what we heard "He speaks well, he's well-read, but he's an idiot." Eagle's defensive end N.D. Kalu on Rush Limbaugh off the bench
thursday, October 2, 2003
the university daily kansan 9A
men's basketball
Langford undergoes minor knee surgery
University of Kansas guard Keith Langford had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday. The junior guard will miss two to three weeks of action and will begin rehab immediately, Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Last week Keith complained of soreness in his knee, Self said, and an MRI revealed some slight cartilage damage. Langford, his mother and the medical staff decided to repair it now instead of having it be a nuisance during the season.
Langford is the team's leading returning scorer and a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award.
-Chris Wintering
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I love watching KU football on TV, especially when it is from 1991 or '92. What is even better is when you don't know what quarter it is, what the score is or who wins the game. Thanks, KUJH.
Kansas athletics calendar
-
tomorrow
Volleyball at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., Lubbock,
Texas
The Cubs.
Soccer vs. Texas, 5 p.m., SuperTarget Field
Cross Country, OSU Cowboy Jamboree, Stillwater, Okla.
saturday
Softball vs. Kansas State, 11:45 a.m., Clinton Lake Sports Complex
Softball vs. Butter, 2 p.m., Clinton Lake Sports Complex
sunday
Soccer vs. Texas A&M, noon, SuperTarget Field
Softball vs. Emporia State, 12:15 p.m., Clinton Lake Sports Complex
Sportball vs. Washburn, 2:30 p.m., Clinton Lake Sports Complex
This week's games:
Michigan vs. Iowa
USC vs. Arizona State
K-State vs. Texas
Alabama vs. Georgia
- Tennessee vs. Auburn
- Washington vs. UCLA
- Mississippi vs. Florida
- Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech
- Wisconsin vs. Penn State
- Illinois vs. Purdue
- NC State vs. Georgia Tech
- Marist vs. Sacred Heart
Gamboa looks back on Royals
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tom Gamboa has been blinded again.
But it wasn't a bizarre father/son assault team leaping out of the crowd to attack him. This time, it was his own Kansas City Royals.
The incident in Chicago last September turned him into an instant celebrity, focused national attention on the issue of on-the-field safety and left him with a permanent hearing loss. But Gambao could still hear the Royals say, "You're fired."
So the humble 30-year baseball veteran piled his belongings into the family car and headed toward his West Coast home, stopping along the way to see old friends, while trying to make sense of all the life-changing events that keep overtaking him.
He still feels unworthy of his fame and uncomfortable with it. He still wishes his 15 minutes was not dragging on into a second year.
"It's too bad that I got fired," Gamboa, 55, said yesterday from a hotel room in Albuquerque, N.M. "But after 30 years in this business, I've been with seven teams. That darn attack has probably become a stigma. It may be better for me
and the Royals to just part ways. Maybe that will make this thing go away."
Gamboa
Gambao was first base coach on Sept. 19,2002,when William Ligue Jr,and his teenage son jumped over the railing at Chicago's U.S.Cellular Field, threw him to the ground and began kicking and punching him.
One year to the day later, Gamboa filed suit in Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court against the father as well as the security firm and concessionaire at the Chicago ballpark at the time of the attack. The lawsuit alleges the concession company served alcohol to Ligue
until he became drunk and that the security firm failed to keep him off the field.
Ligue was sentenced last month to 30 months on probation plus community service on two counts of aggravated battery. His teenage son was sentenced to five years' probation and 30 hours of community service.
Gamboa said he sometimes sensed there were people in the Royals organization who resented the attention he drew everywhere he went.
Once, when the Royals were in Chicago and in first place in the AL Central, Gamboa said manager Tony Pena told him it was the players who should be talking to the media.
"What was I supposed to do?" Gamboa said. "Am I supposed to be rude people who are just trying to do their job?
"But I could see Tony's point. It's flattering that people remember who you are and they hope you're fine. But it happened a year ago. At what point does it fade?"
A few hours after the Royals ended
their season with a remarkable 21-game turnaround, he was fired. The Royals cured the bullpen's ERA of 5.60, although pitching coach John Cumberland and every other member of the team's coaching staff was retained.
"We felt the need to upgrade the position," general manager Allard Baird said. But he holds no grudges.
But he holds no grudges.
"They treated me good," Gamboa said. "It was fun working under Pena. I'm looking at getting fired as a chance to be doing something more suited for me."
It was fun right at first doing things like talking on live television with Katie Couric of the Today Show. Now he would love to be just another face in the crowd again.
"I turned on the TV in my room in Albuquerque and me getting fired was the first story on the sports report. It was discussed on ESPN and on national radio shows," Gamboa said. "It's kind of frustrating to have the whole country know your business. I didn't ask for this."
