Tag Archives: Notre Dame

Crib Sheet: Road Turkey

happy-thanksgiving

It’s a short week here at the KCCGD.  We gotta pack up tonight and get ready to hit the highway big time for Turkey Day.  We still have some time to get pumped for college football.  Usually when you think of football and Thanksgiving, it’s the NFL games with Detroit and Dallas.  But, there is even a bigger tradition for Thanksgiving and college football.  Rivalries are all over the place and it’s spread out nicely across the whole weekend.  So while the travel may be plentiful for us and maybe you, we are guaranteed some live college football at some point.  Happy Thanksgiving and here’s the Crib Sheet:

  • Mascot Monday participant UGA VII of Georgia died last night due to a heart failure.  Our condolences goes out to the university and all live animal mascots out there.
  • ESPN Page 2 columnist Matthew Iles talks about some of the more goofy rivalry trophies in college football.  We like the Old Brass Spittoon the best.  I wonder if, at the end of the game, whether or no the winner spits in it and if it makes a ba-doing noise.
  • Florida State barely got bowl eligibility last weekend by edging out Maryland 29 – 26.  Bobby Bowden may end up being forced out anyway at the end of the year.  The guy has been getting from all sides down there.
  • Some Big 12 coaches are jumping to the defense of Kansas coach Mark Mangino.  Mike Leech and Bob Stoops are covering for him, even though they are alot like him.  The surprising one was Bill Snyder 2.0.  Coaches need to look out for each other and we’re seeing a pretty good case of this right here.
  • Jimmy Clausen could have used some defense when he was cold cocked by a fan in front of a South Bend restaurant.  Not very Catholic-like indeed.  Jimmy’s out at the end of the year and heading to the NFL.  This incident merely sealed the deal.
  • That’s just the tip of the iceberg for Notre Dame.  Charlie Weis pretty much said it himself when we stated that there is no surprise if the Irish can him at the end of the year.   Urban Meyer keeps telling the press he’s out, signaling the start of a new coaching search for the Domers.  No more vaunted, Charlie Weis led, Notre Dame Fighthing Irish.
  • Taylor Potts last week wore ‘Nick’ on the back of his jersey, now we know why.   Mike Leech talks about his man love former Kansas linebacker Nick Reid.  He never met him but for some reason he’s always thought Reid was the ultimate football player.  We’re still trying to figure this out.  It did help inspire them to a win though.

Pick It Standings Week 10: Yawnster of a Weekend

lady-yawning

We’re back this week with another round of Pick It Standings.  Not much of a shake up this weekend in terms of college football and it’s reflected in the pick set.  Really when you think about it, there was no real big upset over the weekend, unless you count USC falling down hard to Stanford.  Everybody else won as expected and they are turning to corner for the home stretch of the season.  This is going to be a tight one to the end, both for the BCS race and the Pick It race.  Here’s this week’s lap:

Continue reading Pick It Standings Week 10: Yawnster of a Weekend

Quick Pit Stop at Paddy O’Quigley’s For a Deserved Break

Paddy O'Quigley's

Okay, so the few of you out there that actually read the blog may be wondering, why so late today?  Welp doing some freelancing on the side left this guy knee deep in a bunch of cables and computer parts. No worries, however, as we are coming in close to the deadline to talk about our tiny little trip out to Paddy O’Quigley’s to watch a little football, celebrate a 30th birthday, and jam out to some peeps belting out face melters on karaoke.

Continue reading Quick Pit Stop at Paddy O’Quigley’s For a Deserved Break

Coach’s Prepared Us Well for the Football Watching Game

Okay, after a road trip to Lawrence, we were back in the saddle of barspotting and what better place to do it at than none other than Coach’s Bar & Grill.  Coach’s advertises only the best in sports bars as well as being one of the oldest in Kansas City.  We spotted some sweet games there and also enjoyed the festivities, it was Halloween you know.  Some things surprised us and some things spooked us.  Read on for some chilling tales and pray that you survive the night, er, post.

