10A
When was the last time the Kansas men's basketball team lost three-straight conference games?
Trivia question
The University Daily Kansan
Sports
See page 7A
Inside: Baylor's Terry Black and Iowa States's Jake Sullivan earned Big 12 weekly honors yesterday.
SEE PAGE 8A
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20. 2001
Inside: A van carrying members of the Emporia State baseball team overturned Sunday night in Oklahoma.
SEE PAGE 8A
For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
Sports Columnist
Michael Sudhalter
sports@kansan.com
Driver brought exhilaration to the track
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Kansas guards Kirk Hinrich and Brett Ballard unsuccessfully attempt to block Iowa State guard Jamal Tinsley's pass. Kansas has lost four of its last six games and is now playing for second place in the Big 12. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
One of Dale Earnhardt's favorite phrases after a wreck was "That's racin'."
What seemed to be a routine crash Sunday claimed the life of America's last folk hero and shocked an entire nation of sports.
Loss ends first-place hope
While spending Sunday afternoon at a sports bar, I heard many NASCAR enthusiasts utter phrases such as "Watch out for Earnhardt" after rookie Burt Busch tried to gain ground on his black and red car. Even at the age of 49, Earnhardt was still the most feared and respected driver in the circuit.
People need heroes in life, but the sports page is not the ideal place to look for such figures these days. Dale Earnhardt has been one of my heroes since 1997, the year I began closely following the NASCAR circuit. So you are probably going to ask, how did a Boston teenager who can't even change a tire become a dedicated fan of motorsports' most visible personality? Blame Brooks & Dunn and Jeff Gordon.
Feared on the track and respected off it, that is. If you took a survey of NASCAR drivers asking them to name the one driver they wouldn't want to see in their mirror at the end of the race, the consensus would be Dale Earnhardt.
Earnhardt's aggressive style on the track made it exciting to watch the sport because I never knew what was going to happen next. Because of my admiration for his aggressive racing style and off-track humor, I always tried to think of what he would do in certain situations. His ever-present optimism inspired several of my own causes.
The first time I saw Dale Earnhardt was in a music video with one of my favorite entertainers, Brooks & Dunn. After learning more about his career and the NASCAR circuit, I decided that I was going to cheer for Earnhardt's No. 3 Chevrolet because he was the sentimental underdog to Gordon, who was dominating races at the time.
Take pennardt's contribution to the sport of NASCAR was immeasurable and his legacy will continue to be a large part of the circuit's future.
Sudhafter is an Overland Park junior in journalism.
I remember meeting with my Spanish professor during my sophomore year and hearing him tell me that I had a C in the course with two weeks left. My mindset immediately went to a racetrack situation: Earnhardt is riding outside of the top 10 and he needs the victory to stay on pace with Jeff Gordon in the standings. What would he do? Because I knew that he would push his hardest to win the race, it inspired me to win "my race" and eke out a B in the class.
Perhaps the post-race of the Daytona 500 that year had a more profound effect on me. All of the fellow drivers and crew members lined up to shake hands with Earnhardt, a scene unprecedented in the world of NASCAR. That showed the respect many of these competitors had for an individual who took the sport's popularity outside of a limited market in the deep south to a national audience.
The irony of Sunday's accident was that it appeared as though Earnhardt wanted his son, Dale Jr., or his company's new driver, Michael Waltrip, to win the race. Earnhardt believed in who may not have had the most success in the past. Case in point: Waltrip had never won a Winston Cup race in 400-plus tries before he won Sunday's race.
I can vividly remember where I was and what I was doing during many of No. 3's triumphs. In February 1998, I watched the Daytona 500 with a friend in my Massachusetts home. After Earnhardt won the race that had escaped him for many seasons, I was lucky that my neighbors did not file noise violations with local authorities. I probably also alienated my roommate during many NASCAR races with my fervent race-day emotions.
