SPORTS THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KANSAN.COM
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Take this down. My name is Shaquille O'Neal, and Paul Pierce is the [expletive] truth. Quote me on that, and don't take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn't know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth."
— Shaquille O'Neal, after Pierce scored 42 points against the Lakers in 2001.
FACT OF THE DAY
In Boston victories, Pierce averages two fewer shot attempts but nearly two more points per game. He also shoots more than eight percent better at the freethrow line and nearly 13 percent better from the three-point line.
— ESPN.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: What is Paul Pierce's nickname?
A: The Truth. It was coined by O'Neal after Pierce scored 42 points on 13-of-19 shooting in a 112-107 loss to the Lakers on March 13, 2001.
— ESPN.com
SCORES
NBA Basketball:
LA Lakers 92, Atlanta 109
Milwaukee 98, Cleveland 101
LA Clippers 94, Toronto 114
Philadelphia 84, Charlotte 103
Miami 98, Detroit 81
Oklahoma City 109, Boston 104
Phoenix 116, New Jersey 105
Washington 96, New Orleans 61
Sacramento 85, Minnesota 96
Dallas 106, Memphis 102
Houston 102, San Antonio 119
NHL Hockey:
Florida 2, Buffalo 6
Carolina 2, Montreal 1
Tampa Bay 2, Pittsburgh 0
Chicago 4, Minnesota 0
San Jose 1, Dallas 5
Anaheim 5, Colorado 2
MLB
Padres tie Royals in final spring game
PEORIA, Ariz. — Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke was touched up for five earned runs, six hits and three walks in his final spring tuneup by the San Diego Padres, who played to a 8-8 tie with the Royals on Wednesday.
Jon Garland, San Diego's opening day starter, allowed two runs and four hits in five innings.
Chase Headley homered in the second inning off Greinke and also had an RBI double to finish the spring with 23 runs batted in. Will Venable followed with an opposite-field three-run homer, his fourth.
Scott Hairston also homered off Greinke, who worked five1-3 innings.
The Padres are 15-2-2 in their last 19 games this spring after starting with a 2-8 record.
Associated Press
Catching the best souvenir
MORNING BREW
I've been to a lot of baseball games, but I've never caught a foul ball. Ive come close though. When I was little I went to a game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. A long rain delay caused a lot of the crowd to clear out, so my dad and I moved down to seats that were close to the field.
During the game a batter hit a foul ball that went straight up behind home plate and back above the seats where we were sitting. I ran over to where the ball would come down and instead of catching it, I got trampled in a group of 20 adults. That was the closest I've ever come.
Trying to catch a foul ball really adds to the excitement of being at a baseball game. Every time I get to my seat at the beginning of a game, I ask myself two questions: Do I have a good or a bad view? Am I in a spot where I might catch foul balls?
Obviously the ballparks are so large that not everyone is in position to catch a foul ball.
So if a ball doesn't come your way, watch the reactions of ball-grabbing fans.
Although I haven't been lucky
BY MAX VOSBURGH
mosburghor@kansan.com
www.twitter.com/MVSPorts
enough to catch one myself, ABC News in Los Angeles had a story last October about a lucky guy who amazingly caught three foul balls in one game. He then gave the balls to three kids.
One video shows a dad catching a foul ball and giving it to his daughter at a Phillies game. His 3-year-old daughter immediately threw the ball down the railing of the upper deck.
But keep in mind that foul balls can be dangerous. When you're at a game make sure to pay attention to what's going on because once a batter hits a foul ball, it can go anywhere and hit anyone.
At a spring training game in Tampa,
Fla., yesterday, Denard Span, a Minne-
ne
The number of foul balls per game is not an official statistic that is kept. However, on May 5th, 2004, current New York Mets infielder Alex Cora fouled off 14 consecutive pitches before ending the 18 pitch at-bat with a home run. It is regarded as one of the highest number of foul balls in a single at-bat ever. Now that game had some great ball-catching odds.
sota Twins outfielder, hit a foul ball into the stands that struck his mother, of all people, in the chest. She ended up being OK, and now people are just marveling at the odds of the incident.
Edited by Allyson Shaw
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dooley might leave for higher position
There have been a lot of coaching changes in the NCAA recently, and its effects are beginning to be felt by the Kansas Jayhawks.
Having already lost Director of Basketball Operations Brett Ballard to the head coaching position at Baker University, Kansas is now dealing with the
Dooley was rumored to be a candidate for the job at East Carolina University this year before they hired Jeff Lebo.
possibility that top assistant coach Joe Dooley will leave for a head coaching position.
and Dooley is now rumored to be a favorite to fill the head
Dooley
coaching vacancy at Charlotte University.
Kansas' policy is to allow the school making inquiries to comment on job candidates. Charlotte athletics director Judy Rose said previously that she would not comment on the search until a head coach was named.
One candidate to replace Dooley is Norm Roberts, who was recently fired as coach of St. John's for a bad track record. He was a longtime assistant to
According to a source close to the team, Roberts arrived in Lawrence Friday.
Friday and left
Saturday afternoon. He spent time at Allen Fieldhouse, but it isn't known whether he met with Self.
Roberts
FINAL FOUR
—Tim Dwyer
Leiendecker is confident entering Final Four
The unlikely Butler team says it's ready
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
INDIANAPOLIS — Sunbeams from a rising sun slant through the Hinkle Fieldhouse upper windows and spotlight Grant Leiendecker. He is dressed in Butler basketball blue warmups in the aftermath of a pre-dawn practice. He is smiling because, in this anything is-possible-if-you're-a Bulldog world, why not?