Continue reading Coach’s Prepared Us Well for the Football Watching Game

Crib Sheet: Too Full to Write, Seriously

fullplateoffood

We have a full plate here this week on the Crib Sheet so in the interest of avoiding any more food references we stuffed into the last couple of posts, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • Steve Spurrier, South Carolina head coach, complained about tape on the field after their shilacking they took from Alabama last week.  So Alabama head coach Nick Saban says they won’t do it again.  The kickers were using to place kicks and now the need some other guide to help the ball find the way.  Southeastern Conference:  Home of the Ticky Tacky Whining.
  • Orrin Hatch is poking an prodding his trident in the direction of the Justice Department and President Obama, trying to get a probe of the BCS system again.  Hey, it’s an easy target in Utah and we hope he gets relected for all of this posturing and grand standing.  Once again, this shows that people from Utah suck.
  • The officiating crew from last week’s Florida and Arkansas game were suspended due to a blown personal foul call against an Arkansas player.  When you are Florida and on top, the calls will go your way.  Southeastern Conference:  Home of Protecting the Frontrunners.
  • While LeBron James is busy kicking out professional football players, he’s also giving advice to Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.  James says he’s trying to help Pryor handle being a super star athelete.  What?  You have to win games, and more importantly championships, to be a super star.  Right now Pryor is the head guy for a lame-o offense.  An offense that just got upset by Purdue.
  • When Texas Tech loses bad, count on Mike Leech to say something witty about it.  This time, it was something about fat girlfriends.  We love him even though his team usually rolls Big 12 North teams.
  • The Dallas Fort Worth airport and American Airlines are now doing direct flights to Manhattan, Kansas.  What does that mean?  Recruiting trips for Kansas State will be less of convenience.  The Wildcats had to cut costs for private flights which meant planes going to Topeka or Kansas City held recruits.  Will this help?  Who knows.
  • Goldy Gopher got the slap down for mocking prayer at the beginning of a game last week.  I can see that happening if they played Notre Dame or Boston College, but doing it before a Penn State game is a little ridiculous.  His punishment?  10 Hail Marys and a bad football team.
  • Bob Griese will have to sit a game for making a taco joke on a latino NASCAR driver.  Was it because it was racially insensitive or because it was a really bad joke?  Griese did get his education at Michigan, you know.
  • Speaking of Michigan, there’s a letter of inquiry from the NCAA about the whole practicing too long trouble some players kicked up a month ago.  How could the Wolverines be practicing too hard?  They’re terrible.  Maybe if they were undefeated but they stink too much to be practicing too long.  If anything, they are not practicing enough.
  • Much to no one’s surprise, Sam Bradford will have a season ending shoulder surgery and then enter the NFL draft.  It seemed a little awkward when Bradford left the Texas game a couple of weeks ago.  The hit wasn’t as massive as the first injury.  Right then I think we all knew Bradford wasn’t gonna chance it.  So will he do well in the NFL?  Tune in and find out if we ever kick up a KC GameDay blog.
  • Iowa Governor Chet Culver goofed up and congratulated only Iowa in a historic win over the weekend.  Yes, the Hawkeyes are 8-0 for the first time in forever, but it seems he forgot the Iowa State win over Nebraska in Nebraska for the first time since 1977.  If the Cyclones make a bowl, this guy will be elected out of the office.
  • John William Lomax III will be charged in the murder of UConn football Jasper Howard.  He went to the party but his lawyer says he has nothing to do with it.  We’ll find out in court just what happened.
  • The NCAA ruled that Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant will be suspended for the rest of the season.  He lied to the NCAA when they went sniffing around a visit he had with Deion Sanders.  This seems a little harsh.  With other players punching people and coming back, you’d figure they would let him come back and play.  To bad for the Cowpokes as they could use him against Texas this weekend.

Barspotting: Stadiumspotting Returns to Lawrence

Memorial Stadium

But not for the Sunflower Showdown.  My beautiful and football lovin’ girlfriend is letting the Purple Yeti hitch a ride with her and her bid-ness down to Memorial Stadium for the big Oklahoma vs Kansas game.  Both teams roll into the game suffering a loss to Texas and Colorado respectively so one of them will bounce back.  Which one will it be?  We’re not sure.  How many of us will be sober?  Well, we know the answer to that one.  At any rate, we’ll report on every debaucherous action, on and off the field.

