18B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2004
Kansas Speedway looking to expand
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Speedway wants to expand in time for its fifth season in 2005, track president Jeff Boerger said Wednesday.
Boerger said officials were looking at adding 1,500 to 3,000 seats and would send a formal proposal later this month to the track's parent company, International Speedway Corp. of Daytona, Fla.
"We've been sold out since February this year and the last I heard, our wait list is up this year over last year."
Jeff Boerger Kansas Speedway president
ISC is controlled by the family of NASCAR owner Bill France.
us board of directors includes former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves, who was in office when the track was built and
supported its construction.
If Kansas Speedway's request receives preliminary approval, Boerger said, the company's board would likely vote on the proposal in September.
"I'm sure we can accommodate the amount of seats we're going to be requesting, with our waiting list and with the demand we have," he said. "Obviously, we're going to be very conservative in seat expansion. We want to make sure supply doesn't outrun demand."
If approved, it would be the second expansion at the speedway in Kansas City, Kan., since it opened in 2001.
A 1,500-seat expansion in 2003 brought the track's listed capacity to 80,187.
"We're very optimistic," Boerger said. "We're comfortable with our demand, and I think ISC will be comfortable with it too."
The track sells its two biggest racing weekends — the Indy Racing League and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events in July and NASCAR's Nextel Cup and Busch Series races in October — as a package.
Each of the first four seasons have been sellouts, and the track has a waiting list for tickets for 2005.
"We've been sold out since February this year," Boerger said, "and the last I heard, our wait list is up this year over last year."
The track does not release precise waiting list numbers, but spokeswoman Sammie Lukaskiewicz called the figure "healthy."
The list is likely to grow, she said, as the Nextel Cup date draws closer.
"This season, there seems to be an increased awareness of the Nextel Cup," she said. "There's more awareness of the chase for the Nextel Cup."
NASCAR revised its scoring format this year, making only the drivers in the top 10 with 10 races to go eligible for the championship.
The Banquet 400, set for Oct. 10 at Kansas Speedway, is part of that 10-race shootout.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missouri quarterback key to Tigers'
Heading into his junior year, Brad Smith is on almost everyone's list of Heisman Trophy contenders.
That's a reflection on the quarterback's role in Missouri's rise to prominence. Coach Gary Pinkel won three games in his first season, then four and finally went 8-5 last year to produce the Tigers' first bowl game since 1998.
Now, Missouri and its elusive leader are attracting some national attention.
"I've talked to Brad, and I've told him that he has to do two things: Stay in the race and play at a high level every week," Pinkel said. "I don't think there are many distractions because of promotion.
"We are very team-oriented
and Brad is a mature person."
Smith missed by 23 yards becoming the first player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a season. He set the school career yardage record in the Tigers' Independence Bowl loss to Arkansas.
"I'm very happy and proud to have all of these honors and some of the attention," Smith said. "But at the same time, you still have to play the game. One player can't win a football game, you have to be great as a team."
Under Smith's guidance, Missouri had a milestone season. The highlights were the first victory in 25 years over Nebraska. That also was their first victory over a Top 10 team in 46 games dating to 1981.
They also had a blowout victory over Texas Tech, also a bowls
team. And the Tigers showed resilience after an upset loss at Kansas that spoiled a 4-0 start, finishing with eight regular-season victories for the first time in 23 years.
They were a perfect 6-0 at home, a school record, and committed only 13 turnovers, the fewest in the nation.
Now, theyll try to build on that momentum. Pinkel is aiming high.
"From day one we put up what we called pyramid objectives; winning games, then winning a conference championship." Pinkel said. "At the top is the national championship. That's the goal of this program — to build a national program that year in and year out will play at a high level."
The schedule is favorable for another fast start. The first three
games are against Arkansas State, Troy State and Ball State, the preludes to the Big 12 opener Oct. 2 at home against Colorado.
Two key games on the schedule are on the road, Oct. 16 at Texas and Oct. 30 at Nebraska. But the Tigers get Kansas State at home on Nov. 6.
The biggest failing last year was a 2-4 regular-season record on the road. Pinkel hopes to solve it with a simple formula: hard work.
"It's all preparation," Pinkel said. "That's all it is, maintaining a high level of play and a high level of focus.
