March 2011 Update

Here we are facing March Madness right square in the face. We sit here on March 1 with the Kansas Jayhawks in first place after Kansas State knocked of the Texas Longhorns last night. Who would ever have though Kansas would be back in first place. Still, they have a lot of work to do with playing Texas A&M tomorrow night and to close out the season, Missouri on Saturday. Of course, KU beating Missouri would help out Kansas State a great deal.

So, here we are at the brink of the best sports month ever! If you enjoy college basketball, like me, you have been enjoying non-stop college basketball since October/November. Now, it gets even better with conference tournaments and NCAA tourney starting up too. This is one of my favorite times of the year ranking right up there with Thanksgiving.

So, it has been a few months since I last posted anything. What a broken record! I have been meaning to post and then before I know it the day (or the month) is over and nothing is posted. I had good hopes of keeping at least my blog, if not my web site, updated with current and "interesting" events from my life. That has not happened, so I am forced to do my updates in huge chunks of random thoughts all put together in a matter of a evening.

Football season last year was a interesting sport to follow. We had our Kansas City Chiefs who shocked everyone and ended up doing very well throughout the season. They even made it to the playoffs.... only to lose badly in their playoff game. We had the Washburn Ichabods who made it to a bowl game and kicked butt! Then, there was the Kansas Jayhawk football team who had a miserable season. Losing bad to the Kansas State Wildcats and other horrible loses. It was a fun football season and especially so for followers of the Washburn Ichabods. I love those tailgates!

Carrie and I had a good Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with the Shirrons' and Christmas Day with the Havertys'. I helped to put on the program for the Havertys' Christmas where we took our karaoke machine. Everyone had a great time and it was good to see everyone. It was a odd Christmas... but something I do not feel like I should go into on a blog.

New Years Eve celebration was not a huge party for us either. We had our friends, Brenda and Javier, over to play games, watch movies, and of course drink some adult beverages. Greg and Kerrice came over later in the evening and we played games. It was a fun low key evening.

In early January, we learned that our friend, Ray Galloway, had passed away. Ray lived in Helena, AR and we made the trip to attend his funeral. What a great guy! I had known him for seven or eight years. He was a fun loving easy going guy who would bend over to do anything for his friends and family. I am so glad that we were able to make it down to be with his family in their time of need.

February was a complete blur. It seemed to have flown so fast that I cannot believe it is already March 1. Well, it is about my bedtime and I am ready to head to bed. This is one of those blogs where I have no idea if anyone reads this or not and I really do not care. I know that I like going back and reading posts as it brings back memories and I enjoy posting. I need to make it a priority (or set a reminder) to do it more often.

Until I post again, have a great day and a great month!

Last Big 12 Team Left... Baylor

Kansas State lost leaving one last Big 12 team to make it to the Final Four. Baylor plays Sunday and it should be a good game. K-State lost to Butler today and it was a tough loss. Once again, there were Kansas fans cheering for Kansas State which still seems just right to me.

Kansas State started off sluggish in the game today against Butler. They were not hitting the jumpers or even the free throws to start the game. The picked things back up after the half, but then found themselves down again mid-way through the second half. The last minute and half of the game it appeared as though Kansas State did not want to play basketball. Throwing the ball away and not focusing on what needed to be accomplished. Tough loss for the Wild Cats and I was hoping for two Big 12 teams in the Final Four.

Having two teams in the Final Four would have noted the Big 12 as a force to be reckoned. A team from the North (Kansas State) and a team from the South (Baylor). The number overall seed of the tournament (Kansas)... granted, they loss to a higher seed in the second round... but there were a number of Big 12 teams in the tournament and two advanced far. I would have loved to have seen two teams in the Final Four from the Big 12 to show those commentators what we are all about. Basketball!

Well, now that Baylor is the only team left from the Big 12 left, if they lose, I will not really care what happens for the other remaining teams. I am not f a fan of Kentucky... I am not a fan of Western Virginia... Butler, well, good job on beating K-State, but I really do not care if they win the whole thing at this point.

