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CHIEFS SIGNING
Fullback Donnell Bennett has signed a fouryear contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Bennett, 24, was a 1994 second-round draft pick from the University of Miami. The 6-foot, 241-pound back gained 166 yards on 36 carries and caught eight passes for 21 yards last season.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Bennett gained 178 yards on 46 carries his rookie year but suffered a
nine injury at the end of the season that kept him out of the last game and the first 12 games of the 1995 season.
RUSSIAN HOCKEY OFFICIAL KILLED
The president of the Russian Hockey Federation was shot to death yesterday as he and his wife were leaving their country home. Valentin Sych may have been the
victim of a contract killing.
Sych's wife was seriously injured. Sych, 59, was elected president of Russia's ice Hockey Federation in 1994.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23,1997
IRABU SAGA
Ending a four-month saga, the New York Yankees today acquired the rights to Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu from the San Diego Padres for $3 million.
As part of the deal, the Yankees will send injured outfielder Ruben Rivera and minor league pitcher Rafael Medina to San Diego and
will receive three players in return: second baseman Homer Bush and outfielders Gordon Amerson and Vernon Maxwell.
Irabu's team in Japan, the Chiba Lotte Marines, agreed in January to give San Diego exclusive rights to sign him, but the 27-year-old right-hander refused to negotiate with the Padres.
SECTION B
Five-second count back in collegiate basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hoping to jazz up offensive play, the NCAA decided yesterday to reinstate college basketball's five-second rule, which was dropped four seasons ago
The rule states a player may not dribble the ball for more than five seconds if a defender is within six feet.
After the rule was abandoned, the number of shots declined. Guards protecting a lead would dribble around for most of the 35 seconds on the shot clock.
During the two-day meeting, the committee also voted to require most preseason tournaments next season to use a 40-second shot clock.
This will be mandatory for most preseason tournaments that begin before Dec. 1, including the Maui Classic, the Great Alaska Shootout and the preseason NIT.
Former running back shot, critically injured
INDIANAPOLIS — Lars Tate, a former running back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was shot and critically wounded early yesterday.
Police said Tate, 32, was shot in the throat as he tried to help a woman who was arguing with a man about the custody of a child. The woman, Doris Smith, 45, also was shot and was listed in serious condition.
Haywood Rice, 31, of Indianapolis was arrested and likely will face two charges of attempted murder, police Lt. Tim Horty said.
Investigators said Tate was visiting a friend when Rice went to the house to get his 1-year-old daughter.
Tiger Woods invented term to reflect ethnicity
Tate underwent surgery and was still in recovery in critical condition, Wishard Hospital representative Pat Lloyd said.
The 21-year old golf star said that was the mix that best reflected his background — a blend of Caucasian, Black. Indian and Asian.
CHICAGO — Tiger Woods, described as the first Black Masters champion, said it bothered him when people call him an African American.
"It does," he said during Monday's taping for the The Oprah Winfrey Show. "Growing up, I came up with this name: I'm a 'Cablinasian.'"
Woods recalled being asked in school to check one box that best described his background. He couldn't settle on one.
Woods is one-fourth black, one-fourth Thai, one-fourth Chinese, one-eighth white and one-eighth American Indian.
Rams player arraigned on child-abuse charges
LOUDON, Tenn. — St. Louis Rams player Travis Cozart and two family members face an Oct. 1 trial on charges of aggravated child abuse.
Cozart, 22; his sister, Nadine Cozart Billingly, 34; and her ex-husband, Perry Billingly, 37, were arraigned Monday.
Investigators say Cozart's 1-year-old daughter, Toria Elias, got cocaine into her system last November at the home Cozart shared with the Billingslys in Lenoir City, about 30 miles from Knoxville.
The charge against Perry Billingly was dismissed after a court hearing, but a grand jury later indicted him.
Cozart played briefly at the University of Tennessee. He was kicked off the team after being arrested for a fight at a 4th of July picnic. He subsequently played on a Canadian Football League team before signing a contract last month with the Rams.
