ROYALS SIGN HANEY
The Kansas City Royals said yesterday they signed left-handed pitcher CHRIS HANEY to a one-year contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
Terms of the deal were not released.
Haney, 28, had his best big-league season in
1996, going 10-14 with a 4.70 ERA in 35
starts. He had career highs in victories, starts (35), innings pitched (228) and strikeouts (115) and led the American League in fewest walks per nine innings (2).
His lifetime record is 31-42. Two other Royals, outfielder Tom Goodwin and pitcher Doug Linton are still eligible for arbitration.
INJURY SIDELINES MISSOURI GUARD
Missouri guard JEFF HAFER will miss at least two weeks after injuring his wrist in practice. The university said yesterday that Hafer sprained his left, or nonshooting, wrist
on Monday. He did not play in Tuesday night's loss at Texas & AM.
Haver may return Feb. 15, when Missouri plays against Oklahoma.
CHAMBERS RETURNS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31. 1997
The Charlotte Hornets reached into the NBA's retirement ranks yesterday and signed 37-year-old TOM CHAMBERS to bolster their injury-depleted frontcourt.
Chambers, the NBA's 24th all-time leading scorer, with 20,024 points in 14 seasons, signed a contract yesterday morning to play for the Hornets for the rest of the season. Terms
were not released.
Chambers, a four-time All-Star,
left the NBA after the 1994-95
season and played last year in
Europe before retiring.
The 6-foot-10, 230-pound Chambers had been working out with the Phoenix Suns in recent weeks in preparation for a return to the league.
SECTION B
Agent tries to put Rodman back on the Bulls' court
vegotiations to return Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls have started. Rodman's agent, Dwight Manley.
Rodman's agent, Dwight Manley.
said he met Wednesday with league officials and representatives of the NBA players union. Rodman was suspended 11 games and lost the equivalent of more than $1.1 million in pay for kicking courtside
cameraman Eugene Amos on Jan. 16 in Minneapolis. Rodman has missed six games.
The players union has said that the punishment was too severe and that something should be done to limit courtside cameras and photographers at games.
Last week, President Clinton said in a televised interview that Rodman should admit he was wrong and shape up.
Rodman also was fined $25,000 by the league, and he has agreed to pay a $200,000 out-of-court settlement to Amos.
Bowe becomes a member of U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
hiddick Bowe, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, has joined the U.S. Marine Corps Rescue
johnen said at a news conference yesterday that he would continue to fight but that being a Marine "is something I've always wanted to do, and I thought I'd do it before I got too old."
Bowe, 29, said he joined last Monday in Washington. He will have to attend three months of boot camp at Paris Island, S.C., and then will be an active reserve for three years. He reports to boot camp Feb. 10.
"When I complete boot camp, I'll resume my boxing career," Bowe said.
Manager Rock Newman said Bowe would fight again this year.
A statement released by the Marine Corps recruiting command in Washington said Bowe would be assigned to a Marine Corps reserve unit in Washington, D.C., when he has finished training.
That assignment will entail attending monthly meetings and two weeks of summer camp for three years. Bowe then will remain on-call for five years.
Deion Sanders will play for Reds and Cowboys
The agreement marks Sanders' second tour of duty with the Reds and a resumption of his baseball career. Cincinnati traded the center fielder to the San Francisco Giants in 1995.
Delon Sanders will resume his dual baseball-football career. He agreed yesterday to return to the Cincinnati Reds this season.
Sanders said he would continue playing football for the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he signed a $35 million deal in 1995.
"I plan on playing the full season with the Cincinnati Reds," he said.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones agreed to allow Sanders to play baseball again, Reds general manager Jim Bowden said.
"We're very proud to announce that we have brought Deion Sanders back to baseball, where he belongs." Bowden said.
Sanders said his love for Cincinnati affected his decision. "This is the only team truly in baseball that I have felt like it was父亲," he said.
The Associated Press
'Hawks beat Raiders
By Tommy Gallagher Kansan sportswriter
With a dominant defense in the first half and an overwhelming offense in the second, No. 12 Kansas defeated No. 11 Texas Tech 69-52 last night at Allen Field House.
