MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2005
SPORTS
NFL
expect out 10 main play
to go team areas,"
The Associated Press
Chiefs stumble in opener
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper evades Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Benny Sapp as he drops back for a pass during the first quarter of a preseason game in Minneapolis, Friday. The Vikings won, 27-16.
MINNEAPOLIS — Using his fast feet to maneuver around the field, Daunte Culpepper had no trouble finding the right receiver during a sharp opening possession.
That's how Minnesota is going to have to move the ball without Randy Moss.
Culpepper opened the preseason by guiding an efficient 65-yard touchdown drive, leading the Vikings to a 27-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.
Completing his first five passes, each to a different receiver, Culpepper found new No. 1 target Nate Burleson for a 33-yard
score to cap a drive that lasted only 3 minutes, 8 seconds. Culpepper finished 5-for-6 for 84 yards.
"Going back to my college days, I've always liked to do that," said Culpepper, who lost the mercurial Moss in an offseason trade to Oakland. "I always throw the ball to different guys. It makes everybody more effective. It makes defenses cover everybody."
Kansas City's Priest Holmes, whose damaged right knee cost him eight games last season, played only seven snaps. He looked sharp, rushing four times for 42 yards.
Backup Larry Johnson, who will share more of the load this year, carried eight times for 37 yards.
"I followed my reads pretty good, and we have a pretty good offensive line," Holmes said, estimating his health at 75 to 80 percent.
"I wouldn't give us too high a grade, but I feel like we had some rhythm."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 11B
Marc Boerigter, returning from a knee injury that kept him out all of last season, caught two passes for 28 yards.
Fourth-string quarterback James Killian leaped into the end zone to finish a 3-yard run with
29 seconds left, giving the Chiefs their first touchdown.
Kansas City, like Minnesota,
made a significant attempt to
upgrade a lagging defense during
the offseason.
Though two of the newcomers — linebacker Kendrell Bell and defensive end Carlos Hall
— missed this game because of injuries, the first-stringers played into the second quarter and gave up two TDs.
Most importantly, both teams emerged without any new injuries.
"There were some encouraging things, and we'll just be able to build on that." Tice said.
A TEXAN'S TAKE
Players need school not pro-ball dollars
ERIC SORRENTINO esorrentino@kansan.com
"It's a very personal and very important thing. It's a family motto. Are you ready Jerry? I want to make sure you're ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money," Cuba Gooding, Jr. said in "Jerry Maguire."
The mindset of present-day sports players, particularly in the NBA, is skewed that way.
Players today are undermining the importance of college by skipping it for NBA dollars. They should accept these institutions and their scholarships. Athletes who skip college have talent that could take them to any college in the United States.
However, their mindset is nonexistent. They need college.
Look no further than a basketball-rich school like ours. KU standouts, such as Danny Manning, Raef LaFrentz, Jacque Vaughn, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Wayne Simien, Keith Langford and Aaron Miles played basketball here for four years. Paul Pierce and Drew Gooden left early, but even these players staved three years.
The fight that broke out between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons last season was the biggest embarrassment in the history of sports. Two of the primary instigators, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, didn't attend college.
These athletes should marvel at the possibility of playing in a Duke-North Carolina game. These athletes should embrace the opportunity to play at a basketball-rich school, where passion is the game, not the check.
That's much better than what's happening now. In the past five years 20 high school players
were taken in the first round of the NBA draft. In the 2001 NBA draft, three of the first four picks were high school players.
These athletes should consider the benefits of going to college instead of directly to the NBA. College offers invaluable experience that people of any group can take with them the rest of their lives. Plus, what if basketball is not these players' calling? A college degree has become a requirement for just about any job - outside the NBA.
Danny Manning helped the Jayhawks win the national title in 1988. The Los Angeles Clippers drafted him with the first pick in the 1988 NBA draft. Manning was selected first because of his college accomplishments, not his high school feats.
Not every high school player is LeBron James. Not every high school player has immediate impact. Kobe Bryant didn't.
NBA Commissioner David Stern attempted to improve the problem this summer. He installed a minimum age of 19 to enter the NBA as part of a collective bargaining agreement.
But players should not be forced to go to college; they should want to go. The age limit will only make recruiting tougher for NCAA coaches. How do they know that their star freshman won't head straight for the pros after his first year?
There was a similar scare with departed guard J.R. Giddens after a successful freshman year. There were draft rumors in Lawrence during the offseason. Would that have been the right decision?
So instead of rushing your lives and showing you the money, come to a place like the University of Kansas — it won't bite.
You make the call.
♦ Sorrentino is a Plano, Texas, senior in journalism. He is Kansas associate sports editor.