2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008
trivia of the dav
Q: Only three freshman have ever been named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Who are they?
A: Arnie Ferrin was the first freshman to win the award in 1944 as a Utah Ute. Pervis Ellison of Louisville won it in 1986. The most recent freshman recipient was Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony in 2003.
NCAA Final Four Record Book
fact of the dav
It's pretty windy on Saturn. Winds around the planet's equator can reach 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) per hour.In comparison,the fastest winds on Earth reach only about 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) per hour.
quote of the dav
"They gave us a tough road. We had to play Texas in Houston, but still it's our time. This is our time."
Memphis coach John Calipari
on tonight
Men's College Basketball:
Its College basketball:
— National Invitation Tournament Semifinal: Florida vs. Massachusetts, 6 p.m., ESPN2
—National Invitation Tournament Semifinal: Mississippi vs. Ohio State, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Women's College Basketball:
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, 6 p.m., ESPN
—NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, 8 p.m., ESPN
calendar
TODAY
Baseball vs. Wichita State,
7 p.m., Lawrence
WEDNESDAY
Softball vs. Creighton, 2
p.m., Omaha
Softball vs. Creighton, 4
p.m., Omaha
Baseball vs. St. Mary, 6
p.m., Lawrence
Track, Texas Relays, All day,
Austin, Texas
Olympic-sized celebration
KEEPERS hold 12 panda cubs during a ceremony to mark their entry into the equivalent of panda kindergarten Saturday at the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong, southwestern China's Sichuan province. China's Giant Pandas are highly endangered but their cuddly image has helped to sustain efforts to save the species from extinction. ASSOCIATED PRES
MLB
Royals make comeback against Tigers
The fans were in a good mood until Detroit's ace got into trouble.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — The $138 million
Tigers opened with a thud.
Tony Pena Jr. hit a two-out, tiebreaking single in the 11th inning and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat Detroit 5-4 in Monday's opener.
Verlander didn't give up a hit for 3 2-3 innings in his first opening-day start, but finished with a shaky line: four runs, four hits and six strikeouts over 6-plus innings.
The big-spenders had a shot at a dramatic win with Clete Thomas on third base with only one out, but Edgar Renteria struck out and
the game ended when third baseman Alex Gordon snared Placido Polanco's grounder in the hole and threw him out.
Miguel Cabrera hit a homer in his Detroit debut, helping the home team go ahead 3-0 through five innings, but Justin Verlander had a lackluster start.
After trailing 3-0, Gordon hit a two-run home run in the sixth and the Royals, with a $57 million payroll, scored two more while facing four pitchers in the seventh.
Leo Nunez threw two hitless innings and Joakim Soria pitched the 11th for the save.
The game drew a Comerica Park record crowd of 44,934,breaking the mark set in last year's opener thanks in part to 778 new seats.
Denny Bautista was an out away from pitching two scoreless innings, but Pena's single to center brought home John Buck soon after backup center fielder Brandon Inge threw out Mark Teahen trying to score on a single.
Carlos Guillen helped send the game into extra innings with a solo shot in the eighth.
Verlander was replaced after he gave up a leadoff walk and a single in the seventh, choosing to go with reliever Jason Grilli.
ROWING Team starts season slow against seasoned Texas
ROWING
The Kansas rowing team competed in its first official spring regatta Saturday morning at Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. The Jayhawks and Longhorns met in six different races, featuring three novice teams and three varsity teams. Though the Longhorns came out on top in all six races, Kansas coach Rob Catloth was not discouraged.
"It was our first race," Catloth said. "We finally got one under our belt and we raced pretty well. There are a few things we need to improve on, but that will come with time and experience."
While the race was Kansas' first of the spring, Texas had already competed in regattas such as the Fighting Nutria 2008, the Longhorn Invitational and the Heart of Texas. All these races were held in Austin, Texas, and gave Texas valuable experience evident against Kansas.
Kansas' first and second varsity eight boats timed 7:01 and 7:17, respectively, compared to Texas' 6:50 and 7:02. Kansas' varsity four boat came within seconds of besting Texas, finishing at 7:52 with Texas at 7:49.
The three novice boats raced as well, with the second novice eight going down to Texas' by 1.8 seconds, the closest race of the day.
"Our fitness looks pretty good and we had good intensity for our first race," Catloth said.
Catloth will look for improvement when they race on April 14 against Kansas State in Kansas City, Kan. It stands as the only home regatta of the year for the Kansas rowing team.
Ben Ashworth
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