Posts Tagged Missouri

Jayhawk Talk Podcast – Episode 5 – Basketball Returns!

Posted on: October 31st, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Let's all make fun of this together!

In this, the 5th installment of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, the guys talk some KU-Texas football, preview the exhibition basketball season, talk some Greg Ostertag, and relentlessly make fun of Kansas State and Missouri. If you like KU sports and have a little time to spare, we’d love to share our rants with you. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy. Rock Chalk!

FIND ON ITUNES HERE

FIND ONLINE HERE OR HERE

FIND ON MOBILE (non-iPhone) HERE

 

Kansas, Missouri Highlights (HD)

Posted on: February 27th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

I HATE mISSOURI

Posted on: February 24th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

It is missouri [sic] week (read: HATE week), and even though the game has some huge implications for the conference title, tournament seeding, etc., I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just thinking about how much I want KU to destroy the tigers [sic] on Saturday.

I’m talking total embarrassment.

But before I get to the game, I’d like to share a few parting shots about our easterly neighbors:

Let’s start with the actual state. The whole place is a hellhole, a bastion of obscenity and suck. And don’t get me started on their roads. It’s almost as if the owners of the zillions of fireworks stands go outside once a month and blow new holes in the roads just for kicks. Remember when former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius compared Missouri roads to 9/11? I thought it was a little overboard at the time, but I admired her enthusiasm.

Now for the people of missouri. For a state so close to Kansas, you sure find a different breed of folks across the border. Sure, there are exceptions. But for every normal person, it seems like missouri is home to three bass-ackward rednecks that get more zest for life shooting shotguns and hanging rubber testicles from their trucks than getting a job. You know what I’m talking about. The ones that spend their entire government checks on belt buckles and Boone’s Farm. They have a gold and black mizzou flag hanging on their flagpole that they made out of a pillowcase. The only flag hanging higher is the confederate flag that has been passed down from the local “Sons of Confederate Veterans” chapter. Here’s the other kicker. None of these idiots attended mU. Most couldn’t point columbia [sic] out on a map.

As for the school itself. You’d think that the University of missouri would be representative of the picture I have painted thus far. It isn’t. It is primarily made up of legacies and well-to-dos. Naturally, this means most of the students are pricks. There is a huge fraternity and sorority demographic, and the entire columbia bar scene matches its students. There is no diversity. Nothing interesting. The whole place is a frameless taupe hallway.

When it comes to athletics, they care about football and…well, football. That is, unless they are hosting KU at Paige Ar…err…mizzou Arena, in which case it might sell out. Though the vast majority of students are not hillbilly rednecks like so much of the fan base, whenever missouri plays KU, these kids decide to turn into hillbilly rednecks. For some reason, against KU, it’s “cool” to embrace missouri’s slave state heritage, making light of quantrill’s [sic] raid and missouri’s role in famous slave cases like Dred Scott. Oh, and if you’re wearing a Kansas shirt at a missouri game, you better bring a change of clothes. And earmuff the kids.

As for the rivalry with KU. Just the thought of it gets my blood boiling. No other rivalry comes close. Sure, UNC “hates” Duke. And Michigan isn’t a big fan of Ohio State. Whatever. Those are cute little tiffs. Petty quarrels among the largely conciliatory fan bases.

This is sheer vitriol.

It’s not even the individual players at missouri that I despise (although I can think of a few). It’s bragging rights. It is a symbolic match of right vs. wrong. It’s USA vs. Soviet Union in 1980. The game meant a lot, but the victory over our enemies meant just as much, if not more. KU’s all-time record against mizzou in football and basketball is 226-150. Just as the Jayhawkers defeated the bushwhackers in the Civil War, good has been winning out against evil for 120 years in the field of athletics.

That game in columbia earlier this year was tough to stomach. Especially since the good guys crushed the bad guys for 95% of the game. Hopefully, though, the Jayhawks will remember that feeling. That gut-wrenching “how did that happen?” kind of feeling that we rarely feel, especially against the tigers.

And I want the Jayhawks to return the favor.

Except this time, I don’t want the tigers to feel it with only seconds to go like we did over at the paige. I want them to feel it halfway through the first half. I want them to get that feeling so many other teams have when they’ve entered the Phog — that, “Is this game over yet?” kind of feeling. The feeling where they just can’t wait to get back in the locker room and on a bus out of town with their tails between their legs. I hope this game is a blowout. Nay, an annihilation.

As for missouri leaving. In many ways, it is kind of a sad departure. Not because KU shares any real love for missouri. It’s more of a “we love to hate you” feeling. Most KU fans think it’s a bad decision. But, as even most missouri fans will admit, we have all grown accustomed to missouri making terrible choices when it comes to the administration of athletics. I’m sure this decision will be a good one…you know, for us to eternally make fun of.

