THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2008
SPORTS
NCAA BASKETBALL
5B
Top two battle for No.1 spot
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Get ready for No. 1 vs. No. 2.
Memphis survived its closest game of the season to remain the lone unbeaten and a unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press' college basketball poll Monday.
Losses by Duke and Kansas last week allowed Tennessee to make the jump from fourth to No. 2, setting up the 38th career matchup of the top two teams in the rankings.
Tennessee (23-2) is at Memphis (25-0) on Saturday, the first 1-2 meeting since No. 2 Ohio State beat No. 1 Wisconsin 49-48 on Feb. 25, 2007. Both have games Wednesday night: Memphis is at Tulane and Tennessee hosts Auburn.
The No. 2 team has won five of the last six meetings with the top-ranked team since 1994. The lone win for No. 1 was Duke's 97-66 victory over Texas on Dec. 12, 2005.
Memphis beat UAB 79-78 on Saturday, erasing a seven-point deficit over the final two minutes and waiting for a final shot by the Blazers
to be ruled after the buzzer by officials.
Tennessee also survived a road scare on Saturday, beating Georgia 74-71. But the 1-2 Volunteer State Showdown wasn't decided until Duke lost 86-73 at Wake Forest on Sunday night.
Memphis received all 72 first-place votes and 1,800 points from the national media panel to be No. 1 for a fifth straight week, the last three unanimously. Tennessee had 1,699 points to reach the highest ranking in school history. The Volunteers were third four weeks ago.
North Carolina (24-2), which has managed to go 3-1 without injured point guard Ty Lawson, moved up two spots to third, while Kansas (24-2), which lost at Texas on Monday then cruised past Colorado on Saturday, dropped one place to fourth.
Duke (22-2), which had a 12-game winning streak snapped by the Demon Deacons, dropped from second to fifth and was followed by
UCLA, Texas, Butler, Stanford and Xavier.
Butler (24-2) continued its climb to uncharted poll territory, moving up one spot to eighth, its highest ranking ever. Xavier (21-4) jumped from 12th to crack the top 10 for the first time since the next-to-last poll of 2002-03.
Wisconsin moved up four places to 11th and was followed by Georgetown, Connecticut, Purdue, Indiana, Drake, Washington State, Louisville, Michigan State and Vanderbilt.
The last five teams were Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Saint Mary's, Calif., Kansas State and Marquette.
Marquette moved back into the poll after a one-week absence. The Golden Eagles (18-6), who were ranked as high as 10th this season, fell out after consecutive losses to Louisville and Notre Dame. But an 89-64 victory at Seton Hall and a 72-54 win over Pittsburgh had them back in at No. 25.
MLB
Kansas City Royals pitcher Miguel Olivo throws the ball during spring training Sunday at the team's complex in Surprise, Ariz.
KC's new catcher settles for second spot
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Kansas City Royals Manager Trey Hillman worked Monday to clear up some confusion about who will be the team's starting catcher when the season opens.
While Miguel Olivo thought he was going to be competing for the starting catching job, Hillman said John Buck would remain the Royals' No. 1 catcher.
"There was a miscommunication to Miguel," Hillman said. "I'm not going to throw anyone under the bus. Neither Dayton (Moore, general manager), nor myself told Miguel Olivo he was coming in here as the starting catcher.
"We got him for a reason. We want to utilize his skills. We think he's a talented player with a chance to be a starting catcher."
Olivo hit .237 with 16 home runs and a career-high 60 RBIs last season in 122 games with the Florida Marlins. Buck led the Royals with 18 home runs, while hitting .222 with 48 RBIs in 113 games. Buck, however, hit just .195 after the All-Star break and only two home runs in his final 50 games.
Hillman said he has talked to both men about the catching situation.
"Miguel understands the situation," Hillman said. "We didn't get him to sit there and let him rot on the bench. He'll get some catching time. We're going to take a look at him in some other places."
Hillman said Olivo "did act surprised" when he told him Buck would be the starting catcher, but felt better about the situation after talking to Hillman.
"My agent tells me when I sign here that I come here to fight for a job," Olivo said. "The manager makes the decision. I agree with him. Whatever he says is the way it is going to be."
However, Olivo said he's been a starting catcher his entire career and has no intention of giving up the starting job without a fight.
"In my mind, we're fighting for the job," Olivo said. "In my mind, I'm the starting catcher. In my mind because that's the way I've been all my career. I respect John Buck. He respects me. We talk. We are good friends. Baseball is competition."
Everybody comes here to get a job. I come here to fight for my job."
