2B
what we heard
"Shut him down? You don't coach, do you? Nobody's going to shut this guy down." Gary Pinkel, Missouri football coach, after being asked how he planned on shutting down Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore.
the university daily kansan
off the bench
wednesday, September 24, 2003
Clarett sues NFL over draft restriction
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Suspended Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett sued the NFL yesterday, asking a judge to throw out a league rule that prevents him from entering the 2004 draft.
The lawsuit contends the NFL rule prohibiting players from being drafted until they have been out of high school for three years violates antitrust law and harms competition.
Clarett, who rushed for 1,237 yards and led Ohio State to a national championship as a freshman last season, wants U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin to declare him eligible for the 2004 draft or require the NFL to hold a special supplemental draft sooner.
Under current rules, he is not eligible for the draft until 2005.
"Had Clarett been eligible for the 2003 Draft, it is almost certain he would have been selected in the beginning of the First Round and
would have agreed to a contract and signing bonus worth millions of dollars," the lawsuit filed in federal court in New York said.
The NFL says it will fight any challenge to the rule.
"We do not believe that this lawsuit serves the best interests of Maurice Clarett or college football players generally, but we look forward to explaining to the court both the very sound reasons underlying our eligibility rule and the legal impediments to the claim that was filed," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Greg Aitken said. Clarett was suspended from the team for at least a year after an investigation determined he broke NCAA bylaws concerning benefits for athletes and lied to investigators.
to investigation. His attorney, Alan Milstein, filed the lawsuit against the NFL a day after he and Clarett's mother met with league executives in Washington to discuss whether Clarett would be eligible for the
The lawsuit argues the NFL rule "is a restraint of amateur athletes who were strangers to the collective bargaining process."
April 24 draft.
A Duke University legal expert says Clarett has a strong case and the NFL will probably have trouble keeping Clarett out of the draft.
"Any attempt by competitors to restrain competition in the labor market is regarded by the courts with great suspicion," said Paul Haagen, a Duke law professor. "Unless the restraint falls under a limited number of narrow exceptions, it will be treated as a violation of the antitrust laws."
When NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was asked earlier this month if he thought the league could win such a lawsuit, he replied: "My feeling as commissioner is that we have a very strong case and that we'll win it."
and that we Milstein said that if they win their lawsuit against the NFL, it wouldn't mean
dozens of players would leave college early for the pros.
"This is not going to open the floodgates," he said. "You still will have to be of a certain level of ability to consider this. I read where someone said, 'We don't want 13-year-olds in the NFL.' That's ridiculous. You still would have to be drafted, signed and make the team."
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said he had spoken to Clarett's mother this week and was told Clarett would be enrolled for the fall quarter.
"I don't know really much of what's behind the decision, so I don't know if he's testing the waters, how he's approaching it," Tressel said.
approaching 14. Clarett can only be reinstated by Ohio State after the school appeals to the NCAA.
Athletic director Andy Geiger said yesterday that, "We don't intend to apply for reinstatement for quite a while."
Mizzou kicker finds redemption
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Before the season began, Mike Matheny was kicking to retain his starting job. After two blocked extra points and two kickoffs out of bounds on Saturday, the Missouri kicker was just glad to have a chance to redeem himself.
And with one kick, Matheny was on top of the world and at the bottom of a pile of Tigers, celebrating his game-winning extra point as Missouri beat Middle Tennessee 41-40 in overtime.
"If you're out there in front of 55,000 people during a critically important game and you're not having your best day, to come out and maintain his poise, a lot of guys couldn't do that," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said.
Matheny's kick put Missouri at 4-0 for the first time since 1981, maintained the team's No. 23 ranking. It also maintained Matheny's spot as the Tigers' starting kicker.
Matheny started all 12 games last season, but was challenged in camp by redshirt freshman Alex Pettersen.
Pettersen appeared to have the
edge going into the first game, but when the first depth chart was released, Matheny's name was at the top. The decision almost looked disastrous Saturday.
Middle Tennessee defenders got a piece of Matheny's first point-after, but it still fluttered over the crossbar.
He then followed a 21-yard field goal with a kickoff that went out of bounds at the 1, giving the Blue Raiders possession at the 35 yard line.
His second extra point attempt, in the beginning of the second quarter, was blocked.
In the fourth quarter, Mathey followed another field goal, a 25-yarder, with an awful squibbed kickoff that rolled out of bounds at the 21, again giving Middle Tennessee favorable field position.
But Matheny wasn't looking over his shoulder to see if Pinkel had Pettersen warming up because Pinkel and kicking coach David Yost told Pettersen they were going to stick with the senior over the redshirt freshman.
"I try hanging with players as much as I can," Pinkel said. "I responded a couple of ways, kind of softly a couple
of times, but when he kicked the ball out of bounds I got in his face a little bit. It was more stern, (saying) "You're better than that; you're good; let's get this straightened out" that type of thing. When it works out, it all sounds good."
An excessive celebration penalty turned the extra point into a 36-yard attempt.
Matheny's chance at redemption was set up when Middle Tennessee kicker Brian Kelly missed the extra point after the Blue Raiders scored first in overtime and Missouri's Brad Smith tied the game with a 3-yard touchdown run.
