Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Big 12 Conference presidents say they are surprised about NCAA activities disclosed by a series in "The Kansas City Star." SEE PAGE 3B
Pro Basketball
Rookie Jacque Vaughn turned his left ankle in the fourth quarter of Utah's 104-92 defeat of New Jersey. He said that he did not expect to miss any playing time.
Tuesday
October 21, 1997
Section:
B
Page 1
Pro Football
Buffalo kept Indianapolis' losing streak alive with a 9-6 defeat of the Colts last night. The Bills improve to 4-3, and the Colts are still winless at 0-7.
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Nittany Lions playing well, may have chance for No.1 ranking
Royals should start anew in the National League
The four major professional sports — baseball, football, basketball and hockey — are overlapping each other right now. Add in the usual slate of college sports, and I have only so much time and space to write about what I could put in my blue books during the last week.
Penn State should not be penalized for a letdown that almost cost it a victory against Minnesota. For the record, the Nittany Lions trailed 15-3 midway through the fourth quarter before rallying for a 16-15 victory.
Tommy Gallagher
tgallager@kansan.com
I never saw a drop in the Nebraska votes when Central Florida had a halftime lead in September at Lincoln, Neb. The Knights lost
Kansas guard Ryan Robertson, struggling for the ball in the Jayhawks' game against Kansas State last year, will start at point guard for Kansas this season. Photo by Steve Puppe / KANSAN
the game 38-24, but a case could be made that Nebraska reflected Penn State's effort against Minnesota that day.
"I'll concede that the Cornhuskers appear to be the strongest team in the country right now. But should Penn State go undefeated, there should be no debate that the Nittany Lions deserve to be No. 1 this season based on their strength of schedule.
Nebraska might face four bowl opponents, two of which could place in the Top 10. Penn State could face as many as six bowl opponents, four of which might land spots in the Top 10.
The Kansas City Royals should move from the American League to the National League in the next 10 days if the organization cares at all about the franchise and its fans.
I'd be willing to bet that you drew blanks on both questions.
When was the last time you went to Kauffman Stadium to check out the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins or Detroit Tigers? Here's another one: When was the last time you went to check out the Royals?
The Royals have no opportunity in any AL market. Even more crucial, if the team moves to the NL, it will have an opportunity for a rebirth of sorts, and that opportunity may never present itself again. The Royals can play it safe and die slowly in the AL, or it can gamble and hope for success in the NL.
Now, imagine the drawing power that the St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves would generate. And the two superstations, WGN of Chicago and TBS of Atlanta, would play a role in marketing and promoting the Royals on a national level, albeit indirectly.
The Cleveland Indians will defeat the Florida Marlins in six games, but will Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have a chance to sing the national anthem in its native Cleveland? They were shunned for R&B singer Lavert when Cleveland made the World Series two years ago, and I don't doubt it might happen again.
The Reebok endorser put a piece of tape across the Nike swoosh that was on his jersey at an exhibition game in Kansas City, Mo., last weekend. This was in much the same manner as members of the men's U.S. Dream Team who draped themselves in the American flag so as to not be seen in the clothing made by another sports manufacturer.
Gallagher is an Olathe senior in journalism.
So, what will it be?
I knew it before, but I was reminded recently that Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal cares about money and marketing than his playing ability.
These acts should come as no surprise coming from the NBA or O'Neal. After all, Coca-Cola Co. withdrew advertising money last year from the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and the Great Western Forum, which is home to both teams. The reason: the Lakers signed Shaq, one of Pepsi Co.'s biggest endorsers.
After Coca-Cola withdrew, Pepsi moved in and signed a deal with the Lakers, Kings and the Forum. Sadly, some aspects of the sporting world have been reduced to a corporation-first, team-second mentality.
Robertson ready to take over
Conditioning turns 'Olive Oyl' into starter
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Associate sports editor
Junior Ryan Robertson started the first 11 games at point guard last season, which was 11 more than he had originally thought he would while preparing for the Jav Hawks' season.
Robertson was pressed into action when former Jayhawk guard Jacque Vaughn fractured his right wrist during a pickup game weeks before the start of practice. Robertson said he was thankful for the experience gained during those games as a starter.
"If Jacque had not gotten hurt, and I was coming into this season having never started a game, I would feel pretty nervous," Robertson said. "To be honest, I feel comfortable about the situation I'm coming into. I've got a lot of confidence because I know I can excel there. The 11 or 12 games that I got to start last year were very helpful."
With Robertson at point guard and Vaughn on the bench, the Jayhawks started last season 11-0. Among those games were back-to-back victories against No. 17 University of California-Los Angeles and No. 4 Cincinnati.
In the UCLA game, Robertson scored no points but recorded a career-high 11 assists. In the Cincinnati game he had eight points, four rebounds, four assists and one turnover against the Bearcats' pressure defense.
Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said that Robertson should feel more comfortable on the court this season because of the experience.
"He will be a little more at ease this year and that will probably help his jump shot," Williams said. "There couldn't have been anyone with more pressure on him last year than Ryan Robertson. I think he was trying so hard to do the right thing with the ball and help defensively that his shot
suffered some."
