Football Notes
Well, there’s snow on the ground. Probably as good of a time as any for my first lengthy football post of the year. Jayhawks It says a lot about the KU football program’s recent history that a win over another crappy team and a near-win against a very good team went down as the best stretch since the end of…
Hinkle
In the first six months I lived in Indiana, back in 2003, I had a pretty solid sports run. I went to the RCA Dome for a Colts pre-season game. I went to a Notre Dame football game in South Bend. I’m told that I went to West Lafayette for a Purdue football game, although that day is rather fuzzy…
Starting Over Again
Twenty years ago I developed a theory about sports. This theory stated that sports teams, or the coaches and administrators that lead them, can sell their souls to the devil in exchange for short-term success. I came up with this theory after Missouri went 14-0 in Big 8 play in 1994. While they had some fine talent, Melvin Booker and…
They’re Stealing!
My favorite dumb sports controversy of the weekend was Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder whining about Auburn allegedly stealing K-State’s offensive signals during their game on Thursday. What an ass. (K-State fans, please note, I think any coach in any sport whining about their opponent stealing signs is stupid. If it was Charlie Weis I would be writing the…
Hawks (Of Many Kinds)
Worlds collide to make the first post of the week an easy-to-name one. First, a few words about Naadir Tharpe leaving the Jayhawks basketball program. I felt sorry for Naadir all season. He was clearly miscast as a primary point guard for a national championship contending caliber team. But, thanks to several misses on the recruiting trail by Bill Self1,…
Dilemmas
What a crappy night, at least for people who share my rooting interests. On the one hand you have Kentucky, aiming for their ninth national championship with a team full of precocious freshmen who have suddenly found an extra couple of gears in March. Great story on many levels. But John Calipari is, arguably, the most reviled coach in the…
Two And Done
My habit during KU games is to text with my buddy Ed in Texas. We stood next to each other for three years at Allen Fieldhouse, with a few assorted games since then. This has become a cool way to, kind of, recreate that energy from the early 90s. On nights when one of us couldn’t be in front of…
NCAA Picks
I better rush in some picks before the games start here in a bit. This feels like a wide-open year. I’m of the opinion that Florida is the best team in the country. But they’re not so good that they can’t lose. In fact, it would not a shock if they weren’t the team to leave Memphis in a week…
Second Loves
I watched a few minutes of the ESPN 30 for 30 episode “Requiem For A Conference,” about the classic Big East conference, Sunday evening. Then, Tuesday, I watched the last ten minutes or so of the West Virginia – Georgetown NIT game. Georgetown played the game at their practice gym, thanks to the circus being booked into the normal home…
Dancing
Well, here we go. The best and worst time of the year for everyone who is A) a huge college basketball fan and B) lives and dies with a particular program. Best, because you never forget those comeback wins, those times your team knocked off a higher seed, and those deep tournament runs. Worst, well, because you never forget being…