SPORTS
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, November 6, 1991
9
Nebraska's coming to town
The Associated Press
Orange Bowl hopes may be at stake for 'Huskers
LINCOLN, Neb. — A few days after knotting 19-19 with Colorado in the showdown for the Big Eight Conference lead, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said yesterday his 11th-ranked Cornhuskers face a big one this week at Kansas
"It's almost as big to me as the Colorado game," Osborne said at his weekly news conference.
Hesaid Kansas (5-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference) was one of the most improved teams in the league this fall.
"I think they have an excellent defense," Osborne said. "If you look at their defensive stats in the Big Eight, they're right there at or near the top. Defensively they are very comparable to Colorado. They're probably a little bigger and a little stronger in the defensive line."
Nebraska (6-1-1 and 3-0-1) didn't exactly manhandle the Buffaloes on
Saturday, and Osborne is concerned that if his team isn't ready to play, the Javhawks could be trouble.
Kansas is second to Oklahoma in rushing, passing and total defense. The Jayhawks are third behind Colorado and Oklahoma in scoring defense.
"They seem to have most of the people back from last year," Osborne said. "We had some points and some yards, but they came a lot of times on a few big plays. We had trouble consistently moving the ball on them."
Of Kansas 41-3 loss to the Sooners, Osborne said. "As I looked at the game with Oklahoma this year, it was the same way. Oklahoma scored on defense first, then had a long reverse, then there were two or three other plays, but other than that, Oklahoma didn't generate a very consistent offense against them."
year but stugged in the first half and neede career-high efforts from running back Scott Baldwin (17 75 rushing) quarterback Mickey Joseph (164 yards pass) and tight
Nebraska won 41-9 at Lawrence last
endJohnny Mitchell (108yardsreceiving) to win.
In defense of his team, Osborne said the Kansas game a year ago also came a week after the Colorado game in 2013. The users suffered a crushin-27-12 loss.
"They moved the ball on us," Osborne recalled of the Kansas game. "No 1, they were a pretty good football team, and No 2, we were really down defensively that day after the Col-
oradogame.
"I'm hoping we can play better on defense than we did last year or we're in a world of trouble because their defense is not going to be easy to crack. We need to play a much better defensive ball game."
The tie against Colorado apparently didn't dampen his team's attitude this season, Osborne said.
The tie left Colorado and Nebraska tied for the league lead and generated a hint from Orange Bow officials that the highest-ranked team would get the bowid if the season ended with a conference tie.
The Buffaloes are ranked three spots below Nebraska this week. Osborne said that if Nebraska wins its last three — against Kansas, Iowa State and Oklahoma — that it likely would remain ranked above Colorado.
And that, he said, is why this week's game is a big one.
Knoblauch wins AL Rookie of the Year
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Chuck Knoblauch, a second baseman who jumped from Class A to the majors and helped spark the Minnesota Twins to a World Series victory, was chosen American League Rookie of the Year yesterday.
Knoblauch received 26 of 28 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Toronto pitcher Juan Guzman and Detroit outfielder Milt Cuyler split the other two first-place votes.
"Luckily I was on a winning team, did some things well and had a constant year," Knoblach said from his house in Houston. "There's been a lot of people saying I was going to get it, but I didn't feel like it until I got the call."
Knoblauch received two second-place votes and finished with 136 points in the 5-1 voting system. Guzman got 20 second-place and three third-place votes, finishing second with 68 points. Cuyler got two second-place votes and 11 thirds and came in third with 22 points.
"It's the same like the World Series, it won't sink in for awhile," Knoblauch said.
He was drafted by the Twins in the first round in June 1989 after making second-team All-America at shortstop in his junior year at Texas A&M. He hit 268 in 51 games at Kenoxa of the Midwest League and 364 in 18 games at Visalia of the California League.
The following year, he was promoted to Orlando of the Southern League and hit .289 with two homers and 33 strikeouts. He then joined a spring training as a non-roster player.
"Our feeling is that we would more or less hold an open and even tryout at second base between (Nelson) Liriano and Knoblausch, and whoever had the better spring would make the club," Twins General Manager Andy MacPhaill said yesterday. "We had decided not to arbitrarily sent him back to Triple A and held the position open."
Knoblauch hit .388 in 20 spring games, going 26-for-67 with six RBI. He impressed the Twins enough that they won six days before the season started.
"Going to spring training I had no plan to leave but on the flight to Oakland to open the season," Knoblauch said.
He made a quick impression, going 25-for-75 on April with nine RBI. He wound up at 281 with 24 doubles, six triples, 50 RBIs and 25 steals in 30 tries.
"At times, you question whether you belong." Knoblauch said. "But Kirby Puckett was a big help - Puckett and Chili Davis and Kent Hebek. They said. They wouldn't have you here if you didn't belong." When you have a superstar like Kirby Puckett saying that to you, you have to believe it.
