SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 29,1994
GERRY FEY
Little League still contains love for game
SECTION B
The love affair starts with a kid's glove.
For me, it started at the age of seven when my dad came home from work with a brand new Rawlings in his hand. He asked if I wanted to play YMCA baseball, and that was the clincher.
With this season's major league strike and professional baseball's current state, I have a bad taste in my mouth as many other fans probably do.
I've loved baseball ever since
Millions in the United States and the world have the same obsession, and I would imagine it started somewhat the same way.
My friends wonder how I can be fanatical about a sport that may seem outdated and slow. To them, I say if they were in my shoes they might have a different opinion.
The contest got back to the game's very essence — six innings filled with great plays and players that simply enjoy hitting and fielding a baseball.
After you take that first glove, work it with oil to loosen the leather, and use it in your first-ever game, you will be a fan.
It's like any sport. If you've played it before, there is a better understanding of the game's intricacies.
But Saturday, I received a shot in the arm that strengthened me more than any cortisone shot could have. I watched the Little League World Series' final game. Venezuela defeated the California team representing the United States 4-3.
It was disappointing because the U.S. team lost, but once again it was an exciting game.
Now with the strike, I'm convinced those 11- and 12-year-olds play to have fun more than major leaguers do.
I know I did at that age.
At the age of 11, I almost had the chance to play in that very tournament in Williamsport. Pa. I'dn't play for money, I just played as if the games were on the local sandlot field.
That year, the regional tournament was in the small town of Baxter Springs in the southeast corner of Kansas.
There was an aura around the field, and everyone felt it when they touched the infield's red clay. The town felt it too. Volunteers mowed the infield grass every day and the outfield every other day.
Eight teams from the Midwest competed to advance on the road to Williamsport.
Our team from Hillside Little League in Omaha represented Nebraska, and we were in prefect position to advance.
But in the tournament's final game a team from Minneapolis, Minn., beat us 5-0. To this day, I think it was because the Minnesota pitcher threw a curve ball — the first time any of us had seen that pitch.
Later that summer, USA Today listed the American teams at Williamsport, and Minnetonka was one of them.
I still stay in touch with players from our team, and we will always have that bond. This winter will be our 10-year reunion party. That's how much the experience meant to us.
I'm sure that's when their love affair started, and I hope that their obsession is still strong.
Or maybe they should remember when they got their first glove.
But major league players get bonuses for playing in the World Series. Little leaguers don't have contracts, but they can meet the president if they are champions, just like the professional players they try to emulate.
The Minnesota team didn't get money to play in the World Series. No teams do.
I will never forget that summer in 1985. As the strike continues, and Major League players are at home fishing or watching television, maybe they should have tuned into last Saturday's final game.
Kickoff is a classic for Nebraska football
The Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Nebraska, which ended last season with a heartbreak loss in the Orange Bowl, started this season with an impressive victory in the Kickoff Classic.
Fomnie Frazier ran for three touchdowns and passed for one, and Lawrence Phillips rushed for 126 yards as the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers routed No. 24 West Virginia 31-0 yesterday in the opening game of college football's 12th season.
Both teams went 11-0 last year before losing their bowl games.
West Virginia didn't cross midfield until it recovered a fumble early in the fourth quarter and was shut out for the first time since a 19-0 loss to Penn State in 1986.
The way the Cornhuskers played yesterday, they appear capable of reaching another championship game this season.
Nebraska missed a last second field goal and fell to Florida State 18-16 in a national title showdown in the Orange Bowl. West Virginia was clobbered by Florida 41-7 in the Sugar Bowl.
For the game, the Cornhuskers outgained the Mountaineers 468-89, including 368-8 on the ground.
Nebraska gained 285 yards and 17 first downs in the first half while holding West Virginia to 4 yards and two first downs.
0 on Tom Sieler's 32-yard field goal in the opening period.
Frazier scored on runs of 25 and 27 yards and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Baul to give Nebraska a 24-0 halftime lead. He added a 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Frazier, a junior who has directed Nebraska's option attack since midway through his freshman season, helped the Cornhuskers take command in the second quarter after going ahead 3-1.
