FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17.2006
SPORTS
BASEBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 7B
'Hawks goin' back to Cali
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
When No. 30 Kansas faced No.11 Stanford last weekend, both had to prepare to play a potential contender in the NCAA tournament.
This weekend, Kansas must prepare to take on three.
The Jayhawks (6-2) head to the West Coast for the third time in as many weeks to participate in the Public Storage Classic, held by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
"A guy from Baseball America called me today." Coach Ritch Price said on Tuesday. "And his comment was 'that might be the toughest tournament being played this weekend.'"
For the first time in Kansas baseball history, the team will bring a Big 12 Player of the Week and a Big 12 Pitcher of the Week with them.
Leading the Jayhawks this
"It was really deserving of both guys," Price said. "Gus Milner had a fabulous weekend. It was awesome to see Donnie Czyz break the saves record and break it against a big-time program like Stanford."
weekend are senior outfielder Gus Milner, conference player of the week, and senior right-hander Don Czyz.
Czyz (0-0), the new saves leader at Kansas with 15 in his career, has 0.00 ERA and three saves already this season, including two at Stanford.
Milner is hitting .545 on the season with three home runs and 16 RBI. He crushed the ball last weekend at Stanford, going 7-13 with seven RBI.
"There's another, what, 44 percent I can add on and bat .1000," Milner said. "I'll take .550 every day, though, that's for sure."
As for the competition, first up will be USC (5-3) tonight.
three straight losses with five straight victories.
The Trojans have followed
PAC-10 Player of the Week Cyle Hankerd has hit 556 in the Troians' past four games, in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak.
Junior right-hander Ian Kennedy (1-1) will be tonight's probable starter. Last year's PAC-10 pitcher of the year has 17 strikeouts and 2.08 ERA in 2006.
On Saturday, the Jayhawks will face the Toreros of San Diego (5-1). No. 9 San Diego swept then No. 7 and defending College World Series champion Texas to start the season. The Toreres first loss came at the hands of the UC Davis last Sunday.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Couch (1-0) will likely start San Diego's second game. In two starts, Couch has struck out nine, walked two and accumulated a 1.50 ERA.
"Every pitcher's got their ace or couple aces," Milner said. "So I just take them
STARTERS
- Friday — Jr. LHP Sean Land (2-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. USC
- Saturday — Sr. RHP Ricky Falchird (2-0, 2.61 ERA) vs. No. 9 San Diego
◆ Sunday — Sr. RHP Kodisk Quick (1-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. Vanderbilt
Source; Kansas Baseball team
one at a time and take deep breaths and stuff; see if I can hit one out every once in a while."
The weekend's classic will open up the season for Vanderbilt. The Commodores finished 13-17 in the SEC last year. Sophomore infielder Alex Feinberg lead his team last season, hitting .413 in non-conference play.
Edited by John Jordan
Chillin' out of the cold
Carly Pearson/KANSAN
Tsuyoshi Akiyama, Hadano, Japan, sophomore, plays pingpong Thursday afternoon at McCollium Hall. Several students stayed indoors Thursday because of the cold winter weather.
Indiana coach quits in middle of season
NCAA BASKETBALL
BY MICHAEL MAROT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.
-Mike Davis' departure from Indiana was as sudden as his ascent to the top of Hoosiers basketball.
Just a couple dozen yards from where he became Bob Knight's successor in 2000, Davis walked into in a crowded room and announced he would resign at the end of the season. He was still wearing a crimson Hoosiers' sweater as he urged fans to unite behind the program.
"Don't be sad for me. Please don't be sad for me," Davis said as his wife watched from the side. "This is like the Master-Card commercial. You know, it's priceless what God has given me to be the head basketball coach here."
The embattled heir to one of college basketball's signature programs made his decision public with five games left before the Big Ten tournament. In six seasons, he was 109-76.
But Indiana (13-9, 5-6) has been slumping lately. The Hoosiers have lost four straight games and are just 3-7 since a promising 10-2 start that put the team in the top 10.
bert said he had planned to wait until after the season ended to evaluate whether the 45-year-old Davis would return as coach next year, but Davis wouldn't wait.
Indiana president Adam Her-
Herbert said Davis initiated discussions before the Connecticut game on Feb. 4. They met again afterward and eventually agreed on an $800,000 buyout — a hefty price for an athletics department that has run a multimillion dollar deficit in recent years. Davis was scheduled to earn about $800,000 with outside income over the final two years of his contract.
At the news conference, Herbert and athletic director Rick Greenspan extolled Davis' successes — becoming the first coach in school history to win 20 games and reach the NCAA tournament in each of his first three seasons, leading the Hoosiers to the national championship game in 2002 and producing one of the nation's finest recruiting classes two years ago.
But fan unrest,unfinished business and incessant pressure led to Davis' decision.
"Every year there's been a rumor that coach Davis would not be here and every year I'm back," Davis said. "I wanted it to be on my terms."
TURIN MEDAL TRACKER AS OF THURSDAY'S EVENTS
GOLD SILVER BRONZE
Norway 1 6 6
Russia 5 2 4
Germany 5 4 1
USA 6 2 1
Canada 1 3 4
Austria 3 2 1
China 1 2 3
Italy 2 0 3
Finland 0 2 3
Sweden 2 1 1
Hungry CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
If my calculations are correct, that's half as long as Simien. I guess pro scouts don't listen to Dick Vitale, after all.
And not so fast with the Snyder jokes. The 'beakers' have had their share of coaching problems, if my memory serves me. Some guy named Ralph, or something, right? Swoe it was his "last job" before he retired, or whatever. Maybe he's just volunteered at UNC. Did I say UNC? I meant, Defending National Champion UNC.
All right, now that was a low blow. Even we had a hard time hating Roy.
But if you've read this far, kudos. At least acknowledge that your University Daily Kansan counterpart writing in the Maneater has an easier task. Writing a derogatory column about Mizzou's season is about as difficult as beating Stevie Wonder at a game of darts. Sorry, Stevie.
In fact, I'll save you some time. Joe Pigeonhawk's column will read something like this: "You lost your coach, you lost to Baylor, and your winning percentage would make an impressive batting average."
Ha ha ha and we laugh all the way home.
But seeing as I'm running out of inches here, it's about time for some quasi-objective analysis. For all three of you who endured the cheap shots, here's some real insight before tomorrow's grudge match: These Tigers are angry. Angry about their season, their coach and their legacy at Mizzou.
Tomorrow will be their last opportunity to save their stripes.
And around here, that is no little thing.
Roommates stuck to the couch?
Kansan Classifieds
• Find them a job. • Find new roommates. • Sell the couch.
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