6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008
DULY NOTED (CONTINUED FROM 5B)
the first quarter, injured his ankle late in the first quarter. Crawford returned and had five more carries for only 4 yards before re-aggravating the ankle injury that ended his night in the third quarter.
"I went back in and pushed it but I tweaked it again," Crawford said. "A guy tackled me and actually twisted my ankle when he tackled me so he tweaked it a little more than what it was. They said it wasn't that bad at all. I'll be all right."
Despite having to leave the game early, Crawford indicated that he hoped he wouldn't have to miss any practice time.
"He got dinged up a little bit," said Mark Mangino. "It's nothing serious. We didn't want to take any chance toward the end of the game."
FIELDS HURT ALSO
Senior wide receiver Dexter Fields did not practice Sunday after sustaining an injury of his own late in the first quarter on Saturday night. Fields leaped for a pass but landed awkwardly and injured his ankle. He went into the locker room and later returned on his own. He was seen on the sideline without a shoe on and didn't return to the game.
"I don't think it's going to be anything that's really long-term," Mangino said. "I hope not. That's just the preliminary evaluation. He just got his foot caught in the turf, but I think he's going to be OK."
HATCH ABSENT
Matt Darton started at right-tackle in place of Jeremiah Hatch, who missed the game for unspecified reasons but appeared to be injured. Mangino wouldn't comment on Hatch after the game.
Darton started the Iowa State game last year in place of Anthony Collins and freshman Ben Lueken saw time at right-tackle.
"They played adequately — good enough to win." Mangino said of the tackles on Monday's Big 12 Coaches Teleconference. "But they must improve and they will because they are young. Their performance was good enough to win but they must get better."
Mangino cautioned last Tuesday that the recently released depth chart could change before the ink on the paper dried. He was right, as sophomore Jamal Greene, who was listed on the depth chart as the second team defensive tackle, started over Richard Johnson. Sophomore Jonathan Wilson started at wide receiver alongside Fields and Dezmon Briscoe and had five catches for 60 yards.
NO REDSHIRTS
Four freshmen played on Saturday, eliminating any chance they had of redshirting the 2008 season. Punt-returner and wide-receiver Daymond Patterson, tight-end Tim Biere, defensive-tackle Darius Parish, and offensive-tackle
Ben Lueken all saw action in the season opener.
RECORD-SETTING
CROWD
Kansas set an all-time single game attendance record with a crowd of 52,112. The previous record was 51,912 against Nebraska last season. The total was 4,000 more than the top non-conference game attendance of 48,112 which was also last season against Toledo.
POINT SPREAD
Gamblers around the country must have been screaming at their computers late Saturday when Angus Quigley was tackled at the one-yard line on the last play of the game. Various sports betting Web sites listed the Jayhawks as 36-point favorites, meaning that a Quigley touchdown and an extra point would have given the Jayhawks a 37 point win. The Jayhawks instead won by only 30, failing to cover the spread.
Last year the Jayhawks started the season going 10-0 against the point spread before losing to Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium. The odds of that happening were 1024-1.
— Edited by Andy Greenhaw
RECEIVERS
(CONTINUED FROM 5B)
between defenders, rather than running through it and getting your clock cleaned," coach Mark Mangino said.
Briscoe admitted that he made a wrong move on the play.
Briscoe muscled his way to open space every time the offense marched into the red zone.
"I set myself up for that lick," he said. "I shook me up a little bit, but my teammates on the sideline encouraged me to get out there and do what I do."
On a fourth and goal from the three-yard line in the third quarter, Reesing evaded a pair of defenders and lobbed a pass to the back corner that looked as if it'd sail away and fall harmlessly on the track. Then Briscoe came out of nowhere and leaped into the air, clutching the floater as he tiptoed back to earth for his third touchdown of the night.
While they admit that any one of them is capable of making those plays when called upon, Briscoe's fellow receivers couldn't help but be impressed with his 2008 debut.
"He's great." Meier said. "If the ball's anywhere in the area, he's going to go up and get it."
"Me personally?" Wilson asked. "I think he's money. It's six points every time he's in the red zone."
— Edited by Andy Greenhaw
GOLF
Singh wins for the second straight week
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NORTON, Mass. — Vijay Singh kept pouring in birdie puts, 35 feet on one hole and 60 feet on the next, as cheerers turned from disbelief to sheer amazement.
That might be the last bit of excitement for this edition of the FedEx Cup.
Vijay Singh, from Fiji, hits a shot on the seventh hole during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament Monday.
Despite a volatile new points system designed to give more players a chance, Singh took the suspense out of the PGA Tour Playoffs with an 8-under 63 on Monday to win the Deutsche Bank Championship in record fashion. It was his second straight victory, giving him such a large lead that he could wrap up the $10 million prize before the Tour Championship.
