8A SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
BIG 12 SOCCER
Sizing up the competition
Editor's note. With the Big 12 Conference soccer season beginning, University Daily Kansan Big 12 soccer writer Jeff Deters takes a look at the teams in the Big 12 North, and their outlook for the coming season. Kansas State does not field a team.
Nebraska
2005 record: (14-8-1, 6-3-1)
Key stat: 5 - the number of starters the Huskers lost from last year's team.
2006 outlook: The Huskers could be Big 12 champions this season if they can mold their 10 newcomers into solid contributors. So far they have done just that. The Huskers entered Big 12 play with a record of 5-2-2. The Huskers beat Missouri and lost to Iowa State in their first two conference games.
The Cornhuskers will play the Jayhawks Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb.
Colorado
2005 record:(12-8-4, 6-4-1)
Key stat: 14 — the number of newcomers on the Buffaloes squad, the most in team history.
2006 outlook: Colorado finished tied for second in the conference last season and made the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. The Buffaloes have 11 letter winners returning, including five starters.
Last season Colorado defeated Kansas 1-0. The Jayhawks will look for revenge when the two teams play Oct. 27 in Lawrence.
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Kansas
10%
OFF
TODAY
Key stat: 8 - the number of returning starters.
2006 outlook: The Tigers won their first seven games of the season before losing 1-0 at home to UW-Milwaukee Sept. 17. Missouri leads the conference in goals (2,50) and assists (2,50) per game.
2006 outlook: The Kansas Jayhawks finished tied for second in the Big 12 last year, but their season came to an abrupt halt when the Jayhawks were not invited to the NCAA Tournament.
2005 record:(11-7-2,6-3-1)
2005 record: (11-7-3, 6-3-1)
Key stat: 3 - The Cyclones lost their first three games this year, won their next three and lost three more before winning their two most recent games.
Last season the jayhaws defeated the Tigers 3-2 in two overtries. This year the Kansas-Missouri rivalry continues when the two teams play Oct. 15 in Columbia, Mo.
Using that as motivation, the team entered conference play with a 5-2-0 record. The Jayhawks are picked to finish 5th in the conference. With their victory against nationally ranked Duke Sept. 10, the Jayhawks cracked the Top 25. The Jayhawks followed that victory with a disappointing loss at home to Pepperdine Sept. 15 but bounced back with a victory against Central Florida two days later.
Iowa State
2006 outlook: Iowa State finished tied for second place in the Big 12 last year and made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Cyclones entered conference play with a 4-6-0 record. Last season the Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks 3-1 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks will travel to Ames, Iowa to play the Cyclones Oct. 13.
Key stat 5 - the number of shutouts by the Missouri Tigers in their first eight games this season.
Missouri
Kansan sportswriter Jeff Deters can be contacted at jdeters@kansan.com.
- Edited by Nicole Kelley
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>> NFL
Bill Haber/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is sacked in New Orleans Saints territory by Brian Young, left and Hollis Thomas, right, in the first half of their football game against the New Orleans Saints. Vick and the Falcons struggled through much of the game on the way to the loss.
Saints victorious in return
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — The Superdome got a new roof after Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Saints did their best to blow it off again.
In an earsplitting return to their rebuilt stadium, the Saints gave the Big Easy something to cheer about — an undefeated football team that made it look easy with a 23-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.
and it couldn't have come at a better time for a city that is still struggling to overcome Katrina.
This one couldn't have been scripted any better for a team that spent all of last season on the road.
After a Super Bowl-like pregame show that included a performance by supergroups U2 and Green Day, the Saints wasted no time turning their welcome-home party into Mardi Gras: The Falcons' first drive stalled, and special teams demon Steve Gleason sliced through the middle of the Atlanta line to smother Michael Koenen's punt.
The ball skidded across the goal line, where Curtis Deloatell fell on it for a touchdown — the first given up by the Falcons this season. Just 1 1/2 minutes into a homecoming
that was over a year in the making, the Saints sent an emphatic message to the entire country.
New Orleans is back.
DeLoach ran over to the stands and pointed at the crowd of 70,003, as if to say, "Take that Katrinal!" Undoubtedly, many more were cheering around this still-recovering city, some of them vowing to set up televisions outside government-issued trailers that pass for homes more than a year after the storm blew ashore.
Last season, New Orleans struggled to a 3-13 record as a team without a home.
Now, they're home.
BY MARY FOSTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Superdome reopened with festivities
NEW ORLEANS — As rock bands blasted and tailgate parties served up barbecue and brew, thousands of people poured into the streets Monday night for a Mardi Gras-like celebration of the Saints' first home game since Hurricane Katrina.
Crowds swamped the area around the Louisiana Superdome in a human sea, creating a huge traffic jam as they sought to forget about the storm for at least a few hours during the team's emotional return and the reopening of the stadium,
which underwent $185 million in repairs to erase the damage done during and after Katrina.
"This is exactly what the city needs," said Saints season ticket holder Clara Donate, 58, who lost her home and all her possessions to Katrina's floodwaters. "We all need something else to think about."
The Saints and the Atlanta Falcons were both undefeated at 2-0 early in the NFL season, and the game received Super Bowl buildup. The Goo Goo Dolls were to play to the crowd outside the dome. Green Day and U2 were scheduled to perform for the crowd of more than 68,000 inside.
Harold Johnson couldn't get into the Superdome, but he planned to sit with his neighbors outside his government-issue trailer and watch the game on television.
"I don't want to talk about Katrina. I don't want to talk about insurance. I don't want to talk about anything but kicking Falcon butt," Johnson said as he stocked up on beer at a grocery store for the cookout.
Even with its new cover, the Superdome remained a symbol of Katrina's misery. Tens of thousands of storm victims suffered there in withering heat after last summer's hurricane filled the city with floodwaters.
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