THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007
SPORTS
3B
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
of scrimmage and speared Sharp before he could even dream about the goal line. Immediately after making the play, Talib pumped his arms and screamed. The rest of the defense responded by jumping up and down and joining the celebration.
Talib's goal is to provide that kind of spark for the team. He can't do that unless he continues to play like the All Big 12 performer he was last season.
To ensure success, Talib added about 10 pounds of muscle and worked on keeping low during game situations. He also said experience
from the last two seasons would help him.
"Every year I come back the game starts slowing down," he said. "This year it's slowing down even more."
Talib could also get a few more chances on the offensive side this season. Last year he lined up as a wide receiver a few times and caught one pass for 42 yards. Talib, who played both ways in high school, expects more chances this season in new coordinator Ed Warinner's uptempo offense.
Increased time on offense will give Talib the chance to improve the
Jayhawks' passing attack, which is ranked ninth in the Big 12. It also means he'll be able to provide a spark and leadership for both sides of the ball — and his offensive teammates can't wait.
"Aqib's a good guy," Sharp said. "I think we're going to use him in any way. He's one of the best playmakers on the field."
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
— Edited by Jyl Unruh
NLB
Dick Whipple/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon splinters his bat on a ground out to the pitcher in a game with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.
Schilling helps Red Sox win
BY DOUG TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit back-to-back doubles in a three-run first inning and Josh Beckett held Kansas City to two hits through five chilly innings Wednesday night, leading the Boston Red Sox past the Royals 7-1.
Kevin Youkilis added a two-run home run off reliever Todd Wellemeyer in the seventh to make it 6-1 as the temperature dipped to 39 degrees.
Beckett (1-0) allowed a two-out double to Mark Teaken in the first and a two-out double to Ross Gload in the fourth. He had five strike-outs and four walks while delivering Boston's first win after Curt Schilling faltered in Monday's season opener.
After giving up three runs in the
first, Odalis Perez (0-1) retired 13 of 15 before walking Manny Ramirez with one out in the sixth. After Drew singled, rookie Joakim Soria made his major league debut and surrendered a sacrifice fly to Jason Varitek that put the Red Sox on top 4-1.
Drew's RBI double in the first was followed by Lowell's two-run double.
Jason LaRue had a sacrifice fly for the Royals in the fourth.
It's been a rough two games for Royals rookie third baseman Alex Gordon. The 2006 minor league player of the year is 0-for-7 with four strikeouts and hasn't hit a ball out of the infield.
Beckett had to work himself out of a jam in the third inning after the normally sure-handed Lowell made fielding errors on consecutive ground balls to third. Lowell also had a throwing error with two outs in the ninth.
Mark Teahen, after being ahead 3-0, struck out on a 3-2 pitch and Mike Sweeney hit a slicing line drive into right-center which Drew ran down to end the inning.
Lowell's six errors in 2005 tied the NL record for fewest by a third baseman with at least 135 games played, and his .977 fielding percentage coming into the season was tops among major league third baseman with at least 1,000 games.
Julio Lugo had an RBI single for Boston in the eighth.
Notes: The Royals placed RHP closer Octavio Dotel on the 15-day DL with a strained muscle on his left side. ... RHP David Riske will close in his absence.
... The game-time temperature of 42 degrees was more than 30 degrees colder than the reading for Monday afternoon's sunny season opener. ... The only other time Lowell had two errors in an inning was on July 1, 2005.
NBA
Injuries compromise Wizards' playoff chances
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Down went Gilbert Arenas. And with him, in all likelihood, went the Washington Wizard's hopes of achieving much of anything in the playoffs this season.
Arenas sprained his left knee in a collision with Gerald Wallace in the first quarter of Wednesday night's 108-100 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. The three-time All-Star will have an MRI exam on Thursday to determine the extent of the damage, but the recovery time from such injuries is usually measured in weeks, not days.
The Wizards earlier this week lost All-Star forward Caron Butler to a broken his hand, and they are 2-9 this season when he doesn't play. Butler is expected to miss at least six weeks, meaning he will play again only if Washington advances deep into the playoffs.
He was just standing there, settling into rebounding position as Wallace drove baseline. When Wallace threw up one of those incredible, off-balance reverse layups, he crashed inadvertently into the left leg of the Wizards' guard.
cal game, finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Bobcats. He had also stymied the Wizards the previous night, getting 34 points and 14 rebounds in a 122-102 win at Charlotte on Tuesday.
Wallace, who survived several collisions in what became a very physi-
Raymond Felton added 19 points and seven assists, Emeka Okafor had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Walter Hermann had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who have won six of nine.
Antawan Jamison had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wizards, who fell one full game behind the idle Miami Heat in the Southeast Division.
The layhawks have two days of rest before heading out to Austin, Texas to play two games in two days against the Longhorns.
"It's a long season, it's a long grind. We're hitting a little bit of a lull and it's about where we hit it last year too. So hopefully we'll step back into things," Bunge said.
Fatigue could be a factor for this jayhawk squad who have played seven games in the past seven days.
Kanss sportswriter Evan Kafarakis can be contacted at ekafarakis@kanss.com.
"We really need to pull together and not get upset," senior first basemen Nicole Washburn said. "We had the same thing happen last year."
Edited by Lisa Tilson
Nebraska 3, Kansas 0
Pitcher Valerie George throws during the Jayhawks 3-0 loss to the 'Huskers on Wednesday. The Jayhawks have played seven games in seven days.
Lisa Linovac/KANSAN
Nebraska 210 000 0 — 3 5 0
Kansas 000 000 0 — 0 2 2
tion last season hitting a bit of a bumpy road before winning eight in a row and the Big 12 Championship.
Ashley DeBuhar and Jamie Waldecker; Valerie George and Elle Pottorf. W — DeBuhr 13-5. L — George 9-3. Save — None. 2B — NU: Carmen Kier; KU: Nicole Washington.
**Records** — Nebraska 27-11, 3-2 Big
12 Conference, Kansas 26-13 2-1
AUTO RACING Chinese driver joins 2007 Champ Car race
SOFTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Jiang Tengyi of China has confirmed he will compete in the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship, driving for the Brooks Associates Racing team.
The first Chinese driver to appear in the Champ Car World Series' developmental series drove last season for Team China in the A1 Grand Prix series.
The 22-year-old driver from Shanghai leveraged a karting championship in China into
The Champ Car series is scheduled to race for the first time in Zhuhai, China, on May 20.
"The guys are working really hard for a top effort for Jiang," said team owner John Brooks. "He reminds us of some of our favorite drivers of the past."
Associated Press
"The Brooks team was highly rec commended by Forsythe Racing, a team I hope to race with in Champ Car in the future,"Tengyi said.
a Formula BMW seat in 2002, followed by Italian Formula Renault and then the A1GP.
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