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Sometimes, the stories just leap at you. Yesterday, in the Indianapolis Star, Chris Sims reported on a guy who really just wants to reach out to Kansas State and Kansas to offer his help: Metta World Peace. That, of course, is the artist formerly known as Ron Artest, who [checks notes] yup, sure knows a lot about basketbrawls.
Actually, we’re only poking fun at Metta. What’s often forgotten is that with the exception of what was very likely an unintentional elbow to James Harden ‘s noggin back in 2012, he’s been a model citizen since that horrifying incident at The Palace, even winning the NBA’s citizenship award. After being traded from the Indiana Pacers he has on more than one occasion offered to forego chunks of his salary to help improve the teams he’s played for. Recently he’s gotten into coaching, and he’s really embraced the importance of anger management.
So having him speak wouldn’t hurt. Still... seeing the headline, even this far removed from the most famous sports brawl ever, causes a few circuits to reboot.
The rest of our basketball news is about the future, not about Tuesday. Both the men and women are in action tomorrow; the ladies host Oklahoma at 2:00 while the men visit Alabama Crimson Tide for their part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge at 5:00. Our pals over at Roll Bama Roll are already on the ball, and Bamabrave4 has provided their readers with a pretty apt preview of what to expect from the Cats.
Football
Our man Drew Schneider, who also happens to know a little bit about Clemson Tigers football, explains why K-State should be chasing after Clemson transfer and Wichita native Xavier Kelly.
Track and Field
After taking a year off, the DeLoss Dodds Invitational is back at Ahearn starting this morning at 10am with the combined events. The guests include Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Central Oklahoma, Langston, Missouri State, and Northeastern State.
Tennis
It’s ITA Kickoff Weekend, and tomorrow K-State will be taking on #5 Duke on their home turf. Sunday, they’ll get either Mississippi State or Tulsa. In today’s Sports Extra, Corbin McGuire focuses on the Cats’ #1 doubles pair of Margot Decker and Anna Turco, who have climbed into the ITA Top 60 at #54. That’s the first Wildcat duo to be ranked in six years.