Tuesday, December 1. 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
K-State trying not to focus on BCS
Coach concerned with Texas A&M and Big 12 title
The Associated Press
MANHATTAN — Bill Snyder doesn't understand the Bowl Championship Series standings and he won't bother to figure them out.
Kansas State coach's only concern this week is trying to beat Texas A&M in the Big 12 championship Saturday.
"We realize that that's the only thing we have any kind of control over — and A&M certainly has an impact on that, too," Snyder said during a conference call yesterday.
can to play well."
"We don't understand the system and the nuances, but we do understand that we're not going to have any impact on how that plays out. Our main concern is to do all we
The Wildcats (11-0) are No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and No. 2 in The Associated Press poll. However, they are No. 3 in the poll that counts the most, the one from the BCS.
pionship Jan. 4.
In the BCS poll being third means you're the first loser. The top two teams, currently Tennessee and UCLA, will play in the national championship. In 1964.
"It's real frustrating," said return specialist David Allen. "But we know if we win in something good might happen for us. So we've just got to keep on winning."
There are a few ways Kansas State can win a spot in the Flesta Bowl. All scenarios begin with a victory against No. 10 Texas A&M (10-2).
in the SEC championship or Miami against No. 3 UCLA.
The second step would be an upset Saturday by either No. 23 Mississippi State against No. 1 Tennessee
Should the Volunteers and Bruins win, the Wildcats' last hope would be that their victory is impressive enough to move them high enough in the computer rankings and polls to offset their weak schedule.
Snyder admits he's clear on the scenarios — "It's not that we're oblivious to what's going on," he said—but he said he would not ask his players to try to embarrass A&M for the sake of winning poll votes.
"I think when you start thinking along those lines, you're going to create problems for yourselves," he said. "I believe our players believe the same way. TEXA A&M is too good of a team to think about winning by a particular margin."
Texas A&M, which was blasted 54-15 by Nebraska in last year's Big 12 championship, earned a return trip this year by going 7-1 in league play and winning the South division.
The Aggies had been riding a 10-
game winning streak until losing
Friday to Texas. 26-24.
the BCS as much as the game itself.
Because the Wildcats are huge favorites against the Aggies, the pregame hype will center around
Texas A&M players may be sick of hearing about Kansas State's national championship hopes by game day, but for now linebacker Dat Nguyen said his teammates were not
Snyder: Focusing on the big 12 Conference title game.
thinking about playing spoiler
"We're not into all that," he said.
"We want an opportunity to showcase our ability. We want to come out on a positive note."
Randy Johnson signs with Diamondbacks
Top pitcher makes choice for hometown ball club
PHOENIX -- Randy Johnson, the most accomplished pitcher among this year's free agents, agreed yesterday to a $53 million, four-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Associated Press
chose to stay close to home.
The second-year expansion team won the intense fight for the big left-hander for two main reasons: Johnson lives in nearby Paradise Valley, and he believes the Diamondbacks are making moves to become a contender in a hurry.
Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo said Johnson would be introduced at a news conference tomorrow.
"I think there was always an interest in his part and a tug in his heart relative to playing at home," Colangelo said. "The big question was how soon could we become competitive as compared to all of these teams because of his fierce competitiveness and desire to win."
Arizona was Johnson's choice ahead of the Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers.
Colangelo said Johnson had bigger offers but
"For us, it's obvious there are family issues, and he is pleased to spend his life in the Valley for hopefully the rest of his baseball life," Johnson's agent, Barry Meister, told radio station KMVP in Phoenix. "But also from the top, we have a commitment that the Diamondbacks are
to do what it takes to get to the World Series, and we believe that."
The average annual value of his new contract is $13.25 million, the second-highest in baseball behind the $13.33 million Mou Vaughn will get under the $80 million, six-year contract he agreed to last Wednesday with Anaheim.
