Inside Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Sports Playing in New Orleans during Mardis Gras won't be the strangest thing that's happened to the Kansas women's rugby team. Big speech SEE PAGE 3B Roy Williams had to prepare his speech ahead of time when he accepted an award at Baker University's convocation yesterday. Friday September 24,1999 Section: B Page 1 SEE PAGE 2B Football picks Check out www.kansan.com for our staff's football picks and the depth charts for the 'Hawks and their opponent San Diego State. SEE WWW.KANSAN.COM WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS Contact the Kansan Sports Desk: (785) 864-4810 Sports Fax: (785) 864-0391 Sports e-mail: sports@ kansan.com Kansas quarterback Zac Wegner flees from Colorado defensive pursuers. The Jayhawk offense faces a stiff challenge from another strong defensive team, San Diego State, when the two teams match up 6 p.m tomorrow. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN Healing at home Jayhawks plan to rebound against Aztecs after loss to Colorado Bv Mike Miller sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter It's too early in the season to think of tomorrow's game against San Diego State as a must-win game — at least that's what Kansas coach Terry Allen says. A win would make things easier on Kansas' bowles. A win would make Kansas 2-2 with Big 12 Conference play continuing in two weeks. The Jayhawks need seven wins to qualify for a bowl bid, something that they could do by winning tomorrow, next week against Southern Methodist and going 4-3 in their remaining conference games. "It's a humongous game for us," said cornerback Muhammad Abdul-Rahim. "We need a win against San Diego State." The fallout from the 51-17 loss at Colorado left the Jayhawks with a bad taste in their mouths, meaning that this week's practices were more intense, longer and, according to Allen, better. "The player's are coming out and doing an excellent job of practicing." he said. "It's been coming from the players. Thank God," Allen said. Usually it's the coaches that push the players to give the extra effort during practice, but this week has been different. Part of the reason for the extra effort has been the realization that the Aztecs are a good team. Part of that comes from their 7-5 record last season, including an appearance in the Las Vegas bowl. And part of the reason would come from a good showing last weekend at 16th-ranked Southern California, a game the Aztecs lost 24-21. Strong defensively, they will present a formidable challenge to the Jayhawks, who continue to struggle offensively. "The struggles we had offensively makes it a challenge for us," Allen said. "But they're not any better than any defense we see in this league." If the Aztecs' defense is as good as Colorado's, then the Jayhawks might be in trouble. Allen said Kansas' offense was anemic after the Colorado game. And with three injured starters nursing injuries — running back David Winbush, left tackle John Oddonetto and right tackle Justin Hartwig — it could be a long day tomorrow. Senior quarterback Zac Wegner still will be the starter, but junior Dylen Smith will see playing time early in the game again. With an offense that failed to gain more than 200 yards, Allen isn't about to settle on just one quarterback. "But you can't give up on the things that you're doing." "The bottom kind of fell out last week," he said. That means Kansas still will try to balance the run and the pass — but with Winbush nursing a sprained ankle — the Jayhawks may try to open the offense and pass more. Either way, Kansas will have to find an offense that works because San Diego State is strong against the rush and also can rush the passer effectively. "The strength of San Diego's team is their defense," Allen said. "They're, good against the rush, but they have 14 sacks in three games — which means SAN DIEGO STATE (1-2) AT KANSAS (1-2) Game time: 6:00 p.m. at This is the first meeting This is the first meeting between the Aztecs and the lav Hawks Ticket prices: $5 for students with KUID $25 for adults Radio: 105.9 and 90.7 FM, 1320 and 980 AM you've got to get big plays offsively." Kansas will need more big plays from its defense to win. The defense and the special teams have scored three times this season and the Jayhawks kick returners have given the Jayhawks good field position and big plays every game. Kickoff returner Carl NeSmith is ranked second in the NCAA and first in the Big 12. Mitch Bowles is in second in the Big 12 and punt returner Henry Childs is ranked fourth in the NCAA and first in the Big 12. But maybe the most important thing about tomorrow is rebounding from the devastating loss at Colorado — something Allen said has been done. "We just have to put the Colorado game to