The week in review, 4/22

Another Purple-White game is in the books, and as usual people on both sides of it are making way too much out of a scrimmage.

As all of you know, I'm not quite as high on Josh Freeman as the more optimistic K-State fans. I think he's tremendously talented, but has a lot of work to do to realize all that talent. Last night was another indication of that. He was an unimpressive 9-22 for 44 yards and 2 interceptions. Now before anyone gets too despondent, remember a few things. The game was played with a running clock, meaning it was a lot "shorter" than a real game. Freeman wasn't playing with the entire first-team offense against the second-team defense like most team's quarterbacks do in the spring game. He was playing with an assortment of offensive players, including the backup running backs (John McCardle and Jeremy James) and a shorthanded offensive line (the best linemen, overall, were on the White squad). Let's also not forget that the White defense had Rob Jackson, Ian Campbell, Steven Cline, Marcus Watts, Josh Moore, Bryan Baldwin, Marcus Perry and Reggie Walker. Those 8 will probably be starters this fall for a defense that was 5th in the conference in pass defense last year.

We have a long way to go in a lot of respects this year, but I was encouraged by the rushing gains made by the White squad (although they certainly came against the weaker defensive squad). I can also admit I was wrong, when I wrote earlier this week that the draft system for picking teams usually produces a more exciting game. It did last year, but the 19-0 snoozefest this year didn't live up to the past. It won't be the last time you see me make a wrong prediction here.

Leave it to Husker fans to take something as inconsequential as a spring game and turn it into a life-changing event. Now, no doubt, Josh Freeman didn't look so great last night (apparently, I obviously wasn't there). He threw for 44 yards and two interceptions. But seriously, Husker fans, how fucking dumb do you think we are? Do you really think Ron Prince went back to his office after this practice tonight and said to himself, "Man, Josh just doesn't have what it takes. I'm gonna chuck all that throwing potential he has and move him to tight end because he's a big dude." You people claim you know football like the patterns on your cow, but then you make a statement that dumb? If Bill Callahan is as dumb as your fans who think that, then the rest of the North really doesn't have anything to worry about.

Also, to go back to all your recruiting shit-talk, let's not forget that stars don't determine a player's or program's ultimate fate. If they did, Texas, USC, Ohio State and Florida would never lose. What's that, you say? We would have never beaten Texas if Colt McCoy hadn't been hurt early? First of all, let me talk to you about telling me where I'm going to be in 20 years, because you're obviously Miss Cleo when it comes to predicting the future. Second, Texas has turned down more 5-star athletes than you get in a decade. With a roster as loaded as that, they should have been able to somehow find a way to beat a bunch of farm kids from Kansas. Good God, I'd almost forgotten how little there was to do up there until I saw some of the stuff about our (yeah, ours, not yours) spring game tonight.

As further proof that you Husker fans have nothing better to do, I offer the following statistics.

Spring game attendance:
Texas: 42,500
Texas A&M: 24,200
Oklahoma: 21,000
Nebraska: 54,300

Ok. Austin, Texas, is bigger than Lincoln and Omaha combined, and is one hour from San Antonio, 2.5 hours from Houston, and 3 hours from Dallas. The College Station/Bryan area is about 190,000, and only 90 minutes from Houston. Norman is basically a suburb of Oklahoma City, which is just a little bigger than Omaha. I'll leave that information for you to draw your own inferences from.

Baseball

This is getting agonizing. Just like the series against Missouri, the Bat Cats won Friday night, 10-6, giving themselves two shots at taking a big series and thus a big step toward their postseason goals. Alas, Brad Hill's Boys got routed 20-9 and 12-4 over the weekend. An inability to keep the Sooners from big innings killed the Cats on the weekend en route to another series loss. This was a series we really needed to get, but it's time to move on from that.

Here are the latest conference standings...

1. Texas 14-4 (Beat Nebraska, 2-1)
2. Oklahoma State 10-5 (Beat Texas A&M, 2-1)
3. Missouri 9-6 (Beat Baylor, 2-1)
4. Texas A&M 9-8 (Lost to OK State, 1-2)
5. Nebraska 8-10 (Lost to Texas, 1-2)
6. Texas Tech 7-10 (Beat KU, 2-1)
7. Oklahoma 7-8 (Beat K-State, 2-1)
8. K-State 6-9 (Lost to Oklahoma, 1-2)
9. Baylor 7-11 (Lost to Missouri, 1-2)
10. KU 6-12 (Lost to Tech, 1-2)

As you can see, no sweeps. OU's win over us today gave it the edge on us for seventh place, and leaves us only a half game ahead of Baylor for the last spot in Oklahoma City. All of a sudden the closing stretch doesn't look so rosy, as the Wildcats travel to Lincoln next weekend to take on an improved Nebraska squad with a lot to play for. All of the closing series are huge, but it looks like the goal of playing in Oklahoma City could come down to the final weekend, when the team travels to Waco to take on Baylor. As I see it, we absolutely must win the series with KU, take at least one game off Nebraska and A&M, and then see what happens in Waco. The good news is Baylor still has the same tough series as we face, traveling to Nebraska and facing A&M.

Women's Golf

The women's golf team weathered the hell that is Waco, Texas, to finish 7th at the conference golf tournament last week. A rough second day prevented the Wildcats from achieving a higher finish, as the ladies could only manage a 321 team score on Tuesday. A few more good bounces could have made a big difference, as the Cats finished a mere 4 shots behind fourth-place Nebraska. The team will have some work to do next year, as they will have to replace seniors Katy Heffel and Helene Robert.

Men's Golf

No action this week as the men prepared to travel to Hutchinson for the Big 12 Championship at storied Prairie Dunes. The last few years have been a busy time at the Dunes, as the course has hosted the US Women's Open, US Senior Open, and the Big 12 men's tournament twice. At least it looks like they'll have decent weather in Hutchinson, for the first two days anyway. Good luck guys.

Track and Field

The track teams traveled to Lawrence for the Kansas Relays over the weekend. No individual champions at the competitive meet, click here to view results.

Dost mine eyes deceive me? The Royals won a series over the division-leading Twins? I'll be damned. Have a great week.