Column

College World Series Field Set And I Couldn’t Be Happier by Jason Dannelly

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There are few things in the sports world that I truly get excited for. I don’t ever get jacked up for the Super Bowl, I could care less the NBA playoffs are going on right now and the BCS championship doesn’t cause me to clear my schedule.

However, the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. is an event that has turned from “must see TV” to must “must attend and cover”.

Growing up in Nebraska, the CWS was always a sports event as a youngster that you heard about but never really fully embraced. I can remember our neighbor, who helped my dad coach our youth baseball teams, coming back from the CWS with “new drills” he saw during warmups and practices.

Living on a farm we didn’t have cable but we were blessed with one of those GIANT satellite dishes that likely could’ve started a cable company for our neighbors. That’s where I saw my first CWS game. If memory serves it was G5/9 (Satellite G5 channel 9 for those of you unfamiliar with having to rotate the dish to get your channels in).

I never got to attend a CWS game until I got to college. My roommate’s family had tickets to every CWS game (and still do for that matter) and I was lucky enough my freshman year of college to be around for one of the rare games when his family was not using all of their tickets.

I can’t remember the first teams I saw play and I don’t think that makes me any less of a fan nor does it make my experience any less significant than one of those people with a photogenic memory who could recite from memory the entire scorer’s book from their first game. (Trust me, there are people that can. I’ve met them.)

The atmosphere, the energy, the crowd, the vendors, the people with tents in their front yards… I was hooked. Just from watching on TV I knew I’d really enjoy being at the CWS. But I had no idea what that feeling would be like. It wasn’t the same feeling I had going to Nebraska football games growing up and it wasn’t the feeling I got going to KC Royals games.

This was a feeling of ownership. Like somehow by attending the CWS that part of it had become mine. I think that’s why people from Nebraska and Iowa love the event so much. They helped build it into what it has become and in return it was now “theirs”.

Ever since that first game I’ve made it as part of an annual summer tradition. When I graduated college I was lucky enough to work with the Creative Sports Network and actually broadcast some of the games leading into the CWS. I was asked to broadcast a few games that year as well, but actually had a prior commitment that prevented me from doing it. In the years following, I’ve continued to cover the CWS as a freelance journalist for various organizations.

But nothing beats the experience as a fan. Sure there were detractors that didn’t want to see the game moved from Rosenblatt to TD Ameritrade Park and I get the argument. The “homey” feeling of Rosenblatt cannot be duplicated by any other venue in the world. Honestly the closest was probably the NAIA WS in Lewiston, Idaho and I don’t just say that as the guy who covers the NAIA as his main beat.

The new venue has grown the CWS and allowed more fans to experience what really is the greatest show on dirt. (Someone should copyright that…) Whether it’s the new slough of bars in the area, the kids play area or the general sites of Omaha there truly is something for everyone at the CWS.

Match ups this year are interesting to say the least. The first game on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (CT), with UC Irvine playing against Texas. Saturday’s second game will have Louisville against Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. (CT). The doubleheader on Sunday features Texas Tech vs. TCU at 2 p.m. (CT) and in the evening game starting at 7 p.m. (CT), Virginia will take on Ole Miss.

The obviously storyline I am following is the return of Auggie Garrido to Omaha with Texas. I’ve always liked the way Auggie has coached his teams and embraced the CWS but after seeing the documentary about him a few years ago, how can you not love this guy. (Exhibit A – NSFW Language)

UC Irvine will obviously be the team the locals get behind. Omahans love the underdog and generally open their arms to anyone new who comes to the CWS. Plus the number of “Anteater” hats that have already been purchased from Lids in the last 20 years is probably immeasurable. Right next to those “Jimmies” and “Slippery Rock” hats.

TCU and Vandy have tradition on their side and Virginia also falls into that category with the only difference being how Omaha seems to embrace the first two a little more.

The rest of the field will have their fans and obviously will win new fans in Omaha over the next two weeks because that’s what the CWS is about. Everyone gets cheered on and everyone is loved at the CWS because once you are there you realize that while the teams and venue have changed, the sense of ownership remains the same as the first time you walked through the gates.

I’ll be covering the CWS again this year. Follow my blog, twitter or whatever for updates. Those are all linked to this article.

157 Moments that Shaped My NAIA Experience

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My first experience with the NAIA came in 1996 when I went to watch my brother play college football at Dana College. He redshirted his first year, so I didn’t actually get to see him play that fall but my Dad and I went to a bunch of the games anyway just so we could get a chance to watch his team play.

Two year’s later I joined him and started playing college football at the NAIA level. I’m not trying to romanticize what my time associated with the NAIA has been because there have been as many downs for me as there has been ups. Like anything in life, you learn from the downs and probably remember the ups for a little bit more than they actually were.

Even though I started watching my brother in 1996, I probably didn’t really know what the NAIA was until 1999 or 2000. That’s when I got started working more college media events and was traveling as the radio voice of Dana College and Midland Lutheran College women’s basketball (now Midland University)

Despite stepping away from the day-to-day duties of the Victory Sports Network a few years ago it seems like I will always be associated with VSN and the NAIA. I’ve written, broadcast and covered professional sports, NCAA sports and high schools sports but regardless of all of that people always ask me about the NAIA.

That’s both good and bad. It’s nice to be considered the person who is the “beat writer” for NAIA athletics because information flows your way more frequently than it would say if you were just a college sports writer. But in the same respect, any article I write on any other subject is discounted because I’m “that NAIA writer.”

