NFL REPORT
Atlanta Falcons cornerback NATE ODOMES was charged with drunken driving yesterday after a car crash in which he sustained a concussion. Coach June Jones gave a grim report on Odomes' condition after visiting him at the hospital, but team officials later said the player was treated and released. He also had cuts and bruises. "He was slapping in and out (of conscious-
SPORTS
shipping in and out of (or between) ness)," Jones said. The crash
occurred in the suburbs north of Atlanta. Odomes' 1991 Porsche left the road and hit a tree about 7:20 a.m., said Lt. Joyce A. Vaughan of Fulton County police. Odoms was also charged with three traffic violations, she said.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
THE WIZ are now the Wizards. Kansas City's Major League Soccer franchise is changing its name after an East Coast electronics retailer, Nobody Beats the Wiz, raised questions about
trademark rights to the name "Wiz" and its promotional use, general manager Tim Latta said. Potential trademark infringement is the sole reason for the change, Latta said.
BASKETBALL UPDATE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19. 1996
The opening weekend of the COLLEGE BASKETBALL season had quite an effect on this week's rankings. Kentucky, the defending national champion, dropped from third to eighth after losing to Clemson in overtime The Classic on Friday but the Tigers used the 79-71 victory to jump from 20th to 12th. But Cincinnati easily remained No. 1 after receiving most of the
first-place votes that had gone to Kentucky in the preseason poll. The Bearcats had 47 No. 1 votes and 1,669 points, well ahead of Kansas, which stayed second with 16 first-place votes and 1,598 points. See 2B for the entire Associated Press poll.
SECTION B
Kansas divers, swimmers take third place in Georgia
The Kansas men's and women's swimming and diving teams both finished third overall in the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga., last weekend, competing against some of the top teams in the country.
"In a meet like this, everybody's tough," said Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf. "Georgia is unbelievable. They're one of the top five teams in the nation."
Seven teams competed in the threed invitational on the men's side and eight competed on the women's s.
Georgia won both the men's and women's meets by a large margin, but Kansas finished third, after Georgia and Florida State.
In the 1650-meter freestyle, Eric Jorgensen finished first with a time of 15:13.06, one-hundredth of a second faster than his career best. Tyler Painter finished 89 hundredths of a second behind Jorgensen but was 42 seconds ahead of the third place competitor.
Seniors Rebecca Andrew and Nicole Paplham finished second and third, respectively, in the 100-meter freestyle. Sophomore Adrienne Turner won the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:01.84.
Softball team signs two players for next season
The Kansas softball team has announced the signing of two new players, Heather Chambers and Lezil Leathers, for next season's squad.
"She can play third base, second and even some outfield," Bunge said "Her versatility and defense are her strongest points."
Chambers, a senior at Turner High School in Kansas City, Kan., hit .321 with 43 runs her junior year. Kansas softball coach Tracy Bunge is looking for strong defense and versatility from Chambers.
"She brings power," Bunge said. "She provides depth at catcher as well as middle infield."
Leathers is a senior at Stroud High School in Stroud, Okla. In her junior season, she hit .571 with 13 home runs, 77 RBI and 58 runs in just 75 at bats.
The signees will help out next year after the spring-season departure of senior Heather Richins, Bunge said. Chambers and Leathers will compete for Richins' second base position.
—Kansan staff report
Rison reduces receptions so Jaguars release him
JACKSONVILLE, Fia. — For the second time in five months, Andre Rison is looking for work.
Rison, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to boost the team's passing game, was released yesterday for what coach Tom Coughlin described as lack of performance.
"Something had to be done and we did it," Coughlin said. "I think it's time we get the arrow pointed in the right direction again."
The Baltimore Ravens, who signed Rison to a five-year, $17 million contract last year, released him in a salary move. The Jajuars signed him the day before training camp started.
Rison never resembled the receiver who caught at least 80 passes a year in five straight seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.
After leaving Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Rison said, "I had a nice time, met a lot of nice people."
He was third among Jacksonville receivers with 34 receptions for 458 yards and only two touchdowns, both in a 28-25 overtime loss at New England two months ago.
The Associated Press
Coughlin said, "From the position I'm in, looking at performance is all I can evaluate. If the message be that you perform the way you're being paid, then so be it."
Kansas defeats Converse
By Evan Blackwel
Kansan sportswriter
By Evan Blackwell
In its final warm-up before the start of the regular season on Friday, the Kansas men's basketball team got a preview of what it'll face once the games count for real.
The Jayhawks overcame an experienced and talented Converse All-Stars team 115-81 for their second exhibition victory last night. Kansas opens the regular season on Fridays at Santa Clara.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said Converse provided more of a challenge than the Jayhawks' first win against Geelong, Australia.
Men's team overpowers foe 115-81
Kansas junior forward Raef LaFrentz slams the ball over Converse All-Star defenders. LaFrentz scored 24 points and had three blocks in the Jawahri 115-81 victory last night in Allen Field House.
"I think we got more out of it, and that's the whole deal." he said.
Kansas guard Jerod Haase said the ability and quickness that Converse offered was a step up from the normal exhibition game.
"The athleticism is something that we'll see in the Big 12." Haase said. "It's that kind of athleticism combined with the fact that the guys had been playing together for quite a while."
Kansas point guard Ryan Robert
son faced a challenge from the Converse group of guards that included former Nebraska guard Jamar Johnson and former Pittsburgh guard Jerry McCullough. Robertson finished with eight assists and three turnovers while harassing McCullough into a 1-for-10 performance from the field.
"He had his hands full with Jamar and Jerry McCullough coming at him with the speed they had tonight." Williams said.
Robertson said that he knew the challenge he faced going into last night and that he felt like he answered the call.
