Border Beat Down

Man, are you tired of saying, "wait til basketball"?

I. am.

I know this is a tough season with a new coach but do we really see it getting better anytime soon? We all knew it was going to be a huge beatdown. We just all hoped it wouldn't be too bad.

The only consolation I have is that outside the midwest Missouri is really no different than Utah. Trust me. Someone in New York or California couldn't even tell you Missouri's head coach or QB and it makes me laugh because Missouri thinks they have some nationally known program. Very little consolation.

I'll admit it. I'm jealous of the Missouri football program. They have a good team. A good....not great program.....above respectable. A good (and thin) coach. Sweeeeet Uniforms. Damn it. I love their helmets. That black on matte black is freaking awesome. They are so sweet. It really pisses me off.

They ran the same running play 4 straight times marching straight down the field that resulted in a touchdown. Most fans wouldn't notice but that is a total smack down. I'm sure they will have a big laugh at our expense watching that on film.

With the changes to the conference next year this gets worse not better.

Listen to sports talk radio? Crazy Chiefs fans........they can't decide if Dwayne Bowe or Matt Cassel will be league MVP after they will the Super Bowl. A couple weeks ago they wanted to run them both out of town.

Shout out to Blue Valley for winning the 5A state football title this year. Rampy who? Well, done. Louisburg finally broke through too in 4A. Olathe North got punked by Wichita Heights and couldn't defend their 6A title. They did really well considering they weren't as talented as last year. Even being there back to back is damn strong though. South KC high school football was pretty strong this year.

Beebe is still an idiot.

I was on vacation last week so I took a vacation from the blog too I guess.

I'm not going to redo the whole Big 12 thing but I was watching it while I traveled. I wrote awhile back why I thought Missouri wasn't going to the Big Ten and that was way before all this got started. I thought I was going to look, well, stupid because I was wrong......but.......in classic fashion Missouri got snubbed by the Big Ten and then according to the Star article even called and asked for a lifeline from them but was rebuffed again. Then they became very loyal all the sudden to the idea of the Big 12. Funny, they were ones that really started the whole thing when they got the shaft on the Orange Bowl a couple years ago. This could have been a disaster for Kansas. Colorado fits better in the PAC 10. They care more about lifestyle and scenery than winning and losing.....perfect fit.

But here is my real take.......

Everyone wants to give Dan Beebe all this credit for saving the Big 12 in his finest hour. I call bullshit. He isn't that smart and he is that proactive. If I had to take a guess at how it went down I'm gonna say that Fox Sports called him and walked him through how to save the Big 12. Fox is WAY smarter than all those Big 12 idiots. They have wanted to take a piece out of the college football action for awhile and are willing to pony up the money.

He has to be the most overpaid person in sports.

Credit Fox Sports for this not Beebe.

Blue Valley Music Teachers Hate Basketball.

Really? I know the music teachers are always the geeks but do they really have to keep proving it over and over?

KU vs MU. Big Monday. Been on the schedule for quite some time now.

Might get to see the second half if Grandma doesn't insist on taking everyone for ice cream afterwards............. Fat chance.....

Ri-God-Damn-diculous. Should be against the law. Reason enough to cut their funding.

Dear School Board.......... well, better not.

I've resisted a DVR cause I hate most television. Maybe need to rethink but I know it would just be full of Hannah Montana and the Suite Life of Zack and Cody with no room for my game if I had it.

Governor Nixon disses Big 12 and proves he doesn't get it.

First, I've been a little crazy at my real work that people pay me to do (you know besides being an activist, writer, and statesman) so I apologize for being a little AWOL. It has been driving me crazy because there have been so many topics I wanted to write about but just no time to do them right.........and as you know I'm not a "throw up a picture and a clever comment" kinda blogger. You might even say I'm a bit wordy.....I'm working on that.

I don't do it on purpose but sometimes I hit on something early and then a few weeks later it becomes a bigger story. It falls under the "even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then" category. I've linked to it in case you missed it.