"Right now, my focus is going to be next week, and see if I can wrap it up," Singh said.
Singh has been even more impressive.
A year ago, Tiger Woods drained the drama from the postseason by tying for second at the TPC Boston, then winning the final two events.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
He won The Barclays in a three-man playoff last week, convincing himself that he was the best putter in golf. He made even more believers on a gorgeous Labor Day south of Boston, making birdie putts of 35 feet, 60 feet and 35 feet on the back nine to turn this into a runaway.
"He played amazing. It was awesome," said Sergio Garcia, who was paired with Singh and closed with a 72. "I don't think you guys are going to realize how good that was, because you're aren't playing and you don't know how tough the course was playing. When Vijay plays like that, it's hard to beat him."
Tour officials said any of 24 players still have a mathematical chance — assuming Singh finishes last in the final two tournaments, and some of those guys win both events.
"He's back to form," Ernie Els said. "He's such a great player when he gets on form. He's playing really good golf, he's got some confidence going. He's going to be a dangerous guy."
Don't count on it.
Singh set tournament records with a five-shot victory over Mike Weir (71) finishing at 22-under 262, breaking by two shots the record set by Adam Scott in 2003. He collected $1.26 million, enough to finally replace Woods atop the money list at over $6.4 million. Woods has not played since season-ending surgery after the 20.5 Open.
And a richer guy, at that.
Singh won for the third time in five weeks, and it should move him to No.3 in the world ranking.
Attribute this to the power of
positive thinking.
"Whatever they can tell me, it works briefly," he said. "But it has to come from inside me, and that was the biggest thing. I arrived last week at Ridgewood with a great attitude on the putting green and just kind of felt like I belonged on the greens. That was the biggest thing."
He has heard his share of psycho-babble, but realized the most important message came from within.
Singh, who has long struggled with the putter, convinced himself last week to stop reading negative comments and consider himself as good as anyone with the flat stick.
Singh took the lead when Weir made double bogey on the ninth, then the 45-year-old Fijian made an 8-foot birdie on the 11th to build his lead to two, and stretched it with a 35-footer on the 13th.
Another test came on the 14th.
He pulled his 9-iron approach to the 14th, however, leaving him 60 feet away. That's the kind of putt he usually hopes he can lag close enough for an easy par. But not this time.
"And he said, 'You're damn right you are, now go ahead and knock it in.' Singh said. "And I made it. Instead of standing there and hoping you're going to get up-and-down in two, I was trying to make those putts."
Weir dropped to 1-9 on the PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead. unable to contend with big hitters on a blustery day. Even so, he moved up to No.3 in the standings behind Singh and Garcia.
Once on the green, he kept telling caddie Chad Reynolds, "I'm the best putter in the world."
This was the final tournament before U.S. captain Paul Azinger makes four picks to fill out his Ryder Cup team, and his job didn't get any easier.
Els flew too many greens and made too many bogeys to make a charge, closing with a 70 to tie for third with Camilo Villegas, who shot a 73.
The top American was Tim Herron, who shot 65 and tied for fifth with Garcia at 13-under 271. It was the first top 10 for Herron all year. Chad Campbell made a late
push with a 69-66 weekend in the toughest conditions of the tournament to tie for seventh with Justin Leonard (67) and Jim Furyk (72), who already have qualified.
Azinger was to announce his picks Tuesday morning in New York.
Too bad he can't claim Singh, a good friend, as an American.
Singh has a 12,225-point lead over Garcia. That means Singh is assured of having the lead going into the Tour Championship, and another top finish might be enough to wrap up the title if none of the guys immediately behind him win in St. Louis next week.
"I'm going to go out and play really hard," Singh said. "If I have another win, it will be iceing on the cake. But I don't take anything for granted."
VOLLEYBALL
Herron's biggest week allowed him to keep playing. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings advance to the third round of the playoffs in St. Louis this week at the BMW Championship. Herron started the week at No. 99, but his tie for fifth moved him all the way up to No. 48.
Team stumbles in opening sets
BY JOSH BOWE
ibowe@kansan.com
Coach Ray Bechard hopes that for the rest of the year, the team that showed up to play against NC State this past weekend is the one that shows up to every game. But the team that played against VCU — not so much.
The volleyball team split its two matches at the VCU Invitational this past weekend, falling to VCU on Friday night in three sets, but swept NC State Saturday morning in three sets.
Because of the rule change that limits sets to 25 points instead of 30, Bechard said it was even harder to come back after a slow start. That slow start, combined with a home team that was excited for its first game and an opportunity to knock off a Big 12 school, doomed the Jayhawks in their first match.
Although it was the team's first game of the year, Bechard said he was disappointed by some of the uncharacteristic things he usually didn't see from the team.
