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A little this; a little that today.
Football
We’re all ready for games to start, but chances are nobody wants that to happen more than head coach Chris Klieman, who must want some real football analysis to replace the stream of now-repetitive feature stories that have rolled out since he was hired last December. Topeka NBC affiliate KSNT put up the latest “Win the Dang Day” piece on Monday, with video clips from Dalton Schoen and Skylar Thompson about the dedication and effort of the coaching staff and how the catchphrase signifies the culture Klieman and his staff are trying to instill.
Dave Skretta and Fox Sports look in on the dawn of the Klieman era, as well, recalling the dark days of the Ron Prince era. (Grumble, grumble. Fake news!) Klieman pays homage to Coach Bill Snyder and praises the players, who have a hunger to win that he can see in their eyes.
Winning on Saturdays may turn in no small part on the performance of Schoen, the only senior (and one of only two upperclassmen) at the receiver position. K-State Sports Extra reports that one of the motivational speakers brought in by the staff inspired Schoen to approach each day purposefully, like a prizefighter.
CBS Sports predicts that K-State will be the champion college football team...of the state of Kansas. Well, duh. CBS made this less-than-bold prediction as part of its roundtable naming the best college football team in each state.
In their “group text” feature at The Athletic, Bruce Feldman, Stewart Mandel and Andy Staples picked K-State football 7th, 9th and 8th, respectively, in the Big 12. As if that is not insult enough, none of them had K-State winning more than five games, and both Mandel and Staples predicted a 3-9 overall record. You’ll have to pay subscriber fees to vent your rage.
Soccer
Redshirt freshman midfielder Bailey Nemechek missed last season after tearing an ACL in the final exhibition game. After difficult rehab that included Blood Flow Restriction therapy, she is ready to play for Chris Dibbini’s Wildcats this year, saying she knows she will cry when she steps on the field.
Baseball
Summer amateur leagues have mostly wrapped up, so the biggest news in the weekly recap of K-State baseball players and alumni is Evan Marshall’s continued run of dominance. The Chicago White Sox reliever sports a 2.20 ERA over 35 appearances, and has not allowed an earned run over his past eight relief outings.