ANOTHER YEAR
The CHICAGO CUBS added a year to manager Jim Riggleman's contract on Tuesday, extending it through 1998 with a club option for the following year. "I feel very good that if we get the opportunity to take the next step in these next
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
couple of years, I'll get a chance to be a part of it," he said. Riggleman came to the Cubs from San Diego in October 1994 and led the Cubs to a 73-71 record last year, only their second winning season in six years.
NBA UPDATE
THE NBA ALL-STAR GAME WILL BE PLAYED in New York in 1998, the first time the league's showcase game will be played at Madison Square Garden since 1968. The Garden was
selected rather than Portland's year-old Rose Garden and Philadelphia's Corestes Center, which opens this season. The 1997 All-Star Game will be played Feb. 9 at Cleveland.
NFL UPDATE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1996
San Diego quarterback STAN
HUMPHRIES and Arizona running back LeShon Johnson were named AFC and NFC players of the week yesterday. Picking up defensive honors were safety Manny Mac
were safety Manny Martin of Buffalo and defensive
tin of Buffalo and defensive tackle John Randle of Minnesota. Special teams awards went to New England kicker Adam Vinatieri and Philadelphia kick returer Derrick Withespoon.
Political debates strike out if baseball games are on TV
NEW YORK — The candidates can debate, but October is for baseball.
That's the view of Fox and NBC, the networks televising baseball playoff games this season. Both networks said yesterday that they intend to fulfill their contracts to broadcast the games.
President Clinton and Bob Dole will
debate Oct. 6 and Oct. 16, and the vice-presidential candidates will debate Oct. 9.
NBC would have only one possible conflict, Oct. 16, when it is scheduled to televise the seventh game of the American League Championship Series, if that game is necessary.
The American League playoff game on Oct. 9 starts at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
"We have a contract for baseball, calling for us to do the game, and we will be there, doing the game," said Ed Markey, an NBC representative.
Fox is scheduled to televise playoff games on all three dates.
"Baseball has been on our schedule for a long time," said Vince Wladika, a network representative. "The debates are a new development. Our plan is to broadcast major league baseball."
Caroline Lewis/KANSAN
Senior Kylie Hunt (left) and junior Christie Sim are competing in the National Clay Court Championships in Baltimore. Hunt won the doubles title with Jenny Atkerson and was runner-up in singles competition at the championships last year.
Package bomb explodes at home of Chargers doctor
SAN DIEGO — A package bomb exploded yesterday in the La Jolla home of a San Diego Chargers team physician, injuring his 14-year-old stepmother, who had brought it into the house, police said.
package exploded in the teen-ager's face, said police representative Bill Robinson.
Police were called to the home of Gary Louse about 6:40 a.m. after the small
The girl, who was burned on her face and
burned on her face and hands, was taken to Scripps Hospital in La Jolla. She was listed in fair condition, said Sue Pondrom, hospital representative.
The package apparently was addressed to Losse, one of four team physicians for the Chargers, Robinson said.
Further information about her condition was not disclosed at the request of the family. Pondrom said.
Losse has served as the team's orthopedic surgeon since 1981.
It was not known why he was a target.
It was NOT known why he was a larger. The Metropolitan Arson Strike Team and San Diego police are investigating the explosion with postal inspectors, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Damage to the home was said to be minor.
Tommy Morrison faces charge for loaded firearm
JAY, Okia. — Heavyweight Tommy Morrison, who last week announced his return to boxing, was scheduled for a hearing today on a misdemeanor charge of transporting a loaded firearm.
Jav. Okla., police
Day, Okan, police said they had found a loaded. 22-caliber pistol in Morrison's car in July. Authorities had to tow the car after Morrison suffered a medication-triggered seizure while stopped at a traffic light. The fighter and his family were taken to the hospi-
Tommy Morrison
al, leaving the car in an intersection. Morrison, who announced in February that he had tested positive for HIV, said he would fight one last time to raise money for his Knockout AIDS foundation
money of a MAOCKESS
In March, Morrison pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery.
The Associated Press
Tennis players aim for clay court titles
Kylie Hunt hopes for even stronger showing this time
By Tommy Gallagher
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas tennis players are competing for singles and doubles titles as the main draw of the National Clay Court Championships begins today in Baltimore.
