STEELER PUBLICIST
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JOE GORDON, longtime Pittsburgh Steelers publicist, may be the NFL's latest victim of free agency. Gordon said the increasing shift in emphasis from football to business led to his decision to retire after 28 seasons with the team. Gordon, 61, the public relations director for the Steelers' four Super Bowl championship teams, will remain as a consultant for at least a year. He
SPORTS
has been director of marketing.
been director of marketing Gordon was revered among
RIPKEN CONTRACT
Gordon was revered among sports writers for his ability to produce players for interviews. He wouldn't turn down a viable request unless a player had a pressing personal or physical problem.
CONGRESSWOMAN FIGHTS BASEBALL IN CUBA
A Florida Congresswoman urged the State Department to reject the Baltimore Orioles' request to play exhibition games in Cuba. In a letter to Secretary of State Madelineine
Albright, REP. ILEANA ROS-LENTHIEN called the proposal a "publicity stunt" that would be a "propaganda coup" for Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 1997
Baltimore shortstop CAL RIPKEN received a three-year extension Wednesday that ties him to the Orioles through the year 2000, during which he will celebrate his 40th birthday. While it would appear as if the future Hall of Fame star won't need another contract after this one, the Orioles aren't sure.
The extension guarantees Ripken
about $15.1 million for the 1998
and 1999 seasons. The Orientes have an option for 2000 at $6.3 million with a buyout of about $2.5 million.
Ripken, 36, was entering the final season of a $32.5 million, five-year contract.
Rutgers hires new coach to lead basketball team
SECTION B
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers didn't get the big-name coach it sought to replace Bob Wenzel as head of its basketball program.
In hiring Kevin Bannon of Rider on Wednesday, the Scarlet Knights might have gotten something more important: a successful local guy who wanted the job all along.
Bannon, who rebuilt Rider's basket ball program and took it to two NCAA tournaments in eight years, edged out three other candidates.
Bannon was Rutgers' fourth choice to replace Wenzel, who was fired on March 6.
Eddie Fogler of South Carolina and Tom Penders of Texas were wooed and backed away, and Bill Herrion of Drexel shocked the Scarlet Knights by turning down an offer to become coach.
Bannon beat out Pat Kennedy of Florida State, Danny Nee of Nebraska and Tim Welson of Iona.
Bannon will receive a package worth $400,000 annually, including a $150,000 salary.
Bannon posted a 131-103 record at Rider, taking the Broncs to the NCAA tournament in 1993 and '94 as champions of the Northeast Conference.
Nine from Albanian team seek asylum while in Spain
MADRID, SPAIN — Eight players and a trainer from Albania's national soccer team sought political asylum in Spain yesterday.
The nine, believed to belong to Albania's under-21 team, sought asy lum on arriving in Madrid from Granada, where they played two World Cup qualifying games. The games were played in Granada because of unrest in Albania.
Police barred reporters from entering the Interior Ministry building, where asylum requests are made, and lowered window shutters so camera crews could not film proceedings.
The nine later emerged from the building, some trying to cover their faces. Eight were driven away, accompanied by two members of the Spanish Red Cross. One walked away, asking to be left alone.
Ministry representative Adrian Guerra said the Red Cross would be looking after them while their petitions were being processed.
Earlier Guerra urged the reporters to disperse, saying the nine wouldn't come out until they left.
Reports earlier said some of the players had planned to seek asylum because of unrest back home
Albania lost to Germany on Wednesday night 3-2 and to Ukraine 1-0 on Saturday.
Jockey wins $2.5 million prize two years in a row
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Jerry Bailey followed last year's win on Cigar by riding Singsipel to victory yesterday in the $4 million Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race.
Singsspiel, owned by Sheik Mohamed al Maktoum and trained by Michael Stoute of Britain, shot through on the inside and pulled away from U.S.-based colts Siphon and Sandpit in the final 400 yards.
The victory, worth $2.5 million, prevented a second 1-2-3 sweep by U.S. based horses in the race at Nad Al Sheba track.
Siphon, ridden by David Flores, finished second, and Sandpit, with Corey Nakatani aboard, was third. Both Siphon and Sandpit are trained by Richard Mandella.
Singspiel won the prestigious Japah Cup last year. This was his first run on dirt.
The race had to be postponed Sunday because of torrential rain.
The Associated Press
Love is all around
Playing tough schedules under new coaches doesn't stop the Kansas men's and women's tennis teams from developing a close bond that is rare at the collegiate
level. Kansas players say the friendship and cheers of their teammates keep them at the top of their game.
Tennis teams like a family
Kansan sportswriter
Bv Andv Rohrback
When Kansas men's tennis player Enrique Abaroa needs help in his organizational behavior class, he turns to his teammate. But that teammate, junior Christie Sim, plays for the women's team, not the men's.
"Christie is a lot of help for me. She has a lot of patience," said Abaroa, a junior. "We had sociology and geography together, so she explained a lot there."
Abaroa's friendship with Sim is not uncommon at the University. In fact, the men's and women's tennis teams are more like brothers and sisters than separate teams.
Men's assistant coach Frank Polito said the Kansas teams were unique in their relationship.
"You don't see that too much in other schools," he said. "It's like both programs are separate. Here at Kansas, we try to keep it more like one program."
