Inside Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Sports SEE PAGE 3B Soccer Friday October 16, 1998 Section: B Page 1 SEE PAGE 3B The Kansas soccer team is set to do battle with two Big 12 teams this weekend in Lawrence. Commentary Sports editor Matt Friedrichs explores the difference between the KU men's and women's basketball teams. SEE PAGE 4B WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS Contact the Kansan Sports Desk: Sports Fax: Sports E-mail: (785) 864-4810 (785) 864-0391 matt@ukans.com Commentary Soggy fields stop games, annoy players and officials The rain that poured down on Lawrence the past few weeks didn't just cause erosion and make it difficult to walk the dog. It also wiped out most of the soccer and flag football intramural seasons. The rains occurred, when the games were scheduled and after the rains fell the fields were deemed unusable until they dried out. Most of the flag football season had already been played, but each soccer team had played just one game — a far cry from the four games each team was promised. Now the plan is to start the soccer tournament this weekend without finishing the regular seasons. This has made some soccer intramural athletes unhappy. Unlike flag football, which got more games in, the soccer season never really took off. Each team shelled out $30 to participate Spencer Duncan It has harbored some resentment towards the intramurals department. and, more importantly, the students looked forward to playing against their peers. But that wasn't a possibility, said Jason Krone, assistant director of recreation services, who oversees the intramural program. "Those fields could have been played on," said Andy Taylor, Overland Park senior. "It wasn't that muddy. One of the days they canceled a game was three days after the rains. We could have played." Taylor is one of many intramural participants who feel cheated. Of the participants I talked to, many said they would have played on the muddy and wet fields located at Shank Complex at 23rd and Iowa streets. Ryan Washtakta, intramural program assistant, also has an explanation for why the tournament must begin now and the regular seasons must be put aside. "When we get that much rain, the fields are saturated, and if we play on those fields it tears them up," Krone explained. "The next time it rains, the fields are even worse." "It is time for our floor hockey and volleyball seasons to begin, and it is too much to run all of these at once," he said. Duncan is a Topeka senior in journalism and English. These are legitimate reasons. But it also is understandable why the intramural players are upset. They wanted to play ball. The intramurals program hasn't burned the teams, though. They have offered to refund money. Any team that chooses not to play in the tournament beginning this weekend will be reimbursed $20. Any team that wants to play in the single elimination tournament will be reimbursed $10. Also, in the past any team that did not show for a game or forfeited was charged $10 for missing the game. This year, that fee has been waived. If a team didn't show for its first game or forfeits in the tournament, they will not be charged. It's not a bad deal. And at least the intermurals program didn't try to keep the money, which it could have done. The intramurals department probably could have played some of the games. The fields at Shank already are in bad shape and a few more games on the wet fields probably wouldn't have done much more damage. But at least they offered a solution instead of just cutting everything off altogether. It might not have been the solution that made everyone happy, but there is still some opportunity to play. Men's basketball feels the burn Injuries pour salt on team's practice By Erin Thompson Kansan sportswriter Late Night is finally here, and the men's basketball team is emotionally ready to begin practicing. Whether the players are physically ready is another question. Injuries usually plague teams late in the season, but the Jayhawks this year face the task of getting healthy before the season even starts. Kansas head coach Roy Williams said he was exited about the season but had questions about his team's health. "The health issue still has to be answered," Williams said. "But I really believe that this team will be the type that will have five guys averaging double-figures. And I have always said that is a good situation to have, and it is hard for the other team to design their defense to stop you." Finding a healthy post-player could be a challenge for Kansas. Forwards T.J. Pugh and Lester Earl are not expected to participate in tonight's scrimmage, leaving only Eric Chenowith and Jeff Carey in the middle. Pugh, a 6-foot-8 senior from Omaha, Neb., reinjured his ankle Wednesday after undergoing surgery in early September to repair it. He was expected to be ready to play tonight, but he will not be able to participate in the scrimmage. Earl, a 6-foot-8 guard from Baton Rouge, La., is in the same boat. He had knee surgery last May and was expected to play tonight, but he will be held out of practice until Saturday. "Hopefully, I'll get stronger as the season progresses," Earl said. "Once the season starts, I'll be ready to go." Kansas guards also are suffering from injuries. Freshman Marlon London has a bad back that he injured in high school, and he has not been able to do any conditioning. He is not expected to practice for at least two weeks, Williams said. Last year, Kenny Gregory also was suffering from a bad back. Although coaches did not allow him to finish Wednesday's conditioning, Gregory said he was 95 percent healthy and excited for the season to get started. Players are hopeful they can