I hated that people feel that way about the NAIA because of the truly magnificent things that are accomplished at this level of athletics. And before the haters come out of the wood work to say “well DII and DIII do the blah blah blah same” I want to assure you that I am not discounting any of the efforts that take place at those levels. All I’m saying is when you have the blue oval and those four white letters behind you, you are already ahead of your fellow small college counterparts in the NAIA. If you don’t believe me, ask the enrollment driven schools of DII and DIII to remove all mention of their collegiate affiliation from their marketing materials and their coaches recruiting pitches for one year and see how it affects recruitment.

I’ve personally heard coaches say to recruits “well, we’re NCAA DII now… “ and talk down about members in the NAIA. Meanwhile they walk these recruits past trophy cases filled with NAIA hardware.

My experience the NAIA has been a wild ride. I never set out to start a web site that would become a national leader in NAIA news and opinions. All I wanted to do was have a message board where people could come and talk about NAIA football. I literally started the site because I wasn’t able to take the day after the fourth of July off in 2002 and I went into work at an office where I was the only person around. So I jumped on that crappy office Compaq computer and started a message board.

I started thinking about the start of VSN lately and all of the things that I have seen happen. I’ve never really sat down and shared those moments with people because I thought I was too busy and didn’t have the time. Sure, some of these moments are a lot more special to me than they are the NAIA, its members or people within the division. The point is that everyone has a list of great memories at this level and I think if they actually sat down and wrote them out they would understand how very special the NAIA level is and that people should never write off the experience just because it happens to take place at a level of college athletics that isn’t the NCAA.

1. Meeting fans that are truly passionate about the NAIA. It’s rare you meet people that have knowledge of NAIA athletics, so when you do it’s like Christmas. Especially when it is in a random place and they happen to be wearing a t-shirt from some obscure college that you happen to be the only person in the room to know.

2. That moment you look out of the University of Sioux Falls charter plane to Helena, Mont. and see what looks like a sidewalk cleared for you to land on.

3. Freddy T’s during the old NAIA Championship Site in Savannah, Tenn.

4. Old Havana Cigar Bar in Rome, Ga.

5. Pounds upon pounds of crab legs and oysters at Jefferson’s in Rome, Ga.

6. Joe Barker and the patented “MOVE those chains” when the NAIA football championship was in Savannah.

7. The 6th Floor of the Pickwick Inn and trading stories with David Long after the Banquet.

8. Being able to call some of the best athletic directors in the country your friend.

9. Going out for a night on the town in Helena, Mont with fans and alumni.

10. The Marysville House outside of Helena with the world’s simplest and best menu: Steak, Seafood, Chicken, Pork.

11. Before KC Power and Lights, meeting all the NAIA DI MBB Coaches at Tanners or the Quaaf.

12. The occasional jar of Apple Pie from a coaching staff in Kentucky.

13. Seeing schools for the first time in 2002 and seeing how much they have built or improved in the last 12 years.

14. Watching football programs be built and overnight become national powers.

15. Having Andy Lambert (Sterling College) coach one of your teams in the VSN Senior Classic and realizing what a truly special coach he is.

16. The first time you hear the high school bands in Municipal Auditorium in KC.

17. The Georgetown College band at the NAIA DI MBB tournament.

18. Enjoying a late night pie run to Perkins with assistant football coaches the night before a football game.

19. The day I met Matt Zimmer, the football beat writer for former NAIA member University of Sioux Falls. I haven’t met another writer who was as gifted, funny and fearless as Zim. He has a writing style that should have him writing nationally and as well as for the Argus Leader.

20. Being able to have a personal relationship with Bruce Brown when he was the NAIA’s Champions of Character presenter. If parents, coaches and athletes enacted to 10 percent of Bruce’s message, athletics in general would be completely different. Don’t believe me? Check out proactivecoaching.info

21. Walking into the NAIA’s old Olathe headquarters and listening to the manufacturing of Honeywell products.

22. Having former Saint Francis (Ind.) QB Eric Hooks help me calm the victims of a car accident that happened right outside the hotel for our VSN Senior Game.

23. Meeting Kevin Donley of Saint Francis (Ind.) and feeling like you were instantly accepted into his family.

24. Running into NAIA coaches at a White Castle in Louisville, Ky. during football coaches’ convention and pounding down greasy sliders with them.

25. Having the opportunity to hire my staff when College Fanz bought VSN and developing some of the best friendships of my life with those co-workers.

26. Having one of those coworkers bust into your hotel room the night before a broadcast, jump on your bed and slap you across the face because you decided to go home early.

27. Seeing the Shiloh Civil War Memorial and getting a guided tour of the grounds.

28.  Ruining a pair of new Nike shoes because you were shooting photos at what is now known as “The Mud Bowl.”

29. Being able to brag (to no one at all) that you were at every game of the NAIA basketball tournament from Wednesday morning through Saturday night.

30. Meeting a broadcaster who thought he could announce every one of those games and watching him go down in flames four games in.

31. Going on a spring football tour and meeting former Paul Quinn head coach Archie “The Gunslinger” Cooley and even though I spoke to him on the phone several times, including the day before I arrived, he had no idea who I was or why I was there.

32. Being able to get the cell phone number of hundreds of coaches and having them actually pick up when you call. (My friends hit “ignore”)

33. Driving up to a school to broadcast a game and having the entire crew say “so, where are we broadcasting from?”

34. The Cozy Inn in Salina, Kan.

35. The bathroom experience in McPherson, Kan. where there might have been a bomb exploded due to point No. 34 of this list.

