The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 40

THURSDAY AUGUST 14 2008 THE KANSAS CITY STAR WWWKANSASaTYCOM MISSOURI NOTEBOOK ft D4VJR EUUTT I THE KANSAS OTY STAR Thornton and jamas Holt (top) converged to take down MU tailback Tony Tample last saason at Arrowhead Stadium I 1 Gabbeit has MR1 Blaine Gabbert undsreant an far rein hs right shoukfec and the results of that test mayhoWtoekeytothefreshmanguarter-' badft antedate futon at Missouri baooefTtoofcpannvwanescmonwg practice but sat out the afternoon drifis After- ward MU coach Gary MoM revealed that 1 Gabbert had undergone the imdfcal test on his throwing shoulder He added Kite else MU ofTicials said they hoped to be able to reveal more following this roomings practice Last fad in hif senior season at Parkway West High Sctxxjin St Loud Gabbert suffered a gradedne separation of hh throwing shoub der No surgery was performed Gabbert was on the Na 3 offensive unit foSowingMlhs Tuesday scrimmage and unless he earns the No 2 job behind starter Chase Daniel would ileely be redshirted this season -Meanwhile freshman offensive lineman Travis Ruth had foot Sjrgery on Wednesday to correct A Usffanc fracture (small duster of bonesatthebaseofthemetatarsalskRuthis expected to miss the season I HOME OPENER TIME SET: Missouri's first home nonoonforenoe game against South-east Missouri State Oo Sept wi be a 6 pm kideoff 1 1 Rmay wind up as a pay-per-view TV of- fering from fox Sports Net "We donthaye an agreement on that yet MU athletic director Mice Alden told The Star on Wednesday "But they approached us about possibly producing that The contest wi be at night partly out of travel considerations for Southeast Missouri fonsandbecauseofeoncemsaboutheat Alden said a Sept 13 game against Nevada in Columbia and a Sept 20 game against Buffalo at MU wH be day games Ndcoff times have notbeenset There is possiteity that one of those games be sold on pay-per-view EBNER WILL PLAY: Pinkel said after practice Wedrinday that hue fteshman linebacker WiEbnerwi play this season Ebner who's from Friendswood Texas has already been moved up to first team on some kicking squads And on Tuesday Ebner rattled some jaws wittvyidous hits as part of the Na 2 finebadcingKneup After that scrimmage Ebner was reticent tp address the possibility of playing this year a question I neaity want to I redshirt fve got another year to get befterfo tire weight room and on the practice field But if they think I'm ready I'd love to Play" jMitoDeArmond mdearmondkcstercom center Ryan Madison is the top left Vguard -V going to put our best players in their best Pinkel said the way they are right now" Translated that means the MU qoaches saw the same thing as other observers during the last week or so of practices: MIT defensive lineman Ziggy Hood bad built a highway through the blocking attempts rtf Wise at rishteuard As a backup left tackle Fisher had at feast slowed down Hood and Mlft defensive ends Now with Gregory and Brown shoulder to shoulder again Missouri has a sure point of at-: tack between the two veterans Fisher and Hoch are at a prime point of a attack Job one most often at left tackle is to protect quarterback Chase Daniel a right-handed passer feel honestly I'm ready to do the job" Fisher told reporters after morning practice da whatever I can to keep him safe so we can win" Daniel was obviously frustrated with several things after Tuesday's scrimmage have some shoring up to do on the line on our receivers part on our running backs and on my Daniel said Pinkel downplayed a tendency for fans to panic over the line moves kind of shuffling" he said "There's a lot of competition going on at tackle The backup players too Really pleased overall with the offen- siveline" To reach Mika DeArnond Missouri reporter for Tha Star Call 816-234-4353 or sand e-mail Pinkel shifts players In an effort to fix problems that appeared In practice 'W By MIKE DtARMOND Tb Kansas City Star COLUMBIA MU senior Colin Brown is a preseason All-Big 12 selection at right tackle But Brown a former walk-on teho once said he deserved that status be- cause "he very good in high school" says he know he could play Big 12 football until last year the middle of the last season" Brown said about' five or six games I finally realized that this isn't too high a level I can do this if I work hard at it" -It1 was a light-bulb moment that now awaits another jolt after 1 a shakeup Wednesday that Miz- zou coach Gary Pin-kel said might or might not be the last shift in the front five before the season opens -Auj 30 Gregory against Illinois Kurtis Gregory last starting right guard mowed back into his old position after a1 brief shift to left tackle At left tackle currently is redshirt freshman Elvis Fisher out of St Petersburg (Fla) Catholic High with true freshman Dan Hoch behind Fisher Dropped from starting right guard to thud-string right tackle was junior Dain Wise Tun Barnes remains the starter at Mizzou backs away from a public sale KU has only a few singles left for Anrowhtad By MIKE DaARMOND l'i The KeneaS Oty Star There will be no sale of Border War football tickets to the general public -by Missouri MUassociateathletic director Maik Alnutt has confirmed to The Star Chieft do not have any for public safe Alnutt said That leaves Kansas as die only: source for the public to buy tickets but as of Wednesday night only single tickets remained for safe at the KU Athletics "Web site wwwJoiathletic-sxom COUNTDOWN JO NO The Stork BlwKeiidipff continues 1 -'1 Klfs