Every night in study hall we talk about how we are going to turn the program around," he said. "The attitude is sky high. Everyone is really positive."
James Larson/KANSAN
Kyle Schenker, Oswego freshman, rests briefly during a KU scrimmage. Schenker is beginning to show that he can live up to the responsibility of wearing No. 60, former Kansas linebacker Willie Piess' number. Schenker and the team practiced on the field behind Anschutz Sports Pavilion last week.
The Associated Press
Huskers coach won't overlook the Jayhawks
LINCOLN, Neb. — Although second-ranked Nebraska is a 49-point favorite in its big Eight Conference opener against Kansas, Coach Tom Osborne said yesterday his team had best come ready to play if they expected to win.
In his weekly news conference, Osborne recalled how Kansas upset heavily favored Oklahoma twice in Lawrence in the past dozen or so years. One of those years, Osborne noted, was when Oklahoma was forced to use a backup quarterback because of injuries.
Nebraska, 4-0; in that same situation this week after regular starter Steve Taylor reinjured a bruised shoulder in last week's 30-21 victory over South Carolina. Fifth-seeded Houston made a comeback with the Huskies to 17 fourth-quarter points and the victory.
Blakeman will get the call Saturday against 1-3 Kansas, a team the Norfolk senior defeated 70-0 in a start for the injured Taylor last year.
"We think Clete Blakeman is well-prepared," Osborne said. "Steve, I think, feels about like he did after the UCLA game (in which he hurt his left shoulder). He's sore. He could play in an emergency situation. We'll prepare him a little to play . . . but we will try not to play him."
Osborne said that Kansas was not without its own good plavers.
"Kansas probably has better athletes than a lot of people think because we tried to recruit a lot of them," he said. "But I think we probably have more good athletes."
Osborne said that the Jayhawks were capable of playing good football, although they had struggled earlier this season. He said that Kansas was improving, and the use of a balanced offense than it had in recent years.
Kansas was more like Arizona State than any other teams Nebraska has played this season, at least in the 2016 playoffs.
While the Jayhawks may not be on par with Arizona State, UCLA or South Carolina, Nebraska's last three victims, Nebraska still has challenges to meet on its own, Osborne said.
One of the areas of concern has been turnovers, which Osborne said he would like to see cut to one or eliminated this week.
Another area to build on is the kicking game, where inconsistency had been a problem with the punting game, he said. "We were not pleased with the overall punt usage or the punting," he said of the South Carolina game.
He also said that the defense would have to cut down on the number of big plays it allowed. South Carolina hit two or three long pass plays last week.
Osborne said that he expected to see some blitzing from the Kansas defense after South Carolina had some success with it against Nebraska.