The Associated Press
Golfers win the long drive
Seventh-place finish mirrors season's start
By Kelly Cannon Kansan sportswriter
- The women's Big 12 Conference golf tournament ended yesterday at Alvamar Country Club, with Kansas posting a seventh-place finish.
The Jayhawks posted a third-round total of 328, which dropped them one place on Monday's standings.
The team began the tournament Saturday by winning the team portion of the long drive competition.
"We won the long drive competition on Saturday, which was a good way to start," head coach Jerry Waugh said.
Sunday the Jayhawks scored a team total of 311, followed by 320 on Monday. Waugh said he was happy with the team's performance.
"I felt pleased with our finish," Waugh said. "You always have to look at any round and the play of players to see how you could have done better."
Senior Anne Clark also was pleased with the finish.
"I thought the team played very well," she said. "We were a little shaky, but we played well."
"Our goal was to finish in the top half of the conference, but we failed to do so by one position," he said. "You have to consider our capabilities. I was pleased."
"Each of them had a particular round where they were able to help the team."
Jerry Waugh Kansas women's tennis head coach
At the beg... Kansas women's tennis head coach
the fall season, Kansas
participated in a Big 12 preview tournament, at which it also
finished seventh.
"We finished in seventh place at the preview." Waugh said. "And we duplicated that by finishing seventh here. I wasn't sure we could accomplish that when looking at our play this spring. We were slow to develop."
Clark posted a third-round score of 79, the best score for the Jawhaws. She finished in 34th place.
Senior Missy Russell led Kansas, scoring an 80 that put her in 16th place.
**39. place.** Freshman Susan Tessary finished in 30th place with 242, while sophomore Mandy Munsch was 32nd with 243. Clark was 34th with 244, and junior Beth Reuter was 36th with 245.
Waugh said Russell had been one of his stronger players all year.
"Each of them had a particular round where they were able to help the team." Waugh said.
"Missy has been one of my best," Waugh said. "During my
four years as her coach, she has been my most consistent player and leader."
Clark said she didn't finish as well as she would have liked. "I feel all my hard work paid off," Clark said. "I didn't finish as well as I would have liked because of my second round, but you're not always going to play as best as you can play. I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Kansas will lose Clark and Russell as they are both graduating. "We'll miss those girls," Waugh said. "They were an instrumental part in any success we had this season. But we are returning the three other players, and we have two strong recruits coming in."
Texas won the tournament, winning by two strokes below second place Texas A&M.
Texas senior Heather Bowie won the individual title, dominating the rest of the field by 11 strokes to finish four under par. Kansas State finished in 10th place.
Tournament Finishes
Big 12 Team Finishes
scores
Place Team 10112
1 Texas 301 305 318=924
2 Texas A&M 308 308 310
3 Nebraska 313 311 321=945
4 Missouri 320 310 316=946
5 Oklahoma State 310 312 326=948
6 Texas Tech 328 308 321=957
7 Kansas 311 320 328=959
8 Oklahoma 317 316 332=965
9 Baylor 320 331 322=973
10 Kansas State 325 323 331=979
11 Iowa State 337323 341=1001
12 Colorado 348 324 337=1009
Individual Finishers
| Place | Name | Team | Score |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | ---: |
| 1 | Heather Bowie | Texas | 71 68 73=212 |
| 2 | Isabelle Rosberg | Texas A&M | 74 74 75=223 |
| 3 | Jamie Hullett | Texas A&M | 74 79 74=227 |
| 4 | Hanna Nyquist | Nebraska | 77 77 77=231 |
| 5 (tie) | Gina Spalitto | Missouri | 79 77 78=234 |
| 5 (tie) | Katie O'Neill | Oklahoma | 77 78 79=234 |
| 5 (tie) | Jennifer Waterhouse | Texas | 74 81 79=234 |
| 5 (tie) | Elizabeth Bahensky | Nebraska | 76 77 81=234 |
| 9 (tie) | Brooke Lowrance | Texas Tech | 817 79 75=235 |
| 9 (tie) | Jenny Bartley | Okla. State | 77 79 79=235 |
Kansas Results
16 (tie) Missy Russell 77 82 80=239
30 (tie) Susan Tessary 78 80 84=242
32 (tie) Mandy Munsch 82 76 85=243
34 (tie) Anne Clark 79 86 79=244
36 (tie) Beth Reuter 77 82 86=245'
Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Kansas senior Anne Clark follows through on a tee off. Clark finished 34th with a score of 244 in the Big 12 Women's Tennis Tournament while Kansas finished seventh overall with a combined score of 959. The Texas Longhorns won the tournament with a combined score of 924.
