SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
---
Tuesday, October 5, 1993
9
Victory helps Jayhawks garner Big Eight honors
Doug Hesse / KANSAN
Preston, Davis players of week
By Matt Doyle
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas swept the Big Eight Conference player of the week honors this week with junior quarterback Asheli Preston earning the offensive award and junior linebacker Don Davis taking the defensive honor.
Preston, who made his debut as a collegiate starter Saturday against Colorado State, completed 12 of 14 passes for 164 yards. He directed touchdown drives of 51, 79 and 52 yards in helping the Jayhawks to a 24-3 victory against the Rams.
Kansas coach Glen Mason said that Preston's effort against Colorado State was benefited by a better performance by the supporting cast. The result was a better offensive performance.
Preston, though, said that he would not have given himself a high grade for his performance against Colorado State.
"I made some mistakes that I shouldn't have to grade." Preston said. "If I were to grade myself, I'd give myself a B-minus or a C-plus. Hopefully, I can get into the 'A' range."
Senior center Dan Schmidt said Preston's presence brought a spark to the Kansas offense, which had averaged 261 yards and 15 points a game in its three games against Division I-A opponents this year. Before Saturday's victory, the only Jayhawk victory came against Division I-A Western Carolina.
"The biggest thing that gave us a spark was his actions," Schmidt said. "When you don't throw the ball out of bounds or overthrow somebody, and pull the ball in and run for the first down, that's what sparked us. Even if one little spot breaks down, Asheki continues and gets the first down for us."
Because of injuries on the Kansas defensive line, the Jayhawks switched from a 4-3 defensive front alignment to a 3-4 defensive front alignment.
Davis thrived in the makeshift alignment. He recorded 11 tackles, four of which went for negative yardage, with one sack and a forced fumble.
"Don Davis had a tremendous day," Mason said. "He made a lot of plays and was very active."
The defensive alignment switch helped the outside linebackers. They combined for four sacks of Colorado State quarterbacks Anthony Hill and Erich Prahl Junior Harold Harris had
Right, Kansas quarterback Ashei Preston looks for an open player during the game against Utah. Preston, Big Eight Conference offensive player of the week, made 12 of 14 passes for 164 yards in Saturday's 24-3 victory against Colorado State. Above, Kansas outside linebacker Don Davis tackles Colorado State quarterback Anthony Hill for a loss. Davis was voted Big Eight Conference defensive player of the week.
two sacks, and junior Terrence Sullivan had one sack.
"We switched defenses to utilize the speed we have on the edges," Davis said. "The outside linebackers played more like defensive ends in this setup."
Davis and the rest of the outside linebackers had the biggest adjustments to make in the new defensive alignment, said defensive coordinator Bob Fello.
"We just looked at what we had available," Fello said. "The players did a tremendous job knowing what to do."
Susan McSpadden / KANSAN
The Associated Press
By Craig Horst
Royals on a path of change after poor offensive season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While many teams scored runs at record numbers this season, the Kansas City Royals crossed home plate like turtles who seemed to prefer warming themselves in the summer sun on the basepaths.
Analysts looking to disprove that bit of baseball lore that decreases good defense and good pitching win pennants need only to look at the 1993 Royals.
The Royals, who finished third with an 84-78 record, proved you have to score, too. Their 675 runs averaged out to 4.2 runs a game.
"If the guys can only score some runs ... was manager Mal McRae's lament throughout the season. The variation being, "If we can get some offense, we'll be all right."
Kansas City's top run producer was George Brett with 75 - and he retired to join the front office.
That was the biggest of what likely will be many changes that general manager Herk Robinson and McRae face this winter.
If there ever was a franchise in transition, this is it.
Owner Ewing Kauffman died Aug. 1 and — along with the loss of one of the most decent men this world will ever know — the Royals' organization lost his blank check.
In its 25th anniversary season, one of the most successful expansion franchises ever lost both its owner and its defining player.
More changes are likely as Robinson and the new five-man board of directors running the team as part of Kauffman's succession plan try to deal with a $40 million payroll.
Deal with it by cutting it.
The Royals failed to draw 2 million fans for the second successive season. Their hit from lost television revenue will be harder to take than many as they struggle to operate in one of the smallest markets in the majors.
The Big Need; a Big RBI Man.
The Big Problem: They can't afford one.
Kansas City didn't want to make the necessary offer to keep Danny Tartabull in 1991. Sure, Tartabull is a liability in the outfield, but he always has produced runs.
The Royals have courted Joe Carter for two successive seasons but could not make him an offer that he couldn't refuse.
