wednesday, November 19, 2003
sports
the university daily kansan 3B
GREENE: Ervin will do more than just warm bench for women's team
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Just being able to get Ervin to come to Kansas is an achievement that should earn coach Marian Washington a new contract at season's end. Ervin chose Tennessee with its program that had struggled in recent years over national powers such as Tennessee, Texas and LSU, which all rank in the top-seven nationally to start this season.
All of that is on the intangible side, but Ervin will also be instrumental on the technical side for Kansas.
Attnough Ransburg was honored at the end of the season as the team's most valuable player, her tendencies to get in foul trouble early spelled disaster at times because of a lack of depth. Should her aggressive style affect her playing time, don't expect the Jayhawks lag behind. Before Ervin can truly be a star in the starting lineup, she will play an important role by giving Kansas the inside presence off the bench it has lacked for a few years.
But, hey, all superstars have to start somewhere.
Backup QB at the helm in Oakland
Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., senior in journalism.
The Associated Press
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Given his history in the NFL, Rick Mirer hardly seemed the candidate to steady an Oakland Raiders offense that's been among the league's most erratic this year.
Mirer, a 33-year-old veteran of six teams in 11 seasons, has been a model of efficiency since taking over for Rich Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo, both out with season-ending injuries.
Yet in two games since becoming the starter, the nomadic quarterback has done just that.
Gannon has a torn labrum in his right shoulder and Tuiasosopo tore a left knee ligament.
In Oakland's 28-18 victory over Minnesota on Sunday, Mirer also had one of the game's biggest plays in the fourth quarter when he tried to dive over a pair of defenders.
Mirer has completed 71 percent of his passes for 381 yards and one touchdown in going 1-1 as the starter.
He was hit on the side of his legs in midair and spun around before landing on his back just shv of the goal line.
The Raiders scored the clinching touchdown one play later, snapping a five-game losing streak.
"That shows you how much that guy wants to win." Oakland
Mirer hasn't always had the support of his teammates.
receiver Tim Brown said, "That's selling out for the team."
The second overall pick in 1993, he was the offensive rookie of the year while playing in Seattle, but couldn't get the Seahawks out of the AFC West cellar in his four seasons in the Pacific Northwest.
It was much of the same for Mirer in 2002 when he signed with Oakland, where Gannon was in the midst of a streak of 71 consecutive starts.
Mirer signed with Chicago as a free agent in 1997, but wore out his welcome quickly before similar one-year stints with Green Bay and the New York Jets, where he played in eight games with six starts.
He was cut at the start of 2001, but was brought back midway through the season, though he never played in a game.
A free agent again in 2000, he signed with San Francisco to be the third-string quarterback.
But when Gannon, last year's NFL MVP, and then Tuiasosopo
"I could care less how we score or how we get it done. I just want to get it done.I'm in a different place in my life, but when the ball is kicked off it is the same thing."
were hurt, Mirer was thrust into the spotlight.
Rick Mirer Oakland Raiders quarterback
He was pressed into duty in the first half of the Raiders' 23-13 loss at Detroit when Tuiasosopo went down.
He has been almost flawless since. Miser was 18-for-25 for 186 yards and one touchdown in a 27-24 overtime loss to the New York Jets.
Mirer predictably struggled, throwing two interceptions while completing 15 of 28 passes for just 125 yards.
Oakland's defense failed to hold an eight-point lead with less than four minutes to play in that game. Then came Minnesota, and Mirer again was consistently efficient.
Eight of his nine completions gained first downs, and he would've had a second touchdown had Brown not dropped an easy short toss in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
A minute later, Mirer was hurling himself in the air before getting spun like a helicopter blade.
Mirer's emergence has given the Raiders reason for hope in a season marked by injuries, rumors of steroid use and the team's worst start since 1964.
"It was a fun ride," Mirer said. "It didn't get us in the end zone, but we wound up scoring."
"He's matured and I think he has a better understanding, going through his experience in Green Bay, in Chicago and in San Francisco," Raiders coach Bill Callahan said. "This system has allowed him to mature and to gain a better grasp of what to do and also to assist in his decision-making."
It's helped Mirer that the Raiders have scaled back their passing attack since he took over the offense.
In his two starts, Oakland has run the ball 95 times after calling only 151 running plays in the first eight games.
"I could care less how we score or how we get it done," Mirer said. "I just want to get it done. I'm in a different place in my life, but when the ball is kicked off it is the same thing. I am a little older and a little wiser, maybe. But I appreciate the opportunity probably more than ever."
Oklahoma maintains focus on season's goals
By Jenny Dial
Oklahoma daily via U-Wire
University of Oklahoma
OU coach Bob Stoops said this focus and determination is what separates the Sooners from other teams.
NORMAN, Okla. — The No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners stress two things in each game: Focus and preparation.
"There is a great deal of talent
when you look at all our players that are up for national awards," Stoops said. "But there is more to it than that. The guys right now have a great sense of urgency to them — they aren't taking anything for granted. They do a good job of preparing and not just talking about it. They're focusing in on their assignments and what needs to happen."
So far, the scheme seems to be working.
The Sooners have accom
plished everything that needs to happen for them to achieve their goals.
The undefeated Sooners won Saturday against Baylor and secured a spot in the Big 12 Championship game Dec. 6 in Kansas City.
The team goals this year were to win championships: First, the Big 12 Conference championship and second, the national championship.
receiver catches the ball, the line blocks and the running back runs hard. It's all about execution."
The Sooners will take on Texas Tech, a Big 12 South foe, Saturday at Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
"We're trying to build moment-
num and continue to build continuity in our team to get in position to win a championship," Stoops said. "That's what our players focus on."
Receiver Mark Clayton said the key to remaining prepared is simplicity.
"Our coach has told us that the best teams keep it as simple as possible," Clayton said. "Jason [White] just goes out there, reads the coverage, checks the line, run or pass, throw the ball to the receiver,
"We have an opportunity to achieve our goals," Clayton said. "We need to come in and focus and work hard like we have all season and be prepared to come out this Saturday and play like we have all year."
SHOOTING Key to beating zone defense is 3-point shots
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Zone defenses are usually effective at neutralizing post players while sometimes giving up open shots on the perimeter.
That could be an effective way to stop the Jayhawks' strong post play. "When it comes to practice, we hardly miss." Jeff Hawking
Jeff Hawkins sophomore guard
Case missed all four of his attempts from the perimeter this season, but he did shoot 45 percent from behind the arc in high school. Giddens showed a decent stroke in his limited time, making 1-2 this season. Hawkins leads the team in three pointers made and attempted, going 2-6 in the exhibition season.
Self said that sophomore Jeff Hawkins and freshmen Jeremy Case and J.R. Giddens would be some of the younger Jayhawks asked to perform in the perimeter game.
This Jeff Hawkins
makes it sophomore guard
even more ___
necessary
for the team to make perimeter
shots.
Hawkins said that the team's shooting problems in the preseason were more mental than physical.
"When it comes to practice, we hardly妙," Hawkins said.
Self also said that the problem with the perimeter shooting is not that his players were afraid to take shots.
It was more about the players wanting to run the offense, so that they are not looking for their shots.
"I don't think that people are backing off their shots," Self said.
— Edited by Scott Christie
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