Kansas.com: Sports

Florida slugs its way past Oklahoma for BCS title

BEN WALKER — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:53 CST

Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years.

Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion. But it likely did little to quiet fans of Southern California, Utah and Texas, all of whom already claimed the top spot.

The high-scoring shootout between Heisman Trophy winners Sam Bradford and Tebow never materialized.

Tebow, however, shook off a career-high two interceptions to rescue the top-ranked Gators (13-1). He drove them to the clinching score -- he took two hard steps toward the line, jumped and zipped a 4-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson with 3:07 to make it 24-14.

Percy Harvin returned from an ankle injury and dashed for 122 yards on nine carries. His 52-yard gallop set up Jonathan Phillips' 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 17-14 lead.

Wingnuts cite $488,000 loss, ask city for lease relief

KIRK SEMINOFF — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

The operators of the Wichita Wingnuts baseball team and the National Baseball Congress are asking the city to forgive or delay a $27,500 lease payment after the organizations lost a combined $488,000 in their first year.

The City Council is expected to receive the request at its Tuesday meeting. The lease payment covers the yearly amount that WB LLC, the Wingnuts' ownership group, pays the city to run the NBC and its annual World Series.

A letter from Wingnuts general manager Josh Robertson to Joe Pajor, assistant director of Public Works for the city, said owner Horn Chen and five local investors recently received a line of credit "in excess of $200,000" to pay off invoices and get the club through the offseason.

A combination of higher-than-expected start-up costs, inclement weather on key NBC World Series dates and overspending was the reason for the nearly half-million dollar loss, Joel Lomurno said. Lomurno is general manager of the Wingnuts' sister hockey club, the Thunder, and has final say over the three organizations.

"We spent too freely," Lomurno said. "We've lowered the budget and we won't have the start-ups. There are also some sponsors who took a wait-and-see attitude in the first year that we expect to be with us."

Ellis already has offer from KU

JONATHAN LONG — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

Wichita Heights freshman Perry Ellis was offered a basketball scholarship by Kansas last month, his high school coach said.

"Things are changing," Heights coach Joe Auer said. "Young players are having these things put before them like never before."

Attempts to contact the Ellis family for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

Kansas is just one of the teams reportedly recruiting Ellis. Kansas State, North Carolina, Memphis and Indiana are among the many attempting to lure him.

In five games this season for Heights, the 6-foot-8 Ellis has averaged 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Decision time has arrived for Jayhawks' Little

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

Mario Little can feel the clock ticking. Only a few days remain until a decision has to be made about Little's ability to play the rest of this season, and he still hasn't tested out the stress fracture in his left leg.

Kansas coach Bill Self has made it clear he thinks the Jayhawks need Little, a 6-foot-5 junior transfer guard, to play the second half of the season.

"Coach has been begging me to test it out," said Little, who played a combined 15 minutes in KU's last two games for his first action of the season. "It's tough playing with pain. I'm just trying to suck it up with the help of my teammates and coaches. I'm just trying to do it for KU, really."

Here's the situation: Even though Little has played in two games, he is still available for a redshirt year because of the NCAA's medical hardship rule. A player is eligible for a medical hardship year when, due to health reasons, he plays in less than 30 percent of his team's games and does not play the second half of the season. The first half of the season ends Saturday at Michigan State. If Little plays in any game after Saturday's, a redshirt year would no longer be an option.

"This is our last game to look at him," Self said.

BCS star power: Tebow vs. Bradford

PETE THAMEL — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:56 CST

It's funny how the simplest advice is always the most profound.

Kent Bradford, the father of Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, doesn't claim much credit for the success of his son, the Oklahoma Sooners" redshirt sophomore quarterback. Dad says he never knew much about teaching his boy how to throw.

But Kent Bradford knew enough.

When it came time for Sam to be a quarterback, the father told his son one thing: "If you're going to throw the ball, you need to complete the passes."

Lesson learned.

Salukis stop Shockers with offense

PAUL SUELLENTROP — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:45 CST

For something totally unexpected, the conversation about Southern Illinois will not be about defense, fouls and physical play.

The Salukis, known as the Missouri Valley Conference's biggest grinders and defensive demons, defeated Wichita State with shooting. SIU rolled over WSU 74-62 on Wednesday at Koch Arena.

