You had better not be talking camera man!

I have ironically working on this blog all week, and it all came to a head last night at Wichita Heights in the girls soccer game between Heights and Kapaun. After spending the last week doing my best to stick up for the brave men and women who officiate games, I couldn’t believe my ears last night.

Alright, now gather round. It’s story time!

From the time I arrived at Heights, the only words out of my mouth were, “I’ll take a hamburger, thanks,” at the concession stand during halftime.

So you can imagine my surprise in the middle of the second half when a linesman passed me running down the field and said, “You had better not be talking camera man! One more word and you are leaving!”

“Huh?”

“Did you say something?!”

“No.”

This exchange was followed by a smug look on his face that nonverbally said, “Just give me a reason pal. I heard what you said.”

Now, I have no way of knowing what he thought he heard me say. It was about the same time a fan in the stands behind me made a crack comparing the referee’s white beard to Santa Claus. Maybe that was it.

I don’t know.

The reason I got into sports writing is that I love competition. Every time I go to a game, I am hoping to see a close, competitive contest. And the Heights 3-2 win over Kapaun was a great game.

But believe me when I say that I really have no rooting interest in the outcome of a game as far as who wins.

The unbelievable assumption by this linesman, was not only was I going for one team over the other, but that I was emotionally invested enough to be yelling at a referee.

I tried to talk to the linesman after the game in an attempt to get to the bottom of what happened. But he bolted instantly and I didn’t get the chance.

The following is what I had been working on all week leading up to this incident. It is not something taken away from one game, but my observations over the course of three years of covering sports.

In the last three years of covering all types of sports in every season, I can count on one hand the number of outcomes that weren’t, “the ref’s fault.”

I cringe to think of the trillions of people who have spent the entire drive home furiously, red in the face, veins throbbing, blaming the result on an, “incompetent,” referee.

There comes a time when a ref owes an official explanation of a decision they have made. And believe it or not, there is a person designated to demand that explanation; the head coach.

Not the players, not the student section, not dad, not mom, especially not the camera man, and not anyone but the one and only head coach. If you are not the head coach, settle down a little bit.

One of my favorite things to see is both sides of a venue mercilessly voicing displeasure over the way a game is called. I am standing on one sideline, so I can only hear that side clearly.

But when the far side screams something at an official, the near side will scoff at how foolish those idiots over there are, right before taking a deep breath and pulling the trigger on an equally absurd statement.

Believe me. You sound exactly like those folks on the other side. You aren’t any more holy, or clever.

Take it from a truly impartial observer, you sound ridiculous when you let the ref have it. And by, “it,” I mean one of a million clichés.

One of the best ref clichés is, “Call It Both Ways.” I get what it means when you break down the English. It is a call for consistency. And because being judged as consistent is the highest praise an official can receive, to be inconsistent must be the biggest putdown.

The problem is, “Call It Both Ways,” has been used so much that it has completely lost all of its meaning. It is simply a vibrating pocket of air. The public release of this phrase should be considered as socially unacceptable as the public release of a similar pocket of air from the other end of the human body.

To give you an idea of how much brain activity that goes into, “Call It Both Ways,” I can, and will always, be able to point to this year’s 5A state championship basketball tournament in Topeka. After hearing a fan say, “Call It Both Ways,” for the 734^th time, my curiosity got the better of me. I gathered all my strength and strained to make the tremendous effort it took to shift my gaze to the scoreboard.

The call in question evened up the team fouls at 5-5.

“Call It Both Ways,” indeed.

Another of these clichés is, “How Much Are They Paying You.” This one can take many different forms, but the implication here is that one team or the other has paid off an official in order to get them to throw the game.

Because, even in these hard times, nothing is more lucrative than putting on a striped shirt and fixing high school sporting events.

Exactly how do these transactions go down? Is there a secret exchange of briefcases? Maybe it takes place in a secret mowed clearing in the middle of a wheat field. Are there codes and secret handshakes?

Perhaps there is an underground bidding war before the season starts in a bunker underneath a football field somewhere. I wonder what kinds of precautions are taken to ensure no one is tailed.

Or, are you trying to say that a coach or athletic director has slipped an official a five, 10, or even 20 dollar bill just before the game?

Just right out in the light of day?

I know you are risking your ability to ever officiate again, but here’s 10 bucks. Go get yourself a nice cheeseburger after the game.

Then there is the good old, “What Game Are You Watching.” If the referees are in possession of technology that allows them to be secretly watching TV from the inside of their glasses or contact lenses, I want it! If they are unwilling to share it with me, the least they could do is give me some score updates.

Come on guys, a little common courtesy.

They could be listening to another game on the radio through an ear bud with the wires strategically hidden underneath the striped shirts.

But that wouldn’t be watching another game at all would it. And besides, AM reception inside a gym is tough to come by.

How about keeping it simple with a, “You Have Got To Be Kidding Me.”

Ah ha ha! You should see the look on your face! I got you good! No, but really, there is no foul on the play. I was just razzing you.

Let the game be the game. If a call doesn’t go your way, it is up to the players to pick themselves up and take it out of the official’s hands.

Track Performance Lists

After several weeks of preperationg and hours of typing names, schools, marks and datesm the CatchItKansas.com Track Performance lists have been launched. They can be found here:

Track Performance Lists

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts on the list. What athletes will make a run at top spots in each class? Is there anybody we are missing?

Rolling The Dice...

When everyone turns on their TVs tonight and tunes into the NFL Draft, you will be watching team presidents and owners taking multi-million dollar gambles when they make their picks.

Sam Bradford will likely go number one to the Rams (unless they trade with the Browns) and even though it doesn't look like it, Bradford could easily turn into the next Ryan Leaf. You remember Leaf, right? The can't-miss-pick that teams and analysts were wondering if he or Peyton Manning would go first. The Colts picked right and the Chargers are still scratching their heads over what happened when Leaf floundered on the field and, worse, off it.

But Leaf is only one of many draft picks that have flopped in the NFL, and the same can be said for college recruits. It's a big guessing game.

Everyone has seen some prep football star dominating opponents, not for one game but for several and recruited to play for KU, K-State or Nebraska. He was a can't miss, had all the measurables and the grades were right on, too. You thought to yourself, "I can't wait to see him on Saturdays!" And then when he is still sitting at third on the depth chart behind someone else, you wonder aloud, "What happened?"

It's a big guessing game. I had a teammate in high school who was all state two years in a row and had multiple full ride scholarship offers. He went to the University of Colorado and wound up being the Big 12 freshman of the year at safety. We all got excited to see him on Saturdays and then, maybe Sundays. Never saw him again. Got into trouble off the field, slipped on the field and never saw his black jersey at Folsom Field again.

Terrible when it happens but it happens all the time. It would be great to look into the future and know whats going to happen but for my knowledge no such device exists.

So for now, the college coaches will keep guessing and hoping they get it right.

Chlumsky leads Maize tennis despite new role

Clint Chlumsky is leading the Maize High tennis team in 2010, even as he adapts to a new role on the squad.

Clint played doubles his first three years of high school, but he switched to singles this season since his partner, Jake Brucks, graduated. Clint and Jake placed 10th at the Class 6A state tournament in 2008, and they finished seventh in 2009.

Clint said he has built up every year as the season progressed, and this spring appears to be no different. He placed second in singles April 17 at the McPherson Invitational, where he lost the final to Quinn Dippel, who finished third for Smoky Valley last year at the Class 4A state tournament.

Clint went 3-0 in pool play April 20 at the stacked Maize Invitational. He faced Daniel Ritchie of Wichita Collegiate for the No. 1 singles title. Daniel was the third-place finisher at the Class 3-2-1A state tournament in 2009.