Guard Tamekea Dixon scored a game-high 24 points along with six assists, four steals, four rebounds and one blocked shot.
"We tried to pressure them on defense, play with intensity and get in the passing lane a little more," Dixon said. "We got some easy opportunities and got some easy steals. We were able to play transi-tion basketball, and that was the difference in the game."
The Jayhawks (15-3 overall, 6-1 in the Big 12 Conference) took command of the game early, leading 19-9 less than 10 minutes into the game.
the game.
Forwards Lynn Pride and Jennifer Trapp and centers Nakia Sanford and Patience Grayer were able to control the inside game of Texas Tech forward Alicia Thompson throughout most of the game, forcing Thompson to settle for perimeter shots. She connected on only 7 of 23 field-goal attempts on the night.
Thompson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for the game. Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said the defense could have been better in the second half.
the defense could have been it."
"I thought in the first half we did a good defensive job on [Thompson]," Washington said. "We started to play behind her, and I thought that really helped. When we didn't, they went back to the up-and-over, and that cost us some easy buckets. In the second half, she had to work that much harder for her points, and that's what it's all about."
Kansas stretched its lead to 27-9 with less than five minutes before the half, when the Red Raiders made a run.
ing by only seven points, 51-24.
The Red Raiders (13-5 overall, 5-3 in the Big 12) cut the lead to 38-
33 early in the second half, but Kansas answered with two three-
point shots by guard Angie Halbleib.
Red Raider guard Cara Gibbs scored seven consecutive points, cutting the deficit to 11 points. Texas Tech went into halftime trailing by only seven points. 31-24.
Halbleib, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds, had been sick with the flu the last two games.
GR Gordon-Ross / KANSAN
"I had a lot more energy and a lot more adrenaline than in the last game." Halibble said. "It was tough the past two games for me. I've never been sick all season, so I didn't know how to be sick and still put all the aspects of my game together. It's nice to feel good again."
The Red Raiders shot 32 percent for the game, including 29 percent in the second half.
Texas Tech guard Rene Hanebutt shot poorly, going 1-for-6 from the three-point line in the first half. She was 3-for-12 in the game, with 11 of those shots from behind the three-point line.
Kansas will play Nebraska at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. The game will be televised locally by Fox Sports Mountain, Channel 45.
The Cornhuskers (16-1 overall, 6-1 in the Big 12), are one spot removed from a top-25 ranking. They defeated Iowa State on the road last night, 76-52.
Kansas and Nebraska are tied for second in the Big 12. They are one-half game behind No. 10 Texas, which is 7-1 in the Big 12.
Kansas center Nakia Sanford shoots the ball over Texas Tech's Crystal Boles. Sanford finished one point shy of a double-double, with 9 points and 10 rebounds. For more photos, see page 10B.
Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn slashes to the basket during the Jayhawks' victory against Texas Tech Wednesday night in Lubbock, Texas. Kansas plays Nebraska tomorrow in Allen Field House and will defend its reign as the No. 1 team in the nation.
'Hawks looking for next victory
By Bill Petulla
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas trailed Cincinnati and Texas Tech by 16 points and Connecticut by 17 in the first half. Yet the durable Jayhawks have gone on to win each game.
Refuse to lose.
kansas (21-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big 12 Conference) will take its determined attitude onto the floor when it plays Nebraska (11-8 overall, 3-4 in the big 12) at 3:05 p.m. tomorrow at Allen Field House.
That could be the motto for the Kansas men's basketball team this season. After all, the Jayhawks have chuckled in the face of adversity all season.
Despite being a superior team statistically, Kansas will not be taking the Cornhuskers lightly. Forward Paul Pierce said that with a 21-0 record, the Jayhawks are marked men.
"That's the way it is," Pierce said. "We've been No. 1, and everybody's going to come after us. We're going to get everyone's best shot at home and on the road."