So now the NASCAR and the sports community in general are coping with the tragedy and trying to decide how they will move on. First of all, there should be a movement to rename the Daytona International Speedway the Dale Earnhardt Speedway. The seven-time Winston Cup Champion won 34 races at the track and many race fans affectionately referred to the track as 'Daletona.' The circuit should continue next week at Rockingham, N.C., because the legend would have wanted it that way.
By Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
They're not happy about it, but the No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks are playing for two.
Not in the sense of trying to work the ball inside and get a lay-in for two points. No, they're playing for second place.
The Jayhawks started 6-0 in the Big 12 Conference but have since lost four of their last six games and now trail Iowa State by two games. Iowa State also holds the tiebreaker because they won both games against Kansas this season.
The sixth-ranked Cyclones (22-3 overall and 10-2 in the Big 12) beat Kansas (19-5 and 8-4) for the fifth straight time on Saturday and all but assured themselves of repeating as conference champs.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said the title race was now Iowa State's to lose.
"I don't think anybody's in it except Iowa State," Williams said. "They've really got to stumble. If they take care of their own business, everybody else is playing for second. That's hard for us to say because we don't ever speak in terms of playing for second."
The Cyclones' remaining Big 12 games are against Texas, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Nebraska, making three losses unlikely.
Kansas junior guard Jeff Boschee said that was cause for Kansas to concede the title.
"You can't predict the future, but if things go the way they should, they've got a tough game at Texas," Boschee said. "But Texas isn't playing its best basketball right now either, so hopefully something does happen. But it seems like we're just playing for second right now."
Three weeks ago, Kansas was ranked No. 3 in the country with a 17-1 record. The 'Hawks walked with a bounce in their steps. They had a 10-game winning streak and a killer instinct.
Now, slow starts and comebacks that fell short are the norm, and that has sophomore point guard Kirk Hinrich worried. He said the team played hard at times but not always, and that left him concerned heading into tomorrow's game against Colorado (15-11 and 5-8). Specifically, he's doubting his team's heart.
"We were fighting, but I don't know what that says," Hinrich said after Saturday's loss. "People with heart don't show
heart one game but not another game. They show it all year consistently.
"I just hope that we can finish off the season strong. We can play well in the Big 12 Tournament and get a good seed. Right now that's all we're looking at.
Kansas is also looking at a depleted bench, thanks to the departure of freshman Mario Kinsey for academic reasons
the frontcourt replacements.
and senior swingman Luke Axtell because of an ailing back. Sophomore forward Drew Gooden is still recovering from a sprained wrist and is questionable for the Colorado game.
Those losses have junior guard Brett Ballard, a former walk-on, as the first guard option off the bench and forwards Jeff Carey, a junior, and Bryant Nash, a freshman, as
"We don't know when we're going to get Drew back, so we've got to have guys step up, and hopefully it will make us better in the long run," Ballard said. "We can work our butts off all we want, but if you don't have guys step up and make plays, we're not going to win games. If we have some guys step up, then we'll be fine."
Edited by Jason McKee
Kansas ready for Rockhurst in home opener
By Ryan Malashock sports@kansan.com Kansan swimmer
After opening the season with seventraight road games, the team plays host to Rockhurst in its home opener at
The Kansas baseball team is back where it loves to be — home sweet home.
3 p.m. today at Hoglund Ballpark.
The Jayhawks (6-1) are returning from three games at the Round Rock Classic in Texas and four games at the Rawlings Invitational in Phoenix.
Randall: baseball team can't look past Rockhurst
Sophomore second baseman Casey Spanish said the team was ready to kick off the season at home
Kansas' home schedule includes series against Big 12 Conference powerhouses Nebraska, Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State, and single games against Wichita State and Creighton.
"We're going to be an exciting team this year, and I hope the fans come out and see us." Spanish said.
Junior Jeff Davis makes his first start of the season today against Rockhurst. The Lawrence native was 4-3 with a 7.32 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season.
Kansas coach Bobby Randall said today's game and other midweek games would serve as great experiences for pitchers and players needing to polish their skills.