seniors ara mentoring their replacements looking to Instill expertise and maturity By DAVID BOYCE F- The KansasOty star- Lawrence Whenever Kansas senior linebackers Joe Mortensen Mike Rivera and James Holt make a bone-crushing hit force a fumble or make drive-stopping tackles reflect on the past and look to the future Han -work steady improvement and results have made Mortensen Rivera and Holt the key unit for the 2008Jayhawks "Thafs avetem group 1 have very high expectations for that MaikMangino said are the an- chor of bur defense Those guys are tested They aredugh-) quality play--ers who haw been in the program a longtime''' "We expect nothing but a stellar year out of the linebacker crew" Back in 2005 Mangino probably felt the samb about anodier group iff senior linebackers KU fins remember -dw contributions of Nick Reid Banks Floodman and Kevin Kane They endured three losing seasons before helping the Jayhawks go 7-5 their senior year a season that ended with KU winning its first-bowl game since 1995 -But perhaps their biggest contribution to the program was showing a group jiff freshman linebackers what it takes tbbeleaders And now Mortensen Rivera and Holt are in position to do the same for the group of linebackers behind them Wright Drew Dudley Justin Holt said of the young linebackers to watch "I feel like Springer is going to be a real good confribut(H: to this team this year and the follow- Ing years to cbme Nick Kevin and Banks being there had a big influence on us They had been playing together for their whole college careen like we have They relied on each other" Mortensen Rivera and Holt have earned the same sort of respect that they give their predecessors Each season they have improved to the point that last season they became a game-changing force Morten- sen recorded 106- tackles last year forced a fumble and-recovered two other frmbfes come a long Rivera said are really close We know each positives and negatives-We know what drives each other and what will get us through the hard to mdearmondkcstercom Last Week Alnutt warned that allotment of 30000 tickets might be insufficient to warrant a planned Monday safe to the public through Hdcetmastcrcom In lightof tbaL Missouri fins have been buying tickets from allotment of 30000 tickets for the Nov 29 game at Arrowhead Stadium fim Marchiony Kansas associate athletic director for external relations told The Stur on Wednesday evening that only 100 to 150 single tickets remained for sale through KU He said the school had offered its Williams Fund ticket holders die first crack at KITS allotment "Ninety to 9S percent were gone by the time we made them avaifebfe to 'V die daily countdown of our preseiuontop general public" Marchiony said He said thatKU was holding back 3000 tickets for students to purchase1 once they return to campus The ChfefiAAlmitt said hold an fotment of20fl00 tideets those availa- bfe first to season-ticket holders and special-interest groups' associated with the NFL chib The -few remaining tickets from allotment Alnutt said are being reserved for Tiger Scholarship Fund contributors ana other financial boosters The rest have been purchased through die student ticket pro- gam and by scholarship fund mpnK Th Stains Brady McCollough contributed to this report i college ftiodllfeams KANSAS NOTEBOOK Collins trial date set Hie dv lawsuit sgainrt Kansas junior point guardShmanCoHnshasbeansetfortrialpnT April 15 at 9 am which means that CoBns might play the entire 2006-09 season before' -the legal matter is resolved Jessica Brown Who accused COKns in the lawsuit Of exposing himself and nibbing against her in a Jayhavrtw Towers elevator in May 2007 is seeking damages in excess of $75000 Collins has denied the allegations In July Douglas County District Attorney Charles Bronson decided there was insufficient 1 evidence to charge Collins in a criminal case I KU NABS RECEIVER: The Kansas fpotbal program got some great news on Tuesday night when wide receiver Neal Bartow of Little Rock Ark gave the Jayhawks an Oral commit- ment according to Rivalsjcom Barlow the Na 71 overofi receiver in the 2009 dasschoseKU over LSU Missouri North Carolina Tulsa and Arkansas He stands 6 feet 7 inches tafi and weighs 190 pounds KU now hasH commitments for 2009: Brady McColiough ttkxI loughkcstercom Rivera took his game to another lev el during his junior season recording' 96 tackfes his first career interception and recovering two fumbles He Rivera) is quietly confident" Mangino said not a big rah-rah guy Just watching him grow from two years ago he was apprehensive at times and just learning nis way see the way he operates now You love to see' kids mature like that and play to their foil potential And finally there is Holt who made the biggest improvement from his sophomore to junior year going from 29 tackles to 99 He also had die first two sacks of his career last season best thing is gotten into great shape and more importantly we got stronger mentally We are students of the game" Mortensen said think why we are up for one of the best linebacker groups in the nation" The senior linebackers know how much hard work it took for KU to turn in the best season in the history of the football program last year I first came here football very Rivera said built it from die ground up some-thingi wanted to be a part of Being at Kansas and living in this state my whole life this is something 1 dreamed of and Tm so thankful it is iny last yeai and I want to see what we can do this year We want to do