Tag Archives: Big 12

GameDay: Watching My Team

You know, I came down to Austin for a new job and now I’m trolling town trying to find a place to watch my Kansas State Wildcats.  The initial feeling I had coming from Kansas City was that it would be almost impossible to watch a Big 12 ‘North’ team down here in Longhorn land.  This whole fist month of college football for me have been about expectations.  I think after today, it’s safe to assume that I can watch my team just about anywhere in Austin. Continue reading GameDay: Watching My Team

Pick It And Stick It 2011 Week 04: Sticking Together

Whew!  Another close one for the Big 12.  I swear, the Big 12 is the greatest thing since MTV’s The Real World.  If you want to talk about the best conferences, then the one with the best drama factor definitely is the Big 12.  Yeah, they are staying together but we really don’t know for how long.  So while they hold hands again and tell everybody that things are cool, let’s focus on some actual football.  This week’s Pick It an Stick It kind of reflects the noise off the field.  Like the Big 12, most of the great games are stuck together around 2:30 Saturday.  That’s fine for me and my barspotting trip, but how will it fare for the picks? Continue reading Pick It And Stick It 2011 Week 04: Sticking Together

Crib Sheet: And Around And Around We Go

Man I don’t even know where to start.  The reports are spinning right round, baby right round about anything and everything related to conference alignment.  Everyone knows what’s going on as of now.  I would dump here in the Crib Sheet, but going over my starred items in Google Reader is proving to be a fruitless endeavor.  Stuff as new as earlier this afternoon is now wrong.  I just can’t drop it in here as a developing item when it will more than likely be false.  The Crib Sheet is just too good for that.  The only thing I can say is that the Big 12 is in huge trouble and will more than likely go away next week.  That’s about it.  No links or nothing.  There’s plenty out there to read from.  If you’re looking for something other than conference Armageddon then check out this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • A booster from Ohio State admitted that he helped give some cash to Ohio State players that missed the first two games of the season.  You know, if there were more legitimate ways to pay players, we wouldn’t be seeing this kind of stuff.
  • Okay, is everyone getting on the uniform bus.  Maryland had some crazy ones and now Michigan State is getting some snappy ones.  It’s too much.  Just look at the dude covering it for ESPN.  He’s the uniform watch columnist.  Yes, there is a position like that.  I just threw up in my mouth a little.
  • Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill left the hospital last Thursday, after suffering a seizure on the field last weekend.  I think he coached the game.  I wish him all the best.
  • The College Football Hall of Fame flooded its basements over the weekend due to an improper sprinkler fitting.  Doh!  It’s located in South Bend, Indiana so I guess bad luck is going on all over around there.
  • This is how rivalries should be between fans:  A Notre Dame fan had a heart attack at the Michigan game and was revived via CPR by another fan in the stands.  Take note, everybody, it’s just game.  Rivalries should be held in high respects but not to the point where you wish damage on the other.
  • How fans should not act:  The kid who wore the Iowa State mascot uniform known as Cy fell from the stands an broke his arm.  He didn’t say anything happened to the cops, but he posted on Facebook that some Uconn fans pushed him.  Wow, not cool people.  Not cool.
  • A Texas associate athletic director Cleve Bryant was canned for sexually harassing someone.  Yup, you can’t go and do that even when you think you run the state, partner.
  • So Nevin Shapiro apparently ponzied Miami and now Luther Campbell, former 2 Live Crew kid and Miami booster, wants to sue him.  The charge?  Defamation.  Apparently the guy who rapped about being so horny doesn’t like other people raking his name through the mud.
  • Osceloa, Kansas wants the University of Kansas to drop the name ‘Jayhawk’ because of its Civil War connotations.  Too early?  Um, too late.  The response was hilarious though.  I mean come on, they need to keep that name.  How else can I call them Chickenhawks?
  • So you know how War Eagle flew into a window during Auburn’s pre game last week? Welp, PETA assembled and is scratching for some publicity by calling out against having any eagles during Auburn’s pre game.  What a shocker.  Go back to funding your porno website PETA, nothing to see here.
  • A former Northern Illinois student sued the NCAA for its concussion rules.  Apparently he suffers from the classic chronic symptoms of concussions and blames the NCAA for not doing a good job.  You think conference alignment is going to change football, wait until the concussion stuff bubbles up.  7 on 7 two hand touch, I’m not kidding.
  • Oklahoma State linebackers coach Glenn Spencer left the team during the three hour weather delay to be with his family.  His wife died shortly after the game started.  My condolences go out to his friends and family.
  • South Carolina athletes were accused by the NCAA for receiving over $55,000 in impermissible benefits.  Again, it’s getting to the point that ESPN (and Disney really) is pumping money out the yang for television.  These players are the ones doing all the work.  This kind of stuff would go away if they actually got paid.
  • Bob Stoops got a seven year, $34.5 million extension Monday.  He’s sitting prettier than alot of the schools in the Big 12 right now.
  • The Sugar Bowl revealed that they may have made a couple of illegal donations to a politician in the mid 2000s, and the Playoff Pac jumped all over it.  That’s right, the almighty complaint to the IRS will strike down on the Sugar Bowl and slowly but surely ruin any chances for the current BCS system to service.  Check and Mate for the Playoff Pac.
  • The New York Times has an interesting article about a South Korean kid named Seung Hoon Choi who started for the Nebraska Cornhuskers over the weekend.  I usually thought it was Samoans from across the seas that get line work.  South Koreans?  I didn’t know.  Fascinating.
  • Ho man, chalk one up to Texas A&M and the creative billboard they dumped in Waco, the home of the Baylor Bears.  Now as much as it sucks for the Big 12, it still is pretty funny.

