Mom, I promise I'll call as soon as I get this posted...
Rubber Game Today: After splitting the Friday and Saturday games with Oklahoma, the Bat Cats face a crucial nine innings today in Norman, Okla. The conference standings are a bit muddled right now because the Nebraska/Texas A&M and Missouri/KU games were postponed due to rain yesterday, but we do know this: K-State is eighth in the conference standings, half a game behind KU (who must play two games against Mizzou today) and half a game ahead of today's opponent, OU. Win this game, and we have a 1.5 game lead on OU and the tiebreaker. Also, if we win today and KU splits today with Mizzou, we would remain tied with KU for seventh place with the Sunflower Series coming up next week.
Gentlemen, Start Your Wallets: I didn't mean that lead-in to be sexist, so ladies, you're included, too. Point is, K-State is embarking on a major facilities-upgrade project and, as most things do these days, it's gonna cost us. To the tune of $70 million, to be exact. It will be money well-spent, though. The last two years I've seen the megatrons and sports palaces at Texas and Texas A&M and, frankly, we have some work to do.
I do like this quote from athletic director Bob Krause:
"No, you don't need marble and cherry wood coming out the ears," Krause said. "You don't need the red waterfalls and all that stuff. You need a plan, you need the right people, and you need the patience to work with the plan."
That's just about it for today. A happy and relaxing Mother's Day to you all.
Finals are over, and I couldn't be more elated. Of course, that means a travel day tomorrow as I return to Kansas City for the summer. Don't expect an update tomorrow, but feel free to post something new in the diaries for everyone to discuss.
Nothing like an accurate headline: Check out the following screen shot from yesterday's Wichita Eagle Web site.
Man, what's wrong with me today? Vitriol for newspapers everywhere.
Why is this "Kansas State University" news?
You're all going to regret that a friend of mine showed me how to take screen shots, because I'm clearly abusing the privilege. But let's stick with the theme here and keep finding fault with the local rags. Here's a selection from the KC Star today:
He's not our coach. He's West Virginia's coach. West Virigina isn't anywhere near Kansas City, Mo.
Quite Probably My Favorite Wildcat: His whole life, Darren Sproles was told he couldn't. He was too small to play Big 12 football. He stuttered in interviews with the media.
They're No. 1 No.3/4: Tonight, the Bat Cats welcome No. 1 3/4 Arizona State to Manhattan. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m., so if you're in or near Manhattan, you should definitely head over to Tointon. It's not every decade that the best baseball team in the country comes to MHK. If you're listening on the radio, feel free to track the game's progress in the comments.
The Season Lives! Despite a disappointing finish at the Big 12 championships, the men's golf team will live to play another three days. Tim Norris's crew was selected as a participant in the NCAA West Regionals, to take place May 15-17 in Bremerton, Wash. That's an important accomplishment for a program that has been struggling to regain the level of play it exhibited from 2002-04. Good luck on the west coast, Cats!
Stay Safe, Manhattan: A Sabetha man is in custody after a stabbing last night east of campus left two people injured. Not enough details at this point to know whether it included any K-State students, although the perpetrator is apparently not a student.
I'd like to dig into this more deeply, but with two finals in the next 41 hours, I simply don't have the time. Such inquiry may be a project for the summer. Leave any thoughts you may have in the comments or a diary.
Wish me luck. The next two days will probably be pretty light around here, but after that I'm blissfully finished with my second year of graduate school.
Cats Salvage Sunday: Despite dropping the first two games of last weekend's set with Missouri, the Bat Cats displayed some guts in coming from behind to win Sunday's contest, 4-3, in 10 innings. After Mizzou picked up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, the Cats pushed a run across on Justin Bloxom's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth. In the 10th inning, K-State managed to score the go-ahead run without even recording a hit, when a throwing error by MU catcher Trevor Coleman allowed Adam Muenster to score.
As you can see, K-State is clinging to a precarious half-game advantage on OU for the last spot in the Big 12 tournament. On the other hand, the Cats only trail KU by one game for the seventh spot. Did I mention we play at OU next week before splitting a series with KU to end the season? This is going to be interesting.
Surprise! At the K-State men's basketball award's banquet Sunday night, Michael Beasley was named the team's most valuable player for 2007-08. Others receiving awards were Bill Walker, Clent Stewart, Blake Young, Dominique Sutton and Darren Kent. Congrats to all, and thanks for all the hard work this season.
