It’s another Mascot Monday and I’m feeling a little slow. It’s been a long weekend and I’m just trying to catch up to things. Some would even say I’d be feeling a bit sluggish. Never fear, for even in mascot-dom there’s a wacky character that can inspire the lethargy deep inside all of us. I’m of course referring to this week’s featured mascot, the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug! A relatively young mascot, this yellow buggah has already made waves within the mascot world.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: The UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug
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The Crib Sheet: One Spicey Meatball
We kicked off the off season with our first Mascot Monday here at the KCCGD and now we’re continuing the trend with our first edition of the Crib Sheet. Yup, it’s a weekly news round up of college football with our own little Jamaican Jerk style spice tossed on top. Much like how a good number of student-atheletes need a crib sheet to get by the student part, well lay out what you need to know for college football news wise. Chances are you’ll get better news elsewhere, but you won’t walk away from it with a minty fresh feeling like you would hitting up the Sheet. So buckle up because here we go:
- Notre Dame quelled the rumors that John Gruden will be the new had coach. Charlie Weiss just save his behind whooping Hawaii, why would they go with anyone else. Weiss has one more year and Gruden is still NFL, maybe even for the Chiefs.
- Kansas names Kerry Locklin as their new D-Line coach. He replaces Joe Bob Clemens as Joe Bob comes back home to K-State. Hopefully it was part of some ellaborate, Bill Snyder led, recon mission to sniff out the Jayhawks scheme so the Wildcats can notch a win in forever against the Hawks.
- Michigan hires Greg Robinson as the new Defensive Coordinator. Whoah, so Syracuse dumps him after the Kansas City Chiefs dump him, and now Rich Rodrieguez wants him? I say take him. Let’s hope the tradition of losing carries over to the Wolverines just enough to keep them mediocre.
- Washington had to report a recruiting violation to the PAC 10. Steve Sarkisian is off to a big start by breaking some rules. Looks like the Huskies are not shaking off the Neuheisel stigma anytime soon.
- Tim Griffin tells us that the Big 12 North is cherry picking the hell out of Texas for recruits. Tell us something we don’t know, Tim. Sheezuz.
- Recruiting sucks for the Big 10 this year. Apparently 2 schools can claim five star recruits (Ohio State and Michigan duh). Is this the beginning of the end? Chances are the Big 10 tanking will break the stranglehold on the Rose Bowl.
- In the “Oh my God, he can still get a job” department: Ron Prince is rummored as being in the running for the Offensive Coordinator for Miami o’ Florida. Great, so he can coach down a talented quarterback and jack up some trick plays for the Hurricanes? I’m sold.
- Finally, Former Missouri Quarterback Chase Daniel is a superstar at ESPN. Source indicate he will also film a commercial with Pittsburgh Steelers quaterback Ben Roethlisburger. Chase will play Ben’s younger, less talented brother while they take turns throwing a football at the back of Stuart Scott’s head. Who will knock out the glass eye first? Tune in and find out.
Welp that’s it for round one of the Crib Sheet. Well be back every Wednesday to spit up nuggets of news we chowed down on from previous week. Until then, eat your vitamins and say your prayers, brotha. Yup, the Yeti’s filling his time by watching a lil wrasslin’ Sunday by way of the Royal Rumble. Hey, you gotta pass the time in the off season somewho. As Ric Flair would say, “WHOOOOOOOO!”
Mascot Monday: Willie the Wildcat
Welcome to the first post of the offseason for the KCCGD Crew! We have a couple of ideas floating around and one of them bubbled up to reviewing the wacky tradition of mascots in college football. We’ll be talking about a new mascot every Monday in the offseason, pointing out likes and dislikes as well as funky things we found out about them. The inaugural post is, seeing as I’m a K-Stater, Willie the Wildcat.
