A star is born and a damn fine game is played. Almost 3000 words about Kansas, Missouri, and basketball. It’s becoming a tradition. Kansas-Missouri on ESPN, I do an in-game blog. Well, I guess it becomes a tradition tonight, as last year was probably the first year I did it. Marquette and Louisville are doing their job of finishing up…

Appropriately Wayne Simien’s shot to win the game fell short at exactly the stroke of midnight here in Indianapolis. In years past, I would spend the next five or six hours laying on the floor without movement. I mean, Bucknell in the first round? OK, I might have been preparing to leap from a tall building. I’m bummed, but not…

I’ve not shared how my week-long vacation from college basketball went.  I indeed managed to avoid almost all college basketball coverage for a full seven days.  I didn’t watch games, read about them in the paper, or follow columnists online.  Tuesday morning at about 10:00, I checked the Kansas-Oklahoma score but did not read any stories about the game itself. …

Long-time readers and friends know that I’m a gigantic sports fan and a competition freak, both of which combine with a sometimes frightening intensity in my extreme devotion to the basketball team of my alma mater, the University of Kansas. I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have been born into a fandom that has provided many more high moments than low.…

To the basketball team of my alma mater. Gentlemen, In the future, if you plan on losing a weeknight game that begins at 9:00 PM my time, please do so in regulation rather than taking two overtimes to do so. I’m not as young as I used to be, and now I’ve got a kid. Who is teething. It’s not…

Selection Sunday is four weeks from yesterday, so we’re down to crunch time. Many smaller leagues have only two weeks of play left, so the mid-majors should be solidifying their at-large credentials. The heavyweights are playing for top seeds. Will Kansas and Oklahoma State be playing not only for the Big 12 crown, but also a #1 seed? Or, with…

…next year. Snob Hill 22 (30) Silo Tech 0 (0) KU will have one or perhaps two more wins over K-State this year to continue their long, insane winning streaks (22 straight in Manhattan, 30 straight overall) and next season the ‘Cats will finally knock off their bully cousins from Lawrence on their home court. I see Jason Whitlock has…

A pretty crazy weekend in the Big 12. Five of six road teams won. The single road team that lost was Missouri, who lead by one at halftime while their best player served a one-half suspension (or at least that’s what I was told). Kleiza comes in for the second half, Mizzou loses by 28. Strange. What to make of…