2B
Friday, January 24, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tri-meet is battle of rivals
Kansas, K-State and Missouri track teams will compete
By Matt Woodruff
Kansan sportswriter
Rivals from Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri will get together in Anschutz Sports Pavilion tomorrow for a track and field showdown.
The teams will meet in Lawrence for the 1997 Tri-Meet, an event that coaches and players said was the highlight of the indoor season.
"This is kind of what track and field competition is all about," said Kansas coach Gary Schwartz. "We have a scored meet against our strongest rivals."
Schwartz, who used to be a member of the Kansas track and field team, said this meet would be special.
"It's a highlight," he said. "I know it is for
me. Maybe being a KU graduate has something to do with that, but if I was at a different school and had the chance to have a meet like this, I would do it."
Missouri coach Rick McGuire said the rivalries between the teams added to the intensity of the meet.
"Between Kansas and Missouri, there's a great rivalry," McGuire said. "I think it's a good rivalry, not a hate rivalry."
The meet will be scored differently than traditional ones. Instead of scoring the men's and women's events separately, they will be put together as a combined score.
"We set it up in a fashion that we felt would keep everyone in the meet," Schwartz said. "This meet will be more team-oriented than individual-oriented. It's all about scoring points."
K-State has had the most success since the meet's first year in 1990, winning six of the last seven meets under coach Cliff Royel.
Kansas hopes to repeat the strong showing it had in 1994, when it won the meet with 137 points, outscoring Missouri with 97 and K-State with 83.
1990-Kansas State 141, Kansas 92,
Missouri 89
Tri-meet Scoring History
1991-Kansas St at 160, Kansas
99.5, Missouri 77.5
1995-Kansas State 254, Kansas 246,
Missouri 197
1992-Kansas State 132, Kansas 117,
Missouri 80
1994-Kansas 137, Missouri 97,
Kansas State 83
1996-Kansas State 271.5, Kansas
225,Missouri 213.5
1993-Kansas State 137, Missouri 97,
Kansas 94
Missouri will be looking to crack the win column for the first time in the event's history.
we're going to try and win it," McGuire said. "I'm not sure if we can win it, but this is a big meet, and we're going to give it our best shot."
Rams butt Ortmayer
New St. Louis coach fires vice president
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Dick Vermell, coach of the St. Louis Rams for a matter of hours, fired vice president of football operations Steve Ortmayer.
Vermilil was hired Tuesday as coach and president of football operations and officially took over yesterday. He wasted no time iniring Ortmayer, who had acted as general manager since the move to St. Louis two years ago.
"The Rams are putting together a new organization, a new program," Vermell said. "There are new people bringing in new personnel."
Ortmayer took the firing in stride. "I know we've done some things that are very credible here," he told KSDK-TV. "He certainly has the right to make his own choices."
Ortmayer, 52, was responsible for the Rams' football operations, including trades and draft picks.
results have been mixed. Under Ortmayer's guidance, the Rams drafted quarterback Tony Banks and receiver Eddie Kennison in 1996, and both emerged as starters early in the season.
But he also used the No. 6 overall pick to take running back Lawrence Phillips, who struggled on the field and has run into trouble off the field.
And Ortmayer traded Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh for next to nothing. Bettis was among the NFL's leading runners this season.
The Rams were 7-9 and 6-10 during Ortmert's tenure. Coach Rich Brooks was fired in December for that performance.
Vermeil is moving quickly to assemble his staff. He already has hired Jerry Rhome as offensive coordinator, Dick Coury as wide receivers coach and Frank Gansz as special teams coach.
Commercial upsets Muslims
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he is surprised that his appearance in a beer commercial has upset some of his fellow Muslims.
The basketball great told the Los Angeles Times that he had been featured in beer advertisements throughout his NBA career and added that his latest spot in a Coors ad did not show him holding a beer. The Islam religion prohibits alcohol.
"Coors knew that I have taken a public posture of not drinking," he said. "I think it was tastefully done. ... I don't want to advocate anything that would be detrimental to anyone, but I didn't see this in that light. My whole religious stance on this was something that we brought up with the ad agency."
The Islamic Society of North America this week asked Abdul-Jabbar to renounce the television and that began running Jan. 1, showing the former Los Angeles Lakers star shooting his patented sky hook in a mountain setting with a hole in the clouds as a basketball hoop.
sayyid Syeed, secretary general of the society, had called Abdul-Jabbar's appearance in the television spot devastating and an implied endorsement of an alcoholic beverage.
