Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
College Football
Former Michigan basketball coach Steve Fisher declined the South Alabama job offer, an offer officials say was not made to him.SEE PAGE 2B
Kansas State's game Saturday against Oklahoma will feature new personnel at new positions.
Thursday
October 23,1997
Section:
B
Page 1
SEE PAGE 4B
Pro Baseball
NBC will postpone its "Must See TV" tonight because Game 5 of the World Series begins at 7:20 p.m.
SEE PAGE 6B
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Suspensions create unease
Kansas defensive back Tony Blevins and linebacker Ron Warner attempt to tackle Colorado running back Marlon Barnes. The suspension of Warner and two other starters has Kansas coach Terry Allen concerned about the team and its preparation for the Nebraska game Saturday. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Loss of three starters concerns Kansas coach
By Kelly Cannon
kcannon@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
A day after suspending three of Kansas' top defenders, Kansas football coach Terry Allen expressed concern about the mental makeup of his team.
"Going into the Nebraska game without those three people - obviously that makes it a little more difficult situation." Allen said. "The problem with our football team right now is we're facing the top team in the country and going into it coming off two straight defeats. The mental makeup of our football team is our No.1 concern."
Linebackers Ron Warner and J.J. Johnson and cornerback Jamie Harris were suspended for violating the team's code of conduct in separate incidents relating to the trip to Colorado last weekend. Allen said.
"It was a problem that had to be addressed, and we're trying to learn from it," Allen said. "We're trying to rally the forces. Maybe this will be something that pulls the team together."
ley and cornerback Avery
drole were suspended for the Ui
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Warner and Harris replacements will be Victor Bullock and Manolito Jones, respectively. Allen said Kansas would not change its defensive scheme because of the suspensions.
"We will use the same defensive scheme that we would use going against the University of Nebraska no matter what," Allen said. "Because of the personnel, with the loss of those three individuals, we're still going to do the things that we would have done if we had those three players available."
This is the second time this season Allen has suspended players. Tight end Jason Gul-
Versity of Cincinnati game.
Allen said that taking the disciplinary action against Warner, Johnson and Harris was difficult.
"As you get to know these people, they become a part of your team or your family," Allen said. "It is like disciplining your own children. And that wears on you both physically
Allen: Concerned about suspensions
and emotionally. I think that, fortunately, the other coaches can stay focused in on their responsibilities."
Allen said that laying a foundation for his program and building on that foundation made the disciplinary action necessary.
"You draw the line in the sand," Allen said. "And if they cross the line in the sand, you have to take action or you might as well not have the line."
Cornerback Jason Harris said that the suspensions had not changed Kansas' expectations about the Nebraska game.
"You never can do that,
because that means you're settling," Harris said. "We still want to go in and win this game, go in and make a good showing. We still have our goals set, no matter what happens with the suspensions. You can't let personal team problems deter anything."
Allen said that the three players would be welcomed back without any ill feelings.
"The other thing I think is very important, and I think this is part of my personal Christian background on things, is that people make mistakes, and when it's over, you pay the price for them," he said. "And you're welcomed back with open arms. That's very important for me."
Chaos of semester can frazzle everyone
I'm frazzled.
It's just one of those weeks where everything seems to be happening at once. Parents visited. Soccer team played. Quizzes. Tests. Internship interviews. Confusion. Girls. Not enough time. My job. The "Kansan." More quizzes. More tests. More confusion.
Whew. I get exhausted just typing it all.
It seems as if I'm thinking about one thing, talking about another, and I'm going someplace entirely different. I'm trying to snag my thoughts before they scatter into a thousand directions, but, as the adage goes, it's like trying to catch sand with a sieve...
Head down to the Quick Shop on 23rd Street. Walk in. Take a left past the oatmeal raisin cookies and take a gander at the magazine rack. On the top row
should be the basketball previews. Check out "Preview Sports Publications: College Basketball Preview 1997-98." Look at the lower left-hand corner. There should be a color photo of a very familiar looking senior All-American power forward in a Kansas uniform.
His name, according to this high-quality publication: RAY LAFFENTZ.
No, not Raef, but RAY. No offense to all the Rays in the world, but the last time I checked, that All-American in the Kansas uniform was still going by Raef.
I hate the new Coke bottles as much as the next student but if you're still complaining about the soda switch, I have some words of advice: Let it go.
- "The Huskers are coming, the Huskers are coming." T-minus three days and counting before the wonderful city of Lawrence is invaded by 20,000 freaks wearing red and white
Harley
Rattliff
sports@kansan.com
and driving huge Winnebagoes. If you weren't here two years ago, don't say I didn't warn you. Either show up to the game and cheer on the Jayhawks or evacuate the city while you still can.
