8B / **SPORTS** / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
BASEBALL
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Outfelder Brian Heere is one of five Jayhawks from the 2010 team now playing in the minor leagues. Heere is playing for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians-
Ex-Jayhawks see success in minors
BY ANDREW HAMMOND ahammond@kansan.com
After the disappointing ending to the Kansas Jayhawks 2010 baseball season, June's MLB Draft brought joy back to coach Ritch Price's program after they went on a six-game losing streak to end the season. Six Jayhawks were selected in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft, five signed, and a total of 15 Jayhawks are now in organizations around Major League Baseball. Here's an update on how the most recent crop of Kansas Jayhawks are doing.
BRIAN HEERE (Cleveland Indians)
Heere currently plays for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the
Cleveland
Indians Single A farm team, after being drafted in the 41st round. Heere is a Lawrence native who has gotten off to a
Heere
slow start, but has recently picked up his stride with the Scrappers. Heere is currently hitting .267 with a triple, five RBI and a .368 on-base percentage.
TONY THOMPSON (Oakland Athletics)
Thompson had what some would call a down year because he did not have a repeat of the triple crown season of 2009. Thompson, who was slowed down by injury during
the preseason,
managed to
get drafted by
the Oakland
Athletics in the
sixth round of
this year's draft.
T h o m p s o n
took his hiti-
tals
north of the border to play for the Vancouver Canadians in Single A ball. Tony has been on fire since he was drafted, recently going on a ten-game tear with a double, two homers and seven RBIs. On the season Thompson is hitting .292.
CAMERON SELIK (Washington Nationals)
with six doubles, three homers and
13 RBIs.
Selik has had the most recent success out of any of the young Jayhawks. On Aug. 1 he picked up his first professional victory with
the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. He has been used as a relief pitcher in all 10 of his appearances
this season, and boasts a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings and along with the win he also has a save on the season.
Selik
ROBBY PRICE (Tampa Bay Rays)
The last of the Price boys to play at Kansas, Robby has lately picked up the hitting for the Hudson Valley Renegades. Price has had
three doubles in his last 10 games and has carried a .343 average during that run. Price has hit .322 in 35 games with
Price
14 doubles, a triple and two home runs, he also has swiped 14 bases for the team.
TRAVIS BLANKENSHIP
Now with the Tri-City Valley Cats, Blankenship is currently 2-0 in 14 outings. Blankenship recorded nine consecutive scoreleave appearances out of the bullpen, and held opponents to a batting average of .190 which now has reached
Blankenship
almost 13 innings. Blankenship is currently with the Houston Astros on their Single a roster.
Edited by Tim Dwyer
NFL
Jets look to running game to contend in 2011
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
CORTLAND, N.Y. Like his old man, Rex Ryan is a defense-oriented coach who prefers his offensive football over-easy with a side order of smashmouth.
Last year, nobody in the NFL ran the ball more or rew it less than Ryan's New York Jets. Averaged a league-high 37.9 rushing attempts per game and a league-low 24.5 pass attempts. While part of the reason for that was the fact that the jets started a rookie quarterback (Mark Sanchez), a bigger part was that that's just the way Ryan prefers it.
wide receiver Santonio Holmes (79 catches, 1,248 yards, five TDs last year). Ryan admitted that his team's run-pass discrepancy probably won't be quite as large as last season's. But the ground still will be their preferred method of travel.
"It wasn't so much that we had a rookie quarterback," Ryan said. "It was what we wanted to do. We want to be a physical football team
What will be different, though,
is the people lugging the football.
Out is Thomas Jones, who finished
third in the NFL in rushing last season with 1,402 yards, and
Leon Washington. Jones, who will turn 32 next week, was released
in March and signed with Kansas City. Washington, who broke a leg
in the sixth game of the season, was traded to Seattle.
In is Shonn Greene, the second year bruiser who averaged 5.6 yards per carry during the jets' postseason run to the AFC Championship
New York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson carries the ball during morning practice at the team's NFL football training camp in Cordtown, N.Y., Tuesday, Aug. 3.
that runs the football. If you're going to win the Super Bowl, you've got to win in December and in January.
"Where we play, youd better be able to run the football. Because sometimes the wind and the elements get so bad that you have to be built that way. That's
Of course, the Eagles play in pretty much the same elements as the jets, and t' at never has affected Andy Reid's voracious appetite for throwing the ball. But that's an issue for another day.
our approach. Our roots are going to be running the football."
With Sanchez, the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, a year older and wiser, and with the off-season acquisition of ex-Steelers
"If you're going to win the Super Bowl, you've got to win in December and in January."
REX RYAN Jets'coach
Game, and 31-year-old future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomilinson, who was signed after getting released by San Diego.
Greene, who the Jets took with the first pick in the third round of the draft last year, had just 108 carries in the regular season, but averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
It was in the playoffs that he convinced Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum that he was ready to be the lead dog. He rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in the Jets' 24-14 wild-card win over the Bengals. The next week, he rushed for 128 yards and a score on 23 carries in
"We thought he was ready when he was in college (at Iowa)," Ryan said. "That's why we moved up in the third round to get him. He was well worth it. You look at him, he's a banger. He's a No. 1 back without a question. But the funny thing is, we have another No. 1 back in LaDainian. It's going to be a terrific one-two punch. That's what it takes in this league."
a 17-14 divisional-round win over the Chargers. He rushed for 41 on 10 carries against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, but left the 30-17 loss early in the third quarter with rib cartilage damage.