Sad Anniversaries: As much fun as Cinco de Mayo is, or is for those who aren't studying for exams, it appears May 4th is at the other end of the spectrum. Those in Kansas need no reminder of that, for it was one year ago when Greensburg was leveled by an EF5 tornado. On Saturday night, I took a break to watch part of a Discovery Channel show about the tornado and how Greensburg is rebuilding. (For the record, yes, I realize how completely pitiful it is to be watching Discovery Channel on Saturday night.) From this young man goes much applause to the residents of the town for (a) rebuilding after such a devastating event, and (b) doing it in an environmentally friendly fashion. The show I watched is sort of the pre-cursor to a 13-part special about the entire rebuilding process, which will air this summer.
It's still a really slow news time, so my apologies for the lack of K-State links. In six days, I'll be done with final exams and should be able to get a few more creative things going to get us through the summer months. Just bear with me these next few days and please, feel free to post something for discussion in the diaries.
Landon Lecture: If there's a better university lecture series in the country than K-State's Landon Lecture, it hasn't been presented to me. Earlier this week, CIA director Michael Hayden delivered the most recent lecture. Even better, the lectures are open to all K-State students and faculty and the general public, as well. A list of past Landon Lecture speakers can be found here.
Where will he go? Speculation abounds over at the KC Star regarding where Michael Beasley will be drafted. You can't go wrong with either Beasley or Derrick Rose, but passing up Beasley at No. 2 should get an NBA general manager fired.
From the "didn't know you were still alive" category: For those of you who are interested in the "Blogs vs. Traditional Media" debate, here's an interesting story for you. Bob Costas invited Will Leitch (of Deadspin) onto his show, "Costas Now," for a panel discussion of blogs and traditional media. Also invited were Buzz Bissinger (also known as the guy who wrote "Friday Night Lights") and Cincinnati receiver Braylon Edwards. To sum it up, the 'panel discussion' devolved into Bissinger hurling profanity-laced invective at Leitch for, I kid you not, lowering the level of discourse in America.
I would like to make all manner of intelligent remarks on this topic, but two things are stopping me from doing so. First, family law and business organizations aren't going to learn themselves. Second, everyone else has already beaten me to it. Check out this post over at Rock'M Nation for a good list of those who have already weighed in. Particularly, read Orson's eloquent statement of "Who We Are" over at EDSBS.
Sorry, that story is probably only interesting to bloggers and other j-school-dork types, but I found it interesting, dammit.
That's all I have for now. I'll put a baseball thread up later for this weekend's baseball series with Missouri.
Nelson Rising: With the NFL Draft looming this weekend, we are hearing whispers that Jordy Nelson could possibly be taken late in the first round. Well, OK, so those whispers are coming from his agent, who has a vested interest in seeing Nelson selected highly, but there may be fire with that smoke. Nelson apparently had dinner recently with the owner and head coach of the Washington Redskins, who have the No. 21 overall pick.
From the "wish I were they" category: The Big 12 men's golf championship is underway from Whispering Pines in Trinity, Texas. You can follow the men's results online with GolfStat. As of this writing, K-State is on holes 2-5 and stands tied for first at level par. Very early, obviously, but a good start.
You can also follow the women's Big 12 championship at this GolfStat link. The women are on holes 1-5 right now and stand +6. I'll try to provide updates throughout the day in the comments.
That's it for today's news. Check back later for conference golf updates in the comments and a weekend baseball live thread.
In just two short weeks, I will be done with school until August. That said, things are probably going to get a little more sporadic around here, so bear with me.
Bloxom's Walkin' Off: Justin Bloxom came up huge for the Bat Cats last night, blasting a two-run, walk-off home run in the 11th inning to give K-State a 9-7 victory over No. 11 UC-Irvine. That should have the Cats riding a wave of confidence heading into this weekend's important series with Texas in Manhattan. K-State currently trails Texas by 1.5 games in the Big 12 standings.
Cats Sign Herrera: Frank Martin is bringing in a big body to protect the rim in Hutchinson Community College center Abdul Herrera. Herrera is a 6'11" center who probably won't contribute much in the way of offense (he averaged about six points per game in 13 minutes per game at Hutch), but clearly is considered an important part of defending some of the bigger guys in the conference.
Take it away, Jeffrey: Over at K-Stated, Jeffrey Martin is really cranking away today. Check out his three new posts...
News from Fatima Smith: Includes Michael Beasley's timetable for announcing his shoe contract, a documentary that will include Beasley, and where he may or may not be working out this week.
A Latavious Williams Update: As I mentioned last week, Williams was very impressive at the Kingwood Classic AAU tournament, and it looks like Frank Martin and Dalonte Smith are hot on his trail. Martin notes the "Michael Beasley Effect" is in full force in Williams' recruitment.