It has been a fun and wild NCAA Tournament. Wow! Major upsets (i.e. Kansas Jayhawks), multiple over-time games with a few double OT games thrown in for good measure. I would not even think of changing the layout of the tourney because this is what makes this time of year great!

Tough Saturday Night for Jayhawk Fans

A difficult Saturday night for Kansas Jayhawk basketball fans yesterday. We watched the Jayhawks struggle the entire game against North Iowa. We started off sluggish and never caught up with what they were doing. When we had the chance to tie, we let them take a three point shot that they nailed. They UNI played their game and did not get intimated by the University of Kansas. Good job University of Northern Iowa!

Last night following the game I continued to follow Twitter comments while I watched the Kansas State game. It still surprises me how KState fans seem to rejoice when Kansas fails. What causes them to feel this way? Shouldn't we rejoice when Kansas schools do well unless they are playing one another? Shouldn't we pull for one another or if nothing else pull for other Big 12 schools? Well, apparently not if you are a Kansas State fan! You cannot understand why there should be a need to cheer for Kansas.... I guess it is a jealous behavior from KSU fans.

Well, I woke this morning thinking that it all had been a dream. It was not a dream! Whenever Kansas fails early in the NCAA tourney, it always brings back a flood of memories from when I was a kid. Going back to the Larry Brown era when we would lose early and I would get upset and go out and shoot baskets for hours on end. Going through what could have been or where we should have been.

Today I was left with not shooting baskets, but instead lounging around the house. I read some, watched television, and played on the Internet. I did not do much at all. I am watching the NCAA games from today.... currently watching Texas A&M have a battle with Purdue.

I know that I will continue to cheer for Kansas State and any other Big 12 team in the next rounds. I love this time of year and having MY team knocked out early will not change that love. Having my team knocked out early will not make me angry at the other Big 12 teams just because they are still in the tournament. I am proud of the season that the Kansas Jayhawks had this year and I look forward to next year. Another run at the title and another Bill Self basketball team!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

What a Fall.... Recap and New Long Post

Well, as I mentioned, it has been a while since I really posted anything to my blog. What is a blog if I never write anything. I know..... it is just empty space that is out-of-date. Perfect! That's what I have here.

Well, as you start looking around the site trying to find content, you will see that the forums no longer work either. I have not had the time, or motivation, to work to resolve that problem. I would like to have another forum on my site, but it is just not that important right now. So, anyone looking for the forums are getting a page with a error message. I did fix up the photo gallery a while back and I am happy with how it turned out. Everything else, well, has just been the same for the past

two something years. Great!

OK, no on to my update which I have been meaning to do for sometime now. The last time I posted anything meaningful to this blog was back in August. I recapped what had happened over the Summer. I spoke a lot regarding my golf game. Well, my golf game basically stopped in late July. My elbow was hurting so much that it forced me to go to the doctor. I had it checked out and then had to go to physical therapy (PT). After all of the PT, I have not played any golf. I missed it a lot, but hope to be able to get back out to play in the Spring. Granted, we have had a lot of good days recently that I should have been playing, but Carrie and I have had something to do every weekend in October.

The Fall semester started back in August. It was a fun start to the semester with a major upgrade at work. We upgraded MyWashburn and our email systems. This caused a few weeks of tense times at work, but it eventually was resolved. We are running on the new version of MyWashburn, but our email system is still running on old hardware. The good news is that with this new upgrade, my Blackberry syncs with email (read, deleted, and moved) as well as with the calendar system. It is very nice! I am hoping to be able to keep it for years to come as it does cost money to use the service.

September was a busy month... in fact, the next two months were extremely busy! Carrie and I were on the go both September and October. It was a fun kind of busy though, so we did not complain. September we had football games just about every weekend for Washburn. I think during the course of the season I only missed about one game which was the first one of the season. We made it to all the rest.

