LRK FTW!

LRK and I were watching College GameDay last Saturday (I like the whole show, she likes the "picks" segment at the end) and Chris, Lee and Herbstreit (who LRK once, hilariously referred to as "Curbstreit") were in Austin, TX referencing the "Hook 'em Horns" and "Guns Up" hand gestures of Texas and Texas Tech, respectively.

With all these Big XII hand gestures floating around, I queried LRK as to what Kansas State's would be, given the current state of the program.

Without missing a beat, she flashed something similar to the image below...



Classic. LRK FTW!

Just In Case

In the event that future spawn between me and LRK do not receive full rides from the school of their choice (except if they decide to legacy and attend Etown - no athletic scholarships) I am posting how to go about DIY athletic scholarships.

Momentous

I mailed the "payoff amount" check last week, but my one college loan provider reflected today my account was "paid in full." Granted, I still have another (more vicious) college loan outstanding, but I officially paid off the easier, more manageable one. Yay! It feels good.

+ WXPN providing my office soundtrack keeps paying off. Not only have I caught MGMT's "Time to Pretend" (blogged about already) a few times, but I'm really digging the Ben Folds ditty "You Don't Know Me" featuring Regina Spektor.

Phoenix Weekender!

A few hours from now, LRK and I will be departing for the PHX*! I am excited. Not only will it be my farthest trip west ever, but we get to visit operative BAH and his wife, LDH.

In addition, BAH and I will be taking in - which until last week was one of the games of the year until ASU spit the bit against UNLV - Arizona State v. Georgia! Still... it's the Saturday primetime game on ABC and still gets the Musberger and Herbstreit treatment.

More Knowshon!

I'm not sure what else the trip will entail. There's the possibility of some company softball. Other than that, just hopefully good, fun times, catching up and making experiences.

* metro area

Watch Mor Football

Two of my favorite things - Chick-fil-A and college football - will further collide this season with the news that Chick-fil-A is becoming a sponsor of ESPN's College Gameday. Note to ESPN: more Chick-fil-A, less Big & Rich.


Yes, I snapped a pic of the Chick-fil-A stand at Falcon Stadium when LRK and I visited.

+ Huzzah! Dunn is done in the 'nati. Finally, my three least favorite (or most despised) Reds are now ex-Reds. Fyi, that's - in order - Sean Casey, Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr. Up next, Crusty Baker, Corey Patterson and Adam Harang.

Baylor Sells Out

Back in January, I gleefully commented on the resurgence of Baylor Bears hoops. After the Patrick Dennehy murder and Dave Bliss fiasco left the program in shambles, it was nice to see Homer Drew's golden son, Scott, turning things around seemingly the right, squeaky clean way. The running and gunning, stop-and-pop Bears made the NCAA Tournament last year, before losing to Purdue in the first round.

So it comes with disappointment to report Drew and the Bears hired Dwon Clifton as director of player development Friday. Clifton is the AAU coach for John Wall, arguably the #1 recruit in the class of '09. Wall has struck comparisons with Derrick Rose, and the school that hired Wall immediately became the heavy favorite for Wall's services. You can connect the dots.

Baylor's hiring of Clifton is not illegal or unique to big-time D-I college hoops. Larry Brown hired Danny Manning's father. Bob Huggins hired Dalonte 420K. Bill Self hired Mario Chalmers father. Kelvin Sampson hired Eric Gordon's AAU coach. The list is lengthy...

It is disappointing Baylor, a feel good story last year, decided to "grow up" to big boy status so fast, and in doing so made a deal with the devil of college recruiting tactics. So it will be with a little less glee that I will view LaceDarius, Tweety and the rest of the Bears this coming season. Baylor sold out.

You Can Do Better!

Earlier, I mentioned my prowess identifying college football helmets (50/50). Well, LRK pointed me to a second helmet quiz! I just completed it, and scored another 50/50.

[/self-congratulatory pat on the back]

There's still 30 or so days until college football kicks off, so test your college football helmet mettle. The quizzes are Excel files.

Good luck!

+ Team USA putting on a little showtime v. Turkey.

Boo Jake Plummer!

Sunday late-morning, LRK and I were watching SportsCenter when the Sklar brothers ran out their "The Bracket" racket. It was an interesting bracket, albeit passe: best sports mustache. One opening round match-up pitted Jake Plummer v. Jeff Kent (?). Anyway, the Sklar brothers rattled off each respective 'stache's pros and cons and LRK goes, "Boo!"

"What?" I inquired.

"Boo! Jake Plummer," she answered.

Evidently LRK was not a fan of the Jake the Snake era in Denver.

No word on Jay Cutler (who I hope punches Phillip Rivers in the mouth this season).

In summation, I am quite lucky.

+ Enjoy Carson Palmer's dispatch on spending a good deal of time in Ohio State country. That's why even after a down season, he's a Mr. Sparkle fav.

Go Hang

At the gym this morning, I glanced across the free weights to the adjacent basketball courts, and spotted some middle school-aged kid sporting a Psycho T replica. (That's Tyler Hansbrough for you non-college fans)

What a nerd!

To make matters worse, he was not flopping. He was not jumping into people with arms flailing. He did not exhibit more desire and hustle than all other Division I college basketball student-athletes combined.

He did posses a similar, Beaker-like quality to him, though.

+ Zimbabwe obviously needs to work on their comebacks.

Take Me To Your Leader

Photo via BAH - Prez Bush recently hosted the 2008 NCAA championship winning Memphis choke job benefactors Kansas Jayhawk hoops team.



