2B
SPORTS / MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me. They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it"
— Charles Barkley
FACT OF THE DAY
Kansas will face Memphis for the third time in the last four years when they match up in the 2010 Jimmy V Basketball Classic on Dec. 7 in Madison Square Garden.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: in which game did Kansas beat Memphis by more: last season in St. Louis or in the national title game in 2008?
A: The national championship game. Kansas knocked off Memphis 75-68 in 2008 and 59-57 last season.
Kansas Athletics
SCORES
NBA PLAYOFFS:
Lakers 104, Utah 99
Los Angeles leads 1-0
Atlanta 95, Milwaukee 74
Atlanta wins series 4-3
NHL Playoffs:
Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 1
Series tied 1-1
Detroit 3, San Jose 4
San Jose leads 2-0
MLB Baseball:
Tampa Bay 1, Kansas City 0
Minnesota 8, Cleveland 3
Detroit 5, LA Angels 1
NY Yankees 12, Chicago Sox 3
Toronto 9, Oakland 3
Florida 9, Washington 3
MORNING BREW
Who rules: Kobe or LeBron?
In the last few days, I've received various texts and questions pertaining to college football, MLB and the NBA. But from all of the questions, one really stood out. And it's a question I must answer.
Question: Who's better, Kobe or LeBron?
This is a fun one because I love the NBA, and I especially love these two players. Still, it has to be answered.
They are the two best players in a league full of stars and they are both marketing giants. But this isn't about there marketability; it's about who's better.
Yes, Kobe Bryant has more titles (four) than LeBron (zero), but for three of those were with Shaquille O'Neal in his prime. LeBron has now teamed with Shaq, too, but it's at the end of his career, Kobe would have the advantage there.
Then you would have to look at supporting casts. The Cavaliers have upgraded the talent since LeBron James landed in Cleveland, Tony Battie and Lee Nailon played alongside LeBron his rookie season, while he's playing with Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison now. Sill, he hasn't reached the ultimate goal of a NBA title.
BY ANDREW HAMMOND
ahammond@kansan.com
twitter.com/ahmm_UDK
This past season, Kobe, along with a talented supporting cast of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, defeated the Orlando Magic for the NBA title. Although Kobe has more Titles, Lebron has done more with a less-talented supporting cast.
The final topic in this discussion has to be who is most clutch and who can deliver in the big moment.
Kobe Bryant's nickname is the "Black Mamba," a reference to the world's deadliest snake. It it's fitting because at times teams seem to have died watching Kobe shoot lights out, for example he scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006, second-best ever.
Still, LeBron may have done one better.
He turned a whole series around in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons took the first two games from the Cavaliers, and seemed like the were headed for an almost certain series victory.
Keyword, though, is almost. In Detroit in Game 5, LeBron put the whole team on his back by scoring 29 of the last 30 points, including 25 straight to end the game and helped the Cavs clinch the series in the next game. Although Kobe has more titles, LeBron is the only player in the NBA with the nickname The King.
Edited by Jesse Rangel
Answer: LeBron.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY No events scheduled
TUESDAY No events scheduled
WEDNESDAY
LDNESDAY Softball at Drake, Des Moines, Iowa, 4 p.m., 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
THURSDAY
No events scheduled
Baseball vs. Missouri, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Softball vs. Iowa State, 2 p.m.
Baseball vs. Missouri, 6 p.m.
SUNDAY
Softball vs. Iowa State, noon
Baseball vs. Missouri, 1 p.m.
PGA
20 year old notches win at Quail Hollow
Explosive as ever, the 20-year-old from Northern
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All the buzz about Rory McIlroy came to life Sunday at the Quail Hollow Championship with one dazzling shot after another in a record round that made him the PGA Tour's youngest winner since Tiger Woods.
Ireland was 5 under over the final five holes to set the course record at 10-under 62 and win by four shots over Masters champion Phil Mickelson.
McIlroy finished in style, rolling in a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and thrusting his fist into the air.
Associated Press
Letting it fly
Spencer Walsh/KANSAN
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GIRL WITH DRAGON TATTOO (R)
5:00 8:00
A PROPHET (R)
5:05 8:15
matinee monday-all tix-$6.00!!
Garrett Praather, a senior from Wichita, watches his teammate Alan Schurle, a senior from Manhattan, stretch for the Frisbee. Both men are members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Re-Cycled Style
The Warp and Float from Osprey feature 80% recycled materials!
MAY 3-8
25% off ice cremas & fruit smoothies
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Downtown Lawrence
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anniversary sale
coffee sale
2 lbs for $20
DUNN BROS COFFEE
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Hostile hosts
Kendall Knott, a sophomore from Wichita, pitches against Missouri during a club softball game Saturday. The Jayhawks beat the Tigers 10-0.
He wanted to watch it alone, on television, inside the Horseman's Lounge, halfway down the tunnel beneath the grandstands.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Todd Pletcher didn't want to watch the Kentucky Derby with friends. He didn't want to watch it with family. He didn't want to pick one of the four owners he was representing and sit with them. In fact, he didn't even want to watch it live from the stands.
KENTUCKY DERBY
Jockey Calvin Borel wins for second year in a row
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Obviously, I needed to change
Television cameras caught him throwing an emphatic fist pump, but by the time he emerged from the tunnel, the stoic and perpetually stone-faced Pletcher had once again wrestled control of his emotions.
And so as history unfolded Saturday at Churchill Downs, when jockey Calvin Borel made his move and guided Super Saver through the mud and along the rail to win the Kentucky Derby by a length and a half ahead of Ice Box and Paddy O'Praddo, Pletcher was all by himself.
"I think it will all soak in in a day or two," Pletcher said. "Obviously, it's a race I've dreamed my whole
something," said Pletcher, who entered Saturday's 136th Run for the Roses 0-for-24, the most attempts without a victory in the history of the race.
Pletcher's preference for restraint is, of course, in direct contrast with Borel's exuberance and unbridled energy. In victory, he pounded his chest, blew kisses to his wife, Lisa, and soaked in the applause of an appreciative crowd of 155,803, the sixth largest in Derby history. This was Borel's second straight Kentucky Derby victory, and his third win in the past four years, something no other jockey has accomplished. After the race, he even got a rare smile from Pletcher by declaring that he and Super Saver were going to win the Triple Crown.
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"Calvin Borel is a great rider anywhere he goes, but for some reason at Churchill Downs, he's even five lengths better." Pletcher said.
life of winning. Now that it's happened, I don't know what to feel or say"
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When it rained hard Saturday morning, drenching the Churchill Downs track and turning the dirt into a thick soup, Super Saver, who is owned by WinStar Farm, seemed to emerge as the horse to beat, and not just because of his preference for running the mud. It was also because of Borel, a fearless rider who knows how to summon that special magic required to win in a 20-horse field at Churchill Downs.