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The University Daily Kansan
Let's try this thing again New York Giants offensive lineman Glenn Parker will play in his fifth Super Bowl on Sunday. Parker is 0-4 in Super Bowls after playing with those always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride Buffalo Bills.
Sports
Inside: Kirk Hinrich earned this week's Athlete of the Week after "helping" his fellow Jayhawks.
SEE PAGE 8B
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2001
Inside: Although the Kansas football team lost out on the state's top linebacker, it received oral commitments from standouts in California, Florida and Texas.
2001 For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
SEE PAGE 8B
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
- Draw Gooden tips the basketball in the hoop against Colorado on Monday. Kansas will face Kansas State tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Christina Niff/KANSAN
K-State looks for rare victory at fieldhouse
By Zac Hunter sports@kansan.com kansas sportwriters
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Sunflower Showdown has turned into the Sunflower beat down during the last 10 years.
It's not as if the all-time series is incredibly close. Kansas leads 158-88, but the rivalry had balance at various points during the series. It is painfully obvious that the Jayhawks (16-1, 5-0) own Kansas State (8-8, 2-3). The Wildcats have won just twice in the series since 1990, and have only won 14 times in the past 20 years, compared to 43 wins for the Hawks.
"We all have a sense of urgency to get this thing turned around," said K-State coach Jim Wooldridge. "Everybody that supports Kansas State and our basketball program would love to see us beat Kansas as soon as possible."
The 3 p.m. tip-off tomorrow in Allen Fieldhouse will be K-State's third straight game against ranked teams. After demolishing Missouri 80-59, K-State managed to ruin its bid for two straight wins when it couldn't keep its overtime lead in the final minutes of the Oklahoma game.
Siebrandt, K-State's second leading scorer at just less than 11 points, is hitting nearly 50 percent of his shots.
"It was a hard loss, but we have had a lot of hard losses and this team has always bounced back," sophomore forward Matt Siebrandt said.
Wooldridge said the Wildcats directed their focus on the Jayhawks, and they had several good days of practice.
"I don't see any ill effects from the OU game at this point," he said.
The Wildcats should hope it stays that way. Road games have not been kind to them this season and the final game of the difficult three-game stretch is on the road. They will have to win in one of the most hostile environments in the conference.
"I have asked the players on our team that have been to Allen Fieldhouse to help all of us handle what they know is a great environment and help us learn what to expect when we get over there." Wooldridge said. "Until the action is taking place, it's hard to say how the players are going to react to it."
'Hawks wary of upset
K-State has only one road victory this season, which came at the expense of Texas A&M. The Wildcats' road defeats, however, have come at a faster clip, including a 10-point loss at Wichita State.
If the Wildcats are going to pull the upset, they will have to do it without much firepower. K-State doesn't suit one player that is averaging more than 13 points, which makes holding down Kansas' potent offense a matter of extreme importance.
"They get a lot of buckets off fast breaks," said junior guard Larry Reid. "I think if we make them play a half-court game, then we can stay in the game." — Edited by Courtney Craigmile
By Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
Its record might not show it, but Kansas State has been a team of killers this season. No. 4 Kansas will try to avoid being the Wildcats' latest victim tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.
K-State beat then-No. 19 Iowa on Dec. 23 and destroyed then-No. 20 Missouri 80-59 on Jan. 16. The Wildcats eventually lost to No. 22 Oklahoma by one point last weekend. That said, Kansas (16-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference) is understandably concerned.
"They play well against big teams," sophomore forward Drew Gooden said. "It'll be a battle and they'll compete."
KState's record doesn't show its success (8-8, 2-3), but coach Roy Williams said his team is well aware that the Wildcats can't be taken lightly.
"I've got to make sure that my guys take 'em seriously," he said. "You'd have to ask Quin (Snyder, Missouri coach) for sure, but everybody that I've talked to said that Missouri didn't take them seriously. My guess is Iowa didn't take them very seriously. That's what all of the reports said and you saw what happened to both of those teams. We've got to be ready to play."