It's Not Over Just Yet: Although Montrell McDonald appears to be leaning toward Texas Tech right now, his recruitment isn't over.
Filing it away for later: Over at Crimson and Cream Machine, they're getting pretty pumped about their basketball team for next year. Given some of the players they're bringing in (Willie Warren) and have returning (Blake Griffin), that's probably warranted.
However, I'm filing this late-April prediction away for next season:
Kansas St.
Give me odds.
If you haven't been reading it already, you need to go check out SBN's Iowa blog, Black Heart Gold Pants and check out their JoePa series. Just don't do it anywhere you could get in trouble for laughing (i.e., work, class, the closet).
Anteaters Edge Cats: I have no idea if Anteaters actually live in Irvine, Calif., but last night the Anteaters from UC-Irvine dropped the Bat Cats, 4-3, at Tointon. As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm looking at my cup from last year's College World Series and, oh yeah, there's a school on there called "U.C. Irvine." Tough loss, but UCI is a pretty good team.
Bo Knows Whining: With a tip of my cap to the inimitable Wizard of Odds, take in this hilarious video of Bo Pelini whining after K-State's 38-9 rout of Nebraska in 2003.
It's clear Bo was a newcomer at Nebraska, because anyone at NU who would complain about somebody running up the score on Nebraska would have to be in the running for hypocrite of the new millenium. Of course y'all should know my position on running up the score by now. It's nice of a coach to call off the dogs, but in conference games, no quarter should be expected.
Controversy! It's time for new personalized license plates in Kansas, and if I'm any judge of the state, new license plates are ripe ground for big controversy. Here are the five designs, and you can (and should, it's your civic duty) go vote for them here.
This one looks like a bad tattoo. And where's the word "Kansas," except in small letters on the state seal.
Much better. I really like the incorporation of the state seal with a beautiful sunset. I could approve this one.
The colors here are more neutral and would look better on most cars, but it kind of puts me to sleep. Plus, while I realize the Indian archer on the left also adorns the capitol in Topeka, it still screams "Tootsie Pop" to me.
Similar to the second design, but a little too plain. Good luck to the cops who will have to read letters and numbers with that dark windmill in the background of either design.
If it didn't say "Original Wild West" on the bottom, I would actually kind of like this one.
Interesting tidbits from around the webs...
EDSBS: Mark Mangino's house is for sale. It's listed on the interwebs. On its listing site, there are various pictures of it. Orson at EDSBS used one of those pictures in a post. Mangino got mad and had his agent call him to tell him to take it down.
Umm, OK.
Brian at MGoBlog has the picture posted and apparently has not yet been ordered to take it down by the big guy. Enjoy.
Finally, enjoy this hilarious video of Colorado's new mascot, Ralphie V, running over one of her trainers and nearly causing mass chaos before finally running into her trailer at full speed.
The loss leaves K-State tied with its sister school down the river for seventh place in the Big 12 standings. Both schools stand 1.5 games behind Texas and Baylor. Next weekend, the Longhorns visit Manhattan, and will be coming in shorthanded after Augie Garrido designated 11 players for assignment. Well, that's the MLB term for it, but basically he and his team leaders apparently identified 11 players who were hurting the team and sewed a scarlet "A" on their uniforms. Or something like that. (H/T Rock Chalk Talk)
Time for some golf: This weekend (April 25-26), the Links Cats will take to, well, the links in the Big 12 Men's Golf Championship in Trinity, Texas. Pairings were announced last week by the Big 12 office, and K-State will be paired with Oklahoma and Iowa State in the first round. You can follow the tournament via live scoring at Golf Stat.
It's Coming: SBN 2.0! Follow the link to the revamped Burnt Orange Nation to see what SBN 2.0 will look like if you haven't already checked it out. Right now, I'm not sure when BOTC will be making the change, but it is likely coming within the next month. Don't worry, when it happens the good folks who run SBN will have ample instructions for what little you as readers need to do and I promise the new platform will be much more user-friendly.
That's it for today. Sorry, it's kind of a light news day and I'm really getting locked in on studying for finals. I have some ideas for some more creative posts coming up, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to get to them or not.
K-State 3, K-State 0: The annual fake football game at Bill's House was a bigger snoozer than usual this year, as the only scoring came on a 51-yard field goal. Nice boot, by the way. As per my moral code, I will not take anything from spring football and use it as evidence that this next season will be either glorious or inglorious. It's fake football, people. We're talkin' about practice, man.
