2B
SPORTS / TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."
Ted Williams
FACT OF THE DAY
Senior infielder Robby Price leads the Big 12 conference in hits with 34. He is one hit ahead of three batters.
Source: Big 12 Conference
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Which Big 12 team has the fewest home runs?
A: Kansas. The Jayhawks have hit just 14 home runs in 29 games. They lead the conference in walks.
Big 12 Conference
SCORES
NCAA Men's Basketball:
No.1 Duke 61, No.5 Butler 59
MLB Baseball:
Detroit 8, Kansas City 4
Atlanta 16, Chicago 5
Chicago (AL) 6, Cleveland 0
Philadelphia 11, Washington
Texas 5, Toronto 4
New York (NL) 7, Florida 1
Pittsburgh 11, Los Angeles 5
Colorado 5, Milwaukee 3
Arizona 6, San Diego 3
San Francisco 5, Houston 2
St. Louis 11, Cincinnati 6
Minnesota, Anaheim, late
Seattle, Oakland, late
MLB
Obama throws first pitch in Phillies' win
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama's first pitch was way high and wide.
Pretty much all of Roy Halladay's were spot-on as he struck out nine in his National League debut to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 11-1 Monday.
Placido Polanco hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, and Ryan Howard also homered for the Phillies, who got their push for a third straight World Series appearance off to a strong start
"We definitely got started off on a good note today." Jayson Werth said. "Roy was magnificent. He was exactly what we expected."
Obama received only scattered boos among thunderous cheers as he took the mound to mark the 100th anniversary of presidential first pitches.
Associated Press
MORNING BREW
Nelson is a winner,not a champ
All-time records in sports are supposedly prestigious things, garnered through years of relentless toil and thus aptly celebrated when achieved. The image of a solo figure soaking in the adulation of thousands, face awash with tears, comes to mind. In this image, the individual delivers a moving speech, thanking everyone who helped them along the way and imparting pithy wisdom on listeners. This is the image of greatness, of glory, of record setting heros.
This is not the image of Don Nelson, now tied with Lenny Wilkins as the winningest coach in NBA history.
1,332 wins. That many times, Nelson has coached a team to victory. But look at him, and you might guess he hasn't slept in that many nights, or that his only record is polishing off 1,332 Bud Lights (his post-game beverage of choice, until the NBA deemed the consumption of beer at a press conference unfit).
And if you're expecting an crudite and illuminating speech, look elsewhere. Following his Warriors' triumph over the Toronto Raptors, Nelson stated that the game had "everything you'd want, from good to bad to playing great to wetting the bed, and we did about all of it."
Is it any wonder that a man who puts "wetting the bed" and "everything you'd want" in the same sentence lacks the respect of a Phil Jackson or Pat Riley? Oh
BY ALEX BEECHER
abeecher@kansan.com
sure, he doesn't have Riley's Patrick Bateman hair and icy charm, nor does he possess Jackson's noted cool. Heck, even Stan Van Gundy — porn-stache and all — appears more refined than the blustery Nelson.
The lack of reverence for Nellie may well be hindered by something more than aesthetic details, however. To be an all-time great anything, conventional wisdom dictates you must win the whole thing. As a coach, Nelson has never done that (he did win five championships as a player, however). And so no matter how many wins he compiles or innovations he imparts on the game, Nelson's legacy will be that of a winner, sure; but not of a champion.
Regardless, Nelson's career should be celebrated. His record-tying win, or at least Nelson's commentary on it, demonstrates why. His teams were frequently good, and almost as often, bad. Sometimes they played great, and
sometimes they did wet the bed. But through all of it, they usually did give you everything you wanted in an NBA game.
TUESDAY YOUTUBE SESH
Spring is back, which means summer is coming soon, so it's time to get fit and carve that beach ready body. But how? Do you opt for the mechanical trappings of the rec center, or choose instead the great outdoors? The former offers the consistency and measurements of machines, while the latter promises fresh air and sunlight. How is the budding fitness enthusiast to choose? Now, thanks to the treadmill bike, that's a choice you won't have to make!