During the last seven years, the Jayhawks have normally entered K-State games ready to play. A string of 19 wins is proof of that, but K-State's last win against their rivals could not have been bigger. The Wildcats upset No. 1 Kansas 86-4 on Jan. 17, 1994, in Allen Fieldhouse.
This K-State team could pull off a feat similar to that. This season's Wildcats are not like last year's; they walk with a more confident swagger and have some results to stand behind.
"I see a much different confidence right now than when I saw a little glimpse of their play earlier in the season." Williams said. Sure, K-State's newly acquired confidence is a concern for Kansas, but confidence is something the Jayhawks will be playing with in the game as well. Not only have the Jayhawks dominated the series for the last decade, but they've been dominating opponents since the conference season began.
during narrow victories at Oklahoma and Colorado.
The 'Hawks are in the midst of a nine-game winning streak. They've totally dominated some opponents and they've seemingly played with ice in their veins
Sophomore forward Nick Collison said he expected the team's confidence to continue to show.
"We're real confident that we can play with anybody and we can put up pretty big numbers against anybody," Collison said. "But there's a lot of big, strong guys out there in the league that we haven't faced yet, and they're going to be real tough to play
against.
"We'll take the success that we've got right now, take it in stride, but we've got to come ready to play every night." Kansas basketball notes
■ Kansas is 8-0 against K-State since the Big 12 Conference was formed in 1996-97.
Statistically, Kansas enters tomorrow's game averaging 65 points while K-State averages 64. The Jayhawks also average 21 assists, compared to the
More information
For more men's basketball,
See page 8B
Wildcats' 13.
Following tomorrow's Sunflower Showdown, another rivalry game looms ahead. The Jayhawks will travel to Columbia, Mo., to play the Missouri Tigers at 8 p.m. Monday.
Edited by Doug Pacey
Canadian rowers bring experience to squad
By Jay Mullinix
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas rowing team includes six Canadians, all from Ontario. From left to right: Bath Hickey, Port Colborne freshman; Galina Levin, St. Catharines sophomore; Hayley Dool, St. Catharines freshman; Jen Van Ruyven, St. Catharines sophomore; Laura Adamson, Brockville freshman; and Christine Corbett, St. Catharines freshman have transitioned from Canada, a rowers' mecca, to Kansas where lakes and rivers are primarily used for fishing. Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN
All it took was one word for Jen Van Ruyen's biggest fear to come true. It's not a big word, but for the St. Catharines, Ontario, sophomore, saying "y'all" is the one American habit she had vowed never to fall into. So to find herself saying it by the end of her freshman year proved quite a shock.
"It was so embarrassing since it was the only thing I didn't ever want to start saying. I think it was the low point of my life," she said lokingly.
Van Ryven is not alone, however, in her fight against American idiosyncrasies. She is one of six women on the varsity rowing squad who half from Ontario. Joining her are Galina Levin, St. Catharines sophomore; Laura Adamson, Brockville freshman; Christine Corbett and Hayley Dool; both St. Catharines freshmen; and B蒂克 Hiekov Port Colborne freshman.
The group is bringing more to the table than just northern accents. Although most Kansas rowers don't become involved in the sport until reaching college, experience is rich among this group. Coming from a Canadian province where the sport is quite prominent, the group holds a combined 27 years of previous experience.
"Back home everybody rows, and they get started pretty young," Dool said. "Many of the coaches have been with the
national teams and have worked internationally, so it's taken real seriously.
Honing their abilities in such an atmosphere has allowed the group, though all underclassmen, to immediately come in on the varsity team and make an impact.
"It's really neat to be able to bring our knowledge in right away, especially since having experience does so much to make a boat stronger. Just from last year our times have gone down tremendously, and I hope that we've all played a part in that,"
Guest Columnist
said Hickey.
Not only does their collective knowledge benefit the team on the water, said assistant coach Heather Galvin, but it serves as a great example for other rowers who are new to the sport.
