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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
INSIDE SPORTS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
Piniella ousted, Royals win
Ruben Gotay hit an RBI grounder in the 10th inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-6 yesterday.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Lou Piniella wasn't around to see his team lose in extra innings.
Piniella was ejected in the second by plate umpire Mike Winters for arguing balls and strikes. After being tossed, the Tampa Bay manager came out of the dugout, argued briefly with Winters, and then proceeded to kick dirt three times onto the plate.
"Today's game, I sat right back here (in his office) and watched it on TV from the second inning on,"Piniella said. "Had an egg roll and a cold beer, and I watched the ballgame."
Piniella has been ejected twice this season and 56 times as a manager. He has been thrown out 70 times overall during his major league career.
The latest ejection stemmed from Tampa Bay's Aubrey Huff being called out looking at strike three in the first.
"I was talking to the umpire about the at-bat Huff had in the first inning when he called him out on a couple pitches," Piniella said. "I was reminded that you can't talk about replays because I had looked at them on the replays. So that's why I got kicked out."
David DeJesus homered and drove in three runs for the Royals, who are 11-10 since Aug. 31.
"We're playing better." Royals manager Tony Pena said. "We're doing the little things we're suppose to do."
Tampa Bay's Matt Diaz hit his first major league homer.
Calvin Pickering opened the 10th with a double off Jorge Sosa (4-6) and pinchrunner Wilton Guerrero went to third on Desi Relaford's sacrifice bunt. After Dee Brown was hit by a pitch, Guerrero scored on Gotay's grounder to short.
Mike MacDougal (1-1) worked a scoreless ninth. Jeremy Affeldt pitched the 10th for his 13th save in 16 opportunities.
Kansas City starter Darrrell May didn't figure in the decision and remains one loss away from tying Paul Splittor's team record of 19 set in 1974. May, who is 9-18, gave up five runs and eight hits over six innings. He is winnless in seven starts, including six losses.
Dejesus homered and Pickering had an RBI double to put the Royals up 2-0 in the first.
Tampa Bay starter Doug Waechter was pulled after walking three straight batters to start the second. He gave up three runs, three hits and three walks in one-plus innings.
Guarding the 'bee
"It was frustrating." Waechter said. "A good outing to forget."
John Halama replaced Waechter and allowed just one run to score in the second, which came on Dejesus' double-play grounder that made it 3-0.
Damian Rolls' two-run double in the second, and a sacrifice fly by Rocco Baldelli one inning later tied it at 3.
Huff gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead with an RBI single in the fifth.
Dejesus hit a two-run single and Joe Randa had an RBI grounder that put the Robals ahead 6-4 in the sixth.
Diaz hit a solo shot in the sixth and Jose Cruz Jr. had a seventh-inning RBI single to pull Tampa Bay even at six-all.
Steven Bartkoski/KANSAN
Amber McBride, Gardner senior, looks for someone to pass to while Katie Laird, Leawood senior, defends in a game of Ultimate Frisbee yesterday. The Ultimate Frisbee class is in session on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 4:20.
Coach's comment made in jest
Chiefs' Dick Vermeil says running back has to 'take the diapers off'
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Running back Larry Johnson reacted sharply yesterday to remarks that Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil said were made at least partly in jest.
In his weekly news conference Tuesday, Vermeil said it would be time for the seldom-used Johnson to "take the diapers off" if he plays this week in place of an injured Priest Holmes.
Holmes was nursing a sore ankle on yesterday and remained questionable for Sunday's game against Houston.
Johnson has expressed unhappiness before over not playing. He dismissed the suggestion that Vermeil was trying to motivate him.
said. "If I need motivation, I'll talk to my father. I don't need another grown man telling me I need to take the diapers off. That's not how I've been raised and I don't need no motivation from anybody. I'm self-motivated because my father taught me to be that way."
"I don't need no motivation," he
Johnson has played sparingly behind Holmes, even dropping to third team behind Derrick Blaylock. His father, Larry Johnson Sr., is defensive line coach at Penn State.
"I don't really listen to that kind of stuff," the younger Johnson said. "If the man can't say something in my face, that's how I feel. It don't mean nothing to me."
Vermeil, whose 0-2 team has already been beset by distractions and injuries, said the remark "just popped into my scrambled head."
"He's got some pressure on him now because if Priest doesn't play, he's going to be carrying a load, and it's a lot of responsibility that so far he has a way to go to prove he can handle it," Vermeil said. "And I'm looking forward to giving
him the opportunity if Priest can't play."
the opportunity if Priest can't play. Although the comment was made in jest, "in a way, there's a little truth to it," Vermeli said.
