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Previously on BotC: TB mourns the sad and untimely demise of David Stockton.
Later on BotC: TB talked with our friend Ian Boyd from Barking Carnival about Michigan's schemes, and the Intern takes a look at the Wolverine's special teams.
Football:
Our only football offerings in the slate today come from Mark Snyder at the Detroit Free Press, which is nice because it means you probably haven't already seen them.
He talks about the rise of the K-State football program, and in the process -- assisted by Curry Sexton -- indirectly supports my contention that most people simply don't actually remember the Wildcats being awful.
He also dropped a profile of Blake Slaughter, who is getting a lot more attention this month than we paid him all season. Quietly going about your job will do that, I guess. But I feel bad.
Basketball:
Let us remember David Stockton. He was a good kid, and I feel really bad for his father, who I always liked.
TB's recap of the big win is, of course, linked above. Here's the Star's take, and here's what the Spokane Spokesman-Review had to say about it.
Yahoo's Jeff Eisenberg says (among other things) the win may salvage the 'Cats NCAA hopes -- no guarantees, and the offense is still horrible, but the teams' improving rapidly.
Kellis Robinett: Weber plans more games in KC and Wichita. (Aside: some Twitter wiseasses criticized the attendance Saturday. Over 13K people showed up with ice on the roads, so maybe some perspective is in order.) Also of note: the Cats will play Long Beach State again next year, in what's becoming a bit of an intersectional rivalry (albeit one-sided).
Kevin Haskin: Bruce Weber couldn't fall back on the Chinese food threat this year.
Corbin McGuire: The big difference of late: rebounding.
Bob Lutz, of all people, now thinks that the Wildcats can't be ignored.
My buddy Paul Kilgas is a Wisconsin fan. He's still not sold on Bruce Weber, and cautions us to guard our optimism. (Presumably, I guess, better than David Stockton guarded Marcus Foster, AMIRITE?)
National:
The hilarious part here is that the Statue of Liberty didn't even actually work. The Washington State defense read it. They just derped the whole "playing defense" part, just like the entire team did the entire final five minutes.
And some congratulatory videographs:
The NCAA Division II football championship trophy won't have far to go next year when it's handed out in Kansas City, because it's going to be sitting in Maryville. (Yes, I know, they make a new one every year. Shut up and let me metaphor.)
Mount Union's worst loss since 1974. Seriously. Whitewater QB Matt Behrendt took the startling tack of giving "all the credit" to his wide receivers and offensive line. Not God, because God doesn't hand out wins in football games based on which team prays hardest. (The only YouTube footage of the game itself is the entire game, and I'll spare you that.)
Grand View beat Drake earlier this year. (Yes, TB, I know that there's no proof that either school actually exists because they're in a non-existent place. Shh.) Yeah, Drake's non-scholarship for football, but they're still Division I. So it's not exactly a surprise that Grand View managed to win the NAIA national championship.
Finally:
We already talked about this some over the weekend, but John Currie got a contract extension Friday. It's only a one-year bump with a slight raise, so it's not really an earth-shaking development.
