SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1994
Kansas volleyball nets first win
SECTION B
Jayhawk newcomers benefit from weekend scrimmage with alumni
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
A scrimmage with Kansas volleyball alumni isn't exactly a match against nationally-ranked Santa Clara or Northern Arizona.
But a scrimmage Saturday in Ottawa was a positive beginning for the Kansas volleyball team as it defeated a team of former Kansas players 10-15, 15-11, 15-11, 15-4.
"It was especially good for the freshmen," sophomore outside hitter Katie Walsh said. "It got them ready, and it got the jitters out. They played very well."
The Jayhawks will begin their season Sept. 2 at the Colorado State Tournament in Fort Collins, Colo.
In its first day of competition, Kansas will face Northern Arizona and Santa Clara — both top-20 teams.
"The scrimmage went very well," Kansas coach Karen Schonewise said. "I was pleased with the team. We started out slow, but we improved with each game."
Schonewise said she was happy with certain aspects of the game, but that she was somewhat concerned with simple mistakes.
"There were a lot of errors early in the match," she said. "But that happens when you're adjusting, and you have serves coming over at that caliber."
Schonewise said she was especially pleased with the strong play of the freshmen and the cohesion of the team, despite the loss of three players.
"We served very well, and we had a lot of aces in the match." Schonewise said. "Serving was a bright spot."
unable to compete due to an error in her certification for NCAA eligibility. Kansas sports information officials said Lindgren's high school in Brighton, Colo., had neglected to list her graduation date on her eligibility form.
Freshman outside hitter Kendra Kahler was not able to play because of a strained calf muscle, and senior outside hitter Janet Uher is still recovering from shoulder surgery last spring.
A third player, freshman setter Trisha Lindgren, was
"Our starting setter couldn't play due to NCAA certification problems, but Tiffany Sennett did a good job in her place." Schonewise said. "She got a lot of playing time and gained some experience."
This season the Jayhawk starting lineup will include three freshmen. That alone was reason for a scrimmage, junior outside hitter Lara Izokatis said.
This week in practice, Schonewise said the team will concentrate on sharpening its transition game as well as its blocking strategy.
The transition game is the quick, effective movement of the team, mentally and physically, from offense to defense.
"There's always that first time of being out on the court," Izokaias said. "I think we played well, but during your first game, it always takes some time getting used to playing with each other. It was a good experience."
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Kansas volleyball coach Karen Schonewise talks at a news conference at the Parrot Athletic Center. The team will start three freshmen in its first match of the season Sept. 2.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Kansas football coach Glen Mason discussed the upcoming season and his top players with members of the press at the Parrot Athletic Center yesterday afternoon. The Jayhawks' season starts at 7 p.m. Thursday against the Houston Cougars at Houston's Astrodome.
Big Eight football ready: Future is not
Conference's Big 12 playoff still in doubt
By Matt Irwin Kansan sportswriter
The Big 12 is still more than two years from existence, but already questions have arisen about a conference-championship game.
Kansas coach Glen Mason said he had not been consulted about the matter, but that he believed a championship game would be logical.
"If you have two divisions, and you don't have a playoff, then why the hell do you have a conference?" Mason said.
The Jayhawks are preparing to play their first game of the season at Houston on Thursday, Sept. 1. Houston went 1-9-1 in Kim Helton's first season as head coach in 1993.
The two divisions most likely would be divided, with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State joining the Texas schools and the remaining former Big Eight schools in the other division.
"They don't look like we did when we were 1-9.1." Mason said.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne also will be taking his school to Texas to play a Southwest Conference team. On Sept. 8, the Cornhuskers will play at Texas Tech, a future Big 12 school.
Coming off a 31-0 trouncing of 23rd-ranked West Virginia, Osborne thought his team played well but was wary of judging its performance.
1993 Big Eight final standings
Conference W L T Overall W L T
Nebraska 7 0 0 11 1 0
Colorado 5 1 1 8 3 1
Kansas St. 4 2 1 9 2 1
Oklahoma 4 3 0 9 3 0
Kansas 3 4 0 5 7 0
Missouri 2 5 0 3 7 1
Iowa St. 2 5 0 3 8 0
Oklahoma St. 0 7 0 3 8 0
Source: Street and Smith's Dave Campbell / KANSAN
At Missouri, the Big Eight Conference welcomes its first new coach since 1989. Former Southern California coach Larry Smith is hoping to change the attitude of his team. After being absent from the game for a year, Smith expressed excitement about coaching.
"Overall, I was very pleased," Osborne said. "I don't know if we beat a really good team or not."
At Colorado, Bill McCartney is impressed with how his team is coming along. He said that the Buffalooes' offense was sharper than he had ever seen it in the preseason. McCartney said he was confident about his defense this season.
Oklahoma opens the season at the Carrier Dome against Syracuse. Syracuse will be working with a new quarterback, after highly touted Syracuse quarterback Marvin Graves graduated.
"I think I was eager for it about a year ago right now," Smith said.
Wingback added to Jayhawks' running attack
By Matt Irwin Kansan sportswriter
A player who makes plays that break a game wide open is not what Kansas football coach Glen Mason needs. He said Kansas doesn't have a player like that on its roster.
The use of a wingback, a new position added to the Kansas offense this season, is similar to that of a running back but frequently used in passing situations.
In fact, the team had so many good running backs that senior George White was moved to the wingback position.
What his team does have, Mason said, was consistently good players
— especially at the running back position.
"It's not that different from tailback," White said. "We used to send the tailback out there, so I'm pretty familiar with it.
"It's a terrific position. It gives me the opportunity to showcase my abilities. I'm happy that the coaches think that well of me to put me out there."