Gators Chomp on Sooners and The PurpleYeti Chomps on Bar Food
Congratulations go out to the Florida Gators as your BCS Champion! I’m a little bummed out because this Yeti was going for Oklahoma Sooners. It could have been worse. The game could have been a complete blowout. At least the Sooners kept the game close until the last couple minutes of the game. Also, congratulations go out to Wharfrats for picking smartly and going against the Sooners for the Bowl Pick ‘Em title. It was a let down Thursday night, but JJ’s Other Place kept me warm.
Continue reading Gators Chomp on Sooners and The PurpleYeti Chomps on Bar Food
BCS Title Game Makes Me Race To JJ’s Other Place
To quote Keith Jackson, “WHOA NELLY!” What a game Monday night! Apparently a month of planning from Coach Tressel can help the Ohio State Buckeyes make a game against the Texas Longhorns. The McCoy/Crosby connection toward the end of the game reminded me of the Harrell/Crabtree connection made from Texas Tech earlier this year. The Longhorns eeked out of the Fiesta Bowl with a win and the Ohio State Buckeyes go home a BCS bust (again).
Continue reading BCS Title Game Makes Me Race To JJ’s Other Place
Bowl Pick It Standings: Two Minute Warning and the Marching Band is on the Field
We’re running into the last stretch of big games and we are getting ready for the final 3 games of the college football season. The last week brought us some upsets, some blowouts, some intrigue, and some fatter bellies and stinkier rooms. Bowl season so far has proved to be, well, anticlimactic but we’re geared up for Florida vs Oklahoma. The other two games landed on nonplussed for our feelings.
The vaunted, Charlie Weiss led, Notre Dame fighting Irish played hard for their coached and blew the heat off of him by blowing out Hawaii in the, you guessed it, the Hawaii Bowl. The Pac-10 quieted all detractors by going undefeated in their bowls year, topping it off with a USC blowout of the somewhat Paterno led Penn State Nittany Lions. Speaking of the Big 10, they are 1-5 in bowls this year with one game left to go. The Purple Yeti loved the finish to the Kentucky and East Carolina game when Kentucky’s defensive lineman Ventrell Jenkins stiffed armed East Carolina’s Partrick Pinkey after picking him off and tumbled into the endzone for the winning score 25-19.
But that’s not all that happened. The Big 12 so far has a decent showing going with Missouri kicking it off and barely chugging by Northwestern. The Tigers should’ve lost the game but the found a way to come out on top. I was in the gym when Oklahoma State was up 17-7 over Oregon at half and dang near dropped my jaw to the floow when I saw the final score later, Oregon 42, Oklahoma State 31. KU handled Minnesota rather easily, which worked out well for the evening as Wii Sports were to be had. The best game of New Year’s Day happened to be the Gator Bowl where Nebraska came from behind to beat the Clemson Tigers. Too bad Texas Tech couldn’t make a case for being in the title chase when Ole Miss handed them an Ole Whuppin 47-34 in the Cotton Bowl.
Continue reading Bowl Pick It Standings: Two Minute Warning and the Marching Band is on the Field
Bowl Pick It Standings: Post Holiday Belly Burst
With the Christmas portion of the holidays over, it’s now time to gear up for the Bowls. It’s a weird time of year. The bowls have started but it still feels pretty empty from the downtime between the end of the regular season and now. There’s been 11 games already but it feels like no one’s really played. That will change tomorrow night, however, but more on that in a second. First, here is the Bowl Pick ‘Em update:
Rank | Pick Set | Points | Correct Picks |
1 | i choo choo choose you | 108 | 6 of 11 |
2 | Crazy Train | 102 | 5 of 11 |
3 | Bowies In Space | 95 | 6 of 11 |
4 | Hokey | 92 | 8 of 11 |
5 | Sasquatch Willy | 91 | 5 of 11 |
6 | Wharf Rats | 83 | 5 of 11 |
7 | B-Nutz | 78 | 4 of 11 |
7 | M I Z – Z O U | 78 | 7 of 11 |
9 | I Win! | 46 | 4 of 11 |
10 | I Heart Bill Snyder’s Perineum | 37 | 2 of 11 |
10 | Pat’s PIcks | 37 | 5 of 11 |
12 | Snyder for President | 31 | 3 of 11 |
13 | Goobersinmynose | 28 | 4 of 11 |
14 | keltron3000 | 17 | 4 of 11 |
15 | Sometding else to kill time | 15 | 3 of 11 |
16 | Hit it and Quit it | 0 | 0 of 11 |
The confidence points skews the actual picks as Hokey (the Yeti’s other alter ego) and MIZ-ZOU are 1 and 2 with the total number of correct picks. Since the confidence ranking kicking in, i choo choo choose you is number one with a Simpsons bullet. We’re getting into the meat of the Bowl schedule this week so look for some major movement coming from the top and bottom of the standings.
