Mid-week musings while wondering if by chance I’ll ever be privy to divine secrets of the yo-yo brotherhood
Hope Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino is adept at adjusting players’ biological clocks. The Jayhawks will open the season with a morning game at Iowa State (11:30 a.m. kickoff) on Aug. 31, then play a late-night game (9 p.m. kickoff) the following Saturday at Nevada-Las Vegas. Although that non-conference clash with the Rebels will begin at 7 p.m. in Lost Wages, with a two-hour time difference the Jayhawks will be fortunate if they’re in their beds by 4 a.m. after their charter flight back.
No Tan Woes: If lack of sleep is a potential problem, sunstroke shouldn’t be, at least not in September. All four September games will be at night at Vegas on the 7th, Southwest Missouri State on the 14th, Bowling Green on the 21st and at Tulsa on the 28th. The last three will have 6 p.m. starts. All the October and November kickoffs are TBA.
Archimedes Anderson? Is Minnesota’s John Anderson really interested in the Kansas baseball vacancy, or is the Golden Gophers’ coach using KU as leverage to get a new stadium in Minneapolis? Anderson has been at the school for two decades, but he isn’t happy. Here’s why: Anderson said he would personally raise the money to build a new stadium to replace aging Siebert Field. However, the school has an indefinite moratorium on construction of new athletic facilities. Except for a football stadium, that is. In other words, UM can build a new football stadium, but not a new baseball stadium, even if it wouldn’t cost the university a dime.
Down from 85: Meanwhile, KU’s baseball search committee met for the first time on Wednesday and, according to chair Richard Konzem, sifted through about 85 possible candidates to replace Bobby Randall, who resigned in May. Konzem said they’d try to narrow the list to between five and 10 when they meet again next Monday.
Stevens in Chains: Anyone have a batting tip for Lee Stevens? The Lawrence High product is suffering through the worst slump of his professional baseball career. The 1986 LHS grad, now in his third season with the Montreal Expos, is hitting just .106 in May and June, and his overall batting average has plummeted to .188. Stevens is hitting a puny .079 against left-handers and only .217 against right-handers. On the plus side, Stevens, who’ll turn 35 next month, leads the Expos in walks. Maybe Kansas City’s wobbly pitching staff will be what the doctor ordered. The Royals will be in Montreal next week.
Good-bye Indianapolis: Sell your stock in Southwest Airlines. That’s what Bill Hancock is tongue-in-cheek advising his friends to do. After three years of commuting between Indianapolis and Kansas City, Hancock has resigned as director of the NCAA men’s basketball championship so he can live full-time in Prairie Village. Hancock will continue to work for the NCAA as a consultant on media affairs at the NCAA’s cash cow, but officially he’ll be a Kansan again on July 8. Hancock’s wife teaches at Olathe East and son Nate also lives in the Overland Park area. The Hancocks’ other son, Will, died in that Oklahoma State airplane crash on Jan. 27, 2001.
Gatorade Twins: Kansas University softball coach Tracy Bunge, with more holes in her lineup to fill than a fresh bingo card, learned last week that two of her signees had been named their state’s Gatorade Player of the Year Jessica Moppin of Olathe South and Destiny Frankenstein of Broken Arrow, Okla. Both are shortstops, but it may be Frankenstein’s destiny to play third base for the Jayhawks.
Let’s Clear This Up: Robert Hemenway, Kansas University’s chancellor, is the new chair of the NCAA Division One Board of Directors. However, Hemenway is also a member of the NCAA executive committee that will hire a new president for the entire NCAA. Among the potential candidates for that post is Gene Budig, Hemenway’s predecessor at KU.
Gooden Hits Cleanup: Juxtapositioning continues prior to the June 26 NBA Draft. In one of the latest mock drafts, Drew Gooden has moved up to the fourth slot, where it is predicted he’ll be selected by the Memphis Grizzles after Houston takes Chinese giant Yao Ming, Chicago tabs Jay (Don’t Call Me Jason) Williams and Golden State grabs Mike Dunleavy, another Dookie.
Glass Cutter: Lawrence’s Bob Glass, the reigning PBA Senior Player of the Year, missed the cut at this week’s Northern California Classic in Brentwood, Calif. That’s news. Glass hadn’t failed to advance since joining the Senior Tour full-time in 2000. Glass was leading the Senior Tour in points and money after the first three stops, but has struggled during the last three tournaments. Two remain.
