8B
SPORTS
THE INSTITUTIONS OF BABY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2006
Reeling in their catches
David Guttenfelder/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Japanese autograph seekers hang items on ropes to be signed by Bronson Arroyo of the Cincinnati Reds before a game between the Japanese all-star team and the U.S. major league all-star team in Tokyo.
NFL
St. Louis falls to middle of pack following losses
BY R.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — There's a perfectly good reason for the St. Louis Rams' three-game losing streak to come on the heels of a three-game winning streak: Tougher competition.
The Rams (4-4) fattened up on the Cardinals, Lions and Packers — who are a combined 6-18 — before faltering against the Seahawks, Chargers and Chiefs — a combined 16-8.
The end result: The Rams are squarely in the middle of the pack in Scott Linehan's first year as coach. They're a team with holes, especially on the defensive line and at linebacker as long as Pisa Tinoisamoa is sidelined with a bro
ken left hand, but with a productive offense that can score enough to make things interesting.
"We're struggling now, but I've been on a couple of bad teams around here that have had multiple injuries and collapsed on itself," quarterback Marc Bulger said. "We're nowhere near that."
They're still in the hunt in the NFC West, though, thanks to parity. And veteran players can remember a lot worse situations. Last year's team also was 4-4, but won only twice the rest of the way.
The Rams will get an immediate opportunity to regain ground on Sunday at Seattle.
Offensive guard Adam Timmerman said there's plenty of time to regroup.
DAILY TEXAN
BY WILLIAM WILKERSON
Longhorns practice Pilates for flexibility
AUSTIN, Texas — From the gridiron to the Pilates mat? Don't laugh. Chances are Longhorn football players are on their way to their weight room right now, mats in hand.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
"It is a real good thing. I don't know about the whole team, but a lot of people do it," offensive tackle Tony Hills said.
As comical as it may sound, it is not uncommon for male athletes to do this type of fitness activity. It has been reported that Tiger Woods, Jason Kidd and Curt Schilling have used Pilates to increase their flexibility and improve their posture, balance and coordination.
"I just knew it was good from hearing other people talk about it," said Hills, who measures 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds. "I've seen it show up in games. I've been caught up in positions that I know had it not been for it, I'd have been hurt. It's working. I recommend it."
"It is funny to see those guys doing that stuff," Hills said. "You have 300-pound guys with their legs behind their heads, holding positions, shaking. You figure guys that can bench over 400 pounds could pick up their own body weight, me included."
It's helped some Longhorns so much that they do it twice a week. And no, strength coach Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden is not the one orchestrating the workouts.
Hills said 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle Frank Okam is the most adept.
Don't expect to see offensive guard Kasey Studdard advertise the program on an infomercial near you.
"I've never done it by choice, I've always been forced to do it," he said.
"He is the most flexible guy I have ever seen in the gym. He can get down. I think he can do the splits," Hills said. "Brian Orakpo is the least flexible. That guy there is something else."
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iowa State coach Dan McCarrney's future with the team is uncertain after a rocky season. McCarrney has been at Iowa state for 19 years and still has three years left on his contract.
Replacing coach won't resolve issues
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
KANSAN COLUMNIST
MPHILIPS@KANSAN.COM
Minutes after being dominated 41-10 by Kansas on his home field, Iowa State coach Dan McCarney walked into the interview room.
"I'm going to make a few statements, then I'll answer any questions you guys have," he told the assembled reporters.
The statements were about the game. The questions were not.
McCarney, who is known in Ames as "Coach Mac," is the Big 12 coach most likely to be fired after the season ends. The Cyclones are 0-6 in conference play and 3-7 overall. While those numbers easily make Iowa State the worst team in the conference, firing McCarney just doesn't make sense.
Iowa State Athletics Director Jamie Pollard has said he won't make an official decision until the season ends, and McCarney has three years remaining on his contract. He has been at Iowa State since 1995
— making him the longest-tenured coach in the conference.
Firing McCarney won't solve anything for the Cyclones. It would just make things worse.
In 2004 and 2005, the team came within one game of the Big 12 North Championship under Coach Mac's leadership. Now the fans want to run him out of town? It raises an interesting question: Who do Cyclones fan think they are going to get?
Ames is not an exciting town. Iowa State is the second-most prestigious school in a state that doesn't produce more than a handful of top high-school recruits every year.
Iowa State is not one of the Big 12's premier schools. The Kansan ran an article Monday detailing the expenses and revenues of the conference's schools. Iowa State ranked last in both categories. The only school that might trail it is Baylor, which is a private school and doesn't have to reveal those numbers.
To get a coach like McCarney, who has stayed in Ames for more than a decade, is rare. He may not be Bill Synder, but there's only one Bill Snyder available, and he's retired.
Perhaps the worst part of it all is that this season isn't entirely his fault. A combination of scheduling and injuries doomed the Cyclones' season before it ever began.
After a nonconference match-up against Iowa, the Cyclones' first four Big 12 games were against Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, four of the toughest teams in the conference.
As for his team, injuries have sidelined several key offensive players, including star running back Stevie Hicks. You try winning against Big 12 teams with no running back.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino sympathized with McCarney's situation.
"I think they've had some circumstances that put them in this position that were beyond their control," he said. "They fought to the end of the game, which is a tribute to Coach Mac."
Still, in this message-board age, unfortunate circumstances don't renew contracts. Victories do. This is something Coach Mac knows.
"This is not what any of us anticlimated," he said. "It's not like I haven't been through adversity before, so I've got plenty of practice at it."
Now McCarney enters his final games, probably losses to Colorado and Missouri, as a lame-duck coach. If Pollard and the Iowa State staff have any common sense, they'll keep the only coach loyal enough to stay in Ames for 11 years with the smallest budget in the conference. If the fans have any common sense, they'll quit calling for the coach's head.
"We'll fight through this and try to finish with our heads held high," McCarney said. "The fans deserve better than what we gave them today."
You know, after evaluating the facts, I'm not sure they do.
Phillips is a Wichita senior in journalism. He is the Kansan sports editor.
Edited by Jacky Carter
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