Knoblauch bait continued in the postseason. He was 7-for-20 with three postseason. RBI against Toronto in the playoffs, then went 8-for-26 with two RBI against Atlanta in the World Series. He arose a rookie postseason record with 15
And what did the newest rookie of the year plan to do last night?
Yesterday, Knoblauch awaited word of the vote in his living room. With him were his mother and father, a brother, and two sisters. At precisely 4 p.m. CST, Jack Lang of the BBWAA called Knoblaugh with the news.
"Well, I have a bottle of champagne sitting here that my brother got," he said. "And then we'll probably go out for dinner."
Flipping out
Oregon U. Liberal, ten and Chris Jones, teaching assistants for a kI-Ai-Kido class, practice Taigi, a series of six sequential movements that demonstrate individual levels of accomplishment and technique. kI-Ai-Kido is a defensive form of martial arts that teaches a person to control himself and the situations around them. The men were practicing the technique yesterday before class at Robinson Gymnasium.
Coach looks for spots for veteran Chiefs
The Associated Press
"But injuries at other positions can dictate that you not be able to do something. You have to look at it as a whole team thing rather than looking at this individual or that individual."
But Kansas City Chief's coach Marty Schottenheimer might not be able to find a roster spot for Stephone Paige.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Most NFL teams would be quick to hustle a guy who caught 65 passes for 1,021 yards last year back into the lineup as soon as he was fully recovered from injury.
Paige, injured in the first game of the season, and another veteran receiver, Emile Harry, are eligible to come off injured reserve this week. Both may become victims of a numbers game.
Given the opportunity, third-draft choice Tim Barnett has been more than a pleasant surprise in teaming with veteran Robb Thomas as the Chiefs' primary receivers.
"You have to begin with the premise that we want to get Stephone and Emile back on the roster," he said. "Stephone is a 1,000-yard receiver who caught 60 balls a year ago."
He said he could not say what player he would remove from the roster to put Stephone and Emile on it.
first start Oct. 28, and Kevin Ross has missed two games, Jayce Pearson filled in, but has played with an injury.
"Stephone has made pretty good progress as has Hileme," Schottenheimer said yesterday. "I just don't. I'm ready to make a roster move."
Thomas has caught 25 passes for 293 yards, and Barnett has 24 catches for 287 yards. Todd McNair has 21 catches for 211 yards coming out of the box, while also have started throwing to Plan B tight end Pete Holahan.
Chiefs' roster moves this year have been mostly dictated by the players of their own department. Albert Lewis missed much of the season before making his
"If feel like I'm ready to go out, a good week of practice under my belt, and I can't wait until Sunday," Paige said. "It was burned me up to sit and watch everyone else play, and I can't go. But I'm glad it soower with so now I can get back to action with everybody else."
Paige, who has never missed a game because of injury in his eight seasons, bruised his knee in the opener against Atlanta and played in three games before going on inured reserve Oct. 4.
Harry caught eight passes for 70 yards and a touchdown before spraining his ankle Oct. 7 against Buffalo.
"Ifeels good, but you never know until you play on it." he said. "Practice is different than drills and games are different than practice."
Schotteneimer said he would consider putting either Paige or Joe in a batting cage, squad, but that still would mean dropping one or two other players.
Four rookies on list of 100 players on ballot for NBA All-Star Game
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — Four rookies were part of the 100-player NBA All-Star ballot released yesterday.
Added to the list of perennial favorites such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson were first-year players Larry Johnson of Charlotte, Kenny Anderson of New Jersey, Billy Owens of Golden State and Dikembe Mutombo of Denver.
Voting officially opened for the Feb. 9 NBA All-Star game at 12 different arenas hosting NBA games last night. The game will be played at the Orlando Arena, and the host Magic was allowed to cast the first ballot.
Point guard Skiles made the vote, picking himself, teammates Dennis Scott and Otis Smith at forwards, Jordan at guard and Ewing at center for the Eastern Conference team. He selected Malone and Chris
Mullin as forwards for the Western Conference, along with Magic Johnson and John Stockton at guards and Robinson at center.
About 2.2 million votes were cast last year, with Jordan receiving a 19 percent vote and Sam receives 150,000 ballots, and the total vote is expected to surpass 2.5 million.
Balloting will determine the starting players for each conference. The rest of the team will be selected by Eastern Conference coach Phil Jackson and Western Conference boss Mike Duneavoy.
A six-man committee voted on Sept. 24 to determine which players would be on the ballot. Some of the finalists, however, have either been banned from the league since Sept. 24 or they remained unsigned.
Roy Tarpley, who was banished Oct. 16 under the NBA's drug policy, was listed as a forward for the West. Anderson, Miam's Sherman Douglas and Los Angeles Clippers Doc Rivers were holdouts in conti- duates.
