THE UNIVERSITY OF DARRY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009
SPORTS
QUOTE OF THE DAY
9A
"I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok."
- Shaquille O'Neil
— Kansas Athletics
Kansas' victory against No. 21 Baylor in volleyball was its first victory against a Top 25 opponent since 2007.
FACT OF THE DAY
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: When was the last time Kansas swept Kansas State in volleyball, as it did last week?
A:16 years.
NFL
Rams' wide receiver is out for the season
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams have lost wide receiver Keenan Burton for the rest of the season, the result of a right knee injury in Sunday's 28-23 home loss to New Orleans.
The Rams placed Burton on the injured reserve list on Monday with a torn patella tendon. Coach Steve Spagnuolo says Burton will have surgery on the kneecap.
Burton, a second-year player out of Kentucky, was hurt on a pass in the first quarter when he fell awkwardly in the end zone while the Saints' Usama Young made an interception.
Burton was the leading receiver with 25 catches for 253 yards for the Rams, who dropped to 1-8 with the loss.
Burton is the third receiver to go on the IR for the Rams this season, following veteran Laurent Robinson and rookie Brooks Foster.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL Missouri receiver suffers season-ending injury
season-ending injury
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri wide receiver Jared Perry will miss the rest of the season with a fractured right leg.
Perry, a senior, was hurt on an end around for a 5-yard gain in the second quarter of Saturday's 38-12 victory at Kansas State. The school said the fracture is slight and is hopeful Perry could return to play in a bdwl game if the Tigers (6-4, 2-4 Big 12) get an invitation.
Coach Gary Pinkel said Perry would be out four to six weeks. He expects Jerrel Jackson and Wes Kemp, both sophomores, to step up in the meantime.
"We have a lot of different ways we can go," Pinkel said. "He's certainly one of our big play receivers, and it's unfortunate."
Perry is second on the team with 46 receptions for 696 yards and six touchdowns. He's seventh on the school career list with 13 receiving touchdowns, eighth with 1,844 career yards receiving and ninth with 137 receptions.
"It was a bad blow," Perry said. "But I'd rather take four to six weeks than four to six months. I'm just going to rehab, be there for my teammates, and come back strong."
Jackson has 24 catches with a 10.1-yard average and one touchdown and Kemp has 19 catches, a 17.6-yard average and three TDs.
Associated Press
MORNING BREW
Cincinnati doesn't need Johnson
The NFL breeds surprises and nurtures parity like no other
league. Against that ever-changing backdrop, the Cincinnati Bengals defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second time this season did little more than raise eyebrows.
Nevermind that the Steelers are the defending Super Bowl champions, and that the Bengals are hardy a model franchise. The NFL dynamic is amorphous and fluid to the point where identities can be shed like a locust's shell.
The Bengals' identity, before this season, was defined by offfield trouble, Carson Palmer injuries, Chad Ochocinco's shenanigans and losing. Lots and lots of losing. The talk from camp before this season was that a new identity was being crafted — but of course talking is easy. Actually stepping up and competing with Pittsburgh and Baltimore seemed a much more difficult matter.
But, lo and behold, the preseason talk has proved
Which makes the Bengals' interest in former Chiefs running back Larry Johnson all the more curious. In fact, if I'm being objective, it's probably downright stupid. But objectivity, regarding this situation, is tough for me. I am, after all, someone who has written a decidedly pro-Larry Johnson column in these pages before. Through his pouting and bouts of surly misbehavior, I stood by him. So to damn him now, to say that he doesn't have a place in the NFL, would necessitate starkVACillating on my part.
prophetic. The Bengals are undefeated in the AFC North, leading the division. All that talk of a new identity now seems much more than that.
But oh well. When you're wrong, you're wrong. And on Larry Johnson, I was wrong.
Cincinnati may need a running back in the short term. But in Larry Johnson, they'd get a lot of baggage. They'd get a man with a history of behavior that is anything but conducive to a positive locker room environment. Johnson has repeatedly ripped teammates and coaches and scapegored anyone to avoid shouldering blame himself. They'd get a man who has had run-ins with the law, regarding several instances of alleged violence toward women. And if Johnson's actions speak to misogyny, then his words, of late, make him appear a homophobe.
But the NFL, at the end of the day, is a business. It's ruled by results, not sentiment. And so Johnson's personal faults could, perhaps, be overlooked — if he were still more than a shadow of his former self on the field. Where LJ used to be a bruising downhill runner, he's now tepid
and cautious. His statistics speak to his decline. But perhaps most alarming of all, in a few short days, Johnson will be 30 years old — the age at which even the best running backs become dispensable. And Johnson hasn't been among the league's best for a while.
So Cincinnati, don't make the same mistake I, and much of Kansas City, did. You're in a great position right now — you don't need to fall back into old habits. And you certainly don't need Larry Johnson.
- Edited by Amanda Thompson
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas welcomes four new recruits
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
Four recruits, including two top-100 players, have signed on to play for the Kansas volleyball team next season. Jessie Allen, Marianne Beal, Kara Wehrs and Amy Wehrs will all be donning crimson and blue for the 2010-2011 season.
Kara Wehrs, the No. 44 recruit in 2010 according to PrepVolleyball.com, is a 5-foot-10 setter from Hampshire, Ill, and holds her high school record for both serving aces and assists. Kara was also named to the Courier News All-Area team all four years of high school and was state runner-up in 2007. Bechard said Kara could compete at a very high level as a setter.
