MAGIC JOHNSON
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MAGIC JOHNSON will have to wait until 2002 to be considered for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame trustees considered waiving the five-year waiting period for players earlier this year after getting a request from Johnson's agent, Hall spokesman Robin Deutsch said.
SPORTS
However, he said, the trustees 14-member executive committee had decided against allowing exemptions before getting into the specifics of Johnson's case.
Even though Johnson said he wanted the waiver so he could be enshrined in the same year as Larry Bird, who becomes eligible in 1998, Deutsch said one issue the trustees considered was whether a waiver could be considered because of a player's health. Johnson suffers from HIV and would like that to be considered.
TOMMY MORRISON IN TROUBLE WITH LAW
Boxer TOMMY MORRISON was arrested yesterday on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and violating the terms of a suspended sentence for carrying a
loaded handgun. Morrison, of Jay, Okla., was pulled over about 3 a.m. for driving 52 mph in a 30 mph zone near Fort Scott, Police Chief Larry Dixon said.
KINGS COACH FIRED
The Sacramento Kings, mired in a sevengame losing streak and on the brink of fading from the NBA playoff picture, fired fifth-season coach GARRY ST. JEAN yesterday.
The Kings picked assistant coach Eddie Jordan to replace St. Jean.
The Kings' seven-game losing streak is their longest since an 11-game slide in February of last season.
St. Jean's career record with the Kings was 160-239.
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1997
He took the Kings to the playoffs last year for the first time in a decade but lost to Seattle in the first round.
Fast BREAKS
Women's rowers travel to Tulsa for dual regatta
The Kansas women's rowing team will compete in a dual regatta against Tulsa tomorrow.
The dual will be held on Zink Lake on the Arkansas River in Tulsa, Okla. The competition begins at 10 a.m. with the varsity four. The lightweight four races are at 10:20 a.m., the freshman eight begins at 10:40 a.m. and the varsity eight race starts at 11:20 a.m.
SECTION B
After the regatta the team will travel to Natchitoches, La., for a week of spring training.
The team will train March 23-29. While in the Pelican State, the Jayhawks will practice two or three times a day on the Cane River Lake, rowing distances of 20 to 30 miles a day.
Assistant rowing coach Tami Odell said the trip would get the team ready for the spring season.
"The trip is excellent in terms of team bonding," Odell said. "It brings the freshman and varsity squads together. They spend a lot of hours on the water with the same people in the same place and are totally focused on rowing. They improve by leaps and bounds their rowing technique and movements in the boat."
NCAA tournament action heats ud as four advance
Now this is getting fun.
Sweet 16 games got under way last night in the NCAA tournament. If the first two games, which both went into overtime, are any indication of things to come, hold on to your seat.
In the Midwest Regional, it took top-seeded Minnesota two overtimes to defeat the No. 4 seed Clemson, 90-84. Golden Gopher guard Bobby Jackson scored a career-high 36 points.
—Kansan staff report
In the West Regional, second-seeded Utah and sixth-seeded Stanford traded baskets in overtime before Utah prevailed, 82-77.
For complete results from las night's games, see page 2B.
Swimsuit issue now optional for magazine's subscribers
NEW YORK — Sports illustrated has
gone swimsuit optional.
For the first time, Sports Illustrated published a notice offering subscribers the option of not receiving the annual swimsuit issue.
The notice appeared on the magazine's March 24 letters-to-the-editor page. Most of the letters concerned the swimsuit issue, including one that denounced it as "pormography."
Sports Illustrated representative Dave Mingey said that it was the first year the magazine had published such a notice to readers but that the magazine had offered the option for a few years.
Mingey said the magazine received about 79 letters this year critical of the swimsuit issue, but the number has been declining since 1975, when the magazine began keeping track.
Olympic gold medalist to make debut in the ring
Tvler Wirken / KANSAN
Reid will make his professional debut tomorrow night, six months after winning an Olympic gold medal on a one-punch knockout of Cuba's Alfredo Duvergel in Atlanta.
Jones, the man many call the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, is a heavy favorite to retain the WBC light heavyweight title, but challenger Montell Griffin is unbeaten.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The day is at hand for David Reid and maybe for Roy Jones Jr.
The 12-round Jones-Griffin match at the Trump Taj Mahal will be televised at 8:30 p.m. on HBO, as will Reid's four-round middleweight bout against Sam Calderon.
The Associated Press
Forward Raef LaFrentz collides with two Jackson State players while fighting for a rebound at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn.
Fancy meeting you again
Revenge, Haase's wrist may be factors in game
By Bill Petulla
Kansan sportswriter
In the post-game press conference following Arizona's 73-69 victory against the College of Charleston, a reporter asked Wildcat guard Mike Bibby what it would be like to play the No.1 team in America, Kansas.
Another concern for the Jayhawks is Jerod Haase's wrist. He went through only
"Arizona is the fastest, quickest team we coached against in our nine years," Williams said. "They really cover a lot of ground. Their athleticism, their quickness and their speed concern us."
But before Bibby could answer, Arizona coach Lute Olson covered the freshman's microphone and cautiously proclaimed, "You're terrified."
Despite having eight more losses than Kansas, Jayhawk coach Roy Williams said Kansas wouldn't take the Wildcats lightly when the teams play at 6:55 p.m. tonight in Birmingham, Ala.
a limited practice yesterday because of soreness. But trainer Mair Cairns said it was not unusual for Haase to be held from practice; it had been done at least three times this year.
Revenge also may be a factor. The Jayhawks defeated Arizona 83-80 last season in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
"They're happy they got us because we beat them last year and they want to prove they're as good as us," Williams said. "Perhaps it gives them a little more incentive."
