Fountain Shots

ROYALS: SO HOT RIGHT NOW

2011-04-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well, it's not nothing. The same Kansas City Royals team that seemed to be a guaranteed 100-game loser before the season started sits at 10-4 and in first place in the AL Central after today's shutout of the Felix Hernandez-led Mariners. Now, plenty of games remain for the Royals to get 96 more losses, but we'll be the first to admit we did not see this hot start coming.

We went to our second game of the season today. Last year, we went to two games all season long, because last year's team was just plain unlikable. This year's team, on the other hand, is one that's easier to get behind. Granted, winning games has a lot to do with likability, but it goes beyond that. Last year's team featured fan-hater and fan-hated Jose Guillen, no-pro shortstop Yuni Betancourt (and how hilarious is it to read Brewer fan tweets enraged with Yuni's current presence on their team?), human remote control Jason Kendall, Sunny Rick Ankiel, and the tactless Zack Greinke. (One of the minor surprises to us so far this season is how little we miss Greinke's presence and coddling by the Royals.)

This year's team seems to have a much different feel to it. Gone are most of the veterans who saw Kansas City as a place to come pick up a paycheck without having to put out much effort. We're seeing Billy Butler and Alex Gordon emerge as the homegrown, "veteran" players while the Royals' future is getting its first exposure with guys like Escobar, Jeffress, Crow, and Collins. And waiting in the wings are Hosmer, Moustakas, and the rest of the best farm system in baseball history.

As fun as it is to see the future unfold, the question for now is whether the Royals' hot start is sustainable. Let's take a look at the components and see whether it would be reasonable for this ballclub to finish the year around .500, which would be a fantastic result.

Starting Pitching

Clearly, this is the biggest weakness for this team. Given their past, it is just not reasonable to expect consistently good results from Davies or O'Sullivan. So far, Hochevar seems to be pitching about par for him, which is at the level of a 4 or 5 starter. Chen seems to be about the same. However, it should be remembered that both those guys were highly-rated prospects at one time, so improvement by one or the other to #2 or #3-type numbers would not be out of the question. Francis is a guy who used to be an ace, but has shown a decrease in velocity. He seems like he could be a solid #3 or #4 starter. In order for the Royals to fight for .500, it will probably be necessary for one of those three to have a ~17-win "breakout" year where they perform like a low-end #1 (not ace) or solid #2 starter, with the other two avoiding collapsing into #5 starter (or worse) territory.

Relief Pitching

The quality of the Royals' bullpen (along with a potent offense) so far has made up for the lackluster starting pitching. The bullpen seems full of young, live arms. Given that Jeffress was part of the return for Greinke and that Crow was a highly-rated prospect, it would not be unreasonable for those two to continue performing well. Collins seems to have excellent stuff. If he can avoid injury, he should be able to maintain success as well. Soria has been a bit shaky so far this year, but does have an excellent track record. With four good relievers, the remainder of the bullpen becomes less relevant, as it can be made up of guys who come in to pitch with big leads or big deficits.

Lineup/Defense

There is no question that the defense this year is vastly improved overall from last year, especially up the middle and in the outfield. Gordon and Francoeur have cannons, and Melky Cabrera has shown very good range in center. Escobar has already made a number of sparkling plays at short (including a fantastic dive to save a run and get an out today) and Getz is solid at 2nd. Kila is better than Butler at 1st, but his bat is going to have to get going here pretty soon. Third has been the only real problem area on defense so far this year.

As far as the lineup goes, there's a pretty solid 1-3-4-5 going right now. Alex Gordon is off to a fantastic start. While his bat has been disappointing prior to this year, and nobody expects him to lead the league in hits throughout the rest of the year, the guy obviously is talented and could very well finally have a breakout year. All Billy Butler does is mash the ball. Getz has done a nice job leading off. SABR folks don't expect much from Francoeur, but the guy does offer some power. Aviles and Kila have both struggled so far, but both seem to have the ability to hit and will hopefully find their stroke sooner rather than later.

With half the lineup hot and half of it cold so far this year, the Royals are first in the league in hits, AVG, and OBP, second in runs and doubles, and fourth in walks. Once the guys who are hot cool down, the guys who are cold will hopefully heat up, and the Royals will be able to maintain a good level of production.

Conclusion

Given the possible breakouts that we have seen so far this season, it's not difficult to see a path to .500 for this ballclub, although definite liabilities remain that could catch up to the Royals before the season's end. A .500 season would be huge for a ballclub with a fully-loaded farm system currently polishing the next wave of talent.

THIS WEEKEND IN THE BIG 12

2010-10-29T19:02:00.000-05:00

We're about halfway through the Big 12 schedule and we've got a weekend with several interesting games coming up, so let's take a look around.

Mizzou at Nebraska.

The marquee game this weekend, thanks to both schools taking care of business against the Oklahoma schools last weekend. Having seen both teams in person, we'd have to give Mizzou the slight edge as the better team. Their offensive line was especially impressive against the Sooners, and if they play that way against KU and K-State the Tigers should be able to hang 50+ points on both teams. The o-line is big and strong and uses those wide-yard splits that Mike Leach first introduced into the Big 12. Some Mizzou fans have complained about Gabbert's happy feet, but what we saw on Saturday night was that Gabbert gets nervous after he's already had 4-5 seconds in the pocket...but there's still no one within 5 yards of him.

Mizzou's defense played Oklahoma's hurry-up/spread perfectly, keeping the plays in front of them and making the one-on-one tackles, forcing OU to march methodically down the field and then forcing turnovers inside the red zone. Mizzou was just as strong and just as fast as the Sooners, and if Gary Pinkel can keep them at this level, they should be an annual factor in the new Big 12.

However, this weekend they have their work cut out for them. If this game was at Mizzou or a couple of weeks later, we'd take the Tigers. But given the emotion and the effort that we saw last Saturday, there's just no way that Mizzou will be able to get 100% up for this Nebraska game only a week later...and it's in Lincoln, to boot. We're sure that Mizzou coaches have made every effort to get their guys refocused this week, but the Tigers got an enormous monkey off their back last Saturday, and it will be impossible for them to achieve the same focus for this game as they could if it were a couple of weeks later. That being said, we still like the Tigers to keep it within a touchdown.

One final note on the Mizzou-Oklahoma game: it's clear that it will still take some time for Mizzou and its fans to get used to being a big-time football program, if their success continues. Many Mizzou fans were observed behaving in an unfortunate fashion, constantly hurling expletives and the occasional beer cup at anyone wearing a red shirt. A Mizzou player even got into the act after the game, taunting a group of OU fans as he left the locker room. And shortly before 7 p.m., the PA guy got on and told the crowd to get loud, as ABC was about to go live from Faurot Field. First time we've ever seen that considered necessary before a big game. Finally, this week the Mizzou administration got themselves into some PR trouble with the arrests of the Faurot 30 and the delay in deciding to drop the charges.

Hopefully, Mizzou fans can now focus more positive energy as their team enters uncharted territory. If they continue to win, every passing week will bring anew the biggest game in Mizzou football history. Enjoy the ride while it lasts, Tigers.

Baylor at Texas.

Coming off their shootout against K-State, the Bears head to Austin to try to knock off Mack Brown's struggling Longhorns. Baylor was strangled by TCU earlier this season, and Texas has the athletes to do the same thing. You'd think the Horns would have the motivation to come out strong against the Bears following the embarrassing loss to Iowa State. The Longhorns should be able to right the ship this week against a Baylor team that's just happy to be bowl eligible.

Oklahoma State at K-State.

The suspension of Justin Blackmon makes this a closer matchup than it initially appeared. K-State's bend-a-little-and-then-break defense looks like it's about ready to give up for the year, especially with OSU and Mizzou still on the schedule. The glimmer of hope for K-State is that Brandon Weeden is not a running QB, which have been particularly devastating to the K-State defense. K-State's defense doesn't have the speed or strength to play with most Big 12 teams, much less one of the nation's top offenses, but with OSU's own defensive woes, maybe the Cats can find a couple of turnovers and score enough points to win a shootout at home this week. Our prediction? OSU 45, K-State 31. Bill Snyder notoriously doesn't fire assistants, so our guess is that "defensive coordinator" Chris Cosh's new position with the Cats next year will be equipment manager.

Colorado at OU.

The Sooners should get to catch their breath this week against the Buffaloes, as Dan Hawkins' farewell-tour-within-a-farewell-tour continues. Those Hawkins' family dinners may be a bit icy next year. Hope Cody appreciates that his dad threw away his job so he could play quarterback.

Kansas at Iowa State.

Mercifully, Iowa State lobbied for this game to stay off TV so it could increase attendance for homecoming. Oof. Most of the players on this KU team look and sound like they can't wait for this season to be over. If Iowa State comes in focused, they should be able to continue the Jayhawks' woes with another pounding. The Cyclones are trying to keep themselves in the Big 12 North race...they still get to play Nebraska and Mizzou, and that big win at Texas certainly provided a jolt.

Texas Tech at Texas A&M.

This should be a good game for the wrong reasons, as Tommy Tuberville's transitional Red Raiders head into College Station to take on Mike Sherman's perennially underachieving Aggies. That is to say, both team's limitations should keep this one close. But with the other games on the slate this week, who really cares about the battle for last place in the Big 12 South?

THERE IS NO HATE LIKE NEBRASKA

2010-10-06T18:38:00.000-05:00

[Ed. note: The following is obviously written from a biased, K-State fan perspective. It's intended to evoke some of the emotions from the K-State side on the eve of the final game between K-State and Nebraska, and in no way is intended to be objective.]

These are memories of a rivalry. A rivalry that was long desired by one school, long denied by the other, and finally emerged, de facto, for a short, intense period of time. In a way, this rivalry's brief but eventful existence was a representation of the conference in which it existed--a conference whose formation helped create the rivalry and whose reformulation will end it.

ri * val n. One who tries to surpass or equal another or who pursues the same object as another.

Lincoln, Nebraska, lies almost due north of Manhattan, Kansas. Many people don't realize that Kansas State University is the University of Nebraska's closest conference adversary, but a 2.5 hour bus ride down US 77 is all it will take for the Cornhusker football team to arrive at K-State for Thursday's game. The state line lies almost exactly at the halfway point between the two schools, and a church located by the line offers up lunch for game travelers each year.

This proximity and symmetry would dictate a natural rivalry. Only problem was, Nebraska was one of the elite football programs in the country, while K-State was one of the worst. As a result, K-State was historically just a tune-up for a Husker team preparing to take on Oklahoma, or perhaps Colorado, for conference supremacy.

In 1988, Bill Snyder arrived in Manhattan and began the building process. At that point, overtaking the Cornhuskers was a laughable pipedream. Overtaking teams like Kansas was a more immediate, and achievable, goal.

Year by year, the Wildcats improved, but Doctor Tom and his merry band of criminals continued to torment them . . . including one year in Tokyo, which gave rise to the infamous story of Snyder's requirement that his players be seated on the shady side of the plane. Nebraska eventually became the target in Snyder's sights, and you could see him attempting to move from the pass-heavy offense he'd been forced to utilize in his early days at K-State to a more option run-oriented attack, no doubt influenced by the overpowering triple option attack perfected by Tom Osborne in Lincoln. Snyder had his own ideas as to how best to use the option and quarterback run game, however: lots of shotgun and speed option, utilizing a more wide-spread formation and giving rise to many of the principles we now see in the Wildcat formation. Nevertheless, the Huskers remained an elusive target...there was still a distinct size and speed disadvantage for the Wildcats, although this discrepancy decreased a bit each season.

In 1997, Snyder finally found the perfect QB for his offense, juco transfer Michael Bishop. Bishop's ability wasn't enough to overcome Nebraska in Lincoln, however, as the Cats dropped their 29th straight to the Huskers. As it turned out, this would be Bishop's only regular season loss as a college quarterback.

November 14, 1998, started early for me. Someone thought it would be fun to pull the fire alarm in my dorm, so there I stood, shivering at 6 a.m. as I waited for the "all clear," watching the first early-risers walk by on the sidewalk on their way to ESPN's College Gameday at KSU Stadium. I joined them a couple of hours later.

The rest of that day is a blur. The roar of the Gameday crowd as Lee Corso donned Willie's head...the anticipation building throughout the afternoon...the senior day introductions for Bishop and the other graduating Wildcats...then finally the game.

Those watching on TV at home heard Keith Jackson intone: "For 29 painful years, the big brawny lads from Lincoln have pummeled the boys from Manhattan; the plea for redemption rides on the wind. The Wildcats of 98 have stepped up, stating clearly they believe this time they will prevail. So from Osawatomie to Ottawa, from Leawood to Liberty, this may be a day Kansas State faithful will never forget."

Heading into the game, K-State was ranked #1 in the country and undefeated and Nebraska #11. Thus, not only was the possibility of the first win over Nebraska in 30 years on the table, but the continuing shot at playing for the national title, as well. The stakes literally could not have been higher for the Wildcats. Nebraska fans downplayed the Wildcats' chances, claiming "Nebraska is still Nebraska and K-State is still K-State."

It was a back-and-forth, dramatic game. In the final minutes, Bishop connected with Darnell McDonald in the end zone for the go-ahead score. Then, as the Huskers attempted to answer, this happened:

Oops. Well, no flag, no foul. To hear Husker fans talk since then, this play cost them the game. Sure, a penalty might have helped, but don't forget that the game closed out with an Eric Crouch fumble returned for a TD by K-State linebacker Jeff Kelly. Nevertheless, the Huskers' indignation at the play...and the Cats win...gave some indication that a rivalry was brewing.

I helped tear down and carry the "indestructible" goalposts down to Rusty's Last Chance after the game, where Willie got up on the roof and led the delirious crowd in the K-S-U cheer. The sign at Pat's Blue Rib'n BBQ read: "Nebraska is still Nebraska and K-State is still #1."

* * *

In November 1999, K-State had to head back up to Lincoln, where the Huskers dominated undefeated K-State 41-15 in a game that decided the Big 12 North champion and representative to the Big 12 Championship game. Nebraska would finish the year with one loss, at Texas (where K-State had won), and ranked #2/#3 in the country. K-State also finished with one loss and was ranked #6/#7.

* * *

I don't remember much from the 2000 Nebraska game other than the snow. The game was close, and once again would decide the Big 12 North's representative to the Big 12 Championship. Jonathan Beasley made a TD completion eerily similar to Bishop's in 1998 to win the game. In the latter stages of the game, the November Kansas skies opened and snow fell, turning the green turf white. After the game, K-State players celebrated by making snow angels, and Willie stood atop the press box, as snow drifted down about him, leading the K-S-U cheer. It was surreal.

2001 was a down year for K-State, although they stayed within 10 points of Nebraska in Lincoln. Due to the Huskers' crushing loss at Colorado, the Buffs represented the North in the Big 12 Championship, although Nebraska sneaked into the BCS championship game to be crushed by Miami.

Colorado won the North again in 2002, while K-State finished second and crushed Nebraska 49-13 in Manhattan. Nebraska finished 3-5 in conference play, behind even Iowa State.

* * *

Nebraska rebounded somewhat in 2003, and as K-State headed into Lincoln in mid-November the game once again represented the battle for the Big 12 North title. K-State was riding a big wave of momentum with 4 straight conference wins after 2 conference losses to start the season due to QB Ell Roberson's injury, but playing in Lincoln was still not an easy task.

Husker QB Jamaal Lord tried to stir things up before the game, but he should have saved his energy for the game itself. The Huskers scored one touchdown on a play that replays revealed should have been dead when Lord's knee hit the turf on a sack, and K-State rolled 38-9.

Of particular relevance to this week's game is the fact that the Husker's defensive coordinator at the time was Bo Pelini. Bo took exception to the number of points scored by the Wildcats and raced across the field after the game to call Snyder an "a**hole." After the game, Pelini had these comments for the media:

Just for the record, here is video of one of K-State's scoring plays:

If Bo Pelini had taught his players to tackle a bit better, the score wouldn't have been so bad. Furthermore, here are some random scores from previous games in the K-State/Nebraska series:

1978: Nebraska 48, K-State 14.
1980: Nebraska 55, K-State 8.
1988: Nebraska 48, K-State 3.
1996: Nebraska 39, K-State 3.
1999: Nebraska 41, K-State 15.

The University of Nebraska pretty much perfected the art of running up the score. So it's the pinnacle of hypocrisy for a Nebraska coach to whine about losing a game 38-9. But the Pelinis are whiners, so such is to be expected.

More hypocrisy? Cornhusker fans love to brag about how they give the visiting team a standing ovation after the game, win or lose. Well, the 2003 K-State Wildcats are still awaiting their standing ovation. Although, to be fair, there were probably only about 30 Husker "faithful" left in the stands by the end of the game, so it was a pretty small sample size. It's pretty easy to be the "best fans in college football" when you're winning 11 games a year, but Nebraska fans showed that, under average conditions, they too can be an average fan base.

Heading back down US 77 in the dark after the game, you could see a string of headlights miles long following the K-State team bus. It looked like the final scene out of Field of Dreams. As the caravan crossed the state line into Kansas and passed through each small town, Wildcat faithful came out of their houses to stand by the side of the road and cheer the victors as they drove by.

This result probably led to Frank Solich's firing and the hiring of Bill Callahan by Nebraska. K-State went on to win the 2003 Big 12 Championship over Oklahoma...the last Big 12 Championship won by either school and, in fact, by any North team.

* * *

The rivalry lost a lot of its meaning over the next few years, as Bill Snyder left the Wildcats after the 2006 2005 season and neither team was good enough to play for anything meaningful until Nebraska won the North in 2006. In 2007, Nebraska managed to demolish Ron Prince's K-State team 73-31 for one of its two conference wins. Prince was fired following K-State's disastrous 2008 season, which marked Bo Pelini's first year as the Cornhuskers' head coach.

One incident that did occur during this period was when future Tampa Bay Bucs QB Josh Freeman switched his commitment from the Huskers to K-State. A lot of Husker fans went berserk, foremost among them Husker broadcaster Jim Rose, who viciously attacked Freeman and his family on air.

* * *

With Bill Snyder's return in 2009, the rivalry instantly regained much of its meaning. Somehow, Snyder and K-State cobbled together enough conference wins so that the regular season finale (for the Cats) in Lincoln once again represented the battle to be the Big 12 North's representative in the championship game. Unfortunately for the Cats, the spectacular Nebraska defense strangled their already-anemic offense and took the Big 12 North title.

And that brings us to last summer, when Nebraska adopted their "if you can't beat 'em, leave 'em strategy." Recognizing that they were going to have trouble overcoming Texas and Oklahoma in their quest to regain regular national college football relevance, the Huskers decided to high-tail it to the Big 10, home of boring, second-rate football (despite Denard Robinson's best efforts). Nebraska, having been perpetual whiners since the formation of the Big 12, took the opportunity to dump on the Big 12 Conference during their press conference announcing the move. Of particular amusement (and once again, hypocrisy) were the statements by Doctor Tom and his cronies about the Big 10 being a better academic fit. This from the same Doctor Tom who was peeved that the Big 12 wouldn't approve as many Prop 48 recruits as he wanted at the formation of the conference, due to Texas' influence. Thus, Nebraska explained its reasons for leaving the Big 12 as academic, even though it opposed stricter academic standards at the formation of the Big 12.

I had long told my friends from the Big 12 South that Nebraska's administration and fans are no more special than those found at many universities...it's easy to be "classy" when you win 11 games a year and teams like K-State or KU stay in their proper place and accept their rightful beatings. But bloody Nebraska's nose a little bit...like K-State did in the late 90's and early 00's, and you'll find there's really not much special there.

My friends didn't believe me, saying that their experiences with Nebraska had always involved mutual respect. "That's because they view you as worthy peers," I said. "You're supposed to give them good games. But do something that pisses them off, that upsets the natural order, and you'll see another side."

They saw that other side with the conference realignment. "You were right," they admitted. "Nebraska got up in front of the press and acted like a-holes."

So this Thursday brings what is likely to be the final (barring a bowl game matchup) meeting between K-State and Nebraska. It's possible that the game will have implications for the Big 12 North title, although it's harder to determine in early October than it was in mid-November. There's no doubt that K-State fans would like to end the series with a win. Bill Snyder will be coaching his undefeated team against the Huskers in the stadium that bears his name, and he will certainly pull out all the stops in pursuit of a victory. The Huskers still have an outside run at the national championship game in their sights, so they will be bringing their best game as well. Nevertheless, this game still doesn't seem to hold as much meaning as those matchups at the turn of the last decade. Like the Big 12 Conference, this rivalry has seen its best days, and starting next year will be confined to memories and record books.