36. Having to swat and kill a bat that was flying in my room in the “President’s House” at Geneva College. Then realizing my life had become Chris Farley’s from “Black Sheep”.

37. Meeting Frosty Westering before he passed away and having multiple phone conversations with him.

38. Having an autographed copy of “Make the Big Time Where You Are” with a personal note from Frosty.

39. Meeting so many people whose lives were touched by Frosty.

40. Meeting a person who was an NAIA staffer and not getting off on the right foot only to turn into great friends years later.

41. Meeting NAIA staff you still consider to be friends regardless of your differences.

42. Effie Burgers in Lewiston, Idaho.

43. Randomly meeting Greg Beachner on the sidelines of Sioux Falls football games and eventually hiring his extremely talented son to work for VSN.

44. Meeting an MidAmerica Nazarene graduate on the VSN message boards and eventually hiring him as the business’s CPA.

45. Being able to attend the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho and realize what a truly special event it is.

46. Ed Cheff. Enough said.

47. Watching your alma mater win a national championship in wrestling.

48. Watching a member of that national championship team become a world champion in the UFC.

49. Knowing the first members of the NAIAFootball.net message board personally.

50. Becoming great friends with some of those members.

51. Broadcasting a football game with one of those members.

52. Taking photos with the College Fanz Crew with our “fans” at a McDonalds in Missouri Valley…extremely hungover.

53. Meeting and having a conversation with Jim Spivey, an NAIA basketball legend.

54. Hearing Ray Harper from Oklahoma City University tell the story of how he got hired to the person that hired him and not remember the last time you laughed that hard.

55. Meeting the guy that hired him, Jim Abbott, and realizing how truly great he is at his job.

56. Meeting the people that started the DII and DIII web sites.

57. Being able to shut up and listen when you sit down at a table of some of the best minds in small college athletics.

58. Watching the TV show “Justified” and know the towns they are talking about because you’ve been to Williamsburg, Corbin and Barbourville.

59. Standing on the sideline when Saint Xavier University won the NAIA football championship and seeing Mike Feminis jump into his assistant coaches’ arms.

60. Putting a microphone on Gary Wagner of Carroll College and listening to his every word.

61. Watching coaches start in the NAIA and move up into prominent jobs in DI.

62. Broadcasting NAIA DI basketball games with coaches who have just been eliminated.

63. Watching those coaches come into their own behind the mic and eventually turn into sports talk show hosts.

64. Watching a SportsCenter Top 10 and seeing a highlight and instantly knowing its an NAIA team.

65. Texting the coach of the NAIA team on SportsCenter to give them a bad time about it.

66. The great “Ice Storm” that left Sioux Falls and Carroll College stuck on the interstate in Georgia and the tweets and text messages that followed.

67. Fan meet ups at random.

68. Actually driving on the “Highway 20” that the Zac Brown Band sang about while going to Rome.

69. Randomly meeting Nicole Chin on the sideline of one of the NAIA’s postseason playoff games and eventually hiring her as the graphic artist and designer that made the NAIA Preview magazine look great.

70. Some of the longest car drives across the country to places normal people have never heard of.

71. Playing $2 blackjack with oil field workers in the hotel lobby of a random hotel in Minot, N.D. the night before a broadcast.

72. Having one of the largest human beings I’ve ever been around walk up to me in a bar and scare the living hell out of me saying, “So…I’m only a second team All-American?” before laughing and introducing themselves.

73. Being publicly scolded at a Hall of Fame induction by Bob Petrino Sr. because the NAIA “screwed” his 1983 team out of a postseason… . even though I never worked for the NAIA and was born in 1980.

74. Having a fan accuse you of being bias toward Saint Francis (Ind.) because “you are related to their coaches.” (Note, my name is spelled Dannelly and their name is spelled Donley)

75.  Finding a used condom in the broadcast booth of a school that will remain nameless.

76. Thinking you will have hundreds of fans show up to your pregame show broadcast only to get a few random people wandering in and out of the picture.

77. Having a dance party on I-80 outside of Chicago because traffic was at a complete stop.

78. Being disappointed every time a great NAIA coach gets passed over for a job at a higher level.

79. Being able to say I never fell from or had to get a tetanus shot from the old press box at MidAmerica Nazarene.

80. Having a hard drive full of bloopers from our broadcasts and random instant replays that were kept.

81. Deciding that after an initial 28 hour drive to California, a game broadcast and a postseason announcement broadcast that a four hour stopover in Las Vegas on the way home was a good idea.

82. Brandi Benson’s scarf.

83. Ripping the seat out of my pants while changing a tire on a trip back from San Antonio.

84. Never being able to look at a Dodge Sprinter van the same ever again.

Before you point out there are not 157 bullet points to this list know that it will be continued and added to randomly. After the initial list is published I’m sure I’ll have friends and coworkers say “hey, remember that time…”

This isn’t meant to be a “look at me list” rather it’s a list of things that I hope will allow others to pause for a moment and realize what a truly special place the NAIA is and how it has shaped so many lives as athletes, coaches and administrators.

I’ll be the first to say the NAIA is far from perfect. Hell, nothing is perfect and if anything I’m a prime example of imperfection. But what the NAIA can be is the perfect place at the perfect time for college athletics. With all the changes happening in the NCAA, the NAIA provides the niche that more teams in DII and DIII should gravitate towards.

Somewhere along the way, everyone loses their way. The NCAA is at a crossroads because the majority of their members are a lot closer to looking like NAIA members than looking like the DI members that are driving the bus.

