monday, September 8, 2003 sports the university daily kansai 7A Greene 'kicked' by12 Well, I went for the big-time upset this week and got shot in the foot. Had Alabama only been able to pull its head out of its behind, I would have gone 10-2 and lost to only six people instead of 12 in this week's Kick the Kansas contest. Among those who were able to kick me this week were Tim Welch, Salina freshman, and Josh Shultz, Wentzville, Mo., senior, who both notched records of 11-1 compared to my 9-3 mark. sports commentary Welch was an unfortunate victim of the random game of the week. His blind prediction of Alabama State over Bethune-Cookman turned out to be his poison, but Shultz was given his one and only loss by the Jayhawks, who he said betrayed him a week ago. "I picked them last week and they lost," Shultz said. "My wife did the exact opposite, and I went against her vote." The state of Alabama was not very generous to yours truly this week, as both Alabama and Alabama State pulled my record down, but my prediction of North Carolina State to take care of Wake- Ryan Greene greene@kansan.com Forest was what hurt the most. Sitting down and making my picks a week ago, I knew Wake Forest had a solid team this year, but N.C. State's super sophomore, tailback T.A. McClendon, is becoming one of my favorite players in the college game, so I couldn't go against the Wolfpack. Then, come Saturday morning, I found out McClendon was not playing, and I knew I had made the wrong choice. So what did we learn this week? Well, we learned that Baylor still sucks really bad, Kansas State really does have football's weakest schedule and in the random game of the week, never pick a team with an insect as its mascot. Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., senior in journalism HERE ARE NEXT WEEK'S GAMES: Kansas vs. Wyoming Notre Dame vs. Michigan Notre Dame vs. Michigan N.C. State vs. Ohio State Georgia Tech vs. Florida State Hawaii vs. USC Massachusetts vs. Kansas State Penn State vs. Nebraska Washington State vs.. Colorado Arkansas vs. Texas Siena vs. Stony Brook SMU vs. Baylor FOOTBALL: Team victory lifts spirits CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A coach Mangino's praise. "Our motto is just downhill, hard-nosed football, and tonight we did that," Floodman said. "It's definitely a pleasure playing with linebackers like Gabe and Nick Reid, and this just really shows what we can do." The Jayhawks will head to Laramie, Wyo., next weekend to take on the Wyoming Cowboys. After a tough loss in the season opener, the Jayhawks believe their huge win over the Rebels will help them turn the corner towards a season to be remembered. "We know that we get counted out a lot, and we're planning on turning everybody around and making everybody believe in us," Rideau said. "I feel like this game was a real confidence builder, a motivator, and we're going to get a lot more victories." Edited by Neeley Spellmeier Chiefs win opener against Chargers The Associated Press It looks like the Chiefs got the job done. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Both San Diego and Kansas City set out over the winter to improve a dreadful defense. Hounding Drew Brees all day long, the Chiefs' defense was dominant through the first three quarters in a 27-14 victory yesterday over its AFC West rivals. Priest Holmes, showing off his surgically repaired hip, had two touchdowns as the Chiefs posted a 24-0 halftime lead. LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers' star running back, had a miserable day, getting only 34 yards on 13 carries. Wide receiver David Boston, San Diego's biggest offseason acquisition, caught only two passes for 20 yards. And the Chiefs' Vonnie Holiday, the free agent defensive end who was signed specifically to provide a much-needed outside pass rush, had three sacks in the first half. "We have a talented defense," Holliday said. "Our front four, those guys are big, strong and can run. Those linebackers, those guys are all over the place. There was no place for (Tomlinson) to go. We swarmed to the ball." All in all, it was a smashing debut for a defense that was rebuilt after finishing dead last in the NFL last year. "Everyone said, 'Vonnie has a good reputation for being an inside rusher,'" said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil. "I'll go back to what I said — I think he can improve his outside rushing, and I think he demonstrated that today." Brees finally got untracked in the second half, tossing touchdown passes to Josh Norman and Eric Parker, who made a great leaping catch in the end zone between two defenders. But Hicks and Greg Wesley stopped Tomlinson on a key first- and 1. And Shaunhard Harts intercepted Brees' pass just under the 2-minute mark. "I told the club coming in here that we were going to take some body blows early in this ballgame," said San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer. "I told them we'd have to withstand that and come back and we did that. We just didn't come back far enough." All in all, it was a good day all around for the Chiefs, although the offense sputtered in the second half. "Don't say the offense was in midseason form," said rightguard Will Shields. "We were in early-season form. We have a lot of work to do." Can't get into the classes you need this semester? Then take classes through EduKan! Enroll Today! EduKan is an online consortium involving six accredited community colleges in Kansas. Yes, You Can With EduKan. 1-877-4EDUKAN www.edukan.org EduKan is accredited to offer AS, AA, and AGS degrees online. 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