Category Archives: Sports
OTC: March Madness Goes Charlie Sheen On Day One!
“The first day of the tournament never lets you down!”Doug Gottlieb, ESPN Radio
GH: Maybe not never but it sure was Christmas on St. Paddy’s Day yesterday! Buzzer beaters become the norm even before Jack Harry’s afternoon nap. Gottlieb and Jay Bilas took turns filling in for Mike Golic this week on ESPN Radio’s popular Mike & Mike morning show. It was not a coincidence that Golic happened to take a vacation during March Madness’ opening weekend. Greenie is weak enough when it comes to discussing college hoops but Golic’s hoops knowledge ends with knowing the games are played indoors.
“Props to Mr. President: On Day 1, Obama correctly picked 14 of 16 winners and is in the 99.7th percentile in ESPN.com Tournament Challenge.”
Seth Davis, Twitter
GH: Maybe the Pres should roll that national debt into Vegas and wipe it out over the weekend. CBS reported about 3:30 PM (CT) on Thursday that there were no perfect brackets remaining of the hundreds of thousands that were submitted online. This was after three games! March Madness on Tigerblood!
Seth Davis, Twitter
GH: Maybe the Pres should roll that national debt into Vegas and wipe it out over the weekend. CBS reported about 3:30 PM (CT) on Thursday that there were no perfect brackets remaining of the hundreds of thousands that were submitted online. This was after three games! March Madness on Tigerblood!
Off The Couch Bracket Challenge Swag From Jardines, Westport Flea and Stanford’s Comedy!
With our Off The Couch Bracket Challenge well underway, I thought it might be appropriate to let you know what the top three finishers will receive. I am currently tied for 38th with Brian Williams, who I am sure took time out of anchoring the NBC nightly news to participate. Some of KCC’s most valued sponsors stepped up and sweetened the swag for our best ball pickers. Here is the breakdown…Take 64: My Thoughts On The Brackets & NCAA Tourney
You would think the schedulers could figure out a way to not start the Mizzou and K-State games with 20 minutes of each other. The Kansas City market housed the NCAA offices for decades and was home to more Final Fours than any other city. So how about showing us some love and spacing the opening round games for our three area teams over two days in a way we can watch them?
- Not only are the Mizzou and K-State games being played at the same time tonight, they are both tipping off at about 9:00 PM (CT). Since we already lost that hour to DST last weekend, some of us are gonna need to be tased to make it through the second half. Can you imagine what Jack Harry must go through to stay awake past 11:00 PM? He’s probably gonna miss the entire set of afternoon games while he’s napping with Gary Lezak’s dogs down at TV-41’s studios.
OTC: The Kim’s English Can Often Be Difficult To Understand
Kim English, when asked by Nate Bukaty and Steven St. John about his controversial comments regarding his Mizzou team quitting against Texas A&M in the Big 12 tourney, 810 AM
GH: I sure wish Kim would have named names – or better yet Bukaty and SSJ could have done a better job in the interview and asked him to name names. Was it Kevin Kietzman on KC radio English thinks burned him? Mike DeArmond’s story in The Star? Jack Harry on TV 41? Does English think the KC media is much tougher than the St. Louis scribes? Lots of good questions went unasked here by 810’s Border Patrol.
“I just didn’t expect us to go out like that. It’s the first time in my however many games I thought we quit.”
Kim English, following Mizzou’s loss to Texas A&M last week, Kansas City Star
GH: This is the quote that brought English so much media attention. I read it and heard English’s recorded voice verbalize this thought on radio. He was not misquoted or taken out of context. But he wants us all to believe it is the media’s fault this is controversial. Read on.
Kim English, following Mizzou’s loss to Texas A&M last week, Kansas City Star
GH: This is the quote that brought English so much media attention. I read it and heard English’s recorded voice verbalize this thought on radio. He was not misquoted or taken out of context. But he wants us all to believe it is the media’s fault this is controversial. Read on.
