Finally getting out of Atlanta (which missed the brunt of the winter storm, but you wouldn't know it by just how flustered the local authorities seemed), while thinking baseball season is all but here.
- The coolest part to the Kansas St. Wildcats early baseball hype isn't having multiple All-America nominees, the general Top 25 stuff, or even ESPN.com shoving the Bat Cats all the way up to No. 5.
- Having players personally deliver season tickets around the Manhattan areas wins "coolest" by a landslide.
- When I think of "college sports," something like that is what i normally have in mind.
- Can it be said enough how out of their minds the basketball men played against Kansas?
- Yes, it can, as it turns out.
- Want to keep KU up on a pedestal?
- Keep making T-shirts after every win.
- Reminds me of that line out of "Rounders" -- the one about being unable to spot the sucker at the table because you're the sucker.
- Look around, KSU marketing and/or short-sighted, Manhattan-based, cash-grabbing apparel makers ...
- Or don't, but then don't complain when people make fun of you for being the cute little brother because -- and let me explain it clearly here -- that's exactly the persona you continue to encourage by embarrassingly over-celebrating what should be a regular victory.
- /soapbox
- So anyways, with K-State now having five Top 25 victories, it will be comfortably in the NCAA Tournament, barring a collapse.
- And, I may have missed someone already pointing this out, but Bruce Weber, with 44, has more wins in his first two years than every coach in K-State history except for a guy named Lon Kruger.
- Kruger had 45.
- Between Weber, Bill Self and Gregg Marshall, the state of Kansas' elite cup runneth over.
- Whomever you cheer for, I hope you're able to appreciate just how good we have it as college basketball fans.
- The last time the gettin' was this good, it was Jack Hartman, Gene Smithson and a younger Larry Brown.
- Selfishly, here's hoping this current triumvirate lasts much longer than the first one.
- Randomly, I realized today that the current Top 25 Coaches Poll looks very little like it did as recently as Jan. 4.
- Baylor, Oklahoma St., Oregon and Colorado are gone completely, which is noteworthy considering all four were ranked 17 or better just little more than a month ago. UCLA was also ranked back then, but not now.
- Is it important to anything in the big picture? Not really. However, it is fun to remember or at least notice such things when we're reminded how if you didn't play or coach the game, you can't truly understand things like what makes a good team, a good season, etc.