The Bronx Salute. Everyone remembers it, or at lease they should. If you don’t, just think back to last year’s inaugural Pinstripe Bowl and Adrian Hilburn’s ‘salute’ to the fans after scoring a touchdown and moving the score to 36-24 and a 2 point conversion. He was penalized and the Wildcats had to go for 2 from the 18 yard line. They didn’t get it and lost the game. You could blame some poor play before, but I will point out that the NCAA changed rules in the off season due to this. So now it’s the 2011 season. I’m not asking if they will recover from that loss of the Pinstripe Bowl, but I will be asking about the loss of Daniel Thomas. And what I will see is Brown.
Continue reading Kansas State Wildcats Football Preview 2011: Silver and Purple Seeing Brown →
No seriously. KCP&L cut off JJ’s Other Place’s power and was closed for the day. I was pumped about heading to my favorite hole in the wall to watch some sports but it was a no go. They recently upgraded their televisions and now I know where the money came from. No worries, folks. I won’t cut you off, but I may cut this one a little bit short. Long story short, I went to Lew’s and watch Missouri trounce Kansas State.
Continue reading JJ’s Other Place Was Closed Due To Lack Of Power →
This is another Monday where I get to talk about a game I saw on Thursday night. Last time was in Manhattan and this time it was in Lawrence. Things could not have turned around on a hard 180 degree twist for the Kansas State Wildcats. For the Kansas Jayhawks, unfortunately, things remained the same. I didn’t get a chance to take in the Lawrence like I did Manhattan, but the town and the game was great none the less. For a quick road trip in and out of Memorial Stadium, I can say that the memories will last a long time.
Continue reading Sunflower Showdown Didn’t Slow Down the Wildcats →
The drive down to Manhattan last Thursday was fairly quick. The more than likely last ever game between Kansas State and Nebraska took place and it was not all I hoped to be. But the electricity from the radio on through the fans as well as the pageantry leading up to the game made the trip more than worthwhile. There’s nothing like revisiting your old stomping grounds and enjoying everything great about what it was like to be there. The whole day fittingly ended Nebraska’s presence in Wildcat Country.
Continue reading The Send Off Was Beat Down at Bill Snyder Family Stadium →
The second version of Farmageedon this year found itself happening last weekend and we were there to witness of the bloody glory. This year we decided to head back to one of the few Iowa based bars in the Kansas City, The Other Place. The first time we were there, we witnessed the rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State. This time, we watched Kansas State take on Iowa State at Arrowhead in Kansas City. Yes, Farmageddon. Not only was a great game, but The Other Place withstood the blast, leaving it a shaky place to patron.
Continue reading Farmageddon Arrived At The Other Place →
It’s been almost a year since we’ve been to Johnny’s Tavern and it took the rest of the season for us to decide that it was the best Barspot for last year. So, as tradition calls, we found ourselves back at Johnny’s Tavern at the Power & Light District to enjoy the first full Saturday of college football. The bar hasn’t changed much but just enough for us to take notice. The food specials knocked us out but the games were kind of so so. Read on as we go over Johnny’s Tavern and recount the action on the field.
Continue reading Johnny’s Tavern Still Has the Power →
Alrighty, I’m about halfway through my scotch and water, I blasted out another Crib Sheet, and I’m jacked up for some football tomorrow night. It’s prediction time! The offseason sucked. Period. Being in Big 12 land was not easy on this college football lovin’ Yeti and especially not easy on Kansas City. We weathered the storm and now we are here ready for some pigskin play. What will we see in this year’s volume of football? Let’s take a look in our crystal ball shaped glass full of scotch and water.
- Mike Leach will lose his CBS announcing job for making Gus Johnson stand in the bathroom with no light.
- Mark Ingram will not be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, thanks to the fresh knee injury.
- The Oregon Ducks will win the Pac 10, both for best dressed and actual gold.
- Colorado loses a bunch of games and Dan Hawkins stays on because the school is too broke to fire him out of his contract.
- Caoch Brian Kelly will talk NBC into going into commerical breaks for opposing teams’ offensive drives only. Oh and the Fighting Irish will make a bowl.
- Missouri will win the North, only because Nebraska’s ego and farewell tour will fall flat.
