2B SPORTS
QUOTE OF THE DAY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2009
"If you don't have enough pride, you're going to get your butt beat on every play."
Gale Sayers
FACT OF THE DAY
Sayers is fifth all-time on the Kansas career rushing yards list with 2,675 from 1962-64.
Kansas Football Media Guide
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Which Mangino-coached runner passed Sayers for fourth all-time?
A: Clark Green with 2,754 from 2002-05.
— Kansas football media guide
Current KU logo too cute to intimidate
COMMENTARY
The Kansas Jayhawk is too nice.
Seriously. Look at him (her?). Tell me he's (she's?) not going to wink at wake my any second now. And winking in sports, and in general really, is rarely as effective as Moonlight Graham would lead you to believe in Field of Dreams. (If you haven't seen it: rent it, watch it, thank me later.)
But aside from my personal beliefs about winking and my fondness for 80s sports movies, my argument is lacking in explanation.
The University of Kansas is a school that prides itself on tradition. Just watch the pregame video for men's basketball. It starts with a classic picture of Dr. James Naismith looking at a basketball that must be nearing a hundred years old. The Rock Chalk chant is one of the most enduring in sports. During the intermission,
the former logos of the school rotate overhead on the video board.
And it was during one of those intermissions that this idea crept into my head. The Warbird, the logo adopted by the school in 1941, has a cocky stance, an angry slant above his eye, and his beak is in a menacing scowl. It was instituted, not coincidentally, along with the United States' involvement in World War II.
The current Jayhawk, adopted in 1946 because apparently this argument was not raised — the story goes that KU student Hal
Sandy drew a friendlier Jayhawk as World War II drew to a close — is exactly what Sandy intended. Hes friendly, inviting and by no means intimidating.
That's great for stationery, welcome mats, official documents and the like. But on a jersey, in competition, I want something that's a little menacing.
This isn't without precedence. Four years ago, the Arizona Cardinals were one of the worst teams in the NFL. Three years ago, they took a cute, friendly cardinal logo and turned him into an angry and as-menacing-as-a-cardinal-can-be logo that owner Bill Bidwill called "a tough bird." Last year, the Cardinals were in the Super Bowl.
Coincence? Probably. Their Super Bowl had more to do with the emergence of Larry Fitzgerald as the best receiver on the planet and Kurt Warner's rebirth from the ashes in, appropriately.
Phoenix. Either way, though, the birth of their new, menacing logo coincided with their emergence as a legitimate football team.
But at the moment, Kansas hardly help emerging on the national scene in athletics. They're no pre-logo change Arizona Cardinals. So why change up the loo?
Because look at the Warbird. He's just so damn cool. And he's not about to wink at me.
MONDAY YOUTUBE SESH
At the time you'll be reading this, I'll be teeing up at Western Gailes Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland. It's the first course my dad and grandfather played together on their first trip to Scotland, and so it will be with my brother and me and my dad. Call it a family tradition.
Nostalgia aside, I wanted some
type of golf clip for the weekly YouTube Sesh. I was tempted to introduce you to the horridness that is Charles Barkley's swing — seriously, it's atrocious — but wound up coming across this clip of the most ridiculous hole-in-one I've ever seen. The ball bounces off another ball before going in. It's crazy.
Type "Leif Olson Hole in One" on in on Youtube and enjoy.
Edited by Betsy Cutcliff
Rafael Nadal, from Spain, hits a backhand against Novak Djokovic, from Serbia, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio, on Aug. 22. Djokovic won 6-1, 6-4. Nadal concedes he probably isn't in peak condition heading into the U.S. Open.
Federer takes Nadal's place at top
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Associated Press
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
NEW YORK — As last year's U.S. Open began, plenty of people were wondering what was wrong with Roger Federer. Feeling sorry for the guy, even.
Federet arrived at Flushing Meadows in 2008 ranked No. 2, not No. 1. He arrived with — gasp! — zero Grand Slam titles for the season, having lost to Rafael Nadal in finals at the French Open (a blowout) and Wimbledon (a heartbreaker). He arrived to a chorus of questions about whether Nadal had surpassed him for good.
U. S. Open spectators rallied to Federer's side, cheering for him as if he were an underdog — rather than the man who would depart with the champion's trophy for the fifth year in a row.
"I was really blown away. I thought that was so cool," Federer said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It was like they said: 'We have to support our man here, because he needs to come back to where he belongs.' It was like they wanted to push me back to the top. Winning the U.S. Open was sort of the jump start."
Yes, as this year's last Grand
Slam tournament starts Monday, Federer is back.
