Book Review

I read Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars. I enjoy watching baseball but I wouldn't consider myself a huge baseball fan so it was nice to read a book that wasn't all about sports but more about the behind scenes.

My Prison Without Bars took me through the journey of Rose's life of gambling and how it all began. The story starts with him talking about are hard it was to say goodbye to his children as he was leaving to go to the US Penitentiary for the next five months of his life. I thought the opening chapter to this book was amazing because it gave me a reason to continue reading and to figure out just what happened to this man to make him have to be taken from his family.

The most amazing thing about this book to me was when Rose talked about how his addiction began and at such a young age. Rose talked about going to the horse races as a child with his father and his fathers friends. His love for gambling started one day when his father asked him to go place a bet on a horse. Walking up to the booth, feeling so big and important. The horse that Rose and his father had chosen ended up winning that race and the feeling that it gave Rose was the most amazing thing he had ever felt. That feeling also was what led him to the downfall in his life.

Pete Rose was an amazing baseball player holding more baseball records than any other player in history. But it was his passion and knowledge of baseball mixed with his love of gambling that has had him permanently banned from professionally playing the game ever again. After being caught gambling on baseball games Rose was asked to leave the league and never return.

The interesting thing about this story to me was that it was told by Rose. Since it was from his mouth and in his words it had a way of telling the dark side of his life without making him sound like a complete monster. It was almost a way of him admitting he was wrong and feeling bad about the things he had done. It made it seem very personally and could almost make the reader become emotionally involved in not only the story but the narrator.

Royals Bull-pin loses again!

Although I do cheer for the Kansas City Royals I find it very difficult to consider myself a fan lately. Watching last nights game I could almost predict the next move they were going to make. Greinke comes in and pitches an amazing game, then all of a sudden the coaches feel like they want to lose that game so they take him out and bring in other pitchers from the bull-pen. This is not the first game, and I can almost bet its the last game, that this has happened. Maybe its just me and my minimal sports knowledge but really don't you think the coaches have something up their sleeve that could help the Royals out on this page? I love watching baseball but these games are starting to become boring!

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=12387297

KWho?

Last night's performance but the Shockers Baseball team was amazing. Scoring 22 runs against the Jawhawks set a record for the Shockers. I only got to watch the last couple innings but holy cow what a game. I'm sure everyone has either seen highlights or was lucky enough to be at the game so I won't bore anyone with highlights. One of the most amazing things about the game was the standing ovation that the team received after scoring nine runs in one inning. Thats the Shocker baseball team I love to watch and games like that make me proud to be a Shocker fan and even prouder to not be a Jawhawks fan (Sorry bird fans). Congrats to the baseball team for their amazing performance and keep it up!!!

K-State Tragedy

Dylan Meier, a former K-State football player, died while rock climbing with his family this past weekend. The link to the full story is below.

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=12338833

Joe Drape

I enjoyed having Drape in class last week. It was nice to meet the face behind the writing. After reading the book I could tell the connection that Drape had made with the town and the people of the town but after listening to him talk about his time there and all of his experiences I can tell it meant a lot more to him.

The way he talked about the people there made it sound like Drape spent a lot more time there than he actually did. He talked about how amazing they were as neighbors and how a simple knock on the door turned into an afternoon of cooking out.

Although I personally have no desire to live in a small town he made his experience seem entertaining. I think it would interesting to get to do what he did. Get the chance to meet these people and understand what it means to live in a community of people that not only care about you but treat you like family. I have grown up going to Maize and there was nothing small about it. I have grown up being surrounded by people and even graduating with people that I had never met before in my life. I think it would be a great experience to get to spend a little bit of time in a small town where there's not a lot going on. It would be fun for awhile but I don't think I could do it for very long. For that I give Drape great respect for going from the big city of New York City to a small town in Kansas and making the best of it.

I enjoyed reading the book and after meeting Drape I enjoyed it that much more. After hearing his stories it made it more than just a story, it made it come to life.

Spiral Effect

I don't know about anyone else but I am tired of hearing about Tiger Woods. I feel like everywhere I look there is something about him and what he is doing. What started out as an affair has turned into so much more for not only Tiger but for the entertainment industry itself.