Take 357: Mike Murphy’s Friends, Folly & Funeral
I met Mike Murphy in 1981 on a drive from Omaha to Sioux Center, Iowa while I was working my sales territory in a two-state area. A fellow salesmen in Kansas City had mentioned to me I might be able to pick up KCMO 810 radio during my daytime drives across Nebraska and Iowa. I dialed in the scratchy sound of Murphy talking to some guy about water pressure.“You know what I like?” Murph said to his guest. “I like that water pressure to be dialed up so high that I can stand in my front yard with my hose in hand and cold-cock a squirrel from 30 or 40 feet!” Yeah. I was hooked.
I left work Monday just after 5:00 PM still debating whether or not I should go to the Garbage Star’s funeral. I do not enjoy anything about funerals. They seem to me to be a cruel reminder to those left behind of their loss. I paused at the intersection of College & State Line Road before turning south toward McGilley’s Funeral Chapel.
OTC: NCAA Gives Colorado Bum Steer & Media Kicks Back
“I wonder if some people on the committee know that the ball is round. That sounds harsh but I wonder. … What I’m saying is these are horrible decisions. We need more basketball people on the committee.”Jay Bilas, on his disappointment in the NCAA men’s basketball committee’s choices for the 68-team field, ESPN
GH: Bilas and the ESPN basketball experts teed up the NCAA selection committee and booted them in the ass for two hours Sunday evening. It was fun to watch and in my opinion well deserved. But would Bilas and his boys been as willing to vent on the committee if ESPN had won the broadcast rights from CBS? When was the last time you heard ESPN’s NFL analysts ripping their league’s bosses like Bilas, Digger and Dickey V did Sunday night? It all comes down to following the money and always will.
“Boy, Jay Bilas last night was just venomous! I’ve never seen him so ticked off!”
Kevin Harlan, 810 AM
GH: Bilas was also tweeting how great a job Digger and Hubert Davis were doing in analyzing the teams in the tourney. Jay’s not quite as frank and honest when it comes to evaluating the work of the stiffs he hangs with on the set. Digger and Hubert are two of the stiffer props on TV.
2011 Off The Couch NCAA Bracket Contest!
Haven’t you read the Comments section of OTC and thought to yourself, "Geez, at least I’m smarter than that idiot." Well, here is your chance to prove it. Click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser, register online and then fill out your winner. I haven’t decided on what the winner will receive but I am taking suggestions from any sponsors who would like to be affiliated with this well-heeled and strikingly mediocre looking bunch. Good luck to all — especially those who need it most (aka / Harley).
http://otc2011.mayhem.cbssports.com/e
Password: offthecouch
Your 2011 Off The Couch Bracket Challenge!
Haven’t you read the Comments section of OTC and thought to yourself, "Geez, at least I’m smarter than that idiot." Well, here is your chance to prove it. Copy and paste the above link into your browser, register online and then fill out your winner. I haven’t decided on what the winner will receive but I am taking suggestions from any sponsors who would like to be affiliated with this well-heeled and strikingly mediocre looking bunch.Password: offthecouch
Take 5: GH’s Notes On Big 12 Tourney & Surroundings
The Kansas City Live area across the street from Sprint Center looks smaller and smaller to me every year. I know it’s not shrinking but just like when you return to visit your old school’s classrooms, it sure appears to be. It was filling up quickly when I arrived there about 10 AM on Thursday.The unmistakable aroma of freshly poured tap beer in plastic cups cut through the nose-running cold weather inside the Kansas City Live cove. They say the sense of smell is our most powerful memory inducer. My mind quickly returned to Saturday morning pick-up basketball games years ago inside small local gyms where most of the participants had spent Friday night imbibing. The aroma was the same but in those days gone by the beer was coming out of the participants instead of going in.
OTC: Does Bob Davis’ Homer Act Hurt Or Help KU Broadcasts?