Tomlinson is ranked eighth in the league in career rushing
with 12,490 yards, and second in career rushing TDs with 138. But as with most running backs who turn 30, his numbers have fallen off dramatically the last couple of years. He averaged just 3.3 yards per carry last season and 3.8 the year before.
"The beauty of it is this guy has a huge chip on his shoulder, and rightfully so," Ryan said. "This is one of the best backs in the history of this game. We had to defend against him in the playoffs last year. We had to put two guys on him. So we knew how valuable he was, even though the yardage totals and average-per-carry might've made it look like he had dropped off."
EQUIPMENT
Concussion issue drives new helmet design,production
Helmet advances concussion safety
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
FORNEY, Texas _ In Hank Semler's office, just beyond the North Forney High School field house, a shiny, plastic helmet sits on the shelf. It wouldn't catch anybody's eye at first glance. It's a pretty standard decorative item for a coach's office, after all.
But to Semler, that shell and face mask symbolize the fledgling program's emphasis on safety.
"Those helmets are definitely his pride and joy," said Sloan Walls, a junior safety. "They are like his babies."
North Forney, a Class 3A program that was launched two years ago, paid between $150 and $200 apiece for 250 helmets made by Xenith, a company that devised a revolutionary approach to headgear and is a newcomer among
As awareness of the dangers resulting from concussions grows, more coaches and athletic trainers are seeking solutions in improvements in headgear.
traditional manufacturers such as Riddell, Adams and Schutt.
But while medical experts are heartened with advances in technology that can reduce the risk of head injuries, they caution that there is no such thing as a
concussion-proof helmet
"The consensus is that there are no helmets or mouth guards that will prevent concussions."
TAMARA C.
VALOVICH MCLEOD
concussion expert
SIGNS OF PROGRESS
"Maybe there will be something down the road," McLeod said. "If someone could design a helmet that could prevent concussions, that would be like winning a lottery ticket."
"The consensus is that there are no helmets or mouth guards that will prevent concussions," said Tamara C. Valovich McLeod, a leading national concussion expert and an associate professor of athletic training at A.T. Still University in Arizona.
"It's still largely a research tool for us," said Scott Anderson, the head athletic trainer at Oklahoma. "It gives us information on concussions . . . and it could have an impact on how we manage concussions and recognize concussions. But we're not there now. It's still a work in progress."
And while Oklahoma has
Simbex, in partnership with Riddell, developed an apparatus that can be placed inside the helmet, measures and identifies the location of head impacts and transmits a wireless signal to the sideline athletic trainer. Oklahoma is one of several colleges that have used the Simbex Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) system, which made its debut in 2003.
While that breakthrough may never come, progress has been made in recent years as helmet manufacturers have responded to the growing concern about head injuries.
SAFETY COMES FIRST
the funds to invest in HITS technology, few high schools have the financial wherewithal to purchase what amounts to a diagnostic device. The cost to outfit an entire team with the
So does Semler, who came away impressed when he witnessed a presentation by Xenith at a coaches convention a few years ago.
Xenith, which pulled out of the recent NFL testing because of the study's procedural approach.
One of them was Dr. Robert Cantu, a senior adviser to an NFL committee on head injuries and director of the Neurological Sports Injury Center at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.
who claimed the results could compromise the safety of youth athletes.
In the trials, three helmets (two produced by Riddell, one by Schutt) performed better than 13 others. But several medical experts questioned the study's methodology and whether the helmet's safety performance can translate to all levels of play.
"It can't be interpreted as showing product A or product B as being better or less protective against concussions," Cantu said. "It wasn't tested to a standard that had anything to do with concussions. And my concern is that given what human nature is, the wrong conclusions will be drawn. I just want to see better products and better protection out there."
STUDY QUESTIONED
mainly markets its product to athletes on the amateur levels. Semler liked what he saw, and he equipped his players with Xenith helmets last season.
The issue came to the forefront in the last couple of weeks, when the NFL released data from a helmet-testing program that elicited criticism from outside parties
"Sports are about tradition, even down to the equipment," said Semler, whose
HANK SEMLER High school football coach
"And we didn't have tradition."
Last summer, a report published by the Dallas-based National Athletic Trainers' Association showed that high school football players suffer greater head accelerations after impact during play than college football players, which can lead to more concussions.
Riddell Revolution IQ is $60,000 to $70,000, and highlights the differences among the various levels of football with regard to headgear.
And we don't have tradition. For Semler, traditional headgear seemed to always present problems. The foam padding in most helmets — even those that were reconditioned and recertified yearly — deteriorated regularly when he was on staff at Southlake Carroll, Texas. Sometimes, the air bladder that was supposed to provide cushion would leak.
team will make its varsity debut this season.
"And that's when a child's safety is compromised," Semler said.
"And nothing," Semler said. "can replace a caring, knowledgeable coach that has that child's welfare at heart. They are going to make sure that child's skull is protected."
When Semler played in high school, he wore a plastic shell that was held together by four canvas straps. The primitive technology didn't safeguard him against multiple concussions. He doesn't want his players to suffer the same fate, especially after considering the recent studies.
POSITIVE RESULTS
So far, Semler has been pleased with his purchase. Last season, one North Forney player suffered a grade-one concussion, said
Deniese Anderson, a licensed athletic trainer at the school. The year before, four concussions were diagnosed.
Those numbers were reflected in a report by Xenith, which claimed that the number of diagnosed concussions among the seven high schools outfitted entirely with its helmets had decreased since the equipment switch had been made.
Those positive results are touted by Vin Ferrara, the CEO of Xenith and a former Harvard quarterback, who said he started his company to seek a solution to a problem that affects thousands of athletes a year.