KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 / SPORTS
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I have observed that baseball is not unlike war, and when you get right down to it, we batters are the heavy artillery."
—Ty Cobb, former Detroit Tigers player
FACT OF THE DAY
again
sec
lead
tour
nine
Source: Kansas Athletics
Junior outfielder Jimmy Waters has a .590 slugging percentage in the 19 games he's started this season, leading Kansas players with more than five games played.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Who is the Kansas singleseason slugging percentage leader?
SCORES
A: Russ Blaylock slugged.834 for the Jayhawks in 1981.
Men's NCAA Tournament:
No. 1 Syracuse 59, No. 5 Butler 63
No. 1 Kentucky 62, No. 12 Cornell
45
- Kansas Athletics
seed East ment... ls
No. 2 Kansas State 101, No. 6
Xavier 96 2OT
No. 2 West Virginia 69, No. 11
Washington 56
NBA Basketball:
NBA Basketball:
Miami 103, Chicago 74
LA Clippers 99, Houston 93
Dallas, Portland, late
NHL Hockey:
Los Angeles 2, Boston 3
Washington 4, Carolina 3
NY Rangers 2, New Jersey 3
Calgary 2, NY Islanders 3
Minnesota 4, Philadelphia 3
Toronto 2, Atlanta 1
Chicago 3, Columbus 8
Florida 1, Montreal 4
Los Angeles 1, St. Louis 3
Phoenix 3, Nashville 4
Dallas, San Jose, late
Journalist just doing his job
MORNING BREW
There are some reporters in the world looking for a scoop,trying to get a player to say something
controversial so their own story becomes stronger.
In my experience, college athletes are pretty good at deflecting these reporters' attempts to wrong them.
They pick and pry. They use leading words like "frustration" and "anger" and "unhappy" to try to get a quote that might run lead on SportsCenter.
BY CLARK GOBLE
cobble@kansan.com
Jeremy Fowler for the Orlando Sentinel is not one of those reporters.
After the University of Florida's Monday spring practice, Fowler approached Florida wide receiver Deonte Thompson and asked him a quality question: What's the biggest difference between Tim Tebow and new quarterback John Brantley?
Thompson's answer was insightful.
And yes, out of context, the phrase "a real quarterback" isn't really an endorsement of Tebow's play.
"You just never know with Tim." Thompson told the Orlando Sentinel and a couple of other reporters. "He can bolt. You'll think he's running, but then he'll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything's with rhythm, time. Like, you know what I mean, a real quarterback."
But apparently, it struck something inside coach Urban Meyer. After Wednesday's practice, Meyer approached Fowler with a stern look and a finger waving in his
face.
"You'll be out of practice — you understand that? — if you do that again," Meyer told the reporter. "I told you five years ago: Don't mess with our players. Don't do it. You did it. You do it one more time and the Orlando Sentinel not welcome here ever again. Is that clear? It's yes or no."
Woah. If Meyer thinks Fowler is "messing" with his players, he needs to reevaluate the quote and consider its context.
Tim Tebow was unlike any college football player in the last decade. He had the body of a fullback and the vision of a night owl. His arm wasn't half-bad, but it was often the second option.
Doesn't sound like many quarterbacks I know.
John Brantley is your prototypical pocket passer. He works on timing and reads, jerking his head back and forth to find the open man.
So when Thompson pointed out the differences, he was completely accurate. Fowler used the quote in a story comparing the two quarterbacks because it was strong and
insightful.
Journalists search for these kind of quotes on a daily basis. It wasn't a cliché. It showed the differences between the two quarterbacks.
I hope Meyer realizes that the reporter was never trying to hurt the player. His outburst at Fowler was unfair, and I hope he apologizes for his threat and verbal attack.
FRIDAY YOUTUBE SESH
I have an unhealthy obsession with the shot-making techniques of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Hook shots from half court? Swish.
Dunks on 12-foot goals? Easy.
But this shot at an outside court dwarfs anything I've seen from the Globetrotters.
Edited by Kelly Gibson
Search "impossible: backlip basketball shot" on YouTube and enjoy.
Team looks to even Big 12 record
TENNIS
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
twitter/kgier
Off to a disappointing 0-2 start in conference play, the Kansas tennis team will host two matches this weekend with the goal of evening out its record. The Jayhawks will face Iowa State at 2 p.m. today and Nebraska at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
"I am nervous because we are 0-2 in the conference right now, so it would really help our confidence if we could come off with a win this weekend," sophomore Erin Wilbert said.
Eight teams from the Big 12 are ranked in the top 75 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, including Nebraska who sits at No. 43.
"I think our biggest hurdle that we have to overcome is that we are
"The Big 12 is one of the most competitive conferences there is next to the SLC conference," Wilbert said. "We are going to have a really tough season. All the teams have improved, there is not one team that we are going to look over and take for granted because everyone is good. On any given day, anyone is beatable, but everyone is good."
so close with all these big name teams and high ranked teams. We are so close, we are right there, but we get to big points and we can't close it out because it is in our heads."
Though the team has been struggling as a whole, Wilbert has found success winning two of her four doubles matches over break with her partner, sophomore Kate Morozova. They are the top doubles team for the layhawks. Wilbert and Morozova played together for the first time against Tulane on March 6.
"We are just now starting to build confidence off of one another-
er, and starting to feel much more comfortable playing with each other," Wilbert said. "We came off with a win against a really good team, we took off the No. 1 Texas team so that is a really good feeling."
