THE UNIVERSITY & DARY KANSAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2006
SPORTS
11A
TICKETS (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
One reason for the increase is that students are now getting more games for their bucks. With the NCAA now allowing teams to play 12 regular season football games instead of 11, KU will add an extra home game next year (2007) and play eight home games instead of seven. Kansas plays 19 games at Allen Fieldhouse this season, as opposed to 18 contests last year.
If a student does not want to buy a sports package, tickets for all football and basketball games are sold individually for $10. However, with a sports package, it costs students less than $5 dollars per game.
For students that still want to purchase a sports package, they are available at the ticket office at Allen Fieldhouse until the first football game on Sept. 2. Sports packages are no longer available through Enroll & Pay.
Kansan staff writer C.J. Moore can be contacted at cjmore@kansan. com.
-Edited by Elyse Weidner
KANSAS STATE
(CONTINUED FROM 12A)
While these losses have turned some position battles into foregone conclusions, they will no doubt test the depth of this year's offense.
At quarterback, what was once a four-player race is now a coinflip decision. Senior Dylan Meier missed all of 2005 because of injury, but has six college starts to his name. For his career, Meier has completed 132 of 228 passes and has nine touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Prince's other option for quarterback is freshman John Freeman, who's been enrolled at Kansas State since January. Although Freeman has yet to take a collegiate snap, his high school accolades precede him.
Freeman passed for more than 7,000 yards in high school, was ranked the top player in the state of Missouri by Rivals.com, was a four-star recruit according to Rivals, and rated the fourth best pro-style quarterback in the nation by Rivals.
Meier's experience will probably earn him the spot, but Freeman could get the nod if Prince decides to look to the future and test him.
The Wildcats should be deep at running back with the top two spots already set. Senior Thomas Clayton rushed for 637 yards and four touchdowns in 2005 as Kansas
Right behind him is sophomore Parrish Fisher, who rushed for only 289 yards in 2005, but averaged six yards per carry.
Regardless of whom Prince puts under center, they will have some reliable receivers to throw to.
State's main back, and he will probably reclaim that title in 2006.
Junior Jordy Nelson was Kansas State's leading receiver last year with 45 catches for 669 yards and eight touchdowns. If defenses key on him, seniors Jermine Moreira and Yamon Figurs should get open. The two combined for 49 catches, 728 yards and a touchdown apiece. Junior tight end Rashaad Norwood will also see some passes in his direction after catching 13 balls for 160 yards and a touchdown last year.
On the offensive line, the Wildcats return senior Greg Wafford, junior John Hafferty, and sophomores Jordan Bedore and Caleb Handy, who have 38 career starts among them. A handful of players will compete for the fifth spot on the line, but could also find themselves stealing one of the previously mentioned players' spots.
Seniors Blake Seiler and Quintin Echols and sophomore Alphonso Moran return to the Wildcats' defensive line after combining for 100 tackles in 2005. Sophomore Ian Campbell and freshman Eric Childs should see a majority of the
action at the end positions
Kansas State's leading tackler from 2005, senior Brandon Archer, returns along with senior Maurice Mack to fill the outside linebacker spots. Senior Zach Diles should emerge as the team's top middle linebacker.
Continuing the trend on defense, Kansas State will also have a veteran secondary. Junior free safety Marcus Watts led the secondary with 71 tackles last year and will be joined by junior cornerbacks Bryan Baldwin and Byron Garvin. Senior Kyle Williams is the front-runner to take the strong safety spot with three career starts.
Despite all the changes Kansas State has undergone, there won't be many new faces starting on Saturdays. How well the players adapt to the new staff's philosophies will dictate whether that is a good thing or not for Kansas State fans.
"We believe the tougher the team, the better the team," Prince said. "So I think that's really what we've tried to do is create a fast team that has an opportunity to compete and run with these other teams."
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
— Edited by Brett Bolton
》 LITTLE LEAGUE
World Series spot transforms preteens into stars
BY ALAN SCHER ZAGIER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Move over, Missouri Tigers. Take a seat, St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. The Daniel Boone Little League National All Stars are the talk of the town these days.
Fans in this college sports hotbed don't usually obsess over preteens in braces who play on a shrunken baseball diamond with modified rules. Yet once the team clinched a spot in
the Little League World Series, which begins Friday in Williamsport, Pa., players like fireballing pitcher Ryan Phillips practically became household names.
In just three days, locals contributed nearly $30,000 toward travel costs for the team's parents. The city's only mall will broadcast the team's first three games this weekend on a big-screen television.
The Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper, with a weekday circulation near 20,000, is sending a staff
reporter to Pennsylvania to chronicle the team's performance. Even the types whose knowledge of sports usually begins and ends with larger-than-life figures like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan are getting swept away.
"People who could care less about sports are talking about it," said Kyle Elfrink, a local sports radio talk show host.
The Daniel Boone squad advanced to the World Series by winning the Midwest regional Saturday night in
indianaapolis, 2-0 over Bloomfield, Iowa.
Then comes games against Portsmouth, N.H., at 7 p.m. Saturday and Beaverton, Ore., at 7 p.m. Monday. Each of the games will be shown live on ESPN or ESPN2.
The top two American teams in each 4-team pool advance to the semifinals next week, with the eventual winner of the U.S. bracket facing the winner of an eight-team international division.
athletics calendar
Soccer exhibition at Drake, 6 p.m., Des Moines, Iowa
TODAY
SATURDAY
Player to watch: Jana Correa, MA
Women's Volleyball vs. KU alumni, 7 p.m., Horesei Family Athletics Center
caps brazil senior led the 2005 team in kills and points. This will be her fourth season starting for the Jayhawks.
sports briefs
VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL Transfer student receives junior status for season
At 8 a.m. last Monday, volleyball coach Ray Bechard gave Natalie Uhart great news. She was granted junior eligibility after transferring to Kansas from Long Beach State.
"Coach Bechard came into the gym and said, 'it's a great day to be a Jayhawk;' Uhart said. "I was just being sarcastic like, 'Yeah, woo.' Then he told me I was a junior, and I started jumping up and down. I was so happy."
Drew Davison
Uhart, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Lansing, is expected to replace Josi Lima. Uhart, named the Big 12 preseason Newcoater of the Year, was granted a medical hardship waiver by the Big West Conference for the 2005 season after appearing in only five games at Long Beach State.
INTRAMURALS Flag football sign-up sooner than last year
Teams can sign up from 8 a.m. today until 8 p.m. on Monday. Registration can be done online at www.recreation.ku.edu.
Recreational services has pushed sign-up for the flag football league up a few days from last year.
There will be a $20 entry fee for participants, to be paid on either Monday or Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m.
Teams need to be aware that if they fail to pay in the allotted times they will lose their spot to teams on the waiting list.
There will be a managers' meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Team managers must be present at the meeting or the team will have to forfeit and pay a $10 forfeit fee before it will be allowed to play its first game.
Flag football will kick-off on Sunday, Aug.27.
-Stephen Bergman
BASKETBALL Hinrich named to basketball national team
Former Jayhawk basketball player Kirk Hinitch was named to the USA basketball national team Wednesday. The team will compete in the FIBA World Championships in Japan, which begin Sunday.
The team, led by Duke coach Mike Kryzewski, will likely compete for the United States at the 2008 Olympics.
Hinrich was considered a favorite for the spot when Gilbert Arenas had to drop out after injuring his groin earlier in the week.The average age of the team is 24 1/2 years old.
-THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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