Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Thursday
September 3,1998
Section:
B
Page 1
KU forward Lynn Pride returns to school after playing on a USA Women's Basketball Team in China.
Kansas Sports
SEE PAGE 2B
Maria Abatjoglou, former KU tennis player, was named NCAA Kansas Woman of the Year yesterday.
KANSAS TENNIS
SEE PAGE 2B
Commentary
Guest columnist Sam Pierron explains how to be a soccer fan in the United States.
SEE PAGE 8B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Contact the Kansan
Sports Desk: (785) 864-4810
Sports Fax: (785) 864-0391
Seniors solidify Kansas line
Senior linebacker Patrick Brown tackles a Cincinnati receiver during a game last year. A solid group of linebackers are at the core of the Jay Hawks' defense this year. Photo by Kansan staff/KANSAN
Linebackers key to strong defense for Hawks football
By Brandon Krisztal
Kansas sportswriter
They do what their name indicates, they back the line.
The strength of any good defense is its linebackers.
In a standard defense, there are either three or four linebackers on the field for any given play. The linebackers normally are behind the defensive line and in front of the secondary.
infront of the second base.
Kansas runs a base 3-4 defense with three defensive lineman and four linebackers. According to J.J. Johnson, senior starting inside linebacker, linebackers have a tremendous responsibility on the field.
"Basically the role of the linebackers on our team is to be the captains of the defense on the field," Johnson said. "We've got to get the defense lined up and make all the calls."
Johnson, 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, is joined at inside linebacker by fellow senior, Steve Bratten, 6-1 and 235 pounds. Senior Patrick Brown, defensive co-captain, 5-11 and 210 pounds, and senior Hanson Caston, 6-2 and 235 pounds, start at outside linebacker for Kansas.
sible, to take the pressure off the line-backers by keeping the offensive lineman off us."
In the past, linebackers had to be big.
Kansas linebackers coach Mark Farley thinks the all-senior group anchors the defense.
"The main thing in a 3-4 defense like we play is that the linebackers are definitely the key to making plays," Farley said. "We structure the defense so that we can allow the linebackers to run freely to the football. The defensive linemen's job is to be gap-respon-
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN
so they could stop runs and fill holes. As the offensive game evolved, the role of the linebackers began to include pass coverage, and one-on-one coverage of running backs.
Now linebackers need more than bulk and an ability to get to the ball.
"The first criteria we go for when we look for linebackers is speed," Farley said. "We have to have guys who have some size to them, and the No.1 criteria is the ability to run. If you can't run you can't play. It's a speed position. It's not so much that we're going to line up and ask these guys to go head up with offensive lineman. They're on edges and they have to use their speed."
Linebackers' responsibilities change every play. Linebackers could have to blitz the quarterback, play a run, or cover a receiver or back on a pass route.
"We're a balanced defense, so it's a left and a right side," Farley said. "We want to give a picture to the offense so that they don't know which side is coming and which side is dropping. All the line-backers have to have the ability to rush and drop and play man-to-man coverage."
"The main thing in a 3-4 defense like we play is that the linebackers are definitely the key to making plays. We structure the defense so that we can allow the linebackers to run freely to the football."
Mark Farley
Kansas linebackers coach
Because of their importance, linebackers receive a lot of attention. Johnson knows that linebackers face a lot of pressure, but he knows that he has to get his job done on the field.
"I concern myself with keying the offensive line, the guards," Johnson said. "Making sure I step in the right position. If I miss the wrong hole for a middle linebacker, I'm out of place. For an outside linebacker, they must keep contain for us and turn all of the plays back so we can finish."
McGwire, Sosa battle for hits and air time
The Associated Press
Baseball officials and Fox said Tuesday the network would televise all of McGwire's games from Sept. 11-13 if he reaches 60 home runs.
NEW YORK - If Mark McGwire hits 60 home runs by a week from this Friday, all of St. Louis' games will be nationally televised next week.
ESPN will televise Monday's opener of the two-game Cubs at Cardinals series, and FX will show the Cardinals-Cubs game the following day. ESPN is expected to the air the Cardinals-Pirates game Sept. 9.
FOX Sports Net—will broadcast two games involving McGwire and Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa, who also is nearing the 60 home-run mark, next week.
Fox Sports Net said Tuesday that it would broadcast split national coverage of the Cardinals-Reds and Pirates-Cubs games Sept. 10.
Photos by Dan Elavsky / KANCAN
Fans will see one of the games in entirety and the at-bats of Sosa or McGwire in the other game. Fox Sports Net still needs to clear channel space in New York and Milwaukee, which have local
games that night.
Fox will televise the Cardinals-Astros game Sept. 12 as part of its Saturday package and will show the St. Louis games Sept. 11 and Sept. 13 if McGwire has 60 home
runs.
Fox executive producer Ed Goren is still talking with baseball officials about show-
See MERIT on page 2B
Commentary
Department tries to fill up stadium with free-ticket offer
During Saturday's football game, the ABC television cameras will, at some point, pull back on Memorial Stadium to capture a shot of the fans and the atmosphere surrounding the game.
But what the cameras may end up televising is a stadium about as full as the living room of those watching at home.
This is a fear of the Athletics Department, and one it is trying to remedy. Students, faculty and staff members of the University will get into the game free, without needing a ticket. They just have to flash their KUIDs.
This isn't just a friendly gesture brought to you by the department. It is a calculated move by a promotions department needing a full stadium so that the television cameras capture a capacity crowd.
It's all about exposure, and this Saturday the University wants as much as it can get.
Every coach, athletic director, booster and television executive knows that the more television exposure a team receives, the more attractive the program becomes.
That's understandable. After all, television is the ultimate aphrodite to lure new fans and, more importantly, new recruits.
But if the crowd is small, and the cameras show a half empty stadium, then it is embarrassing for the network.
Kansas wants ABC to be happy with what it sees. If the crowd is large, then the network, which also is operated by the people who own ESPN, will see that Kansas is a school worth returning to.
Spencer Duncan
A few media coordinators and producers were very upfront about this fact. They all said the same thing: ABC wants ratings — nothing more, nothing less. Ratings bring in advertising revenue, and that is what it is all about — making money.
ABC feels confident only in the teams it televises if a few things happen.
First, the game has to be competitive. No one wants to watch a lopsided game.
When televised nationally, Nebraska draws a large audience, regardless of who it plays. But even it has problems. Once those games get out of control, which is often, people click off.
So when televising Kansas and Oklahoma State, the network is taking a risk. ABC needs the game to be competitive, or else no one will watch.
But the networks also want to know that there is an interest in the game.
"Honestly, one of the most embarrassing things we can do is pump up a game and then show images of a half-full stadium," said one ABC production staff member. "It makes us look bad."
And when they look bad, they don't come back.
And if they don't come back, Kansas loses.
The Jayhawks need exposure. And they could use some of the millions of dollars schools receive for television appearances.
The reality is that this team has a way to go before it can compete with Colorado and Texas A&M, and even farther before it can touch Kansas State and Nebraska.
Coach Terry Allen just wants to win and improve. That is the best way to attract better athletes.
The Athletics Department also wants a winning team. But until that happens, it would be nice if the team could at least win when it is on television.
And of course, the department wants a full stadium. But on Labor Day weekend, when many students skip town and the team has been above. 500 just twice in its conference in the past 16 years, filling the stadium is an impossible task.
The University should have given free tickets to the community.
Duncan is an Topeka senior in journalism.
1