KANSAS TENNIS The men's and women's teams will face Colorado this weekend in Boulder, Colo. Page 3.
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1996
Losing won't be an option
Bobby Randall knows return to former school may be a little difficult
By Dan Geiston
Kansan sportswriter
Steve Punne / KANSAN
Ask Bobby Randall about this weekend's trip to Ames, Iowa, and the first thing he'll mention is the three-game series between Kansas and Iowa State.
"It's a Big Eight team," the Kansas baseball coach said. "That's what makes this weekend so important. Iowa State is playing real well right now."
But the
But the series is about more than just the games. This weekend marks Randall's return to Ames for the first time since
he left as coach of the Cyclones in the fall.
Kansas coach Bobby Randall talks to junior Aaron Wilmes in a game earlier this season at Hogwild.
He spent 14 years at Iowa State, including the last 11 as coach, compiling a 309-311 record.
But now Randall returns as the foe, but only on the baseball field.
"I guess it's going to be hectic for me," he said. "I want to see some friends who I haven't seen in a while. There was a church I was really involved in that I want to go back to."
"I don't think of this so much as a reunion," he said. "This is a road trip."
Randall said his children would enjoy the return perhaps more than he would.
"It's really a big deal for the kids," he said. "They're spending the weekend with friends. They're really excited about going back. It's where they grew up."
If Randall was expecting a warm welcome, it might be tempered a bit after the way the Jayhawks destroyed the Cyclones in March. Lawrence swept Iowa State 11-0 and 22-8.
"Yeah, I don't think they liked that too much," Randall said. "They really didn't say too much to me. I don't know if that was because I was on the other side or because they lost."
Randall had to continuously fight the administration and athletic department who wanted to kill the baseball program in a cost-cutting move. Randall and the players did everything they could to save the program, from writing letters to student protests.
The program was saved, but not without repercussions on both sides.
He knew it was time for a change, and when the
Maupin Stadium. Randall will return to Iowa State today for the first time since resigning last summer.
Kansas job opened up he applied for the position.
Reunions and remembrances will have to be on hold come game time. The Jayhawks are in the midst of a five-game loss streak that has seen them fall to 16-18 overall and 6-10 in the Big Eight Conference.
"If the guys weren't playing hard, I'd be disappointed," Randall said. "We're all in this together. You can't lay everything on the feet of the players or coaches. They care so deeply. That's why losing hurts so much."
As for possible solutions, most of the Kansas players feel that they'll snap out of it.
SECTION B
"Things aren't going too good for us, but they'll turn around," senior second baseman Josh Kliner said. "We're just playing real good teams right now, and they seem to be getting the better of us. But if we keep playing hard and stay focused, we'll be alright."
Kansas plays Iowa State at 3 p.m. today at Cap Timm Field. Josh Belovsky will start for Kansas. He is 4-4 and has a 5.15 earned run average.
Games important for softball team
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
Kansas junior second baseman Heather Richins attempts to throw out a runner in Wednesday's first game against Southwest Missouri State.
Wins against Texas Tech will boost NCAA seeding
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
If there was ever a must-win situation, it might be staring the Kansas softball team straight in the eve.
The Jayhawks, 24-15 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12 Conference, will travel to Lubbock, Texas, for a doubleheader tomorrow, and a single game Sunday against Texas Tech.
After Kansas split doubleheaders with Iowa State and Southwest Missouri State this week, its hopes to get a regional invitation may dwindle with a loss this weekend.
Wins against Texas Tech may boost Kansas' No. 7 regional ranking. The rankings encompass all the Big 12 and Missouri Valley conference teams and, along with schedule strength and record, are a determining factor in the atlarge teams selected for the eight postseason regionals.
Eight teams are automatic regional picks, including the winner of the Big 12 tournament. Then, three additional teams are invited to each of the eight regionals, where one winner emerges and goes on to play in the eight-team
"These are games we absolutely have to have to put us back in the race," Kansas softball coach Gayle Luedek said. "I'd be very disappointed if we struggle against Tech."
College World Series in Columbus, Ga.
"If we don't win the Big 12 Conference tournament, we have to be sitting in better shape than seventh to get an at-large bid," Luedke said.
The teams ranked above Kansas in its region are Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Texas-San Antonio.
Luedke said it was vitally important for the Jayhawks to get victories against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
"They're the only ones left on our schedule that are above us," she said. "That means we can't afford to lose to teams such as Creighton and Wichita State, teams that are below us."
The Jayhawks can't afford to lose any of their three games to Texas Tech, either, if they want to get back on their feet after a rocky week. They are 3-4 since last Saturday.
"We need the three," Kansas junior second baseman Heather Richins said. "We need it for the ratings, and we need it for ourselves to get out of this win one, lose one pattern. We just want to get on a roll."
That may seem like an easy prospect, considering the Red Raiders are a first-year program and are 3-31 overall and 0-8 in the conference.
However, the Jayhawks don't have that mindset heading into the weekend.
"We can't take anybody for granted," Kansas sophomore shortstop Michelle Huber said. "We going to try to win all three, but go one game at a time."
Good sports radio talk shows can be found
Sports talk shows are big these days,
and, despite never calling in, I'll confess to
Almost every town with a major college or professional team has one. My craving for hearing sports discussions on the radio began when I was in high school in Baton Rouge, La.
being a part of the craze.
I listened to a local show hosted by Richard Condon. Condon is sort of a backwoods version of ESPN anchor Chris
Berman, but not as fun to listen to. Soon folks got tired of hearing him bash the Louisiana State men's basketball team,
Until recently, the Kansas City area had two local shows, Don Fortune on KMBZ, 980 AM and Pete Enich on KCTE, 1510 AM. Sadly, Enich's show bit the dust because it lacked sponsorship. Fortune, a former television sportcaster in town, seems to lean towards the home teams a bit too much.