CARNAC THE MAGNIFICENT?

2010-09-28T22:09:00.001-05:00

As K-State heads into the bulk of the conference schedule, its record stands at 4-0 for the first time since its championship season of 2003. While Daniel Thomas has received most of the acclaim during the Wildcats' perfect start, he hasn't done it alone. The offensive line has shown excellent run blocking in 3 of the first 4 games, and the defense, while not flashy, has played effectively. The receivers have been blocking downfield beautifully and have shown better catching ability than perhaps was expected.

Perhaps the signature of this team so far has been that it has made big plays when it's needed to, allowing it to win 3 of the first 4 games in the fourth quarter. An important component in this has been the play of quarterback Carson Coffman. We criticized Coffman on Twitter during last Saturday's game following his interception. While he needs to avoid bad interceptions like last Saturday's and the pick-6 he threw the previous week versus Iowa State, we thought we owed Coffman a more complete and fair assessment of his job as the Cats' quarterback so far.

The Good

* Physical tools. Coffman's showing better arm strength this year than last. He's also shown that he has enough speed and strength to run the option effectively with Thomas, which could be critical to the success of K-State's running game as the season progresses...especially inside the red zone, where K-State has had its issues over the last couple of seasons. He's not going to break the 40 yard run like a Bishop or Roberson, but, like Jonathan Beasley, Coffman runs the ball well enough to pick up a first down--or game winning touchdown--when it's needed.
* 4th quarter play. Thus far, Coffman's played his best when the game's been on the line. The last two weeks, he's led critical drives in crunch time. Nice quality to have in a QB.
* Running the offense. Pre-snap, Coffman's shown an ability to check to the right plays based on what the defense is showing him. This ability really helps Snyder's offense to function properly.

The Bad

* 1st-3rd quarters. For whatever reason, Coffman doesn't look as fluid and confident until the chips are down. He needs to speed up his progression and improve his post-snap reads in the first 3/4 of the game. Just slightly improved play here would make late-game heroics less necessary. At times, especially early in game, it's appeared that BCS-level football moves too quickly for his decision-making ability. Hopefully this will improve as he gains experience and confidence.
* Interceptions. He only has two, but as a game-management quarterback, Coffman needs to avoid the type of INT's he's thrown so far: those that can be returned for touchdowns or at least good field position. Without these miscues, the Wildcats might have had a more comfortable lead earlier in each of the last two games. As the Wildcats head into Big 12 play, such miscues could cost them games and wind up in the UGLY category.

The Ugly

* Missing the open home run. Although he's showing improved arm strength, Coffman is still struggling to find the touch needed for some of the throws critical to Snyder's system: namely, the home-run throws down the field that are set up by K-State's running game. Coffman has missed open receivers down the field badly so far this year, and has not even missed in a spot where his receiver can come back and make a play on the ball. These throws are a staple of Snyder's offense when it's clicking along, and Coffman needs to start hitting them.

The Bottom Line

Coffman's playing better than we thought he would. He actually has the potential to lead a very potent Wildcat attack if he can bring up those aspects of his game that are lagging behind so far this season. If he's able to get those areas up to speed quickly enough, the Wildcats should be able to make a strong run at the North title.

[Addendum: One thing we forgot to discuss was the role of the o-line's shaky pass blocking so far this year. Part of Coffman's troubles in making post-snap reads is no doubt due to the shaky pass blocking by an o-line that has been above-average at run blocking. If Coffman regularly has more time to get through his progression, his reads and completion percentage should improve.]

BIG 12 THOUGHTS HEADED INTO WEEK 2

2010-09-10T16:27:00.001-05:00

Poor, poor KU. All that work done in the Mark Mangino era down the drain. With one 6-3 loss to NDSU, the Jayhawks are back to being a college football laughingstock. The Hawks need a solid performance against Georgia Tech tomorrow to try to get back on track. But K-Staters can feel the Jayhawks' pain: in Ron Prince's first game, the Cats almost lost to Illinois State. And last year, in Bill Snyder's first year back, the Cats went down and lost to the University of Louisiana (formerly Lafayette). Transitions can be tough in the new, parity-driven era of college football.
Because transitions can be tough, we were impressed by Texas Tech's win over SMU. It was only by a touchdown, but this was a game we had circled as a possible loss, as defense-minded Tommy Tuberville took over the Red Raiders' air attack and June Jones brought in what promises to be a high-scoring SMU program. If Tuberville can tighten up the Tech defense while not hindering the offense, Tech could bring itself into the conversation with OU and Texas, who both looked a bit shaky last weekend.
Why did everyone think OSU was going to be at the bottom of the Big 12 South this year? Granted, their demolition of Washington State looked better on paper, given the weakness of the WSU squad, but all Mike Gundy's done while at OSU is bring in athlete after athlete. OSU should have a dangerous running attack again this year, and enough athletes around the rest of the field to keep them in most games.
Baylor is another team that seems to be getting less respect than they deserve. After seeing Baylor in person last year, we believe they finally have the size and athleticism to play with other Big 12 teams--and with Robert Griffin at QB, they have a weapon that may lead them to a couple of big wins this year.
Daniel Thomas picked up right where he left off last year, torching the UCLA defense for almost 250 yards on the ground. It is amazing that he can change directions as quickly as he can, given his size and power. It's a rare combination, and one that makes him a pleasure to watch and a threat to school and conference records. The Cats also showed that his backup, William Powell, can be an effective weapon behind their veteran offensive line.
Games we're most looking forward to seeing this weekend: we'll probably be at the OSU-Troy game in person, but we're most interested in seeing how KU bounces back against Georgia Tech and how OU performs against FSU. Colorado also has an opportunity to make a statement as they head to Berkeley to take on Cal...hopefully we'll be able to see the field amidst the wafting clouds of reefer smoke.

THE SOLID VERBAL'S BIG 12 PREVIEW

2010-08-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

Only a few days left until college football kicks off. This is a good time for us to recommend The Solid Verbal, a college football podcast we discovered last year. These guys cover everything...sometimes too much. With a couple of episodes a week, we find it tough to keep up with every show. But if you're a college football junkie, it should help satisfy your cravings.

This past week, they had Chip Brown (of Orangebloods and conference realignment Armageddon fame) on to preview the Big 12 season. It's a quality breakdown of the year to come.

ROYALS WRAP; OR, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP CARING AND IGNORE THE SUCK.

2010-08-28T01:53:00.004-05:00

Well, our last post, burying the Royals on the first day of the season, certainly was popular with the Chinese spammers. Those guys gotta work on improving their algorithm so it will target posts that people actually read.

It's been a nice summer break. But college football is around the corner, meaning that relevant sporting events are about to return to the Kansas City area, and therefore our vacation is about to end. Time for some end-of-summer cleaning so that we can focus our attention on the area teams that actually give a damn.

We've attended two Royals games this year. We didn't buy the tickets for either one. Yes, while the Royals ultimately fulfilled all three conditions of our mandate from earlier this year, it was yet another case of too little, too late. The Royals haven't cared about winning baseball games for the better part of two decades, and therefore we finally--finally--stopped caring about going out to the Greater Raytown Amusement Park-cum-Stadium.

While it's the essence of anecdotal, this still isn't an especially good sign for the Royals. We're the third generation of our family to have had Royals season tickets at some point. If they can succeed in driving us away from the ballpark, then they must be doing something special. Honestly, though, they probably made the right decision in adding a playground to the outfield, since there's not much out at that park for a serious baseball fan to enjoy.

There are a variety of factors that contributed to our absence. The first, as already noted, is the putrid product on the field. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 15 times, shame on me. As usual, there's been precious little about this team throughout the year that makes you want to spend money to watch it. Yuniesky Betancourt looks like he's going to lead the team in home runs, for pete's sake. The other day, the Royals ran a lineup out there that had a total of ~21 home runs combined. There were about 14 players in baseball who had more homeruns than the entire Royals lineup had that day. There aren't enough expletives in the English language to properly express the absurdity of that.

And why pay to watch the games when you can see most of them on TV, anyway? The oft-expressed fear that fans would stay at home to watch on TV instead of coming out to support the team finally came true in this household, this year. This option is even more attractive when you consider baseball's inane rules against showing replays of any close plays in the stadium.

Perhaps the biggest reason for our absence from the ballpark was the constant reminder, during the two games we did attend, of how the Royals and Jackson County royally dropped the ball when it came to the opportunity to build a downtown ballpark. Now that the initial shininess of the new stainless and concrete bunkers in the outfield has worn off, we're left with the continued reality that the stadium remains in Raytown, far removed from any entertainment, nightlife, viable public transportation, or the center of discretionary spending in the metropolitan area.

Simply put, why should we spend 30 minutes to watch crappy baseball on a weeknight in a crappy part of Kansas City, when we could have been driving 10 minutes to watch (probably still crappy) baseball in KC's revitalized downtown? We easily would have attended at least 20 games this year in a downtown ballpark.

Sprint Center has only served to reinforce the sense of an opportunity lost. Even without an anchor tenant, the excitement and atmosphere Sprint Center is able to generate downtown for various concerts as well as events like the Big 12 tourney is incredible. Our friends who have left Kansas City for other opportunities but who have returned in the last couple of years to visit all say the same thing: being down around the Sprint Center and the P&L District doesn't feel like being in Kansas City. Probably because we're used to KC screwing things up however it can, like voting to keep its baseball stadium in the Zubaz Capital of the World.

Imagine that atmosphere an additional 81 night a year.

(Let's take a moment here to congratulate Kansas City, Kansas, on continuing to develop a nice sports and entertainment district out at the Legends. With the construction on the Wizards' new stadium progressing rapidly, we may soon see a summer sporting facility that outclasses the "New K" in terms of atmosphere and fan enthusiasm.)

But back to baseball. The fitting end to this Royals season, like so many others recently, is to let it slip irrelevantly into the night while football takes the stage.

A word of advice to David Glass and Royals management: congratulations on receiving the 2012 All Star Game, but don't miss your opportunity. You'll want to open up those tight purse strings and put a legitimate team on the field that year. Otherwise, the national media will be writing stories not only about your half-hearted stadium renovation, but also about the consistently crappy product you placed on the field that, as usual, is 15 games out by the All Star Break. If you're ever interested in gaining some measure of respectability, 2012 is the year to make your move. Also, since we assume you're going to tie season tickets to All Star Game tickets, putting a legitimate product on the field is the only way you'll be able to avoid the embarrassing prospect of setting a new franchise record for lowest actual attendance.

And that should about wrap it up for the Royals. On to football!

WELL, THAT WAS QUICK

2010-04-05T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hope you enjoyed the 2010 Royals' baseball season. All 6 innings of it.

Ah, it's been a long 5+ months without the ineptitude of Royals' baseball to enjoy. So it was nice of them to quickly get back to business on Opening Day: a dropped infield fly with 2 outs to allow a run to score, sacrifice bunting in the bottom of the first, a total bullpen implosion following a very good start by Zack Greinke, and a moronic decision by the third base coach.

Yep, the Boys in Blue picked up right where they left off last year. Which isn't surprising, given that Dayton Moore did nothing to improve the club over the offseason.

So it looks like it's time for another fan ultimatum. If we remember correctly, the last one of these we did was when we demanded Angel Berroa's disassociation with the organization. It's pretty simple: we make a few demands, and we don't buy any tickets to see the Royals until those demands are met. This is definitely the earliest we've had to issue a fan ultimatum, however...as we write this, the Royals are batting in the bottom of the 9th of their first game.

Here are the demands:

* Kila Ka'aihue is called up to the big league club.
* Dave Owen is relieved of his duties as third-base coach.
* Jose Guillen is DFA'd immediately upon his first bad-attitude episode of the year.

We're only asking that one of these conditions be met. We just want to see one, single sign that the Royals are actually committed to improvement and accountability. We see one of the above, or a similar move that demonstrates an actual concern with winning baseball games, and we'll start buying tickets again.

Otherwise, we'll be content to dedicate our resources to watching actual major league baseball. We hear there's a sweet deal running on MLB Extra Innings right now.

THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR

2010-04-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, the sport that gets us through the dark, cold days of winter hands off the sports pages and channels to the sport that helps us celebrate summer.

Across America, fans take the afternoon off to sit in chilly but optimist-filled ballparks as the long marathon to the October Classic begins. And once they've returned home, they find a television and tune in to watch the culmination of the best championship event in American sports.

It's the best day of the sports year. Enjoy it.

GET PUMPED (?)

2010-03-27T12:42:00.000-05:00

Hey K-State fans, here's a video to get you ready for this afternoon's Elite Eight game. It's, uh...something.

KNOCKOUT

2010-03-26T12:38:00.002-05:00

Whitlock is right. (There's a phrase I don't often utter.)

This game, in so many ways, felt like 1998. The path seems to clear for a chance to advance toward the national championship.* Early on, the game appears in control for K-State against an overmatched opponent. K-State's largest lead in both games? That's right, 15.

But then the other team comes back. K-State doesn't fold, though...fighting and clawing, despite losing the momentum, to take the game to overtime. Double overtime. Just like 1998.

I thought that was it. I'd seen this story end before, and it wasn't pretty. Thing is, I didn't give Frank and his guys enough credit.

They grabbed the game late in the second overtime and refused to let it go. Despite all his heroics, Jordan Crawford would be no Sirr Parker for the Musketeers this night, driving a dagger into the Wildcats' dreams. Instead, there would be only a meaningless, desperation three heaved by a Xavier player at the bucket as time expired and the Wildcats summoned what strength remained to lift their arms in victory.

Like 1998, we got a game that will live on in the future as part of many "greatest games" lists. But this time, K-Staters will be able to smile when they're reminded of the game.

- - - - - -

Thank you, Gus Johnson. Who else could have called that game? Absolutely fantastic.

Be sure to check out Poz's thoughts on the game, including his tangential take-down of the BWW ad. That ad never fails to annoy me. The first time I saw it, I had exactly the same thought as Poz: what kind of moron Boston fan would rather see the game go to OT rather than wrap up the win against New York? Look, I'm thrilled that K-State was part of one of the greatest tourney games in history last night, and if you'd have guaranteed me that result before OT, I'd have said "Play on!" Because there was no such guarantee, I would have much preferred K-State to win in regulation.

* Look, Butler is a great team and is going to be a heckuva challenge for K-State, especially with the fatigue factor from 2OT. However, the matchup still seems better for K-State than the larger, more athletic Orange, for the purposes of this analogy.

SOME THINGS CHANGE, SOME THINGS DON'T

2010-03-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

K-State is in Salt Lake City for the Sweet Sixteen. KU is home after losing in an early round as a top seed. The first hasn't happened in nearly 30 years. The second hadn't happened in four.

Last week, we tweeted our thoughts on KU's chances. In talking with friends in the last few days leading up to the tourney, we said we thought KU's best chance of losing would be in the Sweet Sixteen. All year long, the Jayhawks had played best when the stakes were highest. But they had also seemed to take some games for granted. Our thought was that the Sweet Sixteen would probably be the best KU loss combination of being too far away from a "meaningful" tournament game while still being against an opponent with the talent to knock off the Hawks. The second round was the second most likely.

It's been interesting to see some local and national commentators join our opinion that one possible factor in the Jayhawks' early exit is the preferential treatment they received from officials during conference play. Sherron Collins' repeated whining to the officials during the UNI game couldn't have helped the Hawks focus on the task at hand. With more even officiating in conference, the Jayhawks could easily have lost at least two additional conference games. Learning how to deal with even--or even hostile--officiating during conference season (including a resulting loss or two, if such had occured), could have provided the Jayhawks with a tougher mental attittude to deal with an opponent who refused to back down and who wasn't "dealt with" by Jayhawk-friendly officials.

Meanwhile, the K-State Wildcats took care of business against North Texas and BYU, and now face a Xavier team that already lost to the Wildcats by 15 earlier this season. The local media has been trying to find some good angles on this game but it's proven more difficult than expected. The previous matchup was so long ago that both teams seem to have changed since then. Xavier hates Bob Huggins, but his influence over this K-State program is fading as Frank Martin emerges as a national coaching celebrity. K-State has played the chip on the shoulder all season long, but that's difficult to do against a team that already upset Pitt and that likes to play the no respect card itself. K-State's status as a media darling makes it all the tougher to claim "no respect."

We do expect one thing from tomorrow's game: war. Both teams are extremely physical. The previous game was ugly, and, while the teams have changed, their physicality has not. The difference in the game will be which team makes free throws and which team has a guard step up to hit a few big outside shots.

Our pick to win? Xavier. We've heard a lot of K-State players talk about playing for the national championship over the last couple of days, but that's 3 wins away. You can talk all you want about respecting an opponent you've already beaten, but these are college kids, and in the back of their mind will be the fact that they beat this team fairly easily on a night that no one shot very well. K-State fans have been strangely confident about this game tomorrow, focusing on Syracuse and the status of Arinze Onuaku. Vegas and the experts are all picking K-State to win handily. Xavier has talent, and now they have a huge "no respect" card. Additionally, Xavier has prior experience in this atmosphere from the last two years' Sweet 16's, while K-State's players do not. To us, this smells like a tailor-made upset opportunity for the Musketeers. This game should come down to the wire, and Jordan Crawford may push them past.

THE NIGHT BEFORE MADNESS

2010-03-17T12:51:00.003-05:00

Twas the night before madness, when all through the land
Not a Jayhawk was sleeping, not even the band.
The Wildcats were reviewing game notes with care,
With hopes that the trophy soon would be theirs.

The Hoyas were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of One Shining Moment danced in their heads.
And Buckeyes and Panthers and Bear- and Bobcats
Were trying to settle their brains and catch a quick nap.

When from the TV there arose such a clatter,
They all sprang from their beds to see what was the matter.
To their remotes they flew like the Racers,
Turned up the volume and gathered coaches and players.

The lights on the pate of the excitable man
Shined brightly as he dismissed the Spartans.
Then, he shouted what teams should be feared:
The Blue Devils! The Badgers! And Huggs' Mountaineers!

The predictions they came, so loud and so quick
They knew right away they were listening to Dick.
He discoursed on Monarchs and then Musketeers,
Cowboys and Owls and Orange Volunteers.

"Now Miners! now Gophers! now, Cougars and Spiders!
On, Longhorns! On, Huskies! on, Gators and Tigers!
To the top of heap, to the top of your brackets!
Don't overlook Lobos or those Yellow Jackets!"

As Mountain Hawks that on wild wind currents fly,
And like great Eagles, mount to the sky,
So thus did Dick's voice ever rise
As he rang in the tournament with his loud cries.

And then, in a twinkling, Digger spoke up,
Warning that the Aggies could make things tough
For the Boilermakers, or maybe the Bears,
Or even the Cardinals, if they went on a tear.

Digger was dressed all in green, from his tie to his pen
Honoring the Irish, whom he coached way-back-when.
He set forth his picks, and spun quite a tale
Of upsets by Saints, Bulldogs and Gaels.

His eyes-how they twinkled! His gestures how strong!
As he told Dick and Jay how their picks were wrong!
He spoke of the Terrapins and the Big Red
But by now all the teams were heading to bed.

The Colonials' hearts were held tight by their teeth
They faced quite a task, but 'twould be a relief
To finally get on the court on the morrow
And, like the Catamounts, face inevitable sorrow.

The Commodores were jollier, and for good reason,
The next day was unlikely to end their season,
But Cards, Rebs, and Noles found it tough to unwind,
As they all were playing the dreaded 8-9.

The Grizzlies spoke not a word, as they were fourteens,
And thus were unlikely to live out their dreams,
And likewise the Aztecs and Terriers offered their prayers
But deep down, they were just glad to be there.

So they all lay and wondered, from Gauchos to Deacons,
Would the next game be the last of their season?
Or could it be possible, someway, perchance,
That they'd be the winners of the Big Dance?

(Note: Yep, we tried to get all the mascots referenced in there.)

KU WRAPS UP JAMAR SAMUELS, BIG 12 TOURNEY TITLE

2010-03-14T13:11:00.000-05:00

"Jump ball!"

BIG 12 TOURNEY TIME

2010-03-11T10:55:00.000-06:00

Getting ready to head down to the P&L in KC for the Big 12 tourney. Should be posting Twitter updates throughout the day.

Also, if you're a K-State fan looking for a high-basketball IQ K-State podcast, try the one from goemaw.com. You can also search iTunes for "goemaw" to download or listen.

