8B
Tuesday, April 22, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Ryun's friends reply Column scars memory Claim that money was of Ryun's exciting Relays requested just isn't true
For my whole life, the Kansas Relays have been a big event in the Ryun household. We have arranged vacations around them just so we could participate in their rich history. I only wish I could have been around to see the 30,000-plus people who came to watch my father run and get to see the thrill of a lifetime. I know that it was a thrill of a lifetime because I've been told countless stories about the Kansas Relays and my father's races. Now I'm afraid those memories have been scarred by the stories I have recently read in The University Daily Kansan and the Laurence-Journal World.
The sports editor tried to paint my father as a heartless man who wouldn't give a child the time of day, let alone an autograph. I guess his research was lacking. My father has given thousands of autographs, and never once have I heard him say no, even when we as a family were out to dinner. My father believes, as does the rest of the family, that if one autograph can bless a child or an adult, he is honored and willing to give it. My father has been blessed with many talents. To give an autograph is his way of saying thank you to the people who believed in him as a young boy and now as U.S. representative.
I hope this year's Relays will be exciting as when my father was a participant. I will be there to cheer for my brother as he carries on the family tradition.
Heather Ryun
Lawrence sophomore
Dear Spencer.
Dear Spencer, I am very disappointed in the column that you wrote about the 1981 Kansas Relays when Glenn Cunningham, Jim Ryun and I were honored. That was a very special day for the three of us. Glenn Cunningham died not long after that. Jim and I have talked many times about what a special day that was. The pictures that were taken that day will bring special memories to many.
Your suggestion that Jim or any of us have ever asked for money to sign an autograph is just not true. I have traveled all over the United State with Jim and Glen. I have never known us to turn down signing an autograph for the young fans who come to see us. I do know there are times when we pulled away from signing due to other commitments, but we never intended to be rude or unfair to the young fans.
As Jim has moved into the political world, there will be those who will not always agree with him. However, I do not think you can ever question his honesty or integrity. It is always a joy for my wife and I to do things with Jim and his family. They truly represent a way of life that we need to see more of in America.
We want the Kansas Relays to be a happy and enjoyable time for all. I am sure that if you ask Jim for his autograph, he will sign it with pleasure as he always has.
wes samee
Former member of the Kansas track team
Wes Santee track team
By Anne M. Peterson The Associated Press
Team has won nine straight
Giants cause a stir
SAN FRANCISCO — Not since 1938, when the team played in New York, have the Giants gotten off to this kind of start.
They have won nine straight games and have a 13-3 record — the best in the Major League. And the Giants are just as surprised as everyone else.
Pitcher Shawn Estes explained it by simply echoing the team's advertising slogan this season: "It's Giants baseball. Anything can happen."
"It's hard to tell that you're going to win nine in a row," manager Dusty Baker said. "You win one in a row, you try not to lose any series, which we haven't."
"You try to split — at worst — a two-game series and you try to win two out of three in a three-game series," he said. "You can't conceive of anything because you really don't know."
"We're doing it different ways every day." Baker said. "Basically, we're doing it with good pitching, timely hitting and good defense. Plus
we've had a few breaks along the way."
San Francisco has just 11 home runs, and only two at home. But they are getting the key key when it counts, usually late in the game. The Giants have seven come-from-behind victories.
Jeff Kent leads the team with four home runs and 20 RBL Glenallen Hill has driven in 12 runs and hit two home runs.
As for pitching, the staff ERA is 2.61.
Then there's the team's defense, which outfieldster Stan Javier credited after Sunday's 2-0 victory against the Florida Marlins.
"When you play good defense, you're going to win those 2-0 games," he said.
Shortstop Jose Vizcaino said teamwork was the key.
"It's not like basketball where one guy can win the game," he said. "Here, all nine players have to win
Aⓧ M A C H A E Z 2017
Selected comments will be printed.
