waits for IAAF ruling
SHOT PUT from page 16
out of competition, both the Big 12
office and Byrne declined to comment
on the situation.
According to another source close
to the NU team, Texas called other
schools in the Big 12 and asked them to
complain to the Conference
Headquarters about Myerscough’s eli
gibility.
Longhorn Coach Bubba Thornton
said he made no such phone calls but
admitted to having “casual conversa
tions” about Myerscough with other
teams inside and outside of the confer
ence.
“I think people give me too much
credit,” Thornton said. “I have a great
respect for NU. They showed great
integrity to hold him out. I don’t think
any conversations I may or may not
•• Bill Byrne s a hypocrite. He s only
(suspending Myerscough) to look
good.”
have would have any bearing.”
Thornton said Nebraska “without a
doubt” did the right thing by holding
Myerscough out of competition. All he
was concerned with, he said, was mak
ing up points on Nebraska, which
defeated UT for the Big 12
Championships for the outdoor season.
When asked if that included an
attempt to get the Big 12 to withhold
Myerscough from competition,
Thornton said absolutely not.
John Chaplain
Olympic track and field coach
Kansas State Coach Cliff Rovelto
said he didn’t receive any phone calls
from any schools.
“I don’t think they would call for
two reasons: It’s not something we want
to be a part of because it would be a
waste of time, and our relationship to
Nebraska is better than theirs,” Rovelto
said.
Colligan said it was discouraging to
see schools resort to tactics like this.
“We think it’s unfair to even be sug
McKewon: Town rallies around team
GIRLS from page 16
-buying coaches and talent. When a
coach asks parents to buys their
teens $400 worth of stuff to make
them better players, it’s no problem.
Most money schools are usually
big, too, because no school district
wastes capital on a handful of stu
dents. Size allows a pick-and-choose
selection process from a pool big
enough to ensure quality within it.
South Sioux City fits none of
these cliches. It is public, not rich,
and not very big (enrollment 682).
And yet it thrives, producing big
time college players.
Is it the muddy water in the
faucets?
Not likely. Rather, it’s a pipeline
built from high school all the way
down to grade school serving as the
secret to the Cardinals’ success.
Girls start young now, cultivating
their skills six to eight years before it
will ever matter. Coach Kelly Flynn
scouts seventh graders who may
someday play for South Sioux City.
It’s a scene reminding me of
“Friday Night Lights,” about a high
school football team in Odessa,
Texas, the town that stakes every
thing in the success of the high
school football team. When the
writer told it like it was, nobody
there was happy, because he told it
like it was. He spoiled their fun with
reality.
Sports, no matter what we think,
cannot remedy a singular problem
with society. And though South
Sioux doesn’t have the trappings of a
dusty town in West Texas,it fits the
blue-collar role, along with the sin
glemindedness.
After the Cardinals lost to
Ogallala in the state finals last year,
they thought about the loss for more
than 350 days. After the game
Saturday night, many said they had
talked about the loss after every
practice, before every game.
It’s probably an overstatement,
sure, but it’s indicative of their reali
ty nonetheless. And if this is the real
ity of the players, imagine the reality
of their parents, often more zealous
than their children. As a larger con
struct, imagine the reality of the
town.
Understand this deceptive
dimension will repeat itself in towns
and schools all over in America,
replicating in its own little way, until
sports loses the aura that was unjust
ly given to it years ago. Has South
Sioux City fallen in the trap? That’s
hard to say. The town probably faces
the same odds as one would betting
black on a riverboat roulette wheel.
Certainly, I’m the spoilsport,
playing devil’s advocate to the hard
earned success of some very talented
young women. If given the chance,
nearly any high school team gladly
would trade places with them. Any
high school would for that matter.
Let’s face it: A math team champi
onship just isn’t the same. A high
school football title has a lot more
pride and money attached to it.
And now, in one of the football
capitals of the world, so does girls’
basketball. Equality indeed.