The teams try to attend each other's home matches. Some of the men say this support helps their team in several ways.
"I just love hearing their voices cheering for me," Abarao said. "I really like to cheer for them; I think that gets them pretty confident."
Junior Trent Tucker said hearing the women cheering was exhilarating.
"We know they're there genuinely to encourage us, whether we play good or bad," he said.
The support given by fellow tennis players goes beyond the emotional lift given by regular fans,
Tucker said. He said the voice of the players was the voice of experience, of someone who had been there before.
"It's good because they know how to play tennis, so they understand the problems, how frustrating it is, and they know what you're going through," Tucker said. Senior Bianca Kirchhof said she felt an added incer
Senior Bianca Kirchhof said she felt an added incentive to play well when the men watched.
"The men are whistling; they're cheering for you," she said. "It's exciting because you know you want to play well."
That relationship helps in recruiting, men's head coach Mark Riley said.
"That's why both programs have done well in the last few years, because when athletes come on campus, they see that it's not just a
men's team and a women's team; it's together. "Riley said."
The teams offer each other an opportunity to practice in the off-season as well, Chiller said. In the fall before competition begins, the teams play together to hone their skills. When the season is in full swing, the teams occasionally practice together.
This season, the men's team has been on the road every time the women have played at home. The men will get their first chance to watch the women in action Wednesday against Kansas State. Then the teams will travel to Austin together for the Big 12 Conference
"Sometimes there's odd numbers in practice, or something happens where you want to throw a guy in there, or send a girl over to hit. That's fine," Polito said.
"We already talk about it, how exciting it's going to be," Sim said. "When they're there, it's so much more fun."
tournament.
Kirchhof said that although the teams played in separate tournaments, the spirit of unity still could be felt.
"We do our own thing, but we're at the same facility, so whoever gets done first, they go cheer for the others," Kirchhof said.
The kinship exists off the court, as well. Often members of both teams go out to eat together or help each other with homework, as Abaroa and Sim do.
"We have this bond," Sim said.
"There are always people you can talk to. It's like a big family, really, because you can count on anyone. You can trust everyone."
Kansas to face Baylor
Baseball team eager for win
By Harley V. Ratliff
Kansan sportswriter
There is only one team in the Big 12 Conference that the Kansas baseball team has never beaten and they arrive in Lawrence today.
The Baylor Bears (18-12, 9-6), which hold a 5-0 all-time record against Kansas, will start the first of a three-game series with the Jayhawks at 7 tonight at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
Kansas (22-11, 7-5) heads into the game on a down note after Wednesday's disappointing 9-5 loss to in-state rival Wichita State. It was the second time this season the Jayhawks have fallen to the Shockers.
significant improvements since its first encounter with the Shockers
Despite the loss, Kansas head coach Bobby Randall said it was apparent that his team had made
"We were far more competitive than before," Randall said. "We were able to stay in the game all the way through and had the tying run on (base) in the ninth."
Although the Bears have a winning record, Baylor has had trouble lately. After a strong start, Baylor has struggled, failing to win consecutive games since early March. Baylor head coach Steve Smith said his team had suffered from myriad problems.
The Jayhawks will try to use the Baylor series to rebound from the loss.
"We're playing pretty bad." Smith said. "We've struggled to put any consistency together and have had trouble keeping other teams down."
Although the Bears field just two seniors, Smith doesn't see Baylor's youth as the reason for his team's recent slump.
"We will have to out-hit them," Smith said. "They have a good offensive ball club, and as good as they are offensively, we can't expect to shut them down."
In charge of keeping the Bears off the base paths will be Kansas pitchers Josh Bailey, Rusty Philbrick and Tim Lyons. Bailey drew the start for tonight's game, while Philbrick and Lyons will close out the series tomorrow and Sunday, respectively.
"We got off to a good start," he said. "But then we just started to hit a lull."
With 24 games left, Randall said that while his team was in a good position, it still needed to improve in several areas.
Smith said that Baylor's success this weekend would depend on its ability to produce at the plate.
"We've narrowed the gap between the really good teams and our ability to compete with them," Randall said. "But we're still too tentative at times. We need to make the plays defensively and get more consistent pitching."
The series will continue at 2 p.m. tomorrow and 1 p.m. Sunday at Hogland-Maupin.
Football workouts build muscles, team
Kansan sportswriter
By Tommy Gallagher
In an effort to become a better team this fall, the Kansas football team has lifted weights vigorously during offseason workouts and spring practice.
As a team, the Jayhawks gained an average of more than 25 pounds per player in the bench press compared to last season.
Kansas strength coach Fred Roll said he adapted the offseason workouts to incorporate new techniques that gave better results.
"I visited a couple places, not necessarily universities, during the offseason," Roll said. "I was interested in new ideas, especially upper-body stuff. I wanted to know how we could increase the strength of our players and how we could use it in our offseason workouts."
The team had just one Saturday workout during the offseason.
Kansas football coach Terry Allen held offseason workouts at 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. If anyone was late for a workout, the team would have another workout at 6:15 a.m. Saturday.
While Roll said attending offseason workouts was nothing new, the intensity with which the players strived for improvement in the weight room and at spring practice was.
"You can tell there's more competition between the players this year," Roll said. "Everybody's trying to win a position here, so what they do now has a lot to do with what happens when we get to the summer."