76ERS FIRING
THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS fired general manager Brad Greenberg and coach John Davis yesterday, hours after finishing the season with the third-worst record in franchise history.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Greenberg was hired in May after spending eight seasons in the personnel department of the Portland Trailblazers. Davis led the 76ers to a 22-60 record in his coaching debut this season.
Among his few accomplishments; The
among his new accomplishments, the Sixers stopped a streak of six seasons with consecutively more losses—a league record.
Davis was criticized for calling timeouts and setting up plays to get Allen iverson 40 points in the closing minutes of last Monday night's 131-110 loss to Washington.
KANSAS WOMEN'S SOCCER LOSES
The Kansas women's soccer team dropped four games during the weekend, all to nationally-ranked opponents. Saturday the Hawks lost 2-0 to Butters
Saturday the Jayhawks lost 2-0 to Rutgers
and 2-1 to Navy. Yesterday Kansas lost 1-0 to George Washington and 1-0 to South Carolina. It was the team's first action since Dan Magner became coach in February.
COWBOY DEATH
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 1997
Tom Franckhauser, a cornerback on the first Dallas Cowboys football team, died of a heart attack Thursday. He was 59.
Frankhauser was drafted from Purdue University by the Los Angeles Rams in 1959 and came to Dallas in 1960 to plav under Tom Landry.
He returned the opening kickoff in the Cowboys' first regular-season game, making him the
first Cowboy to touch the
first cowboy to touch the ball in an official contest
After two seasons, Franckhauser went to the Minnesota Vikings.
SECTION B
Three former Jayhawks selected in football draft
Three former Jayhawk football players were selected in the NFL draft yesterday, and two of them won't have far to travel to reach their destination.
The Kansas City Chiefs drafted former Kansas running back June Henley in the fifth round and former Kansas wide receiver Isaac Byrd in the sixth round.
Byrd is serving under a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, for whom he plays in the minor leagues. The contract includes a clause that also allows Byrd to play professional football.
The Chiefs previously had drafted another local player on Saturday, Kansas State wide receiver Kevin Lockett in the second round.
The first former Jayhawk to be draited was linebacker Ronnie Ward, who was a third-round selection of the Miami Dolphins. His value had increased since last season with impressive performances in the East-West Shrine game and in the NFL's scouting combine.
Ward is expected to make the transition from middle linebacker to outside linebacker by many draft analysts. No NFL team selected former Kansas offensive lineman Scott Whitaker, making him an unrestricted-foole free agent.
Kansan staff report
Wyoming football player dies of head injuries at 20
Michael D. Priest, 20, of Casper, Wyo., died at 2:40 a.m. after he was flown by air ambulance for surgery at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., according to a hospital spokeswoman. Priest died of head injuries.
LARAMIE, Wyo. — A football player for the University of Wyoming died yesterday morning after he passed out on the practice field a day before, school and hospital officials said.
"There wasn't anything you could pointhe—he wasn't laid out on the field or anything like that," said Wyoming's Sports Information Director Kevin Mckinney. "He came to the sideline and said he was not feeling well and passed out."
Priest arrived at ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie a.m. about a half an hour after the 11:30 a.m. practice. Tests were taken and then he was flown to the Colorado hospital for surgery at 1:47 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.
McKinney said this was the first time a Wyoming football player has died because of something that happened at a practice or game.
Priest, a 1995 graduate of Natrona County High School, was a walk-on player at Wyoming and was majoring in wildlife and fish biology.
Major league baseball makes debut in Hawaii
HONOLULU—Mayer league baseball may be howing its way through a nasty April, but all is pleasant far from the mainland—BS-degree temperatures, festive crowds and hula dancers on the field.
Welcome to baseball, Hawaiian-style.
San Diego moved the series with St. Louis to Hawaii because the Padres want to expand their fan base and because construction limited capacity at Jack Murphy Stadium early in the season.
The major leagues made their debut in Hawaii on Saturday, and the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres could get used to this.
Padres President Larry Lucchino said he didn't see the games in Hawaii as a one-shot deal.
"We know we're behind the Doggers and Giants in terms of fan support in Hawaii, but we want to develop a base," he said.
—The Associated Press
Relays leave lasting mark
Large crowds cheer athletes to high standings
By Matt Woodruff Kansan Sportswriter
The 72nd annual Kansas Relays served as the last home meet for the seniors of the Kansas track and field team, and those athletes made the most of their opportunity to perform one last time in front of the home crowd.
Saturday's attendance was estimated to be the best since the 1983 Kansas Relays, and the effect it had on some of the athletes' performances was obvious.
Senior co-captain Kim Feldkamp won the women's shot put event with a toss of 46 feet, 7 1/4 inches. "This was my best outdoor performance ever," Feldkamp said. "Winning at the relays means a lot to me since it's my senior year, and it's fun to have friends come and support you."
The Kansas men's 4x400-meter relay team of Mike Evers, Grady Blackmon, Pierre Lisk, and Gene Coleman turned in an eye-opening performance Saturday evening as the shadows began to swallow Memorial Stadium, winning the final relay event in 3:10.21.
Coleman, a senior, ran the anchor leg and brought the team from an apparent fourth-place finish to first place.
"This is the best race I've run," Coleman said. "This is my last Kansas Relays, and I'm going to miss it. But it was good to go out like this."
