Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
The Kansas football team held its first scrimmage under the new lights at Memorial Stadium. Page 3B
Pro Baseball
The St. Louis Cardinals snap a three game winning streak by losing 3-2 to the Expos last night.
SEE PAGE 5B
Friday August 22,1997 Section: B
Pro Football
Page 1
The Kansas City Chiefs travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams in both teams' final pre-season game.
WWW.KANSAN.COM/NEWS/SPORTS
SEE PAGE 6B
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Athletes, both college and pro need to learn self-control
Violent trends must be stopped
I'm making a challenge to every male athlete at Kansas that should be relatively easy to follow but, for some reason, is far from the case.
Men, please respect women. Spare them from the domestic abuse that
seems to have become a trend among athletes, both professional and collegiate, this decade.
This column was spurred by former Kansas defensive lineman Gilbert Brown, 26, who was arrested Monday for disorderly conduct after a domestic violence offense.
Tommy Gallagher sports@kansan.com
Zac Wagner takes a snap during last night's practice at memorial stadium.
Photo by Griffie Krianse/KANSAN
After starting for the Green Bay Packers, earning a Super Bowl ring and signing a lucrative contract last season, there seemed to be no boundaries for this mammoth football alumnus.
Gallagher is a Pittsburgh senior in journalism.
Alas, the 350-pound tackle temporarily crashed back to earth this week.
Brown pushed his 23-year-old girlfriend after arguing with her at their house in Green Bay, Wisc., Brown County officials said. She fell over a couch but was not injured in the incident.
She called the police but did not want to press charges when officers arrived at the house. Regardless, the officers arrested Gilbert when they saw a bruise on the woman's arm, officials said.
What Brown did was far from a horror story considering how former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips abused Topeka West graduate Kate McEwen.
Athletes must accept responsibility for their inexcitable actions, but they often fail to do so. And the women must break out of the denial that always seems to accompany the crime.
Enough is enough.
Warren Moon battered his wife, who called 911 but did not press charges. She said there was no problem. The same story goes for Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and his wife. And who could forget about the tumultuous marriage between Mike Tyson and Robin Givens?
Former Kansas basketball player B.J. Williams was arrested this summer for abusing his wife. One of his teammates at Kansas, Calvin Rayford, was arrested more than two years ago for domestic assault.
But it's not always the professional athletes who are doing the hitting and slapping. College athletes have shown to be just as villainous as their professional counterparts.
Former Kansas offensive lineeman Scott Whitaker faced similar charges.
Sure, the media will jump all over an athlete who hits a woman more readily than they will focus on the average student you walk past daily. And I know it's a small number of athletes who give the whole group a black eye.
But I don't have the scholarship, room and board, books, tutors and Nike apparel that most athletes receive during their four-year stay in Lawrence. Then again, I've never given anyone a black eye
And I know that for every football player arrested in Oklahoma under former coach Barry Switzer, there's another one who made a 3.0 GPA and contributed to his community under Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
Johner to start at quarterback
Senior selected for experience
By Tommy Gallagher sports@kanson.com Associate Sports Editor
Senior Matt Johner was supposed to answer questions about who was the Jayhawks' starting quarterback a half hour after a team scrimage at Memorial Stadium last night.
Johner gave no answers and raised more questions because Kansas football coach Terry Allen was late returning from the stadium to talk to his players.
"I know as much as you guys know," Johner said right after the scrimmage. "I haven't seen him (Allen) yet. Has he come back from the stadium? Do you want me to take a shower and wait for him to come back?"
When Allen arrived, he named Johrer the starting quarterback.
"By no means did Matt win this by default," Allen said. "Right now, Matt is the most experienced (quarterback) we have on an inexperienced team. I think that's very critical. This is his senior year, so we'll see what he can do."
Johner and sophomore Zac Wegner had been competing for the starting spot since April at the beginning of spring practice. While Allen now has a starter, the winner could have flip-flopped
during the scrimmage
"Come into the scrimmage, it could have gone the other way," Allen said. "Matt has a better understanding of defenses now, so we'll be in a better position to take advantage of an opponent's weaknesses once we start the season."
While Johner was the starter last season, the quarterbacks were anything but stable under former Kansas coach Glen Mason.
Johrer defeated then-senior Ben Rutz for the position, although Rutz was recovering from major knee surgery and never was 100 percent last season.
Mason would not reveal the starter until the day before the game, leaving his players to question their roles on the team.
Allen said he would not doubt his quarterback based on one poor pass or bad game.
"Having been a former quarterback, I know how fragile that position can be." Allen said. "Matt won't be in jeopardy of being yanked on the first drive, or on the second drive. But he will be held accountable for the success of the offense."
