A Tale of Two Programs

We're trying to cover quite a few of the spring games this year as there's always some good storylines and interesting tidbits of info.

Two stood out this morning.

One was a overview of Kansas spring game

Another was an article discussing the upcoming Nebraska spring game

The Kansas article was nothing to special. Todd Reesing struggled a bit in the spring game and quite a few of their starters are gone. Nothing special. One thing stood out though

7,500.

That's how many people attended the spring game for the Jayhawks football team. The team that is 4 months removed from the greatest season in school history.

On the flipside, Nebraska is coming off one of the worst, most embarrassing seasons in school history. Across the board, it was just a disappointing year, pesonified by the complete and utter schalacking at the hand of the aforementioned Jayhawks (73-31... and we ain't talking B-Ball)

How many tickets did Nebraska sell? All of 'em. 65,000 seats were sold by April 9th.

Is it the whole football school/basketball school thing?

Even if that's the case, you have to imagine that more than 7,500 people care enough to come to the games. It's a great time to be a Jayhawks fan. Your football team just had the best year ever. Your hoops team just won the National Championship!

Why is a school that didn't get a bowl bid or a tournament invite is beating your attendance by almost 10x ?

Culture, my friends. Culture.


Case in point:

Texas and Texas A&M have just come into having legitimate hoops teams this last decade. Before Rick Barnes and Billy Gillespie showed up in Texas, attendance was low and people didn't care. Barnes started winning and the people started coming. Gillespie started winning in College Station and people started coming. Building a culture for a sport takes time. What makes it harder is when people come along and steal your coaches (thanks Kentucky) and don't really let a program get going. Both Texas teams were well into their 3rd years of success before near sellouts were regular.

Mark Mangino seems like he wants to stay. Here's hoping he does, and that the preseason game can start being an exciting event in Lawrence, Kansas.

And your 2008 NCAA Tournament Champs are

the Memphis Tigers.... since I'm awesome and can pick games like Marty McFly... that means the Jayhawks.

No matter what, a good season to all.

Nostradumbis.

I fully deny, defer, and distract from anything in my previous post*. Notably the predictions.

Opposite day!!! Ha Ha!




This would be why I don't get paid for this crap.

The Sickness... The Sickness

After staying up till one in the morning for three nights coughing, royally screw it, I'm staying home today.

Congrats to the OSU Buckeyes on their NIT Championship last night. Very respectable finish.

For this weekend:

UNC over Kansas
UCLA over Memphis

UNC over UCLA


Enjoy the weekend!

Spring Break

and we are out like the fat kid in dodgeball...
dyslexic during scrabble
blind kid in Pictionary
Dennis Franchione on defense

wocka wocka... Fran jokes never get old.


Some awesomeness from this weekend:

The Beast Has Risen!!!!! OH NOES!!!!

GRAAWERARRWLLLLLLL!!!!!1!!!

Yesterday I posted on the boringness of CFB's offseason...


only to have the beast resurrected last night as I watched way too much Conference tournament hoops.

My hope in mankind and all things good and sacred have been restored, my friends. The excitement of actual competition and teams getting knocked out of the tournament by a loss instead of the boring conference schedule where it ends in "Oh my, Duke and UNC are top of the ACC?? Whoah!!!" Or Memphis won the CUSA? Holy Crap!!" "UCLA is at the top of the Pac-10? Never!"

It's the part of the season where you just need "one more win" to have a shot.

It's where the team that won the NC the year before can somehow miss out on even making the Tournament... sorry Orson.

It's when your team can finally get it together for a few days and show the critics one last time you deserve the shot at the big time.

Some interesting points thus far:

-Florida probably ain't in.
-The Big East has turned up pretty interesting
-Pitt & WVU have come on strong late and a rematch of the Backyard Brawl is looking possible
-The Big XII was looking to send 6 teams dancing. Kansas, KSU, and Texas are locks at this point, the question lies in Baylor, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. Baylor lost in double overtime against a bad Colorado team and A&M distanced themselves by solidly beating a bad ISU team. Oklahoma has a good chance to take out Colorado and solidify their lock. If A&M beats KSU, they're in. Baylor may be on the outside looking in now.
- A big win by OSU today against MSU will lock OSU for the tournament.
- Sexy cinderlla stories are Drake, Butler, and Winthrop.

More Sexy

From the Sporting News:

Bruce Pearl sexiness... the best kind

The Big XII is a Harsh Mistress

We've done two basketball posts now and they both involve Texas Tech.

Why you ask?

Because in less than one week the Raiders have lost amazingly, won against a top 10 team, and lost even more amazingly.

I don't know how you manage to sandwich one of your best wins in school history between your two worst losses in school history, but congratulations Red Raiders. My mask is off to you.

In True Rivalry fashion

Several things to note here.

1. Guy in orange jump suit getting b-slapped
2. Girl in wife beater w/ the black eye. The shirt says I dated Dozier (accused of assault with his former GF)
3. Multiple birds.
4. Black cop completely missing the white-on-white crime going on above her. (Stretching it. I know.)


This is admittedly stolen from EDSBS.

But it's still as funny as heck.