Pick It and Stick It: Sticking With The Crowd

It’s the hustle and bustle of college football.  At the beginning of the year, everyone is tied 0-0.  Slowly and weekly, the winners bubble up and the losers peter out.  We’re getting into week 3 and it’s still crowded.  We haven’t yet hit the real bubbling point.  Apparently it’s Road Test Weekend so we’ll more than likely get the cauldron cooking real quick.  Speaking of being crowded, I’m planning and surfing the flesh at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Granted I have Sunday tickets so it won’t be too bad, but Saturday’s at Third Base Sports Bar.  Let’s hope people don’t bubble up vomit and I don’t peter out.

Continue reading Pick It and Stick It: Sticking With The Crowd

Crib Sheet: It’s PMA Day

There could be a big ole disparaging parenthetical here about how the Big 12 will go away and how badly it will affect my peeps and schools back home around the Kansas City area, but I’m deciding that we’ll focus on the good things this week.  Sure there may be moves, but our teams will play this Saturday and many Saturdays to come.  Whether or not they will play for a national title might still be going away real quickly, we’ll get enjoy the regional rivals and funky inter-conference matchups.  It’s time for some PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) and for this week’s Crib Sheet: Continue reading Crib Sheet: It’s PMA Day

Pick It Standings 2011 Week 02: A Trophy Weekend

Nope, not rivalry weekend, but a weekend so great it deserves its own trophy.  Going into last weekend, I was nonplussed about the matchups, but after witnessing three epic games, I’m eating some crow.  I may also be eating some crow with this week’s Pick It and Stick It Standings. Now last week, I was in last, but I’ve been bumped up to tied for last!  I’m in a hole like Chip Kelly and Notre Dame, but I totally believe I can turn it around.  Now on to the standings: Continue reading Pick It Standings 2011 Week 02: A Trophy Weekend

GameDay: Tradition Lost

The trip home is already turning out to be epic. Friends, family, and lotsa food did not do me wrong. It’s already been epic for college football, too. I just watch Iowa State and Iowa play an instant classic battling for the recently re-redesigned Cy-Hawk Trophy. That led me to wonder, with all of the new and improved conference realignment disaster, how will tradition be handled? Continue reading GameDay: Tradition Lost

PIck It and Stick It: Fling It Home

That’s right, I’ll be on a plane shortly but I want to get the picks up for the week.  It’s hard to stay focused with the Big 12 in legal gridlock.  You know, I thought professional wrestling was soap opera for guys but now I know that college football realignment is the real deal.  No offense to the WWE, but this stuff is way better than the scripted stuff I used to watch.  So as the conference turn, get your picks in and hope for the best.

Continue reading PIck It and Stick It: Fling It Home

HomeSpotting: Homeward Bound

Yeah, so soon right?  This weekend I’m forgoing my new home and heading up to Kansas City, the place I was born and raised.  Long story short:  I didn’t get a chance to visit the last time I was up there so I figured this weekend would be a good one to do so.  It’s after Labor Day so the tickets were cheaper plus I get to watch my 2nd favorite team Notre Dame play my homey Jolly’s favorite team Michigan.  There’s a BBQ to be had so nothing official, sorry Tanner’s.  But it will be a blast and I will do my best to recount it amongst the haze. Continue reading HomeSpotting: Homeward Bound

Crib Sheet: Conference Armageddon Again

You know, I was hoping the big news of the week would be the start of the college football season.  The only thing that could overshadow it was Texas A&M leaving the Big 12.  Welp they announced their intention to do so.  Now that it’s official, the Big 12 must look to expand, which is more than what they did last year.  Everyone is saying that BYU is the most likely candidate, and they are being very careful with their words .  Even though they have been talking with the Big 12.  Will it happen?  Who knows, but there will be a boatload of speculation in the meantime.  Well and Oklahoma is looking to take the lead in blowing up the league.  Let’s hit up the Crib Sheet while we wait: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Conference Armageddon Again