Doesn't Russell Robinson (to the right of the Prez) look like an alien?

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.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As much as I dislike when I see people in the comments section of sports blogs state, "I believe the first round Thursday/Friday games of the NCAA Tournament should be national holiday" I must admit as Championship Week is upon us and the tournament draws near I feel the same way. Thankfully, for me, my employer declares Good Friday a company holiday. And the Friday of Good Friday just happens to be the same Friday of the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Yay!!! I'm already fully immersed in Championship Week, but starting Thursday, March 20 at 5:00 PM, I'm going to be watching March Madness until the final Thursday night game ends and then start back up again Friday at noon without the chains of corporate shackles. This makes me happy.

+ ESPN wasn't too blatant trying to ensure that the its preferred candidate, Tyler Hansbrough, receives POY over The Beas. I lost track how many times "the four letter's" babbling heads, both on Gameday and during the UNC / Dook contest (where Hansbrough disappeared for much of the second half), pleaded that "Psycho T" is the deserving player. Anyone who can't objectively contrast The Beas' smooth, transcendent, multidimensionalism with the great white hope's spastic flailing in the lane aka "relentless work ethic" and find The Beas to be clearly superior in every way needs an optometrist stat!

+ Sunday afternoon I enjoyed catching The Valley Championship. Drake spreading the floor, driving the lane, kicking out and raining three's. Gotta love the Drake. Plus, Korver sighting!

+ Bonus bit: Way back in November, when LRH and I were returning to PA from Colorado Springs, we spotted and dined with Ohio Valley Conference hoops squad Austin Peay at Denver Int'l Airport. Who knew at the time AP would win the OVC conference championship and earn the automatic bid? Good luck, Governors!!

Stanford Can't Wait to See U(CLA) Again

Consarnit, I knew I should have eschewed sleep last night in order to watch the rest of the UCLA / Stanford game. But Stanford was up by 11 midway through the second half?? Balderdash. I missed this frantic ending where UCLA rallied and the Cardinal got royally hosed. Collison was snuffed!



And listen, I am by far a Stanford fan or apologist. In fact, I possess an extreme distaste for the Lopez twins. Previously, when Stanford was playing Arizona on ABC, I txt'd BAH and queried, "Do the Lopez twins get all the calls??" (He responded affirmatively). But that is beside the fact - Stanford should have won last night's contest.

+ Well, The Wire wraps up its five season run on HBO this Sunday. Having never seen an episode, I don't know what I'm missing. But listening to people talk about the show and hearing the passion and feeling they exude describing it leads me to believe I'm missing something.

Also, that I've mentioned The Wire and/or The Wire series finale on my blog indicates that I'm cool.

A Little Ridiculous

Thanks to PTI chiming in this evening, I am posting this before I wanted to (Friday AM)...

Since it is buried in women's hoops, you might have missed that University of Tennessee star junior Candace Parker announced she will skip her senior season to concentrate on the Olympics and enter the WNBA.

Seriously?

Conventional wisdom says she is playing in front of more people (and probably making more cash) right now at UT than she will (on both fronts) in the WNBA.

Clutch TINWA operative BAH responds, "I think the world has ended, next thing will be Freshman girls wanting to jump. Maybe that 6'8" girl will go straight to the pros! LOL"

Repping the White Rose

I haven't posted all week, so what can I write about? Spygate? No. Clemens? Please! All-Star Weekend? Well... maybe.

The NBA All-Star game is actually quite entertaining. Plus, All-Star weekend brings me back to when I was in middle school, and me and my baller friends would get together at somebody's parent's house to watch the slam dunk and three-point shooting contest.

+ If you perused my last post's comments, you learned that my trip to the Mechanicsburg Chick-fil-A was quite delicious. I look forward to returning... or hearing about a C-f-A coming to the east shore.

+ So I've been back to the YC twice in the last two weeks. Good times. Each instance, I made some time to drive around town, check things out, see what's what. I do a drive-by on the Commerce Center. I cruise around Washington Hall (my old apt building). I noticed turning back south, onto George from King that there is now a Sneaker Villa halfway down the block. I hope no store-on-store violence results from their close proximity to Jean Joint and New Hub Store. Oh, what a time to live in the YC (it seems).


Are YOU Villa?? A) New Hub Store b) Jean Joint C) Sneaker Villa -- You betta be!!

+ EA Sports has a cool thing going where you can vote on which mascot gets the NCAA '09 game cover. It's fun having a Wii-mote as a mouse. I am alternating selections between Willie the Wildcat and the Air Force The Bird (awesome pic, btw).

Gundy, Reid and Carlson

By now, everyone should be aware of Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy's press conference meltdown following OSU's 49-45 win over Texas Tech (arrrgh) Saturday. Gundy didn't take too kindly to Jenni Carlson's column detailing former OSU starting quarterback (and alleged mama's boy) Bobby Reid's demotion:


I've been pondering the Gundy/Reid/Carlson fiasco. As a former athlete and English major, I was rather conflicted. Turns out, all my thinking was in vain, because one of my favorite coaches - Colorado University head football coach Dan Hawkins - succinctly summarizes my thoughts on the issue:

It's Division-I football!! It's the Big 12!!

I love, love, love that soundbite (taken from a presser last season). It never gets old. In fact, when I get home from work, I am going to listen to it about 13 times in a row. I wish I could have played for Coach Hawkins.

I'm not trying to defend Carlson's column - she's a poor writer - but I've seen worse written about D-I college football players. Certainly Gundy, Reid and Reid's mom need to develop thicker skins. Right, Anthony Morelli?