Hawks Flyin' High

A belated Merry Christmas and hopes for a Happy New Year to all who stop by and read my blog.

It has been well documented that I am a crazed KU fan. I love the Jayhawks but don't really get into "hating on" KSU or Mizzou like lots of KU folks do. I suppose that is due to the fact that I am just a sports fan.

As the New Year arrives shortly, I am stoked about KU being front and center in, not only hoops, (ranked #3 nationally) but playing in a BCS Bowl for the first time. What a shot in the arm this season has been for coach Mark Mangenious and the 'Hawks.

Many have said that KU's success is a result of an easy schedule, (no Texas or OU on the slate), but the Hawks (11-1) did have some tough games, especially on the road (K-State, Texas A&M & Colorado).

The Jayhawks will have their hands full in the Orange Bowl next week against Virginia Tech out of the ACC. The Hokies (11-2) lost only to LSU, early in the season, and Boston College but avenged the loss to BC in the ACC championship game.

Kansas has a chance to build something special off of their success this year through recruiting and opportunities to play more high profile games on television next season. Texas and OU will still be the standard bearers next year. Kansas will have a chance to show the nation how far it has come with games against those two powerhouses in '08.

Kansas basketball, so far, is what everyone expected. With the exception of 3 tough non-conference games against Arizona, Southern Cal, and Georgia Tech, the Jayhawks have cruised through the first 12 games. The non-con schedule has been a bit soft in my opinion, and may effect seedings down the line in the NCAA tournament.

KU has everyone back and healthy after working through injuries to Brandon Rush and Sherron Collins. If the Jayhawks can stay healthy, with their experience and athleticism, they could make a deep run in the NCAA's come March and April.

Closer to home, I have been covering hoops for Dexter and South Haven again this winter. It's great to see the Dexter boys having some success this year after the past couple seasons. Coach Dennis Bryant has done a great job motivating the Fightin' Cardinals. They are a young team with only 2 seniors so the future looks bright for coach Bryant and the Dexter boys.

Dexter's girls squad is undefeated heading into the semester break and continues to improve every game. They were pretty good last year and with seniors dominating the lineup and some surprising underclassman coming on this year, they could make some noise in the SCBL and possibly further come state tourney time.

South Haven's boys will look to be more consistent after the break. It has been tough for the Cardinals with the postponements and the fact that they didn't get much practice time early due to the run they made in the 8-Man football playoffs. I think once they get back into a routine, coach Darren McDorman will have his kids ready for a run at the SCBL title this year.

South Haven's girls, with only one loss on the season, will definitely be in the mix in the SCBL along with some pretty good teams in Caldwell, Dexter, and Argonia. The Lady Cardinals have good senior leadership in Beth Davidson and Tina Clausen. Coach David Hughes' coaching style breeds success based on fundamentals and defense.

I am looking forward to getting back in the swing of things once school starts back up next week.

Finally, the sports wife and I are heading to Lawrence and Kansas City this week to see, not only KU vs Yale on Saturday night, but to welcome a new addition into the family. Levi Michael Joseph was born on December 12 coming in at just over 10 lbs. Mama (Katy) and Pops (Chris) are adjusting to parenthood very nicely.

Will definitely have something to blog about on our return.

Bits & Pieces and All About the Money

Seems the Yankees have taken the hard stance and told Alex Rodriguez that they would only negotiate with him and not with his agent, Scott Boras. Boras, in my opinion, is destroying sports with his heavy-handed negotiating style. We all know that Boras talked Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks into signing A-Rod to that 252-million deal back in 2000. Hicks has been on the hook for over 21-million per year of the contract since shipping Rodriguez off to New York 4 years ago.

When A-Rod opted out of his contract during the World Series, it relieved Hicks of his responsibility in the contract. Hicks had to be doing cartwheels upon hearing that news. Now, it's not like we should feel sorry for Hicks. He, of course, leveraged his whole organization with the A-Rod deal and since, hasn't been able to put a competitive team on the field.

Back to the Yankees and their negotiations with A-Rod. After thinking about it, New York was the only place Rodriguez had a chance of securing the type of money he, and his agent, wanted. No other team in baseball has the ablility to pay the money A-Rod is worth and still be able to put a competitive team around him. Even though it will be a staggering amount, (some sources say 10-years at 300-million), the Yankees will be able to compete at the highest level, and won't settle for the first round exits they have suffered the past few seasons under Joe Torre.

