PATRIOTS AFTERMATH
BILL PARCELLS decided to quit, and Patriots owner Bob Kraft considered firing him after a draft-day blowup, The Boston Globe reported yesterday.
The newspaper said that the incident irreparably had damaged their relationship and led to Parcells' departure. The story was written by columnist Will McDonough, who
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
describes himself as a friend of
Parmelia and former friend of
Parcells and former friend of Kraft. The column recounts the deterioration of the relationship that began when Kraft bought the team in 1994 and ended when Parcells chose not to return next season.
KANSAS SOCCER SIGNS NEW PLAYER
Ashley Gorham, Bellevue, Neb., senior midfielder at Duchene Academy in Omaha, has signed a letter of intent to play for the KANSAS WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM.
Gorham helped Duchesne win a state championship in 1995 and runner-up in 1996. Her club team in Nebraska has won the last seven state championships.
Colorado basketball coach RICARDO PATTON spoke with Memphis officials last week and will do so again. Patton's agent said.
PATTON LEAVING?
Patton, in his first full year with Colorado, is considered one of the leading candidates to replace Memphis coach Larry Finch, who is resigning.
Patton has become a hot commodity after leading No. 15 Colorado into the Top 25 for the first time in 28 years, but he also is the lowest-paid coach in the Big 12. Colorado officials said the
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1997
they had received Patton's contract proposal, believed to be in the neighborhood of $400,000 a year. Patton's current package is worth about $200,000 with a base salary of $110,000.
SECTION B
U.S. considers bidding to host 2008 Olympics
PHILADELPHIA — United States cities that want to host the Olympics in 2008 will know by the end of June if they'll even get a chance to bid.
The U.S. Olympic Committee set a rapid-fire timetable yesterday for deciding if it should pursue a fifth Olympics in 28 years.
Through a series of questionnaires from interested cities and informational mailings to its 107 board members, the USOC said that final word would come June 28, after a mail vote of the board and a meeting of its executive committee.
The board also will be asked whether it favors bidding for the Olympics in 2012 or the Pan American Games in 2007.
Still in the hunt are Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Houston, New York, Seattle and Washington.
The IOC won't pick a host city for 2008 for another 4 1/2 years. But with international competitors such as London, Oslo, Paris, Cairo and Osaka already in the race, the USOC feels it's a year behind in the contest.
Ex-UNLV coach returns to his old stomping ground
LAS VEGAS — When Bill Bayno was hired to coach the University of Nevada-Las Vegas basketball team two years ago, the Jerry Tarkanian era ended.
That's Bayno's version.
Like it or not, a piece of history returns tonight when Tarkanian brings his Fresno State team into the UNLV campus arena to face the school he molded into a national powerhouse.
arkanian's first game coaching against his old team is expected to draw a sellout crowd of more than 18,000 — UNLV's first sellout since a 1993 home game against Georgetown.
The two teams have already met once, with Fresno State wearing UNLV down late in the game last month in Fresno for a 93-82 win.
UNLV has averaged about 14,000 fans a game this season, a noticeable improvement from the few thousand who showed up to watch Rollie Massimino's teams in the first few years after Tarkarian was forced out.
It's actually the second time Tarkanian has come to Las Vegas to coach since his departure. Fresno State lost to Texas Tech here in a holiday tournament in December.
Muster wins Dubai Open, captures $1 million prize
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Second-seeded Thomas Muster overwhelmed defending champion Goran Ivanisev with a series of sizzling shots to win his first $1 million Dubai Open yesterday.
ivanisevic kept his temper in check most of the match, but at one point in the 11th game of the first set, he erupted when he was broken for the first time.
The Austrian, ranked third in the world behind Ivanisev, won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) in 1 hour, 41 minutes.
Having missed a simple high lb to drop behind 6-5, Ivanisevie hurted his raquet towards the spectators, then kicked his equipment. That earned him a code violation from the chair clump.
However, ivanisevic's feared cannonball serve was on target and gave him 21 points in the match.
In the second set, both players raised their game to great heights. The exchanges were sharper, and both players went for the most difficult of winners.
Muster took a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker as Ivanisevis was plagued by errors. After Ivanisevic battled back to 6-3, Muster closed out the match with an outright winner.
The Associated Press
'Hawks lose opening series
Strong play not enough to beat UNLV
By Harley Ratliff
Kansan sportswriter
This weekend in Las Vegas, Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall gambled that he could win with freshmen and sophomores.
most of the weekend, they simply lacked on-field experience, Randall said.
