Section:
B
The University Daily Kansan
Postseason dominance
Kansas and Kansas State have met seven times in the last eight conference postseason tournaments in men's basketball. The Jayhawks have won six of those meetings.
Sports
Inside: Where are they now? Catch up with former Kansas baseball player Steve Renko.
SEE PAGE 3B
Inside: Both the Kansas baseball and softball games scheduled for today were canceled.
SEE PAGE 2B
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2001 For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Sports Columnist
Brandon Stinnett
sports@kansan.com
Sports fan defines a "real sport"
This is my first Kansan sports column so, in a shameless attempt at attracting readers and gaining notoriety, I'm going to stir up controversy.
First, NASCAR is not a sport; it's an activity participated in by various groups of rednecks across the country. Golf isn't a sport, either. It's merely a hobby taken up by society's rich and elite.
And, while we're on the topic, professional wrestling is a sport. Not so much the WCW, but the WWF certainly is. Professional wrestlers are undoubtedly athletes. No one would debate that. And they do compete in legitimate wrestling matches where the objective is to pin or force an opponent to submit. Tell me how that's not a sport.
Cheerleading? Not a sport. Soccer? While technically a sport elsewhere in the world, in the United States, it's not. How am I doing? Mad yet? Just keep reading.
Come to think of it, most women's sports aren't really sports at all. They are more aptly classified as feeble attempts at achieving gender equity in a society traditionally dominated by men. While admirable and a social good, all women's sports should be renamed Title IX activities.
Now there's no debating that football, baseball and (men's) basketball deserve to be labeled as sports, but there are some limitations to their classifications as well.
That brings us to the Kansas men's basketball team, whose stranglehold on being labeled a sports team is slipping fast.
Also, judging by the Kansas baseball team's record in recent years, coach Bobby Randall's squad isn't playing a sport, either. They're partaking in a recreational activity, much like what five- and six-year-olds do when they play t-ball during the summer.
Why, you ask, would I question the Jayhawks' legitimacy? Does the NCAA Tournament ring a bell? During Roy Williams' tenure at Kansas, the Jayhawks have made just two Final Fours. That means 83.3 percent of the time, Kansas men's basketball seasons end in failure.
For instance, NCAA football is exciting to watch, but when the Kansas football team is on the field it's no longer a sport. Instead, it's more of a glorified scrimmage where one team (not Kansas) lets its starters hone their skills and improve their end-zone dances against a practice squad of tackling dummies (Kansas).
Now, I know Williams has won about 80 percent of his games as coach, but these constant tournament meltdowns are unacceptable. The men's basketball team may be Kansas' last remaining sports team, but another tumble in the Big Dance could change that in a hurry. Roy's boys simply can't afford to go belly up again this March. We all remember the disaster against Duke last season.
Now, I now you're mad. And if you're not, then stop reading this column because you are not a real sports fan. If you were a sports fan, then you'd be fuming right now about the outlandish claims I've made.
And, while I don't really agree with most the things I've written, that's the beauty of it all. Sports are made to be debated and dissected and defended and, well, just plain talked about.
That's why sports nuts are so crazy about sports. Sports are consuming. They grip you and make you feel. Spo ts are about real life and real life is about sports. It's all related and it's beautiful.
Just because I think professional wrestling is a sport, doesn't mean you have to. So keep on loving Roy. Love the Royals. Despise Jamaal Tinsley and, most of all, hate that good-for-nothing pretty boy Quin Snyder.
After all, we are real sports fans, and that's what we're supposed to do.
Sinnett is a Shawnee junior in journalism and psychology.
Battle in Bramlage
Jayhawks fancy 'Cats at Manhattan
Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
By Chris Wristen sports@kanson.com
Kansas writerwriter
All it takes is a short drive down I-70 to Manhattan and you'll find it — Bramlage Coliseum — an arena the Kansas men's basketball team could consider its home away from home.
It may not be Allen Fieldhouse, but the No. 10 Jayhawks (21-5, 10-4 Big 12 Conference) traditionally have had more success in Bramlage, their version of Allen Fieldhouse West. They will journey there again for a game at 8 tonight in hopes of chalking up another victory.
Kansas leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 159-88, and has a 32-17 record against K-State in Allen Fieldhouse.
Manhattan is another story.
The Jayhawks have won 17 straight games on K-State's home floor, including all 12 meetings in Bramlage Coliseum. Kansas coach Roy Williams has never lost at Bramlage and said he was amazed how long the streak had survived.
"It's almost unbelievable, but at the same time I know it's going to end." Williams said. "We keep saying it every year, let's put it off one more year, and it's the same way we will attack it this time. We've had a great run and we would like to continue it one more time."
K-State's last home victory against Kansas was January 29, 1983, in the old Ahearn Fieldhouse. Jack Hartman was the Wildcats' coach, and his team won a 58-57 thriller against the Ted Owens-coached Jayhawks. Larry Brown took the reins at Kansas the next year and led the 'Hawks to a 63-61 victory that started almost two decades of Jayhawk dominance in the Little Apple.
The next line of Wildcat coaches never caged the Jayhawks either. Current Atlanta Hawks coach Lon Kruger coached the 'Cats from 1987-1990 and never won in Manhattan. Current Creighton coach Dana Altman (91-94) lost all four home games against Kansas. Former coach Tom Asbury was 0-for-6 at a lureage against the Jayhawks.
