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SPORTS THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
SPRING SPORTS
What to watch for in the next week
As the semester comes to a close, look for these important sport events and people
BASEBALL
Kansas vs. Missouri: The Border Showdown comes to Hoglund Ballpark Friday for a pivotal three-game series in terms of the Big 12 Standings. If the Jayhawks have any aspirations of making a regional tournament, they need to secure a series victory at home against the Tigers — who they edged 1-0 on April 21 at Kauffman Stadium.
TRACK AND FIELD:
Kansas vs. Kansas State: The in-state rivals will play a three-game series starting May 14, with next Friday's game being played at Hoglund before the final two games are held in Manhattan. The Wildcats, currently in second place in the conference, have been a big surprise this season in the Big 12 and will provide a big challenge for the Jayhawks who are in serious need of a few victories.
Big 12 Tournament (May 26-30): The top eight teams in the conference will square off in Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas is currently in the eight team field, but the team needs to continue winning games to stay in that group. If the Jayhawks can win at least five more games and have a solid showing in the tournament, a regional tournament berth should be attainable.
Mason Finley: The freshmen thrower helped lead the men's team to 19th in the country and recently earned Big 12 athlete of the week for the second straight time. He is third in the nation in shot put and discus. Finley is preparing for his first conference championships next weekend in Columbia, Mo.
Finley
Ben Ward
Andrea Geubelle: She is another freshman standout for the Jayhawks. Geubelle is currently second in the nation in the triple jump (13.39 m) and first in the west region. That mark also puts her on top of the Big 12 stands heading into the conference championships on May 14.
Geubelle
The men's team: The men's track and field team has failed to win a conference title since 1982. This year could be the year, although the Jayhawks will face tough competition from fellow ranked teams Kansas State (18), Baylor (17), Nebraska (15), Oklahoma (10), Texas Tech (4) and Texas A&M (1). The Big 12 is loaded with seven teams in the top 25. If the Kansas men can leave Columbia with its first conference title in nearly 30 years, it will definitely be earned.
ROWING:
Ethan Padway
The rowing team will compete in the final South-Central Regional Championship on May 15-16. It will feature teams from the ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Conference USA and the SEC. It will also double as the first Conference USA championship for the nine teams, including the Jayhawks, that are now affiliated with Conference USA rowing. Next year it will be replaced entirely by the Big 10 championship and the Conference USA championship.
SOFTBALL:
At 1-15 in the Big 12 Conference, Kansas is dangerously close to finishing last in the conference. It will need to sweep Iowa State this weekend to pull even with the Cyclones for a tie in ninth place.
Kansas has been in games late all season against ranked conference opponents. Being the ninth or 10th seed in the tournament, Kansas will be looking to catch a team offguard that wasn't expecting Kansas to put up a fight.
— Zach Getz
— Kory Carpenter
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Barkley to return after minor injury
USC quarterback Matt Barkley has a bruised right hand and should be able to resume throwing in a week, the school announced.
Barkley saw doctors Tuesday evening, and they found no fractures in the hand Barkley smacked
against defensive tackle Jurrell Casey's helmet Saturday.
"It's what I thought it was," Barkley said. "It's nothing to worry about. It sure hurt when it happened, but it's a whole lot better now. I can squeeze my hand and make a fist. There's no long-term problem. I'll be throwing again real soon."
McClatchy-Tribune
NFL
Rookie linebacker overcomes past
McClain left home at 15 and moved in with a friend's family because of problems with his mother that escalated into her being barred from seeing him. His father bounced in and out of his life. More than a few youths fell victim to the drugs, violence and gangs in his hometown of Decatur, Ala.
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
ALAMEDA, Calif. — To fully appreciate how Oakland Raiders rookie linebacker Rolando McClain got this far, it's imperative to know where he has been.
McClain's path is one encountered by many but successfully navigated by few, making his ascension to first-round NFL draft pick all the more remarkable.
Yet, using sports as an outlet, McClain overcame those obstacles. He started as a sophomore in high school, cracked the starting lineup his freshman season at Alabama and matured into the top linebacker in the land by his junior season.
In December 2005, McClain received a court order that prevented Malone from seeing him as a result of Malone pushing and hitting him, as well as threatening to kill him, according to court records.
Malone received two years' probation in February 2008 after pleading guilty to obstructing governmental operations. Before the sentencing, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and Crohn's disease, and termed disabled.
School as well as everyone at the Morgan County Courthouse that had anything to do with her son," according to a sworn affidavit by a police officer.
Malone later denied making such a threat. She said the incident stemmed from her doling
ROLANDO MCCLAIN
Raiders linebacker
During McClain's senior year at Decatur High, his mother, Tonya Malone, was arrested and accused of threatening to kill "everyone at Decatur High
"I've always been mature for my age. So,a lot of the decisions I made turned out to be great decisions."
"I was a pretty mature kid," McClain said. "I've always been mature for my age. So, a lot of the decisions that I made turned out to be great decisions."
Today, he is the prize of the Raiders 2010 draft class. The Raiders are so high on McClain that they traded Kirk Morrison, their leading tackler the past five seasons, so that McClain can start right away.
out tough love.
"I don't make threats like that," Malone said at the time. "No, no, no. That was just something, because he was 16, he wanted to rebel. He was playing with varsity football players and they wanted him to hang out after games, and I was not having it."
At 15, McClain left home and called the family of a friend from a street corner. Canitha Thomas listened to McClain tell her all he had was the clothes he was wearing and his scholarship to Alabama.
hthe Raiders, and they are working on rebuilding their relationship.
"Even though me and my mom had our differences, when I left the house I was 15 so she had already instilled some good things in me," McClain said. "I could have done some things differently.
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