Search "Treadmill Bike" on YouTube and enjoy.
Edited by Becky Howlett
BASEBALL
Big 12 recognition continues for Price
Robby Price's torrid pace at the plate continues to turn heads around the league.
Kansas' senior second baseman was named the Big
12 Player of the Week for the second straight week. With the weekly honor, Price becomes the first player in Kansas baseball history to be named the conference's top player in consecutive weeks
Price hit .550 in the
Jayhawks five games last week, leading them to a 3-1-1 record. He's currently hit safely in 13 straight games, including multiple hit efforts in four of the last five.
For the week, Price racked up five doubles, one home run,
eight runs scored and eight RBI. Many of Price's hits have also come in clutch fashion, including his game-tying single with two outs in the ninth on Saturday against No. 22 Texas A&M.
MLB
Bullpen dooms Royals in opener
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Johnny Damon and Brandon Inge drove in two runs apiece in a six-run seventh inning against Kansas City's shaky bullpen and the Detroit Tigers rallied for an 8-4 win Monday.
Earlier on the wind-swept opening day, Yumieshe Betancourt's two-run home run and Billy Butler's bases-loaded single staked Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke to a 4-2 lead over Justin Verlander in a duel between two of baseball's premier starters.
But when Greinke departed after allowing six hits and one earned run through six innings,
the Tigers sent 10 men to the plate in the seventh and punished three relievers for six hits and six runs.
Ben Ward
Robinson Tejeda (0-1) got just one out and allowed three runs. Joel Zumaya (1-0) went one inning and a batter, throwing 12 pitches.
Verlander, the major league leader with 269 strikeouts last season, gave up six hits and four runs in five innings. He walked one and struck out six in his first start since agreeing to a $80 million, five-year contract with the Tigers.
In six innings, Greinke allowed six hits and two runs with four strikeouts and a walk. Only one run was earned, though.
Greinke did not give up an earned run until his fifth start last year, when he allowed none or one in 18 of 33 starts.
R o m a n Colon walked Scott Sizemore leading off the seventh and gave up a single to Ramon Santiago.
Juan Cruz.
Tejeda came in and Austin Jackson, making his major
Jose Guillen singled on a 100-mph fastball from Verlander in the second and Betancourt sent
In six innings, Greinke allowed six hits and two runs with four strikeouts and a walk.
league debut, hit an RBI double. Damon, who signed a one-year free agent contract in February, followed with a two-run double. Luge added a two-run double off
a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left field for a 2-1 lead.
The Royals loaded the bases in the fifth with two out on two singles and a walk
and Butler hit an opposite-field double into right.
Miguel Cabrera's RBI single made it 4-2 in the sixth.
MLB
Rookie's homer sparks Braves' win
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minutes after catching the ceremonial first pitch from Hank Aaron, Heyward hit a three-run homer in his first major league at-bat to spark the Braves to a 16-5 opening win Monday over Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs.
ATLANTA— Jason Heyward hit like The Hammer in his Atlanta Braves debut.
With fans in the sellout crowd chanting "Let's go, Heyward," the rookie's first innning homer into the Braves' bullpen behind the right-field wall gave Atlanta a 6-3 lead.
Heyward, who had a run-scoring single in the eighth, was
Yunel Escobar drove in a career-high five runs as Zambrano gave up eight runs in 1 1-3 innings, matching the shortest of 239 career starts.
2-for-5 with four RBIs.
Marlon Byrd, playing his first game with the Cubs, hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Aramis Ramirez added a
two-run drive in the third.
Derek Lowe (1-0) gave up five runs, five hits and three walks in six innings before a sellout crowd of 53,081, a record for a day game in Atlanta and was the fourth-largest overall in Atlanta history.
Brian McCann hit a homer in the second, when the Braves knocked out Zambrano (0-1).