The Yeti is still recovering from the month long pig out fest from the holidays, but will unloosen the belt and mosey on down to JJ’s Other Place to watch Missouri take on Northwestern. It’s a curtain call for Chase Daniels and we’re hoping that the Tigers can kick off the Big 12’s bowl season with a victory. I’m not too up to date on the Northwestern Wildcats, but they are from the Big 10 so that’s all this Yeti needs to know. Go Tigers!
Bowl Pick It Standings Part One: Oh Yeah, Updates!
The Yeti is still on a little holiday but we figured it’s time to drop in and give an update real quick on the Bowl Pick ‘Em league. Now we just got done watching TCU barely hold on against Boise State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (that is an egregiously large title), but the standings below don’t reflect that. What can we say? We’ve been busy last minute shopping. Here’s the pick set update:
Rank | Pick Set | Points | Correct Picks |
1 | Crazy Train | 51 | 2 of 5 |
2 | i choo choo choose you | 49 | 2 of 5 |
3 | Sasquatch Willy | 43 | 2 of 5 |
3 | M I Z – Z O U | 43 | 4 of 5 |
5 | I Heart Bill Snyder’s Perineum | 37 | 2 of 5 |
6 | Wharf Rats | 35 | 2 of 5 |
7 | Ron Prince Albert Got Canned | 31 | 2 of 5 |
8 | Bowies In Space | 25 | 2 of 5 |
9 | I Win! | 10 | 1 of 5 |
9 | keltron3000 | 10 | 3 of 5 |
11 | Goobersinmynose | 5 | 1 of 5 |
11 | Something else to kill time | 5 | 2 of 5 |
13 | Pat’s PIcks | 4 | 2 of 5 |
14 | Snyder for President | 0 | 0 of 5 |
14 | Hit it and Quit it | 0 | 0 of 5 |
14 | B-Nutz | 0 | 0 of 5 |
On a side note, we have been busy updating the site. We are now up to WordPress version 2.7 and am enjoying the latest in swanky technology. Look for some more updates coming soon. Plus, there are some thoughts about what to do after the season is over and we’ll flesh those out after the title game. That said, look for a K-State year in review from the Yeti and perhaps some build up to the Big 12 appearances in the Bowls. Happy Holidays everbody!
Pick It and Stick It: Big Bad Bowl Edition
Just when you thought it was done, the Pick It and Stick It is back for the bowl season! We’re gonna do something a little different this year. For the bowl picks, everyone is invited to participate. That’s right, you’ll get the chance to compete with the Purple Yeti, Krizzou, Cabbottmtf, and the rest of the KCCGD crew. We’re using the fantasy sports College Bowl Pick’Em system from Yahoo at http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/bowl?tid=1289. Here’s how you can sign up:
- Click on this link to automatically join.
- Go to the College Bowl Pick ‘Em page and sign up. Then join the group with this information: Group ID#: 647 Password: shameless
Be sure to read the rules and figure out how to pick the games. It’s the kind of pick ’em where you rank the order of confidence as well as who’s gonna win. The first game is on December 20th so be sure to set your picks by then. As for the prize? We’ll come up with something or post below and let us know. At the very least it will be something comparable to what Cabbottmtf won in the regular season Pick It and Stick It. Good luck to all and go Big 12 in the bowls!