SIX STRAIGHT

2010-03-05T12:46:00.005-06:00

With their impressive victory over #5 K-State on Wednesday, the Kansas Jayhawks clinched sole possession of this year's Big 12 regular season championship. This marks the sixth straight year the Hawks have won at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title.

Some local talking heads have been discussing this impressive achievement over the last couple of weeks and have raised the question of what this streak says about the overall quality of the Big 12. Some have suggested it means the Big 12 has not been a very good basketball conference over the past half-decade, since no team has risen up to challenge Kansas over that time.

That's the wrong analysis. Kansas' success at winning the crown has been due to three factors: Kansas' consistent high level of play, the weakness of the Big 12 North, and the Big 12 scheduling/ranking rules.

The first factor speaks for itself. Bill Self has done a nonpareil job of bringing top talent into Lawrence and getting that talent to coalesce into a winning college basketball team.

The remaining two factors have combined to permit Kansas to enjoy this 6 year streak. While the Big 12 North has improved over the last couple of years, it has consistently failed to provide the same challenge to Kansas that the top South teams must overcome.

Three times over the past 6 years, a South team has claimed the #1 seed in the Big 12 tournament by virtue of defeating Kansas during the regular season. (Oklahoma in 2005, Texas in 2006 and 2008.) However, because of the unbalanced schedule, Kansas is still awarded a share of the regular season title despite losing the head-to-head matchup.

While KU was getting to feast upon Jim Wooldridge's Wildcats, Wayne Morgan's Cyclones, and Ricardo Patton's Buffaloes, Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns were having to face Billy Gillipsie's Aggies, Bobby Knight's Red Raiders, and Kelvin Sampson's Sooners. There seems little doubt that had Kansas had to play three additional South teams on the road in these years, they would have wound up with more losses than the Longhorns or Sooners would have incurred by playing at three additional North teams. With those additional losses, KU would have won half the number of titles over the last 6 years: three instead of six. Texas would have won two and would be regarded as a more equal "challenger" to KU's conference supremacy.

Kansas' achievement remains impressive, and the quality of the Big 12 as a whole should not be condemned for the weakness of one division and the peculiarities of the Big 12's scheduling.

FIVE THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT'S TOP-FIVE SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN

2010-03-03T12:26:00.003-06:00

5. If this was a movie we were just settling in to watch, we'd all think we had a pretty good idea how it was going to develop and end. KU run at some point, K-State players pressing just a little too hard, Collins or Aldrich and someone like Henry or Marcus Morris having great games, ending in a KU win by about 15 points. If it's going to end differently, then Frank Martin and the Wildcats are going to have to play against type.

4. Perhaps the biggest indicator that the Cats' chances are low in this one is the paradigm shift that a Wildcat win would force. Consider: were the Cats to win tonight and follow that up with what should be an easy win on Saturday against Iowa State, the polls next week would most likely feature K-State at #3 and KU at #4 or #5. K-State would have overtaken and passed the Jayhawks in the polls after the conclusion of college basketball's regular season.

That just doesn't seem right. Sure, it seems likely that at some point over the next few seasons, K-State will be ranked ahead of KU. Next year might be a good opportunity, with what K-State looks to return versus what KU will likely lose. That scenario makes sense. What doesn't make sense is for K-State to rise above KU this late in a season during which KU has been one of the dominant players and a favorite for the national championship.

3. The past few days may well be the peak for K-State this season. Making the Elite Eight would be a good achievement in the NCAA tournament, but the Cats would have to make the Final Four to surpass their current perception as the #5 team in the country.

2. Given the quality play of K-State, KU, and Mizzou over the past couple of years, and the Big 12's foresight in scheduling the regular season so that the three would play each other in the final week of the Big 12 season, it's difficult to understand why greater TV coverage was not planned for games that should have seemed likely to heavily impact the conference race, let alone any national implications.

1. Frank Martin and his team have a helluva opportunity game tonight, with little apparent downside (barring a 25-point blowout). With a win, they could make a tremendous statement about their program, position themselves for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and force a regional and national paradigm shift. While the chances of a win seem remote, the fact that they've put themselves in this position at all says a great deal about the quality of the program that Martin is resuscitating in Manhattan.

FOUL PLAY?

2010-03-01T22:35:00.001-06:00

This is how to respond to the 34-13 free throw differential in the K-State/Mizzou game on Saturday:

Another key deficit in Saturday’s game was the free throws. A lot of Missouri fans will blame “home town refs” for the numbers in the first chart. (I mean, c’mon, K-State got 21 more FT attempts.) Lord knows there were times in the second half when I was cursing at the TV, blaming the officials for ticky-tack calls. The intentional foul on Marcus Denmon sticks out as especially questionable.

Here comes the ‘but’. K-State may have had a few calls go their way (what home team doesn’t get a few calls in a conference game?), BUT the Wildcats were also clearly more motivated to go to the rim all night. It was free throws that kept them in the game in the first half when their shooting percentage was hovering near single digits. And it was free throws that fended off a Missouri comeback attempt in the second half. On the road, in conference, you have to earn your right to go to the stripe. That is, you have to make a concerted effort to take the ball to the rim or feed down to the low-block and get high-percentage looks. Missouri did not get the calls on Saturday because they rarely did those two things.

. . . .

It is important to note that this tangent on FTs is NOT a rant on Big 12 officiating. Remember, I said a road team has to earn their way to the free throw line. And Missouri consistently does not earn their free throw attempts in road losses.

. . . .

When the play is rough and slow and methodical, Mizzou does not seem to adjust. And earning trips to the free throw line, more than anything, is about a team’s adjustment to the referees’ tendencies on a given night. It’s like when a pitcher is able to figure out an umpire’s strike zone early in a baseball game. K-State figured out that taking the ball to the rim was going to get them foul calls. (Plus, Mizzou had two REALLY dumb fouls on Jacob Pullen three-pointers.) In other words, on Saturday K-State figured out the strike zone. MU did not. Of course, K-State has been figuring out the strike zone all season as they lead all 347 teams in Division I in free throws attempted per game.

This is how not to respond to the free throw differential on Saturday:

And don't try to tell me K-State attacked the rim more while MU simply settled for jumps shots. Kansas State took 18 three-point shots, Missouri 19.

Nor is this:

“I thought we attacked the basket. We just didn’t get to the free throw line. How about that? You write that how you want to,” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said, clearly frustrated with the referees.

Actually, Mike and Mike, Mizzou's failure to attack the basket was exactly what caused the free throw differential on Saturday. (To be fair, DeArmond's overall post wasn't that bad, just that sentence.)

But before we get to that, let's take a look at the actual difference in fouls on Saturday. 24 personal fouls were called on Mizzou, 19 on K-State. Four of those fouls, and eight of the free throws, came while Mizzou was fouling K-State in the last 1:30 of the game. So the real differential we're talking about is 20 fouls on Mizzou compared to 19 on K-State, with a free throw difference of 26-13. At least as far as fouls called go, that's a pretty evenly-called game.

Admittedly, it's still a doubling-up of the free throws. However, contrary to DeArmond's and Anderson's contentions, the differential was almost entirely due to the difference in playing style between Mizzou and K-State.

The officials actually called the game pretty consistently on Saturday. They were letting a lot of stuff go under the basket, while calling things tighter on drives to the hoop from outside the lane. Mizzou benefitted from the former for a large portion of the first half, when K-State was trying to pound the ball inside with Kelly and Colon, and the Mizzou defenders hammered down on them, causing K-State historic levels of offensive frustration.

Then, as pointed out in the first excerpt above, K-State adjusted. The guards and the big men started driving to the hoop from outside the lane, and started to get foul calls.

Mizzou did not adjust. They stayed in their usual offensive system, which consists of drives that end up short of the hoop for a pull-up jumper or kick to the outside. Mizzou does this because their big men aren't very big. When they did try to take it to the hoop, they were met by bigger, more physical K-State defenders, who were able to defend without fouling. Most of the time, though, Mizzou stuck with their mid-range jumpers and kick-outs, and therefore they did not get the shooting fouls called that K-State did.

(Mizzou's frenetic defensive style also plays into this somewhat. When you check and slap as much as Mizzou does on perimeter defense, you're daring the officials to call fouls.)

Mizzou played a tough game on Saturday and should hold their heads up high. They weren't the victims of an officiating injustice, however, and should drop that talking point.

96 WILL MAKE THIS MORE FUN

2010-02-02T23:25:00.000-06:00

I was pretty "meh" about expanding the NCAA tourney field to 96 teams, perhaps even slightly against it, until a conversation with my brother tonight. My view now is that it's a nice remedy to the overabundance of automatic bid small conferences.

Assuming the NCAA is going to incorporate the extra teams by giving the 1-8 seeds byes in the initial round of games, you've essentially just increased the play-in round. Seeds 9-24 will play an initial round to determine who advances to the first full round against seeds 1-8.

As it stands currently, no one past the 8th seed stands a very realistic chance of making it to the Final Four. You have somewhere around 15 small conferences who get auto bids to the tourament. History tells us that 5 of these schools will not advance past the first round (the 16 seeds and the play-in loser). Out of the remaining 10, maybe 1 or 2 will win in the rare 15-2, 14-3. or slightly-less rare 13-4 upset. Only about 5 teams ranked 13 or lower have made it past the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.

What you need is a way to replace these schools with a higher quality opponent, and 96 teams provide this way. Most of the auto bids from the small conferences will be ranked in the 20's, and they will go up against at-large majors or mid-majors who come in at 9-11 seeds. Your new first round opponents for the 1-3 seeds will no longer be no-name pushovers from conferences you didn't know existed, but rather 14-19 seeds that could include, based off the current RPI, Memphis, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, or Notre Dame.

And for those folks who like to see the little dogs have their day, they'll still be there, in the form of UTEP, Kent State, Western Carolina, and Iona, who are also in that RPI range. Only now, there will be a much higher chance of seeing that #16 seed finally knock off a #1.

Is adding 32 teams to the field really necessary? No. None of the additional teams will be actual national championship contenders. But the NCAA tournament is a great thing, and if we get another round of games out of it, while upping the quality of the final field of 64, then I think that's, in the end, a good thing.

I KNEW IT WOULD PAY OFF EVENTUALLY

2010-01-28T20:43:00.000-06:00

Pitch a perfect game on 2K Sports' baseball video game, win $1 million.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a game to play. I've been practicing for this moment for the last decade.

10 BEST REMAINING GAMES IN THE BIG 12

2010-01-20T18:47:00.000-06:00

We're about a quarter of the way through the Big 12 basketball season, and we're starting to get a pretty good idea of which teams will feature most prominently in the 2010 conference race. With that in mind, we've gone through the remaining conference games to select the 10 most intriguing remaining matchups.

Starting from the bottom:

10. Mizzou at Colorado, 2/6.

Whoa. How did Colorado make this list? Well, the Buffaloes have a lot of good young talent, the excitement in Boulder is picking up (as seen in K-State's recent visit), and this is the type of game that Mizzou has to win to remain in the Top 4 conversation.

9. K-State at Nebraska, 2/2.

Even with its recent success, K-State has consistently been stymied by Doc Sadler's Huskers in Lincoln. If K-State truly wants to compete for the conference title, this is a must-win, and will tell us something about K-State's progress toward the top of the Big 12.

8. KU at OSU, 2/27.

Late in the conference season, OSU will probably be looking for a marquee win to get it off the bubble and into the NCAA's. KU will be trying to maintain a top seed and win the conference. Although OSU is undersized, Gallagher-Iba Arena will be rockin' for this one.

7. KU at Texas A&M, 2/15.

A Big Monday game that features a similar storyline as the #8 game.

6. Texas at Baylor, 3/6.

The last day of conference play, and Texas has to go to Waco to face a Baylor team that's currently in the Top 25. Things may change, but as of now this looks like it could be a tough game...and it could decide whether Texas wins the conference championship on the last day of the season.

5. Texas at Texas A&M, 2/27.

The same day as KU plays at OSU. The conference race could come down to which team takes care of business at a tough road opponent. Plus, the Aggies will be looking for revenge after losing to the Longhorns in OT in Austin early in conference play.

4. Texas at Mizzou, 2/17.

Road play is tough in the Big 12, and Mizzou is one of the toughest places to play. The Tigers already took down K-State in Columbia...can Texas make up for its loss at K-State by stealing one at the Plaige?

3. KU at Mizzou, 3/6.

Remember how Texas is playing at Baylor on the last day of the season? Well, that's a better draw than the Jayhawks have. You can bet KU would like to wrap up another conference title before having to go into Columbia and taking on the Antlers and the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball. Mizzou may have lots of fans in Austin and Manhattan for this game...unless Mizzou itself is playing for the title.

2. KU at K-State, 1/30.

College Gameday in Manhattan in the morning, a game with huge implications for the conference race and the Top 25 at night. Consider: if K-State beats OSU at home on Saturday and can go on the road and wins a tough game in Waco mid-week, it could be playing this game for a leg-up in the conference race AND the possibility of being ranked ahead of KU for the first time in decades.

1. KU at Texas, 2/8.

Big Monday in Austin. If Kansas wins at K-State, then this is the Hawks' opportunity to take a big lead for the conference title. It's also Texas' opportunity to regain front-runner status. No matter the exact stakes, the action itself should be outstanding.

K-STATE'S A BASKETBALL SCHOOL NOW

2009-12-19T14:15:00.000-06:00

There's no question the story of the Big XII North non-conference men's basketball season has been K-State. The Wildcats stormed into the AP poll at #17 this week after capping off an impressive run against quality teams with a demolishing of former K-Stater Lon Kruger's UNLV squad in Vegas. Win tonight against Alabama, and with a couple of easier foes to finish off the non-con, the Cats could be Top 15 headed into conference play.

The Cats also sit very high in the projected RPI--currently #1 in RealTimeRPI's daily RPI. What a difference a year makes. The RPI woes that ultimately kept the Cats out of the NCAA tournament last year are nowhere to be found this year. Barring a complete meltdown in conference play--unlikely thanks to the easy pickings presented by the Big XII North other than KU--the Cats are now playing for seeding.

Watching this K-State team play calls to mind the Bob Huggins Cincinnati teams that used to be featured regularly mid-week on ESPN. Like those teams, this K-State squad plays tough, ball-pressuring defense that keeps it in the game even when its offense is struggling. Eventually, someone starts hitting some shots, K-State opens up about a 10-point lead, and keeps the opposing team at arms-length the rest of the way.

Like those Cincinnati teams, it ain't usually pretty:

K-State plays the ugliest games in D-I.
And while we’re on the topic of impressively-located wins, Kansas State stomped on previously undefeated UNLV 95-80 in Vegas on Saturday night. Jacob Pullen scored 28 points for the Wildcats while hitting a Juan Fernandez-like 7-of-10 threes. Note additionally that Frank Martin’s team needed just 74 possessions to flirt with the century mark. Highly-efficient ‘Cats of Manhattan, I salute you!

Now, about the fouling, both your own and your opponents’. Wow. I remember two seasons ago when Michael Beasley was still in residence and in occasional foul trouble, Martin was borderline-brilliant in how he used each and every whistle to either yank Beasley or put him in the game on a possession-by-possession basis. It was like the coach had discovered how to make basketball more like baseball and make Beasley the equivalent of a designated hitter, at least when he was in foul trouble. Fast-forward to now and I sometimes wonder if the K-State coach simply got into that habit and has been instructing his team ever since to draw a foul on every offensive possession and commit one on every defensive trip.

K-State is now being touted as the third-best team in the Big XII this year by many observers. It will be interesting to see how the Cats respond to the positive attention they've been receiving and if they can continue their success as the favorites, rather than as the chip-on-the-shoulder underdogs.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EATING CUPCAKES

2009-12-05T10:27:00.000-06:00

There's not much to wrap-up for the K-State football season. The Cats followed up their performance against Mizzou with a similar performance against Nebraska, and now get to spend the holidays celebrating in a way that's become increasingly re-familiar to K-State fans: watching football from the couch.

The strides made by the program this year and the .500 conference record therefore yielded little in the way of tangible rewards for the team. The anemic offensive performances in what seemed to be two winnable games at the end of the year cast a pall over the accomplishments of the season and raised some of the doubts that, for a time, had been quieted with the team's mid-season resurgance.

New questions were also raised. How could a team led by an acclaimed offensive mind like Snyder be shut out of the end-zone for the last two games...particularly when four of K-State's offensive players were named first team All-Big 12 by the leagues' coaches? Perhaps this had to do with the lack of a dynamic playmaker at the QB position. While Grant Gregory played with a ton of heart and managed the games well, he was generally unable to make some of the game-changing plays that Snyder's offense usually relies upon from the QB position. The running QB in Snyder's offense has often served the purpose of a short-passing game, taking some pressure and attention off the running back and enabling the running game to get on track early. Defenses were forced to account for Michael Bishop and Ell Roberson on every play, as either one could break a long run as easily as their running backs.

At any rate, the season showed the importance of Snyder's old and much-maligned scheduling strategies for a rebuilding team. Had the Cats played Louisiana at home and played, say, North Texas in Manhattan rather than UCLA in Pasadena, they would likely be 8-4 and getting ready for a trip to San Antonio or El Paso. Despite the results of the last two games, there would be generally positive feelings surrounding the program as it prepared for the bowl trip.

To be sure, it has become difficult, if not impossible, for a team like K-State to schedule the same way it did during the first 2/3 of Snyder's first run. As programs like Texas and Nebraska have followed K-State's lead, the smaller cupcake schools have found increased demand and therefore higher paydays and 2-for-1 deals. Thus, schools like K-State have found themselves on the road in places like Louisiana or else priced out of the cupcake market. Already, there are rumors that one K-State opponent next year, at North Texas, is trying to buy out of the game so it can play a bigger program with a bigger payday. Going forward, it is likely that the most K-State can hope for will be schedules similar to this year's, with three cupcakes and one or two road games in each non-conference schedule.

While next year's schedule appears to be harder for the Cats, there are still reasons for optimism. Daniel Thomas returns. The Wildcats will have multiple playmaking options at QB, including Oregon transfer Chris Harper. The turmoil at Kansas makes it seem that the game in Lawrence may be more winnable than originally believed. The Cats should have a shot at getting to at least .500 in conference play once again, so, with the right non-conference wins, they may be able to look forward to bowl preparations a year from now, even if they don't get to fatten up on cupcakes.

BRANDON BANKS LETS ONE SLIP AWAY

2009-11-15T13:36:00.003-06:00

"Whoops. I probably should have held on to that."

Look, we try to not get too down on college athletes. So with that in mind, let's remember that Brandon Banks has been an offensive star for K-State over the last couple of years, often providing a spark with a kick return, reception, or run just when it's needed.

That being said, there was no one in Bill Snyder Family Stadium yesterday, not Bill Snyder, not Gary Pinkel, not the players, not the fans, who didn't recognize how costly Banks' second-quarter fumble into and out of the endzone was.

K-State's formula for success this year has been to use its ball-control offense to take a lead before halftime and then to run the clock with the lead during the second-half. It was poised to do this again yesterday, driving with about 13 minutes left in the second quarter with the game tied 3-3, when Banks, inches away from scoring a touchdown, allowed a Mizzou defender to slap the ball out of his hands and could only watch helplessly as the ball trickled through the very corner of the end zone.

The air was sucked out of the stadium, the momentum shifted in a huge way--with a long touchdown pass a few plays later by Mizzou--and it never really felt like K-State was in the game after that. Snyder and Pinkel both spoke in the post-game about the turning point that play provided.

Instead of having a shot at going into the second half ahead or tied against a Mizzou team that had been unable to find the endzone in the second half in recent weeks, K-State wound up having a two-score deficit.

As big as Banks' play was, there were other factors in the loss yesterday that shouldn't be forgotten.

Continue reading >>>

One was the noticable difference in athletic ability between Mizzou's offense and K-State's defense. The lack of athletes on K-State's defense was most noticable in three games this year: Tech, OU, and Mizzou. K-State's defensive players were out-run (Alexander's long TD), out-jumped (Alexander's touchdown grab over Hartman), and out-muscled (no pass rush and giving up yards after contact). A significant difference between this year and last has been that the K-State defensive players in most games (including yesterday) have been in the right place most of the time...a big reason why we haven't seen blowout after blowout like we did last year with these same undertalented defensive players. However, Mizzou's superior athletes--most notably Alexander--were able to make the plays yesterday even when the K-State players were in position, thanks to their athletic advantage.

