University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, November 1, 1988
Sports
11
Jordan will appear on Wheaties boxes
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Michael Jordan was dressed to play basketball yesterday, but instead he talked about breakfast cereal, posed with a picture of a cereal box almost as tall as he is, and the team drew three with an actual-size box in hand.
Such was Jordan's inauguration as only the seventh "celebrity athlete" to be pictured on the front of packages of Wheaties, the General Mills Inc. cereal marketed as "The Breakfast of Champions."
"I very nappy to be part of the Wheaties organization," said Jordan, clad in his No. 23 Chicago Bulls jersey and black sweat pants. "A lot of people would love to be in my shoes."
He said Jordan was "a man of real character and integrity," fitting for the positive image the product tries to have.
"He truly is a champion in every sense of the word." Jim Nuckols, product manager, said as he introduced Jordan to reporters.
Many might also want to have his bank account, which will swell even further with the Wheaties deal. Jordan and company officials said that the terms of the deal were not being disclosed.
They did disclose that Jordan's picture would be printed on at least 12
million to 14 million boxes of the cereal.
Others who have contracted with Minneapolis-based General Mills for the Wheaties limelight, beginning in 1956, include pole vaulter Bob Richards, decathlon champion Bruce Jennings, dear Mary Lou Redton, baseball player Pete Rose, football's Walter Payton and tennis star Chris Ewert.
Richards, now a clergyman in Texas, first adorned Wheaties boxes before Jordan was born 25 years ago. Jordan said that as a child, he didn't know about the cereal.
"We had a big family" and pennies had to be watched, said the North Carolina native. "We used to eat wheat puffs — remember those in the big bags that could last ... through five or six kids? That's what we had."
Actually, "a dozen or two" athletes have been pictured on the front of Wheaties boxes over the years, but Jordan is only one of seven "celebrity athletes" to get the honor through major deals with the company, said Kathryn Newman, public relations supervisor for General Mills.
Jordan said yesterday's honor was "up there" with being the NBA's MVP. "You have to be at the top of your game to be a part of it," he said.
Dickerson leads Colts to 55-24 rout of Denver
Freshmen forwards Danielle Shareef, left, and Tanya Bonham are two of the eight newcomers on the Jayhawks women's basketball team this season.
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Eric Dickerson rushed for 159 yards to go over 1,000 yards for an NFL record-tying sixth consecutive season and scored a career-high four touchdowns as Indianapolis punter named the Indiana Broncos 55-23 in the first Monday night football game last night at the Hoosier Dome.
Shauna Norfleet/KANSAN
The Colts, scoring on seven of their nine first-half possessions, forced four fumbles, sacked Broncos quarterback John Elway three times and didn't Denver cross midfield until its seventh possession, five minutes into the second quarter.
1ne mark is held by Chicago against Philadelphia in 1941 and Green Bay in 1983 against Tampa Bay.
in 1983 tugger. Quarterback Gary Hoeboom, starter cherry Chandler whenever the Colts went to a wishbone offense, threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Bill Brooks in the second quarter. Biasucci got another field goal in the third quarter and Albert Bentley rushed for a fourth-period touchdown as Indianapolis evened its record at 4-4 with the most points ever scored in a Monday Night game.
Basketball practice in full swing
By that time, Indianapolis led 31-0 on Dickerson's four touchdowns and the first of two field goals by Dean Biasiusco. The Colts built the margin to 45-10 at halftime, four points short of the NFL record for records in a half
Dickerson, the NFL rushing leader, rushed 21 times in the game. He had 124 yards in the first half and was used sparingly in the final two periods. He raised his season total to 1,038 yards, joining Francis Harris and Walter Payton for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
By Ken Winford Kansan sportswriter
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington watched intently as the Jayhawks worked through a passing drill at practice yesterday afternoon at Allen Field House.
Whenever the flow of the drill broke down, Washington immediately stopped play and explained to the players what they were doing wrong and what they needed to do to correct the situation.
On a couple of occasions, the Kansas coach even took the basketball and demonstrated the drill herself.
With eight new players on the Kansas roster this year, Washington said much of her time this season would be devoted to teaching the basics.
"don't care what level you are at," Washington said. "Coaches will tell you that if you don't have the basic fundamentals down, all the talent in the world isn't going to keep you from getting beat by a team that does."
After two weeks of practice,
Washington said she had seen gradual improvement in the young
Javhawks.
"Every day they are getting something new, but I think they have handled it well," she said. "I've seen some positive things from them. They are beginning to read the defenses and starting to create some opportunities, but we have to keep them from trying to go too fast."
One of the payers new to raise this season is freshman Gert Hart. The 5-foot-8 guard from Independence said the early-season practices were important in her understanding of the system.
"We are picking up the fundamentals pretty quickly now and trying to work as hard as we can." Hart said. "C Coach Washington will play it off to hit it hard now because we will play like we practice."
