4B / SPORTS / FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
ROWING
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Members of Kansas second varsity team compete in the Kansas Cup at Lake Wyandotte April 3. The varsity eight team finished the 2,000 meter* course in 71.28 minutes to score five points.
Kansas faces off against Minnesota
BY ETHAN PADWAY epadway@kansan.com
The women's rowing team will travel north this weekend to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The race, originally scheduled to be on Lake Phalen, has been changed to the Mississippi River. The Jayhawks were out of action last weekend after facing Bucknell, Old Dominion and Rhode Island in Pennsylvania the weekend before.
"We were able to slow things down," senior Stacy Rachow said. "We should be so much faster after all the things that we have been changing."
Minnesota should present a tough test for Kansas. The Gophers are currently ranked just outside the top 20 in Division 1. But the Jayhawks are coming off an impressive victory against Kansas State three weeks ago — winning every race but one — and a strong showing two weeks ago out east — winning four races against tough competition. This weekend is the last competition before the Big 12 championship on May 1 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
"I think we are feeling pretty good," Rachow said. "We are eager to see how we will match up against them because Minnesota is usually a top 20 team."
Edited by Michael Holtz
MLB
Indians beat Twins improve batting
MINNEAPOLIS — Mitch Talbot turned in another strong start for Cleveland, and the Indians finally got some hits in an 8-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
Talbot (2-1) followed his first major league win, a complete game last weekend against the Chicago Sox, with six
impressive innings. He held the Twins to two hits and no earned runs to keep them from sweeping the three-game series.
The Indians, who were last in the league in batting average and slugging percentage entering this game, matched their season high with eight runs.
Associated Press
The right-handed Talbot walked three and struck out three.
With a new coaching staff that features new schemes and terminology, every player on the roster needed to adjust.
OUARTERBACK (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
For the quarterbacks, those changes included more emphasis
on lining up under center.
The Jayhawks operated almost entirely out of the shotgun formation last season.
The move also affords Kansas the opportunity to more effectively use play action. Webb said the lajayhawks are therefore able to take more chances throwing
Long, who also serves as Kansas' offen-
"There's great mixture in this offense. Not only from the run pass ratio but also from personnel."
but it's been good."
sive coordinator, said the switch in philosophy isn't a radical adjustment from a quarterback's perspective.
Still, the Jayhawks said they needed time to adjust.
KALE PICK Freshman quarterback
the ball deep
"I was a little nervous about it coming in because I haven't really done it since junior football." Webb said. "It's been different,
the ban down the field.
can get three tight ends in there at one time or four receivers or three backs. I think it will give defenses tough times."
"There's great mixture in this offense," Pick said. "Not only from the run pass ratio but also from personnel. We
Edited by Michael Holtz
Since his first practice on March 31, junior Conner Teahan has insisted that he truly wants to compete for Kansas' starting quarterback position.
CILL TEAHAN IMPROVED DURING THE SPRING
Teahan, the walk-on basketball guard who decided to try out for the football team this spring, spent the first few practices without pads, attempting to pick up drills by watching the other quarterbacks
"He's behind the 8-ball a little bit because of time-wise," coach Turner Gill said.
Yet Gill said on Monday that Teahan has developed quickly this spring. Teahan starred as a two-sport athlete at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo., and he received interest from Division I football programs.
But until March 31, Teahan hadn't played organized football since high school.
Teahan
"He's making it interesting because with the reps that he's been getting, I've seen him do some things where I'm kind of like,Hey! like that," Gill said. "Again, he's putting himself in a position." Teahan said that he will sit down with Gill at the end of spring practices to discuss his future with the team. Kansas wraps up spring practices tomorrow.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
— Jayson Jenks
Women's basketball hands out awards
The Kansas women's basketball team commemorated the 2009-10 season with its postseason reception and senior celebration Thursday in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
"We certainly faced more than our fair share of adversity this year," said coach Bonnie Henrickson. "They say that 10 percent of who you are is what happens to you and 90 percent is what you do about it. I could not be more proud of these young women and how they responded to the
After jumping from the bench to a prominent role in the Jayhawks' scoring equation, freshman guard Monica Engelman was recognized as "Ms. Jayhawk."
trials and tribulations they faced this season"
Max Rothman
The award is given to the player who best embodies the spirit and vision of the Kansas women's basketball program.
