Butler's back...
Brett Butler will be back in the lineup for the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night when LA opens a homestead against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Butter, 39, has been out of baseball since May 1 when it was discovered that he had a cancerous lump on the side of his neck. Following surgery,
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Butter underwent grueling radiation treat-ments
SPORTS
Butler rejoined the Dodgers in Montreal on Aug. 26, and has been in uniform ever since, providing inspiration on the bench.
"Think about it. I'm coming back after two surgeries and 32 radiation treatments," Butler said. "People
said, 'You can't do this, or you can't do that,' and here I am."
Story on Page 5B
DID YOU KNOW?
When combining win-loss records for the past seven seasons, no team Division I men's basketball team has a higher winning percentage than Kansas. From the 1989-90 season through
the 1995-96 season the Jayhawks have a .815 winning percentage. Kentucky ranks second, Arkansas third, Arizona fourth and Massachusetts ranks fifth.
GREEN'S PROBLEMS
Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Paul his lover to have an abortion nearly four years ago because he believed the baby would ruin his career, according to a television report.
Green was married, and in his first season as the Vikings coach in 1992 when his affair with the woman began, KSTP-TV reported Wednesday with an alarming a copy of a.
sealed lawsuit involving Green and the woman identified only as Jane Doe.
The woman sued him this summer after she claimed Green broke a confidentiality agreement that was included in their January 1993 settlement.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1996
Kansas is Vitale's choice for No.1 preseason team
Senior guard Jacque Vaughn and Junior forward Raef LaFrentz were named as candidates for the John Wooden All-America team and the John Wooden Player of the Year Award. Vaughn and LaFrentz were two of 30 national candidates.
Both players also will be on Playboy's preseason All-America team. The issue featuring them will hit newsstands next month.
Dick Vitale's College Basketball Preview also will appear in newsstands next month, and Kansas will be his No. 1 team. The rest of the top five will be Wake Forest No. 2, Cincinnati No. 3, Villanova No. 4 and, defending champions, Kentucky No.5.
Vitale also picked Vaughn for his preseason All-America team and Kansas assistant coach Matt Doherty to the All-Right-Hand-Man team for top assistants.
SECTION B
College Sports Magazine released its Big 12 Conference predictions, and Kansas is picked to win the North Division, followed by Iowa State, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas State. Vaughn and sophomore forward Paul Pierce are on CSM's All-Big 12 team.
Kansan Staff Report
Jayhawk's Lynn Pride aids tournament in Mexico
The USA Women's Junior National Team (4-1) won the silver medal, and qualified for the 1997 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women's Junior World Championships in Brazil next summer.
Kansas freshman Lynn Pride scored six points and pulled down nine rebounds for the USA Women's Junior National Team in its loss to Brazil 82-78 in the finals of the Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations (COPABA) Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament last Sunday night in Chelsea, Mexico.
Pride averaged 9.6 points and about eight rebounds in five games.
In the USA Women's Junior National Team semifinal win over Argentina 81-66 last Saturday night, Pride recorded a double-double scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Besides the USA, Brazil and Argentina also qualified for the 1997 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women's Junior World Championships.
The Associated Press
Eagles claw soccer team
Kansas frustrated after 2-0 defeat by Oral Roberts
GR Gordon-Ross/KANSAN
By Brian A. Petrotta Kansan sportswriter
To call Oral Roberts a rivalry seems odd, but it was the only team Kansas played twice last year, making it the team with which the Jayhawks are most familiar. The physical play on both sides was indicative of a rivalry game, and Kansas was unable to get into its game plan.
Losses at Kansas are never nice. Losses to a rival team wearing purple and white are even worse.
"We played their style," Kansas soccer coach Lori Walker said. "It's frustrating when we've got to play our style and weren't able to adjust."
No, the Kansas soccer team did not lose to Kansas State, but rather the 2-0 defeat came at the claws of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
This was also the first game of the year that the Jayhawks were not first to score. Oral
Roberts forward Heidi Kubes fired in the first goal of the game at the 27:22 mark. Less than two minutes later, Eagles' midfielder Kynada Aldrich was whistled for a yellow card.
That seemed to perk up the Kansas offense, and with 8 minutes left in the first half, the Jayhawks set up for a corner kick. But the save was made, goalie Jessica Dixon recovered, and Kansas went into halftime with one word on its mind: frustration.
"It's frustrating when you know you're the better team, and you're not playing to the top of your ability," sophomore co-captain Jackie Dowell said.
The Golden Eagles wasted no time frustrating the Jayhawks even more as Kubes scored her second goal of the game just four minutes into the second half.
While Dowell's defense helped to keep Kansas competitive, the Oral Roberts' defense was up to the task, allowing the Jayhawks only 3 shots on goal for the entire game.
One of those shots came from Kristine Kramer. The sophomore midfielder launched a shot that belted off the crossbar. Forward Cindy Dahle was there for the rebound, but a save by Dixon thwarted another Kansas attack.
See Soccer,Page 4B.
Rugby team plays first season game
Jackie Dowell, Germantown, Md., sophomore, defends against a forward from the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles soccer team. The KU women lost 2-0 last night at the Super Target Soccer Field.
By Kerry Hillard
Kansan sports writer
BONNER SPRINGS — Hookers wearing boots scrimmaged and knocked-on the pitch Wednesday night.
In layman's terms, cleat-clad rugby players competed in their first match of the season Wednesday night at Wyandotte County Park.
The Kansas Rugby Collegiate team lost to Kansas City Rugby Football Club 29-15.
First-time spectators were not the only ones learning that a hooker is a rugby position, and the pitch is the field. Many players were also first-timers.