So anyway a little while back I wrote about a throw away line in the KC Star from a writer about Missouri moving to the Big 10. I recall some of the comments where like...."who cares" which is usually right when pondering Missouri but since then the story has evolved.

If you are following it there were some other stories about it including a big one about the Big 10 themselves moving the topic of adding another school back onto their agenda which of course caused all kinds of interest from Missouri folk.

Fast forward to the Gov and his comments that fall right into line with exactly what I was saying all along.......that people from Missouri are stupidly disconnected and don't understand the issue.....beginning with their dumbass governor.

So while the Big Ten has some higher ranked schools it make him look like a total idiot when he says he'd rather be in a conference with Northwestern than Oklahoma State. This is about money.

And then this morning the story was picked up locally.

To wit......dear Governor. That was my point exactly in my previous post. You don't get it. The Big 10 is more like Oklahoma State than Northwestern. Northwestern is a great school with an enrollment about one third to one quarter, okay even one fifth that of their Big 10 (or Big 12) counterparts. The truth is Northwestern doesn't really fit in with the Big 10 but they like beating up on the smart kids on the North side of Chicago every now and again. Northwestern is little more than our Baylor. Each conference is full of huge state schools and one private school.

Oh and a big by the way......Oklahoma State is a world respected college for Mechanical Engineering (Jay, that's where the oil guys go) and Architecture as well as a top center for Information Assurance for the National Security Agency (that basically means military intelligence....ironic eh Jay?) They also boast one of the highest numbers of Truman Scholars in the nation with 15 and 6 out of the last 7 years.

Missouri, on the other hand according to Wikipedia, is known for having the country's first school of Journalism (which means they train the biased assholes we see on MSNBC) and for being one of only 6 schools to have a law, veterinary, agriculture, engineering, and medical schools...no mention of how they rank? I understand most rankings put Missouri ahead of good ole Oklahoma State but if you want to play US News & World Report Ranking game well......the Big Ten would be better off considering that Kansas AND Iowa State both outrank Mizzou.

Besides pointing out the stupidity of Jay Nixon the bigger question is (I guess) will they or won't they go if asked? Really, I don't care but be clear about this, Governor Nixon, that the decision isn't about academics......almost any 4 year state school with a huge enrollment will do......but rather about the television market share they can grab and hence the money they can extract. Period.

I'm horrible at predictions (other than Dennis Moore not running again) but I'd have to say IF they expand they will quietly ask Notre Dame first and after they stupidly say no they will pick between Rutgers and Missouri. And if I were them with all bias aside....I'd try for Rutgers. Huge New Jersey/New York TV audience from a school that is athletically on the upswing right, has a huge enrollment AND is better ranked academically that Mizzou. We'll see.

This isn't to say I don't think Missouri has a gripe about Bowls they haven't been selected to play in the past 3 years. They do.

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Here is just a little background if you are bored this week.

If you are interested here is a little history on the Big Ten. You'll see Northwestern is the only private school and has an enrollment of about 8,000. Do you think they are going offer reciprocal agreements with Missouri? Please.

Here is info on the Big 12. Again, if you look at the schools, the enrollments they look remarkably similar to the Big 10 except the Big 12 was smart enough to understand that 11 is a prime number and kept the number of schools even. Score one point for the Big 12.

Here a history of the Southwest Conference. Do you think there was a reason Houston, Rice or SMU weren't offered spots in the new Big 12? Think about it Jay.

Just a quick program note. I don't check my jocoeveryman@hotmail.com account even close to daily so please understand if I don't get back to you right away. Especially to a certain someone out there: if you don't want me to send you email then you might stop sending them to me.....after all I'm only hitting the "reply button".

Thanks for reading.

Tigers to the Big Ten?

It is usually one little tiny thing that gets my interest and makes me think. It usually isn’t the big headline. Today was just like that. I am drinking my coffee and reading the paper trying to understand the Big 12 Bowl scenario for this year when the sentence that will pass by most sticks in my head.