The sons of Steinbrenner, Hank and Hal, are chips off the old block (George) and will do whatever is possible to bring championships back to New York. Like the old Who song, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."

Around the area, kudos to the Cowley women's volleyball squad making it back for another shot at a National Championship this week in Arizona.

South Haven's Cardinal football team taking on Sharon Springs for the 8-man Division II championship this Saturday at Newton. I have been contemplating heading up to watch this game against staying home to watch KU vs Iowa State. I think I am leaning toward going to Newton. These games don't happen very often in our part of the world. I think this could be a real close game as both teams come in ranked #1 and #2. Good luck Cardinals!!

In basketball, KU and K-State are starting out strong this season. KU lost leading scorer and point guard, Sherron Collins with a stress fracture in his left foot. On the plus side, Brandon Rush is set to return, following ligament surgery earlier this summer. A couple of freshman, guard Tyrel Reed from Burlington, and center Cole Aldrich from Minnesota, have looked good so far in the early going.

Over in Manhattan, get ready for the Michael Beasley era. Beasley averaged a double-double (points and rebounds) in the first two games for the Wildcats, including a monster 32-24 effort in the first game. Beasley could be the second coming of Kevin Durant this season if he keeps that up. Unfortunately, we will probably only get to experience this kid for one season. If he stays healthy, he will be getting paid to play next year in the Association.

Pursuit of Perfection

Back just in time for the weekend looking forward to a healthy plate full of sports viewing the next couple days.

It has certainly been a refreshing football season, with two teams that I have invested time with this season. Writing for the Traveler as a corrospondent, covering the two small high schools in our area, both Dexter and South Haven, I have seen both ends of the spectrum. Dexter has experienced some lean times in football the past few years with injuries and lack of participation taking their toll.

The South Haven Cardinals ran the table in the SCBL this season and advaced through the first two rounds of the state tournament unscathed. They face a Hope team tonight that has a great deal of tradition and experience in these games on it's side. Hope has played in the semi-finals 5 of the past 6 seasons. The Cardinals were tested last week, trailing 14-6 heading into the second half before pulling away 42-22 behind Jake Davidson's 200-plus rushing performance. Let's hope last week's adversity works as an advantage for South Haven in their contest tonight.

Davidson said publically that he wants to put the team on his back and I have no doubt that Jake will do everything in his power to lead this team into next week's championship game. Moving Davidson to tailback was a stroke of genius by coach David Hughes as it can help free the quicker Derrick Spencer on mis-direction plays from the fullback position. A great strategy with starting tailback Cass Myers out for the rest of the season with the broken leg.

Hughes has quite the winning streak going when you consider that his teams have not lost since late October last year. When you combine the South Haven girls undefeated State Championship team at 28-0 and this year's football team at 11-0 and counting, with basketball right around the corner, it will be interesting to see how far the streak will go.

Also of interest this weekend will be college football in Kansas as KU at #4 in the latest BCS poll travels to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State. A little concerned with the Jayhawk defense this week against the Cowboys, especially pass defense. The 'Hawks gave up 39 points against Nebraska a week ago, even though all the talk was about the Huskers giving up 76. OSU has one of the better passing attacks with Adarius Bowman at receiver and quarterback Zac Robinson throwing for almost 2000-yards on the season.

KU needs to take care of business this week and next against Iowa State with the Border Showdown against Mizzou looming in two weeks. It's almost inconceivable but possible that the Jayhawks could play for a National Championship this season.....IN FOOTBALL!!!

K-State has a chance to get well and make up for the stinker they laid against Iowa State last week. The Wildcats can drive the final nails in the coaching coffin of Bill Callahan if they can beat Nebraska in Lincoln tomorrow afternoon. It's almost surreal to think that both Kansas teams could beat Nebraska in the same year after the Husker dominance that I grew up with.

Will return Monday with a follow-up on the results of this weekend

Sports Feast

With November staring us in the face, I thought it a good time to point out that this time of year is one of the best for sports fans.

Baseball just wrapped up with the Red Sox sweeping the Rockies Sunday night. Boston was just so impressive on so many levels. Pitching, clutch hitting, good defense. The Red Sox are the trendy pick to repeat next year even though they will probably lose Curt Schilling and Mike Lowell to free agency. Don't be surprised to see Lowell joining former Sox (and Royal) Johnny Damon on the Yankees next season since A-Rod decided to opt out of his contract.