It seems every time I turn the television on there is something new with Tiger. He had an affair, he quit golf, he had a scripted apology that everyone had something to say about, he decided to get back into golf, he had an unusual commercial featuring his father's voice and now when I turn on my favorite E! News its all about the True Behind Tiger. I'm sorry but there is only so much I want to know about him and I am way past that.

Also has anyone else noticed that ever since Tiger got caught cheating everyone else is all of a sudden coming out about their affairs with other famous men? Jesse James is another man that I all of sudden know way to much about.

Maybe I am alone on this one, but really, when is it enough?

Anchor's Outlook

Well after looking through my notes and refreshing my brain of the conversation we had with news anchors Bruce Haertl, Chris Frye and Jim Kobbe, I suddenly remembered just how motivating that conversation was, which was not at all.

It seemed like the main conversation with the anchors was about how the broadcast industry has gone no where but down hill and has become “watered down” over the years. I don’t know about anyone else but nothing about Thursday’s meeting made me want to run to the nearest news station and try to get a job.

The uplifting conversation started with announcing what brought on the down fall of broadcast. They mentioned that when the banks took over the industry a lot of mismanagement started happening and multiple bad decisions were made. They mentioned that news is no longer thoughtful, its just firing things out there for people to listen to. Someone even mentioned that news has changed over the years but it has most definitely not changed for the better.

The most uplifting person in the conversation was Chris. He just got into the business and he has had a passion for broadcast since he was young so he seems to love his job and enjoy his opportunities. It would be interesting to see how he still feels about his job later in life after he has been there as long as Bruce and Jim. Maybe he will be part of the generation that changes the outlook of the industry, but if not then broadcast may not last much longer.

Fantasy World

Fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy basketball and now fantasy fishing?! Really?!

What is it about Fantasy Sports that is so interesting to many? I don't know about any of you other Fantasy players but to my boyfriend its like a real sport. Sitting in front of the television watching a game like its life or death if his "fantasy player" doesn't hit a homerun.

This year my boyfriend's fantasy line-up consist of 3 Kansas City Royal's and you can bet there wont be one game that doesn't get watched and/or recorded on the DVR. Sometimes I wonder if he is actually here on the couch or sitting in the dug-out being the coach with as into the games he gets.

The one thing I do know is that when it comes time to make his "fantasy line-up" for the week he better not have anything else planned or it is getting canceled. "No honey I can't do anything tonight I have to do my fantasy." Nice to know he has one important thing in his life!!

So maybe not everyone is as into their "fantasy" as he is but I'm sure he's not the only one. Maybe next sports season I will jump on the band wagon and see what it's all about. The question is do I choose football, fishing or maybe I can find some bowling fantasies!

Koch Arena Tour

The tour of Koch Arena was not what I expected it to be. In my five years at Wichita State University I have been to the Arena multiple times so I figured there wasn't much more, besides the locker rooms, that I hadn't seen. But I was surprised.

First off I had not a clue that there was a small museum of Wichita State Athletes in the Arena. From the little time that we had in there I saw some pretty amazing things. The artwork in the room was awesome. The cutouts of the athletes, the touch-screen that could take you to specific dates, and the mounds of information was very interesting. There was one cut out that caught my attention that was handing on the wall. It was a track member jumping over an actual hurdle that was hanging on the wall right below her. Just the time and effort that was put into the artwork to make it look so realistic had to take some serious thinking and it was all put together very well. I would love to go back when I had some free time and browse the museum.

The next thing that surprised me was our time on the court. Of course I have seen the court before but what I didn't know about it was the preparation time that was spent getting it ready. Setting up chairs, putting up goals or nets, setting up tables, coordinating seats and anything else that it takes to make a game happen. Sounds like a full time job to me!!

Then we went below the court. I figured there wasn't much going on below the court beside some hallway that lead to the locker room. Wrong! We learned there was a study room/eating before or after the game room and of course the press conference room. It was interesting to see where all those tense press conferences take place. You see them on television all the time but it was cool to be in the room and see the set-up. Also on television for college or professional games you usually see a packed press conference room but I heard Candice mention that during these press conferences there are only a few cameras and a few reporters which was interesting to me.

