Sports
University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, March 20, 1990
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Weightlifters take prizes at nationals
Heavy competition can't deter four athletes from second sport
By Brent Maycock
Kansan sportswriter
Weightlifting, required for most athletes at Kansas, has become a successful second sport for four Jayhawks.
Keith Thorne/KANSAN
Seniors Chip Budpe, Carl Badamil and Vince Labosky and junior Sean Jacobson form the KU Iron Hawks. The club, formed about four years ago, is open only to athletes. Howeves, trying to open it, will all KU students.
Chip Budde (left). Carl Badami and Vince Labosky of KU Iron Hawks show their medals and plaques.
Loren McVey, a former graduate assistant strength coach, serves as coach for the Iron Hawks.
"The reason it is open only to athletes is because the facilities where we train are for athletes' use only." he said.
Budde, Badami and Labosky qualified and competed in their respective weight divisions at the National College Weightfitting meet March 9-10 in Palo Alto, Calif. The Iron Hawk captured the team trophy, making them the national champions.
Labosky said more than 55 lifters cometed.
In individual competition, Badami took first place in the 67.5 kilo division. Badami also qualified for the United States Seniors, which involves the top weightlifters in the country. Badami was formerly a Kansas sprinter.
McVey said the Seniors meet, which is held in Detroit during the first weekend in May, was one of the
top meets in the country.
"In an Olympic year, this would be the meet that would determine who represented the United States," he said. "We're just going this year to get Carl some experience competing against the best so that he can be competitive the following year."
Budde and Labesky each took two second place in their weight class. Budde, who has been a center for the Kansas football team for the last four years, had a chance to lift the snatch lift in the superheavyweight division but could not maintain the lift. Labesky, one of the top U.S. throwers, also had a chance to win the 110-kilo class but wavered on the final lift.
Jacobson, also a javelin thrower for the Kansas men's track team, failed to qualify for the meet in the 90-kilo class.
"All three of us had our personal bests," Labosky said. "We pretty much dominated the meet."
MeVey said his goal for the Iron Hawks was to get Budde, Badami and Labosky into the top 15 lifters in their weight classes. Rankings are made by the United States Weightlifting Federation.
Badami and Budae are ranked 19th in their respective weight classes and Lakshya is ranked 24th.
"I think they are capable of breaking the top 15," McVey said. "They are very close to doing so now."
Badami credits a lot of the team's success to McVey.
"He is one of the most knowledgeable weightlifting coaches in the country." Badami said.
The club receives no money from Student Senate. Budde, club president, said the Iron Hawks had sent in a written application for money for travel expenses but had been turned down.
Labosky, club treasurer, said the Iron Hawks functioned through donations from local businesses. Annual membership in USWF costs $15 and entrance fees for meets usually cost $10. Membership in the USWF was mandatory to compete at the meets.
In addition to the nationalists, the Iron Hawks have competed in the
The next competition for the Iron Hawks will be the Joe Pall meet during the first'weekend in June in Kansas City, Mo. The club also will participate in the Sunflower Games
Missouri Valley Open Championships and the Missouri State Open. In both meets, all four lifters finished in first place in their weight classes.
Mike Considine
Sports editor
Major league baseball returns
Throughout the game, there was an expectation that the Kansas men's basketball team would fight through the turbulence and emerge with a victory. The 1989-90 Jayhawks had made a habit of doing that as they built a 30-5 record.
It took some time to make peace with Sunday's 71-70 second-round NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA.
When the 'Hawks rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to regain the lead with 8:56 remaining, it was easy to assume that this was business as usual.
Kansas withstood a Bruin rally to lead 36-35 at halftime. With a chance to regroup and make adjustments in the locker room, the fifth-ranked Jayhawks seemed to be in reasonably good shape. Kansas won 29 of 31 games that it led at halftime.
What the players got
The Major League Baseball owners' lockout was ended late Sunday when the players and owners agreed in principle to a new four-year labor contract. Negotiations are continuing with the players' union to work out a full 162-game schedule.
First. the shock had to wear off.
- Arbitration: 17 percent of players between two and three years of major-league service — which would be 12 players next season — will become eligible to file for arbitration.
KU team set apart from rest
- Minimum salary: Raised $32,000; up from $68,000 to $100,000.
Pension: Owners will increase their annual contribution to the players' pension fund to $55 million
Opening Day: April 9. The season had been scheduled to begin April 2. Each team will have 158 games scheduled unless a full 162-game schedule can be negotiated.
What it means to fail
Knight-Ridder Tribute News/STEPHEN CVENGROT
**Spring training:** Normally conducted for six weeks, this year's spring season will last just three weeks at each team's normal preseason training site.
