4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2005
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
Robinett
Helping matters was the fact that the Aggies, who dedicated the game to the victims of the disaster, turned in such an inspired effort that they knocked off the favored Longhorns. But regardless of who won, the game helped people move on with life.
LSU decided to move its game because hurricane evacuates in Baton Rouge prevented the school from using all of its facilities, according to Associated Press reports.
"We don't want to interfere with the recovery effort in any way," LSU athletic director Skip Bertman told reporters.
That's the right decision, because no football game is more important than helping those homeless and suffering after Hurricane Katrina. It's just a shame that LSU officials
Playing the game in Tempe will help those affected by the hurricane. Arizona State will donate its net gate receipts to the hurricane relief effort.
But it is likely that the other sites would have done the same. And having the game closer to home would have given LSU a home field advantage of sorts, rather than a road game against a strong opponent.
couldn't have figured out a way to keep the game closer than Tempe.
Obviously, losing the home crowd edge seems minor compared to the plight of the hurricane victims, but the game is still important to many people.
If the Sun Devils prevail on their home field and wind up in the national chamionship game, critics will detract from their feat by pointing out that they didn't have to travel to Tiger Stadium and play an inspired LSU team on its turf.
But a good portion of those fans could have made the trip to Oxford, Miss., or Shreveport, La. Both cities have large football stadiums and reportedly wanted to play host to the game. Instead, it was moved 1,500 miles away.
LSU's Tiger Stadium holds just more than 91,000, and every fan who planned to attend tomorrow's game has to be unhappy, especially since LSU had already postponed its home opener against North Texas, and the New Orleans Saints likely won't play in Louisiana this season.
That's why 91,000 fans make their way to Baton Rouge on game days each fall.
If the Sun Devils prevail on their home
If you play the game, you play it to win. Especially when both teams are ranked in the top 15, and the winner could end up batting for the national championship.
field and wind up in the national championship game, critics will detract from their feat by pointing out that they didn't have to travel to Tiger Stadium and play an inspired LSU team on its turf.
In the end, moving the game to Tempe might not have an effect on the grand scheme of things in the real world, but in the world of college football, it would have been more fair to LSU fans to keep the game close to Baton Rouge. And perhaps, therapeutic.
Robinett is an Austin, Texas,
senior in journalism. He is
Kansan sports editor.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
CONTINUES FROM PAGE 13
off against the No. 15 Pepperdine Waves (4-0-0) at noon on Sunday.
California
In his eighth season, Pepperdine Coach Tim Ward is enjoying his team's most successful start in school history.
Much like the Toreros, the Waves are also coming back from a similar invitational but from Hawaii instead.
While there, the Waves shut out both the University of Hawaii and Eastern Michigan.
Unranked at the beginning of the season, Pepperdine has shot up the polls because of its dominant start and has now landed itself at the No. 15 spot in the Soccer America poll.
Junior forward Linsey Redlin leads the team with four goals and nine points in just four games. She is at the 55 percent mark at shots on goal.
Francis acknowledged Pepperdine's out-of-the-cannon start, but isn't even thinking about them yet.
"We've got to take on San Diego before we even get to Pepperdine," Francis said. "We'll take one game at a time. We got to train a lot more this week than we did last week."
Sunday's match up will mark the first between Kansas and San Diego.
The Jayhawks are not heading to the beach without preparing. Francis sounded happy about having the last week off and said he felt his team needed the extra training time.
Senior forward Caroline Smith leads the charge for Kansas with three goals and six points.
Freshman forward Jessica Bush is right behind her with a pair of game-winning goals last week against Missouri State and Arkansas. Bush was also named Big 12 player of the week for that effort.
"It's always good to see your players get recognized around the conference," Francis said. "And she deserves it."
The Jayhawks kick off in San Diego at 39 to 10on.
Edited by Patrick Ross