Tag Archives: Penn State

College, Football, Mascots

Mascot Monday: Roc the Panther

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This week we will take another look at a potential power pill to the Big Ten’s Pac-Manning of college football in the Pittsburgh Panthers.  This Big East team has been linked to a rivalry with Penn State and generally fits well with other potential teams like Syracuse and Notre Dame.  So how does ‘Roc’ the Panther stand up to mascot standards?  We’ll find that out as well as where this guy came from and why he’s the ‘Roc’.  So kick back and see if Roc rocks our world if, much like Sex Panther Cologne, he works 60% of time every time.

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Big 10, College, Football, Mascots

Mascot Monday: Goldy Gopher

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We’re heading up north and the Big Ten for this week’s Mascot Monday.  Goldy Gopher is the main mascot at the University of Minnesota campus.  Once a proud member of the marching band, Goldy now appears at all sporting events.  This week we’ll find out how that happened, as well as why you shouldn’t go too far in mimicking.  We’ll also take a look at what Goldy’s doing to help clean up that mistake.  So hanker on down with your favorite gnawin’ log and join us as we take a look at Minnesota’s own golden child, Goldy.

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College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: One More Game To Go

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Bowl season and, well, the whole college football season is almost over.  We have one more HUGE game left.  No, not the GMAC Bowl tonight, but the BCS National Championship game!  We here at the KCCGD promise you that we will keep the hype to a minimum as the other outlets have that way covered.  So, in lieu of that, we will have another exciting rendition of the Crib Sheet.  Some emotional coaching moments happened in the last week, both high and low, so let’s get right to it:

  • So Mike Leach up and got fired.  Apparently the officials at Texas Tech didn’t like how he handled Adam James.  We’re thinking they are getting back at him for the contract dispute they had earlier this year.  All they needed was an excuse and they got one from Craig James.  Mild concussion or not, the fact that they had a trainer there with ice and water for the kid doesn’t show that he’s been treated poorly.   If any mistreatment is happening, it’s from Papa James thinking his son has talent.  This one is far from over, folks.
  • The 911 call from Urban Meyer’s wife reveal that he was having massive chest pains after his Florida Gators lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game.  This guy puts everything he has into coaching.  Funny how all it took was  one practice and he came back to coaching, with 2 days removed from retirement.  It’s truly inspiring and we hopes he recovers.
  • Bobby Bowden won his last game ever against West Virginia , a team he once coached, in the Gator Bowl.  He even got to plants the spear on the filed.  A tradition held by the the team’s mascot.  Our question:  when is Joe Paterno next?  Not soon, as his Penn State team whupped up on LSU.
  • Domino’s CEO David Brandon has accepted the athletic director position at the University of Michigan.  What does pizza have to do with college sports?  Usually during the games in the stadiums its hot dogs and cotton candy.  Who knows?  Brandon did play for Bo Schembechler, however.  So it looks like pizza will send for Rich Rodriguez if he doesn’t make a bowl this year.
  • ESPN will unveil a 3D channel next year and show the BCS National Championship game on it in 2011.  What could be better than seeing that goofy mascot head pop onto Lee Corso’s body in glorious 3D?  Okay, lots of things.  But now all we need are glasses and a tv equipped with 3D technology and we can enjoy it all together!
College, Football, Picks

Pick It and Stick It: Another Road to Flick On

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flickitdontstickit

We’re packing again and heading out west again, but this time it’s a little farther.  A full tank of gas and some pajammy jams are all locked up and we will be hitting the road after work.  Road trips are a big deal to the KCCGD family and we’re happy to take another one for the weekend.  Make sure you have good tunes, some tasty drinks, and the right company for road trips.  Also, bring a camera because you’ll never know what you’ll see.  Hopefully, we’ll get to pick up a pecan log from Stuckey’s on the way.  Here’s the the pick set for the week:

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College, Football, Picks

Pick It Standings Week 09: Candy Hangover

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halloween_hangover

Halloween is over and we’re still feeling the hurt over the load of candy and Joose.  We rocked many parties and kinda wished we were at one that had Kansas State at Oklahoma on.  Oh well.  We are still enjoying the various fun sizes of candy.  Our favorites include Snickers, Butterfinger, and Milky Way.  But enough about candy.  We’re sweet on the Pick It Standings now.  We also have some tasty BCS standings to go over as the polls turned sweeter to some winning teams over some other teams that had some sour victorious.  Get your toothbrush ready, you’ll need it after this.