"The youngsters keep talking about this so-called 'forward pass,' but I'm pretty sure those are illegal."

Another factor was Snyder's conservative gameplan. As recognized in the quote we posted last night, this gameplan has been how K-State has gotten to this point in the season with as much success as they have had. However, yesterday the Cats were going up against a defense that is signifantly worse against the pass than they are against the run. Moreover, Mizzou stacked the box all day. The Cats needed to throw more early in the game to help loosen things up in the running game. They had some success when they did throw, and seemed lulled into complacency by the fact that they were able to keep things within one score until right before halftime, and then get back within one score right after half. Perhaps they were banking too much on Mizzou's 2nd half offensive woes. Whatever the reason, by the time the Cats started putting the ball in the air, it was too late to get back into the game, and the Cats were then forced to become one-dimensional in favor of the strategy that they tried to avoid early in the game: passing the ball. They would have been better served trying a few more passes earlier to keep their running game viable once it became clear that Mizzou was going to risk giving up deep passes in favor of stopping the run. This was an adjustment the coaching staff should have made, and they should be faulted for not doing so. Gary Pinkel is among the worst game coaches in the Big XII, and there is no excuse to be outcoached by him and his staff.

While not really impacting who won and lost, it should also be noted that the final score yesterday was inflated by a officiating crew that did K-State no favors all day long. Late hits were not called, a late K-State touchdown was missed, obvious holds and blocks in the back were missed when Mizzou was on offense, calls were made against K-State by officials who were not in position to properly make the call, and a late pass interference call was made to bail out Mizzou on their drive right before they score the touchdown following Banks' fumble. Again, the poor officiating was not the difference in the game, but it was the difference between 38-12 and, say, 31-19, which would have looked a little less grim.

If there is one possible silver lining to yesterday's result, it's the following. K-State had difficulty handling the success of the win against KU the week before. Snyder said after the game that it had been a bad week of practice. The Cats now head into Lincoln for a game that will decide the Big XII North title. The Nebraska game was critical regardless of the result against Missouri. A win against Mizzou would have been nice for the sake of gaining bowl eligibility. However, it also might have set up K-State for a letdown against the Huskers, as the Wildcats may have believed themselves to be better than they are thanks to back-to-back wins against North division rivals. Now, the K-State players have been reminded that they have to work hard to maintain success, and perhaps yesterday's loss will help them to focus in practice and at Lincoln, where now not only the Big XII North title but also bowl eligibility will be on the line.

Banks and the Wildcats have a chance at redemption this week. It won't be easy, but they've been here before. They bounced back after losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Do they have another bounce in them?

THAT'S ONE WAY OF PUTTING IT

2009-11-15T00:24:00.000-06:00

Perhaps the best summary of Bill Snyder's insistence on sticking with "the formula" and running the ball against a Top 10 (or close) running defense today instead of throwing the ball against a pass defense ranked 80-something:

Face it, Bill was going to 'dance with the one that brung him', just so happens the gal he came with was high on meth and drank a fifth today after behaving really well the last month or so.

Our own thoughts on the game later today.

SHOTCAST: SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN EDITION

2009-11-04T21:40:00.001-06:00

In the latest Shotcast, we sit down with "football first" KU fan Gavin to talk Jayhawk football and preview this weekend's Sunflower Showdown between K-State and KU.

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

2009-11-02T21:53:00.000-06:00

Sometimes we just don't understand the media in this town.

KU goes through a rough few weeks playing at Colorado, against a talented OU team at home, and then on the road at Texas Tech. Tech somehow becomes a "must-win" for KU, and when they don't win, people are ready to write them off when it comes to the Big XII North race...even though if they win their remaining games against their North opponents (1 home, 1 road, 1 neutral site), they're pretty much guaranteed the division crown thanks to tiebreakers.

MU, after going through a similar tough stretch against their South slate, goes out to Colorado and wins convincingly at the same place KU lost, but doesn't get much play the Monday after, even though they are in a similar situation as KU, with games against K-State, Iowa State, and KU left that, if won, will virtually guarantee them the crown.

Nebraska this week has the opportunity to seize the North race by the throat if they find a way to beat OU at home. Even if they don't, they have games remaining against KU, K-State, and Colorado that would lock up the North should they win each one.

Finally, K-State, after beating the pants off what appears to be a decent aTm team, and then just throttling down on a Colorado team that had just knocked off KU, barely gets mentioned in the division race until they manage to only lose by 12 at Oklahoma. While there were certainly encouraging aspects of that performance, there was plenty to cause concern...such as the three easy touchdowns given up by the defense at the beginning of the game, and the inability to stop OU's offense at a crucial point in the game on 1st and 45 and 3rd and 24.  A large part of the reason K-State stayed in the game was a huge kickoff return and several unconventional plays. Let's not forget that K-State used this formula just recently to knock off Texas in back-to-back years, only to have losses to KU follow closely behind. The opponent this week? KU.

In reality, we are no closer this week to determining the North champion as we were last week. The stasis that is the Big XII North standings and upcoming schedule remains in place.  If KU and Oklahoma win this week, that stasis will remain. However, K-State or Nebraska could help their causes tremendously with a win. A K-State win would also eliminate KU from the discussion, as they could finish no better than K-State and would lose the tiebreaker to the Cats.

K-State has a golden opportunity over the next few weeks. They can go out and win themselves a division championship by winning two home games.  They would be well-served to do so, because next year will be tough sledding, even with the improvement that Snyder can be expected to bring in his second year back. The conference schedule features only 3 conference home games, and those are against Texas, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska. K-State has to go on the road to KU, Mizzou, Colorado, and Baylor (who should have the electric Robert Griffin under center). At this point, none of those games looks to be a sure win.

Meanwhile, this season K-State finds themselves in first place and in control of their destiny with three conference games remaining, against their three biggest geographic rivals, including two at home. If Bill Snyder has any tricks left in the bag this year, this is the time to pull them out. A division championship for K-State in the first year of his return could jump-start his re-resuscitation and recruiting efforts and allow K-State fans to legitimately hope for another conference crown sometime in the next few years.  Losses in the last three games, however, will likely cause the rebuilding road to be a longer haul.

TODAY'S HELPING OF WHAT THE...?

2009-10-20T22:26:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was just a big steaming helping of WTF! in the Big XII North, so let's keep with the theme for this post.

ITEM #1:

You know how a few sports teams had those pre-game videos starting about 10-15 years ago featuring a train or some other object in motion smashing into something representing the opponent? And then every other team ran out and got a video made that was almost exactly like it?

Well, these types of videos have become pretty passe as a result of their overuse. But check out this one. It's got a polar bear from outer space, and it's easily the most genocidal version of any of these videos we've ever seen:

If that doesn't get you ready for a hockey game, then nothing will.

ITEM #2:

As you know, we're big fans of Nebrasketball coach Doc Sadler's Tweets...but we're a bit concerned about the latest out of Lincoln:

What's Doc doing up there? Waterboarding recruits? Training agents for the CIA? Yikes. Maybe Doc just ate a really juicy peach right in front of Lance without letting him have any.

REVELATION AT FARMAGEDDON

2009-10-05T23:08:00.000-05:00

"Perhaps I can hide my ISU shame at that missed extra point behind my hair."

Well, that was fun. Probably the most exciting game we've ever attended between two mediocre teams. Some thoughts from the game:

* Grant Gregory was the surprise starter for the Cats, and was really the story of the game. He showed an ability to move around and to make plays that Carson Coffman has not been able to provide. We had heard that Gregory's shoulder was pretty messed up and that as a result he probably wouldn't be a big factor this year (or ever for the Cats, as he's a sixth-year senior), but on Saturday he provided the spark the Cats needed. His fourth quarter touchdown throw on the move to Brandon Banks' small target downfield was especially impressive. With Gregory at quarterback, we feel a lot better about the Cats' chances to win against Colorado and aTm in Manhattan, and to possibly steal one more win along the way to finish with a .500 conference record.

* Josh Cherry finally made a fieldgoal. Granted, it was a Tim Wakefield-esque floater that barely sneaked inside the upright, but baby steps. Baby steps.

* The Cats' linebackers continue to look slow and weak. Iowa State was able to pound the run effectively. In fact, we have to question the Clones' decision to throw as much as they did in the second half, when the Cats were having trouble stopping the run. The linebackers would frequently be in the right position, but are just too slow to finish the play.

* On the bright side, the defense did manage to come up with some key tackles for loss on 2nd or 3rd downs, which is something we haven't seen in a while.

* The crowd was less-than-impressive, at 40,000. That being said, the fans who were there seemed to have a great time, and made a fair amount of noise. We'd be surprised if the series is continued at Arrowhead past next year, however...which may be unfortunate for the Cats, who are now 4-1 at Arrowhead.

NEW SHOTCAST: WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS STATE?

2009-10-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone. For your weekend listening, here's a new Shotcast. We take a look at why K-State has yet to defeat a Division I FBS team in Coach Snyder's return. Special bonus: an amazing baseball prediction. (Not by us. Our predictions are terrible.)

IT'S OFFICIALLY...A MURDER.

2009-09-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

Rough day for the Chiefs. To ease the pain, let's all just sit back and enjoy one of the greatest montages of all time:

I'VE GOT A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS

2009-09-25T01:09:00.000-05:00

So does this ever happen to anyone else?

You go to a movie.

Maybe it's a romantic comedy. Twenty minutes in, you figure out what the love-triangle/apparent obstacle to romance plot twist is going to be.

Or it's a dramedy. You realize about a third of the way through that the most likable character is too likable. So likable, that it's pretty much certain he or she is going to die before the movie's over. Then you're going to get to watch the other, less-likable characters learn Something from the tragic death.

Perhaps it's a suspense/action flick, and after the first half-hour, you realize which main character is secretely the bad guy, how the double-cross is going to go down, and how the good guys are going to manage to secretely record/and or broadcast the bad guy's confession.

So after you come to the realization, you're pretty much just sitting there watching all the filler between the main plot points. As the main plot points arrive, you check them off the list you created in your mind once you had your realization. Makes watching the remainder of the movie a lot less enjoyable.

Well, this is pretty much how we view our career as a sports fan over the past few years around here. Each season, it's only a matter of a few weeks until we realize how it's all going to go down.

Although we cover as many of the area pro and major college teams as we can, it's no secret that our personal rooting interests lie in the Royals, Chiefs, and K-State Wildcats. And things have not gone well.

In fact, there's been one season that exceeded expectations out of that group over the last three years: K-State basketball, last year. For the rest, it's just been a matter of how far into the season it takes before we realize we're watching the same old movie.

The rest of the time, it's just been a matter of when we figure out that this season, like most recent seasons, is just going to be another compilation of losses in which we're forced to look for positives like Billy Butler's number of doubles, Tyler Thigpen's performance in the pistol offense, or Larry Johnson's ability to go to a bar without having assault charges filed.

Sometimes, it's worse. You know what movies we never see? Movies like Valkyrie, where you already know the ending, and you know it's not good.

Last year, K-State football was the Valkyrie of our rooting interests. We knew it wasn't going to end well before it even started.

We had a little--little--more hope this year, but it's become clear by now that the improvement in coaching at K-State isn't going to make up for the deficiency in talent. Once again, we're reduced to looking for improvement in the little things, like the offensive line's ability to hold a block or Carson Coffman's attempts to run an option without tripping over his own feet.

There will be an upcoming podcast reflecting on K-State's improvements and remaining deficiencies, but the bottom line is that once again there will be no bowl.

(It's indeed a strange time: K-State fans looking forward to basketball season and KU football players standing up to the basketball players in the quest to be the BMOC.)

It just sucks to have to sit through the rest of the movie when you already know how it ends.

STRAIGHT OUTTA LECOMPTON

2009-09-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I suppose when your university colors are the same as the country's two most prominent rival gangs, something like this is bound to happen eventually. Turf war! KU basketball vs. KU football!

TWEETING TODAY'S GAMES

2009-09-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

We've got three TVs set up and ready to watch a lot of good football today. We'll be tweeting our thoughts on the games throughout the day @quickshotskc.

PODCAST IS NOW

2009-09-18T22:50:00.001-05:00

Well, here it is. The first Shotcast. It's not the smoothest, but it should get better as we go along. We explain our Big 12 North picks and take issue with some K-State season ticket holders.

You can play it in the following player, or visit the link above for download and subscription options.

IN THIS ECONOMY, THE GREATEST TRAGEDY IS THAT JOE MORGAN SOMEHOW REMAINS EMPLOYED

2009-09-16T22:48:00.001-05:00

In case you missed it today, the boys from the sadly-defunct Fire Joe Morgan reunited at Deadspin for one glorious day of doing what they do best: exenterating columnists who phone it in and/or suggest Derek Jeter is deserving of the MVP.

Also, we may have been responsible for tipping Deadspin as to the photo of the large shirtless fellow who stormed the field at the Royals' game last night. You're welcome, America.

BOLD & DARING LOSS

2009-09-08T21:52:00.000-05:00

K-State wasn't overly impressive this weekend in defeating UMass, but things could have been worse.

Former KSU head coach and current UVa special teams coach Ron Prince's pursuit of perfection at his new (but old) school got off to a rocky start with a loss to FCS school William & Mary.

Memo to UVa boosters: keep a close eye on your administration to make sure Ron's not working on any secret agreements with them.

THESE COLORS DON'T BOOZE

2009-09-02T23:55:00.001-05:00

According to the KC Star, MU and KU officials have complained to Bud Light about its sale of cans in Lawrence and Columbia that feature the local universities' colors.

K-State is taking a more reasonable view:

"If the cans had a university logo and had a Powercat on them, then obviously we would be concerned,” said Pat Bosco, K-State vice president for student life. “We have a commitment to educating our students about underage drinking, but we don’t have a trademark on purple and white."

I particularly liked this line from the article:

Officials said they also worried the cans might appeal to underage drinkers.

Yes, officials. I'm sure it's the appearance of the cans and not their content that's going to cause underage students to drink.

BIG XII NORTH PREVIEW

2009-09-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

Since the only thing holding our interest in the Royals these days is whether Zack Greinke can successfully pull off a Cy Young year while playing for one of the worst teams in franchise history and whether the Royals can at least succeed in nailing down the first pick in next year's draft and thereby win the Bryce Harper Sweepstakes, it must mean that football season is just around the corner.

And indeed it is. This year, the first weekend has a number of delicious matchups that will get the season started strong right out of the gate.

So its time for us to give our thoughts on how the Big XII North will shake out. We're trying something different for this: a podcast with our pontifications. However, we haven't quite finished navigating all the technical issues required to post the podcast, so while we do that, we'll provide the following teaser for the podcast.

Predicted Big XII North standings:

1. Colorado. The Buffs benefit from a favorable schedule to claim the top.
2. KU. Perhaps the most talent returning, but schedule precludes a championship.
3. Mizzou. Too much turnover, but still in the race.
4. Nebraska. Surprisingly popular pick, given their brutal schedule.
5. Kansas State. Should be fun to watch Snyder's new offense, but ultimately won't have the horses this year.
6. Iowa State. No wonder Gene Chizik bailed.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

2009-08-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

Mariners' new shortstop Jack Wilson on his approach to fielding:

An odd thing happened for Wilson a few years ago. He said he found himself observing hitters in a different way. In a more … well … scientific manner.

“I started to watch a batter’s hands and feet, his elbow and shoulders, his swing pass. Then, depending on your pitcher and what pitch he’s about to throw, you know what the hitter is most likely to do,” he said.

“I got good enough that in Pittsburgh, they let me set the infield defense. I moved an outfielder one time and one of the coaches asked why. I showed him the video of the hitter’s first swing and said, ‘Look at that. There’s no way he was going to be able to pull a ball with that swing.’ After that, they trusted me.”

It was more than study in the field. Wilson read up on the opposition.

“If a guy is in a slump, for instance, what’s he going to try to do? Keep the ball up the middle, go the other way. That’s how you try to get out of a slump,” Wilson said. “Pulling the ball gets you into slumps, it doesn’t get you out. So if a guy is in a slump, it doesn’t make sense to play him to pull.”

Then, there’s the matter of the pitcher.

“If your pitcher has a good change-up, 90 percent of them are going to be pulled, because guys are going to be out in front of them,” Wilson said. “So you watch each pitch call and adjust, you let your third baseman know what’s coming.”

And now, an evaluation of the man Wilson replaced in Seattle, Royals' new shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, and his role in the Royals' loss last night (with photographic evidence!):

Betancourt can't field balls hit up the middle on the shortstop side of second base, even if the second baseman can reach them. He can't field balls hit into the hole. I must be missing some of those "other factors" like defensive positioning and what not, although I'm not sure what positioning gives you problems with balls up the middle and in the hole.

I don't watch as many games as Dayton Moore's scouts or Willie Bloomquist's memory, though, so you should draw your own conclusions.

To be fair to Dayton Moore, however, it's not like Jack Wilson was available for the Royals to acquire instead of Betancourt. Oh, he was? Well, it's important to remember that if the Royals had gotten Wilson, they wouldn't have been able to keep Mike Jacobs or Miguel Olivo or Mark Teahen next year. Oh, noes!

Royals, our feelings about you at this point can be summed up thusly:

(Articles found via The Book blog.)

PRETTY BIRD, YEAH, PRETTY BIRD...POLLY WANNA CRACKER?

2009-08-08T10:40:00.000-05:00

Does it get better than a talking mascot bird with an Australian accent? The third act of Funny People would have been a lot more amusing had this mascot played Eric Bana's character.

BIG TWELVE TWEETING

2009-08-04T20:14:00.001-05:00

The Royals' season is all-but-officially over and the college sports season starts up in a month, so let's pull our attention from the train wreck and take our first look at the Big XII.

Rather than trotting out our season predictions right away, though, we're going to start by taking a look at the various basketball and football coaches around the Big XII who are using Twitter. We're following as many of them on our own Twitter account (@quickshotskc) as we can, and here's a short report on who's worth following and who's not.

The Good:

* Doc Sadler (@Coach_Sadler) may be fighting out of the bottom of the Big XII with his Nebraska hoops squad, but he's on top of the conference when it comes to Twitter. Doc seems to do his own Tweeting, and even has regular features like "Song of the Week," which tends to be classic rock. He thought Demi Moore looked good in Husker Red at the Espys, and seems to be especially fond of peaches. In fact, he registered his disappointment when "The ncaa enforcement staff ate all the peaches at peach jam."

* When OU hoops coach Jeff Capel (@jeffcapel) isn't focused on X's and O's, he's focused on X-Wing fighters. Or he's getting pissed at people who are analyzing his tweets. Sorry, coach!

* Scott Drew, Baylor hoops (@BUDREW). Not as interesting as the first two, but still provides some info about what the recruiting road is like and what former BU players are up to.

The Bad:

* Dan Hawkins, Colorado football (@CoachHawk). Unfortunately for Hawk, he set the bar high with his "It's division 1 football! It's the Big 12!" speech a couple of years back. His tweets just don't live up to it. Lately, it's been personal shout-outs to season ticket holders. BO-RING...especially when you consider there's no way those season ticket holders use Twitter.

* Bo Pelini, Nebraska football (@BoPelini). Started out strong, then faded. Although we have to give him credit for: "By the way - people need to get off Lebron - shaking hands is overrated." We would expect no less from a man who accosted Bill Snyder and called him an "a**hole" following K-State's 38-9 drubbing of the Huskers in Lincoln in 2003. A Nebraska football coach complaining about running up the score...whuda thunk it?

The Ugly:

* Gary Pinkel, Mizzou football (@mizzoufootball). Mostly stats from last year and a countdown to the beginning of the season. Hey, Gary...we've got a media guide and a calendar, thanks.

* Mike Anderson, Mizzou basketball (@MissouriBBall). Hey! Did you know that Mizzou basketball is having summer camps? Well, if you didn't, it's because you haven't been following Mike's Twitter. I bet those summer camps taught by Mr. "40 Minutes of Hell" are pretty fun.

* Travis Ford, OSU basketball (@CoachFord5). Two updates on May 14, announcing summer camp. That's it. Booooo! By the way, Travis, see if you can get Gundy to Twitter. He should be fun:

TOP 5 MOST-HATED ROYALS OF THE LAST 20 YEARS

2009-07-27T22:16:00.000-05:00

With the Royals' recent acquisition of Yuniesky Betancourt and the resulting firestorm and comparisons to Angel Berroa and Neifi Perez, we thought this would be an appropriate time to rank our top 5 most hated Royals of the last 20 years. Each of these players has their own dubious spot in Royals' lore. The Royals recently opened their Hall of Fame; now here are the leading candidates for the inaugural class of the Royals' Hall of Shame.

