Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens was hospitalized Tuesday night in what was later characterized by police as a suicide attempt, which Owens denied. Columnist Ryan Colaianni writes that professional and college athletes are both under extraordinary amounts of pressure. 8A
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 10A
FOOTBALL
'Huskers game brings two'Hawks home again
BY SHAWN SHROYER
When Kansas takes the field at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium Saturday, Micah Brown and Nick Kurtenbach will have the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.
Like 51 players on the Cornhusker roster, these two will be suited in front of their
home-state fans. Brown,
a freshman wide receiver from Kearney.
Neb., and
Kurtenbach, a junior running back from Lindsay.
Neb., have
Brown
"Everybody I know that wanted to ever do it, you know, out of 100 guys, one or two maybe get to do it," Kurtenbach said.
already seen playing time this season, but playing in front of family and friends in Nebraska would mean even more.
Brown agreed. Although the
Kurtenbach
Both have memories of
two came from different Nebraskan backgrounds, Nebraska football left a nearly identical impression on each one's life.
Nebraska football during the Tom Osborne era. First and foremost, they recalled Nebraska's national championship teams of the mid-to-late '90s. For both, Matt Davison's title-saving touchdown catch after Shevin Wiggins's kick in the game against Missouri in 1997 was the most vivid Nebraska football memory.
Even Brown's and Kurtenbach's gameday experiences were similar. Although they watched the games from different vantage points, both spent Saturdays watching the games with their fathers.
When Brown's father, Todd, was in college, he ran track and walked on to the Nebraska football team. So, when Micah was little, he sometimes watched games at field level with Todd.
Kurtenbach lived on a farm, and it was only Nebraska games that could bring him and his father, Dale, in from the fields on Saturdays.
"That was fun, just being around the family," Kurtenbach said. "That was an integral part of life."
Brown and Kurtenbach both lived more than two hours away from Lincoln, but it didn't feel like it on game day.
"Everybody just cheers for Nebraska. Everybody is a fan and they travel to every game that they can." Brown said. "It's like an event. The whole town shuts down when it's a Nebraska game."
Football makes Saturdays as spiritual as Sundays for some Nebraskans.
"There is no Nebraska State or pro team. It's just Nebraska football and for a lot of people it's a religion." Kurtenbach said.
As essential as Nebraska football was to Brown and Kurtenbach, when it came time to go to college, they were destined for Lawrence, not Lincoln.
Brown said the decision was simple. Kansas offered him a scholarship to run track and a chance to major in film studies. Nebraska did not. Brown didn't even consider extending his football career into college until after his freshman year. And though his father was a Cornhusker, Brown was never pressured to don scarlet and cream.
"My dad has probably been the biggest influence in my life and I try to follow in his footsteps as much as I can. I just made a detour of where I'm going to school," Brown said, adding that his dad would be wearing blue on Saturday, despite his loyalties to Nebraska.
Kurtenbach said Nebraska was an option early in his search, but Kansas presented better opportunities for him. He said he didn't regret coming here.
Their college decisions weren't affected by the reduction in the Nebraska walk-on program after Bill Callahan was hired. Brown was already set on Kansas and Frank Solich was still coaching at Nebraska when Kurtenbach was looking at colleges.
While the chance to play in their home state makes the game special to Brown and Kurtenbach, it won't be the first visit to Nebraska's Memorial Stadium in uniform for either of them.
SEE NEBRASKA ON PAGE 9A
VOLLEYBALL 1-3
Road victory blocked at Tech
Freshman Katie Marinicki sets sophomore middle blocker Savannah Noyes during Wednesday night's volleyball game between Kansas and Texas Tech. The loss is especially painful for the Jayhawks because it drops their conference report to 1-4, a mark that includes road victories. Kansas returns home for a game this Saturday night.
Kat Hilsabeck/DAILY TOREADO
Jana Correa leads the team with 21 kills, says that the Jayhawks'road loss is disappointing
BY DREW DAVISON
Both the Kansas and Texas Tech volleyball teams were in desperate need of a conference victory last night. But only the Red Raiders left satisfied with their performance.
"We had just too many errors, therein lies the difference," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said.
The Red Raiders edged out the Jayhawks, protecting their home court by winning a four-game match 3-1 and leaving the Jayhawks winless in all three of Kansas' conference road matches this season.
Kansas (8-6, 1-4 Big 12) committed 34 hitting errors, while Texas Tech (8-6, 1-4) had just 21.
After two straight conference losses, Savannah Noyes, sophomore middle blocker, didn't have an explanation for Kansas' performance.
Kansas lost the match, with final scores of 26-30, 25-30, 30-22 and 25-30.