The other big news for September was that my friend, Javier, came back from Costa Rica. He came back on Wednesday, September 23. Brenda, Cheri, Eileen, Carrie, and I rented a limo to pick him up from the airport. It was great! He was completely surprised and we all had a great time! We drank the whole way there, the whole way back, and into the evening. The good news was that I took the next day off of work to run errands with Javier. (Carrie's idea and it was a good one!) We have had Javier living with us while he is renting out his house and trying to sell it since September 23. We are having fun and he is also helping us to eat healthier as well as motivation to work out. His mother is coming to live with us on November 13 for three weeks for Thanksgiving which will be fun. Carrie and I will be gone during some of that time though traveling to Law Vegas, but we are looking forward to having her with us. I know Javi will enjoy it too!

The first part of October brought the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in Helena, Arkansas. It was a great time! Of course I drank a lot and ate too much, but it was fun! A lot of great music and it is always fun to see everyone each year. Chad and I went down this year while Corrie and Carrie had fun in Houston. Yes, Carrie bought purses (notice plural)! Oh well.... There were many great bands. We did have a nice day on Thursday. Friday was rainy and cold... Saturday was just cold! It was a great time though and I enjoyed it once again. I believe this was my 5th year to attend the festival and I am already looking forward to next year! I am hoping that next year, Carrie and Corrie are able to make it. I have only been to the festival once with Carrie. I know she has a great time in Houston with Corrie, but it would be good to go to the festival again with her.

November Carrie and I will be heading to Las Vegas. This is our forth time to Vegas. We are looking forward to it. We will be meeting Chad and Corrie there for the second time. We can hardly wait! We leave Thursday, November 19 and return Tuesday, November 24. We both work one day and then of course there is Thanksgiving on the 26 and 27. We planned it that way! We will be doing some gambling, but not a whole lot. We usually split up $100 or so between the two of us and gamble with it until it is done... Or until Carrie doubles her money and pockets the first part she started with. Me, I usually go through everything we start with and then I watch her play. Gulp! We will be going to a show, but we are not sure which one yet. We got our hotel rooms for really cheap, but not as cheap as what Chad and Corrie got theirs at. They stayed at the place before, so they get member benefits. Oh well!

The football season is starting to end. The Kansas Jayhawks were not anywhere close to what they were hyped at doing this year. We have lost four straight with the most recent last weekend against Kansas State. Reesing has not looked good at all for the past four games and we are on a bad slide. Doubtful we will win any of our last three remaining games with as bad as they are playing and it does not look like any bowl games are in the works for KU this season. I have heard rumors that Mangino might be on his way out. Funny how he does so good for so many years and then he has one bad year... they want to get rid of him. Geez!

The Washburn football team was alright this year. Not great, but not bad. They missed out on playing in a bowl game as well. Their season is done and now we start basketball. Javier and I need to get to some Washburn basketball games this season. I still want to go to a volleyball game, but we never seem to start looking at those until it is too late.

Well, that is a long recap of what has occurred the last few months. Again, I am going to try and update this more often. If nothing else, than with a short message to say where I am at. Have a great rest of the week and I will chat with you later....

Wow! Big Twelve Championchip Game and NCAA Tourney

Kansas played a great game to win the Championship game against Texas today.  Brandon Rush was solid improving his status for a NBA pick hitting 6 of 9 from three point range with nineteen points.  A overall balanced attack from Kansas once again in their win.  Chalmers had 30 points today.  Kansas looked good in both the first and second half which was good to see for a team that has not played great in both halves for the past half dozen games.

 

Of course following the Big Twelve Championship game was the NCAA tournament selection and that found Kansas a number one seed in the Midwest along with five other Big Twelve teams.  Kansas State did get into the tournament and they are paired in the Midwest which is fitting.  Being in the Midwest means that there could be a rubber match to decide the winner of the Kansas State vs. Kansas games of the regular season.  We did lose out on seeing a rematch between these two teams during the Big Twelve tournament. 

 

If you have not yet joined the NCAA tourney, drop me a note via a comment on this post and I will send you the information.  You have until Thursday to get your entry created and your picks selected.  See you in the Big Dance... the best time of the year!