The Salukis made eight straight three-pointers, shot 63.6 percent in the second half and made 16 of 18 free throws.

"We're a long ways from being the type of defensive team we want to be," WSU coach Gregg Marshall said.

SIU (6-9, 1-3 MVC) never trailed, thanks to the inside scoring of senior Tony Boyle to start the game and three-pointers when WSU (6-9, 0-4) challenged late. Shocker forward J.T. Durley scored a career-high 19 points to lead a good effort from the bench. The WSU starters totaled 29 points and Marshall said to expect changes for Sunday's game at Drake.

Sproles' running says it all

BERNIE WILSON — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

Words don't come nearly as easily as yards and touchdowns do for Darren Sproles, the exciting little running back for the San Diego Chargers.

Yet in the minutes and days after he helped carry the Bolts into the divisional round of the playoffs, there he was, facing wave after wave of reporters and cameramen and not backing down and inch.

Sproles stutters. Not as bad as he did when he emerged as a playmaker at Kansas State, but when the cameras turn on and he's asked to recount his exploits, the thought is there but sometimes the words aren't as quick to follow.

He'd just as soon have an angry, amped-up linebacker in his face as he would a microphone. But he figures it's like carrying the ball -- the more he does it, the better he gets. As long as the Chargers stick around in the playoffs, Sproles is going to get his carries and receptions and punt and kickoff returns -- and attention.

"I stutter sometimes," Sproles said. "I get nervous, then I really stutter a little bit. But it got better though. Like when I was in college, that's when it was kind of bad. But it's kind of getting better now, so it's fine."

Aldrich keeps Kansas on board

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:32 CST

The Kansas Jayhawks didn't play with much desire. They didn't find the toughness to fight through ball screens, and they didn't get enough hands in enough faces of Siena shooters on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Still, one player's extra effort was enough to bail the Jayhawks out of a potentially embarrassing situation. Cole Aldrich grabbed four offensive rebounds. Three of them turned into seven Aldrich points. Kansas beat Siena by seven, 91-84, and there was no question who made the difference.

Aldrich scored a career-high 24 points, snatched away 13 boards and blocked four shots. But those crucial seven points, they're the ones that explain why Aldrich has emerged as one of the best big men in the country at the halfway point of the season.

Aldrich leads the Big 12 with 46 offensive rebounds in 14 games.

"Best I've ever had," KU coach Bill Self said. "He's leading the league in offensive rebounds per game, in a league with (Oklahoma's) Blake Griffin in it. And how many points has he gotten us this year not only by reading it but also not allowing his man to block him out? His effort on the offensive glass is stellar."

Sliding Shockers, Salukis meet

PAUL SUELLENTROP — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:38 CST

Graham Hatch and A.J. Hawkins shot free throws in an empty Koch Arena on Tuesday afternoon, two hours before practice started.

When your team is 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, working on your game is about the only thing that feels good.

"We've got to keep working hard to build your confidence up," Hawkins said. "We've got to stay in the gym."

The Shockers (6-8, 0-3 MVC) face Southern Illinois (5-9, 0-3) tonight. Both teams are struggling. Both teams lack experience. Both teams play well for stretches, then fade. Both programs are used to much better times.

"We've always had a lot of older guys be our best players," SIU coach Chris Lowery said. "We're experiencing some things we haven't experienced in the past."

Jayhawks not ready to think about MSU

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar have been around long enough to know why tonight's game against Siena could be dangerous.

They appeared well-schooled before Monday's practice, both citing the Saints' 21-point upset win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament last season as evidence that Siena was not just a team sandwiched between ranked squads Tennessee and Michigan State.

But what about the freshmen? They have never experienced a win like KU's 92-85 victory over the Volunteers, and they've watched enough basketball to know what playing at Michigan State on Saturday means. Could they really get up for Siena?

"I think they understand now," Collins said. "They understand how important these games are, that Coach is not lying about a team being good. They understand the significance of this game. We gotta come out and play or we can lose."

The Tennessee game was an emotional one for KU. The Jayhawks, 10-3, played with a sense of urgency that they hadn't showed at any point this season.