Overall I enjoyed the tour but even after visiting the arena I still have yet to see the locker rooms!

KWCH Tour

The tour through the KWCH station was interesting. It was have made it more interesting to see the building before they moved things around. Getting to see where their work stations were compared to where they are now kind of showed how well the station might be doing. I really liked being able to see where the news cast actually takes place. The best part about the set was the cameras. Hearing them talk about how they control the cameras was kind of cool. I can't even imagine being that one guy that sits behind the desk and has to control the movement of all the cameras. I'm sure it takes a lot of practice.

I also enjoyed getting to sit in on their meeting. Getting to hear how everything gets planned out was interesting and entertaining at the same time. It was also amazing to me how little time they have to plan and get information for stories. They were making plans for the news cast that was going to take place that same day.

Overall I really enjoyed the tour of KWCH but I think I'll stick with the print side of journalism because I still don't think television is for me.

These are the stories that make my day!!! :)

Kansas State basketball: Returning to the big stage

BY KELLIS ROBINETT

The Wichita Eagle

MANHATTAN — In a region with names like Butler and Xavier, it's strange to think of Kansas State as the upstart. But of the teams headed to Salt Lake City this week, K-State has by far the least recent Sweet 16 experience.

The Wildcats haven't been on this stage since 1988, when star player Mitch Richmond and coach Lon Kruger took K-State to the Elite Eight. Butler and Xavier, meanwhile, have become regulars at the regional level. The Bulldogs were here as recently as 2007 and the Musketeers are making their third straight trip.

Add historical powerhouse Syracuse into the mix as the fourth team in the pod, and the Wildcats are practically the new kid on the block.

"It's just another great step for these kids," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "They've continued to elevate our program and continued to build that bridge that connects the tradition K-State has with the present. That's been a big objective of ours since I got here."

Some may look at the Wildcats' tournament inexperience as an advantage for the other three teams, but K-State players don't think that will be a factor.

Their competitors may have experience at this level, but after playing nine NCAA Tournament teams and traveling all across the country for games in the regular season, these Wildcats say there's nothing they haven't seen yet.

"That's why we play a very competitive schedule," senior guard Chris Merriewether said. "If we didn't play anybody all year I think something like the Sweet 16 would be very tough for us, but we probably wouldn't be here if that were the case. Since we actually played people, I think that prepared us for very difficult games in March."

The first two games of the NCAA Tournament posed few challenges for the Wildcats. They advanced through both with double-digit victories.

ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla watched K-State play North Texas at the Ford Center, and saw the BYU game on TV. He said it didn't look like the big stage bothered the Wildcats at all.

He expects it won't in Salt Lake City, either.

"The thing that has set K-State apart all season is that they always play with a sense of urgency," Fraschilla said. "In Oklahoma City, nothing changed. They went out there and played like it was life and death. When you play like that, nothing is going to surprise you."

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/03/24/1238954/returning-to-the-big-stage.html#storylink=omni_popular#ixzz0j6p8AS6C

Museum Tour

I enjoyed the tour at the museum. It was interesting to see all the people that have some sort of connection with Kansas. It was also interesting to see all the different pieces from different schools. It was amazing to me how large the museum was. Most people think nothing much comes out of Kansas but after visiting the museum I know thats not true.

The person I was most surprised to see had an association with Kansas was Bill Parcells. They had his sports illustrated cover and it said he attended WSU. I had no clue about that. It was also interesting to see all the different sports illustrated covers that featured Kansas University basketball players. Although Im not much of a KU fan it was still interesting to see a big magazine like sports illustrated had some interest in Kansas.

The most interesting artifact I saw was probably the old jerseys spread throughout the museum. To see how they have changed over the years was amazing to me. The one that caught my attention the most was the old baseball uniform that hung in the WSU baseball section of the museum. It looked so thick and heavy, not something I would want to be wearing during the summer months of baseball season.

I enjoyed the museum very much and have already started planning my trip back with my boyfriend so I can show him all the interesting things I got to see.

Lutz at it again!!

