Wanted to post something positive - From Seth Davis at SI.com - this is No. 7 on his list for the upcoming year:
RockChalkinTexas
6832 posts
@JayHawkFanToo Educate me please.
KU picked to win Big 12 AGAIN. DUH!
http://www.big12sports.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=4548201 ↗
Kansas Again! Jayhawks Picked To Win 12th Straight Title
October 15, 2015
As has been the case each of the last four years, Kansas is the preseason choice to win the Big 12 men’s basketball regular season championship. The Jayhawks were a unanimous selection and are the favorite for the 14th time in conference history overall.
KU will have four starters back from a squad that recorded its 10th consecutive season with 25 or more victories. Senior Perry Ellis will lead the squad after being the only player in the conference in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. The Jayhawks will be looking to earn their 27th straight NCAA bid - which would match North Carolina (1975-2001) for the all-time tournament record.
Oklahoma, which has finished second in the league in back-to-back seasons, was picked second and also has four starters back. The Sooners will be led by reigning Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield, who topped the conference in scoring in 2014-15 and ranks 15th all-time at OU with 1,366 points. Iowa State, winner of the last two Big 12 postseason crowns, was chosen third and earned the other first-place vote. The Cyclones also return four starters and will be led by new head coach Steve Prohm.
Texas and Baylor were next at fourth and fifth. The Longhorns and new coach Shaka Smart also have four starters returning. The Bears will be led by All-Big 12 First Team choice Rico Gathers along with Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Taurean Prince. West Virginia placed sixth in the poll after leading the nation in steals a year ago.
Oklahoma State was seventh, while K-State, TCU and Texas Tech rounded out the preseason rankings. Since the Big 12 began competing as a 10-team league in 2011-12, every team picked eighth in the preseason poll has gone on to earn a NCAA bid (four consecutive seasons).
The Big 12 was the No. 1 conference in the nation in the RPI a year ago and returns four of five All-Big 12 First Team selections for the first time in league history. Six of the top nine Big 12 scorers from 2014-15 will play again this season after nine of 10 teams were ranked or received votes in the top 25 a year ago.
The Big 12 will hold its preseason media day on Tuesday, October 20 at Sprint Center in Kansas City - site of the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship. Live coverage will be available at Big12Sports.com.
2015-16 Big 12 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Team (First-place votes) Points
1. Kansas (9)* 81
2. Oklahoma 70
3. Iowa State (1) 68
4. Texas 51
5. Baylor 49
6. West Virginia 47
7. Oklahoma State 33
8. Kansas State 18
TCU 18
- Texas Tech 15
@drgnslayr My eyes tell me that no one is standing on tippy toes. Look at the reflections on the floor. Because it is so shiny, you can clearly see the reflection of each player. Nothing there. Sorry man.
@BeddieKU23 One of the attorneys I work with is on the St. Stephens Board of Trustees and I've asked him to put in a good word for us on Jarrett. We don't want him going to Kensucky or Texas!
http://cavsnation.com/video-rookie-sasha-kaun-impressing-on-both-ends-of-the-floor/ ↗
Stuffs Okafor and then makes back door pass.
@justanotherfan ESPN3 cannot show anything on the video board and you have to suffer through their commercials, but Gurley is one of the broadcasters and interviews HCBS. It is better than nothing!
LOOKS LIKE WE DO GET TO SEE ON ESPN3 (clap)
Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will oversee the television production of Late Night, which will be seen live on the Jayhawk TV Network, including ESPN3. Additionally, KLWN Radio in Lawrence will provide coverage of the festivities.
rest of article below:
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas men's and women's basketball teams will ceremoniously tip off their 2015-16 seasons at the 31st annual Late Night in the Phog Friday, Oct. 9, in Allen Fieldhouse.
The 2015 Late Night in the Phog, presented by Hy-Vee, will run from 6:30 p.m., to approximately 9:30 p.m. In a twist from previous Late Nights, like men's basketball home games, KU students will be allowed to enter Allen Fieldhouse two hours prior to Late Night festivities, at approximately 4:30 p.m. As on game nights, KU students will enter through their customary separate entrance on the northeast side of Allen Fieldhouse. Doors will be open to the general public at 5 p.m.
Admission is free and Late Night will remain a ticketless, first-come, first-served event; no re-entry passes will be distributed. Children 12 and under will not be admitted without an accompanying adult. The Fieldhouse doors will be closed when the arena reaches capacity.