"We have a natural instinct to go, and I want to see them do that," Washington said. "But at the same time, we have to play
Keeping mistakes at a minimum was something Washington said Kansas would need to work on.
"The game is a lot quicker and more physical than in high school, so you're going to make some mistakes. It's important to concentrate on getting things done. You need to get making mistakes bother you."
under control because we won't be able to afford giving the ball away."
Kansas opens its season against the Australian Junior National team Nov. 16 at Allen Field House. Marion Sandifer, a 6-foot-4 freshman who will back-up junior Lynn Page at center, said the Jayhawks would be ready for their opener.
"Coach Washington will make sure that we are ready to play," she said. "Practices are much more intense here than anywhere I've been before. I've learned a lot more about basketball in two weeks than I did all through high school. It was a big transition."
While the Jayhawks have made their share of mistakes in the first
couple of weeks of practice. Washington said they had impressed her with their overall desire and work ethic.
"On the whole, this is one of the hardest working groups I've ever had here," she said. "They are very tuned into what we are trying to do and are very disciplined players."
Retired baseball analyst to pursue dreams
Special to the Kansan
By Mike Considine
At age 39, Bill James decided he had devoted enough time to baseball statistics.
"I never talk about the future," he said,
"because then you have to do it."
devoted eloquence that he
He concluded the 1988 Bill James Baseball
Abstract with an essay that announced the end of his work on the annual publication
All James will reveal about his plans is that he has "only one lifetime and many dreams."
Because these James, who earned English and economics degrees in 1973 and a teaching certificate in 1975 from the University of Kansas, in past years had begun analyzing Major League statistics for the coming abstract. He published 12 editions between 1977 and 1988.
"I never completed an abstract without telling Susie (McCarthy, his wife). "This is it. This is the last one," James said. "And I meant it every year."
On a recent Friday morning at his house in Winchester, James was fixing breakfast for his daughter Rachel, age four, and son Issac, five, months. He said his "retirement" had not been as leisurely as expected.
not been up waiting to have time on my hands, "james said. "It seems to me there's as much or more pressure on me as there has been."
At the start of the major league playoffs, he appeared on the NBC TV Today Show, The Larry King radio show and wrote a column for the Village Voice in one week.
Editing The Baseball Analyst, a newsletter, is James' last link to sabermetrics - the study of baseball statistics.
or baseball statistics. Although the abstracts were critically
acclaimed and had steadily increasing sales, James listed numerous reasons for moving on. He said he was frustrated with the misuse of statistics, a competitor who pirated his formulas and format and the difficulty of producing the book annually.
James Carothers, associate dean of liberal arts, said, "There are three contemporary (baseball) writers who rank in a class by themselves: Roger Angell, Thomas Boswell and Bill James. Each has a slightly different style, but all assume the intelligence of their audience."
James' choice of Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs as American League Most Valuable Player in the Village Voice column was typical of his flair for controversy. Many fans would have thought Oakland Athletics star Jose Canseco's 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases would merit the award.
was in the middle.
In addition to becoming the first player to hit at least 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one year, Canseco had a 307 batted average and drove in 142 runs. Boggs rated higher in James' Runs Created formula largely because he had 47 more walks, 27 more hits and scored eight more runs than Canseco.
"If Jose (Caneco) able to prove in a court of law that he hasn't used steroids, it will be the biggest upset of the decade."
"Probably no one will ever commonly believe, but I have no evidence."
James said that Boswell's allegations that Canseco had used steroids would not tarnish his statistics. He said he agreed with the Washington Post columnist, though.
"Canseco had a wonderful year, but Boggs was more valuable," James said.
The Royals' appearance in the 1976 American League Championship Series indirectly canned James to write the first abstract.
"When the Royals reached the national spotlight, I couldn't believe (announcers) knew as little about them as they did." James said. "I had never had that experience in sports and never it had again until last year when the Jayhawks got to the national championship (in basketball)."
The 1977 Abstract was printed in Lawrence at the House of Usher, 838 Massachusetts, and sold just 75 copies. James had written from this year's edition would exceed 100,000.
"I didn't have any idea how long it would take me to figure the statistics," said James, who was working at the now-defunct Stokely-Van Camp plant in Lawrence. "By the time I got through it was May or something. I didn't have time to stop and write articles.
As a Kansas student, James learned the economic models which are the basis of his formulas. The first book was heavy with statistics.
"Also, I had this strange idea that if I was going to charge money for it, it had to be pure information. I thought people weren't going to pay for my opinions."
"When he began adding player comments and the prose sections it began to be longer." Carothers said. "I remember thinking, 'This guy is funny.'"
george Carothers said the book had improved significantly by its third edition.
For example, he said ex-St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Dal Maxvill, "couldn't hit a blast furnace with a heat-seeking missile."