"I don't know, it really is hard to explain," she said. "We just need to play our game, and not worry about the other team."
Noyes finished the night with 13 kills on a .231 hitting efficiency.
Senior outside hitter Jana Correa continued to carry the team. She had a double-double night with a match-high 21 kills and 15 digs, but afterwards focused only on the loss.
"It's complicated, after a loss it just sucks," she said. "I'm very sad, very disappointed."
In game one, Kansas led or was tied with Texas Tech until Tech's Laura Gottschalk gave her team its first lead, 26-25, with a kill. Tech was also able to limit its hitting errors to two, while Kansas committed eight. Tech had a higher hitting percentage as well, .357 to KU's .250, leading the Red Raiders to a four-point victory to open the match.
Kat Hillsabeck/DAILY TOREADOR
Senior outside hitter Jana Correa attempts to spike the ball during Wednesday's volleyball game between the jayhawks and the Red Raiders. Correa led all players with 21 kills and 15 digs in the losing effort.
Just as it was all night long, hitting errors hindered Kansas in game two, with the team committing nine. The Kansas offense was
shut down as well, as Texas Tech's strong defensive unit held Kansas to a .197 hitting efficiency. Tech, with a .378 efficiency, took the second stanza by five.
Then the lajhawks came to life in game three. They opened with five unanswered points, and their defense carried them to an eight-point victory against the Red Raiders, who hit a match-low .108. Kansas' offense also struggled with a .179 hitting efficiency.
Down 20-9 in game four, Kansas scored seven straight points to get back into the game. The Jayhawks could not seal the deal, however, as they lost by five.
Kansas will next face Iowa State (10-4, 2-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Horesei Family Athletics Center.
Kansan sportswriter Drew Davison can be contacted at ddavison@kansan.com.
Edited by Travis Robinett
BASEBALL
Fall practice begins as baseball team works to integrate freshman players
BY ALISSA BAUER
In Memorial Stadium, a group of athletes gather before sunrise, running steps at 6:30. The players sweat together through sprints and conditioning, training for another championship.
Not a Fort Worth Bowl repeat, but back-to-back Big 12 Conference baseball championships. For the baseball team, offseason doesn't mean taking time off, even in September.
This Saturday, Kansas begins what's known as "fall ball", the intra-squad games played within a team assigned by Kansas Baseball Coach
Price often switches up the teams, primarily to try out various combinations of hitter and pitcher match-ups. Each at-bat is crucial for developing both the hitter and pitcher, especially with the younger Jayhawks.
"We're trying to make improvements in fundamentals, make that leap from being a good high-school player to a good Division-I player," he said.
Ritch Price.
Price said the early-morning routine also provided time for him and his coaching staff to instill a proper work ethic, but the rigorous conditioning ends when fall ball begins.
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conditioned at 6:30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Mondays and Wednesdays were spent running indoors, with Fridays spent at Memorial Stadium. Then, in the afternoons, it was off to the weight room.
For four weeks, the players
Junior outfielder John Allman was ready for the workouts and is even more pumped for the fall season to start. Allman played in Anchorage, Alaska this past summer.
"I had a lot of fun in Alaska," Allman said. "But now I'm ready to come back and get after it again."
That's exactly what he'll get on Saturday. Although the start of fall ball spares the team its heavy conditioning, the players take on a much bigger time commitment beginning Saturday.
Allman said the team would hit the field at 2:30 and practice for a couple of hours before splitting off into teams assigned by Price. A seven-to-nine inning game follows practice every day.
"I'm most excited about the pitching" he said. The team lost its entire rotation, including national closer of the year Don Czvz.
"There's a method to it all." Allman said. "It's just to prepare guys for spring.Fall is all about getting ready to play."
Last week, Price spent a good deal of time visiting recruits and telling them he looked forward to being back in Lawrence to kick off fall ball.
The players who play a specific position spend time doing what Price called "four-and-ones" during the four weeks of conditioning. Four players meet and work with one member of the coaching staff.
To ensure es-ch player was well rested, Price stopped conditioning
While position players hone their skills, the new pitching staff works to build arm strength, which Price said was the primary reason for the first four weeks of conditioning. He has to be sure his pitchers are ready to meet the demands of everyday scrimmaging.
on Mondays. With the draft and graduation taking almost all of his starters from the previous year, price wants to be sure he's seeing a new crew of players at full strength.
"We had seven guys sign pro contracts this summer, and we lost an All-Big 12 guy in Matt Baty" Price said. "The openings on our roster have not been there the last four years, which should make for a very interesting fall."
Kansan sportswriter Allissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
Edited by Derek Korte