Marlins tie series with Giants
Marlins 9-Giants5
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — The Florida Marlins got the split they so desperately needed at Pacific Bell Park, and did it by getting away from the small ball that sent them on this improbable playoff journey.
Juan Encarnacion homered and Juan Pierre wound up with a bases-loaded double on a misplay by Jose Cruz Jr. in a decisive three-run sixth as the Marlins defeated the sloppy San Francisco Giants 9-5 in Game 2 last night.
After an energized Barry Bonds helped the Giants take a 4-1 lead, Sidney Ponson couldn't hold it. Pierre had four hits as the Marlins rallied to send the best-of-five series back Florida at one apiece.
"Getting down 4-1, I think they were confident they would get us again," Pierre said. "We put the pressure on them and kept the pressure on."
Game 3 is tomorrow in Miami. Kirk Rueter pitches for San Francisco against Mark Redman.
Pierre said before this series started that the Giants hadn't yet seen the wildcard Marlins at their best. He led a 15-hit effort, a day after Florida was held to just three.
Carl Pavano, the winning pitcher when Florida clinched the wild card, earned another important victory by getting two outs.
"It was just a weird day," said Giants first baseman J.T. Snow. "They are a good team. There's a reason they are here. When you get to this point in the year, there no quit in anybody."
Most of all, Florida kept Bonds from doing major damage. Rookie Dontelell Willis, Florida's probable Game 4 starter, did his part by relieving in the eighth and retiring Bonds on a foul out.
Losing pitcher Joe Nathan, a 12-game winner as a reliever this year, was tagged for three runs on four hits in the Giants' shaky sixth, with Encarnacion's shot tying it at 5.
Atlanta 5 - Chicago 3
Atlanta evens series with Chicago; Cubs' Zambrano gives up 11 hits
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — John Smoltz blew the save and got the victory — good enough to keep the Atlanta Braves from the brink of another postseason meltdown.
Smoltz, making a rare two-inning appearance in a game the Braves had to have, allowed the tying run before Mark DeRosa's two-run double in the eighth pushed Atlanta past the Chicago Cubs 5-3 last night.
The Braves evened the best-of-five NL division series at one game apiece.
The Cubs weren't intimidated when Smoltz took the mound in the eighth. Eric Karros singled, went to third on Aramis Ramirez's hit and scored the tying run on pinch-hitter Tom Goodwin's sacrifice fly.
As an added bonus, Giles appeared as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and came through with a run-scoring single that put the Braves ahead 3-2.
DeRosa was starting at second base in place of Marcus Giles, who had a deep bruise on his left leg.
Smoltz redeemed himself in the bottom half with the bat, getting down a bunt with two strikes after Vinny Castilla walked against losing pitcher Dave Veres.
The Cubs walked Rafael Furcal intentionally, a move that looked good when Veres got ahead of DeRosa with a 1-2 count. But the utility infielder
cleared the bases with the next pitch, lining a double to the left-center gap.
Then it was back to Smoltz, who put the Cubs down in order in the ninth.
Braves starter Mike Hampton overcame a terrible start to pitch six solid innings.
Without making an out, the Cubs had a 2-0 lead and the bases loaded. That's when Hampton got tough.
Karros struck out swinging. Ramon Martinez took a called third strike and Damian Miller flailed at strike three to end the inning.
Hampton struck out the side in the second, tying a postseason record with six consecutive Ks.
Hampton allowed four hits, walked five and struck out nine.
The Braves pounded Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano for 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Athletics 5 - Red Sox 4
Oakland squeezes by Boston
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. — By the time Eric Chavez crossed the plate shortly after 11:45 p.m.PDT,the teams were less than 14 hours away from the start of Game 2 today.
Boston appeared headed to a win in the AL's toughest road ballpark before the latest playoff misadventure for Byung-Hyun Kim, whose struggles nearly cost Arizona its World Series title two years ago.
In the ninth, Kim walked a batter and hit another before Erubiel Durazo
drove home pinch-runner Eric Byrnes with a tying two-out single off Alan Embree.
In the 11th. Boston manager Grady Little showed how much he trusts his bullpen by calling on Derek Lowe, his scheduled starter in Game 3 Saturday.
Lowe got into trouble in the 12th, walking three batters to load the bases. Ramon Hernandez, the A's All-Star catcher, dropped an exceptional bunt down the third-base line, and Chavez scored without a throw.
After Keith Foulke pitched three innings of scoreless relief for the As, they went to rookie Rich Harden. He walked two batters and threw a wild pitch in the 12th, but Chavez saved the inning by fielding Gabe Kapler's sharp grounder and diving to tag third base before Manny Ramirez got there.
harden, called up to the majors after the All-Star break, got the victory.