Signing Day is upon us! Today is the day of the year when high school kids across the country pick their football mates and spurn others. The ritual goes on for years, sometimes, and the final chapter only begets a new book in life. So congratulations to all the kids across the USA who not only get to play big time football, but also get a big time scholarship. Maybe they can become meterologist or study something failry easy like communications. Here’s our communications thesis, the Crib Sheet:
A new award for the most versatile college football player was announced last week. It’s the Paul Hornung Award, named after the former all around guy and Notre Damer. We doubt any lineman will be getting this one.
Due to the open records act for state of Texas and Texas Tech University, we now find that Craig James threatened to sue Texas Tech if Mike Leach’s actions taken for his son Adam were not investigated. So now it is confirmed that Craig James was trying to pull some weight around there. On the other hand, it is his kid and he was worried about his kids health. Any father would want to protect his kid from injury. The problem here is the action taken was just sending him away from the team. Nothing physical. Nothing really mentally debilitating. Fathers take note: don’t be a douche like Craig James.
We now know that Turner Gill will be making about $2 million per year from his contract, gathered from the release of they detail of his contract. He’ll have a tall order to rebuild (already) a busted up Kansas team. Hey, if he can do it he deserves and then some.
Speaking of Kansas, the Gridiron Club plans appear to be dead in the water. The initial project fulfills the need to stack some rich people high up in new luxury suites and toss free food and drink down their throat. Too bad the team tanked this year, as if they had actually been competitive, they might have had a shot of following through on this thing.
The much ballyhooed Senior Bowl came and went. Nothing happened. Okay, well, Tim Tebow played really bad and we’ll see him running the ball or holding the clipboard next year in the NFL. LeGarrette Blount ran for a touchdown so his draft stock went up. Outside of that, just another football game. Hey, at least those kids were trying versus the big boys in the Pro Bowl.
The recruiting trail is heating up and there’s one big commitment that new Kansas coach Turner Gill just landed. Brandon Bourbon was going to go to Stanford, but Gill influenced the four star recruit to become a Jayhawk. This was much needed for Gill as he lost a couple of four star guys when Mark Mangino got fired. We wonder what type of whiskey Brandon drinks.
ESPN blogger Tim Griffith points to an article breaking down hometowns of the nation’s football recruits. While he finds most of the kids that play in the Big 12 come from Texas, the more surprising stat is that Kansas City is number 3. Way to go, local kids, now stay in the local area schools.
…will not be discussed here. We’ve seen enough on the other websites so we are just going to say this was the best decade evar. All due to the KCCGD. Plus we’re still drying off from all of the snow that’s still dumping outside. Fortunately, there’s a bowl game on every night to keep us warm and cozy. New Year Eve and Day will be packed full of bowls as well. It’s the last huzzah of the college football season and the decade, help us celebrate in in style! Until then, here’s this week’s crib sheet:
TCU head coach Gary Patterson is your AP Head Coach of the Year. The former Kansas State alum took a mid-con team undefeated and in the top ranks of the BCS. This guy deserves it. Now only if he rides out the contract a couple of years and takes over for Bill Snyder 2.0 in a couple of years. Heck, they may be a part of the Big 12 in a couple of years anyway. Congrats, coach.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon took some pot shots at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State while trumping up support for the rumored Missouri move to the Big 10. Basically he said those schools housed dumb people. Boy if the Tigers stay in the Big 12 after all of this, look out for some revenge to be had in the next couple of seasons.
Sarah Thomas was the first female official to game a bowl Saturday at the Little Caesars Bowl. Some true ground was broken and word has it, she’s being eyeballed by the NFL. So now all we need to see are some ladies on the field competing. But not a Kathy Ireland type thing.
He’s in, he’s out, he’s somewhat both. Last weekend, Urban Meyer resigned from the team, announced he was coaching the Sugar Bowl, then announced he was coming back next year. Apparently this all was due to health issues. We think that many Florida fans and alums are experienced some heart related health issues upon hearing this set of news.
Happy Holidays everybody from the KC College Gameday Crew! It’s been a couple of years now of doing this blog and we’ve learned alot along the way. We also are very thankful for all 12 of you that actually read this internet football rag. It’s not a perfect blog and we strive hard everyday just to make it a little bit better. We wished it could be perfect, but sometimes great things come from imperfections. Much along those same lines, we have Christmas wishes we want to share with you this holiday season:
Welp last week was a big rush. This week, all is calm and all is bright. Christmas is in a couple of days and we are expecting some major snow. So we can chalk up the lack of news to that and everyone getting ready for bowls. We are done with Christmas shopping and got our Topsy’s popcorn, so we will be taking a few days off ourselves. We’ll probably do something around Christmas, but look for a Bowl Pick It update Monday. Until then here is this week’s meek little Crib Sheet:
Former Kansas coach Mark Mangino gets a $3 million settlement from the university for his resignation and termination fo his contract. He had about $9 million left to go. Welp he doesn’t have to work for a couple of more years and gets a fat holiday check. Mangino made out pretty well.
