Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Thursday
October 28,1999
Section:
B
Page 1
Former Kansas football coach and player Don Fambrough still is devoted to the Jayhawks.
SEE PAGE 3B
Men's basketball
KU students will have to wait until the first game to see coach Roy Williams' starting lineup.
World Champions
SEE PAGE 3B
The New York Yankees won their 25th World Series last night with a 4-1 victory against Atlanta.
SEE PAGE 4B
Contact the Kansan
Sports Desk:
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(785) 864-4810
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sports@kansan.com
Jayhawks claim border war 3-0
Kansas middle blocker Anne Kreimer touches the ball away from the Missouri defenders for a sideout. Photo by Eric Sahrmann/Kansan
By Shawn Hutchinson sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team was clicking on all cylinders last night.
The Jayhawks throttled the Missouri Tigers 3-0 at the Horesei Family Athletics Center, gaining their second-straight victory. Kansas improved to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in the Big 12 Conference while setting a school record for the most conference wins since the inception of the Big 12.
The win last night was the second this season against Missouri. Last month, the Jayhawks
escaped with a 3-2 win in Columbia, Mo., after overcoming a 2-1 game deficit.
"When we were down in Missouri, it took us about a game and a half before we really started playing," junior outside hitter Amy Myatt said. "We really wanted to come out tonight and take care of this right away."
the game. 15-5.
Kansas accomplished that task in game one. Down 4-1, the Jayhawks benefited from three Missouri attack errors that tied the game at 4-4.
The Jayhawks kept burning Missouri in game two, establishing an 11-0 lead and finishing the Tigers, 15-2. Reves contributed six kills, while Kansas had no errors and a .518 attack percentage.
"The most important thing from a technical standpoint is what we did in game two," Coach Ray Bechard said. "The most important thing from a standpoint of the team growing up and maturing is what happened in game three."
Senior middle blocker Amanda Reves had five kills, and Myatt added four. The Jayhawks scored 11 of the next 12 points and took
The Jayhawks were down 9-1 in the third game and eventually had their backs against the wall, trailing 13-6 with Missouri serving.
"We obviously weren't sharp coming out and that had to do a lot with our opponent," Bechard said. "They made adjustments, and they obviously wanted to prolong the match."
But the Tigers couldn't prolong the match for long. The Jayhawks forced a sideout. Then Reves and sophomore setter Molly LaMere combined for a block. Myatt delivered eight kills down the stretch as the Jayhawks scored nine straight and beat Missouri 15-13.
The Jayhawks will play the No. 9 Texas Longhorns on Saturday at Austin, Texas.
Edited by Katrina Hull
As the millennium draws to a close, the Kansas will feature the lives and achievements of the 10 greatest athletes at the University of Kansas, as selected by former and current players, coaches, administrators, and fans.
Top Athletes from the University of Kansas:
830-yard run (outdoor):
1;44.9 USTFF Outdoor at Terre Haute, Ind... June 10, 1986
10. Lynette Woodard
Women's basketball 1978-8
8. Jimi Ryun
Kansas track star
World Records
- Mile (Indoor): 3:56.4
San Diego Invitation Games, Feb. 19, 1971
(Tied old by Tom O'Hara Lovola, 1984)
1,500 meters (outdoor)
3:33.1, U.S.-British
Commonwealth Dual at
Los Angeles, July 8, 1967.
Mile (outdoor): 3:51.1
AAU Outdoor at
Bakersfield,
Fairfax, June 23, 1967
(Old record 3:51.3 by
Ryun, 1966).
8. Coming Wednesday
880-yard run (indoor):
148.3, Oklahoma State
Dual at Lawrence, 1967
(Fastest time ever on a dirt
track).
kansas millennium athletes jim ryun A four-minute span in 1964 broke a national record, and then created a legend
story by matt tait
Four minutes seemed like an awfully short time to accomplish anything of worth. And four years seemed like an even shorter time to create a legend. But in both cases, that is exactly what Jim Ryun did.
In 1964, Ryun became the first high school athlete to run a four-minute mile. At Kansas, from 1966-69, Ryun won five national titles, four of them at indoor events, and became the world-record holder in the 880-yard dash, the mile and the 1,500 meters.
"He was the Babe Ruth of track," said Kansas broadcaster Max Falkenstein.
Ryun was born on April 29,1947 in Wichita. As a kid, sports were not a priority to Ryun,but he enjoyed school and was a good student. Through grade school, Ryun only played recreational sports, and he was cut from teams in junior high school — including track.
But in 1962, Ryun would meet a man who became the driving force in his track and field career, former Kansas and Wichita East High School track coach Bob Timmons — a man whom Ryun later would call a "gift from God."
"I needed someone like Coach Timmons to come along and draw my talents out," Ryun said. "When
he first approached me about going after the four-minute mark, it was unfathomable. I had never made a school team, and now we were trying to go after world records."
A mile for the ages
As a sophomore at Wichita East, Ryun began to run the event that would become synonymous with his name — the mile.
Ryun's first high school race wasn't remarkable — he ran a 5-minute, 38-second mile and was defeated by the previous year's state champion.
But that would be Ryan's last defeat in high school. He continued his prep career by setting several Wichita East records — two of which still stand: the 1500 meters and the mile.
By the end of his sophomore year, Ryun had cut his mile time from 5:38:00 to 4:07:08. The decrease did not go unnoticed by Timmons or the rest of the track world.
"After his third race in high school, we told him we thought that he could become the first high school kid to run the four-minute mile," Timmons said. "But what we did think is that if he'd do it, he'd do it as a senior. Instead, he did it as a junior."
