THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Kansas ready for own World Series
BASEBALL | 8A
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010
The Jayhawks will split into two different teams for a series of scrimmages this weekend. The event comes at the tail end of a series of fall practices, and it isn't just for bragging rights.
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OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Reeling Jayhawks to face rolling Cyclones
Junior cornerback Ryan Murphy sacks Iowa State quarterback Austin Arnaud for a two-yard loss during the Jayahwks' game against the Cyclones last season at Memorial Stadium. Kansas will face Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, Saturday at 1 p.m.
BY KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads started his Big 12 coaching career last season much like Kansas coach Turner Gill, with a matchup against North Dakota State. Rhoads, however, beat the Bison on his way to a 7-6 record and a victory over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl. Gill's loss to North Dakota State is one of the many tough losses the Kansas football team has experienced in 2010, and a bowl game is all but out of the question for the Jayhawks. Rhoads advised that first year struggles are nothing new for coaching staffs.
"The transition year is a challenging one," Rhoads said during his Big 12 teleconference Monday. "You just have to get your philosophy and your program established, and sometimes it takes a little longer to get it done."
The Cyclones took one step closer to establishing their program last week, when they traveled to Austin and took out the Texas Longhorns 28-21, improving their record to 4-4 on the season. Kansas, on the other hand, is still looking for its first conference win. The Jayhawks have been outscored 159-24 in losses to Baylor, Kansas State and Texas A&M to open Big 12 play. The Jayhawks were going to be limping into Ames with a 2-5 record and no momentum. Crawling might be a better term, however, after injuries to quarterbacks Jordan Webb and Kale Pick last week.
Junior college transfer Quinn Mecham will get his first start as a Jayhawk. He relieved the injured quarterback duel late against Texas A&M, being sacked and throwing an interception on his pair of passing attempts. Now practicing with the first team offense, Gill has seen more excitement out of the team this week at practice.
As a two-year starter at Snow Junior College, Mecham threw for 3,091 yards and 40 touchdowns. He transferred to Kansas in December but hadn't seen any play time before last week.
"He's actually brought some energy to the team," Gill said of Mecham. "Our guys are excited and they've rallied around him, and he's ready to step in and get better."
Being the third-string quarterback thrown in the middle of a
4-4 (2-2 Big 12)
KANSAS VS. IOWA STATE
three-game losing streak doesnot take any pressure off Meam.
Mecham
DAY: Saturday
DATE: Oct. 30, 2010
LOCATION: Ames, Iowa
TIME: 1:00 p.m. CT
we can still make a bowl game, so we always have something to lose."
"I think there's always something to lose. We have five games and
With the amount of talent that left last season, as well as a
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 9A
2-5 (0-3 Big 12)
QUARTERBACK NOTES
QUARTERBACK NOTES
Kale Pick — Out with concussion
Jordan Webb — Doubtful with shoulder injury
Quinn Mecham — Starting quarterback
Christian Matthews — Wide receiver, backup quarterback against Iowa State
SUSPENSION NOTES
D. J. Beshears, Deshaun Sands — suspended one game for breaking unspecified team rules
POSITION CHANGE NOTES
Olaitan Oguntodu — Moved from safety to linebacker
Isiah Barfield — Moved to kickoff returns with McDougald
INJURY NOTES
Keeston Terry — Out for season (applying for medical redshirt)
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas aims to end four-game losing streak
The squad takes on the Texas Tech Red Raiders tomorrow
BY IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
The best chance for Kansas to break its recent losing streak may come tomorrow in Lawrence. The Jayhawks return to Horejsi Family Athletics Center for a rematch with the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-18, 1-11 Big 12) after falling in three sets Wednesday at Missouri.
Sophomore middle blocker Tayler Tolefree said the team needed a win.
"We have eight games left, and time's running out," she said.
Missouri previously losing to Oklahoma,
Texas and Iowa State.
Texas Tech's Oct. 2 win against Kansas was its first Big 12 win in three years, snapping the Raiders'
with an average of 3.49 kills per set, while junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield follows with 2.99 kills per set. The team has seen good performances from redshirt freshman middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc, who has a hitting percentage of .270 and 80 blocks on the season. Jarmoc scored three service aces in a row on Wednesday.