5. David Howard. Howard was the progenitor of the utility men that the Royals' front office has become known for acquiring, loving, and playing way too much. Drafted by the Royals in 1986, he played with the club from 1991 through 1997. With a career OPS of .595 in 695 games, his high-water OPS mark came in 1993 with a .787...in only 29 plate appearances. Much like Esteban German, Alberto Callaspo, and Willie Bloomquist after him, the Royals decided to inappropriately use Howard as an everyday solution after Greg Gagne vacated the SS position before the 1996 season. In 143 games that year, Howard delivered an AVG of .219, an OBP of .291, and an OPS of .595. The next year, the Royals brought in Jay Bell.

Like his eventual successor Tony Pena, Jr., Howard was once called upon to pitch. He threw 2 innings in 1994, giving up 2 hits, a run, but walking 5 with no strikeouts.

4. Tony Pena, Jr. TPJ's exploits have been cussed and discussed sufficiently over the past few years that no lengthy explanation should be needed for this one. His career OPS comes in below Howard at .548. However, unlike Howard, TPJ showed some promise in his 1-inning pitching stint--enough that he's now going to have the chance to work his way back to the Royals as a pitcher. Should TPJ be able to make it back as a reasonably successful pitcher, he has a chance to actually become a sort of cult hero in KC.

3. Darrell May. After being rediscovered by Allard Baird in Japan, May pitched three seasons for the Royals. He began with a 4-10 campaign in 2002 with a 5.35 ERA, then improved to a decent 10-8 with a 3.77 ERA during the Royals' run in 2003. However, May became one of the wheels that broke off the Royals bandwagon in 2004, leading the majors with 19 losses and posting a 5.61 ERA. He lost 10 of his last 12 decisions that year, including a 2 inning, 9 earned run stinker against Seattle at home on August 17.

May's stats don't necessarily look "all-time horrid" on the sheet, but in 2004 he represented the dashed hopes and disappointment of Royals fans who were hoping to build on the surprising 2003 season.

2. Angel Berroa. Some people will be surprised Berroa's not in the top spot here. Like May, Berroa was part of the engine for the 2003 season, even winning Rookie of the Year for the AL, then steadily declined for the next 4 years in the midst of fighting injuries and low-and-away sliders. Worse yet, his defense steadily declined at the same time. Berroa didn't seem to care much after Allard Baird signed him to his contract extension following his stellar 2003 season, and the Royals were stuck with another long-term lemon on their hands.

Ironically, the 2003 season resulted not only in the sunk-cost of Berroa's extension, but also triggered Mike Sweeney's extension because of the Royals' above-.500 record, and these two contracts became albatross around the Royals' financial necks for the next few years, helping to keep the Royals from getting back into contention.

1. Neifi Perez. You know the rumors: Allard Baird was ordered to trade Royals' fan-favorite and All-Star Jermaine Dye by the Glass family. Operating under this time-pressure, the best Baird could do was to acquire Neifi Perez. Perez lasted as the Royals' shortstop for a season and a half, delivering a .564 OPS in 2002. Late in the year, Perez refused to enter a game when manager Tony Pena told him to play. All this for $4.1 million.

Perez's one positive contribution to Royals' lore is that he may have replaced Ed Hearn for the dubious distinction of least-popular trade acquisition in Royals' history.

Conclusion: It's not a coincidence that 4 of the 5 players on this list were shortstops. This is likely a large part of the reason that the Betancourt trade caused so much consternation: the Royals have been absolutely horrid in identifying and acquiring legitimate shortstop options over the past two decades. But hey, it's not like shortstop's a critical position or anything. Let's hope Daytone Moore's right and the stat guys are wrong on this one, or else we'll have another player for this list before long.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING RANDOM AND REWARDING

2009-07-17T17:51:00.001-05:00

To completely leave the topic of sports for a minute, it's been a big few weeks for music around here. With Wilco, Son Volt, and The Jayhawks all releasing albums, there've been a lot of new CDs getting a spin.

In fact, there's one too many CDs. The Jayhawks' new album, which is more of a "greatest hits" album, was acquired at Target before a deluxe edition was spotted at Best Buy. So now that we've got two copies laying around, we're going to give away the original copy. First reader to leave a comment below this post claiming the CD gets it.

MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

2009-07-13T22:31:00.000-05:00

(Wonder how many times that line's been used in reference to the Royals.)

Dayton Moore was on the Border Patrol on WHB this morning, basically defending the Yuniesky Betancourt trade against all the naysayers. (See here for a more complete listing.)

We're no great fan of the trade, either. But beyond the trade, something else we heard from Moore this morning was much more depressing. And we're not even talking about the two SABRmetricians he claims are on his staff (who are either routinely ignored by Moore or else are the worst SABRmetricians in the world).

No, the really saddening thing was when Moore said that if the Royals did not make this trade, then they would have to go into the offseason attempting to sign either Jack Wilson or Marco Scutaro, the two primary free agents at shortstop next year. And, Moore said, either one of those options would cost the Royals so much that they would only be able to keep ONE of the following players: Mike Jacobs, John Buck, Miguel Olivo, David DeJesus, or Mark Teahen.

Yes. ONE of those FIVE players. Not an All-Star among them. Not anything APPROACHING an All-Star among them (except perhaps Olivo, barely). Taking away Jacobs, whose loss would be a mark in favor of trying to sign Wilson or Scutaro, you're left with four guys who would be decent pieces of a competitive team, but not one that you would ever dream of as an anchor player for your team.

And you're talking being able to sign only ONE of those guys as a consequence of signing a SS who isn't All Star quality, either? Ay carumba.

I mean, you could lose Jacobs and one of the catchers and be in a fine position. And there are rumors of trading DeJesus and Teahen yet this year, so realistically you could have been looking at really only wanting to keep two of those guys at the most, anyway.

But to hear Moore state that part of the rationale for getting Betancourt was because going after a good-but-not-great SS would cause salary problems necessitating dumping a bunch of decent players is just plain depressing. We had thought over the last couple of years that David Glass was committed to putting in the necessary money to get this franchise above the embarrassment it's been for so long. But now it appears he may not be so committed. If this stinker of a season can't convince him that more money's still needed, then the Royals may just be doomed.

Because if the Royals really couldn't afford to make this type of move, then that means that they *must* begin hitting on moves like signing Jacobs and Farnsworth this past offseason. And their draft picks *must* fall into the Longoria and Porcello categories. And neither of these has yet occurred under Dayton Moore. If the Royals cannot even afford to obtain *decent* free agents, but only one- or no-tool players on the off-chance they'll explode in a good way, then there is no realistic hope for this franchise.

As a fan, ineptness as the root cause of your team's poor performance is tough to deal with, but it still provides room for hope. You can hope that those responsible for the ineptness will be fired and replaced with more talented individuals. But if the root cause is that front office personnel are simply constrained budgetarily from making the necessary moves, then there's not much hope to be had. David Glass hasn't shown much concern with fielding a winning team while he's been the Royals' owner. This past offseason suggested things might be changing, but now it appears the additional money spent by the Royals may have been nothing more than doing the bare minimum required to get other owners and MLB off the Royals' back for spending so little on their pathetic on-field product while receiving so much from the greatly-improved--and expanding--revenue sharing model.

No, as Royals fans we should hope that the current state of our team is due to some failing on Dayton Moore's part. If it's not, then the fault lies higher up, and Moore's apparent failing may be no more than another symptom, like Baird's failing, of a disease that's much more difficult to cure.

(And if that's indeed the case, then our apologies to Moore and his two SABRmetricians. It's not that they can't see what they need to do...it's that their hands are tied.)

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

2009-07-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed over the past few days, we've moved Quick Shots from Tumblr to Twitter. We anticipate more frequent updates to the sidebar as a result of the move. You can follow us directly @quickshotskc.

EMPTY TOOLBOX

2009-07-04T14:03:00.000-05:00

When the Royals trot out lineups like last night's, it's not too tough to understand why they have trouble scoring runs. The Royals' defense has been notoriously bad this year. Combine the problems with offense and defense, and it's easy to see why the Royals have made a strong claim for title of worst team in baseball since their relatively solid start.

Baseball fans like to talk about "five tool players." The five tools are: hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, glovework, and throwing arm.

There's no question the Royals have no five tool players on their team. The last Royals player who could make a legitimate claim to being a five tool player would probably be Carlos Beltran.

We began wondering how many tools, total, the Royals currently have in their lineup. (No jokes, please.) We decided it might be interesting to take a look, awarding a tool everytime a player is above league average in a category. The stats we've used are average, slugging percentage, and speed score. We aren't going to use errors for glovework or throwing arm, because errors are becoming a totally random statistic in this day and age. Instead, we'll eyeball those two.

So let's go through the typical lineup:

David DeJesus, LF: We'll give him a tool for glovework, even though his switch to left field has been kind of rocky. Below average elsewhere, even though he is usually an above-average hitter. 1 tool.

Alberto Callaspo, 2B: Above-average batting average and SLG. Horrible in every aspect of defense, and super-slow. Displays a lack of comprehension of basic fielding situations. 2 tools.

Billy Butler, 1B: Above-average batting average. Although he's been better defensively than anticipated, he's still below average in those areas. 1 tool.

Jose Guillen, RF: Above-average throwing arm. Below-average in all other areas. Batting categories are especially harmful, as he was brought in to punch up the lineup. 1 tool.

Mike Jacobs, DH: Below-average in every category. One of Dayton Moore's four big free agent busts over the past two years. No tools.

Mark Teahen, 3B: Actually above league-average for 3B in AVG and SLG. Although he's had rocky periods defensively, we'll go ahead and give him glovework and throwing arm. 4 tools.

Willie Bloomquist, SS: Decent defensively, but not above league-average at SS. One of the few Royals with above-average speed. Is just below league-average in the batting categories. 1 tool.

Miguel Olivo, C: Either Olivo or Teahen will be the Royals POY. Olivo is barely above league average for catchers in AVG, and is well above in SLG. His glovework has cost the Royals a few games this year, but he seems to have an above-average arm. Speed is good for a catcher, but not enough to be a weapon. 3 tools.

Mitch Maier, CF: Batting is not good, but has shown some nice glovework and speed in CF. Tough to evaluate the arm on his body of work so far. 2 tools.

So there you go. The Royals' typical lineup has 15 total tools, or 1.67 per position. Out of 5 categories, the Royals' players average being good at just 1, sometimes 2, categories per spot.

When you trot out a lineup that averages going 1.67 things well per position, you're not going to win a lot of games. It's also important to note that even for the tools the players do have, most of them are not very high above league average. In other words, no Royals player really excels in any area. Not a surprise to anyone who follows the Royals, but certainly one of the foundational problems for this team.

THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

2009-07-03T02:33:00.000-05:00

QUIET, EVERYONE! HAROLD REYNOLDS IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER THE THREE TRUE OUTCOMES!

2009-06-22T18:24:00.000-05:00

Everyone's trying to figure out what Harold Reynolds meant (or was smoking) when he wrote this little piece. An excerpt:

But what I've been witnessing while I've been a broadcaster is everyone using these stats to try and explain the game of baseball. Not all statistics work. Some do, some don't. And one of the stats that has become real popular is OPS. On-base plus slugging. All of a sudden, it's this stat that defines whether a guy is a good ball player or not. And the fact of the matter is, if you're a power hitter then the situation will dictate what a pitcher does with you - either walk you or pitch you real careful. So more than likely you're going to end up on base and therefore your on-base percentage goes up. This in my mind has become the stat the everyone thinks is the be all and end all. It is not. If you have a ball club that's a great offensive team then that changes everything. But if you have a guy like Adrian Gonzalez, for example, his OPS is going to be high - he's got a lot of home runs and walks a lot...because you're not going to pitch to him. Power guys like Giambi and Dunn have always had high OPS because no one wants to pitch to them. But it takes two hits to score them from first.

This is how the game has changed. Dick Williams is pulling his hair out. This is not something people have reinvented in the game. You can go all the way back to Dave Kingman. When Kingman was hot, you didn't pitch to him. If he wasn't hot, you pitched to him. Big power hitters swing and miss and strikeout. Or they hit home runs and walk. And at the end of the year their OBP is always going to be higher than most of the other guys on the team because they clog the bases.

Most commentators have tried running this through an online translator without any luck, but it seems pretty obvious that we're about to witness an historic moment: Harold's on the verge of discovering the concept of the Three True Outcomes, as evidenced by the bolded portion above. It's fairly obvious Harold isn't in love with 3TO players (Quick! Hide Adam Dunn!), but his point here, once you parse it out, seems to be that he feels OPS is overvalued as a stat because some power hitters with high OPS (specifically, 3TO players), don't have speed or take a walk instead of getting a base hit, when the situation requires speed or a base hit.

The most head-scratching point Harold makes is that these players' OBP is going to be high because they "clog the bases." Since the point of baseball is to score runs, isn't it good when the bases are clogged? Harold seems to be trying to make a point about power hitters with a high OPS but without speed, but OBP has no relation to how quickly you move around the bases. A better way to phrase it might have been: "These players' OBP will be high, but they will clog the bases once they reach first because they are too slow. In some situations, it would seem better to have a faster hitter whose OPS is lower but whose average is higher."

We think there's a rational, possibly even legitimate point hidden in there somewhere. But for the record, we're on the OPS side of this question. We'll take an Adam Dunn over an Alberto Callaspo any day.

FIXING THE ROYALS

2009-05-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

"Hey, everybody! Fountain Shots is back! Must be because the Royals are in a tailspin! Just not enough to complain about when the Royals are winning..."

Actually, it's what happens when your job involves a heavy amount of writing. When work gets busy, the available energy to spend on side-writing projects shrinks.

Anyway, the Royals are indeed in one of their patented May nosedives, and find themselves at .500 with a critical series against division-leading Detroit kicking off this afternoon.

So what's going wrong? And can it be fixed?

#1: Defense. With the Jose Guillen's Hamstrings Memorial Statue playing right field, Coco "Limp Noodle" Crisp in center field, David "Dizzy" DeJesus in left field, Mike "Thruster" Aviles at short, and Alberto "Callapso" Callaspo at 2B, the Royals have been throwing a defense out there that would be sub-par in most city softball leagues.

Unfortunately, most of this has been necessitated by Alex Gordon's latest DL stint. When he returns, the Royals could do the following to shore up defense all around the field:

* Gordon resumes 3B, moving Teahen to RF and providing a huge upgrade there.

* Swap DeJesus and Crisp to CF and LF, respectively. Yes, Crisp has more speed, but DeJesus has not looked comfortable in LF at all and other teams have been moving first to second on fly balls to Crisp on account of his nonexistent throwing arm, which is completely unacceptable.

* Platoon Guillen and Jacobs at DH. Guillen should not play the field again until his legs heal. It will hurt to not have his bat in the lineup every night, but right now his defensive inability is costing the Royals more runs than he's making up with his bat. Once Guillen's legs improve, you can move him into the LF and RF rotation.

* This still leaves you with questions up the middle. Bloomquist may be able to help stabilize at SS, but his bat is due to level off here pretty soon. If Aviles is able to regain the hitting ability he showed last season, you could move him to 2B, which would upgrade that position. The Royals seem to want to keep Callaspo's bat in the lineup, but because Callaspo has no power, he's going to continue being a streaky singles hitter, which just isn't that important to keep in the lineup. If the Royals manage to stay int he division race into the summer, SS may be a position they could target in the trade market.

#2: No lineup speed. This is going to be tougher to fix. Because the Royals have below-average speed at many spots in the lineup, they're not scoring as many runs as they otherwise would on singles and doubles. There's really not much they can do about it at this point, but a middle of the lineup consisting of Butler, Jacobs, and Guillen just isn't going to produce that many runs outside of the long ball.

#3: Being stupid. Stupid on the basepaths, stupid on throwing decisions, stupid in bullpen management, stupid in defensive substitutions. One would think that this is an area where improvement would be possible, but we haven't seen too many signs yet. Stupidity alone has probably cost the Royals about 5 games so far this year.

Conclusion: If the Royals get Gordon back and are able to shift defensively, and if they start playing smarter baseball, then they should be able to stay int he race for the Central most of the summer. However, with Detroit's resurgence and sudden abundance of pitching options, it is unlikely that the Royals will be able to keep up with the Tigers into September.

AWESOME

2009-04-28T22:14:00.000-05:00

Two of KC's best, featured in the newest SI.

ONE MORE THING, TREY: WATCH AND LEARN

2009-04-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

"If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite must be right."

This needs to be Trey Hillman's new mantra as Royals manager. Learn it and use it, Trey.

PEOPLE WHO COULD MANAGE THE ROYALS BETTER THAN TREY HILLMAN

2009-04-19T19:28:00.000-05:00

(But first, Rany, we vote for "complete and utter moron." When your manager costs you games at the rate of 1 out of every 6, he winds up costing you 27 games throughout the whole season.)

And now on to the folks who would do a better job of managing the Royals than Trey Hillman:

THE REAL COVELLI CRISP?

2009-04-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

We report, you decide. Coco would like your advice on what to name his new entertainmnet venture:

Some exciting news, earlier today i put an offer down on some commercial property. If its excepted ima turn it into the hottest club in PalmSpring CA. But i need a Catchy name if anyone has a cool name for me let me know.
9:34 PM Apr 1st from web

Coco follows Shaq, Nick Swisher, Barry Zito, and CC Sabathia.

Unsurprisingly, Zito likes to explore the metaphysical, 140 characters at a time:

Ran into a girl that is a part of this twitter amazingness, I like when the cyber-anonymity becomes real, invisible into visible...
1:37 AM Apr 12th from mobile web

Perhaps that girl prompted the subsequent entry?

As far as staying single, where does one draw the line between living with a closed heart vs working things out with yourself for awhile?
about 22 hours ago from mobile web

And we sense another MLB drug crisis is brewing:

Stimulating this topic, hopefully I can bring lucidity into my dreams, that's a whole 'nother form of fun..
about 15 hours ago from mobile web

CC Sabathia, on the other hand, keeps it simpler. Here's his stream from his start against the Royals on Saturday night:

Top of 1st. Feeling good. Just finished double cheeseburger. Ready to rock.
6:15 PM Apr 4th

Top of 2nd. That was easy. Enjoying a large pepperoni (extra) pizza while may boys bat. 2 runs already!
6:32 PM Apr 4th

Top 3rd. LOL @ Royals "hitters." May try throwing righty rest of game. Family order of chili cheese fries really hitting the spot right now.
6:50 PM Apr 4th

Top 4th. @Coco_Crisp Have fun this year. Just learned KC park doesn't have sheboygans anymore. Totally bummed. Making due with 2 brats.
7:13 PM Apr 4th

Top 5th. Shoulda come back to Cleveland this year. Coulda won 20 against the Royals alone. Just got some Bryants delivered. Love the ribs.
7:35 PM Apr 4th

Top 6th. OK. Looks like I may go all 9 tonight. Gotta save energy. These 3 cotton candys should help, though. Be back after game.
8:01 PM Apr 4th

Just kidding. Get it? 'Cause he's fat.

OPENING DAY AT THE NEW K

2009-04-11T10:42:00.001-05:00

Photos from Opening Day at the newly-renovated Kauffman Stadium:

The Royals' new front offices behind home plate.

The new facade for the upper deck.

First entering the stadium.

The new Hall of Fame, Fountain Seats, and Outfield Box seats in left field.

Standing room only and the new bar and grill in right field.

A closer look at the fountains and the Fountain Bar in left field.

Walking down the fountains.

Another view of SRO and the bar and grill in right field.

These panels have been installed in front of the walkway in dead center to serve as the batter's eye.

View of the Diamond Club, new suites, and new press box from center field.

Fountain walkway.

View of left field seating from right field standing room only.

WAS CAL THE BEST KENTUCKY COULD DO?

2009-04-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

So Kentucky ended the Billy Clyde experiment two years in and brought over Calipari to restore the order. From one perspective, this was pretty much the "no-brainer" pick for Kentucky: Cal is arguably the best coach outside the "elites" (UNC/UCLA/KU/Indiana/Duke/Kentucky), and definitely the most attainable.

