tuesday, November 4, 2003
what we heard "Ryan Sims is Round Mound of Hot Pursuit." ESPN.com columnist Ralph Wiley on the Chiefs defensive tackle off the bench
the university daily kansan 9A
Unbeaten Chiefs take break, lounge in media spotlight
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs fanned out across the country during their weeklong vacation, with Dante Hall probably making the biggest splash by appearing on The David Letterman Show.
Linebacker Mike Maslowski and a few others took a private jet to Las Vegas. Quarterback Trent Green was on the CBS pre-game show. Wide receiver Johnny Morton had a much-publicized blind date arranged by a national sports show.
But everybody felt envious when word got around of what Tony Gonzalez had done. The Pro Bowl tight end long known as the Chiefs' most eligible bachelor went to a Halloween party thrown by Plavbov publisher Hugh Hefner.
"Wow!" Hall said. "I'd say the guy who had the most fun of all was the guy who went to the party with Hugh."
Gonzalez was offering no argument.
"It was fun," he said with a grin. "It was really fun."
As a reward for the hard work that has made them unbeaten, Vermeil had, for the first time in his coaching career, given a team an entire week to itself. While some players flocked to television studios and others flocked in Vegas, quite a few simply spent quiet time with their families.
But they came back to work yesterday and showed Vermeil that entrusting them with an entire week to themselves smack in the middle of the season had been the right thing to do.
"Wow! I'd say the guy who had the most fun of all was the guy who went to the party with Hugh."
Dante Hall Kansas City Chiefs kick returner
"It exceeded my expectations," Vermeil said. "I thought they might come back and be a little bit sluggish today and sort of ease their way into it. But they worked very, very good. I was very impressed and very pleased."
"The people who weren't right on time today were actually early," guard Brian Waters said. "It's a clear sign the focus is there."
The players themselves seemed surprised at their sharpness.
"I was surprised the way a lot of guys were really moving around," said cornerback Eric Warfield, who spent most of the week in Miami. "Guys looked quicker than before. Everybody came back refreshed."
The mood was definitely upbeat as the league's only unbeaten team returned to work.
"We were talking about how sharp everybody was," Hall said. "But it's easy to go back to work when you're 8-0."
After the Letterman show on Thursday night, Hall flew to Toronto figuring he would be just another face in the crowd.
"But there were people everywhere I went who recognized who I was," said
Hall, who has set an NFL record by returning kicks for touchdowns in four straight games this year.
After meeting several celebrities, Hall was surprised to learn how much they have followed his exploits.
"It's amazing to know that people watch us like we watch them," he said.
The Chiefs get back in action this week with a home game against Cleveland (3-5). Having a full week off seemed to do wonders for their attitude.
"Guy got a chance to get away from football," he said. "Physically, it's a great opportunity to get refreshed, but mentally when you get to do a lot of other things and be around your family and friends, it puts you in a great state of mind so when you get back you can focus on football again.
"It gives you a chance to get out of your realm answering the same football questions week after week," Morton said.
Hall said everyone understands why they're in such demand.
"We had a great practice."
"It's the byproduct of the hard work you've put in on the field," he said. "So in turn it makes you want to come back and go to work. If it wasn't for football and us being 8-0, no one, not me or Tony or anybody, would get the opportunities we have."
In one unexpected development Monday, Vermeil elevated rookie Larry Johnson to No.2 running back behind Priest Holmes. Johnson has been nearly invisible since being drafted in the first round last April out of Penn State.
Kansas women's rowing team places well Gainesville, Ga.
Kansas women's rowers Beth Olson and Kristy Hainer continue to succeed in the doubles races.
Other Javhawks that placed in the doubles races were Casey Smith, Kirkwood, Mo., senior, and Laura Adamson, Brockville, Ontario, senior, who placed fourth; Beth Hickey, Port Colborne, Ontario, senior, and Jennifer Ebel, Southlake, Texas, sophomore, who placed fifth; and Alexis Boston); St. Catharines, Ontario, sophomore, and Sarah Smith, Larned senior, who placed eighth.
The Arlington, Texas, senior, and the St. Catharines, Ontario, junior, placed second in the women's doubles race at the Head of the Chattahoochee regatta in Gainesville, Ga.
Olson also placed third in the singles race. Casey Smith placed fifth, Hainer placed sixth, Boston placed seventh, Hickey placed eighth, and Christine Corbett, St. Catharines, Ontario, senior, placed ninth.
The Jayhawks placed seventh in the championship eights race and placed 12th in the championship fours race.
Coach Rob Catloth said he was pleased with the team's results from the regatta.
"I think we made some good improvement in the eights over last week," Catloth said in a press release. "We did well in doubles once again and our four was able to finish in the top half, which is good to see. I think we are still improving and that is what we looking to do with this fall season."
Catloth said the improvements would help the team prepare for the spring season and give the athletes confidence going into their last meet.
The Jayhawks' last meet of the fall will be on Saturday at the Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan.
-Mike Bauer
St. Louis defeats Athletes in Action in exhibition game
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Chris Sloan scored 13 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Saint Louis to a 68-58 preseason exhibition victory yesterday against Athletes in Action.
Saint Louis took command by
outscoring Athletes in Action 19-2 to start the second half. The Billikens hit 6 of 11 field-goal attempts and forced six turnovers in the first eight minutes of the half.
Athletes in Action cut the lead to eight points at 62-54 with 1:34 remaining.