Sorry, this one's in no way a fluke

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Add Northern Iowa to the list no Kansas fan wants to read.

To Bradley, Bucknell, Rhode Island and UTEP. To the teams that shocked Rock Chalk in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas is going home two weeks early. Sherron Collins' college career is over and it ended in the frustration of a loss to a team from the Missouri Valley Conference, the league that sneaked nobody but its champion into the NCAA Tournament.

By the way, in its last three games against Valley teams, Kansas has lost to Bradley and now Northern Iowa and survived a scare against Southern Illinois. All of those games were played in the NCAA Tournament because the mighty Jayhawks would never, ever schedule a regular-season game against a Valley team. That would be beneath them.

Well, I suspect the MVC is just fine with meeting up with Kansas on the biggest stage and underneath the brightest lights given the result.

Listen, I'm not saying Northern Iowa is a better basketball team than Kansas, which spent most of this season as the country's top-ranked team and was this tournament's No. 1 seed. That would be ludicrous.

What isn't "out there" is to contend that Northern Iowa is a tougher, more disciplined and even a smarter team than KU. The Jayhawks spent most of the game trying to find a way to exploit the Little Engine That Could, only to watch that engine flatten them like a pancake.

Collins, who Kansas coach Bill Self called "the face of the program" for the past two seasons, didn't even show his face during the postgame news conference, leaving Tyrel Reed and Cole Aldrich to take the slinging arrows. Both of them talked about the pain of not being able to advance farther for Collins. So did Self.

Collins usually puts Kansas on his shoulders during times of stress. Against Northern Iowa, he was too busy engaging in immature antics with UNI point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe, who found an entry into Collins' head early and stayed there the whole game.

Ahelegbe made 1 of 11 shots and scored five points. Yet even with those nasty numbers, he played Collins to a standstill because Collins waited too long to assert himself physically because he was so compromised mentally.

He often complained to officials that he was being pushed or held. He shoved Ahelegbe as the teams were walking to the bench for a timeout. But late, after Northern Iowa had finally been able to put the game out of reach, Ahelegbe just laughed at Collins.

Collins played 38 minutes, most of them spinning his wheels. He scored 10 points, eight in the second half, but turned the ball over five times.

Kansas spent forever trying to discover a way to exploit the Panthers, but wasn't able to until pressing UNI full-court during the final couple of minutes. That resulted in mass panic for the Panthers, but they were able to avert a disaster and hold on thanks to an amazing shot by guard Ali Farokhmanesh, who is becoming one of those March heroes this tournament thrives on.

After a hot first half, Farokhmanesh was 0 for 6 from the three-point line in the second half before making the biggest shot of the game, a trey, with 34 seconds left. It stopped the bleeding for the Panthers and gave them a 66-62 lead.

Farokhmanesh took the shot with a bunch of time — about 28 seconds — left on the shot clock because no KU defender stepped up to guard him. Still, it was a courageous shot that came after a thought process that probably went something like this:

"I'm wide open. I can't believe it. But I haven't made a three-pointer in the second half and we're up by one and there's a lot of time left on the shot clock. If I miss this, they're gonna revoke my scholarship and escort me out of Cedar Falls. Ah, what the heck? I'm a senior.''

And he fired away.

KU had no such heroics. It appeared the Jayhawks' late full-court pressure might make up for a halting performance in every other area. It forced three turnovers and sparked a 6-0 run that brought them to within 63-62 with 44 seconds left.

But there were no more Northern Iowa turnovers, only Farokhmanesh's three-pointer and three late free throws to seal the win.

Kansas' players, of course, were distraught. Marcus and Markieff Morris fell to their knees after the final buzzer and cried. There wasn't a dry eye in the locker room, where Collins did talk to reporters after exchanging emotional hugs with his teammates.

"I don't get another chance at it,'' he said. "It hurts so bad. Kansas is a place I call home. Going back to Chicago (his hometown) is fun, but (Kansas) is home. I wanted to go out the right way but I wasn't able to.''

It's impossible to quantify how much the Kansas players were hurting. But if you hear any of them talk about how it was a fluke, please correct them.