If we were hiring a coach today for a school in a "typical college town," that is, not in an urban setting nor out in the boondocks, our top 10 would look something like this (we're assuming we could get anyone we wanted):

1. Roy Williams
2. Bill Self
3. Tom Izzo
4. John Calipari
5. Ben Howland
6. Jim Calhoun
7. Rick Pitino
8. Rick Barnes
9. Billy Donovan
10. Coach K

What do all these guys have in common? They can all bring in talent. We're firmly in the camp of "Jimmies and Joes" rather than "X's and O's" around here.

Except, if there's one place in the country where that might not hold true, it would be Kentucky. Kentucky, perhaps more than any other school in the country, can recruit thanks to its name alone.

And for that reason, perhaps Kentucky should have looked elsewhere, first. Because while there's no doubt Cal can recruit, he's not necessarily the greatest when it comes to game coaching. After watching Memphis in person in the second round, we believe that their Sweet Sixteen performance against Mizzou can only be attributed to coaching deficiency.

Were we at Kentucky, the first guy we would have called was Tom Izzo. Now, there's probably a pretty good chance that Tom isn't interested in Kentucky. He's got a good thing going at Michigan State. But we would have at least tried.

At the end of the day, though, Cal should work out fine for Kentucky. He's shown he can get to the Final Four. Make a few more free throws, and his Kentucky teams should be able to add to the mystique.

THOUGHTS FROM THE OPENING WEEKEND

2009-03-22T22:41:00.000-05:00

* Another year where most of the seeds have played true to form into the Sweet Sixteen. Seemed to have been a lot of near misses, though.

* Sprint Center hosted its first NCAA tournament event, and was a success. We attended the Saturday session and enjoyed a great atmosphere, despite a couple of obnoxious Michigan fans sitting behind us. Memphis coach John Calipari liked Sprint Center:

"This place is unbelievable," Calipari said. "The building is off the charts. I've got like four offices in our locker room. I've never seen anything like it. I like to have a little space for myself in a locker room and I almost got lost. They have a training room in there. A training room!

"This is as nice a setup as I’ve seen."

* Speaking of Memphis, they are freakishly athletic and talented. Add top recruits DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall next year, and the recent addition of top-notch recruiting assistant coach Josh Pastner from Arizona, and the Tigers will be in the national championship conversation for at least the next 3 or 4 straight years.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

2009-03-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

While those of us fortunate enough to be able to take time off work to watch basketball all day today and tomorrow are enjoying ourselves, it's important to remember that we can and should make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

Thus, we interrupt our basketball commentary to encourage you to learn more about, and consider volunteering for, our favorite charity here at FS: Sturdy Wings. Gayle Sweeny, the Sturdy Wings founder, is always on the lookout for volunteers for her fantastic organization.

And while we're on the topic of Wings, fellow fans of the movie Role Models may enjoy the backstory behind "Love Take Me Down (To The Streets)."

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

2009-03-19T11:14:00.000-05:00

After our hiatus, we're back and will be doing some posting here and on the Quick Shots site during the NCAA tournament over the next four days.

To begin, here's a little drinking game we worked up for those imbibing while watching the games:

Mention of "Cinderella" -- 1 drink.

Greg Gumbel says "We take you now to...," or "Let's go now to..." -- 1 drink.

Reference to or explanation of the "pod system" -- 3 drinks.

"Win and advance," "survive and advance," or some variant -- 1 drink.

We are told that the selection committee "has a hard job" but did it well. -- 2 drinks.

Someone is asked for their opinion regarding the fact that only 4 non-power conference teams got at-large invites. -- 3 drinks.

The broadcast team for a game not involving Duke or North Carolina reference Duke or North Carolina or any players thereof. -- 1 drink.

We hear how "deep" or "rugged" the Big East is. -- 1 drink.

ESPN'S BEST WEEK EVER

2009-02-12T23:53:00.000-06:00

The Worldwide Leader might as well just hang it up. It's not going to ever get better.

Somehow, the universe's tectonic plates shifted just right this week to give ESPN the following:

* A-Rod on steroids.
* UNC @ Duke.
* Favre's annual retirement party.

Yep. Right now, ESPN's just sitting there singing "We're going to need a clean-up on aisle 3..."

2009-02-03T22:09:00.000-06:00

THOUGHTS ON THE BIG 12 SO FAR

2009-01-26T22:26:00.000-06:00

* KU and Mizzou are both off to slightly surprisingly good starts. However, it remains to be seen whether this is primarily schedule driven. Both teams have two more winnable games this week, so they may be able to build enough momentum to play better than expected once they hit the meaty part of the conference schedule. However, both midweek games should tell us a bit more about these teams: KU goes into Nebraska to play the team that already beat Mizzou handily in Lincoln, and Mizzou goes on the road to play a K-State team that may be on a slight upsurge after getting its first conference win on the road at Colorado.

* Speaking of K-State, they're off to a slightly disappointing start in conference play. Why only "slightly"? Well, looking at their schedule to open conference play before it started, most folks would have expected a 2-3 record right now. At 1-4, the Cats are only one game behind expectations. More of the disappointment lies in how they've lost some of these games, but the Cats' number one problem right now is the lack of a #1 scoring option. Clemente is at best a #2 guy, with Pullen, Brown, and Samuels #3 types. Colon, Kent, and Sutton round out the top 7 as, at best, #4 guys. With no primary scorer to serve as the focal point for the other team's defense, it becomes easier for other teams to lock down on guys who are having to score more than their offensive talent dictates. Another thing hurting the Cats is some low BBIQ on display: Clemente, especially, needs to learn to read a shot clock. His inability to do so, along with Fred Brown's mental lapses on defense and offense toward the end of the game, nearly cost K-State their precious win at Colorado.

* Finally, Oklahoma will be an interesting team to watch going forward. In many ways, they've resembled the Kansas State team of last January, which got off to a hot start before fading a bit down the stretch. Much of K-State's hot start was Clent Stewart's play, and they cooled off when he did. Austin Johnson is now playing the same role for OU. It's possible that Johnson may continue the torrid All-Big-12 pace he's set early in conference play, but if he does fall off, others on OU will have to pick up the slack to complement Griffin. The first guys OU may look to could be Warren and Patillo...a freshman and a juco transfer.

BIG 12 BASKETBALL CONFERENCE PLAY PREDICTIONS

2009-01-09T18:44:00.000-06:00

Here are our predictions for how the Big 12 will end up in conference play. These predictions are made by going through the conference schedule and picking each game's winner, then tallying up the totals. (If you'd like to try your hand, you can find a useful tool at http://www.notnothing.net/bball/b12mbb.php).

1. Texas (13-3) Longhorns look like the most complete team in the Big 12.

2. Baylor (12-4) This surprised us, but there they were.

3. Oklahoma (12-4) Like K-State last year, it depends on the big man's supporting cast.

4. Kansas (11-5) Some years, youthful KU might win the title, but OU and UT too strong.

5. Missouri (10-6) Tigers step up to maintain their relevance.

6. Kansas State (8-8) Cats could wind up anywhere from 9-7 to 6-10.

7. Texas A&M (7-9) Aggies are decent, but South* is tough.

8. Oklahoma State (6-10) They can score, but they're small.

9. Iowa State (4-12) With NU and CU, struggling to maintain relevance in North.

10. Texas Tech (4-12) South schedule beats down Tech.

11. Nebraska (4-12) Not big enough, and those top teams get all those wins somewhere.

12. Colorado (3-13) Bzdelik has inside track on being first of recent hires to be canned.

As a whole, the Big 12 seems down this year, although there is more parity at the top. You can imagine a scenario in which any of the top 5 teams above wins the league. If the results break down close to this, the Big 12 should get its top 5 into the NCAA tourney, with K-State, A&M, and OSU as possibilities for the NIT.

* Yes, there are no divisions in Big 12 basketball. However, schedules depend on North or South, and consequently help determine results due to the unequal strength, so we'll still use it as a shorthand.

TODAY'S REQUIRED READING: SNYDER'S IMPACT

2009-01-06T23:25:00.000-06:00

This post on the FanNation site does a nice job of exploring Bill Snyder's impact on Thursday's national title game, discussing how Snyder has impacted the college game through his coaching tree and coaching philosophies. The fact that Snyder, a guru in his own right, is bringing in two offensive coaches from a Utah team that just trashed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, when coupled a Vic Koenning-led defense, should give any K-State fan reason for optimism for progress in the next couple of years.

Incidentally, Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator at Arkansas when the "Wildcat offense" was installed there, stated during an interview at the GMAC Bowl tonight that the offense was named after K-State, presumably because of the souped-up single-wing Snyder developed for Michael Bishop.

THE LITTLE MAN COMES UP BIG

2009-01-04T02:23:00.001-06:00

Congrats to Olathe North and K-State product Darren Sproles on scoring the winning overtime touchdown for the San Diego Chargers in their playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts tonight. You can see a cool fan video of the TD from the stands on YouTube...note how the volume increases once Sproles turns the corner, and then gets cranked to 11 when he slips by the last defender. Would have been a cool game to see in person.

WHITHER THE CHIEFS OFFENSE?

2009-01-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

Now that the end of the Chiefs' season is mercifully upon us, those eyes that hadn't yet turned have now begun looking towards next year, as the post-Carl Peterson era begins. The first order of business is to locate a new GM, then determine the future of Herm Edwards. At that point, the Chiefs will actually be able to turn to the task of what changes they want to make to the on-field product.

One of the main questions will be the future of the offense. Although Tyler Thigpen was a bit less impressive at the end of the season, he's presumably earned a shot at the starting job next year. If the Chiefs intend to continue using the spread sets they installed this year, they could draft Tim Tebow after the first round to provide some competition to Thigpen. If Tebow didn't pan out as a quarterback, he could probably be turned into an effective slot receiver, a la Matt Jones.

A quick aside regarding the terminology used to describe the Chiefs' offense this year, since local sports talking heads seem to have an especially difficult time describing it consistently, using terms like spread, shotgun, and pistol interchangably: a spread offense can be run out of any formation that has no more than 2 RB/TE combined. The spread involves 3, 4, or 5 WR that are "spread" across the line of scrimmage from sideline to sideline (although WR bunch sets will occasionally be used, usually to run a WR screen). The shotgun merely means that the quarterback does not take the snap under center, but rather from a position usually about 5 yards behind the center, although some offenses will have the QB a yard or two deeper or a yard or two closer to the center. One such offense is the pistol offense, which originated at the University of Nevada a few years back. In the pistol, the QB lines up about 3 yards behind the center, and the running back lines up directly behind the quarterback, giving the appearance of an I formation. The purpose of the pistol is to provide more of a power, straight-ahead running game than can be used out of a normal shotgun formation, in which the running back is positioned at the side of the QB and most running plays begin side-to-side rather than straight ahead.

Thus, spread offense principles can be used in a single-back formation with the QB under center, or a shotgun formation, or even, more rarely, a double back formation with no TE. Conversely, a shotgun offense and the pistol offense are not synonymous with a spread offense, although they can be run as such.

When the Chiefs modified the offense for Thigpen in the middle of the season, they began with some shotgun spread and fairly quickly moved to pistol spread formations, which made sense with Larry Johnson as the running back, as the pistol's straight-ahead running game complements his skill set.

However, in the last few games the Chiefs moved away from the pistol back to basic shotgun spread, with the QB lined up deeper and the RB lined up beside him. Unsurprisingly, this negated Johnson's straight-ahead ability, and his effectiveness declined sharply. Time and again, he was caught for a loss running side-to-side out of the shotgun.

Some have questioned whether the spread formations employed by the Chiefs can be successful in the long term in the NFL. While NFL defenses will continue to improve against the formations, there is no question in our mind that the formations can meet with continued success as long as they are being run by players who are proficient in the systems. NFL defenses are built around size and speed, and spread principles help to negate both; witness the neutralization of Miami's usually-effective speed rush at the end of the season.

One key for the Chiefs will be what type of running back they use next year. It seems doubtful that the perpetually-discontented Larry Johnson will return, perhaps leaving Jamal Charles as the starter. Charles is more suited to the side-to-side running style needed to run out of the regular shotgun formation. However, if Johnson or a similar back is named the starter, the Chiefs should consider returning to the pistol formation.

Of course, the new GM and possible new head coach may very well decide to draft a traditional pro-style quarterback and install him into a traditional system as they continue to rebuild these team, leaving the question of the long-term efficacy of shotgun spread offenses in the NFL to be determined at a later date by a different team.

MASCOT MAYHEM!

2008-12-28T12:55:00.000-06:00

The Houston Rockets' mascot seems to appear an inordinate amount in these clips...

NEW FEATURE: QUICK SHOTS

2008-12-27T22:28:00.001-06:00

We've got a new feature in beta: the "Quick Shots" Tumblr site, which will feed to the sidebar on the right side of this page. It will feature our quick reactions to relevant sports news and shorter, more off-the-cuff thoughts than featured on the main site.

The primary purpose of the site is to provide the feed to the right, but if you want to visit it directly or add it to your RSS reader, you can find the site here.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM FOUNTAIN SHOTS

2008-12-27T22:23:00.000-06:00

An SNL classic involving the holidays...and balls. Not baseballs, footballs, or basketballs...Shweddy Balls.

IT'S PLAYOFF TIME!

2008-12-26T14:53:00.000-06:00

...or not. Thanks to the bowls and the hypocritical moneygrubbers that serve as the presidents of the BCS schools, we're no closer to a playoff than ever, despite a dream scenario this year, with multiple quality one-loss teams and non-BCS undefeateds.

This year was the tipping point for us when it came to the playoff issue. We just heard one-too-many BCS-defending morons get on the radio and trot out their tired excuses for their pathetic, craptastic system.

"Oh, noes! A playoff would devalue the bowl system!" Screw that. The bowls have done a fine job of devaluing themselves:

"Now that we know its Nevada and Maryland people are excited about that match up," said Anita Guerricabeitia, assistant director for ticket sales. . . .As of Monday afternoon the University of Maryland says it's sold about 16 tickets to the game. The University of Nevada says it's sold 8 so far."

"Bu-bu-but, it would devalue the college regular season, which is like a playoff right now!" Oh yeah? Texas says you're full of crap.

"Yeah it would! Just like the college basketball season is now meaningless!" WTF? Now you're just not even trying anymore. In case you didn't notice, the way you make the NCAA tournament is by winning games during the regular season, and the better your schedule, the better your chances. Seems awfully similar to the way you, uh...make the BCS? Also, may we suggest that it's an excellent PR move to defend the shortfalls of one of your major revenue sports by denigrating your other major revenue sport? You short-sighted, money-grubbing whores.

It's time for a playoff. Keep the bowls, institute an 8-team playoff with the first-round to be played at the higher-seeded team's home field. And what we'd really like to see is a requirement that would prevent lame-ass BCS conferences like the Big East and the ACC from getting an automatic bid. Perhaps some type of system where the winner of any conference with at least 3 teams in the BCS top 25 would receive an automatic bid. Of course, that would never happen. No current BCS conference is going to give up that much power, even if a playoff is somehow instituted.

IT'S A FESTIVUS MIRACLE!

2008-12-15T23:13:00.000-06:00

Carl is gone. Finally.

So many great moments. Drafting Ryan Sims, Trezelle Jenkins, Brodie Croyle. Re-signing Larry Johnson. Failing to trade Tony G when something of value could be acquired for him. Delaying Herm's rebuild job, which may ultimately cost Herm his job.

We still think Herm should get another year, but we won't be devastated if he goes. The team has shown improvement through the season this year, and there appear to be some solid young players on both sides of the ball. Give Herm one more year with these guys and another draft, and see if he can get them to .500 next year.

Some folks want to fire Herm because of the "close but not quite" nature of so many of the losses this year. Well, fine, but don't overestimate the overall level of talent on this team. It may be that Herm's ability to coach a group of rookies and 5th stringers to even be close in these games is a major achievement.

IT'S SNYDER (?)

2008-11-23T22:34:00.001-06:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3722069

With the way this coaching search has gone, it may not be safe to report who K-State's next head coach is until the first football game begins next season. However, it appears an announcement will be made tomorrow morning that Bill Snyder will return to coach the program he essentially established.

The strength of this hire will depend on the assistant coaches who Snyder brings with him. Weak assistant coaching produced the sub-par seasons in 2004 and 2005 leading up to his "retirement," so bringing in top-notch assistants will be priority #1.

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS

2008-11-17T22:10:00.000-06:00

It's not been a great few weeks at K-State. Firings. Tangled coaching searches. Blowout losses to the biggest rivals. And now, this:

A couple of squirrels put Kansas State University in the dark for a few hours.

The Manhattan campus was without electricity for more than three hours Monday. The university says power was cut when two squirrels got into a Westar Energy transformer.

COMIC TRAGEDY

2008-11-17T21:38:00.000-06:00

Well, great. Just great. The Chiefs lose yet again. K-State gets pounded by the Huskers. And now, we learn that Fire Joe Morgan is shutting it down, even though their eponymous purpose remains unaccomplished.

Sure, it was never really about ridding our airwaves of that menace to intelligent baseball discussion/albatross around the neck of the Best Voice in Baseball. In fact, they seem a bit ashamed of the name, now.

It wasn't even all about the stats. It was about comedy, and using that comedy to poke holes in the silly, illogical, dusty old memes of baseball. They took VORP and OPS and translated them into something accessible to those outside the laboratories of baseball's mad SABRmetricians, helping to show that the doctrines of the stat guys, are often, above all else, just rooted in plain old common sense.

You can find "best of" lists elsewhere. Around here, nearly every post we read was "best," at least until the next one, and we're sad to see FJM go. Still, in both sports and comedy there's something to be said for leaving while people still feel that way. In the words of one wise sage, "Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off."

ONE LAST THING ON THAT PATTERSON LEAK...

2008-11-11T16:50:00.000-06:00

All of the involved parties have dutifully stuck to the "lay low and deny" script since last Friday's premature announcement of the impending hire of Gary Patterson to K-State. As a result, most of the furor has died down, and the story is nearly completely off the news cycle...at least for the next week or two.

One final point here about the mistake made by GoPowercat.com and its main man, Tim Fitzgerald. We have no doubt that "Fitz" had highly-connected sources telling him that a deal was done. We're pretty sure that a deal was, in fact, ready to go. The problem was that it wasn't time to announce it.

Now, let's lay aside for a moment the possibility that Patterson and/or his agent were playing Fitz for market purposes. Assuming that a deal was in place, Fitz's mistake did not lie in passing along this information in some way. The mistake he made was in the way he passed it on.

Fitz runs a subscription-based message board which only subscribers can access. He could have merely put up a post on the private board, along the lines of "We are hearing from trusted sources that a deal is in place with Patterson. However, we have not confirmed this with the K-State administration and with Patterson, so we're not going to run a story on it until we do." If he had done this, it might still have eventually touched off something of a reaction, but it probably wouldn't have been the firestorm he created by the way he broke the story.

Instead, Fitz ran a story on the front page of the site, where anyone could read it, and then got on WHB 810 in Kansas City to discuss the story.

It's entirely possible that the source that gave the story to Fitz thought that Fitz would, in fact, handle the story in the more discreet way described above, rather than broadcasting it immediately to the world. If so, it's also entirely possible that the source who gave the story to Fitz is now one of the parties denying it.

Why did Fitz choose to break the story the way he did? Our guess is that it's because he's recently been scooped by other media outlets on K-State news. For instance, the Wichita Eagle's Jeffrey Martin broke the story of Prince's firing. Folks subscribe to Fitz's website because they want the inside access and early scoop the site promises. If Fitz's delivery of such information continued to slow, then it could negatively impact business. So perhaps this time, Fitz was a bit more impatient to run with the story as loudly as he could, rather than playing it lower key for a while.

IN WHICH WE JOIN THE CHORUS

2008-11-10T23:41:00.000-06:00

Um...Mike Jacobs?

Great move, Dayton. We couldn't say it better ourselves, so we won't even try. When you have pre-emptive WTF's, it's a pretty bad sign.

The good news is that he's not looking to make any free agent moves this offseason. So, you know, the only thing he could F up are some more trades. Zack Greinke seems like a likely target. Perhaps we could get another low-OBP "slugger" to complete our lineup.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO 1-15

2008-11-10T22:54:00.000-06:00

So the Chiefs were 15+ point underdogs against a dysfunctional San Diego Chargers team this weekend, and managed to come within a two-point conversion of winning the game. This was the third-straight week the Chiefs looked like an actual NFL team...and this week was perhaps the most impressive, with starters, reserves, and reserves' reserves dropping like flies out there.