That gamble almost paid off.
that gamble almost paid off.
Unfortunately for the Jayhawks,
they still need a little more experience at rolling the dice.
After capturing the season opener Friday against The University of Nevada-Las Vegas, 5-3, the Jayhawks lost the series by dropping the final two games 3-2 and 12-6.
While Kansas (1-2) played well
"We're still young," Randall said. "We played a lot of sophomores. They're still learning what success is."
During Kansas' first game, Randall's younger players came through.
Sophomores Les Walrond,
Andy Juday and Sparky Wilhelm
supplied the offense, knocking in
four of Kansas' five runs.
Wilhelm hit in two runs, and Walrond and Juday each contributed one.
While the sophomores put runs on the board, it was a true freshman, pitcher Mark Corson, who sparkled on the mound.
Corson (1-0), who relieved starting pitcher Aric Peters in the top of the fourth, put a clamp on the UNLV bats.
Reliever Casey Barrett replaced Corson in the bottom of the eighth to help preserve the Kansas victory.
Corson pitched 4.2 innings, giving up just two runs and three hits.
walked away with the victory.
In his first collegiate appearance, C o r s o n
Bobby Randall
"I knew my team was backing me up," Corson said. "I just threw strikes like they told me to, and it worked out good."
Starting pitcher Aric Peters, who gave up just one run in three innings of work, was impressed with the two pitchers that followed him.
"I'm really proud of how Mark went out there and did as well as he did," Peters said. "We really did a good job. Casey did a great job shutting the door on them."
Kansas continued to get quality pitching on Saturday.
Starter Tim Lyons and relievers Jake Good and Josh Wingerd allowed just six hits and three runs. Good, another true freshman, pitched two innings without allowing a run.
However, while they kept the score low, Kansas' pitchers weren't able to contain Rebel star Kevin Eberwein.
After the Jayhawks built a 2-0 lead in the third innings, Eberwein, a 1996 freshman All-American, responded by hitting a home run in the fourth and singling in two more runs in the eighth. Eberwein's three RBI were just enough to clip the Jayhawks, 3-2. Wingerd (0-1) took the loss.
wnue pitching kept Kansas close for the first two games, UNLV torched Kansas for 12 runs in the final game of the series. The Rebel batters lit up Kansas' pitching early and often. Starter Chris Williams
(0-1) give up
six runs, all earned, in the first 1.2 innings. UNLV tacked on six more runs throughout the game.
Mark Corson
The Jay-
hawk s
attempted to
mount a come
back in the ninth. After a run-scoring double by Joe DeMarco, Justin Headley belted a two-run home run, his first of the season. However, the late-inning heroics weren't enough as UNLV triumphed 12-6.
Even though his team lost the series, Randall knows that his players gained invaluable experience.
"I thought even today we made progress," Randall said. "A couple of wins would have been nice, but we weren't ready to do it yet."
Tennis victory doubled
Men get road wins; women win at home
Kansan sportswriter
By Andy Rohrback
Vancouver sportswriter
Both Kansas tennis teams hit milestones in the 1997 season this weekend, just before heading into the national tournaments next weekend.
The men's team played its first meet away from the friendly confines of Alvamar Tennis Club and rolled to a 7-0 victory at No.42 Minnesota.
The win carried the team to a 3-0 record under new coach Mark Riley and also marked the third victory against a ranked team.
traying away from home wasn't much of a factor, coach Mark Riley said.
"If we could play all of our matches at Alvamar or on campus, we would," he said. "But we saw where we needed to go, and we played some good tennis."
The national tournament Thursday has the Jayhawks racing to prepare. With only two days to practice before leaving for Louisville, Ky., the team will have to stay focused.
"We're going to try to be sharp and try to improve," Riley said. "We want to compete even better ... Everybody's improved a bit. We played a pretty good match against Ball State and New Mexico, and we want to keep doing that."
Laurie Fletchall / KANSAN
Thursday, the Jayhawk men will face the Duke Blue Devils in the opening round of the national tournament.
While the men were getting their first taste of life on the road, the women were playing their first "home" meets.
Still, the benefit of the home court was visible as a host of Jayhawk faithfuls showed up to cheer on Kansas Saturday against Notre Dame and yesterday against Syracuse. Kansas lost against Notre Dame 6-3.