“Listen, if you’re a KU fan and you like homers on the radio, these two guys are the best who have ever been. Lew Perkins isn’t sitting right there anymore! He’s not going to bonk you on the head! Those guys really write the book on how to do that. … It bugs me. The problem with Bob (Davis) and Chris (Piper) is when they complain about a call it’s just white noise.”Kevin Kietzman, on the Kansas basketball radio broadcast team, 810 AM
GH: There is no better voice on the radio for play-by-play than Bob Davis. He is the local equivalent to CBS’ Gus Johnson when it comes to mixing volume and adrenaline in a broadcast. But Davis is also a solid 10 when it comes to being an unabashed, blinders-on, Kansas bred, fed and will-be-when-dead homer. I enjoy the hell out of his work but he has slipped to being such a homer for the Hawks that it does detract from the broadcast. I don’t agree with KK on Piper. I think Piper adds some insight to what’s happening on the court and while he roots for his school, he calls the game far more objectively than his partner.
“There’s no way listening to (Bob Davis) that I thought that was the worst call I’ve ever seen because I know those guys get exercised by it. … I have a history of what I think are 50-50 calls that they think are bad calls.”
Danny Clinkscale, on Bob Davis’ call of the late intentional foul on Marcus Morris during the Mizzou game, 810 AM
Take 5: Big 12 Tourney Guide for Fans, Foes & Beebe (Definitely NOT Big 12 Sanctioned)
The second week in March is Kansas City’s Mardi Gras. The Big 12 basketball tourney arrives here once again this week on the doorstep of spring, delivering with it four days of suspended reality. We know we’re still in Kansas City but once you cross the Bond Bridge from the north or exit I-35 from the south, you transform into that long-forgotten college kid — but this time with a credit card and a job with PTO. And what better way to burn some PTO than at Kay Barnes’ Power & Light District shoulder-to-shoulder with some of your best friends and enemies? Here is my guide in how to best experience KC’s version of Fat Tuesday in sneakers. OTC: The Explanation: KCTV5 Style
Bobby “Too Late” Totsch, the Vice President and General Manager of KCTV5, made himself more available Monday to multiple media outlets than Charlie Sheen. Well, maybe not TigerBlood – but close. Kent Babb did an article quoting “Too Late” on what his story was on how KCTV5 and CBS switched Kansas City area viewers from the last few minutes of the KU/MU game. Totsch also made calls into 810’s and 610’s morning talk shows. Here is my OTC column on Totsch’s version of The Explanation. He didn’t out Michael Coleman for kissing the neck of any male coworkers but I did find his remarks – if not informative, at least entertaining.______
“Stuff happens. In this case it was a lot more technical than that.”
Bobby Totsch, 610 AM
GH: This is the best mouthpiece KCTV5 has to send out to speak for the station? Let’s hope Totsch didn’t get his degree from a Big 12 school. Sounds more like an SEC grad to me.
Bobby Totsch, 610 AM
GH: This is the best mouthpiece KCTV5 has to send out to speak for the station? Let’s hope Totsch didn’t get his degree from a Big 12 school. Sounds more like an SEC grad to me.
“When you’ve got three minutes to work a problem like that you typically lose and we did.”
Bobby Totsch, 610 AM
GH: MacGruber laughs at such talk! Three minutes? That’s like four months to McGruber and those guys in Inception’s van.
Bobby Totsch, 610 AM
GH: MacGruber laughs at such talk! Three minutes? That’s like four months to McGruber and those guys in Inception’s van.
OTC: KCTV 5 Lacks Tiger Blood In Blowing Heidi-Like KU/MU TV Broadcast
There are a couple of things you don’t want to screw with in regard to a Kansas or Mizzou fan. One would be his/her family. F.O.E. and all that. Another would be their ability to watch their favorite team play. And I might have those two in the wrong order. KCTV 5 is finding all about just how rabid this rivalry is. And the TV 5 guys are catching it from both the Hatfields and McCoys.