Continue reading Barspotting: Stadiumspotting Returns to Lawrence

We Peeped Hooter’s til we were Pooped

Saturday was the big day.  We’ve been to a couple of chain restaurants before but this one was different.  This was Hooter’s.  We knew everything they were pushing.  The place started with girls first, then everything trickled down from their cleavage.  Hooter’s believes it also makes a great spot for a place to watch the game.  So last Saturday was the day to put it to to the test.  The test subjects included some great rivalry match ups, including the Red River Rivalry.  Let’s see what Hooter’s brought us.

Continue reading We Peeped Hooter’s til we were Pooped

Pick It and Stick It: Double Barrellin’ It

nosepickingg

Ridin’, ropin’, buckin’, bustin’, and pickn’!  Get used to it folks.  The closer and closer we get to the Red River Rivalry the more we don the chaps and start spittin’ some chaw.  Soze what wez got here is one of the best rivalries in the land.  It may not be number one with a bullet but it certainly will place at the state fair.  And in this here game’s place, that would be the Texas State Fair.  So hold on to yer hats, buckaroo, there’s gonna be a shoot out come high noon tomorrow!

Favorite VS Underdog Spread Time  (in CDT)
(7)Ohio St. @ Purdue 13.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 11:00 am
Wisconsin VS (11)Iowa 2.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 11:00 am
(3)Texas VS (20)Oklahoma 3 Sat, Oct 17 at 11:00 am
(15)Nebraska VS Texas Tech 10.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 2:30 pm
@(14)Penn St. VS Minnesota 17.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 2:30 pm
(1)Florida VS Arkansas 25 Sat, Oct 17 at 2:30 pm
(6)USC @ (25)Notre Dame 10 Sat, Oct 17 at 2:30 pm
(23)Houston @ Tulane 17 Sat, Oct 17 at 2:30 pm
(12)TCU VS Colorado St. 22.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 3:00 pm
(4)Virginia Tech @ (19)Georgia Tech 3 Sat, Oct 17 at 5:00 pm
(18)BYU @ San Diego St. 17 Sat, Oct 17 at 5:00 pm
(17)Kansas @ Colorado 9.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 6:00 pm
(9)Miami (FL) @ UCF 14.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 6:30 pm
(2)Alabama VS (22)South Carolina 17 Sat, Oct 17 at 6:45 pm
(16)Oklahoma St. VS Missouri 7 Sat, Oct 17 at 8:15 pm
(24)Utah @ UNLV 16.5 Sat, Oct 17 at 9:00 pm

Arlight, enough cowboy poetry.  Let’s get to the plate of beans for the weekend.  Usually the Red River Rivalry is a close one and the spread makers deems it so this year with a measly 3 points.  The rest of the Big 12 action may be in the shadow but there’s still some potential barn burners.  Take a looksie at Missouri and Oklahoma State.  Or even Kansas and Colorado.  But enough about that.  The other big rivalry is USC and Notre Dame.  This should put whoever wins back on the map to the BCS title.   A map that’s currently shared by Virginia Tech.  They will have a hard time holding onto it when they face Georgia Tech.  Pick well, peeps, and enjoy the games!

Barspotting: Check Out These Hooter’s

hooters

It was bound to happen.  It could only be so long before we found out way there.  And so, thanks to your voting, we will be barspotting for KC College Gameday at Hooter’s.  If you don’t know what it is, then you probably never will be there.  Essentially it’s vehicle for putting women in tight clothes and making them overly friendly.  Word around the street, though, is their wings and cheese fries are top notch.  Being the guy magnet it makes no apologies to be, they also have sports packages available.  So we’re gonna find out this week if Hooter’s is a great place to watch sports as well as the talent.