The NAIA, now more than every, needs to clearly define, promote and build upon the void they can fill in collegiate athletics. College athletics should be about the experience of the student athlete and providing them with every opportunity to have a great experience.

That needs to be the central focus of everything the NAIA does going forward. Not chip and dip sponsorships, not telling everyone why the NAIA is great and definitely not new legislation that makes the organization look more and more like the NCAA.

The athletes in the NAIA are truly special and someday some of them will sit down and write out a long list of why their experience at whatever NAIA College they went to was great. Let’s just make sure when they do step away they can say that the NAIA experience truly helped to shape their lives.

Jason Dannelly’s Kansas City Royals 2014 Baseball Preview

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For the first time this century fans of the Kansas City Royals can have legitimate positive expectations on how this season could go. Sure some will point to last season but lets be honest, on April 1st last year anyone who was an actual fan of the Royals had pretty tempered expectations especially given the Royals history of selling off prospects as soon as they start to mature.  To some the Myers/Shields trade was another in a long line of botched deals. For proof just ask any fan to list the All-Star team that could’ve been KC based on the young talent they traded away over the years for people like Mark Teahen, Mike Wood and Angel Berroa.

KC turned the corner last season despite their best efforts to crash and burn in the month of May. For those of you who forgot KC was leading the AL Central heading into the second month of the season with a 15-10 record when KC remembered they were the Royals and proceeded to go 8-20 over the next 30 days. Unlike the previous 28 years of Royals baseball the club did not fold and actually made a late run and was a contender for the AL Wildcard in September.

But you knew that because you are a KC Royals fan and that’s literally the only people reading this article.

If anything, Justin Maxwell’s game winning grand slam in the last home game of the season was a fitting end to the Royals’ best season since 2003 and enough of a taste to get fans excited for 2014.

There is no doubt that this is the year for the Royals to turn the corner or be sentenced to the bottom of the AL Central for the next 10 years.

The Wil Myers for James Shields trade was the starting point and for the first time since 2009 KC will have the same opening day pitcher in back to back years. Previously, Gil Meche was KC’s opening day starter from 2007-2009…GIL MECHE!

With Shields at the top of the rotation the Royals return Jeremy Guthrie and Bruce Chen from last year’s starting rotation. Wade Davis has been moved to the bullpen to hopefully take over the role Tommy John surgery candidate Luke Hochevar filled last season. That leaves the final two spots in the rotation to newly acquired free agent Jason Vargas and the talented young arm of Yordano Ventura. Ventura can throw fire and as long as he doesn’t flake out the Royals have a B+ rotation that can win them a lot of games.

Greg Holland returns to lead the bullpen after coming off the best season in his career and possibly ever for a Royals closer. Setting him up again this season will be Aaron Crow and Tim Collins who posses a ton of talent as the Royals short relief, righty-lefty duo. Kelvin Herrera typically will throw near 100 mph on his fastball but as Royals fans know it typically leaves the ballpark even faster. If he can come true to form the club will have a dangerous set up man. Francisley Bueno starts the season in the big leagues as another arm in the pen while Louis Coleman starts the year on the DL. The biggest surprise to the Royals staff this season was the under performance of Danny Duffy in spring training. At the end of last season most expected Duffy to take over the final spot in the Royals rotation this year but he will instead start the season in Omaha, trying to find the strike zone.

The Royals opening day starting lineup only has two changes from last year and both changes are vast improvements. The signing of second basemen Omar Infante plugs the biggest hole from last season in the Royals lineup. If Intante can stay healthy the Royals will be delighted to watch an actual major league hitter in the lineup rather than Chris Getz, Elliot Johnson or Johnny Giovetella who collectively batted less than .220 last season.

The other change to the Royals will be in right field where Nori Aoki will takes the place of 2013 opening day starter Jeff Francoeur. Amazing to think the Royals are less than once year removed from the vaunted “Francoeur Era” where he tricked KC into thinking he still had gas in the tank before imploding last May. KC will have Aoki backed up by Justin Maxwell whose swings either result in a 400 foot home run or him corkscrewed into a Kauffman Stadium batter’s box. Jarrod Dyson will serve as backup to all three outfield positions and the first option as a pinch runner aka guy who runs for Billy Butler in late innings.

Alex Gordan is back in left field and out of the lead off spot while Lorenzo Cain appears to be healthy and will start in center.

Eric Hosmer is coming off his best season ever in the big leagues and will be the Royals everyday first baseman. Alcides Escobar is back at short with hopefully an improved bat as well as Mike Moustakas at third. Moustakas played a lot of baseball in the offseason and worked on his swing, which looked better through the spring. Time will tell whether or not it can carry over into an actual major league game.

Danny Valencia was picked up in an offseason trade for David Lough. It’s not like the Royals didn’t like Lough, the rookie had a good bat and was a serviceable right fielder. KC needed a leadoff hitter and Aoki is just that. Lough lost out in the numbers game and Valencia comes in as someone to spell Moustakas and Hosmer if the two need a day off or get injured. In reality the Valencia trade may prove to be the best offseason move for the Royals as they finally have depth in the infield.

Billy Butler will again be the Royals DH marking the longest tenure of a current Royals opening day starter at six seasons. Butler’s bat was average at best last season but hopefully offseason trade rumors sparked a fire in his offseason training program and we will see a plus .300 average and 20 home runs this season.