avoid late-season injuries by getting them out of the way before the start of the season, Pugh said. "I've been here for three years, and I understand that sometimes these things just happen," Pugh said. "Hopefully, I'm paying my dues right now, and I'll be clear during the season." In addition to the health issue, the Jayhawks face replacing All Americans Raef Lafrentz and Paul Pierce, not to mention Billy Thomas, the most prolific three-point shooter in Kansas basketball history. After compiling a 69-6 record during the past two seasons, Williams is not sure what to expect this season. "Paul's not here, Raef's not here and Billy's not here," Williams said. "People say that we're not going to be that good, but fellas, we have been 69-6 over the past two years. It's hard to ABOVE: Center Eric Chenowith takes time at Media Day to answer reporters' questions. Last season, Chenowith scored 230 points and pulled down 191 rebounds, an average of 4.6 per game. Photo by Matt I. Daunhert/KANSAN LEFT: Freshman troops Jeff Boschee, Jeff Caray (redshirt), Marlon London and John Crider pose for the press at Media Day. The freshmen, who were not allowed to do interviews, watched their veteran teammates talk to the press. Photo by Dan Elavsky/KANSAN keep up that pace up." Without big-name players, Kansas will focus on team scoring and will see a return to more of a motion offense than in recent seasons. "We will change things because of the personnel," Williams said. "We'll still play what I like to think of as the Kansas way. We'll play to get See PRACTICE on page 8B Kansas gears up for trip to 'Husker turf Bv Jodi M. Smith Kansan sportswriter Members of the Kansas football team hope they aren't putting their heads on the chopping block this weekend. The Jayhawks travel to Lincoln, Neb., for a 6 p.m. kickoff tomorrow against Nebraska, a team that lost last weekend for the first time in two seasons. And the Cornhuskers don't plan to make it two in a row. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Network Kansas running back Dustin Curry said, "Going in after a loss, they're probably out for some blood, but we're just going to go up there with some confidence that we can beat them. That may seem nearly impossible for the 2-4 Jayhawks, who have allowed victory to be stolen from them four times this season. Nebraska is a team that has either won or shared the national championship three out of the last four years. Nebraska coach Frank Solich said, "As I look at Kansas, they are a fine football team, and they have been in every game right up to the fourth quarter. I think they are a team that can score points on you." The game poses And if the Jayhawks have any lingering two challenges Kansas has struggled with this season—conference battles and road games. The Jayhawks, 0-4 in the Big 12 Conference, have only won one road game since coach Terry Allen became coach last year. hopes of a bowl bid, this game is nearly a must-win. Allen said Kansas needed to have a good game plan. "That is often hard to do against Nebraska because they are such a well-coached football team," he said. "I don't know about the vulnerability of Nebraska, but I understand the recipe of how to beat them." Curry said the recipe was consistency. "I don't think you want to do anything different," he said. "I think you kind of want to perfect the things that you have been doing. It's the little things that are killing us, it's not our base offense or our base defense. It's just little things game in and game out that kind of put the opponents over the edge." Kansas, though, has at least one starter out. Cornerback Muhammad Abdul-Rahim will not play because of an ankle injury, and linebacker Steve Bratten's status is questionable. Wide receiver Harrison Hill said he was ready to play at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. "I went to a spring game there my junior year, and that's like a game, and that place was packed with 75,000 people," wide receiver Harrison Hill said. "It's going to be loud, a lot of people and an awesome environment." But no matter how many Cornhuskers fans show up, the Jayhawks are ready to look past the season's disappointments. "It's hard, but this is football," wide receiver Termaine Futon said. "This kind of stuff happens. You've just got to deal with it, and if you love it, just deal with it. Keep on working hard and make something good come out of it." 1. Kansas vs. Nebraska 2. Kansas St. vs. Oklahoma St. 3. Missouri vs. Oklahoma 4. Texas A&M vs. Baylor 5. Texas Tech vs. Colorado 6. Syracuse vs. Boston College 7. Oregon vs. UCLA 8. Virginia vs. Georgia Tech 9. Kentucky vs. LSU 10. Louisville vs. Tulane 11. E. Michigan vs. W. Michigan 12. Minnesota vs. Ohio St. Last Week's Record Overall Matt Friedrichs sports editor Kevin Wilson associate Jodi Smith football reporter Spencer Duncan columnist Brandon Krisztal sports staff Randy Withers sports staff Justin Blumberg student
KansasNebraskaNebraskaNebraskaNebraskaNebraskaKansas
Oklahoma St.Kansas St.Kansas St.Kansas St.Kansas St.Kansas St.Kansas St.
OklahomaMissouriMissouriMissouriMissouriMissouriMissouri
BaylorTexas A&MTexas A&MTexas A&MTexas A&MTexas A&MTexas A&M
ColoradoColoradoColoradoColoradoColoradoColoradoColorado
Boston CollegeSyracuseSyracuseSyracuseSyracuseSyracuseSyracuse
OregonUCLAUCLAOregonUCLAUCLAUCLA
VirginiaVirginiaVirginiaVirginiaVirginiaVirginiaGeorgia Tech
LSULSULSUKentuckyLSULSULSU
TulaneTulaneLouisvilleLouisvilleTulaneTulaneTulane
E. MichiganE. MichiganE. MichiganW. MichiganE. MichiganE. MichiganW. Michigan
MinnesotaOhio St.Ohio St.Ohio St.Ohio St.Ohio St.Ohio St.
2-115-77-57-57-59-37-5
34-2747-2451-2048-2350-2153-1852-19
Marlan Washington Kansas women's basketball coa