The week in review, 4/1

Sorry the update is on Monday instead of Sunday. Got pretty busy yesterday with school after a great weekend in STL.

It was a little lighter week in K-State sports, but still plenty going on.

Baseball

Great weekend for the Bat Cats, as they took a winnable series off Texas Tech in Manhattan. In the past, it always seemed like Coach Hill's club was right on the verge of winning series like this, but just couldn't pick them up, so maybe this is a sign things will be different this year. This team's goal should be to make it to Oklahoma City for the conference tournament, as that would be a solid sign of progress in the program under Coach Hill.

Rainy weather Friday made for a double dip Saturday at Tointon. Things started off well as the Cats rallied for 3 runs in the 8th to take game one from the Red Raiders, but got ugly fast as Tech hammered Chase Bayuk in a 16-5 game that had to be ended after seven innings because of the 10-run rule.

Importantly, the Cats bounced back from Saturday's shellacking to take the rubber match Sunday with another eighth-inning rally to take the series. The win puts the Cats in a fifth-place tie in the Big 12 standings, updated below.

Oklahoma State 5-1
Texas 7-2
Missouri 4-2
Texas A&M 5-4
K-State 3-3
Oklahoma 3-3
Texas Tech 4-5
Nebraska 3-6
Kansas 3-6
Baylor 2-7

In midweek action, the Cats dropped their first game in more than a year to the #10 Wichita State Shockers, 8-3. Tough game to lose to an in-state rival, especially at home, but I'm not telling you anything new by saying the Shox are a good team and program.

K-State stays in Manhattan this weekend to take on the Mizzou Tigers. Mizzou stands third in the conference standings, having taken its first two series, over Nebraska and arch-rival KU. It'll take a hell of an effort to take the series off the Tigers, but if the Cats can pull it off it would be a huge springboard for the rest of the year.

Women's basketball

The women's improbable run to the WNIT semifinals finally ended last week after a triple-overtime loss, 89-79 at Wyoming. Good effort by the ladies in the postseason, and here's hoping everybody stays healthy for next year. Also, congrats to senior Claire Coggins on a good career with K-State, but I know a girl who locked you up good in high school.

Men's Golf

No action this week for the men's golf team, who returned to action today in Wichita at the Shocker Classic. The tournament will be played at Wichita Country Club, and a recap will be forthcoming next week.

Women's Golf

A disappointing finish saw the women's golf team fall from its seventh place standing after the first day of the Mountain View Collegiate to a 10th-place finish. Not a bad outing for a couple of the ladies, however, as both Michelle Regan and Katy Heffel earned top-20 finishes. The tournament boasted a solid field, with the Cats finishing behind four top-50 teams in Northwestern, Michigan, Denver and Indiana.

The ladies will travel to Norman, OK, for their next action this week.

Track and Field

Sadly, I missed a chance to catch the Track Cats in Houston this weekend as the team travelled to the Space City for the Bayou City Classic at Rice University. It probably should have been called the Rain City given the weather Saturday, as the event was delayed two hours by some ugly thunderstorms in the Houston area.

The Cats had a successful weekend, with the women collecting one event championship (Kaylene Wagner-high jump), while the men took three (Bryce Bergman-pole vault, Mike Myer-100 meter dash, Scott Sellers-triple jump).

Good luck to the Cats next weekend as they compete at the University of Oregon, on the track where legend Steve Prefontaine made his name for the Ducks.

***

I hate to say it, but I have almost no interest in watching the NCAA championship game tonight. A rematch of the BCS Title game? Yawn. Call me crazy, but I kind of like it when we get a little new blood in there. I like the story lines of the teams who the national media doesn't talk about 24/7.

Further, I hate to agree with Jason Whitlock on anything, but money is out of control in college sports (big news, huh?). So we have another national championship matchup between the schools who rank first (Ohio State) and fourth (Florida) in money spent on sports? The devil, you say! Money can buy a good college team, too? I'll be damned.

It just makes me that much more proud when a school like K-State (athletic expense rank: 59th) walks onto the same field as the big-money teams and shows that outworking and outthinking the competition can still work (right Texas?).

Oh, and to anyone reading this who's a fan of those teams and is thinking to yourself, "Oh, poor baby, whining about us having more money...", I say...unless you attended that school and put time, money and effort into supporting the sports programs, shut...the...fuck...up. If you just latched onto some team because they happen to be good, this bona fide alum isn't listening to one word you say.

So what do you do when two teams you hate are playing for a national championship? Cheer for a meteor on a collision course with the Georgia Dome.

***

I'm really enjoying opening day in front of my TV. The Royals are on here in Houston, which is pretty cool. They're playing well right now, up 2-1 on Boston in the third. The rumor is they're not mathematically eliminated yet.