Last night was Fat Tuesday and I’m still wiped out. The scene at the Power & Light district was much like a Baylor home football game. Desolate. The relocation to Westport served us right as we had our choice of primo talent floating around there. While we’re in the college football offseason, it seems some primo football talent likes to float around between commitments as well. But they all aren’t as floating as I am after inhaling the kalidescope of meds to make it through the day.
- The recession is hitting everybody, including college football. Some schools won’t print media guides, some are taking the bus, and poor Ohio State’s coaching per diem went down from $65 to $45. I guess we all have to tighten our belts a bit and I look forward to seeing Jim Tressel grabbing a Whopper.
- So Texas Tech and Mike Leach finally got it done. Leach will have to notify in writing about interviews with other teams and there’s no bank on the buyout. Good. Great. Rad! Wonderful! I was getting tired of writing about this.
- Lou Holtz is turning Japanese and heading to Tokyo with a bunch of Notre Dame Legends to face an All-Japanese football team. Good luck to those guys, I hope they don’t break a hip or eat bad poi. This kinda reminds me of how Mick Foley went to Japan to help ressurect his career, if I may expose my wrasslin’ fandom.
- Missouri’s Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus could be upgrading to the NFL in the form of linebackers coach for the Cleveland Browns. Um, the Offensive Coordinator I can understand leaving, but the Defensive Coordinator? Welp he’s not going to be an NFL coordinator so I guess I can see it. Still, Missouri’s defense is pretty weak.
- We all know that Utah got hosed again this year, but the Mountain West Conference just won’t let it go. The conference commish rolled into Washington to raise awareness about how the BCS is flawed. Okay. We get it. But trying to use Congress in this economic time seems just a little too classless. Stop whiningn before you lose more precious cred that you just built up, Mountain West Conference.
- In other coaching moves, Andy Ludwig was going to be the Offensive Coordinator for Bill Snyder at Kansas State, but after six weeks on the job, he took a similar position at California. Oh well, I’ve seen faster moves. Even Jolly clocks in at 3 days for a job. Hopefully the Wildcats will nail down a coach before spring practice.
- But at least their schedule for the 2009 season is filled, as ESPN blogger Tim Griffin reports. Look out Tennessee Tech as your fearsome FCS status will be prepared to be rolled by Kansas State on September 26. Um yeah, actually this should be close.
- The Mangino Baby makes a return as for some reason the Lawrence Journal World decided to do a follow up on the lil tyke. Basically, the kid was born huge and looks like Mark Mangino from Kansas. The picture itself is hilarious, but like all things Mangino, Kansas fans seem to embrace it and use it more as inspiration than poking fun at a fat guy. It usually helps when you win the Orange Bowl.
- There’s some weird things going down in Nebraska. First, Patrick Witt’s transferring out of there because Bo Pelini couldn’t guarantee he could be the starter this year. To even things out, David Oku (a high running back recruit) enrolled at a school in Lincoln, Nebraska even though he supposedly committed to Tennessee. Welp a running back for a quaterback is not that bad but the way it happened was just plain ridiculous.
We’re getting close to some March Madness around here (even though we don’t cover basketball yet) and we hear at the KCCGD figured it would be a good time to check up on the Tourney perennials from the Missouri Valley Conference. After inadvertently chuggin some Pabst’s Blue Ribbon, rocking out to some Slayer, and working on an ’85 Camaro, we felt the Saluki from Southern Illinois was the way to go for this week’s mascot. A Saluki is a dog, but not just any ole dog. This one has bite and will bark about it on his way to the biker bar, brother.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Southern Illinois Salukis →
You know, we here at the KCCGD figured that the college football off season would be dank with news but after this last week, we can say that there always something to talk about. We’ve got contract negotiations, run ins with the law, rule changes, and even where are they nows (or end ups). The biggest of the bunch being the Mike Leach contract talks. But we will never, ever talk about the Nebraska spring practice game. Here’s what happened in the last week:
- Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Bo Bowling was caught drugging up and is now suspended from the team. What is it about football players that make them think they can continue to do what they did back in high school when they are under more a public light? You’d figure some of them would learn, but learning isn’t why they’re there.
- So there’s a proposition floating around to make pre endzone celebrations penalized and points taken off the board. I guess the treat of points slipping from the board will make players think twice, but I would go with the penalty first and if that doesn’t work then hit them up with points.
- Kansas coach Mark Mangino promoted a couple of coaches. When it rains, it pours. The success of the Jayhawks goes around for everybody on the staff. Although when it rains on Coach Mangino, I bet his feet never get wet.
- In Big 10 land, Iowa re-upped Kirk Ferentz’s contract with more dough going into his pockets. A little rumor goes a long way. When the Kansas City Chiefs fired Herman Edwards, on of the replacements on the list was Kirk Ferentz. Kirk needs to send Scott Pioli a fruit basket.
