Yes, it’s the 2010 edition and first ever annual KC College GameDay Year End Reviewards! What’s a revieward? Welp, it’s a half assed attempt to round up the year in review and then dole out some nameless awards out to who or what I think mattered in the year of college football. It applies to the regular season only as I really don’t want to come back to this. At any rate, I’m shooting from the hip so all you midgets our there better watch your heads.
Man what a crazy roller coaster of an offseason for the Big 12. Who would’ve thought a year ago that the Big 12 would be rocked to its very knees and survive probably one of most weirdest advances in college football history. It was like a whacked out game of Axis & Allies. Welp Germany didn’t win and neither did the Big 10. So here we are going into what is the last season we will ever see for this 12 conference league. Who will come out on top? Roll dice to find out (er read below).
Continue reading Big 12 , er 11, er 10 Predictions for 2010 →
Okay this close to the season and we still have major, er mid-major, moves regarding conference expansion. So BYU started to teeter and now the WAC blew up. Further out west there are questions of Pac 10 allegiance. Please, will the powers that be put all of this on lockdown so we can focus on actually playing football instead of this crap. The season is about 2 weeks away! We’re not sure they’re listening so in the meantime, everyone else clue them into this week’s Crib Sheet:
- You know, we liked Missouri’s handshake better. Better than ‘Get Money!” That’s what they are using to denote big plays now. That sounds like something you say on a game show. Better yet, why not say, “No Whammies! No Whammies! No Whammies! Stop!”
- Bo Pelini is banning reporters from practice so they can’t compile injury reports. Nebraska’s already had some season ending injuries on the team so far so it makes sense that Pelini want to keeps things quiet for a couple of days. Well, quiet enough that everyone can hear him chew gum with his mouth open.
- Out of nowhere, BYU begins to mull leaving the Moutain West Conference. Their reason points to being left at the alter when the Pac 10 came calling. They believe they can go the Notre Dame route and go independent for football and do the WAC for other sports. The Mountain West does not like this and has already invited both Nevada and Fresno State to join. Reports are showing that they both accepted, too.
- Looks like Colorado will play Ohio State in 2011, and for a hefty sum of $1.4 million.
- Meanwhile, a former UCLA chancellor is petitioning Pac 10 officials to stop Colorado and Utah from coming into the conference. It seems some sort of tradition is still kicking out west. We know now that Colorado won’t be in the Pac 10 until 2012 so they have some time on them.
- That little news bit makes this next one more sensible. 8 Big 12 athletic directors met (including Colorado) to discuss licensing with Learfield sports as well as the potential to create a television network. Texas was not there, of course, but Colorado being there seems a little weird.
- It looks like an Oklahoma themed license plate for Texas is creating a lot of commotion in the Lone Star State. On one hand it’s for a team not even in the state, on the other there are plenty of Oklahomans that live in the state. If Texas does it, they should make some bank off of it.
- In starting quarterback news, Kale Pick is your starter for the Kansas Jayhawks. Tyler Hanson is your starter for Colorado. Looks like Dan Hawkins finally benched his kid Cody, even though he is a team captain this year. Taylor Potts mans the helm for Texas Tech’s opening game.
- New Kansas State Wildcat Bryce Brown answered some questions from the NCAA about his time at Tennessee and former head coach Lane Kiffin. What he said? We don’t know. We just hope that he doesn’t flake out like he did for the Volunteers.
- Texas and BYU will play a home and home in 2013 and 2014. It likes the bulk is continuing for the Longhorns while BYU looks to follow in the quasi-independent step.
- From the dumb scholar department, Oklahoma kicker Matt Moreland will miss the rest of the season due to academic issues. Come on, Matt! You’re a kicker, you can study just a little bit harder.
- Looks like the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover spied on Paul “Bear” Bryant and his civil rights fenagling in the late 1960’s through the 70’s. It’s creepy to think the FBI had a file on that guy. Of course, today the FBI probably has a file on everyone.
- The injury bugs are biting everyone. Nebraska’s Dreu Young had back surgery and is more than likely out for the season. Kansas Jayhawk Rell Lewis is out for the year due to a bum knee.
- Police ticker time. Missouri backup linebacker Wil Ebner got a DWI. Yet, he’s back on the practice field. Oregon State offensive lineman Tyler Patrick was kicked of the team after he was arrested for trespassing while being naked and drunk. Yeah that’s a way to go out.
- Even though the college football industry is a multi billion dollar one, only 14 schools were profitable last year. Big 12 wise the obvious one, Texas, was there but Missouri ended up being a surprise. No wonder the Tigers yell, ‘Get Money!’ now.
- Bessemer, Alabama mayoral candidate Dorothy Davidson photoshopped herself into a Nick Saban photo for a flyer and got busted for it. Hey, politicians lie all the time and it’s terrible, but this is pretty funny because it is so damn obvious.