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College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Too Full to Write, Seriously

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fullplateoffood

We have a full plate here this week on the Crib Sheet so in the interest of avoiding any more food references we stuffed into the last couple of posts, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • Steve Spurrier, South Carolina head coach, complained about tape on the field after their shilacking they took from Alabama last week.  So Alabama head coach Nick Saban says they won’t do it again.  The kickers were using to place kicks and now the need some other guide to help the ball find the way.  Southeastern Conference:  Home of the Ticky Tacky Whining.
  • Orrin Hatch is poking an prodding his trident in the direction of the Justice Department and President Obama, trying to get a probe of the BCS system again.  Hey, it’s an easy target in Utah and we hope he gets relected for all of this posturing and grand standing.  Once again, this shows that people from Utah suck.
  • The officiating crew from last week’s Florida and Arkansas game were suspended due to a blown personal foul call against an Arkansas player.  When you are Florida and on top, the calls will go your way.  Southeastern Conference:  Home of Protecting the Frontrunners.
  • While LeBron James is busy kicking out professional football players, he’s also giving advice to Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.  James says he’s trying to help Pryor handle being a super star athelete.  What?  You have to win games, and more importantly championships, to be a super star.  Right now Pryor is the head guy for a lame-o offense.  An offense that just got upset by Purdue.
  • When Texas Tech loses bad, count on Mike Leech to say something witty about it.  This time, it was something about fat girlfriends.  We love him even though his team usually rolls Big 12 North teams.
  • The Dallas Fort Worth airport and American Airlines are now doing direct flights to Manhattan, Kansas.  What does that mean?  Recruiting trips for Kansas State will be less of convenience.  The Wildcats had to cut costs for private flights which meant planes going to Topeka or Kansas City held recruits.  Will this help?  Who knows.
  • Goldy Gopher got the slap down for mocking prayer at the beginning of a game last week.  I can see that happening if they played Notre Dame or Boston College, but doing it before a Penn State game is a little ridiculous.  His punishment?  10 Hail Marys and a bad football team.
  • Bob Griese will have to sit a game for making a taco joke on a latino NASCAR driver.  Was it because it was racially insensitive or because it was a really bad joke?  Griese did get his education at Michigan, you know.
  • Speaking of Michigan, there’s a letter of inquiry from the NCAA about the whole practicing too long trouble some players kicked up a month ago.  How could the Wolverines be practicing too hard?  They’re terrible.  Maybe if they were undefeated but they stink too much to be practicing too long.  If anything, they are not practicing enough.
  • Much to no one’s surprise, Sam Bradford will have a season ending shoulder surgery and then enter the NFL draft.  It seemed a little awkward when Bradford left the Texas game a couple of weeks ago.  The hit wasn’t as massive as the first injury.  Right then I think we all knew Bradford wasn’t gonna chance it.  So will he do well in the NFL?  Tune in and find out if we ever kick up a KC GameDay blog.
  • Iowa Governor Chet Culver goofed up and congratulated only Iowa in a historic win over the weekend.  Yes, the Hawkeyes are 8-0 for the first time in forever, but it seems he forgot the Iowa State win over Nebraska in Nebraska for the first time since 1977.  If the Cyclones make a bowl, this guy will be elected out of the office.
  • John William Lomax III will be charged in the murder of UConn football Jasper Howard.  He went to the party but his lawyer says he has nothing to do with it.  We’ll find out in court just what happened.
  • The NCAA ruled that Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant will be suspended for the rest of the season.  He lied to the NCAA when they went sniffing around a visit he had with Deion Sanders.  This seems a little harsh.  With other players punching people and coming back, you’d figure they would let him come back and play.  To bad for the Cowpokes as they could use him against Texas this weekend.
College, Football, Picks

Pick It and Stick It: Packing One In

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stuart_nose

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:

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College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Hitting the Half Way Mark

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half-way-mark-on-rarotonga

This week marks the middle of the college football season.  What have we learned so far?  The top teams are still at the top.  Texas and Florida hold destiny in their hands.  Florida might have a rougher road but the coarse has been set for the predicted title match up.  The rest of pack?  Not so much.  Especially in the Big 12.  Oklahoma fell off the map big time, with Sam Bradford getting knocked out early with a shoulder injury.  Kansas State is first in the Big 12 North, which punctuates the mediocrity thriving up there.  The BCS busters are hanging around, except for the teams from Utah thankfully.  The KCCGD crew is batting over .500 for hitting up good sports bars.  Let’s hope the last half of the season is as exciting as the first half.  Here’s the crib sheet :