It looks like Bill Snyder 2.0 and the Wildcats are looking to pick up scraps leftover from new Kansas head coach Turner Gill’s blowout of the staff. They are interviewing former defensive coordinator Clint Bowen to fill the vacancy left by Vic Koenning’s departure to Illinois. This has happened before. Joe Bob Clements went to Kansas as a defensive line coach even though he played for Kansas State. He went back home to Snyder 2.0 though and we won’t be surprised if Bowen doesn’t do the same thing.
Even though he didn’t come home with a Heisman, Ndamukong Suh has been picking up plenty of awards. The latest one happens to be the AP Player of the Year. This is the first time a defensive player ever won the award. I’m sure his Nebraska head coach, Bo Pelini, congratulated him while chewing gum openly.
As expected, there is a ton of news this week. Conference championships are over, coaches are fired, kids are leaving for the NFL, and the bowls are lighting up. Here’s this week’s Crib Sheet while we go do some Christmas Shopping:
Mark Mangino resigned last week from his head coaching position at Kansas. They negotiated a fat deal for him to walk away. It was bound to happen. Stories upon stories show how quickly alot of people were ready to turn on this guy. The moral of the story? You can be a big bully until you start losing. And being a bully as a head coach can be hard to do.
As for Mangino’s replacement, the rumor mill is churning big time. Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt was rumored but declined. Last real talk we heard was Buffalo’s Turner Gill interviewing for the job. No matter who they get, they will have an uphill battle due to teams rebuilding from this year have improved and have a year head start.
Wisconsin settled a lawsuit with the family of an ABC cameraman who fell from a platform and died at a game in their stadium. Alot of people think the danger is only on the field, but it can also be on the sidelines and in the stands. The Badgers goofed by not properly setting up a rail for the guy to catch onto. They do need those stinkin’ rails.
Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins has a super secret email address because of all of the hate email he’s been getting. If this guy puts his money where his mouth is and actually produces, he wouldn’t be bombarded with nasty grams between the Viagra spam.
What about the Heisman? Yes, the race is still on and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy are among the finalists. We also have Florida weeper Tim Tebow, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, and Alabama running back Mark Ingram. It’s a tight race and it would be cool to see a defender get one. Meanwhile, Suh won the Bronko Nakurski Award.
Hofstra’s ending it’s 72 year old football program. Alot more of these smaller schools are axing them due to cash and lopsided scheduling with bigger schools. It’s a shame too. If there are no more small schools, how will the big boys practice for their conference? What about upsets? Let’s hope this slows down.
Bobby Bowden got his farewell wish and is playing his old school, West Virginia, in the Florida Gator Bowl. We don’t think there will be a group of kids more pumped up to finish out a bowl than the ones that will take the field for this legendary coach. West Virginia should be favored but who knows? They may lay down for the coach.
A marine accidentally shot another marine to death because of a fight over the Texas and Nebraska Big 12 Championship game. Apparently, there was a tussle and a gun went off. Yikes, aren’t these guys trained to be weapon experts? We’re guessing they were pretty drunk when it happened.
We’re getting back on the treadmill to work off last weekend’s Turkey gauntlet. The timing is perfect as he have lots to feast on this weekend with conference championships going on all over the place. Hopefully the belt won’t be too tight to enjoy the big games filling up the screens. As an appetizer to the weekend, we have a Crib Sheet spilling over with news this week. So without further ado, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
The holiday weekend was rough on us and we barely made it back to Kansas City in time for some prime college football. Our hair was as greasy as the fried turkey we gobbled up for meal number two Thursday. But we made in, dropped off our stuff,, and headed to North Kansas City and Chappell’s Sports Museum and Restaurant. After running the gauntlet of food and family over the weekend it was nice to dig into the warmth and surprisingly quiet Chappell’s.
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:
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.
