6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
Nuggets vow to plug holes in leaky defense
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — The Denver Nuggets lost their best defenders this summer when they let Eduardo Najera and Marcus Camby get away.
So, what was all the talk about Monday on the eve of training camp?
Denver's never been known for its "D," but coach George Karl said players and coaches alike will focus on defense this season after spending the last two years trying to match the Phoenix Sun's up-tempo style.
Defense.
He plans to change the team's
culture with a slew of new highenergy young players and a renewed commitment from his veterans.
That starts with Carmelo Anthony, whom he trusts will bring with him the lessons he learned from the U.S. Olympic team that rode its tenacious defense to the gold medal in Beijing.
"Our offense is there. Look, this man right here's got over 20,000 points." Anthony said, motioning toward Alien Iverson. "I know I can score with the best of 'ern. But that's really not an issue for us right now. We've got to stop people."
Anthony said all the stopping
"You will see a different me," he promised.
starts with him.
Anthony still smarts when critics bring up his notoriously soft defense. He knows as the team's superstar, though, he sets the tone and is its lightning rod.
"If I can stop five people out there on the court myself, then I'd be the best to ever play this basketball team," Anthony said. "There's no T in defense. The only thing I can concentrate on is my man and help the other four players on my team. I know I can play defense."
And he's certain his teammates
After a fifth consecutive first-round flop in the playoffs, the Nuggets lost Najera to the New Jersey Nets in free agency and traded Camby, the league's top shot-blocker and a former defensive player of the year, to the Los Angeles Clippers for basically nothing in return except salary cap relief.
can, too.
"I know a lot of people are saying that our defense left when Marcus Camby left," Anthony said. "So, I think that gives us motivation to go out there and prove to everybody that we are going to come together as a team and play defense.
"I'm pretty sure you guys will see a different defensive team this year from the Denver Nuggets."
The Nuggets averaged 110 points last season but they allowed 107, and the porous defense led to another first-round exit from the playoffs when the Los Angeles Lakers rendered them the first 50-win team to get swept in the postseason.
Karl, an old-fashioned, defensive-minded coach who has spent his last decade in the NBA watching his teams in Milwaukee and Denver light up the scoreboard and more often than not fail to sprint back to the paint to deny baskets, said this
team is the faster, quicker and more athletic than any one he's coached in Denver.
Iverson, known more for his ball-handling skills than his steals, said he's willing to commit to playing better defense, too.
"I've been in this league going on my 13th year and I've been to the final once. I would have thought I'd have been there five or six times by now and won a championship," Iverson said. "So, obviously, the commitment is there from me to sacrifice my game, do whatever the team needs me to do."
men's golf
Cardinal Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Louisville Results after 36 holes
Team Leaderboard
T1. Denver (284-277--561)
T1. Louisville (281-280--561)
3. Eastern Kentucky (278-286--564)
4. Indiana (286-282--568)
5. Kansas (285-286--571)
Player Leaderboard
T3. Blake Giroux, Kansas (69-68--137)
T4. Walt Koelbel, Kansas (72-69-141)
T17. Nate Barbee, Kansas (68-74-142)
T56. an Anson, Kansas (76-75-151)
T56. an Storm, Kansas (76-75-151)
Team Leaderboard
Play suspended during round two because of darkness
women's golf
Johnie Imes Invitational
(1) Arkansas-Little Rock
(T2) Mississippi
(T2) Missouri
(4) Princeton
(5) Mississippi State
(T6) Kansas
Powers
Individual Leaderboard
(10) Emily Powers
(T21) Jennifer Clark
(T24) Meghna Bal
(T50) Grace Thiry
(T59) Kaylynd Carson
Clark
Grand slam propels White Sox to title game
MLB
Ramirez set a rookie record with his fourth grand slam of the season, and Chicago beat Detroit
CHICAGO — Alexei Ramirez spread around the arms wide and raced up the bases like a little kid. The White Sox would play one more day.
8-2 in a rainout makeup Monday, forcing a one-game tiebreaker against Minnesota for the AL Central title.
