Section B · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, September 14, 1999
Big 12 football dominates foes
The Associated Press
Outpassing, outrushing and outblitzing most of their opponents this weekend. Big 12 Conference members outscoored the opposition by a whopping 300 points.
But many coaches were offering advice and condolences to Baylor coach Kevin Steele, whose team could have beaten UNLV Saturday by taking a knee late in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Bears ran a play and fumbled, allowing UNLV to return the loose ball for a touchdown and steal the game. 27-24.
"It was a mistake, and I regret it." Steele said of the last play. "Everybody wants to know, 'What where you thinking?' Well, we were trying to create a situation where we're pushing the offense towards its potential. The kids wanted to score. We had been moving the football. We are trying to create a mental toughness that gives our players the edge to finish the job. That having been said, it was a mistake, and I regret it."
"The Big 12 conference is so tough, it's basically the black-and-blue conference," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "A lot of people are trying to play tough games in the early season just so they can be ready by the time conference play comes around."
But other than Baylor's (0-2) last-second loss, coaches around the Big 12 were assessing the conference's dominating play this weekend and re-evaluating their chances.
Brown's Longhorns (2-1) trounced Rutgers, 38-21, behind the leadership of quarterback Major Applewhite. Applewhite threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
"We were happy to see less mistakes made on special teams and on offense," Brown said.
No. 16 Kansas State's Bill Snyder said the team's 40- victory against Temple provided a chance to rethink his lineup.
"This game gave us an indication of where we are at this particular point in time," Snyder said. "There has been some concern and an evaluation of personnel. If we find that
BIG 12 CONFERENCE
someone is playing better than someone else, this is the time to give them the chance to move up the depth chart."
Oklahoma State's Bob Simmons said he may consider encouraging his quarterbacks to stay behind the line of scrimmage a little more often.
First-time starter B.J. Tiger threw for 162 yards and added 70 yards rushing Saturday as Oklahoma State (2-0) defeated Tulsa, 46-9. Tiger, filling in for injured quarterback Tony Lindsay, completed 10 of 16 attempts, including a 4-yard touchdown pass, and scored on a 1-yard run.
"We played well on offense and defense and did a good job of pressuring the quarterback," Simmons said. "What I really like about the quarterbacks is their toughness. They are really tough — almost to the point where it's scary. They think they're running backs."
Texas Tech's Spike Dykes said he was just happy his team played hard without injured running back Ricky Williams, who stayed at home during Tech's 38-17 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Williams' replacement, James Easterling, rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
"We didn't have long to worry about the loss last Monday," Dykes said. "Easterling came to front as a runner and had an especially good game. He played better than he has ever played."
The Red Raiders improved to 1-1.
Nebraska coach Frank Solich had nothing to complain about Monday.
The No. 4 Cornhuskers, 2-0, manhandled California, 40-0.
"We've been able to move the football, in one fashion or another and have a multi-array of offensive attacks." Solich said.
Iowa State coach Dan McCarny couldn't stop grinning about his team's 17-10 victory against rival Iowa this weekend.
Iowa State improved to 2-0.
Driver prevails on 'bittersweet' day
The Associated Press
MONTEREY, Calf. — Bryan
Herta called a ittersweet day.
Herta called it a bittersweet day. The 29-year-old driver outclassed the rest of the CART field in Sunday's Shell 300, leading all 83 laps on the way to his second victory in as many years at Laguna Seca Raceway.
But Gonzalo Rodriguez, the 27-year-old Uruguayan driver killed Saturday in a crash during practice, was never far from the thoughts of Herta and the rest of the drivers.
On Sunday, his fellow drivers stood together during a prerace moment of silence for Rodriguez and then went out to battle each other on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course.
"We are race drivers and we
have to have a blocking system in our minds to do our job," Roberto Moreno said after a career-best finish of second. "We just go out and drive every corner until the checkered flag.
"But you don't forget what happened. It's my best result, but when I think about it, it's always going to be in my mind a sad day."
Herta, fighting to keep his ride with Bobby Rahal's team, started from the pole and led all the way, beating Moreno to the finish line by 1.826-seconds — about 10 carlengths.
