2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY MAY 9 2007
JORGENSEN (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Much of the credit went to Chmerkovskiy who used his sex appeal to woo over the crowd. Chmerkovskiy often threw roses at the camera and "made it rain" as he tossed hundred-dollar bills into the crowd.
There you have it. The winner of the 2007 Dancing with the Stars of Kansas Athletics is Bonnie Henrickson. Congratulations!
Jorgensen is a Baldwin City senior in journalism.
Edited by Stacey Couch
ROWING (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
weather to see if we have to practice inside, but we've never had anything like this when we've had to completely go to a different place," she said.
Taking the extra time to get to and from practice added to the difficulty of the situation. Senior rower Whitney Fasbender said the team was already feeling crunched to be out of town the weekend before finals.
"It's a little inconvenient," she said.
But when the team hits the water, it feels like any other practice. Naii said.
"When we get to practice, everything goes back to normal again in the boat," she said. "Everything seems to work itself out."
Wyandotte County Lake isn't completely unfamiliar to the Jayhawks. The lake was the location of the Big 12 Invitational, where Kansas took second, on April 29.
Kansan senior sportswriter Catherine Odson can be contacted at codson@kansan. com.
- Edited by James Pinick
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
hitting a solid .325. Woodbury went 2-for-4, including a three-run home run, run against Kansas in March.
The Evansville victory capped off a strong offensive burst for Missouri State, while the Bears didn't win a game in 29 days until Sunday they've tagged 19 extra base hits in their last five contests for a .304 team average.
By the weekend, Kansas will be just one game down with four to go when Chicago State rolls in to Hoglund Ballpark. The four-game set against the Cougars, which includes a doubleheader on Saturday, starts Friday at 7 p.m.
"For us right now we need to play well this week," Price said. "Get back to .500 this week and try to get the series from Nebraska to salvage the season."
The weekend may or may not feature the Jayhawks' usual Saturday night starting pitcher, sophomore lefty Nick Czyz. He tossed the shortest outing of the season last Saturday against K-State, surrendering four runs in a 2/3-inning appearance.
After he missed a start at Texas Tech not quite three weeks ago because of a sore pitching arm, Price isn't taking any chances.
"Because we've all watched him pitch all year and that isn't the same guy we've seen all season," Price said.
"It is the time of the year when guys are starting to feel beat up at the end of the season, but at the same time we need to make sure he's OK."
At the plate, the Jayhawks were able to count on outfielders Kyle Murphy and John Allman, along with sophomore catcher Buck Afenir again last weekend. Picking his team up, Afenir's two-run double on Saturday against the Wildcats accounted for half of Kansas' runs. Murphy and Allman each hit in both games against the Wildcats, but are now the only starters with an average of more than 300.
Nevertheless, Afenir gave credit to his coach for keeping the teams' head up and keeping them focused and confident for what lies ahead.
irs tougher on the players," Price said. "I'm trying to do everything I can to stay positive. I've played and I've coached 29 years and I understand when your struggling all you doing is making it worse if you don't handle it right as the coach. We're trying to be positive and let our players play through it."
Kansan senior sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
Edited by Ryan Schneider
athletics calendar
TODAY
Baseball vs. Missouri State, 6 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
THURSDAY
Softball vs. Iowa State at Big 12 Championships, 5 p.m., Oklahoma City
1 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
FRIDAY
Baseball vs. Chicago State,
7 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
1 p.m., Hogwild Ballpark
**Baseball** vs. Chicago State
4 p.m., Hogwild Ballpark
**Softball** at big 12 Championships, All day, Oklahoma City
**Rowing** at South-Central Regionals, TBA, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
**Track** at Big 12 Outdoor Championships, all day, Lincoln, Neb.
- Softball at Big 12 Championships, TBA, Oklahoma City
- Track at Big 12 Outdoor Championships, All day, Lincoln, Neb.
SATURDAY
Baseball vs. Chicago State,
SUNDAY
Baseball vs. Chicago State, 1 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
Rowing at South-Central Regionals, TBA, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Track at Big 12 Outdoor Championships, All day, Lincoln, Neb.
Blame fans for bland pro leagues
COMMENTARY
or the love of the game."
“
Be honest, how many times have you heard these phrases dished out when professional sports were the topic of discussion?
"Back in the day."
BY DANIEL MOLINA
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
DMOLINA@KANSAN.COM
Sure they're valid points, but to point the finger at the athletes and owners for the recent funny-money spending sprees misses the big picture. The culprit is right there, staring back at you in the mirror every morning as you put on your New Era fitted.
Escalating salaries, exposure and pressure have awoken even the sleepiest of reminiscent old timers to what's happening today in our professional sports.
It's only natural to blame the players and teams for this business explosion. They're the ones rolling in all that money, after all.
If anything, though, we the fans are to blame. The fans raised the bar for athletes when they demanded increasing performances each season. And those performances drained the fun out of the game.
being played "for the love of the game" a long time ago. Now, athletes, owners, and fans alike treat them as big business. They droll over the third-quarter earnings of Kobe Bryant and faint at the sight of the Royals projected win returns.
What can we do? I'm not saying sell all your earthly, athletic possessions and throw out your plasma. Sports mean so much, to so many people that limiting them in any way would be disastrous. Instead, maybe try a simpler, more sedated approach.
