what we heard
2B the university daily kansan
"Thank goodness time ran out."
Kansas City safety Jerome Woods on the Chiefs' narrow victory over the Raiders Monday night.
off the bench
wednesday, october 22, 2003
Kansas'realistic'pick for Greene
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas vs, Kansas State
Greene's Pick - Kansas
Sometimes, even the best of us have to be realists.
Purdue vs. Michigan
Michigan has trouble with offenses that can go bombs away, but I just don't have it in me to pick against the Wolverines at home in a must-win situation.
Campus Pick Michigan
Notre Dame vs. Boston College
Both of these teams are mediocre this season, but Notre Dame has played surprisingly well the past two weeks with a win over Pittsburgh and a decent showing against USC. I think they can squeak this one out.
Greene's Pick - Notre Dame
Texas Tech vs. Missouri
I'm convinced there is no defense on the planet that can stop Texas Tech's B.J. Symons and crew. Missouri's only big offensive outpour this season was due to two trick plays. They will not catch Texas Tech by surprise with those and will suffer a big loss at home.
Greene's Pick - Texas Tech
USC vs. Washington
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde case of the year.
First, they lose to Nevada two weeks ago,
then they upset No. 23 Oregon State
Beavers last weekend. I hope USC can
finally shut these guys down and move
up in the BCS standings in the process.
Greene's Pick-USC
Oregon State vs. Washington State
Every time I pick Oregon State, they shoot me in the foot. Washington State will prove this week that they are worthy of bright, shiny, new top-10 ranking.
Greene's Pick - Washington State
Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green
Gosh, I'm torn here. No one realizes that this is easily the weekend's most important game. Northern Illinois is the sentimental pick because I grew up watching them get ripped to shreds every single Saturday. But Bowling Green is too hard to pick against, especially at home in a game that could give them a shot at the MAC championship. As hard as this is to do, I have to take the Falcons.
Greene's Pick - Bowling Green
Arkansas vs. Mississippi
Arkansas has lost two straight and fallen from its top-10 perch. I think they can get it back this week; an angry defense should shut down Ole Miss' Eli Manning.
Greene's Pick - Arkansas
Auburn vs. LSU
I take my previous statement back; this is the weekend's toughest pick. Auburn is on a huge roll after that dreadful 0-2 start, and I think they can keep it up against a struggling LSU defense.
Greene's Pick - Auburn
Oklahoma vs. Colorado
Colorado could not stop my blindfolded, 17-year-old sister from reaching the end zone with her feet tied together. There's no way they can handle the nation's best overall team.
Greene's Pick - Oklahoma
Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Let's just say I have a hunch. Greene's Pick - Texas A&M
Howard vs. North Carolina A&T
You know, I have an uncle named Howard. Maybe it's a sign.
Greene's Pick - Howard
New York 6 - Florida 1
Yankees' bats pull away in Game 3
Down early. Hardly any run support.
A rainy night.
MIAMI — For the longest time, this had all the makings of another heart-breaker for Mike Mussina.
And yet somehow, the ace who could never quite win these games won Game 3 of the World Series. Mussina outpitched young ace Josh Beckett and the New York Yankees broke it open late, beating the Florida Marlins 6-1 last night for a 2-1 edge
Derek Jeter doubled and scored the go-ahead run on Hideki Matsui's single in the eighth inning, then Bernie Williams hit his record 19th postseason homer to clinch it in the ninth.
Mussina gave up an RBI single in the first to Miguel Cabrera and little else until the sixth.
The Marlins threatened to break the tie in the sixth when Ivan Rodriguez doubled and took third on a single by Cabrera. Mussina escaped, using his Gold Glove skills to knock down a comebacker by Derrek Lee and keeping his poise to trap Rodriguez in a rundown.
The Associated Press
Beckett breezed through New York's first 10 batters before Jeter doubled in the fourth. After a walk to Jason Giambi and a popup by Williams, the young pitcher's problems started.
Matsui was hit by a pitch that bounced and with the bases loaded and a 2-2 count, Beckett threw a fastball to Jorge
Posada that veered off the outside corner. Plate umpire Gary Darling called it a ball and Marlins manager Jack McKeon spread his arms in the dugout, wondering what was wrong with that pitch.
Three Yankees infielders crept onto the grass when the springy leadoff man came to bat in the first, and he still defiantly bluffed a bunt. Next, he hit a blooper to right-center that fell beyond the reach of a sliding Williams.
Beckett came back with another fastball, the kind some umps would call a strike. Darling saw it a bit low for ball four and a bases-loaded walk that tied it at 1.
Mariano Rivera finished it off in rapid fashion, closing with two innings as the Yankees won before a crowd of 65,731 that had mostly left by the final out.
cross country
Cross country teams move up in Midwest, national ranks
The Kansas men's cross country team has earned its highest regional and national rankings since coach Stanley Redwine came to the University.
This week, the team was ranked as the top team in the Midwest region by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association and the 28th best team in the nation in the MONDO National Cross Country Poll.