Both meetings were scheduled to be played at Alvamar Tennis Club, but a time conflict with a junior tennis tournament at Alvamar forced the team to play both meets at Wood Valley Racquet Club in Topeka.
Bianca Kirchhof, Hittfeld, Germany, senior, returns a volley during a doubles match in Topeka, Kirchhof was paired with Amy Trytek, Chicago, Ill., senior.
The Jayhawks fared better at yesterday's meet, defeating the Syracuse squad 5-4. The absence of No.1 singles player Kylie Hunt placed a unique burden on the rest of the team, coach Roland Thornqvist said. Hunt is out indefinitely with an injured knee.
The team particularly relied upon Brooke Chiller and Julia Didorova.
"They had to kind of grow up quick," Thornvqnist said. "Especially when we're playing teams like Duke and Notre Dame, they had to step up."
Softball team begins season with good show
By Matt Woodruff
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas softball team kicked off its 1997 season by making a statement: defeating No. 10 Oklahoma and advancing to the Hall-of-Fame Tournament Championship game.
"We got a great effort from our pitching staff and got an opportunity to highlight our hitting lineup," Kansas assistant coach Marla Looper said. "I think we opened some eyes at this tournament and showed that we're a team to be reckoned with."
The team traveled to Oklahoma City, Okla., last Friday to compete in the tournament, which was hosted by Big 12 Conference rival Oklahoma.
The team was originally scheduled to compete at the University of Texas at Arlington in the Pepsi Cola Intercollegiate Softball Championship, but the event was cancelled because of heavy rain.
Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso organized the Hall-of-Fame Tournament for teams that had already traveled to the area.
"We had a lot of teams that had flown in already, so we just tried to find the first eight teams that were willing to play." Gasso said.
Kansas defeated Oklahoma in the semi-final round 3-1 behind a strong pitching performance by Sarah Workman, who pitched seven innings with six strikeouts and just one walk.
Kansas took advantage of the opportunity by advancing to the tournament's championship game but fell 3-1 to 11th-ranked Oklahoma State.
The team finished the tournament with a 4-2 record, recording wins against Oklahoma, Alabama, which is now coached by former Kansas coach Kalum Haack, New Mexico and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Pitcher Christy McPhail recorded her first victory of the season over the Crimson Tide, pitching six innings and surrendering no runs.
Second baseman Heather Richins was 2-for-2 at the plate with three put-outs and one assist.
The offense scored eight runs and was sparked by leadoff hitter Sara Holland, who was 3-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs.
Looper was pleased with the way the team performed this early in the season.
"Overall, they played pretty well, especially for this early," Looper said. "The kids started strong and continued strong, although they got a little tired at the end."
Referees rob Wake Forest, shuffle standings
The Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The refs blew another one in the ACC, and this time it shuffled the league standings.
North Carolina State stunned No.
2 Wake Forest when Clint Harrison
was given credit for a three-pointer
at the buzzer in overtime — even
though his foot was inside the arc
— for a 60-59 win yesterday.
"I haven't seen a replay, and I don't want to," Harrison said. "It was a tough call for the referees to make, and I'm sure they used the best judgment they could."
Television replays showed Harrison had launched the shot in time but that his left foot was clearly touching the line. Officials Sam Croft, Raymie Styline and Mike Wood looked at each other, agreed that it was a three-pointer and ran
off the floor, letting the Wolfpack players pile on each other in a wild celebration.
Wake Forest fell to a half-game behind league leader Duke despite getting 25 points and 18 rebounds from Tim Duncan.
"This is a difficult loss, but nobody died," said coach Dave Odom, whose Demon Deacons have won the last two ACC titles. "What you do is try to regroup. We
Harrison missed a 30-footer as the
There were four lead changes and two ties in overtime before Ishua Benjamin banked in a shot to the Wolfback up 57-55 with 1:13 left.
Tony Rutland tied the game with a pair of free throws at the 55-second mark.
have a difficult assignment going to Chapel Hill on Wednesday, but I guarantee you this team will be ready."
shot clock expired on the Wolf-pack's next possession, and Wake Forest got the rebound with 17 seconds left. Rutland brought the ball up court, drove to the foul line and launched a 15-foot that swished through.
The Wolfpack got the ball to half court and gave it to Harrison, who took several dribbles and launched the ball over the outstretched arms of Ricky Peral for the game winner.