Tag Archives: Greg Hall
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.
OTC: K-State At Nebraska For Rare Big Hoops Game
“It’s a bigger game for Nebraska than it is for Kansas State at this point.”Dave Armstrong, on the Wildcats trip to Lincoln for tonight’s 8:00 PM tipoff, 810 AM
GH: K-State is riding a torrid 4-of-5 game Big 12 win streak that includes a pounding of then top-ranked Kansas. Sleepy Nebraska jumped into everyone’s bubble conversation with maybe the upset of the year with their win over Texas. This matchup could not come at a better time for Big 12 hoops crazies. Both teams need this one to remain legit NCAA contenders.
“I don’t think a loss at Nebraska is going to hurt (K-State’s) NCAA chances.”
Dave Armstrong, 810 AM
GH: Read that sentence again and try to make sense of it. While the Huskers win over Texas was huge for Doc Sadler and his squad, the Devaney Center is after all named after a football coach. No one outside the Big 8 thinks a loss in Lincoln is tolerable. Frank Martin needs this win to keep the Cats tourney hopes purring.
Dave Armstrong, 810 AM
GH: Read that sentence again and try to make sense of it. While the Huskers win over Texas was huge for Doc Sadler and his squad, the Devaney Center is after all named after a football coach. No one outside the Big 8 thinks a loss in Lincoln is tolerable. Frank Martin needs this win to keep the Cats tourney hopes purring.
OTC: Royals’ Forecast Differs Depending On Radio Station
“(Dan Glass) has officially owned this team for a decade now. I think we’re on 12 years that he has officially owned this ball club. This team has not won. And now we stand at the crossroads of a labor negotiations to which David Glass was once considered a problem (for owners) because he stood up for the small-market teams. … Now everybody’s getting rich and it’s not about winning or the small-market teams would be standing up and crying foul. And they’re not. They’re quietly sitting and lining their pockets with millions of dollars. And that’s sad.”Soren Petro, 810 AM
GH: It has been interesting to listen to the different tone regarding the Royals from the two local all-sports talk radio stations in Kansas City. Petro and his 810 crew have continued to be quite harsh and in my opinion more realistic in their approach to analyzing and covering the Royals. 610 Sports sent Bob Fescoe to Arizona to cover the first week of the Royals’ camp and he got a case of true blue religion while in the Valley of the Sun. Read on.
“The Glass bashing is done. The Glass bashing is old. He is the owner of this team. He was not doing the right things at the beginning but he’s doing the right things now. They are the caretakers of this franchise.”
Bob Fescoe, who has declared he will no longer publicly bash the Royals owner as he has in the past, 610 AM
OTC: Chiefs, Jayhawks, Cats, Tigers, ‘Skers & Even Sporting KC In This OTC
“I think the thing that is most important is that coaches coach and general managers manage. You have to let people do things the way they believe things need to be managed.”Scott Pioli, when asked if he was in agreement with Todd Haley calling his offense’s plays, 810 AM
GH: Haley struggled handling being the head coach and OC in his first season. In his second season he struggled with wearing a headset and listening to Charlie Weis call plays. I think he’s an innovative play caller who definitely thinks outside the headset. The question is has he matured enough to handle what he couldn’t as a rookie head coach.
“I would say we’re a good ways from those teams. To be at the level where the Steelers have sustained it or the Packers have consistently had strong seasons, for us to get to that level – I still think there’s a difference.”
Scott Pioli, when asked how close he thinks his Chiefs are to making a Super Bowl run, 810 AM
GH: Todd Haley appeared at a charity event last night and Jack Harry reported on TV 41 that Haley refused to answer any questions about the Chiefs. He wanted to speak only about the charity. Does Haley realize the reason the charity wants his and his wife’s involvement is because he’s the Chiefs head coach? Sometimes these sports guys’ heads get so big they quit functioning.
Scott Pioli, when asked how close he thinks his Chiefs are to making a Super Bowl run, 810 AM
GH: Todd Haley appeared at a charity event last night and Jack Harry reported on TV 41 that Haley refused to answer any questions about the Chiefs. He wanted to speak only about the charity. Does Haley realize the reason the charity wants his and his wife’s involvement is because he’s the Chiefs head coach? Sometimes these sports guys’ heads get so big they quit functioning.
OTC: ‘Bama Fanatic Poisons Auburn’s Sacred Oaks @ Tommoer’s Corner
“Auburn tree killer should be forced to work on Auburn’s grounds crew on game days, in a cheerleader’s uniform.”Dave Matter, columnist for Columbia Tribune, Twitter
GH: If you missed this little story, it appears an Alabama fan poisoned a grove of 130-year-old oak trees at Toomer’s Corner that the Auburn fans hold in the same high regard ‘Bama holds Bear Bryant. The trees are now all dying and there is no hope of saving them. Read on.
OTC: Does KU’s Bill Think His Team is Selfish?