"McCullough is very quick, and he tried to drive the ball but I think we did a good job of shutting it off," Robertson said. "We've really been working hard on doubling the baseline drive."
Kansas blew open a tight game in the last five minutes of the first half. Converse stayed close to the Jayhawks, thanks in large part to the perimeter shooting of Johnson, who bombed away for 20 points on five of six shooting from three-point range in the half.
Leading 48-43 with about four
minutes left in the first half, Kansas went on a 12-3 run and led 60-46 at halftime. The Jayhawks poured it on in the second half against a weary Converse team playing its sixth game in seven days.
Kansas forwards Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz led the Jayhawks, both with 24 points. LaFrentz also led Kansas with 14 rebounds. For the second straight game, the Jayhawks shot well from the field by pounding it inside. Kansas finished at 61 percent for the game.
"We do have strength inside, and we should try to get it in there," Williams said.
For the second straight game, Haase didn't fire a three-pointer but finished with 16 points on seven-of-nine shooting. Add in four assists and no turnovers and Williams had praise for one of his seniors.
"That was a fantastic basketball game (for Haase)," Williams said. "I'm very, very pleased with the way Jerod's playing, and he will shoot some three-point shots."
Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn had the cast on his right wrist removed yesterday, but he won't start rehabilitation until Dec. 2. Williams said Vaughn still won't be back until January.
"They've had a plastic bag that he had to tape on his arm, and he said the first thing he did after he got back from the hospital was get in the shower for awhile and scrub his hand up," Williams said.
Former Husker scores 28
Kansas defense shuts down point guard in second half
By Kerry Hillard
Kansan sports writer
It was just like old times.
Converse All-Stars guard Jamar Johnson came out shooting last night in the Jayhawks' 115-81 victory. And this wasn't the first time.
Johnson, a former Nebraska point guard, scored the winning three-point basket in the Jayhawks' 81-79 overtime loss to Nebraska in February 1992.
The crowd greeted Johnson with boos, but he was glad to be back in Allen Field House.
In the first half, Johnson was 5-of-6 from behind the three-point line and had 20 points.
"It was not so much to be an annoyance to Coach Williams," he said. "I just wanted to come back and play in this environment again. It's all so vivid to me."
Kansas coach Roy Williams noticed Johnson's success.
"I said, 'Jamar, you've got 20 at half.' Williams said. "You've got to slow down and He said, 'Really. And I said, 'Don't give me that junk, you know how many you have. You know exactly how many you have."
In the second half, the Jayhawks guarded Johnson tighter, holding him to just eight points.
Kansas guard Ryan Robertson said Johnson had too many open shots before halftime.
Converse All-Stars coach Mickey Walker attributed some of the decrease in Johnson's second-half scoring to fatigue.
Kansas senior guard Jerod Haase drives around Converse-All-Star Corey Regeer. Haase had 16 points.
"We came into halftime and said, 'He's going to need to earn his points,'" Robertson said. "If you look back, I think you'll see those eight points were not easy."
"I'm not trying to take anything away from Kansas,"
Walker said, "but we're worn down."
Although fatigue was a factor, Walker said he knew that Kansas was the better team.
The Kansas game was the 13th for the All-Stars in 15 days. Johnson is the only member of the nine-man All-Stars team that has played in each of the 13 games.
"I told the guys, 'You can't beat the No. 1 team in the nation unless you play them.' Walker said.
The All-Stars have lost to teams like Duke, Arkansas and California.
Walker said he was impressed with Kansas' big men, especially forward Paul Pierce.
"Pierce killed us," Walker said. "Pierce took the ball to the backboard and broke out. We haven't played anybody that does that. Not to say that he's as good, but he's reminiscent of Magic Johnson."
Recruits to fill Kansas graduates' shoes
By Adam Herschman Kansan sportswriter
With five seniors on the Kansas women's basketball team, Marian Washington has been on the recruiting trail.
Four high school seniors already have signed letters of intent to play for the team next season, and Washington said that the team probably will sign three more players.
"I'm losing five, and I only have 11 this year, so we need a lot of people." Kansas' women's basketball coach suid.
Washington announced the signing of Jennifer Jackson, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; April Nance, Huntsville, Ala.; Jaclyn Johnson, Burbank, Calif.; and Nikki White, Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday.
The Alabama Sports Writers honored Jackson, a 5-foot-10 guard, as the AISA player of the year in 1986 after her junior year at Tuscaloosa Academy. She averaged 28 points, shot 56 percent from the field and
"She was the No. 1 player out of Alabama," Washington said. "She will bring us the outside shot that we'll lose when we lose Angie Halbleib. She's a long-range shooter."
Jackson also was listed as an honorable mention All-American by Street & Smith Magazine.
converted 49 percent of her three pointers.
Nance, a 6-0 guard/forward, is considered the second top player out of Alabama. She signed without officially visiting Kansas.
Nance was ranked 26th in the Blue Star Recruiting Prospectus and was listed as a preseason All-American in Street & Smith Magazine. She averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds a game her junior year.
Johnson, a 6-1 forward, is ranked 32nd on the Women's Basketball News Service list.
"April is really one of the top players in the country," Washington said. "Athletic-wise, she will play
"Jaclyn is a player that can defend, and for an inside player, she has tremendous shooting range," Washington said. "Her rebounding skills
6
the two or three position, but she has good size, and she is extremely agile. The best way to describe her is just as an outstanding athlete."
allow her to pound the boards, which fits in with our style of play.
White, a 6-4 post player from Harding Academy, is ranked as the 37th top player in the country by Street and Smith Magazine, and the fifth-best post player by the All-Star Girls' Report.
"We've been working really hard to attract fine players with good size, and she helps us in achieving our goal," Washington said. "The Big 12 Conference is known for its height and size, and she brings us not only that, but mobility and the ability to get up and down the court."
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