Continue reading Barspotting: Check Out These Hooter’s

Crib Sheet: Icing It Down

kneeinjuryicing_Full

Much of the staff for the KCCGD (all one person of it) is knocked down under injury this week.  Lower back pains are not an easy ailment to handle.  Granted it’s no puke inducing concussion, but we know how limiting an injury can be.  Usually a team would be lucky enough not to have any of their stars miss a game or two during the season.  Usually you rest them at halftime or have them skip the easy games.  In this BCS culture today though now you have to play your top guys all the time, even when hurt.  So in that spirit, we achingly bring this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • The College Football Hall of Fame is moving from South Bend to Atlanta.  The promised attendance was never met in Irish-land and now they are moving down to Bulldog country.  So let’s get this straight, they are moving from one program where expectations of a once great team were never met to another place where expectations of a once great team were never met?  Hey, at least they’ll avoid nasty winters.
  • Michigan University will no longer allow purses into the stadium for games.  Sorry, RichRod, you will have to find something else to carry all of your crying tissues.
  • The college football world gasped a big ole sigh when Tim Tebow went down with a concussion over the weekend against Kentucky.  Apparently he was aleady sick when he took a sick hit from a Kentucky player.  It’s a good thing Florida has the week off.  Not for Tebow to recover, but the for the rest of the sports media to talk about the games.  Hopefully.
  • Sports Illustrated is attempting to bring playoff brackets into the mainstream with a half-cocked bracketing system to rank the top 16 teams and then place them in a bracket.  Are they bummed that USA Today has the Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, the AP has their own poll, but they have nothing?  That’s what we think.  And this is the only ink we’ll give them.
  • Baylor’s hope for a rise to bowl-dom blew up in their face Saturday when Robert Griffin went down last Saturday with a torn ACL in his knee.  A veteran QB in Blake Szymanski will take over the helm as Baylor gets ready to head into conference play October 10.  It really sucks for the Bears but will make thing easier for the North teams playing Baylor this year.
  • Twitter rears its ugly head again as a couple of tweets from some Texas Tech players caused Mike Leech to ban it from the team.  This was, of course, in reaction to some awesome tweets from newly suspended offensive lineman Brandon Carter and linebacker Marlon Williams.  We miss it already.
  • Speaking of Twitter, Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin is using his handle to retrieve 3 helmets stolen from Cougars players while storming the field during Houston’s dramatic win over Texas Tech.  Twitter and Texas Tech just does not mix.
  • Stafon Johnson, tailback for USC, had emergency surgery on his throat after a freak weightlifting accident.  I’ve seen some bars fall with very heavy weight on them in the gym and it does not look pretty.  How did it get on this guy’s throat?  We hope he turns out okay.
  • New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley pulled a Buddy Ryan (or a Tom Caple) on his assistant and busted his lip.  We’ve seen some punches so far on the field at least once a week during the season, now we’re seeing it during coaches meetings.  Oh wait, football is a violent sport.  Check.
  • Kansas will have condominiums in the stands in the form of seat mortgages.  So while the kids are fighting on (and off) the field, the snooty rich people will be in the stands.  Live sport spectating is becoming the privilege of the elite.  This isn’t good at all.
  • Ladies and gentlemen, we present the Yankee Bowl.  The Big East #4 team and the Big 12 #7 team are signed up to meet at Yankee stadium beginning in the 2010-11 season.  Granted they still need approval, but if you have the mayor of New York and the owner of the Yankees behind it, the proposal should pass.  I for one wish that any ‘home’ team in New York gets beat.
  • Missouri gets the dunce cap this week as the athletic department sold a box of old cell phones.  Without wiping them.  Hey, hook me up with an email address or phone number over here.   I want some coaches to know about the blog.

Barspotting: J. Murphy’s Law

jmurphys

So the voters spoke and we’re feeling Irish this week at J. Murphy’s.  It’s not March yet, but we have a feeling it’s going to end up like it by the time we get done here.  So let’s run down the stats on the bar.  Green decor. Check.  Beer (with Guinness).  Check.  Irish Whiskey. Check. Corned Beef and Cabbage. Check.  All football games. Check.  Looks like they meet the requirements for an Irish sports bar.  Come out with us Saturday to find out if the proof is in the Shepard’s Pie.  Erin go bragh!