Clint defeated Daniel 8-5 for the victory Tuesday on his home court – a special achievement his senior year. He admitted he wanted a little revenge since Daniel beat him 8-1 earlier this season at a Goddard tournament.

His transition to singles play hasn’t always been easy.

“I’ve definitely been more patient than I was starting off,” he said.

Clint’s goal is to qualify for state and finish among the top 10. That wouldn’t be an usual accomplishment for Clint, but it would be a first for him in the singles bracket.

Clint and Jake were regional champions in doubles competition last year, when Maize won the regional tournament by beating teams such as Goddard and Wichita Northwest. Maize will host its regional in May.

After graduation, Clint will play tennis for Bethel College – where, he pointed out, he will have to compete in singles and doubles.

Recruiting Circus Hits Wichita

We knew it was only a matter of time before this started happening. Today is a huge day for Wichita Heights junior-to-be Perry Ellis. He's already been offered a slew of scholarships from the Division 1 level and today he may pick up a few more.

Tonight a plethora of college coaches and assistants will be in town to watch Perry work out. It's a closed door session of course. Here's a quick list of teams and coaches we know will be around:

Kansas, Bill Self
Kansas State, Frank Martin
Kentucky, John Calipari
Louisville, possibly Rick Pitino
Wichita State, Gregg Marshall
Stanford, Johnny Dawkins
Texas A&M, assistant
Memphis, assistant

That's a pretty impressive list. Especially considering Perry has already gotten offers from at least 5 of those schools.

The best part about this is it couldn't happen to a better kid. Every time I've interviewed Perry, or talked with his parents, or asked his teammates and friends about him, all they've ever been is positive. I understand Perry has excellent grades and he's extremely humble about his game. Very happy for him. And I must say, I'm getting anxious about these guys coming in, can you imagine what Perry must be feeling right now?

High school to get new stadium

This past season football fields around the City League received turf fields, which was a big deal.

Well a high school in – you guessed it, Texas – is getting a new field as well. And that’s an understatement.

In September construction on Allen High School’s new football stadium will begin. Allen is located about 30 miles north of Dallas. The stadium which will hold 18,000 seats will cost an estimated 59.6 million dollars to build.

The new stadium will have two large scoreboards, a video screen and a sunken horseshoe design to go along with a two level press box. It will also include a “Wall of Honor” plaza, a wrestling workout room, an indoor golf hitting area, multiple concession stands and six sets of restrooms.

The stadium will reserve 4,000 seats in the end zone for students, and 1,000 seats for the band. That must be one heck of a band…certainly has to be one of the largest.

Not that this will be the only nice thing about the school’s facilities. Allen already has an existing multi-purpose athletic building, a natatorium, and state-of-the-art practice fields.

Not bad for a high school if you ask me. From what I’ve been able to gather it seems like “super schools” are the thing in down there. Instead of building multiple schools in a district, they just build a few big ones.

While this gives you the opportunity to see some big-time, high-profile athletes early on, does it take away from the experience of participating or watching high school sports? At these schools there may be over 500 kids trying out for 100 spots on a varsity roster. Needless to say, several of these kids will never get to experience what it was like to play sports in high school.

So, should the City League and area schools like Maize, Goddard, Andover and Andover Central all just consolidate? Make like 15 schools into, let’s say two?

Now that would be wild.

Big City Voice For Small Town Story

Today I had the opportunity to hear Joe Drape (New York Times writer and author of “Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen,”) speak to a class I am taking at Wichita State.

If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend it. And if you are from a small town, it is a must read.

Drape talked about having the built-in story arc of the 2008 football season, but the football was only the spine to give shape to a story about raising children in a small town. Smith Center head coach Roger Barta has used the football team to build a culture of family in which seemingly everyone in town has a stake in.

Little traditions like the post game Circle Up, end of the year visits to the sixth grade class to get them excited about becoming Redmen in the upcoming year, and the introduction of a youth football program, amongst other things, have all led to a sense of togetherness within the community.

But maybe the most fascinating part of this story is Drape’s gradual integration into Smith Center. When he arrives, he is an outsider, who is more or less indifferent to the wins and losses, beyond what an average season would have done to the storyline.

In perhaps the most intense game of the season, a narrow early victory over Norton, Drape hadn’t been in town long enough to have any of the extreme blood pressure consequences a game like that can have on a fan.

But as the time passes, Drape becomes more and more personally invested. The town welcomes him in, and there is no escaping the fact that he becomes a part of the town as well.

He said he and his wife were on pins and needles watching games at the end of the season.

There was some apprehension from Barta from the beginning. He didn’t want some big city writer to come in and give him the “Friday Night Lights,” treatment. But Drape set out to write an anti-“Friday Night Lights.”

When Drape first came to Smith Center to do a story on the Redmens’ 72 points in the first quarter of a 2007 playoff game, he got a sense that the town was an example of what can happen when things are done the right way. This is the premise of the book.

It uses football as a vessel to show what the town has invested in the growth of its youth. Wins and losses are secondary to making the kids better people every day.

It is not a look into the negative, win at all costs, behaviors that have been used in so many football stories it is a cliché. It is a look at how the sport, and the support of a community, can bring out the best in people.

Thinking about the future

Don't get me wrong - I like baseball, softball and track and field. Those are the foundation for spring sports and a lot of prep athletes have, and will have, greater success in their chosen sport.

But I'm out of high school and I can't tell you the last time I threw a pitch, swung a bat or threw a javelin or ran a mile. (Actually, I ran one this morning at the gym) But I'll tell you what I did swing the other day and several days before that - a golf club.

It truly is the game of the future. And by future I mean your future when you get older. Like me. Everybody does it, whether they are good at it or not, it seems every former high school jock turns to golf when their playing days are over.

And if you are a prep golfer NOW, you already have a jump on the future swingers you will meet at the driving range in the coming years, when college is over.

Now, do not, I repeat DO NOT, put down your mitt or hang up your track spikes and start playing golf right now. Don't do that. But in a few years, when a couple of your friends start golfing and then you want to learn, don't say I didn't warn you.

Small school struggles

I've always felt sorry for schools below the 3A level. They just don't have resources.

I personally grew up in a small town, but went to school at a consolidated school. About 1000 students total, and about 200 in my graduating class, so I didn't ever feel the struggle of not having enough kids out for a sports team.

Spearville is starting to feel the pressure of the lack of numbers.

The Lancers baseball team has only 12 players on the team this season. Of those 12 players, seven of them are seniors. So you do the math..... 12-7 = 5. Obviously you can't field a team with only five players.

Which begs the question... Will there even be a Spearville baseball team in 2011?

The really sad part is, kids aren't being lazy and just not coming out for a sport, they just don't have boys in the school. The 2010 freshman class has only four boys in it. That's good for those guys dating ratio... but not so good for a stellar baseball team, or any team for that matter.

Most of the youngsters are positive about getting newcomers out for the team next season. Coaches tell me that the eighth grade class coming to high school next year has parents that really encourage their kids to play sports.

While it won't affect the seniors that are graduating, they are disappointed about the lack of interest in the sport. Those boys are just hoping they can build a winning tradition newcomers want to be a part of.

For the baseball teams sake... Lets hope the Lancers go undefeated this season.

Fawl shines for Mac on basketball court, golf course

Treg Fawl is completing his senior year as a key athlete for a couple of McPherson High School programs. Fawl was a standout basketball player and now leads the Bullpups on the golf course.

Fawl placed eighth at the state golf tournament his sophomore year, and he finished second last spring in Class 5A competition at Emporia.