"I like Larry And I see his talent. And I've spent more time with Larry Johnson than all my roster combined in the last two years, and so has everybody else in this building. And sooner or later he's going to recognize that," Vermeil said.
He had only 20 carries last year for 85 yards, including one 15-yard touchdown run.
"Yes, it's a little frustrating when they bring you here and they can't tell you whether you're going to play or you're not going to play." Johnson said. "That's just how I feel. By no means I'm going to stop going hard here and going hard every day in practice."
Vermeil said he understands Johnson's frustration.
"He has all the talent in the world," Vermeil said of Johnson, "and sooner or later, he'll have his opportunity to take advantage of it."
HOCKEY
NHLplayers going to Europe, return when lockout is over
TORONTO - With an NHL lockout in place, more than 150 players have signed to play in European leagues, including Markus Naslund with Modo (Sweden), Jaromir Jagr with Kladmo (Czech Republic) and Ilya Kovalchuk with AK Bars Kazan (Russia).
Most of the players have lockout clauses that allow them to return to the NHL if and when the labor impasse ends. For now, European teams are taking advantage.
Besides Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks, Modo also signed his teammates Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Niklas Sundstrom (Montreal), Pierre Hedin (Toronto) and Peter Forsberg (Colorado).
Forsberg has indicated he will play the entire season with Modo.
BASEBALL
Bonds gets two more years to break home run record
SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds will have two more seasons to break Hank Aaron's career home run record with the San Francisco Giants, who decided to drop their right to void the final year of his contract.
Under the $90 million, five-year deal agreed to in January 2002, San Francisco could have voided the 2006 season if Bonds failed to reach 500 plate appearances next year or 1,500 combined from 2003 to 2005, including at least 400 next season.
But with Bonds as dominant as ever, the Giants decided to keep the 40-year-old outfielder for two more seasons.
Bonds, who needs 55 homers to pass Aaron's mark of 755, will make $20 million in 2005 and $18 million in 2006, with $5 million of each year's
salary deferred at 3.5 percent and paid from 2007 to 2011.
TRACK AND FIELD
Olympic relay runner gets warning formarijuana use
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — John Capel received a public warning following a positive test for marijuana that led to him being replaced on the U.S. 400-meter relay team at the Athens Olympics.
Capel tested positive in early August in Munich, Germany, at a team competition between the United States, France and Germany. Since it was his first such violation, he did not receive any suspension. Any other positive test of a so-called "minor" drug would result in a two-year ban from competition.
The public warning for Capel, the 2003 world champion at 200 meters, was announced by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
The Associated Press
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Johnny Beck is the football team's David Padgett.
Yeah, to the guy with the "Yankees Suck" T-shirt: I'd just like to say that just because we have 26 championships under our belt doesn't mean you have to be bitter about it and wear a stupid shirt like that.
Kansas athletics calendar
TOMORROW
Soccer vs. Nebraska, 5 p.m.
Tennis at Tusla, Oka., all day
Women's golf at Texas Tech, all day
SATURDAY
- **Volleyball vs. Texas** 7 p.m.
- **Cross Country at Roy Griak Invitational at Minnesota**, Minn., all day
- **Women's golf at Texas Tech**, all day
- **Tennis at Tulsa**, Okla., all day
- **Football vs. Texas Tech**, 2:30 p.m.
Intramural Scoreboard
MONDAY
Fantastic Return of the OH def. Amini 4-0 Football
Soccer Men
BV All-Stars def. Brian O Malley 25-13
JD Hawks def. Pearson 20-0
Theta Chi 1 def. Delta Chi 2 25-13
Thirty Stones def. Missionaries 18-12
Phi Pi 1 def. Untouchables 41-0
Men
Sonic Death Monkey def. St. Lawrence 4-0
Southampton def. Pearson & Friends by
forfeit 1-0
TUESDAY
Hawks def. Beta A-1 4-1
Sigma Chi def. Delta Chi 1 2-0
CoRec
Soccer Men
Flag football, sand volleyball intramural meetings Monday
INTRAMURALS
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It's playoff time for intramural sports. Any flag football or sand volleyball team participating in the playoffs must have a representative at a managers meeting. The playoff managers meeting for sand volleyball will be at 6 p.m. Monday in room 202 at the Student Fitness Recreation Center. The meeting for flag football will follow at 7 p.m. It is mandatory that each team have a representative at these meetings. Questions should be directed to recreation services at 864-3546.
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— Kansan staff report
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