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
Royals set to practice
The Royals had been in touch with all of their players and expected about half of them to be able to get to Haines City, Fl., in time for the 10 a.m. workout, team spokesman Dean Voehler said
The first exhibition game was scheduled March 26.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals scheduled their first workout for today after the players and owners reached agreement on a four-year contract late Sunday.
The Associated Press
The timetable gives the players three weeks of spring training.
The agreement ended the 32-day lockout and allowed the Royals to get start on a season in which they won the American League West.
"We don't have all the details yet, but obviously we're ecstatic that the season is getting under way." Vogelaar said. "I think the (Player Relations Committee) did an outstanding job, and we're happy to get on with the season."
Gathers lacked medication, report says
Inderal level in Gathers' body was about $ \frac{1}{2} $ to one-eleventh of the amount needed to help his heart condition.
The coroner's office wouldn't say whether the level of Inderal in Gathers' system indicated if or when he had stopped taking the drug.
"That level was 26 nanograms per milliliter, whereas therapeutic levels range from 50-290 nanograms per milliliter," coroner's spokesman Bob Dambacher said. That means the
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Basketball star Hank Gathers didn't have enough medication in his system when he died to treat his irregular heartbeat, the county coroner's office said yesterday.
Sunday's game was an exception. Afterward, it was too easy to get caught up in Final Four expectations. There was a temptation to forget that Kansas was a team that supposedly knowledgeable people picked to finish last in the Big Eight Conference. The consensus was that the Jayhawks were the fifth-best team in the Big Eight.
"sub-therapeutic" level of the drug Inderal in his bloodstream when he died after collapsing in a game March 4.
Toxicology tests indicate that the Loyola Marymount center had a
Kansas returns home from Texas road trip
By Paul Augeri
Haack's expectations of a flawless Kansas softball season may have softened since Kansas' 10-day stay in Texas. The Jayhawks
"I'm ready to start playing some home ball games," Haack said.
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas softball coach Kalum Haack prefers a backyard barbecue to a hotel meal. And he would rather play softball in Lawrence than in big cities like Houston.
"My parents barbecued for us one night," Haack said. "I think the girls really enjoyed it. A lot of the players had never been to Texas. So we did some sightseeing and other things as a team."
Despite the rigorous schedule, Haack and his team found time for other activities.
During spring break, Kansas played 19 games, including two tournaments, in Houston and College Station, Texas.
But long journeys to distant cities are past for the Jayhawks. Kansas, 14-12, will not travel any farther than Lincoln, Neb., or Oklahoma City for the remainder of the season. Eight of its next nine games are scheduled at Jayhawk Field.
Kansas softball
"The days get longer when you're in a hotel for 10 nights. Everything you eat tastes the same."
"I was disappointed that we did not hit better in Houston, but you tend to be more up and down when you have a younger team," Haack said. "That's not an excuse. I just sit back and have to be more objective than I have been."
finished their 19-game trip with a 12-7 record.
Earlier last week, Kansas finished the first leg of its trip, the Texas A & M Invitational, with six victories in eight games. The Jayhawks placed second behind Texas A & M, which won the tournament with a 7-1 record.
Haack said he wished the Jayhawks played as well in Houston as they did in College Station, home of the Angels.
"Although we played well at A & M, we did not hit the ball in Houston," he said. "That was the main reason why we didn't do as well as we should have."
The Jayhawks won only four of seven games and finished seventh at the Houston Invitational, March 15-18. Kansas did manage to win twice in its last three games of the tournament.
After a 2-1 loss to Southeast Louisiana, Kansas edged Colorado State 1-0 and shut out Western Illinois 3-0.
Kansas beat 14th-ranked South Carolina 2-1 but lost 2-1 to 12th-ranked Texas A & M. The Jay-hawks outfitted the Aggies 8-2.
New tight ends coach named
Kansas football coach Glen Mason last week upgraded graduate assistant coach Tim Phillips to a full-time position as tight ends coach for the Jayhawks.
'There is more responsibility helping guys at one position instead of just assisting another coach. Coach Mason counted on me at Kent;
By a Kansan reporter
Tim Phillips Assistant football coach
Phillips has served the last two years as a graduate assistant coach for the Jayhawk football program. Phillips, 25, was a record-setting quarterback under Mason when the two were part of the Kent State football program in 1986-87.
"There is more responsibility helping guys at one position instead of just assisting another coach," Phillips said. "Coach Mason counted on me at Kent, and now I can take full advantage of the opportunity."
Phillips replaces Reggie Mitchell, who now serves as defensive line coach.
Steve Traynor/KANSAN
Painting by numbers
As Facilities Operations employee Phil Grom (left) and Gail Luedke finish spraying in the 30-yard line with white paint, Chuck Newman carefully aligns stencils at the 20-yard line. The three were preparing the football practice field southwest of Allen Field House yesterday afternoon for the Spring 1990 football practice season, which begins Friday.