Speaking of A-Rod, nice job by his agent, Scott Boras, of announcing that Rodriguez was opting out of his contract during the final game of the series. Nothing says class like trying to upstage baseball's grandest event by calling a Fox sports columnist and giving him the go-ahead to tell the world that your meal ticket decided he has had enough playing in New York.

The best part of the story came out Monday, when Boras was quoted as saying that A-Rod chose to opt-out because he was unsure if "his" catcher (Jorge Posada), "his" best reliever (Mariana Rivera), and "his" front line pitcher (Andy Pettitte) would re-sign with the Yanks. EXCUSE ME?!?!?!... When did he take part ownership in the team?? And where was George Steinbrenner when all this went down? The more I read about A-Rod, the more I realize that he is always going to be a stat-stuffer during the regular season, but an under-achiever when it comes to postseason pressure, and it all revolves around the money and the huge contract that he will most likely get from some idiot owner looking to put butts in the seats. A-Rod is everything that is wrong with the game today, with the exception of the steroid and HGH problems.

College football has been thrilling this year with parity shifting the axis of power in the game. It's nice to have KU and K-State showing signs of success this season after some lean years. Both schools are solid defensively and if the coaching staffs stay consistent at both, maybe the Big XII North will reverse the fortunes or misfortunes of the past few years in it's struggle to be competitive with the south teams.

Would sure love to see the Jayhawks undefeated going into the final weekend against Mizzou, but they have some tough games ahead before that clash. This weekend at home against Nebraska will be a test, even though the Huskers are in a free-fall over the past month. Like a wounded dog, I wouldn't want to take Nebraska lightly at this point. The following week is a road game against Oklahoma State that won't be a cake-walk either. Iowa State, at home, on the 17th should be a nice tune-up for the Missouri game, which hopefully will decide who gets to play Oklahoma for the Big XII championship.

College hoops begins tomorrow night with KU hosting Pitt State in an exhibition game at Allen Fieldhouse. KU is going on the 20th anniversary of the last National Championship. This could be the year if everything falls in place as the Hawks are preseason top five.

I would encourage high school football fans to head over to South Haven this Saturday if you want to see football the way it's suppose to be played. It's 8-man, it's fast-paced and exciting, and in a lot of ways, it's a step back in time. It almost has a "Hoosiers" feel to it. Hard to explain unless you've experienced it. The Cardinals are 10-0 and ranked #2 in the Wichita Eagle football poll.

Like the South Haven girls basketball team that won the State title last spring, this Cardinal football team has a special feel about it. Coaches Hughes and Gressel have the kids focused and if they can get through this regional round, who knows what might be in store for that little village 19 miles to the west.

Good Luck Cardinals!!

Sports Heaven---Beantown

Two games into the World Series and everything is coming up (red) roses for the Red Sox. First, there was the dismantling 13-1 blowout in game one in which the Sox reduced the Rockies to pebbles. Then last night, Colorado was ground into sand as Boston slipped past the Rocks 2-1 behind stellar pitching by Curt Schilling, Hideki Okajima, and Riverdance king, Jonathan Papelbon.

That's not to take away from the gem that Boston ace Josh Beckett threw in game one. Beckett was dominating from the start with a consistent 95-97 mph fastball and a sick breaking ball that had the Rockies shaking their heads all evening.

With the scene shifting to Denver for the weekend, you really get the feeling that Boston could close this series out in four straight, but it remains to be seen. Maybe Colorado will be able to break through against Dice-K in game three.

There has to be a euphoric feeling in New England these days with the Red Sox gunning for their second championship in four years, not to mention the Patriots putting together their own little dynasty over the past several seasons and undefeated so far this year in a very weak AFC East.

And then you have the Boston College Eagles, ranked #2 in the college football BCS polls and cementing that position with a 14-10 win at #8 Virginia Tech last night.

Not to be outdone, the Celtics made some moves over the summer to bring themselves back into post season consideration. The C's traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to compliment their star forward and former KU alum Paul Pierce. Most experts pick Boston to at least make the conference finals with a chance to go to the NBA finals next June.

They say nothing beats the fall foliage in New England and, at least these days, nobody is beating the Boston sports scene either.

Sports-A-Plenty

WOW!!

You gotta love it anytime there is a game 7. Regardless of the sport, game sevens are the pinnacle of excitement. Win and move on. Lose and go home. Everything you did previous is out the window and it all culminates with this one game.