When: Saturday, September 26, 2009
Time: 12:00 pm
Where: J. Murphy’s Irish Pub and Grill, 22730 Midland Dr, Shawnee, KS 913.825.3880


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Games:

Notes:  It’s a somewhat of a trap game for Missouri as they head to Nevada Friday night.  Kansas hopefully will turn their punches toward Southern Miss and not the basketball team when they host the Golden Eagles.  Virginia Tech plays another game of the week when they host newly resurgent Miami.  The Illibuck Trophy is up for grabs as Illinois heads to Ohio State and hope for an upset like last time.  Speaking of upsets, Iowa hopes to do the same thing this year to Penn State like they did last year and derail their national title hopes.  The Shillelagh Trophy is up for grabs when the Fighting Irish take on the Purdue Boilermakers.  Texas Tech takes a long road trip to Houston and look to duke it out against the newly christened cinderella Houston Cougars.  Finally New Mexico and New Mexico State meet for the 100th time this weekend in the Battle of I-25 and the Maloof Trophy.

Here’s the voting results from facebook:

barspottingweek04_2009

Crib Sheet: Layeth the Smacketh Down

TheRock1

There’s alot of violence going around in college football recently.  Well, more violence than usual.  Yes, there’s the pads a poppin’ but more and more we see fisticuffs break out.  Whether it’s on the field or off, there’s been some smacking and smack talking cropping up all over.  So pay attention to this week’s Crib Sheet.  We have some lessons to teach.   If you smellllllll, what the Crib Sheet, is cookin’!

  • Rick Neuheisel and Bill Snyder 2.0 go way back, as Kevin Haskin writes.  It seems that during the rebuilding process in Manhattan, Snyder 2.0 targeted the Buffaloes first instead of going for the top team in the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Neuheisel was the coach for Colorado at the time.  So these guys know each other well.   INSERT RECAP
  • Collins Okafor is the second running back to leave the Nebraska Cornhusker squad.  I guess Bo Pelini had confidence in the other two guys up for the position.  Let’s hope none of those two get injured.  But wait!  He’s Back!
  • So there have been complaints of Michigan’s Jonas Mouton tossing punches at Notre Dame’s Eric Olsen from their matchup a couple of weeks ago.   Then to top it off, Rich Rodriguez claims he never saw it even when the video came out.  Plus Mouton will not get punished for the haymaker he tossed.  Talk about a total classless decision.  Especially after that hoopla with Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount.  We know what should.  Check out the video and let us know what this guy should get (oh wait, yup he got a one game suspension):
  • To be fair, Golden Tate did a nose dive on the Michigan State stands during Notre Dame’s victory over the Spartans.  Yup no one helped him.  Lambeau leap this ain’t:
  • Texas A&M’s Uzoma Nwachukwu is loving life as the big man (and frosh) on campus this week.  Nwachukwu scored a touchdown on each of his four touches last weekend against Utah State.  I’m not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that the Aggies are undefeated and 2nd in the Big 12 South standings or the pronunciation of his name.
  • Fans who were kicked out of Minnesota’s home games for drunkenness will have to take a breathalyzer test the next time they try to attend a game.  That makes alot of sense since it’s for the student section only and protects the fans from the wild tailgating that students put on before the game.  I should know.   I’ve been part of many of those.
  • In this week’s lesson on smack talking, Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin fires back accordingly when Urban Meyer made up excuses about how close the Florida and Tennessee game was last week.  That’s good stuff.  Remember never to back down if someone returns the shot you fired first.
  • Kansas football players and basketball players can’t get along.  Point guard Tyshawn Taylor ended up with a dislocated thumb after a frucus broke out in front the university’s student union.  Here’s a tip, the only other type of athletes that can mess with football players are wrestlers.  Anybody else, prepare to get injured.