At the moment the topic is home movies. Leiendecker's movies. He's got the camera, the passion and, courtesy of last August's Butler basketball team trip to Italy, the video to prove it.
"Let's just say it was about a little incident on the bus where someone tried to finish an entire water bottle and it didn't go down smoothly," he says.
We care about this because all things Butler basketball are mabites-dog newsworthy in these Final Four-is-coming days and Leiendecker is at the epicenter. He is a 6-5 junior guard for the Bulldogs and while arthritic hips might limit his playing time, they don't limit his thrill about this
weekend's opportunity.
"It has been hard to sleep," he says. "It's exciting. The first night after we beat Kansas State (last Saturday to advance to Butler's first Final Four) I was up all night. I'm starting to calm down."
Who can stay calm when you consider Butler, the smallest school ever to make the Final Four with its enrollment of 4,200, has a shot to win the national championship. All it has to do is beat Michigan State on Saturday and either Duke or West Virginia on Monday at nearby Lucas Oil Stadium.
"What more can we ask for?" Leiendecker says. "This is what we've been playing for our entire lives. We want to take advantage of it."
You might be surprised that Butler is in the Final Four and while you have plenty of company — only one-tenth of onepercent of the 4 million NCAA Tournament brackets turned in via ESPN had the Bulldogs in the field — it wouldn't include a
"Some people come out of the woodwork," he says, "but it's been fun. I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Advantage includes gaining a bunch of new friends who want Leiendecker to seal their friendship with, say, Final Four tickets.
Butler player.
"This is not something we were just hoping for," Leiendecker says. "We expect to win every game. You have to go in with that mindset or you're selling yourself short."
"We knew what we were capable of from the first day of practice. We said our goal is to win this entire
Butler is just two victories away from that goal. Coach Brad Stevens preaches focus and "normal-
and they're giving us a lot of leeway. It's kind of stressful right now."
"We knew what we were capable of from the first day of practice."
It's a good stressful, of course, even for a guy who does most of his work in practice preparing his teammates for on-court glory. He's played in just 14 games, none in the NCAA Tournament, the consequence of surgically
cy," despite the Final Four and academic obligations, plus catching up from being gone most of the past two weeks while playing in San Jose, Calif., and Salt Lake City.
"The hardest part is getting caught up in all the school work," Leiendecker says. "We've been to class like two days in the last two weeks. We're making up tests and quizzes and getting assignments turned in."
GRANT LEIENDECKER Junior guard
"The professors are pretty understanding. It's overwhelming that we have so much to do
repaired hips better suited for a 50-year-old. It's a good thing dental school is in his future.
"My job comes in practice. I try to make guys better every day. If I don't get in, it doesn't affect
me. I'm just happy to have this opportunity."
Stevens is happy Leiendecker is a Bulldog.
"He's dealt with a lot of injuries since he's been here. To his credit, he's just kept going and going and going. Today he lit us up in practice doing scout team stuff.
"Sometimes you have to work to keep guys ready who don't play a lot. Grant knows what's going on. You can put him in after not playing him for two months and he'll do it. That's a sign of a great teammate, a great student."
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
Tennis at Kansas State, 2 p.m
TODAY
Baseball vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
Track & Field
at Texas Relays, Austin,
Texas, all day
Softball vs. Texas, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY
Track & Field at Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, all day
Baseball vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
Women's Golf at University of Mississippi, all day
SATURDAY
Softball vs. Texas, noon
Baseball vs. Texas A&M, 11 a.m.
Women's Golf at University of Mississippi, all day
Rowing
at Kansas Cup, Kansas
City, Kan, TBA
Track & Field
at Texas Relays, Austin,
Texas, all days.
Soccer at Arkansas. TBA
Women's Golf at University of Mississippi, all day
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Men's Golf
at Diet Pepsi Shocker
Classic, Wichita, all day
Men's Golf
at Diet Pepsi Shocker
Classic, Wichita, all day
TUESDAY
Softball at Missouri, 4 p.m., 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Baseball
it Creighton, Omaha,
Neb., 6 p.m.
TRACK & FIELD
'Hawks head south for the Texas Relays
After opening the outdoor season in Fayetteville, Ark, the track and field team travels to Austin, Texas today, to compete in the Texas Relays.
Twenty-three athletes will represent Kansas in the events, including nine relay teams. Six of those individuals are set to race today, along with two relay teams.
Freshman Alena Krechyk will compete in the hammer throw at 12:30 p.m. The men's pole vaulting duo of freshman Corey Shank and senior Ryan Hays follows at 3:30 p.m.
The women's 400-meter hurdle preliminaries are set for 4:30 p.m., with freshman Taissa Makhmayeva and sophomore Sasha Cunningham. The men's 4x800-meter relay starts at 5:35 p.m., and the women's event begins at 5:50 p.m.
Ten Jayhawks are set to compete on Friday, highlighted by freshmen discus thrower Mason Finley. He will be joined by senior Brian Bishop. The pair is expected to throw at 5:30 p.m.
The final day of the event will showcase the Indoor All American distance medley relay team of Lauren Bonds, Taylor Washington, Rebeka Stowe and Cori Christensen.
The three-day event marks the 83rd running of the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
— Kory Carpenter
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