Lisk, also a senior, ran the 100-meter dash in 10.5 seconds placing second place, and he said the crowd had helped him to perform better in his events.
"I'm very pleased with the way I ran and with the crowd today," Lisk said. "It would be great to have even more (spectators), but it's much better than in previous years."
But the seniors weren't the only ones who came to the relays fired up. Sophomore Jon Colby Miller won the men's pole vault with a jump of 17 feet, 1 inches.
"I came here today with a new attitude to do the very best I could do," he said.
"This is my last Kansas Relays,and I'm going to miss it. But it was good to go out like this."
Gene Coleman Kansas' 4X400-meter relay team member
Kansas' Saturday Results
Kansas Track and Field Results Saturday's Kansas Relays
Men
Special Invite 400-Meter; Gene Coleman, 6th place, 47.21 seconds
110-Meter Hurdles: Nathan Prenger, 3rd place, 14.26 seconds
1.600-Meter Relay: Kansas, 1st place,
3:10.21
■ Triple Jump: Paul Tan, 3rd place; 48 feet, 6 inches
Women
1,600 Relay: Kansas, 3rd place, 3:46.4
2-Mile Relay: Kansas, 4th place,
9:27,74
Distance-Medley Relay: Kansas, 5th place, 12:23.14
High Jump: Shanna Shoemaker, 6th place; 5 feet, 6 inches
**Shot Put:** Kim Feldkamp, 1st place; 46 feet, 7 inch / 4 inches
100-Meters: Madinah Hazim, 1st place,
11.99 seconds
The women's 4x100 relay team of Madinah Hazim, Carleen Roberts, Diamond Williams and Tamra Montgomery placed second with a time of 45.75 seconds.
The team will be back in action next weekend when it travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in the Drake Relays.
Geoff Krieger / KANSAN
Runners hit the water hazard during the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase Saturday during the Kansas Relays. Each lap after the first lap, runners must race over four hurdles and a water hazard.
GR Gordon-Ross / KANSAN
Garrett Attig, Lawrence freshman, practices pole vaulting Friday afternoon before the competition. Attig is the son of Kansas assistant track coach Rick Attig.
Relays attract more competitors,prior Kansas track stars
By Matt Woodruff Kansan sportswriter
Everyone loves homecoming.
Jim Ryan, Scott Huffman and Sarah Heeb are no different.
All three former Kansas track athletes were present for the 72nd annual Kansas Relays. Huffman and Heeb were there to compete, and Ryun was there to offer encouragement.
"Returning to the relays is always an important, meaningful event for me," said Ryun, three-time Olympian and holder of the boys' and men's mile records at the Kansas Relays (4:04.8 and 3:54.7, respectively).
"It's great to see all of the young people out here running at the relays," he said.
"Returning to the relays is always an important, meaningful event for me."
Jim Ryun former Kansas track athlete
"Being out here gives me an opportunity to encourage some of them, and sometimes a little bit of encouragement goes a long way."
Scott Huffman, former pole vaulter at Kansas and at the 1996 Olympics, competed in the men's open pole vault competition.
See RELAYS, Page 2B
Ace helps'Hawks in golf tourney
By Tommy Gallagher
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's golf team shot a combined score of 311 in the first round of the Big 12 Championship yesterday at Alvamar Country Club.
The Jayhawks are in fourth place and trail tournament-leader Texas by 10 strokes.
The shot of the day was made by Kansas golfer Susan Tessary, who recorded a hole-in-one on hole No. 12. She used a seven-iron on the 144-yard hole for her first career ace.
"As soon as I hit the shot, I knew it was pure and had a chance to go
in," Tessary said. "I didn't know that the ball had gone in until I went up to the cup and took the ball out. One coach from another school told me the ball didn't go in, so I didn't know."
Kansas women's golf coach Jerry Waugh said that yesterday was the first time this season that four Kansas golfers had shot less than 80 in the same round.
The Jayhawks were led by Missy Russell and Beth Reuter, both of whom had 77s in the first round. Both players are currently tied for ninth in the overall individual standings.
Tessary finished with a 78 and is tied for 17th in the overall individ-
"As soon as I hit the shot, I knew it was pure and had a chance to go in."
Susan Tossary Kansas golfer
ershowers that rolled through
Clark said the golf course and the weather held up despite the thundershowers that rolled through
ual standings, Anne Clark shot a 79,
and Mandy Munsch shot an 82.
Lawrence Saturday night.
Russell said that the greens were great for putting, but that the rest of her game was off.
"The greens were a little slow, but the course wasn't too bad," Clark said. "We had some trouble with the extra wind, but we knew that would be a factor here at home. We're used to the wind, but some of the other teams struggled with it."
"I had a couple double-bogeys," Russell said. "I wasn't hitting the ball all too well today, but my putting game really saved me. Most of my excess shots weren't putting."
Shots were falling for the Jayhawks against a tough field of opponents.
Eight schools from the Big 12 are ranked among the top 42 teams in the nation, according to the Rolex women's team rankings. Kansas, Colorado, Iowa State and Oklahoma are unranked.
Russell said that while the team had not made it to the final round in a tournament this season, she thought this would be the one.
, "We're a confident team right now, and it doesn't hurt that we know the course," Russell said. "We normally fall in one of the three rounds in a tournament, but I think we'll put it all together here."
Kansas, one stroke away from third place, will begin secondround action at 9:40 a.m. today.