Those of us who were not in Columbia but rather watching KCTV 5’s Kansas City area feed of the KU/MU broadcast missed out on the final 15 minutes or so of the broadcast (or about the last 5 minutes on the game clock). One minute we’re watching KU pull away for a comfortable double-digit lead and suddenly CBS comes out of commercial to show us the start of the Michigan State / Michigan game. Meanwhile, Mizzou is mounting a Heidi-like comeback and has closed to within 4! Somebody warm up Quantrill’s and John Brown’s posses and let’s meet at KCTV 5’s studios in Fairway!Here is my Off The Couch column covering this broadcasting nightmare that will now be etched into lore as another unbelievable chapter in the most heated rivalry this side of the trees at Toomer’s Corner.
_____
“CBS just cut away from MU-KU with 5 min left in Kansas City market. Imagine Alabama – Auburn going to Kentucky – Tennessee in Birmingham. Incredible.”
Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports, Twitter
GH: I was watching from my couch (imagine that) and at first thought it was simply a live look in at the Big 10 game. But when the game lingered on my screen I started to panic. I quickly refreshed my Twitter feed and my fears were confirmed. An earthquake in Missouri’s boot heel could not have caused more of a tremor. The game was gone! Disappearing from TV sets across the two-state area quicker than a Jay Mohr sitcom. Read on.
Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports, Twitter
GH: I was watching from my couch (imagine that) and at first thought it was simply a live look in at the Big 10 game. But when the game lingered on my screen I started to panic. I quickly refreshed my Twitter feed and my fears were confirmed. An earthquake in Missouri’s boot heel could not have caused more of a tremor. The game was gone! Disappearing from TV sets across the two-state area quicker than a Jay Mohr sitcom. Read on.
OTC: KU/MU Border War Allows Antlers To Bare Their Horns (& Dresses)
“I got my daughter listening to the radio right now.”Calvin Thompson, former KU player in the mid ‘80s, when asked by Bob Fescoe what it was like to play in this rivalry as a player, 610 AM
GH: Thompson cautioned Fescoe that what he had to say might be alarming. I had no idea how alarming. Read on.
“The Antlers over there (in Columbia) were ruthless! The Antlers, they let us have it. They didn’t hold anything back. I don’t know how they found out things but they found out things before even it hit the press. It was unreal!”
Calvin Thompson, 610 AM
GH: Thompson didn’t relay his stories about Norm, Hearnes Center and the Antlers with hatred but more with awe. He appeared to be amazed at the preparation this group of dress-wearing and wig-waving Antlers put into disrupting KU’s game. Read on.
Calvin Thompson, 610 AM
GH: Thompson didn’t relay his stories about Norm, Hearnes Center and the Antlers with hatred but more with awe. He appeared to be amazed at the preparation this group of dress-wearing and wig-waving Antlers put into disrupting KU’s game. Read on.
“My dad died my first game (at Kansas) my freshman year. He had a heart attack in the stands. And that’s all I heard the first year I went over there. They don’t hold anything back.”
Calvin Thompson, 610 AM
OTC: Is Bill Self Worth $7 Mill? / BYU’s Honor Code Is Insane
“KU under Self has won seven straight Big12 titles, 1 natioal title in 8 seasons. Can u imagine what Self is worth on open market? 7 mill a year?”Gary Bedore, writer for KUSports.com, Twitter
GH: Interesting query. Kansas wouldn’t trade Bill Self for Phil Jackson – but how much is he worth to their basketball program, the university’s image, Lawrence business owners and employees and the fan base’s positive psyche? He gets paid a ridiculous $3.1/year but that might cheap.
“(Roy Williams) was so thinned skinned. He became a different person after the first three years (at Kansas). He was a different human being. I’d take Bill Self any day of the week.”