He placed third at this year’s McPherson Invitational behind Thane Ringler of Hutchinson and two-time defending state champ Michael Gellerman of Sterling. Fawl repeated the third-place finish Tuesday, April 13, at the Newton Invitational – again behind winner Ringler.

He is coming off a basketball season that concluded with first-team all-league honors for Fawl and a fourth-place finish at state for McPherson. During sub-state and state alone, Fawl averaged 15.4 points, 4 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the basketball team.

INCOMING!!!

I’m really not one to complain, and as a person from a town that is sans baseball diamond, maybe I should keep my big mouth shut.

But can we start to rethink the design on some of the bat and ball complexes?

Covering some games a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of a trend I would have liked to forget. Four different games were taking place with varsity and junior varsity baseball and softball games all going on at once. And the way the park was set up, all four home plates were tucked in together and facing out.

This setup makes it extremely convenient to jump from game to game, and (most importantly) lends itself to a centralized concessions cart for easy access to delicious hamburgers and beverages.

It also means that as you watch one game, you are sitting directly in the shared foul territory of the three other games with your back turned.

Think Denard Span of the Minnesota Twins giving his mother a souvenir in a spring training game this year.

If you are lucky enough, someone from the other crowd will yell, “heads up,” just in time for you to turn your head in an attempt to spot the incoming projectile, right before it hits you in the face. Or, you can take the hit on the back of the head with no warning and take the pain as you would ripping off a bandage; instantly with no warning.

Me, I’ve been hit in the head enough that it would be hard to incur any further brain damage. And as a former catcher, being pelted with a baseball doesn’t bother me. But using a ton of protective gear to knock down a ball you see coming the whole way is different.

It isn’t just the spectators in danger of getting a knot on their heads like Hasim Rahman after fighting Evander Holyfield.

The games themselves have to be stopped due to baseballs raining down on the softball diamond. This could provide my camera with the opportunity to capture a hilarious lowlight. Or it could provide a situation where no one is laughing but the dentist who just had his overseas vacation paid for.

Most of these diamonds have already been built. The damage is done. But if anybody is considering building a new complex, please consider the fact that balls don’t always stay within the field of play.

If you have ever been drilled with a foul ball, share your story with Catch It Kansas.

KU Relays

The second biggest meet of the year KU Relays is this week. Here is a list of the athletes and relays that will be competing.

ACCEPTED ENTRIES

There are many champions and quality runners in attendence from all over the Midwest at this meet. Who will you be watching? What events should be classic? Will you make the trip?

Dissolve up, and cue!

When watching the news, sporting events, etc., I loved it when they’d give us a camera shot of what was going on “behind the scenes.”

I remember when SportsCenter did this a few times a while back, broadcasting the show you would normally see on ESPN, while a whole “behind the scenes” episode was airing simultaneously on ESPN2.

While working at CatchItKansas and KWCH isn’t quite as a big of a production as ESPN, there’s still plenty of things going on behind the scenes.

During the airing of the CIK shows on Friday nights, things get a little crazy. Videos coming in from all over the place, scripts to be written for all of those highlights, and making sure Bruce makes it to his chair in time for the show.

Among other things I’m usually in charge of putting together the 5-Star Performance highlights and script for the show, and a lot of times we don’t settle on our choice until sometime right before the show or during it. So we’re scrambling to pull the best highlights for that player and working to come up with a script all against the clock.

We try to keep it pretty laid back most of the time, but when it comes to game days, you never know what to expect and that’s what makes this job so much fun.

There are a lot of working pieces that have to be in place to make the shows go smoothly, several that never get seen on your TV screen, but it’s worth it when you see the final product or your highlights come across the tube.

Everyone has questions about what goes on behind the scenes, wondering who’s pushing the buttons to make the highlights roll, or how we get video edited in time for the show when the game just ended 20 minutes ago.

So my question to you…what do you want to know about the inner workings of CatchItKansas. Hopefully I’ll be able to help you out.

This week featured notable matchups

The Wichita Northwest and Bishop Carroll boys provided an exciting match for tennis fans Monday, when the defending league co-champions faced off at Northwest.

Last year, Northwest went undefeated in City League duals, including a 5-4 victory over Carroll. However, Carroll prevailed at the league tournament and the squads shared the crown.

Northwest coach Mike Thomas said he knew that Monday’s contest would result in a 5-4 score, but he wasn’t sure if the Grizzlies would be on the winning or losing end. Sure enough, the final tally was 5-4, but Carroll edged Northwest this time. It makes for an interesting league race.



Another tough matchup occurred on the soccer field, where Maize and Kapaun Mt. Carmel battled for the Titan Classic championship Saturday at Wichita South. The Maize and Kapaun girls were state qualifiers last year, and although both teams sustained heavy losses to graduation, they appear to be as strong as ever.

That probably should come as no surprise since Maize and Kapaun each enjoy strong soccer traditions. The score was knotted 1-1 Saturday at the end of regulation and through two overtimes. Like last year, Maize lost the Titan Classic final in a shootout.



Finally, Winfield softball players had reason to celebrate March 30 when they snapped a 32-game losing streak. The Vikings split a doubleheader with Parsons to claim their first win since 2008. Parsons eked out a 3-2 victory in Game 1 on its home field. However, Winfield won the nightcap 8-0.

The Vikings followed up Tuesday by sweeping a doubleheader at Maize South. They will take a three-game winning streak into their April 13 home competition against Derby.

In Defense of Private Schools

I know this topic has started to die down a little bit but it is something that has been bugging me and I need to just throw a few things out there when it comes to this whole public school vs. private school debate.

***Quick disclaimer: I went to a private Catholic school in Florida. Pensacola Catholic High***


I am really sick and tired of hearing people whine about how schools like Collegiate and Kapaun and Bishop Miege have such an unfair advantage over public schools in the same classification. I am specifically sick of hearing coaches gripe and complain about those schools and how their teams simply cannot compete for reasons out of their control. Give me a break!

Why am I so upset you ask? Well, the reason didn't really hit me until I covered the Royals opening day on Monday. Trust me, I'll explain.

The Royals lost on Monday the same way they lost last year: strong start from starting pitcher, pathetic showing from relief pitching, slacking off in offensive production. After the game I went into the clubhouse to do the usual post-game interviews with men who make millions of dollars to play a game for their entire lives. My photographer Greg and I made our way over to Billy Butler who was 1-4 in the game with 2 RBI. Butler started saying how we needed to look at some of the positives of the game like how the Royals were able to get 4 runs off the starter Justin Verlander; that that was a big accomplishment. I looked Butler dead in the eyes and asked him, word for word, "Billy, don't take this the wrong way, because yes getting 4 runs off of Verlander is great. But you got zero offense at all off the Tigers bullpen. How is that a positive?" He proceeded to stutter for a minute, look around, and finally concoct a very cliche answer on something or other that I stopped paying attention to after about 5 seconds. There was ZERO accountability in his answer. Nothing. Nada.

How does this relate to the public school vs. private school debate you may ask? It's all about accountability. For years I have interviewed high school coaches and all of them, especially ones in this community, will always give the same stock answer when I ask about really good opponents: If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.

For the last two years, Collegiate has been the best in basketball. Hands down. But so has public school Wichita Heights. Neither of them went undefeated this season. Do you forget so quickly that the Spartans lost to Great Bend in tournament week? Collegiate and Heights are currently the best but they are not untouchable. I personally believe people need to stop complaining and simply get out there and beat the best because it's not impossible. If you lose to a team you only have yourself to blame.