Robinson traded a two-time Cy Young Award winner to the Mets for Kevin McReynolds, Keith Miller and Gregg Jefferies. The trade didn't work out well for either team.
And so Robinson, who is completing his third year in his current position, and McRae, finishing his second full year, will try to find a new direction after the big Bret Berhagen trade that by all measures must be judged a failure.
McReynolds was supposed to be the RBI-man of the bunch, but had just 42 this season. Miller has been hurt two years and went to the plate just 108 times this season.
Dolphins take the Redskins 17-10
The Associated Press
With Brett gone, so is the only holdover from the 1985 championship team.
The Redskins lost their third game in a row and fell to 1-3 for the first time since 1985. They've never made the playoffs after such a start.
MIAMI — At the outset, it looked like a rout After just two possessions, Miami led Washington by two touchdowns.
A team in transition.
The Dolphins improved to 3-1, and Shula came within three victories of George Halas' NFLrecord of 324.
It didn't work out that way at all.
The Dolphins scored three points the rest of the way, and their 17-10 victory last night over the Redskins wasn't safe until the final minute.
"We let them get back into the game," Miami coach Don Shula said. "After the two quick touchdowns, we didn't get much done after that. It was disappointing that we didn't build on that 14-zip lead we had."
Dan Marino hit Tony Martin with an 80-yard touchdown pass on the game's third play, and Mark Higgs scored on a 1-yard run on Miami's second possession.
Marino also directed a time-consuming fourth-quarter drive for a field goal, but the victory wasn't secure until Troy Vincent intercepted a Rich Gannon pass at the Washington 44-vard line with 59 seconds left.
"This team has a lot of fight and a lot of composition to turn it around," said Gannon, who came off the bench to throw for Washington's only touchdown.
Miami limited the Redskins to 10 yards in the first quarter and stopped them twice in the final three minutes.
"They were 1-2, but they're a great ballclub," Vincent said. "To beat a team like this is a big step for us."
"We're stopping ourselves and not making plays," Marino said, "but we've gotten it done when we've had to."
Marino caught Washington in a blitz on the first series and flipped a pass to Martin, who made the catch at the Miami 35 and sprinted to the end zone chased by three defenders, including Carter.
The completion was Marino's longest in nearly five years.
"That's what has been killing us — big plays in the passing game," Washington coach Richie Petitbon said. "It's been our downfall this year."
NHL prepares to open season with a team in Dallas
The Associated Press
The NHL season opens tonight with a debut at Dallas and a renewal of rivalries in Philadelphia and New York.
The eyes of Texas will be on the transplanted Dallas Stars as they play the Detroit Red Wings in their first official NHL game at Reunion Arena.
If a recent exhibition game is any barometer, the Stars probably will fill the building — 15,452 showed up for a preseason contest against the Los Angeles Kings. Reunion Arena seats 16,814.
The most interested person in the arena will be Norm Green, who moved his Minnesota North Stars to Dallas because of what he claimed was nonsupport in the Minneapolis area. Green's move inspired "Norm Greed" T-shirts in Minneapolis and
the North Stars' owner was called a "carpetbagger."
The NHL was not happy to see one of its teams leave the northern exposure of Minneapolis, but the move to Dallas suited the league in another way.
The NHL hopes to make hockey more than just a regional team. Of the five most recent expansion teams, four have been in Sunbeam areas: the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Mighty Ducks in California and the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers in Florida. With Dallas joining the group, which also includes the Los Angeles Kings, the NHL now features six teams in warm-weather sites.
and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Philadelphia Flyers. The New York Islanders play at Calgary in the other opening night game.
Meanwhile, two traditional rivalries will be among the four games opening the season, with Boston at the New York Rangers
The Flyers and Penguins are meeting for the 163rd time in a rivalry that compares in intensity, if not in longevity, to the Bruins and Rangers. The Flyers lead the series 91-48-23, but the Penguins have dominated in the past two years with a 10-1-3 record.
The Rangers and Bruins, two of the league's original six teams, have played 556 times in their storied rivalry with Boston holding a 254-209-93 advantage.
Mario Lemieux, beset with back problems, will not be in uniform for the Penguins tonight. But Eric Lindros will play for Philadelphia. He is the franchise player for a rebuilding Flyers team bent on restoring
its glory years of the '70s and '80s.
The Rangers, meanwhile, would like to restore some dignity to their franchise, which has not won the Stanley Cup since 1940.
John Gamble/ KANSAN
John Gamble / RANSAN Matt Gogel takes a swing during practice at Alvamar Country Club. Gogel won the Topy Cup last week in Japan.
It is hoped that Keenan will bring discipline to an enigmatic team that finished out of the playoffs last season after winning the President's Trophy the year before.
