Dear Pos,

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posDear Pos,

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last talked but I’m glad you called when you did. It was great catching up with you and talking about the old times. Like you, I miss them. I miss the times we all used to have, I missed playing ball together but most of all I miss being around you and all of the guys. You were right, we didn’t realize how great things were when we had it. Shit was pretty easy back then when the toughest thing was not being too hungover to get a grade in LARP.

Good ol’ Johnny Knuckleskins. Goddamn man, that name still makes me laugh. That guy could grill a steak too.

We’re lucky we didn’t get tetanus that summer we all stayed in Blair and worked out together grilling with that old ass grill I had and rusty ass cooking sheets. I still remember when I handed it to you and you deadpanned “Hey Chipper, you got any with less rust? These are pretty good steaks.” Continue reading →

Jason Dannelly’s Annual KC Royals Preview.

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burch-smith

Welcome to the Burch Smith Era

Well here we are again! Opening day is upon us and it’s time to strap in for 162 games where the summer sun beating down on our backs as we watch the boys in blue take the AL Central and head to the World Series.

Wow. . .these are. . . really good drugs.

I’m kidding, no drugs were taken during the writing of this preview although by the end of the season that might be a different story. To be honest if there is anyone that has that positive of an outlook on this season for KC you might want to get a hair sample and send it off to the lab.

Continue reading →

The Top 50 Greatest All-Time Kansas City Royals from 50 Years of Royals Baseball. By Jason Dannelly

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porter-kc

The Greatest Pair of Glasses Ever for KC.

Over the past week I’ve been nursing my post-football/pre-baseball sickness that seems to creep in every year at this time. The only cure is to scour the internet for spring baseball statistics, check up on the top prospects and remind yourself of everything forgotten about the last baseball season.

Then it happened. I went to the Kansas City Royals web site. It was right there. . .mocking me.

“The Top 50 Greatest All-Time Kansas City Royals from 50 Years of Royals Baseball.”

I did what I shouldn’t have. . .I clicked the link and No. 50 came up. . .Jarrod Dyson.

Yes, that Jarrod Dyson.

After my computer finished crashing and I stopped swearing at it and the list, I made a decision. I’m coming up with my own “Top 50 Greatest Royals from the First 50 Years.” After all, if you start the list with Jarrod Dyson it’s going to be a flawed list. That’s nothing against Dyson and his time in blue but to even mention him as one of the top Royals of all-time means that you literally started watching Royals baseball in 2014 and stopped halfway through 2016 when they weren’t doing so well.

I completely understand that no “all-time team” will ever be written without criticism. I’m sure this one will be torn apart.

I also understand that the Royals web site list was voted on by the fans which confirms my fear of the bandwagoners leading the voice of the Royals fans now and not the ones who actually watched and paid attention when they were losing 100 plus games a year with Runelvys Hernandez trotting out to the mound as the next big thing. (Note: He didn’t make the list.) Continue reading →

2017 FCS Semifinal: North Dakota State vs. Sam Houston State

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2017 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced.

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sdsu

South Dakota State’s Jacob Ohnesorge Wins First Rimington Award in School History

New York, NY – Jacob Ohnesorge of South Dakota State University headlines the 2017 Rimington Award winners for the FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA divisions. This year’s selections mark the 15th time the top center of each respective level has received the award.

Ohnesorge, a senior from Waunakee, Wis. is a three-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honoree, earning first team honors in both his junior and senior seasons. Additionally, Ohnesorge excelled in the classroom being named to the MVFC Academic Honor Roll in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Jacob has started 53 consecutive games which ties a record for the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits and has already graduated with his degree in Mechanical Engineering.  After starting all four seasons, Ohnesorge was part of one of the best offenses in SDSU school history this year averaging 38.8 points per game.  Ohnesorge is the first Jackrabbit to ever receive the Rimington Award. Continue reading →

Music You Should Hear: Tyler Childers

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tyler-childersBack in August, Tyler Childers released “Purgatory” as his second ever studio album. Prior to the release, I knew nothing about Childers or his music and the only thing I did know was this album was produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson. Being the Sturgill fan that I am it deserved a listen.

I’m not one to push music on people and I’m not one that listens to an album once and thinks that it’s gold. Usually what I do is check it out over a period of time and see if the music sticks. Ultimately, is it good enough to keep me going back to it on my long drives around the countryside. Continue reading →

My Top Five Reasons Why Nebraska Football Will Never Return To Glory Unless Something Changes Other Than The Head Coach.

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gates copyI knew you were thinking it.

“I wonder what that guy who used to write about NAIA football all the time and sells farm equipment now thinks about the current state of the Nebraska football program?”

Well you’re in luck! It’s cold in North Dakota today, the Bison are on the road and Nebraska doesn’t play until later. So that gives me plenty of time to throw out a bunch of polarizing ideas that will have half of my friends blocking me on Facebook and the other half rolling with laughter. Keep in mind, I’ve done zero research before writing this article.

Plus I took the under in this Mississippi State/Arkansas game and that doesn’t look promising right now. Kinda like the future of Nebraska football unless something changes, other than the coaching situation. So here you go folks! Continue reading →

NAIA Football 2017 Championship Series Predictions.

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Screen Shot 2017-11-16 at 8.52.31 PMSomethings you just can’t get out of your blood and covering NAIA football in some shape or form is one of those things for me. I don’t have the time these days to follow every team in the NAIA like I used to back in the day but I still keep track of it enough to feel like I can make a few predictions heading into this weekend’s first round of the Championship Series. Continue reading →

The NAIA Takes a Stand. . .or a Knee?

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naiaYesterday it was announced that the NAIA has decided to move the NAIA DII Men’s Basketball Tournament from Branson, Mo. after 18 years. This comes after College of the Ozarks became upset that the national office wouldn’t require all student athletes to stand for the national anthem. (Full Story – pay no attention to my comment trolling in the section below the story, haha)

I’ll let you read the story for the full details. However, after 24 hours and seeing all the interactions I felt it was necessary to dust off my NAIA media credentials and comment. Continue reading →

15 Stories for 15 Years of the Victory Sports Network by Jason Dannelly.

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vsn_logoEarly last summer I was approached by Rob Brandt of the Victory Sports Network. You see, Rob is the guy I sold VSN to (the second time) and he is the guy responsible for the site’s contents. He and Barry Fouts asked me to write something for the 15 year aniversary of VSN.

I said, “Sure.”

Admittedly I forgot about writing that piece until one night last month when I posted a few photos for nostalgia sake and said, “Crap, forgot to write that.”

But as nostalgia goes. . .it got me thinking. Why not write 15 brief stories that no one knows about the behind the scenes stuff that happened at VSN? There has probably been enough time and distance from these stories to not incriminate anyone, so why not.

So without a big long drawn out explanation, here are the 15 stories from the VSN years you never knew about, sorry mom and dad (again). Continue reading →