“I think it’s neat they (Henrys) were there to pay tribute to a guy who coached their father,” said Hinson, who at the banquet was pleased to introduce KU’s Perkins to Bill Self’s high school coach ? Mike dela Garza of Edmond Memorial High.
“I do think one of the impressive things is we had people representing our university pay tribute to a coach who has meant so much to our basketball program. One of the things I’ve said since I’ve been here (the past year), and I have an unbiased opinion: I am amazed at the family atmosphere Lew and his staff have created. Last night it resonated not only in us being there, but coach Owens seeing us and knowing we wanted to be there. That is lost in today’s athletics sometimes,” Hinson added.
Hinson enjoyed listening to speeches of Owens and the other inductees: Tom Catlin (Oklahoma football player), John Kolb (Pittsburgh Steelers), Cal McLish (MLB All-Star pitcher), Clem McSpadden (longtime rodeo announcer) and Bob Tway (Oklahoma State golfer).
“Coach Owens was so elegant. He was gracious and humble. There were a plethora of people from coach’s life. He got a remarkable ovation,” Hinson said. “Coach Owens got emotional as anybody would. I got emotional. A couple speeches, I felt like I was watching ‘Steel Magnolias,’’’ Hinson cracked. LJW
The Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder will play an NBA preseason game Oct. 14 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Tickets go on sale Monday.
The Heat features former K-State All-American Michael Beasley and former KU star Mario Chalmers, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2008 NCAA Final Four.
Another Kansas alumnus, Nick Collison, plays for Oklahoma City. KC Star*
Riley did not rule out signing free agent point guards Jamaal Tinsley or Allen Iverson, but emphasized that nothing ``was pending'' and that if he offers a contract to either, it would be for only one year. He expressed more interest in Tinsley, noting that he spoke with him on the phone and signing him ``is something we're thinking about. I like Jamaal.''
...But he said there is ``not really'' a need to add a backup point guard and ``I'm not bringing in anyone to start over Mario Chalmers.'' Riley said the Heat is not pursuing former Heat point guard Jason Williams. Miami Herald
Current recruiting news & college basketball news can now be found here.
Football
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Kansas senior football player Jake Sharp was named as a candidate for the 2009 Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation’s top running back, it was announced on Tuesday. ? Sharp was one of 45 players named to the preseason list, which includes seven players from the Big 12 Conference. ? Sharp averaged 66.2 yards per game last year to rank eighth in the Big 12 and 70th nationally, but upped his average to 88.8 yards per game against conference opponents.? That mark was third in the league behind Kendall Hunter of Oklahoma State and Chris Brown of Oklahoma. KU AD
Kansas head football coach Mark Mangino will welcome 105 players when the Jayhawks report for fall training camp on Thursday. ? The players will complete physicals, receive equipment and attend meetings on their first day.? The team will hold its first practice on Friday. ? Jayhawk fans will have an opportunity to see this season’s team in action during camp when open practices are held on August 11 at 9 a.m. and on Fan Appreciation Day on August 26. KU AD
So here’s the thing about Kansas University quarterback Todd Reesing: The Jayhawks never really have had anyone like him.
This is a guy who finished the 2008 season ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing yards, passing yards per game, total offense and completions, who has helped lead Kansas to 20 victories in the past two seasons, to the program’s first BCS bowl and to its first Big 12 North title ? which it shared with Missouri in ’07.
Which raises the question: With his senior season just weeks away, would coach Mark Mangino and his Kansas program ever consider a “Reesing for Heisman” campaign? LJW
"We’re not going to put up billboards in Times Square,” said Mangino, adding that KU might stage a letter-writing campaign to Heisman voters, if necessary.
In a league that already features the current Heisman winner and runner-up in Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy, respectively, Reesing cracking into serious Heisman contention is a long shot. But his numbers at least earn him an early look.
Last year, Reesing set the KU single-season record for passing yards (3,888) and completions (329) during the Jayhawks’ 8-5 season. Over the last two years, he’s helped make Kansas football relevant in setting the school’s passing record each season while leading the Jayhawks to a 12-1 finish and No. 7 final ranking in 2007.
Not bad for a 5-foot-11 quarterback who had trouble earning anyone’s attention even after completing a state-high 72 percent of his passes his senior year at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas.
"I’ve had to fight off naysayers my whole life,” Reesing said. "But I’ve shown that I can play a little football here and there.” San Antonio Express-News
Yes, Tony Temple’s little brother could one day play football for Kansas after quitting the Missouri football team last January.
But no, despite what Drew Temple told a KU internet site, he won’t have three seasons of football eligibility at Kansas.
According to Big 12 governance officer Lori Ebihara, a football player who transfers from one league school (in this case Missouri) to a school in the same league (in this case Kansas), that player loses two seasons out of his eligibility clock to play four seasons in five years.
Ebihara stressed she could not address the scenario for a specific player.
However, the shoe fits Temple.
Temple - if he can earn any time at KU in coming seasons - will have only two seasons to play as a Jayhawk. And it doesn’t matter that Temple may be considered a walk-on currently.
“Our rules don’t differentiate between a scholarship and a non-scholarship student-athlete,” Ebihara told me Tuesday afternoon.
Temple loses one year of playing time because of transfer under NCAA rules, required to have one year in residence at the new school prior to being eligible to play football.
Then, in a player of Temple’s circumstance, “We charge him with another year of eligibility,” Ebihara said.
The rules would not prohibit Temple from sitting one year and then playing the next two seasons. It merely subtracts two seasons eligibility from his window of five years to play four. KC Star*
Al Davis, Oakland owner and former AFL commissioner, called Adams a prime fighter for their clubs. "They were scared to death of Bud, the other league, because he beat them on Billy Cannon," he said.
Now 86, mixing sports and deals is something Adams was born to do.
The son of an Oklahoma oilman, he played football, basketball and baseball at Culver Military Academy and rugby and football in college. He finished as a letterman at the University of Kansas, served in the Navy during World War II and found himself grounded by fog in 1946 in Houston, where he decided to set up business.
Adams quickly expanded from oil to natural gas, transporting chemicals, car dealerships and farming and ranching in California and Texas. He also was involved with pro baseball and boxing, and sponsored amateur and AAU teams in basketball and softball. His ADA Oilers finished third in the 1956 national AAU basketball tournament.
He couldn't stay away from football. He wanted an NFL expansion franchise, then tried to buy the Chicago Cardinals and move them to Houston, only to be rejected.
That prompted Lamar Hunt to get his brother, Bunker, to set up a meeting for him with Adams in Houston. Football didn't come up until Adams was driving Hunt back to the airport for his flight to Dallas. Both men had tried to buy the Cardinals, and Hunt asked if Adams would be interested in forming a new league.
"I said, 'I sure would.' He got out and said, 'I'll be back in touch,'" Adams recalled last week.
On Aug. 3, 1959, Adams and Hunt announced in a news conference in Adams' office the formation of the AFL. Hunt would own the Dallas Texans, Adams the Houston franchise. Adams said the calls poured in from others eager to challenge the NFL.
As the Big East continues to try and improve its future bowl lineup, the league is strongly considering signing on for a new game in New York City, commissioner John Marinatto said.
Options would include playing at Yankee Stadium or the new Giants Stadium.
"There are several possibilities there we've been talking about and we're open minded about," Marinatto said. "Because New York has been the home of our basketball tournament and we have a 27-year history there, that's something the membership would obviously embrace." ESPN
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