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.