"I love playing with Kate because she is such a fierce competitor," Wilbert said. "Her fierceness and her competitiveness rubs off on me when we get out there and I want to do good for her and the rest of the team," Wilbert said.
- Edited by Cory Bunting
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
at Razorback Spring In-
vitational, Fayetteville,
Ark., all day
Baseball at Baylor, 6:30 p.m.
at Texas A&M, 1 p.m.
Tennis vs. Iowa State, 2
p.m.
Softball
SATURDAY
Softball at Texas A&M, noon
Women's soccer vs. KU Men's Club Team, 2 p.m.
Baseball
at Baylor, 3 p.m.
Women's rowing vs. Texas, TBA
SUNDAY
Softball at Texas A&M, 12 p.m.
Baseball at Baylor, 1 p.m.
Women's tennis vs. Nebraska, 2 p.m.
MONDAY
No events scheduled.
TUESDAY
Softball vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, 3 p.m.
Softball
Sortball vs. UMKC, 4 p.m., 6 p.m.
TRACK & FIELD
Outdoor track begins in Arkansas
The Jayhawk men and women will make a return visit to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend to open the outdoor track season.
After a weekend off following the indoor season, 86 athletes will make the one-day trip to the Razorback Spring Invitational this Saturday.
record twice. The Grodno,
Belarus native will compete in
the hammer throw on Saturday
at 10 a.m.
The women will be led by sophomore Alena Krechyk who is coming off a Big 12 Indoor Championship season where she broke the KU weight throw
Six freshmen women will debut Saturday in distance running. Kathleen Thompson will run in the 1,500 meters while Tessa Turcotte and Brenna Farren will compete in the 3,000 meters. Fellow freshmen Kyra Kilwein, Allie Marquis, and Natalie Becker will run in both events.
All-American freshman Mason Finley will make his debut in the discus throw on Saturday. While this will be Finley's first collegiate discus competition, the Salida, Colo., native holds the nation's high school record with a distance of 236 feet. Finley will be joined by fellow discus thrower Brian Bishop, who placed third in the event at last season's Big 12
2009 campaigns. Before his 2008 season ended in injury, the Overbrook, Kan, native met the NCAA regional-qualifying standards in the only three meets he competed in that season.
Championships.
After redshirting in 2009, junior Jordan Scott returns to pole vaulting. The Watkinsville, Ga., native is a two-time All-American indoor pole vaulter and has won the Big 12 title four straight years.
After Saturday's competition the Track and Field teams will travel to Austin, Texas for the Texas Relays April 1-3 before hosting the Kansas Relays April 14-17 at Memorial Stadium.
Kory Carpenter
Lindsey Hughes, a senior form Dallas, forehands the ball at the tennis courts next to the Student Recreational Center. Hughes usually does not play tennis but with the weather becoming nice she thought it would be something fun to do.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
SOCCER
Spring opens with club scrimmage
Kansas returns 23 players from last year's team that finished eighth in the Big 12 conference, including Emily Cressy, the team's leading scorer, goalie Kat Liebetrau, and defenders Lauren Jackson and Geneva Magness.
The soccer team will open its spring exhibition season with a scrimmage against the KU Men's Club Team Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. Fans can attend for free.
Kansas will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks next Saturday.
CAMPUS
— Clark Goble
MEN'S FRISBEE TEAM WINDSWEPT IN TEXAS
The snow storm that hit Lawrence during Spring Break forced the Kansas Ultimate team to forfeit their first three games at the tournament. The games in Austin were cancelled due to high winds. The team then heard of the games moving to San Antonio, Texas, a minute too late to make it to their first three games against Florida, Illinois, and UCLA.
A windy Austin, Texas, this last weekend proved to throw off the Kansas A-Team during the Centex Tournament.
"This is a regional match up and we came out hot just like we wanted to" said sophomore captain Brett Hidaka.
Kansas won the first half 8-5. Then, held A&M to only one second half point and won the game 15-6.
Their next game had a similar result against Texas State. Kansas couldn't develop a deep game due to the high wind, and Texas State took advantage of the short throws by cutting them off. The final score was Texas State 12, Kansas 7.
The next two games involved less stellar results, but the same strong wind. Against Washington, the wind was gusting 25 mph crosswind according to Hidaka. Kansas lost the game 12-6.
Their next game was against Texas A&M on Saturday.
CLUB VOLLEYBALL
TOURNEY STARTS
TOMORROW
The women face their toughest competition in Iowa and a strong team in Arkansas.
The men's match up between Kansas A and Nebraska A is the game to watch. They've played each other twice,each winning one game. However, Kansas finished ahead of Nebraska in the last tournament, although the two teams did not play each other in that round of competition.
Pool Play begins tomorrow morning at the Rec Center. Tournament play will start at 2:00 p.m.
—Nicholas Roesler
THE WOMEN'S TEAMS COMPETING:
Arkansas A
8 Iowa
Kansas A, B and C
Kansas State A
Missouri B
Truman State A and
THE MEN'S TEAMS COMPETING:
Kansas A, B
Kansas State A
Nebraska A
Texas State is a regional team and Kansas will be facing them again soon.
The A-Team's next tournament will be held this weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina. This Eastern Tournament will be of higher caliber
teams but captain Hidaka says he has the confidence that the Kansas team will rise to the challenge.
Nicolas Roesler