Could Olivo win the starting job?
Could Olivia win the starting job?
"Anything is possible, sure."
Hillman said. "What I told John Buck is you have to maintain a certain level of performance to maintain your status as a starter. For me, that's a no-brainer. That's for everybody."
Notes: Hillman said Jose Guillen, who signed a three-year, $36 million
contract in the off-season, would be his primary right fielder with Mark Teahen, who played right last year, shifting to left. Hillman also said Teahen could play some at first base. ... IF Alberto Callaspo, who is having visa difficulties in Venezuela, is expected to be the only player absent from the Royals' first full-squad workout Tuesday.
GREAT GIVEAWAYS!!
Join us
February 19 to 21
Kansas Union Ballroom | Kansas Union | Level 5
Booths:
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
KU Bookstores, Official KU Grad Announcements, Caps and Gowns, Class Rings by Balfour, Office of Student Financial Aid, Office of the University Registrar, Alumni Association, University Career Center, Commerce Bank and STA Travel
KU BOOKSTORES
jostens
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS UNION
BURGE UNION
EDWARDS CAMPUS
(785) 864-4640
kubookus.com
'HE OFFICIAL BOOKSTORES OF KL
Jarrett Sykes, 6 front, and Sophie Jones, 9, hold a Northern Illinois University sign during a moment of silence before a basketball game between Sycamore and DeKalb high schools Saturday in DeKalb, III. Steven Kazmierczak, 27, killed five students before committing suicide on Thursday at Northern Illinois University.
ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR ALL YOUR GRADUATION NEEDS
>>SCHOOL SHOOTING
Tragedy strikes twice for coach
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Northern Illinois coach Ricardo Patton was returning from a recruiting trip when he heard about the campus shooting. Immediately, his mind started racing.
He knew one son was OK. He couldn't reach the other one, though.
"Fortunately, our players were all together in practice," Patton said Monday during a conference call.
Last week, Steven Kazmierczak entered a science lecture with a shotgun and pistols. He killed five people while wounding 16 before taking his own life.
His son Michael is on the Northern Illinois basketball team and was at practice. Tracking down older son Ricardo Jr., a Huskies football player, wasn't as easy.
With the campus locked down, there was no cell phone access. It took a few hours for the coach to get hold of Ricardo Jr.
"That was a tense moment," the coach said. "But I was very prayerful that he was OK."
Patton said he understands what frantic parents were going through.
Having his sons there "certainly gives me a perspective about how parents might be feeling about their students being here on campus," he said. "We've had a wonderful experience here. There are some wonderful people. It's a great academic institution. Those things are still in place."
For Patton, the shootings jarred memories of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. He was the head coach at Colorado at the time. One of his players, Josh Townsend, lost a sister.
"I remember Josh Townsend's mother stating it was very important that Josh was part of the team, and it's no different now," Patton said.
He never envisioned encountering a similar scenario. Yet that's what he's doing 11 months after taking the job at a school in a bucolic community 65 miles west
He was heading back from a recruiting trip to California when an assistant coach called with the news. He remembered his Colorado team rallying around Townsend. Now, Patton expects the players to support each other when they return to campus Tuesday.
Toledo and Tennessee State were called off. Patton thought only one might be rescheduled.
There will be no athletic competitions — home or away — until Feb. 25, when classes resume. For the men's basketball team, that means games against Western Michigan,
No NIU athletes were among the dead or wounded, although one men's soccer player was in the class when the gunman started firing. The school is offering grief counseling and coaches already met with counselors.
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008 • Adams Alumni Center
Join us for this unique one-day seminar especially designed for the Class of 2008! You'll learn about interview tips, paying off college loans,the ins and outs of your first job, benefits package and some other great tips for starting your "Life After KU!"
Schedule
11 a.m. Check-In
11:15 a.m. Welcome, Etiquette lunch and Alumni speaker
1 p.m. Session 1 (Finances, Career Center or That First Job)
1:45 p.m. Break
1:45 p.m. Break
2 p.m. Session 2 (Finances, Career Center or That First Job)
2:45 p.m. Door prizes and Conclusion
3 p.m. KU vs. OSU Watch party (attendance optional)
Free appetizers and soft drinks
Cost is $10 for students-FREE if you are a current Tradition Keeper member. To register, go to www.kualumni.org for an online registration form.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Alderdice at 864-9778 or jalderdice@kualumni.org. A confirmation email will be sent to you with more details upon registration.
Brought to you by the KU Career Center, Board of Class Officers, Student Senate and Student Alumni Association
---
4
I