"That will allow you to give your best no matter what the location."
The biggest question likely is the offensive line after the departure of center A.J. Ricker and tackle Rob Droge. But Pinkel has three returning players who
started at least three games last year.
"So there is some experience there." Pinkel said. "They are at critical positions for us and will need to mature in two-a-days. I think we'll be OK."
Smith isn't the only offensive threat on a team that led the Big 12 in rushing last year. Damien Nash, the backup to the graduated Zack Abron last year, and Marcus Woods, a redshirt freshman, are both speedy, elusive runners.
success
Missouri made big strides on defense last year and nine starters are back.
"We really came together as a unit and all of guys stepped up their game as far as leadership goes," linebacker James Kinney said. "We came along a lot a year ago and made a lot of progress."
Baseball business back; crowd grows
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Ten years ago, professional baseball players packed up the bats and balls and went home for the winter, wiping out the World Series and alienating millions.
This season is the first in which attendance has approached prestrike levels.
It was Aug. 11, 1994, when Seattle's Randy Johnson struck out Oakland's Ernie Young and baseball players walked off for what turned into the longest work stoppage in the history of major North American professional sports leagues, a 7 1/2-month marathon of acrimony that wandered through hotel meeting rooms, the federal courts and even the White House.
The strike canceled the World Series for the first time in 90 years, cost players millions of dollars and management about $1 billion. Games didn't resume until the following April 25, 3 1/2 weeks after an injunction was issued restoring the rules of the expired labor contract.
"It was tough. There was a lot
Matt Williams' opportunity to break Roger Maris' home run record ended the night of the strike — he had 43, and he never had another chance to approach the mark. For Bob Welch, Lloyd McClendon, and Kevin McReynolds and 16 others, the night of the strike marked the final games of their big league careers.
of anger everywhere, particularly amongst our fans," baseball commissioner Bud Selig recalled last week. "It was the eighth work stoppage, so it had been building up for a long time. The sport came to a crashing halt."
Operating revenue was cut from $1.87 billion in 1993 to $1.2 billion in 1994 and didn't reach its former mark until 1997. The endless public bickering between the union and management became a huge turnoff, and instead sports fans tuned in to Michael Jordan and the NBA, NASCAR and the new cable channels that created a seemingly endless supply of sports alternatives on television.
Attendance plunged 20 percent the following year, from a record average of 31,612 in 1994 to 25,260.
When the sides finally agreed to a new labor contract — it didn't happen until March 1997 — it brought about revolutionary change in the sport's economics, ushering in revenue sharing among the 30 teams and a luxury tax designed to slow payroll growth of the high-revenue teams.
"It was an important agreement because it stabilized the industry and removed some of the ideological issues from the table, which allowed the next agreement to focus on the economics and led to a much more cooperative relationship between the players' association and the clubs," said Randy
It was tough. There was a lot of anger everywhere, particularly amongst our fans. It was the eighth work stoppage, so it had been building up for a long time. The sport came to a crashing halt."
Bud Selig Baseball commissioner
Levine, who negotiated the deal for baseball management, then became president of the New York Yankees.
In a sign that perhaps the sides have grown up, they agreed to a labor contract in 2002 without a work stoppage — the first time that happened since 1970. Following five strikes and three lockouts, the sides struck a deal about 3 1/2 hours before the walkout was scheduled to start, one that included the first agreement for random drug testing.
Since then, baseball has boomed, with Selig citing that deal as igniting increased competition among the clubs. Baseball's 2004 revenue is projected at between $4.1 billion and $4.2 billion by the commissioner's office. The New York Yankees will become the first team to top $300 million.
Players and owners jointly sponsor international play in Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and they are working together trying to launch a World Cup for March 2006. When there are disputes, they seldom sink to public name-calling. Even the union's investigation of whether to file a grievance over possible management collusion in free-agent negotiations has remained low-key.
"If we try to figure out things together as opposed to taking sides, it's more efficient," said Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, a member of the union's executive board. "I think the experience of 10 years ago showed both sides that the game is too important to too many people, and we need to find better ways to accomplish things. I think we've done that, to some extent."
Selig and Fehr said that adapting to the quickly evolving changes in technology and broadcasting were the priorities for baseball's leadership. Baseball owners are set to give approval next week to the World Cup and an all-baseball TV network, which follows similar ventures established by the NFL and NBA.