Ok, another argument that's cropping up is that schools in more rural areas have no chance of competing against urban private schools in the same class because they have a smaller population. Again, are you kidding me? Easy response to that: if you are so concerned about your child having a future in athletics, DON'T LIVE IN A RURAL AREA. Either move or stop whining.

Do you know kids aren't require to take economics in high school anymore? Well, I guess you do if you're reading this article. But if you remember your economics classes (how could you forget that torture?) you will remember a simple concept. There are always going to be ebbs and flows in everything in life. Same goes for sports as a whole. Right now Collegiate and Heights are at the top of their games. But what happens next year to Collegiate when that group of seniors is gone? What will happen at Heights when Perry Ellis and Evan Wessel go to college? There are good classes and not so good classes, and right now both of those schools have great classes. It will all change pretty quickly, trust me.

When I was in high school I played volleyball and soccer. My soccer team my sophomore and senior years was pretty solid. By my senior year I had been playing goalie for three seasons and I was pretty darn good. I had been playing with the same defenders in front of me for three seasons and our midfield had only changed for the better with some speedier girls on the pitch. We made it to the regional finals that year only to find out we had to play our arch-nemesis: Bolles. I hate Jacksonville Bolles High School. There are very few things I can say I hate, Bolles is one of them. Honestly, this team did recruit. It was a private boarding school in Jacksonville that gave us athletes like Atlanta Braves stud Chipper Jones. This place is like a fortress. And yes, they were always in our region. That senior year we held them to a 1-0 lead in the first half. After that we were exhausted. We ended up losing 6-0. It was a tough game but it was an end that we were all too familiar with. Losing to Bolles was just commonplace.

So how did we react to that? We were mad at ourselves for losing. We were upset that we didn't condition hard enough, we didn't practice better, we didn't focus enough. Never once did we say, well we just lost because Bolles recruits. It's unfair that Bolles has such good players. No, never said it, never even thought it. We were good but we weren't great. Bolles had a great team and we knew it. We also knew that we could've beaten them if we had worked harder to get there.

What happened to taking accountability for our actions? What happened to working harder instead of complaining about losing? Losing happens, anyone who tells you otherwise is a politician or a soccer mom. And losing isn't the thing that matters, rather it's how you take the loss that shows true character.

Quit blaming private schools for being good in sports recently and start trying to make your team better by working harder.

Also, don't you find it funny that parents and coaches are so up in arms about the athletic advantages of private schools, but not once have the academic advantages ever been a problem for them? Funny how things play out these days.

My sales pitch

I went out stumping for this last year but nothing came of it so I am at it again.

The fastest growing team sport in the country is not growing in the great state of Kansas: Lacrosse.

"The fastest sport on two feet" has grown exponentially over the last two decades from its East Coast hotbeds like Maryland, Virginia and New York to places like Colorado, Missouri, Texas and California. In fact, it is the official state sport of Maryland. (And now you know!)

For those unfamiliar, lacrosse is a full contact spring sport played on a field about the size of a football field where teams of ten players try to score as many goals to win. Pretty standard stuff but players use sticks to pass, throw, defend and shoot. Some of the best professional players can shoot over 100 mph! Its unbelievable.

Kansas City has a few high school teams on both sides of the river but nothing much outside of that area, except for the Wichita Renegades, the high school team for the Wichita area. This is fantastic!

Getting sticks in the kids hands is the best thing for the sport, especially in a place like Wichita where there are so many talented athletes. Imagine Blake Bell or Blake Jablonski with a lacrosse stick in their hands?! It would be awesome!

I can see Wichita, and the rest of the state for that matter, truly embracing lacrosse as a sport of their own. I know in some places it won't fully take root but seeing the Renegades program gives me hope that soon each school, or at least a handful of schools, will have their very own progams.

SO go out, check out the Internet for lacrosse videos and you will fall in love and we can get the sport to sprout up all over Kansas.

Dodge City hires new head football coach

Dave Foster was named as Dodge City's new head football coach Monday evening.

Foster has 13 years of head coaching experience most recently at Elk City, Oklahoma, where he was the head coach for eight seasons.

Foster led the Elks to the state playoffs five of the past six years, including a trip to the semi finals in 2004.

Coach Foster is a native of Kansas, specifically Beloit, and also an alumni of Fort Hays State University where he played four years of division two football.

He is also noted as only one of eleven Kansas Shrine Bowl participants to return and coach the Shrine Bowl.

5A should be proud of local tennis tradition

The Class 5A tennis landscape certainly has changed this season. I saw three of the top boys’ teams – Winfield, McPherson and Salina South – Friday at the McPherson tournament.

Their status as top tennis programs hasn’t changed, but after Salina Central’s stranglehold on 5A state titles, it’s shaping up to be an interesting run to the 2010 championship. Salina Central won the past six state titles, but after graduating all four of its state semifinalists from last year, the school isn’t ranked this season.

Hutchinson, which did not lose a player in 2009, is the top-ranked team in the Kansas coaches’ poll. Veteran coach Vance VanPelt and some of the Salthawks were on hand Friday to scout Winfield, which won the tournament. Winfield lost only one player to graduation.

Salina South, listed among “others” in 5A, placed second in McPherson. Although the Bullpups’ state-champion doubles team lost to a Winfield pair, McPherson has a lot to look forward to, including future tournaments on its new tennis courts. The tennis complex is a great facility, and lights are scheduled to be installed in the next 60 days.

Hutchinson is followed in the rankings by Winfield (No. 2) and McPherson (No. 3). Last year, Hutchinson placed second at state while McPherson finished third and Winfield was sixth.

Interestingly, the last boys’ team to win a 5A championship before Salina Central was McPherson. Hutchinson, McPherson and Salina South are assigned to the same 5A regional in May at Great Bend. Expect a battle in the doubles category, where McPherson returns seniors Nathan Wehrman and Mark Gayer, the defending state doubles champs. Hutchinson counters with seniors Ben Fangman and Ben Braun, who fell to a Salina Central pair in the consolation round last year and placed fourth at state.

Winfield may have an advantage since the Vikings will host their regional, but it includes Bishop Carroll and Kapaun Mt. Carmel, which usually produce formidable teams and their share of state qualifiers.

Regardless of the outcome, this area should be proud of its Class 5A tennis tradition. The last time a school from outside the Lawrence-Topeka-Kansas City area won a Class 6A team title was 1992, when Wichita Southeast prevailed.

In contrast, Salina Central, McPherson, Goddard and Kapaun have ensured that no team outside this area could conquer 5A since 1997, when Blue Valley North won.

Salina Central will be back; the Mustangs have an impressive tennis tradition. In the past 17 years, they have claimed the 5A crown nine times.

However, other local teams appear poised to snag the championship this season. So many of them are strong, it’s tough to pick a clear favorite.

Another successful KS frosh at OU

About a week ago, Chris Parker wrote about the college success of Chase Nelson and Kendrick Maple of Wichita Heights, and Tyler Caldwell from Goddard.

I am going to expand on it and throw in Joanna McFarland from Derby, another Kansan from the class of 2009, who like Maple and Caldwell is an Oklahoma freshman.

McFarland has logged some good minutes this year as a freshman on the University of Oklahoma Lady Sooners basketball team and has added 137 points with 134 rebounds to the OU total on the year. She is also the team’s third-leading shot blocker with 10.

After a 77-72 overtime win for Oklahoma over Notre Dame last night, McFarland’s Lady Sooner team is one win over Kentucky away from the women’s Final Four in San Antonio.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with the McFarland family last year and all though it kills me to be for OU, I can’t help but to pull for this team as long as McFarland is on it. Although they are ferociously competitive, you couldn't ask for a nicer group of people.