For those who are unfamiliar with this medium, there are basically three types of sports talk shows: those that inform, those that criticize and both. Most have one or two hosts and take calls from listeners and guests.
Last month I discovered that Condon has resurfaced on an FM afternoon show. He takes five or ten minutes each hour to give the sports headlines and tells when the local teams are playing.
and his show was canceled.
The great thing about Enich's show was that he had no biases, and regularly
Bigger cities, like Dallas, have entire stations devoted to sports talk. While in the Dallas area last month, I spent a couple of days listening to "The Ticket," which spends about 80 percent of its air time with call-in shows.
shared that fact with his listeners. The only down side was that it was broadcast on a weaker signal centered in Independence, Mo., making it impossible to get here in Lawrence, and almost as difficult in Johnson County.
The most shocking part of listening to Dallas sports talk was the fact that the station had a person who made daily reports from the Cowboys' training center, even in the middle of March. Granted, I was listening at the peak of the recent Michael Irvin craze, but pro football news this time of year is ridiculous.
But that's just the state of sports in Big D. A town with professional hockey, base;
ball and basketball teams lives, eats and breathes Cowboy football. Take the hype about men's basketball in Lawrence and multiply it by 100 — that's how big this stuff is.
While I admit to being spoiled by "The Ticket," there are still ways to get good sports talk here in Kansas. National shows like "Wall to Wall Sports" and "The Fabulous Sports Babe" can be heard five days a week on KCTE. Plus, ESPN2 carries one hour of the Sport Babe's show each day at noon.
Syndicated shows get the best guests and expert analysis. The Sports Babe had Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette on in the same hour on Wednesday.
If you haven't checked out sports talk radio yet, give it a try. I may check into a 12-step program to cut down soon, but until then, my ears will be on.
Kansas right from the start for Bradford
Arkansas high school star ready for Jayhawk basketball
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
Carolyn Bradford watched all the Kansas men's basketball games she could this season.
"Next year, we're going to see Nicky there," Carolyn
Through the Jayhawk victories and pitfalls, though,
one amazing thought ran through her head.
Bradford said in a hoarse whisper followed by a drawn-out laugh. "That's a funny feeling."
Carolyn Bradford will probably watch with more interest next season, the first for her son, Nicky Bradford, in a Jayhawk uniform. He signed a national letter of intent with Kansas during the fall signing period.
The Bulldogs lost in the semifinals of the 4A state tournament, but finished the season ranked sixth among all Arkansas schools after being ranked first or second for most of the year.
After leading Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Ark., to a 24-6 record this season, Bradford was hailed a Parade All-American as well as the best player in Arkansas by Gatorade, Scholastic Coach and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
"He was obviously our leader," Bulldog boys' basketball coach Barry Gebhart said. "And he's one of those guys that everybody in school likes. He's a quality young man."
And with Bradford's performance on the basketball court, some quality programs started taking note of him. Kansas first contacted Gebhart concerning Bradford two weeks before he played at the Nike All-American camp in March.
It's a good thing.
"After the Nike camp, my phone was ringing off the wall from schools across the country." Gebhart said. "KU got in about two weeks before, which helped them get a jump."
Then Bradford started making some dramatic jumps of his own. Gebhart said that this time last year Bradford's overall skills were improving as he gained a full step and half to his run, added four or five inches to his vertical jump and grew an inch and a half.
While playing AAU basketball last summer, Bradford really started getting letters. And more letters. And more letters.
In the end, between 75 and 80 teams contacted Bradford by letter or phone.
"It got pretty hectic," Bradford said. "I've got a box of letters. Sometimes I'd be sitting at home, and some coach you see on TV all the time would call."
After the fifth game of the 1994-95 season, Gebhart and Ramon Bradford, an assistant coach at Fayetteville High and Bradford's older brother, were involved in a car accident.
That distraction didn't seem to bother Bradford, though. Coaches calling, bundles of letters coming in the mail, people asking where he was going — it all seemed minor compared to what else was going on in his life.
Not only had Ramon Bradford coached his brother in high school, but he'd also seen the potential early on.
Ramon Bradford died in the accident.
"Ramon and Nicky were extremely close," Gebhart said. "It made Nicky a much more mature person."
"Ramon would say, 'Nicky's going to be good,'" Carolyn Bradford said. "I said, 'You're just saying that because it's your brother,' I just hate that he's not here to see this."
By the time the sting of his brother's death had begun to fade, Bradford had cut the list of prospective schools to six — Kansas, Missouri, Connecticut, Oklahoma State, California-Berkley and Alabama. Then he made plans to visit all six with a late-October stop in Lawrence being his first destination.
He never made it to the other five schools.
"Everything about Kansas was what I thought a school should be," Bradford said. "I just knew that was the place for me."
The support for basketball among the players and coaching staff as well as the academics at Kansas impressed Bradford, who hopes to eventually work as a sports agent.
He was so sold on the Jayhawks that he not only canceled his other visits but also made his choice official during the early signing period.
"I thought if the right things happened, I would sign early," Bradford said. "This season was a lot easier because of that."
Next season, Bradford will have to become accustomed to having thousands of Jayhawk fans watching. They will like what they see, Gebhart said.
"People in Lawrence are going to like Nicky," he said. "He does things with a smile on his face, and his goal is for the University of Kansas to win basketball games, not for Nicky Bradford to do well."
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