Williams also said that Robertson had made tremendous strides during the offseason in his strength and physical conditioning.
"Everyone talks about Raef (LaFrentz) being bigger and stronger, but I also think that Ryan is bigger and stronger. You look at him when he was a freshman — he looked like Olive Oyl. But he's
worked hard in the weight room and has really done some good things that will help him this year."
Sixty men attended the walk-on tryouts for the Kansas men's basketball team Sunday evening, said Dean Buchan, director of sports information. He expected fewer people to attend the tryout practice session, which was from 8 to 10 p.m.yesterday in Allen Field House.
Sign here, please
Mike Laskowski, an accountant in the Kansas Union business office, receives an autographed poster from Isaac "Bud" Stallworth, who was a Kansas basketball player in 1970-'72. Stallworth was signing posters made in commemoration of 100 years of Kansas basketball. Photo by Pam Dishman/KANSAN
Golfers lead field at invitational
Kansan staff report
The Jayhawks have placed eighth at two previous tournaments but have not placed higher this season. At Teradyne, Kansas players recorded scores in the first and second rounds of 315 and 317 for a two-round total of 632.
After two rounds, the Kansas women's golf team leads the 12-team field by eight strokes at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Terrydane Country Club in Andover.
Big 12 conference foe Kansas State is second in the tournament with a score of 640. Wichita State (652), Colorado State (654) and Northern Iowa (660) complete the ton five.
in fifth place. Senior Beth Reuter (73, 81) and freshman Jamie Tucker (77, 77) are four shots behind the leader. Reuter's first-round score of 73 is tied for the Kansas season-best, which sophomore Susan Tessary set in the second round of the Dick McGuire Invitational on Sept. 29. Junior Mandy Munsch is in fifth with a score of 155 after shooting 80 and 75 in the first two rounds.
Two individual Kansas players are tied for second, and another is
Freshman Ashley Bishop is in 26th place, and Tessary is tied for 32nd.
Wichita State's Natasha Ausderau, playing on her par71 home course, is the leader after two rounds (75, 75).
Meet results
The invitational will conclude today with the third-round tee times beginning at 3 a.m.
Top 10 teams after two rounds:
1. Kansas 632
2. Kansas State 640
3. Wichita State 652
4. Colorado State 654
5. Northern Iowa 660
6. Lamar 668
7. Texas-Pan American 669
8. Northern Colorado 688
9. Creighton 691
10. Missouri-Kansas City 701
basketball players
2. Jamie Tucker 154
2. Beth Reute 154
5. Mandy Munsch 155
22. Carrie Padden 167
32. Susan Tessary 172
Jayhawks set their sights on 'Huskers but remain realistic
Allen emphasizes having fun in game
By Kelly Cannon kcannon@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
The No.1 football team in the nation will come to Lawrence Saturday.
Sure, the Jayhawks would love to have the upset of the season, but they will focus more on having fun, said Kansas football coach Terry Allen.
"You have to go into a game like that and build on it and make it fun for your players because it is a difficult task," he said.
Kansas is 4-0 at home this year but is 4-3 overall after losing all of its road games.
Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne said he recognized Kansas' success in front of crowd.
"They beat Missouri at home," he said. "They are good at home."
The Nebraska game will not be the first time Allen has faced a top-ranked team. He faced some highly ranked teams when he was head coach at Northern Iowa.
"We fully expected it after what transpired with the close game Penn State had." Allen said.
"We faced Marshall, and they were No. 1." Allen said of the Division I-AA team. "And we were No.1"
Allen said Nebraska's No. 1 ranking did not surprise him. The Huskers had previously been ranked second to Penn State.
Penn State eked out a 16-15 victory against former Kansas football coach Glen Mason's
unranked Minnesota team Saturday.
The same day, the Cornhuskers defeated Texas Tech 29-0 in Lincoln, Neb. The victory was Nebraska's first shutout of the 1997 season. Allen said that he found no weaknesses when he analyzed Nebraska on tape.
Despite overwhelming odds against Kansas, Allen said surprises could happen.
"it's too solid a system, too solid a program," he said.
"It's ironic," Allen said. "The first year we (Northern Iowa) beat Iowa State, they turned around and beat Nebraska. So anything is possible."
Outside linebacker Dariss Lomax will not play the rest of the season. Lomax injured his medial collateral ligament in his knee and will require surgery. All other injured Kansas players will compete against Nebraska.
Offensive lineman Dan Dercher, who was moved from the defense at the beginning of last week, started against Colorado and performed fairly well, Allen said.
"He did a pretty good job," Allen said. "He had one week of practice to prepare. He did miss some assignments, but he did a pretty good job."
1.
Allen said Kansas' defensive difficulties against Colorado were caused primarily by Buffalo quarterback John Hessler.
"Our defense wasn't particularly good, but they were playing against a good quarterback who was 15 of 19 and was able to execute on third downs to keep drives going. They played below par, but you have to give a lot of credit to Hessler," he said.