White will see more action than he would have if he were still competing with the Jayhawks' top three running backs, sophomore June Henley, sophomore Mark Sanders and junior L.T. Levine.
"You can't get much better tailbacks than that," White said. "Those guys have the ability to play anywhere. They all happened to come
here. Those are the best three guys and they're going to get the job done, so I'm all for it."
The Jayhawks' running game last season was led by June HENLEY's Big Eight freshman rushing record of 1,127 yards. Levine was second on the team with 542 yards and started six games. Sanders' had a strong spring, making Mason's job difficult only in choosing who to start.
"Maybe I'll start all three," Mason said jokingly about his top running backs. "I guess we'll start Henley. I guarantee all three will play. We'll just go with the hot hand."
Mason said he had lost no confidence in White.
"If we had the ball in George White's hands every play, I'd be happy," Mason said.
Ironically, White has been moved to the wingback position after leading the team in rushing in his last full game as a Jayhawk. White rushed for 74 yards on 15 carries and ran back the opening kickoff 48 yards against Florida State in last season's Kickoff Classic. White's injury in the first quarter of Kansas' second game of the season caused him to miss the season's remaining games.
The only question the Jayhawks have about their running game is the depth of their offensive line. Although the quality of the starters in the offensive line is high, any injuries could lead to trouble. The line is so diminished that Mason asked former Jayhawk tackle Derek Brown to come back to the team, an offer Brown accepted. Brown is now a law student with a year of eligibility.
White received a medical redshirt and will be able to finish his senior season, perhaps collecting more receptions than rushes.
Conspiracy to destroy drug test did not exist Olympic official says
The Associated Press
PARIS — The Olympics' medical chief confirmed yesterday that several positive drug tests were destroyed at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, but denied any conspiracy or cover-up.
Prince Alexandre de Merode, chairman of the IOC medical commission, called the case an accident and blamed it on the haste of L.A. organizers to close down as soon as the Games ended.
“This was a small incident,” de Merode said in an interview at the International Olympic Committee's Centennial Congress in Paris. "It's not a scandal."
The program said the tests were never acted upon because all material related to the cases were taken from de Merode's offices at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles and destroyed in a shredder.
A BBC television program, quoting two anti-drug officials, reported last week that nine athletes failed drug tests during the last two days of the Games.
The BBC report suggested that orders had come from a top official to shut down the drug-testing laboratory before the end of the Games and to cover up the nine positives.
De Merode said he knew of five, or possibly six, positive tests but denied there were nine.
He said he doesn't know who the athletes were because all the test codes were destroyed before he could look at them.
Merole said he was told of the positive tests the evening after the
final day of the Games. But when he went to his Biltmore headquarters, he found that everything had disappeared and the offices had been converted back into a hotel suite.
De Merode said he considered the episode an honest mistake.
The next morning, de Merode went to the organizing committee headquarters to find out what happened. He said he was first told by a committee official, Tony Daly, that the drug test documents were being flown to IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
"I must tell the truth," de Merode quoted him as saying. "Everything was destroyed in the paper shredder. We are sorry, but we can't produce anything from your documents."
"I don't believe it was intentional because it's certainly not in their interest," he said. "The U.S. mentality was the Games were finished. They didn't want to pay. They were a private organization. The U.S. attitude is not the same as the European one. They have their efficiency. Everything is done very quickly. They like to save money."
De Merole said the hotel explained that all Olympic offices were closed as soon as the Games ended because the privately-funded organizing committee was not paying for rooms beyond the closing date.
A main source for the BBC report was Arnold Beckett, a former member of de Merode's commission. Beckett was dropped from the panel after the 1992 Barcelona Games because of disagreements over several drug cases.
Lemieux's career halted; fatigue keeps him off ice
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Mario Lemieux made it official yesterday, saying that fatigue will sideline him for the entire 1994-95 season and that there is no chance he will try to play even in the playoffs.
However, Lemieux still is bothered by fatigue — apparently the after-effects from radiation treatment for the cancer and the cortisone shots he received last year for his back pain. He has had two back operations in the past four years.
Lemieux confirmed what was first reported a month ago — that fatigue from two medical problems will force him to sit out the entire hockey season.
Doctors told him he has no recurrence of the Hodgkin's disease that was diagnosed in January 1933 or of the anemia he developed last season.
"Right now, my health is a lot more important than hockey." Lemieux said. "I'm going to miss going to the rink every day. I'm going to miss being around the guys, because we have a good club here."
His physicians tell Lemieux he has a good chance of returning eventually, but he said he would make a decision about the 1995-96 season a year from now, after a year mostly spent resting.
In the past month, Lemieux has undergone medical tests that determined his only problem is the persistent fatigue. Doctors said only rest will cure that, and that fatigue is common for up to two years after receiving radiation treatment.
He said he will return only if he can "play like Mario Lemieux can play," and that he would never return as a part-time player or as one who has been stripped of many of his skills.
"If I feel I'm not able to go out on the ice at close to 100 percent, another decision will have to be made," Lemieux said.
Neither Lemieux's agent, Tom Reich, or Penguins' chairman Howard Baldwin would disclose the terms of Lemieux's contract for this season. However, Lemieux will receive his full salary under a $42 million contract he signed two years ago with the Penguins. The money apparently will come from the Penguins' insurer.
Baldwin also said any season-ticket holders who want their money back because Lemieux won't play will get a full refund.
"But I can't see many of them wanting to jump off the bandwagon," Baldwin said.
Lemeut, who initially signed with the Penguins 10 years ago, is a fourtime NHL scoring champion and two-time league MVP who led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cups in 1991 and '92. However, with him at less than 100 percent strength the past two years, the Penguins have exited early in the playoffs.