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Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to all those affected by and battling the wildfires in south-central Kansas. There are often wildfires this time of year, but I cannot remember one this big in Kansas for quite some time. Due to the high winds fueling the fires the smoke was noticed as far away as Topeka (I noticed it at my house northeast of Manhattan), and a State of Emergency has been declared. Hopefully the cold weather today will help the fire-fighters finish that thing off.
Back to sports, one of those things that helps take our minds off the bad things in the world. Yesterday, Jon brought us some very much needed good news. Wrapped up in the report of the 2016 football team player representatives (which features two(!) sophomores) comes the news that Dante Barnett has been granted his medical hardship waiver and will be eligible to compete next year for K-State. We had all but assumed this was going to happen, but now we finally have confirmation, and that's huge for a defense that lacked its General (and a true playmaker) last season, as well as softening the blow of losing Kaleb Prewitt.
Also, this morning Jon dropped your Tournament Rewind, featuring all the lesser-tournament games that happened last night as well as a preview of the Sweet Sixteen games that will be played this evening.
The BatCats will be looking to break their season-long four-game losing streak tonight at Tointon Family Stadium. But it will be a tough challenge, as the Cats welcome in their first conference foe of the season in No. 19 Oklahoma State, who is coming off a 17-0 shellacking of Wichita State in Wichita on Tuesday night. Levi MaVorhis will get the start on the mound after securing his place as the "Friday-night" starter. It's also "Cats for Cans" day at the ballpark, and tickets are only $3 if you bring a canned good item to donate.
Well, this is a fun tidbit for today:
On This Date: Askia Jones set @kstatesports scoring mark (62 vs. @FSAthletics in #NIT). @BringOnTheCats @YahooSports https://t.co/n0CHIVV9FI
— College Hoopedia (@CollegeHoopedia) March 24, 2016
Also, Kellis Robinett at the Wichita Eagle brings us a piece on Angel Rodriguez and his evolution at Miami.
We'll drop this final bit in today since it involves our school as well as a large chunk of the state it resides in. K-State researchers will be involved with a $10-million grant to study to Ogallala Aquifer, the largest freshwater aquifer in the world and the source of most of the public and agricultural water for towns from the Texas panhandle into southern South Dakota. The group, led by Colorado State, will attempt to address the water challenges faced in the aquifer region.