Northern Iowa's win wasn't a fluke. The Panthers have played their style of basketball all season and only four teams have figured out a way to beat them. They make it really difficult to score and they don't make many mistakes of judgment.

You have to beat Northern Iowa to beat Northern Iowa, and Kansas wasn't able to pull it off.

Self said the Panthers were the first team he looked at in the Midwest bracket, the first team that made him to a double-take. It wasn't Georgetown, Michigan State, Maryland, Tennessee, Oklahoma State or Ohio State. It was Northern Iowa.

"There were things that happened during the game that I felt like wasn't poor play by us, more so Northern Iowa really making plays,'' Self said.

He was asked if it was the toughest loss he has had to endure. Surely the Bucknell and Bradley losses came to his mind, but this defeat is the freshest. The KU teams that lost to Bucknell and Bradley were a 3-seed and a 4-seed.

These Jayhawks were a strong favorite to win it all, to win Kansas' second national championship in three years. From the time the basketballs were rolled out in October, Kansas was the team to beat.

And Northern Iowa beat them. Fair and square. For 40 minutes.

Northern Iowa.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/03/21/1235095/sorry-this-ones-in-no-way-a-fluke.html#ixzz0j2ihvKx5

Just for Fun!!

I know probably 90% of the people on this blog have filled out a bracket. So who did everyone pick to win it all?

NCAA Tournament

I found this article online. I thought it was interesting and some what entertaining!

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- So is this the year when chalk turns to dust, when bad seeds are spit from the mouths of babes and the NCAA tournament is commandeered deep into the final rounds by TV-ignored charmers rising from obscurity? It's a fair and compelling question now that Kansas has annihilated brackets everywhere, reverting to its old choking ways by losing to Northern Iowa -- campus in Cedar Falls, 92 percent of its students from Iowa, Kurt Warner the most famous alum, "The Bridges of Madison County" author the most famous faculty member -- and titillating those of us hoping for the first no-friggin'-way national champion since, oh, Villanova in 1985.

Already, we have evidence that the term "upset" is laughably obsolete, killed by parity, the NBAand the farcical overhyping of superconferences such as the Big 12 and Big East. Kansas, reviving coach Bill Self's rap as a early-round flop, was the overall No. 1 seed, only to blow a chance to become the sport's pre-eminent program. Villanova, a loser to a St. Mary's team from somewhere in California, was a No. 2 seed. Georgetown and New Mexico, which was crushed Saturday in San Jose by resurgent Washington, were No. 3 seeds. Vanderbilt lost to lovableMurray State as a No. 4 seed. Marquette and Notre Dame couldn't justify No. 6 seeds, Clemsonand Oklahoma State bombed as No. 7s. Ten double-digit seeds have won in the first three days, one more than last year, and anyone tempted to say Kansas' crash forges easier paths forKentucky, Syracuse and Duke had better beware.

For they could go bust, too, in what seems to be the wildest and most unpredictable tournament in eons, just as I like it and all the gambling fools hate it.

"It's the NCAA tournament," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said after his second-seeded team survived BYU. "There's not going to be any easy outs in this thing."


I'm beginning to fantasize, for instance, that this actually could be the year when a perennial overachiever team like Butler sheds its fairy-tale profile and starts taking on the complexion of what it truly is: a serious player. Maybe you don't believe the Bulldogs can beat Syracuse and Kansas State in the West Regional, but armed with a 22-game winning streak after a 54-52 victory over Murray State and their third Sweet 16 berth in eight seasons, can anything be considered "impossible" -- as radio announcer Brad Sham barked in calling the final seconds of Northern Iowa's conquest? I realize Butler plays in the very red-bricked relic where Milan High School, the real-life home of Bobby Plump and coach Marvin Wood, won the 1954 Indiana state championship and became the cinematic inspiration for Jimmy Chitwood, coach Norman Dale and "Hoosiers." But can we get our heads out of Hinkle Fieldhouse and grasp 2010, please.

Our Boys

I loved this book. At first I was a little skeptical because I’m not much a sports reader, but a couple pages in I knew it was going to be a good story.