Frazier, the game's most valuable player, ran 12 times for 130 yards and was 8-of-16 for 100 yards. Phillips, a sophomore making his first college start, carried 24 times and more than filled the gap left by the departure of star tailback Calvin Jones.
move the team against a nebraska defense that had eight sacks.
West Virginia, which averaged 34 points last season, could do nothing against Nebraska's quick, aggressive defense. Sophomores Chad Johnston and Eric Boykin alternated at quarterback for the Mountaineers, but neither could
West Virginia's Robert Walker, who gained a school-record 1,250 yards last season, was held to 46 yards on 12 carries.
The only bright spot for West Virginia was All-Big East punter Todd Sauerbrun, who averaged 60 yards on nine kicks, including a school-record 90-yarder in the first quarter.
The victory improved Nebraska's Kickoff record to 3-0. The Cornhuskers beat Penn State 44-6 in the inaugural game in 1983 and downed Texas A&M 23-14 in 1988. It was West Virginia's A&M appearance in the game.
It was the second shutout in Kickoff Classic history. Florida State blanked Kansas 42-0 last year.
Former coach recalls 'big shoes'
Dick Harp, who coached the Kansas men's basketball team from 1956 to 1964, spoke at the James Naismith Dedication ceremony at Lawrence Memorial Cemetery Saturday afternoon.
Basketball protege replaced the 'Phog'
By Chesley Dohl Kansan sportswriter
Dick Harp had big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of legendary Kansas basketball coaches James Naismith and F.C. "Phog" Allen.
Harp said he realized that when he first stepped into the coaching position.
"One thing about Naismith was that he genuinely cared for young people — they were a very significant part of his life," said Harp, former Kansas men's basketball coach from 1956 to 1964. "I, too, have enjoyed working with young people all my life. There's nothing I would rather do. I wouldn't change a thing."
Born in Kansas City, Kan., in 1918, it wasn't long before Harp was walking, running and tackling neighborhood kids in sandlot football.
"Times were different then, and kids had to be more inventive," said Harp, who attended the James Naismith Dedication Ceremony on Saturday. "I was fortunate to have an area to play tackle football. I started in grass and gravel, and I thought if I survived that, I might as well keep it up."
Harp said he followed Kansas athletics even before he competed in junior high and high school sports.
After a successful high school career, Harp received letters from Coach Phog Allen asking him to tryout for the Kansas basketball team. He did, and be made the team.
He did, and he made the team.
Harp played under Allen for four years, lettering in three of them. He started at guard and was co-captain of the 1939-40 Kansas team that lost to Indiana in the NCAA final.
During those years, Harp took an interest in the coaching philosophy of the legendary basketball coach.
"He could be very aggressive about coaching, but he never was a big yeller on the court," Harp said. "He was always more of a teacher of the sport."
After his senior year at Kansas, Harp went on to law school at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, Mo. Shortly after, Allen recommended Harp for a coaching position at William Jewell College in Liberty. Mo.
Harp said he enjoyed coaching at the college but, at the request of Allen, returned to Kansas in June 1948 to assist in coaching.
John Gosset, operations manager for the Dr. James Naismith Basketball Foundation in Almonte, Ontario, birthplace of Naismith, said he had spent much of his life studying the life of Naismith. He said Harp was similar to Naismith.
"Dick Harp, to me, would represent a model of Naismith," Gosset said. "He is a great reflection of the Naismith way."
In 1956, his first year, Harp coached one of the Kansas basketball's all-time greats, Wilt Chamberlain.
Harp said the transition of playing, studying and then coaching the game under Allen was not particularly difficult.
"Wilt was the prototype player everyone wanted to have," he said. "Wilt was a complete athlete — he was a 7-foot young man who could run, jump and shoot the ball."
Harp coached Kansas to the NCAA finals in 1957 when Kansas suffered a heart-breaking loss to North Carolina in the championship game.
Harp is one of only five people in the nation to have both played and coached in the NCAA Finals.
"As a player, it was a privilege to play in a championship," Harp said. "And then it was the right circumstances that brought me to coach in the NCAA finals. It was surely an honor."