The ranking comes after the Jayhawks placed 10 out 35 teams, outrunning all regional teams at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational.
In last week's polls, the Hawks were ranked second in the region behind Minnesota and 35th in the nation.
The only Big 12 Conference team ranked higher than Kansas in the MONDO poll is the defending
national champion, the University of Colorado.
Redwine said the ranking wouldn't defer the team from their current training schedule.
The Buffalooes are currently ranked fourth in the MONDO poll and first in the Mountain region. They are the only team in the Big 12 to beat Kansas this year.
The women's team also moved up one spot in its regional rankings. The Jayhawks are ranked ninth by the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Jayhawks will next compete at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas, on Oct.31.
we are not going to change anything we do because of our ranking," Redwine said. "It's good to see where we stand with what we are wanting to accomplish."
— Sean O'Grady
Free forAll
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.Call 864-0500
All I have to say is that I at least had the balls to dance out there at Late Night. Where the hell were you?
I hate the Chiefs, The Chiefs suck. I hate the Royals too.
图
Can't we make a way to where both the Yankees and the Marlins can lose the World Series?
To Omar Wilkes: I love that army look you had going at Late Night. Do you want to go commando with me?
Raiders suck. Raiders suck
Kansas athletics calendar
today
Volleyball vs. Texas, 7 p.m., Horejsi Family
Athletic Center
Tennis at Omni Regionals, Salt Lake City
Tennis at Omni Regionals, Salt Lake City
Soccer vs. Oklahoma, 4 p.m., SuperTarget Field
friday
Men's Golf at Nelson-Stanford Invitational,
Palo Alto, Calif.
Tennis at Omni Regionals, Salt Lake City
Volleyball at Colorado, 8 p.m.
saturday
Tennis at Inni Regionals, Salt Lake City Men's Golf at Nelson-Stanford Invitational, Palo Alto, Calif.
Football at Kansas State, 1:10 p.m., KSU Memorial Hall, Manhattan
When did it become a crime to go to a Kansas women's basketball game?
Women's basketball ready for breakthrough season
Last spring, you would have thought by the attendance that it was a sin to see what for years has been known as "the other team in Allen Fieldhouse."
All the years of lacking appreciation, being disrespected and resting in the lower half of the Big 12 Conference standings are about to come to an end. But will anybody be there to witness it?
For the first time in recent memory, coach Marian Washington is heading into a season without enough minutes and basketball to keep all of her players happy. And in a 31-year coaching career that has seen her build a program from next to nothing into a four-time conference champion, it's not a problem that she'll lose any sleep over.
To understand the 2003-04 season that could see the team in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000,
you have to see that the 2002-03 season was much more meaningful than the 12- 18 record would indicate.
Without a senior on the roster, it was a year of learning the hard way. A non-conference schedule filled with winnable games gave the young club some confidence heading into Big 12 play, but the conference schedule was too much to conquer. A team full of promising talents grew closer as a unit, as the margins of their defeats grew smaller.
To top off the season, a 63-60 upset over Iowa State in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament is still paying dividends to this day. No one except the coaches and players expected a win against the Cyclones, who had embarrassed the Jayhawks 69-44 at home a week earlier. The win showed the culmination of a year's hard work and personal growth to build confidence heading into this year.
sports commentary
Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Now we fast forward back to the present.
Last year's veterans are now ready to be true leaders. Last year's young prospects are a year older, a year wiser. Last year's high school and junior college recruits are ready to push the team over the top.
In terms of talent, the Jayhawks rival any team in the Big 12, even last year's national runner-up Texas. Sophomore forward Tamara Ransburg showed last
year that, when not in foul trouble, she could be a scoring threat and a defensive terror. Her 76 blocks jed the team. Ransburg and sophomore forward Crystal Kemp will use their experience as a duo to welcome in junior college transfer Candice Bonner and highly-touted freshman Lauren Ervin. Bonner is expected to be a contributor right away, while Ervin, last year's second-ranked high school senior, is expected to be the future of the program. Not only will Bonner and Ervin add production, but also help off the bench for when Ransburg gets in foul trouble. That was an area that plagued the laj Hawkys last year.
Perhaps the area that will most excite fans is the backcourt.
Last year, junior guard Aquanita Burras showed by leading the team in steals with 68, and averaging 10.5 points per game that she is a solid leader who can finish at the rim.
At the point, Erica Hallman could be a name to get used to. The sophomore played last season with a knee injury from the preseason, and still led the team in assists off the bench. With the magician-like passes and fast break abilities she showed last season, it's scary to think of how good she can be at full strength. She may even be the best natural playmaker on this campus. Yes, I said it.
As most of the talk about young ballers at Allen Fieldhouse these days involves names like Wilkes, Padgett and Giddens, don't let the young and exciting women's team go unnoticed again.
Last season, they proved that they were ready to fly, and now it's time for lift-off. This could be Marian Washington's most talented squad yet, but will anyone take notice? How long will it take you?
Greena is a Vernon Hills, Ill., senior in journalism.
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