Kansas Athletics will use Wham City Lights, integrated into the official Kansas Athletics App, for "Late Night Lights" for added effect during the evening and Jayhawk fans will be able to participate in the activities should they bring a smart phone. By downloading the Kansas Athletics App - which is free and includes news, rosters, schedules, stats, periodic Jayhawk alerts and other helpful information - fans will assist in turning "Late Night Lights" into a hand-held light show.
With the construction of the DeBruce Center at the northeast corner of Allen Fieldhouse, workers have installed fencing that restricts access to some sidewalks adjacent to the Fieldhouse. The best way for students to access their entrance, therefore, is to approach that entrance from the west side of the parking garage.
With school in session Oct. 9, university parking lots will be restricted by permit until 5 p.m., with the exception of Lot 90 located across Naismith Drive from Allen Fieldhouse; that lot will be available for public parking at no charge starting at noon. Public parking will also be available in the parking garage just north of Allen Fieldhouse for Late Night in the Phog after 5 p.m.; cost will be $5 per vehicle.
As is the tradition at Late Night, fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items, which Kansas Athletics will donate to "Just Food" of Douglas County. Just Food will also be outside Allen Fieldhouse taking cash donations for those not able to bring a food item.
Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will oversee the television production of Late Night, which will be seen live on the Jayhawk TV Network, including ESPN3. Additionally, KLWN Radio in Lawrence will provide coverage of the festivities.
The event will feature music by the KU pep band, skits by both basketball teams, video highlights from KU's award-winning Rock Chalk Video department, coach and player introductions, scrimmages by the KU men's and women's teams, and much more.
@Statmachine @ralster responded to me in his post on the nut UK fan. I checked ESPN3 schedule and didn't see anything listed (they did show it last year). :angry:
I will still check ESPN3 tomorrow to see if it shows up. Otherwise, I would think that it would be on the streaming radio that is on KUAthletics site. If not, I am SOL.
Here's something they appear to be working on:
!latenight2.jpg ↗
Texas basketball lands five-star center James Banks
Posted October 8th, 2015
Brian Davis American-Statesman Staff
In what may be a gigantic domino for coach Shaka Smart’s recruiting efforts, James Banks, a five-star center from La Lumiere School in Indiana, announced on Thursday he had verbally committed to Texas.
The 6-feet, 10-inch Banks is rated the nation’s 45th-best player in the nation, according to Scout. ESPN has him pegged as the 56th-best player in the nation. Banks chose UT over Vanderbilt.
“I would like to say thank you to every staff in the country that recruited me and believed in me,” Banks said in a statement posted on Twitter. “I appreciate you seeing something in me that could take your program to the next level. I enjoyed the process however I have decided to become a TEXAS LONGHORN!!! #Hook’Em”
The Longhorns need as many big recruits as possible. Going into the 2015-16 season, Cam Ridley, Prince Ibeh and Connor Lammert are all seniors.
@drgnslayr I read an article about the new ones when they first announced them that said there is actual PADDING on the soles. I still have 2 pairs of the old ones and wear one or the other on Fridays. I had to put some insole pads in the old ones. I can't wait to get the new ones. :running:
A guy with a closed mind is how I interpret him. He's right and nothing anyone else says will change him. As if Kentucky has all golden boys? Yeah right. Each to their own. I for one won't worry one bit about his "perceptions." Notice I didn't even mention their coach - who has had titles taken away?
Now something that is really really important: Anybody know if ESPN3 is going to broadcast LateNight?
I can't WAIT for the season to begin. Bragg is going to be a real fan favorite. Thanks for doing these @Statmachine.
I'm headed out of Austin now to get away from the 75,000 here for Austin City Limits Festival.
Jesse's Inside the Play - How KU basketball gets a 3.5% edge:
@nuleafjhawk Ditto what @Texas-Hawk-10 said. Hate to say there was also that "diversity" factor in the Strong hire. You have to remember that Will Muschamp was tagged "head coach in waiting" and he left because he saw the writing on the wall that Mack Brown wasn't anywhere near retiring and perhaps the $ Florida threw at him. People did know who Shaka Smart was before the hire only because his name was always mentioned when a head coach job came open. But I have to say that besides his signing ceremony, I've heard nothing about Smart or the program all summer except for a report on his trying to bond with players and players with each other. Patterson raised the ticket prices on basketball season tickets as well (when no one even shows up except for KU) and did NOT allow any season ticket holders (regardless of sport) to re-sell their tickets held by long time holding ticket holders. ONLY if you bought season ticket for the very first time could you re-sell them. That was just the icing on the cake.