On defense, freshman libero Brianne Riley leads the team in digs on the season with an average of 3.66 per set. Riley has recently returned to regular play after sitting several matches out because of a minor head injury suffered at Colorado.
KANSAS
VS
TEXAS TECH
64-game conference losing streak. The Jayhawks produced good numbers in the five-setter, but couldn't match the Red Raiders' offense, which came alive late in the game.
RAY BECHARD Coach
DAY: Saturday
DATE: Oct. 30
LOCATION: Lawrence
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
"We thought we've been pretty consistent,pretty steady all year for the pass and serve side of it."
Senior outside hitter Karina Garlington leads the Kansas offense
Kansas (13-10, 4-8 Big 12)
dropped its fourth straight match at
Texas Tech is coming to Kansas after a 0-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday, in the Raiders' first match under interim head coach Beth Falls. The Longhorns recorded a .326 hitting per
centage in the match and held the Red Raiders to .119. Junior Amanda Dowdy paced the Red Raiders' offense with 11 kills, with seniors Alexa Roberts and Barbara Conceicao and sophomore Miara Cave adding three kills a
piece. Senior Jackie Vincent led the defense with eight digs.
Coach Ray Bechard said Wednesday that the team struggled with service and passing against Missouri and that would be a point of attention as the team played at home again on Saturday.
"We pride ourselves on that. We thought we've been pretty consistent, pretty steady all year for the pass and serve side of it." Bechard said. "Obviously, regardless of who we're playing, that needs to be consistent."
Match time for Kansas and Texas Tech is 6:30 p.m.
Edited by Dana Meredith
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior defensive specialist Melissa Manda will try to help lead Kansas to a win tomorrow.
COMMENTARY
Notre Dame death could have been prevented
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
I don't care that Brian Kelly, Notre Dame's coach, isn't winning in his first season on the job. What I do care about, deeply, is that he needlessly endangered the life of a 20-year old Notre Dame student so he could have football practice outside.
Declan Sullivan, part of the video crew that films Notre Dame's practices, was killed Wednesday afternoon when the 50-foot-tall scissor lift tower he was filming from was blown over in winds exceeding 50 miles per hour.
The worst thing about it? It's no secret: the danger faced by going up in a scissor lift tower in high winds. One company that deals with scissor lifts, HSS Hire, has a warning on its website with regards to the danger of a 32-foot tower: "Do not use if wind speed exceeds 28 mph."
Wednesday's winds were almost twice that. Sullivan knew the danger he was in. He was afraid of going up in that tower and he was afraid of staying there. Sullivan tweeted twice about the winds. The first, about two hours before the tower's collapse, was disturbing prescient.
I'll admit that I played only one season of football in seventh grade, but I find it hard to believe that practicing outside in gale-force winds is any more productive than being inside on a practice field.
"Declan was a diligent student worker in our video department and had a tremendous personality and great sense of humor." Kelly said in a press release. "He brightened the days for all that had the privilege to work with him, and the Notre Dame football family will dearly miss him."
Makes me sick to my stomach. Someone should have gotten that kid out of the tower. Someone should have had the sense and courtesy and the responsibility to say that practice should have been inside or, at the very least, that they could go without the film from on high. And that someone should have been Kelly
"Gusts of wind up to 60mph
well today will be fun at work... I
guess I've lived long enough :/ "
Kelly was forced to take practice inside Tuesday because of the high winds. Wednesday they blew with the same force, but practice was outside. What gives? Why the difference?
Some "family." Kelly was so worried about Sullivan's fate Wednesday that practice continued for almost half an hour after the tower collapsed and Sullivan was taken to the hospital, where he died.
"Holy fuck holy fuck this is terrifying."
The second was sent while he was in the tower, less than an hour before it toppled.
Declan Sullivan was wrong about one thing. He had not lived long enough.
Declan Sullivan didn't need to die.
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Edited by Lisa Curran