Volleyball team to face Wildcats
ByJeff Kobs
Kansan Sportswriter
It would appear that Kansas should waltz into Manhattan tonight and take three games and the Kansas State volleyball team.
After all, Kansas is 21-5 overall and 4-5 in the Big Eight Conference, vying for its first two straight appearance in the conference post-season tournament. Meanwhile, KState is 10-16 and trying to stay out of the Big Eight cellar with a 1-8 mark.
But don't count on it being so easy.
The first meeting between the two teams was a hard-fought battle at Allen Field House. The 'Hawks escaped with a five-game victory.
"It doesn't matter to them what's on goin', to sophomore Ceyde Kanan, to kid who is in it, to kids who is pumped to play us. I think it will be another tough match."
But neither Kansas coach Frankie Albiz or K-State's first coach Patti Hagemeyer give her谊ivaly muchype.
And there is the spirit of the Kansas-KansasStaterivalry.
"I don't know that it really affects my team that much," Albitz said. "I think it effects them more than us.
and it's always in a good way."
However, Hagemeyer said she wasn't really aware of their rivalry.
"I think for us, everytime we step on the court, we're there to prove we have a good team," she said. "It doesn't matter who it is."
Hagemeyer said her team had come together as a unit and was playing well right now.
Albizt said the team was concentrating on blocking and on the quick hit in the middle.
"They played us so well here, so I'm expecting the same thing," Alba said. "It's always just a little tough to go into someone else's place."
"The way K-State hurt us the first time was with their blocking."
Both coaches do agree that tonight's match should be a tough one.
"We're a much better team than when KU saw us last." she said.
Only the top four conference teams advance to the tournament, and Kansas is in a three-way tie for third place with Oklahoma and Iowa State. Kansas has split matches with both teams this season.
Kansas dropped last Friday's match at Iowa State and jeopardized its postseason hones.
Adonis Jordan OK for Saturday
Junior basketball guard Adonis Jordan, who broke his nose about two weeks ago in practice, is now full go team trainer Mark Cairns said.
Cairns said Jordan missed two days of practice and would be required to wear a face mask to guard his nose.
He said Jordan was having no problems, but it wasn't known how long he would have to wear the mask. Jordan would be wearing it again in a game against High Five America.
Componente guard Patrick Richey was out last week with back spasms. He missed all of last week's practices, but began practicing again Monday, Cairns said. He said the origin of the problem was unknown.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Carew hired as hitting coach
Testaverde takes starting job
AHAIME, Calif.  The California ANGels, who finished last in the AL West even with three 18-game winners, moved to improve their offense yesterday when they hired Rod Carew as their hitting instructor.
Carew, a seven-time AL batting champion inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, finished his rookie season. He could have felt bitterness toward the team
TAMPA, Fla. — Vinny Testaverde finally got the vote of confidence he'd been seeking.
Carew wasn't offered a contract in 1968 when the Angels decided to go with Wally Joyner first base. Joyner had played well at last and may not return to the team in 1992.
The Buccaneers' muddled quarterback situation was resolved yesterday when Chris Chandler was waived and Coach Richard Williamson officially handed the starting job back to Testaverde for the rest of the season.
Before the move, the first-year coach had refused to commit to either Testaverde or Chandler, who could wind up costing Tampa Bay the top pick in the 1929 draft if the Bucs (1-8) don't win any more games.
"Obviously a great deal of thought has gone into this decision," said Williamson, who also released cornerback Justin Pea. "This game only Pro Bowl selection last season.
Jones nominated for Lombardi
Jones, a 19-year-old linebacker, was nominated yesterday along with defensive tackles Santana Dotson of Baylor and Steve Emtman of Washington and offensive tackle Greg Skrepenak of Michigan.
HOUSTON — Florida State's Marvin Jones became the first sophomore in the 22-year history of the Lombardi Award to nominated as a finalist for the honor, which is given annually to the nation's top collegiate lineman or linebacker.
The award will be presented Dec. 5 at a dinner that will raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Jones, 6-foot-2and 1220 pounds, has 86 tackles, nine for losses, and is the second leading tackler for top-ranked, unbeaten Florida State.
Houston replaces Howfield
HOUSTON — Place-kicker Al Del Greco, an eight-year veteran who last played for the Phoenix Cardinals, signed a two-year contract with the Houston Oilers yesterday and will replace Ian Howfield.
Del Greco, who lost his job with the Cardinals in preseason to Greg Davis, was the winner of a four-man tryout conducted by general manager Mike Holokaw. The others were Charlie David Browndyke and Biont Nittman.
Howfield missed a 33-yard field goal with one second left to play Sunday in Washington's 16-13 overtime victory against Oilers. He was wawed on Monday.
"Al has more experience," Holvok said. "If Ian had made that field goal, then we would be set for the year. Al should have gone out than outdoors. He's a good kicker."
In eight seasons, Greco converted 101 of 154 field goals and 221 of 227 extra points.
From The Associated Press