Starting with his victory in New York, Federer has won three of the past four major tournaments to raise his career total to 15 Grand Slam championships, breaking Pete Sampras' record. He is ranked No. 1 again.
And there's been more good news off the court: He's now married and a father — of twins, no less.
"You change,all of a sudden
Federer said, snapping his fingers,
"from needing nine hours of sleep,
to saying, 'Five is plenty'."
As Federer-the-father bids to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three consecutive major championships in a single season, and the first since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win six straight titles at the American Grand Slam tournament, it's his nemesis, Nadal, who looks to be in need of a boost.
LEGAL TROUBLE? KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
DUI/DWI/OUI/MIP Theft Charges Drug Charges
Kerns Law Office John W. Kerns, Attorney at Law 785.856.2228
BASEBALL
Taking home the trophy
U.S. wins the Little League World Series for fifth time in a row
BY GENARO C. ARMAS
BY GENARO C. ARMAS Associated Press
There's a big victory meal upcoming back in Chula Vista.
Bulla Graft's sharp single scored the go-ahead run in the fourth inning and Kiko Garcia pitched three-plus scoreless innings of relief to lead California to a 6-3 victory Sunday over Taoyuang, Taiwan, to win the Little League World Series.
With the U.S.-partisan crowd on their feet, Garcia closed out the victory by striking out Yu Chieh Kao, completing a comeback from a 3-0 deficit.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Andy Rios couldn't wait to get home to Southern California to have some french fries.
The California fans yelled "USA! USA!"
"We knew we could come back," said the 13-year-old Garcia in between laughs with his teammates. "We always do."
Halie Barnes
Emeri Bartels
Emily Barton
Cynthia Taylor Broadbridge
Lilly Bromann
Sadie Broschart
Meredith Carson
Adrienne Coleman
Kelsey Crawford
Lizzy Dennis
Stephanie Downes
Mia Dufek
Vanessa Ernst
They're surely celebrating in the San Diego suburbs after California secured the fifth straight Little League championship for the United States.
After a wild celebration around García, the Californians invited Taiwan to accompany them on the customary victory lap around Lamade Stadium on a sun-splashed afternoon.
Chante Gossett
Stephanie Haskett
Kelsey Heller
Courtney Higginbotham
Kylie Ketcho
Audrie Lathrop
Jessica Leeker
Katie Lewis
Lillie Lueke
Niki Mater
Taylor Medlock
Lori Novak
Kaitlyn Perry
Danielle Pfeifer
Caitlin Potter
before surging ahead in the fourth. Seth Godfrey drove in a run on a sacrifice fly before Nick Conlin scored on a wild pitch.
Even Vice President Joe Biden, who attended the game, was impressed, standing and clapping as his three granddaughters looked on.
Victory on Sunday looked in doubt early. Wen Hua Sung and Chin Ou hit back-toback homers in the third to give Taiwan a 3-0 lead.
Later, Taiwan walked slugger Luke Ramirez with two outs to bring up Graft.
California scored a run in the third
The 12-year-old second baseman hit a 1-1 pitch to right to score Rios from third.
Castro sought to shield his team from the pressure of the tournament as they advanced, forbidding them to surf the Internet for the last three weeks to prevent them from seeing the media exposure back home.
But the championship banner belonged to California.
"It seems San Diego comes so close all the time. The Padres come close and don't win. The Chargers come close and don't win," manager Oscar Castro said. "It was nice to do it for the city."
Taiwan loaded the bases in the fifth off two hit batters and a walk, but Garcia escaped the jam after getting Ou to ground into an inning-ending double play.
"It was just instinct to tag the runner, he was right in front of me," the 13-year-old Rios said. "They had all the momentum with the bases loaded, but I gave us the momentum with the double play."
"We knew we could come back. We always do."
Rios snagged the bouncer, tagged the runner going to third before throwing to first to get Ou.
KIKO GARCIA Pitcher for U.S. team
California added two runs in the fifth, more than enough cushion for Garcia.
The boys threw their gloves high in the air after Kao struck out, then gathered near the
mound and fell into a pile on the ground.
After the game, the boys were asked what they wanted to do when they got home. Rios, flashing a mischievous grin, raised his hand and said he wanted to go the team's favorite restaurant for the customary post-victory celebration.
Rios and Godfrey longed for fries, while Garcia wanted tacos.
"It's just an amazing feeling," the 12-year-old Godfrey said. "We went for it, and we did."
SEARCH FOR THE SHIRT '09
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Kappa Delta Pledge Class 2013
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