- Daniel Thomas will be a Heisman finalist, thanks to a solid offensive line and the fact that he will get his yards with the whole defense keying on him. Thanks, Carson Coffman.
- Boise State will go undefeated and not make the dance. People are saying its the weak schedule, but it will be because of an undefeated team in the Big 10 and one other conference. Look for Orrin Hatch to have an aneurism over this one.
- This will be Lee Corso’s last season for ESPN College GameDay. It’s been a hell of a ride, Lee, just please don’t put on the Grim Reaper’s head when it’s your time to go.
- This will be the fastest season ever for the Kansas Jayhawks. By fast, we mean the fans will be ready for basketball season about 2 games in. Turner Gill’s rebuilding starts this year, he’s got at least 3 before some magic happens.
- Iowa State will be in the bottom of the league again, but they will get an upset some big team because of a massive rain storm. Hey their practice field flooded over the summer, they should be ready.
- Texas just missed the mark in the Big 12 South. Not because of the competition, but for the cliffhanger they want to leave for next season’s Longhorns Network debut. Stay Tuned! Same horn time! Same horn channel!
- Big Game Bob goes to a BCS game but will not be game as the Sooners bob and weave from some other big team beaming game time bashings. Probably against Virginia Tech and Frank BEAMER.
- The Big East has a seasson. No one really cares.
- RichRod makes a valiant effort and gets the Wolverines into a bowl game. It will be the weakest one from the Big 10 and it will be enough to get him fired. He will then go on and make real estate deals with everyone in the Ann Arbor region.
- USC doesn’t get close to a Pac 10 championship and Lane Kiffin leaves after just one season. The Kiffin world tour moves on!
- Florida misses Tim Tebow and will miss being in the running for the SEC. Urban Meyer gets sick and dies from the piss poor play on the field.
- Kansas City sports bars will stay the same this year. No one will get 3D TVs because the mixture of 3D and beer will make everyone puke. Some new bars will crop up and the KCCGD crew will eventually puke in those anyway.
- We’re going back to our 2008 prediction about Joe Paterno dieing on the field. Now that Bobby Bowden is out, this one should get much easier. Or will he be in the booth this year?
- Okay, we called the BCS National Championship game two years ago with Florida and Oklahoma, we were halfway right with Texas last year in the big game. What will happen this year? Well, the trend says we will get it all wrong so there’s nothing to lose. I’m thinking the offseason hype for the Big 10 will lead a team to a title contention. Since the only team that’s worth a damn up there is Ohio State, then that’s our pick. Chances are the SEC will be mega tough again this year and barring any late push by an Oregon or a Big 12 team, we are going the easy route and picking SEC. Whose turn is it? Let’s go LSU. Why not. Can you say 2007 rematch?
Finally the wait is over. Tomorrow night we kick off another great year of college football! It’s been what seems likes ages since the end of last season and now we have another year of the most pristine competition we’ll ever see on the field. Sure the offseason provided plenty of drama, with coaching changes and conference expansion, but we’re done with the talking and we’re ready to strap it on. The helmet that is. So here’s the last Crib Sheet before the new season:
- Notre Dame got NBC to back down on commercial breaks so they can run a more hurry up type offense. What other school can have that kind of pull? Not even Texas. Brian Kelly wants to air it out and has buy in from everyone involved with Notre Dame.
- More injury news. Roy Finch has a hairline fracture in his ankle and may miss about half of Oklahoma’s season. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has a strained oblique and may miss the opener. Mizzou’s Munir Prince is recovering after being knocked out on the practice field. We wish him well.
- UCLA’s Jeff Baca is too dumb to play football this year. He was the left guard for the Bruins and this will most certainly affect the start of the season, when they face the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan.
- Rumors had BYU staying in the Mountain West after all. Check and mate for the speculation hounds. They are actually going to the West Coast Conference for everything except football, where they will be independent. We’re not sure they hype is big enough for another religious school but hey would could be wrong.
- We love Twitter, like we always say, and ESPN Big 12 blogger David Ubben loves them too. Check out his list of must follows for this upcoming season of Big 12 football.
- Derrick Washington, Mizzou’s star running back, was suspended from the team indefinitely last week and then charged for sexual assault. Apparently he touched a lady too hard. Will he make it back to the field this year? Maybe so, if the team gets desperate.
