SPORTS
CLUB SOFTBALL EYES 2009 START
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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WWW.KANSAN.COM MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008
TORONTO DEFEATS KANSAS CITY TO END LOSING STREAK PAGE 10B
NFL DRAFT
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Talib leads group of chosen Hawks
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
The 2008 spring game is in the books, coach Mark Mangino's coach of the year awards reside safely atop his mantle and the team's Orange Bowl victory is a distant memory. But over the weekend, Kansas football continued to reap the rewards of its revitalization when four former Jayhawks were selected in the NFL Draft.
Cornerback Aqib Talib went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers late in the first round as the 20th overall pick. Offensive tackle Anthony Collins, tight end Derek Fine and wide receiver Marcus Henry followed on day two of the draft. Talib, the gem of the Jayhawks' draft class, was the second cornerback taken in the draft.
"He wants to be in the yard playing ball, it's just what he does," Tampa Bay coach John Gruden said in a release. "Sometimes when he plays, there's a little arrogance, honesty. I like this guy a lot — he's a great kid. Football means the world to him, and I think he'll represent us well."
Tampa Bay has two experienced cornerbacks on its roster, but one starter, Ronde Barber, is 33 years old. The Buccaneers usually use a Cover Two scheme, which Talib said was similar to the system Kansas
Talib left Kansas after a junior season in which he earned unanimous All-American recognition, won the FedEx Orange Bowl MVP Award and intercepted five passes. With 13 career interceptions, Talib is tied for the Kansas record, and he holds the school record with 322 interception return yards. Talib is the first Jayhawk selected in the first round since Dana Stubblefield in 1993.
ran during his junior season.
Collins had to wait until the second day of the draft to be selected, going to Cincinnati as the 13th pick in the fourth round. Collins, the 112th overall selection, departed Kansas after his junior year. Collins, an AP first-team All-American, projects as a right tackle in the NFL, but Bengals coaches said he could also play guard, depending on the situation.
Analysts predicted that Collins would be drafted in either the second or third rounds, but teams loaded up on offensive tackles early in the draft, leaving the former Jayhawk unclaimed until Sunday afternoon. Collins was the ninth offensive tackle taken in the 2008 draft, and the first plucked from the Big 12 Conference.
Fine didn't stay on the draft board as long as expected. Fine, a three-year Kansas starter, was selected by the Buffalo Bills as the 33rd pick of the fourth round and 132nd overall selection. Fine was projected to fall to the seventh round, but the Bills made him the 10th tight end taken.
"He's a better athlete than people give him credit for," Buffalo scout Brad Forsyth said in a release. "I like his toughness, his versatility - extremely smart guy and a special teams guy. A high end character guy that you want on your team."
The New York Jets selected Henry with the fifth pick of the sixth round. Henry emerged as a star in his senior season, gaining a team-high 1,014 receiving yards and grabbing 10 touchdown receptions. Henry, a Lawton, Okla., native, was the 171st overall pick and the 23rd wide receiver selected.
Edited by Daniel Reyes
Aqib Talib 6'2',202 pounds, cornerback First round, No. 20 overall Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Anthony Collins 6'5"，317 pounds offensive tackle Fourth round,No.112 overall Cincinnati Bengals
Derek Fine 6'3", 251 pounds, tight end Fourth round, No. 132 overall Buffalo Bills
Marcus Henry 6'4",207 pounds, wide receiver Sixth round, No.171 overall New York Jets
DRAFTED
Former Kansas running back Brandon McAnderson went undrafted but agreed in principle to a free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams. McAnderson said he talked with about 10 teams in the days leading up to the NFL Draft, but didn't decide on St. Louis until Sunday afternoon.
"Because of the situation, you could say it's definitely a better situation than if some other team had drafted me, just because of what they have on their roster," McAnderson said. "I definitely wanted to be drafted just to be drafted, but financially this is a better fit."
McAnderson rushed for a team-high 1,146 yards and scored 16 rushing touchdowns in 2007. Former Jayhawk defensive tackle James McClinton has not signed with an NFL team yet. McClinton made 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his senior season.
Cornerback Agib Talib goes up to break up a pass. Talib was selected in the first round, 20th overall, in the NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
BASEBALL
Jayhawks drop series; fall to last in conference
BY SHAWN SHROYER
shroyer@kansan.com
Just as feared entering the series, the Oklahoma State (32-11, 14-7) offense was just too much for the Kansas pitching staff to handle. With the 8-3 loss in Stillwater Sunday, Kansas (25-22, 5-13) solidified its place at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Kansas is now 2-10 on the road in conference play this season.
Kansas' struggles on Sunday were no different than its shortcomings all weekend against No. 13 Oklahoma State. For the third straight game, the Jayhawks led the Cowboys — twice on Sunday — only to hand Oklahoma State a victory.
"I've got to give them great credit," Kansas coach Ritch Price said. "That's as good as anybody's played against us all year. They're playing at a really high level."
For the second straight Sunday, Kansas turned to freshman right-hander T.J. Walz to be its savior from the sweep, but the task was too great for Walz this time around.
Kansas senior center fielder Casey Larson led the game off by
Walz
taking Oklahoma State right-hander Matt Gardner deep to right field and gave Walz a 1-0 lead to work with. However, Walz let the lead evaporate nearly as quickly as it was earned.
