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SPORTS / THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KANSAN.COM
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck."
Don Shula
FACT OF THE DAY
Kansas has lost seven straight games to Big 12 South teams in football.
-KU Athletics
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Who was the last Big 12 South team Kansas beat?
A: Texas A&M
— KU Athletics
PGA
Els claims title with a run of late birdies
SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Ernie Els ran off three straight birdies on the back nine Wednesday and turned a three-shot deficit into a one-shot victory over David Toms in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf
Els, an alternate who was filling in for Masters champion Phil Mickelson, closed with a 2-under 69 and earned $600,000. It was his second victory in the 36-hole event for the year's four major champions. Els also won in 1997 when it was at Poipu Bay.
The turning point came on the 15th, when Els made birdie and Toms bogeyed for a share of the lead.
Associated Press
Fantasy basketball best of all
MORNING BREW
The NFL owns everything sports. It is the best without question.
The Madden video games are the best selling video games by a long shot. The NFL owns TV ratings and the Super Bowl is unmatched in appeal and sponsorship.
And a huge chunk of the population actively engages in football. We've had a Brew or two about it. But NFL football is not the best when it comes to fantasy sports.
A new season is about to begin and it is the best in the realm of fantasy; the NBA season.
Maybe having the opportunity to get Cole Aldrich or Xavier Henry will get you involved. While you're at it, try to get Paul Pierce, Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers
I acknowledge this is a publication in the state of Kansas and not a lot of people care about professional basketball. Whatever.
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
But how is the NBA better than the NFL in a fantasy perspective? The daily grind.
a fantasy perspective. The daily girl.
If you care enough about your craft, you can have fun every day of the week. You don't have to wait all week until Sunday.
When you think you're too good to watch "Glee" on Tuesdays, you have guys playing somewhere.
During the week, your football appetite is quenched with the weekly performances of the world's elite basketball starts. If you pay close enough attention, you get to stay in the loop when that random guy starts gloating about the awesomeness of David Lee.
Now I can feel the fantasy baseball critics pulling away from me. Again, the NBA is better.
A good hitter on a baseball team is hitting .300, which is less than a third of his at-bats. Most days, you log on to your team and see a bunch of hitless players and it's just deflating. There's absolutely no stat to hang your hat on sometimes.
Basketball has more going on. Assists, rebounds, steals, points, etc. You have to be a terrible fantasy player to get a guy that goes goose-egg on you.
A bad night for LeBron is 15 points with other stat categories sprinkled in. You still get something out of it.
A bad night for Albert Pujols is 0-for-4. Ugh. It hurts your average and you don't have steals and most likely no runs or RBIs. Bad day all around.
but day all around. Fantasy football is great, but sometimes I need something during the week. The NBA is perfect and it isn't as depressing as baseball. The trick is getting people who live in Kansas to believe it.
Jared Leto is a pretty man. You'd have to be to have a girl be able to look EXACTLY like you.
THURSDAY YOUTUBE SESH
YouTube search "Jared Leto girl" and watch as an attractive girl transforms herself into the 30 Seconds to Mars front man right before your eyes.
It's a little creepy with the Nine Inch Nails "Closer" playing in the background, but the visual is fascinating. In a sped-up, six-minute video, you can learn a lot about the uses of makeup.
And realize you think a girl who looks exactly like a dude is attractive.
Edited by Tim Dwyer
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Texas A&M faces must win game
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M has dropped three straight games and faces a must-win trip to Kansas with schedule that still includes No. 3 Oklahoma, 14th-ranked Nebraska and rival No. 22 Texas.
The Aggies (3-3, 0-2 Big 12 Conference) insist their confidence hasn't been shaken by the skid, but they'll need to turn
around things soon to reach their goal of taking a step forward from last season's disappointing 6-7 finish.
Texas A&M followed close losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas with a lopsided 30-9 defeat to No. 18 Missouri on Saturday that has fans restless and some wondering if a coaching change should come soon. The headline on the front page of the campus newspaper, the Battalion,
read 'Time for change?' over a picture of coach Mike Sherman, with a smaller headline that read 'Mike Sherman doesn't have it' earlier this week.
After going 4-8 in Sherman's first season and 6-7 in the second, expectations were high for at least a winning record this year. Now even that could be a stretch.
way. If they weren't passionate, I wouldn't be here"
Sherman, the former Green Bay Packers coach, understands the unease.
It's been a long wait for those hoping to see A&M return to prominence after a run of seven conference championships from 1985-1998. The Aggies have fallen on hard times since then and haven't had a winning conference record since 2006.
"The frustration I'm sure is very intense, and that's part of it," he said. "I want to coach at a place where people expect you to win. I wouldn't want it any other
Texas A&M's first two losses on the road were difficult, but Sherman said disappointing the home crowd of more than 80,000 with the loss to the Tigers on Saturday was worse.
"I feel that disappointment when I walk off that field," he
said. "And our players feel that. They know they let the fans down. They are bound and determined to get back on track. They are good kids, and they work hard ... our backs are against the wall and we have to put it all together."
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Tennis
ITA Regionals
All day
Fayetteville, Arl
FRIDAY
Soccer
Nebraska
3:30 p.m.
Lincoln, Neb.
Tennis
ITA Regionals
All Day
Fayetteville, Ark.
Tennis
ITA Regionals
All Day
Fayetteville, Ark.
SATURDAY
Football
Texas A&M
6 p.m.
Lawrence
Volleyball Iowa State 6:30 p.m.
Ames, Iowa
Fennis
CU Tournament
All Day
Lawrence
Tennis
ITA Regionals
All Day
Fayetteville, Ark.
SUNDAY
Tennis
KU Tournament
All Day
Lawrence
MONDAY
Women's Scooter
Colorado
2:30 p.m.
Boulder, Colo.
men's Golf
Herb Wimberly Inter-
collegiate
All Day
Las Cruces, N.M.
women's Golf
Edwin Watts/ Palmetto
Intercollegiate
All Day
Kiawau Island, S.C.