And believe me it is a struggle for her siblings to approve of their sister’s team as well. Sister Jessica and brother Jacob are both K-State alums and sister Jackie went to Colorado. Jessica and Jackie both played basketball for their respective schools before going on to pro careers overseas.

However it will be no problem for any of the four of us to pull for the Lady Sooners, who are three wins away from a national championship (or, realistically, two wins away from, at the very least, a shot at ending UConn's streak).

For the next four years, with another of the Wichita wrestlers Kyle Detmer, Caldwell, Maple, and McFarland, consider me an OU fan.

Ugh. I guess it will be the next five years when you throw in Blake Bell.

Wacky Weather (Part 2)

Like Grant said before, it may be spring on the calendar, but it sure didn’t feel like it today…well, at least not the whole day.

When I came in this morning a little before nine, it was 50 and sunny, perfect for baseball. From watching the weather before I left, I knew there was a chance of rain…I wasn’t prepared for the sudden drop in temperature and a gusty north wind on my trip across town.

When I left our station up on the northeast side of town around 10:30 this morning it was still sunny and the wind was light. By time I made it to Westurban it was cloudy as could be and very chilly.

Everyone around me seemed as perplexed by the sudden change as well, as fans were sent scrambling to their cars to grab extra coats and blankets.

Growing up in Kansas, you think I would get used to these sudden changes, but it never ceases to amaze me at just how quick the weather can change.

Here’s to hoping for a warmer and sunnier day the next time I’m out at the ballpark…this afternoon maybe?

Wacky Weather

Gotta love this time of year. Despite what the calendar says, its not quite Spring because Winter-like weather hasn't completely left.

But nonetheless spring sports have begun and off into the sun or the snow they go to the baseball, softball or tennis courts in either shorts or sweat pants and a winter coat.

It keeps us in the sports biz on our toes during this time. We have to be prepared for anything. Sunscreen and sun glasses or snow boots and scarves. It's madness.

But it could be worse - it could be played during the dead of winter!

Former KS High School Athletes in College

Several former area wrestlers had great finishes to their seasons in the college ranks this season.

Chase Nelson, formerly from Wichita Heights, won the Junior College National Championship at 157 pounds for Labette County.

Fellow freshman Tyler Caldwell, a former four-time state champion from Goddard, finished fifth for Oklahoma in the NCAA Division I tournament at 165 pounds. Sooner teammate and also a former Heights wrestler Kendric Maple qualified, but did not place at 133 pounds for Oklahoma. Maple was 2-2 at the Division I tournament.

Do you know of any other former Kansas High School athletes making noise in the collegiate ranks? Leave a comment and let us know!

Perry Ellis named Player of the Year

Perry Ellis was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the second time in his two years. Ellis has been a force in Heights’ first two years and averaged 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds this year despite being double and triple-teamed all throughout the season.

I only saw Perry play once this season, but he was everything he was billed to be and more. Topeka shut Ellis down inside, but the star sophomore just stepped out and hit three-pointers instead. Perry can play an inside and outside game. His next two seasons will be fun to watch, and with the 6A state tournament coming to Wichita, everyone else in 6A is just playing for second for the team title and in the Gatorade Player of the Year race.

Random thoughts

Does anyone else find it funny that North Carolina entered the NIT with the worst record in the tournament? The men’s basketball team arrived at the NIT with a 16-16 record and will not have a chance to defend its national title.

That is the first of my random thoughts this week:

Next, high school basketball needs a shot clock. Really. I was at the sub-state tournament in Andover where the Liberal girls spent more than a minute on two different occasions standing in one place and holding the ball. That is not basketball. If that’s all the game required, I could have had a pretty good high school basketball career, even though I was only 5 feet tall.

After the Salina Central boys won Class 5A tennis championships the past six years in a row, they are not even listed in the coaches’ preseason rankings. The Mustangs graduated all of their state semifinalists from last year: Spencer Brass, Connor Brass, Will Exline and Craig Knox. Knox and Exline won the doubles title in 2008, and Connor Brass defeated his twin brother, Spencer, for the singles championship in 2009.

The Goddard boys tennis players will take the court this season without coach John Markham, who passed away in October. That represents a significant change for them, although coach Dan Buchanan is familiar to the Lions. The John Markham Memorial Scholarship has been established, and it will be awarded to two Goddard seniors, one male and one female, who competed in Goddard tennis for four years.

The Wichita East girls swimmers have a tough start to their season after the wreck on the turnpike that killed teammate Yuna Choi and critically injured her twin sister and fellow swimmer, Hana Choi. The Aces lost only one league matchup last season and then prevailed at the City League meet. Joe Hutchinson, who is starting his 12th season as the Aces’ coach, took a tile from the old East pool that had been signed by various swimmers and left it at the crash scene.

Basketball Play of the Year

If you didn’t catch the last CatchItKansas Show of the year last Saturday the last segment of the show was a clip of the top plays of the year that the KWCH Sports and CatchItKansas.com cameras caught in the 2009-2010 basketball season.

The list of plays and video can be found by clicking here.

Which was your favorite?

My top five have to be:

1. Kaylee Hoffman of Thomas More Prep’s half court shot. The shot itself is amazing, but the context behind it made it even more amazing. Hoffman did it in the state tournament and she did it throwing off of a badly injured knee no less.

2. Sunrise’s Leon Cooper’s 360-degree dunk. Cooper is on the reel twice, but his final dunk and the final dunk of the reel is something else. He clearly decided that just dunking was not interesting enough, there were some acrobatics that needed to be employed.

3. Briston White of Wichita North throws down a one-handed jam. Just watch it and be impressed. Briston gets up high and throws down a one-handed jam for the ages. Briston and Brison were a constant source of high-flying, acrobatic plays on the basketball court in their time at Wichita North. They were a lot of fun to watch for sure.

4. Wichita East’s Chaquil Reed blocks Mesfin Smalls. In this play Reed uses his big body to make sure Mesfin Smalls of Kapaun can’t get to the rim and score. Great defensive plays like this are a totally underrated part of high school basketball.

5. Andover Central’s Marshall Miller’s put-back dunk. This is another one with a little context behind it. Miller threw this jam down against West off of a miss and did it on his way to a 35-point night. Miller was at his best in the first round of sub-state against West as he displayed every facet of his game.

So which play was your favorite?

State Basketball Quarterfinal Notes

Wednesday's Quarterfinal notes:

- What a game Christian Ulsaker had scoring 38 points in McPherson’s 81-56 win. It was a 5A State Record and came one night after Burrton’s Alex Santiago went off for 53 in his team’s loss to Hanover. It is hard to believe Ulsaker still has another year of high school basketball.

- Topeka Highland Park may not have made an appearance in this year’s boys state tournament, but its jerseys sure did. The Bishop Carroll boys forgot their jerseys in Wichita and had to rep the Scots on the court instead.

- All I have is the score on the Gardner-Edgerton-Great Bend boys game as the Blazers won 60-47. How was the atmosphere up there? Did any of you go?

- The 3A boys tournament featured two upsets, with the biggest being Minneapolis romping by the second-seeded Southwestern Heights Mustangs 64-47. The seven seed KC Christian boys also won

- Unfortunately, one of those teams will inevitably have to play Collegiate. The Spartans got 22 points from Blake Jablonski in the Spartans 74-32 rout of Council Grove. Collegiate’s bench matched Council Grove’s team with 32 points.

- I feel bad for Andover Central’s Marshall Miller. His Jaguars were in the game until he got hit with his sixth foul and had to go to the bench for the remainder of the game in what would be his last high school game.