"Coach said that there were no positions fixed entering the two-a-days," Johner said. "To his credit he held true to his word. I never once thought that I'd be the guy. It's a nice attitude to have, but I knew it would be a battle. I'm just glad it was over."
Johner appreciated Allen's honesty about the competition.
Matt Johner talks with Coach Terry Allen during yesterday's scrimmage at Memorial Stadium. Johner was named the starting quarterback for the season. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN
Rally to bring team closer to fans
sports@kansan.com
By Kelly Cannon
Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks' football season doesn't officially start until Thursday, but they're throwing a party to celebrate it anyway.
The "Lawrence Journal-World" and Kansas football have teamed up for the second-annual "Get Ready Rally" to be held Sunday.
The event started last year as a football version of basketball's "Late Night with Roy Williams" event, said Rick Mullen, director of promotions for intercollegiate athletics.
"This is the second year of the event."
Mullen said. "Last year the 'Journal- World' and KU Athletics teamed up. We held it at the stadium on the Monday night before the first game. But it is going to be bigger and better than last year."
Head coach Terry Allen and the players will be at the rally and accessible to the public. The rally was moved to Sunday this year, and Mullen said he thinks that will help increase attendance.
"I'm looking forward to it," Allen said. "It is a good opportunity to meet people from the community. Personally, I am really looking forward to meeting the people."
Festivities begin at 3 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m., when the official pep rally
begins. After the chancellor, coaches and players speak, the games and booths will resume. Games such as a moonwalk and obstacle course will be available.
"We have games for young kids, and games for college kids," Mullen said. "We have something for everybody."
Last year 1,000 free dinners were given out. This year, the first 1,500 people will receive a ticket good for a hot dog, bag of chips, cookie and soft drink, Mullen said. The event officially ends at 6 p.m.
"It's a time for people to meet the players," Mullen said. "It's a new coach and new players and people can see them off the field."
The event is open to the public and is free.
Get Ready Rally
What: Games, boots with prizes, free food and a pep rally for the 1997 Kansas football team
When: From 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday
When: Memory Day
**Where:** Memorial Stadium
**Why:** To introduce Kansas players and
**Why:** To introduce Kansas players and coaches to the public. The event is free.
Schedule:
- 3 to 4:30 p.m. Games and booths open
4:30 to 5 p.m. Pep rally
RU students who purchased the All Sports Combo may pick up their season football tickets until 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the red and blue tent in Memorial Stadium. The tickets also will be available next week at Allen Field House.
5 to 6 p.m. Games, booths resume
KL Students who purchased the All
Spiffed up floor adds pizzazz to field house
Jayhawks, letters get updated look
D. W. Acker, graphic designer for Kansas athletics, points out the finished graphics on the Allen Field House floor to one of his assistants, Rachel Jorgensen, Lodi, Calif., senior. Photo by Steve Puppe / KANSAN
By Kristie Blasi kblasi@kansan.com Sports editor
Opponents at Allen Field House now will pay heed to bigger, bolder Jayhawks and accented "Kansas Jayhawks" lettering on the court.
The annual refinishing of the court included repainting the graphics on the floor and replacing damaged floor paint.
D. W. Acker, graphic artist for the athletic department, designed the new graphics and directed the painting portion of the project. The lettering along the sidelines of the court — previously red letters outlined in white — now also is outlined in navy.
"I wanted the letters to show up better," Acker said. "The added blue outline help pull out the red and white in the letters."
nate with the new outlined lettering because the bodies of the birds are also colored darker blue. The two graphics are six inches taller to compensate for the removal of the white outline around the Jayhawks.
Acker said he eliminated the white because it didn't help the clarity of the graphics.
The two Jayhawks on the floor near each free-throw lane coordi-
"Part of the design process was to make the graphics brighter and more accented," Acker said. "The darker Jayhawks have more authority."
Darren Cook, director of facilities for intercollegiate athletics, said that the project typically took about three weeks. The process includes sanding and buffing the court before repainting the graphics. Two coats of finish complete the refinishing.
"This year it is a little more involved," Cook said of the graphics refinishing.
One of Acker's assistants with the graphics was Rachel Jorgensen, Lodl, Calif. senior.
Jorgensen said she worked with
the stencils for the lettering and
the points on the Jayhawks.
"I liked it," she said of the project. "I learned a lot about layout, patience and working steadily. It's a detailed process."
Updating the graphics involved tracing them on a material similar to masking tape, cutting along
the trace lines, painting and removing the stencil material.
The first fall sports competition scheduled in the field house is
Cook said the refinishing was scheduled after the last summer camp in the field house ended and before the student-athletes returned to campus.
the volleyball team's Kansas Invitational on Sept. 12-13.
Cook predicted that the floor would be ready for Kansas athletic teams to use Aug. 29.
A minimum of five days is required after the last coat of sealant is applied until the court is ready for use.