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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
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FOOTBALL
COMMENTARY
PAGE 1B
NASCAR more than carnage
STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
montemayor@kansan.com
America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed."
Eleanor Roosevelt, as quoted in 2006's "Talladega Nights". This is a scene guaranteed at least several times a week on any given stretch of road.
Cars are backed up, moving slowly to catch a glimpse of the mangled, freshly wrecked automobile ahead.
Our love for twisted metal is no foil to the ancient Romans' love of bloody combat in the afternoon at the Colosseum. It also explains the nation within a nation that is the NASCAR nation.
Earlier this week, I was handed my biggest and most important assignment of my young journalistic career: Go and cover NASCAR's goings-on this weekend at the Kansas Speedway.
What will transpire likely will not be a black-and-white, who won-who lost ordeal, but instead will be a field study of one of the United States' biggest subcultures.
According to its Web site, NASCAR is our country's second most popular sport behind the NFL in terms of television ratings. It is also broadcast in more than 150 countries.
Seventeen out of 20 of the mostattended sporting events in the United States are NASCAR races, and 75 million fans purchase more than $3 billion in annual licensed product sales. There are only about 300 million people in this country.
As many as or more than 82,000 people will be on hand at the Speedway Friday, Saturday and Sunday — a speedway located in a county (Wyandotte) of about 155,000 people.
This ever-growing fanaticism for motorized speed continues even after Dale Earnhardt — arguably the sport's biggest icon — collided into a wall at 150 mph in Daytona seven years ago and died as a result. But the question here is: Has the sport grown in spite of that tragedy or because of it?
It's an unpleasant thought, that much is certain, but a necessary inquiry.
Go to any given sports bar where NASCAR denizens congregate and you'll likely hear, at least once, this exchange upon returning from the restroom:
"Did I miss anything? Did anyone crash? No Damn. This race is boring."
Earnhardt's death was the fourth in a nine-month period dating back to May 2000. NASCAR eventually decided four deaths were enough to warrant a change in safety measures, and mandated that all drivers use head and neck restraints and continue to implement further safety measures — including the new Car of Tommorow that will be used during Sunday's race.
The COT has foam inserted between the sheet metal and the driver's cage to help absorb the shock of collisions, and the driver's seat is farther from the door to minimize injuries sustained from side impact.
Because of these necessary changes, NASCAR has significantly cut down on the number of fatalities or serious injuries sustained during the Chase to the Sprint Cup.
We can now enjoy the wreckage free from guilt.
Really, for every racing purist out there, there are as many if not more casual fans who are attracted to the sport's capacity to produce awe-inspiring stock car carnage.
This allure is nothing new, as mentioned above. People will always flock to football games to witness spine-crunching hits or claim they like to play rugby — until a strategically placed finger enters one's eve socket.
What I have examined today is merely an aspect of the sport. The sheer magnitude of these events is what deserves appreciation and will no doubt get my attention this weekend.
Best regards, and wish me luck for
am about to enter a world unknown.
Fortunately, the layhawks are on a bye week, so I don't have to fret about their sorry running game or the Big 12 schedule ahead just yet. I can dive full bore into this crazed phenomenon of stock car racing.
Say what you want about NASCAR — it's for hillbillies! — but its eighth venture into Kansas will most likely be the area's biggest sporting draw of the year.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Al Greene applies pressure to Sam Houston State quarterback. Rhett Bomar during Saturday's 38-14 win. Coach Mark Mangino said he hoped the bye week would give his team enough time to fix problems on both sides of the ball.
Extra time to fix problems
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
With glaring weaknesses staring Kansas in the face at three different positions, the bye week has come at a perfect time for coach Mark Mangino and his team.
The Jayhawks, who don't play until opening Big 12 play at Iowa State on Oct 4th, have worked all week on fundamentals and improving themselves in several different areas.
"We need it," Mangino said of the extra week of practice. "We'll work on fundamental football: getting better and improving areas we need to improve to get better as a team before we get into conference play the following week."
on Saturday may have been the perfect game for the Jayhawks leading into their bye week. It clearly showed the three big weaknesses that Kansas must improve - pass defense, pass rush and the running game. All three have struggled all season long but shouldn't have struggled as much as they did against a Division I-AA opponent such as Sam Houston State.
The 38-14 win over Sam Houston State
At cornerback, the Jayhawks could be vastly improved if they could get Kendrick Harper back from injury, which appears possible for the Iowa State game. Isiah Barfield, Ryan Murphy and Corrigan Powell have all had a chance to earn playing time at the position, but all three have struggled to keep their receivers from catching balls for big vardage.
The running game also has been a big
cause of concern for the layhawks, who started Angus Quigley at running back on Saturday for the first time this season.