Behind the plate is All-Star Salvador Perez who is inarguably one of the best defensive catchers in the big leagues. Perez’s bat has continued to improve and scouts seem to think he is the sort of ball player who can hit 20 home runs a season in KC. For the Royals sake, let’s hope they are right.

The biggest challenges for the Royals this season comes in the form of the Tigers and the Indians. Detroit has been the cream of the crop in the AL Central but changes in the offseason as well as time might leave the door open for KC to win the Central. The Tigers keep getting older and will now begin their first season since 2006 without manager Jim Leyland. The Indians came out of nowhere last season to finish second in the division and to this day I have no idea how they did it. They strike me as a team that will repeat the magic they had under Terry Francona last season, or finish with 90 losses.

Royals’ manager Ned Yost has done an adequate job of keeping this team moving forward and this season will actually have the pieces in place to compete. Things didn’t look good at times last season for Ned, especially in May and June but this season is the type of season that will define Ned Yost as a major league manager.

Every year since 1985, KC Royals fans have been passively thinking, “maybe this year is the year” only to be disappointed season after season. But 2014 is legitimately the first time since 1989 the club has a shot to win 90 games and potentially win the division. Moreover this is a team that even if they can’t get past the Tigers in the standings has a chance at a wildcard and a chance to end their streak as the professional franchise with the longest running streak of not making it to the postseason. No need to dream of what might be this season because, to steal a line from the late James Gammon character Lou Brown in the movie Major League, “We’re contenders now.”

Kansas State Battles Back Late to Down the Sooners in Big 12 Action

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(This article originally appeared on the SBNation.com site www.bringonthecats.com – Photo: K-State guard/forward Wesley Iwundu (25) wrestles for a rebound Tuesday night against Oklahoma.(January 14, 2014) Bo Rader / The Wichita Eagle)

MANHATTAN – The Kansas State Wildcats knocked off No. 25 Oklahoma, 72-66, for their third win of the season against a Top 25 opponent. The win also marks the fifth straight season that the Wildcats have accomplished that feat, the longest in program history.

“When you win a game and you don’t play your best, you have to be happy,” said coach Bruce Weber. “We got enough rebounds when it counted, but (Ryan) Spangler had his way with us.”

The Wildcats (13-4, 3-1 Big 12) were led by Marcus Foster’s 18 points while Shane Southwell had 16. However, the name of the game down the stretch was rebounding as K-State not only out rebounded Oklahoma 42-38 overall, but grabbed 12 of the final 14 rebounds in the game. K-State’s dominance on the boards down the stretch contributed to a 16-4 run that led to the victory.

The Wildcats found themselves with the early momentum as they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead off of a layup by Marcus Foster before OU would get on the board with a three-pointer at the 17:55 mark of the game.

OU (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) would take the lead 7-6 with 16:00 left in the first half and kept the lead until the Wildcats would connect on five straight three-pointers to take the lead 23-17 with 12:02 left in the first half. K-State would extend their lead to to its largest margin at the 8:47 mark of the first half as Wesley Iwunda would connect with a triple by making it 28-19.

OU would make a run at the end of the half to take the lead with 1:58 left off of a pair of free throws by Spangler. But there was no quit in the ‘Cats as Will Spradling would be fouled on a three point attempt and make all three free throws before half to give the advantage back to K-State, 39-38.

K-State remained in control of the lead in the second half until Spangler would get loose for a layup with 9:04 left to play and give the Sooners a 53-52 advantage. OU would extend their lead to 62-56 off of a pair of Spangler free throws with 5:37 remaining for their biggest lead of the second half.

The Wildcats then shifted gears and made their pivotal 16-4 run over the remaining five minutes of the game. A three by Marcus Foster with 2:23 left gave the lead to the Wildcats for good as they went up 66-63 as the final six points would all come from the charity stripe to secure the K-State victory. For the game the Wildcats shot 19-28 from the line including a 6-8 performance in the final 45 seconds.

In total, there were five Wildcats in double figures on the night with Nino Williams falling one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Southwell grabbed eight boards and while Iwundu and Thomas Gipson had six.  Iwundu finished with 11 points while Spradling finished with 10 to round out the Wildcats in double digits.

Ryan Spangler finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Sooners while Buddy Hield finished with 12.

Kansas State will host West Virginia at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday in Big 12 play. Tip off is set for 12:30 p.m.

K-State Women’s Basketball Defeats Texas Tech for First Big 12 Win

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(This article originally appeared on the SBNation.com site www.bringonthecats.com – Photo via kstatesports.com of Leticia Romero)

LUBBOCK, Texas – Kansas State enjoyed their best shooting performance in over a month as the Wildcats picked up a much needed road victory over Texas Tech, 72-65.  The 27-54 performance from the floor is the first time the Wildcats have eclipsed the 50 percent field goal shooting mark since defeating Tennessee State on December 8th.

“We had a lot of different players make plays and that’s a great sign for this team,” said associate head coach Kamie Ethridge on the postgame radio broadcast. “We ought to walk out of here with a lot more confidence.”

“It’s nice to look down on the stat sheet and see good percentages and know how they are scoring.”

The win also puts an end to a 10 game road-losing streak for the Wildcats (7-9, 1-4 Big 12) and gives them the all-time series edge over Tech, 13-12.

Freshman phenom Leticia Romero led K-State with 21 points while Ashia Woods finished with 14. Katya Leick led the Wildcats on the boards with eight while Woods and Brianna Craig each had six.

