All of my blog entries to this point have been "on topic".  Well, from time to time I'll drop in a few random musings about the state of sports both in and out of Kansas.  Feel free to comment back... and if it does anything for you, imagine me saying them in the "Norm MacDonald imitating Larry King" voice.

So it turns out the 2007 KU football team really WAS good.  Va. Tech is a good team... here's the deal:  if you win your league and you ARE in fact inside of the Continental United States, then that means you're good... and if another team beats you, then they're good!  Sadly, I don't see a similar season playing out in 2008 for the 'Hawks.  They lose a lot and step it up schedule-wise.  But I can see KU winning 9 games next year, and that isn't a step back.  Mark Mangino and company are trying to build a PROGRAM, not a season.  Programs are judged over a period of years, not weeks. 

I don't know if I'm more excited for the 2008 Big 12 football season or the new Batman movie this summer, but I would describe myself as "4 year old on Christmas Morning" on the Giddiness Scale for both.  There's a legit "Top Tier" in the league after this season that includes more than just OU and Texas.  Mizzou and KU proved that they can hang and compete.  Mizzou will be better next year and KU has a chance to really build something if they stay on track.  Add a Texas Tech team with a little more experience and an Okie State offense that returns Zac Robinson, Dez Bryant and Brandon Pettigrew and we could have some real interesting races in '08.  My early prediction is an OU/MU rematch in the Title game.  OU's going to be downright scary, especially if Malcom Kelly comes back (Bradford, Kelly, Iglesias and a full season of DeMarco Murray?!?!?!) and Mizzou announced today that all of their Juniors are coming back (Daniel, Coffman, Stryker Sulock, Ziggy Hood and William Moore join sophomores Jeremy Maclin and Derrick Washington and Juniors like Denario Alexander and Brock Christopher).  However it plays out, it should be entertaining... especially if Colorado makes the leap, A&M gets back on track with a new coach and Nebraska returns to 7/8 win territory under Bo Pellini.  For the 'Cat fans, I have no idea what KSU is going to do in 2008.  I still can't figure out how they fell apart so horribly in 2007.

I love watching Bill Self's team play.  The crispness with which they've executed in the early season is something to behold.  I LOVE their transition game.  They're handsy on defense and then they make it count once they force a turnover.  Here's the deal:  If you're one of those people who hates the NBA because you only watch it once a year and you're tired of the Spurs putting you to sleep every June in the Finals, do me a favor:  watch KU play, then watch the Phoenix Suns play.  It's the same brand of basketball:  Play defense, force transition (this doesn't have to be via a turnover.... missed shots are just as good... anything that allows you to get the ball on the fly and force tempo) and SCORE!  I learned this when I lived in Arizona and watched the Suns every night... they are INFINITELY entertaining... KU reminds me of the Suns.

As far as the rest of the league goes, it's not nearly as encouraging.  A&M LOOKS good, but they haven't played anyone.  Texas IS good, but if they lost to Wisconsin at home (which they did) then I can't say I'd bet on them to beat KU in Austin (which could eventually decide the league title).  Texas Tech has been up and down and you've all seen K-State.  They've beaten one good team (Cal) and lost to everyone else they've played that I've ever heard of.  I went into this season thinking that Michael Beasley would be able to win at least 20 games by himself... after watching the Xavier game I'm not so convinced.  Missouri is the exact same team, just without Michael Beasley (which makes them worse).  Iowa State lost to Drake (enough said) and Nebraska is deceptively good (one signature win.... not much else.  But they've got a good big man, which can take you far in a weak league).

Overtime Live is one heck of a fun show to do.  It occurred to me the other day that I've been in Wichita for six months now and I haven't missed one show... and I don't mind that at all.  I'm told that our ratings were up a bit in November which means more of you are watching.  We appreciate that and we hope you'll tell your friends so we can get more new viewers.  I know it's a different kind of show, but we really try to have fun.  And the best part:  If you think that we're just completely full of it, call us in the Shout Out and tell us!  If you make one of us cry then it only ups our chances of becoming the next YouTube sensation or something. 

I honestly don't care anymore who took steroids and HGH and who didn't.  Roger Clemens needs to stop wasting his time because press conferences, lawsuits and taped phone conversations are not going to convince anyone who's already made up their mind about him.  People who have been seriously following this thing for years have already read "Game of Shadows" and "Juicing the Game" and he's not mentioned in either.  The Mitchell Report is a supplement to those works at best.  It's a flimsy document with no legal teeth that contains mainly circumstantial evidence (canceled checks and a bunch of statements from two guys that they injected him with steroids).  Baseball's biggest problem has been and continues to be the gap that exists between small market and large market teams financially.  The game NEEDS an economic structure similar to the NBA's or teams like the Royals will never be able to compete.  There are other stratagies that teams have used to compete in the "Big Budget" era, but the bottom fell out of Moneyball.  The teams that succeeded with that system are falling apart.  Minnesota watched Torii Hunter walk and they'll deal Johan Santana before the season starts because the money is just getting too big to hold on to ANYONE with talent.  The A's couldn't even keep Dan Haren for more than 2 seasons for crying outloud!  When the Cardinals sell-out every seat and every luxury box for 82 dates a year while maintaining a budget below 100 million bucks and THEY'RE crying poor, then it's the system's fault.

That's it for now!  more to come later!