Kansas State rolls into Big 12 play

JEFFREY MARTIN — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:16 CST

The instinct is to nit-pick, to find flaws in Kansas State's non-descript, non-conference slate, of which most of the games have predictably resulted in wins.

And while the total is now up to 11 after Monday's 99-68 victory against Chicago State (8-8), it's natural -- easy, really -- to wonder whether such a schedule has adequately prepared K-State for what it will face beginning Saturday when No. 6 Oklahoma comes to town to tip-off Big 12 play.

It's OK -- the Wildcats understand. They just don't share the same concerns.

"Everyone on this team is hungry," said sophomore guard Fred Brown, who scored a career-best and game-high 26. "We're ready to prove we're in the Big 12 for a reason."

"We're starting to peak at the right time," added senior forward Darren Kent, who recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Shocker women win first Valley game

MATT BROWNING — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:13 CST

The last six months have featured a pretty big shakeup for Wichita State forward Daria Frazier and the way she plays basketball.

When Jody Adams took over as coach last spring, Frazier was moved from her traditional spot at small forward to power forward, where she has thrived, averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds.

So when the Shockers' two point guards -- Jacie Hoyt and Marisah Henderson -- fouled out late in WSU's game against Northern Iowa on Sunday afternoon, Frazier was thrown into a new role of handling the ball. And in a tough situation, no less.

Frazier responded by keeping the Shockers focused down the stretch and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 64-53 win.

Whether it was diving for loose balls or going to get the basketball when the Panthers were pressuring WSU in the full court, Frazier wasn't going to let the Shockers fall to 0-2 in the Missouri Valley.

Woolridge's game grows, and so does his legend

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Like most 16-year-old boys, Royce Woolridge is surrounded by friends. They're chowing down on deep-dish pizza and, in between bites, telling stories of their antics playing basketball at Sunnyslope High in Phoenix.

Woolridge fits right in with his high school teammates -- until you ask the dreaded question: Where are you going to college?

Woolridge's friends are seniors, a year older than him, and they don't know yet. They hope Arizona State. Woolridge has already decided on a school, and he won't enroll for 17 months. He was a 15-year-old sophomore last May when he announced that he wanted to play college basketball at KU starting in the fall of 2010.

With one phone call to KU assistant Kurtis Townsend, Woolridge instantly became the earliest known oral commitment in Kansas history. In other words, no player who has donned the crimson and blue in the modern recruiting age has ever been so sure.

"If any other college offered me," Woolridge says, "I wouldn't have taken it immediately."

Wildcats get final tuneup before Big 12 play

JEFFREY MARTIN — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Kansas State opened the season with five straight wins, left home and lost three in a row to major conference foes, but now have ripped off another five consecutive wins, likely to become six after tonight's game at Bramlage Coliseum against Chicago State.

It's the last nonconference matchup, a final tuneup for Big 12 play. Frank Martin isn't sure how his Wildcats will respond when the league portion of the schedule commences, but only because they're not there yet.

He's not discouraged by what he's seen, but he chooses not to issue predictions.

"We continue to grow," Martin said. "That's what you're looking for."

There is uncertainty, although the coaching staff is privately optimistic about what the Wildcats can accomplish during two months -- and beyond. Based on e-mails and message board posts, fans remain skeptical, even though steady, comforting themes have emerged during the course of these first 13 games:

Jayhawks run past No. 14 Vols

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:18 CST

Sherron Collins couldn't sleep on Friday night.

"I just was tossing and turning all night thinking about the game," Collins said.

Collins had made a point of claiming the Kansas Jayhawks as his team, and, in their two biggest games of the season, they had fallen to Syracuse and Arizona. Now, here was No. 14 Tennessee, swaggering into Allen Fieldhouse for a nationally-televised Saturday matinee.

Simply put, there was more pressure on Collins to perform than there's been on any one KU player since Wayne Simien wore crimson and blue.

"We've had a luxury that very few teams have had," KU coach Bill Self said. "I don't think that Mario or Brandon or Darnell or Shady or Sasha ever thought, 'If I play poorly, we are going to lose.' "

Northern Iowa rips Wichita State

PAUL SUELLENTROP — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:18 CST

Winless in three Missouri Valley Conference games with Southern Illinois up next is a rotten way to start 2009.

