TG EIGHT Kansans quietly celebrate top 10 rankings for both the Jayhawks and Wildcats. Page4
SPORTS ERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1995
KANSAS FOOTBALL
SECTION B
Pack the house on Saturday
Pass the salt and the ketchup — I'm going to eat crow.
Welcome to Day Two of "Whoops" week here on The University Daily Kansas sports desk. Yes, I too was mistaken in thinking that the Kansas football team would have about the same chance of defeating Colorado that Marcia Clark has at winning her next case.
I know, that was bad. But back to the Jayhawks. Saturday's game proved that when the Kansas offense defense
offense, defense
Jayhawks bask in glow of victory
and special teams are working well, this team can defeat anybody.
The Jayhawks' 5-0 start can be grouped into three categories — the wins (North Texas and Texas Christian), the nail-bitors (Cincinnati and Houston) and the masterpiece (Colorado). For a 40-24 domination of one of the
ASSOCIATE
SPORTS
EDITOR
national championship contenders is what Kansas can do when everything clicks right, who knows how far it'll go.
Forget Nebraska, let's get ready for the big match with No. 1 Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl for all the marbles. Get out your sombreros to toss onto the field Saturday at the Iowa State game, because Kansas could become the first team to win national championships in football and basketball in the same year.
Reality check: I'm kidding.
If Kansas and Colorado played 10 more times, Colorado would win six or seven of those games. The challenge that remains for Kansas is to stay consistent and not slip against a Missouri or an Oklahoma State. Now that a 9-2 or 10-1 finish is a possibility, this team needs all the support and encouragement it can get.
That's where the fans get involved. I talked with the football gods last night, and everyone has been forgiven. All must repent for the sin of thinking that the Jayhawks were a fluke and get their tails to Memorial Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The least our student body can do for its team is come and show how much it is appreciated. I want to see that stadium packed.
If you don't believe me, take it from Kansas football coach Glen Mason himself, who also wants more fan support on Saturday.
"These kids deserve it, I'll tell you that," he said following the Colorado game. "These kids gave everything they had. That's the only thing you can ask a kid. Fifty thousand came out and paid $30 to watch Colorado and the kids from Kansas play their tails off, and they did."
And for those of you who got those football tickets just so you could go to basketball games, the football games are finished by 4:30 p.m., giving plenty of time to take a good nap and head to Allen Field House for the Kansas-Kansas State volleyball match at 7:30 p.m.
The baseball playoffs are entering the league championship round, and I'm still at the wheel of the Mariners bandwagon. We spent yesterday refueling and will head back to the Kingdome for Game 1 with the Indians tonight. Tickets on our journey are free — all we have to do is believe in miracles and refuse to lose.
Oh yeah, they are having this thing called "Late Night with Roy Williams," too. Add in women's soccer games on Friday and Sunday, and you've made quite a Kansas sports weekend for yourself. And all the events, except the football game, are free.
Here's to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who after an 0-4 start have won their last two games, including a big upset of Pittsburgh on Sunday. Don't look now, but the Jags are in second place in the AFC Central.
By now you can see the point — this isn't just a basketball school anymore. There will be plenty of time to watch Roy's Boys and Marian's Gals come winter. But for now, don't miss out on some exciting top 10 football action as well as a little soccer and volleyball, too.
Big Eight names Williams offensive player of week; ESPN to show Oct.21 game
By Robert Sinclair
Kansan sportswriter
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
As in a well-developed novel, many subplots intertwined throughout the No. 10 Kansas football team's emotional victory Saturday against No. 9 Colorado.
Also like a best-seller, the reviews still are coming in.
"I think Kansas must have a very good football team; I know Colorado does," Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne said yesterday in the Big Eight's teleconference. "They've obviously got two very good running backs, and their quarterback must be playing very well."
Kansas senior quarterback Mark Williams is playing so well that he has been named the Big Eight offensive player of the week. The conference also announced yesterday that Kansas' Oct. 21 game with Oklahoma has been picked up by ESPN and will be televised nationally at 6:30 p.m.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kansas — along with Kansas State and Wisconsin — has allowed only one rushing touchdown this season.
Even though the Jayhawks are off to their best start since Pepper Rodgers led them to the 1968 Orange Bowl and a conference championship, Kansas football coach Glen Mason hasn't forgotten the hardships.
"We don't have many guys on this team that have been down here before, but we had a disappointing loss in a snowstorm a couple of years ago." Mason said.
The game Mason was referring to was a 30-24 loss Nov. 16, 1993 in Boulder, Colo.
In that game, it took Colorado only eight plays to march 80 yards and score the winning touchdown with less than 1:00 remaining in the game. The Jayhawks lost late in the game, despite outrushing the Buffaloales 231 yards to 176, outpassing them 199-136 and gaining nine more first downs (23-14).
"When that clock was ticking down (on Saturday), I still remember how I felt coming off the field in that snowstorm," Mason said. "I'd really never been as low as I'd been that day."
Someone else who probably remembers that game is Kansas defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who was the Colorado defensive coordinator at the time.
"The fact that I worked here, I take a lot of pride in what we accomplished when I was here," Hankwitz said. "But I coach at Kansas, and I take a lot of pride in what we're accomplishing at Kansas. The satisfaction I feel is that the Kansas football team was able to beat one of the top teams in the country."
For Hankwitz, who was with Colorado for seven years, Saturday's victory against his former team was especially sweet.
