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Maicke: NFL should allow celebrations
▶ MIKE MAICKE
@MJ_Maicke
The NFL's aggressive stance to "clean up" touchdown celebrations is in full force, and it's becoming unbearable for the fans.
These calls hurt both the players and the teams with absurd fines and costly 15-yard penalties. Steelers' wide receiver Antonio Brown was fined $24,000 for "twerking" in the end zone after catching a pass against the Chiefs.
It's at the point where you seem to catch at least one excessive celebration penalty per game, almost without fail.
Sure, I suppose some old-timers could potentially find the dance provocative and inappropriate. But is a receiver dancing in the endzone after making a great play really hurting anybody?
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, OCT. 17,2016
The rules around touchdown celebrations have always been ambiguous. There is hardly consistency in when they are called, and severity of the fines.
It has already been established that if the player uses the football as a prop, they will be hit with a flag and a fine. However, so far in the 2016 season there have been plenty of penalty flags on celebrations that don't involve the football at all.
A $24,000 fine for a dance in the endzone?
Please.
Who exactly is this rule protecting? The other team's emotions? Has the competitive sports world crumbled to the point
wnere in a professional football league the same amount of yardage is given out for a dance as is for a cheap late hit?
These are the questions we need to be asking before the league commits completely to this no-fun crusade that they are apparently on.
Yes, there are some celebrations that are over the line; however, the most egregious thing about these "terrible" celebrations is the amount of time they take away from the game. My biggest gripe is the disturbance in the flow of the game, not that someone's being an alleged bad sport to the other team.
Of course a flag and a fine needs to be hit when former receiver Joe Horn literally used a cell phone after catching a touchdown pass or when notorious showboat Terrell Owens actually signed a football after scoring a touchdown. But let's start letting the dances go and let the players have some fun and show personality.
If anything, the dancing should be encouraged. It shows young athletes playing football that you can be happy about a good catch or run and celebrate without getting in the opposing team's face.
Think about it: flags aren't thrown when altercations occur after the whistle with players bumping into each other, but God forbid you twerk after scoring!
Let's let the players have some fun, NFL. Ease up on the celebration penalties.
Freshman forward Josh Jackson is surrounded by reporters during media day on Oct. 13.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Josh Jackson aims high in 2016-17
▶ SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@UkyRolSports
Early last week, Kansas freshman Josh Jackson made headlines by saying the men's basketball team expected to go undefeated and win a national title.
The bold expectations were the perfect thing to headline USA Today's college basketball special edition: the top recruit in the nation (according to Rivals and 247Sports) proclaiming his team, one of the top programs in the nation, would win it all without losing a single game.
While the high expectation opened lots of eyes ahead of another college basketball season where Kansas figures to be among the best, Jackson said he didn't intend to make a huge statement.
Kansas coach Bill Self tempered expectations and
"We're not predicting a 40-0 season," he said.
"That's just what we're striving for, that's what we're trying to get to. If you don't believe it, you can never do it. So why not?"
qualified the words from Jackson at Kansas basketball media day on Thursday.
"We don't talk like that. And also, young kids, they haven't been through it," Self said. "They don't know how hard it is to win in Ames, they don't know how hard it is to win in Morgantown or Manhattan or different places. I will say this: I really think that this team's goal should be, when they play that night, their goal should be to win every game."
Self added: "I don't think he made that prediction. That was a goal, right? There's nothing wrong with goals. That's good."
Jackson, like the Kansas program, has lived with high expectations his entire life. He welcomes them.
"Any team I've played on has always had expectations," Jackson said. "I've had high expectations. I love winning so I'm always going to have high expectations for myself and my teammates."
Self acknowledged the reality about Jackson, saying he has the chance to be
one of the best freshmen the Kansas program has ever known. When Self spoke to the media about his plans for a starting lineup, Jackson's name was mentioned frequently.
Jackson has been winning his entire life. With the talk of going undefeated this season, he remembered the closest he's ever been to an undefeated season: as a sophomore at Detroit Consortium, Jackson led his high school to its first-ever state championship. Detroit Consortium lost two games that season.
The expectations started there. After the game, the opposing coach compared him to Magic Johnson, reported Michigan Live. After the second year at Detroit Consortium, Jackson moved to Napa Valley, Calif., to play at Prolific Prep.
Coming into his freshman season at Kansas, Jackson reflected on his role in that squad, where he was a versatile player.
["I played] everything, one through five," Jackson said in regard to what position he played on the high school team.
For Kansas, Jackson will likely be doing the same. Though there is no shortage of talent on this year's team, Self said the dynamic of the team might change.
"We've always been a conventional three-out, two-in team, but I think this year we're going to get away from that a little bit," Self said.
Jackson may be an important piece to playing with four guards this season. Self and teammates have talked about huge improvement for sophomore guard Lagerald Vick over the offseason, and it will be a challenge for the Jayhawks to fit all of Josh Jackson, Devonte' Graham, Frank Mason III and Vick on the floor for enough minutes.
"In practice sometimes I bring the ball up the floor," Jackson said. "Mostly I'm playing the two or the three but most of the times this year we'll go small so I may be playing some four. So I'm probably playing four different positions this year."
- Edited by Lexanna Sims
No. 6 Kansas finding identity after sweeping TCU
Junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon prepares to serve on Oct. 8 during a match against Texas Tech
▶ TIFFANY LITTLER @Tlint33
After a midweek win over Kansas State, No. 6 Kansas volleyball traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday to continue its momentum in the Big 12 against TCU (10-7, 3-4 Big 12). The Jayhawks swept the Horned Frogs (25-12, 25-19, 25-22) to improve to 17-2 on the season and 6-1 in the Big 12.
Junior setter Ainise Havili, a Fort Worth native, recorded a double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs while playing in front of friends and family. Junior right-side hitter Kelsia Payne also recorded a double-double with 16 kills and ten digs. She also had seven blocks.
Along with Havili's fans, there were quite plenty of others supporting the team at TCU's University Recreation Center.
Ashley Hocking/KANSAN
"We had a ton of Jayhawk fans here and we've got a lot of kids from the area," coach Ray Bechard said. "This area's been good to us, so that was really cool to have that kind of energy in the gym."
The Kansas defense showed no mercy to the Horned Frogs. The highest hitting percentage for TCU came in the second set at .098. Senior libero Cassie Wait was a big reason for the success of the defense. She had 25 digs on the night and recorded three assists.
TCU responded to the first set loss and came back with more energy in the second and third sets. Kansas was hitting at just a .122 percentage in the third set, compared to .417 in the first.
Junior middle blocker Kayla Cheadle continued her recent emergence with another start against the Horned Frogs. She has started in eight of 11 matches that she has played in thus far in the season. On Saturday, she recorded six kills and six blocks against the Horned Frogs.
In the third set, a kill by junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon was overturned and TCU closed the point gap to two. Cheadle responded to a 5-0 run by TCU with her sixth and final kill on the night. She then contributed to a monstrous
block with Rigdon right after.
Bechard said he felt more encouraged that his team is coming together, understanding who they are and what they do well. He
said that was evident in this match.
"I think this solidifies it a little bit, of course we've got to get back to work knowing we got a good West Virginia team to end the first round,
Kansas has now swept each of its last three matches, and has won each of its last five matches by 3-1
but I think we're playing with some good momentum right now," he said.
or better.
The Jayhawks will return home to prepare for a Thursday matchup versus West Virginia. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. in Horejsi Family Athletics Center.