"They really help to set the bar for everyone else, especially the walk-ons and underclassmen because they can see girls who have a background in it and what it should look like," she said.
Because their contributions to the team have come so quickly, the group has an opportunity to help build the foundation of a rowing team that is quickly becoming a top program. Rowing became a varsity sport at Kansas in 1995, and the Jayhawks have been ranked in the national polls the last two seasons.
"There are schools who have had programs for decades and aren't where Kansas is, and they've only had one for six years," Corbett said. "So knowing how far it has come and how we can build on that, it's awesome to think where this team can be in a few years, because we're only underclassmen, and we are going to get better."
Such accomplishments are only perfectly in line with expectations. Galvin said.
"We brought them here because we think they can help take us to that next level," she said. "And this is a young team, so the ability is there to take some big strides in the near future."
Jeff Akin
Edited by Melissa Cooley
sports@kansan.com
Columnist baseball star pool assets
Last month professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Although nothing new to professional athletics, large contracts have recently risen to tremendous heights. For some fans, these contracts represent all that is wrong with sports. For others, big contracts prove to be equitable compensation for years of dedication and hard work. Until several weeks ago, this columnist was on the side of the former. But then I, too, received a big dollar contract, changing my opinion and lifestyle forever — actually, just one long day.
Upon taking a job as a columnist at the Kansan, I was unaware I would receive any pay. I figured writing itself was payment enough. But I must confess when I learned I would receive $5 a column, well, let's just say the celebration began. Ready to spend some of my newfound treasure chest, I was now able to buy the finest. And with boxed wine in one arm and a carton of Kools in the other, I returned home a different man. Finding it now impossible to connect with my unemployed and annoyingly tasteless friends, I embarked on a journey to find new ones — people who, like me, were swimming in money.
That's when I called all-star Alex Rodriguez, thinking he, too, might need someone to spend his money with. He agreed to meet me immediately at the Chili's on Iowa. I guess he was able to overlook my anonymity and the distance between his home and Lawrence in the interest of a free Awesome Blossom. Anyhow, once he arrived, I suggested we relieve ourselves of our monetary burdens by going out and spending every last cent of our new wealth. If we pooled our money, I proposed, we would have even more combined spending power; a total of $252,000,035. "Wow, that really is a lot when you add it together," all-star Alex Rodriguez screeched in jubilation. "Let's go buy some stuff!"
All-star Alex Rodriguez, convinced I was a financial genius, left it to me to make the spending decisions. So, I started thinking about what a baseball star and high-dollar collegiate columnist would want to buy with unlimited funds. Unfortunately, the Ferrari dealer in Lawrence closed last month. The Ford dealer, however, still had in stock the yellow '86 Aerostar I'd had my eye on for months. They even had a red one that all-star Alex Rodriguez liked. We were sold. With our first purchase, our new total was $251,996,435. Seeing this might be a long day, and that I had already secured my dream car, I proposed we give the rest to charity. All-star Alex Rodriguez, however, wanted to do something more creative than the big check and usual photo-op. Nonetheless, buying 21 million Ace of Base CDs, and dropping them across the Midwest from a helicopter, seemed less like charity and more like a felony to me. At this point, I realized that maybe all-star Alex Rodriguez and I were just too different to really be friends. "Speeding" off in his new car, I waved goodbye to a good person, tragically ruined by the influences of wealth and Euro-pop.
Although I may bring in a pretty sweet paycheek each week for my column, he, quite frankly, makes a bit more. A lot more. Actually, I didn't realize how much more until I sat down and compared the two numbers five and 252,000,000. I guess I really don't make that much now that I think about it. Oh, well. I guess the rich are different — they like Ace of Base. And I guess I will have to be content with my $5 and sweet yellow Ford. But I suppose I did learn one important thing from my adventure with all-star Alex Rodriguez: Even obscenely wealthy athletic stars are only as wealthy as their taste in music.
Editor's note: Although Akin is an opinion columnist at the Kansan, he is not a sports columnist, who earns roughly zero dollars per column.
Akin is a Prairie Village junior in English.
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