Samuel McKewon is a junior
political science major and a Daily
Nebraskan senior editor.
Creighton earns bid to Big Dance
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ryan Sears
scored 15 ppints Monday as Creighton
beat Southwest Missouri State 57-45 in
the Missouri Valley Conference tourna
ment championship game to earn the
league’s automatic bid to the NCAA
tournament for the second straight year.
Sears was chosen most valuable
player for the tournament as the Blue
Jays (23-9) set a Missouri Valley season
record for most three-pointers at 277,
breaking the record of 268 set by
Southern Illinois in 1995-96.
The Bluejays made nine three
pointers in the game after hitting seven
on Sunday to upset top-seeded Indiana
State.
Sears, playing with a dislocated fin
ger on his left hand, made three three
pointers in the first half to help
Creighton to a 35-20 lead at halftime.
Matt West added 11 points and
three three-pointers.
Creighton, which has won five
games in a row, also turned in a strong
defensive effort. The Blue Jays held
Southwest Missouri scoreless during a
stretch of 7:18 in the opening half.
With Sears leading the way,
Creighton put together runs of 11 -0 and
13-0 in the opening half on the way to a
35-20 lead. Sears and Kyle Korver
combined for three three-pointers mid
way through the half to erase an early
11-4 deficit. Korver, Sears and West
keyed a 13-0 spurt later in the half.
gested that he be held out of competi
tion without his situation being settled,”
said Colligan.
One national track official ques
tioned Byrne’s decision-making.
John Chaplain, U S. Olympic track
and field coach and IAAF official, said
he was aware of the decision to punish
Myerscough and said Byrne was hypo
critical if he sat out Myerscough
because of pressure from the Big 12.
“Get some balls and follow the
rules,” Chaplain said. “Be an athletic
director. Or lobby to the NCAA until (it
follows) international rules.”
Chaplain also questioned whether
or not Byrne was suspending temporar
ily Myerscough for die right reasons.
“Bill Byrne’s a hypocrite,”
Chaplain said. “He’s only doing it to
look good. Would he do it if it were
football or basketball?”
Chaplain said he wasn’t defending
drug use, but doesn’t believe Byrne
should “pickon” Myeiscough.
“This is not about a bad little boy
who took drugs,” Chaplain said. “It’s
deeper than that.”
Chaplain said the NCAA needed to
re-evaluate its drug-testing system.
“The NCAA should give test
results to the LAAF and the USATF,”
Chaplain said. “(It) should follow the
same governing body of sports it’s a
part of.”
However, Colligan said Byrne
made a tough decision, one that could
be understood.
“I’m not upset with Byrne,”
Colligan said. “I’m upset with the
wishy-washiness of the whole thing
and trying to figure out people’s
stances. We’ve followed every letter of
the rules.”
NU Soccer team wins;
track has 15 in NCAAs
From staff reports
NU soccer team notches win
The Nebraska soccer team got its
first win of the spring season with a 4
0 victory over Southern California on
Sunday in Los Angeles.
NU will next play at home against
Iowa on April 2.
NU tracksters land 15 in
Championships
The Nebraska track and field
team will send 15 athletes to the
NCAA Track and Field
Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.,
this weekend.
Competing for the men are throw
er Jeff Armitage, sprinter Chris
Chandler, pole-vaulter Eric Eshbach,
high-jumper Shawn Kologinczak,
sprinter Dwayne McClary and long
jumper Sheldon Hutchinson.
Women competitors are the 4-by
400-meter relay team, high-jumper
Carrie Braness, long- and triple
jumper Dalhia Ingram, distance run
ner Stella Klassen, sprinter Lesley
Owusu, thrower Melissa Price and
hurdler Emily Waibel.
Husker baseball t
schedule with bat
From staff reports
After a long road trip and a subpar
weekend, the Nebraska baseball team
needs a chance to get well.