Harp retired in 1964, to serve as the vice president of the National Fellowship of Christian Athletes, based in Kansas City, Mo.
"For 19 years I had the opportunity to serve and be involved with young people," he said. "I witnessed people adding a new dimension to their lives — a spiritual side."
After retiring, Harp assisted Dean Smith in North Carolina from 1986-1989.
"Dean left an opportunity for me to come down," he said. "It was a nice experience. It was sort of a serendipity in an old man's years."
During the basketball season, Harp often is seen at Kansas basketball practices sitting in the bleachers of Allen Field House, analyzing the workouts and watching the players.
"Sports have been a part of my life from the time I could play street ball," he said. "I've been fortunate to find opportunities to continue being a part of athletics all my life."
--in the 26 years since the beginning of the open era, six women have won 21 titles, led by Evert's six and Navratilova's four. Graf, Billie Jean King and Margaret Smith Court each won three times, Seles and Tracy Austin captured two crowns, while Virginia Wade, Hana Mandlikova and Gabriela Sabatini each wrote their name into the record books once.
Notebook: Houston Cougars
The Houston Cougars' future success may lie in the youth of the team. Coming off a 1-9-1 season, the Houston football team has lost 24 lettermen, including 14 starters.
OFFENSE! The bright spot for the Cougars is that coach Kim Helton is only in his second year after converting the offense from the run-and-shoot used in his first season. Houston had no tight ends and only three running backs when Helton installed his two-back offense.
Helton, who spent 11 years as an NFL offensive line coach, has two tackles who could be the best in the Southwest Conference. Senior right tackle Billy Milner started all 11 games last season after finishing two years at Southwest Mississippi Community College, earning All-American honors. Junior left tackle Jimmy Hermdon started 21 straight games during his first two seasons before missing last year's season finale with an ankle injury.
Houston also returns senior wide receiver Ron Peters, who was recruited during the run-and shoot days. In 1992, Peters led the top 50 receivers in the nation in vards a catch with a 26.2 average.
DEFENSE: Houston's defense most likely will be led by their secondary by default. The Cougars will probably start four new defensive linemen and three new linebackers. The secondary is led by junior strong safety Gerome Williams, who started all 11 games in 1993 and had 86 tackles.
The Cougars also return sophomore quarterback Chuck Clements. Battling Clements for the starting job is the coach's son, senior Clay Helton. After transferring from Auburn, Clay played in eight games in 1993.
Compiled by Kansan sportswriter Matt Irwin
Yumi Chikamori / KANSAN
Kansas senior defensive tackle Darnell Britt and junior defensive tackle Troy Harper work through tackling drills at the football practice field yesterday. The Jayhawks will open their season at 7 p.m. Thursday against Houston at Houston's Astrodome.
Kansas women's pair to play in U.S. Open
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Forget the domination of Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf in women's tennis.
"Anyone can win the U.S. Open," Arantxa Sanchez Vicario said.
Of the 10 previous open era winners, only two—Graf and Satiniht
— are in this year's 128-user field, Graf, the No. 1-ranked woman in the world, is top-seeded and one of the favorites.
Still, Graf isn't the overwhelming choice she has been in the past. This year, she's only won one Grand Slam tournament title, the Australian Open. Sanchez Vicario won her second French Open title and her fellow Spaniard, Conchita Martinez, took Wimbledon by
beating Navratilova in the final.
Senior Nora Koves and Rebecca Jensen, who is planning to play professionally, earned their spot by winning the NCAA Division I Women's Doubles Championship last spring.
One former University of Kansas tennis player and a returning Kansas senior player received wild-card berths in U.S. Open tournament doubles play.
Kansas tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher was optimistic about their chances as doubles partners at the open.
Today Koves and Jensen will be paired with their opponents and may have a chance to play on Center Court. They could be on national television if they draw a highly-seeded team, Merzbacher said.
Kensan sportswriter Jenni Carlson contributed information to this story.
"This is a first for both," Merzbacher said in reference to the pair not having played in a Grand Slam tournament.
"I think physically they're as strong as the professional players, but they lack experience." he said.
"It's an honor for them just to be there — they're tickled pink," he said.