Bowlspotting: That’s Right, We’re Spotting the Bowls
With the regular season over, we need something to do between the various holiday events. So why not watch all of the Big 12 bowl games? Fortunately we have five days straight of bowl games that feature a Big 12 team during the last week of the year. How is the KCCGD staff going to handle the load? We don’t know. Chances are we’ll post in the morning where we will go and then talk about the game later on that night. If we go out to all of the games. It’s gonna be hard and crazy for sure. The BCS National Championship game will be spotted somewhere, but we’ll build up to that when the time comes. For now, here’s the Big 12 representation of the bowl schedule (thanks espn.com):
BOWL | LOCATION | DATE/TIME | NETWORK |
Valero Alamo Missouri vs. Northwestern |
San Antonio Alamodome |
Dec. 29, 7 p.m. | ESPN |
Pacific Life Holiday Oklahoma State vs. Oregon |
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium |
Dec. 30, 7 p.m. | ESPN |
Insight Kansas vs. Minnesota |
Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium |
Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m. | NFL Network |
Konica Minolta Gator Nebraska vs. Clemson |
Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium |
Jan. 1, 2009, 12 p.m. | CBS |
AT&T Cotton Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech |
Dallas Cotton Bowl |
Jan. 2, 2009, 1 p.m. | FOX |
Tostitos Fiesta Ohio State vs. Texas |
Glendale, Ariz. University of Phoenix Stadium |
Jan. 5, 2009, 7 p.m. | FOX |
FedEx BCS National Championship Game Florida vs. Oklahoma |
Miami Dolphin Stadium |
Jan. 8, 2009, 7 p.m. | FOX |
Missouri, after falling back to earth this year, tries to do to the Big 10 Wildcats what they did with the Big 12 version in the Alamo Bowl. The Oklahoma State Cowboys will be shooting ducks against Oregon in the Holiday Bowl. The Gator Bowls marks a New Year’s Day return for the Nebraska Cornhuskers as they take on Clemson. Ole Miss tries to outshoot the left out Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl. The Texas Longhorns look toward the Ohio State Buckeyes to take out their frustrations in the Fiesta Bowl. Finally, the Oklahoma Sooners circles the wagons for the Florida Gators in the BCS National Championship Game. That’s one heckuva lineup and this empy week and a half of hype does little to pass the time on our way to Bowl Season.
Pick It Standings Week 15: Final Final BCS and Pick It and Stick Title
Oklahoma is the new number one and the bowl schedule is set. Some say Texas got bushwhacked in the decision making process, and I’m not sure if the argument is there. Yes, head to head was a Texas win on a neutral field. But with the provision in the Big 12 stating that it goes to the BCS rankings, Oklahoma is on top. You’re gonna see that rule changed shortly after the end of the season. Maybe even shorter if the Sooners lose and the Longhorns win. But what about Texas Tech? They were in it as well. The argument was base off head to head but the Red Raiders beat the Longhorns. Where is their say? I think people forgot. Which is why the head to head argument is weak when its three teams. So the BCS rankings take the role but the Big 12 should’ve been consistent and had the rule the other leagues had. Hopefully the decision proves right for this year and both Texas and Oklahoma win their BCS Bowls. In the meantime, here’s the Pick It Standings:
Rank | Pick Set Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Total |
1 | Cabbottmtf | 17 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 139 |
2 | Krizzou | 16 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 119 |
3 | Purple Yeti | 14 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 113 |
So Cabbottmtf had the Virginia Tech Hokies winning over Boston College in the ACC Championship game and that was all he needed to win the week. Krizzou is still on vacation but narrowly averted a late comeback from the Purple Yeti. Here’s your final standings for the Pick It and Stick It league. Congratualaitons to Cabbottmtf as he earned himself a picther of beer the next barspot he makes out. Pick It’s not over yet, as details about it will come out Friday. That’s right, Bowl Pick ‘Em. Get ready as there is a gajillion bowls and Yahoo! will keep track of all of them. We’ll post standings and so forth and probably lob up another pitcher as the prize. Good luck! Speaking of luck here’s the final BCS Standings:
Continue reading Pick It Standings Week 15: Final Final BCS and Pick It and Stick Title
The Fools Stayed at the Granfalloon
The last regular season barspot brought us to the Granfalloon. The Big 12 Championship game pitted Missouri versus Oklahoma and we wanted to celebrate the pagentry with the lights of the Plaza. It was a cold evening and traffic was a holiday shopping nightmare, but we braved the conditions and made our way in. It would take a Christmas miracle for Missouri to win and we felt the mojo would be had at the Granfalloon.
