KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011 / SPORTS / 11A
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"If you are afraid of failure you don't deserve to be successful."
— Charles Barklev
FACT OF THE DAY
Ty Lawson is the first player in NBA history to make each of his first 10 3-point attempts to start a game.
Q: Which former Jayhawk recorded his first triple-double in the NBA over the weekend?
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
A: Drew Gooden of the Milwaukee Bucks. He had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
— espn.com
Rivals' losses equal fans' gains
MORNING BREW
When I was younger, one of my favorite parts of sporting events was the obligatory food giveaways. There are few things more exciting for a young boy than the possibility of a dozen free donuts if the Royals rack up 12 hits or a free pizza from a pretty cheerleader who deems you worthy of such a gift.
It's a time-honored tradition in sports to bribe fans for their affection and loyalty through giveaways, the best of which are food. Sporting Kansas City has taken this strategy to an entirely new level.
The recently re-branded soccer team added to a slew of brilliant public relations maneuvers this season by starting a promotion where fans can get a free sandwich from a local restaurant whenever the Chicago Fire lose.
That's right, when Chicago loses, Kansas City fans get a free sandwich. Not only that, but for every goal the Fire give up over the course of the season, Sporting KC is donating $500 to its charity sponsor, LIVESSTRONG. It's the first promotional campaign that I've ever seen that's based solely on the misfortune of a rival team. And it's beautiful.
BY JOEL PETTERSON jpetterson@kansan.com
Part of the joy of being a die-hard supporter of any sports team is expressing completely irrational hatred toward an archrival. Sure, every once in a while
there's a historical reason to hate another group of athletes, like the whole Kansas-Missouri "you burned our town down that one time 150 years ago, so we're going to get our revenge by playing that sport we invented" thing. But usually it just comes down to "you play in that city and we play in this city so we hate everything that you love and that's just the way it is."
So why not cash in on that arbitrary rivalry with a delicious arbitrary prize? While it's surprising that this sort of rivalry-based promotion hasn't caught on before, it could very well be Sporting KC's greatest contribution to sports. Imagine if Lawrence joined in this tradition. Instead of Kansas fans merely sitting at home and gloating about every Missouri or Kansas State loss, each loss could turn into a minor holiday downtown with free food and drink and even shopping deals. Why not?
Some might say this would be forcing already established rivalries too far. But those people clearly don't value free stuff. Plus, imagine the psychological effects it could have on visiting teams. In addition to slogans like "Beware of the Phog" and "Rock Chalk Jayhawk," we could add "Every time you lose it's like a mini Black Friday up in here!" Itd certainly add insult to injury knowing that every time you added another 'L' to your record, your rival's hometown was getting a small boost to its economy at the same time.
So while the Border Showdown might be fun now - take note, Lawrence businessmen and women - how much more fun would it be with a city full of Border Markdowns?
Edited by Marla Daniels
Tampa Bay Rays end slump by defeating Boston Red Sox
MLB
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — Sam Fuld went 4 for 6 with a two-run homer, drove in three runs and fell a single shy of the cycle to help the Tampa Bay Rays bust out of an early season slump with a 16-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.
Johnny Damon had three hits, including a solo homer, and three RBIs, and John Jaso and Reid Brignac also drove in three runs apiece for the Rays.
Tampa Bay came in hitting a
major-league worst .163 and had scored just 20 total runs, the fewest after nine games since the 2003 Detroit Tigers — a team that finished 43-119.
Boston's loss came in Carl Crawford's first game against his former team. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a solo homer for the Red Sox.
Crawford, who spent 12 years in the Rays' organization before leaving to sign a $142-million, 7-year contract with the Red Sox in December, went 2 for 5, raising his average to .163.
two runs, five hits, walked five and struck out one in 5 1-3 innings to earn the win.
Jeremy Hellickson (1-1) gave up
Matsuzaka lasted just two-pitus innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits.
Fuld doubled into the left-field corner in his last at-bat in the ninth.
The Rays, who led for just two innings all season, jumped ahead 1-0 on Damon's homer in the first and never trailed.
ing the 2005 season. Before the noise subsided, he belted Daisuke Matsuzaka's first pitch into the Rays' bullpen for his second homer.
It got a lot worse for Matsuzaka (0-2) in the second and the boos were much louder for him. Tampa Bay sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six runs on three consecutive two-run hits after the right-hander loaded the bases with no outs. Jaso made it 3-0 with a two-run double, and Brignac drove in a pair with a single before Fuld hooked his two-run shot around the Peksy Pole in right.
Damon, a key contributor to Boston's 2004 World Series title team that ended an 86-year championship drought, was greeted with the usual boos he's received since signing with the Yankees follow-
Ortiz became the only AL player with at least one triple in each of the last 12 seasons.
The Rays added a run on Damon's RBI single in the fourth before David Ortiz tripled and scored on J.D. Drew's single in the bottom half.
Adrian Gonzalez's RBI triple cut it to 6-1 in the third.
Ben Zobrist's two-run double chased reliever Tim Wakefield and made it 12-2 in the sixth.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Women's Golf
Baylor Spring Invita-
tional
All Day
Waco, Texas
Baseball
vs. Iowa
6:05 p.m.
lowa City, lowa
WEDNESDAY
Softball
vs. Texas Tech
3 p.m.
Lubbock, Texas
vs. Texas Tech
5 p.m.
Lubbock, Texas
THURSDAY
There are no events
scheduled for this day.
FRIDAY
Track
Sooner Invitational
All Day
Norman, Okla.
SATURDAY
Softball
vs. Baylor 2:00 p.m. Lawrence
Baseball vs. Missouri 4:00 p.m. Columbia, Mo.
Men's Golf
Hawkeye Invitational
All Day
Iowa City, Iowa
Track
Sooner Invitational
All Day
Norman, Okla.
JAYHAWKSUMMER.com KU Summer School Week Enrollment Kick-Off·Please join us!
Tuesday, April 12 Strong Hall lawn 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Play ping pong.
Practice your putting.
Free snacks, bottled water & more.
This event is hosted by KU Continuing Education and Edwards Campus
Thursday, April 14 Strong Hall lawn 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Have your photo taken with Baby Jay: 11-11:30 a.m.
- Free sunglasses, Frisbees, Koozies & other give-aways
- Free pizza while supplies last
- Live remote sponsored by The Lazer 105.9 FM This event is hosted by KU Continuing Education