Monday, December 7, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
'Firestarter' spearheads successful weekend
Sophomore gets Jayhawks running
Reves: Named to all tournament team.
By Sam Mellinger
Kansan sportswriter
See Brooke run. See Brooke get an easy basket. See Brooke be named to the All-Tournament team.
Sophomore forward Brooke Reves used her speed to score 26 points in
37 minutes off the bench in two Kansas wins this weekend.
Reves hit 13 of 17 shots — most were layups after beating her defender down the floor — and was named to the All-Tournament team of the Jayhawk Classic after two Kansas blowout wins.
The weekend's tournament sweep was described as a "firestarter" by guard Shandy Robbins, and Reves seemed to be the one holding the matches.
"Coach (Marian) Washington says I bring energy to the floor," Reves said. "I appreciate her saying that, and doing that is something I try to concentrate on. The coaches told me at the beginning of the season that they liked the way I run. It's one way I can help the team. The defense didn't seem to adjust, so it kept working."
Running is nothing new to Reves. While at Manual High School in Denver, she lettered four times in track. Reves won the state 800-
meter run her freshman year and also was part of a state championship relay team.
"Anyone who tries to match up with her, they're going to be in a footrace," Washington said. "She is just able to outrun a lot of people."
This is nothing new to Reves' teammates. Forward Lynn Pride found out what was in store for opposing power forwards when she guarded Reves during preseason workouts.
"Man, she makes you work."
Pride said. "It's hard to defend her.
She's a workhorse."
described as "animal on the boards" by assistant coach Maggie Mahood, Reves grabbed eight rebounds in 20 minutes against Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday.
The average victory margin of more than 30 points raised questions about the level of competition that Kansas faced this weekend.
Reves said she thought the Jayhawks played their best games of the season this weekend.
"Everyone was clicking," she said.
Umpiring youth sports not child's play
By Matt James
Special to the Kansan
It was a night when "kill the ump" took on a much too literal meaning.
Jeff Edwards, then an Overland Park sophomore, who umpired more than 100 games last summer, was attacked after a youth baseball game filled with controversial calls. An irate father followed him back to his car, threw a punch at him and burned Edward's arm with a cigarette before the police arrived.
"The guy was mad just because his kid's team lost." Edwards said.
The father had to spend the night in jail, but showed up at several other games later in the season. Not surprisingly, Edwards has found a different part-time job since the attack.
Violent incidents involving umpires may be rare, but not nearly as rare as Douglas County umpire coordinator Sky Kennedy would hope.
"Almost every umpire I've talked to has had at least one incident of being harassed after a game," he said. "It's sad when people forget it's just a game."
The Lawrence police were called to a few games this past summer to
break up post-game scuffles involving unset fans or coaches.
Because of the increased violence, it is becoming much more difficult to fill recreation-league umpire positions. The stresses of the job have caused a shortage of umpires, which has led to the cancellation of some games, as well as summer and fall tournaments.
Kennedy said that only a handful of Kansas students worked for him this summer and fall and that he always was struggling to find umpires to fill the four complexes here in Lawrence and the one in Baldwin City that he supervises.
Jon Peterson, a Hugoton junior, is one of the few University of Kansas students who made extra money umpiring summer and fall baseball games. Peterson called games for various age groups, ranging from 8-year-olds to 19-year-olds, in Douglas and Johnson counties.
Peterson said that the job was much more difficult than he expected and that abuse from parents and coaches was getting worse.
Peterson said that when a friend of his mentioned umpiring to him, he said he thought it would be a great way to pick up some extra cash on his
free evenings and weekends.
"I loved playing baseball when I was young, and I thought this would be a fun way to stay active in the sport," he said. "Man, was I in for a surprise. It's the toughest job I've ever had."
He quickly became aware of what many experienced umpires had already learned. There's much more to the job than simply calling balls and strikes. Besides having a solid grasp on the rule book and all its intricacies, an umpire is responsible for the safety of everyone on the field and at the game. He must decide when the field is too wet to play, watch for lightning storms and look for situations that could put a player's health at risk.
"If I saw a bat lying outside the dugout but just ignored it and a player tripped over it and broke his arm, that would be my fault," Peterson explained. "An ump can never relax. The minute you let your guard down, a play happens, and you miss it."
Unlike major-league umpiring crews, which have four members, local umpires work in pairs.
"Many people think the guy working in the field has the easy job, but
it's tougher than behind the plate because you have to make calls at three bases instead of one, and it's easy to get caught napping." Peterson said.
Umpires in Lawrence must go through a training course in March to prove their proficiency. Kennedy said he always was careful to put umpires at the level of ball that fit their experience. First year umpires usually start with 8- to 10-year-old games before moving up to older leagues.
Umpires make between $17 and $25 a game depending on the age group.
"It's pretty decent money if you're having fun out there, but it can seem like nothing if you've taken a lot of heat," said Josh Cartwright, Chicago senior.
Peterson said he expected to catch some grief from fans because he could change the outcome of the game with every call.
"It's the people who take their frustrations out on umpires that really bug me," Peterson said. "How many times I've heard the words, 'You can't call my kid out,' or 'quit playing favorites,' when I don't know a single person on the field? It just kind of wears on you."
Pulling for a victory
Air Force ROTC cadet quarterback Darin Tiffany tries to elude the grasp of a Navy ROTC midshipman. Playing at the Lawrence High School practice field, the Air Force ROTC beat the Army ROTC 21-14 and the Navy ROTC 13-0 and won the ROTC championship. Photo by Dan Elavsky/KANSAN
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