What we do as fans goes a long
We speed up the process every time we buy a $169 authentic jersey. Even doing something as innocent as sitting on the couch and watching a game fuels the payroll fire. Lucrative TV contracts account for a large chunk of the MLB's cash pile, a $3 billion chunk from Fox and TBS alone.
way in determining the direction of big-time sports in the U.S. So far, we've been sending them in a dangerous and downward spiral that bottoms out at corrupt dealings and meaningless statistics.
It's a whole lot less stressful than starting a blog and a whole lot less embarrassing than weeping uncontrollably while you caress a George Brett cut-out.
Now, athletes look at and treat their bodies like the million-dollar machines they are. It's all a side effect of so much importance and money being placed on people playing sports.
The next time Kobe bricks a potential game-winner or the Royals lose a heartbreaker in the 9th, step back, take a deep breath, and think to yourself, "Wow, that was still pretty cool to watch."
Professional sports stopped
Molina is an Olathe sophomore in journalism.
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Edited by Ryan Schneider
Henrickson left a successful Virginia Tech program to take the reigns at Kansas in 2004. The previous season the Jayhawks won only two conference games and suffered through the late-season retirement of coach Marian Washington.
In her first season at Kansas, Henrickson brought in a small recruiting class that included now senior forwards Jamie Boyd and Taylor McIntosh. McIntosh found a spot in the starting lineup right away and has developed into an above-average rebounder and defender.
Henrickson landed guard Shaquina Mosley from Central Arizona Community College the next season. By the end of her career at Kansas, the soon-to-be graduated Mosley established herself as one of the most exciting and versatile players in the Big 12.
Heading into the 2006-2007
season expectations were low. The team lost its three best players to graduation and would rely on contributions from a seven-player freshman class.
The success of the incoming class was a testament to Henrickson's skill as a motivator and coach. Forward Danielle McCray shed 20 pounds and became one of the team's best scorers. Guards Sade Morris and Kelly Kohn fought through bouts of inconsistency and helped the team defeat heavily favored Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Henrickson recently took the next step to solidify the program: securing commitments from three highly regarded prospects. Center Krysten Boogaard, forward Nicollette Smith and guard Chakeitha Weldon should each fill a distinct need on the young team.
College coaches are constantly judged on the quality and potential impact of their recruiting classes. If the new contract is any indication, Henrickson's superiors think she has earned a passing grade.
Boogaard could give Kansas the post presence it has lacked since the departure of All-Big 12 Conference center Crystal Kemp. Smith provides an outside shooting touch that could spread opposing defenses to give McIntosh and McCray scoring opportunities. Henrickson said Weldon possessed "Shaq Mosley-like athleticism."
the team's postseason awards banquet. "They all add so many great things."
"They fit in great," Kohn said at
Kansan sportswriter Asher Fusco can be contacted at afusco@kansan.com.
TRACK AND FIELD Hurdler named Female Athlete of the Week
At the Arkansas Twilight Invitational on May 4, Brown crossed the line in 13.31 seconds to win the race and earn her second Kansas record.
After setting a school record in the 100-meter hurdles last weekend, the Big 12 Conference named junior Ashley Brown its Female Athlete of the Week.
Brown flirted with the record earlier in the season, running a
- Edited by James Pinick
13. 32 seconds.
13. 33 at the 2007 Kansas Relays. Jennie Wonder, who set the mark at the 2002 NCAA Championships, previously held the record at 13.33 records
At the NCAA-last chance meet on March 3, Brown set a school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time.
Brown
of 8.32 seconds.She also set an Anschutz Pavilion record at the
TENNIS
Jayhawk Invitational, finishing in 8-48 seconds.
Brown's record ranks her third in the Big 12 in the 100-meter hurdles, and she's also first in the conference in the 400-meter hurdles with a near school-record time of 58.48 seconds.
This is the second such award the Big 12 has given to Brown this season. The week of March 27, Brown was named the Big 12 Co-Female Athlete of the Week after winning the 100- and 400-meter hurdles at the Tulsa Duels.
Jayhawks receive team awards Monday
awards Monday
The Kansas tennis team handed out four awards at its end-of-the-season awards banquet on Monday, Sophomore Edina Horvath was named Team MVP after a season in which she
finished 15-7 playing doubles with junior Elizaveta Avdeevea. Horvath and Avdeevae were both selected to the All-Big 12 Conference doubles team.
Sophomore Yuliana Stvistun grabbed the Most Improved Player Award. She finished with a 15-6 record during her sophomore campaign after playing in only 10 matches her freshman
Lawrence's Premier Designer Boutique
- Taylor Bern
New Deliveries Daily
season.
Rock & Republic
15% OFF WITH STUDENT ID
GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE IN ANY DENOMINATION
GRADUATION · MOTHER'S DAY · BIRTHDAYS
Lastly, Junior Lauren Hommell took the Hardest Worker Award and junior Stephanie Smith was awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Hommell and Smith both won their respective awards for the second year in a row.
SALE
New Markdowns Just Taken
apparel Open 7 Days A Week
epic
Shop 24/7 @ shoppic.com Open 7 Days A Week
11 W. 9th St · Downtown Lawrence
Not valid on sale merchandise or previous purchases
Rustin Dodd
LAWRENCE
AUTOMOTIVE
DIAGNOSTICS
INC.
Domestic & Foreign
Complete Car Care
842-8665
2858 Four Wheel Dr.
1