 

Kansas State Wow!

Kansas State tried to lose the game late.  I just finished watching the game and thought that they were going to blow it and let Colorado win the game (see Kansas State Has Problems) that I posted with six minutes left in the game.  It was not a pretty finish to the game when KSU had a double digit lead in the first half.

 

Granted, Colorado has something to prove and was not going to roll over and give up.  I did not think that it was going to end with a six point different (78-72 KSU).  I thought it was going to be at least a double digit win for the Wildcats.

 

The Wildcats have work to do in their next road game against Iowa State on Saturday.  Iowa State is in second to last place of the Big Twelve, but you can bet it will not be a cake walk.  Another win is needed for KSU to make a strong case for making it to the tournament.

 

Kansas State Has Problems

Kansas State was blowing out Colorado by double digits in the first half.  The game appeared to be over.  Suddenly with seven minutes left in the game, Colorado is back within 5 - 10 points.  This was a game that KSU was supposed to dominate.  Not only do they have their key player Beasley, but it is also senior night in Manhattan.  Yet, K-State is struggling against Colorado who sits in last place of the Big Twelve (11-17 overall and 3-11 conf).

 

Wow!  This is not what I was expecting.  I was expecting a blow out like we had last night with the Jayhawks.  This type of game cannot be helping the case for KSU to make it to the Big Dance.  With a little over six minutes left in the game, KSU needs to turn it up and finish this game strong.  If Colorado is within five at the end of this game, that hurts KSU's case for getting in the NCAA tourney.

 

Rematch of Kansas State Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks

What a Saturday! Trip to Legends to celebrate a birthday (see Birthday Celebration for Juanca) and college basketball. It does not get much better than that to make for a perfect Saturday!

My day started off taking the Civic to get brakes checked, oil changed, and fluids checked. I was at Sharp Honda for a little over an hour. While I was there I test drove a Honda Accord 2008 which I liked, and watched ESPN Game Day. They were of course at Allen Field House the Home of the Jayhawks for Game Day. The place was already rock'n at 10 am and the game was not until that evening. This only fueled the excitement and environment for the rematch of K-State and KU.

Kansas State beat up on the Jayhawks back in February in Manhattan. The Jayhawks went to the "Little Apple" and suffered their first loss of the season. This started a slide for them of not playing well and another loss to Texas. After beating KSU yesterday 88 - 74. Beasley scored 39 points for the Wildcats, but he did not get much help from the rest of the Cats. I did not have a chance to watch the first half, but from what I read on Jason Whitlock's post on the KC Star that KU won with help from the officials. I did not see those calls, so I cannot comment on whether there was help from the officials to give the game to the Jayhawks.

I do know that Walker and Pullen got into some kind of funk and did not step up to what needed to be done to win the game. I do not care how many points a start player makes, there still has to be help from his teammates to win the game. Basketball is after all a team sport and it requires a team to win the game. Too often this season I have watched Beasley score a lot of points and Kansas State loses.

There is no doubt in my mind that Michael Beasley is a great player. He definitely has the talent to play in the NBA. According to Beasley, he has not stated whether he is going to the NBA or not. Read a interesting article posted on ESPN Saturday regarding Beasley and what he has gone through in his life to this point. (See Beasley teetering on the precipice of adulthood on ESPN.) I did find it interesting to hear what kind of vehicle Beasley drives and the fact that his Mom and siblings moved to Manhattan so Beasley could have his family close.

Kansas moved to 26 - 3 (11 - 3 conference) and are now tied with Texas for number one in the Big Twelve. Kansas State moves to 18 - 10 (8 - 6 conference). Kansas State is back in a position where they need to win their next two games to avoid being skipped over by the NCAA selection committee this year. Recall that last year they were skipped over as a bubble team and there is concern this could happen again this year even with a star player.

