Friday, November 20, 2009

Shatel's Blog: Looking at the weekend
Three not necessarily predictions for the weekend:

1. Barring eight turnovers, I think Nebraska beats Kansas State, by seven to 10. I think it goes deep into the fourth quarter, though, and I could see it coming down to KSU driving late and NU having to make a play on defense. Nebraska will have to play a clean game, few penalties and turnovers, and really get after Grant Gregory and Zac Lee can't rest on his latest laurels and Roy Helu will have to keep running out of that "22'' scheme. Bill Snyder will have some tricks up his sleeve. So will Bo Pelini. I love that match-up.

2. I'm rooting for Iowa to go high on the hog on Saturday - what is that thing they play for against Minnesota, a trophy of a pig? - and get the win over the Goldie Gophs at home. The Hawks had the bottom fall out of a special year the last two weeks, mostly because of an injury to starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi, and the players and fans deserve a good finish. A win would also set them up for a shot at a BCS berth in the Fiesta or Orange. Iowa figures to be competing against Penn State for that bid. That will be interesting. Even though Iowa beat Joe Pa and Co., earlier this season, bowl politics could go either way. It will probably come down to whether the bowl wants TV ratings (Joe Pa) or a legion of fans (Iowa). I'm in the Iowa camp there. Regardless, they need a win first, and I hope they get it.

3. If you haven't checked out suh93.com, go do it. It's a website set up by Nebraska's athletic department specifically designed to showcase Ndamukong Suh. And it's one of the better websites I've seen for a college football or basketball player. It's tastefully done, you don't have to wade through a lot of stuff, there are a handful of coaching and media testimonials that are easy to find and there's a link to Suh's stats for each game. Very well done. And right on time. This is when writers start thinking about voting for post-season awards. Not in September or October.

- Tom Shatel »

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Shatel's Blog: Ready for leftovers?
6:52 p.m.: Leftovers from our Wednesday lunch chat:

1. Is a poke in the chest grounds for firing a coach? That's what KU players have accused Mark Mangino of doing -- poking a finger in the chest of a Jayhawks linebacker the day before the Colorado game last month. But that's so far. According to the Kansas City Star, other players and their parents are lining up with other stories of Mangino abuse. Here's my take: it depends on the context of the "poke.'' If it is a one-time thing, and the coach has no history of abuse, then I think you can let it off with a warning. But throw in KU's five-game losing streak, the lack of funds for the new $34 million football palace, and Mangino's appearance (KU is button-down and very image conscious) and you have a totally different story. I think under other circumstances, say, two years ago or even a month ago, Mangino would be let off the hook here. But again, we don't know the history built-up here. It's funny how people tend to pile on when a coach is down and out. Where were all these KU people with stories about Mangino during the 12-1 season two years ago?

2. Mangino was going to be on the hot seat eventually, if not this year. I think he's a good coach. His teams, before this latest slump, have been generally well-drilled. But he's not a "great'' coach with a stellar record. Granted, building KU up to a BCS bowl is tough duty. But under Mangino, the Jayhawks have been over .500 in the Big 12 only once in his eight seasons. Mangino made a KU career out of thumping Bill Callahan teams twice at home and making the Orange Bowl run in 2006. It should be noted that KU didn't play OU or Texas that year. It still counts, of course. But it should also be noted that Athletic Director Lew Perkins was the main reason KU made the Orange Bowl that year; the night that Big 12 North champ Missouri was losing to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, Perkins was on the phone selling the OB on the Jayhawks and talking down the Tigers. It was a masterful job by the AD. I'm not saying Mangino hasn't done a good job. But it's not quite as ingenius as the reputation.

3. Is Kansas overspending for football? I think so. I love Perkins' appetite for football, but if he is firing coaches based on money for football, I think it's misguided. Throughout its history, Kansas football has never followed up the big year. There's always been a flop, whether it's after the 1968 Orange Bowl, the big Glen Mason year in 1993 or the 2007 Orange Bowl. They just can't sustain. Why? I don't know. But I do know that Jayhawks don't care enough about football to keep pouring millions into it. At some point, somebody will put a stop to it. Maybe that's what the boosters are trying to tell Perkins now. Maybe the slow roll of income for that Gridiron Complex is KU boosters way of saying "we don't care."

Also, I love this little bit from last weekend: Right next to KU's Memorial Stadium sit two immaculate football practice fields, with fieldturf, a tall coaching tower and all the trimmings. A KU beat writer told me that the team doesn't practice on them. Never uses them. Why? Because they sit up high and are surrounded by a parking garage, street, buildings up on an adjacent hill, etc., and anyone can look right in on the practices. So two amazing practice fields sit empty every day. Wonder if they thought of that when they built them. That's a basketball school for you.

4. If Mangino is exiled from KU as expected, there could be two job openings in the Big 12 if Colorado happens and a third if you believe Mike Leach is making noise about the Louisville job (which has yet to open) or will jump at any job that moves. There are also possibile openings at Notre Dame, Michigan and Illinois. It could be a very, very busy off-season on the coaching carousel, with openings that will leave other big openings when coaches come to fill them.

