Once again, various items of potential news interest to K-State fans have been piling up, with none really warranting a story on their own.
Baseball floats out of Missouri with two losses. K-State was supposed to play a three-game weekend series with Missouri, but rain Friday and Saturday forced the cancellation of one game. The result was a double-header on Sunday, which did not turn out well for K-State. The Cats lost both games against MU, dropping them to 9-5 in conference, a full three games in the loss column behind Texas (16-2). K-State rebounded in its midweek series with Chicago State, winning 12-4 and 20-2 (CSU is really, really bad, by the way). This weekend, K-State travels to Norman to face Oklahoma, who is 8-8 and in fourth place in the conference standings.
Men's golf fifth in Big 12. In happier news, the K-State men's golf team came away with a fifth place showing at the Big 12 Championships in Trinity, Texas. Joe Ida tied for seventh, and K-State's top four players all finished in the top 25. In sad news, KU finished 12th. Regionals will be announced on May 10th. There are now six regionals, and I believe 10 teams are chosen per regional, with 30 teams total advancing to the national championship. K-State was ranked 58 last week by GolfWeek, and with the strong finish in Texas should be chosen for a regional.
K-State wins, loses spring game. K-State beat K-State in the annual fake football game, in which Carson Coffman threw for seven touchdowns (not a misprint). Either Coffman suddenly became a great quarterback because of endless hours of offseason work -- and an improved supporting cast -- or our second-team defense really sucks. BracketCat was in attendance, and if he gets time will have a report on what he saw. As Spencer Hall would say, I caution you against making any meaningful extrapolations from the results. Well, except for one thing, as the picture above shows. It's a good thing Daniel Thomas is in an open carry state, cuz those is some guns.
Wait, you hired who? Late last week, Oregon finally found a coach after a search that went on way too long and proved the money isn't everything. Well, except to Dana Altman, apparently, who left Creighton to coach the Ducks. Creighton promptly responded by nabbing Iowa State coach Gregg McDermott, hoping he can be the next failed Big 12 coach to have success in Omaha.
Iowa State promptly got a call from Billy Gillispie, a coach who took Texas A&M from 0-16 in the Big 12 to a Sweet 16 team (and also was busted for driving while intoxicated something like three times along the way). But instead of hiring a coach who has had success in the Big 12, and who they probably could get for dirt cheap right now, Iowa State hired hometown hero Fred Hoiberg. Hoiberg has never been a head coach or assistant coach at any level, much less the Big 12, and he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves' front office prior to being hired by the Clones. He walks into a team that was 4-12 in the Big 12 last year, and that was with Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap, both of whom are gone.
In other words, good luck, Clones.
It's recruiting, and to again shamelessly steal from another SB Nation blog, caring is creepy. But Rock Chalk Talk has an interview with Jordon McAllister, an OL recruit out of Junction City, Kan. Also, in the comments it's noted that Tyler Lockett -- yes, that Lockett -- has chosen K-State. Oh, and in response to the argument in the thread about best Big 12 college towns, here's my completely objective ranking (omitting Manhattan -- because I'm hopelessly biased -- and Stillwater because I've never been there):
1. Austin
T-2. Lincoln, Ames, Columbia, Lawrence, Boulder, Norman, College Station
9. Lubbock
10. Waco
Is that morally relativistic enough for you?