4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2006
NASCAR
Wild driving scorned
BY JENNA FRYER
AP MOTORSPORTS WRITER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If the NASCAR community had one universal wish for Kyle Busch on his 21st birthday, it probably would be for him to start behaving like an adult.
Busch, one of the youngest drivers in the Nextel Cup series, has been under constant criticism this season for reckless or immature behavior. He's twice tangled with series champion Tony Stewart, wrecked race leader Michel Jourdain Jr. in Mexico City, took the brunt of the blame for aggressive driving in Daytona and was ticketed for reckless driving in Richmond, Va.
Most recently, he gave Casey Mears a retaliatory bump under the red flag at Phoenix that
earned him a five-lap penalty and a severe tongue-lashing from NASCAR president Mike Helton.
"The guy is really fast and he's got a lot of talent, but he really does a lot of stupid stuff and that's across the board, that feeling throughout the garage." Mears said. "When he grows up, he's going to be a real good race car driver."
Busch's rivals eagerly await that day. He celebrated his 21st birthday on Tuesday and is rapidly closing in on a time when he won't be able to shrug off his errors as youthful mistakes.
For now, much of what he's done can be attributed to immaturity.
"You've got to remember how old he is," said four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, Busch's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports. "He's got pressure on him.
He's got a tremendous amount of talent. He has a great team.
"I think a lot of times when you're young you're so under the microscope, everybody is coming down on you and the whole world is watching and it's hard for you to take all that in at times. It only makes it tougher for yourself."
It doesn't help that he's the kid brother of Kurt Busch, who had more than his share of missteps in his first four Nextel Cup seasons. During that time, Kurt Busch became one of the most disliked drivers in NASCAR both in the garage and the grandstands.
It's possible that Kyle is paying the price for brother's sins. He wondered if he'd maybe have a smoother ride if he wasn't one of the "Busch Brothers."
Kyle Busch signs autographs before qualifying for the Aaron's 499 auto race Saturday April 29, 2006 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.
Rainier Ehrhardt/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Loyal fan gives up on Royals
MLB
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals lost yet again Tuesday, a 4-1 setback in Detroit. With the worst record in the majors, who could fault a fan for taking a nose dive from the bandwagon — much less selling his allegiance?
Chad Carroll auctioned off 25 years of loyalty to the Royals on eBay on Tuesday, along with jerseys, hats, baseballs and other memorabilia.
And in a spate of irony, faithfulness to a club with one of the smallest payrolls in Major League Baseball sold for a paltry $278.47.
"It really does feel like a big weight has been lifted," Carroll, 34, who lives in Maryland but grew up listening to Kansas City games from his home in Iowa, told The Kansas City Star. "I really can't tell you how good it feels. I really can't."
They outbid the T-Bones, a minor league team, and saved Carroll from being held hostage by yet another Kansas City franchise. They also outbid Yahoo Sports baseball columnist Jeff Passan, who planned to ask readers to choose the new focus of Carroll's admiration.
A group of nine friends bid for Carroll's freedom, splitting the cost and earning the right to select his new favorite team.
"We didn't think it would be
right if somebody else got to name his new team," said Dan Young, Carroll's best friend. "We don't know who it's going to be. We just know it not going to be the Rovals anymore."
His friends say they saw it coming.
Year after year, Carroll would adhere to the baseball cliche of "wait 'til next year." He promised his buddies the Royals would finish third in the division, at the very least.
"Year after year he'd say, 'Next year's going to be our year,'" Young said. "After a while, you could see it. He wouldn't talk about the new guys, and he'd talk more and more about the George Brett era."
After this season's 2-13 start and an 11-game game, Carroll cut Burgos and his ties to the entire organization. Relics from the Royals' 1985 World Series championship came down, balls signed by Bob Hamelin and Angel Berroa went out the door, and a breath of fresh air wafted in.
Caroll's last game will be May 12, when Kansas City plays Baltimore.
"It started off as a joke," said Carroll, who has taken a shine to the Cleveland Indians. "But now I'm completely serious. Now I can concentrate on other teams in other sports that have caused me pain and misery."
Ann Heisenfeld/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Royals pitcher Joe Mays walks off the mound after giving up a two-run home run to Minnesota Twins' Torii Hunter, left, during the inning in of a baseball game in Minneapolis, Wednesday.
NHL
Hockey player returns after breaking wrist
BY ARNIE STAPLETON AP SPORTS WRITER
DENVER — Not that long ago, it looked like Steve Konowalchuk's season was over.
Then the Colorado Avalanche extended their season by sneaking into the playoffs and upsetting Dallas in the first round. Now Konowalchuk is back, too.
The 33-year-old forward — sidelined since November with a broken right wrist — returned to practice Wednesday.
He was also cleared to play in the Western Conference semifinals.
The team's medical staff gave Konowalchuk the OK to return to the ice Tuesday, when his teammates got back from their 48-hour break after their quick elimination of the second-seeded Stars.
"It ites like my first game probably times 10 because we're in the second round of the playoffs." Konowalchuk said, "The wrist felt great. I'm ready to go."
"Originally I was told the whole season." he said. "At best we would had to make it
to the Stanley Cup Finals to get a chance. But with the training staff and the doctors and seeing the progress I made, I think they lightened up a little bit on their original plan. And here I am."
Konowalchuk's quicker-thananticipated recovery and unexpected return provided an immense psychological boost for the Avs, who lost leading scorer Marek Swatos to a broken right shoulder last month.
Captain Joe Sakic compared it to picking up a top free agent out of the blue.
"He's so valuable not only on the ice but in the dressing room," Sakie said. "The way he plays, he plays hard, he's in front of the net creating havoc. It's huge for us to get him back at this time."
The Avalanche missed Ko-
nalchuk's hard-nosed style
for the final 61 games of the
regular season and the first round
of the playoffs.
"He brings a ton of grit. He plays a simple game, a hard game, one that is hard to play against. And that's what we need," Rob Blake, a defenseman, said.
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