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SPORTS WEDNESDAY. APRIL 14, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
7
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"When you're going up against a potential number-one draft pick, you have to do what you have to do, or you give up. We had confidence in each other, as well as confidence in ourselves."
—Junior offensive lineman Jeff Spikes about facing Nebraska'sNdamukong Suh
FACT OF THE DAY
ESPN College Football Analyst Todd McShay has Big 12 players going with the first four picks in his 2010 NFL Mock Draft. He thinks Oklahoma's Sam Bradford will go first, Suh will go second. Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy will go third and Oklahoma State's Russell Okung will go fourth.
Source: ESPN.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: In what game did Suh have his fewest tackles?
A: Against Kansas. He only had three tackles and didn't record a sack.
Kansas Athletics
SCORES
MLB Baseball:
Detroit 6, Kansas City 5
New York (AL) 7, Los Angeles (AL)
5
Los Angeles (NL) 8, Arizona 6
Tampa Bay, Baltimore
Toronto 4, Chicago (AL) 2
Cincinnati 10, Florida 8
New York (NL) 3, Colorado 11
NBA Basketball:
Boston 93, Chicago 101
Utah 103, Golden State 94
Sacramento 100, LA Lakers 106
Denver 101, Phoenix 123
Confronting the closet
MORNING BREW
Protesters who stood behind the jubilant crowds of Friday's Brown Bag Drag held signs, captured by photographer Collin Johnson, with messages such as "Fags are Lawless" and "Gay Hawk" in bold letters. Draped on one man's right side was an American flag.
Whether one thinks the protesters might have a worthy argument, or thinks that they are compiled of mostly irrational bigots, the fact is that gays and lesbians are still widely viewed as unequal to heterosexuals. And nowhere is this struggle more hidden and pervasive than in the world of sports.
Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel knew this and took a stand.
Tressel, who tightly knots his tie under a sweater vest for every game, is heterosexual and as conservative as they come. Fresh off a Rose Bowl victory against Oregon, he took some time out of his recruiting process to pioneer change. Last month Tressel conducted the first published interview between a Division-I football head coach and a gay/lesbian magazine, Outlook: Columbus.
The words from "The Vest," as Tressel is called, speak for themselves.
"When I think of the diversity we've had on our team the past few years, it goes way beyond just a racial, sexual or ethnic mix. We've had players who had different religions, players who came from different economic backgrounds,
BY MAX ROTHMAN
players who are parents, who are spouses who are caring for alluring parents, who are wheelchair-bound, who are battling cancer, and on and on." Tressel said. "Whatever a young man feels called to express, I hope we will help him do it in a supportive environment. Everybody is important, and maturity is learning to find and appreciate those differences in others"
Tressel's message is the most recent in a thin yet profound chain of recognition for gav history in sports.
In the '80s, we saw tennis star and proud lesbian Martina Navratilova come out of the closet and encourage other athletes to do the same.
In February of 2007, John Amaechi became the first former professional basketball player to openly distinguish himself as gay. He later wrote the book "Man in the Middle," explaining his life story and how he initially concealed his sexual preferences in the NBA.
Amaezi's book describes his surprise at the atmosphere of teams off the court.
"The pro locker room was the most flamboyant place I'd ever been this side of a swanky club full of martini-drinking gay men ... The guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged of their sexual exploits. They checked out each other's cocks. They primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair gel by the bucketful." Amaechi wrote.
There are undoubtedly numerous gay and lesbian athletes who keep quiet in the clutches of societal and personal pressures. Someday, it might not have to be a ground-breaking revelation to simply state one's sexual preference. Someday, it might just be the next link in the chain.
Sources: Outsports.com, ESPN.com
— Edited by Katie Blankenau
CAMPUS
BY NICOLAS ROESLER
nroesler@kansan.com
The HorrorZontals, the men's ultimate frisbee team at the University, pulled through Sectionals despite entering the tournament in St. Louis this weekend as an overall five seed because of mediocre performances in other preceding tournaments.
"We were all insulted by being the fifth seed because we know we are much better than that," Alex Gareis, team president and a junior from
Chicago, said. "So we went to St. Louis with something to prove."
On the first day of the competition, the HorrorZontals cruised through pool play.
The team won against John Brown 13-1 in its first game, then continued that success against Tula, winning 13-2, and Hendrix, winning 13-5.
The team ended pool play with a 13-7 victory against Harding, which gave the "Zontals confidence for the championship bracket Sunday.
In the semifinals, the HorrorZontals faced Arkansas.
the overall No. 1 seed. The game went back and forth and ended up going past the time cap because neither team had scored the 13 points necessary for the victory.
The HorrorZontals were leading 12-10 when the extra time began, and the team's offense was able to break Arkansas' defense and win 14-13.
The finals provided another installment of the Border Showdown between Missouri and Kansas.
"It was another close one." Gareis said, "but we stayed strong to overcome our fifth overall seed and win the tournament."
Gareis said the team would need to practice hard to avoid the nail biters it experienced this week so it would be prepared for Regionals May 1 in Austin, Texas.
It was another close game but the 'Zontals pulled out a tough 15-14 victory.
Edited by Kirsten Hudson
Softball vs. Nebraska, 6 p.m.
Track
at Kansas Relays,
all day
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
THURSDAY
Softball at Creighton, 3 p.m., 5 p.m.
FRIDAY
Track at Kansas Relays, all day
Women's tennis vs. Oklahoma State, 2 p.m.
Baseball at Nebraska, 6:35 p.m.
Track & Field at Kansas Relays, all day
SATURDAY
DAY
Soccer
vs. South Dakota State,
2 p.m.
Softball vs. Oklahoma State, 2 p.m.
Baseball at Nebraska, 4:05 p.m.
Track & Field at Kansas Relays, all day
Tennis vs. Oklahoma, 11 a.m.
Softball vs. Oklahoma State, 12 p.m.
Baseball at Nebraska, 1:05 p.m.
SUNDAY
SUNDAY Baseball at Nebraska, 1:05 p.m.
MONDAY
MONDAY
No events
No events
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