"I'm really happy for today, but our hearts and thoughts and prayers are still with Gonzalo and his family," Herta said. "This is a bittersweet day for CART."
Max Papis, Herta's Team Rahal teammate and the third-place fin
isher said he frequently thought about Rodriguez.
"There are many things that go through your mind besides racing," he said. "But my passion and our passion for racing is the best tribute to Gonzalo's will to succeed."
But the lingering sadness about the death of Rodriguez could not take all of the joy out of Herta's second career victory, particularly coming near the end of what has been a miserable season and with rumors swirling that he will lose his ride at the end of the year.
His record on Laguna's 2,238-mile, 11-turn road circuit has been phenomenal. In the last four years, Herta has started every race from the front row and finished second, sixth, first and first while leading 225 of 323 laps.
"I'm not telling," he said when asked for his secret. "If there is a reason, I don't know what it is, and I don't care. I'm just happy to enjoy the kind of success I've had here, and hope it continues."
On Sunday, Herta was totally in charge except for a brief moment during a restart on lap 62.
"That's when I nearly threw it all away," he said.
The leader, knowing the aggressive Michael Andretti in second was getting ready to launch an attack on the restart, went too deep into the final turn under the yellow, locked up his brakes and nearly started a chain-reaction crash.
But, while the drivers behind him scrambled, Herta regained control of his Reynard-Ford and pulled away.
British sprinter cleared of all doping charges
The Associated Press
LONDON — Gary Cadogan became the third British athlete this summer to be cleared of taking the controversial banned substance nandrolone.
United Kingdom Athletics said yesterday that its disciplinary committee dropped all doping charges against the spinner, who produced a positive urine sample in November 1998.
"The disciplinary committee concluded that it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the substance present in the sample was derived from a prohibited substance," UK Athletics said in a statement.
The federation said Cadogan's suspension was lifted, and he was free to resume competition.
Cadogan joins Linford Christie, the former Olympic 100-meter champion, and Scottish spinner Doug Walker in being cleared by UK Athletics for dandelor use.
The sport's world governing
body, the International Amateur Athletic Federation, has the final say. As it did with Walker, the IAAF can reject the British finding and refer the case to its own panel. The IAAF has not yet dealt with Christie's case.
Cadogan, meanwhile, criticized the IAAF for publicizing,his positive test.
"The IAAF must realize there are too many unexplained cases of so-called nandrolone offenses in relation to athletes who would have no cause to take such a drug," he said after his exoneration.
"I myself proved negative two weeks following the alleged positive finding which brought me before this hearing today. That in itself is sufficient evidence for the IAFA to begin to question the accuracy of these tests."
IAAF officials suspect that food supplements spiked with nandrolone could be the reason for the sudden surge of positive cases.
Basketball player never got chance to stand out
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charles Hayward never got a chance to live up to his billing as the top basketball recruit ever at North Carolina Charlotte. Leukemia changed those plans, and now the disease has taken his life.
Hayward, 21, died Sunday night at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, the school said Monday.
Hayward was admitted to the hospital in April and underwent a bone marrow transplant.
Complications arose in July when Hayward's body began rejecting the transplant, and his condition worsened considerably last Thursday, school officials said. Teammates, family members and coach Bobby Lutz spent the weekend visiting him in the hospital.
"We all very deeply saddened by Charles' passing," Lutz said.
The university planned a memorial service for Wednesday afternoon at Halton Arena, the 49ers' home court.
When Hayward came out of
Louisiana in 1997, he was the highest rated recruit ever to sign with the 49ers. But North Carolina Charlotte's coaching staff noticed in preseason drills that the 6-foot8, 210-pound Hayward seemed constantly tired, so they sent him for a series of tests, which showed the presence of acute myeloid leukemia.
Hayward missed his freshman season undergoing chemotherapy treatments. That year the 49ers advanced to the NCAA tournament and dedicated their season to Hayward.
Hayward was declared in remission in April 1998 and cleared to play.
But 10 games into the comeback, the leukemia returned. Hayward spent the holidays in the hospital for more chemotherapy.
The 49ers won the Conference USA championship again advancing again to the NCAA tournament. But unlike the previous year, when Hayward occasionally felt well enough to watch his teammates play, he spent most of his remaining days in the hospital.
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