Bid the intention the paradox being frazed.
Frazzled — the state of being exhausted emotionally or physically.
- Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't you like to see Mike Piazza versus Darren Daulton in some sort of "Whose Got the Biggest Hair in Baseball?" contest.
- Did I mention the part about being fumigated?
■ Who else is frazzled? Check in with Kansas running back Eric Vann sometimes after the Nebraska game. I have the sneaking suspicion that he could fall into the frazzled category. He has loads of talent, and it's his senior year, but he faces the always enjoyable prospect of running behind a young, inexperienced line against one of the best defenses in the nation. Mr. Vann, meet Mr. Peter and Mr. Wistrom — you'll be spending a lot of time together about five yards behind the line of scrimmage.
I think I just saw Kenny Gregory jump out of Allen Field House.
■ Looking for a career that offers longevity, a good salary and only requires that you perform just above mediocryst? Well, you might start thinking about becoming a Major League Baseball middle reliever. Can anyone whose been watching the baseball playoffs tell me the combined age of the Orioles' Jessie Orosco and the Indians' Paul Assenmacher and Eric Plunk? I thought Orosco was ancient when he played for the '86 Mets.
And for my final random thought.
My Super Bowl pick: San Francisco 38. Pittsburgh 13.
OK, I feel better now. I have had all those jumbled thoughts just begging to get out of my head. No more confusion. No more questions. No more being "frazzled." Writing sure can be cathartic.
Ratliff is a Norman, Okla., senior in journalism.
Birds of a feather Jayhawk twins together again at Kansas
By Penny Walker sports@kanson.com
Kanson writerwriter
As Brooke Reves begins her first season with the Kansas women's basketball team, astute sports fans will notice a familiar face.
The sophomore twins are once again on the same campus after Brooke attended Wichita State University her freshman year.
At the end of last year's basketball season, Amanda learned that her sister would transfer here. Because of the NCAA transfer rule, Brooke, a forward, will not be able to play until next season.
Her identical-twin sister, Amanda, is a middle blocker for the Kansas volleyball team.
"Iwas just happy that — not that she was coming to be with me — but that she would be happy, because I know that she was unhappy there. And that she would be with me," Amanda said.
At Manual High School in Denver, both Brooke and Amanda lettered in volleyball, basketball, soccer and track. Their high school basketball coach, John Collins, said that they were fierce competitors.
This is not the first time the twins have competed for the same school.
"They'd kind of complement each other," Collins said. "I'd see one of them pass the ball, and I'd wonder where they were passing it to. And the other one would just appear."
Collins coached the twins for four years in high
school and said he was not surprised they had chosen different collegiate sports.
Brooke was the better basketball player and Amanda the better volleyball player, he said.
The twins' older brother, Brant, played football at the University of Texas A&I-Kingsville. Colby, their younger brother and a senior in high school, plays lacrosse and soccer. Their mother, Jan, received a college scholarship in basketball (like Brooke, she was a forward) but chose to get married instead.
mama the better voleyball player, he.
The twins are part of a family of athletes.
One of the positive results the twins have seen since Brooke's transfer is the increased interaction between the volleyball and women's basketball teams. Cliques tend to form between the teams, Amanda said, and having the sibling connection has helped to bridge that.
Their father, Randall, competed in college gymnastics, specializing in the still rings. Their grandfather was a basketball referee.
But, she said, having a sister in another sport has highlighted the differences between the two programs. The women's basketball team has more support, more boosters and better equipment than the volleyball team, a fact she hadn't realized before, she said.
Although their twin status is less noticeable because the sisters play different sports, it still can lead to humorous and frustrating situations.
Brooke has attended all the home volleyball matches this year. After some matches, parents of
Kansas sophomore forward Brooke Reves drives around an assistant coach during practice. Reves' twin sister, Amanda, plays volleyball for Kansas. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
the players would see her and ask her how she changed out of her uniform so quickly. Sometimes she'd explain it to them, and other times she'd plav along.
Erroneous recognition isn't always so amusing. Brooke said.
People often say hi to Brooke on campus, thinking it is Amanda. When Brooke explains she isn't Amanda, people don't always know how to act.
"People are weird with twins." Amanda said. "They assume they know both of you, and it's kind of frustrating how people treat twins. They don't treat them as individuals."
Amanda Reves, sophomore middle blocker, reaches for the ball in a volleyball match. Her twin sister, Brooke, plays on the Kansas women's basketball team. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN
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