Kansas loses doubleheader
By Harley Ratliff
Kansan sportswriter
After last night, the Kansas team probably hopes the Longhorns don't come back for 48 more.
It has been 48 years since the Texas baseball team last ventured to the state of Kansas.
The Longhorns (26-18, 9-11)
took the first game 7-6 and closed out the night with an 16-3 victory in the second game.
Texas swept both games of its doubleheader against Kansas last night at Hotlund-Mauin Field.
"This win is going to make things easier," Texas head coach Angie Garrido said. "There was an after effect from the two wins against Texas A&M. Coming into this situation, we knew we had to scrap to survive. It was a great effort of overcoming adversity."
Senior pitcher Tim Lyons riffes a ball toward home yesterday during the first game of a doubleheader against Texas.
GR Gordon-Ross / KANSAN
The two victories mark Texas' fourth straight Big 12 Conference victory and push the Longhorns within striking distance of post-season qualification.
For the Jayhawks (27-18, 11-12), the doubleheader marked the sixth loss in eight games.
A few weeks ago, Kansas was ranked fourth in the conference and seemed assured of capturing one of the six berths for the Big 12 post-season tournament. After last night, the Jayhawks are clinging to the final position by just a few percentage points
more than Missouri and Texas.
"The only solution that I've known for anything is to go back to the drawing board and work on the fundamentals," said Kansas head coach Bobby Randall. "We'll be ready to play tomorrow. And if we can't—then something is wrong."
The two teams will conclude the mid-week series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Softball team seeks to get back on track
By Matt Woodruff
Kansan sportswriter
After two disappointing losses to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday, the Kansas softball team will try to get back on track when they play the Southwest Missouri State Bears today.
Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said it would be important for the team, 33-16 overall, to take things one game at a time and not look ahead to conference games.
"It's important for us to get back on track mentally," Bunge said. "This is a team that's very capable of playing us tough, and it's important that we are looking at these two games rather than ahead to Missouri. I think the players realize that we have to take each game one game at a time."
The Bears are just above .500 (22-20), but the team has womens five of its last seven games, and its pitching staff has a collective 1.96 ERA.
Kansas will travel to Springfield. Mo. with the lineup that has led the team to an 11-4 conference record.
Although the Bears have hit only four home runs as a team, the starting lineup features five players who have a batting average of more than .290.
"They're a team that has been up and down this season," Bunge said. "They've played some teams tight, and others they've won by the run rule."
Katie Malone, who has started nine games at the position, is suffering from a sprained ankle and will most likely be replaced by either Jov Peters or Alv Berry.
The only change is at the designated player position.
"That will be a game-time decision," Bunge said. "Joy Peters has had some big hits for us in the last six games and is showing that maybe she needs to be in there. I think it's important for us to have a set lineup, and I believe that familiarity is very important at this time of year."
One familiar face will be on the pitcher's mound.
Sarah Workman has been the pitcher of record in 37 of the team's 49 games and has a 1.63 ERA on the strength of a 203-76 strikeout-to-walkratio.
Also pitching well for the Jayhawks has been Christy McPhail, who has a 9-2 record and a 2.01 ERA. McPhall pitched a one-hit shutout against Iowa State Saturday.
"She did a great job for us Saturday," Bunge said. "I'm continuing to grow in my confidence level with her, and she's continuing to get much-needed experience. I'm really anxious to see what she's going to continue to do for us the rest of the year."
The games are scheduled to begin at 3 and 5 p.m. on the Southwest Missouri State softball field.
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