There’s just so much to chew on from the first week of college football, we’ll just make the intro real quick. On to the Crib Sheet:
Freshly on its own, BYU signed a deal with ESPN and Notre Dame to be shown exclusively and play, respectively. They are stepping out fresh in their independence but we don’t think they’ll get as strong as their Irish counterparts.
The Big 10 now has divisions, so we’ll see how balanced they are in the next couple of years. The big news is breaking up Michigan and Ohio State. Since they will be the ‘yearly rival’, there’s a big chance that they could play each other again in the Big 10 Championship Game.
The face behind the mask of the mascot for Penn State, notched an MIP for underage drinking. Clint Gyory got busted and now he’s suspended from his mascot duties. It just goes to show that football players aren’t the other ones who have to watch what they do in their free time.
In what’s become the major theme to begin the season, another player will miss games for accepting sports agent gifts. This time it’s Alabama’s Marcell Dareus. They should suspend him for key games. Doing this at the beginning of the year means they miss the cakewalk part of the schedule.
North Carolina was one play away from possibly winning the game against LSU last Saturday. What’s more than amazing is that they did it with a ton of suspended players. About half of the starters didn’t play due to NCAA investigations. We’re not sure if it shows how tough the Tar Heels could be or how weak LSU looks.
TCU coach Gary Patterson gave credit to ESPN’s Lee Corso for inspiring the Horned Frogs to a come from behind win against Oregon State last Saturday. Patterson used the right amount of moto-mojo to get his team over the tough Beavers.
After the embarrassing loss to North Dakota State, Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins retired Tuesday. He was going to retire next year, but the school (and the boosters) decided to cough up the money to get him out of there sooner. We don’t know who the replacement AD, not interim, will be and now we don’t know who the starting quarterback will be. Man basketball season can’t come any faster for the Jayhawks.
Apparently Reggie Bush may be stripped of his Heisman. I guess that’s what happens when it’s discovered that you might have been ineligible during your run in college. He would be the first. How many other Heisman winners may have been ineligible? Should we investigate everyone and find out?
ESPN kicked off ESPN3D last year during the BCS Championship Game and now they have an updated schedule that started with the Boise State and Virginia Tech game. So far so good, according to the review. We’re anxious to get our eyes on it when it becomes mainstream about 20 years from now.
Speaking of the Broncos, they jumped to #3 in both polls. Looks like if they can keep up the blowouts, they will be a contender. Meanwhile, David Ubben runs down the votes for the Big 12 teams. It’s pretty much the big 3 in the top 25 (Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) then about 5 teams about a stone’s throw from the 25 threshold. If they can keep it up, we may see more Big 12 teams up there.
Okay here’s the first pick it list of the year and it’s a doozy. If you remember from last year, a number of us had to eat some missed weeks and totally blew our picks. So, in response to that, anyone can miss can have their lowest 2 scores knocked off. Worried about competition? Well, we have added the Top 25 AND the Big 12 into the mix to make sure our confidence points are all over. Not only do you have to pick against the spread, but now you have to make sure your confidence counts. With that said, let’s check out the first week of picks.
We are back again going out to the best of what Kansas City sports bars has to offer in terms of college football. Like the storied tradition of college football, we have a tradition of going back to the best bar of last year to start out this season for KC College Gameday. We had no way of knowing back at the beginning of last September that Johnny’s in the Power & Light would be the best but here we are planning the first Barspot of the year down there. With every television fit into every nook and cranny as well as the crazy touch table poker game, Johnny’s hit the spot on all things needed for a great sport viewing experience. So come back out with us Saturday as we head back out there to enjoy Johnny’s and scoff at that ridiculous KC College Live thingy going on in the outdoor area.
It’s time to go camping! The teams are gearing up and we geared up for our own camp adventure last week. :
The two biggest movers and shakers from the off season’s expansion bonanza might actually play each other. There was the talk of Notre Dame and none other than Texas will play each other in a couple of years. Good for both programs. If the Longhorns end up with an exclusive television station, this game might only be played on Longhorns TV and NBC.
Assistant coach Bruce Walker from Missouri was arrested last week on a DWI. The coaches and some of their wives were coming back from a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. Now we’ve been down there many times and we can say that more than likely you will be coming back drunk from down there. A cab was called, he should’ve taken it. But hey, Missouri’s used to making bad choices, right?
Meanwhile, in Ames, Iowa State defensive back David Simms plead guilty to the credit card fraud charge. He sits out the first game against Northern Illinois. See kids? Crime doesn’t pay (kinda).
Not only does Kansas have to deal with Holden Tharp’s year ending injury, but now they have to change the fight song! Colorado and Nebraska are somehow featured in the song and since they are high tailing out of the conference, new words must be had.
So while Boise State’s head coach Chris Peterson banned Twitter use for players, the player who incited the haymaker from LeGarrette Blount spoke up and let us know what he said. “How ’bout that (expletive)-whuppin?” So Blount was talking smack before the game and this guy threw it in his face afterward.
The Bill Snyder 2.0 magic is in effect. The Kansas State Wildcats reported record contributions for the last year. It also helps that a very public blunder by Bob Krause fed the anxiety of said contributors.
The USA Today Top 25 pre season poll is out! Top five in order are Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, and Boise State. Yes, a mid major is up there and TCU is not far behind. Big 12 wise we have Oklahoma and Nebraska at 8 and 9 respectively. How much will this change in the next couple months? We can’t wait for the season to get here.