As a baseball fan, I was super-glued to the ALCS the entire way. I had a feeling that Boston would come back from the 3-1 deficit against Cleveland. There was something, a feeling if you will, that you can't really describe, but you just knew that the Red Sox were on the verge of doing something special in this series. Maybe it's the swagger and confidence the Red Sox players seem to have. Maybe the fact that they came back from a 3-0 against the Yankees in 2004, they knew what it would take to rally back.

On to the World Series.

Both teams are riding serious waves of confidence. Colorado, winners of 20 of their last 21 and 7-0 in the playoffs thus far, have been referred to as "Destiny's Darlings" and are a formidable opponent for the Red Sox.

I hope this series is as exciting as the ALCS and predict that it will also go seven games with ??? being crowned World Champions.

Just a brief comment about college football. KU sporting the sparkling 7-0 record and getting a sniff of the BCS rankings has been pretty exciting. I will hold to my comments earlier in the year about the Jayhawks loading their schedule with cremepuffs, but they have been impressive so far in Big XII play, especially against K-State and Colorado. Texas A & M looms as the biggest test so far for KU this Saturday and then it only gets tougher with Nebraska (I know, the Huskers are down) OSU, who slipped past the Wildcats, Iowa State, who gave the Sooners all they wanted, and Missouri, who have been extremely impressive this year.

Hope it all comes down to KU vs Mizzou in KC for the right to play OU in the Big XII championship with a BCS bowl on the line.

Closer to home, the South Haven Cardinals are still undefeated (8-0) and ranked #2 in Class 8-man II with Argonia next on the schedule this Thursday night at South Haven. David Hughes has assembled yet another special team this season on the heels of South Haven's girls basketball champions of last year. Coach Hughes is a great motivator and gets the best out of every one of the kids on his roster. The Argonia game will decide the SCBL champion and determine pairings for the Bi-Districts coming up next week. Good luck Cardinals and coaches Hughes and Gressel and staff.

Ignorance was Bliss

I love technology and the fact that a person can retrieve information immediately via the internet.

Remember when you had to wait for the Traveler to show up late in the afternoon to see who won the baseball game the night before? Televised games were only available on Saturday afternoons on NBC with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek making the call.

I remember tuning my transistor radio at night and magically finding KMOX in St Louis if the sky was clear, listening to the Cardinals play as I drifted off to sleep. (Of course my 9-volt was dead the next morning)

I love technology but in a way I really miss the old days. I think there was a deeper appreciation and anticipation for information 30 years ago.

Now we are so spoiled in that we can fetch game scores as they happen via the internet. We have possible access to EVERY game, regardless of sport, via cable television. All of that technology is great and promises to get even better in the next few years.

One thing we didn't have back in the old days (if 30-35 years ago are the "old days") is the constant barrage of negative information in sports. All you have to do is pull up ESPN.com and almost every headline along the right hand of the page is some sort of negative news regarding an athlete, coach, or team.

I guess if I don't want to hear or read about all this negativity, I should avoid ESPN and their website, but I appreciate all the other features they offer. I suppose in our thirst for information we deserve what we get. I can't believe that athletes have worse character issues than they have had throughout the generations, it is just that they are under more of a microscope these days with cameras anywhere and everywhere.

It's hard not to lump all professional and collegiate athletes together when we read about the ridiculous things a few of them do. I am sure it's a very minute percentage, which would be easier to accept if the media would report on all the good things professional and collegiate athletes do as well and as prominently.

A little closer to home and not really sports related, I have been very interested in the groundswell regarding this "Beer Garden" subject lately. Personally, I am not against drinking beer and I hope that everyone that attends Arkalalah behaves maturely so as not to ruin it for anyone else. I will make my decision to have a cold one based on how cold or warm it is on Arkalalah Saturday. As we all know, hot chocolate might be the more popular beverage that day!!

I certainly welcome any and all comments you might have.

Changing Times

Just a few tidbits from the past few days worth mentioning.

I have always prided myself as being a Big Ten guy when it came to college football. I like the physical style that is prevelant in that conference.

Imagine my horror as I caught the highlights of the Michigan vs Appalachian State contest from Saturday. The Wolverines are playing in "The Big House" in front of over 106,000 fans in the season opener. Appalachian State (as I have come to understand is located in Boone, NC) is what used to be called a Division 1-AA school. No power conference school, regardless of national ranking should EVER to a Division 1-AA school.

Well, guess what? Appalachian State 34 Michigan 32 and Michigan had a chance to escape at the end but had their game winning field goal attempt blocked.

