KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 / SPORTS / 9A
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Two weeks in a row that you end the game in that kneel-down situation, 'I'm all for that.'
—Chiefs coach Todd Haley
FACT OF THE DAY
The Chiefs have the same number of touchdowns on special teams and offense this season (two each).
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: When was the last time the Chiefs started the season 2-0?
A: 2005
Top recruit chooses Arizona over Kansas
The Kansas Jayhawks lost out on a top 10 prospect over the weekend.
Josiah Turner (No. 2 point guard/
No. 10 overall by Rivals.com) committed to Arizona.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Turner, Sacramento, Calif., averaged 27.9 points per game, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists for Sacramento High School last season.
Turner was also recruited by Connecticut, Louisville, Oklahoma, Oregon and UCLA.
Mike Lavieri
Steelers defense leads to win
MORNING BREW
I get the same enjoyment from seeing one football player knock the crap out of the other that my friends get at the end of that romantic comedy, when the relatable, go-getting girl wins over the kind, funny guy. My heart races and a sense of euphoria washes over me.
Defense is not as glamorous as offense. You don't get the theatrics of a one-handed catch over a safety. And let's face it, most of the guys on defense are bulky linebackers who are missing a few teeth and, from a woman's perspective, not quite the same as Tom Brady.
But I love it just the same.
I am a Pittsburgh fan, so I have been brainwashed to idolize defense and Iron City Beer (think Natty Light, but worse). But a good defense can win a game. I know every sports announcer says that, but this weekend I saw it really happen.
The Steelers went into the game with their third string quarterback. Because of Ben Roethlisberger's inability to stay out of trouble and Leftwhich's injury and temporary release from the team, we had a very green second year quarterback, Dennis Dixon, at the helm. His main duty for the game was to hand it off to Mendenhall, who had a few decent runs, but couldn't get anything going because, surprise, we ran the ball on most downs. So, our game plan wasn't exactly a secret to the Titans defense. In the second quarter, Dixon was injured and didn't return, so we had to finish the game with our fourth string quarterback.
BY SAM ANDERSON sanderson@kansan.com
We had only 127 total offensive yards.
But that didn't matter, because the Steel City defense was that good. They held the one and only Chris Johnson, fantasy god, to a measly 34 rushing yards. The defense had three interceptions, forced seven fumbles (four of which they recovered), and four sacks for 23 yards.
The defensive play that meant the most to me, is the perfect example of how pivotal a defense really can be, happened in the first quarter. Pittsburgh was up 7 to 3, but the Titans were at the Steelers 16 yard line. Vince Young takes the ball and has the guts to try to throw it into the endzone. All of a sudden, a blur of black and gold with that mane of (insured) hair flying behind it has the ball. Troy Polamalu intercepted Vince Young's pass. And instead of the Titans taking the lead, or at least cutting it to one, the Steelers have the ball on the 20-yard line.
That one play seemed to changed the game. When it looked like the Steelers were about to lose the lead and the momentum, Turnover Troy made the most of
his opportunity. From then on I felt like no matter what our offense did, our defense would be able to somehow, magically make it all better.
And they did. The next Titans series was a three and out followed by an interception. Vince Young looked like he was afraid to get back on the field. Eventually, he was replaced by Kerry Collins. I actually felt like our lead was safer when the Titans defense was on the field.
Everyone had the Titans winning the game, and if you just looked at the offensive side of the situation, I could see why. But they discounted our defense, which was a big mistake.
Edited by Roshni Oommen
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Men's Golf Kansas Invitational All day Lawrence
WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY
Volleyball
Kansas State
7 P.M.
Manhattan
Swimming & Diving
Alumni Meet
4 P.M.
Lawrence
Soccer Missouri 6:30 PM Columbia, Mo.
SATURDAY
Football
New Mexico State
K-Club Weekend
6 P.M.
Lawrence
Volleyball
Colorado
TBA
Boulder, Colo
SUNDAY
Soccer
lowa State
1 P.M.
Ames, Iowa
NFL
Defense pulls through for New Orleans Saints win against 49ers
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — Last season, the New Orleans Saints won their games with a high-flying offense. So far this year it's been all about defense.
Garrett Hartley kicked a 37-yard field goal that barely fluttered through as time expired after Drew Brees set it up with a 30-yard completion to Marques Colston and the Saints spoiled the San Francisco 49ers' home opener with a 25-22 victory Monday night.
San Francisco's Frank Gore ran for a 7-yard touchdown with 1:19 to play and Vernon Davis made a close-call catch at the goal line for the tying 2-point conversion. The play was initially called no good, but the 49ers (0-2) challenged the ruler and won.
The defending Super Bowl champion Saints (2-0), who relied on their defense most of the game, got the ball back at the 30 with 1:14 left. Brees hit Colston with a pass that put the Saints on the 18 with 18 seconds left. The 49ers watched anxiously as Hartley's kick just made it.
"We've stayed with the mindset we are the hunter, not the hunted." Brees said moments after the game.
Reggie Bush caught a 6-yard TD pass in his first game since giving back his 2005 Heisman Trophy won while with Southern California. The NCAA punished USC after concluding that Bush and his family took money and gifts from sports agents while Bush played for the Trojans. Bush was helped off the field with a leg injury with 6:58 left and then was taken to the locker room on a cart.
Brees hit David Thomas for a 3-yard score that put New Orleans ahead late in the third quarter and Tracy Porter's interception at the 10-yard line preserved the lead until Gore's late run.
San Francisco beat itself with turnovers.
On a festive evening at Candlestick Park in which the 49ers retired Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's No.80 jersey at halftime, the Niners looked little like the championship teams Rice starred on in the 1980s and 90s.