- The vaunted, Charlie Weiss led, Notre Dame Fighting Irish will now be more lead by Chuck as he’s taking over on offensive play calling. They had a bowl year last year to save his butt, but taking over on calls makes me a little worried. I’m gonna go dust off the clock on his hot seat right now.
- Be ready for some Mizzou mania early on in the year on ESPN. They are playing the Big 12 opener against Nebraska on Oct. 8. Which means we get the game against Nevada and the season opener against Illinois on TV as well. The earlier the better, as this year will be an off one for the Tigers.
- I’m trying really hard not to talk about baseball in any form, but when they are recruiting 12 yeard olds it gets to be too much to handle. Please oh please don’t be like baseball and take the fun out of the game at young age. Let the kid grow up some first before buying him an iPhone.
- Texas Tech and Mike Leach are still dancing around the contract ho down. Leach wants a better buyout option and Texas Tech wants fine him for talking to other schools. We get some reality from realfootball365.com, where they remind us he has two years to go on his contract and if nothing happens, then they will do this dance again next year. That is, after the board of regents figures things out.
- Ivan Maisel reminds us that the BCS won’t change for awhile. He goes on to talk about Jerry Jone’s mega dome and how it could be the potential home for the Sugar Bowl. That would make it more of a player than the other BCS bowls. Tune in next four years as the BCS turns.
- Taking his ball and going home, Ron Prince will be named the new Associate Head Coach at Virginia. Welp he had a 3 year run as a head coach, ruined a program, and is pretty much right back where he started. Good luck and good riddance.
This week’s Mascot Monday takes us to the deep south of the Big 12 and the Baylor Bears. We’ll go over what keeps the weakest team in the South going spirit wise while taking a peek back at the history of the mascots. It’s not B.J. and the Bear or Hardcastle and McCormick, but Judge and Bruiser! Not really as seen on TV but close enough. Just don’t sit too close to the screen or you’ll ruin your eyes.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Judge and Bruiser →
It was a big week of news and the Crib Sheet is back this week to tell you what mattered. It was Signing Day last week and the ouija board nearly broke from producing signatures sprinkled out across the whole nation. There were some surprises, but most of what was expected came to be true. We mixed in some political goobery and a little bit o’ smack talk to keep things fresh. My guess is the next couple of weeks are going to be dry news wise, so let this be the spike before the long lull. Here’s the crib:
- Newly appointed Jesus of Tennessee Lane Kiffin is crying wolf over Urban Meyer trying to hit up one of his recruits. Lane still got the guy, but maybe the rub off from Al Davis’ fragile shoulders are showing up in Volunteer-land. It’s nice you got the recruit, Lane, but talking smack on Urban will produce some nasty results. Just talk to Georgia. Oh and he apologized.
- Kansas State expectantly showed weakly recruitng wise. Ron Prince poisoned the recruiting and Bill Snyder is going to have an uphill battle for the Wildcats. It’s going to be a big time reboot in Manhattan
- Kansas on the other hand, nabbed a couple of quarterbacks and some other high profile recruits to lead into their highest rated recruiting class ever. Will it show up on the field? Mangino’s shown that he can recruit well and make some talent pay off so look out of the Hawks in the next couple of years.
- Missouri too, had a pretty good recruiting class. They promised some tight end play to Sheldon Richardson but realy this kid is defensive tackle all the way. At any rate, look for them to compete for the North and then choke at some point.
- Nebraska signed about 21 kids to fill out the black shirts. Look out for these guys. With the walk on program back on and some key pick ups, Nebraska will be well on their way to almost going back to the Big 12 Championship game.
- Conference wise, Texas and Oklahoma went 1 and 2, again. Hey they do that every year so get used to it. Colorado had a top 4 conference recruiting ranking last year and look at how they finished. Sleep tight, Texas A&M.
- Bryce Brown is hanging out and making everybody speculate the hell out of him. Everybody else is down and signed but this guy just likes making everyone wait. Also, the big rumor is he might turn pro in some other league. Really, Bryce is a huge tease.
- James Franklin, the Maryland offensive coordinator, was named last Thursday as the successor to Ralph Friedgen. Overlooking the fact that Maryland has done crap the last couple of years, this pick makes sense. If the school is satisfied with mediocrity then they should continue in it.
- Mike Leech is culling his old lawyer skills and is still banging out a contract with Texas Tech. So the Red Raiders are apparently pulling a Boston College and telling Leech he can’t talk or interview with other teams during his contract. If they break off now, look for him to be somewhere else after this year. Come Texas Tech, fumble this one away!
- Okay, this is getting redonkulous. Now all of Utah’s lawmakers are sending a resolution to PrezBama to blow away the BCS and give in to the power of playoffs. Now with football players on hand! Please somebody tell the whole state of Utah to get over it and focus on getting the Mountain West the automatic bid. Going the political route won’t work.