While we're on the subject... Nebraska set a new record for attendance when 80,149 bored souls showed up for the spring game in Lincoln. No word yet on whether any airplanes went down from the glare of 80,000 people who have not seen a UV ray in eight months (and yes, I get to joke about that because I live in Houston).
Brooms! The baseball team took the series off Texas Tech yesterday with a 7-4, extra-innings victory. Clutch hitting carried the day for K-State, as Byron Wiley blasted an RBI double on a two-strike count in the bottom of the ninth to send it to extra frames. In the 10th, Jordan Cruz smashed a three-run home run to put the Cats ahead for good.
The Friday and Saturday victories have moved K-State into seventh place in the Big 12 standings, which would be good enough to make the postseason tournament. There's still a lot of baseball left to play, and a final victory in Lubbock today would be a nice start.
Kingwood Classic: I spent most of the afternoon and part of the evening at the Kingwood Classic AAU event yesterday. Matt Figger was there checking out some of the action, but I didn't see Dalonte Hill. My buddy told me he saw him in the morning, but I couldn't get there until about 1 p.m.
Anyway, this piece from Orangebloods notes that Latavious Williams, a member of the Birmingham Raptors AAU squad, is a target of K-State coaches for the 2009 season and will take an official visit to Manhattan this fall. He sounds like a Bill Walker-type player, all athleticism and rim-rattling dunks.
I'm in the dungeon all day, so I'm taking a break from reading about corporations -- it's as thrilling as it sounds -- to update the K-State news. Later on, we'll have a weekend open thread for the K-State/Texas Tech baseball series this weekend. For more on Tech, be sure to check in with Seth over at Double T Nation. Like, seriously. He has some good info on Tech baseball over there.
What? Baseball? The KC Star apparently just discovered this week that Big 12 schools -- well, 10 of them, anyway -- play baseball in the springtime. After making such a momentous discovery, the sports editors dispatched K-State beat writer Howard Richman to find out how K-State is doing. Fair Howard discovered that, well, they aren't doing very well, but they haven't given up, either.
All of which led to this brilliant headline on the Star's sports page today:
K-State baseball team hasn’t given up hope of reaching NCAA tourney
Thank goodness the players and coaches haven't given up because, well, you just never know (I was going to link to something involving that other school's national championship, but I didn't want to be civilly liable for any of you being injured by such a site). But things are looking pretty far gone right now, what with our last-place conference standing and all.
Here are the rosters for the game, and as you can see the White squad looks pretty strong. It features Josh Freeman, working behind Alesana Alesana and Jordan Bedore, with Antwon Moore and Ian Campbell roaming the field on the other side of the ball.
While I don't accuse Dodd of hypocrisy for his article, it is unbelievable that in this situation nobody can keep straight who deserves criticism. Observe this quote from John Dowtin, who was one of Crawford's high school coaches in Memphis.
The coach was so incensed by the invective against Kansas on a Kansas State message board he reminded posters that their school once recruited Marcus Raines. The former JUCO linebacker pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter before eventually signing with Southern Miss. Dowtin went so far as to post his phone number so he could explain Crawford's situation to Wildcats fans. One poster called him.
I note that Dowtin also emailed me after my initial post regarding Crawford, and we had an amicable discussion of the situation.
First of all, our invective should not be aimed at KU (at least not in this situation). They are giving a kid a second chance that is probably deserved. In 2004, Bill Snyder was willing to give Marcus Raines a second chance that was probably deserved. Likewise, our invective should not be aimed at Crawford, because there is significant controversy regarding what really happened and there never was a full adjudication of the facts. But what Dowtin and others don't realize is that it continually blows me away that the media has knighted Mangino for giving a kid a second chance, while just a few years ago it villified Snyder for trying to do the same thing.
My Ignorance, Revisited: Back on national signing day, or more accurately shortly thereafter, I wrote a long, nonsensical post about K-State's 2008 recruiting class. In the post, I noted that I didn't understand how we would sign more than 25 players, which was pretty dumb on my part because a little simple research would have provided the answer.
Anyway, the venerable blog Sunday Morning QB has a comprehensive look at this phenomenon, especially in regard to the continuing trials and tribulations of Nick Saban at Alabama. Boiled down: while we oversigned this year, we're not anywhere near the public-relations disaster that is impending at Alabama, where Saban is quite likely to be forced either to pull a scholarship offer (or several) from a recruit who signed a letter of intent, or to pull a scholarship (or several) from a returning player who has made fairly significant contributions to the program.
As usual, I'm quite thankful not to be an Alabama fan.
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