See RYUN page 6B
Raymant's return has Jayhawks hopes high
By Melinda Weaver
sports@kansanem
Kansan sportswriter
by Melinda Weaver
DALLAS — At the Big 12 Conference women's basketball media day yesterday, conversations buzzed about the same thing that the Big 12 finally has established itself as one of the toughest basketball conferences in the nation.
Every team, from first place Iowa State to last place Texas A&M, claims to have improved from last season.
Preseason No. 2 Kansas also claims to be better this season, and coach Marian Washington has statistics to back up her statement.
"To look back through the last 20 years of score charts, I see that we had the lowest scoring average last season in the last 20 years," Washington said. "I think that losing Suzi (Raymont) and Nikki (White)
Before her injury, Raymant had worked her way into the Kansas record book, ranking fourth in three-point field goals with 63 and third in three-point shooting percentage, making 36.9 percent of her attempts. As a junior, she shot 41.9 percent from three-point range, which ranked her third on the individual season charts.
was part of the problem. When you are averaging 63 points per game, and you have a player sitting on the sidelines who averages 15 points per game, you really miss her."
"I have been working out all summer, and I think I am at about 90 percent."
Last season, Raymant, a senior guard, was forced to take a medical redshirt after she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in November.
This season, Raymant said that she would like to return the outside shooting threat to Kansas.
Without an outside shooting threat to spread out the offense last season. Kansas struggled to score as its opposition was able to focus on shutting down Lynn Pride.
"Last season, we had to concentrate on our defense and keep the gap close." Washington said. "The most exciting thing about this season is that we will have more opportunities to score and keep the defense from concentrating on Lynn."
Raymant said. "I have been shooting every day, and I think I have my shot back. I plan to be 100 percent by the time we begin our Big 12 schedule."
White, a sophomore center, took a medical redshirt last season to rehabilitate her knee after off-season surgery.
This season, White will replace Nakia Sanford in the center position.
"Right now, I think she is at about 80-65 percent." Washington said. "She is strug
gling to retrain herself to run without favoring her one leg, but I think she will do well for us."
One factor that remains consistent among the Big 12 teams is that they are dominated by talented seniors such as Edwina Brown of Texas, Stacy Freese of Iowa State and Lynn Pride of Kansas.
Washington said that Kansas seniors Pride and Raymant had enough talent to be mentioned with the conference's top seniors.
"The seniors are very important to this team." Washington said. "We have a very strong class of seniors, but they are two different kinds of leaders. Suzi doesn't say much, but when she does, it is very meaningful. She leads through actions, whereas Lynn leads vocally."
Tables turning Baseball fans forgive Rose, forget crimes
Somehow it all got turned around<sup>a</sup>
So to Gray, he was just doing his job when he asked Rose why he wouldn't
When NBC reporter Jim Gray interviewed baseball hit/bet kit Pete Rose Sunday night before Game 2 of the World Series in Atlanta, he became the bad guy. Gray has a reputation for asking hard questions. He even won a Sports Emmy for his postgame interview of Mike Tyson after the Bite Fight against Evander Holyfield.
admit to betting on baseball and end get this banned-for-life thing. He asked the man who earlier that day had signed for money at a casino if he were "willing to show contition, admit you bet on baseball and make some sort of apology to that effect?"
Never mind that such a move is what most experts think Rose will have to do
Sam Mellinger sports columnist sport@kanan.com
to have his ban from baseball lifted,
thus making himself eligible for the Hall of Fame. Never mind that his acceptance of the lifetime ban made him an outcast 10 years ago. Never mind that after it became widely thought that Rose not only bet on baseball quite often but also bet on games he managed as many as 50 times. Rose was a joke. He was embarrassing and pathetic and had a problem that he wouldn't fess up to. Later, when he served time in jail for tax evasion, this thought was just intensified.
Now Rose is in the spotlight again.
He does radio shows, TV interview shows, autograph shows. He talks to people about how much he loves the game, how hard he played it, how much it means to him. He tells them how much it hurts to be banned, how unfair it is that he is singled out.
And we buy it, every bit of it. Eat it up like mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. Amazing what time can heal. huh?
Fast forward to Sunday night. Rose is treated like a king during the introduction of Baseball's All-Century team, a cheesy made-for-MasterCard promotion. Rose even received a longer and louder ovation than Atlanta's own Hank Aaron, the home run king.
All seemed to have been forgiven until Gray had the nerve to put this night in perspective. After Rose's cold response to the first question, Gray didn't give up.
"With the overwhelming evidence in that report, why not make that step?"
in a report, why not make that step?" Rose: "No ... I don't know what evidence you're talking about. I mean, show it to me."
Are you kidding me? What evidence?
Show it to me? How about the 200-andsome page report complete with betting slips and bank records. Is that enough?
Ah, but that's missing the point. The point is that Rose's crime — which 10 years ago made him scum and unworthy ever to be involved in Major League Baseball — has been forgiven.
The image of Rose as "the dirty gambler" has been blurred. That footage doesn't run on television anymore. But the highlights of his head-first slides and his all-out style of play: Those still run.
Read a story about Rose, and you're probably numb to his gambling. But you'll remember the part where it calls him "baseball's all-time hit king."
Somehow, it got turned around. Gray's honest questions on Sunday to an ex-con were "too harsh." "Give the guy a break," people say.
Amazing what time can heal, huh.
Mellinger is a Lawrence senior in journalism.
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