- In girls 6A there is a very intriguing matchup in the semifinals between Wichita Heights and the defending champion Topeka Washburn Rural. Heights is hungry for a title this year as it has not won one in its last two tries. The Lady Falcons have failed to even make the title game in the last two years.

- The Concordia girls extended their winning streak to 50 games with a 45-38 win over Basehor-Linwood.

- Merissa Quick of Cheney had the most points of any 4A girl on Wednesday night with 26 points for the Cardinals in their win.

- The combined record of the teams left in the 4A Girls Tournament is 95-1.

- Berean Academy’s Janelle Rust had the most points of any girl player regardless of class with 31 for the Warriors.

- Terra Hargrave had an impressive 13-point and 20-rebound night in Valley Heights’ loss to Hill City.

- The chalk held for the 1A girls as all of the top four seeds advanced and boast a combined record of 102-1. Take that 4A Girls.

- Congratulations to the Argonia girls as, not only did they get out of the first round, they did it with a 31-point rout. Their next opponent will likely be a little more difficult in 25-0 St. Paul.

That is the big stuff I noticed from the first full night of action. Who impressed you on the first full night of state basketball?

Notes from 1A State Tourney

There are no style points at state basketball, just survive and advance.

Quinter boys and South Gray girls had to do just that. Whether the top seeds got to their heads or they haven't been in too many close games this season, I don't know but they didn't have their best performances yesterday.

The top seeded teams won by a total 13 points in the first round. Maybe we should be giving more credit to the underdogs in these games; Pretty Prairie and Wilson. They never quit and their seeding didn't matter to them.

This sets up awesome matchups for Thursday; five losses total on the boys side in the semi finals and one loss, 1, TOTAL on the girls side for the semi finals. It should be a good weekend.
##################################
Burrton's Alex Santiago was out of breath after his game with Hanover. You can't blame him, he scored 53 of his teams 66 points against the defending champions, Hanover.

It was awesome to see. Not knowing he was on pace to break the record, I could only sit and stare and think, "Man, he is hitting everything!"

And then he was humble after setting the record, giving praise to Hanover for their team win.

But was it any surprise that Santiago broke the record at all, considering he was leading the state in average points per game with 28? Don't think so.

Class 6A State Basketball Preview

The 6A boys tournament begins and ends with Wichita Heights and Perry Ellis. They are the defending champions and the clear cut favorites.

The difference is that this year the Falcons are more experienced. After watching them play Topeka in a great Sub-State Championship, I don't think there is any way they lose this game. Topeka took Perry Ellis out of his element and challenged the Falcons the whole game, but it didn't matter.

Ellis stepped out and knocked down a couple threes and Heights spread the ball around on offense to win the game. Head Coach Joe Auer said the second half was the best half of team offensive basketball his team has played all year.

Sounds like the Falcons are peaking at the right time.

The girls side should come down to a classic between Wichita Heights and Olathe South. They are the top two seeds and both have been ranked nationally this year. Heights is currently ranked 17th overall. Its only loss this season came to 10th ranked Incarnate Word Academy (MO) in the Fort Smith Tournament back in December. The Falcons dropped that game 58-46.

The Maize Lady Eagles cannot be overlooked either. They were 4-16 just one year ago, and now the Lady Eagles are 16-6 and in the state tournament as a six seed. Maize draws the defending champion Washburn Rural Junior Blues in the first round.

Will anyone challenge the Falcon boys? Can anyone crash the party on the girls side?

Class 5A State Basketball Preview

The 5A Boys Tournament will be very strange without three-time defending champion Topeka Highland Park taking part this year. The Scots were bounced in their Sub-State championship.

That leaves undefeated Bishop Miege as the hands down favorite. The Stags are ranked 27th nationally by ESPN Rise.

The Great Bend-Gardner-Edgerton game also has an interesting storyline as longtime Great Bend head coach Jeff Langrehr and his son Conner will be on the other side of the court coaching and playing for the Blazers. You can bet emotions will be running high in this game.

On the other side of the bracket, we are likely looking at a McPherson-Andover Central semifinal if the chalk holds. This is a great matchup of Christian Ulsaker of McPherson vs. Marshall Miller of Andover Central. Both players are supremely talented and fun to watch.

On the girls side, the top notch programs are all in attendance this year with 15 of the last 16 championship schools being represented. Tiffany Bias' sprained finger on her shooting hand is the question for the top seed Andover Central Jaguars.

If Bias is healthy, then betting against Andover Central is a terrible idea. There is no other player like her in the state of Kansas.

Can anyone stop Miege? Who will win the Gardner-Edgerton-Great Bend game? Who would you prefer on your team Christian Ulsaker or Marshall Miller? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Class 4A State Basketball Preview

The boys side is very intriguing with Pratt leading the way as the top seed. The Greenbacks are ranked fifth in 4A, but are 21-2 on the season and being led by new head coach David Swank and his sons Micah and Matt.

How good is that trio?

They show up in Pratt and turn a team that did not make the state tournament and finished 10-11 last season into the number one seed in the state tournament.

Pratt is helped by the fact that defending champion and top-ranked Basehor-Linwood was bounced in Sub-State.

The Concordia girls are ranked second in the state behind Cheney, but is still undefeated with a 23-0 record. As good as I have heard Cheney is, I don't think there is any way to bet against the defending state champion Panthers. Concordia was won 49 games in a row and looks to be unstoppable.

Cheney will also likely have to get through 23-0 Holton to even have a shot at Concordia. Cheney also can't overlook Circle in the first round.

Can anyone stop the Swanks? Can Concordia make it 52 wins in a row, or will somebody knock the Panthers off? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Class 3A State Basketball Preview

The boys and girls tournaments both have very different feels to them. The boys have a clear cut favorite in Collegiate, while the girls is as wide open as a tournament can be.

Collegiate has only lost one game in the last two years, and this stellar senior class should win and win easily in the 3A State Tournament. The Spartans dismantled the KBCA's second ranked team Douglass 77-54 in the Sub-State final to send a very clear message to the rest of 3A.

On the girls side, the KBCA's top three (Southwestern Heights, Rock Creek and Wichita Collegiate) all were eliminated in their respective sub-states, so who is the favorite?

I think it has to be Thomas More Prep, the one seed, or Garden Plain. TMP beat top-ranked Southwestern Heights in the championship game of the Lakin Sub-State 51-47. Garden Plain won with ease over Collegiate in the Conway Springs Sub-State 52-40.

TMP and Garden Plain are on the same side of the bracket, but they are clearly the two hottest teams right now riding a lot of confidence.

Who is your pick? Can anyone even begin to challenge the Collegiate boys? What do you see happening in the wide open girls field? Leave and comment and let us know.

Class 2A State Basketball Preview

St. Mary's won both the girls and boys titles last season, but neither team made the field this year and that opens the door for a new champion.

On the boys side, the question is can anyone stop Carson Konrade and his Spearville Royal Lancers? They are 22-1 on the season with their only loss coming to South Gray. The Rebels did not make the tournament this year.

The second seeded Berean Academy Warriors are the most likely contend with Spearville as the Warriors also sport a 22-1 record with its only loss coming at the hands of Peabody-Burns, which also did not make the field.

On the Girls side, Olpe is the only returning quarterfinalist from last season's tournament, so there is plenty of new teams and faces in this tournament.

Olpe is the favorite as the only undefeated team along with the tournament experience it sports, but anything can happen in the state tournaments.

Who are you picking to win? What players will leave their mark on this tournament?

1A State Basketball Tournament Preview

The defending state champion returns for both the boys (Hanover) and the girls (St. John). So can either repeat?