Continue reading The Fools Stayed at the Granfalloon
Pick It and Stick It: Championship Weak
Here we go into the last week of picks and its rather anti-climatic. Not only for the Pick It and Stick It season, but also for the Championship games. The Mizzou and Oklahoma game was hyped up big as a rematch at the beginning of the year. After the Tigers choked off a couple of games and the Sooners backed their way into the title game, it seems more of a like chore now than it does a big match up. Maybe KU beating Mizzou last week had something to do with it. At any rate, the focus will be on the SEC title for the day and I somehow wish that they swapped times to save the better game for the last of the evening. Though really the last game of the evening is Cinncy at Hawaii and I’m not sure advertisers would like the time slot. Well at least we have a whole seven picks for this week. Here they are:
Barspotting: Making a Grand Fool of Ourselves at the Granfalloon
This week, we’re making a quick pit stop the Granfalloon. The only memories I remember of this place is being a crowded multi room bar. After further inspection on their website, it seems like they have a pretty good amount of HD flat screens for barspotting. So why not give it a shot. The Big 12 Championship is at 7pm so hopefully we squeeze on in there. This is the last barspot before bowl season, so we hope it’s a good one.
When: Saturday, December 6th 2008
Where: The Granfalloon – 608 Ward Pkwy Kansas City, MO 64112
Time: 7:00 PM – for the only real game of the weekend
Continue reading Barspotting: Making a Grand Fool of Ourselves at the Granfalloon
Pick It Standings Week 14: Pulling Apart the BCS and Big 12 Entanglement
Following up on the Skybox barspot review, Oklahoma beat up Oklahoma State to make their case for a trip to the Big 12 title game. Not to jump the gun, but the Sooners made it to number 2 and they are heading to Big 12 Championship game. So the Standford stalwart in Ivan Maisel has pointed the finger of shame at the Big 12 for the latest BCS/Big 12 confusion. Basically since it was a 3 way tie at the top of the Big 12 South, the conference rule is to go to the BCS rankings. The Big 12 is the only conference that doesn’t have a provision where it says that if the teams are within 5 spots of each other, they revert to head-to-head matchups. In that case, Texas would go to the conference championship.
In keeping with the need for consistency in the BCS, the Big 12 should enable that provision. Then after that, the Pac 10 and Big 11 should have a conference championship game. Until that happens, we just have to deal with the setup this year. That said, I think it’s a good thing for Texas. Oklahoma has another chance to choke and Missouri has a great opportunity to save their season and go to a BCS bowl with a win. With all of the noise about Texas getting screwed in the last week, the upset should see Texas penciled in for the BCS title game for the second time in Longhorns history. Sheesh, the drama almost writes itself. Now on to the picks:
Rank | Pick Set Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Total |
1 | Cabbottmtf | 17 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 135 |
2 | Krizzou | 16 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 119 |
3 | Purple Yeti | 14 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 110 |
So Cabbottmtf needs to head down to Ameristar Casino and hit up the slot machines because he’s been showing all 7’s for the fifth straight week now. I would say that luck came into play for the picks, but it all comes down to him being the better betting man. Krizzou on the other hand is securely holding 2nd and laughing the whole way at the Purple Yeti because of the weak pick set in the upcoming week. Okay, so the standings are pretty much locked in and now all we have to do is play out the next week. If anyone has any ideas about what the Yeti should do bet wise at the title game, drop a comment below. Here’s the wrap up of the BCS standings:
Continue reading Pick It Standings Week 14: Pulling Apart the BCS and Big 12 Entanglement