SLATE: Bring on the Lavender

As everyone in Manhattan continues to search for answers regarding yesterday’s horrible news, we prepare for a busy weekend. And we’ll get to all that in a moment.

But first: while there have been rumors about Matt Snyder’s cause of death, we want to be very clear that nothing has yet been confirmed.

That said, it’s foolish to pretend we’re not hearing those rumors. Further, it doesn’t matter if those rumors are accurate or not when we’re also still just a couple of days removed from Tyler Hilinski’s tragic suicide. It’s not controversial to implore folks to try and prevent such incidents, and we’re pretty sure the Snyders would wholeheartedly support the following statement regardless of the outcome of the investigation in Manhattan.

Please, please, please: if you know someone who does need help, then help them. If you need help, get help. Talk to someone. If you have nobody to talk to, dial 1-800-273-8255. It’s arguably the second-most important phone number you’ll ever need, and the most important that’s more than three digits.

Men’s Basketball

Our own Luke Thompson examines the ripples from K-State’s big upset win over Oklahoma — as well as the rest of the week’s Big 12 action -- in this week’s Tournament Thursday.

Unless you live in a hole, you’re probably aware that on Saturday against TCU the Wildcats will travel back in time to an era when K-State basketball was every bit KU’s equal: the lavender uniforms. But, as Kellis Robinett reports in the Star and Eagle, that’s not the only tribute to the past which will happen Saturday. Bruce Weber’s going to be rocking a houndstooth jacket, the significance of which probably half a dozen of us understand without reading Kellis’s article.

Corbin McGuire examines the history of the lavender outfit in today’s Sports Extra.

The absence of Ken Corbitt from the Capital-Journal appears to have a side-effect: the return of Tim Bisel to regular work. Bisel reminds us that the last time K-State stunned Oklahoma, things went badly afterward — and the Cats have no intention of repeating history.

Football

In yesterday’s Sports Extra, McGuire reports on long snapper Drew Scott and kicker Matthew McCrane heading to the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday (2pm, NFL Network).

Bret Bloomquist of the El Paso Times goes longform to introduce UTEP fans to their new head coach.

Track and Field

The latest chapter of “Nina Schultz news from home” is in, as the New Westminster (B.C.) Record’s Dan Olson reports on her performance at the Wildcat Invitational and the KU-KSU-WSU triangular.

Today, the Wildcats will be in Iowa City for day one of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational. It’s an all-star cast this weekend, with nine top-25 teams participating and over 30 Olympians in the field. And — AND! — if you happen to have access to BTN Plus, you can watch the meet in its entirety. The problem: you almost certainly don’t unless you’re a bigamist like wildcat00, because it’s a subscription service. That said, you could shell out the $9.95 for one month of the Iowa version if you’d really like to watch some track this weekend.

Tennis

The spring season opened for K-State yesterday in Merriam, Kan., with a dominating 7-0 sweep of the UMKC Kangaroos for the third consecutive season. Number one Margot Decker grabbed the marquee win with a 6-0, 6-1 romp over Aliona Ladutska, but she was upstaged when number three Rosanna Maffei notched a 6-0, 6-0 win over Melinda Johnson.

The Cats head south on Sunday, taking on Florida International in Miami at noon.

Other

This was announced a couple of weeks ago, but local media has started to press the event in the wake of recent comments: Martin Luther King III will be speaking at the Student Union’s Forum Hall on Thursday. Tickets are required, but free; you can pick them up at 224 Anderson Hall, or at 114 Student Union if you’re enrolled. It’s the effective conclusion to a week-long observance of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. -- who himself spoke at K-State 50 years ago today.