Enter Mike Keenan, the team's newest coach.
"You will see a lot of second effort and third effort from this club," said Keenan, who has led both the Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks into the Stanley Cup finals.
Keenan is looking for "a good mix of talent, experience and discipline. Sixty minutes every night — that's what the fans pay to see."
Golfer wins Japanese tournament
Gogel took first place in the three-round tournament in Fusukushima Prefecture, Japan. He shot a score of 214, which was 2 under par for the tournament. He defeated S. Katayama of Japan's Nihon University by three strokes.
Kansas senior golfer Matt Goger increased his stature in a sport seen as a luxury by the Japanese when he won the Tony Cup in Janan last week.
Gogel takes home first-place Topy Cup
By Kent Hohlfeld
Kansas sportwriter
Gogel golfed two rounds of 71 and followed it up with a final round of 72 on the par 72 Tanagura Country Club course.
Kansan sportswriter
"The last day was very windy so I knew that any score around par would win," Gogel said.
Gogel said that he was impressed with the level of competition in the tournament. Japan's Nihon University took first place in the tournament, followed by Kent State. Kansas placed third in the 15-team tournament.
Gogel's performance was one of the few bright spots for what Coach Ross Randall called a disappointing team effort. Senior Casey Brozek finished 22nd out of 77 golfers with a score of 232, senior John Hess finished 23rd with a score of 233, junior Tom Sims finished 41st, and senior Jeff Moeller finished 52nd.
Randall said that he was concerned about his senior-dominated team even though it was early in the season.
Randall refused to blame the team's play on the trip, which included a 28-hour plane ride followed by a six-hour bus ride from Tokyo to Fuskushima Prefecture, approximately 180 miles west of Japan.
"These guys are seniors, and you want them to play their best their senior year," said Randall.
"There was a constant traffic jam," Randal said "What was a 3½-hour ride turned into a six-hour bus trip."
Hess said that the long trip had nothing to do with the way the team played.
"We weren't distracted at all," Hess said.
There were bright spots for the Jayhawks. Hess said that the team enjoyed a
wide scope of activities while in Japan. Those activities ranged from conducting a putting clinic at the country club to visiting the open-air markets of Tokyo.
Hess said that while the rural area around the country club was similar to small-town life in the United States, Tokyo was more like New York.
"We were awed by the amount of people in Tokyo," Hess said. "People were in more of a hurry there."
Hess said visiting the city of more than eight million residents was an interesting experience. He said the team rode one of the city's subways to the shopping district.
Despite the team's finish he said he was glad the team took the trip.
"Once you got out of downtown it wasn't that crowded." Randall said.
Randall said one of the first things the team wanted to do when it reached Tokyo was to eat at McDonald's. He said the team had missed fast food while in the rural area of Fuskushima. Randall said one of the most astonishing things he noticed was the city's cleanliness.
"It's something we'll never forget," Randall said.
SPORTS BRIEFS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Hancock leaves Indiana State
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Darrin Hancock, a starter at Kansas who transferred to Indiana State in August, has withdrawn from school to play professional basketball in Greece.
The 6-foot-6 Hancock averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game last season for the Jayhawks after two years at Garden City Community College, where he was national junior college player of the year as a sophomore.
"I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to linger on it." Indiana State coach Tates Locke said yesterday. "He probably was as good a player as I would have had the chance to coach. We took a shot at it, but he has some personal problems, and we weren't in a position to help. He's a good kid. I'm really sorry it didn't work out."
Hancock left campus two weeks ago and was officially withdrawn from classes last Friday. His agent, Gary Eber, told the coaching staff yesterday that he had signed with a team in Greece.
PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL
PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL Royals replace pitching coach
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals pitching coach Guy Hansen, who clashed with manager Hal McRae, was relieved of his duties yesterday.
Bruce Kison, who had been bullpole coach, was named pitching coach by McRae, who recently signed a one-year contract for next season. Jamie Quirk, who had been a part-time coach, was named bullpole coach.
All other coaches were retained. Glenn Ezell will be back for a sixth season as bench coach; Lee May will coach first base and be hitting instructor for a third season, and Steve Boros will be third base coach for a second year.
"McRae and Hansen had philosophical differences," general manager Herk Robinson said. "Guy feels he has made a lot progress as a pitching coach, and he has. But as everybody knows, a manager and a pitching coach have to work very closely together, and we felt it was in everybody's best interest to make a change."
Hansen was offered a scouting position.
Hansen had been a scout for the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau and for the Royals and Baltimore Orioles before becoming pitching coach,
Compiled by The Associated Press