UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15.1997
SECTION B
Colts owner Irsay dies 13 months after stroke
INDIANAPOLIS — Robert Irsay, who in 1984 sneaked the Colts out of Baltimore in the middle of the night to Indianapolis, died yesterday, more than a year after a stroke. He was 73.
Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, died at the Indiana University Medical Center at 10:15 a.m. EST. He had been in and out of hospitals since suffering the stroke on Nov. 29. 1995.
Irsay was admitted Monday because of decreasing heart and kidney function, hospital spokeswoman Pam Perry said. His wife, Nancy, was with him when he died.
Irsay had developed pneumonia in August, forcing a 41-day stay at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He returned to his Carmel, Ind., home in September, but was hospitalized again less than two months later for a heart rhythm disorder. He came home again in mid-December.
Irsay, who was born in Chicago and made his fortune in heating and air conditioning, became owner of the Colts in 1972 in a trade with Carroll Rosenbloom for the Los Angeles Rams.
The Colts won the Super Bowl following the 1970 season and three straight AFC East titles in the mid- '70s but never managed another winning season in Baltimore.
NFL coaching positions are close to being filled
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams and the New York Giants are close to filling their vacant head coaching positions.
The St. Louis Rams plan to interview Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride for their head coaching job.
Giblride, 45, was expected to interview with the San Diego Chargers yesterday. No date has been set for the St. Louis interview.
Gilbride is a veteran of 22 years of coaching but has been in the NFL only eight years. He was quarterback coach in Houston in 1989, then served as the Oilers' offensive coordinator from 1990-92. He was promoted to assistant head coach/offense in 1993-94.
He has spent the last two seasons in Jacksonville.
The New York Post reported that the New York Giants will hire Jim Fassel, the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator, for their vacant spot.
While Giants' general manager George Young would not confirm that a decision has been made, a Giants' source told the Post that he would not try to dissuade the newspaper from reporting that Fassel was the choice.
NBA's Iverson, Marcus picked for Rookie game
NEW YORK — Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Toronto's Marcus Camby, the first and second picks in last year's NBA draft, were among 16 players selected to play in the league's Rookie Game to be held Feb. 8 at Cleveland.
Iverson and Camby will be joined on the Eastern Conference team by Ray Allen of Milwaukee, Kerry Kittles of New Jersey, Antoine Walker of Boston, John Wallace of New York, Erick Dampier of Indiana and Vitaly Potapenko of Cleveland.
Vancouver's Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Minnesota's Stephon Marbury, the third and forth draft picks, will lead the Western Conference team. Their teammates will include Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Samalad Walker of Dallas, Matt Maloney of Houston, Steve Nash of Phoenix, Travis Knight of the Lakers and Roy Rogers of Vancouver.
Hall of Famers Red Auerbach and Red Holzman will coach the East and West teams, respectively.
The game, sponsored by Schick, will be played in two 15-minute halves.
The Associated Press
Kansas Earl's first choice
LSU transfer complicated
By Bill Petulla
Kansan sportswriter
No. 1 Kansas defeated No. 8 Iowa State 80-67 Monday night, but the big news concerning the future of the Jayhawks sat about three feet from the court.
Lester Earl, a Parade high school All-American last season, confirmed that he has decided to transfer from Louisiana State to
Kansas. Earl, who sat courtside on Monday night, was dismissed from the LSU basketball team earlier this month.
In an interview conducted by the Associated Press yesterday, Earl claimed that Kansas was his first choice.
According to LSU men's basketball coach Dale Brown, however, Earl's transferring process may not run as smoothly as the 6-foot-9 freshman center may want.
"It was not my own decision to go to LSU in the first place," Earl said. "My family and everyone around me encouraged me to go there. Kansas is where I wanted to go in the first place."
"Lester Earl has not been released from LSU and he will not be released until he fulfills what we had discussed in my office." Brown said.
Brown added that the terms that he and Earl had discussed were of a private nature. In his weekly talk show on Monday, Brown said that he hadn't spoken to Earl in four days.
If LSU grants Earl a release, he would be eligible to play the spring semester of 1998, competing as a junior. If LSU denies him a release, Earl would have to sit two years and would gain eligibility as senior status in January 1999.
For now, Earl can practice with
the team but not play on game days. On his radio show last night, Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said that he looked forward to getting Earl on the court and letting his players practice with him.
The transfer process was kept out of the media spotlight until Monday night. Williams said the media attention that traditionally surrounds potential recruits would have hampered Kansas' chances to gain Earl.
"The thing that I'm most proud of is that we kept it quiet without all of you guys bugging us to death," Williams said. "The attention that you [the media] bring us in recruiting does hurt us."
Brown dismissed Earl from the team for a violation of team rules on Jan. 4. The violations included missing practice and abruptly leaving the team.
In 11 of LSU's first 14 games, Earl started in six and averaged 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Although it is not certain which party initially contacted the other in the transfer process, Brown said that he holds no animosity toward Williams.
