4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2007
BIG 12
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coach Gene Chikiz takes control of the Iowa State football team this year after running the defenses of undefeated Texas and Auburn teams earlier this decade. Chikiz's team lacks talent on both sides of the ball, and its offensive and defensive lines will rely on several junior college transfers.
Iowa State could struggle
New coach must navigate difficult conference schedule
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Dan McCarney produced an extensive list of achievements as coach at Iowa State. McCarney was the longest-tenured coach in the Big 12, spending 12 years with the Cyclones. He led Iowa State to its first bowl game and got Iowa State to as high as No.9 in the national polls.
OFFENSE
But for the first time since 1994, the Cyclones will have a new face on the sidelines. Defensive guru Gene Chizik takes control of the program with aspirations to mold it into a team similar to the undefeated Auburn and Texas teams he worked for as a defensive coordinator earlier this decade.
Senior quarterback Bret Meyer has been a consistent three-year starter for the Cyclones. Meyer is already Iowa State's career passing leader and has just fewer than 8,000 all-purpose yards since his freshman year in 2004.
Meyer has two proven targets to throw to. Senior Todd Blythe is 6-foot-5 and is known for being one of the Big 12's most physical receivers, with hands as trustworthy as super glue.
Junior R.J. Sumrall is the faster receiver and has football in his genes. Indianapolis Colts All-Pro wide receiver Reggie Wayne is Sumrall's cousin.
The running game may not be
2006 recap
Record: 4-8 Overall, 1-7 Big 12
Bowl Game: Not bowl eligible
Points Per Game: 18.8
Opponents' Points Per Game:
30.8
as reliable for the Cyclones. Junior Jason Scales has talent, but injuries have all but ruined his collegiate career thus far. Junior college phenom J.J. Bass is expected to in part because of Scales's injuries.
Bass isn't the only junior college transfer the Cyclones will depend on in 2007. Iowa State loses all but one starter from last year's offensive line. Junior college guard Lee Tibbs and tackle Doug Dedrick must contribute immediately in order for the line to be at its full strength.
DEFENSE
The offensive line's predicament is a lot like the situation on the defensive line. The Cyclones lose their top two defensive linemen but hope to minimize the damage with junior college transfers.
Junior Michael Tate and sophomore Christopher Lyle, who both played in junior college last year, will be a part of the rotation although they may not start.
Senior linebacker Alvin Bowen is an All-Big 12 performer. Bowen also is the leading returning tackler in the nation, with 12.9 per game last season.
Senior Ion Banks had 99 tackles last season and will start alongside Bowen. Senior strong safety Caleb Berg is a headhunter over the middle and is the leader of a questionable secondary.
The Cyclones hope quantity is better than quality with their defensive backs. Defensive coordinator Wayne Bolt said they would rely on a number of different players, and mostly all of the starting jobs were up for grabs in the secondary.
SEASON OUTLOOK
The Cyclones have an excellent chance to start the season 4-0 against their nonconference opponents. Their only tough nonconference game is against Iowa, but it is in Iowa State's home of Ames, Iowa, this season, giving Iowa State an advantage.
The Big 12 schedule should be much more difficult for the Cyclones. Texas and Oklahoma both travel to Ames in October. Iowa State also has to play at Missouri and Nebraska.
Chizik is one of the nation's upand-coming coaches. A lack of talented players in the trenches on both sides of the ball, however, makes it unlikely that he will be able to engineer more than an upset or two in his first season.
Edited by Matt Erickson
PREDICTION 5-7, not bowl eligible
PREDICTION
"I'm excited to have a player back in the program, not in a playing way, but as an ambassador for Kansas basketball," Self said in a statement. "As a player, Mike was an extremely hard worker on the court and in the classroom."
he could come back to coach if his playing career didn't pan out.
LEE (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Recruiting experts never picked Lee to be a major contributor for Kansas. He came to Kansas in 2001, best known as former Jayhawk Aaron Miles' high school teammate, and rarely played his freshman season. Then the hard work showed.
The next year he became the top three-point shooter on a team that made the national championship game. His final two years were a mix of starts, injuries, a coaching change, unlikely victories and a few disappointing losses. Lee's seen it all — and that, he said, gives him the necessary experience to teach the players.
advice for when guys get frustrated with not playing enough, or feel like they should be doing this, or not getting along with other players," Lee said. "If the guys can get that message, they'll be fine."
"I could just be that piece of
Lee's career may have been unpredictable, but he wasn't. He prided himself on staying consistent. That meant working harder than talented teammates and opponents, a habit Lee also wants to teach to the current lavhawks.
"I always felt I wasn't the most gifted player on the floor," he said, "not the most athletic, not going to score the most points, not going to play all the minutes. But I can show them the way to approach the game. I'm talking about going to class, being on time and working hard every day."
If the work ethic Lee had as a player carries over to his coaching career, his dream of being a head coach could come relatively soon. He said he always knew he'd be a coach someday.
This doesn't come as a surprise, because Lee has been around coaching all his life. His father coached, and he learned from two of college basketball's best in Self and former Kansas coach Roy Williams.
The only question for Lee is where he wants to coach. He's an assistant at the Division I level, but he said he's not sure whether he wants to end up there. The high school ranks sound more appealing to him right now, he said.
He's back home.
But all that can wait. For now, Lee is back in Lawrence and enjoying his time as a coach and graduate student. His frustration with the sport is gone.
"I love the game of basketball," Lee said in a release. "It just feels really good to be back. It fell in love with Kansas from day one, and I will be a part of Kansas until I die."
Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
PERKINS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
and away, and I think that's one of the biggest things that will keep us in the hunt in the Big 12 North."
