"I said, 'Guys, what's the worst thing that can happen? We lose 162 games, big deal. We can still eat, and you're still going to get paid.'" Yankees manager Joe Torre after they lost their season opener to the Devil Rays.
what we heard
off the bench
2B the university daily kansan
thursday, april 1, 2004
CORRECTION
Yesterday's The University Daily Kansas contained an error.
The article "University bowling teams advance to championships" gave the incorrect year in school for Rhino Page and Kelly Zapf. Page is a sophomore and Zapf is a junior.
Kansas athletics calendar
TODAY
TOMORROW
Softball vs. Creighton, 2 and 4 p.m.
SATURDAY
Track and Field at Texas Relays, all day
Basketball vs. Oklahoma, 6 p.m.
Rowing vs. Tulsa and Drake, all day
Track and Field at Texas Relays, all day
Softball vs. Texas Tech, 2 p.m.
Tennis vs. Iowa State, 1 p.m.
Baseball vs. Oklahoma, 6 p.m.
SUNDAY
Baseball vs. Oklahoma, 1 p.m.
Softball vs. Texas Tech, 4 p.m.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
Wayne Simien, we would like to let you know that you are welcome to join the gymnastics club anytime you want.
Why is the Kansan even suggesting that Wayne Simien will not come back next season? He said he was coming back.
TENNIS
Kansas tennis star awarded Big 12 player of the week
Annie Bernethy/Kansan
Kansas sophomore Christine Skoda was named Big 12 Conference women's tennis player of the week Tuesday.
The native of Edmon-
The native of Lemon ton, Alberta, Canada, posted an undefeated record in singles competition, part of a four-match winning streak that includes straight set wins against Colorado's Kendra Strand demo. Boise State's Alissa Ayling and
Skoda
Hawaii's Syliva Jaros.
Skoda also registered a 3-0 record in doubles with teammate freshman, Brittany Brown. Overall. The pair is riding on a six-match win streak and is 11-3.
"There are a lot of talented players in the Big 12," Skoda said. "I feel honored just to be nominated, but it feels great to win. I hope I can continue playing well throughout the rest of the season."
Coach Amy Hall said she was pleased.
"I am very proud of her," Hall said. "She is playing to the ability that she knows she needs to in the Big 12. She practices hard, and is getting better everyday and it paid off."
Kansas will try to capture its third conference win when it faces Iowa State Saturday at Robinson Courts in Lawrence.
— Rahul Sharma
Afternoon jog
Jessica Sueper, Omaha, Neb., sophomore, ran with her yellow lab, Jessie, yesterday afternoon on Ohio Street. The spring temperatures are to continue for the rest of the week.
I-70 stop honors famed coach
The Associated Press
MATFIELD GREEN — For years, travelers who stopped along the Kansas Turnpike were told only that coaching legend Knute Rockne and seven others died in a plane crash near here on March 31.1931.
Now, they can get a deeper look into how Rockne lived — and died.
Seventy-three years to the day after Rocke's death, his family members were among more than 100 people who gathered yesterday to dedicate a new memorial at the turnpike's Matfield Green Service Area.
"I think it's fantastic, just fantastic," said Nils Rockne, Knute Rockne's grandson, who wasn't born when his grandfather died. "It's amazing that 73 years after his death people still honor and remember my grandfather."
The new memorial, located in the area's foyer, features photographs — including a life-size cutout of Rockne in his Notre Dame uniform — and excerpts from his speeches, both in print and on audio.
But for the record, Rockne's family members said, his first name was pronounced "Kuh-nute," not "Nute."
A bronze memorial plaque was dedicated in 1965, also at the service area. It was removed in 2003, when the area was renovated.
One dominating image, near the
entrance to the memorial, is a 7-foot blow-up of Rockne's face, printed in gold and black on canvas. It is overlaid with his famous "Win one for the Gipper" pep talk, immortalized in the Ronald Reagan film "Knute Rockne, All American."