Kansas plays again Monday night against Texas Tech who just came off a huge victory of their own beating Texas 83 - 80. You can bet that Tech is going to be pumped up for Monday night when they face the league tied first place Jayhawks in Lawrence for senior night. The Jayhawks must win Monday night and again on March 8 when they face Texas A&M.

Have a great week and I will be back Monday night.

Basketball Thoughts through Monday Evening

What a weekend it was for Washburn mens and womens basketball. WU played Emporia State on Saturday and won both games. The men won 76-58 and the women won 78-52. Both are playing well coming down the stretch of the season and playing when it is the best time to be playing well so they can go strong into the post season.

The Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon did not perform well. They never got things going in the game against going in a 60-61 loss to Oklahoma State at OSU. This is the third loss on the season for the Jayhawks and about the forth or fifth time this season that they did not appear to be playing as a team. Nothing was clicking early on in the game and they certainly did not get their typical half where the team clicked. Nothing seemed to go well for them on Saturday. There was discussion that I heard about on Monday that it was caused by the death of cousins (or relatives) of two Kansas players; according to Coach Self, this took away from the focus of these two players on the game. If this it in fact the reason, perhaps those two players should have been left behind to deal with their grief.

Saturday night found the Kansas State Wildcats losing to Baylor. Beasley and Walker combined for seventy plus points and lost the game. I did not see any of this game, but looking at the stats afterwards it would appear that no one else showed up for the game except for Beasley and Walker. Scoring that many points between two players and not able to pull out the win; something seems wrong with this picture.

Tonight found Kansas State playing the Texas Longhorns on Big Monday at 8 pm on ESPN. It was overall a good game, but once again K-State could not close the deal. They let it get away from them late in the game while leading some of the first half and starting the second half tied. Beasley had a double-double in the first half to keep that streak alive. Meanwhile, Walker only had one point in the game. So I go back to ask what happened in the KSU vs. Baylor game? Seven-five points combined and then Beasley/Walker only combined for 31 points in this game which was another loss. What is wrong with this picture?

The next game for Kansas is Wednesday night and then next Saturday it is Kansas State vs. Kansas in Lawrence, KS. After the way these two teams have been playing, it is going to be a interesting weekend!

I have to point out that there are no undefeated teams left in the NCAA. Memphis finally lost on Saturday night to Tennessee. So, as we are a week away from March it is only going to get more interesting.

Kansas State Loss to Nebraska Corn Huskers... Beasley and Thoughts

There is no doubt that Michael Beasley of Kansas State is a great freshman and that he has done wonders for the Kansas State team. However, you must admit that the guy is a little into himself. Pre-game, it is not obvious who he is speaking to, but ESPN caught him talking to someone that "tonight was going to be a good night" and that he was going to score 50 points. This after coming off 40 points again Missouri last weekend. Come on now, he is good, but not that good to be predicting how many points he is going to score.

Well, Beasley ended up scoring 17 points on the night and getting his twenty-two double-double to tie Carmelo Anthony for the most double-doubles for a freshman. K-State still has five games left in their season. That is a great stat and certainly something for Beasley and company to hang their hat upon.

Still, it takes me back to Beasley commenting before the game that "it was going to be a great night" and that he was going to score 50 points. This from the same guy that said he would beat Kansas at "... home .... their house ... or beat them in Africa" (see post from January 30 titled Wednesday Night Woes for Kansas... Huge Win for Kansas State!). He tends to make some huge statements and so far has not been able to live up to the 50 point statement; the other statements, well, it is too early to tell on those statements. I am still waiting for March 1 to see what happens at Kansas.

Tonight in the loss to Nebraska, I could see freshman characteristics stepping on the floor. Walker who seems to always cry at every foul set things off and Beasley was not far behind crying over a foul he received. Walkers' technical was just plain silly because he has already scored the basket. This had Walker sitting on the bench for almost the remainder of the game with four fouls.

Believe it or not, but I was pulling for Kansas State in this game. I want there to be no excuses when K-State plays Kansas on March 1.

