It’s the first road trip of the year for KCCGD crew and we’re getting ready today for the fantastic Oklahoma and Kansas match up in Lawrence. Typically people leave first thing in the morning and head back after the game. It’s nice for us because the game is at 2:30, but even the 11:00 am games require the big morning road trip. Usually that means packing up the night before and going over the football watching checklist. Food, booze, drinks, gear, and radios all need to be packed up and ready to rock. So tonight we’ll be busy making sure we are fully represented for the tailgating and the game. On top of going over this week’s pick set:
We did our best to avoid the blast impact of Farmegeddon 2009 and with your help we landed in the bunker that is Scoreboards Bar vs Grille. Scoreboards tucked us away very quietly while we watched the action exploding on the screens. In times of catastrophe, one can’t be concerned of amenities. They must be concerned for survival. Well, we survived Scoreboards. From patching together tvs, to working with outdated accommodations, we walked out of disaster with no scratches and sore backs. Hey at least the food exceeded our expectations of canned beans and cracker jacks.
Well hard and cold. Hard because the teams are starting to even out and we are actually seeing tougher calls for the spread. On top of that, the confidence points don’t work out too well anymore. There won’t be hardly anymore Off bets to drop the big points on. Cold because of the weather. It’s getting nippy out folks. Bundle up and bring the Irish coffee.
Okay so the only Off just happens to be Boise State. The BCS Bronco Busting Broncos are riding there way to a somewhat cake conference schedule. Will they make it? UC Davis will help. Cincinnati is supposed to roll Miami of Ohio even though it’s a rivalry game. The other Miami is hosting Landry Jones and Oklahoma. Looks like the loss to Virginia Tech was enough to put the Sooners out ahead on the spread. Georgia and LSU have the smallest spread because, well, it’s the SEC and it’s Defense. Did you see LSU last week? Yeah it will be close. The other close game will be the Paul Bunyan Trophy contest that pits Michigan against Michigan State. Last week’s gift for the Wolverines is why the are favored 3. It’s 3 points from the referees and the Big 10.
This week finds us in the middle of Johnson County and at a neat little place called Scoreboards. We’ve been there before the blog started off and we’re pretty sure it’s a good time. There used to be a Scoreboards in Manhattan but we don’t think it’s the same bar. Sometimes sports bars survive on their own without a website, but we think these guys could use one. It was super hard to find a pic or logo of the place. Maybe we can open up a KCCGD hosted space for bars around the area. Or post some ideas for Scoreboards below and we’ll talk to the manager Saturday.
There’s alot of violence going around in college football recently. Well, more violence than usual. Yes, there’s the pads a poppin’ but more and more we see fisticuffs break out. Whether it’s on the field or off, there’s been some smacking and smack talking cropping up all over. So pay attention to this week’s Crib Sheet. We have some lessons to teach. If you smellllllll, what the Crib Sheet, is cookin’!
Rick Neuheisel and Bill Snyder 2.0 go way back, as Kevin Haskin writes. It seems that during the rebuilding process in Manhattan, Snyder 2.0 targeted the Buffaloes first instead of going for the top team in the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Neuheisel was the coach for Colorado at the time. So these guys know each other well. INSERT RECAP
To be fair, Golden Tate did a nose dive on the Michigan State stands during Notre Dame’s victory over the Spartans. Yup no one helped him. Lambeau leap this ain’t:
Texas A&M’s Uzoma Nwachukwu is loving life as the big man (and frosh) on campus this week. Nwachukwu scored a touchdown on each of his four touches last weekend against Utah State. I’m not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that the Aggies are undefeated and 2nd in the Big 12 South standings or the pronunciation of his name.
Fans who were kicked out of Minnesota’s home games for drunkenness will have to take a breathalyzer test the next time they try to attend a game. That makes alot of sense since it’s for the student section only and protects the fans from the wild tailgating that students put on before the game. I should know. I’ve been part of many of those.