Just in:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP/KXAN) — Texas athletic director Steve Patterson has resigned after two rocky years on the job, pushed out after clashing with fans and donors upset with his aggressive push to raise money for the nation’s wealthiest athletic department, a person with direct knowledge of the decision said Tuesday.
The university says a severance and transition agreement is pending approval by The UT System Board of Regents. Patterson had a guaranteed contract through August 2019 worth at least $1.4 million annually.
“Steve Patterson is a talented sports executive who brought important ideas and changes to our athletics program,” said Gregory L. Fenves, president of The University of Texas at Austin in a statement. “We appreciate the good things he accomplished in his time here and wish him the best in future endeavors.”
In statement, Patterson said, “Accordingly, I have agreed to step aside effective today. I am very proud of what we have accomplished in a relatively short period of time, including the historic addition of coaches in football and basketball, improvements to ticketing operations, facilities and other initiatives that will greatly benefit our Longhorn student-athletes and the many fans who care deeply about them.”
Since Patterson’s resignation is effective immediately, Fenves has named Houston attorney Mike Perrin to serve as Interim Men’s Athletics Director at least through August.
“For many, athletics is the front door to the university. The excellence and integrity of our program shines a bright light on all we do. Mike Perrin will solidify strong relationships with and among our student-athletes, faculty, students, alumni and coaches, building morale for student-athletes and staff,” continued Fenves.
Texas thought it hit a home run when it hired Patterson in November 2013 from Arizona State. The school had put together a star-studded search committee to find a replacement for DeLoss Dodds. Former West Virginias Oliver Luck was considered the front-runner until Patterson impressed the committee with his final interview.
Patterson has overseen two popular hires at Texas — football coach Charlie Strong and men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart, both now in charge of underperforming programs — but has been unable to win over fans and university donors and has had several meetings with Fenves to soften his approach to business.
He also pushed and won approval for alcohol sales at athletics events, scheduled a men’s basketball game in China for next season and talked of someday taking the football team to Mexico.
But Patterson raised football ticket prices after a 6-7 season in 2014, and instituted a “loyalty” program for tickets that rewarded some long-time donors. It also pushed some long-time season ticket-holders out of their seats.
Most of Patterson’s career was spent as an executive in professional sports, notably the NBA, and he struggled to connect with university officials and supporters in the same way as Dodds.
One of his first missteps was an awkward public push to have the city of Austin help finance a new basketball arena after having not “invested a nickel” in the current Erwin Center over the previous 30 years. Those comments caught city officials off guard and forced the school to backtrack.
And several actions raised questions of whether he connected with his coaches.
At his exit news conference, former basketball coach Rick Barnes accused Patterson of leaking private conversations and demands that Barnes shake up his staff before he was ultimately fired.
Patterson also refused to engage in a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Oklahoma State against Texas offensive line coach Joe Wickline. Texas was not named as a party in the case, which is still on-going, but led to Strong and his staff being subjected to embarrassing depositions to describe who calls plays. By last weekend’s home-opening game against Rice, a plane flew around the stadium with a banner “Patterson Must Go.”
Firing Patterson is a bold move for Fenves, who been on the job since June and admitted early that he had a lot to learn about the business of athletics. Now he must find a replacement to run an athletic department with an annual budget of approximately $160 million.
@Crimsonorblue22 Patterson has no buyout. He gets $5.6 million.
@Crimsonorblue22 Mike Perrin, a linebacker from the 69 team "The Game of the Century" where they beat Arkansas, is an attorney in Houston and is the interim for now. The $$$$$ guys at UT like him. Mack Brown was in town last week meeting with the new president. My boss saw him shopping for clothes at Dillards! Mack was always supposed to be AD after DeLoss Dodds retired but they forced him out b4 that could happen. It depends on who the Regents want. It is a real shock that Patterson was fired but nobody liked his taking away a lot of the traditions. He made the tailgaters move from their spots and charged a ton of money for them to end up w/o a guaranteed spot because of all the construction for the new UT medical school and Patterson said last weekend that he didn't want to shut down the Erwin Center w/o any one agreeing to that.
