10A SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DARRY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2008
SOCCER (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
on the field. Their freshman and sophomore years I felt like we kind of got the raw end of the deal."
Bush said it was rewarding to see nearly four years of hard work finally pay off with a tournament appearance. That was especially true for the team's six seniors, who entered on the heels of two consecutive NCAA Tournament squads.
"The seniors just soaked it all in," Bush said. "This has been our
goal from the start. I think most of us were trying not to tear up or cry."
JUNIORS EARN
TOURNAMENT HONORS
Defender Estelle Johnson, midfielder Monica Dolinsky and forward Shannon McCabe were named to the Big 12 Championship's All-Tournament team on Sunday.
Three representatives is a record for Kansas, which defeated No. 11 Texas A&M 4-2 in the first round but fell in penalty kicks to No. 20 Missouri in the semifinals.
Edited by Mary Sorrick
Dolinsy, a first team all-conference selection, had one goal and three assists for the Jayhawks while McCabe added two goals against the Aggies.
NFL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former NFL player Herb Adderley sits in a room full of memorabilia of his playing days with the Green Bay Packers at his home in Manuat, N.J., Oct. 2. A federal jury has ordered the NFL Players Association to pay $7.1 million to retired players after finding the union failed to properly market their images.
Retirees win millions in lawsuit
BY PAUL ELIAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal jury on Monday ordered the NFL Players Association to pay $28.1 million to retired players after finding the union failed to properly market their images.
The jury said the union owed the retirees $7.1 million in actual damages for failing to include them in lucrative marketing deals with Electronic Arts Inc., the maker of the popular "Madden NFL" video games, sporting card companies and other sponsorship agreements.
Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of 2,056 retired players who contend the union failed to actively pursue marketing deals on their behalf with video games, trading cards and others sports products.
The lawyers and judge still must decide how to divvy up the jury's award, some of which will go to attorneys' fees.
Adderley, 69, played cornerback for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys and appeared in four of the first six Super Bowls. He appeared every day in court wearing his yellow "NFL Alumni" sports jacket and wept when the jury's verdict was read.
"I won three Super Bowls and this feels better than all of them combined." Adderley said immediately after the verdict was announced. "I always felt I had
one big play left."
Several retired players either testified during the trial or appeared in the court to lend support, including retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr, who attended the last day of testimony on Friday.
Richard Berthelsen, the union's acting executive director, said outside court that the NFLPA would ask the trial judge, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup, to toss out the verdict. If that fails, it intends to appeal.
"It's an unjust verdict and we are confident it will be overturned," union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler said.
Lawyers representing Adderley and the retired players told the
jury during the three-week trial that the union actively sought to cut them out of licensing deals so active players could receive bigger royalty payments. As proof, the retirees pointed to a 2001 letter from an NFLPA executive telling Electronic Arts Inc. executives to scramble the images of retired players in the company's popular Madden video game, otherwise the company would have to pay them.
EA's Madden game contains 143 "vintage" teams populated with no-name players that closely resemble Adderley and other retirees. Yet only active players received a cut of the EA deal, the union's largest, which surpassed $35 million for 2008.
The KU Student Alumni Association and the MU Student Alumni Association Boards are challenging fans in the
Border Showdown FOR HARVESTERS
Go online to www.borderhungershowdown.harvesters.org for a virtual food drive to benefit Harvesters.
Be sure you distinguish what school you are supporting. The food drive runs Nov I through Nov. 29. And, let's be honest, who doesn't want to beat Mizzou?
Two players receive top weekly awards Monday
VOLLEYBALL
JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
averaging 5.00 kills per set on a
Sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington and freshman setter Nicole Tate were named the Big 12 Volleyball Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week on Monday. As well as being the first Big 12 weekly award for Garlington and Tate, it was the first for the Jayhawks since Emily Brown received the honor in September 2007.
Garlington excelled last week,
15. 48 fitting percentage, Kansas had consecutive sweeps against Colorado and Texas Tech. Garlington had 20 kills against the Buffalooes
Garlington
and 10 against the Red Raiders.
Tate averaged 10.50 assists per set while helping the Jayhawks hit .301 as a team. She also chipped
against the Red Raiders.
in 3.00 digs per set and 1.33 kills
per set. Tate recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 40 assists and 12 digs against the Buffaloes, plus 23 assists, five kills and six digs
QUINTRELL (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
arriving on campus this summer,
Thomas has developed a reputation
as a fearsome rebounder.
Edited by Lauren Keith
Former Jayhawk and current New Orleans Hornet Julian Wright praised Thomas's rebounding ability after the two played in pick-up games over the summer. It grew from there.
Self described Thomas as a "runner, jumper, strong guy." His teammates compared Thomas to former Jayhawk Darnell Jackson, who came to Kansas physical but offensively unpolished.
"He's almost like Darnell. He can rebound the heck out of the ball," sophomore center Cole Aldrich said. "His post moves are still coming and whatnot so he's really working hard on that."
But Thomas doesn't want to hear that his rebounding ability is ahead of his offensive skills. He said he can do it all.