Crib Sheet: Need More Cowbell

cowbell

It’s another week of college football news and we are getting into a rhythm.  Most of the news churns up and out on Saturday and Sunday now.  I would say the amount of news tripled since the start of the season.  But we are taking it all in and making some sweet music for you to kick back and zone out on.  Let’s just consider this the greatest hits collection from the week.  Like any good compilation we have peaks and valleys then finish off with a strong note.  And no Kanye.  Now that’s what I call Crib Sheet!  Rock on below:

  • Steve Sipple from HuskersExtra.com talks about how the Cornhuskers are scheduling weak opponents and acceptance of such philosophy.  Welcome to what the Kansas State Wildcats did every year.   Now everyone is doing it.  Hey, at least they fill a slot in with a quality opponent.  They have Virginia Tech coming up.
  • Speaking of the Wildcats, Bill Snyder 2.0 just inked a 5 year, $10 million dollar deal with program.  They had to sign a new one with the new school president and athletic director.  But five years?  He can probably leave whenever and take a paper pushing job with the department when he’s done.  Hopefully he will have turned the program around in three.
  • Apparently swine flu is breaking out all over on football teams across the country.  They need to start washing their hands and behind their ears before practices and such.  Weren’t players supposed to be bigger, faster, and tougher in the new millennium?  Since when did a flu cause a freak out?  Man up, players (but don’t shake my hand).
  • Erin Andrews, resident ESPN sideline hottie, told her story on Oprah last week.  For those of you who don’t know, or listen to the news, Andrews was filmed nude by a peeping tom in some hotel room a couple of weeks ago.  She stated that she thought her career was over.  Um, she’s seriously mistaken.  If anything her nudity made her more popular.  Just talk to every Hollywood actress out there.  They dip into the nude pool when their careers are threatened.
  • Just in cased you missed it, Stephen F. Austin barely beat Texas College 92 – 0 last weekend.  That’s right.  Not 9, not 2, but 92 points.  It’s nice to see some joystick scores on the field every once in awhile but this is ridiculous.   Texas College should’ve hit the restart button.
  • The power went out before the half of the Montana vs UC-Davis game over the weekend too.  It took some time for the UC-Davis staff to get it up and going.  The home field advantage wasn’t enough, however as Montana went on to win 17-10.
  • Even though highly touted Colorado is 0-2, Dan Hawkins job might be safe.  ESPN Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin talks about how broke the Buffaloes are and why buying Hawkins out could hurt more.   That’s real good news for every other team in the Big 12 North.
  • You’d figure after losing a close game that you can talk about it with a little class. But Notre Dame’s Charlie Weiss dashes all hopes of respectfully losing by blaming the Big 10 officials in their last second loss to Michigan last week.  The schedule is weak enough for the Domers to finish with a double digit win record.  Focus on that Weiss.
  • Oklahoma fans from around the globe are supporting Landry Jones and his pencil thin mustache.  Even the American Mustache Institute chimed in for their support of the molestache.  Considering how he’s played on the field so far, there shouldn’t be any complaints about that mouth hugger.

Pick It Standings Week 2: No Excuses

fantasy-football

This week’s Pick It results are in and it looks as though some people forgot to set picks again. Including me. It’s a new system but what I missed was actually picking opponents on top of setting the confidence. So I was intrigued on the big rivalry game between Notre Dame and Michigan. “It’s just one game. Surely you didn’t get distracted off of one game, right?” You see, it’s more than just a rivalry. Jolly is a huge Michigan and subsequently a Big 10 fan. I used to hear lots of crap about Big 10 this and winningest program that. Being a Big 12 boy myself as well as a former catholic high school grad, it was necessary for me to take the opposite side this week and root for Notre Dame. I even bought a fitted cap to wear for the game. Well it didn’t pan out as I hoped and missing the picks this week only turns the knife deeper. It’s okay, though, everyone likes an underdog and the Purple Yeti just became one. Heck, it worked out for Rudy. Here’s the results:
Continue reading Pick It Standings Week 2: No Excuses

Johnny’s Tavern has the Power and the Light


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 places around 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.

Continue reading Johnny’s Tavern has the Power and the Light