Mike Kopt, a Lawrence resident who wrote five articles in this year's abstract
noticed by us. "It touches on all aspects of life," he said. "People don't realize that until they go through it pretty carefully."
In The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, published in 1985, the author writes about the 1978 shooting death of California Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock.
"The murderer, Leonard Smith, received a light sentence because, as I understand it," James wrote, "he was able to prove that he didn't ordinarily kill people, but just happened to be in a particularly bad mood that day."
said the scope of James' observations isn't noticed by casual readers.
estate
"It is kind of remarkable." James said of his wife's work on the abstracts. "One of the big reasons a lot of young writers give up is because their wives are subtly telling them they have to make a living."
To produce the historical abstract, James rented a downtown Lawrence office and hired an editor, Jim Baker.
McCarthy also contributed in several areas, including typing, research, proofreading. She has written occasional essays in the annual abstracts.
pushed them. "There were a lot of books written about comparing one great player to another." James said. "Rather than who was better (Ty) Cobb or (Babe) Ruth, I wanted to put it in a broader-based discussion of their times."
The historical abstract was a decade-by-decade look at the game which included plaver rankings and statistics.
He recently finished editing a collection of essays from past abstracts. The working title is "This Time Let's Don't Eat the Bones."
KU FOOTBALL REPORT: The Kansas foot-bootball team emerged from its 63-14 loss to Oklahoma with only one player sidelined by an injury, said Kansas Coach Glen Mason.
"We're a little bit better than we have been," Mason said. "We're still banged up and bruised."
"braised."
Senior cornerback Peda Samuel suffered a left groin pull last weekend against Oklahoma but is listed as probable for this weekend's match against Kansas State.
cmp against Kansas state.
Samuel spent most of yesterday riding the stationary bicycle and practiced little on the field.
Sports Briefs
Linebacker Tony Barker, who has not played the last two games because of an ankle sprain, was back in practice yesterday.
Amnough linebacker Curtis Morris was nursing some problems with his back and leg and was wearing a cast on his left hand because of a broken finger, he was still able to practice.
KSU BACK MISSES WORKOUT: Kansas State fullback Lee Pickett missed yesterday's workout with a bruised right knee.
The 240-pound senior rushed for a season-high 130 yards in Saturday's 45-27 loss to Oklahoma State despite missing all of the second half with the injury. Pickett leads the Wildcats with 496 yards rushing in seven games.
Coach Stan Parrish said he expected Pickett to play in Saturday's game against Kansas in Lawrence.
Kansas State and Kansas are both 0-8 overall and 0-4 in the Big Eight Conference. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
NBU NAGED UP: Starters Ken Clark at lback and Andy Keeler at left guard had sprained left ankles and missed preparations for Saturday's game at Iowa State, but Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said yesterday they should be back later this week.
be back later. Reserve wingback Jamie Worden missed the one hour and 15 minute workout with the flu and reserve fullback Brian Harchelroad was out with a strained left knee. Harchelroad will miss this Saturday's game, Osborne said.
OU CENTER RETURNS: University of Oklahoma center Bole Latham returned to
"Latham looked a little bit rusty, but you expect that after someone misses so much action," said Coach Barry Switzer. "Richard Dillon also practiced today and he looked pretty good."
practice yesterday as the Sooners worked for $ _{1/2} $ hours in preparation for Saturday's game against Oklahoma State.
Kickoff against Oklahoma State in Stillwater is at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN.
Latham returned to practice for the first time since suffering a knee injury in the Sooner's opener against North Carolina. Coaches said he is expected to see action against the Cowboys.
OU could get NCAA penalties
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma athletic director Donnie Duncan says problems in the Sooner program aren't those "of a corrupt program," but the school likely will be impacted by the NCAA conclusion declaration.
"I think scholarship reduction is something we can anticipate." Duncan said Sunday. "I don't think we will come out of this without having some kind of penalty."
"It was not necessarily the best and friendliest thing in the sense of what to look forward to on a Sunday afternoon," Duncan said.
Duncan tucked Oklahoma City television station KOCO he thought "things went well from the standpoint of a professional approach with a professional group
Oklahoma, which was on a two-year football probation from 1973-74 said last June that it was facing 16 allegations, most of which were related to scary category. The items appeared mostly minor in nature as described by the university.
some other team.
The NCAA Infractions Committee spent all day Sunday reviewing its case against the Oklahoma football program, sources told The Associated Press.
Duncan said he expected the NCAA to make a ruling and its investigation.
By coincidence, the Big Eight Conference's annual basketball media day was going on at the same Kansas City hotel just one door away.
Oklahoma officials, to escape detection by more than 70 media representatives gathered for basketball, came and went all day via a back entrance through the hotel kitchen, sources said.
Big Eight and NCAA officials declined comment on the meeting.
declined comment on the meeting. Coach Barry Switzer, whose Sooners are 7-1 and ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top Twenty, said in August he did not expect a major penalty.