/ SPORTS / MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
OUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's definitely been a hard season. As a team we are very young and it has been hard to adapt to new coaches. It's something that we had to get used to, but I see a bright future for the program.
Senior cornerback Chris Harris after Saturday's 35-7 loss to Missouri.
FACT OF THE DAY
The last hit freshman quarterback Jordan Webb took on Saturday gave him a concussion, which is why he didn't return to the game.
Yahoo.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: When was the last time Kansas wore all-white uniforms?
A:1978
— Yahoo.com
Sports often taken for granted
MORNING BREW
Ahh, Thanksgiving break. What a great time to gather with family, eat a lot of food and watch football. Thanksgiving is a time to remember the things you are thankful for but often take for granted.
I am thankful for sports. Without sports, we would live in a pretty dull world. Take a moment and try to imagine life without sports. No ESPN. No Allen Fieldhouse. "The shot" by Mario Chalmers in 2008 would have never happened. And the list goes on and on.
We all fill our lives with things that create stress, such as jobs, schoolwork and tests. But when we decide to sit down and cheer our favorite team to victory, the stresses of our lives are momentarily forgotten. The sporting world allows us to escape from the drag of our daily lives.
escape from the drag of our daily lives I tried to imagine attending the University of Kansas but never going to a sporting event. That image helped me realize how glad I am that there are sports.
BY JACKSON DELAY
jdelay@kansan.com
I have many memories and have learned a lot of lessons from playing sports as a kid. It's safe to say that my experiences with playing different sports on different teams have helped shape who I am today. It is hard to imagine reconstructing my
childhood without sports, and erasing all of those memories.
Sports have produced events that have turned into holidays. I always look forward to Super Bowl Sunday.
Sports also can be very powerful. A team can unite a city and lift its spirits (see New Orleans Saints 2009-2010 season). Or in some cases, a single sporting event can give a whole country hope (see the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey match versus an overpowering Russia squad, or just watch the movie "Miracle").
Sports carry on in the midst of war and hardships, and create an alternate reality for those who wish to escape their world for a few hours.
Little-leaguers everywhere pick out their
favorite players, and are inspired to work hard and be just like them. The classical upset gives people hope to achieve the improbable, whether that be taking the good-looking blonde in math class out on a date, or receiving an A in calculus.
So, as you can see, sports play several different roles in society, and lives would be altered considerably if sports were not present. We often take sports for granted, but Thanksgiving gave me the opportunity to rethink things and be thankful that sports are around.
Edited by Roshni Oommen
NCAA BASKETBALL
Sisters lead Cardinal to win
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STANFORD, Calif. — Kayla Pedersen had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and No. 3 Stanford held off 16th-ranked Texas 93-78 on Sunday in a matchup of unbeaten teams.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike added 22 points and seven boards and her freshman sister, Chiney, scored 14 for the Cardinal, who moved coach Tara VanDerveer (798-195) within two victories of joining the elite 800 club. She is trying to become the fifth women's' coach to do it. VanDerveer was 646-144 in her 25th year at Stanford.
Stanford took a 2-0 lead before tipoff of the nationally televised game because Texas received a technical for failing to get its line-up turned in to the scorer's table on time.
Chassidy Fussell scored 17 points, Kathleen Nash 14 and Ashleigh Fontenette 11 for Texas (4-1)
Sarah Boothe had 14 points and six rebounds as a reserve for Stanford (5-0), playing its second straight in Maples Pavilion.
The Cardinal shot 57.4 percent and converted 11 of 12 free throws on a day former Stanford stars Candice Wiggins and Jayne Appel sat together courtside. The fifth-ranked Cardinal football team was recognized during a timeout late in the first half. Players holding up the Axe they won by whipping rival California 48-14 in the Big Game on Nov. 20.
After a slow start, Texas scrapped its way back into the game helped by nine 3-pointers. This was the first road game of the season for the Longhorns, who
have a tough stretch with three out of four games against Top-25 teams — including a home date with No. 4 Tennessee on Dec. 12. The Lady Vols then host Stanford in Knoxville on Dec. 19.