"It improved a little bit last week and it's gotten a little better, but it isn't exactly where we want it to be," Mangino said. "We need to clean up our fundamentals on the offensive line and finish blocks and I think that's something that's key for us. Our running backs just have to be patient. You're not always looking for a big play, but you're looking for a productive play."
Mangino benched several key players for part or all of the Sam Houston State game, including starting wide receivers Daymond Patterson and Dezmon Briscoe, to try to send a message that lackluster effort wouldn't be tolerated. He said on Monday that he wasn't sure whether his
message had been received.
"Well I hope so, but they still have to earn their way back," Mangino said. "They have to show us that they are worthy of being back in the lineup. They will have plenty of opportunities in practice to show us that they belong in there. We may get Dexton Fields back too, which would be a plus."
The bye week will be a chance to not only improve fundamentals and get some banged-up players much needed rest, but it will be a chance for those fighting for playing time to try to earn a spot on the field.
"You have to earn your way, every day, or you don't play," Mangino said. "I didn't mean for it to rhyme but it came out that way."
Edited by Scott R. Toland
VOLLEYBALL
Hawks beat Huskers in 1st set, lose game
BY JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
For one set last night, Kansas looked like one of the better teams in the country. But only for one set.
The Jayhawks fell to No. 2-ranked Cornhuskers Wednesday night at the Nebraska Coliseum in four sets, Kansas coach Ray Bechard knows the importance of that third set victory.
"Our goal this week was to be a much better team by the end of the week," Bechard said. "And I thought we took some steps toward that."
Although the Jayhawks showed some resilience in set two, behind sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington and senior and junior middle blockers Savannah Noyes and Brittany Williams, Kansas fell 25-19. It appeared that the 110th consecutive sell-out crowd at the Coliseum was going to watch another sweep.
A kill from freshman setter Nicole Tate gave Kansas its largest lead of the match at 5-2. After a brief Nebraska rally tied the score at 11-11, the Jayhawks showed an impressive push behind Garlington's kills and the Cornhusker's errors to a 19-13 lead.
Nebraska would not go down quietly in the set, and after tying the score at 20-20, Kansas was able to finish it off at 25-22, something Bechard though was just as impressive as building a six point lead.
But the Javhawks had other plans.
"I think I was more proud of that," Bechard said. "We responded even when they came back."
Middle blocker Birtany Williams, New Orleans junior, reaches for a block during the game against Nebraska Wednesday night. Kansas lost to Nebraska, 3-1.
Vanessa Skocz /Daily Nebraskar
"You extend the match, got a little momentum," Bechard said of the third set. "Now let's find a way to come out clean in set four, and that's one thing we didn't do."
But after that, it was all downhill for Kansas, which lost 25-15.
One of Bechard's many concerns was how his team would handle the Cornhusker's dangerous serve.
In that first set Bechard came to realize it was not pretty. Nebraska's outside hitter, senior Jordan Larson, set a new record for career aces at Nebraska.
"It was all about their serve, and we became very predictable," Bechard said. "And then when we settled in on it in sets two and three."
Larson and freshmen Tara Mueller each finished with 12 kills, assaulting the jayhawks defense throughout the match.
"Kind of like the Iowa State game, we're down 0-2 and we decided to start playing in the third set," Noyes said. "We get confidence and realize we can play with teams and not give up."
In the biggest game of the season so far, it was not surprising to see a veteran step up for this relatively young team and help shoulder most of the burden. Noyes, a Nebraska native, did that with nine kills and three block assists. She knows this is just another building block for the future.
Exposure was also key for this young Jayhawk team. They now know what it is like to play a big-time match, in a big-time arena.
"It's a really great thing to play the No. 2 team in the nation," Noyes said. "And we're not going to see anyone else like that, at that high level."
There will be no rest for the weary, however. Kansas will play No. 2 Texas at home on Saturday.
For continued success this season, Bechard said, the team must control its plays.
"It'll be a different opportunity," Bechard said. "Their goal this year is to get to a final four and win a national championship, and they've got the parts to do that."
"The only thing we can't control is how Texas is going to play." Bechard said. "But we can sure control what is going on our side of the net."
GAME NOTES
setting a school record that is just three sellouts shy of the all-time record, which is held by Connecticut.
"That place was rockin' tonight," coach Ray Bechard said. "It's a great environment, great people here. John Cook is one of the premier coach's in the country."
The Nebraska Coliseum sold out for the 110th consecutive time Wednesday night,
And the Cornhuskers keep giving their fans reasons to show up, as they are 103-6 in those 110 matches
"We need to find a way to make a little bit of our own history," Bechard said.
Senior outside hitter Jordan Larson set Nebraska's all time ace record, breaking Val Novak's record of 161. Larson finished with three aces for the match, with a career total of 164.
Sophomore Outside hitter Karina Garlington finished with double-digit kills for the third consecutive match, finishing with a team-high of 10 kills.
Edited by Becka Cremer
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