Among the players is senior Kyle Hunt, who won the doubles title with Jenny Atkerson and was runner-up in singles competition at the championships last year.
"I want to improve on what I did last year," Hunt said. "I know I can do better, and the only way to do that is to win both the singles and doubles titles, which I plan to do."
Junior Christie Sim, Hunt's doubles partner, will help her teammate.
This is the first tournament for women's interim head coach Frank Polito, who was an assistant coach under Chuck Merbzacher, now at Ohio State. Although this is Polito's first tournament as a head coach at Kansas, he has experience as a head coach.
"We play on hard courts all year, so this one tournament is definitely a good change of pace," Sim said. "Even though I think I'm a better player on a hard court, I like playing on clay better just because we never get to see a clay court."
"I was head coach at Eastern Michigan for six years, and the coaching is no different," Polito said. "Coaching is the same wherever you go, regardless of whether you're a head coach, an assistant, a trainer, a recruiter or a parent."
Men's tennis coach Mark Riley is also in his first tournament as Kansas head coach. Riley was an assistant at Kansas before becoming head coach.
Junior Enrique Abaroa is the fourth seed in the 32-man singles field, and he is the top seed
in doubles with junior Xavier Avila.
Abaroa said he looked forward to playing in singles and doubles competition.
"I like the fact that you can go out there and win for yourself and represent the University at the same time," Abaroa said. "I just want to play with consistency and do the best I can, and hopefully that will be enough to win."
Avila was eliminated from singles competition on Tuesday.
He beat Jerry Turek of Illinois,
Avila, who transferred to Kansas last year from the University of Barcelona, said he was excited about playing in a tournament that uses a clay surface.
6-7, 6-3, 6-2, but lost the qualifying round match to South Alabama's Marius Swart, 6-3, 6-4.
"I'm a better player on clay courts than I am on hard courts," Avila said. "But the experience of playing on clay will better the team over the course of the year."
his qualifying round match to Daniel Merkert of Wake Forest, 6-3, 6-2.
Junior Trent Tucker also lost
Tucker, one of two players remaining from the team on which Riley was an assistant in 1993, likes the approach Riley and the team have adopted heading into the season.
"I like our new system because it depends on self-motivation," Tucker said. "You have to want to lift, run, play and practice. We have to take control over how we prepare, and we expect to be ready."
Football team on road affects retail sales
By Dan Gelston Kansan sportswriter
Fewer tourists in Lawrence translates to less business
The No. 20 Jayhawks aren't the only ones in Lawrence who are unhappy that the team is spending September on the road.
However, no games means no Homecoming or Parents Day this month, generally football staples in September. That translates into less business.
Local businesses also have been feeling the effects.
September is usually the biggest pre-basketball month as far as retail sales are concerned, local merchants say.
"Sales have definitely been affected," said Tom Wilkerson, owner of Jayhawk Spirit, 935 Massachusetts St. "We've had few people come in on the weekends, and we're not selling as much Kansas football and Jayhawk stuff as usual."
kelly Krape manages Jayhawk Spirit, and she agreed with Wilkerson.
Restaurants and bars also are feeling the economic pinch. Those that cater to the athletically starved are catering to fewer people.
"Game days certainly bring a lot of people here," she said. "But it's slowed down on the weekends this year. The foot traffic hasn't been as busy."
Rich Renfro. owner of Johnny's Tavern, 401 N.
Second St., said that when the Jayhawks played on the road, most people stayed at home to watch the game, while home games brought the crowds to his business.
"We do about four times as much business on a home football Saturday than when they're on the road," he said. "I also have
a problem with the Thurs-
a problem with the day games. When t have their games on Thursday, we don't do as much business than on a Saturday."
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But Wilkerson said he had to find ways to compensate for
the lack of Javhawk-related sales.
"We've been running a big sale on all our fraternity and sorority merchandise, hoping to attract more of that crowd," he said. "We've extended it and will probably keep it on until they have a home game."
Renfro said he would run his normal specials on Saturday and hasn't done anything else to bring the crowds in.
