THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2006
PAGE 15
▼ LK WHAT?
YEARNING FOR KANSAS FOOTBALL
The summer heat has made me delusional. That's the only logical explanation for the deranged thoughts that have been on my mind recently. These are the dogs days of summer, but visions of Manginos and Hail Marys are dancing in my head.
Has it really come to this? Is there really someone out there excited about Kansas football in July? The answer is yes, if only because I've been forced into it.
You know that old adage, "It's like Christmas in July?" Whoever first made that observation certainly
BY ERICK R. SCHMIDT eschmidt@kansan.com
wasn't looking at my summer or the summer of my fellow Kansas City Royals fans.
It's just past the midway point of the 2006 campaign, and my boys in
blue are flirting with falling 30 games back of the Detroit Tigers. Despite a recent lukewarm streak — I refuse to call the fourth best record in the division since the end of May a hot streak — the Royals would need to post something like a 45-25 record the rest of the way just to make it back to .500. Even that would likely only be good enough for fourth in the division. Simply put, yuck.
Suffice to say that my sports interest is dwindling. The World Cup was decent, if only because the professional wrestling fan left in me from
the Ultimate Warrior days really dug that Zidane head butt. I signed a pact with myself years ago not to join in on the ESPN obsession with all things Yankees-Red Sox, so baseball is out of the question. That leaves the WNBA. I'm more intrigued by the 40-and-up men's Wiffile ball league that plays in my neighborhood than I am with those "professional" basketball players.
That sorry excuse for a sports lineup is the bad news. The good news is this: Help is on the way. Sure, there's still a month and a half before
the Jayhawks kick off against the always-tough Demons of Northwestern State. But the upcoming season comes with a bucket full of question marks, and an air of excitement thicker than the humidity at Clinton Lake. For example, the last time Kansas started a season coming off a bowl victory was 13 years ago. Now-Kansas coach Mark Mangino was in just his second season at Kansas State and Tag Team's Whoop (There It Is) was on the Billboard Top 40. That's
SEE CHOICES ON PAGE 16
NCAA
NCAA basketball coming to Sprint Center
BY JACK WEINSTEIN
jweinstein@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
When the first and second rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament come to the Sprint Center in 2009, it won't just be the end of a five-year layoff since the tournament was in Kansas City. Instead, a college basketball legacy will be revitalized.
"Cities like Kansas City that have host before have shown they're up to the task," said David Worlock, associate director for Division I Men's Basketball Championships.
Kansas City, Mo., played host to more tournament games than any other host site in the 68-year history of the tournament. Kansas City's 116 games remains far ahead of the next closest site, Salt Lake City's 77.
In comparison, Allen Fieldhouse had only 37 tournament games during its 51 year history.
Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo., hangs onto the arena lead with 83, six more than Salt Lake City. Kansas City's 10 National Championship games still ranks ahead of New York's famed Madison Square Garden's seven.
Municipal hasn't seen N C A A tournament action since it played host to its sixth Final Four in 1964.
Auditorium
Allen Fieldhouse has never seen a Final Four.
completed. One of the 46 most memorable games in Kansas basketball history was played there. The Jayhawks were tied 50-50 with the Oklahoma Sooners at halftime of the 1988 National Championship game. Danny Manning led the Hawks to a 83-79 victory
"Cities like Kansas City that have host before have shown they're up to the task.
Kansas City and Municipal Auditorium both hold records for regional championship games with 17 in Kansas City, 13 of those at Municipal.
DAVID WORLOCK associate director, Division I Men's Basketball Championships
Kemper Arena landed its first tournament in 1983, nine years after the building was
Kemper played host to tournament games in five different years following that run in '88. The arena is now more than 30-years old, run down and in
for the school's second NCAA title.
an underdeveloped section of Kansas City, Mo.
In 2004, it was believed that Kemper was outdated as an NCAA tournament site and the future of college basketball
SEE NCAA ON PAGE 16
Around the bend
Joshua Bickel/KANSAM
Competitors race around a curve at the track at Memorial Stadium Friday afternoon. A regional Junior Olympic track and field meet was at the stadium last weekend for children ranging from 8 to 18 years old. Winners at this regional meet move on to the Junior Olympic nationals in Baltimore, Md., from July 25 to 30.