And that chance will come today
at 2 p.m. when the Comhuskers take
on the University of Nebraska at
Omaha.
All of the Huskers’ first 12 games
have come on the road, and last week
end, the team lost two of three to
Oklahoma State.
Coach Dave Van Horn said the
home game is important for the
Huskers on many levels, because it
gives them a chance to get back on
Buck Beltzer’s field and gain some
earn opens home
tie against Mavs
confidence after a rough weekend.
“We just need to get a home game
under our belts,” he said. “It will feel
good to play on our own field. All in
all, this game should help us in the
long run.”
Van Horn said he’s been waiting
to get a look at some relief pitchers
who could contribute later in the sea
son, and facing UNO gives him the
chance to give them a dress rehearsal.
A game between UNO and the
Huskers was scheduled for last
Tuesday, but it was rained out.
“It would have been nice to get a
home game in, but we’ve got a lot of
home games coming up, so it’s not a
huge loss,” Van Horn said.
Use your noon hour to
RELAX
Tuesdays, 12:10-12:45 pm
University Health Center,
15th & U Streets, Room 43
March 7 Breathing for Relaxation and
Health/Magic Ball
March 21 Calm Breath and Mindfulness
Meditation
March 28 Pond of Love and Inner
Harmony
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Asbury could be in final weeks as coach
at KSU, says season hasn’t been too hard
By Trevor Johnson
Senior editor
On the advent of the Big 12 tour
nament, teams such as Iowa State and
Oklahoma State are looking to
increase their seeds for the NCAA
Tournament.
Missouri and Colorado are look
ing to solidify their chances of getting
into the Big Dance.
Nebraska and Kansas State sim
ply are trying to save their coaches’
jobs.
KSU Coach Tom Asbury and his
Wildcats find themselves at the bot
tom of the pack this year. Their first
round game against Kansas, which
swept the Wildcats this year, doesn’t
have the future looking much brighter
for the beaten-down team.
Nor do the reports out of
Manhattan, Kan., that are saying
Asbury’s job is on the line.
After going 20-13 overall with a
respectable 7-9 conference record last
year, this year was looking up for
Asbury. Though he had lost seven let
termea, three of his starters are return
ing.
But inconsistent play and a power
packed league saw KSU’s record
dwindle to 2-14 in the Big 12 and 9-18
overall, one of Asbury’s worst ever as
a coach.
“What people don’t realize is
these power conferences beat each
other down,” said Iowa State Coach
Larry Eustachy. “Teams that finish
seventh in this conference could wind
up No. 1 in a conference that was
ranked 20th.”
The stacked conference may have
been a reality check for Asbury.
Coming from Pepperdine, the coach
had amassed a 125-59 overall record,
leading the Waves to three berths in
NCAAs, while winning the West
Coast Conference three times and
never finishing below second. He was
named coach of the year twice.
But the West Coast Conference
was not the Big 12, and Asbury never
did have a finish higher than seventh
in the Big 12 and fourth in the Big 8,
taking the team to only one NCAA
appearance.
During the losing streak, the boo
birds came out at Bramlage Coliseum,
some raising banners for his dismissal
and calling for the welcome mat to be
pulled out from under the coach’s feet.
So far, Bobby Cremins of Georgia
Tech is the most noticeable man in the
nation who won’t be the coach at his
school next year. Yet in a year when
the coaching ax isn’t supposed to fall
that hard, Asbury has been mentioned
along with Nebraska’s Danny Nee as
Big 12 coaches who will join Cremins
among the unemployed.
While Nee has lost his cool under
pressure this year, infamous for calling
Nebraska Alumni “sons of bitches,”
Asbury said this year hasn’t been hard.
“For six and a half years I was
confronted with keeping my daughter
alive, rushing to the hospital after
practices,” Asbury said about his
daughter who died while he was
coach at K-State.
“On a one to 10 scale on how dif
ficult this season has been for me, this
season has been a one.”
