Yeah Gradey !
nwhawkfan
3046 posts
With just one game to go, it's been a pretty weak postseason overall for the Big 12, save TCU. (And of course, there's that 25-point Jayhawk comeback...)
The MAC has the best record, though really, no conference has looked dominant. Parity of a sort.
While watching all the tributes to Pele over the weekend, it occurred to me that not many people know that he played a match in Kansas City back in 1968. On the 4th of July, no less.
His club team Santos was touring the US that summer to play against NASL teams, and among the stops they made was a friendly against the KC Spurs at Municipal Stadium. I was a ball boy for the Spurs that season and got a comp ticket to see him play. This was years before he would burst onto the radar of American sports fans as a member of the New York Cosmos.
I don't remember much about the game, other than (a) the small contingent of Brazilian fans made LOTS more noise than the thousands of Spurs fans in the stands; and (b) he was by FAR the best player on the field.
Too bad the Spurs went out of business a couple of years later. (Ironically, it happened just months after Pele got his third World Cup win for Brazil in Mexico.) If they'd survived into the mid-Seventies, I might have gotten another chance to witness greatness in person.
https://funwhileitlasted.net/2018/03/11/1968-1970-kansas-city-spurs/ ↗
Speaking of the Conference, TCU just got a Pick Six against Michigan !
@Zabudda said in KU/Oklahoma St Game Thread:
Next!
Two road games next, Tech and WVU. Never easy in this conference.
Great way to wrap up the year. Would've hated to pop the cork tonight with a L in the back of my mind.
@jayballer67 said in KU/Oklahoma St Game Thread:
@wissox said in KU/Oklahoma St Game Thread:
Kev gets away with one! Hate to see refs swallow a whistle even when it helps us.
I have to agree with you - - That was a foul
Another case of the calls evening out. We got one when we needed it.
@Crimsonorblue22 In The Phog
The Kevin & KJ Show
BALLGAME !!!!
Gonna come down to a three I bet
ICE WATER
ONE MORE STOP
YIKES
Job not done yet. Keep up the good D.
J-WILL ! AAALLL THE WAY BACK !!!
And two-thirds of the deficit magically disappears.
JUAN !
Another pitty-pat call
When in doubt, flail the arms. Might get a call !
Ugliest half of the year. Time to take a comeback lesson from the football team.
BANCO !
Oklahoma and Texas both lose on the same day. Again. Karma.
(Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out, boys...)
THAT'S WHY YOU PLAY FOUR QUARTERS! This comeback is going to inspire the hell out of the program. Not to mention a boon to our recruiting. REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR. RCJH !!!
Well, our watch party dwindled down to nice cozy group of two. At least I have somebody left to high five !
Amazingly, only one person at our watch party has left so far. And he had to go back to work. Hoping for a halfway competitive second half.
I was lucky enough to make it to the 1973 Liberty Bowl when KU played North Carolina State (coached by Lou Holtz, who later went on to Notre Dame and many years as an analyst on ESPN). A great 500-mile road trip with four other guys and a case of beer.
We didn't have time to do much sightseeing, though a couple of us talked about driving by Graceland (where Elvis was still living at the time). Got into town just in time for the pre-game rally at a local barbecue joint. When we arrived at the stadium I noticed its odd shape, with lots more rows in the middle and fewer on the ends. It was one of the first stadiums to be built that way. (It wasn't until years later that I figured out that they did that in order to sell more of the expensive midfield seats, a practice since repeated in many other stadiums.)
As for the game, the Jayhawks, led by QB David Jaynes, were a slight favorite to win. The game was tied in the third quarter when the Wolfpack punted to KU. While going back to catch the punt, Bruce Adams got tripped by a Wolfpack player. The refs missed the foul, the ball hit Adams, and NC State recovered deep in our territory. (Video replays confirmed the blown call.) That changed the momentum of the whole game.
The Wolfpack scored a few plays later, and tacked on another TD in the fourth quarter. We lost 31-18 despite having the edge in most statistics. Jaynes had a pretty good game, setting Liberty Bowl records as he threw for 218 yards on 24 of 38 passes. Adams had eight receptions, and fullback Robert Miller had a career high 104 yards rushing. The Jayhawks outgained the Wolfpack in total yardage 348-274.
Enjoyed the trip, if not the outcome. (I still have the game program, ticket stub and a souvenir cup.) Hoping for a much better finish this time.