Thomas knows he has room to improve on all facets of his game, but he considers himself a complete player. He said the reason people thought his rebounding was ahead of his offense was because of the way he learned to play basketball.
"It's like this: When I first started playing basketball, of course, you don't get the ball much so you need to do something to stay on the court." Thomas said. "Pretty much, I do whatever I've got to do to play."
For Thomas, that continued in high school. Thomas graduated from St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J., one of the most famous basketball high schools in the country.
St. Patrick has produced NBA players, such as Al Harrington of the Golden State Warriors and Samuel Dalembert of the Philadelphia 76ers. Thomas played with a number of current Division I basketball players — including Villanova guard Corey Fisher and Louisville forward Derrick Caracter — during his first three years at St. Patrick. Thomas
"If he's an offensive player first, he won't be an effective player here," Self said.
Self needs someone like Thomas to come off the bench with energy and fight for every loose ball. If Thomas can score points the way he did against Washburn, perfect. If not, it's no big deal.
Self says he has to rebound. The Jayhawks have scorers in junior guard Sherron Collins, sophomore center Cole Aldrich and sophomore guard Tyrel Reed.
That's fine with Thomas. He said he knew exactly what Self expected from him when he checked into the game.
He just doesn't want people to think he can't score. He doesn't want to be regarded as the least of the five freshmen.
"People can criticize me all they want." Thomas said. "But as long as I get in and do what I got to do to help the team win, it doesn't matter. I don't have to score or anything."
MLB
KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City Royals have signed pitcher Brandon Duckworth to a one-year contract and sent him Triple-A Omaha on outright assignment
Taylor, Thomas's roommate, thinks the lack of attention motivated Thomas.
KC Royals sign pitcher for 2009 season
"It it gets a little frustrating when the guys around you are getting talked about and you're not," Taylor said. "I think he felt like he had something to prove. If people keep not talking about him, he's going to become one of the best players on our team."
Edited by Andy Greenhaw
The team says the 32-year-old right-hander will be with the Royals at their major league camp for
Monday's move leaves the Royals' 40-man roster at 38.
"If I've got to score, I'll score," Thomas said. "If I've got to rebound, I'll rebound."
was rarely the first or second option when it came to scoring.
2009 spring training.
It wasn't until his senior season that he averaged more than 10 points per game. By then, Thomas had already committed to Kansas and his reputation as a rebounder was already firm. But Thomas said his senior season proved he could do whatever a team needs out of him.
Duckworth made seven starts for Kansas City late in the 2008 season, going 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA
He spent most of 2008 season at Omaha. He made 17 starts and 27 overall appearances, finishing 5-11 with an ERA of 4.75.
Duckworth's new contract is worth $60,000 while he's with Kansas City and $300,000 for minor league play.
Associated Press
749-0055 • 704 Mass. • rudyspizzeria.com
(CONTINUED FROM 12A)
DUFEK
They could have secured back-to-back bowl trips for the first time in 118 years of football at the University, but they let it get away. They could have moved back into the AP top 25 for this week's showdown with Texas, but they failed to capitalize.
Kansas is 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12. Most college football experts have projected the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, or the Texas Bowl in Houston as likely destinations for the Jayhawks. After the loss, most people would be shocked to see Kansas finish the season anything other than 6-6. If Kansas loses to Texas and Missouri, it will finish the regular season a staggering 1-5 in the last six games.
I don't mean to cut into any players or the team as a whole. It's just disappointing. It's disappointing the media can't report another storybook season. It's disappointing the fans who waited so long to see Kansas win a game at Nebraska didn't get to see it happen. Most importantly it's disappointing to the players who wanted all this and more.
It's over now. The past is in the past. It may sound like coach-speak, but there's no option left but to focus on Saturday's opponent — Texas. All is not lost.
Kansas has one week to regroup before it faces a national title contender. The Jayhawks can pass, run and play defense. Their lineup consists of All-Americans and Heisman candidates. The only weakness on the team is a 109th ranked pass defense — which tops Kansas' 116th ranked squad. On paper and in the minds of many, Texas is a clear favorite, but isn't that how Kansas wants it to be?
The Jayhawks are underdogs again. Unlike last week's game against Nebraska, no one expects them to knock off Texas. They will enter their home turf as underdogs for the first time since 2006, a field where they've only lost once in their last 15 tries.
Texas may have higher rated recruits on its roster, but it has missed out on talent that Kansas scooped up. Seven out of the 22 starters on the depth chart come from the Lone Star State. Most of them were passed on by Texas' Mack Brown. Now these players can make a statement for themselves, for their team and for their fans.
A victory against Texas wouldn't only improve Kansas to 7-4, but it would also make this season a successful one. Whether Kansas finishes at 9-4 or 7-6, a victory against Texas this Saturday would be validation that Kansas is moving in the right direction. It would be the perfect revenge for the controversial 27-23 loss in Lawrence in 2004.
A lot is at stake this weekend. Just because the ball was dropped in Lincoln doesn't mean it can't be picked back up this Saturday in Lawrence.
Edited by Lauren Keith