Jim Alpiser, Lenexa junior, said the away games had kept him away from downtown.
"I live on the other side of town near Hy-Vee, so I don't have to go downtown much," he said. "It's kind of hard for me to find a reason to go down there. But after a home game, it's the place to be. It's affected my spending dollar."
Away games are keeping the crowds out of Lawrence.
"Ihave seen a noticeable decline in the number of people making reservations for this month," said Elizabeth Hinkle, front desk clerk at the Best Western Hallmark Inn, 730 Iowa St. "It isn't so much the football games as it is the activities that go along with them. Since there isn't a Homecoming and Parents Day and Band Day this month, there aren't reasons for parents and families to come to town."
Hinkle said that was changing, though.
"Our reservations will pick up a little bit for nextmouth," she said.
Band Day is scheduled for Oct.12. Homecoming and Parents Weekend are both the weekend of Oct.19.
John Webb, owner of Webb's Fine Wine &
Spirits, 810 W. 23rd Street, said he hadn't noticed a big dropoff because games or no
n games, people like to drink.
"The older people like to entertain, and they buy a lot of the alcohol," he said. "It would definitely help if they spread things out, but we haven't been adversely affected by it. I mean, I remember when we had a bad football team, and it didn't matter if we had home games or not."
Wilkerson said there might be a financial advantage to having home games later in the season.
"We can't make money selling shirts," he said. "Jackets and sweatshirts are our primary moneymakers. Hopefully, we'll get to sell more of that stuff. Maybe we'll be better off."
Bono isn't receiving due credit from fans
Steve Bono just can't win. Well, he can win football games. His winning percentage as a starting quarterback (.767) is by far the best among active quarterbacks, and he has helped the Chiefs to their best start in team history.
More often than not, Bono seems to be taking a lot of blame and getting very little credit.
For example, on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium, the crowd booed after Bono's second-quarter
But when it comes to fan support, these statistics don't seem to matter much. Neither does Bono's 94.4 quarterback rating or the fact that he is second in the NFL only to Brett Fayre with seven touchdown passes.
GUEST COLUMNIST
interception and acted as if it was his third of the game. In reality, it was his first this year, making him the last starting quarterback in the AFC to be picked off.
I have to admit, I am guilty, too. I haven't been especially supportive of our anal-retentive quarterback.
Maybe it's because he hates Kansas City barbecue or because he runs about as fast and gracefully as Rush Limbaugh.
But when you look around at some of the quarterbacks who are passing as starters these days (no pun intended), we really shouldn't be complaining. Would you rather have Steve Walsh or Dave Brown calling signals?
Granted, Bono still has problems with the blitz and can make some bad decisions. Chalk that up to the fact that although he's 33 years old, this will be his second year as a starter. But when it's crunch time, when the defensive coordinator can't afford to send everybody on the roster, Bono has been superb.
Bono led scoring drives in the last two minutes of the first half in each of the Chiefs' first three victories. In those drives, he completed 16-of-18 passes for 168 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
On Sunday, when the game was on the line, Bono led a 67-yard scoring drive, completing 5-of-7 passes for 49 yards and keeping John Elway and the Broncos' offense off the field.
Not too shabby.
Now don't get me wrong. Steve Bono will never be the same caliber quarterback as a Steve Young or Trov Akman.
But for the last six seasons, the Chiefs have won the majority of games with a little offense and a lot of defense. Forcing turnovers and holding on to the ball has been the key to their success.
Even though Bono may not be the best quarterback in the league, that doesn't mean the Chiefs can't be the best team in the league with him at the controls.
Great teams, not great quarterbacks, win championships. Plenty of teams that have played in the Super Bowl with less-than-fantastic quarterbacks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers went to the big dance with Neil O'Donnell, who already has tossed a cool six picks for a far aaker team, the Jets.
The Chiefs have enough playmakers on defense, guys like Derrick Thomas and Dale Carter, to make up for any shortcomings that Bono (or the rest of the offense) might have.
So if Bono can keep playing solidly and not turning the ball over, this team should go a long way.
And if they do make it all the way to New Orleans, it will be partly because of, not in spite of, Steve Bono's performance.