"There's some guys that we're counting on like Dan Stucky, Matt Van Alsburg and Kevin Farmer, who haven't played as much as I would've liked.
The e games give us a chance to get some guys on track," Rand al said.
Randall said he would like to keep Davis' pitch count to a minimum today to save his arm for the weekend series against Oklahoma. Randall wants to get senior Eric Thompson and junior Grant Williams some key innings out of the bullpen today, as well.
Rockhurst opens its season in today's matchup with Kansas, but Randall said the Jayhawks can't afford to look past the Division II Hawks.
"We've got to keep our focus, play hard and execute against Rockhurst, or else we'll be in trouble," Randall said. "We need to play the game, not our opponent."
Edited by Megan Phelps
'Hawks fall short in Big 12 title race
Bv Brandon Stinnett
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Even with an emotionally charged victory against No. 6 Iowa State on Saturday, the women's basketball team (10-14 overall, 4-10 in the Big 12 Conference) are left to wallow in the shadow of conference leaders during the final two weeks of the regular season.
This leaves them noticeably absent from the Big 12 Conference title race.
No. 10 Oklahoma (21-4 and 12-1) holds a two-game lead against Iowa State (20-4 and 10-3), No. 14 Texas Tech (19-5 and 10-3) and No. 16 Colorado (19-5 and 10-3) — a team nobody really expected to be in the conference title hunt this late in the season.
The margin separating these teams is slim, and, with the Big 12 arguably the toughest conference in the country, all four could be considered legitimate contenders in the NCAA tournament this March.
The Jayhawks have played against all four teams this season. They were blown out by Iowa State 67-48 in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 10, but rebounded with a 69-61 victory against the Cyclones on Saturday.
The Jayhawks dropped two games to Colorado earlier in the year, while Oklahoma pounded Kansas at home 88-64 on Jan. 24, and Texas tech narrowly escaped Allen Fieldhouse with a 49-45 victory Wednesday.
Kansas coach Marian Washington said Oklahoma posed the toughest challenge for Big 12 teams.
Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly has no problem labeling Oklahoma the conference's top team, even though the Cyclones beat the Sooners 81-79 in Norman, Okla., on Jan. 6.
"I would say they've earned their position right now, and they deserve a lot of credit," Washington said.
"Right now they're the best team in the Big 12. They've proven that over time," Fennelly said. "They're a tough team to guard. They can score a lot of points, and I think that's what makes them so good."
Iowa State is the only Big 12 team that has found success against Oklahoma, Fennelly said the secret was to attack the Sooners with offense. Oklahoma leads the Big 12 at 83.9 points per game. He said to beat the Sooners, teams had to match them offensively.
"You've got to find a way to
Washington said it was tough to compare teams in the Big 12 because they all had distinct styles.
outscore them," Fennelly said. "You have to have an offensive night. We scored 81 on them in their building when we beat them. I think that's the key. You've got to get into a game where you know you're going to score a lot of points."
"They're just different types of ball clubs," Washington said. "There's no one quite like Iowa State in the conference, and besides Texas, I don't know who has as many athletes as Texas Tech."
Iowa State was widely regarded as the Big 12's premiere team heading to conference play, and the Cyclones found early success, jumping to a 10-1 record. But after losing to Colorado and Kansas last week, the Cyclones no longer control their own destiny and may have to settle for second place in the Big 12.
Senior Angle Welle, who scored 20 points in the loss to Kansas, isn't sure what's wrong with the Cyclones, but said it was not time to start worrying yet.
I don't think there's any reason to panic." Welle said. "Something's just not clicking when we're out there. I don't know what it is."
Edited by Jennifer Volodex
Kansas
guard
Jennifer
Jackson
puts pressure on
lowa State
forward
Angie
Welle.
Kansas
defeated the Cyclones on Saturday in Allen
Fieldhouse, dampening
lowa State's chances at winning the Big 12
Conference title. Photo by Selena
Jabara/KA
NSAN