"Roy Williams is not to blame in this situation," Brown said. "I have talked to Roy, and he is not to blame."
Injured Lynn Pride bounces back
G. R. Gordon-Ross / KANSAN
Lynn Pride, Arlington, Texas freshman participates in wind sprints at basketball practice. Pride is recovering from a knee injury she suffered earlier this season.
Sprained knee should be better by Texas game
By Tommy Gallagher Kansan sportswriter
After missing four games because of a sprained right knee, freshman forward Lynn Pride may play longer when No. 11 Kansas plays No. 16 Texas Saturday.
Pride has played 24 minutes during the past two games, scoring four points against Iowa State and seven points against Baylor. She now wears a protective brace on her injured knee that will come off next week.
"I'm 95 percent back, and the brace will come off soon," Pride said. "I want to play more minutes Saturday, but it all depends what coach wants to do."
Tim Eatman, Kansas assistant basketball coach, said the coaches were not sure of how much Pride would play Saturday.
"She started to practice with the team last week and now she is day to day," Eatman said. "We are not looking for her to play an entire game because that would be too much to ask of Lynn. But we're hoping we can have her full speed against Texas."
Kansas head basketball coach Marian Washington said Pride now had enough strength in her knee to play long stretches in games and that she appeared to have recovered from the injury.
With the injury almost passed,
Washington said that Pride was now focused on making progress on the court.
"Lynn is a young athlete that wants to be successful," Washington said. "Sometimes she gets down on herself when she makes mistakes, but she works hard to improve on her weaknesses. She is working herself into our system on offense and defense, and she has been more aggressive when she steps on the court."
Pride injured her knee during a team practice several days before Kansas 85-64 loss at Connecticut Dec. 21. Pride missed games against Buffalo, St. Joseph's and Kansas State, but she said that the injury only helped to develop her game.
"The injury was a good thing, because it allowed me to see what I need to do and what I need to work on," Pride said. "There were times when I was watching the games and thinking that I could make some plays and help our team. Since I was prepared for the injury, I was able to handle sitting out pretty well."
As a senior at Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas, Pride suffered a broken bone in her hand and missed the final five games of her senior year. She averaged 19.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a senior.
Pride earned All-America honors her senior season from USA Today, Street & Smith and Parade Magazine. She was recruited by Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana Tech and Texas Tech, all of which are ranked 14th or higher nationally.
On coming to Kansas for her college career, Pride said, "I wanted to come to a school where the program was building and not already built."
Tennis team finishes turnover places UNC-Charlotte coach
Former college rival hires Stan Cocke, fills assistant position
By Tommy Gallagher Kansan sportswriter
Last semester featured new women's and men's head tennis coaches, Roland Thronqvist and Mark Riley, respectively, and the relocation of assistant coach Frank Polito. The turnover ended with Cocke's hiring.
The turnover in the Kansas tennis program may have finally come to an end when Stan Cocke was hired last month as the assistant women's tennis coach.
"Certainly having a full-staffed tennis program would be a great benefit to everyone," said Amy Perko, assistant athletic director. "Having assistant coaches for Mark and Roland is extremely important for us to maintain the well-respected tennis program we have here at Kansas."
He lettered in tennis four years at UNC-Charlotte, leaving the school as the No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles player of all time. Cocke was the team's No. 1 ranked singles player the last three years of his collegiate career.
Cocke, 26, spent his entire career at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before coming to Kansas.
Cocke played and coached against Thornqvist, a former North Carolina Tar Heel. It was Thornqvist who hired him at Kansas.
"I knew who he was from my days back in Carolina, but we never met until I interviewed for the position last month," Cocke said. "I saw the opening over the internet at the NCAA web site, sent my resume, interviewed and got the job."
Cocke played professional club tennis in Germany and, in 1993, was part of the tandem that captured the United States Amateur doubles title. He played in Germany during the summer months and lived in the United States the rest of the year.
Shortly after his professional
career ended, Cocke became the interim men's head tennis coach at UNC-Charterle. He led his team to an 8-11 record last spring.
Cocke, like Thornqvist, believes that being young helps him relate to the players as a coach on and off the court.
Most of Cocke's family remains in North Carolina. He is single and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from UNC-Charlotte in economics.
While he might be able to relate to his players, Cocke has yet to grow accustomed to moving. He had lived in North Carolina his entire life before he moved to Lawrence last week.
"I think that if you have a good relationship with your players, they will respond much better to you on the court — about academics, problems or whatever it is." Cooke said.
"I've traveled a lot, but I've never picked up and moved before." Cocke said. "I was excited to move and get settled in, but the transition has been made easier because everyone has been nice and they have accepted me."
Steve Puppe / KANSAN
Stan Cocke was hired as the assistant women's tennis coach Dec. 17. Cocke previously played and coached tennis at UNC-Charlotte.