"I had done it before so I knew I could do it," Matheny thought. "I was glad they moved it back because I'm better from those distances. It's weird because with an extra point I feel too close, like I'm stuck there, but when I'm moved back I can let it loose and not worry about anything."
Pinkel hopes Matheny will take the Middle Tennessee experience and become more consistent from it. The Tigers open Big 12 Conference play Saturday at Kansas.
Kansas women's soccer receives a Top 25 ranking
The Kansas women's soccer team received its first-ever national ranking Monday evening.
high school Soccer Buzz Magazine ranked the Jayhawks 19th in its Sept. 22 poll. The team also received votes in the in the National Soccer Coaches Association poll, but did not secure a spot in the Top 25. The Jayhawks are 8-1-0 on the season and begin Big 12 Conference play against Baylor.
Kansas coach Mark Francis said the ranking gave the Jayhawks an advantage in recruiting. He said the recruits would be able to see how good the team was through its Top- 20 ranking.
"We know we're good, and we can tell them we're good, but something like that gives it a little more validity." he said.
Kansas joins No. 21 Cal-Poly and 22nd ranked Colorado as teams new to this season's Soccer Buzz ranking.
The poll is conducted weekly and is voted on by Soccer Buzz staff. All 300 Division I schools are eligible.
—Nikki Nugent
Free forAll
This is the year of the Kansas City Chiefs Priest Holmes is going to baptize the entire NFL and lead the Chiefs to the Promised Land.
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I say we paint a mural outside of Memorial Stadium for the guy who beat the crap out of the Gamecock on Saturday. He is truly a campus hero.
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 incoming calls are recorded.
Call 864-0500
I have a feeling that I am not the first, but has anyone else noticed the uncanny resemblance between Mangino and Big Pun?
Kansas athletics calendar
friday
Soccer at San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
saturday
Women's golf @ Mary Fossum Invitational East Lansing, Mich.
Volleyball vs. Colorado Horejsi Family Athletics Center, 1 p.m.
Football vs. Jacksonville State Memorial Stadium 6 p.m.
The Associated Press
sunday
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Detroit Tigers knew that half a continent away, their manager was happy for them.
Women's golf @ Mary Fossum Invitational East Lansing, Mich.
Soccer @ Loyola Marymount Los Angeles 1 p.m.
With Alan Trammell in California for his mother's funeral, the Tigers got three home runs and several clutch plays to beat Kansas City 15-6 last night in a roagged game that kept them two defeats from the post-1900 major league record.
Royals miracle season ends with loss to Detroit, Twins victory
"I wish Tram could be here," said Mike Maroth, who went five innings as the Tigers stopped a 10-game losing streak.
"With everything we've gone through this year, and this being our biggest margin — I just wish he could be here."
Warren Morris, Craig Monroe and A I
Inch all homered for the Tigers (39-118), who still must win four of their last five to avoid tying the 1962 New York Mets at 120 losses.
Detroit's 118th loss against the Royals on Monday night surpassed the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the most defeats in AL history.
"We didn't always hit the ball hard. But we put them in play instead of striking out," said Larry Parrish, the Triple-A Toledo manager who was filling in for Trammell.
Kansas City's loss combined with Minnesota's victory over Cleveland eliminated the Royals from the AL Central race.
Still, one year after losing a franchise-record 100 games, they had shocked almost everyone by staying in
contention until the final week of the season and re-igniting baseball interest in their town.
"We're a little down right now with Minnesota clinching," third baseman Joe Randa said. "When the season is over and we look back and reflect, we'll see it's been a pretty good year."
The crowd booed when catcher Mike DiFelice simply stood at the plate and took a relay throw as Infante slid home in the seventh with Detroit's 15th run.
Every starter in each lineup got at least one hit.
Every Tigers starter had at least one RBI and all but one scored as Detroit rang up its highest run total in more than two years. Omar Infante was 4-for-6 with three runs scored.
Maroth (8-21) went five innings and gave up six runs on 10 hits, with a walk and two strikeouts.
Detroit hadn't won since Sept. 12, when Maroth shut out Kansas City 3-0 and made the Royals the first team in 29 years to lose to a 20-game loser.
"We've got to take it game-by-game at this point," Maroth said. "The biggest thing for us is if we go out there and give it everything we have, when the season's over we won't second-guess ourselves."
guests of
Dmitri Young's RBI double keyed a three-run fourth inning that chased starter Jose Lima (8-2) and gave the Tigers a 7-2 lead.
But Ken Harvey homered leading off the bottom of the fourth, and with two out and the bases loaded, Rondell
Sanchez and Andres Torres had RBI singles in the second and Infante hit an RBI single in the third. DiFelice had an RBI single in the third.
Hinch homered off Brad Voyles in the seventh.
Morris homered in the first for the Tigers, then Angel Berroa homered leading off for the Royals.
"We did some things pretty well tonight." Parrish said.
The Tigers made it 13-6 in the second on Ramon Santiago's RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Alex Sanchez.
Then pitching coach Bob Cluck stuck his head in the room, holding a cell phone to his ear and grinning broadly.
"skipper says, 'Nice going,'" he said.
White hit Maroth's 3-2 pitch for a two-run single.
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