8B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
COMMENTARY (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
throw. Grothe, a running quarterback, rarely had to use his legs as he comfortably surveyed the field from a safety bubble created by his offensive line. Look for Kansas to experiment with new blitzes and defensive packages. In a conference such as the Big 12 where quarterbacks will rip your secondary apart without thinking twice about it, you need a solid pass rush.
Finally, Kansas learned that sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way. Sometimes receiver Daymond Patterson will act like a
BASEBALL
— Edited by Andy Greenhaw
BASEBALL
Zambrano throws first
Cubs no-hitter in 36 years
freshman and not like a veteran star, as he did the first two weeks. Sometimes he will acciden tally perfectly defend a would-be- touchdown pass from Reesing to Jonathan Wilson. Sometimes interceptions will slip through the Kansas defender's hands and some times the questionable challenges will fall the other way.
You have to shake it off and keep going, It's the way life and football go.
MILWAUKEE — Carlos Zambrano pitched the first no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs in 36 years, returning from a recent bout of rotator cuff soreness to shut down the Houston Astros 5-0 Sunday night in a game relocated because of Hurricane Ike.
Zambrano stopped a Houston team that had not played since Thursday and flew to Milwaukee on the day of the game. The storm forced baseball to move two games of the series from Texas to Miller Park, home of the Brewers.
Zambrano, known for his emotional displays on the mound, kept himself in control until striking out Darin Erstad to finish
his gem.
The big right-hander dropped to his knees and pointed to the sky with both hands after getting Erstad to swing and miss.
Jeter jets home run to tie Lou Gehriq for career hits
NEW YORK — Derek Jeter hit a solo homer in the fifth inning against Tampa Bay on Sunday, tying Leu Gehir for the most career hits at Yankee Stadium.
Jeter connected against David Price for his 1,269th hit at the ballpark, which is in its final season. The crowd roared as the New York captain rounded the bases after his opposite-field drive to right, and cheered even louder when he came out of the dugout for a curtain call.
Gutsy call wins game for Broncos
Associated Press
NFL
Shanahan goes for two-point conversion with 24 seconds left
ASSOCIATED PRESS
When Mike Shanahan decided to go for a 2-point conversion to win — or lose — after Denver scored with 24 seconds left in regulation Sunday against San Diego, the Broncos coach wasn't bucking the odds by much.
After all, there is a 50-50 chance of winning the coin toss. And since the 2-pointer was instituted in 1994, teams trying it have succeeded 49 percent of the time, meaning that Shanahan was playing with only 1 percentage point when he tried it.
It made sense if he had little faith that his defense could hold the Chargers if the Broncos lost the coin toss at the start of the extra period.
In fact, the way both teams were moving the ball, the Broncos' chances of converting probably were better than 50 percent. The touchdown came on a fourth down pass from Jay Cutler to Eddie Royal, and those two hooked up again on the conversion, with Royal open on both plays.
What was unique is this was
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
the earliest by a month in any season that a coach had gone for two points after the 2-minute warning of a game when a routine kick could tie it. The only other call not in November or December, when there is more at stake, came on Oct. 12, 1997, when Chicago's Dave Wannstedt went for two against Detroit.
He failed and the Bears lost 24-23 in a season in which they would finish with a 4-12 record.
"Sometimes you have to go with your gut," Shanahan said. "I just felt like it was a chance for us to put them away. I didn't want to count on the coin flip. I wanted to do it then, and obviously it worked out."
San Diego's Norv Turner, the losing party in Shanahan's gamble, didn't say he would have done the same.
But he acknowledged Monday that in shootouts like Sunday's, momentum often takes over. "It's like a basketball game," he said. "You feel if you get a stop, you've done something great."
Buffalo coach Dick Jauron, who twice was involved in games when his team decided to go for two rather than chance it in overtime, said he believed Shanahan did the right thing.
"It depends on why you did it. It could be injuries. It could be the heat, your team's wearing down, you're down to five offensive linemen, you're not sure if you can get through overtime or your guys are spent. And you just say, 'This is it, we're going to win it right here,'" said Jauron, who was defensive coordinator in Jacksonville in 1995 and held the same job in Detroit in 2004 when a game-deciding 2-pointer was tried and failed.
"So yeah, I think it was a great call," Jauron added. "It's specific. It's situation specific. But he was hot, too. I mean, they were on a roll."
On the other hand, the ball was moved back from the 1-yard
All of this was complicated by the blown call by referee Ed Hochuli, who inexplicably ruled that what was clearly a fumble by Cutler was an incomplete pass.
Hochuli, who is in his 19th season, has refereed two Super Bowls and is considered one of the game's top officials. He acknowledged his error, but he could not give the Chargers possession even though the ball bounced right to linebacker Tim Dobbins because there is no provision in the rules for doing so.
line to the 10, where it landed, and San Diego still couldn't stop Denver.
Sure, no blown call should decide a game. But every coach knows it happens. And so do the people who run leagues.
In fact, several NFL officials acknowledged privately in January 2006 that they were rooting for Indianapolis' Mike Vanderjagt to miss a potential tying field goal after referee Pete Morelli miscalled a replay and awarded the Colts the ball when Pittsburgh should have gotten it.
That allowed Indy to get back in the game, and only a sheostring tackle by Ben Roethlisberger on Nick Harper's return of Jerome Bettis' fumble saved an Indy win. Then, going for a tie, Vanderjagt indeed missed — about 20 yards wide right—ensuring a Pittsburgh win. The Steelers wound up winning the Super Bowl.
The reason the league people rooted privately was fair enough — they didn't want a playoff game decided by an official's mistake.
The same thing happened in January 2003, when supervisor of officials Mike Pereira acknowledged the on-field officials should have called pass interference after a botched snap by the New York Giants on a potential winning field goal forced them to heave the ball downfield in a 39-38 playoff loss in San Francisco. On the other hand, the Giants blew a 38-14 lead in that game, so who was at fault,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner yells to officials after a call during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday. Denver defeated San Diego 39-38.
the officials or the Giants?
That's why everything is relative.
Don's Auto: Tips for Better Gas Mileage
Morelli continues to be highly regarded and has worked postseason games since his error. Those assignments depend on how each official grades out over a full season, so it means he's graded out well.
1 Change your air filter regularly
2 Slow down!
3 Use fuel injection cleaner every 30,000 to 60,000 miles
Don's Auto Center Since 1972 11th & Haskell • 841-483
In this case, Hochuli will be graded down, theoretically hurting his chances to work in important playoff games. In reality, it's too early to tell.
"Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. "Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official's grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained."
Hochuli will surely be retained he is the game's most recognizable official and certainly one of its best.
Which only shows that anyone can make a mistake.
Since 1972 11th & Haskell • 841-4833
Like Mike Shanahan: If the Broncos' conversion attempt had failed, imagine the outcry among Denver fans.
let's screw
Coming Thursday, Sept. 18th
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