- Missouri pulled in LSU tight ends coach Josh Henson. It looks as thought some SEC cred might be seeping into the Big 12. Recruiting wise, this will help out the Tigers immensly. Tim Griffin’s already saying they’re going after Bryce Brown too.
- Dana Dimel is coming back to K-State. So he did a great job for Mike Stoops and reviving some offense and it looks like he’ll be doing the same at K-State. Let’s hope that it will be more than Ron Prince’s “Throw-everything-up-and-see-what-sticks” offense.
- In sign of bi-partisanship, Rep. Joe Barton (R) from Texas is siding with PrezBama in setting up a college football playoff. Does he really need the votes? Plus, this guy’s an Aggie. Shouldn’t he be working more toward making Texas A&M a real football team instead of playing up to the playoff people?
This week we go with a traditional power house of mascot-dom with the University of Southern California Trojans. Every time we see the beginning pageantry at a USC football game, we are always shown some guy stabbing the field. It’s a long standing tradition and for some reason riles up the crowd. After researching the Trojans on the terms of mascots, I’ve come to find a couple of facts I did not know about the USC Trojans. And no, one of them is not Will Ferrell being a mascot.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: The University of Southern California’s Traveler →
It’s signing day and the Crib Sheet is trucking along. Apparently this is like the NFL draft for colleges. What I’m thankful for is Mel Kiper is busy preening his hair to care about the high school kids. This is the first time we’re covering signing day and there is an interesting culture surrounding the event. One thing I noticed was how the scouting reporter guys on the sports radio all sound like they lived in the trailer next ot Randy the Ram from the movie The Wresltler. Here’s the sheet:
- Bobby Bowden’s got another year in him. Florida State made it to a bowl this year and things are looking up. His contract expired and they brought him on for another year. But seriously, I think it’s some kind of sick bet between Bobby and Joe Pa to see who will kick the bucket on the field first. Tune in next year I suppose.
- Jim Halley reminds us signing day is more like signing year. The interesting thing to note is that the number one recruit for running backs, Bryce Brown, committed to Miami o’ Florida, but he’s still shopping around colleges. Yup he’s from Wichita, so K-State still has a chance. I’m not holding my breath.
- Another violation by Sarkisian and Washington. They’re saying that this time it’s minor but the demerits are already piling up. Yeah the Huskies were winless last year, but are they going to be handcuffed from winning a game next year?
- Walk ons are back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers agian. It’s good to see they are bringing back that tradition. It’s no Rudy, but hey, the whole state is Big Red so you might as well bring some kid on that has the passion.
- In the “College Football is All Business” department, a Tennessee alum is suing the school because they want to jack up the price of seats he got in a lifetime contract. Apparently, his dad raised enough funage to land the rights and the University wants to move him and charge him more cash to stay. It’s a good thing he’s lawyer so he can use the fees he would’ve paid for representation to go into the seats when he loses the case.
- Now that Bowden’s back, the players are celebrating in the tradition of Florida State football players and getting arrested. Preston Parker fell asleep at the wheel in a McDonald’s drive thru around 5am on January 24th. He blew under the limit, but admitted being drunk and stoned to the cops. He didn’t hurt anybody so this is hilarious.
- The Sporting News counted down the top recruits for 2009. Bryce Brown is number one and no one else close to the KC area is in the Top 25. We should be seeing many of the top guys sign today but rumor has it Bryce is holding out a little bit longer.
- Ohio State lineman Alex Boone pulls a ‘Don’t Tase Me Bro!’ after yielding a tow truck cable tyring to break stuff. Yup he was D-Runk. I’m not sure if this guy’s stock will fall in the draft this year. Maybe the Dallas Cowboyws will pick him up.
- A clinical study shows that football players out of high school are getting bigger, the Homer Simpson way. Instead of doing the GNC Multi Grain Protein Gut Buster, they’re pigging up on fatty food. Unless they’re doing the Atkins, the study says they are on the way to big time shock. Good thing college programs straighten out. Still, the graph’s pretty cool about how big theses guys are getting
- Condi Rice says no to the Pac 10 and keeps making the cheddah on the speaker circuit. That makes sense, get money for fluff instead of defending the ridiculous position on the Rose Bowl year in and year out. Please let’s keep politics out of college football. I’m looking at you President Obama.
This week’s edition brings to the SEC and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Many traditions kick up one single, shining emblem that endures and represents the spirit and soul of a university’s athletic prowress. In the case of the University of Arkansas, they kick up like the Rockettes or Michael Flatley’s Riverdance. Today we’re gonna ask, just how many mascots is too many?
Continue reading Mascot Monday: It’s a Razorback Menagerie! →
College Sports, Kansas City style
