THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 2008
SPORTS
3B
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
contribute has him counting down the days until the Jayhawks play host to Florida International next Saturday.
"I'm overwhelmed with excitement," Spikes said. "Last year was something that couldn't be traded for anything, and hopefully we do what we have to do to make it back there again and I can contribute and felt good about it."
Spikes sat atop the depth chart at left tackle since the spring game and beat out Ian Wolfe for the spot during camp. He was ranked as the seventh best lineman in the state of Ohio by Rivals.com coming out of high school in 2007, and impressed Mangino and the coaching staff right away.
"He's one of the most athletic linemen we've had here." Mangino said. "Of course he's young and has a lot to learn but he's coming along fine. He has a chance at the end of the day when he's done here, to be one of the better offensive lineman we've had at Kansas."
Just being a starter as a redshirt freshman is hard enough, but having to replace a First-Team All American in Anthony Collins makes Spikes' job almost impossible.
"It's going to be hard; filling his shoes will be a great challenge," Spikes said. "I learned a lot from A.C. He was a wonderful player. Every time he came to the field he was always energetic and loud and some people thought it was kind of annoying but in my mind, it was
something that helped us get ready for practice or the game and I am trying to take that from him."
Spikes will join Jeremiah Hatch as newcomers to the offensive line this fall. Hatch, a 6-foot-3, 311-pound redshirt freshman from Dallas, was listed on the preseason depth chart as the second string left guard, but Hatch beat out Matt Darton for top right tackle spot. He replaces Cesar Rodriguez, who started more than 40 games during his career at Kansas before graduating last spring.
"He is one of the hardest working and hardest playing guys we have on the team," Mangino said of Hatch. "What he lacks in experience, he'll make up with grit and toughness and hard work."
Joining Hatch and Spikes on the offensive line are three returning starters in center Ryan Cantrell and guards Adrian Mayes and Chet Hartley. Despite losing two starters on the line, Mangino is confident that the group will be more than capable of protecting quarterback Todd Reeing.
"I have confidence in all five kids up front," Mangino said. "The tackles are really developing and coming along, I'm pretty pleased with that. I think that we will be able run the ball as much as we want. Plus, our pass game provides creases and opportunities to run the football. They kind of complement each other pretty well."
Edited by Kelsey Hayes
a big part of the team now, and she knows what I want from her and I know what she wants from me."
SOCCER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Bush knows what she wants too. After arriving in Lawrence on the heels of three NCAA Tournament appearances in four years, the team has failed to make the postseason in each of her three years on Mount Oread.
Today marks the first step towards finally recapturing that success, something that doesn't escape her attention.
Big 12 coaches picked the Jayhawks to finish sixth out of 11 teams in 2008. Kansas finished third in 2007. Francis said he didn't pay attention to preseason rankings, but Johnson said it would serve as motivation.
"This is a huge game for us," Bush said. "I have been waiting for this game for a long time."
"I can't tell you where I think we should be because I haven't seen all the other teams," Johnson said. "But judging from last year, I definitely don't think we should be sixth. I think that is going to be motivation for all of us to go out and knock some girls around."
KANSAS PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH
Sophomore defender Katie Williams is ineligible to play today against Purdue after receiving a red card against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament last fall. Williams started 18 games for the Jayhawks last season, scoring three goals.
WILLIAMS SUSPENDED
Francis said Wednesday that UCLA transfer Sarah Salazar hadn't passed the team's fitness test and could be ineligible to play today unless she passed the test at practice Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. Salazar represents a major recruiting coup for Francis. She was the No. 12 ranked recruit in the nation by RISE Magazine in the class of 2007 before spending last year as a member of the Bruins.
SALAZAR YET TO PASS FITNESS TEST
GRAVES STATUS
UNKNOWN
Senior defender Kristin Graves did not dress for Saturday's exhibition against Drake, and Francis refused to elaborate on her injury or status for today's game. Graves started 15 of the final 16 games of 2007.
Brieun Scott
OBITUARY
NFL lineman,union leader Gene Upshaw dies at 63
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Upshaw had a Hall of Fame career as a guard for the Oakland Raiders
NEW YORK — Gene Upshaw, a towering lineman on the football field who went on to win untold millions of dollars for NFL players as their union leader, has died at age 63.
a team that won two of the three Super Bowls it reached during his 15 years in a black and silver jersey. But his work as executive director of the NFL Players Association over a quarter-century was even more important. It changed the business side of the league.
Upshaw died Wednesday night at his home near California's Lake Tahoe, of pancreatic cancer, the NFL Players Association said Thursday. His wife Terri and sons Eugene Jr., Justin and Daniel were by his side. NFLPA president and Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae said Upshaw only learned Sunday that he had the disease, after he fell ill and his wife took him to the hospital.