5. Just got an email from Kevin McNabb with the Omaha Royals that Mike Jirschele will be back for his eighth straight season, and 11th overall, as Omaha Royals manager. Forget voting for mayor; pretty soon Jirschele will be eligible to run for mayor of Omaha. Oh, well, who better to turn out the lights at Rosenblatt Stadium next August?

--Tom Shatel »

Monday, November 16, 2009

Shatel's Blog: Passion doesn't wane with age
This one's for Harold Bechard. And for me, too. I saw Harold on Saturday in the press box at KU. He's covered the Jayhawks and K-State Wildcats for over 30 years at the Salina Journal and Hutchinson News. He's covered Final Fours and 0-11 seasons in football and every sort of coaching search you can imagine. He's driven a lot of miles in the dark after games, eaten a lot of good and bad press box food, interviewed just about everyone who wore blue or purple the last four decades.

And on Saturday, he comes up and says, "This is my last game." Bechard is leaving the press box to help run the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

I don't know why, but this one hit home for me. I've known Harold since 1982, and we're not that close but I've known him for so long he feels like family. These are people I've covered many games with, ridden on Skywriters tours with, shared this crazy life we lead in the press box.

There aren't many guys like that left. There are fewer and fewer of us old Big Eight warhorses left. And I know fewer and fewer faces in the press box these days.

I know, I know. It just means I'm getting old. But I really felt it the other night, saying goodbye to another survivor of this business, a guy who went out his way.

Just hearing Harold reminisce about how he started in newspapers in 1974, how we used to punch stories out on typewriters back then and either read the copy back to the desk or send it by a contraption called a telecopier, which was like a prehistoric fax machine. All the history he's seen, we've seen, it all came back the other night.

I've never considered this a job. For me, sports writing is like a fantasy, a perpetual summer camp. But it is a job, a grind, and it takes its toll on families, on people's lives. All the stuff you miss. There aren't many lifers anymore. I've always said I wanted to go forever, or to 70, whichever comes first. I always want to spend my Saturday in a press box. That's my passion. What else would I do?

As I drove home the other day, I found myself thinking about this. Do I still want to be Oscar Madison forever? The answer is yes. But the older I get, the older I get, and the lonelier the press box seems to get.

Anybody else out there who's my age (51) going through this or gone through this in your job? I'm sure it happens all the time.

Anyway, somebody very smart, not long ago, mentioned that they thought I had changed, that they thought I was more introspective, or maybe mellowing or something. I don't know about that. But I do know, the more I do this, the less the results mean to me and the more the games, the people and the silly things like visiting old stadiums mean. I'm more into the experience now and hopefully channeling some of that through my column.

That doesn't mean I'm freaking out. If Shawn Watson or Bo Pelini forget to call the right play, I'll be there for you, too.

I've thought about all these things the last few days. Mostly, I can't escape that image of Harold, as he said goodbye to myself and Blair Kerkhoff of the KC Star. He picked up his computer bag and walked down the press box to the elevator. I don't know why, but I couldn't stop watching him walk away from this life he led, we led. It's not like I was going to yell, "Come back, Shane, come back." But I kept watching.

Finally, the elevator arrived, the door opened and Harold stepped in.

And then he was gone.

Thanks for letting me grow old in this blog. Now, back to Nebraska's special teams. »

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Shatel's Blog: Good to see Trev take on CCHA
Here's some post-chat stuff or, perhaps more appropriately, lunch leftovers:

1. I was glad to see Trev Alberts blast away at the CCHA. Good to see an athletic director at UNO stepping up and firing away at the conference. I guarantee you every coach in that department noticed it and loved it and will work that much harder for Trev. The premise that a league or the NCAA can't reverse a decision or game or order a forfeit is absolutely wrong. Ask Bobby Bowden. I don't know if UNO's leaving the CCHA has anything to do with it, but it can't hurt. Question: Would this happen to Michigan?

2. Article this week in the Boulder Camera reports that the Big 12 athletic directors are considering a new scheduling rotation in which the North and South would play each school at least once every two years. For instance, Nebraska plays Texas, Texas A&M and Okie State next year and in 2011. Under this proposed plan, NU would play Texas, A&M and OSU next year and then OU, Baylor and Tech again in 2011, and so forth. I kind of like it. That way, teams are less likely to benefit from a school being down for two or three years (thus earning two freebie wins) and it allows NU and OU to play every other year, which gives the rivalry some legs again. Stay tuned. I'm sure whatever they do, it will be all about the money.

3. It was sad to see the news about Ironwood, aka Highland CC. That's one of the classic old courses in Omaha; some old-timers put it in the top five in the area. There's a lot of golf to go around in Omaha and eastern Nebraska, but they don't make them like this anymore.