He raised the ticket prices, changed things up to much too fast and the stadium wasn't even full Sat. night. Barely 75,000 people. PLUS there is a brand new president and he didn't like Patterson. Then he allowed beer sales and that really pissed a lot of people off. Charlie Strong could really be gone if they lose their next 4 games, which is a real possibility. The new AD would have to be prepared to do that.
The Austin paper had the sanctions imposed by the Big XII headline on their website! It was talked about on sports radio here today, because no one wanted to talk about how bad UT played vs Notre Dame Sat. on national TV. :-)
It all depends on what your definition of "soon" is!
Bill Self rocks Kanye West designer shoes!
Athletes have the Aidas Yeezy Boost 350. Sneaker heads (the lucky ones) have the Yeezy Boost 350. Now, coaches are in the game too.
Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self was wearing the Kanye West x Adidas shoes while hyping up students for the upcoming football and basketball seasons, but some sneaker heads in attendance were more hyped for Yeezy season. While it’s not known how Self copped the ultra-exclusive kicks, the University’s ties to Adidas probably gave him a nice plug.
Self’s squad (and the rest of athletics) has been sponsored by Adidas since 2005, and the two sides renewed a deal that will run until 2019 in the summer of 2013.
@Crimsonorblue22 He's from Lansing, KS (on the outskirts of Leavenworth - my hometown) and home of the men's and women's state prisons. After I graduated high school, the city league softball team I played on had to play one game a season AT the women's prison against their team. Scary time going through the gates/fences. Those were tough gals! Lansing also was home to a previous Miss Kansas (daughter of one of my close friends from high school).
@BeddieKU23 Just saw this.
The Crimson Tide's going to have an interesting and challenging 2015-16, and now we know the journey will commence without four-star 2015 prospect Kobie Eubanks, who was not cleared in time for the start of the academic year. As such, he will not play hoops in Tuscaloosa. Eubanks, who was the best incoming freshman Alabama had, did not get the go-ahead from the NCAA after it reviewed his transcripts from Delray Beach, Fla.'s Elev8 Sports Institute in addition to his previous marks at prior stops in high school.
Eubanks originally was a Baylor commitment, then backed off that last November because initial issues with his transcripts prompted a reclassification from the class of 2014 to the class of 2015. In mid-June Eubanks pledged to Bama under its new, Johnson-led regime.
Prior to playing at Elev8, Eubanks was a student at Our Savior New American School, which is based in Long Island, N.Y. A fellow 2015 prospect, Kansas five-star big man Cheick Diallo, also attended the school. Diallo has yet to be cleared by the NCAA to play at KU.
Eubanks' time at American Heritage High School, in Plantation, Fla., has also been a big factor in precluding the prospect from gaining eligibility.
This guy had MANY places that were at play in his eligibility.
Not sure where to post it so will do it here. Brought his rings!
@Crimsonorblue22 And we "came early and were loud!". That is what Mack Brown always said for football.
@Texas-Hawk-10 Ticket City is where I went to last year to avoid the Erwin Center/UT package crap.
One of the attorneys I work with is a season ticket holder and when I told him our game was going to be a Big Monday he laughed and said " By that time in the season it will be painfully obvious that it will be a rebuilding year for UT." Not much confidence in Smart to right the ship.
@Crimsonorblue22 This morning I contacted my ticket broker and they don't have tickets yet for Leap Day!!!! I'll be there in spades.
60 DAYS TILL LATE NIGHT! :raised_hand: :raised_hands:
:raised_hand: :raised_hands:
:raised_hand: :raised_hands:
:raised_hand: :raised_hands:
:raised_hand: :raised_hands:
Titled: OUR YEAR
!ouryear.jpg ↗
@VailHawk THANKS for the :laughing:
From 247 Sports:
Terrance Ferguson Prime Prep Academy
Where will Terrance Ferguson commit to?
Kansas
76%
Alabama
12%
SMU
6%
Louisville
6%
@Crimsonorblue22 I got mine last Thursday and wore it on Friday. :heart:
Sporting News moved us from No. 6 to No. 1 because Why Not?
