THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007
SPORTS
7B
>> NFL
Chiefs face tough schedule
BY DOUG TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had better be healthy and at the top of their game in the middle of the 2007 season.
NFL schedule-makers have made sure the start and the end of the year will be mostly road assignments for a team that seems always to have trouble winning away from home.
The key stretch will be between Oct. 7 and Dec. 2 when they play six of eight at home, including matchups against AFC West rivals San Diego and Denver.
On those weekends when they are at home, with perennial sellouts at always-loud and festive Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs believe they create one of the most exciting game-day atmospheres in the NFL. That contention was backed up by the rousing victory over Denver last year when the Chiefs hosted the Broncos on Thanksgiving night, a few weeks before the death of founder Lamar Hunt.
Even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, on hand for the first live telecast of the NFL Network, complimented the team on the big crowd and the colorful ambiance of Arrowhead.
But in a disappointment for fans as well as team executives, there'll be no Monday night games for Kansas City this season, home or away.
Save for a Sunday nighter at the New York Jets on the final weekend, there are no scheduled national appearances at all.
They do get their bye week at a good time — on Oct. 28, seven games into the season. And every home game is a noon kickoff, another attractive feature for most ticket-buyers.
But other than that, there is much for fans and coaches not to like. The Chiefs, who finished 9-7 last year and lost to Indianapolis in the first playoff round, are on the road for their first two games, at Houston and the defending NFC champion Bears.
Then they're on the road for
their final two games, at Detroit and at the Jets.
They don't taste home cooking until the Minnesota Vikings come calling on Sept. 23, the first day of autumn. And they have their final home game on Dec. 16 when the Tennessee Titans and quarterback Vince Young pay a visit.
The Chiefs are the only team in the NFL that'll begin the year playing three of their first four on the road. And besides Kansas City, only New Orleans and Atlanta do not get to play a home game until their third week.
Dallas and Pittsburgh are the only other clubs that'll be on the road for three of their last four.
The Chiefs do get a break on Nov. 4, their first game after their bye. They'll host the Green Bay Packers right after the Packers have played a Monday night game on the road.
But on consecutive Sundays — Oct. 7 and Oct. 14 the Chiefs will host Jacksonville and Cincinnati as those teams come off their own bye week.
A shot at Ginn
Phelan Ebenhack/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vicky Hurst watchs her shot from the fairway bunker on the 18th hole during the first round of the Gim Open LPGA golf tournament in Reunion, Fla., on Thursday.
A view from cheap seats
Danny Johnston/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fans line up outside of Dickey-Stephens Park, the new home of the Texas League Arizona Travelers minor league baseball team in North Little Rock, Ark., before opening Thursday.
NCAA BASKETBALL K-State assistant follows Huggins to West Virginia
KC Wizards hire midfielder
MLS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Erik Martin, an assistant coach at Kansas State, will follow boss Bob Huggins to West Virginia University.
BY STEVE BRISENDINE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OVERLAND PARK - The Kansas City Wizards, who have sought a playmaking midfielder for almost five months, have signed Argentinian Carlos Marinelli to fill the position.
Marinelli, who has played at the top level in Argentina, England, Italy and Portugal, was introduced Tuesday at the team's practice facility.
Martin, 35, also played for Huggins from 1991 to 1993, when he coached Cincinnati.
"Erik brings the same confidence coaching as he did as a player," Huggins said Thursday. "Erik was an
"We were looking for a guy who could run our team, run our offense — a good passer of the ball, a guy that's creative." coach Curt Onalfo said. "We
The Wizards also hope that at 25, Marinelli — who was playing for Middlesbrough of the English Premier League when he was 17 — has plenty of good years left in his legs.
when the Wizards won their only MLS Cup in 2000. "You're not used to seeing a lefty coming at you, because most guys are right-footed."
"If everything goes well, he could establish himself here for
"If everything goes well, he could establish himself here for years."
"ere very fortunate to get Carlos."
Another plus, technical director Peter Vermes said, is that Martinielli
PETER VERMES Wizards Technical Director
"He's a guy that very rarely loses the ball," Onalfo said. "He's a guy that can play the ball with one or two players on him and find a way to keep it, and he's going to put balls on our forwards' feet and enable them to score."
That's a capability the Wizards haven't had in recent seasons, Sealy said.
— like former Wizards star Preki Radosavljevic, now the coach of Chivas USA — is left-footed.
years," Vermes said.
"For the past two years that I've been here, we've lacked someone who was capable of setting the tempo of a game and finding that final pass to the forwards, so that the forwards just need to make that one touch and score." Sealy said. "From what I've seen, Carlos is the kind of guy who is willing to go get the ball and make that happen. It's definitely a step in the right direction."
"What lefties do is they unbalance players," said Vermes, who played alongside Sadoslavjevic
Marinelli has spent the bulk of his career with Middlesbrough, scoring three goals in 35 Premier League matches and two more in
Trinidadian Scott Sealy.
He has also played for Torino in Italy, Sporting Braga in Portugal, and Argentinian clubs Boca Juniors and Racing.
other competitions.
It could be a while, though, before Marinelli takes the field for the Wizards. He has been working out with the team since last week, but hasn't played since a two-game stint with Braga near the end of the 2005-06 season.
The Wizards will be counting on him to run the offense and get the ball to their forward tandem of the United States' Eddie Johnson and
NCAA BASKETBALL Former West Virginia assistant heads to UMKC
He also is awaiting his work permit, which the team said could come as early as next week.
Brown spent the past 10 years as an assistant to John Beilein, the last five with the Mountainers. Brown also spent three years as an administrative assistant to Florida coach Billy Donovan, but has never been a head coach.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Missouri-Kansas City hired former West Virginia assistant Matt Brown as its head coach Thursday.
"I am excited that Matt has decided to join our university and athletics department family," athletic director Tim Hall said in a press release. "He is a fine person, a teacher of the highest order, and a terrific basketball coach."
Associated Press
outstanding student and was an outstanding student of the game. That's enabled him to make his transition into coaching easier"
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Before last season's stint at Kansas State, Martin spent two years as an assistant coach at Cincinnati State and Technical College. He helped lead the team to a 26-9 season and Ohio Community College Athletic Conference and NJCAA Division Two championship titles.
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EXOLUSIVE KU SCREENING Monday, April 16th at 7:00 PM Kansas Union, Woodruff Auditorium $5 donation requested
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Mathematics Prize Competition
KU Math Department is hosting a math competition open to all KU students.
April 16
7 - 10 pm
306 Snow Hall
Both exams will be given on
To participate you must register in 405 Snow by noon, April 16.
Copies of last year's competition are posted outside 405 Snow. www.mathku.edu/~imartin/competition/2007.html
www.math.ku.edu/~jmartin/competition/2007.html
Senior Level:
Open to all undergraduates of non-
senior standing. Assumes knowledge of
first year calculus.
First prize - $300
Second prize - $200 Third prize - $100
Senior Level:
Open to all undergraduates. Includes a
range of standard topics of undergrad math.
First prize - $450
Second prize - $300 Third prize - $150