🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Crimsonorblue22 You know I was back home in March and was in KC quite a bit and it's crazy how much of a transformation it's undergone in terms of Royals support. Kansas City and the state of Kansas is full of exceptional fans. The Jayhawks, the Chiefs, and again the Royals are proof of this. My father helped me keep the faith all these years with the romantic tales of the 70's and 80's and how much Kansas City loved their Boys in Blue and it feels like that spirit has been renewed.

@VailHawk Hahaha! We'll take it. I guess 29 years of being perennial losers does that to most people.

Gordo's catch was awesome and Cabrera's catch not so much. Thought it was 5-5 when it left his bat.

@MoonwalkMafia @wissoxfan83 I'm not liking these numbers!

@KUinLA Wine is sacred in my family for many reasons. Let's just say they're religious! Ha!

Totally agree with your points by the way. The reasoning is flawed. We want to blame drugs (which includes alcohol), not the abusers. Yet on an entirely different, yet parallel issue such as guns, we wish to blame the abusers and not the guns. I find it illogical.

Interestingly enough, we hail from a state with a fierce and often violent history of progressiveness, perhaps best demonstrated by way of alcohol and the prohibition of it (Carrie A. Nation). Kansas led the way on the moral topics of that era, be it abolition or prohibition.

@wissoxfan83 :cry:

@JayhawkRock78 Ouch! Have you been to the Phillies new ballpark, Citizens Bank? Or whatever giant corporation pays the bill now. Not a classic, but a nice place to watch a game. Sat in the nose bleeds behind home plate and had a nice view of the park and the Philly skyline.

@globaljaybird Getting two W's tomorrow would be a great start!

@wissoxfan83 As a Royals fan I can certainly identify with the feeling. Last year was so unexpected and special I flew home just to revel in it, there was no way I was going to miss it. And certainly we both can share in a mutual hatred for the Cubs. You know, I never had any feelings one way or the other for the Cubs until the Steve Bartman incident. After the way the Cub fans treated him that night in Wrigley and then for months afterwards, I pray they never get a sniff of another championship. They are not cursed by a goat, they are cursed by the fact that their last championship in 1908 was a total fluke. The New York Giants were the legitimate champions and if you don't know the story behind the NL pennant race that year I recommend reading about it. It is the kind of story only baseball in it's infancy could have produced.

@jaybate-1.0 “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”

Interesting perspective on the possible political machinations going on within and around athletic programs. You do believe that there is a concerted effort by some to topple coaches, regardless of program success? Take Kansas for example, who would be in line to benefit from a successful effort to push Coach Self out? I find your comments regarding the wide-ranging excuses for firings quite accurate and something that always leaves me chuckling when I see statements from Universities praising the efforts and successes of a coach they just fired.

What worries me is I think some have an oversimplified perspective of the role of a coach, particularly at this level, be it philosophically or administratively. Coach Self's responsibilities at Kansas are huge in both scope and size. He is at once a basketball coach, a mentor, a politician, a salesman, and so on. He assumes many identities and must be successful in all of them to sustain the level of success that he has. It is not as simple as winning in March.

Let’s look at a man whose success in the NCAA tournament is unparalleled; John Wooden. To attribute his success to superior x's and o's would be an insult to his legacy. Coach Wooden taught boys how to be good men and in turn good teammates because his philosophy combined with his basketball knowledge was all encompassing. He was adamant that the most important coaching he did was away from the basketball court. If he could be successful there the winning would take care of itself because both his basketball and life philosophy were interdependent. Success on the court was merely a by-product of success in other fields. In my opinion, his astonishing accomplishments validated his coaching and teaching methods. I would argue that his success off the court was crucial to his success on the court.

So what if Coach Wooden had not won any of those championships? Would he really be any less of a coach without a title? Was he not a good coach before and without a national championship? How do we or should we define success? Even here in Kansas where we have obtained a level of consistent excellence that has not been matched since the Wizard’s days we seem to have grown bored. This is where I often differ with Kansas fans and fans in general. I believe Coach Self has been and still is wildly successful for more reasons than wins and losses. I think it is important not only to succeed on the court but in the classroom and in the community. I DO NOT believe the only marker of excellence at a university in any role is on an athletic field. If I did I would lament that Coach Cal is at UK, not KU. Of course I want more banners. Of course I think we have at times fallen short. This, however, is where I refer back to my second paragraph; Coach Self is so wildly successful in every role he must fulfill that I would not trade him for any other coach in the country. The basketball program at The University of Kansas under Head Coach Bill Self is truly something every Kansan can be proud of.

@jaybate-1.0 about a week ago I was working on a post on that very topic and ended up scrapping it because I just didn't feel as if I was expressing exactly what I wanted to. You just said everything I was trying to and more. Great post.

@Crimsonorblue22 Very cool, thanks for sharing. Wish that was a Kansas City Kings uniform, huh?

@wissoxfan83 I mean they couldn't even incorporate the old Comiskey green? Or the distinctive arches? Maybe they do have the arches but I've never noticed them so they must lack the 'distinctive' qualities of the old park. Oh well, lets get you thinking positively, you HAVE seen a world championship there!