- Texas is still ramping up the huge home and homes. This time it’s USC and they will play each other in 2017 and 2018. They are lining themselves up greatly for a marquee Longhorns Network owned football game.
- Kansas State released their depth chart for Saturday’s game against UCLA. The big surprise? Chris Harper is not starting. Bill Snyder 2.0 went with Tremaine Thompson. Hrm, well see if it works Saturday. No surprises at quarterback with Carson Coffman getting the nod.
- Meanwhile, Bo Pelini is mum on who will start for Nebraska this weekend. This may be the only element of surprise coming from the Cornhuskers offense this year.
- Beau Brinkley, Missouri’s long snapper, was snapped up last week for a DWI. This marks yet another drunk issue for the Tigers, on top of Derrick Washington’s heavy touch. Gary Pinkel came out and said he was truly embarrassed about the ordeal. Maybe because it was too close to the start of the season?
- Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram will miss Alabama’s first game due to a knee injury. Yeah, he should’ve gone to the NFL. He made his choice and Alabama is not saying how serious the injury is. Sam Bradford 2.0 anyone?
- David Ubben pointed us to this fascinating story of how the Nebraska to Big 10 shakedown took place. Things were going a mile a minute when it was happening and this recounting of the events points out just how much we don’t know what’s going on in the background.
The Kansas State Wildcats enjoyed somewhat of resurgence last year. They even almost went to the Big 12 Championship Game. Yet, they failed to make a bowl. The offseason was the most quiet I’ve ever heard and now we find ourselves looking straight down the barrel of a new football season. The weirdness of last year’s season should continue for this year. It’s all good for Bill Snyder 2.0, as they will be getting better. Day by day. Little by little.
Continue reading Kansas State Wildcats Football 2010 Preview: Getting Better Everyday →
Hey guess what? The Crib Sheet is BACK for the regular season. We enjoyed digging up some tasty news nuggest during the offseason so much that we are going to roll it into the regular season rotation. That’s great news alone. So for those of you not familiar with the format, let us explain what the Crib Sheet is all about: We scour the interwebs for stories not hears too well and stories that are local to the Kansas City area, adding our unique twist on it. So rejoice in its return and enjoy this week’s Crib Sheet:
- Indiana is cashing in big time by giving up a home game in 2010 and playing Penn State at FedEx Field, home of the NFL Washington Redskins. It looks like this trend is here to stay with college teams playing in pro football (and baseball) stadiums. I guess it will work out for schools that get major payouts, $3 million for Indiana, but it still sucks that hometown fans have to travel or miss out on games.
- Tennessee running back Bryce Brown is cleared of any NCAA violations for questions in his recruiting process. Now he can focus on becoming yet another highly touted athlete with a dark, questionable past. Sometimes the news just writes itself.
- John Malkovic: Actor chimes in on the upcoming college football season. He doesn’t say anything too outrageous and we’re glad to see that hoity toity actors can enjoy the grid iron as well. We’re not so sure, however, how coaches turned actors will fare. Yikes!
- So, everything is big in the new Cowboys stadium. Check. Tons of college football teams are playing there as well. Check. The Oklahoma vs BYU game is sold out. Check. $25 for outside concourse access only. WHAT? We get that the mega stadium will draw mega bucks, but when you’re not even in the dang stadium, you shouldn’t have to drop that chunk of change just to be there.
- Mike Gundy’s blackout to prepare for Georgia led to an arrest for one player and another leaving the team. Doh! It looks as though locking things down loosened up the team a bit. Will they get it together before their big opener? Tune in this weekend.
- St. Paul, a division II school, canceled its season opener because they don’t have helmets or pads. WHAT? It’s not that they couldn’t afford it, but the numnuts who ordered waited a little bit too late. They should put that guy in a tackling dummy and let the team try out the new gear on him.
- Blaine Gabbert locked up the starting job at Missouri. Now the fight for number 2 just got easier. The other Blaine, Blaine Dalton, was booted off the team for a DUI arrest. That’s alright, though, as it sounds like the Tiger’s focus this year may be more running intensive.