Kansas men's basketball statistics
Final
Pritchard G 35 FG 177 FGA 337 FT 164 FTTA 130 PTS 125 AST 5.1
Randall 35 183 358 100 94 148 13.3 6.2 1.9
Calhoun 35 183 305 104 128 13.1 4.9 1.3
Brown 35 138 311 21 21 32 11.0 2.5 8
Guelderon 34 117 221 71 91 10.7 4.8 6
Maddox 34 133 223 31 57 8.7 6.9 3.4 1.9
Markhamer 34 90 155 31 57 8.9 6.9 3.4 1.9
West 34 90 154 34 49 9.0 6.0 3.7 1.3
Jennison 17 35 57 13 26 16 4.9 2.0 1.5
Wagner 17 25 57 13 16 18 3.0 1.5 1.8
Jordan 35 33 97 25 36 3.0 1.2 1.2
Alexander 25 33 97 25 36 3.0 1.1 1.1
Nash 20 6 13 7 15 1.0 1.0 1.3
Ridener 20 6 13 7 15 1.0 1.0 1.3
KANSAIS 35 1204 2258 614 899 92.1 21.8
Opponents 35 1204 2258 614 899 92.3 21.9
Three-point field goal — Browns 89-208 (42), Guardner 69-142 (46), Pitchick 45-108 (42), Jankowski 14-30 (40), Galli 87-71 (41), Alexander 4-13 (30), Johnson 6-1 (0), Randolph 10-0 (0) (51) (41) Team 201-39 (21), Corson 14-34 (41) (51)
Steels — Prichard 59, Calloway 50, Goulter 47, Randall 27,
Markhamn 26, Jordan 20, Brown 18, West 18, Madden 32,
Jennon 12, Wagner 5, Alwarden 3, Team 39. Opponents 247.
Tuskegee - Principals II, Bowling Court 89, Rowdens 68, Randle 57, Jordan 47, West 44, Madison 42, Markman 34, Brown 28, Jennison 24, Nath 9, Alexander 6, Wagner 7, Team 532 Opponents 687.
Blocked shots — Mankaren 28, Meddox 19, Randall 13, Calhoun 11, Pitchinch 6, Guiderl 5, Wast 3, Nash 3, Brown 1, Team 1, Team 10. Opponents 77
Last October, when practice opened, the Jayhawks weren't presumed to be among the 64 teams that would be chosen to compete in the NCAA tournament. Less than three months later, the consensus in the rankings was that Kansas was the best team in the country.
In retrospect, neither perception was fair. It is hard to say whether the latter was accurate. With about two weeks remaining in the season, no team has clearly established itself as the best. If the first- and second-round NCAA tournament games proved anything, it was that there are a lot of teams playing at about the same level.
Suffice to say that, at the time, Kansas' top ranking fit and it was long overdue.
One thing is certain; Kansas' performance Sunday was far from the best it could have given.
What made the loss more difficult to accept was that the Jayhawks' play was so uncharacteristic. There was an uncomfortable irony in watching a team commit so many mistakes when it typically made so few — especially when those mistakes came at critical situations.
On the average, Kansas committed just 15.2 turnovers a game and forced its opponents to make 19.6. Against Houston, Kansas scored 22.2 turnovers and the Bruins had 19.7.
The one that has been asked most is whether the Jayhawks peaked too soon.
The game left unanswered a lot of questions about the Jayhawks' ability.
The best response is that it is the wrong question to ask. Basketball teams are capable of peaking more than once in a season.
The dilemma was that the Jayhawks weren't at their peak in late-season losses to Oklahoma and to UCLA.
It is difficult to say how the team will be remembered by the nation's sports fans.
Although it was ranked No. 1 three times during the season, the team's most memorable achievement was winning the Dodge Preseason NIT Tournament championship in November.
Reaching the Big Eight tournament semifinals and the second round of the NCAA may not leave an indelible impression. Somehow, high national rankings tend to be forgotten in time.
Losses to Missouri and Oklahoma temper any discussion of the Jayhawks' claim to being the best team of the regular season.
A legitimate question is whether Kansas was affected by its rankings and a schedule which didn't provide enough challenges until the team was well into the Big Eight season. They probably were factors.
Regardless of what the nation's sports fans remember about this team, what should not be forgotten is that they were a team for basketball pursists to love.
The 1989-90 team may not have the tangible evidence of a Final Four appearance or national championship to support the argument, but it was one of the best in Kansas basketball history.
That is not a bad legacy for a team picked to finish last in the Big Eight.
**Mike Considine is a San Antonio senior majoring in English.**
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