Defensively, K-State struggled against the Red Raiders (6-10, 0-5 Big 12) Amber Battle, giving up 32 points on 10-15 shooting from the floor. Battle was also 11-13 from the line.

The Wildcats used a 15-3 run to end the first half to go into the break leading 27-21. K-State would then jump out to a 10-point lead on buckets by Woods and Romero to start the second half but would never extend their lead any further as Texas Tech would battle to keep the game close. With 10:02 left to play in the game the Red Raiders would pull within two before the Wildcats would stretch the lead back to as many as eight several times over the remaining minutes.

While the road victory and Big 12 win were certainly something to cheer for, the Wildcats jubilation ended quickly as Haley Texada went down in the final 20 seconds of the game with an apparent ankle injury, an incident coach Ethridge described to make her “just feel sick for something like that to happen.”

The Wildcats return to Bramlage Colesium on Saturday as they play host to Big 12 opponent Iowa State. Tip off is set for 7 p.m on what is being dubbed “Pack the House” night where admission is just $1 for all to attend.

Kansas State Baseball 2014 Season Preview by Jason Dannelly: Season Starts in One Month.

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(This article originally appears on the SBNation.com site “Bring on the Cats” via www.bringonthecats.com)

MANHATTAN – Today marks exactly one month to the day before the Kansas State Wildcats take to the diamond in San Luis Obispo, Calif. to take on Cal Poly in what will start an eight game road trip. The Wildcats not only are looking to defend their Big 12 title, but also make a run at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. after falling just short last season against Oregon State.

The excitement to the start of the season has already been built as the Wildcats were rated No. 28 in Collegiate Baseball’s “Fabulous 40” preseason baseball poll. K-State was one of five conference teams ranked as Oklahoma State (No. 18), TCU (No. 19), Texas (No. 20), and Oklahoma (No. 32) all cracked the poll. Cal State Fullerton checked in as the nation’s top team.

When the Wildcats take to the field next month they’ll be looking to second basemen Ross Kivett and relief pitcher Jake Matthys to continue to step up their game. Both were named Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans with Kivett garnering First Team honors. Kivett, a senior from Broadview Heights, Ohio was a .360 hitter last season, led the team in runs scored (57) and hits (94).

Matthys,a sophomore from Spring Lake Park, Minn., had nine wins and nine saves with a 2.05 ERA in 34 appearances last season to lead the Wildcats in each category. His final appearance of last season is surely one that stings as he picked up just his second loss of the season to Oregon State which ended the Wildcats season. In four and a third innings, Matthys gave up two earned runs while errors added two more in his five-strikeout performance against the Beavers.

Also returning to the mound this season is Matt Wivinis, a junior from Downers Grove, Ill., who was 6-2 last season with a 4.72 ERA. Wivinis has the most returning experience on the mound from last season as he threw in 76 and a one-third innings while Nate Williams, a junior from Valley Center, Kan., had 67 and one-third innings on the hill with a team leading 54 strikeouts.

The key to this year’s staff will be to try to repeat what they did last season in the later innings. In 2013, K-State was 33-3 when they had the lead after six innings and a perfect 38-0 when they led after eight innings. Much of the pitching staff’s success came from the Wildcats getting their bats going early as they were 20-2 when scoring runs in the first inning.

The Wildcats infield remains intact with all four regular starters returning. Austin Fisher, a junior from Lenexa, Kan., who led K-State last season with a .361 batting average and 20 doubles last season is back at shortstop along with first basemen Shane Conlon, a junior from Naperville, Ill., who batted .341 last season with 85 hits. At third, RJ Santigate, a senior from Las Vegas, rounds out the infield with a .324 average from last season.

One of the larger question marks this spring will be the outfield of the Wildcats as three of the mainstays from last season are gone. Tanner Witt, Jared King and Jon Davis started a combined 185 games last season. Clayton Dalrymple and Mitch Meyer return with the most starting experience in the outfield with Meyer adding 19 starts as the team’s designated hitter.

Coach Brad Hill enters his 11th season as head coach of the Wildcats with a 756-334-3 overall record, which includes his time at Central Missouri State. After taking the program to their first ever Super Regional last season, Hill will have his program focused on the ultimate prize in Omaha. With nineteen returning players from last season this spring could be another step forward for the once average Wildcat program.

In the year prior to taking over the program the Wildcats were just 15-37 overall, winning only five Big 12 conference games.  Since taking over, Hill’s teams have had 26 or more wins in every season and are coming off a school record 45-19 season including their first ever Big 12 title. K-State’s 16-8 record in conference play is also an all-time record.

In the offseason, K-State added seven true freshmen and seven transfers to the roster including Manhattan, Kan. native Brooks DeBord who joins his first team All-Big 12 standout brother Blair Debord on the roster as a catcher.

Keep an eye out for transfers Max Brown, Nate Hale and Cater Yagi who all put up good numbers last season at their JUCOs. With holes left due to graduation in the outfield the Wildcats will need to have someone emerge this season as a leader.

The Wildcats open their 2014 home schedule on February 28 in a three game home stand against UW-Milwaukee at Tointon Family Stadium.

K-State at Oklahoma Women’s Basketball Game Preview

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(This article originally appears on the SBNation.com site “Bring on the Cats” via www.bringonthecats.com)

It’s been nearly ten years since the Kansas State women’s basketball team defeated Oklahoma and breaking that streak this Saturday will be no easy task. Since January 31, 2004, the Sooners have taken every game in the series to extend their all-time advantage over the Wildcats to 32-23. In fact since the 1999-2000 season, the Wildcats are just 2-17 against OU.

