2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DIRTY KANSAN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
OUOTE OF THE DAY
"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play."
Mike Singletary
FACT OF THE DAY
The women's basketball team has opened with a road victory for four straight seasons.
Source: Kansas Athletics
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: What was Kansas' road record last season?
A:5-12.
Kansas Athletics
FISHING REPORT
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks reported on Nov. 18 that at Clinton Lake:
TROUT are good at 0.5 pounds. Anglers are having success using little cleos, castmasters, roostertails, power bait and minnows under hobber
CRAPPIE are slow at 0.5-1.5 pounds. Crappie are being caught over brushpiles on minnows or jigs in about 15-20 feet below the surface and off deepwater rocky areas.
Stephen Montemayor
BIG 12 FOOTBALL Osborne impressed with Snyder's return
LINCOLN, Neb. — Tom Osborne says he admires the job coach Bill Snyder has done in his return to Kansas State.
Snyder never beat Osborne's Nebraska teams in nine meetings, but he did build K-State into a Big 12 power in the 1990s.
Mangino's reputation is damaged
Associated Press
MORNING BREW
Welcome aboard the RMS Titanic! No, I'm not talking about the one that sank on April 15, 1912. I'm talking about the one that's currently sinking under Captain Mark Mangino.
The once seemingly unsinkable Kansas football team was cruising along for several weeks. A mere 34 days after the Jayhawks were ranked 15th in the USA Today poll, they lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers and most likely their chance to go to a bowl game.
After the Nebraska game, I was not ready to suggest firing Mangino, but I was close. Considering what he had done for this program, I was willing to give him at least another year to prove he could turn this team around. However, after Lew Perkins announced that there would be an internal review of the football program this week, it is now fair to question Mangino's job security.
There are current and former players coming forward and making accusations against the head coach. Perkins was left with little choice and had to look into it.
The big thing here is that Perkins could have kept this investigation quiet, but he didn't. He
chose to come out and announce it publicly. He's sending a message. Mangino hinted at that message during his press conference Tuesday when he said that he's lost the support of "some people around here."
Subsequently, things have begun to unravel around Mangino. His reputation has been so badly damaged by this debacle that recruiting may take a hit.
An article by ESPN's Joe Schad reported that as many as five former players are beginning to speak out against Mangino's verbal abuse.
Former Kansas wide receiver Raymond Brown came forward. Brown, whose brother was shot in the arm while in St. Louis, told Schad, "I dropped a pass and [Mangino] was mad. And I said, 'Yes, sir. Yes, sir.' The yelling didn't bother me. But then he said, 'Shut up!' He said, 'If you don't shut up, I'm going to send you back to St.
Louis so you can get shot with your homies."
Brown also told Schad that another player had let it be known that he had dreams of becoming a lawyer and that his father was an alcoholic.
"One day, [Mangino] said in front of the entire team. 'Are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like
your Dad?" Brown revealed to Schad.
Former Kansas wide receiver Marcus Herford told Schad, "He'd say things like, 'I'll send you back to the street'
Mangino
corner where you came from."
ESPN also reported that some players were threatening to transfer because they felt they had been spoken to in a disrespectful manner.
What high school player is sitting at home right now thinking that they want to come to Kansas and play for someone like that? Now that Mangino is beginning to garner the reputation that he disrespects his players, it becomes
problematic
Don't get me wrong. Mangino has done a lot for this school. He has taken Kansas football and turned it into a respectable program around the country. While I am thankful for that, I do not believe he is the coach that will take this program from where we've been the last couple years to the next level.
Even after "resurrecting" the Kansas football program and being named coach of the year in 2007, no big time program came in to try and steal him away. This appears to be the end of the line for Mark Mangino at Kansas.
Follow Max Vosburgh at twitter.com/MVsports.
- Edited by Jonathan Hermes
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee (5) is forced out of bounds by Kansas safety Dardrell Stuckey (25) during the first half of the 14 game in Game. Lee earned 32 yards on the play.
Nebraska's Lee regains 'swagger after benching
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINCOLN, Neb. - When Nebraska's Zac Lee was benched for a game and the first quarter of another, he soothed himself by remembering the words of an old pro he knows.