It's a new era at Kansas State, though. Times have changed, and so have coaches. Former Chicago Bulls assistant Jim Wooldridge took charge of the K-State program this year and his Wildcats (9-16, 3-11) have played their best basketball at home. They beat then-ranked Iowa and Missouri in Bramlage and lost to then-No. 18 Oklahoma 64-63 in overtime.
That home success caught the attention of Kansas junior forward Jeff Carey, but he said the Jayhawks wouldn't rely on the
See 'HAWKS on page 5B
Golfer excels on the green, in classes
By Thad Allender and Christa Henton
Special to the Kansas
"They're in every pair of pants I own," he said as he searched for his keys.
Casey Harbour leans against a black Dodge Durango and reaches deep into his Dockers for car keys. He twitches and pulls out a grass-stained golf ball.
Under the ball's Titleist logo is a Jayhawk, smudged from Harbour's club of choice — a Biontarium plum.
"My favorite club is my driver because I can be aggressive with it," said Harbour, a junior on the men's golf team.
Harbour: Striving to be Academic All-American
Harbour needs to be aggressive. During the men's golf season, he balances morning classes, afternoon golf practice at Alvamar Country Club from 1:30 to 7 p.m., and weekend tournaments as far away, as
Fukushima, Japan. With both a fall and spring schedule, his personal life is on hold. "It's part of the territory to be busy." Harbour said. "We practice all the time."
Despite his athletic prowess, Harbour's 3.4 grade point average proves his major in business administration is more than a divot. Harbour is a Jayhawk Scholar and has a chance at becoming an Academic All-American. To gain this honor, college athletes must maintain a 3.2 GPA while competing full time.
Harbour's not just all brains. Like any athlete, he loves winning. Last summer, Harbour won the Kansas Open on his home course, Alvamar. He was the first amateur to win the tournament, which is open to both professionals and amateurs.
"He shot lights-out that day," said Jessica Wachter, a friend of Harbour's.
Going into the last day of competition, Harbour was four strokes behind the leader. On the back nine, he outshot his competition, scoring 209 on 54-holes and winning the tournament.
'This season, during the first tournament of the spring season, Harbour and two other 'Hawks tied for third place at 1-under-par 215. He shot a 74-70-71 for the 54-hole Rice Intercollegiate Invitational on Feb. 12-13 at Meadowbrook Farms Golf Club in Katy, Texas.
As a team, the Jayhawks won the event, moving them up in the national polls to the No.19 spot. This is the team's second victory of the 2000-2001 season.
For now, Harbour is taking life one hole at a time.
"You're out there all by yourself," he said.
"You don't rely on anyone else and can't blame anyone else when something goes wrong. And the hard work you put in is for yourself."
Edited by Sydney Wallace
'Hawks hope to bag struggling Aggies
By Jessie Meyer
by Jessie Meyer
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team may have finally found an opponent with a season-long list of woes similar to its own.
"The confidence boost we could take in getting a victory on the road would be huge for us," Kansas senior guard Jennifer Jackson said. "We've got to go into Texas A&M with the mindset that we've got to get a victory."
In its last regular season game, the Jayhawks (10-16, 4-11 Big 12 Conference) will face Texas A&M (12-14, 2-13) at 7 tonight at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. The Aggies have dropped their last nine games and are currently at the bottom of the Big 12.
And the outcome against A&M — a team the Jayhawks are 5-0 all-time against — depends on which Kansas women's team shows up to play. The Jayhawks, who are on a two-game losing streak, have maintained an intensity-packed attack and upset teams like nationally ranked Texas and Iowa State. But Kansas has also come out flat and faltered against teams such as Nebraska and Missouri.
"We've had times where we've looked like the fifth team in the nation and we've had times where we've looked like the 355th team in the nation," Jackson said. "We've still got a lot of fight left in us. I think that as long as we have our
fight we'll always have a chance."
The 'Hawks displayed that fight in the second half against Missouri on Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse, trying to rally back from a 22 point deficit. But it was too little too late for Kansas, and the 'Hawks cannot afford to get themselves in a similar position with A&M.
Kansas will have to keep an eye on Aggie senior forward Jaynetta Saunders, who is averaging 22.7 points and 7.1 rebounds and is capable of taking control of games. Saunders became the all-time single-season scoring leader for A&M in the Aggies' last game.
Joining her offensive attack are senior guard Brandy Jones, who adds 11.1 points, and freshman Toccara Williams, who averages 7 assists and 9.9 steals.
"I think this will be an important game for us to finish the season out strong," Kansas senior forward Brooke Reves said. "It'll be another emotional time. It'll hopefully be a good end to a long learning season."
Though it marks the end of the regular season, the game against A&M could be what the Jayhawks need most to prepare for the Big 12 Tournament, which starts next week in Kansas City, Mo.
"We will do our best to get ready for Texas A&M," Kansas coach Marian Washington said. "And hopefully go in with nothing to lose in Kansas City and see what might happen."
— Edited by Joshua Richards
Kansas senior guard Jennifer Jackson drives to the basket against Missouri. Jackson and the rest of the Jayhawks will take on Texas A&M at 7 tonight at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. Photo by Laurie Sisk/KANSAN