The team has responded well to Hankwitz's enthusiastic approach to the game and returned the enthusiasm Saturday. After the victory, some players doused their defense leader with water.
"I had an inkling that it might be coming." Hankwitz joked.
"I've still got some kind of quickness left."
In addition to enthusiasm, Hankwitz's creativity may have played a role in the defense's high self-confidence level.
On Friday night, the team watched a short film that Hawkwitz created with some of this season's defensive highlights.
"It's more of a rehashing of some of the better plays we've had throughout the year," Kansas senior outside linebacker
Keith Rodgers said. "All it is, is to show that when we play good, we're pretty darn good."
Perhaps it was the background music that made the film so effective. Rodgers said.
"I think it was 'Rocky,'" he said. "How did it make me feel? Just like the first time I watched 'Rocky.' You get that music playing, and you're like, 'Oh boy!'"
Sampson regaining knee strength after surgery
By Bill Petulia
Kansan sportswriter
On a scorching Friday afternoon early in September, the campus is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming weekend.
But in a weight room on campus, there's not an ounce of excitement on the face of Kansas women's basketball player Charisse Sampson — only a ton of pain.
Sampson has spent many days in the weight room rehabilitating her left knee. The senior guard underwent arthroscopic surgery Aug. 31 — one day before her birthday — to repair the damaged knee.
"It was something that has been building up since last year," Sampson said. "Last year I couldn't even jump off my left leg and do a right-handed layup."
scan showed no damage to her knee. But Sampson agreed to have exploratory
During the surgery, Wertzberger discovered two tears in Sampson's lateral cartilage. He removed the smaller of the two tears and repaired the other.
A previous magnetic resonance imaging
arthroscopic surgery,
performed by physician
John J. Wertzberger at
Lawrence Memorial
Hospital.
court next week,depending on how she felt. However,he said that playing at 100 percent would take longer.
Charisse Sampson
He said that Sampson might be back on the
"The full recovery time should take
about three months, Wertzberger said. Rather than taking a few days off after the surgery, Sampson got right to work.
"I started rehabbing the day after the surgery," she said. "I just couldn't just sit around and baby my knee all the time, so I got rid of my crutches as soon as I could."
Under the watchful eye of assistant athletic trainer Carol Jarosky, Sampson began doing basic range-of-motion exercises and then progressed to more physically demanding activities.
Her strenuous two-hour workout includes exercises on a stairmaster and hip-flexor machines, along with leg extensions, wall sits and leg dips.
"I think she is right on time, if not a little ahead of schedule right now," Jarosky said. "Her knee is actually going to be better this year. She's going to be quicker and
be able to step and pivot in both directions."
Although she has come a long way since the surgery, sometimes her knee still hurts. Sampson said.
"On nice days my knee feels fine, but when it's cold outside, my knee hurts so bad," she said.
Wertzberger said that it was not unusual for the cold weather to bring pain to a healing knee.
However, the road to recovery hasn't been easy.
"It's normal when the barometer drops that the knee will hurt," Wertzberger said. Taking the pain in stride, Sampson said she felt lucky that her injury wasn't worse.
"If I thought the surgery was going to disable me from playing, I wouldn't have had it." Sampson said. "I just want to play."
Canadian runner glad to be in Kansas,eh
By Adam Herschman
Kansan sportswriter
Every once in a while, Kansas senior cross country runner Chris Gaston likes to扑戏 fun at his roommate.
Some people perceive Canadians as Doug and Bob Mackenzie from the movie "Strange Brew." As Gaston knows, however, his teammate does not portray the stereotypical wild Canadian.
"Lewis Theobald, the wild Canadian," Gaston said with a smile.
The freshman cross country runner, the only foreign runner on either the men's or women's cross country teams, ran a different course to reach Lawrence than his Kansas teammates.
"He's a great guy." Gaston said. "He always has something positive to say."
Theobald was born in Colchester, England, but moved to Ottawa, Canada, when he was 3 years old.
In high school, he was a member of the Ottawa Lions track club, which won the junior national cross country championship in 1992 and 1993. Theobald was the Province of Ontario 2,000-meter steeplechase champion in 1993, and he twice placed fifth at the Canadian National junior track and championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
After high school, Theobald wanted to continue running in college, but he knew he could not compete or receive an athletic scholarship if he staved in Canada.
In Canada, running is serious, Kansas assistant cross country coach Steve Guymon said. Runners seek American scholarships because Canadian universities are expensive.
Instead, Theobald chose to come to the United States. He was recruited from high school by several Division-I schools but was not sure which to attend.
With the help of four Ottawa Lions teammates, he narrowed his choices to West Virginia, Auburn and Kansas.
Theobald injured his foot and was red-shirted last year, but he was healthy enough to run track.
Theobald, an education major, had visited Kansas in his last year of high school. He chose Kansas because of its tradition in cross country and track and field and the coaches' attitude.
"I don't think there are very many adjustment problems from one country to another, from Canada to the United states," Kansas cross country coach Gary Schwartz said.
Theobald has been running well this year, earning points in two of the three meets. Twice he has been Kansas' second-highest finisher, and at the Southern Illinois Duel meet, he finished seventh.
Theobald said he was happy to run at Kansas.
"It's just a fun situation to be in," he said.
Andy Rullestad / KANBAN
Kansas freshman Lewis Theobald has been adjusting to the warmer weather since he coming from Canada.