"We just did not create enough opportunities to be successful," Bechard said. "But I really felt we learned from that and made some adjusts for our approach (against NC State)."
In Saturday's sets, the Jayhawks finally looked like a team that could rattle the Big 12. Displaying a killer instinct and energetic physical play, sophomore Karina Garlington led Kansas with a match-high 14 kills, along with five service-aces—a personal record.
"She was a little disappointed in the quality of swings she had last night (against VCU)," Bechard said. "She checked in with herself. She hit some very good shots."
The lone bright spot in the match against VCU was freshman Allison Mayfield's match-high 11 kill performance.
Freshman setter Nicole Tate had 23 assists for her debut as a Jayhawk against VCU, and she followed that with 29 against NC State.
Mayfield
The Jayhawks will need Uhart's leadership when they venture into a tough Big 12 conference. But the Jayhawks still have seven non-conference games left. The next two are against Utah Valley and Oregon on Sept. 5.
ity for a kid like that."
"She was a little bit uneven on Friday night," Bechard said. "But I thought today (against NC State) she came back and took a huge step forward, a huge responsibil-
It was no surprise that Bechard preached the leadership of senior Natalie Uhart, the lawhacks'
"She set the tone a little infor on our team." Bechard said. "She made some demands in the warm-up saying, 'Here's how we need to play'."
Bechard said he needed his team to work on what he calls stages of the set, where the team breaks in 0-10, 10-20 and then 20-25 points. Bechard said he wanted his team to value each set more.
"You can't get too far behind and expect to come back," he said, "and you can't relax when you have a lead."
only pre-season Big 12 team player.
1
TU
"It's probably the best way for us to start," head coach Herm Edwards insisted Monday. "Because you get a barometer of where you're at right now. There's no guessing. When the game's over with, you say 'OK, here's where we're at.'"
NFL
Oddsmakers say this one figures to be a runaway for a Patriots team seeing its first regular-season action since the Super Bowl loss to the Giants ruined their historic perfect season.
— Edited by Lauren Keith
As of Monday, the Patriots were favored by $16\frac{1}{2}$ points, making KC the only double-digit underdog in the league.
"I'm pretty sure we're going to be two-touchdown or three-touchdown underdogs," said cornerback Patrick Surtain. "But that's what you've got to love about this game. It's played on the field."
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs will head to New England with a raft of rookies, a nine-game losing streak and, they hope, a positive attitude.
Logically, it still shapes up as the biggest mismatch of the NFL's opening weekend.
The presumably angry and frustrated Patriots will be facing a Kansas City team in full and unapologetic rebuilding mode, winless in meaningful games since Oct. 14.
After ending last year on a nine-game losing streak, the Chiefs purged veterans, loaded up with youth and asked their fans to please be patient. As a result, the team Edwards takes to New England will probably include 15 rookies among 22 new players.
Chiefs opening game: David versus Goliath
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"That's good for us," said Edwards. "That's the direction we wanted to head in and now we've got to get them ready to play."
All 12 of last year's draftees are still with the organization. Nineteen players drafted in the last three years remain with the club. Eleven figure to start against the experienced, big-game savvy Patriots.
"We lost nine in a row last year
"It's going to be a tough task but I think my young fellas back there are ready. They're ready for a challenge," Surtain said.
I think the taste in our mouths should be a little more sour than theirs," said Surtain. "I think we're ready. We have a young team. A lot of new guys haven't experienced what we went through last year. It's a clean slate, a new year and we're looking forward to it."
Surtain is a rare veteran in a youthful defensive secondary that includes rookie starter Brandon Flowers at the other cornerback.
"I can't talk for those guys," he said. "I can't talk for their team. I've got my puppies that I'm taking up there. I've got to make sure they're on the plane on time. I can't worry about the Patriots' state of mind."
Edwards refused to speculate on whether Albert might start. And he was not inclined to talk about what sort of mind-set the Patriots might bring to their first regular-season game since the bitterly disappointing Super Bowl loss.
Another rookie starter could be Branden Albert at left tackle, who's been out since the second week of training camp with an injured foot and spent most of his college career at guard.
But Surtain was willing to take a shot.
"Revenge," he said. "They're going to go into the game with a chip on their shoulder, and so are we. It's a first game. It’s an even slate. Everybody's 0-0. It’s a chance to go up there and knock off a great team. And they are a great team. Our main goal is to go up there and get a win. We’re not going up there for any moral victories. We really feel we have a chance to win."
Also worrisome for Chiefs fans is Edwards' recent history. His first two Chiefs teams started 0-2.
But defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, another rookie starter, figures going on the road and facing a top Super Bowl contender can only work to the young Chiefs' advantage.