UCLA is falling apart right before Kansas State’s eyes. The middle game is gone with two season ending injures and an academically ineligible tag. We think Daniel Thomas is drooling just a little bit more at this rushing opportunity.
The heat is on. It’s on the street. Oh Glenn Fry, you save us from the sultry steam of summer with your cool saxaphone riff and Eddie Murphy praising rock music. Yes, the heat is mos def on as we hit our first hot spot of the summer. It’s just in time, too, as the rain left us watching the Beverly Hills Cop series 10 times over, including the terrible 3rd part. Cabin fever, indeed. So we’re hitting the pool this week and dreaming of the new college football season while laying in our floaties sipping some cold beverages. Hit up the Crib Sheet then do the same.
Even if USC goes undefeated this season, they will not be ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll. This is what happens when you have recruiting violations. Lane Kiffin has a long time to wait to rebuild the program.
ESPN and the ACC agreed to a 12 year deal which has links to all football games, including some basketball and other non revenue making sports. This looks like something that the Big 12 (10) will get into once they start negotiating their deals.
Alabama moved its game against Georgia to a Thursday night and now because of that change, the students get a day off. Education is way more important than football. Well, not in Alabama we guess.
Erin Andrews shook her almost clothed tail and now will be joining the College Game Day crew with her newly resigned contract for ESPN. If you remember, Andrews was the penultimate sideline reporter babe that ran into some peeping issues and used it to get onto Dancing With the Stars. Let’s hope she wears the same clothing for the football show.
The gates are about to flood open with Big 12 (10) schools launching their own television networks. Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri of all schools are looking to make some cash off their own television rights. Will this set the trend for the rest of the schools across the nation? Tune in to find out.
ESPN’s Big 12 blogger David Ubben talks about the uphill battle that Turner Gill has with his offensive line, now that starting junior tackle Jeff Spikes injured his Achilles tendon and is out for the year. I would for Kansas to fill out the bottom the Big 12 (10) North this year. The new coach has way too many broken parts and the once touted line is now depleted.
Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins is too busy preparing for retirement to pursue the charge of blackmail against William Dent. His job is saved and will be cruising toward closing the door on his career late next year so he really doesn’t need to recoup anything from this guy.
We’re in a good mood this week. Thanksgiving is coming up. The bowl picture is settling up. We even have a local team in the running for the Big 12 North title. Even though we are inching closer to the end of the season, it already has met expectations for entertainment. We have a little pep in our step. We also have some games coming up tomorrow that should keep us hopping. So whistle while you work and check out this week’s Pick It and Stick It:
It’s starting to feel spooky here around the KCCGD headquarters as we are getting geared up for college football AND Halloween Saturday. There are already some scary and shocking things going on. Just talk to Virginia Tech about the game last night. Talk about a nightmare. North Carolina pulls out the last second upset. We wouldn’t be surprised if some other strange, supernatural things happens to some other teams come Saturday. Remember, if they ask for trick or treat, say treat. No trick plays will turn out good. Here’s the the picks:
Some weeks, you don’t know what you’re going to run into when you pick a place you’ve never been to before. So when we strolled up to Birdie’s Pub and Grill, we weren’t expecting much. They didn’t have a website and the only information we got about the place was on Google Maps. Walking in, however, things turned completely different. Yes, it was bigger, but for some aspects it wasn’t necessarily better. The goal of the week was to watch some Nebraska vs Virginia Tech and head to a BBQ. We accomplished the mission. Here’s the report.
Thanks to my wonderful girlfriend and her obscure calendar knowledge, I found out that today happens to be Talk Like A Pirate Day! Yeargh! Believe it or not there aren’t that many big time colleges that use a pirate moniker, matey. There is of course the Cinderella darlings of last year in the East Carolina Pirates. But after a quick search, I could only find Seton Hall as the only other Pirate team. As for Buccaneers, it looks like they walked the plank. So here’s my apology to East Carolina Pirate fans for not including them on the list of games this week. Ye take care of the North Carolina Tarheels today, YEARGHHH!
We were very skeptical when we strolled toward the Johnny’s Tavern setup on the corner of the Power & Light District in Downtown Kansas City. We’ve been to a couple of placesaround there before and the experiences were weak. We had some hope, however, as Johnny’s Tavern came through for us before. After spending the afternoon there we can say it is the best bar in the district. The food was great, the poker game was loads of fun, and the games on the screens were stellar. If you own or work at a bar around that area, read on to see how to make it successful.
We lucked out in picking the University of North Carolina’s Rameses as last week’s Monday mascot. The Tar Heels made it to the final game and they will face Michigan State in their almost home court of Ford Field in Detroit Michigan. So, in celebration of the underdog Big 10 making it this far, we will take a look at their mascot, Sparty. Good luck to both the teams tonight as we look forward to getting basketball out of the way in preparation of football. But for now, here’s Sparty.
Welcome again to Mascot Monday and as we weather another week of March Madness, we must say it’s disappointing that no Big 12 team is in the Final Four. We’ll try to fogoe those woes as we take a look at one of the surviving participants mascot. This week we will look at the University of North Carolina’s Rameses. We learn a little bit about tar, a little bit about rams, and all about why you shouldn’t walk on highway shoulders. This one’s for the KU (and Roy Williams) fans.