So anyway. Later losers. I still and will always hate you.

 

So which team is better?

Posted on: February 6th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

(AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Let’s face it. KU lost a game it shouldn’t have lost.

These kinds of losses happen to every team, no matter what the front of the jersey might read. It seems to happen less to Bill Self-coached teams though. Maybe that’s coaching. Maybe that’s having better talent. Regardless, the game in Columbia on Saturday night was one the Jayhawks simply let get away.

And it sucks.

I would have traded two losses to Iowa State for a victory at Missouri. Maybe even would have thrown in a random Texas Tech loss or something. But damn, I wanted to win this game.

It felt like a tournament game. That’s the only way I can really characterize it. Not because of the atmosphere (tournament games usually can’t compete with a good campus atmosphere) and not because of a “must-win” kind of scenario. But because it had that elevated feeling about it. Much more than any other regular season game. I got the sense many of you thought it did too.

Obviously there were conference championship implications. And of course there was the whole SEC drama. And College Gameday and primetime and the high rankings and all that stuff.

But I think the biggest thing for me was the very legitimate question about which team is better.

And I think we got a pretty good idea.

Kansas is.

Don’t let the box score fool you. Kansas actually played pretty good defense against the Tigers. There were two stretches where breakdowns killed us, both times occurring at the end of the halves. But that was a shady 52% shooting performance by the home team.

KU fought through ball screens all night with ease. Our switches were precise. There was rarely a situation where Missouri’s “quickness” was the reason for a basket.* There was pressure and intensity and steals and hard fouls. Hell, they shot 20 free throws to our 9.** They had 10 total fouls to our 20. We were the more aggressive team. And we were the team that routinely passed the eye test.

*Ignore this entire paragraph when it comes to Conner. He’s a liability on defense that is becoming harder and harder to watch, especially against teams with attacking guards. I honestly want him to play the 4 so he doesn’t have to leave the block. A 6’5 white power forward that holds his ground in the paint is better than a 6’5 white 2-guard getting passed by possession after possession, leading to easy buckets and impending foul trouble against our bigs forced to help compensate for his inability to stay with his man. I digress.

**As for the foul disparity, I refuse to let myself use refs as a reason to say a game went one way or the other. Despite a few questionable (and a few awful) calls, we should have won the game. Short of reaching out and tripping our players, the referees are rarely an excuse for a loss. We put ourselves in a bad situation late, and MU took advantage. Refs didn’t lose the game. We did. I digress further.

Off-balance 3-pointers were swishing for the Tigers. Late shot-clock breakdown prayers were hitting the bottom of the net. Defensive hands in the face didn’t deter the ball from finding the basket.

Some nights you just have it. And to Missouri’s credit, they had it when they absolutely had to have it.

Kansas, on the other hand, got a lot of great looks. Our half-court offense looked fantastic whenever we got going inside out. I especially liked the Withey point-forward plays that got Thomas an easy entry pass nearly every time. Jeff got the ball near the free throw line and had five options with it – four open passes and a shot. He found the wing twice for good looks to Thomas. Straight out of the play book.

We got good looks in transition and off ball screens for Tyshawn at the top of the key, and in the corners for Conner. And we still missed a lot of them. Obviously we are still struggling to find any rhythm whatsoever from 3-point range. But our two best players were finding their shot on most possessions. And they were good shots. In most cases, much easier shots than Missouri could get.*

*By my count, MU only made three non-3-point baskets in the second half. On the other hand, they made 6/11 3-pointers. Most of the time, they shot 3s because that was the only option “open.” By comparison, KU made 13 layups, dunks, or short jumpers and only two 3-pointers in the second half.

I’ll take that kind of play in the long run. You can have the team that relies on 20 foot jump-shots. I’ll take the team that has the ability to get a layup or post look every possession.

Despite the foregoing, KU’s efforts were good enough to put us up 8 points with two minutes left. EIGHT. On the road. In the hardest and most “intimidating” away court we’ll play in all season long.

That’s pretty incredible. I think the most courageous of Missouri fans would admit that they were lucky to win. And that the game in Allen could be a blood bath.

For example, a friend of mine who fancies himself a huge Mizzou fan and even bigger sports junkie went to the game and texted me the following afterwards: “I think Kansas is slightly better than Missouri. Just one team was at home.” It was nice of him to admit it, but I disagree with him. I think Kansas is the better team and it doesn’t matter where we play.

I hope we see them two more times this season. It’s a real possibility.

I’ll be taking KU in both.

 

KU, MU highlight video (from Blackout Sports)

Posted on: February 6th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Now this is satire.

Posted on: January 31st, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

KU’s “SATIRICAL” response to Mizzou’s “We Are Mizzou” video. Pretty good work by these fellas:

If you’re curious what they’re responding to, try this on for size…

Going to miss this rivalry…