"Gene was a great player. He was an All-Pro. He was a Hall of Famer. If you look at the history of the NFL you're going to find out that he was one of the most influential people that the league has known. He did so much, not only for the players, but also for the owners, the teams, and the game of pro football." John
Madden, who coached Upshaw when Oakland won its first Super Bowl, said in a statement.
"This is deeper than head of the union passing away, and it's deeper than an ex-player. This is missing someone that is and was like family. It's a tough day for all of us."
Upshaw's death reverberated throughout the NFL, a shock to owners and players alike, even those who had made him the focal point for their complaints over pension and health benefits for retired players.
As a player, the seven-time Pro Bowler was one of the best ever, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987, the first time he was eligible.
That also was the year Upshaw led the second players' strike in five years, a short walkout that led to the embarrassing spectacle of games with replacement players, or "scab football" as it was jokingly called at the time.
By 1989, while the union was pressing in court for a settlement, the league implemented a limited form of freedom, called Plan B. A new, seven-year contract was finally worked out in 1993, bringing in a new age of free agency and salary caps.
That will go down as Upshaw's legacy because it brought prosperity to both union members and owners, leaving many of today's players appreciating Upshaw as a labor
leader without knowing much about his playing career. Brandon Moore, the New York Jets player representative was 2 years old when Upshaw retired and said simply: "From what I hear, he was a pretty good player"
What Upshaw did for Moore, and his counterparts is make them money — the salary cap for this season is $116 million and the players are making close to 60 percent of the 32 teams' total revenues, as specified in the 2006 labor agreement. The players will be paid $4.5 billion this year, according to owners.
That sum led the owners to opt out in May from the collective bargaining agreement, meaning that if no new deal is reached, there will be an uncapped year in 2010, the season before the contract is expected to expire.
Upshaw, who had often been criticized for his close relationship with Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner, and Roger Goodell, the current one, had been talking tougher than usual about upcoming negotiations, vowing that if the cap was ever abolished, he would never accede to a new one.
Upshaw's death raises a big question mark about negotiations although the union's executive committee tried to answer it quickly by appointing the unions most experienced official, Richard Berthelsen, as the interim executive
director.
Berthelsen, the NFLPA's chief counsel and Upshaw's top aide, has been involved in labor negotiations for 37 years and is expected to steer the union through the negotiations and then make way for a younger man, probably an ex-player such as Trace Armstrong or Troy Vincent, two past presidents, or former Minnesota running back Robert Smith, who has expressed an interest in the job.
speed up the process of getting
in shape.
Self said he didn't think Collins would be ready for at least another week.
Collins
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Self, however.
wouldn't rule out the possibility of Collins playing in the layhawks' three exhibition games next weekend in Canada. Kansas will play against McGill University, Carleton University and the
University of Ottawa in Ottawa on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.
Aldrich
Self said Collins simply "didn't live up to his end of the bargain," during the
"I'm not going to put him out there until the doctors tell me, 'Hey he's in the condition he needs to be to go play.' Self said.
summer. He's deferring the decision of whether or not he'll play in Canada to the team's medical staff.
SO WHO CAN BE THE LEADER?
He's the teams leading returning scorer with 9.3 points per game last season and the only player who has started a game for Kansas. If Collins truly won't be the leader of the team, Kansas might lack anyone who can be. Right? Not the way Self sees it.
"Cole, right now, I'd say would lead our team hands down," Self said. "He would be the guy."
Behind Collins, the Jayhawks are noticeably short of players with significant college basketball experience.
Self said he knew exactly who the rest of the Jayhawks could look up to — sophomore center Cole Aldrich.
Aldrich averaged eight minutes, three points and three rebounds per game last season. Aldrich saved his best game for the Final Four contest against
North Carolina where he guarded national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded four blocks.
EXTRA RUNNING
Aldrich gasped for breath as he walked toward the locker room. Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed put his head down toward his sweat-soaked shirt and junior guard Tyrone Appleton limped toward the door.
Kansas looked like theyd just completed a marathon - not a basketball practice. Self said the exhaustion came from 20 minutes of running he added to the end of practice.
"We had a couple of reasons to maybe do some extra conditioning at the end of our workout," Self said. "They're probably not too happy with me right now."
SELF ADDRESSES
MARKIEFF MORRIS
SITUATION
Self didn't want to discuss the recent report filed against freshman forward Markieff Morris, but did say he would handle the matter at the appropriate time.
"I think there's probably more to the story than what was on the original report, no question," Self said. "He'll be punished."
Morris received an order to appear in court last weekend after he allegedly shot a woman with an Airsoft rifle at the lavwhack
Towers. His court date is set for Sept. 10.
Morris
ELIGIBILITY CONCERNS
Marcus and Markieff Morris cart attend classes or practice with the team until the NCAA rules them academically eligible.
Edited by Adam Mowder