KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 / SPORTS
9A
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us."
-Walt Whitman
FACT OF THE DAY
Dwayne Wade's full-court alleyoop pass to Lebron James on Tuesday was seven yards longer than the 21-yard touchdown pass Aaron Rodgers threw to Greg Jennings of the Green Bay Packers. That touchdown put the Packers up 21-3 against the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
- espn.com
Q: This weekend, Kansas Baseball plays at No. 1 ranked TCU. What is head coach Ritch Price's record against No. 1 ranked teams?
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
A:5-1
— kuathletics.com
MORNING BREW
'Friday Night Lights' comes full circle
Last week, one of the greatest shows in the history of television came to its dramatic conclusion. The critically acclaimed, Friday Night Lights, ended its superb five-year run with an episode in which emotion practically ooed out of the television screen.
It did not look like the dramatic television show would even last two years as opposed to five, but the little show that could, did. Friday Night Lights survived multiple setbacks, as NBC shifted the time the show aired, and the day it was shown. Another one of the show's setbacks was the writer's strike of 2007-2008. Friday Night Lights appeared to be doomed again after its third season when DirectTV saved the show by agreeing to air seasons 4 and 5 on a separate channel. Before, each season was shown on NBC.
Friday Night Lights focused on Dillon, Texas, a small town in the lone-star state. Dillon had nothing better going for it than its perennially stellar high school football. The show followed an array of characters in the town, but none were watched more closely than the head football coach, Eric Taylor, and his wife Tami.
BY MIKE VERNON mvernon@kansan.com
The show managed to portray a bevy of real-life issues. The characters faced problems that dealt with money, relationships, marriage, friendship, and everything in between, while still being embedded in a football setting. Rarely was there screaming when a problem came up. Instead, the characters talked and worked through their problems, a rarity for television these days.
Without giving away any spoilers (for the few of you who may be waiting to watch the conclusion on NBC), the finale was the pinnacle of five astounding seasons. The story lines that had been built up for so long finally came to their conclusion, and the producers of the show did not hold anything back. Yes, it was sad, and anyone who watched the show knows that it will frequently choke you up.
The football scenes that concluded the finale were brilliantly done. I found my palms sweating as I gripped the bottom of my chair, anxious to see the fate of the East Dillon Lions. But it wasn't the football scenes at the end that made the finale so breathtaking, it was the message behind them that made the shows conclusion so ideal.
As things really cranked up in the game, the show's main characters were shown either in the crowd, on the field, or on the sideline. Whether it was a mom, coach's wife, grandmother, booster, dad, or just a friend, they were all there together as one.
Director Peter Berg cleverly ended the show in a way that made it apparent that it didn't matter whether East Dillon won their big game or not. The important thing was the improbable journey that led them there, not the end result.
As a fan of the show, I don't think I could have asked for a better ending. Life went on for all of the characters, some with, and some without football. The show seemingly ended just as it began, and the full-circle style could have made Ebenezer Scrooge quiver in his seat trying not to let a tear drip off his stone face.
So to anyone who is interested in becoming enthralled in a TV show that can make you a part of something bigger than yourself, watch it, and you'll know two things by the end.
Texas forever and clear eyes, full hearts,
can't lose.
Edited by Danielle Packer
KOCON (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Today she is a leader for the Jayhawks. Coach Megan Smith named Kocon to a captain position in early January. Kocon said that she is very honored that she was named a captain especially since she was out last season. She is happy that her teammates see her in a leading role.
"They look up to me in the fact that if adversity does come your way, you just push through it, and
good is at the end. I am just very fortunate that they saw that in me." Kocon said.
plate.
She could have decided to take a year off to recover, but that was not an option in her mind. Softball is Liz Kocon, and the Kansas softball team is her family. She knew that she needed to be there in the dugout to support them.
The decision to red-shirt was difficult, but in retrospect, she believes that it was the right choice to make and has benefited her as a player. She spent time improving the mental aspect of the game, especially her offensive play at the
"I looked at a lot of the different pitchers that we faced and their delivery of the ball and different ways of pitching." Kocon said.
The mental study has definitely shown already after the Jayhawks first five games. She hit a home run over the left field wall when the Jayhawks faced Bethune-Cookman in Jacksonville, Fla., over the weekend.
