Thursday, April 17, 2008
It was a weird feeling on Saturday morning when I woke up and realized there would not be a college basketball game on TV. After all, I had spent each Saturday for the past four months watching nothing but college basketball. And before that, it was college football games that occupied my attention all day.
I doubt that I am alone. Many of you probably feel the same way, not knowing what to do now that the football and basketball seasons are officially done for the year. If you’re like me, you’ve probably watched a replay of the championship game several times on ESPN Classic, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But each time you watch it, the same thing is going to happen. Chalmers’ three is going to go in and Kansas is going to win the game in overtime.
I realize that football and basketball are the two big sports on campus, but several other sports teams are in the middle of their seasons right now. Instead of flipping on the TV to another edition of PTI or Around the Horn, why not head out to check in on some of the other stars in Kansas Athletics that not many people know about?
Some of you may in fact be as dedicated to the sports teams on campus as White Owl, but most of you have probably never been to a game that wasn’t football or basketball. Here are a few other events and sports that are going on right now that you might enjoy taking a little bit of time to go watch:
Kansas Relays – The 81st annual Kansas Relays are underway today through Saturday evening at Memorial Stadium and will again feature some of the top track and field athletes in the world. Shot put World Champion Christian Cantwell, 400-meter hurdles World Champion Bershawn ‘Batman’ Jackson, American record holder Wallace Spearmon Jr., and World Outdoor Champion Muna Lee will all compete on Saturday afternoon. With the Olympics coming up this summer, it would be cool to say you saw some of the same athletes in the Olympics competing in Lawrence.
Tennis – What could be better on a beautiful spring day than to head out to the tennis courts behind Robinson and watch some cute girls play tennis? The team has been in and out of the rankings several times this year and has put together some impressive wins. Most of the girls hail from Russia, Hungary and other countries around the world so don’t expect to understand what they are yelling.
Softball – Quietly, the softball team is putting together one of the best seasons in school history. With a 30-11 record going into Wednesday night’s games against Missouri, the team has already reached the 30-win plateau with a month still left to play. Junior outfielder Dougie McCaulley is second in the Big 12 Conference with a .402 batting average. The Jayhawks team ERA of 1.97 ranks third in the Big 12. They have made the NCAA tournament in two of the past three seasons and look like they are headed back there again in 2008.
And speaking of softball, an effort is underway to start a club softball team on campus. Any female students interested in playing competitive fast pitch softball against other college teams in the area should e-mail rusty02@ku.edu for more information.
— Edited by Katherine Loeck
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