THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2008
SPORTS
3B
FUSCO (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
advantage of their slower opponents by driving repeatedly to the hoop. The aggressive, guard-oriented system resulted in 17 points for Chalmers, 13 for senior guard Russell Robinson and 10 for sophomore guard Sherron Collins.
"It came natural." Robinson said. "We took it — it was open, and an easy layup was open for us."
Self's adjustment helped Kansas expand its lead steadily throughout the second half. The Jayhawks advantage grew to 11 midway through the second half and a comfortable 19 by the end of the game. Saturday afternoon, Self advanced his Kansas squad to the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive season and outcoached a savvy veteran coach in UNLV's Lon Kruger. And he did it while toying with lineups and experimenting with personnel.
"We've always tried to play two
bigs, and certainly today we did not do that because we couldn't match up with them," Self said. "It was encouraging to me to see us play a different way and still have success playing that way."
No matter which way Self's Kansas teams have played — slow, fast, big or small — they've found success. Forget the early exits from the 2005 and 2006 NCAA tournaments. The man has won 82 percent of his games at Kansas, better than any non-interim coach at the school.
— Edited by Mandy Earles
The one thing he hasn't done is take the Jayhawks to the Final Four. But a talented team and a brilliant basketball mind should change that soon enough.
》 MLB
Japanese pitcher struggles to find same success in America
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO—Complete games were common for Daisuke Matsuzaka in Japan.
Then he came to the United States, where pitch counts and caution forced him out of games before he wanted to leave. Red Sox manager Terry Francona let him finish just one of his 32 starts as a rookie last year.
It's Year 2 of the Dice-K era and Francona still isn't ready to give his hardworking right-hander the ball and let him keep it until the end.
So fans in his homeland are bound to be disappointed Tuesday night when Matsuzaka starts in the opening game of the major league season against the Oakland Athletics. In 190 starts over eight seasons with the Seibu Lions, he completed 72 games.
"We're just trying to mix and match the competitive nature and still gaining the strength for a long season."
"If we were playing this game in June, I'd love to send him out there and let him try to pitch a complete game, like he probably wants to." Francona said Monday. "We just probably can't shoot for that now. We're still at a stage where you're building arm strength.
"We're not going to let him go and go and go," Francona said.
Too much work now can lead to injuries later. The manager thinks Dice-K can throw 90 pitches, possibly more — but not much more.
With Boston last year, his pitch counts ranged from 72 to 130, reaching 120 just six times.
And go and go and go some more the way he did in 1998 when he threw 250 pitches in a 17-inning complete game in the Koshien national high school tournament, won by his school, Yokohama.
Backup infielder Alex Cora is confident Matsuzaka can improve on his 15-12 record and 4.40 ERA as a rookie.
"The sky's the limit." Cora said. "He's going to make adjustments. The hitters are going to make adjustments. He's used to it now. I think he's going to have the upper hand this year."
Joe Blanton starts for Oakland, and manager Bob Geren doesn't expect him to be intimidated by facing a national treasure of japan.
"He is a very good pitcher," Geren said of Dice-K at a news conference Monday with Blanton, "and so is the guy sitting next to me."
But if Matsuzaka can pitch long enough to let Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon finish with one inning each, Francona would be happy.
"That would be about perfect. We would need to have the lead for that to happen," he said. "That's what we're shooting for. That's the formula."
Since the Red Sox arrived in Tokyo early Friday morning, Francona has been peppered with questions from Japanese writers about whether Matsuzaka will pitch a complete game. He has said repeatedly that depends not only on the number of pitches he throws but on how hard he works if he gets in trouble.
The adrenaline should be pumping when he pitches in his home city for the first time since he signed a $52 million, six-year deal with the Red Sox.
"I think it's an emotional game for him because he's going to be fired up and the crowd's probably going to be crazy and rooting for him," Boston's Mike Lowell said, "which is good for us."
Just one regular-season game out of 162 isn't as big as the 2006 World Baseball Classic, when Matsuzaka was the MVP after Japan won the tournament. It certainly can't measure up to his strong performances last year in Game 7 of the AL championship series and Game 3 of the World Series or playing in the 2004 Olympics in Australia.
Still, nerves can be a factor.
"It's human nature in a big game to be nervous." Lowell said. "You can be nervous and confident. But this ice in your veins, man of steel, I don't believe it. No one's this robot, not Dice-K, not anyone."
The Red Sox and Athletics each prepared with wins in exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants. After Wednesday's game, each team has three more exhibition contests -- Boston at the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland against the San Francisco Giants.
Then they wrap up the opening four-game series in Oakland on April 1 and 2.
But on Tuesday morning, fans were expected to wake up early in Boston to watch the game scheduled to begin at 6:07 a.m. EDT (7:07 p.m. in Tokyo). If they don't turn on their television sets by 8 a.m., they may not see Matsuzaka pitch at all.
"We know they'll be watching," Francona said. "The game could be played in the middle of the night. They don't care. They want to watch the Red Sox."
All-you-can-eat promotion causes concern
SPORTS VENUES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two fans take advantage of the new tickets, which offer unlimited venue food, at the Los Angeles Dodgers' game against Milwaukee Brewers in Los Angeles. Fans in Right Field Pavilion got all the hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, sodas and water they could eat with the purchase of their game ticket. In recent years, dozens of arenas, stadiums and tracks have launched "All You Can Eat" seating.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—A growing trend in all-you-can-eat seating at sports venues is making baseball's summer chorus sound more like "Take Me Out to the Buffet."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dozens of arenas, stadiums and tracks have offered tickets that come with unlimited snacks. The seats have been a hit with fans, a moneymaker for the venues and a worry for obesity-conscious health officials.
Instead of paying for a ticket and multiple trips to the concession stand, the ticket includes everything and costs about 50 percent more. Alcohol and desserts are sold separately.
"I don't think you're ever going to get your value from it food-wise, but conveniencewise. I think it is a heck of a lot nicer than waiting in line for 20 minutes," said Drew Nurenberg, 30, of Malvern, Pa., who bought all-you-can-eat seats with his wife for a Philadelphia Flyers game last month.
Nearly half of the 30 major league baseball teams have added the all-inclusive seats, and others are looking into it. The NHL has nine teams offering the deal; the NBA has six. The idea has not caught on with the NFL, but
NASCAR has put it in overdrive, selling the tickets at multiple racetracks.
Fans get bargain grub, and the venues are able to charge a premium for foods they already buy cheap in bulk.
figures a year.
The result is like a giant hot dog on a hook — a way for teams to lure new fans to their games or get old ones to switch to higher-priced sections. In the past, unlimited food and drink was reserved for luxury suites, which cost up to six
The Los Angeles Dodgers first offered all-you-can-eat seats in their right-field bleacher pavilion last season.
Lebron James cover creates King Kong-sized controversy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK—When Vogue announced its April cover would star LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen, the magazine noted with fanfare that James was the first black man to grace its cover.
But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen's tiny waist.
It's an image some have likened to "King Kong" and Fay Wray.
"It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man," said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.
Vogue spokesman Patrick O'Connell said the magazine "sought to celebrate two super-stars at the top of their game" for the magazine's annual issue devoted to size and shape.
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James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was "just showing a little emotion."
How much do you know about the rest of the WORLD?
"We think Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover" he said.
"Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way," James told the paper. "Who cares what anyone says?"
But magazine analyst Samir Husni believes the photo was deliberately provocative, adding that it "screams King Kong." Considering Vogue's influential history, he said, covers are not something that the magazine does in a rush.
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Watch for the Blood Vessel bus at various locations.
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