Anthony Dreajai led the Billikens with 14 points. Reggie Bryan added 12 points
and Izk Ohanon tossed in 10 as the Billikens improved to 2-1 overall against Athletes in Action, a team of former college basketball players. Saint Louis won 66-58 last year after losing 70-66 in 2000.
The Billikens started out cold, missing their first six shots from the floor before Ross Varner hit a field goal at the 15:33 mark.
Athletes in Action built a 24-17 lead with 6:29 left in the half as the Saint Louis made only seven of 20 shots. With 2:12 left in the half, Saint Louis regained the lead at 29-28 when Josh Fisher connected on a short jumper.
Quinine made two free throws with 28 seconds left to give Athletes in Action a 30-29 lead at halftime.
Arizona forward suspected of shoplifting candy, bagel
By Ty Young Arizona Daily Wildcat University of Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. — Men's basketball player Isaiah Fox was arrested last Wednesday on charges of stealing food from the U-Mart in the Student Union Memorial Center at the University of Arizona.
U-Mart employees told police this is not the first time he has shoplifted from the store, University of Arizona Police Department reports stated.
On Wednesday at 10:40 a.m., two employees followed Fox, anticipating another theft, as he walked down store aisles, according to the reports.
They saw Fox put a bagel, cream cheese and a king-sized Hershey candy bar in the front pocket of his sweatshirt and walk out of the store. The reports said one employee followed him into the UoFA Bookstore,
where she found him at a magazine rack.
The employee asked Fox to come back into the U-Mart. As she spoke with him, Fox tried to hide the bagel and cream cheese behind a magazine rack, reports stated.
When Fox went back to the U-Mart, the employee returned to the bookstore and found the candy bar Fox was seen stealing. Officials from the bookstore confirmed with the employee that they do not sell that type of candy bar in their store, reports stated.
The employee told police that Fox asked her to ignore the incident if he promised to not go into the U-Mart again. The employee refused and ordered Fox to return to the store and speak with her supervisor.
Fox admitted to both the U-Mart supervisor and police that he had stolen the bagel and the cream cheese, but not the candy bar. When the officer told Fox
Fox also told the officer that he has stolen from U-Mart before. Reports said he had never been confronted before, even when taking items in plain view of employees.
that the candy bar had been found in the bookstore, he reportedly said, "All right, fine. I took the Hershey bar."
The bagel and cream cheese were valued at $1.49 and the Hershey bar was $1.09. Fox faces a misdemeanor charge of shoplifting.
Theft from the U-Mart or any other university-run building is considered prohibited student conduct and is punishable by expulsion, according to the UA Student Code of Conduct.
Police told Fox that he would be arrested for trespassing if he returns to the store, reports stated.
"I am very sorry for all of this. I feel that I've let down the coaching staff, my teammates, the fans and the school. It's
so embarrassing. This is a big learning experience, and it will never happen again." Fox said.
Arizona men's basketball associate head coach Jim Rosborough was unable to comment on the situation, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
"We know of the situation, but we cannot comment on it." Rosborough said.
Fox, a 6-foot-9, 269-pound forward/center from Santa Monica, Calif., played in 31 of 32 games for the Wildcats last season, averaging 3.6 points and three rebounds per game.
He is expected to play a more important role on the team this year, though head coach Lute Olson has said Fox needs to keep himself in physical playing condition.
Fox said he missed Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage because of an eye injury that had to be X-rayed.
Correction
Friday's University Daily Kansan contained an error. The cutline accompanying the photo with the story "Soccer Senior Day sentimental" incorrectly identified the player in the photo as senior defender Maggie Mason. The player pictured was junior midfielder Lauren Williams.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Just because somebody can hit a jump shot doesn't mean they can be entitled to write a ridiculous article every week.
Whoever was talking about Keith Langford's article and his basketball playing I would like to see you take him on the court.
Kansas athletics calendar
today
Men's golf at the Prestige La Quinta, Calif.
Women's golf at Edwin Watts/Palmetto
Invitational Kiwah Island, S.C.
Men's Basketball vs. EA Sports All Stars 7
p.m., Allen Fieldhouse
tomorrow
thursday
Volleyball vs. Missouri 7 p.m. Horeksi Family Athletics Center
Soccer at Big 12 Conference Tournament Blossom Stadium San Antonio, Texas
friday
Soccer at Big 12 Conference Tournament Blossom Stadium San Antonio, Texas
Swimming vs. Southwest Missouri State 6 p.m. Robinson Nateraium
saturday
Soccer at Big 12 Conference Tournament, Blossom Stadium, San Antonio, Texas
Rowing at Sunflower Showdown Manhattan
Football vs. Nebraska 2:30 p.m. Memorial Stadium
Volleyball at Texas 7 p.m. Austin, Texas
sunday
Soccer at Big 12 Conference Tournament, Blossom Stadium San Antonio, Texas
The Yellow Dress
A play based on the true story of a young woman's relationship that begins as love and ends in tragedy.
Come see the The Yellow Dress and do your part to help prevent relationship violence and sexual assault.
Alumni Center, 1266 Oread Ave. (parking across the street in the Union parking lot)
Thursday, November 6, 7:00 pm
Presented by:
Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, Rape Victim-Survivor Service,
Women's Transitional Care Services,
KU Public Safety Office, Womyn's Empowerment Action Coalition,
Working Against Violence Everywhere,
Deana's Fund, and Student Senate STUDENT