AndusJabbar, a practicing Muslim, said he wished the group had contacted him privately.
Kansas baseball stadium waiting for renovations
By Harley Ratliff
Kansan sportswriter
The Board of Regents approved a $32 million renovation plan Jan. 16 to make enhancements to Allen Field House and Memorial Stadium.
Yet while the two facilities undergo construction to ensure their future quality, Hoglund-Maupin Stadium, home of the Kansas baseball team, lingers near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference in both quality and seating.
Baseball coach Bobby Randall wants that changed.
Unfortunately, those changes might be a way off.
"A lot of people associated with this university are committed to making this happen," Randall said. "People like Athletic Director Bob Frederick, Facilities Director Darren Cook, alumni, and myself are working to make sure our facilities are up to par in the Big 12."
Randall knows that winning teams are born from good players, good coaches and hard work. He also understands that other ingredients are involved in creating a successful blend. One of those ingredients is up-to-date facilities.
"It's important for two reasons — fans and recruiting," Randall said. "You need a comfortable place that suits both your fans and your players."
Looking at the top-ranked baseball teams of the Big 12 reveals just how beneficial having high-quality venues can be. Of the six teams ranked in the preseason top 40, five of them, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State all possess ton-notch baseball facilities.
texas Tech and Texas A&M baseball coaches Larry Hays and Mark Johnson attribute some of their success to having high-quality complexes. Both programs have been among the best in the nation during the last five years.
"Our stadium has helped us to get some of the better players," Hays said. "During recruiting we used to avoid taking players to our field, but now our stadium is the first place on campus we visit."
Texas Tech's Dan Law Field has a seating capacity of 5,614, a turf infield and sky boxes. An elevator is in the works.
Johnson said that having a stadium that holds more than 7,000 people, nearly six times the capacity of Hoglund-Maupin, has
"It's important for two reasons—fans and recruiting."
Bobby Randall
Kansas baseball coach'
helped Texas A&M's program build a strong fan base.
With the competition in the Big 12 expected to be intense, Randall wants to make sure that Kansas is able to stay on course with the rest of the playing field.
"Kansas State recently made plans to put around $800,000 into their ball park, and other schools have already made improvements." Randall said. "It's important to get started on ours soon."
At this point plans for stadium renovations remain in the preliminary stages. Last week, Randall attended a meeting to discuss future seating additions to the stadium and is expecting architectural drawings soon.
Besides helping to produce a successful program, Randall thinks that better facilities would give the Jayhawks a chance to bring positive exposure to the community and the University.
"We would love to have the ability to bring an NCAA regional to Lawrence," Randall said.
NCAA Baseball Regionals are played every year in the stadiums of teams that have winning records and venues that can seat many fans. In the last 10 years, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State all have been hosts to a regional. Since the inception of the regionals, Texas and Oklahoma State together have been hosts of more than 20.
"Fifty percent of teams that host their regional advance to the College World Series," Randall said. "Hosting a regional will bring more fans to the ball park."
Don't get Randall wrong — he loves his Jayhawks' home, but he knows that new facilities can improve a program.
"There is no other place I'd rather play in the world," Randall said. "I just would like to see us have a ball park that is more fan-friendly, can really boost revenue and can support a strong fan base."
Collision Specialists (913) 841-3672 call for appt. 800 E 23rd. St.
Carry-Out Special
The Best Pizza in Town Honest!
3514 Clinton Pkwy
(nort to Hy-Vee)
838-9900
One 14" Large 3-Topping Pizza
$6.99
Carry-Out only
Open 11am-9pm
Offer good only with coupon. One coupon per pizza.
Not valid with other offers. Expires 1/31/97
The Men and Women of K.U. Calendar Contests
Enter now and see if you have what it takes to be a calendar man or woman! All contestants will receive huge discounts at the following sponsor's location to get ready for the competition:
Plus all contestants will receive Limo rides to the contest. All entry forms must be returned to any of the following sponsors by February 19, 1997.
Ultimate Tan, Sun Deck, & Total Fitness Athletic Center
A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Lawrence.
Coming in March. Keep listening and watching for official dates and times.
- Bill Price Production
- Coors Light
- 105.9 'The Lazer'
- Granada
Sponsored by:
- Sun Deck
- Ultimate Tan
- Blaker Studio Royal