I would assume from this catastrophic loss that the pollsters would tie the proverbial millstone around the collective Wolverine's neck and drop them from their preseason number 5 ranking all the way out of the Top 25 with a mandate that they win the rest of their games this season before they are allowed back in.

I liked that way K-State competed Saturday despite the loss to Auburn. I think the defensewas on the field way too long and it cost the Wildcats late. Hopefully K-State will find a running game to go along with the passing game that I thought the Wildcats used too much the other night.

Kansas began their creampuff schedule against Central Michigan with a 52-7 thrashing of the Chippewas. Jayhawk fans (of which I am one) can look forward to similar results as S.E. Louisiana comes to Memorial Stadium this Saturday. Can N.W. Rhode Island be far behind on the schedule? I hope when Mark Mangino gets his contract extension (which, by the way, is the only reason KU's schedule is loaded with all of these mid-major teams) the Jayhawks look to start competing on a comparable level with Texas, Oklahoma, and yes, even K-State.

Congrats to the ACHS Bulldogs on their opening night win over Indy last Friday. I had the opportunity to cover the South Haven Cardinals at home against Udall. South Haven was very well prepared and had no trouble against a good Udall team. They should have no trouble with Central-Burden this week at home. Central was shut out 50-0 against Cedar Vale last Friday night. But you never know.... right Michigan fans??

Step Up or Step Off

Forget almost everything that I wrote on my last blog. Seems that most of my baseball predictions are coming apart like a pair of 15 year old jeans.

Who thought the Yankees would reel off a 24-9 record coming out of the All-Star break with the dreadful pitching staff they had during the first half? New York has chainsawed almost 10 games off of the 14 1/2 game deficit they trailed the Red Sox back in June. Not only are the Yanks breathing down the Sox back, they are neck and neck for the Wild Card with, of all teams, the Seattle Mariners.

I mentioned in my last blog that I thought the AL Wild Card team would come out of the AL Central as Detroit and Cleveland were jockeying back and forth for supremacy of that division. Well, neither team is lighting it up in the last couple weeks, even the Royals are only 12 1/2 games back at this point.

My National League predictions are just as proposterous. I said the Cubs would bypass the Brewers in the NL Central. Well they were able to tie Milwaukee for one day before sliding back into second place, maintaining that position even though the Brewers have been doing their best to give the division away to the lowest bidder.

St Louis, the defending World Champions, have been hanging around all season, mired between last and third place in the NL (comedy) Central. With a decimated pitching staff, injuries, and Albert Pujols having a relatively down season at the plate, the Cardinals began what will probably be their biggest road trip of the season and what will most likely define their season. Winning 12-4 in Milwaukee Tuesday night pulled the Redbirds within 4 1/2 games of the Brewers and put St Louis is serious contention. Everything is riding on the next 6 games, (2 more in Milwaukee and 4 in Chicago against the Cubs) and if the Cardinals have the heart of a champion, it will be on full display this week. Gonna keep a close eye on this one through the weekend.

I still think the Padres or the Dodgers will take the NL West. I really don't think Arizona has the experience down the stretch to hang on.

I am not a big fan of the heat and really looking forward to high school football again this year. I will once again be covering our neighbors in Dexter and South Haven for the Traveler. Also looking forward to ACHS having a turn around season under 2nd year head coach Darren Wegner. Go Bulldogs and Dexter/South Haven Cardinals!!

What were They Thinking

A few tidbits from the recent Major League Baseball trading deadline which ended yesterday.



Kansas City traded closer Octavio Dotel to the Atlanta Braves for right-handed starter Kyle Davies. On the surface, this is a trade the Royals had to make since Dotel is a free-agent at the end of the season. But to only get Davies, who is 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA and was headed for AAA.

I would have liked to have seen the Royals hang on to Dotel until the end of the season with a possiblity of re-signing him for next year if, for nothing else, to bolster a young, talented bullpen that has shown remarkable improvement over last season. Davies will start Friday for Kansas City against the Yankees in New York. Welcome to the American League, Kyle!!



St. Louis definitely had me scratching my head as they acquired Joel Pineiro from the Red Sox for the proverbial "player to be named later". Pineiro was so ineffective for Boston that they sent him down to AAA Pawtucket a week ago. I don't know what the Cardinals see in this guy although I suppose they had to do something with their pitching staff in such dreadful disarray. Maybe Dave Duncan can work his magic with this guy. Heaven knows, the last couple moves (Mike Maroth and Kip Wells) have been total busts for the defending champs. Perhaps GM Walt Jocketty should have waited a couple days as former Cardinal, Matt Morris became available and was traded from San Francisco to Pittsburgh in the most confusing trade of the year so far.