Fontenette, the Longhorns' second-leading scorer, went down with 12:38 left grabbing at her right knee, but returned.
Stanford made 14 of its first 22 shots and used a 28-9 run midway through the first half to take a 34-18 lead. VanDerveer has one of her deepest teams yet at Stanford and regularly switched players in and out to keep them fresh — getting balanced contributions from throughout the lineup.
Stanford's stingy man-to-man defense caused Texas trouble and made it difficult to penetrate against the taller, more athletic Cardinal. Stanford held a 39-32
rebounding edge but committed 17 turnovers.
NFL
Suisham hits FG, Steelers beat Bills
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo's Stevie Johnson sat with his head down at the end of the bench as Shaun Suisham hit a 41-yard field goal with 2:14 left in overtime to secure the Pittsburgh Steelers' 19-16 victory over the Bills on Sunday.
The wide receiver was upset because he could've ended the game in the Bills' favor on the previous possession by dropping
"I had the game in my hands and I dropped it," Johnson said. "I'm humbled."
what would have been a 40-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
In a game the Bills (2-9) proved they're not all that bad, the Steelers (8-3) showed why they're better.
Suisham hit all four of his field-goal attempts, including a 48-yarder. His decisive kick
Rashard Mendenhall had 151 yards rushing and scored on a 1-yard plunge in helping Pittsburgh prepare for a AFC North first-place showdown at Baltimore next weekend. Hines Ward had seven catches for 107 yards, and Roethlisberger finished 20 of 33 for 246 yards
capped a 13-play, 58-yard drive which Ben Roethlisberger kept alive by hitting Mike Wallace for a 17-yard catch to convert third-and-8.
"I had the game in my hands and I dropped it. I'm humbled."
STEVIE JOHNSON Bills wide receiver
Buffalo proved feisty in facing one of the NFLs elite teams by overcoming a 13-point first-half deficit and forcing overtime with 2 seconds left in regulation
when Rian Lindell hit a 49-yard field goal. Fred Jackson had five catches for 105 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, and added 59 vards rushing.
The Bills had a two-game win streak snapped. Each of their past four losses have been by 3 points, including two in overtime, after they lost 37-34 at Baltimore on Oct. 24, and 13-10 at Kansas City the following week.
The Bills were also coming off a 49-31 win at Cincinnati.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
There are no events today
WEDNESDAY
Women's Basketball
Maine
7 PM
Lawrence
THURSDAY
ISDAY
Men's Basketball
UCLA
8 PM
Lawrence
FRIDAY
Swimming Georgia Invitational All Day Athens, Ga.
SATURDAY
DAY Women's Basketball SMU 2 PM Dallas, Texas
Swimming
Georgia Invitational
All Day
Athens, Ga.
Track
Bob Timmons Challenge
All Day
Lawrence
SUNDAY
Swimming Georgia Invitational All Day Athens, Ga.
NBA
Denver wins the highest-scoring game of the season
DENVER — J.R. Smith scored a season-high 30 points and the Denver Nuggets overcame the absence of Carmelo Anthony to hold off the Phoenix Suns 138-133 Sunday night in the highest-scorring game of the season.
Chauncey Billups returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sprained right wrist and scored 25 points and eight assists for the Nuggets.
Anthony was feeling ill Friday against Chicago but played anyway and hit the winner in the final seconds. Sunday he lasted just 2:48 before sitting down for good.
Jason Richardson did his best to keep Phoenix in it with 39 points, and Steve Nash had 17 points and 11 assists.
The Nuggets were ahead 115-99 when the Suns scored nine straight to get back in it. Smith and Arron Afflalo hit 3-pointers to keep the lead at nine, but Richardson hit two from long range to cut it to five with 2:08 left.
Billups answered with a layup and Smith hit two free throw.
After Smith missed on a 3, Nash drained one to make it 128-125 with 1:35 left.
Nash missed a 3-pointer with 17.8 seconds left that would have tied the game. Phoenix trailed by 19 before narrowing the gap.
Associated Press
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