@JayHawkFanToo I assumed that's about how it worked. There are ballparks that were cradles of the game and I've never understood why some clubs were so willing to tear down those gems of ballparks and incorporate few if any of the characteristics of their old home. I haven't been yet but of the pictures I've seen I've thought they did a great job with CitiField, the Mets new home. They used aspects of the legendary Ebbets Field and Polo Grounds.

@wissoxfan83 Wow, that was the same firm? I had no idea. Camden Yards is a sweet ballpark. Feels new and old all at once, they nailed it with that one. You would think a firm of professional architects could have came up with a stadium that was more Comiskey-esque and takes advantage of those views of Chicago.

Let's hope it happens! See ya guys tomorrow

@brooksmd My great grandfather worked out of Kansas City, he may have started out in Topeka though, I would have to ask my grandmother. If I remember correctly he worked the Salina and Maryville routes.

@brooksmd Ha! Whenever I road trip I try to avoid the interstates. My great grandfather worked for Union Pacific and was able to take my grandmother on some great train rides out west, her stories always leave me dreaming of the good old days.

@Crimsonorblue22 Yes he is, he knows better than to leave a ballgame before it's over. What about your son and girlfriend?

Oh jeez didn't the real Bruce Jenner disappear after he became a hero in the '76 Olympics?

@brooksmd haha it's not so bad, the desert can be strangely beautiful. I've been lucky enough to be in some enjoyable places though so I can't complain.

@brooksmd That would be the spot

@brooksmd I wasn't lucky enough to wind up near San Diego, got stuck in the sand and not the fun kind!

How important is each and every out though? If Escy makes a good throw and gets the out we're still up a run and they might have called this game. Regardless, we'd be going into the 9th with a lead.

@brooksmd I'm out in southern California, not the paradise parts though! haha

@brooksmd My father was saying that they're trying to get this one in if at all possible because tomorrow's forecast is even worse. I'm out here on the west coast so I could go for some extra's again! Not quite bedtime yet!

Thought this game would be delayed three innings ago!

@brooksmd How do you like living down there in Louisiana? Had a friend that left after Katrina and went back as soon as he could for school, said he couldn't imagine ever leaving the state again. About how I feel about Kansas believe it or not!

Haha you guys are cracking me up. I was able to make it to one KU game and I was fortunate enough for it to be the WVU game. Phog Allen was alive and well that night.

@brooksmd open another bottle and save some slices for me!

@Crimsonorblue22 Good lord, who's his hook up?

@Crimsonorblue22 If he see's a drunken redhead yelling for Gordo's autograph that'll be him (told him to do the second act, not the first)! haha

@brooksmd My dream is to go visit all of them. Was lucky enough to see old Yankee Stadium before they tore it down back in the summer of 2000. Watched the Royals get a rare win! San Francisco has one hell of a ballpark out there, might be my favorite, after Kauffman of course.

My friend's grandfather is from the south side and so a Sox fan and mourns the tearing down of Comiskey Park at least once every time I see him. "I cannot believe they tore Comiskey down for that ridiculous cellphone field they call a ballpark, makes me sick. Comiskey was more of a classic than Wrigley, son. She was a ballpark!" Or something like that.

@Crimsonorblue22 Hope they wore some warm and waterproof clothes!

@Crimsonorblue22 My brother and his buddy are in right field slowly working their way towards the Royals dugout he said haha

I read that Samardzija had been jawing at Christian Colon from the dugout earlier in the game (maybe still upset about the wildcard game) and Eaton clearly said something to Yordano at first. It's like they say though, it's always those that retaliate that get caught. Then Brett Lawrie and Jeff Samardjzida can play the innocent, confused guys.

@brooksmd Haha did that really happen? I didn't hear about that

Sox guys thought he escaped the tag. They are not smart men.

Have to listen to the White Sox crew for this series and their play-by-play guy is just awful.

I'm never not blown away when I see that view of UCSB's campus. Hope she finds a little bit more success out west.

That brawl shouldn't have happened, Ventura needs to grow up, but I'm a Royals fan so that makes me an apologist. Yordano may be a hothead but he's a 22 year old hothead. At that age passion can be very hard to control when provoked, which he was. He's the ace of the defending American League Champions. That's a lot to take in at that age and one can possibly understand how an inflation of the ego may be likely to occur. It's why I always attempt to temper my negative emotions when watching KU, because those guys are kids playing at a level and under pressure that I cannot comprehend. I don't know if I could handle it as well as some of them do.

The biggest issue for the Royals concerning these incidents is not so much the league-wide perception of them but the suspensions. Who cares what the White Sox fans think, we need everyone playing so we can keep their mouths quiet and that stadium three quarters empty. Sorry @wissoxfan83 ...

Ultimately though, @Crimsonorblue22 has it right. They're a team and they're unlike any other in the MLB. They are the most entertaining show on television night in and night out and it's going to be a wild ride because we may be getting everyone's best shot from here on out.

@Crimsonorblue22 I think Omar may be the only one without one! Well, that's alright. Just keep winning each series!

These guys be waiting for the 10th...

My boy Gordo is going to start this rally

Mauer and Hunter have been hot

Man I thought that one was going to drop!

HOS!!!

These guys must be waiting for the 9th

Alright, Alright here's where we get going.

@brooksmd hahahaha that had me rolling

It would be San Fran