Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Wednesday
September 2,1998
Section:
B
Page 1
Nebraska coach Frank Solich has to decide who his quarterback will be since Bobby Newcombe is injured.
Pro Basketball
SEE PAGE 8B
A jury awards Angela Link $2.4 million in a suit filed against the Timberwolves' Anthony Peeler.
SEE PAGE 5B
Boxing
The latest Mike Tyson bout isn't on pay-per-view — it's a on a roadside after an accident.
SEE PAGE 4B
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KU women goalies use fancy footwork
ecke, junior goalkeeper, dives in an attempt to make a save. The Kansas women's soccer team heads to Florida this weekend to take on Florida International Miami. Photo by Dan Elavsky/KANSAN
By Brad Hallier
Kansan sportswriter
It has been said that goalkeepers are ordinary athletes who do extraordinary things.
Take Jen Fecke, Burnsville, Minn., junior, and starting goalkeeper on the Kansas women's soccer team.
On Sept. 14, 1997, she was in the nets for the Jayhawks in a Big 12 Conference match against the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas. Fecke faced more than 40 shots, and only one got by, but the Jayhawks lost a heartbreaking 1-0 in overtime.
She said that was her most memorable game.
"I had a shutout going into the second overtime," she said. "I faced a lot of shots that game."
Katie Garrity, Southlake, Texas, sophomore, has vivid memories of her most memorable game in the nets, a regional semifinal win two years ago for her club team, the D'Feeters.
Garrity said she made a more saves in the final minutes to preserve the 1-0 win.
"We were winning 1-0, and I saved a penalty kick, and on the rebound, I made another save," she said.
Betsy Pollard, Sioux City, Iowa, junior, remembers a State Cup match for her club team, the Sioux City Storm. Pollard
was the winning goalkeeper in a tension-filled, penalty-kick shootout.
This year, the Jayhawks have added a goalkeeping coach, Kevin Blokker, to help fine-tune the goals.
Blokker knows about playing goalkeeper at Division I level, having played goale for the University of San Francisco.
Blokker said successful goalkeepers need great footwork. During the first few preseason
practices, Blokker would not allow the goalkeepers to dive Instead, he made them rely on moving their feet to make a save.
Blokker said he was happ with the way the Jayhawk goalies were coming along.
"All the goalkeepers came into this season in shape," he said. "Everything is polished now, and on top of that, I think they all have above-average catching ability and hands. All of them have the natural ability to be a
great goalkeeper. Their footwork and intensity at practice is what is going to take them to the next level."
Having a new goalkeeping coach for the third consecutive year could have been hard on the goalies, but Blokker said they were adapting.
"They came in with an open mind, and it's made them better," he said. "They don't have to do everything I suggest, but when I make suggestions, it's just to make them better."
Fecke, Pollard and Garrity all said that playing goalkeeper is a rewarding position.
"When you do something good, you are considered a hero," Garrity said.
"There aren't many positions you can be either a hero or goat," agreed Feke.
"When you make a save that nobody expects you to make, it makes playing goalie worthwhile." Pollard said.
The three goalkeepers all agreed that the most satisfying part about playing goalkeeper is posting shutouts.
But Blokker said there was more to being a great goalkeeper than earning shutouts and making saves.
"It's not enough at this level to make a big save because any keeper can do that," he said. "Making it look easy makes you a top collegiate goalkeeper."
Kansas seniors lead by example
Senior outside linebacker Hanson Caston watches for the snap of the ball during practice. Caston played in all 11 games and started in two contests last year. He will be filling the spot vacated by Ron Warner.
Photo by Dan Elvasky / KANSAN
By Jodi M. Smith
Kansan sportswriter
School is in session for the Kansas line-backers.
with four seniors occupying the linebacker positions, each practice is like a class.
Joining last year's starters Pat Brown and Steve Bratten are J. J. Johnson and Hanson Caston. They may be new to their starting positions, but they have plenty of game experience.
"It is a definite bonus to us just for the fact that they're experienced players and mature," linebackers coach Mark Farley said. "They know what to expect. You don't have to get them ready for the crowd scene and all the things that go along with game day. They've already been through that. It's just another day for them."