"She was pitching all outside so I just toed up to the line and extended through it, and I got lucky," Kocon said.
Hitting in softball can be a very
mentally taxing aspect of the game. For Kocon, to have an extra year to focus solely on the mental side of offensive play has helped her develop some of her own philosophies for when she steps up to the plate.
"I wanted to get out of my head as much as possible. I want to focus on two points in my swing; my contact points and my extension. If you hit the right contact points and extend through the ball then it is going to go somewhere hard. If you put the ball in play hard then errors are going to happen." Kocon said.
Liz Kocon had a learning year
during her recovery. She has grown from it. She has become a better leader for her team. Retrospectively she has a positive view on her injury and the recovery process.
"I take it as I gained another year. So now instead of going out with Brittany and Allie, I get another year to play the sport that I love. Even though I had to red-shirt, I feel very blessed and fortunate to get another year to play." Kocon said.
Edited by Erin Wilbert
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
There are no events scheduled
FRIDAY
TODAY
Softball
vs. South Dakota St.
10 a.m.
vs. Bethune-Cookman
12:30 p.m.
Deland, Fla.
Baseball
TCU
6:30 p.m.
at Fort Worth, Texas
SATURDAY
Men's Basketball vs. Colorado 1 p.m.
Lawrence
Baseball
TCU
2 p.m.
at Fort Worth, Texas
Softball
vs. Bethune-Cookman
10 a.m.
vs. Stetson 3 p.m.
Deland, Fla.
Women's Basketball vs. Missouri 7 p.m.
Lawrence
Tennis
vs. Tulsa 11 a.m.
Lawrence
SUNDAY
- Columbus salvaged a point but
* could be without top-line center
* Derick Brassard, who injured a
NHL
Tennis
Arkansas-Little Rock
9:00 AM
Lawrence, Kan.
Baseball
TCU
1:00 PM
Fort Worth, Texas
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Kings were running out the clock when Quick gave up a rebound on Voracek's shot. Russell backhanded the puck in while skating backward to the left of the net.
L.A. Kings extend winning streak
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Jarret Stoll had the only goal in the shootout, leading Los Angeles past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Wednesday night and extending the Kings' point streak to 10 games.
After Nash and the Kings'
Michal Hanzus failed to score in
the shootout, Quick stopped Matt
Calvert with a poke check. Stoll
swooped in on Garon and scored
high on the stick side. Quick ended
the game with a pad save against
Kristian Huselius.
The Kings' 8-0-2 spurt is their best run in 31 years. Los Angeles can match the franchise record when it plays the eighth of a 10-game road trip at the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Rick Nash and Jake Voracek each had a goal and an assist, and Derek MacKenzie had two assists for Columbus, which had won five of six. Mathieu Garon had 26 saves.
Los Angeles also has points in eight straight road games (6-0-2) for its top surge since 1984.
The Blue Jackets forced overtime on Kris Russell's goal with 1:23 left in regulation.
Doughty broken a 2-2 tie earlier in the third period when he scored off a one-timer from the blue line. It was a pivotal game for both teams, who are outside playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
Andrei Lokitionov had a goal and an assist, and Justin Williams and Drew Doughty also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick had 21 saves through overtime and stopped all three shots in the shootout.
hand in the opening minutes and didn't return.
The teams traded goals in each of the first two periods.
Garon mishandled a puck that Matt Greene stayed with, eventually flipping a behind-the-back centering pass from the back boards to Loktionov in the slot for his fourth goal.
The Blue Jackets tied it when MacKenzie, centering the top line in place of Brassard, dug his dump pass off the back boards and sent a blind pass to Nash. He stepped into a slap shot in the left circle for his 27th.
The Blue Jackets had almost 2 minutes with a two-man advantage at the end of the second period
Columbus lost two of its top six forwards in the first. Brassard was struck on the left hand by the puck and went immediately to the dressing room. R.J. Umerger, who was in the middle of the top line filling in for Brassard, limped off the ice but returned later.
and start of the third but failed to score.
The Blue Jackets pulled even late in the period. Nash carried the puck into the attacking zone and fed MacKenzie, who slid a cross-ice pass to Voracek in the right circle for a one-timer that beat Quick's glove.
Shortly after a power play, Williams scored his 20th goal to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.
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