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KANSAN.COM
SPORTS
Bill Self remains uninterested in reigniting Border War
▶ SHAUN GOODWIN
@ShaunGoodwinUDK
Self stated that it was not in the best interest of Kansas to bring back the old rivalry.
Preceding the Kansas men's basketball team's third practice of the summer on Tuesday afternoon, Kansas coach Bill Self once again dismissed any interest in reinstating the Border War with Missouri.
"I'm not interested in doing what's best for Missouri, that doesn't interest me at all," Self said. "Just like they're not interested in doing what's
best for Kansas — I'm interested in doing what's best for us."
The questions directed toward Self came after ex-Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin accused Self of blocking a potential matchup between Kansas and Missouri's football teams at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
"The problem was a man named Bill Self who made it very clear this wasn't going to happen," Loftin said in an interview with AL.com. "I think it's more likely Texas will bend than Kansas, as long as Self is involved. He
has a big ego."
I'm not interested in doing what's best for Missouri, that doesn't interest me at all."
Bill Self Kansas coach
Self seemed bemused at the fact that Loftin was blaming him, a basketball coach, for blocking a potential football game. He went as far as to suggest that Loftin may have somehow gotten him mixed
up with Kansas football coach David Beaty.
Self went on to explain that it is people such as Kansas Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger, and the chancellor, newlyappointed Douglas Girod, who make the decision on whether Kansas plays Missouri.
Kansas last played Missouri on February 25, 2012, at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won that game 87-86.
"I'm sure there will be a time when Kansas and Missouri play again," Self said. "I don't know when that time will be."
Kansas coach Bill Self reacts to a play from the sidelines during the first half of the Champions Classic on Nov. 15 against Duke. Kansas won 77-75.
Missu Minear/KANSAN
Sporting KC honors co-owner
▶ SHAUN GOODWIN
@ShaunGoodwinUDK
At 7:33 p.m. on Tuesday night, Children's Mercy Park stood in silence.
The distance buzz of cars from Interstate 435 filtered into the stadium, as the crowd gazed toward an image of a shield with the name "Neal" in the middle, emblazoned upon the grass. The players of both Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas stood in a straight line, wearing black armbands on their right arm, on which the name "Neal" was printed in orange.
A minute later, The Cauldron burst out into a chant of "Neal Patterson," accompanied by a large drum on each syllable.
After a long battle with cancer, Sporting Kansas City co-owner and Cerner Corporation CEO Neal Patterson died on Sunday, July 9, from cancer-related complications. He was 67.
In 2005, then-owner Lamar Hunt made public his intent to sell the then-Kansas City Wizards, causing rumors of relocation to materialize among the supporters. With the future looking bleak for Kansas City, on August 31, 2006, the company OnGoal purchased the club from Hunt Sports Group.
Patterson was one of six members of the ownership group, along with now-CEO Robb Heineman.
The group quickly ushered in a new era for the Wizards, making it clear that the club would remain in Kansas City. They quickly hired Curt Onalfo as head coach and Peter Vermes as technical director, who would go on to replace Onalfo as head coach.
"If it wasn't for him and the rest of the owners, obviously him being a huge part of it, in keeping this team here, for a lot of us, who knows if we'd have jobs," Vermes said following Kansas City's 3-0
Under the leadership of Patterson, Kansas City went through a rebuild period, signing a plethora of young players, including now-captain Matt Besler, MAC Hermann Trophy winner Teal Bunbury, and the club's first homegrown player Jon Kempin.
"What I appreciated was that he always told it as it was. He didn't mince his words, he didn't mix things up, and he didn't B.S. you, that's the way he was. And I like being around people like that," Vermes continued. "And at the same time, he could leave that off to the side, and later on he could hang out with you and not even talk about those things he talked about with you earlier."
win over FC Dallas.
It was this forward-thinking from Patterson and the rest of the
SEE PATTERSON
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