Doc’s Backyard Made Me Feel At Home

Oh wow let me see how I remember this.  It’s a new year of barspotting and the first notch on the Austin belt is Doc’s Backyard.  Most of the bars I will be to this season will be the first time that I’ve been there, except for Doc’s.  It’s close enough to my new place and has some decent reviews.  So how did it fare Saturday?  The atmosphere reflects back onto the experience. Continue reading Doc’s Backyard Made Me Feel At Home

Pick It and Stick It: Flick Me A Winner

Here we go with another year of Pick It and Stick It!  This time I decided to go easy on people and not do confidence points throughout the year.  It was just too much beef to handle week in and week out.  So I cut that fat off and leaned it down to a tasty point spread straight up pick league.  You can drop two weeks so if want to join up please do so at:
If you got any questions, please feel free to hit me up.  Now let’s take a look at the first week’s pics:

Crib Sheet: Kicking Off Another Season

HO BOY OH BOY OH BOY!  It’s here!  Well, one more day.  But finally after an anguishing offseason, college football is back!  Tomorrow night kicks it off and we get our itch scratch all the way through January.  Here we go!  But first, the last Crib Sheet of the offseason: Continue reading Crib Sheet: Kicking Off Another Season

Throwing Darts in 2011: Prediction Time

Here we go on my annual predictions for the upcoming college football season. I peer into my crystal viking horn and blow out what I think will happen for the year 2011.  From the BCS Championship Game to what color socks Oregon will wear in week 10, I throw it all on the board and see what makes triples and doubles.  So what do I think will happen?  Let’s find out:

  • Going big, the BCS Championship Game will be between Alabama and Oregon.  Alabama’s avoided the NCAA cartel but Oregon hasn’t as much.  I’m taking a risk on Oregon, but I don’t see any other team outside of the SEC that is title worthy.  Sure there’s Oklahoma but man I’ve been burned by them before.
  • Texas A&M will leave the Big 12 to go the SEC.  The SEC will poach and ACC, probably Florida State.  The Big 12 stays in Texas and nabs either SMU or Houston.
  • Mike Leach will show up in a pirate outfit on Halloween.  I’m not sure where, but it will be damn scary.
  • The NCAA hires enough people for them to actually do their job.  This is a big guess.
  • The first ever Big 10 Championship Game will feature new member Nebraska and current NCAA crosshairs, Ohio State.  Ohio State wins it and causes everyone to freak out.
  • Like I said before, Oregon will win the inaugural Pac 12 Championship Game against Arizona State.
  • Tyler Gabbert will not be a starting quarterback.
  • In my Big 12 preview, I picked Oklahoma to win the Big 12 but they will not be undefeated and will choke against somebody.
  • Super recruiter Willie Lyles will be paid even more money by selling recruiting tapes of a young breakout by the name of Hershel Walker.
  • I have no friggin’ clue who will win the Heisman this year.  Probably LaMichael James, he was a finalist last year.  Yeah, so was Andrew Luck but I’m picking the Ducks over the Trees this year.
  • Notre Dame gets on the winning track this year by displaying a tall video tower at the end of the opponents field for each home game.  They may, by the grace of God, make a BCS bowl this year.
  • Penn State head coach Joe Paterno will NOT die on the field this.  I’ve tried hard with this in the past but I need my prediction average to go up.
  • Kansas fans will start asking about basketball season after the 1st quarter of the first football game this year.
  • The Longhorn Network will not be successful to begin with.  Texas finishing in the middle of the Big 12/10/9 will force ESPN to dump a bunch of infomercials on it.  Hook ‘Em Horns Turbo Snakes anyone?  There’s already Snuggies.
  • TCU will step on Boise State’s neck the only year they are together in the Mountain West Conference.
  • This whole mess with players not getting enough resources to go through college will stop.  We’ll see at cost scholarships show up so the players can get a stipend to pay for laundry and lap dances.
  • One of the Brown brothers will do good, the other one will be mediocre for Kansas State.  Still, the Wildcats make a bowl.
  • Craig James will still be a douche.
  • Erin Andrews will get bumped off the top sideline hottie list.  At least there’s naked pictures of her online.
  • The Ivy League, after limiting collision practice and targeting head injuries, will be the first conference to go all flag football.  No one will care.
  • And finally, I will get used to being in a different town.  Kansas City was nice and Austin is turning out to be pretty cool.  I also predict that I will not miss the snow but will miss the snow days.

Mascot Monday: Shasta

It’s hard to believe we’ve made it through another off season.  This one was especially spicy with all of the allegations of rule breaking many of the big time college football programs notched.  Suspensions and forfeits will come, but it is time to get ready for the hot action on the field.  What better way to prepare for it than by cooling off with some Shasta?  No, not the flavorful soft drink but the last of the off season’s Mascot Monday and mascot for Phil Steele’s #21 team, the Houston Cougars, for his preseason 2011 poll.  I ran out of time and did not get to do all of the list, but it just means I will have more critters to choose from.

Continue reading Mascot Monday: Shasta