Memories of the years of fighting have faded. Just 143 players currently on major league rosters played in 1994, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"The sport is riding a high now," Selig said. "I hope we've all learned our lesson."
Giants defeat Chiefs in Manning debut
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—The much-anticipated debut of Eli Manning was upstaged by another once highly regarded New York Giants first-round draft pick and a budding television star.
Ron Dayne showed flashes of his Heisman Trophy days, scoring on runs of 29 and 67 yards, and Jesse Palmer threw a game-winning 11-yard touchdown pass with 6:32 to play, rallying the Giants to a 34-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.
"It felt good to get out and be able to run and score a touchdown," said Dayne, who gained 118 yards on 11 carries in his first action since last preseason.
The victory in Tom Coughlin's preseason debut as coach wasn't pretty.
Trent Green and the Chiefs gained 311 first-half yards and scored on four of five possessions in shredding the Giants' rebuilding defense. If they'd stayed in, the game would not have been close.
Manning, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft by San Diego and then traded to the Giants, played about two quarters with mostly a backup crew. He was 7-of-13 for 91 yards after getting a big ovation when he took over from Kurt Warner (3-of-7 for 49 yards) in the second quarter.
"I liked the way we hung in there," said Coughlin. "We were in a blitzkrieg in the first half and we wung in there."
"I thought it was a decent first outing," said Manning, who didn't turn over the ball and who had no problem getting his plays off.
The big story for the Giants was the revival of Davne.
After gaining 5 yards on three carries, he woke up the Giants by bouncing off linebacker Shawn Barber on a third-and-short and going untouched for a 29-yard TD to cut the Chiefs' lead to 14-7.
The next time Dayne touched the ball, he took a handoff from Manning and went 67 yards for a score. Chris Douglas ited with a 26-yard TD run with 1.54 to play.
Green threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kris Wilson and Larry Johnson scored on a 3-yard run to give the Chiefs a 14-10 lead. Omar Easy scored on a 1-yard run
and Lawrence Tynes had a 27-yard field goal for Kansas City, which was penalized 19 times for 160 yards.
"I expected them to be better than that," Chiefs coach Dick Vermell said.
Playing three series, Green was 7-for-11 for 111 yards in taking the Chiefs to a 14-0 lead.
After Tynes kicked a 27-yard to push the lead to 17-7, the fans got out of their seats to welcome Manning to Giants Stadium.
His first pass was dropped by Visanthe Shiancoe. The second play was more memorable.
Dayne took a handoff from Manning, followed guard Barry Stokes around the right end and went 67 yards for his second touchdown in as many plays.
Jayhawk football not favored
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
It's a delicate position Mark Mangino's Kansas Jayhawks find themselves in.
Starting the third year of Mangino's patient program to bring a long-flagging program up to Big 12 standards, the Jayhawks might be improved in just about every area but the one that counts: winning.
They could be a better team but with a worse record than the 6-6 regular season mark of 2003 that led to the Tangerine Bowl, their first postseason bid since 1995.
Their schedule that year was ranked No. 92. But now the Big 12 has made its biannual rotation and replaced Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M on the schedule with Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech.
Not only that, but the Jayhawks' non-conference opposition goes from UNLV, Wyoming and Jacksonville State to Tulsa, Toledo and at Northwestern.
"We look at it as an opportunity to build, get recognized and win," said Banks Floodman, who could be one of the Big 12's top linebackers. "We're excited about the schedule. We're excited about the challenge."
Eight of the 11 foes won at least eight games last season. And Northwestern beat the Jayhawks in Lawrence.
"I hear about [the schedule] quite a bit," Mangino said. "I know we're playing some very good teams on the road. On any given day, we're capable of winning a big game in our conference.
Those are the 11 games we have. I'm not going to give any of them up right now."
The biggest personnel loss is quarterback Bill Whittimore, who passed for 2,285 yards and rushed for 534.
Adam Barmann, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who started three games for the injured Whittemore last year and showed great promise, takes over, but will be challenged by junior college transfer Jason Swanson.
Although neither quarterback is as nimble as Whittemore, Mangino plans no overhaul of his offensive approach.
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