Wichita State put itself in that position with Saturday's 78-54 loss to Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center. UNI scored 50 second-half points to hand WSU its worst loss of the season. The lack of fight after a competitive first half disturbed WSU coach Gregg Marshall.

"That's about as bad as it's been for us," he said. "I want to give them all the credit possible, but we are obviously a team that struggles. What I'm disappointed in is our effort in the second half. Horrible."

WSU is 0-3 in the MVC for the first time since the 1999-2000 team began 0-9. To avoid that kind of fate, the Shockers need an infusion of offense. SIU, WSU's opponent at Koch Arena on Wednesday, isn't the powerhouse of recent seasons. But everybody looks formidable to the Shockers in their current state.

"We just played one half of basketball," WSU forward Ramon Clemente said. "Second half, we didn't have the same intensity coming out. That's not going to cut it."

Arenafootball2 gauges return to Wichita in 2010

KOLLEN LONG — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

An Arenafootball2 team could be playing in the new Intrust Bank Arena by 2010, arena general manager Chris Presson said, which would give the city two indoor teams.

Presson said he has spoken with three out-of-state people who are investigating Wichita as a market for Arenafootball2, an indoor league that will begin its 10th season in March.

Wichita had an Af2 team, the Stealth, from 2001 to 2004.

"We're still very much in the preliminary stages, but I can tell you that the league is excited about the prospect and, from a management standpoint, we are as well," Presson said.

The Arenafootball2 Web site lists 21 teams for the upcoming season, including franchises in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Little Rock, Ark. Presson said those Midwest teams would provide natural geographic rivals for Wichita. The regular season runs from March to July.

Wildcats pilfer an easy victory

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Kansas State coach Frank Martin believes larceny, at its best, is a collaborative effort.

For instance, the eight steals Dominique Sutton recorded in Saturday's 83-57 rout of Idaho State at Bramlage Coliseum to tie a school record wouldn't have been possible if not for the on-ball pressure applied by the guards, which allows forwards like Sutton to dart into passing lanes and be disruptive.

That, in the simplest sense, in the essence of the Wildcats' suffocating defense, the main reason K-State has now won five straight and stands at 10-3 with another nonconference game (a home date Monday against Chicago State) looming before the start of its Big 12 schedule.

Usually, it all begins with Denis Clemente, the offensive-minded transfer who has embraced Martin's defense-first demands. But the junior guard was sidelined Saturday with the flu, allowing sophomore Fred Brown to make his first collegiate start.

"I thought early in the game, we weren't as crisp as we've been," Martin said.

Finishing with a flourish

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:09 CST

Best moment

Todd Reesing's 26-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Meier to beat Missouri 40-37. The Jayhawks couldn't have written a better script. Just remember: From March through August of 2007, Reesing and Meier dueled for the starting quarterback job at KU. Reesing outplayed Meier, won the job and made it look as if Meier may never play another significant down.

Meier could have transferred when things didn't go his way. But he stayed and learned how to play wide receiver in 2007. A year later, his patience and perseverance paid off when Reesing bought time and found him behind the Missouri defense in the end zone on the biggest play of the season.

Worst moment

The embarrassing 63-21 loss to Texas Tech in Lawrence on Oct. 25. Everything fell apart at the same time for the Jayhawks, who desperately needed to find a way to win at home against the Red Raiders if they wanted to take the Big 12 North.

KU chasing marquee wins

BLAIR KERKHOFF — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Typically, Kansas is a statement game for opponents. Beat the Jayhawks and build postseason credentials, even make the season.

These days, it's Kansas hunting for a trophy victory, and today's home contest with No. 14 Tennessee provides that opportunity.

The Jayhawks (9-3) have put themselves in this position with three losses that could easily have gone the other way. They fell to Syracuse in overtime, to Massachusetts by one and blew a nine-point second-half lead at Arizona.

Add it up and Kansas made no top 25 ballots in either major poll this week but more importantly find themselves with an RPI of 90, which, if not at least cut in half by the end of the regular season, could keep the defending national champion out of the NCAA Tournament.

"The margin of error for us from this point forward is not as great as it would be if we had made a free throw or get a stop against Syracuse or make the shot against UMass," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "If we were 11-1 right now, we'd be ranked 15th in the country."