From what Grant Meech has written about Quinter, it sounds like it will be very tough to beat with its size. Anything can happen though and seeds mean nothing as last year Hanover was a three seed when it won the title and Quinter was a four seed and made the title game.

On the girls side the same theme holds true. St. John is the four seed this year, but it doesn't mean it cannot repeat. St. John won the title as a six seed last year. South Gray will be looking to take advantage of its top seed this year as it lost in the title game to St. John as a top seed last year.

Just like last year, Argonia is a two seed with a 25-0 record. The Lady Raiders will try not to repeat last year's state tournament performance though. Argonia lost by 22 points to Centralia in the first round last season.

So who are you picking to win? What players will change the tournament? Leave a comment and let us know.

Rivalry games

You’ve got to love rivalry games no matter what the outcome of the last meeting was, or how long of a streak your foe may have against you. But you especially have to love when these clashes come during tournament time.

Last night’s boy’s games in Andover are a perfect example. The early game featured a matchup between Wichita’s two Catholic schools, Kapaun and Bishop Carroll, which is pretty much all the set-up you need. The teams had split their matchups earlier in the year, with the games being decided by a combined six points.

You get to see the top players shine in their biggest games. Take Carroll’s Blake Bell and Kapaun’s Dillon Knox for example, who both scored 17 points apiece in the game. The Eagles would get the best of their counterpart, holding off a late rally from Kapaun to take a 51-43 win.

Then it was Andover against Andover Central. Needless to say, it felt like the whole town was out to watch this clash of cross-town rivals. Central had gotten the best of Andover earlier in the year, winning both games during the regular season.

This one was a wild game of runs, where Andover scored 14 of the games 19 points during a stretch in the second quarter, before Central closed out the third quarter on a 9-0, including five straight points in the last 10 seconds of the frame.

The ballgame came down to the very end, with a bucket for Andover to tie the game with under 10 seconds left, followed by a furious drive by Central that resulted with Marshall Miller drawing a foul with 0.3 seconds left. Miller made one-of-two from the line, sealing a 48-47 victory for the Jaguars.

So not only do Carroll and Andover Central punch a ticket to the state tournament with their wins, they get the ultimate bragging rights over their rivals by ending their season…at least until next year when we get to do it all over again.

That’s what makes rivalries great, they keep coming back. Every year you know you’re going to get a shot at knocking off that one team that you really want to beat. Start circling your calendars now.

Projected Matchups for 5A Boys Tournament

After all the results came in tonight I naturally couldn't help but to figure out who would play who next week in the 5A State Tournament. Here is my best guess as to the matchups and seeds for the tournament.

5A PROJECTED MATCHUPS

1. Bishop Miege 22-0 vs. 8. Bishop Carroll (11-11)
4. Gardner Edgerton (18-4) vs. 5. Great Bend (15-6)

3. Andover Central (20-2) vs. 6. Topeka West (14-8)
2. McPherson (21-1) vs. 7.KC Washington (13-9)

Once again these are not official.

So who do you like? Miege has to be the favorite to make it from the top half of the bracket, but who comes out of the bottom? McPherson? Andover Central? Or is there an upset?

Leave a comment and let me know.

Marshall Miller throws down

I got a chance to see Andover Central’s Marshall Miller play in person against Wednesday night, and I left that gym thoroughly impressed by the Andover Central senior.

Miller dropped 19 points in the first half alone to keep his team in it early. He ended up with 35 points and 17 rebounds as Andover Central won 92-79. The Andover Central star was active on both ends of the floor. He can bring the ball up, pass it and score it from both outside and down low.

Oh yeah, and he can dunk.

If you don’t believe me check out the video linked at the end of this paragraph. Miller threw down two dunks while I was at the game. The second was extremely impressive as he cleaned up a miss by his teammate and threw down the put-back dunk.

Video can be found here in the video player on the right side of the page: Marshall Miller dunks twice

Hats off to Nitcher and Rogers

When Valley Center’s Chase Nitcher beat Andale’s Colton Eck 5-0 to win the 4A 135-pound state title, he completed the winningest career that Kansas High School wrestling has ever seen with 179 career wins. Nitcher broke the previous record of 171 wins set by Alan Callahan of Baldwin from 2006-09.

Nitcher finished 44-1 this season and 50-0 last year as a junior on his way to two state titles. He was 45-3 and a runner-up in his sophomore season. As a freshman he finished 40-4. His 50 wins as a junior was also a state record for most wins in a season.

All totaled, Nitcher’s career record finished at 179-8.

Another great career that finished up last week belonged to Colt Rogers of Smith Center. Rogers finished as a four-time state champion with a 146-3 record. The Smith Center star went all four years without losing to a Kansas wrestler.

He was plain dominant in state tournaments. Only twice at a state tournament did an opponent get four points or closer. His freshman year in the semifinals he won his match 6-2 over Colin Hase of Silver Lake. Then in his junior year he beat Cody Wildin of Marysville 4-3 in the championship match.

Past those two matches, no wrestler got within six points of Rogers at a state tournament. His 98% winning percentage ranks 10^th all time in the state of Kansas.

Congratulations to both wrestlers on great careers!

Does Every Team Really Deserve A Shot? Part Deux...

Reading Jenn's blog post yesterday about whether having ALL teams play in the sub state basketball is really a good thing for the teams and I couldn't agree more.

I understand that there is a chance that there could be a "Cinderella Story" in sub state, about some team with a lousy record, beating the odds and making it to the state tournament and so on and so forth, but come on!

The reality of this happening isn't likely. The top seeded teams are the top seeded teams for a good reason - they are good and they will dispatch the lesser team in the first half.

I realize it is only 1A, so bear with me, but take Quinter for example; the undefeated top-ranked boys team. They beat St. Francis 88-28 in regionals a week ago. It was 52-12 at halftime! They play Ness City tonight in sub state and I can only guess it will be much the same.

To agree with Jenn again, is it really worth it for these teams to spend the travel money only to be, basically, embarassed by another team that is in a completely different atmosphere?

Does Every Team Really Deserve a Shot?

There have been a lot of stories in this past year about coaches getting in trouble for 'blowing out' other teams. I'm not talking about a Jersey Shore hairstyle here (although I think Bruce had something similar to that circa 1992) rather I'm talking about coaches and teams getting in trouble for putting too many points on the board. There is a huge difference, for me at least, between being successful and being downright mean. And right now during basketball sub-states I feel like it's not the coaches but KSHSAA that's being hurtful. I'll explain.

My cohort Jeffrey Graber and I were just going over the sub-state brackets for this week to kind of try and predict which teams will win and which games we should be ready to cover this Friday and Saturday. Pre-planning is our forte here at Catch it Kansas. Anyway, while looking at some of the first round games in the brackets there are a few matchups that stick out like sore thumbs. One of them being the top seeded Andover Central girls facing 4th seeded Wichita West. Central has a record of 20-0 this year while West is exactly the opposite at 0-20. So what is going to be the reaction if/when Tiffany Bias and co. ends up beating West by 60 or 70 points? We're simply setting West up for failure. To me it seems like those game people who say every team deserves a chance are the same people who complain when some teams get beat by 50 plus points. You can't have it both ways.

Perhaps the best example of this type of dilemma comes to us from Wichita Collegiate School. The boys and girls basketball teams for the Spartans are elite, and I don't use that word lightly. Last night the boys won their first sub-state matchup by a score of 86-26. You have to ask yourself, did that game really need to get played?