Michael Dickerson leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 20.1 points per game. The court leader for Arizona, however, is Bibby.
He sank two clutch free throws in the waning moments of Saturday's victory against Charleston.
"He is a complete player that has a great deal of savvy and a great deal of confidence," he said.
"Mike Bibby doesn't play like a freshman," Olson said. "He hasn't played like a freshman the whole year long."
Williams is equally impressed.
Bibby's progression, however, will be put
to the test tonight. He has the assignment of guarding Jacque Vaughn. Vaughn said he was recovering from bronchitis that had weakened him in the Purdue game. He still made 12 points and nine assists in the Jayhawks' 75-61 victory last Saturday.
Williams said, "It's going to be a heck of a matchup. It will be a challenge for both of them."
"I feel the best I've felt in seven days," Vaughn said, "so that's a good sign."
Despite being the third consecutive Kansas opponent favored to lose by double figures (10.5 points), Olson said the Wildcats wouldn't back down.
"This is a competitive group of guys," Olson said. "They're not going to quit. Every game we've lost, we're been in."
Williams said he understood that his team was expected to make it to the Final Four, but his main concern was to satisfy his team.
"The expectations around here are pretty awesome," he said. "As long as I please 14 people, that's all that makes the difference to me."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Chancellor teaches pupils hypocrisy, not English
Chancellor Robert Hemenway is a hypocrite.
The man in charge recently announced that if the Kansas men's basketball team wins the national championship, classes at the University will not be canceled.
Thanks for trying, Bob, but you are out of line.
For those who do not know, Hemenway teaches a 7:30 a.m. English class Mondays, Wednesdavs and Fridavs.
A Kansan reporter, who shall remain nameless because he is in his man Bob's class, pointed out to me that our leader was not in class last Friday.
A call to Hemenway's assistant explained why.
It seems Bob was in Memphis, Tenn., watching, cheering, cavorting and skipping school with the rest of the basketball team.
And today the Chancellor again could not
Welcome to the hypocrisy.
And today the basketball teach. He is in Birmingham, Ala., celebrating and schmoozing and supporting the basketball team as it plays in the Sweet 16.
Welcome to the noprocrys.
Our chancellor sees nothing wrong with missing his class so that he can travel to a basketball game, but he has the audacity to tell students that they cannot miss a day of class if the men's team wins the title.
This is the same man who in Wednesday's University Daily Kansan said that
nothing should interfere with academics at the University, including a national basketball title.
Obviously, the Chancellor did not believe what he said.
Hemenway's assistant explained to me that the chancellor is a busy man and that he has an assistant to teach his class in his absence. But for some reason, that isn't satisfying.
If the main man of the University can skip out of teaching his class for basketball, then he shouldn't pretend that canceling classes is an absurd idea. If Kansas wins the title, he needs to cancel classes. He has set the precedent.
Of course, canceling an entire day of school to cheer home the basketball team is ridiculous. But to not cancel classes would be just as absurd.
If Kansas wins the title, no one is going to class. Students, thinking that they deserve a break because they played so hard to help win the championship, will feel obligated to stay home and rest. Some teachers already have said they would not hold class.
If classes are not officially canceled, then students will unofficially make sure nothing gets done.
Come on, Bob, do the right thing and show that you were just kidding about not canceling classes. Or at least stay in Lawrence to teach, and show us that you mean what you say.
Besides, I have a paper due the Tuesday after Monday's championship game, and I could use an extra day.
Comments? E-mail Spencer at sports@kansan.com
Women's season lays strong foundation
By Tommy Gallagher
Kansan sportswriter
For the Kansas women's basketball team, this season was a strong foundation for the future.
Kansas was 25-6 overall and 14-2 in the Big 12 this season. It was the Jayhawks' best record since the 1991-92 season, when they had an identical overall record and had a Big Eight-best record of 12-2.
The Jayhawks captured the regular season conference title for the second consecutive year.
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said, "Everyone that's been through my program has helped to build this program. These seniors came in as a freshman class extremely competitive and wanted to make a difference in the program."
Early this season, Kansas lost to two of the nation's perennial powerhouses on the
road: Tennessee and still-undefeated and top-ranked Connecticut. The Jayhawks played without injured starting forward Lynn Pride.
Kansas guard Angie Halbleib, who had struggled with her shot during the middle of the season, said the loss made the team rethink how it prepared for opponents the rest of season.
"I wasn't upset about (my shooting) until the Missouri game, where I shot terrible and we lost," Halbleib said. "That Missouri game was a wake-up call for a lot of us. I don't like to say that a loss was needed, but I think that one was. It made us rethink everything we did."
The Jayhawks won their last seven regular season games and entered the Top 10 for the first time in more than three years.
The loss ended Kansas' 21-game home court winning streak, a school record.
Washington said people should recognize what her seniors — Halbleib, Tamecke Dixon, Jennifer Trapp, Shelly Canada and Patience Grayer — were able to accomplish during their careers at Kansas.
Kansas defeated No. 14-seeded Detroit Mercy 81-67 in its first-round game. In the second round, No. 6-seeded Vanderbilt handed the Jayhawks their first home loss of the season. 51-44.
Kansas lost in the Big 12 Tournament semfinals but still merited a No. 3 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament.
"They came here to help us achieve more than what we had at that point in our development, and I think they've done exactly that," Washington said. "I love them to death. I just hope that you'll appreciate what they have given us over the past four years."
6
Chris Hamilton / KANSAN
Lynn Pride and Kansas State's Brit Jacobsen hustle for a ball earlier this season. Kansas finished 25-6 this year.