The following are responses received via e-mail by the sports desk. Comments and questions can be sent to sports@kansan.com
In response to Spencer Duncan's column about Jim Ryan not giving him an autograph and how children forever remember how athletes treat them:
Although I do not know Jim Ryun personally, I am surprised at the two responses that you
Rarely have we seen such a barbaric absence of compassion. How dare you suggest that one of the greatest basketball players of all time faked his having a terminal illness (as you appear ignorant about the facts regarding being HIV-positive, I thought you might like to know
But perhaps even more disturbing is to even suggest with such ignorance "that the whole 'Magic has HIV' idea was a scam. In this day of cropkot
In response to John Erck's column about Tiger Woods, Magic Johnson and other sports notes:
have received from him when you asked for his autograph. Has he responded to your column in the Kansan? If you have an opportunity to discuss this with him, I hope that you will print a follow-up story. An unfinished story could leave a very wrong impression.
journalism and irresponsible reporting (bad sources), such a flagrant misrepresentation of the truth is inexcusable. We are sure that it is very easy for you to sit wherever your brilliant ideas come from and suggest such malicious and insensitive ideologies such as this. But consider, while you distort the truth, that Magic Johnson sits at home and lives with the fact that he is HIV-positive. Walk a mile in his shoes and the next time you decide to suggest such idiocies, take a dose of compassion and realize what you are writing.
that), to "scare the hell out of everyone." It is important for you to understand that Magic does have traces of being HIV-positive in his bloodstream. The facts are not, as you so eloquently misstated, "Do you know of anyone else who has been diagnosed with it and then five years later it (HIV) could not be found in that person's bloodstream." Sources such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN SportsCenter reiterated emphatically that Magic had not been cured of the virus that causes AIDS, but only that the detectable levels of HIV were barely traceable.
■ In response to your query as to whether anyone had heard of someone having AIDS and then it not showing up in their bloodstream: Yes, I have heard of this
before. Anyone relatively cognizant of current events in this field has heard of recent successes in vanquishing the virus from detection by use of combination therapies including protease inhibitors. Stick to sports or better research before branching subjects in other areas!
It doesn't surprise me that you do not feel that Tiger Woods is comparable to Jackie Robinson. I can see where part of the problem lies: Your picture shows me that you are White. Mind you, I know many White people do not feel the way you do, such as me, but I cannot find any other reason that you would feel this way.
Tiger Woods may not have been the first Black ever to play
"It's Giants baseball. Anything can happen."
Shawn Estes Giants pitcher
the game.
Last season, the Giants were the worst team in the NL West and the fans avoided the team's windy, cold bayside home. Then in the off-season, the team traded third baseman Matt Williams, prompting one long-time fan to go public with his search for a new team to cheer.
But, as Barry Bonds said, "That was the past, this is the present."
Now local sports radio talk shows are buzzing with praise for the home-team team. On Sunday, there were 10,000 walk-un fans at 3Com Park.
About the only thing missing this season is Bonds, who is hitting .250 with only six RBI and one home run. During April last season, he had 11 homers and 32 RBIs.
in the PGA, but he is the first to win the Masters. Not only did he win, he blew everyone else aawav.
You may not have thought that this was a great day for Blacks, but I felt the chills go up and down my skin as I was rooting him on. And yes, I felt that I was feeling the same way many Americans felt the day Robinson played for the first time in baseball.
In a day when everyone is supposed to be equal, many of us know the realities of racism. I, and I hope I speak for my peers also, am not rooting him on because he is better than any White person, but because he proved that we are all equal and he showed all those snobs who hosted the Masters that Blacks are here to stay.
GRADUATE STUDENTS...
- Are you considering non-academic positions?
- Are you currently searching for a position?
- Would you like guidance about securing a job in the private sector?
If you can respond YES to any of the above questions, you should attend this panel:
PhDs in Non-Academic Positions Wednesday, April 23rd Jayhawk Room, Kansas Union 4:45-6:00 pm
This panel is designed to explore options for advanced degree holders outside academia. Dr. John Aitken of Ernst and Young, LLP, and Dr.Andy Dahl, CEO of HealthNet, will address how to "package" your degree for the private sector. Provost Shulenberger and Dr. Andrew Debicki Dean of Graduate School, will comment about KU's role in preparing graduate students for non-academic positions.
Join us for a reception to mingle with panel participants beginning at 4:00pm
Graduate Student Professional Development Conference All events are free and open to the University
Additional Events Are Posted On Our Web Page at http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~gsc With questions call Renee Speicher at 864-4919·Co-sponsored by the Graduate and Professional Association, Student Senate, GTAC, and The Graduate School.
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