The memorial also includes one of the steel propeller blades from the Fokker F10 that crashed when its wings iced up on a flight from Kansas City to Los Angeles where Rockne was to make a football documentary.
The plane went down in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas, about three miles northwest of the service area.
Rockne, who emigrated from Norway when he was 8, starred for Notre Dame in football and track and later led the Fighting Irish football team to six national championships and a 105-12-5 record in 13 seasons.
Mike Kirsch, who worked up the exhibit based on computer designs from the Greteman Group of Wichita, said he wanted people to get a sense of how much Rockne accomplished before his death at the age of 43.
His.881 winning percentage is still the best among major college coaches.
"In the 15 to 20 minutes people spend here, I wanted them to get a sense of how monumental this man was," said Kirsch, of Image Resources Inc. in Wichita.
So in addition to listing Rockne's football accomplishments — he also helped popularize the forward pass as a player and introduced shifting formations as a coach — the memorial also notes that he was an honors graduate in
chemistry and touches on his lucrative sidelines as a motivational speaker and paid endorser.
Rockne, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, is also credited with bringing Notre Dame to a level of prominence enjoyed by few other schools.
"I would hazard a guess that Notre Dame is the university it is today more because of Knute Rockne than because of anyone else," said Tim Brady of St. Louis, a member of the university's board of directors.
Also in attendance yesterday were family members of another man killed in the crash, sporting goods executive John Happer.
"We heard about this and said, 'We've got to come down,'" said Tammy Happer Scheier, of the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. "We've got three generations of the Happer family here."
She said her grandfather was among those who had worked to get Rockne to make the appearance in Los Angeles.
A stone marker containing the names of all eight men killed still stands at the crash site. The Rockne family laid a memorial wreath at the site yesterday afternoon.
Royals rearrange line-up
The Associated Press
SURPRISE. Ariz. — Mike MacDougal, who saved 27 games as a rookie, will begin the season on the Kansas City Royals' disabled list, along with four starting pitchers.
MacDougal has not pitched since March 13 because of a stomach virus that caused him to lose 5 pounds and drained his strength.
"We can backdate it so
he would still be eligible to come off April 10th," general manager Allard Baird said. "I would like for him to have at least three games in the minor leagues. His weight is up to 184 pounds, but more importantly his strength is up."
Also opening the season on the disabled list will be right-handed starters Miguel Asencio, Runelvys Hernandez and Kevin Appier, who all had elbow surgery, and Kyle Snyder, who had shoulder surgery.
Appier will probably be activated in mid-April, while the other three are out for the season.
Also yesterday, left-hander Jimmy Gobble threw 36 pitches in a bullpen session, his first time since he strained an abdominal muscle.
"I felt no immediate pain," Gobble said. "They want to see how it feels tomorrow. Anything can linger after you get done throwing. You never know the soreness that will come when you start using every muscle in your body."
Gobble is 2-0 with a 1.42 earned run average in four exhibition games and was the leading candidate to be the No.4 starter before the injury. Gobble, 22, went 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA in nine starts last season.
Baird said Gobble, who had recovered from an abdominal strain last week, will be the No.4 starter. Gobble is scheduled to throw three innings Saturday at Houston in the exhibition finale.
In other roster moves, the Royals optioned left-handed pitchers Chris George and Jaime Cerda, right-handed pitchers Joe Dawley and Ryan Bukwich and outfielder David DeJesus to Class AAA Omaha.
In addition, the Royals reassigned right-handers Zack Greinke and Rudy Seanez.
The Royals are keeping outfielder Rich Thompson, a draft pick from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and utility player Mendy Lopez, who hit .277 in 52 games last season and started at five different positions.
Thompson, 24, has a career .287 average in four minor league seasons.
He is the only Royals outfielder who has the range to play center besides starter Carlos Beltran.
Thompson is also known for his defense, but has committed three errors in 22 games.
The team will open the season with seven relievers, four starting pitchers and 14 position players. The Royals will go to a five-man rotation when Appier returns, but will need a spot starter for at least a March 12 start.
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