The San Antonio, Texas native replaced the injured Danielle McCray and instantly took on a demanding workload. While she had her off nights, Engelman displayed the potential of a program cornerstone.
OTHER AWARDS
Lew Perkins Leadership Award: Danielle McCray
Most Improved: Carolyn Davis
Best Defender: Sade Morris
Academic Pride Award: Tania Jackson
Athletic Director's Honor Roll: Jackson, Angel Goodrich Kelly Kohn, Danielle McCray, Porscha Weddington
NFL DRAFT
Jayhawks' Most Outstanding Person Award: Nicole Corcoran, Kansas Athletics Chief of Staff
Big 12 Athletic Honor: Danielle McCray (Second Team), Carolyn Davis (Freshman Team)
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
Kansas City takes Vols' safety Berry
The Chiefs still have needs at
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thus time, the Chiefs aren't planning to wait to get big help from their first-round pick. They're expecting safety Eric Berry not only to start immediately, but help lead a long-awaited defensive transformation.
"Eric has the characteristics we're looking for," coach Todd Haley said. "The captain of his college team. Extremely productive. Loves football. That's clear when you're around him for any period of time. Competitive. Hell come in here and amp the competition up and not just the secondary, but all areas."
The Chiefs selected Berry with the fifth pick in the first round of the draft, which began Thursday night. The draft continues today with the second and third rounds. The Chiefs have two picks in the second round and another in the third.
wide receiver, tight end and linebacker, among other places
"When you have the type of year we had, you have a lot of needs," Haley said. "We went through the process with the staff and at times we had to laugh about it: We could use this and we could use this." But you've got to narrow it down and you've got to try to take the guy you think can help you the most."
Berry, who declared for the draft after his junior season at Tennessee, had 14 interceptions in his three collegiate seasons.
Haley and the Chiefs are happy to wait until today to attack their other needs after choosing Berry, a 6-feet, 211-pound safety.
Safety was arguably the biggest hole on their roster. Among established players, they have only Jarrad Page, who missed much of last season with an injury, and Jon McGraw, mainly a special teams player.
The pick differs from last year's selection of defensive end Tyson
Jackson in the first round. The Chiefs expected Jackson would need time to grow into the position
Not so for Berry, who has been compared to Pittsburgh's Troy Palamalu and Baltimore's Ed Reed for his ability to impact a game as a safety.
passing downs. He is also a big hitter and a solid run defender.
"I watched a lot of film on Ed Reed and
"He'll come in here and amp the competition up and not just the secondary, but all areas."
Troy Polamalu" Berry said. "I just try to take both of them and try to make my own kind of safety, I just try to look and see the way they attack ball carriers, the way they disguise the plays, the way that they use their instincts to make plays. I like the way they play the game."
"He's a physical player," Haley said. "He looks for contact, I dom."
TODD HALEY Chiefs coach
Berry is a versatile player. He has good coverage skills, so the Chiefs can use him in a variety of ways on
think he's afraid to make big plays. He's versatile. He has the ability to cover and in the division we're in, we've got to cover tight ends and receivers and backs.
"That's one of the big positives
with him is that he does have some position flexibility, so to speak. He's shown the ability to cover in man to man situations and he's a very good down in the box hitter and he's been real good in the back end out in the open field. On top of that, he looks like he has a little knack for pressuring the quarterback."
Available to the Chiefs when the picked were, among others. Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung and Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain. But Haley indicated the Chiefs settled on Berry, as long as he was available, long ago.
"As the time went on, it just became more and more clear this was the fit for us. This is a kid . . on Fridays of game week they'd find him in the equipment room helping the equipment manager shine the helmets before a game day Saturday at Tennessee. With what you see on the football field, obviously, it just became clear that this was the guy for the Chiefs.
"It's been building. There were a bunch of points during this process where (general manager Scott Pioli) and I would look at each other and whisper to each other that this may be the guy"
The Chiefs drafted a safety in the first round only once, that being Jerome Wood in 1996. Safeties generally aren't picked quite so high in the draft. The last safety to be picked as high as number five was Sean Taylor by Washington in 2004.
"This was the fit for us," Haley said. "I don't think we were going to let a lot of things take us out of that.
"The game's a little different. When you look at some of the numbers around the league, specifically the last two years, you'd better have some guys to defend the pass."