“I don’t know that (Jacob Pullen) kid well but he’s got 38 playing on national TV against a team that doesn’t deserve it but is ranked number one in the country and their arch rivals – and he defers not to shoot the ball to get 40. Class! That kid had it going on tonight. … When everybody else on our team would have gone and hunted their shot.”Bill Self, in his postgame interview after the loss at K-State, Jayhawk Radio Network
GH: I was stunned by how Bill Self tossed every player on his team under the wheels of the Jayhawk bus that left Manhattan. I don’t know why Self would choose to paint his team as a bunch of selfish individuals who care more about their stats than their team – but that is what he did. Did the KSU loss really transform KU from a team spouting their new “Family Over Everything” slogan to a bunch of me-first jerks? I sure don’t think so but the better question is why does Coach Self?
“I love Self…but they’ve got some turds on that team. Maybe that’s one of the things that’s not allowing them to get past that invisible ceiling the past couple of years. You look at Tyshawn’s issue with the football team, Mario’s issues off the court, the (Morris) twins and their thuggery on the floor, the (Elijah) Johnson dunk and the stupidest T of all time. They’ve got some guys who have to get in line in terms of their character because when you get in the tough battles in March, that does play a part.”
Doug Gottlieb, ESPN college basketball analyst, in an interview with Soren Petro, 810 AM
GH: So we’re back to the Bill Clinton question; does character matter? Gottlieb dismisses Kansas recent good play to playing “a lot of bad teams in the Big 12.” Is Bill Self a lot more unhappy with his 24-2 Jayhawks than it appears? Just when we thought KU was peaking, a blowout loss to rival K-State appears to have opened a lot of old wounds.
OTC: Pullen Gets 38 And Sinks #1 Kansas
“I’m leaving here not really recognizing the team that played tonight. We’ve got to get some things straight.”Bill Self, after Kansas State’s 84-68 win over top-ranked Kansas, Kansas City Star
GH: I heard and read a lot about how bad Kansas was in Manhattan on Monday Night. But the story wasn’t how Kansas failed but rather how K-State soared. No visiting team this side of the NBA gets out of Bramlage Monday night with a win. Jacob Pullen and K-State were that good. That great. That special.
“We’re a force to be reckoned with.”
Rodney McGruder, KSU’s sophomore guard, Kansas City Star
GH: I would agree if KSU can count on Pullen to get 38 every night and the NCAA allows them to play the rest of their schedule at home. That manically loud Manhattan crowd had Tyshawn Taylor playing like Elizabeth Taylor and the Morris twins’ games reduced to the anorexic level of Mary-Kate and Ashley. But K-State has work to do. Read on.
OTC: K-State Is Buzzer Beaten In Boulder
“He got it off. It’s good. No doubt.”Gabe DeArmond, moments after the ESPNU replay showed K-State’s Rodney McGruder’s desperation three-pointer in Boulder on Saturday night was good according to the on-screen clock, Twitter
GH: My wife and I attended a Valentine’s dinner party with nine other couples on Saturday night. After leaving the restaurant, we all headed to one of the couple’s homes. I convinced the host to flip on the second half of the KSU-CU game, despite his belief that he didn’t think his cable service provided ESPNU. Even the wives were riveted to the tube for the game’s final minutes. The wave of up and down emotion that swept through that rec room was scintillating. When Pullen was picked by Burks, the Mizzou and Kansas fans in the room cheered. When Pullen answered with a three the K-Staters went wild – only to be crushed by Frank Martin’s ill-timed TO. But McGruder’s catch, twirl and heave with 1.1 showing on the clock that went from game-winner to possible NIT clincher was one for the ages. It reminded me a lot of Nebraska’s thought-they-won-but-lost game against Colt McCoy’s Longhorns in last year’s Big 12 football title game.
“I don’t know what else can happen to K-State this year. That was unreal.”
Todd Leabo, Twitter
Todd Leabo, Twitter
OTC: Kietzman’s Got Frank Martin’s Back & Curtis Kelly’s Bag
“I don’t mean to be a smart aleck but let’s be thankful all the people who are panicking right now are not coaching our team.”Frank Martin, during an interview with Kevin Kietzman on Tuesday afternoon, 810 AM
GH: Kietzman aired his interview with Martin late Tuesday afternoon – about an hour before Austin Meek of the Topeka Capital Journal was one of the first to break the story that Curtis Kelly, K-State’s senior post player, might be in violation of a school handbook rule as a third-strike offense. Martin’s interview with KK was most likely taped earlier but I did not hear him or Kietzman refer to this latest problem for Kelly and the KSU basketball program. After the story broke Tuesday afternoon, I did think back on Martin’s cocky comment above and wonder just who is better off with him as K-State’s head coach. Read on.