AWARDS:
Eurobasket.com All-World University Games 1st Team 2015
Finals MVP: Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) of USA
Best Player: Wayne Selden (6'5''-SF-94) of USA
Best Guard: Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) of USA
Best Forward: Wayne Selden (6'5''-SF-94) of USA
Best Center: Mangok Mathiang (6'10''-F/C-92) of Australia
1st Team
PG: Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) of USA
G: Maodo Lo (6'3''-G-92) of Germany
SF: Rokas Giedraitis (198-SF-92) of Lithuania
SF: Wayne Selden (6'5''-SF-94) of USA
F/C: Mangok Mathiang (6'10''-F/C-92) of Australia
2nd Team
G: Stefan Pot (195-G-94) of Serbia
F/G: Axel Nordstrom (193-F/G-91) of Sweden
F: Alex Murphy (6'9''-F-93) of Finland
Perry Ellis (6'8''-F-93) of USA
C/F: Yannis Morin (208-C/F-93) of France
Honorable Mention
Chris McLaughlin (208-C-92) of Canada
Henrique Coelho (183-PG-93) of Brazil
Maik-Kalev Kotsar (201-F/G-96) of Estonia
Pavel Antipov (204-F-91) of Russia
Aleksandar Marelja (207-F/C-92) of Serbia
Radosav Spasojevic (204-F/C-92) of Montenegro
Sertac Sanli (212-C-91) of Turkey
Hans-George Brase (6'8''-F-93) of Germany
Ung Heo (183-G-93) of S. Korea
Vendrame Leo (183-PG-93) of Japan
Rui Zhao (193-F-96) of China
Florian Steinmann (197-SF-91) of Switzerland
@Statmachine I love his glasses.
Maybe it all comes down to it was in him all this time but he needed the "world competition" to bring it out by getting his legs under him after a 32 hour first class plane flight.
Piano that once belonged to Phog Allen returns to KU
By Joanna Hlavacek
Sunday, July 19, 2015
From the time they were small, there was “never any question” that the Gallup girls would learn how to play the piano.
And, from how Cindy Pine (née Gallup) tells it, that’s what they did. When your mom’s a professional piano accompanist, you don’t have much of a choice.
“Our home was always full of wonderful music,” recalls Pine, who, along with her sister, Nancy, continued with lessons until graduating high school.
She talks about her family’s piano in casual terms now — it had been a fixture in the Gallup house since her toddler years — but the Mason & Hamlin baby grand that Pine and her sister, Nancy, puttered around on as kids was, in fact, special.
At one point, she says, it had belonged to none other than Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen, the legendary Kansas University basketball coach who guided the Jayhawks through 24 conference championships and three national titles.
Photo by Nick Krug
A piano once owned by legendary Kansas University basketball coach Phog Allen, is pictured in the chancellor's residence. The piano, which was a gift to the University from Lawrence couple Winnie and Al Gallup, who bought the piano from the Allen family in the 1950's, was delivered to the Chancellor's residence after a restoration effort by the School of Music.
“I don’t remember any other piano,” Pine says of the storied instrument, which settled into its new home at the residence of KU chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little last month. “It was just always the piano in our house.”
The story of how it got there is a fascinating little nugget of Lawrence history, says Michael Arp of the KU Endowment Association, who helped facilitate Al and Winnie Gallup’s donation of the piano to the university last fall.
The instrument, which recently underwent a complete restoration at the hands of KU School of Music piano technician Vincent Mrykalo, will now reside permanently at The Outlook.
“The connection to the Gallups, who have a long history with KU, and the fact that it was connected to Phog Allen’s family, makes it a perfect place for the instrument to be,” says Arp, who serves as KU Endowment’s development director for the School of Music and the Lied Center. “A place where it’ll be enjoyed by a lot of people for many years to come.”
It’s the most recent — and tentatively the last — move for Phog Allen’s old piano, which long-time owner Al Gallup first encountered as a sales representative at the now-defunct Bell Music Company nearly 80 years ago.
Al, who had secured the job through a KU fraternity brother, was working the floor at Bell one day in 1936 when the basketball coach stopped by the store to purchase a piano for his daughter, Eleanor.
According to an affidavit written by the Gallups, Al waited on Allen and helped him select the Mason & Hamlin baby grand. Retail price: about $500.
Nearly two decades had passed before Al — who in the meantime met Winnie during a voice lesson at KU, married her, graduated from college and served as a pilot in the Air Force during World War II — saw an ad in the Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
The Allen piano was for sale. Asking price: $500, even after all those years.