It's anybody's guess if any of the trades will affect the standings the rest of the season. My predictions with two months of baseball left are:



AL EAST- Boston will continue to rule the East. They are much too deep and talented, especially in the pitching department. New York will miss the post-season for the first time in 12 years.



AL CENTRAL- Detroit and Cleveland will stay neck and neck down the stretch with the second place team securing the Wild-Card berth. This division will continue to be the toughest division in baseball for years to come.



AL WEST- Even though the Angels have struggled lately, they will coast into the post-season with a good, but not great pitching staff. Seattle is too young and Oakland isn't putting on their annual second-half run that they have been known for the last few years.



NL EAST- Atlanta positioned themselves to make a run at the New York Mets by acquiring Dotel and slugger Mark Texiera from the Royals and Rangers respectively. This division is up for grabs between the Braves, Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies. The team that can shore up it's pitching staff down the stretch will win the division. Though not a Braves fan, I think they will run down the Mets for the East Crown.



NL CENTRAL- Gonna go out on a limb here and say the Cubs will pass the Milwaukee Brewers. The Braves lost their ace, Ben Sheets, a week ago and even before he went down to injury, they were losing ground to the Cubs. Chicago is too deep and with Kerry Wood apparently coming back from injury, the Cubs have all the pieces in place to make a run at a World Series. Don't count any team out with Lou Piniella at the controls. St. Louis has too many holes to make a serious run at defending their championship.



NL WEST- You can pick from Arizona, San Diego, and Los Angeles to win the wild, wild NL West. Personally, I like the Padres again with the Dodgers taking the Wild Card out of this division.



And as crazy as this sounds, I like the Red Sox and Cubs to meet in the World Series in October.



Now that would be a series to remember.

Bond-ing Out

As of this writing, Barry Bonds sits 2 dingers shy of Hank Aaron's home run record. Bonds hit 2 homers last weekend in the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field in Chicago and hasn't threatened the walls since.

Everywhere you turn, people are angry and upset that Bonds will be the one breaking "Sports Most Hallowed Record" with all the steroid suspicions, not to mention Bonds' affinity for being a real jerk where the press is concerned.

The difficult thing in this sports saga is the fact that, as sports fans, we feel like we have to choose a side based on what we see and read.

In a broad sense, I am intrigued that Bonds has been able to stay competitive (even if it is from steroids) into his 40's and is still feared at the plate by his competition. It has always been said that the most difficult task in sports is the ability to hit a round ball with a round bat, so steroids or not, Bonds has to be respected on some level.

Looking back in history, Aaron was vilified during his quest in 1974 to catch and pass Babe Ruth. He received death threats and hate mail during the chase because he was black. Now Aaron is a beloved figure not only in baseball but is an iconic figure in all of society and rightly so. Of course we cannot compare Aaron's plight to that of Bonds as it is obviously apples to oranges, but will we see everything the same in 33 years or whenever the next threat to the record comes along?

I choose to accept that Bonds will be the new home run king, and not because I am a fan of his or have any allegiance to steroids. Rather, I see it as an historical moment in time that doesn't really need to be celebrated, just accepted and appreciated in the fact that I was here to see it.

See you tomorrow with more!!

The Starting Line-up

Welcome everybody to the brand new Sports Fan Attic. We are live from the spacious Sports Fan bungalow in the heart of Ark City.

I want to use this blog as a means of touching on sports issues of the day as well as visiting past experiences.

I welcome any and all comments and opinions you might have as we go along.

A little about me. I have lived in Ark City since 1972, graduated from ACHS (when it was up on 2nd Street).

I am married to the Sports Wife, who shares a lot of my passion for sports, especially KU basketball. I am one lucky guy when it comes to having a lady that loves watching and attending sporting events with me.

I have two grown children and one step-son. Also have 2 1/2 grandkids (one due in December).

Be ready to enjoy reading light hearted takes on all of the major sports (well, except NASCAR and Soccer) as well as my opinions on local sports and activities.

I have written part time for the Ark City Traveler the past two seasons, covering football and basketball for our friends in Dexter and South Haven as well as a few assignments covering the AC Bulldogs.