- The Alamo Bowl replaced the Big 10 opponent in favor of a Pac 10 number 2. That should heat up the competition for the Big 12 and give more legitimacy as big time conferences for both parties involved.
- Apparently Jim Harbaugh, with help from a booster, now has a $50-$70k toilet to do his business in at Stanford. So I guess when their season goes into the crapper, at least it will be comfortable and plush.
- Bill Snyder 2.0 named Carson Coffman as his starter going into the opener for the Kansas State Wildcats. Competition is a good thing, but he’s being consistent on this one. If anything, Snyder 2.0 is known to switch things up and play people in rotations. Grant Gregory, you still have a shot.
- Rich Rodriguez is taking it from all sides these days. We find out that current and former players are complaining about working too many hours for the football team, even though everyone does it and they he has an ally in Ohio State Buckeye players. An investigation is coming to get to the bottom of a rule no one follows. Now we hear him getting sued in a failed deal for land development in Virginia. Notice that the piece came from the Ann Arbor news website. Seriously, wait until half the season is over when they are looking to finish the same way they did last year. By then RichRod won’t be able to fight back the tears.
Practices are rocking this week as the schools are getting ready for some real hitting here in a couple of weeks. Some may think that we’ve been practicing every week in this but column but it’s been prime time, every time. We are still deliberating as to whether or not we’ll continue the Crib Sheet in the regular season. Feel free to drop a comment below to let us know. Here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
- The Michigan Defense couldn’t mow him down last year, so Appalachian State’s quarterback Armanti Edwards did it himself. Yup he’s out a couple of weeks with a foot injury.
- The 12th Man talked a Montana punter to transfer to Texas A&M. Ken Wood was big on the NFL Seattle Seahawks and when A&M sued them for the use of the 12th Man moniker. Wood saw this and fell in love. It’s great, too, because the punter will probably be the MVP on that team this year.
- The USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll for the preseason came out today and Florida eats the top spot. Big 12 wise we have Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska at 2,3, 11, and 22 respectively. That’s great and all, but the better poll/list for the week was put out by Fox Sports in their Top 10 most annoying fans list. Oklahoma’s number 4 on that one. It’s a good list even though it trends to teams that have been traditional powerhouses, sans Clemson.
- Speaking of Clemson, they are docked two practices for a non conforming uniform modification under NCAA rules. The crime? Wearing girdles at practice. Let’s hope they don’t catch them wearing leggings or panties. Yikes!
- Dezmon Briscoe from Kansas is no longer stupid. Er, no longer too stupid not to play football that is. He completed summer courses and can play this fall for the Jayhawks. He’s sorely needed, too, as he is expected to be a top receiver in the conference this year.
- Bobby Bowden wants another national title before he retires from Florida State in a couple of years. Bobby, it’s not gonna happen but we wish you the best of luck. If only your conference was stronger.
- There’s a great article about Kansas State quarterback Carson Coffman. Carson comes from a long lineage of NFL tight ends, with his dad Paul and now his older brother Chase. So this version of Coffman will try his hand a quarterback this year, but don’t be too excited because he has alot of transferred competition coming his way.
- Utah spend the offseason crying to everyone that would listen about how they were screwed out a title game and now they a shutting off communication for ‘instantaneous reports’ from any staff and media. BYU is doing it too. So, are they breeding whiners or hypocrites up there?
- Everybody is high on Notre Dame this year, but Charlie Weiss is more interested in walk than talk. That’s kinda paradoxical when you think about it. Then again, he was running his mouth from day one so let’s see if a quieter Weiss will help the Fighting Irish live up their hype. Maybe he’s learning all about walking from his new-found buddy, St. Louis Cardinals’ player Albert Pujols.
- Ron Prince and his lawyers are asking for an additional $3 million on top of the $3 million he’s already owed by Kansas State after they canned him last year. The reason? They state that the school knew of the buyout terms and even went as far as saying that the school wanted Prince to keep terms of the contract confidential. With that much money on the table originally, it would seem very weird that top brass overlooked that. Plus it’s punitive. The way K-State is trying to weasel out of the deal forced Prince’s hand. This is very ugly indeed. A contract is a contract no matter how insane it is. The quicker this goes away the better it will be for the school. With this lawsuit, the chances are it will stick around for a long, long time.
College Sports, Kansas City style