bed," he said. "That's something student athletes are pretty good at." Edited by Brad Hallier More information For a preview of the San Diego State Aztecs See page 4B 'Hawks eager to duel Drury hopes to extend streak of wins Rv Chris Wristen sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter When the Kansas women's soccer team takes the field against Drury College today in the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Invitation, it will be looking to build its first significant winning streak of the season. Kansas plays at 4:30 p.m. in the second game of the tournament. Centenary and Creighton will open the tournament at 2 p.m. Kansas, 3-4, defeated Southwest Missouri State on Tuesday and put an end to its two-game losing streak, in which both losses were against Top 20 teams. The Javahawks are happy to be winning again. ting better every day. The Jayhawks will play a Drury team that knows how to finish its shots. The Panthers, 33, come into the tournament riding a two-game winning streak in which they notched two shutouts and scored 13 goals, including three-goal performances by freshman forward Carrie Wright and senior midfielder Jeni Porter. "It feels awesome," said junior Megham Haven. "We worked on finishing the day before our game, and it really helped. We need to just keep taking shots like we did and keep moving the ball around. I think we're getting better every day, so I think we'll do well." Carried Carrie Wright and Ann Kansas is prepared to slow the Panther attack, Kansas coach Mark Francis said. He said he was pleased with his team's defensive effort against Southwest Missouri State, in which it limited the Bears to five shots. Senior goalkeeper Betsy Pollard also is becoming more comfortable in goal, and her defense hopes to help her acquire her second shutout of the season. playing good, but it's not playing good, but it is playing good. In addition to improved defensive play, the Jayhawks know their offense will have to get the job done. After being shutout in its previous two games, Kansas broke through with three goals on Tuesday, and Francis expects the scoring to continue. He pointed to sophomores Melanie Schroeder and Natalie Hoogveld, junior Hilla Rantala and senior Melissa Downing to help the offense. Downing has made a return to the starting lineup recently and leads the team in scoring. "I really want to win, but I really want a shutout," said senior defender Cynthia Dahle. "Our defense has been playing good, but it'd be nice to not let in any goals." our training hall. The tournament takes a break tomorrow and concludes on Sunday. Centenary will face Drury at noon, and the Jayhawks will battle Creighton at 2:30 p.m. "We're just going to keep doing what we're doing and keep scoring goals," Francis said. "What we've been trying to do is improve on our finishing. We've just got to keep improving in that area and keep improving on our finishing percentage." Kansas goalkeeper Betsy Pollard reaches up to make a fingertip save against her opponents yesterday during practice. The team will play Drury College today in the opening round of the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Invitational. Photo by Chad Cummings/KANSAN — Edited by Mike Loader By Shawn Hutchinson sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter The Kansas volleyball team will try to avoid falling into a 0-2 conference hole tomorrow when it travels to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers 2 p.m. at the Hearnes Center. This may not be a must-win match for the Jayhawks, 9-3 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 Conference play, but the first conference win would still be important. "You get 20 opportunities in conference play, and you have to take advantage of any chance you get," said Kansas coach Ray Bechard. "Missouri is a young team and very talented." Missouri is led by Naearan Branson, who has 125 kills and 99 dg. Annette Luyten and Krista Johnson pace the team with 18 blocks apiece, while setter Heather Gerber leads the team with 424 assists. Kansas trails the all-time series against Missouri, 29-30. Last season, the Jayhawks defeated the Tigers in Lawrence, 16-14, 15-11 and 15-8, but the Tigers got revenge in Columbia, 11-15, 15-11, 15-5 and 15-11. games, also lost its conference opener at home Wednesday night to the No. 8 Texas Longhorns. Kansas battled Texas to clinch a 16-14 first-game victory, then trailed off by losing the last three games, 15-9, 15-3 and 15-8. The Aggies swept the Tigers in three games, 15-0, 15-8 and 15-6. This season, the Tigers are 5-6 overall and 0-1 in the conference after a loss Wednesday night at No. 16 Texas A&M. "I think we played an outstanding match," said Kansas senior middle blocker Amanda Reves, who led the team with 17 kills