Back to the last of the shopping. We've got freezing rain in the forecast for tomorrow out here, so tonight may be my last chance to get out.
Everybody have a great Christmas (and stay warm) ! RCJH !
Credit to the defense. Kept it from getting out of hand in the first half during that cold spell from three.
Wakeup call
Not at all what I expected. Listless, and can't hit a three to save their souls.
Was thinking about last night when Eastern Illinois was a 31-point dog and still managed to beat Iowa on the road. Harvard's "only" +21 and playing us even so far.
Glad to see Messi & Argentina win. I have a bit of Argentina team swag that my brother gave me. When he was at the Naval College in Newport RI he taught some of their naval officers, and still stays in touch with them.
Curious as to whether Messi will leave PSG and sign with Miami in MLS as rumored. He'd be a hell of a draw. When he toured the US with Barcelona a few years ago for a series of friendlies, the stadiums were jam-packed.
Onward to the rest of the Xmas cards.
Haahvahd next.
RCJH !!!
@wissox Instead of a postgame interview, we get a breakdown of what's wrong with Indiana and almost nothing about us. Sheesh...
Oh good, it's over. Now I can switch over to that exciting Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
Woodson calling up a 23-point play...
Just toying with 'em
Got a feeling that this one ain't going to overtime. Less drama, more sustained joy.
ZUBY - DOO !!!
More like it !
DICK - TACULAR !!!
Liking the font on the unis. A tribute to the Beware Of The Phog banner ?
@Crimsonorblue22 Of course, Jacque is now coaching the Brooklyn Nets. By coincidence, my nephew used to be on their video crew at Barclays Center. While at KU he worked for Rock Chalk Video. A few years back he gave me a tour of their studios in the Fieldhouse. Quite a setup.
Been watching YouTube highlights of the 1993 game, with Jacque Vaughn's winning buzzer-beater in overtime. Lots of memories of that one.
I'd come back to KC for the holidays and drove to Lawrence for the game with my old KU girlfriend from the '70s, who was back in town from California. We were both looking for the Hawks to give Bobby Knight his comeuppance. Sans tickets and knowing that the game was a sellout, we hoped that the scalpers wouldn't ask insane prices for tickets. (We were wrong.)
So we went to Plan B, and scrambled to find a bar that was showing the game on TV. Fortunately just before tipoff, we ducked into a place at 23rd & Iowa. (Coincidentally, it was called the California Bar & Grill, long since gone.) When Jacque hit the 3-pointer to win the game the place went ballistic. Not quite AFH, but the level of craziness was still there, if on a smaller scale. Hell of a reunion for the two of us. What a finish.
No matter how Saturday's game ends up it can't match the drama of that one. (By the way, she and I are still good friends...just sent her a Xmas card the other day.)
Leach was as good of an interview as he was as a coach, maybe better (and he was a pretty good coach). His press conferences could go off on any number of tangents, like when he'd give a soliloquy on pirates. You wonder what kind of teams he would've had if he didn't have to recruit players to out-of-the-way places like Starkville and Pullman.
He'll be greatly missed. The college football world just got a whole lot less colorful.
Sorry to hear the news, especially about a fellow Kansan. He lived here in Seattle for a while in the early 2000s.
When Grant was with Sports Illustrated as a soccer & college basketball analyst, he wrote a great article about KU's win in the 2008 NCAA title game. I've got that issue stashed away somewhere.
@dylans said in Deuces, Kauffman:
@wissox Agreed, it is difficult to build both a modern marvel and something that will stand the test of time. There are a lot more Astro domes than colosseums.
Funny thing about the Astrodome. As far as I can tell it's the last of the "one-size-fits-all" stadiums still standing, though it's been dormant for years. It does have a historic designation that prevents it from being torn down, at least for the time being.
As for Riverfront, Three Rivers, The Kingdome, Busch Stadium (the second)...all gone. In reality, that round, one-size-fits-all design concept of the 1960s and 70s didn't fit either football or baseball very well.
Heard that the favored sites are mostly in the downtown/Crossroads area.
Curious about what the capacity would be. Some of the newer ballparks are actually smaller than their predecessors. In Seattle they built a downtown stadium not unlike Camden Yards with a retractable roof (something that was in the original design for the K and Arrowhead) and a wraparound view of the mountains and Puget Sound from the concourse. Over 10,000 fewer seats than the old Kingdome. Creates demand for the more limited number of tickets; hence, an excuse to raise the prices.