Low Res Panoramic Version of a Windmill west of Saint Edward, Neb. Great clouds tonight for photos.
Nebraska Country living: clouds, windmills and storms.
Storm’s a comin – #clouds #severeweather #nebraska #photo
NCAA Paying Student Athletes, Mark Emmert, Transfer Rules and an Easter Update
New podcast…try not to get too excited. This week I talk about paying student athletes, transfer rules and an update on my Easter weekend meat coma.
NCAA Paying Student Athletes, Mark Emmert, Transfer Rules and an Easter Update
Jason Dannelly Podcast #2 – Royals, Husker Spring Game, Starving Athletes and DII FB Coaching Change.
New Podcast from Jason Dannelly. JD Show Podcast #2. 30 minutes on the Kansas City Royals, Nebraska Spring game, Starving DI Athletes finally get food and a huge coaching change in NCAA DII athletics.
What’s Wrong With Big Time DI Basketball – Jason Dannelly Podcast – The JD Show
First podcast of hopefully many to come. I talk about DI College Coaches and what they could do to help make college basketball better.
What’s Wrong With Big Time DI Basketball – Jason Dannelly Podcast – The JD Show
Jason Dannelly’s Kansas City Royals 2014 Baseball Preview
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.”
Productive Sunday of making burritos to freeze and eat. Went a little overboard with chicken and turkey.
Inspiration vs. Plagiarism
A frenchman named Maxime Barbier copied one of my movies, the concept, the idea, nearly scene for scene, and in places line for line. Then he sold that movie to Coca Cola. Then he thanked me on Facebook for the ‘inspiration’.
New Years Eve 2012 I embraced my inner romantic, spontaneously…
Kansas State Battles Back Late to Down the Sooners in Big 12 Action
(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.
Ramblings of Jason Dannelly 