So let's just say this now: it would be a huge mistake to fire Herm Edwards anytime soon. A few weeks ago, we wrote that he was on the hot seat, and he still may be with some Chiefs' fans, but it would be a horrid mistake to get rid of Herm before he gets another couple of years with this team. Herm has taken a group of rookies, retreads, and one Hall-of-Fame tight end over the last few weeks and has gotten them to battle playoff teams down to the wire. The improvement in this team, despite the injury plague, is unmistakable.

There are also other positive signs. Herm's decision to go for two to win this week was absolutely the correct call, but one that too few NFL head coaches will make. It's refreshing to see a guy who loves to win football games as traditionally as possible to make such a non-traditional call.

Along the same lines is Herm's decision to allow Chan Gailey to retool the offense to put Tyler Thigpen in a position where he now looks to be at least a good NFL backup QB, with a potentially greater upside. Who would have ever thought we'd see a spread-oriented offense from a Herm Edwards team?

The ideal in any football situation is to be able to run the ball every play and win the game. Sometimes, circumstances don't allow it. One of the marks of a good coach is to adapt to circumstances...to not attempt to force a square peg into a round hole.

Look at Bill Snyder. He spent years trying to catch up to Nebraska's bulldozer running attack. He began by airing the ball out, because that's the personnel he could recruit, and his smaller offensive linemen just couldn't move guys out of the way for runs. As he acquired bigger and stronger offensive linemen and running backs, he turned more and more to a ground game accentuated by a killer play-action attack. Perhaps the apex of Snyder's tenure was late in the season in 2003. The Cats had just destroyed the Huskers in Lincoln, and returned home to Manhattan to finish the regular season and wrap up the North title against Mizzou at home. The entire second half of that game consisted of Darren Sproles halfback dives up the middle. The K-State linemen just bulldozed the Mizzou d-line back for 5-6 yards a play. It was boring, but it was terribly effective.

Someday, Herm may have the personnel to accompish the same thing here in KC. But for right now, Herm's living up to his mantra of "You play to win the game." It's refreshing to see, it appears to be producing results, and it should be supported by KC fans.

AS THE K-STATE WORLD TURNS

2008-11-08T15:02:00.000-06:00

The soap opera known as Kansas State University athletics gave us another humdinger of an episode this week, following up on such hits as "The Ron Prince Hire," "The Bob Huggins Hire," and "The Frank Martin Hire."

As we posted a couple of weeks ago, Ron Prince needed to be concerned about his job security. Another blowout loss against KU proved to be the last straw. On Wednesday, a bizarre press teleconference was held in which Prince's "resignfiring" was confirmed. K-State athletic director Bob Krause announced he would be looking for a coach with successful head coaching experience and hoped to have a hire by the end of the season.

ESPN and some other national outlets are criticizing the Prince firing, saying that he was given too little time after showing signs of promise (namely, his two wins against Texas). This is a result of these commentator's ignorance as to the reality of the situation in Manhattan. Those media covering K-State agree that Prince has not shown promising signs for the future, and perhaps the most telltale sign is that fans of other local schools were fully in favor of Prince getting another 2 or 3 or 8 years.

Prince's two biggest problems were his inability to attract and retain qualified assistant coaches to Manhattan, and a huge dropoff in recruiting quality after getting Josh Freeman as one of his first actions as K-State coach. No program can be positioned for long-term success without solid assistant coaching and solid recruiting, and K-State had neither under Prince. The fact that he was oh-fer against Nebraska, KU, and Mizzou was just icing on the Ron Prince fail-cake.

So it was announced that Prince would be gone after the season but would coach the remaining games. Most folks following the K-State program expected an announcement on a new coach in a couple of weeks, after other teams concluded their seasons. Names such as Phil Fulmer and Dennis Franchione were thrown about, but most opinion seemed to favor Gary Patterson from TCU as the #1 choice to replace Prince. A rumor was also going around that Bill Snyder would want to come back if K-State couldn't successfully bring in one of the first few choices, with the idea that Snyder would then groom his successor over the next few years...somone such as Brent Venables or Dana Dimel.

Then, on Friday afternoon, GoPowercat.com surprised everyone by announcing that their sources indicated that Gary Patterson had agreed to be K-State's next coach. Wildcat fans begain celebrating wildly. However, only an hour later, GoPowercat.com retracted the story in the face of adamant denials by Patterson and the K-State administration. Indications were that an agreement was probably in place, but was not supposed to be announced for a couple of weeks, until Patterson finished the season at TCU and had the opportunity to inform those around him of the decision himself.

The situation now is unclear. Those around K-State are clearly attempting to do damage control by playing off the GoPowercat.com story as a complete fabrication. Patterson blamed the story on some rival school attempting to steal recruits away from TCU. It appears K-State will attempt to conduct a search process and then hire Patterson once his season is over. The question now is whether Patterson is so pissed at K-State that he is no longer interested...or even whether Patterson and his agent orchestrated this whole drama just to drive up his asking price on the open market.

It seems likely that if Patterson now falls through, K-State will turn to Snyder to coach for at least the next few years. While the K-State faithful would love to hire Patterson, having a fallback option of the coach who already brought your program back from the college football abyss is not the worst scenario in the world. While Snyder suffered a dropoff in his last couple of years, much of this seemed due to his assistant coaches at that point. With new assistants and recharged from his three-year "retirement," Snyder could very well return K-State to college football respectability and prepare the ground for a promising young head-coach-in-waiting.

THIS SEEMS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS BLOG

2008-10-23T22:05:00.001-05:00

One of the many mistakes made by the Royals' front office over the last decade was getting rid of the old general admission sections beyond the left and right field foul poles in Kauffman Stadium. You could always count on a bunch of college students and die-hard locals to populate the GA section, with the corresponding understanding that the standard of behavior would be a little lower than in the rest of the stadium. After all, the few families sitting in the section could always relocate to a less-offensive area of the GA sections. We still remember sitting out in right field GA one hot Saturday afternoon, watching Carlos Beltran climb the wall and a row of attractive coeds in bikini tops get hosed down by the Royals' bullpen crew. Good times.

Then the Royals got rid of the GA sections and turned them into higher-priced reserved seating. Suddenly, there was no more designated area for those fans who cut loose a little more. As a result, families and squares throughout the stadium became offended by transplanted GA rowdies, and transplanted GA rowdies enjoyed the games a little less themselves.

The Royals announced their 2009 ticket prices a few weeks ago. Along with this came the news that with the renovations would come a new, "fountain pavilion" seating area. These seats will sit behind the left field fountains and surround the old JumboTron pedestal. Better yet, they will only cost $7 and will be available day-of-game only.

We were wondering if these might help replace the old GA section. Well, according to this story, that's part of their purpose:

The Fountain Pavilion, a tribute to the former General Admission seating in Kauffman Stadium, with a new view between the left-field fountains and the pedestal that once held the Jumbotron board. The Fountain Pavilion seats will be the lowest-priced ticket at $7.00 and be available day-of-game only.

Good for you, Royals. While you totally screwed up by not building a downtown ballpark, at least you may have mitigated this disaster a small amount by trying to restore one of the cool things about Kauffman Stadium (that, of course, you screwed up by eliminating in the first place). Your incompetence appears to be lessening.

We think it's only appropriate, given our name, to try to sit in these seats, at least at the first Royals' game we attend next year. Hopefully, we'll feel like going back to enjoy many more from the same vantage point.

EPIC WEEKEND OF FAIL

2008-10-19T23:39:00.000-05:00

Not a good weekend for the local teams. To summarize:

* Mizzou gets spanked by Texas, exposing the Tigers as being a tier below the nation's elite teams.

* KU gives up over 600 yards of offense in a loss to OU that was worse than the final score indicated, and with Texas, Texas Tech, and Mizzou still on the schedule, who knows how ugly it will get for the Hawks.

* K-State loses to Colorado, 14-13, as a result of bad coaching decisions by Ron Prince and the fail of its offense. A surefire mark of a lousy team: finding new, different ways to lose each week. K-State now enters a brutal three-game stretch (OU, @ KU, and @ Mizzou) before ending with Nebraska and Iowa State at home. If last year was any indication, the team will have quit by those games, and K-State will go 0-fer from here on out.

* The Chiefs get blasted by the Titans at home, and Brody "Glass Man" Croyle suffers a season-ending injury in the first half of his first game back from the injury that kept him out the past 4 games. It's hard to see how Croyle will ever be named the Chiefs' starting QB again. Here's hoping there will be a surefire QB for the Chiefs to take with the #1 pick in next year's draft.

* Since there was so much fail this weekend, let's see where the respective coaches fall in terms of job security:

No worries: At this point, Gary Pinkel can breathe easy. His Tigers still look to be the class of the Big XII North, although they are no longer realistically in the national title picture. It would take a loss to KU and loss of the north title to KU before Pinkel would need to be concerned.

Same with Mark Mangino. Most observers expected a falloff this year since the Jayhawks had some legitimate teams on their early/mid season schedule. Losing to OU, Texas Tech, Texas, and Mizzou is likely. While losing four of the last six will likely leave some of the more football-ignorant KU fans grumbling, as long as Mangino takes care of business against KSU and Nebraska he should be fine. His modus operandi while at KU has been to beat the teams he's better than and stay competitive with the rest. Now that he's upgraded the talent, this should translate into yearly records of at least .500, with the occasional run at 9 or 10 wins. Hard to see how this wouldn't be enough at a school that will always embrace basketball first.

Be very concerned: Ron Prince's team exhibits a classic characteristic of a bad team: find new and exciting ways to lose every week. Unfortunately for Ron, the win at aTm got some fans thinking that a win at Colorado was possible. Since it was so close and the defense seemed to play better, there hasn't been much fallout this week. In fact, some K-State fans seem to think that Prince might pull off a performance against OU similar to those he's delivered against Texas. Don't count on it. Even with their injuries, OU is better at every position than K-State. They were a bit off their game against KU last week, probably suffering from a Texas hangover, and still managed to put up 650+ yards of offense. 700+ is a real possibility this week against K-State, and OU could put a worse hurtin' on the Cats than Tech did just a few weeks ago. If this happens, K-State fans will be back up in arms, anticipating another late season collapse that will (they hope) lead to Ron's Bold and Daring Dismissal at the end of the season.

Herm Edwards also needs to watch his back. Fans in Kansas City are starting to call for his head along with Carl Peterson's, and if we know one thing about Carl Peterson, he will go to any lengths, stab any backs, to avoid being the target himself. If Carl thinks there's a way he can save his (tragically possible) future with the Chiefs by firing Herm, he will.

Should Have Been Fired 5 Years Ago: Carl Peterson. The man has turned the Chiefs into a national joke. The team that has been put onto the field goes beyond embarrassment. If there was one person you did not want to lead a "youth movement," it was Carl Peterson. The man has turned drafting poorly into an art form. Teams like Green Bay are showing how to win with young talent, while Carl has assembled a program that makes the Detroit Lions look like a well-run franchise. Because there are really no words for the mockery that the Chiefs have become under Carl Peterson, I'll stop there. Clark Hunt needs to dispose of Carl ASAP, or else permanently lose the support of thousands of some of the most passionate fans in the NFL. Chiefs tickets are going 2-for-1 around town, and we've heard multiple season-ticket holders over the past few weeks mention that they've missed games this year "because it's just not worth it." I'm looking forward to the sight of a half-empty Arrowhead Stadium later this fall. Perhaps Clark will be able to see that from Fiji.

TIME TO TRADE TONY

2008-10-12T00:57:00.000-05:00

Tony Gonzalez wants out of KC.

I'm with Whitlock on this one. Just another in a long line of Carl Peterson miscalculations. Tony and LJ should have been traded last year, when the Chiefs decided on the youth movement. Now? The Chiefs will be lucky to get anywhere close to fair compensation for them. Still, the Chiefs should do anything they can to trade Tony to a contender. After Peterson's 20-year reign of bullsh*t, it's the least he can do for a guy who was prepared to spend his entire career here, if Peterson would have lived up to his empty promises.

Tony, here's hoping you get onto a contender and get to play with a team that hasn't been mismanaged for the better part of two decades and, more importantly, has a shot at making a playoff run this year. We, and almost all Chiefs' fans, will be rooting for you. If only we could be as lucky as to get to transfer our allegiance to a competent franchise.

BIG 12 MID-SEASON OUTLOOK

2008-10-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

Almost halfway through the college football season, and things are looking about as expected.

* Mizzou's defense has been weaker than expected, but the offense is firing on all cylinders. The next two weeks, versus Oklahoma State and Texas, may derail Mizzou's national championship hopes, but they shouldn't keep Mizzou from reaching the Big 12 championship game for the second straight year. There just doesn't appear to be any other challenger in the North, because...

* ...while Kansas has a solid team, they look likely to finish at 8-4 (as predicted here) or 7-5. As expected, adding the tough South teams to the schedule looks to add a few more losses to the Jayhawks' record. They played a ranked team early this year, and...surprise!...they lost. They nearly lost again to Iowa State last Saturday before pulling it out. However, KU looks like a team that should beat the teams it's supposed to beat, and struggle against the better teams. Thus, they look to probably lose 3, if not 4, against OU, Texas, Mizzou, and Texas Tech. The key for KU will be to not let these losses lead to a loss against Colorado, Kansas State, or at Nebraska (where the Hawks haven't won since Lincoln was president).

* Although K-State was difficult to predict before the season began, it's not too difficult to predict now. Tomorrow's game against aTm looks to be the most winnable game left on the schedule. Lose this game, and the Cats don't have another winnable game until the second-to-last game of the season, against Nebraska in Manhattan. By that time, the season may already be in the tank, and an 0-fer the Big 12 may occur. If it does, don't expect to see Prince back next year. There have been lots of rumors over the past couple of weeks that the big donors are ready to buy out the rest of Prince's contract and try to go after Gary Patterson of TCU. It appears Prince has been issued some sort of ultimatum: it's probably "bowl or be fired." The main concern with Prince is not just the appalling performance of the defense, carried over from the collapse last year, but also Prince's inability to bring quality recruits or assistant coaches to Manhattan, making things look bleak for the future no matter how this season turns out.

NO TEAM FOR YOU!

2008-10-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Tampa Bay Rays fans (all 17 of you):

I'm rooting for your team against the Red Sox. They're fun to watch.

That being said, here's hoping they get out of St. Petersburg sooner rather than later. Judging from the TV views, a good portion of your upper deck was empty for the freakin' first game of the LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. And judging from the TV sound, at least 1/3 of the fans in attendance were cheering for the Red Sox.

Hearing "YOOOOOOUK!" loud and clear on your home field, in a championship series, is beyond embarrassing. Sorry, but your town doesn't deserve a team...especially a winning team. The sooner they're gone to a city that appreciates having a major league team, the better. Perhaps you would be willing to trade the Rays for the Royals straight up?

DAVID ECKSTEIN'S REVENGE

2008-10-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

Frack. Jason Bartlett vs. Dustin Pedroia in the ALCS. Over/under on how many times we hear "scrappy"?

Dear National League: please send someone with a pulse to battle the Red Sox this year, ok? It'd be nice to get at least 5 games out of this thing.

I was with the Angels right up until Scioscia called for the suicide squeeze in the top of the 9th. After they fracked that up, I knew the Sox would take it in the 9th. The baseball gods are jealous gods. If you're going to call a stupid play, you better damn well make sure it works.

YOUTHFUL (UN)EXUBERANCE

2008-09-23T15:18:00.000-05:00

Some local talking heads have been taking Chiefs fans to task recently for talking the talk when it comes to rebuilding via a "youth movement," but not walking the walk. According to these hosts, some Chiefs fans were all for getting younger in concept, but are not now willing to endure the "pain" that goes along with building a team with young players.

I would suggest that these fans have perhaps been jaded by the perpetual "youth movement" employed by the Kansas City Royals over the past 15 years.

More importantly, though, I think fans are a bit reluctant to buy into this "youth movement" because they're not sold on its core concept: that Brody Croyle will be a competent NFL starting quarterback. In turn, this creates doubts that Herm Edwards is all that competent a head coach, since he doesn't seem to understand that, "at the end of the day," a good quarterback is very helpful when trying to win a game, or a championship. Herm's tendency to embrace "good enough" when it comes to quarterbacks is troubling.

Brody Croyle looks too injury prone/inconsistent to be a quality NFL starter. Damon Huard is an aging backup. Tyler Thigpen is an ongoing comedy of embarassment for the franchise...and some have suggested that the only reason he's played the last couple of weeks is to make Croyle look better when he returns.

I think Chiefs' fans concern is this: great, you spend a couple of years playing and developing younger guys all over the field. You develop a solid, though probably not spectacular, defense. You develop some good options at RB and WR. And then, you finish off this unit with Brody Croyle. This is not the stuff of which future championships are made. This is the stuff of 9-7, 1st-round playoff losses. If the Chiefs don't have a quarterback to go with the rest of their youth when it's ready to play, the current suffering through the youth movement will have all been for naught.

CRYSTAL BALL HAZY; READ THIS INSTEAD

2008-08-29T19:17:00.000-05:00

College football season starts (for real) tomorrow. Nothing says America like a sunny fall afternoon over a stadium filled with drunk college students and middle-aged folks blowing exorbitant amounts of cash to watch 18-22-year-old boys knock the piss out of each other to make millions of dollars for their schools and the fatcats at the NCAA, on the outside chance that someday they can continue beating the piss out of each other for a few millions dollars to keep for themselves. Or like hearing those middle-aged folks scream expletives at the players at the top of their lungs because they're not getting a good payoff for those cash payments they slipped under the table. Yep...violence, drunkenness, profanity, and cheating: it's the American way. Makes you wonder why we keep watching it...

Oh, who are we kidding. We love college football, in spite of (and sometimes because of) its faults. So in honor of the beginning of the season, here's an amusing list of things to look forward to this season...full of expletives, drunkenness, violence, and all that other good stuff.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: K-STATE FOOTBALL 2008

2008-08-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

1. Several months prior to the season, your projected starting running back gets arrested. Do you...

A. Kick him off the team and switch a safety to running back? Go to paragraph 3.

B. Keep him on the team, because you need all the help you can get. Go to paragraph 2.

2. Oops. You must have confused K-State with KU. Go back and try again.

3. That crisis resolved, you learn that some of your numerous JuCo recruits will not qualify. Do you...

A. Have an assistant coach give the recuits answers to the qualifying exams. Go to paragraph 2.

B. Switch a safety to running back? Go to paragraph 4.

4. You win your first two non-con games. Your next game is at Louisville. Do you...

A. Focus preparation on Louisville? Go to paragraph 5.

B. Focus preparation on Texas Tech, your first conference game? Go to paragraph 5.

5. You lose at both Louisville and to Texas Tech. You win at Texas A&M and lose at Colorado. Your next two games are against OU at home and KU on the road. Do you focus preparation on...

A. OU? Go to paragraph 6.

B. KU? Go to paragraph 7.

6. Congrats! You beat OU, then lose at KU, and at Mizzou. You split Nebraska and Iowa State at home to finish the year 7-5. You get a 15-year contract extension before next season.

7. You lose to OU, KU, and Mizzou. You lose to Nebraska and Iowa State at home to finish the year 4-8. You get a 5-year contract extension before next season.

FUTURE HEADLINE: MANGINO TO IOWA; WON'T COACH KU AT HOLIDAY BOWL.

2008-08-11T21:47:00.000-05:00

IOWA CITY, IA: Mark Mangino established a winning football program at the University of Kansas following years of futility for the program. Now, he'll attempt to move Iowa into the nation's elite football programs.

Following up a surprising 12-1 season with a solid 8-4 year, including signature wins over Big XII rivals Texas and Texas Tech, Mangino's Jayhawks answered the doubters who pointed to what was considered a significant upgrade over last year's schedule. Although the Jayhawks dropped a non-conference game at South Florida and conference games to Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska, most would consider the Jayhawks' season a successful rebuttal to those who expected a major dropoff. It was enough to convince the University of Iowa to hire Mangino to attempt to rev up a program that has slipped into neutral under outgoing head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Mangino will not coach the Jayhawks in their Holiday Bowl game against Arizona State. Although some are surprised that Mangino has chosen to leave a program he raised from the ashes that Terry Allen left behind, whispers around Lawrence this year have indicated that Mangino was not entirely pleased with the level of support shown by the administration in his contract extension last spring, especially following his near-perfect season. Sources also cited Mangino's view that, despite the football team's recent success, it would never compete with Kansas' beloved basketball team for the hearts of KU fans. Iowa, a school with greater football tradition than KU, figures to provide Mangino with more exposure and, possibly, a better stepping stone to one of the country's premier jobs.