It’s a short week here as we’re are in training for Thanksgiving Thursday. We thought about calling up Mark Mangino to help us train but we don’t like being verbally abused and we most certainly don’t want him to hog all of the food. So here we are stretching and exercising for the marathon of food we get to sprint through. A couple of things to note in setting your eat order is: Do you use dark meat or white meat? Are you a gravy fan? Pumpkin or Apple pie? These answers can lead you to the top of the glutton mountain and be crowned the Feast King. Now here’s the Pick It and Stick It standings:
Rivarly Week rolls up into Saturday and we want to spend some time giving homage to what could be Mark Mangino’s last football game. Rumor has it that the kids will lay down Saturday and then be up to play their last game against Kansas next weekend. Mark Mangino has been a huge butt of jokes in recent years because of his orca-fat status. Now being a former orca-fat guy myself, I can sympathize with him (no I’m not writing a Whitlock article). Being that big doesn’t excuse you from being a total jerk. If Mangino was throwing his weight around alot, then it could be very damaging. Maybe one or two incidents would be overlooked but if it’s been more and more frequent, then the whole body of work will make him more guilty. It looks as though the evidence against him is bursting at the seams and we’ll see this guy on the unemployment line next week. See you later, Mark Mangino, it was fun while it lasted and we hope to see you on The Biggest Loser soon.
So yesterday there was a big hoopla about Kansas coach Mark Mangino and his reported abuse of players earlier this year. What’s the abuse? From what we’re read so far it’s yelling and poking a player in the chest. Okay, so if this guy gets canned over just that, then it’s an indictment on the culture that is Kansas athletics. It’s college football people. If you don’t do your job, you will be disciplined. Now if it turns out he did more, then it’s more on Mangino’s wide shoulders and his lack to control his emotions. Our take? Kansas is in a losing streak and the fair weather, bandwagon, and easy to over hype their expectations players, player’s parents, and fans have shown their true colors. What coach will want to come there to lead a football team when the everyone at Kansas University whine and cry like a bunch on babies? Oh and superstar, Pullitzer prize winning Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock says this happened because Mark Mangino is fat. Great reporting there, guy. Here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
USA Today has an article about the two biggest money making conferences, the SEC and Big 10. They fill up the media outlets. The SEC inked a deal with ESPN and they are pumped everywhere. Meanwhile, the Big 10 has their own flipping channel. The difference? The SEC is actually winning games. We’re tired of both conferences.
Speaking of Boise State, they are now selling stock in their program. Yes, a big time college program needs to generate money by offering shares in their program. Do you see Texas or Florida doing this? Nope. That’s because they actually have a fan base.
Ole Miss chancellor Dan Jones banned their fight song at games because the students typically chant “the South will rise again” at the end. While the intent is to remove the stigma that the Rebels have regarding racial insensitivity, students chanting that the south will rise again seems a little small compared to other methods he could employ. Banning the use of the rebel flag (which they have) makes just a little more sense than banning the fight song, especially when it comes to recruiting players.
The Manhattan Miracle was once thought to be just a one time thing. Fast forward to 2009 and we now know it never left. Are we talking about football? Partly. We’re also talking about the little city of Manhattan and the miracle that it can play with the big dogs when it comes to having a great time. We revisited some old school places and discovered some new ones. Then we went to the Sunflower Showdown and witnessed the rise of the miracle on the field. All in all it was a top notch time and we were happy to see the good ole days just one more time.
Ah, yes the Sunflower Showdown. I was at the game last year and it was a blowout. I’m heading to the game this year and it’s a homecoming in a way. I make no bones about being a K-Stater and while I do my best to be objective, the Purple Pride eeks out ahead. So when I go to the game today, I will be reliving the days of past when I was a student. I will also be going back to the source and inspiration for this website.
No no, we didn’t forget you today on this all Hallow’s Eve. We just want to spook you out even more with today’s Game Day post. We’re a big fan of the macabre on top of football so we though it would be fun to match up the Big 12 coaches with various members of the Addams Family. If you remember the TV show and if you remember their New Yorker comics then you’re just too damn old. At any rate, most of these guys fit in nicely with each character and you’ll be ghoulishly laughing all along the way. Anything to take the thumping that the Big 12 South is putting on the Big 12 North off of our minds.
It’s the after 4th of July recovery and we’re inching ever so close to the start of the 2009 college football season. Since we are getting close and Mascot Monday is reserved for the off season, we are going to profile the mascots of the Big 12 teams favored to win their division, starting with the Kansas Jayhawks very own Big Jay and Baby Jay, with the other Big 12 team coming next month. A Jayhawk has no known animal classification, but stands for something that happened before the Civil War. We’ll figure out what they were thinking way back when and lay a couple of eggs on the way. Get ready, Kansas City, here’s Big Jay and Baby Jay.