The chatter has been that Missouri would get snubbed by the Insight Bowl and go to a lesser bowl in favor of Iowa State who has a reputation of traveling well. In fact, they did. Mizzou to the Texas Bowl in Houston and Iowa State gets the Insight Bowl.

I get all that. I get that, yes, they have been snubbed for the past few years and the one that really hurt was when rival and my alma mater, Kansas got the BCS Orange Bowl even though Missouri beat them. I would be pissed off too except that for the many reasons the Texas Bowl is better for them, ie National TV versus the NFL network, in the middle of their recruiting sweet spot, and a place where their fans can drive to see the game. I get it. It hurts to not be wanted, again.

I was reading with some interest as Mizzou officials were selecting their words carefully to not insult their hosts at the Texas Bowl as they expressed their displeasure with the selection process and that the Big 12 allows the Bowls to pick whomever they wish. Truly, their rancor is as much with the Big 12 as with any Bowl that overlooked them.

There was one little line that got my attention. It always cracks me up. It comes up from time to time and frankly I think it is quite laughable. The suggestion is usually officially subtle and less subtle from fans of Mizzou. They threaten or suggest that they might leave and go the Big Ten.

They like to put forward notions they really don’t understand.

1. The Big Ten is the better conference.
2. They really fit in better with the Big Ten academically.
3. The Big Ten wants them.

They think it is sorta like they are stuck at the kid’s table and the Big Ten is the adults table. I think it is more like they are wanting to take their Barbie dolls and go home.

The oft repeated notion which at first I thought was a quote from a Missouri official but really was just a baiting question from KC Star writer Mike DeArmond to John Junker regarding Missouri’s prospects of a future bid to the Insight Bowl, “…..Perhaps as a member of the Big Ten, or some conference that does not have a record of letting Missouri fall in bowl bidding?”

It makes me laugh because people in the know will say the truth is that lots of schools fit academically. Missouri thinks they are saying that Missouri is a better academic school than many of their partners in the Big 12 which really isn’t the case. In other words, they are superior academically to the rest of the Big 12. What they are saying Jr. Missouri Einsteins is that they fit as well as lots of other Midwestern State Schools. It has also been written that Nebraska, Iowa State and even Texas fit academically with the Big Ten. I’m not sure we think of any of those schools, or Kansas for that matter, as defacto members of the Ivy League. In fact, it is often speculated that it was the Big Ten’s talk of wanting to add Kansas AND Missouri that created energy toward the formation of the Big 12 in 1993.

I’m not going to debate which conference is better. They are both really good conferences with good rivalries and a great history of athletics and a probably slightly better than average academics. Of course I'm partial to the Big 12. Actually I liked the old Big 8 best.

Does the Big Ten want them? Well, the Big Ten, or is it 11….or is it 12 if you count the University of Chicago does want and need to add a 12th school that competes in major athletics. In short they want to be like the Big 12. It is about money and reach. They want to capture a larger television audience so they can get more money. Really, that is the beginning and ending of who fits. Missouri brings them St. Louis and some Kansas City viewers. Nebraska brings them a smaller but more loyal viewer but really isn’t a likely match. There isn’ t much competition for the Nebraska viewer so you get most of them. If Iowa State offered anything in television numbers I think they would already be in. Then you get schools like Rutgers and Louisville that have been on the rise and have a lot to offer as well. Would the Big Ten like a piece of the New York, New Jersey television markets? I’d like to think they might. So why the talk about Missouri? They, among several, fit financially, geographically and they are probably willing but ironically…..again are second choice already.

