Volume 124 Issue 37
kansan.com
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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NOTICE
WHO TO FOLLOW // NICOLE RICHIE
> The tweets people are talking a'
What she does: Reality TV star, celebrity
Twitter Handle: @nicolerichie
Why: "Nicole Richie is one of my favorite celebrities to follow on Twitter because she's real and interesting," says Ashley Cohen, a sophomore from St. Louis.
@nicolerichie: My grandma better step it up this year and give me a 10 dollar bill for my birthday this year!
@nicolerichie: Gonna wear beige tomorrow so people think I'm responsible.
@nicolorichie: Champagne Wishes & Cavier Dreams! ...sounds like a serious case of morning breath.
@nicolerichie: When in doubt, just quote Jay-Z.
@nicolerichie: Joel comes home tomorrow. He better be waxed.
AMANDA GAGE
@nicolerichie: Sooooo...doing the "snake"
isn't cool anymore right?
@nicolerichie: My sister just challenged me to a Beyonce dance-off tonight at her BDay party. Let her win? Or make her cry? Decisions decisions ...
WESCOE WIT //
> Lol.
GUY: "Did you know that you can use Beak 'Em Bucks on alcohol at Chili's?"
GIRL: "I was in love with a slightly overweight South American. Now he's engaged to a 16-year-old."
Guy: "When I woke up, I was covered in drool and the classroom was empty."
GIRL: Every time I take the bus I feel like I'm part of a human centipede."
GIRL 1: "He's stalking me!"
GIRL 2: "But you two signed up for all the same classes together..."
GIRL 1: "That doesn't matter!"
GUY:"I think I'm addicted to Chick-fil-A dipping sauce."
GUY: "I have senioritis."
GIRL: I thought you were a junior?
GUY: Well, technically, yeah."
MATT GALLOWAY
> We know you're curious.
WHAT IT'S LIKE // TO COME OUT
All I could do was look at the table, and I literally started bawling. We sat there and talked about it. She was really open and supportive. I made her promise not to tell anyone, not even mom (who was on the trip with us). I felt better as we left, and realized that it really wasn't hard to tell her.
From childhood, Joey Stallman, a senior from Hutchinson, knew he was more attracted to males. Up until senior year of high school, Stallman kept his secret until he vowed to himself that he would let his loved ones and peers know so they could embrace and know all of him.
Two weeks later, my mom and I are out at dinner. I had already decided that I was going
Thinking back on it, I don't think I've ever really been attracted to girls. Around middle school I started to get exposed to different things that made me realize what I was feeling inside wasn't the same as everybody else because of the negative connotations associated with homosexuals. I tried as hard as I could to hide who I was.
I finally just took a deep breath and said "Crystal, do you think mom would be upset if I wasn't able to give her grandkids?" She had a really confused look on her face.
Fast forward to summer before my senior year of high school. I had attempted to keep my sexuality a secret up until then. I was visiting my sister in Boston. I had decided earlier that it was time I let it all go and start telling people, since I would be moving from high school and my hometown soon. I asked my sister if we could go out to breakfast, just me and her. We went to Duncan Donuts. I could barely eat my donut because my mind was racing.
| JOEY STALLMAN AS TOLD BY AMANDA GAGE |
to tell her then. I go "Mom, did Crystal (my sister) ever tell you anything about that time we went out to breakfast?" She says no and looks puzzled.
Again, I look down at the table, trying so hard not cry, lip quivering. And she just looks at me, and says as calmly, "Joey, I know. I've known for a while." And then she cried and I cried, and we're crying, in the middle of this Chinese buffet. But she just told me that I'm her son and that nothing would ever change that.
Now, I have a great group of brothers, I met my roomie of three years having the "are you gay?" conversation, and it's made me closer to my mom and sister.
I had already decided when I came to KU that it was when I was going to start fresh and not hide who I was at all. I never walked around campus waving my rainbow flag, but if people asked, I would tell them. Not one single person ever seemed uncomfortable.
After everyone found out, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. Looking back I don't understand what I was so afraid of.
Contributed photo
Joey Stallman, second from the left, struggled with his sexuality before finally coming out to his family and friends.
a stand-up guy and a successful football coach don't always go hand in hand.
From what I witnessed first-hand last year and have heard this season, players love playing for Gill; they just haven't been able to win for him. Barring any monumental upsets, Gill will have six wins or fewer after two years on the job.
The one thing working in Gill's favor right now is his contract, which doesn't include a buyout. If he was fired, he would receive the remaining salary left on his five-year deal. At $2 million per year, he is set to receive $6 million more after this season.
It's common knowledge that most college football coaches need at least three seasons to get their affairs in order, and besides that, it's highly unlikely KU Athletic Director Sheaher Zenger has the resources to shell out around $10 million to dismiss Gill and his assistants as well as hire a completely new staff. But if enough angry, big-money donors bang on Zenger's door and open up their checkbooks — and that's a big 'if' — things
Sophomore cornerback Tyler Patton pulls an Oklahoma State ball carrier to the ground near midfield during the first quarter of Saturday night's game at Boone Pickens Stadium. Patton had four tackles against OSU along with a defensive pass interference while in the end zone during the second quarter.
— and that's a big 'if' — things could change quickly.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
stayed for the final act of the Jayhawks' blowout loss to the Cowboys watched their team get out-scored in the fourth quarter to Kansas.
Yes, it was against a mix of first, second and third string defenders that the Kansas offense faced in the fourth quarter, but the 14 points Kansas scored at the end of the game Saturday showed that the offense is resilient. The 28 total points Kansas scored helps put in perspective just how poorly this Kansas defense has been playing.
Edited by Jonathan Shorman
Scoring 28 points against the No.6 team in the nation, is no small accomplishment. Scoring 28 points would've been good enough to win 11 FBS games last week and tie two of them. Instead of being the 12th winning team in college football with 28-points or fewer, the Jayhawks lost by 42.
Kansas actually scored one more point than Oklahoma State has allowed on average all season. The biggest margin of victory the Cowboys had before
have put Kansas on track to win 20 games that week. Of every team that scored more than 34 points and lost in week five of the college football season, Kansas had the largest deficit, falling by 11 points.
Following the Oklahoma State game, coach Turner Gill broke down the defensive woes into two simple categories: "Our guys did not tackle quite as well, as far as early on," Gill said. "And the second thing is the guys were not doing what they were told to do in some cases."
It's a combination of a lack of athleticism, play-making and tackling that have led to the team's struggles, Gill said.
By admitting that some players are not following their coaches' instructions on the field, Gill helps shed some light on the defense, which ranks 34 yards worse than any FBS team.
Sophomore cornerback Tyler Patmon suggested Wednesday that there is only one way to fix the defenses' problem: practice.
"When it comes down to it, it's
--consistency," Patmon said. "We have to go hard in practice no matter what."
It appears that the Jayhawks got the message, Freshman linebacker Ben Heeney said a few of the players asked their teammates to pick up their performance on the practice field.
.
"The past two days, our
defensive practices have been 100-fold better than what it's been," Heeney said. "I just think we look a lot better even from last week to this week."
Gill said the team has practiced with more focus and energy the past two days. He said there is urgency with the team in practice, because they know
they have to be on all cylinders against No. 3 Oklahoma this Saturday.
If the play in practice has improved, the Jayhawks' defensive performance this season has served as a wake up call.
Edited by Alexandra Esposito