"I think being together for the previous year makes a difference in that we know how each other plays, how we can depend on each other," Brown said. "I think that's a big part."
With this experience comes a teaching role - teaching those below them what it takes to start for a Division I football team. They also must groom players to take the lead at the end of this season.
And not only are they used to game day, they're used to each other.
"The best thing about having seniors for the younger guys is that the younger guys can learn from the older guys." Farley said. "We coach them, but it's a great learning experience, a learning curve if you will from the seniors to the guys below them. They can learn from the older guy by watching him play, by watching his mistakes and how he prepares from week to week for a game."
The older players are happy to provide this service.
"They ask a lot of questions, and we're always happy to give them answers, to see if they're doing something wrong, or just better that can help them get a little better." Brown said.
There's also pressure that accompanies a position such as linebacker, pressure to be a team leader.
"I accept it," Brown said. "I just try to lead by example. There's no need to talk a lot, just lead by example."
With their experience also comes confidence. Having played together for four years now, this unit is ready for a stellar senior season.
"They're confident," Farley said. "I don't want to say they're going to go out and say they're going to beat somebody, but they're confident in their ability, confident in how they fit into the defense."
Angie Kuhn and Matthew Friedrichs/KANSAN
Commentary
Bob Frederick banks on gridiron gamble to payoff
The Kansas Athletics Department is betting on the football team.
On Saturday, when you step through the new iron gates in Memorial Stadium and walk along a renovated concourse, buy concessions at new vending areas and use the new restrooms, you'll see the first half of the
$29.5-million pigskin wager.
The reason for the gamble? Revenue.
Matt Friedrichs
"We have to get to a place where we fill the stadium," said Bob Frederick, athletics director.
The stadium has the glazed appearance $12 million dollars will buy—and another $17.5 million of work will be visible next fall.
Both Frederick and Chancellor Robert Hemenway are keenly aware of the need to have a revenue-generating football team to support the other varity sports, such as soccer, volleyball and tennis which don't sell many tickets or attract the big corporate sponsors.
sponsors.
"The one area that has the greatest potential for growth in income is football," Frederick said.
He wants people to attend games, needs people to attend games and hopes the new amenities — and a winning team — will fill the stands.
frederick would like to se2 nalf of Kansas students at a game. He would sleep better if they attended because he would be filling the seats and paying for the big investment the athletics department has made in the past five years.
Women's soccer and crew still are fledgling sports. The athletics department is spending $3.5 million at Allen Field House, $3.8 million on a volleyball practice/c competition building (also to be used by women's basketball) and $1.8 million to upgrade Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
The new elevator, restrooms and conces
There are no more seats available for men's basketball games, as much as alumni would like to buy tickets, and the only way to make more money from the program is to raise ticket prices — never a popular option.
sions areas in the field house are needed improvements but won't generate new income.
it is true that women's basketball has become more visible with the advent of women's professional leagues in the United States.
But neither baseball or women's basketball has the popularity, the fan awareness or the ability to sell tickets like Division I football.
And baseball could ride the coattails of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Coach Terry Allen probably hasn't felt the pressure yet. This is his second season, and last year the team surprised people.
But the team must move from surprising people to regular bowl appearances.
people to a new press box and luxury suites ($14.5 million) will cast their shadow on the Kansas coaches and players on the sideline next fall.
And a $3 million television screen will make the stadium look a little more like the Strip in Las Vegas.
To capitalize on the investment, Kansas needs more than new toilets, freshly painted walls and new elevators according to Hemenway.
"If you have successful teams, people will come out and watch them," he said.
If Allen's team remains mired in the lower half of the Big 12 North Division, who will buy tickets for a regular seat on the bleachers?
But if the team doesn't win, who will pay $22,000 to $50,000 a year for one of the 36 luxury suites?
Frederick has calculated the odds and appears confident that the timing and the coach are right.
He has placed his bet. Allen has prepped the team. Now it's time for the players to produce and the fans to determine whether Kansas athletics wins or loses.
Friedrichs in a Bremen, Kan., graduate student in journalism.