Trust me, Coach Mitch Fiegel is one of the kindest and most hard-working coaches I know. His problem is talent: he's got a TON of it on his team. In most every single game Fiegel takes his starters out at the half and puts in his second and third string guys. The problem is that even those guys can put up points, and they do it extremely well. Coach Fiegel's team has only lost one game this year but still they can't win. Other teams get upset with him for beating them 'excessively' while parents and players get upset about their kids' playing time. Once again begging the question: when it comes to sub-state do we really need everyone to play?

In the NCAA tournament, a number 16 seed has NEVER beaten a number 1 seed. We play the game because there is always a chance that it will happen. But since the field got expanded to 64 teams in 1985 (now 65 since 2002) it has never happened. Do you ever look at your bracket and give the 16 seed a chance because well, there IS a chance or do you go ahead and write them off and have all four number one seeds advance?

When I was in high school I never expected to even be in the running to be considered to get to state. My soccer team just played every game because we wanted to win. If we weren't good I didn't think we deserved to play anything beyond a regular season. Also, we didn't want to play anything beyond a regular season because that season was embarassment enough. If a team put up 8 goals on us we took it because that meant we didn't play well. We didn't get mad at the other team for being good. Am I the only one who seems to think this way anymore?

In my opinion I say save us the time, the travel expenses and the trouble of this first round of sub-state. I say save these teams the embarassment of getting 80 plus points dropped on them by a B-team. I say stop blaming these very talented teams for being so talented. They've worked hard to be that good.

6A Wrestling...WOW!

This year, Catch It Kansas orchestrated a massive amount of state wrestling coverage. On Friday alone, we had an all day live blog from the 6A and 5A tournaments, along with photos and around 89 videos, and a special wrestling edition of the Catch It Kansas Show.

Championship Saturday had two live blogs, one for the 6A fifth-place through championship matches, and one for 5A. Plus even more video and photos.

This massive amount of coverage was the result of two months of planning. And believe it or not, it was a greatly scaled down version of what we initially planned.

We figured it was better to use this year as a test run, so we know what to expect when we cover the event for real next year.

All of this coverage was the result of a mountain of work, but I don't think I have ever had so much fun doing so much work.

Part of it was due to the fact that the 6A-5A tournaments were at the INTRUST Bank Arena, which is an amazing facility.

But mostly, it was because in 6A, which I was covering, Derby, Goddard, and Wichita Heights were separated by only 7 points going into the finals.

Derby, in first place with 148 points, had top-ranked Bradley Little in the 140-pound final, and Cody Shavlik in the 145-pound final.

Two-time defending state champion Goddard, had top-ranked Kaleb Bonilla in the 103-pound final, No. 2 Trey Houlden in the 140-pound final, No. 3 Dalton Beard in the 189-pound final, and No. 5 Josh Hicks in the 215-pound final.

Heights had top-ranked, and maybe the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the state, Daniel DeShazer in the 125-pound final, his cousin No. 2 Uylesses DeShazer in the 135-pound final, and No. 4 Hunter Jameson in the 160-pound final.

Translation--the team title was up for grabs with three local interest teams having a realistic shot.

Daniel DeShazer won his match for his second title in three years of high school wrestling, but Uylesses lost, meaning Heights settled for third.

Bonilla gave Goddard a win at 103, setting up a huge match between Little from Derby and Houlden from Goddard at 140.

Little had owned Houlden all year, beating him by 5 or 6 points in every match. But on the biggest stage, Houlden got a 2-point takedown with 10 seconds left in the match to beat Little by 1 point.

The Houlden win, along with a Shavlik loss in the next match made the team scores Derby 148, Goddard 145.5. Derby was done for the tournament and Goddard still had two dogs in the fight.

With all eyes on the 189-pound match, Dalton Beard, younger brother of Goddard legend and four-time state champion Boaz Beard, locked up Goddard's third-straight state championship in a raucous arena with a 3-2 win over Wichita Southeast's Alex Chaparro.

The win was Goddard's fourth in five years, and came in a year when the Lions had lost eight individual championships over the last two years. They were supposed to be down.

Guess not.

I can't wait for next year.

I love to watch you play!

It has been a while since I have seen a game that has kept my undivided attention. I am always focused on the game, but sometimes they can be rather boring, which makes my camera focus on the ball so I can get my highlights.

Last night I felt like a fan!

This season Spearville has made a run of wins in southwest Kansas. The Lancers are 19-1 and that only loss was to South Gray (a team they beat previously in the season.) I know when I head to the "town of windmills" I'm probably going to see a blowout.

However, I don't mind the blowout because I love to watch Carson Konrade play ball. He is all over the floor. If you've been to that gym you know it is so small if you are sitting on the stage with your feet hanging over... your toes are on the court.

Last night Carson was standing by me after blocking a shot. I put my camera down to mark the play, which was... I don't know... a total of 1.5 seconds, and Carson was all alone on the other side of the court dropping an easy bucket.

He's just so fast! But besides being all over the court... He can do it all. Although he is one of the tallest members of the Lancers' team, he can also play point. In fact, there are several times when players look just for him so he can touch the ball. Of course, his height puts him on the post, but don't be surprised to see him draining treys.... He is a perimeter boy.

My personal favorite.... his dribble drive. He seems to be able to weave through any traffic he sees, and always make the lay up look so easy. To be honest... I'm jealous... I want those athletic genes.

Last night he finished with 24 points, which just adds to his list of double figure games. In fact, in the 20 games the Lancers have played, Carson has failed to hit double digits in only one. He averages 21.7 a game. He also leads the team in assists, so he isn't selfish.

WOW,WOW,WOW!!! Carson, You're my hero!

321A State Wrestling Jamboree & Traveling Sideshow

Have you ever been to 321A state wrestling tournament? I highly recommend it.

But I will warn you, it is nuts. Organized chaos could describe it but sometimes the chaos-ness(?) seems to outway the organization.

Think about it for a second, every 3A, 2A and 1A school from the state of Kansas will come to Hays for a shot at the belt. (They don't give out title belts but how COOL would that be to win, instead of a trophy and a medal to wear around your neck, but a belt that says State Champion!)

Nearly 200 hundred wrestlers (probably more), plus coaches, parents, cheerleaders, trainers, fans, media, prinicipals and administrators, bus drivers and event staff are all jammed into Gross Memorial Coliseum and almost no one is sitting down. It's nuts.

Oh and did I mention some local radio stations are there broadcasting. (Still trying to work out how you call a wrestling match. "And he is still on the mat... trying to get up... no, he's still down...")

GMC is a loud place and especially if your fans are sitting in the upper decks, it can get even louder if one of your boys wins a title. Norton, I'm looking at you. Smith Center, you too.

It is just simply nuts. And a whole lot of fun. I highly recommend it.

Central's Williams seems to be peaking at right time

Alex Williams is nearing the end of his high school basketball career at Salina Central, and he may have saved the best for last.

Williams is a 6-8 senior who committed to Kansas State University as a walk-on. He was averaging 15.9 points going into the Mustangs’ recent battle with cross-town rival Salina South, and since then his numbers are even better.

He had 28 points and 11 rebounds against Salina South, 21 points and 9 boards vs. Goddard, and 19 points and 8 rebounds in the Mustangs’ most recent matchup, which was against Campus.

Williams has helped lead Salina Central to an 11-7 overall record. He and his teammates will take on Hutchinson tonight (Tuesday) and then conclude the regular season against Maize. Salina Central could use more strong production from Williams since the team lost to Hutchinson and Maize earlier this season.

Salina Central is assigned to the Class 5A sub-state at McPherson, which includes two ranked teams, McPherson and Great Bend. The Mustangs are aiming for a return trip to state; they finished last season 16-9 overall and in third place at the 5A tournament. Williams received honorable mention on the all-state team last year.