Kansas Collegiate rugby coach Bill Mills said 14 of 50 squad members were freshmen.
Mills said that, even though the team was inexperienced, it played well.
"The upperclassmen are great," Holmes said. "I'd know nothing if it weren't for them."
Wednesday was Brian Holmes' first time playing.
Holmes, Omaha, Neb., freshman,
said the leadership from veteran
players helped him learn the game.
"We had 15 men out there and eight were freshmen," Mills said. "Tonight was our first game and
we played a very seasoned club team."
The Collegiate team played the Kansas City Rugby Football Club, which consisted of many veteran college players and a few current college players.
Erik Sutton, Kansas Collegiate's captain and back, led the team in tackles and scored the team's only try. A try, worth five points, is rugby's equivalent to a touchdown.
Sutton said the opportunity to score was there and that he took advantage of it. However, he was more impressed with the team's effort than his own performance.
Freshman back, Masayukie Yonezawa, from Yokohama, Japan, was kicked in the hip. His injury was game-stopping, but he was unsure whether it will be season-ending.
Mills has high expectations for the season, and he was impressed with the team's playing Wednesday night.
"I'm proud. We never lost our desire," Sutton said. "We kept our hearts in it."
Although their hearts were in it, their bodies were not. The team suffered from injuries throughout the match.
"They showed a lot of courage and guts," Mills said. "They're a tough bunch of guys."
After time away, tennis player hopes to serve up winning season
Bv Tommy Gallagher
Kansan sports writer
Under the scorching summer sun, junior Enrique Abaroa devoted countless hours to strengthen himself and the men's tennis team for the upcoming season.
The funny thing is that Abaroa didn't play any tennis.
His summer vacation was spent at home in Monterrey, Mexico, where he earned seven hours of college credit and took a temporary leave of absence from tennis. The break wasn't the result of burnout; he just wanted to get away for a while.
Junior Enrique Aborona returns a serve at the men's tennis practice on Wednesday.
Abaroa weight trained three times a week while home and also played in three outdoor soccer leagues. If he had any spare time, Abaroa would either mountain bike or run through the Sierra Madre mountain region which surrounds Monterrey.
Now that he's back in Lawrence and playing tennis, Abaroa again must meet the challenge of improving his game and dealing with the pressure of being the Jayhawk men's top player. In fact, when Abaroa arrived, he was immediately labeled as the top tennis recruit ever to come to Kansas.
"It was an easy summer because I was able to get away from tennis and have fun back home," Abaroa said. "I wanted to stay in shape for the season, so I would lift, run, get on the Stairmaster, whatever was there."
"That was the best win in my career, but it showed that I still had a lot of weaknesses," Abaroa said. "I followed that win with a string of losses, so I had some growing to do."
Despite the pressure, Abaroa said that the team concept the coaching staff emphasized took a lot of pressure off him.
"We're a close group as a team, and we all have our roles to play," Abaro said. "We may not be ranked No. 1 as a team in the country but we would be if it were based on team closeness and unity."
That team unity has allowed Abaroa to steadily mature on the court each year.
As a freshman in 1994, Abaroa earned All-Big Eight honors and was selected Freshman and
See Tennis, Page 4B.
Athlete straddles line between amateur, professional
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
Growing up in St. Louis, Isaac Bvrd was a die-hard Cardinal fan.
"I grew up with the Cardinals," he said. "I lived and died the Cardinals. I did all the things that go along with that, like hating the Cubs."
But this year, Byrd was able to do more than just cheer for the Cardinals.
He fulfilled a lifelong dream and played in their organization.
Byrd was an 11th-round draft pick for the team in June's amateur baseball draft, and he reported to the Class A Johnson City Cardinals
in Tennessee.
This was just two months after Byrd, a senior, finished his second season as a member of the Kansas baseball team.
For Byrd, the time was right to leave Kansas baseball.
"I felt like it was time to move on to minor-league baseball," he said. "It really was a perfect fit. The money was right, the team was right; I just felt real comfortable with everything."
It almost didn't turn out that way. Byrd and the Cardinals spent weeks hagging about the contract, so much so that at one point, the negotiations stopped, and Byrd was prepared to return to the
Kansas baseball team.
One of the sticking points to the negotiations was that the Cardinals didn't want Byrd to come back to Kansas to play football.
"They basically said, 'If we're going to give you this amount of money, we don't think you should come back and play.' Byrd said. "Looking at their standpoint, I could see why. If you're going to invest that kind of money, you want him for one sport."
Byrd persisted and eventually won. Not only could he come back to Kansas, but also a clause was inserted in his contract that will allow him to pursue NFL opportunities if they arise.
"The fact that they were willing to do that shows how much they wanted me," he said.
"I just wanted him to make the right decision," he said. "He had to weigh all his options and do what was best for him."
"I was impressed with the competition down there," he said. "I didn't think the pitching was going to be as good as it was. It was averaging
Kansas football coach Glen Mason said he wanted what was best for Byrd and didn't try to influence his decision.
90-93 miles per hour every night "
Once everything was final, Byrd reported to Tennessee and discovered that the minor leagues were not what he thought they would be.
90-83 miles per hour every night.
Byrd hit. 277 in 24 games with two
home runs and 15 RBI.
For Byrd, deciding what sport he is better at was almost as hard as his decision to join the professional ranks.
"Td really like to think baseball, because I've grown up with baseball all my life," he said. "I really didn't start playing football until high school."
Byrd said he would go to the NFL if he was drafted next year. Last season was only his first full season on the team, and he still has to improve.
'That's why I came back — to see just how good I can be,' he said.
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