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NFL takes needed first step to change overtime format
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010
Although regular season overtime stays unchanged, now playoff games won't let teams merely score a field goal on first possession to win. MORNING BREW | 2B
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KANSAS 16. BAKER 0
Sonhomore first baseman Zac Elgoie celebrates with teammates after a home run in Wednesday's game against Baker University. Elgoie went three-for-three, finishing the game with a home run, a triple and four RBIs.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Jayhawks blow out Wildcats
Sophomore first baseman overcomes hitting slump, matches career-high three hits
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
twitter.com/bm_dub
Already with a 5-0 lead after two innings, Kansas (13-8) poured it on from there, pounding Baker 16-0.
Light rain falling over Hoglund Ballpark picked up considerably as the evening wore on, and the lajhyawks followed suit.
The layhawks scored multiple runs in each inning they batted before the rain began falling harder. After Baker was retired in the top half of the fifth and the game made official, both coaches agreed
to end the contest, which was far from being competitive.
But the rain held up long enough to get a number of hitters some extra at-bats in the developmental game, most notably sophomore first baseman Zac Elgie.
Elgie came into the game hitting a mere .114 on the season with only five hits in 44 at bats. Because of this, he was left sitting on the bench for the past seven games.
With the developmental game providing an excellent opportunity to get Elgie out of his slump, coach Ritch Price gave him the start at first base.
"I was hoping that Elgie would break out." Price said.
Elgie matched a career-high three hits, including a triple and a towering three-run home run. He said it was a big confidence boost to put some good swings on the ball and see them pay off.
"It's kind of been a while since that happened." Elgie said with a grin
break out with a flourish, saying the sophomore was one of the
"We need his bat. He has too much potential to not be contributing for us."
Price was excited to see Elgie
RITCH PRICE Coach
team's top hitters in the fall and was expected to put up high numbers for Kansas.
"We need his bat." Price said.
"He has too much potential to not be contributing for us."
The Wildcats
The Wildcats proved to be
little challenge for the lajawh hitters, who smacked 11 hits in
only four innings. Bakers' pitchers struggled from the beginning to find the strike zone. Wildcat pitchers issued seven walks and also hit three lav Hawk batters.
PAGE 1B
With the contest decided, the rain kept coming down harder, threatening to wipe out all of Kansas' showy statistics, including Elgie's slump-busting three hits. But he said he just focused on playing the game.
"It was in the back of my head a little bit," Elgie said. "But you can't really worry about it."
Edited by Michael Holtz
FOR MORE COVERAGE, SEE MEN'S BASEBALL REWIND ON PAGE 6B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas visits Illinois for Sweet 16 hopes for glory without McCray
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothman
Senior guard Danielle McCray capped the WNIT semifinal game last season by retaining her own miss and completing a three-point play. In doing so, McCray carried Kansas past Illinois State 75-72 before 8,630 fans at Allen Fieldhouse, which moved Kansas into the tournament's championship game. But this time around it's no McCray and no Fieldhouse.
"If you're going to win a championship, you have to win one on the road," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
Kansas rematches Illinois State at 7 tonight at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill., without the now-injured McCray, for its first road contest of this season's WNIT.
The Redbirds went 26-7 overall and won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title,
**WHEN:** 7 tonight
**WHERE:** Redbird Arena,
Normal, Ill.
KANSAS VS.
ILLINOIS STATE
going 16-2. Illinois State totes two first team all-MVC members in senior forward Ashleen Bracey and senior guard Maggie Krick. The two average 15.1 and 14.1 points per game respectively.
"We were a little surprised that they didn't make the tournament," Henrickson said of the Redbirds. "We have great respect for the Missouri Valley"
In challenging yet another foe with more collegiate experience, the jayhawks must lean on what has
Nine Redbirds shoot more than 70 percent, and the team sinks 81.4 percent on average from the free throw line. To keep them off the free throw line, Kansas must stay on its heels and contest rather than hack at the opposition's shot attempts. Henrickson said that she thought most of her team had been dialed in defensively and would be ready for the test.
"It's just you out there," freshman guard Monica Engelman said. "We have to find some energy within the team. We're not going to have fans cheering us on. We're going to have to be able to look at the bench and trust the coaching staff that we're in this together."
gotten them through road tests in the past.
"Putting longer stretches together where we've played better and executed has been important for us," Henrickson said.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 5B
Senior guard Sad Morris goes up for a layup in a game against Creighton March 21. The Javahays will play the Illinois State Redbuds at 7 tonight for their Sweet 16 game.
COMMENTARY
Darnell Jackson cut from Cavaliers
BY ALEX BEECHER abeecher@kansan.com
While you're busy mourning Kansas' current crop of basketball stars, take a moment to consider the fate of former forward Darnell Jackson, now cut from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jackson, the over-achieving forward and surprisingly integral part of KU's 2008 national championship team, was never pegged for NBA stardom. Still, thanks to his consistent play and commendable work ethic, Jackson landed a spot with the Cavaliers.
He never played much. But that was OK. He collected a large check, along with the respect of his teammates and coaches. He also got to strike some prominent poses in LeBron James' famous pre-game "photo ops."
An NBA paycheck. A spot on the league's best team. That's good for a guy who struggled for playing time until his senior year at Kansas.
But life at the end of an NBA bench doesn't offer much in the way of stability. Especially not when Cleveland is trying everything possible to win right now, thus ensuring King James builds his castle in Cleveland — permanently.
And so the Cavs resigned Zydrus Ilgauskas, who was cut by Washington, after being traded there in the deal for Antawan Jamison. It's a good deal for Big Z, who's spent his entire career in Cleveland. It's also a good deal for the Cavs, who need his 7-foot frame and defense-stretching jump shot to win a championship.
Still, it's hard not to feel for Jackson. He belongs on an NBA roster. That much should be clear, after his recent two-game stint with Cleveland's Lake Erie D-League team, in which he averaged 33 points and 12 rebounds. Sure, it's a small sample size. But it is indicative that Jackson can be more than a positive character guy on the right team.
But there's always a catch. To make room for Ilgauskas, Cleveland had to cut someone. With an already loaded front court, jackson had to be that someone.
Professional sports is not the realm for sentiment, and so it's not justifiable to fault Cleveland for making an optimal business decision. Jackson simply got caught up in the increasingly complex world of NBA economics.
And so the question becomes, which team is right?
A contender, looking to tack a solid bookend on its bench?
Or perhaps a younger, less accomplished squad, on which Jackson might find more immediate minutes?
Fitting in to a team this late in the season, no matter the composition of the squad, is always tough.
But jackson's success has always been through adversity. He didn't play basketball until the ninth grade. At Kansas, Jackson suffered the loss of his grandmother to a drunken driver and dealt with a suspension.
Despite that, he emerged as a key member of one of Kansas' national championship teams. He will be able to handle this latest bit of adversity just fine.
— Edited by Ally Shaw