against Texas. "We stayed aggressive and I think it gave us the confidence to believe. Other volleyball notes It gave us the confidence to believe." ■ Kansas junior outside hitter Danielle Geronymo sprained her ankle late in the match Wednesday against Texas. Bechard said that Geronymy, who is fourth on the team with 97 kills, probably will be available for the match against Missouri. ■ Kansas' next road test will come at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., to play the No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska was upset on Wednesday night at home against the No. 24 Kansas State Wildcats, who entered the match 0-59 all-time against the Cornhuskers. The loss dropped Nebraska to 8-3 and 0-1 in conference, and improved Kansas State to 7-2 and 1-0. - Edited by Julia Nicholson Tecmo Bowl made football what it is today Here's my top five Last week I heard a guy on campus say, "that's the best thing since sliced bread." 5. ESPN's first-down line But then I began thinking about football and what innovations have helped the sport since the 1940s, about the time Wonder plunked down its first loaf of convenience. I am not really sure what he was specifically referring to, but it got me thinking — not so much about sliced bread because in my estimation the personal computer, the push-up bra and George Foreman's grill have all gone further to making our society great. I got a knife and some free time, what's the big deal19 5. ESPN's himmie still is out on ESPN's magic line, which allows the television audience to see how far the offense needs to go to gain a first-down. The line is somehow transposed onto the screen but appears to actually be on the field. It accomplishes its goal without taking away the suspense of the chain gang coming out to measure for the first down. 4. The face mask 4. The face mask was introduced in the early 1960s. It's hard to imagine today's brand of football being played without face protection. 3. Instant replay but the game's pioneers did. James sports columnist spots@kansan.com 3. Instant replay Technology of all kinds has changed the face of football forever. Officials in the NFL now review close calls with the help of instant replay, and the accurate call is made 99 percent of the time. College football has no review system, but video boards at many college stadiums put added pressure on officials to be in proper position to make better 2. Monday Night Football position to make better calls. At first, ABC executives thought the idea was terrible and would inevitably flop. It was an immediate success and now the Monday night game is consistently the top-ranked time slot on television. This first attempt at bringing football to prime time had an immeasurable impact on the popularity of the sport. 1. Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo Bowl for Nintendo Still the greatest sports video games ever made. Bring your Madden 99, your Blitz 2000, even your 128-bit Dreamcast; Temo Bowl is still more fun than any video ever made. Remember playing Tecmo Bowl for so many hours that you wore it out? You'd put the game in and hit the power button and the light would just blink, or the screen would be all blurry. Getting the game to work became as much fun as actually playing it. Then Super Tecmo Bowl was introduced, with all the perks of the original and 17-week season playing potential, complete with playoffs. Once the season started, nobody could take the game out or shut off the Nintendo, or the season would be ruined. Then, occasionally the cartridge would just pop up for no apparent reason and you would have to cram that Top Gun cartridge above it to hold it down. No one cared if Top Gun got ruined because you couldn't land the stupid jet anyway. first you blew into the game twice, then into the Nintendo once, then you carefully slid the game into the Nintendo until it almost cleared the front edge, then pushed straight down until the cartridge popped past the front edge and slammed into the system. Worked like a charm. Once, my roommate cleaned the inside of his Tecmo Bowl game with rubbing alcohol and put it in the freezer for an hour. Yes, it worked perfectly. I'm sure you had your own little tricks. But what has Tecmo Bowl done for the game of football? It was the first home video game that gave professional players their actual identity. Not only could we win with Walter Payton's Bears because he was unstoppable, but we knew every player on every team. On Sunday's, we would watch every team because we could, in a small way, relate to them. In a final note. I love band day. I want trombones. I want trumpets. And I sure want some tubas. . In a musical shootout, Kansas defeats San Diego State. 35-31. See you at the game. James is a Hugoton senior in journalism.