  • Former Penn State running back Austin Scott filed suit against all of the people involved in the rape charge against him that was eventually dropped a couple of years.  There was not enough evidence to bring to jury.  Scoot claims that everyone involved injured his career and is seeking damages.  Rape is a serious charge and if someone gets wrongly accused and is ousted because of that, then the people involved should get punished.
  • Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount is on the campaign trail to revive his status with the team, this time talking in front of teens with other current players.  It’s going to be a long road back but the more work he does, the better chance he will have at getting back on the field.  Let’s hope he makes it.
  • Dennis Dodd for CBS clearly points out the writing on the wall of Oklahoma Sooners fans, Sam Bradford’s college career is over.  After going down again against Texas, we doubt he’s gonna come back and try to re injure the shoulder or something else.  Landry Jones will be your guy from now on.
  • On the BCS front, we have a new political action committee started to fight the BCS.   Yup it’s the Playoff PAC!  A bunch of Belt Way people will get together and try to elect Congressmen to vote on playoffs for the BCS.  Never mind that the guy running it just happens to be a Utah alumnus.  Seriously, people from Utah suck.
  • Maryland and South Carolina will wear camo uniforms for their game November 14th for Veterens Day.  Sweet!  Now if Army could only buy a clue and bring back the sweet camo garb they sported last year.  Bring it back!
  • Jasper Howard,  a Connecticut cornerback, was fatally stabbed after their homecoming game Saturday as well as another player.  Head coach Randy Edsell claims that there wasn’t any fighting but some ‘verbal jostling’ that started it.  So far there are two arrests made but they may not be connected directly to the stabbing.  Our thoughts go out to the Uconn players and Jasper Howard’s family.
College, Football, Picks

Pick It Standings Week 06: Bored with Florida

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song-chart-memes-peppers-songs

The weekend of football left us a little deflated.  There was much hype going into the Florida vs LSU game but it ended up being pretty boring.  The other games on the docket were pretty uneventful.  It’s saying something when the most exciting game of the week came from the Big 10 of all places.  The pick it standings this week reflect that.  There were lots of easy calls and people missed most of the same picks.  Ho hum.  The next week should spice up at bit, especially with the Red River Rivalry coming our way.

Favored Aub Kan OHSt Tex FLSt Fla Iowa
Spread 2.5 19.5 16.0 32.5 3.0 7.5 8.0
Underdog Ark IASt Wis Colo GT LSU Mich
Team Name Points
Mangino
is FAT!!!		 Ark
(5)		 IASt
(4)		 Wis
(7)		 Colo
(15)		 GT
(3)		 LSU
(2)		 Mich
(1)		 113
Daniel
Thomas is the man!		 Aub
(13)		 Kan
(3)		 OHSt
(8)		 Tex
(5)		 GT
(11)		 Fla
(1)		 Iowa
(4)		 110
Katpak Aub
(14)		 IASt
(5)		 Wis
(6)		 Colo
(9)		 GT
(4)		 LSU
(3)		 Iowa
(2)		 104
krizzou Aub
(4)		 IASt
(17)		 OHSt
(11)		 Tex
(14)		 GT
(13)		 Fla
5)		 Mich
(15)		 98
Snyder
In Syder		 Aub
(10)		 Kan
(9)		 OHSt
(3)		 Colo
(4)		 GT
(2)		 LSU
(1)		 Iowa
(6)		 88
King
Of Pop Had A Va-J-J		 Aub
(16)		 Kan
(3)		 Wis
(7)		 Tex
(11)		 FLSt
(5)		 Fla
(4)		 Iowa
(1)		 83
KSU
finally makes a bowl again		 Aub
(6)		 Kan
(12)		 Wis
(8)		 Tex
(2)		 GT
(15)		 Fla
(3)		 Iowa
(10)		 81
KSOFM Aub
(3)		 Kan
(15)		 OHSt
(7)		 Tex
(11)		 FLSt
(13)		 LSU
(14)		 Iowa
(16)		 60

You may notice the results are a little slim.  Well we don’t include the picks where everyone else chose the same.  So for instance, this week everyone picked Virginia Tech, Penn State, Oregon, Alabama, Miami, and BYU.  They missed South Carolina, Oklahoma State, and TCU.  With that out of the way we once again point out Krizzou being the lone rebel and going with Baylor against Oklahoma.  Good call by Mangino is Fat!!! for picking Arkansas.