Roman Harper intercepted a pass by Alex Smith at the 26 in the first quarter. Malcolm Jenkins recovered Delanie Walker's fumble at the 3 just before halftime as the Niners failed to capitalize on opportunities.
ing a 12-yard touchdown pass from Smith.
Gore provided the highlight, running for 112 yards and catch-
New Orleans' defense shined for the second straight game in the national spotlight, the Saints' first game since kicking off the NFL season in prime time on Sept. 9 with a 14-9 victory over the Vikings. The inconsistent Saints offense looked far from top form but still found a way to beat the Niners for the sixth straight time.
San Francisco helped out by committing the three turnovers and snapping a ball out of the end zone for a safety on the opening series.
Brees completed 28 of 38 passes for 254 yards, eight of those completions to Pierre Thomas.
New Orleans is 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
Brees calmly directed New Orleans into the end zone in its first drive just as he did in the team's initial series in the opener. Brees — who took time to sign autographs on the sideline before dressing for the game — capped the seven-play, 46-yard drive by hitting a wide-open Bush, who pointed to the crowd and then saluted.
Smith was 23 of 32 for 275 yards with two interceptions.
MLB
Monday's game was a makeup following a rainout on Aug. 8, and the teams needed only 1 hour, 52 minutes to finish — it was the fastest game in Marlins' history, by two minutes.
MIAMI — Chris Volstad threw a five-hitter for his second career shutout, Brad Davis hit a grand slam off Chris Carpenter and the Florida Marlins dealt St. Lous' dimming playoff hopes a blow by beating the Cardinals 4-0 on Monday.
The loss dropped St. Louis 6% games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central. The Reds played later at Milwaukee.
first by a Martins catcher — came in the second inning, the first surrendered by Carpenter (15-8) in 3,699 at-bats since June 12, 2004.
Carpenter gave up five hits and struck out six in six innings, but made one giant mistake to Davis.
Dan Uggla started the Florida second inning with a double and that, combined with a walk to Gaby Sanchez and an intentional pass two batters later to Mike Stanton, loaded the bases for Davis — who had been a mere 0 for 2 in that situation in his brief major league career.
Volstad (10-9) struck out three for the Marlins, who lost the first six games of their current home stand.
Davis' first career slam - the
NBA
Heat coach won't pressure LeBron to change his game
His other shutout was July 8, 2009 at San Francisco. The Cardinals are now just 12-23 since Aug. 13.
Cardinals lose to Marlins and lose hopes for playoffs
MIAMI - TV analysts have talked about LeBron James needing to adjust his game to play with Dwyane Wade. Both players invariably will, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is not pushing that notion.
"I made the point to LeBron
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
"We want to make sure what he does best, he will be able to do in our system."
that I don't want to reinvent his game," Spoelstra said in a wideranging chat recently. "I don't want him to feel uncomfortable. As a two-time MVP, we want to make sure what he does best, he
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Defensively, James, Wade and Miller "are smart enough to know how to get in position against smaller point guards," Spoelstra said. "Dwyane has guarded point
ERIK SPOELSTRA Miami Heat coach
will be able to do in our system."
Spoelstra will use preseason (camp opens Sept. 28) to decide whether to start Mario Chalmers or Carlos Arroyo or an intriguing lineup with swingman Mike Miller starting and James and Wade handling the ball. James was sixth in the NBA in assists last season,
James will play at least three positions (small forward, point guard, some power forward). Spoelstra has not asked him to scale back his scoring, though that is an expected offshoot of playing with Wade. "LeBron certainly will play minutes during the game at point guard and handle the ball a lot," Spoelstra said. "He will be a playmaker. But he has also been a scoring champ. He will be at the end of plays to finish them. He will be a facilitator. He'll be so many
From there, it was all Volstad. The Cardinals never got a runner past second against him, and went 0 for 8 when they were in scoring position. He needed only 93 pitches to get through seven innings, and Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez decided to let him bat instead of going to the bullpen.
No matter. He sent Carpenter's 2-0 offering over the high wall in left field, giving the Marlins the lead.
different things. We want to take advantage of all his skills."
Wade 10th.
Volstad rewarded him with a 1-2-3 eighth. And after a two-out double in the ninth, Volstad ended it by getting pinch-hitter Mark Hamilton to line out to center.
Spoelstra loves his roster's versatility: "It's not conventional. Our system is going to be designed where multiple players can handle the ball and make plays, which hopefully will make us more dynamic. On one possession, one
guards often, LeBron the same. Mike has guarded three positions virtually his whole career. He once played half a season as Memphis' backup point guard." So which player will handle the ball mostly late in games? "Depends on the game," the coach said.
Spoelstra, who met with every player and is "making sure guys are in world-class condition," is "grateful" to owner Micky Arison and team president Pat Riley for the chance to coach this unique team: "The summer was exhilarating. For me, the celebration ended in July. After that, Pat's words were ringing in my ears. 'Just coach the team and do your job.'"
Starting power forward Chris Bosh "wont play the majority of his minutes at center" but will play some there, Spoelstra said. He and Udonis Haslem "could be a very good defensive and rebounding duo."
guy looks like the point guard, and on the next possession, the other one looks like the point guard"
On James, who spent three weeks here this summer and had lunch with the coach: "Great work ethic. He's tireless. He's a magnetic personality, engaging, makes people feel comfortable."
Spoelstra's vision? "We want to be aggressive and attacking, make stops to create opportunities in the open court. Play at a pace that takes advantage of our skill and athleticism."
At least one of the three stars — or two or three — always will be on the court until the outcome is settled, Spoelstra said.
,