As I started reading the book I found myself comparing it to all the small town football movies I have seen. But the more I got into the more I began to understand this was a story way outside of any small town football movie I had ever seen. The story itself was so inspirational and to know that those boys worked so hard and wanted to make Smith Center football something more than just a sport. It was a lifetime to these boys. They grew up being trained to play high school football.

The most amazing part of this story to me was the coaches. Most football stories you hear talk about the mean aggressive coaches that use fear to inspire their players, but not the Smith Center coaches. There was one particular part in the book that just made me stop and say wow, these are amazing coaches. Coach Barta is remembering the game against Plainville. Smith Center beat Plainville by an amazing amount and instead of gloating about it and being proud of the blowout, Barta begins to feel embarrassed and guilty. He shared his feelings about wanting to win but not wanting to push it to a point where he embarrasses the other team. I went to Maize High School and any sport I played there was nothing more important to our coaches than winning and they would do anything and everything to make that happen. So to me the fact that this coach actually cared enough to feel that awful was just amazing to me.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and the lessons that it taught me and if someday it is put on the big screen you can bet you will see me there.

Bob Lutz

Bob Lutz would probably have to be my favorite guest speaker so far. He was very easy to listen to. He was exactly the way I imagined him to be. He was hilarious and very opinionated. Just listening to him talk about himself and his life and the way he made everything so comical. He also mentioned how confrontational he can be which I can see is very possible. I can see how some people might be a little drawn back from the way he is but after he came to our class and talked to us I don’t see how anyone could not use a Bob Lutz comment just to brighten there day.

One thing that he talked about that I thought was interesting was that he doesn’t read the comments that are left on his columns. I think if I were as open with my feelings and opinions and he is I would love to see how other people react to it. I guess if it were to cost him his job if he says something he shouldn’t, then I would probably make that decision too.

Before Lutz came to visit our class I had read his column a couple times, but after listening to him speak and finding out more about the kind of person he is I will probably find myself turning to the Bob Lutz column more often.

Come on Spring

Just a random pick me up for the day....Anyone else ready for Spring and Shocker BASEBALL?

All this talk about the Shockers being pretty good this year mixed with this weather is making me want Spring to get here as quickly as possible. Not to mention it means the oh so needed Spring Break. A break from classes, a little bit warmer weather and baseball season.... Spring where are you?!?

Wichita Eagle Visit

Kirk Seminoff and Tom Seals did a good job of opening my eyes to the sports writing seen in the Wichita Eagle.

I do my fare share of watching sports, but I don’t think there is a sport that I care enough about it to get the paper just to read about it other than some shocker baseball or k-state football here and there. But after listening to Seminoff and Seals speak I might try to pick it up every once in awhile.

After listening to them speak about their jobs and what they put into the things they produce it made me wonder what kind of writers they really are. I will now be able to read through the sports sections and know the writer behind the story.

Also listening to them talk about how the world of newspapers is dwindling made me a little bit nervous about a future in journalism. Although I someday would rather write for a magazine than a newspaper it seems magazines are going in the same direction. When Tom Witherspoon came and spoke to our class he talked about VYPE making their transfer online just like the Wichita Eagle. Hopefully, for all of us writers, the print world finds a way to make a big comeback.

I have had the opportunity to work with Tom Witherspoon along with Mike Cooper at VYPE magazine. I have come to really like the guys after working with them for 2 summers and this spring. So you would think I knew a lot about Tom when he came to visit our class but I did learn quite a bit.

During my time working with the guys I learned about the writing process and a little bit about the printing and delivery process but I never really learned about all the behind the scenes action like the online information and the income part of the company.

The first time I worked with the guys at VYPE they were just getting into the internet side of the magazine so I didn’t get to learn much about it, but hearing Witherspoon talk about it made it sound very important to the company. I didn’t realize the internet side of the magazine would take up as much time as he said it did.

I knew most of their income came through advertisements but I just assumed that as much time that is spent on the internet work that some kind of income would come out of that.

The most shocking thing to me about the whole process is that two guys can manage the outcome of such an amazing magazine. The magazine is put together very well and I know Tom and Mike make it their first priority to print only the best. If I didn’t know the guys behind the magazine I would think their was a whole crew taking care of all the work they do.