In this week’s lesson on smack talking, Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin fires back accordingly when Urban Meyer made up excuses about how close the Florida and Tennessee game was last week. That’s good stuff. Remember never to back down if someone returns the shot you fired first.
Kansas football players and basketball players can’t get along. Point guard Tyshawn Taylor ended up with a dislocated thumb after a frucus broke out in front the university’s student union. Here’s a tip, the only other type of athletes that can mess with football players are wrestlers. Anybody else, prepare to get injured.
We were very skeptical when we strolled toward the Johnny’s Tavern setup on the corner of the Power & Light District in Downtown Kansas City. We’ve been to a couple of placesaround there before and the experiences were weak. We had some hope, however, as Johnny’s Tavern came through for us before. After spending the afternoon there we can say it is the best bar in the district. The food was great, the poker game was loads of fun, and the games on the screens were stellar. If you own or work at a bar around that area, read on to see how to make it successful.
We were starting to get worried here at the Crib Sheet that this week’s news would be weak. Wednesday rolled around and we were totally saved. Perhaps Easter had something to do with the slow news over the weekend. This week we sift through some practices and look at some red tape a danglin’ around. Here we go:
Bo Pelini is spitting out chewing gum again in Lincoln. He’s fired up after a bad practice and is telling everyone on the block about it. It seems to work fine up there as Nebraska is turning the corner and it’s nice to see some passion from a coach when you’re living with the Pinkel/Mangino/Snyder non speak on a daily basis.
Mike Leach is a definite oddball and his practice tactics are proving it. Making players study on the field in the snow and some high balancing is unique enough. Still I’m not sure if it will work this year after losing Michael Crabtree.
Glen Winston is going to jail for 6 months for kicking the tar out of fellow Michigan State athlete A. J. Sturges. I thought hockey players were supposed to be tough? I guess not. Then again, he was up against Winston and Michael White from the football team. Two football players > one hockey player.
Texas is trying to lure the College Football Hall of Fame away from South Bend, Indiana. Both Dallas and Arlington have put together proposals to build a hall as well as convention center in support of the move. Traditionally Notre Dame is king for football but recent years have shown the Fighting Irish’s prominence waning. Now is a good time to snatch the hall, especially in a state where people eat, sleep, and crap football.
Other universities are interested in Kansas Atheltic Director Lou Perkins and the Jayhawks are willing to pay up to keep him. That makes sense. The guy produced a national champion basketball team and built and honest to goodness football team down there in Lawrence. So another $750,000 goes to Lou. I’m sure it will eat into Mark Mangino’s Ho Ho fund.
Bill Snyder still has no clue who’s gonna quarterback the Kansas State Wildcats. It’s a tough job to replace the overrated Josh Freeman. Chances are we’ll see all three start next season and the one who does a better job with the option will get the nod.
Legal documents stuffed in the AP’s pocket show that the Missouri Tigers officials and staff failed to follow proper steps to keep Aaron O’Neil from collapsing and eventually dieing back in 2005. The director of sports medicine for the athletic department apparently even rejected suggestions from concerned players to check up on O’Neil. Yet another example of the Tigers dropping the ball, off the field even.
Former Duke basketballer Greg Paulus, after trying out for the Green Bay Packers, sat down with Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez to explore the possibility of using his one year of eligibility to play college football. So the Rich must be feeling the heat already because even the Duke football doesn’t want him. Both Paulus and Rodriguez are starting to look a little silly here.
We lucked out in picking the University of North Carolina’s Rameses as last week’s Monday mascot. The Tar Heels made it to the final game and they will face Michigan State in their almost home court of Ford Field in Detroit Michigan. So, in celebration of the underdog Big 10 making it this far, we will take a look at their mascot, Sparty. Good luck to both the teams tonight as we look forward to getting basketball out of the way in preparation of football. But for now, here’s Sparty.