Walz began by walking Oklahoma State's leoffman, Donnie Webb, on five pitches. Then Walz committed an error trying to pick Webb off, advancing Webb to second. All Oklahoma State needed was a single by Dean Green to knock Webb in and tie the score.
The trend continued the next inning as Walz allowed Oklahoma State's leadoff man, Thomas Belza, to reach. Belza advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a single from Jordy Mercer to put the Cowboys on top, 2-1.
Walz's outing ended prematurely in the fourth. After allowing Oklahoma State's leadoff man to reach for the fourth straight inning he was relieved by junior right-hander Paul Smyth (3-4), who retired the next three batters.
"He wasn't sharp." Price said of Walz. "He just couldn't get ahead in the count or locate his fastball, which didn't allow him to go to his breaking ball."
That pitching change temporarily
altered the momentum of the game in the Jayhawks' favor.
In the top of the fifth, freshman third baseman Tony Thompson reached with a one-out single and was followed by a single
from Larson. Gardner then loaded the bases for senior left fielder John Allman, walking sophomore second baseman Robby Price. Allman came through, driving in Thompson and Larson with a single to left field and putting Kansas ahead, 3-2.
Gardner was promptly pulled from the game to prevent any more damage with the heart of the Kansas order coming up. Right-hander Robbie Weinhardt (4-0) entered for Gardner and reversed the momentum of the game back in Oklahoma State's direction, getting out of the inning.
Further disaster ensued when, after back-to-back singles, Tyrone Hambly tripled, giving the Cowboys a two-run lead. Hambly scored when Kansas couldn't turn a double play that would have ended the inning, increasing Oklahoma State's lead, 6-3.
After pitching a perfect fifth inning — the only innning Oklahoma State's leadoff man didn't reach base — Smyth coughed up a leadoff home run in the sixth to Neil Medchill that tied the game, 3-3.
"At that point in time, you're trying to put zeroes up, so you can get a chance to see if you can add to your lead," Price said. "Giving up a four-spot in that inning buried us."
"One of the things I shared with my team was, in order to make the Big 12 tournament, we're going to have to win the K-State series and we're going to have to win the Oklahoma series," Price said. "Even though we lost some ground this weekend, which was not good, the big thing is we still have to win those two series just the make the thing, anyway."
Of the schools Kansas is battling for one of the two final spots to qualify for the Big 12 Championship — Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech — the Jayhawks were the only team to get swept this weekend. They fell from an eighth-place tie to $ _{10^{th}} $ place, all by their lonesome.
The Cowbys tacked on a run in both the seventh and eighth for good measure.
Edited by Daniel Reyes
Weston White/KANSAN
Senior outfielder Betsy Wilson slides safely into second base for Kansas' first stolen base of the game. Kansas also stole one other base in a 8-1 loss to Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at Arrocho Ballpark.
SOFTBALL
Kansas' George stifles OSU
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH kbreckunitch@kansan.com
The University of Kansas softball team went back to Big 12 conference play this weekend. The team split the home series with Oklahoma State, improving to 35-16 overall.
The first game was not one to remember for the Jayhawks (5-9 Big 12). They could not generate much offense, while Oklahoma State (25-23, 8-8 Big 12) had no problem compiling 13 hits in an 8-1 victory for the Cowgirls. Kansas' defense showed up with junior third baseman Val Chapple and shortstop Stevie Crisosto making a couple of leaping catches, but the Cowgirls heated up on offense at the right times. Oklahoma State's senior right fielder Kim Kaye crushed a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning. The Cowgirls scored a run in every inning except the first and seventh innings.
"It was definitely a game of momentum both games," coach Kansas Tracy Bunge said.
She said the Cowgirls were able to get momentum early in Saturday's game, but on Sunday, the Cowgirls got down and the Jayhawks got the momentum.
Sunday's game was redemption for
Kansas as it earned the 6-0 victory. The team capitalized on three Oklahoma State errors with a big third inning, scoring five runs. Junior pitcher Valerie George worked out of jams in the first three innings with the help of some amazing defense to back her up. Oklahoma State stranded eight runners in the game, and George allowed only one hit after the Jayhawks took the lead.
Bunge said George pitched a lot smarter on Sunday and pitched her game.
The Jayhawks move into the home stretch of the season with only two series left before the Big 12 Championship. The team will face off against Nebraska (27-26, 1-12 Big '1' in a doubleheader Wednesday in Littleton.
"She's a nibbler," Bunge said. "She's gonna throw the screwball in, the curveball out, get you to chase a rise ball occasionally and then float one of those change-ups in there," Bunge said.
Weston White/KANSAN
George said she felt more confident on the mound on Sunday and thought the victory against Oklahoma State would carry momentum for the Jayhawks into the final two series of the season.
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"Nebraska's a very dangerous team because they've got nothing to lose right now," Bunge said.
Sophomore second baseman Sara Ramirez stretches out to make a catch for an out at first base. Ramirez had to cover first base after Oklahoma State bunted the pitch. Kansas lost, 8-1, Saturday afternoon to the Cowgirls, moving to 0-2 in the three-game series against the Cowgirls.
"Beating them by this much was definitely a good boost for us going into Nebraska and Iowa State," George said. "I think that that's definitely what we needed, and hopefully we can get four straight wins."
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Edited by Daniel Reyes
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