bigger and better NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer -of Emporia Kan who at-tended Kansas pre-sentation on Wednesday you think erf all thq team members who go to the race track Bowyer said The people watching TV only see the 43 drivers but hundreds of team members who go to these places every week and Kansas has always 1 been a place everyone loves They haven't been here since you dan walk across the street go buy a pair of shoes at die Legends a new lawn chair for your motorhome at and diere would be plenty of racers at the To reach Randy Covftz sports reporter for The Star call 816-234-4796 or sand a-mail to rcovitzkcitercom TEXAS LONGHORNS of Chris Ogbonnaya Whittaker and Vondrell pel MqGee I OUTLOOK: New defensive coordinator WiH 1 PREVIOUS PtCKI Na 16 KansaiL No T7 lllinois No18 Ayr nd was LSUs Brigham YouthTno 1 9 OrJorxNo 20 Wake Forest coordinator for the 2003 national title team HehaStpNo21 Arizona State Na 22 PtemState Na 23 Fresno rebuild a secondary and pass defense Quarterback 5 state No 24 Utah No 250klahoma Stata Cott McCoy toone erf the best but the-: CO Olair ubMi nwklc OC IIaau Go to KansesCItyxom for Blair Longhorns need Kerkhoffs vlogs onrhis top 25 college football countdown to break in a replacement for 1 7 years race ven Kennedy said at a news conference Speedway's) -proposal for realigning a date would comprise one ticket and IRL another With gas at $4 ii gallon and die economy sagging the mar- ket may not be aide to fully support three race weekends The Speedway is still aggressively advertising tickets for next Sprint Cup week-end and last IRL week-: end was marked by some empty seats despite the mar quee value of Danica coming off her victory in Japan in 10-race Chase for the Championship that determines the series champion If the additional race takes place in the spring it could affect the dates ofthe annual Indy Racing League weekend In 2006 the IRL was moved from the oppressive heat of July 4 weekend to late April after Kansas Speedway was unsuccessful in convincing ISC to install lights: Moving a race to the summer could change that especially since ISC installed light at its track in Chicago this year I': FROM 01 Helton and NASCAR secre-tarygeneral counsel Gary Crafty You do the math hope the chances (of getting the second date) are as good as our getting the said a smiling Kennedy a driving force in getting Kansas SpeedwaybuilL From the day 1 die track opened in2001 Kansas Speed- way president jeff Boerger never hid his desire to secure a second Sprint Cup date to go with thie annual tall weekend and the Indy Racing League weekend earlier in the yean Kansas foiled to secure a sec- ond 4ate in 2004-05 when NASCAR last realigned its schedule During that period California Speedway Texas -Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway were awarded second dates while Dariington (SC) lost its tradi- tionil Labor Day Southern 500 race and Rockingham two races were dropped from the seven have Kansas an Sprint want gets date would Bristol about vorably tracks larger IdMrO TVVAV WVIMI UWI schedule ISC owns 12 tracks on the NASCAR Cup circuit and Daytona International Speedway California Speedway Phoenix Michigan International Speedway IkUadega Superspeedway Richmond International Railway and Martinsville (Va) Speedway two races Kennedy said the second race would come from ISC track that has multiple Cup races California Speedway has not drawn well recently but NASCAR may not to give Up the exposure if in Southern California That -could nude Martinsville vulnerable to losing a considering the series still have three races in Virginia and two in nearby Tfenn "The one thing ean tell you imentsis previous realign would be looked upon in a vorabfe way Boerger quickly added: hurt that your major sponsor Spriq is in your back 'yard' A second Sprint Cup week- end would bring anodier $111 million into the Kansas Cite area economy according to re-' search Economics Group Inc The Kansas Gaming arid Racing Cpmmission is ex-pected to make its decision in late September possibly during die Sprint Cup week-- end on Sept 27-28 at Kansas Speedway If it selects the Kansas SpeedwayCordish plan the hotelcasino likely wrould open in late 2010 or 2011 so the earliest the track could have two Sprint Cup races would be 2010 but morelikelym Boerger said he wants to maintain the late September weekend which is the third kg Kennedy believes the prox-: imity of the hotelyfcasino to the opened what an awesome Speedway can solve that issue area that has become Speedway will be helpr 1 fill to the (hotel) but it will also be helpful to our ticket safes because people are going to the Power ft Light District go to Las Vegas but the trad is 30 miles firm die Strip chaos everywhere and a lot of drivers like that Here that Chicago was more of a TV partner requesting lights From a racetrack perspective we eventually do want lights and will continue to work on Boerger was uncertain whether a second Sprint Cup weekend would be added to the season ticket that also in eludes die IRINASCAR Craftsman Duck weekend or if the two Sprint Cup weekends want to come and Kennedy said found that our destination racetracks way outperform the others This is going tp be one of the top desti-nations in the country a far as guest amenities and things to i do while you're here" The project will appeal to the race teams as said NASCAR has tended to look hr on successful race- and also racetracks in markets that have pro- V-V tiMkww IlWiW 1 'W.