THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
2B SPORTS
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27.2008
quote of the day
"The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does."
—Phil Woosnam,
Welsh soccer player and manager
Cinderella season deals momentum
fact of the day
Q: How many members of the women's soccer team are from the state of Kansas?
Freshman soccer player Emily Cressy scored a goal in her Kansas debut last Friday, but she's still quite a few goals away from Caroline Smith. Smith, who played soccer at Kansas from 2002 to 2005, is Kansas soccer's all-time leading goal-scorer with 51 career goals. Her career totals ranks fifth all-time in Big 12 history.
A: 12, including five who grew up in Overland Park.
trivia of the day
After nearly 50 years of mediocrity, a bowl of oranges may have awakened a sleeping giant
Countless storylines spawned from the perfect storm that was Kansas football in 2007.
For starters, there was the tale of a certain overlooked, but irrepressibly confident, young quarterback named Todd Reesing. Dubbed "Sparky" by coach Mark Mangino, Reesing captured Lawrence's imagination while setting no less than 21 offensive records in his first season as a starter.
Then there was the coaching clinic put on by Mangino and his staff, prompting The Associated Press to name him 2007 National Coach of the Year after a school-record 12 victories.
And it's impossible to overlook the football fever that enveloped the University as merchandise and ticket sales soared and pride made a triumphant return to Memorial Stadium.
But one number defined the Jayhawks' unprecedented success more than any other: 14,246. That's the number of days that passed between Kansas'
Orange Bowl trip in 1969 and last January's 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in Miami.
For those of you counting at home, that's 20,514,240 minutes of the kind of mediocrity that comes with the likes of Bud Moore, Terry Allen and Bob Valesente at the helm.
Maybe that kind of drought was acceptable for the last 40 years, but the football landscape in Lawrence has changed drastically since Bobby Douglass led that 1968 squad to within two points of beating Penn State.
Expectations have changed, and mediocrity is no longer acceptable. Mangino has a sparkling new football complex that came with a $31 million price tag. Reesing is a year older, and the
Jayhawks no longer have to settle for overlooked or unorthodox recruits.
For the first time in years, national pundits are actually paying attention to the Jayhawks, even if the spotlight is on last season's supposedly cream-puff schedule.
Meanwhile, Jayhawk highlights have found a place they haven't been since Glen Mason patrolled the sidelines, spliced in with
those of traditional powerhouses to promote national broadcasts
It's a different era in Lawrence, and like it or not success is expected.
Last year put Kansas on the college football map. This year, Mangino's challenge is entrenching his program among the nation's best while dealing with the loss of All-Americans Aqib Talib and Anthony Collins and playing a daunting slate of games
Rest assured the new breed of Kansas football fans won't accept almost 15,000 days of disappointment anymore.
IF YOU GRILL IT,
THEY WILL COME
Last weekend I found out exactly what it take to persuade students to attend non-revenue sporting events: free hot dogs — and lots of them.
At least I think that's what brought 623 fans, most of them students, to last Friday's women's soccer game against Purdue. Those who stuck around after the grilling at halftime saw
smell the coffee
It's part blog, part column,
part pop culture free-for-
all. It's The Morning Brew.
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the Jayhawks overwhelm the Boilermakers with three second-half goals.
There won't be free processed meat products when newly minted No. 25 Kansas takes on Auburn on Sunday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. But there will be an explosive brand of attacking soccer that has produced six goals in two games thus far, and in my book that is far more satisfying.
— Edited by Andy Greenhaw
A man and his unbreakable bat
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Inventor Ward Dill stands behind his newly designed wooden bat, Radial Bat, during a news conference to introduce the bat in Little Falls, N.J., on Tuesday. The bat is made of wooden wedges joined together to be stronger than normal wooden bats and will not split or shatter, according to Dill.
MEN'S BASKETBALL Self fills final coaching spot with former player
Kansas will leave for Ottawa, Ontario Friday without any spots to fill on its coaching staff.
"Brett has been with us the past five years and has done a
Coach Bill Self announced Brett Ballard, former video coordinator, would be promoted to director of basketball operations Tuesday. Ballard takes over for Ronnie Chalmers, who held the position for the last three seasons before resigning last week
fabulous job,"Self said."He certainly deserves this title."
"Being at Kansas, having played at Kansas and getting the opportunity to work at Kansas has been great," Ballard said. "I feel very fortunate and blessed."
Ballard has served on the Kansas coaching staff for the last five seasons after graduating from the University. He became a student assistant in 2003 before being promoted to video coordinator the following year.
Kyle Keller will fill the vacancy left by Ballard by serving as the new video coordinator. Self said
he had known Keller for the last 20 years and was confident he'd be a great addition to the staff.
Keller has worked at Oklahoma State for the past nine seasons. He held various positions under coaches Eddie and Sean Sutton, including an assistant coaching position for the past two seasons.
"I'm really excited to get the opportunity to work with Coach Self" Keller said. "He is one of the top coaches in all of basketball and has a great staff."
Case Keefer
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KICK THE KANSAN
Pick games. Beat the Kansan staff. Get your name in the paper.
This week's games:
1. #20 Illinois at #6 Missouri
2. Washington at #21 Oregon
4. #18 Tennessee at UCLA
5. Appalachian State at #7 LSU
3. #24 Alabama at #9 Clemson
6. Oklahoma State at Washington State
7. Syracuse at Northwestern
9. Idaho at Arizona
8. Michigan State at California
10. TCU at New Mexico
11. #18 Tennessee at UCLA (with score)
E-mail:
Name:
Year in school:
Hometown:
Rules:
1) Only KU students are eligible.
2) Give your name, e-mail, year in school and hometown.
3) Beat the best prognosticator at the Kansan and get your name in the paper.
4) Beat all your peers and get your picture and picks in the paper next to the Kansan staff.
5) To break ties, pick the score of the designated game.
Submit your picks either to KickTheKansan@kansan.com or to the Kansan business office, located at the West side of Stauffer-Flint Hall, which is between Wescoe Hall and Watson Library.
We've been around the block for more than 55 years
Welcome back to tradition. Famous burgers & pizza!
NBA
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics signed their first-round draft pick J.R. Giddens on Tuesday.
NBA Celtics add former Jayhawk Giddens to roster
The 6-foot-5 point guard, the 30th pick in the draft, averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds for New Mexico during his senior season.
The 23-year-old Giddens brings a reputation as a strong defender to the defending NBA champion Celtics.
Giddens said he has matured in the last few years.
He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge after being stabbed at a bar fight in May 2005 while playing for Kansas.
He transferred to New Mexico, where he was suspended twice in his first season.
Associated Press
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