4. Apparently, someone has created a Twitter account in my name, complete with matching photo. I would just like to state for the record that I had nothing to do with that. I do not tweet, I have never tweeted nor shall I ever tweet. I think it's a silly thing. Nobody is that interesting that I need to know what they are doing or thinking every five minutes. If I have something to say that can't wait, you'll read it here. So, if you see something on Twitter with my name on it, it's a fake. It's somebody else giving you what they believe are the boring details of my life. Thank you, but I'll keep my boring life to myself.

5. You might see a new mug shot next to the column soon, one with my golf hat. We used the hat with the old Blue Streak throwback sports section and I got so many comments about it that I decided to use it fulltime. Plus, I have really bad hair. »

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Shatel's Blog: First to five wins North
First one to five wins the Big 12 North. I think that's a pretty safe bet at this point. Get to a 5-3 conference record and you can punch your ticket to Dallas. The question is, is anyone in the North competent enough to do it?

Kansas State, 3-1, has the clearest path: beat Kansas and Missouri at home. The Cats' other two remaining games are at Oklahoma and at Nebraska.

Iowa State (2-2), Kansas (1-2), Nebraska (1-2), Colorado (1-2) and Missouri (0-3) have more work to do. Mizzou must win out.

I think a much more plausible scenario is a two-way or three-way tie at 4-4. And, yes, we have the Big 12 tiebreakers:

If two teams are tied, the head-to-head matchup decides it.

If three are tied, it's decided by the following, in order:

1. The records of the three teams against each other.

2. The division record of each of the three teams.

3. The record of the three teams against the next highest rated division teams (4, 5 and 6).

4. The record of the three teams compared against common Big 12 opponents.

5. The highest ranked team in the BCS poll following the completion of the Big 12 regular-season (and yes, the BCS poll goes as far down as the Big 12 North needs it to).

Here are the remaining schedules of the five teams chasing K-State:

Iowa State: at Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Colorado, at Missouri.

Nebraska: at Baylor, Oklahoma, at Kansas, Kansas State, at Colorado.

Kansas: at Texas Tech, at Kansas State, Nebraska, at Texas, Missouri (at Arrowhead).

Colorado: Missouri, Texas A&M, at Iowa State, at Oklahoma State, Nebraska.

Missouri: at Colorado, Baylor, at Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas (at Arrowhead).

For Nebraska's purposes, obviously the best path to Dallas is to win four out of the last five. But if the Huskers win three more, it would obviously mean more for those to come against Kansas, K-State and CU for tiebreaker purposes. The loss to ISU hurt, in terms of North Division record.

Enjoy the last month. This is going to be wild. »

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Blog: Good move for Creighton
A question about Creighton playing in the TD Ameritrade Stadium came up today in my lunch chat and I thought it would be worth expounding on, rather than analyze the latest Bo Pelini press conference.

First, let's start with the stadium itself. A lot of us have been calling it "the downtown stadium'' or the "new downtown stadium.'' A good friend who works at Ameritrade, Bill Gerber, needled me recently that it was okay to mention the name of the stadium now. Actually, there are probably several million good reasons. He's right. So, from this point on, it will be TD Ameritrade Stadium in this space.

Now, about the Jays. I like this move, but only because it's better than where the Jays play now. Well, duh, right? I think CU baseball belongs in a stadium about the size of Morrison Stadium, where Jays soccer plays. Maybe the size of Haymarket Park, maybe a little smaller. A few thousand permanent seats, some nice suites, some good berm seating and there you go: a perfect place for Creighton baseball to thrive.

Well, that's not going to happen (why did soccer get a stadium instead of baseball? That's a story for another day). Not in this economy. And not with two new stadiums going up already. As Bruce Rasmussen says, three new ballparks doesn't make sense.

I don't necessarily think Creighton baseball will be transformed into a national power or CWS team or anything by the new ballpark. I think it's potentially a great selling point for recruits; play on the field where they play the CWS. But to get any more than a couple thousand (which is considerably more than they're used to at the CU complex), I think Creighton is going to have to think like a minor-league baseball club. I think you need to sell the stadium, the amenities, the total experience, the kids' stuff to do at the park, the sports bars down the street, and, last but not least, the local kids playing hard for ol' CU. Ed Servais is a good coach and his teams play good, sound baseball. But that's not enough. And you can't sell Missouri Valley baseball and hope to get the average fan to show up. You also have to be careful selling Creighton as an NCAA team or CWS hopeful; history shows it's very hard to do in the Valley. Heck, last year Wichita State won the Valley tourney and ended up having to travel for regionals. It's harder than ever. So I think they have to take that approach. It will look lonely some nights in that big 24,000-seat stadium, but CU played at Rosenblatt before small crowds and without the spots to go after the game. Fortunately, they have marketing man Mike West, who gets it, and will fight the good fight for your disposable income. But I think CU will have to do some minor-league baseball-type promotions and games to get folks down there, which is ironic, in a way, because the Omaha Royals didn't think that would work in a big ballpark. »

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Lunch with Tom: Replay
Two straight losses at home for Nebraska. Replay to get Tom Shatel's take during his weekly sports chat, Lunch with Tom. »