The Jayhawks come into tomorrow's game fresh off a 23 point turnaround Wednesday against Texas Tech. Pierce netted 16 points — all in the second half — and forward Raef LaFrentz scored 21 points.
Last week, LaFrentz turned in performances of 18 points against Texas A&M and 21 against Colorado. These efforts earned him the Big 12 Player
"They've got a great ball club." Dickey said. "They're well-coached, they play well together and they've got great confidence. They deserve to be No. 1."
Texas Tech men's basketball coach James Dickey praised Kansas as one of the premier teams in the country after Kansas defeated the Raiders 86-77.
of the Week, and he was selected as college basketball analyst Dick Viteau's PTE'er — Prime Time Player.
The Cornhuskers' season, however, hasn't been going as smoothly. Nebraska has dropped its last three games to Missouri, Oklahoma and Iowa State respectively.
The Cornhuskers are led on the court by guard Tyronn Lue. Lue leads the Cornhuskers in scoring with 17.8 points per game. Center Mikd Moore brings an experienced presence underneath for the Nebraska lineup. Moore is averaging 8.4 rebounds and 11.8 points per game.
Although focusing on Nebraska will be the first priority for the Jayhawks, also at stake for Kansas is a 61-year-old record for the best start of a Jayhawk team. The 1935-36 team posted a Kansas all-time best start with a 21-0 mark before losing to Utah State.
Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said he put no emphasis on breaking the record.
"The only time I talk about it is when the media asks me," Williams said. "We don't talk about the record."
Woodard to play pro basketball
Kansan sportswriter
Former Kansas forward Lynette Woodard did not have an opportunity to play professional basketball in the United States when she graduated 16 years ago. She now will take
By Tommy Gallagher
Vancouver sportswriter
full advantage of the Women's National Basketball League
Woodard, 36,
and Nancy
Lieberman-
Cline, 37, who
works for Fox
Sports
as women's basketball analyst,
signed contracts with the WNBA yesterday to play in its inaugural season this summer. The league begins play on June 21.
Lynette Woodard
"I always wanted to play in a professional basketball league in the United States that I could be a part of," Woodard said. "Right now, I really don't have words for it. I guess dreams really do come true."
When Woodard graduated in 1981, she left as the highest scorer in Kansas history. Woodard earned All-America honors all four seasons she played. She remains NCAA's top female scorer and is the Jayhawks' top scorer ever — both men's and women's— with 3,649 career points.
She was the first woman to be inducted into the Kansas Athletic Hall of Fame and was selected Big Eight Conference Player of the Decade for the 1980s.
"I might be more of a scorer now than I was back then," Woodard said. "When I was in college, I always hoped that I could make a basket. Now that I have played professional basketball, I know I can make a basket."
Woodard was a member of the 1980 and 1984 Olympic teams and was the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1985. She toured with the Globetrotters for two years before playing in Italy (1987-1990) and Japan (1990-1992).
Woodard now works as vice president of marketing for Magna Securities in New York City. Although Woodard said she never thought of playing professionally again, she said she followed the creation of the new women's leagues after the U.S. Olympic team won gold last summer.
"After watching the way they won the gold last summer, I knew they would rekindle something," Woodard said. "After I read some articles and talked to some sportswriters, I decided to gather more information about the league. Now I'm here and ready to play."
Lieberman-Cline, a guard who played at Old Dominion, was a three-time All-America selection and was part of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last Mav.
Lieberman-Cline played three seasons in the United States Basketball League from 1986 to 1988. She played for the Long Island Knights and the Springfield Flames.
"I hoped that it would have been easier for me to play basketball because of the physical differences between men and women," Lieberman-Cline said of her days in the USBL. "I would make a nice move past my defender, but some 6-foot-9 guy would block my shot."
Lieberman-Cline said that the American Basketball League, a league similar to the WNBA, had made her an offer to play in October. She was offered $125,000 to be the top player for the New England Blizzard, which had lost forward Rebecca Lobo to the WNBA.
Although WNBA president Val Ackerman declined to comment on how much league players would earn, she said player salaries would be significantly lower than those of the ABL.