!phog_allen_piano_02_t180.jpg ↗
Photo by Nick Krug
Lawrence couple Winnie and Al Gallup donated Phog Allen's piano to Kansas University after maintaining possession of it since the 1950s, when they purchased it from the Allen family. They are pictured on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at Presbyterian Manor.
At the time, the Gallups had a small spinet, but Winnie was on the lookout for something bigger and more suited to her needs. So, Al called the number listed in the ad, and set up an appointment with Mrs. Phog Allen.
Turns out, Eleanor Allen had since married, moved to Illinois and taken the piano with her.
“Mrs. Allen said, ‘Now, there’s been a divorce in the family. Eleanor’s coming back home, and the kids don’t seem to be interested in the piano,” Winnie, now 94, recalls. “And then she said, ‘I’ll just level with you — at this point with all the troubles, the money for the piano would be more meaningful to her right now than the piano is.’ So, that’s how we got the piano.”
It wasn’t the Gallups’ last interaction with the Allen family, however. Al, a one-time military science professor at KU, had a chummy relationship with the basketball coach.
Both avid golfers, the two would often hit the links with Phog’s close friend Donald Swarthout, who served as dean of the KU School of Music from 1923 to 1950.
Phog, Al recalls, was something of a renaissance man. In addition to his coaching, the KU legend was also a music lover and osteopathic physician.
In fact, after his retirement, Phog would often tend to Al’s back problems.
“So, I’d go over there, and the first thing he’d have you do is lie down on your back. He’d take one leg and pull it back like that,” says Al, who at 99 is still able to gesture upward to punctuate his story. “A lot of it was conversation, too. He was an interesting person.”
Throughout the years, Coach Allen’s piano stayed with Al and Winnie, first at their rental home at 1212 Ohio St., then to the Gallups’ long-time home at 848 W. 21st St. in 1959, where it remained for exactly 50 years before the couple moved to Lawrence Presbyterian Manor in 2009.
But Winnie, who played the organ at Lawrence’s First Presbyterian Church for 67 years, found it increasingly difficult to keep making music at her new home.
She was getting older, and a move from the facility’s independent-living section to its nursing unit left the couple’s already-cramped quarters too tight for a baby grand piano.
It was finally time, Winnie admitted, to give new life to the instrument that had provided her family with so much “wonderful music” over the years.
The Gallups, who celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary next month, hope the piano’s new residence at The Outlook will provide young musicians an opportunity to perform at chancellor-hosted events.
“We didn’t want it to be locked up with (a sign) saying ‘Gift of the Gallups.’ Oh, no,” Winnie says. “We wanted it to go someplace where it’s used.”
And how does 1532 Lilac Lane compare to 848 W. 21st St.?
“I’d said, as far as we’re concerned, we’re just tickled to death that it’s found a happy home,” she says.
Never knew this:
Pluto’s ‘heart’ named for KU grad who discovered the planet
By Sara Shepherd July 15, 2015
The heart-shaped feature on Pluto’s surface — which itself got a lot of love from Pluto-watchers worldwide this week — will be named for the Kansas University alumnus who discovered the celestial body.
NASA on Wednesday released preliminary reports and images from Tuesday’s historic New Horizons spacecraft fly-by, which provided an unprecedented up-close view of Pluto.
The New Horizons team also announced the feature informally known as the “heart” would be named “Tombaugh Regio” after Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930, according to media reports from a NASA briefing on Wednesday.
This July 13, 2015, image provided by NASA shows Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft. The United States is now the only nation to visit every single planet in the solar system.
That makes sense, said Kansas University physics and astronomy professor Bruce Twarog.
Tombaugh inspired generations of planetary scientists “who were willing to look beyond the big, bright and obvious to achieve a deeper understanding of the solar system,” Twarog said.
Not only did Tombaugh discover Pluto, Twarog said, he maintained Pluto’s profile for decades and deserves credit for the fact that people continue to study it.
Tombaugh grew up on a farm near Burdett, Kan., and had hopes of attending KU, but a hailstorm that wiped out his crops left him with no money for college, according to Mike Reid, director of the KU History Project.
“He saw an ad in an astronomy magazine that there was a part-time position at Lowell Observatory,” Reid said. “So he wrote them with some of his observations, and they hired him. There, he discovered Pluto.”
