THE UNIVERSITY DAHY KANSAN
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6 2008
SPORTS
5B
COMMENTARY
In sports and politics, 2008 is a year to remember
No ink is needed to lace the pages of any history book to provide proper perspective of the generational changing of the guard that was this year. For University of Kansas students, 2008 will stoke many memories and reflections in the years to come for the remainder of their lives.
Fifty-five days remain, yet the
From the sports desk in Lawrence, 2008 was dense with history, and I can think of no better place to sit and take it all in.
implications of this year's events have been widely documented and analyzed by every blog entry and round the clock news coverage that has occurred preceding and succeeding each moment
elect of the United States and the first black man to reach our nation's highest office. More importantly, 2008 introduced a new generation. One willing to come out like none before and emphatically vote and
Two centuries of history were addressed Tuesday when Sen. Barack Obama became president
The year began two days before the Jayhawk football team capped an unprecedented 12-1 season with an equally memorable Orange Bowl victory.
take a chance on a candidate with no military experience, yet with broad goals in improving our standing on this planet and a drive to guide us in the dark days of war and economic turmoil.
The year began two days before the Jayhawk football team capped an unprecedented 12:1 season with an equally memorable Orange Bowl victory - laying to rest recent memories of laughable futility.
At that moment, the men's basketball team was 13-0 and off to its usual strong start before conference play. And despite a few hiccups that would be addressed in time, when attention refocused on Allen Field House the rest was history...
And so witnessing the aftermath of Tuesday's election — a near-worldwide celebration that parallels no other outcome in American politics in my lifetime
- it can be both easy and difficult not to group this election with the year's accomplishments of University sports.
To dismiss the events as separate occurrences during a given calendar year can be simply done. While watch parties were staged at the Kansas Union and at Abe & Jake's, thousands filled Allen Field House to witness a 98-79 exhibition squash over Washburn.
Some in attendance were fueled by apathy toward a lengthy election cycle coupled with the anticipation accompanying a storied hoops franchise defending the national title. Some raced from the field house to the nearest radio, television set or computer to track the election results. Others actu-
ally chose not to attend the game in favor of following the election.
Never forget who you were with when Mario Chalmers sank his miraculous three-point shot and delivered our version of the Miracles.
That is the most obvious and easiest paralleled to draw between 2008 University
Never forget what you saw and how you felt — regardless of party
Never forget what you saw and how you felt — regardless of party affiliation — when Obama became president.
sports and this outcome and implications of this election. But further reflection renders it impossible not to see this as the most unique year of our time thus far — more so from the perspective of anyone on this campus.
Never forget where you were when Aqib Talib picked off Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon and returned it for a 60-yard score, setting the tone for an Orange Bowl victory.
affirmation when Obama became president.
affiliation —
And again, while urging bipartisanship, I ask you to never forget the inspirational aspect
of this election and the goals you have set for the years ahead.
Our nation is entrenched in two crucial wars and has a laundry list of tough tasks ahead. Remember how it feels to taste history and don't forget what it takes to achieve those milestones.
Bill Self's crop of newcomers were far from impressive Tuesday. Freshman center Markieff Morris turned the ball over three times. His twin, freshman forward
Marcus Morris, fouled out after seven minutes of play. Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor led the team in turnovers with five and freshman guard Travis Releford had just three points and three rebounds.
It is growing pains like these that can produce tournament debacles like previous first round losses to Bradley and Bucknell. It is those same mistakes that can mold a team capable of reaching the sports pinnacle, as the 2008 Jayhawks did.
2008 will forever be a topic of discussion for us and those after. Immediate reactions to the year's big events are abundant, but the lasting impression has yet to be shaped. It is our generation that will both decide how we will be remembered and it is our generation that will write the book on 2008 and the years after.
Lawrence editions of that text will have a notable crimson and blue tint to them.
From the sports desk: Good night, and good luck.
— Edited by Kelsey Hayes
FOOTBALL
Kicker thrives in tackling opportunities Jacob Branstetter defies his small size, flummoxes coach Mark Mangino
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
jacob Branstetter isn't a typical kicker.
Branstetter appears on a few highlight reels, but not for the plays he doesn't make.
A typical kicker plays soccer until his high school football coach comes calling for a leg. A typical kicker is the crumpled pile of pads on highlight reels who falls over himself while the kick returner breezes into the end zone.
In fact, this week there were legitimate questions about whether he was named KU's special teams player of the week for his kicking or his tackling.
A three-sport athlete in high school — football, basketball and tennis — Kansas' sophomore defies the definition of kicker.
In Kansas' 52-21 thrashing of suddenly coach-less Kansas State, Bransteatter made three tackles on kickoffs. Two of them elicited crup-
tions from the crowd, and one prevented a touchdown.
ally the last line of defense. A kicker tackle means poor special teams coverage.
"I'm a kicker, and I may be small in weight, but I play football." Branstetter said. "I want to go out, and when I have the oppoortu-
Branstetter took some blame from the coverage unit, claiming he tried to make up for bad kicks by making the play. That excuse didn't work for Mangino, who didn't know what to do with his hard-hitting enigma.
"I told the kickoff coverage team that if he makes another tackle, there's going to be some serious problems," coach Mark Mangino said.
"He drives me crazy," Mangino said. "I appreciate his enthusiasm, but he runs down the field like he's a coverage guy to begin with. He is the safety."
Branstetter disagrees.
"A lot of guys try to stay 15 yards back from the ball and try to play that safety." Branstetter said. "By that time the returner's already got the whole field so he can joke you and go wherever he wants. I try to get up in there and get the
"I try to get up in there and get the returner before he ever knows I'm coming."
JACOB BRANSTETTER Sophomore kicker
returner before
he ever knows
I'm coming."
nity to help the team out, I'm going to knot somebody out."
Occasionally Branstetter partakes in defensive tackling drills. Defensive coordinator Clint Bowen joked that his players should start going through kick-
Coaches hate to see kickers rack up tackles because they're gener-
Mangino suggested Branstetter could play safety should the Jayhawks ever face a dire second-
intrig drills to see if it's the key to tackling prowess.
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his Oklahoma ability," Holt joked. "Us O k l a h o m a kids, we just like to fly around the ball."
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he was named Athlete of the Year as a senior. That year he also was selected as the starting kicker in the Oil Bowl, a rivalry clash pitting Oklahoma's high school stars against Texas'.
Big 12 quarterbacks Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell played in the game, as did current NFL kickers Kris Brown of the Tennessee Titans and Phil Dawson of Cleveland Browns.
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This season Branstetter is 8-for-11 on field goals, but he brings so much more to the table. His hits prevent big plays and also energize the team.
"I just think that comes with
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"He drives me crazy. I appreciate his enthusiasm, but he runs down the field like he's a coverage guy to begin with."
After a particularly big hit against Iowa State this season, players told Branstetter that "he brought the wood" on that one. Branstetter said he was confused by the expression, but happy that
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If you close your eyes, the description of that play sounds like it's coming from a bruising linebacker rather than a 5-foot-10, 175-pound
He hasn't mastered the defensive terminology for big hit, but Branstetter's efforts have rendered his title of kicker insufficient.
he could break out of the kicker stereotype.
kicker.
Just call him a playmaker.
"That guy came around the sideline, and he didn't see me because there was a guy getting blocked in front of him," Branstetter said. "There was no shiftiness, like they said I just tried to lay the wood to him. Whatever that means."
Edited by Kelsey Hayes
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Sophomore kicker Jacob Branstetter kicks an extra point during Saturday's game against Kansas State. Branstetter had three tackles on kickoffs during that game, which the Jayhawks won 52-21.
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