"When you combine her quickness and physical presence and good delivery, you've got a young lady who has a chance to have a
very good career in our league"
Bechard said.
Kara will be joined by her twin sister Amy, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, who holds her high school record in kills. Bechard said Amy was a big competitor.
"She can influence the match with her attacking skills and also make an impact with her back-court skills;" he said. "She is a six-rotation player with a high volleyball IQ."
Beal is a 6-foot middle blocker from Lee's Summit, Mo. She won this year's Evelyn Gates Award, which is awarded to the Kansas City area's top female volleyball player. She is the No. 91 recruitment according to PrepVolleyball.com.
"She has the potential to be an outstanding six-rotation contributor, impacting our program in a number of technical areas, and she competes with great enthusiasm and intensity." Bechard said.
Beal is an All-State First Team player and is the all-time kill leader for Lee's Summit North High School. Bechard said he hoped Beal could play on both the right side and the middle, and said he thought Beal would add a lot to
Allen, from Aurora High School in Aurora, Neb., is a top 250 recruit according to Prep Volleyball.com. Allen helped her high school earn a fourth place finish at the state tournament in 2008. Bechard said Allen would be helpful in replacing seniors Paige Mazour and Brittney Williams.
"She has good length, very good lateral quickness and she is capable of attacking in front of and behind the setter," Bechard said. "She will also be a physical presence at the net defensively."
the Kansas roster.
MFEFT THE PLAYER
Follow Zach Getz at twitter.com/zgetz.
Jessie Allen - Aurora High School, Aurora, Neb.
Marianne Beal - Lee's Summit North High School, Lee's Summit, Mo.
—Edited by Amanda Thompson
Kara Wehrs - Hampshire High School, Hampshire, Ill.
Amy Wehrs - Hampshire High School, Hampshire, Ill.
Match time change
Match time change Saturday's match against No. 9 Nebraska has been changed from 6:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in order to not conflict with the 7 p.m. start time of the Kansas vs. Texas football game.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Men's basketball
vs. Memphis,
St. Louis, Mo.
9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Volleyball at Iowa State, 6:30 p.m.
Women's basketball at Iowa, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Men's basketball
vs. Central
Arkansas,
7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Swimming Houston Invitational, all day
SATURDAY
NFL
Volleyball vs. Nebraska 6:30 p.m.
Football at Texas, 7 p.m.
Swimming Houston Invitational, all day
SUNDAY
Women's basketball vs. Michigan, 2 p.m.
Swimming Houston Invitational, all Day
MLB
First baseman named Royals' player of the year
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — First base man Billy Butler is the unanimous choice for the Kansas City Royals' player of the year.
Butler, 23, is the youngest player to win the Royals award since 23-year-old George Brett was selected in 1976.
Butler led the Royals with a .301 average, 51 doubles and 93 RBIs.
Associated Press
Chiefs win second game of the season
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One game into the post-Larry Johnson era is all it took for the Kansas City Chiefs to get their first rushing touchdown, first 100-yard rushing day and second victory of the year
This week's opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, may mount more of a challenge than the mistake-prone Oakland Raiders did in Sunday's 16-10 victory.
But the Steelers would be wise to prepare for Jamaal Charles as KC's featured back. It would seem a richly deserved reward for his long TD run and 103 yards rushing in the first game since former Pro Bowler Johnson was released amid a cloud of controversy.
With more speed than Johnson showed in even his best years, Charles broke loose on one key play and sped 44 yards into the end zone, erasing the stigma the Chiefs had been carrying as the only NFL team without a rushing touchdown.
He also picked up 26 yards on a fourth-quarter drive as the Chiefs tried desperately to run time off the clock. It seemed especially
gratifying for somebody whod spent part of the season in the coach's doghouse for fumbling. The second-year pro had gotten so crosswise with coaches, hed even been inactive for one game.
"It itt was something I was thinking about," coach Todd Haley said Monday. "Hed had a bunch of carries under his belt and he was protecting the football. None of
A fumble in those last minutes on Sunday could have proven fatal.
Charles, drafted in the third round out of Texas two years ago, said the running backs were aware they were without a running touchdown all year.
"We talked about that before the game, that one of the running backs had to go and make something happen," Charles said. "It turned out to be me, and I'm blessed to be in that position."
to benefit United Way november 18th & 19th
those footballs that ended up on the ground were Jamal's fault."
LOOSE CHANGE CHALLENGE
Spend $20 or more & receive a FREE Sml. order of Pokey Stix
Bring your loose change to our collection points at Wescoe Beach and the Unions.
---
Winner will be announced at the Rivalry football game in KC on Nov. 28th.
United Way
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COMMUNITY
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START HERE, REACH OUT.
FALL 2009 ANDERSON CHANDLER LECTURE SERIES
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS PRESENTS AN EVENING WITH
FBI Special Agent and key investigator in the real-life case that is the basis for the new Warner Bros. movie "The Informant" starring Matt Damon
Robert Herndon
TUESDAY. DECEMBER 1, 2009·7:00 P.M.
THE LIED CENTER OF KANSAS
CLUES FROM THE CONVICTS: LIFE LESSONS ON CHARACTER, LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS FROM THE FILES OF THE FBI