One area where the Jayhawks must improve is winning on the road. The team has been stellar in Memorial Stadium during the past four years, posting a 19-7 record. Playing away from their home field has been a house of horrors, where the 'Hawks are 4-18 during that time.
"None of us are prepared to say right now that any coach has to do this, this and this to keep his job," Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said. "That isn't how we operate. Lew (Perkins) will evaluate coaches and their programs at the end of every year to see where they are, but we aren't going to say win this many games or do this or that before a season starts."
KU coach comparison
While Kansas has shown signs of taking the next step, it has been a while since the team experienced pronounced success. Both of the bowl games in the Mangino era were before Christmas. The Jayhawks haven't played in a post-Christmas bowl since 1981. They haven't won eight or more games in a season since 1995.
The Athletics Department is looking for that type of improvement this year.
Athletics Director Lew Perkins
Mark Mangino, five seasons,
25-35 all-time record
2002: 2-10 overall, 0-8 in conference, not bowl eligible
2003: 6-7 overall, 3-5 in conference, lost Tangerine Bowl
2004: 4-7 overall, 2-6 in conference, not bowl eligible
2005: 7-5 overall, 3-5 in conference, won Fort Worth Bowl
2006: 6-6 overall, 3-5 in conference, not selected to bowl game
Terry Allen, five seasons, 20-33 all-time record
1997: 5-6 overall, 3-5 in conference, not bowl eligible
1998: 4-7 overall, 1-7 in conference, not bowl eligible
1999: 5-7 overall, 3-5 in conference, not bowl eligible
2000: 4-7 overall, 2-6 in conference, not bowl eligible
*2001: 2-6 overall, 1-5 in conference, not bowl eligible
*Allen was fired before the final three games-of the 2001 season
was unavailable for comment, but told the Wichita Eagle during the summer, "Is the expectation that we win seven, eight, nine games? I would hope so. Mark has put us in a position to do that. I feel good about what Mark has done, but we have to step up and get it done. It's time. If we go flat on our face, no one is going to be happy about that. We are going to be supportive of him, and we'll wait until the end of the season to answer that question."
>> NFL
Marchiony pointed out that the program has been much more competitive against superior competition while under Mangino's direction that they were under Allen.
"Mark Mangino and his staff have pulled the KU program up from an extremely low point to a point where we are respected as a team and are in the discussion of teams that can make noise in the Big 12 conference," Marchiony said. "That is a huge jump from where we were pre-Mangino. Now the job is to take it to the next level."
— Edited by Tara Smith
DODD (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
If you are a Reesing guy, you think that Tom Brady is smoother than a bottle of conditioner. If you are a Meier guy, you think that Tom Brady couldn't hold Peyton Manning's yardage sticks.
If you are a Reesing guy, your favorite character on the HBO television show "Entourage" is Eric. If you are a Meier guy, you think Eric is becoming too power hungry, and that laid-back Vince
will always be the man.
Vick gives in to federal charges could spend up to five years in jail
If you are a Reesing guy,you think that gimmick columns put out put by hack, student journalists are about as funny as Michael Vick starring in "Air Bud 6." If you are a Meier guy, you also think that gimmick columns put out by hack, student journalists are about as funny as Michael Vick starring in "Air Bud 6."
If you are a Reesing guy, you think Todd Terrific is the second coming of the best KU quarterback of the last ten years, Bill Whittemore. If you are a Meier guy, you think Coach Mark Mangino is making the worst mistake involved with Kansas Athletics since the department did away with paper basketball tickets. Bring 'em back, Lew, Please.
BY LARRY O'DELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Vick's lawyer said Monday the NFL star will plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, putting the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's career in jeopardy and leaving him subject to a possible prison term.
Edited by Jeff Briscoe
"After consulting with his family over the weekend, Michael Vick asked that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him," lead defense attorney Billy Martin said in a statement.
The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal sentencing guidelines most likely would call for less. Vick's plea hearing is Aug. 27.
"Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has barred Vick from the Falcons' training camp but has withheld further action while the league conducts its own investigation.
Phillips, Peace and Tony Taylor, who pleaded guilty last month, also
Three of Vick's original co-defendants already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him if the case went to trial. Quanis Phillips of Atlanta and Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach signed statements that said the 27-year-old quarterback participated in executing at least eight underperforming dogs by various means, including drowning and hanging.
sald Vick provided virtually all of the gambling and operating, funds for his "Bad Newz Kennels" operation in rural Virginia, not far from Vick's hometown of Newport News.
"We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons," the league said in a statement. The NFL added that it has asked the Falcons "to continue to refrain from taking action pending a decision by the commissioner."
Vick is charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. He pleaded not guilty last month and vowed to clear his name at a November trial.
Martin's announcement came as a grand jury that could add new charges met in private. Prosecutors had said that a superseding indictment was in the works, but Vick's plea most likely means he will not face additional charges.
The case began April 25 when investigators conducting a drug search at a massive home Vick built in Surry County found 66 dogs, some of them injured, and items typically used in dogfighting. They included a "rape stand" that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a "breakstick" used to pry open a dog's mouth.
The gambling allegations alone could trigger a lifetime ban under the NFLs personal conduct policy.
Vick contended he knew nothing about a dogfighting operation at the home, where one of his cousins lived, and said he rarely visited. The former Virginia Tech star also blamed friends and family members for taking advantage of his generosity and pledged to be more scrupulous.
The July 17 indictment said dogs that lost fights or fared poorly in test fights were sometimes executed by hanging, electrocution or other brutal means. The grisly details fueled public protests against Vick and cost him some of his lucrative endorsement deals.
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