The beating heat of the summer is getting to us. We’re producing an inordinate amount of swass underneath while compiling this week’s very beefy Crib Sheet. We’re going for some lemonade and to air our sweat regions. Here’s the Crib Sheet:
- It’s official, via text message, that Bryce Brown will not be coming back to Tennessee. Will he land at Kansas State? The way Daniel Thomas is looking might draw the Wichita, Kansas native back home to the Wildcats. Tennessee will not release him from his scholarship so that will slow him down.
- Big 12 Media Days for Kansas was all about Turner Gill. He landed a great hire at offensive coordinator and Chuck Long. It’s a rebuilding year and they are trying to stay focused on the field and not with all the crap that happened off of it.
- Colorado’s Big 12 media day was not as exciting as leat year’s. Oh, they’re stoked this year but we got the sense that they are distracted about moving to the Pac 10. One thing is for sure, if Cody Hawkins starts for the Buffaloes, they will lose every time.
- Oklahoma, on the other hand, spent the day talking about the huge expectations they have. Yes, they had a ton of injuries last year. That means that the younger kids have more experience and more time with each other. They should be tough, but we’re not sold yet on national title tough.
- Texas A&M’s media day was unheard of. You’d think the cash they got in the expansion deal means that they command more respect at the podium but apparently not.
- BCS director Bill Hancock had alot to say in the last week. First off the Big 12 change won’t affect the BCS. A playoff would kill the regular season. Any playoff would have to start at 16 teams. And if the appeal from USC over recruiting violations fell through, the title they won would be left vacant. Man, that’s alot from a guy who’s been nonexistent ever since he took over.
- Texas Big 12 media days was alot like just hanging out. Coach Mack Brown handled the alignment talk well and also took care of the Nebraska contigent in a subdued kind of way.
- The assistant coach who took a punch from head coach Mike Locksley sued both him and New Mexico for the fight. We’re thinking he lost the actual fight and is now taking it to the courts.
- So assistant coach Mark Nelson of East Carolina resigned because of NCAA allegations that he evaluated players in off-season workout and conditioning drills. Huh? Coaches evaluate all the time. That’s what they do. The NCAA is beginning to be irrelevant and completely out of touch.
- Oklahoma running back Mossis Madu got a DUI. He’ll probably be benched for the half of the first game.
- ESPN is going 3d! They will broadcast a couple of college football games in the new tech as well. Check out the list here.
- IMG bought ISP Sports and now is the mega daddy of all agencies that license pro and college sports media to outlets. These guys will have some major pull when it comes to bringing in more bucks from the supposed holy grail of television deals for college athletics.
- Junior defensive lineman Jamie Blatnick of Oklahoma State was arrested last Saturday after getting in a fight with a former Cowboys offensive lineman Stephen Denning. Looks like the defensive guy couldn’t take the lip from the offensive guy.
- Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is walking on to Ole Miss in the hopes of still playing football. He was booted off the Ducks for burglary and weed smoking. We all believe in second chances right? This second chance will have a short leash.
- The Big 10 media days are a happening as we speak and commissioner Jim Delany is looking for a title game next year. Meanwhile Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne is yapping his lip about the stability of the Big 10 being the major factor for the move.
- Iowa State defender David Simms plead guilty to credit card fraud that he originally denied. It looks like his career might be over up there.
- Bill Snyder 2.0 goes old school with his scheduling philosophy for the Kansas State Wildcats. They had Oregon on the schedule, but now they are off. The excuse was the new 9 team schedule for the conference coming up. It was also mutual. So will Miami be next off the list?
Okay it’s Crib Sheet time and we need to talk to all of the aspiring wide receivers out there. Do not talk to Deion Sanders. The image above presents only a shrivel of evidence to support our position. Yes, he’s flashy. Yes, he preaches. Yes, he looks good in a suit. But nothing really good comes from working with the guy. Just ask Michael Crabtree. So consider this a public service announcement and please avoid Deion Sanders. Here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
- The NCAA ruled Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant ineligible for maybe the rest of the season for failure to disclose recent dealing with a former NFL player, Dei0n Sanders. Doh! We thought the prima donna wide receivers came from Texas Tech. We’re thinking after some personal consultation with Tony Dungy or something Dez will be let back on the field to play again. While Dez is doing that, Deion denies tampering, Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State supports him (needs him back in the lineup), and Dez will meet with the NCAA after his written apology.
- Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw has been ordered to take an anger management course. This stems from a domestic fight with his girl friend some time ago. She has to take the course too. Will it affect his play on the field? Tune in to find out.
- ESPN’s Tim Griffin writes that Texas is getting ready for the Red River Rivalry this weekend by listening to that god awful Boomer Sooner theme song over and over. That’s either going to help them tune it out or get them so angry and sick that they will take it out on Oklahoma this weekend. This could work wonders elsewhere. Possible water boarding replacement? We think so.
- A walk on Southern Miss player Peter Wilkes committed suicide over the weekend. We send our condolences out to his family. Apparently his dad suffered a heart attack and died over the summer. Wilkes decided to continue school for his dad but apparently it was too much.