Take 5: MU/KU Game Notes From Inside Allen Fieldhouse
Sitting a few rows behind the Kansas bench in Allen Fieldhouse is a great place to get a unique perspective of the Missouri/Kansas basketball rivalry. Here are my notes from number-two-ranked Kansas’ 103-86 win over the game-but-overmatched Tigers on Big Monday. · Bill Self has a little Frank Martin in him. He’s just a whole lot better at hiding it than the volatile K-State coach. Inside KU’s team huddles, Self goes off on his players with much of the same ferocity as Martin – minus the Goodfellas stare. Self spent a good portion of the Mizzou game pissed, especially at his two point guards, Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson. I almost felt sorry for these two the way Self would yank them in and out of the game depending on their latest bad pass or poor defensive play. Somehow Self makes all this work. No coach I know of can juggle as much talent as KU annually attracts and keep everyone happy with their minutes and stats. Self’s greatest asset as a coach – aside from his ability to recruit studs – may be his ability to manage egos better than anybody in the college game.
· Self never yelled at three players; Thomas Robinson, Brady Morningstar and Tyrell Reed.
OTC: Super Bowl 45 Has Something For Almost Everybody
“I disagree with all these guys saying game lived up to the billing. It was supposed to be one of the all time greats. I don’t put it there. Good game, but we’ve seen some great ones of late. This one wasn’t great, IMO.”Nate Bukaty, Twitter
GH: Super Bowl 45 was one of the all-time greats. Great drama, great commercials, great halftime show and great outtakes like ARod getting finger-fed popcorn by Cameron Diaz and Christina Aguilera flubbing lines in the National Anthem. Plenty of juice for the family to cuss and discuss for the four-hour game.
“How is it, given all the time you have to prepare, you can mess up the national anthem? Riddle me that, Christina Aguilera.”
Bob Wolfey, columnist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
GH: The pop singer was ripped on Twitter almost immediately for her anthem miscues as if she was Jay Cutler sitting out the second half. Did she screw up? Yeah, but that’s what happens sometimes when you sing the anthem on live TV. I was not nearly as bothered by her screw up as some. Read on.
Bob Wolfey, columnist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
GH: The pop singer was ripped on Twitter almost immediately for her anthem miscues as if she was Jay Cutler sitting out the second half. Did she screw up? Yeah, but that’s what happens sometimes when you sing the anthem on live TV. I was not nearly as bothered by her screw up as some. Read on.
OTC: No Cheerleaders @ Super Bowl A First
“There will be no cheerleaders at the Super Bowl for the first time in 45 years. The Packers did away with their cheerleaders in 1988 after market research indicated fans didn’t really care, and in 1970 it was an ‘organizational decision’ to dissolve the Steelerettes.”FoxNews.com
GH: I was stunned to hear that the Packers and Steelers do not employee cheerleaders. They are not alone. Six NFL teams do not have sideline eye candy. Which teams? Some of the oldest in the league join the tradition-rich franchises in Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and the New York Giants also go skirtless on game day.
“Gimme an I-R-O-N-Y!! The upcoming Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium, home of the world’s most famous cheerleaders and monument to all things poufy and glittering, will make history for a different reason. There will be no cheerleaders. The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers are two of the six NFL teams that do not employ cheerleaders, and the NFL said Thursday that they have no plans to bring in ringers.”
Bill Platschke, columnist, LA Times
GH: I would have let the Cowboys cheerleaders do their thing in Dallas for Super Bowl 45. There are a lot of events where sexed-up cheerleading outfits don’t belong (high school activities for one), but the NFL is not one of those. The Raiderettes are one of the few redeeming things about the Oakland franchise.
Bill Platschke, columnist, LA Times
GH: I would have let the Cowboys cheerleaders do their thing in Dallas for Super Bowl 45. There are a lot of events where sexed-up cheerleading outfits don’t belong (high school activities for one), but the NFL is not one of those. The Raiderettes are one of the few redeeming things about the Oakland franchise.
OTC: Football’s Best Recruits Continue To Shun Cold Colleges
Rivals Top 20 Schools for 2011 Football Recruiting
1) Alabama 11) Oregon
2) Florida State 12) Tennessee
3) Texas 13) Oklahoma
4) USC 14) Florida
5) Georgia 15) Nebraska
6) LSU 16) North Carolina
7) Auburn 17) California
8) Clemson 18) Ole Miss
9) Notre Dame 19) Texas Tech
10) Ohio State 20) South Carolina
Rivals’ experts rank every Big 12 South school except Baylor ahead of the first Big 12 North school, a surprising Kansas at 34. Mizzou is next at 46. Iowa State’s and Kansas State’s recruiting classes did not make the top 50.
In Rivals Top 20, only three programs (ND, OSU and NU) can be considered cold-weather schools. It is my belief that the warm weather states and schools will continue to dominate college football. This is not a good thing for our local schools in the former Big 12 North. Even Mizzou’s Gary Pinkel appears to have lost some of his annual recruiting magic with a class that many experts are labeling as subpar. Kansas fans are giddy over Rivals placing their class as the Big 12’s sixth best. It’s all about expectations. And if you’re a football team from the North, those expectations have never been more miniscule. Read on.