The Sooners (10-6, 1-2 Big 12) are coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Texas in overtime, 79-74, despite leading by 12 at halftime. One of the key differences was the Longhorns 0-of-8 performance from behind the arc in the first half before going a blazing 4-of-6 in the second half.

Aaryn Ellenberg led OU against Texas with 37 points including 4-of-9 shooting from three. Her four makes from beyond the arc give her a league-leading 44 made threes this year. On the season Ellenburg averages 18.9 points per game with Sharane Campbell averaging 12.6.

K-State (6-8, 0-3 Big 12) will look to Leticia Romero and Ashia Woods to lead a offensive attack that has not been as consistent as Coach Deb Patterson would like. Romero proved against Oklahoma State that she can get to the basket off of the drive but was not as consistent as the Wildcats needed in distributing off of the drive or pulling back when dribble penetration wasn’t available.

Woods is coming off a left achilles injury last season that appears to be nearly back to where it was prior to the injury. Woods has played in ten of 14 games this season and is averaging 11.5 points per game including a career high 27 against Baylor last week. Her season average is nearly twice what Woods had last season (5.9) prior to the injury.

One major area of concern is whether or not the Wildcats will be able to establish any rebounding against the Sooners. Currently K-State ranks dead last in the conference for defensive rebounding and are led by Romero, a guard, with 5.9 rebounds per game.

Early in the season the Wildcats were looking to 6’5 freshman Breanna Lewis to pick up the slack left by the graduation of Brittany Chambers but the Milwaukee, Wis. native averages just 4.5 rebounds per game, starting only nine of the 14 games played this season.

The Wildcats are young this season, with Katya Leick, Ashlynn Knoll and Chantay Caron being the lone seniors on the roster but the youth of K-State will have to start maturing pretty quickly if there are going to get off the snide and pick up their first conference win of the season.

An interesting fact about the two teams, neither has a player ranked in the top 20 of rebounding for the Big 12 Conference so this may be the game where the Wildcats can start to address some of their current rebounding woes.

Saturday’s game tips off at 7:00 p.m. with audio coverage available via the K-State Radio network and television broadcasts via Sooner Sports TV.

K-State Turnovers Too Much To Overcome, Oklahoma State Defeats Wildcats in Big 12 Women’s Action

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MANHATTAN – The Kansas State women’s basketball team tried everything in their might to catch No. 15/16 Oklahoma State in a trap game at Bramlage Coliseum, but the Cowgirls took advantage of several key second half turnovers to come away on top 58-51.

“This is a disappointing loss but an improvement from our basketball team,” said K-State head coach Deb Patterson. “To an extent I am really pleased with the growth that I saw from us competitively.”

“We went through a segment where we got sloppy and got a little indecisive and when we got that way it leads to turnovers that make you scratch your head. You can see it coming. I liked that we recovered from it, but we recovered too late and unfortunately for us they ended up with 13 points off of turnovers and that can be a game changer in a tight basketball game”

Much of the first half of K-State women’s basketball was a feeling out process for what they could get accomplished against Oklahoma State (13-1, 2-1 Big 12). The Wildcats played aggressive defensively forcing seven turnovers that they converted to five points. The Cowgirls inside presence of Kendra Suttles finished the game with 11 points but the Wildcats found ways to push her away from the basket and hold the senior from Lawton, Okla. scoreless in the first half and outscored OSU 16-12 in the paint.

“Coach Patterson always has her teams so well prepared defensively that it is no mystery why she has won so many games here,” said OSU coach Jim Littell. “I thought they did a great job defensively and kept us out of sync on some things”

After a 27-23 lead at the half by Oklahoma State, the Wildcats started the second half on fire with an 8-0 run after threes by Haley Texada and Woods as well as a layup by Katya Leick to put the Wildcats up 31-27 with 16:45 left in the game. The threes by Leick and Texada were two of the four K-State would hit on the night, as the Wildcats would finish just four of 23 from behind the arc.

“We have been working hard at practice and we talked about it at half time about coming out hard in the second half,” said senior forward Chantay Caron. “We just have to work a little bit harder and not have as many turnovers in the second half, and we will be there.

Those turnovers would be part of the momentum shift at the 14:23 mark of the second half when Leticia Romero picked up her third foul and went to the bench. Up to that point Romero had been keeping OSU on their heels with dribble penetration and the ability to move the ball quickly in the offense. Oklahoma State countered the Romero exit from the game with a 15-2 run and never allowed K-State (6-7, 0-2 Big12) closer than seven points despite a few opportunities inside the final ninety seconds for the Wildcats to draw the game closer

“I think part of it with Oklahoma State is the longer that you struggle offensively, the more you have some empty possessions and the more you have turnovers in the second half and that led to them gaining confidence,” said Patterson. “Turnovers lead to a lot of pressure on your defense”

Ashia Woods was the only Wildcat in double figures on the night with 17 points while Katya Leick and Leticia Romero added eight points.

Romero and Leick led the Wildcats on the boards with six rebounds each.

K-State will travel to Norman to take on Oklahoma Saturday. The Sooners (10-6, 1-2 Big 12) lost to Texas 79-74 in overtime despite leading by 12 at halftime. The Wildcats will face the task of getting their first victory over OU since January 31, 2004.

Kansas State and Michigan BWW Bowl Thoughts fro Jason Dannelly

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Kansas State and Michigan are set to lock things up Saturday in Tempe, but lingering questions around the Wolverines has many wondering which team will show up.