"My dad told me when I first started playing quarterback that you're not a true quarterback until you're run out of at least one place," Lee said. "So taking that to heart, and really hearing that for as long as I've heard that, it's just part of the deal. You have to be prepared for it."
Lee is the son of Bob Lee, who played for three teams in a 12-year NFL career. The young Lee has rebounded quite nicely since re-establishing his grip on the job after losing it briefly to freshman Cody Green.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has put in some new wrinkles to tailor the system to Lee's strengths. All signs point to the junior keeping the job the rest of the way.
Lee will lead the Huskers (7-3, 4-2 Big 12) on Saturday as they play for the Big 12 North title against Kansas State (6-5, 4-3).
Zac had a chance to sit back and evaluate the situation he was in," Watson said. "He wanted to play. Given his opportunity, he
Watson kept things simple after Lee took over for Green in the second quarter against Oklahoma two weeks ago. Lee essentially handed off the ball to Roy Helu Jr. and mixed in a handful of passes. The defense did the rest in a 10-3 victory.
came back and grasped what we've been trying to get him to grasp. It's just managing the game of football. Start there and grow from there. He's done a nice job the last two games of just managing wins."
Helu was the focus again in last week's 31-17 win at Kansas, but Lee ran nine times for 59 yards and passed for 196 yards. Lee brought back memories of the Nebraska offenses of the 1980s and '90s by throwing play-action passes off the triple-option look.
Coach Bo Pelini said Lee's confidence was shaken in October, with fans and critics calling for Green.
"The negativity and controversy, that will affect anybody," Pelini said. The coach said he saw Lee's "swagger" return against the lavhawks.
With the tweaked offense, Lee said, his choices are limited in the passing game, and that's a good thing. If his first or second reads are not open, he can take off running.
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THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Swimming Houston Invitational, all day
SATURDAY
Football at Texas, 7 p.m.
Volleyball vs. Nebraska 6:30 p.m.
Swimming Houston Invitational all day
SUNDAY
Women's basketball vs. Michigan 2 p.m.
Swimming Houston Invitational, all Day
BASEBALL Jayhawks agree to play with Walla Walla Sweets
"That is where we are going to start, I am confident that these three — James, Jordan and Kevin — will be a good step in that direction,"Walla Walla Sweets general manager Zachery Fraser said in a press release. "They come highly recommended from a program that has quickly become one of the elite programs in a top conference."
Three current Jayhawks have agreed to play summer ball in Washington with the Walla Walla Sweets, the team announced Wednesday. The Sweets, an expansion team in the West Coast League, have signed sophomore James Stanfield along with freshmen Jordan Dreiling and Kevin Kuntz for what will be the Sweets' inaugural season.
Stanfield, an Owasso, Okla., native, played in 23 games as a freshman, turning in a.250 batting average with a double and 13 RBIs. He was primarily used as a utility infielder during the 2009 campaign.
Both Kuntz, an infielder from Overland Park, and Dreiling, a Lawrence infielder who was a redshirt last season, will take their first swings at the collegiate level when the Jayhawks open up play this spring.
Ben Ward
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dwayne Collins had 23 points and 14 rebounds as Miami overpowered Tulane 74-54 Thursday in the first round of the Charleston Classic.
"He played like a man today," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "It was a really good effort. We shared the ball, had 19 assists, and I thought our defense exerted itself in the second half, and we got on the offensive glass."
Collins made all eight of his shots from the field, and eight of his rebounds came on the offensive end.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Miami defeats Tulane in Charleston Classic opener
"I was disappointed I didn't shoot better from the free throw line," the power forward said. "Other than that, I guess I'll take it. I thought we played well as a team, especially on defense."
Collins was miffed that he made only seven of 12 foul shots.
The Hurricanes (3-0) broke away early in the second half with a 19-4 run. They advanced to play the Penn State-UNC Wilmington winner.
Miami held Tulane to 20 points in the second half, limiting the Green Wave to 30 percent shooting.
Kris Richard scored 13 points for Tulane (0-2).
-Associated Press