The Twins will visit the White Sox on Tuesday night, with John Danks starting for Chicago on three days' rest against Nick Blackburn. The division champ begins the playoffs at Tampa Bay on Thursday.
A day after the regular season
ended for everyone else, the White Sox and Twins found themselves tied at 88-74.
Washed out earlier this month, Chicago and Detroit waited through a rain delay of more than three hours before starting. Gavin Floyd (17-8) won on three days' rest — short rest has been successful trend for many teams in the stretch.
Associated Press
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NFL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson gets away from Denver Broncos safety Marion McCree as he runs for a 65 yard gain during the first quarter of a football game Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson crosses into the end zone ahead of Denver Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams and teammate corriekore Drew Bye near the end of the game Sunday. The Chiefs capitalized on four Broncos turnovers to win the game 31-19.
Denver coach blames turnovers lackluster offense for loss in K.C.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos coach Mike Shanahan intervened on behalf of his disparaged defensive players Monday, taking umbrage at placing the blame on them for the Kansas City loss.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
They weren't the culprits in this case.
"Any offense that does that to a defense, there's no chance," Shanahan said of the Broncos 33-19 loss in which the offense turned the ball over four times. "People will point to the defense, but that's so far from the truth."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The defense appreciates Shanahan's support, but knows the truth — they had a chance to bail out the offense and didn't.
"I'm disappointed. We could've played better," safety Marlon McCree said. "The thing about a loss like that is it humbles you and makes you focus and tighten things up."
The Broncos (3-1) need to fix their leaky defense — fast. They're giving up nearly 30 points a game and 408.8 yards of offense.
The team is trying everything from changing the alignment — throwing in a four-linebacker look from time to time — to tinkering with new personnel, cutting Hamza Abdullah and adding Vernon Fox, who didn't dress Sunday.
So far, this defense appears no different than the one from a year ago, which finished near the bottom of the league and led to a parting of ways with defensive boss Jim Bates.
"We've got to find a way to be more consistent," Dre Bly said. "Defensively, we haven't had the year we want to have."
Not by any stretch. Not by any stat. Denver has the third-worst defense in the league.
"We've got to play better," Shanah said. "We've got some work to do. But it was not quite as bad as it looked in those final stats."
Make no mistake, though, the final defensive stats against Kansas City weren't dazzling.
The Broncos surrendered just 160 yards through the air, an improvement for a defense that entered the game ranked last in the league against the pass.
The lapse against the run was a jolt to the team, which hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher this season until Johnson.
However, Larry Johnson ripped through them, gaining 198 yards and scoring two touchdowns. The Chiefs had a season-best 213 yards on the afternoon.
"We didn't do our normal (thing) in the running game," Bly said. "The first three weeks I think we did a pretty good job in the run."
Then again, the Broncos jumped out to big leads in winning their first three games, forcing teams to throw to get back into the game.
"They definitely kept us in the game," Tony Scheffler said of the defense's effort.
But the Broncos' top-ranked offense staked the defense to nothing Sunday, even putting them in an early bind with two first-half fumbles.
That's because the offense feels like there's no deficit they can't overcome, turnovers aside that is. Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall coughed up the football and Jay Cutler threw two interceptions, putting added pressure on an already struggling defense.
However, the Chiefs scored only 10 points off Denver's miscues.
"We did a good job of staying focused when we had short fields," Bly said.
That's why Shanahan defended his maligned defense.
Now, he'd like to see more improvement.
"I sure hope so," he said. "Yeah, we'll be better."
Notes: Broncos RB Andre Hall was wearing a brace on his sprained right wrist Monday. He said it was feeling good and expected to play on Sunday as Denver hosts Tampa Bay.
Shanahan and the Broncos will see a familiar face guiding the Buccaneers as Brian Griese comes to town. Griese was drafted by Denver in the third round in 1998. "I've always enjoyed Brian," Shanahan said. "He is as smart as they come."
Shanahan said WR Clifford Russell saw a neurosurgeon on Monday. He was walking around the locker room before the team's light workout Monday. Russell was immobilized and taken off the field on a stretcher Sunday after spraining his neck on kickoff coverage. He flew back with the team.