The 20-year-old Heyward became the sixth Braves player to homer in his debut, the fourth to do so in his first plate appearance. Jordan Schafer connected in his initial at-bat last season.
Atlanta sent 10 batters to the plate in both the first and seventh innings.
The homer on a 2-0 count came on the first swing of Heyward's major league career. He answered cheers from the fans by tipping his cap at the edge of the dugout.
In the first, Chipper Jones drove in Melky Cabrera when his shallow ball fall between shortstop Ryan Theriot and Byrd in center for a single. Escobar added a two-run single before Heward's line-drive homer.
Making his sixth straight opening day start for the Cubs, Zambrano gave up six hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Braves center fielder Nate McLouth made running catches of drives hit by Ramirez in the first and Derrek Lee in the fifth. McLouth was credited with a diving catch of a ball hit by Byrd in the left-center gap in the sixth, though a replay showed the ball popped out of McLouth's glove when he hit the ground.
Graduation is Near
Heyward won the starting job in right field despite playing only 50 games above Class A in his quick rise through the minor leagues. He was selected baseball's top prospect by Baseball America after hitting .323 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs at three minor league stops in 2009, and was put on the major league roster by the Braves just last Saturday.
Baseball
vs. Missouri Valley
College, 6 p.m.
Men's golf
at Diet Pepsi Shocker
Classic, Wichita, all day
WEDNESDAY
Softball at Missouri, 4 p.m., 6 p.m.
Jayhawk Bookstore is your source for
As umpires called out Byrd, McLouth threw the ball back to Escobar, whose throw to first base forced out Ramirez.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella argued the ruling that McLouth made the catch. The umpires huddled but did not overturn the original call.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
Jayhawk Bookstore
...at the top of Naismith Hill
1420 Crescent Rd, Lawrence • 785-843-3826
shop 24/7 at jayhawkbookstore.com
Complete Regalia (cap, gown, tassel) * Announcements * Diploma Frames No Wait, No Package Minimums
FRIDAY
Baseball
at Creighton, Omaha.
Neb. 6 p.m.
TODAY
Tennis at Missouri, 5 p.m.
Baseball at Texas, 6:05 p.m.
Track
at John McDonnell Invitational, Fayetteville, Ark., all day
SATURDAY
Softball at Baylor, 2 p.m.
Baseball at Texas, 2 p.m.
Soccer vs. St. Louis, Kansas City, Kan., 3 p.m.
Track & Field at John McDonnell Invitational, Fayetteville, Ark., all day
Rowing vs. Old Dominion, Rhode Island, Lewisberry, Pa., TBA
MLB
White Sox shut out division rival, 6-0
CHICAGO—Mark Buehrle pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, hit Konkero homered and the Chicago White Sox opened with a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday
Konerko got his 12th season in Chicago off to a good start with a two-run drive in the first and Buehrle simply shut down the Indians, spoiling Cleveland manager Manny Acta's debut and Jake Westbrook's first start in nearly two years.
Buehrle, starting his club-record eight opener, looked more like the fourth-time All-Star he is than the guy who won just twice after his perfect game against Tampa Bay on July 23.
Alex Rios added a solo homer off Tony Sipp in the eighth and ended the game with a diving catch on Travis Hafner's line drive to center.
He retired the last 10 batters he faced, struck out three and walked one, and drew loud cheers for a spectacular play in the fifth when a hard one-hopper by Lou Marson ricocheted off his left foot into foul territory along the first-base side. Buehrle raced over and — in one motion — shoveled the ball between his legs with his glove to Konkero to retire the runner, one of several highlights for a team that expects to contend in the AL Central after going 79-83.
J. J. Putz pitched the eighth and Matt Thornton retired the side in the ninth.
For Cleveland, the start of the new season looked awfully like the last one — a 65-win disaster that led to Eric Wedge's firing.
Westbrook — back from reconstructive elbow surgery — tied a club record with four wild pitches, hit Carlos Quentin twice, walked four and allowed five runs and five hits in his first start since May 28.2008.
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