8B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008
COLLEGE BASKETRALL
Recent stroke prompted Olson's sudden retirement
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUCSON, Ariz. — Lute Olson's doctor said Tuesday that the former Arizona basketball coach had a stroke within the last year and he advised him to retire.
The comments by Dr. Steven Knope at a news conference called by Olson's family offer the first
explanation for Olson's sudden retirement last week, two days after he appeared at the Wildcats' media day. Olson said at the time he was energized and looking forward to his 25th season with Arizona
wanted to fulfill his obligation to the community and the university"
"He was doing great over the summer and very much wanted to fulfill his obligation to the community and the university."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
body Brase, former Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson's daughter, sits in a press conference as she listens to Steven Knope, M.D., tell the media Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz., that Olson suffered a small stroke, will not need surgery and is on a blood thinning medication. Knope said Olson, who retired suddenly last week, was left with severe depression and impaired judgment.
Knoppe said Olson was resting at home and was on a blood thinner, and he was optimistic Olson would recover. The announcement ended almost a year of speculation about Olson's health. Rumors began to circulate when he took a leave of absence last season for what he
Knopa said an MRI confirmed the stroke in the frontal part of Olson's brain, which left him with severe depression and impaired judgment.
DR. STEVEN KNOPE Lute Olson's physician
"This is a rather cruel twist of fate," Knope said at a McKale Center news conference attended by two of Olson's daughters, Jodi Brase and Christi Snyder.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
later termed a "medical condition that was not life-threatening"
"He is quite literally devastated." Knope said. "He was doing great over the summer and very much
During the past few weeks, Knope said he had talked to Olson about retiring because Olson was struggling
to handle his workload as pre-season practice opened.
"He just couldn't put the pieces together," Knope said. "He couldn't do what he needed to do for the team."
a limb, this stroke occurred in a part of the brain where much of his intellectual function and his motor function was perfectly normal," Knope said. "So it wasn't quite apparent. The tipoff and the clue came in the last several weeks, when we began to treat what appeared to be a bout of depression that simply didn't respond."
Knope said he ordered the MRI on Monday after Olson did not respond to recent treatment for depression. The MRI revealed a stroke.
"Unlike a typical stroke that you may imagine where someone is unable to walk or talk or move
Knope said he had treated Olson for depression in the last year, during which Olson went through a contentious divorce from his second wife, Christine.
In April, Olson appeared ready to return to the grind of major college coaching. Olson told his doctor, "I love the garme, I can't wait to get back," Knope said.
But something had changed. Knope said the coach had responded earlier to antidepressants but in the more recent bout he did not and also exhibited out-of-character behavior.
One public example came when a combative Olson sparred with reporters during the April news conference to announce his return. He typically had cool but cordial relations with the media.
"I think we can attribute that behavior to the stroke." Knope said.
At media day last week, Olson expressed constriction about his
behavior that day. "I've wished I had that hour back many times," he said.
Olson's hands have trembled in recent years, prompting rumors
that he has Parkinson's disease. Knope said Olson suffered from a benign condition called familial tremor but did not have Parkinson's.
"There is no dementia going on in coach Olson," Knope said. "He had a mental status exam two days ago, and he scored almost perfectly."
NFL
Poor start, legal issues have Kansas City fans reeling
ASSOCIATED PRESS
$19 million guarantee.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oh,
what a dramatic sight it was.
Larry Johnson came jogging unannounced onto the practice field, just minutes after ending a 25-day holdout and signing a contract extension for a team-record
Now, finally, the Kansas City Chiefs had practically everyone back from the previous year's playoff team. Optimism reigned. Delighted to be KC's highest-paid player, Johnson even promised to set aside his sullen ways and be a leader.
But since that August afternoon in 2007, the Chiefs have played 23 games and won only five.
In their last 16 games, the equivalent of an entire regular season, they're a shocking 1-15. No team in the NFL during that stretch has been worse. Not the Bengals, nor the Raiders nor the Lions, although
Detroit does come closer to matching KC's futility than any other bottom feeder.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN AND KU ATHLETICS ARE SEARCHING FOR THE NEW GAMEDAY T-SHIRT FOR THE STUDENT BODY.
We Need You
to help us come up with a new gameday slogan. The top 3 finalists will receive:
1st Place: iPod Touch,
A piece of the Final Four floor
& A 3 pack of posters from the '52, '88 & '08 Championships
2nd Place: iPod Nano & 1 EA Sports Game
3rd Place: iPod Shuffle & 1 EA Sports Game
The only thing standing between the Lions and 1-15 in their last 16 games is a 25-20 conquest last Dec. 23 of — you guessed it — Kansas City.
They're laden with rookies in the first year of a rebuilding movement that should have started a year ago and the youngsters have committed mistake after mistake, with players getting caught out of position, forgetting assignments, getting mixed up on coverage, trying to do too much. But all that addresses only the on-the-field setbacks that have beset a once-proud franchise that won 100 games in the 1990s.
Their No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks were cut down by season-ending injuries in the same game. Their punter, the only player on the team near the top of any meaningful statistical category, has been out with a groin injury.
Since that sunny August day in 2007, Johnson has led his team only in shocking behavior and faces court dates in two separate cases of simple assault against women. In the last one, a young woman alleges that Johnson spit his drink at her and threatened her boyfriend in a fashionable local nightspot.
Johnson was benched the last
two games for missing team meetings but did show up on Tuesday for a meeting in New York with commissioner Roger Goodell. The Chiefs expect disciplinary action to be handed down as early as this week and will not comment when asked if Johnson may have played his last game with them.
Signing Johnson to the huge contract was a gigantic mistake.
But the trade never happened, and now he and the embattled general manager are not speaking. Fans have taken Gonzalez's side.
So was making brittle Brodie Croyle their foundation quarterback. He's made eight starts and been injured four times and the Chiefs' rebuilding movement is floundering at the most important position.
the final minutes of the game the week before and break the record at home, Gonzalez asked to be traded. At 32, he also did not want to end his brilliant career with a team that can't win.
Last week, behind third-string
But since that August afternoon in 2007, the Chiefs have played 23 games and won only five. In their last 16 games,the equivalent of an entire regular season they're a shocking 1-15.
quarterback Tyler Thigpen, the underdog Chiefs almost pulled off an upset of Brett Favre and the New York Jets. They hatched an imaginative game plan, fought the good fight and held the lead in
But instead of heartening long-suffering fans, coaches only added to everyone's frustration by turning ultra conservative in the final decisive minutes, running into the line three straight times and quickly going three-and-out.
For the Chiefs in what could turn into their worst season ever, even good things have a way of turning sour. At Carolina on Oct. 5, the great Tony Gonzalez officially became the most productive tight end in NFL history. But instead of creating levity and light, it led only to more controversy.
Angry that he hadn't been allowed to catch one 3-yard pass in
the final minutes.
Then they turned the ball over to Favre and watched him pull off fourth-quarter comeback No. 41 of his great career.