Johnson's contract also contains a club option for a fifth year with a buyout provision. Johnson, 35, was 10-9 with
a 1.28 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 84 1/3 innings this year for the Houston Astros, who acquired him from Seattle on July 31. Unhappy with the Mariners after the team refused to give him a contract extension after the 1997 season, Johnson had asked for a trade.
When Seattle refused, he was grumpy all through spring training and the first half of the season, going 9-10 with a 4.33 ERA before Seattle dealt him just minutes before the trade deadline.
Houston had hoped to re-sign him but dropped out of the bidding last Tuesday after becoming convinced it would take a four-year contract to keep Johnson.
Jones: Leaves Houston Astros for Arizona.
In all, he struck out 329 this season, leading the major leagues. Johnson has a 143-79 career record, striking out 2,329 in 1,978 1/3 innings.
He joins an Arizona team that hopes to improve drastically from 1998, when the Diamondbacks went 65-97 in their initial season, finishing last in the NL West, 33 games behind the division-winning San Diego Padres.
Since the end of the season, Arizona has signed Todd Stottlemyre to a $32 million, four-year contract and Armando Reynoso to a $5.5 million, two-year deal. The Diamondbacks have six proven starters — Johnson, Andy Benes, Stottlemyre, Reynoso, Omar Daal and Brian Anderson.
The Diamondbacks have said that the depth would give them the ability to make a trade, possibly involving either Anderson or Daal. Arizona also signed reliever Greg Swindell to a $5.7 million, two-year contract and first baseman Greg Colbrunn to a $1.8 million, two-year deal.
Great Eight event to test top teams
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Basketballs thudding off the floor, fast-moving sneakers making their inevitable screech, fans cheering dunks and three-pointers and coaches hollering out instructions.
Finally, familiar sounds at the United Center.
No, not those locked out Bulls.
It's the Great Eight back in town.
"We'd be there even if the Bulls were playing, but with them out
ob action everybody
body is probably a little
starved for basketball," Duke
coach Mike
Krzewskiwski
said of today and tomorrow's two day showcase. "It might make for a better crowd."
Krzyzewski's Blue Devils, knocked from No.1 by Cincinnati in the final of the Great Alaska Shootout last weekend, play Michigan State tomorrow night in the fourth and final game.
The field is comprised of six of last season's final eight teams from the NCAA tournament and begins tonight with top-ranked Connecticut facing No. 15 Washington in a rematch of March's East Regional semifinal.
in tonight's nightcap, two of the traditional powers of college basketball, No. 7 Kansas and No. 8 Kentucky, meet for the first time since 1990.
Utah. ranked
21st, and unranked Rhode Island play in tomorrow's first game.
"Our game with Michigan State is a big-time game, and we're fortunate to be playing it in December," said Krzzyzewski, whose team has slipped to fourth. "It's important to be in that atmosphere."
phere. To be playing in these tournaments and having a tough non-conference schedule, that
enhances your chances in post-season play. You can lose games and still learn."
Michigan State Duke features a
marque matchup of point guards William Avery of the Blue Devils and Mateen Cleaves of the ninth-ranked Spartans. And strong play from the point should be in abundance with Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin, Utah's Andre Miller and Kentucky's Wayne Turner.
Connecticut defeated Washington 75-74 in the NCAA tournament eight months ago when Richard Hamilton hit a shot just before the final buzzer. Washington, with 7-foot center Todd MacCulloch and 6-4 guard Donald Watts, is 4-0 after winning the Big
Island Invitational in Hawaii.
"Washington will give us an indication if we're a better team than last year," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "It will be a great chance for us to win our first big test. It gives teams a chance to see where they are in the first part of December."
Kentucky, upset by Pitt at the Puerto Rico Shootout, will be making its fourth straight appearance in the Great Eight.
The Wildcats beat Purdue in Chicago the previous two years.
"The atmosphere is a Final Four-type atmosphere, you're in a neutral site, all the teams are there and so are the fans from the different schools," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said.
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