- A female student was arrested during the Iowa and Arkansas State game for continuously yelling at player Adrian Clayborn. The student was warned multiple times and even given a restraining order. Stalking happens at both sides of the gender. Kinda funny that heckling could get somebody arrested, though.
- Dan Hawkins finally benched his son, Cody. Or did he? This will be the downfall to Hawkins and will serve as a lesson to all coaches out there. Don’t let your family mix with your coaching. Bill Snyder 2.0 knew this and retired to spend time with his family. He’s back now and you don’t see any of his kids on the field, coaching or playing.
- While we have another punch during the game in the form of Idaho linebacker Tre’Shawn Robinson and subsequent reprimanding, we also see a 1 game suspension to New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley for doing it off the field with an assistant coach. Football is a violent sport but save the punching for MMA.
- The Big 12 will play seven bowls games during the bowl season after this year. More importantly the toilet, er, Independence Bowl is off the docket. We also see the new New York City Bowl show up. Many a mediocre conference team fans rejoice in the pick of New York over Shreveport, Louisiana.
- Speaking of the bowls, the Cotton Bowl will move to Jerry Jones mecca that is Cowboys Stadium and the old place will have a new one called the Dallas Football Classic. It’s nice to see they are still using it but does that put the number of bowls in Texas at about 234? Hey, the more the merrier.
It was a different day Saturday afternoon. The cold spilled in over the midwest, the clouds filled the sky, and we were actually making the set of night games for the barspot. We huddled ourselves in the late afternoon/evening around the big bar in the sports bar section of Nick and Jake’s. Sports bar section you say? Yup, that’s different too. Nick and Jake’s really isn’t a sports bar. But yet, it is. Bar or not, the games on the television screens kept us nice and cozy.
Continue reading Nick and Jake’s is Half that Great →
Most folks outside of the midwest believe that the Big 12 Conference is 2nd nationally amongst conferences in terms of football strength. Much of the talk points toward the Big 12 South. As we roll into the 2009 season, we find some teams reloaded, some teams are out of ammo, and the rest either misfired or are shooting blanks. We’re gonna see where they all stack up and how they will finish in 2009, according the Purple Yeti’s crystal ball. There are some shifts in power, but the top stack will stay the same and most of the close calls will still be close. Hopefully the crystal ball pulls through.
Continue reading Big 12 Preview 2009 →
It’s a draft frenzy this week for the Crib Sheet. Weeks after signing day, college football rosters and chopped down when the big ole NFL axe comes to cut away talent for the next level. Not many surprises in this year’s draft. We didn’t get caught up in the fanfare this year and all we really did was thumb through the pick run down. Maybe next year something crazy will happen but for now we’re happy that it’s one more milestone away from the holiest of holy seasons that is college football. Here’s this week’s news:
- Looks like Greg Paulus will land in Syracuse next year. It seems the hometown team exhibited more interest than the Michigan Wolverines did. So when he lines up for the Orangemen next fall and then fall flat on his face, remember that we called it here. He should have a shot in NBA when he’s through. But wait! There’s more! Lincoln Journal Star reporter Brian Christopherson says Paulus might drop by this week to talk to Huskers.
- The Topeka local tv station put a post previewing the Kansas State Football season. The run down pretty much talks about Josh Freeman leaving and some movement of positions for some players. They have a long way to go and we won’t see them bowl bound for a good 4 years.
- Colorado QB Tyler Hansen broke his throwing hand thumb at the Buffalo spring game. He traded snaps with the coach’s kid Cody Hawkins last year. Whether or not it will affect him later this year we don’t know. What we do know is that it will affect a Colorado turn around next year.
- The swell is starting to bubble over on the “Will Bill Snyder turn it around, again?” question in the sports media. They’ll review is mutant work ability and then wonder aloud what kind of clean up they have to do after Ron Prince. Already, the scheduling knock is coming with rumor of Kansas State wanting to bail on their home game against UCLA in 2010. So for the story to happen again, they need a weak schedule and that’s getting lined up. But they also need another 6 years from Snyder and he does not have that in him.
- The NFL Draft was last weekend and ESPN’s Tim Griffin has a nice run down on his Big 12 blog. The big news around the area is that Mizzou had a record number of players to go, Josh Freeman from Kansas State was nabbed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas was skunked. Out of all who got drafted, I think Jeremy Maclin will do the best.
- Are we feeling teh Twitter storm yet? Apparently big time college football coaches are. It seems the likes of Ron Zook and Pete Carroll have signed up on the new online trend and are looking to nab some college ball players the ole internet fashion way. T-minus 1 year before they ban this as well. If you want to know what the hub bub is follow us at twitter.com/kccgd.
- Cody Glenn just admitted the suspension he got last year at Nebraska was not for selling tickets. He won’t give it up but he must’ve done something naughty to keep it quiet between him and Bo Pelini. We’re not sure if the Washington Redskins care so much after they just drafted him.
College Sports, Kansas City style