With his pay from Lowell and a scholarship from KU, Reid said, Tombaugh returned to Kansas and enrolled at KU, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1936 and master’s in 1939.
Pluto was long considered the ninth planet, but in 2006 was reclassified to a new category of bodies called dwarf planets.
The mysterious “heart” shows prominently in a pre-fly-by photo NASA released on Monday.
NASA describes it as a “large, bright feature,” measuring about 1,000 miles across and with an interior that “appears remarkably featureless — possibly a sign of ongoing geologic processes.”
More details about the heart and the rest of the planet should emerge from the fly-by.
Preliminary images and information NASA released this week — including an up-close shot showing mountains on Pluto’s icy surface — is exciting for the public but more like a teaser for scientists, Twarog said.
NASA is expected to release a few more photos in coming days, but the bulk of the data won’t be available for months. Studying that will change our understanding of the planet, Twarog said.
“The images coming back are spectacular,” he said. “The science is going to be even more important.”
!plutodiscoverer.jpg ↗
In this 1980 photo provided by Dale Wittner, Clyde Tombaugh is shown in Las Cruces, N.M., with a telescope similar to one he used to find Pluto decades earlier.
Pluto was No. 9 in the lineup when New Horizons departed Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 19, 2006.
@drgnslayr I would SMOKE you in backgammon. I've been playing since 1971.
:game_die: :bangbang:
More Dickie V love (no mention of Julian DeBose tho. WTF?)
Kansas' gold medal will help its season
Dick Vitale, College Basketball analyst
It has already been a busy summer for Kansas coach Bill Self.
Congratulations are in order to Self and Kansas. The team that represented the U.S. in the recently concluded World University Games was comprised mostly of Jayhawks. The American squad won the gold medal in South Korea, beating a tough Germany squad in double overtime in the final.
The Jayhawks/Americans (Nic Moore from SMU was also on the squad) went 8-0 overall at the World University Games, an impressive feat. The competition was challenging, and there were a few close calls.
That experience will mean so much later in the coming season when Kansas tips it off for real come November. Winning the gold will provide a lot of confidence for those young men.
This was a great team-bonding experience for a club that already had a lot of veteran talent. Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden Jr. and Frank Mason III all return for a program that won its 11th straight Big 12 Conference title.
Selden is developing into more of a scorer as displayed during the World University Games. Selden and Ellis did not shoot the ball well in the final game (combined 12-of-49 from the floor), but they were not afraid to take shots.
During the eight games of the tournament, Selden averaged nearly 20 points per game. Last season, he averaged less than 10 points for Kansas.
The Jayhawks also have Landen Lucas, Jamari Traylor, Arkansas transfer Hunter Mickelson, and several newcomers of note via recruiting, such as Carlton Bragg and Lagerald Vick, who played in South Korea during the tournament.
You have to appreciate the effort in winning the tournament. I am sure Self appreciates the opportunity for this group to gain so much valuable experience.
@Crimsonorblue22 There is your banner right there - those words of Coach!
Too bad Nic and Julian couldn't be there.
In other news, TRob had surgery on his miniscus.
KU Athletics site is going to broadcast the team's triumphic return in 54 minutes.
@drgnslayr Love me some backgammon, table tennis, badminton, volleyball and archery. Garden just about burnt up. Carted 148 pounds of tomatoes so far to work. Replanted beans. Going to hit 100 this weekend.
If you call the Lawrence Journal World newspaper (785-843-1000) they will ship you one of the commemorative newspapers from yesterday. Paper is $1, plus shipping. Mine is about $3.08 total.
@BeddieKU23 Of all the outstanding stats in these two charts, check this one:
Hunter ranks 5th at 61.2% on 2 Point Field Goal % (6 attempts/games minimum)
and Wayne is 8th (59.7%) and Frank is 9th (59.6%).
WOW!
Someone (maybe it was @kusteve?) wanted to see a picture of the medal presenters who were "aspiring" to be flight attendants :-)
@Crimsonorblue22 I emailed the sports editor and asked if he would mention in his weekly column tomorrow where he has 9 things and 1 prediction. We'll see. Liked the USA and other article. Andy Katz had at least 4 tweets about us.
You ok after tornado? Hope no damage.
One little paragraph in Austin paper from the "wire service."