The Wolverine’s football season reminds me of the Total Recall movie remake that should have never happened. There are points in this season where Michigan looked like old school Arnold Schwarzenegger, just dominating, killing people and feeding his “thing” blondes. Then at times, they looked like Colin Farrell…no further explanation needed.

It truly has been a tale of two seasons for Michigan with the facade starting to crack in weeks three and four. Sure the Wolverines got wins and eventually started the season 5-0, but they didn’t exactly dominate the powerhouses of Akron and U-Conn. (This is the part where Michigan fan points out North Dakota State… shaddup).

The point is that Michigan has been all over the road like Lindsay Lohan after a night at the club (oh, right she’s “sober”). The Wolverines looked like a Big 10 champion in their narrow loss to Ohio State and looked anemic in late losses to Iowa and Nebraska.

So which group of Wolverines will show up on Saturday? Will it be Devin Gardner, Jeremy Gallon and Fitzgerald Toussaint lighting up the Wildcats like they did against their early season opponents? Or will this be the offense that averaged 2.8 yards per play against Iowa and Nebraska?

A lot of those questions will be answered in the coming two days and hinge on whether or not Devin Gardner, ol’ numba 98, is healthy. His ailing toe kept him out of Christmas Day workouts and Michigan offensive coordinator said that if they had to play today, it would be freshman Shane Morris taking the snaps.

In reality, it might not matter who takes the snaps for Michigan. Gardner hasn’t exactly been the reincarnation of Dennard Robinson and a new signal caller might be what the Wolverines need to shake up their offense against a K-State defense that has never seen the freshman in action.

Long story short, don’t bust out that 50 pack of Asian Zing and Mango Habanero wings to celebrate quite yet. The Wolverines could quite possible be one of the most dangerous teams the Wildcats have faced this year or one of the most offensively inept teams they have faced this year. It all comes down to if they play like Arnold or Colin.

Jason Dannelly: The Final Days of Rome and Ranking the Rome Title Games.

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Make no doubt about it, I have loved every trip that I have made to the NAIA Football National Championships. Each year has a different feel and results in new stories to tell down the road. Maybe someday I’ll write a book about all the NAIA football title games I have attended, however I might need to change a few names along the way.

After ten consecutive title games, the excitement still has not worn off for me. I still get juiced up to see the best in the NAIA compete for the honor of being called the best in the division. However, with that excitement this year I can’t help but feel a sense of remorse heading into this weekend.

The toughest thing about this week in Rome, Ga. is knowing this is without a doubt the last time the NAIA Football Championship will be in this fine city. Since 2008, Rome has been the host of the championship and its citizens have welcomed fans of eight different NAIA football teams to enjoy their city and allowed them to enjoy it like their own. Rome has set the bar pretty high for the future host of the title game.

If the previous host city, Savannah, Tenn., introduced me to southern hospitality then the city of Rome helped to redefine and reinforce it. The people of this city and the organizers of the event have gone above and beyond to take the NAIA football championship to a new level.

Probably the biggest complaint about Savannah at the time of the switch to Rome was the facility the game was held in. The athletes were certainly honored well and there was never a moment where people felt that special feeling was lacking but the field and facility left plenty to be desired.

The switch to Rome gave the participants of the game better facilities every year the game was played. The first year the game was on grass and after a week of heavy rains, the people of Floyd County knew they needed to commit to making upgrades at historic Barron Stadium.

Since then, the field has been turfed, a video board was installed, the locker rooms were upgraded and then entrance to the facility was completely revamped. Needless to say, the facility for the game rivals that of the top in the NAIA division now.

The bar has been raised and I hope the future host in Daytona Beach, Fla. can answer the call to continue to make this event great not only for the teams involved, but also for the fans attending the game. I’ll admit, I do not know anything more than what you can google off the internet about the new site and people involved. They certainly appear to know what they are doing, but I hope they don’t forget what has made this event special since 1996.

When a fan walks into a local cafe for breakfast or goes to one of the local watering holes late at night, they are greeted with a smile and a warmness from the people of the community. It’s a calming, peacefulness that you get from your neighbor that you’ve never met before, but you know you are going to get along.

That’s the feeling I get every time I come to this city and I certainly hope that it can continue in Florida.

Ranking the NAIA Title Games in Rome, Ga.:

No. 5 – (2008) Sioux Falls def. Carroll College, 23-7. Sioux Falls had one of the NAIA’s toughest defenses of all-time in this game and they were facing Carroll College’s 3rd string QB due to all the injuries from earlier in the year.

No. 4 – (2010) Carroll def. Sioux Falls, 10-7. Neither team could get much going offensively. These two teams were so good on defense that it was going to take one big play to win this, which Carroll delivered on.

No. 3 – (2009) Sioux Falls def. Lindenwood, 25-22. Another close one. More offense than what we saw in the previous games but ultimately the USF defense came up big.

No. 2 – (2011) Saint Xavier def. Carroll College, 24-20. SXU was the first team not named Carroll or Sioux Falls to win the game since 2001. Add in the vertical jump of Mike Feminis of SXU at the end of the game I witnessed and it was truly one of the finest sports moments I was a part of.

No.1 – (2012) Marian def. Morningside, 30-27 in OT. Overtime, national championship game? What’s better than that? Great game, back and forth. Good offensive showing to keep the crowd entertained.

We will have to wait and see Saturday night where Cumberlands/Grand View stacks up. The pregame anticipation has certainly increased the excitement around this game and the interaction via social media has brought even more exhilaration to the table.