2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
FANTASY FOOTBALL
First week fails to forecast play at year's end
We're still recovering from the week-one action, but relaxation is for the teams who won't make the playoffs.
If you drafted Shaun Alexander, Cadillac Williams or LaMont Jordan in round one, don't panic.
Week-one results make poor indicators of what will transpire later in the year. Last year, Shaun Alexander opened the year with just 73 total yards and no touchdowns. He went on to rush for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Even though an out-of-control Robert Geathers harpooned Trent Green on Sunday, I can't recommend the addition of Damon Huard.
BY EVAN HENGEL
KANSAN COLUMNIST
EHENGEL@KANSAN.COM
Huard (12-20, 140 yards and a touchdown) actually looked halfway competent against the Bengals. He'll also reportedly get at least two starts for a solid offense, but as a die-hard Chiefs fan, I don't think it would feel right. It would feel like cheating on a girlfriend, or at least making out
with a buddy's girlfriend. Get well soon. Trent.
On to this week's adds:
1) Chad Pennington, quarterback, New York Jets. If you drafted Drew Bledsee, don't trample yourself into a moving ceiling fan just yet. Pennington is still available in many leagues. He went 24-33 for 319 yards with two touchdowns last week. It was against a soft Tennessee defense, but he goes against a just-as-soft New England pass defense (an injury-plagued 31st in the league last year) in week two. Let's just hope his surgically repaired shoulder, which is
being held together by chewing gum and a rubber band, stays intact.
2) St. Louis Defense. The Rams went out in the offseason and beefed up their defense with La'Roi Glover, Corey Chavous and Will Witherspoon. That trio combined for 14 tackles, a pick and a forced fumble in a victory against Denver. This week, the team is up against San Francisco. Congrats to Alex Smith, Frank Gore and the rest of the gang for actually putting up decent numbers in a loss to Arizona. Despite that, let's make the 49er offense prove to us one more time that they're for real. Something tells me picking up the St. Louis defense will get you double-digit points.
3) Marion Barber, running back,
Dallas Cowboys. Barber owners
have been dropping him like it's hot
for the past few days after watching
him get just three carries. His counterpart, Julius Jones, got 17. Like another former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Laurence Maroney, Barber is just waiting for his big break. Barber and Maroney are both more talented than the players they sit behind on the depth chart (Jones and Corey Dillon, respectively). Barber will get the goal-line carries now, and once coach Bill Parcells (whose man-boobs are now rivaling those of Peter Griffin) tires of the oft-injured Julius Jones, he will get the start later.
4) Jay Cutler, quarterback, Denver Broncos, Jake Plummer (who, now that he trimmed his mustache, will no longer be appearing in a porn theatre near you) mailed in his week one performance against the Rams, taking four sacks and throwing for just 138 yards with three interceptions. He doesn't seem to be responding well to being without former offensive coordinator Gary
Kubiak, who left to be coach for the Houston Texans.
Plummer, who was once seen shooting the bird to his hometown fans, has never been known as a fan favorite, and should be on a very short leash. Should Coach Mike Shanahan, who holds that leash, turn to Cutler, the rookie out of Vanderbilt should hold great value in the fantasy world down the road.
5) Damon Huard, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs. OK, fine, I couldn't help myself. I feel so dirty. I would have picked him up myself, but sports editor Michael Phillips, who I play this week, beat me to it. You're going down, Michael.
Edited by Shanxi Upsdell
Kansan sportswriter Evan Hengel dispenses fantasy football advice every Wednesday. He can be contacted at ehengel@kansan.com.
>> WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Dismissed quarterback playing for Waco Wranglers in Texas
BY BRYAN CISLER
Former Jayhawk quarterback Mario Kinsey is still playing sports, but the Texas native has traded in cleats for sneakers, pads for shorts and gridiron for hardwood.
As basketball season inches closer, Kinsey is practicing as a guard for the Waco Wranglers, an American Basketball Association expansion team in Waco, Texas.
"I feel we are going to have a pretty good team, good franchise, and I feel we have a chance to go far in the playoffs", Kinsey said.
While the Wranglers are hoping Kinsey can be one of their go-to players, Mario is looking at what this experience can do for him.
"I look at this as a stepping stone
to where I am trying to go, either overseas or a tryout with an NBA team, whichever one comes first," Kinsey said.
He said his career in basketball might not have happened if he had stayed at Kansas, instead of leaving after his freshman year.
"I think if I would have stayed, I would have had a shot at pro football," Kinsey said. "But basketball is my love, so I have no regrets."
He arrived at Kansas in Fall 2000 and was touted as the hotshot quarterback who was going to turn the program around.
"We thought he was going to be the next Mark Williams," said Dylan Smith, Kinsey's teammate and fellow quarterback, said.
Kinsey tried to play for the basketball team in the winter of 2000, but decided it was best to focus on his grades and football.
He finally got his chance to lead the football team in 2001, but battled former quarterback Zach Dyer to be the starter all year. The team finished only 3-8.
The low point of the season for Kinsey was when he and fellow teammate Reggie Duncan were arrested and suspended from the first game for stealing Miss Kansas USA's credit card and ordering pizza with it. Kinsey said that experience changed him, though.
"You learn from your mistakes and I felt that made me a better person as far as decision making and the crowd that you are with," he said.
The following spring marked a
new era in KU football, as new coach Mark Mangino and quarterback Bill Whitmore arrived on campus. It also meant the end of football for Mario Kinsey, who Mangino dismissed from the team for violating athletics department policies. He transferred to Sam Houston State and decided to end his football career and focus full time on basketball.
"I had the opportunity to choose between football and basketball, and I had already experienced trying to play both sports, but basketball was just what I had in my heart, and it is just what I loved to do," he said.
Being back in Texas not only meant playing his favorite sport again, but also being back with his family.
"It helped me a lot, just having
somebody to talk to, not just over the phone, but somebody I could have deep conversations with if something was bothering me," Kinsey said.
Kinsey is in a different state now, playing a different sport, and he doesn't harbor any bad feelings against Mangino.
"I think it has been the right decision for the program to bring him in to coach," he said.
For now, Kinsey is preparing for the Waco Wranglers first preseason game, which is less than a month away, and is just happy to be playing the game he loves.
Kansan sportswriter Bryan Cisler can be contacted at bcisler@kansan.com.
- Edited bv Mindv Ricketts
athletics calendar
TODAY
Volleyball at Nebraska, 7 p.m., Lincoln, Neb.
Williams
Player to watch: Freshman Brittany Williams has earned a starting spot on the Jayhawk squad as a middle blocker after Natalie Uhart suffered a season-ending injury. Williams currently ranks in the top five in blocks and kills in team standings, but she will be playing in her first Big 12 Conference game tonight against No. 1 Nebraska and will need to step up and help the rest of the team against a powerful Cornhusker squad.
FRIDAY
Soccer vs. Pepperdine,
5 p.m., Jayhawk Soccer
Complex
Football at Toledo, 7 p.m., Toledo, Ohio, ESPN2
SATURDAY
Volleyball vs. Texas, 7 p.m.
Horeisi Family Athletics
Center
SUNDAY
Soccer vs. UCF, 1 p.m., Jayhawk Soccer Complex
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