STREAKIN'

2008-07-30T21:53:00.000-05:00

Don't look now, but by completing the three-game sweep of the A's today to win their fourth in a row, the Royals have pulled to under 10 games under .500. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Actually, "baby steps" is a good way to characterize the Royals' progress from last year:

July 30, 2007 (through 105 games)

47-58, last place, 14 games back, 490 RS, 512 RA, 5-5 in their last ten.

Aug. 4, 2007 (through 109 games)

48-61, last place, 13.5 games back, 507 RS, 543 RA, 5-5 in their last ten.

July 30, 2008 (through 109 games)

50-59, 2nd to last place, 11 games back, 454 RS, 528 RA, 5-5 in their last ten.

So, the Royals have two more wins and are 2.5 games closer to first place through the same number of games so far this year. They've scored 53 fewer runs, but have allowed 15 fewer runs.

On their 109th game last year, the Royals' lineup looked like this:

DeJesus CF
Grud 2B
Teahen RF
Butler DH
Gload 1B
Gordon 3B
Pena SS
Gathright LF
LaRue C
Davies SP

Today, the Royals' lineup was:

Aviles 2B
Maier CF
Gordon 3B
Guillen RF
Teahen LF
Butler DH
Gload 1B
Olivo C
Pena SS
Bannister SP

In both lineups, the backup catcher started in place of John Buck. Grud, of course, is still the regular 2B. Aviles has replaced Pena as the regular starter at short. DeJesus got the day off today. So, the main changes to the regular lineup from this time last year are: Aviles for Pena and Guillen for Gathright.

Thus, the Royals invested millions of dollars in an outfielder who has brought them more clubhouse blowups than additional wins. Their runs scored are down. Ross freaking Gload is still, somehow, the regular 1B--no progress on getting Billy Butler installed as the regular over there. Tony Pena Jr. finally sucked so bad that the Royals were forced to bring up a guy who was tearing up AAA, despite their best efforts to ignore him. Surprise, surprise...he's been a sparkplug for a terrible offense.

53 offensive runs worse than last year. 2 more wins. Ross Gload still at 1B. The major offseason acquisition turning into not only a bust, but a bust who is poisoning the clubhouse.

Let's hope the Royals' management has a better year between now and next August. Otherwise, we should expect to see a winning record, at this rate of improvement, somewhere around 2012...probably with Gload still at 1B.

NOW I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING: TPJ EDITION

2008-07-21T22:32:00.001-05:00

I just watched Tony Pena Jr., epitome of 2008 Royals suckitude, get the backwards K on Ivan Rodriguez in the middle of a 1-2-3, 12-pitch 9th inning. Of course, he was pitching because Luke Hochevar (7 runs, 5 innings--#1 overall draft pick in 2006) and Jimmy Gobble (10 runs! 1 inning!) were utterly horrid, and Royals pitchers had already thrown 196 pitches in the game.

Pena Jr. was hitting 91 on the gun with a funky sidearm delivery and got IRod with a slow breaking ball...maybe the Royals could pull a reverse Rick Ankiel.

STATE OF THE PROGRAM: ROYALS MID-SEASON

2008-07-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

It's the All-Star break, which means it's time to make the mid-season assessment of Royal futility. The Royals are 10 games under .500, 12 games out of first in the Central. Looking at this team, you can tell it's not really even that close to being in the race, though.

That being said, this year's Royals team looks different than the last few incarnations, even though the results so far aren't drastically different. So as we sit here today, let's take stock of what the Royals have, and whether they could feasibly put themselves in a position to be in contention as early as one year from now.

Lineup

Positions covered: CF, LF, RF, 2B, 3B, DH, C.

Positions needed: 1B, SS.

The Royals are adequate at many positions. Their main problem is the lack of impact bats. They have one in Guillen, at the OF/DH spot. They expect Gordon, at 3B, and Butler, at DH, to become impact bats, as well. Mike Aviles has been a nice bat at SS, but his defensive shortcomings mean that the best option for him with the Royals is going to be for his to compete with Callaspo for 2B next year. DeJesus is having a nice year, Teahen is having a decent year, and Gathright is a nice option off the bench with his speed.

The best option is going to be for the Royals to try to get an impact bat at 1B. Teixera will be the most obvious free agent meeting this description this coming off-season.

SS presents a bigger problem. Pena gives no indication of ever being an adequate big league shortstop. The Royals also don't seem to have much SS depth in the farm system. Mike Moustakas, the high school shortstop drafted by the Royals last year, is not projected to be a big league shortstop. It looks like there may be some adequate shortstop free agent possibilities next year, so maybe the Royals could go that route to get a player for 3-4 years while they acquire and develop a SS through their farm system. Given Dayton Moore's history with the Braves, it would be interesting to see if he would try to get Furcal for that role.

Pitching

Positions covered: 1/2SP, 3SP, 4SP, 5SP, CL, SU, LRP, MRP, MRP.

Positions needed: 1/2SP, MRP, MRP.

Provided Greinke doesn't suffer a drop-off in the second half, he looks like an ideal #2 starter, although you may be able to stretch him into a #1. Meche is looking more like the #3 starter he likely is, rather than the #1 starter he was tagged last year. Brian Bannister, Luke Hochevar, and Kyle Davies look like they are positioned to fight for the #4 and #5 spots, with the loser going into long relief in the bullpen.

In the pen, Soria looks to have the closer's role sewn up, but more on that a little later. Mahay has proven to be a good lefty option, and Ramon Ramirez looks solid in the setup role. Jimmy Gobble no longer looks like he has much of a future with this club, and Peralta doesn't seem to have the stuff to be considered a solid part of the future. We'll have to see how Horacio Ramirez and Robinson Tejeda perform the rest of the year, as well as Leo Nunez, who was off to a hot start before his injury.

The most pressing pitching need is going to be for the #1/#2 starter to pair with Greinke. The obvious candidates for this spot are CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets. You have to think that the Brewers will hold on to at least one of the two. The odds of the Royals being able to get the other probably aren't that great. Another approach that has been discussed is moving Soria to starter to see if he can become the guy to pair with Greinke at the top of the rotation. This would assumedly result in Ramirez or Nunez moving into the closer's role.

Although the Royals will need to get a couple of arms for the bullpen, this shouldn't be as tough a task. Between the arms in there, some up-and-coming arms in the minors, and the recent Royals strategy of shelling out a few million on a couple of free agent options, they should be able to cover those spots, and with the key spots in the bullpen possibly set, the Royals shouldn't have too much trouble maintaining a solid pen.

Conclusion

So, if the Royals can somehow come up with an impact bat at 1B, another top starter, and at least an average SS, and their returning players perform to expectations, then next year at this time they may be able to take a look at the standings and at least be in spitting difference. Of course, that's a lot of "ifs" for a franchise as futile as the Royals, so don't hold your breath.

BILLY BUTLER NEEDS AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

2008-07-09T20:32:00.000-05:00

Billy Butler thinks he's hot shit. You can tell from the way he swaddles to the plate. You can tell from the way he looks back at the umpire and mutters when he gets called out looking, yet again.

You can tell from the way he lays down a bunt with a runner on first in a tied game in extra innings, as he did last night, but lays it down right back to the pitcher, then fails to hustle down the line...resulting in a double play.

You can tell from the way he says, over and over again in interviews, that he doesn't really put too much preparation into hitting. "I just go up there, see the ball, try to hit the ball," he says.

Well, Billy, I'll tell you what. You may have been hailed as one of KC baseball's bright young stars, but you've still got a ways to go.

Butler's now played in 154 games, a pretty standard major league player's season's worth. His stats are 10 HR, 35 2B, 71 RBI, 47 BB, 85 SO, and a .279 average. You know what those stats are? Average. That's not star power. That's the next Emil Brown.

Add to that his inability to make any meaningful contribution in the field, and that's not much to write home about.

Butler got sent down earlier this season, supposedly at least in part for an attitude adjustment, but it doesn't seem to have taken hold. So, Billy, you can just go to the ballpark every day, get your paycheck, and act like a big shot without putting up the numbers.

Or, you can fix your attitude and start acting like you're at least trying to earn your paycheck. You can hustle and avoid dumb double plays. You can put a little more preparation into hitting. You've got some great natural ability, and it served you well in the minors, but in case you haven't noticed, it's a little tougher up in the bigs. Sure, you can probably keep hitting .279, with 10 HR each year, just by going up to the plate and hacking away. But if you want to become a good hitter, a great hitter, it's probably going to take more work. Tony Gwynn might be a good source of inspiration.

Kansas City loves you, Billy, and wants to keep loving you. But if you don't fix that attitude, pretty soon the love is going to be more commensurate with the stats you've been putting up.

GLORY DAYS: TOP 5 MEMORIES AT THE K

2008-07-07T19:41:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, my grandparents/parents had season tickets to the Royals. As a result, I'd typically attend about 20 games each summer. Once I got to college, my friends and I would come over to KC in the spring for weekend games, and attend even more once school was out for the summer. I'd estimate that I've attended more than 300 Royals games throughout my lifetime.

Why don't we take a break from our regularly-scheduled Royals-ineptness programming to relive five of the most memorable games in that bunch?

Game #5: August 1, 1993 vs. Cleveland Indians. George Brett homered and Kevin Appier took the 9-5 loss, but it was nothing on the field that made this a memorable game. Rather, it was when Ewing Kauffman's portrait was shown on the JumboTron and the PA announcer told the crowd that Kauffman, the savior of baseball in KC, had passed away earlier that day. Although the crowd was saddened, they had no idea that Kauffman's death, coupled with the strike the following year, would signify the beginning of a decline from which the Royals have yet to recover. Although the Royals had not made the playoffs since 1985, they had at least been trying, which is more than you can say for the organization for most of the period between 1995 and 2008.

Game #4: August 14, 2002 vs. New York Yankees. I'm sitting behind first base in the upper deck with some college friends. Sixth inning, Royals are tied 1-1 with the Yanks, and Mike Sweeney is on third base. For some reason, I turn to my friend and say, "Wouldn't it be something if Mike Sweeney stole home right now?" A pitch or two later, he does just that to give the Royals a 2-1 lead. My friend just turned, looked at me, and laughed.

Was it some sort of ballpark prescience with which I've been gifted, or was it the fact that I utter the words "Wouldn't it be something if Mike Sweeney stole home right now?" at least 15 times every day?

Game #3: July 19, 2003 vs. Seattle Mariners. Ask most KC guys my age, and they'll swear to you they were at this game...and although more than 39,000 were, odds are that the attendance has increased in the years since. In the middle of the Royals' only decent season since 1994, Beltran had the defensive highlight of the year when he reached beyond the center field fence to rob Seattle's Dan Wilson of a home run at a crucial point in the game.

The cool thing about the catch was that those of us sitting in the right field GA had the best view of Beltran's glove as it dipped over the top of the fence to snag the ball, and hence we were the first to see that Beltran had made the catch. As a result, the roar began in our section and then spread to the rest of the stadium as Beltran landed and revealed the ball in his glove.

Game #2: September 26, 1993 vs. California Angels. George Brett had announced his retirement either earlier this day or the day before. In the 4th, Brett hit a three-run homer to help give the Royals a 5-3 lead. If I remember correctly, Brett's double later in the game would drive in another. The most dramatic moment, though, came when the game was tied in the 10th. With two out, Brett hit a ball that barely scraped into the right field bullpen for a walk-off HR. It was a final great game for KC's greatest player. Since we were at the ballpark that day, we went ahead and bought tickets for...

Game #1: September 29, 1993 vs. Cleveland Indians.

ROYALS RENOVATIONS: FIXING WHAT'S NOT BROKEN, IGNORING WHAT IS

2008-07-01T23:08:00.000-05:00

The Background

Earlier this season, SI.com presented the results of a fan survey and ranked major league ballparks accordingly. Ballparks were rated in 10 categories:

Affordability
Food
Team Quality
Tradition
Atmosphere
Fan IQ
Hospitality
Promotions
Traffic
Neighborhood

A little over two years ago, a brain-dead majority of Jackson County voters swallowed the stink bait fed them by their corrupt politicians (as well as the Hunts and David Glass) hook, line, and sinker, and ponied up $425 million for renovations to Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadium, despite a strong movement in KC to wait for a plan that would instead renovate Arrowhead and provide funding for a downtown baseball stadium. Of course, at the same time, the voters also rejected the idea of a rolling roof, an idea that had been pitched as a way to lure a Final Four or Super Bowl to Kansas City, thereby ensuring that not only would KC miss out on the economic benefit of a downtown stadium, but it would also miss out on the possibility of the economic benefit from a major sporting championship event. Kind of reminds one of this:

Anyway, once the Royals got around to deciding how to spend their windfall, they came up with this. The "features" of the new stadium?

• 39,000 seats
• Four new entry ticket gates
• New high definition scoreboard and control room
• New press facilities
• Fountain view terraces
• Outfield concourse
• Kid’s area
• Taste of KC
• Right field restaurant
• Left field hall of fame and conference center
• Group sales area
• Wide concourses
• New and upgraded concession and toilet amenities on all concourses
• Enhanced vertical circulation to all levels

Now that the renovations are underway, I thought it would be interesting to compare the "new and improved" Kauffman Stadium with the fan survey...see where improvements needed to be made and if the planned renovations address these improvements.

The Analysis

Affordability

While a move to a new ballpark could result in increased ticket cost, tickets did go up this year and are likely to do so as more and more of the renovations are complete, so this category is not very relevant.

Food

As with affordability, this category doesn't have much bearing on this discussion. Any additional options available after the renovations would likely be available in a new ballpark, too.

Team Quality

As the Royals have shown over the last 15 years, they can suck equally in any ballpark. Irrelevant.

Tradition

Now, here's a category that might cut a little toward renovation. After all, the Royals' glory years all occurred at Kauffman Stadium. That being said, Kauffman Stadium is only 35 years old, and its most popular elements, the fountains and scoreboard, would no doubt be incorporated into a downtown ballpark to preserve that tradition. More significantly, instead of watching trucks drive by on I-70, you'd have a beautiful view of downtown KC lit up at night.

Atmosphere

19th out of 30 clubs.

Anyone who has gone down into the Crossroads/Power and Light District since the Sprint Center opened can tell you about the electicity in the area on event nights. It's not hard to extend this to a ballpark in the Crossroads, where you'd get this electricity another 81 nights a year. And as mentioned in the previous category, imagine watching a fountain display with the Power and Light building, Sprint Center, Bartle Hall, Kauffman Performing Arts Center, and the rest of the downtown skyline rising behind. Before and after the game, you could hang out at one of the many eateries, bars, or other venues that have opened up downtown.

Instead, we get to continue listening to the trucks and looking at the FCA building and the Adams' Mark. If you want to do something after the game, you can enjoy a bean burrito at the Taco Bell across the street. Lovely.

The first major category impacted by the renovation debate, and it is decidedly in favor of a new downtown ballpark.

Fan Intelligence & Fan Hospitality

Not likely to change with location. Royals "fans" will continue to try to do the wave during crucial game situations no matter where they watch the game.

Promotions

Likely to be better in a renovated Kauffman than in a new ballpark, because fans sure aren't going to be coming out to enjoy a new ballpark, or a good team. The Royals marketing department looks to remain busy coming up with shiny new bribes to entice people out to the game.

Getting to the Game

19th out of 30 clubs.

The second major category impacted by the renovation debate, and once again decidedly in favor of a downtown ballpark. Kauffman Stadium is at the intersection of two interstates, and is designed to be driven to. With no residential areas in walking distance, and only one hotel, there is no accomodation made (or needed) for pedestrians. And since it's out in BFE, a cab fare is pricey. There are some buses that run, but they run as specials, limiting their routes and availability.

It's also conveniently located 30-40 minutes away from those parts of the Kansas City area that, demographically speaking, have the most disposable income for going out to sporting events. Move the stadium downtown, and it's 10-15 minutes closer to many of these areas.

Neighborhood

27th out of 30.

Well, no shit.

63% of the respondents rated the dining and drinking options within walking distance of the ballpark as "poor," with another 19% rating them as "below average." Incredibly, 4.9% rated them as "above average" and 3.8% actually rated them as "excellent." Someone must really love Taco Bell.

Alas...if only there were some neighborhood in Kansas City where you could put a stadium and have plenty of dining and drinking options within walking distance...

The Conclusion

In the three categories most affected by ballpark location, the Royals ranked toward the bottom of the league. When given a golden opportunity to improve in these areas and move into the Top 5 stadiums in baseball, they choked. Just another example of the ineptness that has plagued this organization in all facets of its business for the past 14 years.

The fans graded the Royals' ballpark before the season, and now I assign the Royals' handling of their ballpark business my own grade: epic fail.

ROYALS TAILGATING UPDATE: OH, THE HORROR!

2008-06-30T23:12:00.000-05:00

Perhaps you are aware of the tailgating "controversy" out at the K this season. In case you aren't, here's a refresher:

In little yellow cards handed out at parking gates at Kauffman, the Royals are asking people to limit tailgating to grassy areas around the parking lots. In addition, “loitering” is not allowed in the parking lots after the game begins, the card says. Loitering includes tailgating.
Tailgaters tend to take up multiple parking spots when they spread out their grills and tables. With fewer parking spots at the Kauffman this year due to stadium construction, the Royals want people to move to grassy areas, said Toby Cook, vice president of community affairs and publicity. Tailgaters tend to arrive early and take non-reserved spots closest to the stadium.

I don't want to dwell here on the asininity of discouraging one of the few enjoyable aspects of attending a Royals game lo these past 15 years. That's a point to be included in a later post about the Royals organization's general ineptness. Instead, I want to report that I attended the Royals/Cardinals finale this past Sunday, arriving at about 1:00 pm for the 1:10 start. Without a parking pass, I was forced to park in the farthest reaches of the Kauffman Stadium parking lot. And by "farthest reaches," I mean about halfway out into the parking lot beside Arrowhead Stadium. It took me a FULL 7 MINUTES TO WALK TO THE K! I assure you that my outrage grew, step-by-step, as I walked by tailgating group after tailgating group that had flaunted these new rules and had thereby added, by my estimate, as much as 2 FULL MINUTES to my sojourn. By the time I reached the last few stalls before the stadium, my companions were forced to restrain me from strangling the nearest tailgaters with links of their own delicious smoked sausages, or drowning them in their own tubs of ice-cold beer.

When I returned to my vehicle following the (becoming customary) shellacking of Brian Bannister, I found that I was parked further from the K than anyone else. Thus, as it was a capacity crowd, I think I can speak authoritatively when I call on the Royals to take further action to curb this flagrant abuse of their pavement. Clearly, their current steps are insufficient. I don't know when next I'll have a hankerin' to see some good ol'-fashioned sub-.500 Royals baseball, but when I do, I expect my walk to the park to be no more than 5 minutes. And I expect it to be lined by the decapitated heads of tailgaters set on pikes as an example to the other inconsiderates who would increase my exercise just for the sake of their pre-game gastronomic pursuits.

A KANSAS CITY SPORTS FAN'S CREED

2008-06-29T23:09:00.000-05:00

I BELIEVE...

...in warm Sunday afternoons at the K and chilly Sunday afternoons at Arrowhead.

...that tailgating at Arrowhead is the way football pre-game, halftime, and post-game is meant to be.

...that the Sprint Center is the best thing to happen to KC's downtown since, well, forever.

...that downtown baseball in Kansas City will, someday, be a reality.

...that someday an owner worthy of the Royals franchise will own them.

...that when he (or she) does, he will rid the franchise of David Glass's loser stench.

...that Don Denkinger absolutely got the call right.

...that someday Carl Peterson will retire.

...that Kansas City is one of the best college sports towns in the nation, in the heart of the old Big 8.

...in Lenny the Cool and George Brett's smooth swing.

...that St. Louis is as worthless a place as exists on Earth.

...in royal blue tanktops and short khaki skirts.

...that the closer you listen to Denny Matthews, the more you appreciate him.

...in a healthy hate of Denver, Oakland, LA, and New York.

...that the 1977 Royals were the "best ever."

...in a sheboygan smothered in Pale Ale mustard, washed down with a Boulevard Wheat.

...in Arthur Bryant's on the way to the park.

...that we're fortunate to have Joe Posnanski writing for the local rag.

...that, no matter what the latest disappointment happens to be, at the end of the day, KC is a pretty darn good place to be a sports fan.