Frank Boal, when asked if he preferred Roy or Bill as a basketball coach, 810 AM
GH: Self is a unique head coach in today’s millionaire coaching fraternity. He doesn’t act like he’s got $20 million in the bank. He still acts like he did when he was coaching Tulsa and calling into Steven St. John’s evening show in the early ‘90s. All you have to do is listen to one of Self’s Salty Iguana commercials to know he doesn’t hold his nose too high – despite his rock-star salary.
Frank Boal, when asked if he preferred Roy or Bill as a basketball coach, 810 AM
GH: Self is a unique head coach in today’s millionaire coaching fraternity. He doesn’t act like he’s got $20 million in the bank. He still acts like he did when he was coaching Tulsa and calling into Steven St. John’s evening show in the early ‘90s. All you have to do is listen to one of Self’s Salty Iguana commercials to know he doesn’t hold his nose too high – despite his rock-star salary.
OTC: ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb Goes Live W/ Cop Stop On WHB 810
While ESPN college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb was talking with WHB’s Soren Petro March 1st, Gottlieb noticed an Oklahoma State Trooper in his rearview mirror and was forced to pull over. Luckily, Gottlieb’s rental car was equipped with Bluetooth and the entire conversation was captured for the Kansas City audience. Here are some excerpts from Gottlieb’s crime, interrogation and escape. _______
“Hey, I just got pulled over.”
Doug Gottlieb, in a live on-air interview with Soren Petro Tuesday (3/1/11) afternoon as he was pulled over by an Oklahoma police officer , 810 AM
GH: Gottlieb showed almost no emotion as he relayed this news to Petro and his audience. I got the feeling this happens to Gottlieb about as often as he fills up his gas tank.
Doug Gottlieb, in a live on-air interview with Soren Petro Tuesday (3/1/11) afternoon as he was pulled over by an Oklahoma police officer , 810 AM
GH: Gottlieb showed almost no emotion as he relayed this news to Petro and his audience. I got the feeling this happens to Gottlieb about as often as he fills up his gas tank.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t care. The Fighting Illini is not a tourney team?”
Soren Petro, ignoring Gottlieb’s plight and continuing on with his interview, 810 AM
GH: Petro showed even less concern than Gottlieb that a cop’s lights were now flashing in DG’s mirror. Petro continued to pepper Gottlieb with tourney questions as the analyst readied his license for the officer. I mean, The Fighting Illini? I think that question can wait until March 2012.
Soren Petro, ignoring Gottlieb’s plight and continuing on with his interview, 810 AM
GH: Petro showed even less concern than Gottlieb that a cop’s lights were now flashing in DG’s mirror. Petro continued to pepper Gottlieb with tourney questions as the analyst readied his license for the officer. I mean, The Fighting Illini? I think that question can wait until March 2012.
OTC: Jacob Pullen Working On Becoming K-State Legend
“Obviously, this is what legends are made of.”Stan Weber, commenting on the incredible play of Jacob Pullen over the second half of the Big 12 season, 810 AM
GH: Pullen’s legend hit the national stage last March when he went nuclear in the NCAA tourney. Everyone who saw Pullen exchange missiles with Xavier’s Jordan Crawford in the Cats’ 101-96 OT win in the Sweet 16 knew The Beard was someone to be feared. It is a large reason why he was a preseason All-American. He then played poorly against Duke in November and his season spiraled with bad losses, team drama and an ugly suspension. Then Pullen got a fortuitous bounce in the lane at Iowa State and hit a game-winning lay-up that began K-State’s season revival. Is Pullen a legend? He sure as hell looks like one. Read on.
“We’ve watched this (Kansas State) team be very mercurial and that’s because Jacob Pullen has been mercurial.”