Rank Pick Set Name Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Total Pts
1 KSU finally makes a bowl again 125 138 149 133 84 81 0 0 0 0 710
2 Katpak 97 137 163 114 78 104 0 0 0 0 693
3 Mangino is FAT!!! 111 124 155 132 57 113 0 0 0 0 692
4 King Of Pop Had A Va-J-J 91 121 149 151 57 83 0 0 0 0 652
5 KSOFM 111 123 154 108 88 60 0 0 0 0 644
6 krizzou 100 113 141 132 46 98 0 0 0 0 630
7 Daniel Thomas is the man! 104 109 0 123 95 110 0 0 0 0 541
8 Purple Yeti 119 0 155 85 73 88 0 0 0 0 520
9 Polly want a Tinkle 0 0 0 96 73 0 0 0 0 0 169

We’re almost at the middle of the season and the pack is starting to break away.   Minus any major upsets, it looks as though it will be a three person race between KSU finally makes a bowl again, Katpak, and Mangino is FAT!!!  There’s a battle brewing for the cellar, too, between the Purple Yeti and Daniel Thomas is the man!  But there’s still plenty of season left over and now that many of the Top 25 teams won’t have that many weekends off, the points should bump up.  Get ready, because the BCS standings are coming out next week.

College, Football, Kansas, Live, Sports Bars, Texas, Texas Tech, Waitresses

J. Murphy’s Brings Out the Irish in Every One

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Western Europe meets the western Kansas City area as we trucked way the heck out to Shawnee to view Saturday’s selections at J. Murphy’s Irish Pub and Grille.  The games lined up for the afternoon seemed like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  The traditional fare sprinkled the joint so well we were waiting for a Contra Dance to bust out.  And the food, well the food was all it was cracked up to be, Irish wise.  But there was so much more than really cheesy Irish references (which we will stop as of now) at J. Murphy’s.

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Picks

Pick It and Stick It: Wiping It Clean

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nose4

Okay, everybody is fairly settled in on the new changes for Pick It and Stick It.  Now we get a chance to turn our focus from the rules of the game on to the actual game itself.  Usually you see pick sets float around the office or in the college dorm.  Typically on top of that you will see a wager attached to sweeten the deal.  What we like to do here is get feedback from you to see what the wager or prize should be.  Now it can be a pitcher of beer, or it could be making the loser(s) wear the other team’s colors.  So read on through and drop us a comment to let us know what you want as the prize for the champion this year.

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Barspotting, College, Football

Barspotting: J. Murphy’s Law

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jmurphys

So the voters spoke and we’re feeling Irish this week at J. Murphy’s.  It’s not March yet, but we have a feeling it’s going to end up like it by the time we get done here.  So let’s run down the stats on the bar.  Green decor. Check.  Beer (with Guinness).  Check.  Irish Whiskey. Check. Corned Beef and Cabbage. Check.  All football games. Check.  Looks like they meet the requirements for an Irish sports bar.  Come out with us Saturday to find out if the proof is in the Shepard’s Pie.  Erin go bragh!

When: Saturday, September 26, 2009
Time: 12:00 pm
Where: J. Murphy’s Irish Pub and Grill, 22730 Midland Dr, Shawnee, KS 913.825.3880


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Games:

Notes:  It’s a somewhat of a trap game for Missouri as they head to Nevada Friday night.  Kansas hopefully will turn their punches toward Southern Miss and not the basketball team when they host the Golden Eagles.  Virginia Tech plays another game of the week when they host newly resurgent Miami.  The Illibuck Trophy is up for grabs as Illinois heads to Ohio State and hope for an upset like last time.  Speaking of upsets, Iowa hopes to do the same thing this year to Penn State like they did last year and derail their national title hopes.  The Shillelagh Trophy is up for grabs when the Fighting Irish take on the Purdue Boilermakers.  Texas Tech takes a long road trip to Houston and look to duke it out against the newly christened cinderella Houston Cougars.  Finally New Mexico and New Mexico State meet for the 100th time this weekend in the Battle of I-25 and the Maloof Trophy.

Here’s the voting results from facebook:

barspottingweek04_2009

Big 12, College, Football, Sports Bars

Johnny’s Tavern has the Power and the Light

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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 places around 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.

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Picks

Pick It and Stick It: Confidently Digging In

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picking-nose

Here we go strolling into the second week of picks for the KCCGD crew.  Last week saw some impressive (and embarrassing) numbers.  With a new confidence system on top of the picks, we’ve found getting used to it somewhat challenging.  Nevertheless, this week finds the matchups a little easier to swallow.   There aren’t as many ranked teams going against each other.   We were treated to an upset or two last week.  Will we see it again?  We’ll find out over the weekend but until then set your picks and assign confidence to them.  Heeeyaw!
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Big 10, Big 12, Bowls, College, Football, Kansas State, Missouri, News, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Crib Sheet: Going Prime Time

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prime time

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.