Nelson's Love and Affection Saves Day for 'Cats

Haha - notice the Nelson hair band reset in the post title?

Sunday LRH and I made the trek up to Bridgeport, CT to take in the K-State women's NCAA first round match-up against Chattanooga. LRH worked as a manager for three years for the Lady 'Cats, so she has a special connection to the program. Plenty of seats were available for this hard fought clash, with K-State pulling away at the end for the 69-59 victory.


There's Rebecca Lobo working the sidelines for the Deuce. For the longest time, LRH and I thought it was Diana Turasi. But... it was Lobo.


Here's a nice shot of the opening tip.


Kelsey Nelson (sister of KSU wideout Jordy) ices the game in the second half with some clutch free throws. The seldom-used Nelson went off for 20 points!

Unfortunately, LRH and I won't be making the commute for tomorrow evening's game versus 4-seed Louisville. We'll have to catch the game on the Deuce. Overall, it was a fun experience and I can now say I've been to an NCAA tournament game. Maybe next year I'll get to attend the men's tournament.

A Plea for Reason

Last four posts: The Beas, Josh Hamilton, The Beas, Josh Hamilton, so...

Checking CBSSports yesterday evening, I noticed the epic K-State v. USC The Beas v. Mayo game is slated for a Thursday evening 7:10 PM tip. Obviously, the marquee match-up is a natural for prime time. Nice!

But... upon further schedule perusal, I spied Duke v. Belmont is also slated for a Thursday 7:10 PM start. A creeping feeling of dread started creeping over me. Might CBS dare to slot the Duke/Belmont game for my local CBS affiliate (WHP)?? I certainly hope not! However, Duke is situated in the east (along with Belmont) and often associated with the "northeast" region. Doing the math... I'm expecting the worst and hoping for the best.

I just can't fathom CBS denying even part of the country... well, except for North Carolina, the opportunity to catch the freshman national POY (The Beas) squaring off against one of the top four freshman in the nation (Mayo). And oh yeah, don't sleep on K-State's Bill Walker (OJ Mayo's best friend) and Jacob Pullen and USC's Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett. Please, CBS/WHP, do us a solid.

A Moral Victory

Saturday officially kicked-off the college football season. And it was K-State's big chance to shine, going up against top 20-ranked Auburn with primetime national tv-coverage and Ron Franklin calling the game! It rarely gets bigger than that! LRH (an alum) was fired up. She and I were geared up in our purple Kansas State shirts. Plus, LRH made a flat-out awesome pregame dinner. YUM! It looked like everything was aligning for a 'Cats victory.

Unfortunately, K-State exhibited a penchant for shooting themselves in the foot with penalties (looking at you, Alesane), killing many a drive. Costly penalties, coupled with a late fumble return for an Auburn touchdown sealed the deal in Auburn's 23-13 victory.

+ I enjoyed the trickeration K-State broke out during one drive in the third quarter. It resulted in their only touchdown.

+ The 'Cats could have tried to establish some semblence of a running game (16-27).

+ Much-hyped sophomore QB Josh Freeman is decent, but he reminded me of a post-injury Daunte Culpepper more than anyone. I would prefer a little more El Roberson in the K-State quarterback.

LRH had a more sympathetic view towards ESPN darlings, VT, than I did. I wanted them to lose. Also, she was really fired up about the Appalachian State game/eventual win. But as the evening wore on, she grew pretty tired of hearing about the upset and seeing the highlights. She suggested I write about that.

(LRH - the label is a play on one of Brett's blog labels.)