Fran Fraschilla, college basketball TV analyst, 810 AM
OTC: Bill Grigsby Gone @ 89 But Far From Forgotten
“There’s not a person I know in my life I can compare him to. He was like no other. His energy was remarkable. The fact that he was ageless is an example to us all. He still wanted to contribute any way he could, no matter what birthday he was celebrating.”Mitch Holthus, on the passing of Bill Grigsby, the well-known Kansas City sportscaster and spokesperson, Kansas City Star
“Every city and town in America has a Bill Grigsby. And no other place on earth but Kansas City has a Bill Grigsby. That’s about the only way I know how to tell you about my old friend, who died Saturday.”
Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star
GH: Like a lot of JoPo’s columns, he lost me early in his Grigsby tribute. I agree with Holthus, I think Grigsby was as rare a personality as I have ever come across. Unlike JoPo, I don’t think every town has a Grigsby. Or was JoPo trying to tell us every town doesn’t have a Grigsby like Grigsby but sorta kinda? Sometimes JoPo’s attempts to be cute are a detriment to his work’s readability.
Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star
GH: Like a lot of JoPo’s columns, he lost me early in his Grigsby tribute. I agree with Holthus, I think Grigsby was as rare a personality as I have ever come across. Unlike JoPo, I don’t think every town has a Grigsby. Or was JoPo trying to tell us every town doesn’t have a Grigsby like Grigsby but sorta kinda? Sometimes JoPo’s attempts to be cute are a detriment to his work’s readability.
OTC: Rumor Has Tyshawn Guilty Of Doing The Deed Inside AF
“From two Kansas media sources, I was told this morning that (Tyshawn) Taylor and (Marisha) Brown were allegedly discovered playing a little unauthorized 1-on-1 inside Allen Fieldhouse. You can take that any way you’d like.”Brooks Melchior, on the two recently suspended Kansas men’s and women’s basketball players, SportsByBrooks.com
GH: Brooks is intentionally (and uncharacteristically) vague in reporting the two Jayhawks had consensual sex inside Allen Fieldhouse and have been suspended by their coaches for this seemingly natural act. Brooks catches a lot of heat because he breaks stories on his website that other media outlets won’t touch. He’s not always accurate but he is professional enough that most mainstream sports reporters check and quote from his site regularly. I just can’t imagine this is the reason Self suspended his starting point guard.”
“If this is true, Tyshawn shouldn’t be suspended. They should hang his jersey if the rafters!”
Shan Shariff, 610 AM
GH: Maybe Tyshawn and Marisha did do the deed inside the hallowed halls of Allen Fieldhouse, but there has to be more to this story. Were they atop Self’s desk and taking turns wearing Bill’s game-day toupee?
Shan Shariff, 610 AM
GH: Maybe Tyshawn and Marisha did do the deed inside the hallowed halls of Allen Fieldhouse, but there has to be more to this story. Were they atop Self’s desk and taking turns wearing Bill’s game-day toupee?
OTC: Pullen Spanks Huskers Despite Manic Martin
“Biggest bubble winner last night besides Cincy was K State. Important road win at Nebraska. At least someone wants to play in this tourney.”Seth Davis, Twitter
GH: Is Kansas State still a bubble team in Seth Davis’ eyes? Jacob Pullen is doing everything he can to avoid playing in the NIT. Read on.
“Pullen and the Wildcats have their groove back. They look like the team that was ranked preseason top five and a team that could be a load in the NCAAs. A Final Four team? Who knows? Don’t pass on them in your pool.”
Tom Shatel, columnist, Omaha World Herald
GH: I’m not quite as sold on K-State as a deep-run tourney team. But I am definitely sold on Jacob Pullen as a resurgent player who is as hot now as he was last March in the NCAA tourney. Pullen has had one very dramatic senior season…that is far from over.
Tom Shatel, columnist, Omaha World Herald
GH: I’m not quite as sold on K-State as a deep-run tourney team. But I am definitely sold on Jacob Pullen as a resurgent player who is as hot now as he was last March in the NCAA tourney. Pullen has had one very dramatic senior season…that is far from over.