This all leads me to the one we all know makes the most sense to join. Notre Dame. Only the Irish are too proud to see it. Sure, right now they have broadcast revenues that they don’t have to share that are huge but we’ve all seen where the Irish football program has been heading the past few years and they have just fired another coach. Basketball hasn’t been much for sometime either. Notre Dame will always have a silly loyal following from countless numbers of people who couldn’t even dream of going to school there but live and die by it like they did. However, nobody wants to see a loser and these idiots don’t just expect to win they expect National Championships. I think it isn’t a stretch to say unless they modify their admissions for the student athlete their best days are behind them and someday, probably soon, they will wish the Big Ten would consider them.

While I’m at it……conferences are too big anyway. We shouldn’t be expanding them. Eight is a great number for football. They should all have to play each other every year. Simple.

By the way, we will end this football season with two undefeated teams and an outside chance at three if Cincinnati can beat Florida and no playoff to know who really is best. Incredibly sad.

Mizzou Babies

I resisted writing a post on how great it was to beat Mizzou Saturday because that would be boring to read....as fun as it would have been to write.

I will comment though on Mizzou's fan's and even the players attitudes this week. I love the fact that we have completely crushed their spirit and taken the wind out of their sails. We treated them like Michael Vick treats dogs and they can't get their footing this week heading into the Big 12 Championship game. It is game morning and I wonder where how all those Tiger fans are feeling this morning heading into this game?

I've heard some Mizzou fans saying they aren't even going this weekend to the championship game against OU and they have tickets! The attitude on talk radio is unbelieveable. They have a huge chance to make history this week by doing to OU what we did to them and in the process steal a trip to a BCS game. They should be focused and motivated. We stole their heart this week and while winning was really great witnessing this actually seems like just as much fun.

Wallow in your pain you idiot Tigers and enjoy getting your ass kicked by OU and remember it all started with the Jayhawks cutting your heart out last Saturday evening. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.......see you for a couple basketball games this winter.

Kansas-Missouri Border War

I understand all the necessary deference to the real wars we fight and have fought but I just can't call the KU-Missouri game a Border Showdown. The line that K-State is our rival but Missouri is our enemy is as true as it has ever been. Here is a pretty good article on the subject and of course a brief synopsis on Wiki here. We can't even agree with them on the series record because of a game in 1960. We ruined their perfect season that year. We played the first time in 1891 and have played 116 times since. Without the drama of last year, this is more about pride and being a spoiler.

I grew up in Kansas. Olathe to be specific. Growing up there you considered KU, KSU if you were the normal, typical kid. If you were a brainiac you widen your horizons to the nation's elite schools and if you were, well, poor little Ronnie in the back of Mr. Nicholson's Government class at Oregon Trail Junior High you dreamed of 2 years at JUCO and then maybe finishing at Emporia State or Pittsburg State. Oh, then there were the Nazarene's that went to Mid America and got married when they were 19 so they could live off campus and sleep together. Sorry for the digression but my point is nobody and I mean nobody ever considered going to Missouri. Not one person from my class of over 300 went to Missouri.

I hate the Missouri Tigers. Now, I live pretty close to the state line and I swear I am thankful the wind doesn't come out of the east very often because I know it would stink. I can honestly say I've never cheered for them. Not once. When I moved back here we considered briefly looking on the Missouri side for a house and I just couldn't stand the idea. We live in Kansas because the people are better, smarter and more civilized (with the exception of Wyandotte County). We have neighbors that have one of those KU-Missouri flags because apparently they had some Capulet-Montague thing going on and married. They pull that thing out when the teams play each other and I always want to go pull it down and burn it. Black and Puke Yellow shouldn't be touching Crimson and Blue that way.

Anyway there is this game today and we aren't favored. Any objective look at it will tell you that Missouri has the better team this year. The weather could be a little dicey and that could equalize things a bit. We shouldn't win but it would be so great if we could. I would love squashing their little pea sized brain's hopes of a BCS game.

Go Jayhawks. Beat the those jerk off Tigers today. Steal their beer and sleep with their women. Kick their dogs. Piss on them. Go Jayhawks. Rock Chalk Jayhawk and don't you dare send me a comment as a Jayhawk fan saying it is okay because we have basketball. No.