Bad Weekend for K-State Too

Kansas State did not have a good weekend of basketball either. I was able to watch the first half of the game and grew concerned when Michael Beasley went out of the game for a few minutes with a bad ankle. He came back into the game later in the second half which I was relieved to see. Now you might be wondering why I would care if Beasley is out of the game. Well, the reason is simple. When March comes I want Kansas State to be a full force so there are no excuses when they play Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. I want all the players present and no excuses.

This does lead me to another thought that I have discussed with Kansas fans and Kansas State fans a like. I find it interesting how it seems that Kansas State fans want KU to lose no matter what. Whether we are playing another Big Twelve school or out of our conference. They simply want Kansas to lose. Why is it that KSU fans have this mentality? When Kansas State plays other non-Big Twelve teams I pull for Kansas State. Overall, it helps all Big Twelve schools if all Big Twelve teams succeed. This includes Missouri! The one team I dislike in all of the Big Twelve is Missouri. However, I still cheer for them when they are playing a non-Big Twelve team. In talking to other fans I do not hear this from them when those fans follow other teams from Kansas State.

I know parents, friends, and general posting I read on boards where Kansas State fans simply want Kansas to fail. No matter what sport and no matter who they are playing. It makes me wonder why there is so much hatred toward Kansas from Kansas State fans.

OK, so I am generalizing and this obviously does not cover every KSU fan out there. I know that the majority that I have talked to this has been their mentality towards Kansas.

For that, I say go Kansas State and get into the NCAA Tourney!

Wednesday Night Woes for Kansas... Huge Win for Kansas State!

What a game! Well, at least for Kansas State it was a hell of a game. They did exactly what they need to do in order to take care of business and put away the 20-0 Kansas Jayhawks. Beasley and Walker did what they need to do with not getting into foul trouble and finished off KU for the first time at home in 24 straight at home in Manhattan. Michael Beasley got one part right with stating:

"We're going to beat Kansas at home! We're going to beat them in their house! We're going to beat them in Africa!"

Well, at least the first right so far. It is too early to tell about the second part. Bill Walker simply stated straight and to the point that

I'll predict it.

I'm not scared to say it.

I'm a man. I can live up to my words.

I'm saying we'll beat'em both places.

Well, so far they have lived up to those statements in the first game located in Manhattan. Beasley and Walker combined for 47 points.

The Jayhawks never got into sync in this game and K-State was definitely pumped up for this game. I certainly thought they would be and had a discussion with KSU fans at work about this game. For some reason the KSU fans I spoke to did not think that this was a big game for KSU. Well, tell that to the fans in Manhattan that stormed the court and reacted like they had just won the national championship. When I told the KSU fans that I thought it was the best chance to beat the Jayhawks they came back with the fact that KSU beat KU two years ago. They thought that Walker and Beasley would both be in foul trouble and it would be a lose. Wrong! Beasley did not get his first foul until well into the second half. K-State put on a game all the way around. The only spot that did not shine for KSU was their foul shooting.

Kansas State moves to 5 - 0 while Kansas goes to 5 - 1 in the Big Twelve. It is going to be a lot of fun in February and lets not forget March or the first part of April. Geez, before we know it we are going to be in the midst of March Madness and the Final Four will be here.

Good game tonight Cats! We will see you again in Lawrence on March 1 at 8 pm.

Big Wednesday!

You have heard of Big Monday, what we have coming up Wednesday will be Big Wednesday when in-state rivals Kansas State University faces #2 Kansas in Manhattan. The game is going to be huge because of the talent that K-State possesses. On the other hand, Kansas is going to be tough because they are sitting at 20-0 on the season with only one other team (Memphis) being unbeaten this far.

Michael Beasley was a menace in his last game scoring high numbers in just a few minutes of play. Will he be able to help guide the Wildcats to a win over a power house coming into Manhattan? Time will of course only tell. We know that Kansas has gone on a winning streak over KSU for the past twenty plus years. We also know that it cannot last forever. I for one do not want it to end this year against KSU with Michael Beasley or Walker. So time will tell.

Lets go Hawks!