WRITER: Henry Greenstein

Big 12 power rankings: ISU and BYU battling for top spot

The race for first place in the Big 12 power rankings continues to tighten. Only two points separate Iowa State and BYU for the top spot. The Cyclones are No. 1 for the third straight week after receiving nine of a possible 16 first-place votes (249 points) from a panel of media who regularly cover the Big 12. BYU was second with seven first-place votes and 247 points. Kansas State and Texas Tech remained ...

Nichols' increased leadership role has wide-ranging influence on Jayhawks

The Kansas women’s basketball team will field a new-look roster this year, but fortunately for head coach Brandon Schneider, he already has a sample of data he can refer to for what a S’Mya Nichols-led team looks like — from late last season. As he has repeatedly pointed out throughout the offseason, “When we moved S’Mya to our primary decision-maker and moved Wyvette (Mayberry) off the ball, we lost ...

Former KU football player appears briefly in commercial with Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid

If you missed Hayden Hatcher's appearance in a national commercial, that’s OK. It took him by surprise, too. The former Kansas defensive end was watching the Kansas City Chiefs play on Monday Night Football on Oct. 7 with his little brother and a friend. Suddenly, during an ad break he spotted himself — with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid in a State Farm ad. “Had to rewind it,” ...

The song that gets Griffen going

Talandra Griffen’s choice of driving music may have had further-reaching consequences than either she or her son could have anticipated. Something about hearing Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” in her car made an impact on Rylan Griffen. She used to play it on a daily basis. “I don’t know why,” said Griffen, a junior wing who transferred to Kansas from Alabama this past offseason. “She used to ...

KU men's basketball selected preseason No. 1

For the second season in a row and the fifth overall, the Kansas men’s basketball team will begin the year ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll. The Jayhawks, who received exactly half of the first-place votes from the 60-member panel, will look to convert that mark into a championship for the first time, after 2004-05 ended in a first-round elimination and 2009-10, 2018-19 and most recently ...

Injury questions persist for KU out of bye week

Time will tell if Kansas' first bye week of the season helped cure its on-field ills, but in the near term, it may not have done enough for the Jayhawks' physical health. Asked how much the bye week helped injured players get back into action, Leipold said, "Not as much as I had hoped yet right now, to be truthful." "We’ve still got a lot of guys that are questionable, working through it," he continued. ...