Buy, Sell or Hold in the Big 12

We're three games in to the Big 12 basketball conference season and the league leader has a familiar look--Kansas, winner of the past nine straight conference championships.  There's plenty of hoops left to be played--15 games to be exact--but KU's victory at Iowa State was even more impressive than a week ago when the Jayhawks won in Norman, OK after laying an egg at home the prior Sunday versus San Diego State.  The road doesn't get any easier for Kansas--Oklahoma State and Baylor at home on Saturday and Monday--but a 3-0 start has silenced, for now, the doubters.

So, with one-sixth of the regular season under our belt, let's check in on who we should Buy, Sell or Hold in the Big 12.

Buy:  Kansas, of course.  The puppies in Lawrence are growing up and appear to be a quick study on what it takes to win now on the road given non-conference road losses at tough gyms in Gainesville, FL and Boulder, CO.  Last night's win was not only impressive because it came against the #8 team in the country, but also on a night where Perry Ellis was off offensively.  The Jayhawks have many, many weapons and are deep--they can win big and they can win small.  The perennial conference champ is definitely a strong "buy" the day after they deflated the so-called "Hilton Magic."

Hold:  Iowa State.  Conversely, Iowa State has now lost two games in a row and faces a tough road test on Saturday with a trip to Texas.  The Cyclones have feasted on opponent mismatches and have ridden conference player-of-the-year candidate DeAndre Kane's playmaking ability and offense.  KU exposed ISU's lack of post presence and the consequence of State's reliance upon the three.

Sell:  Kansas State.  Tonight is a crucial game for Bruce Weber's Wildcats who are coming off a 26 point blow-out loss at Kansas.  KSU built a gaudy record, after losing early to Charlotte and Georgetown, but in that 10 game winning streak were no true road games.  A win tonight followed by a Saturday win at home against West Virginia will momentarily right the ship but I'm not convinced that this team is a top four squad in the league.  Given the toughness of the Big 12, KSU will make the NCAA Tournament but...I'd sell this investment.

Buy:  Joel Embiid.  The past two opponents have exposed that Embiid's shy nature off the court changes dramatically when on the court.  We also saw, last night, the dramatic growth curve of this superb talent--he took over the game in a key second half stretch that included an assist, block/steal, two baskets and altered shots by the opposition, all done while looking like some cross of Wilt, Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon.  The guy is special.

Hold:  Look for Baylor to be the team solidly in second place to Kansas entering the month of February.  The Bears are at Texas Tech on Wednesday, then return home for an important date against Oklahoma.  They travel to Lawrence for Big Monday next week and then face Texas and West Virginia, both at home, to close out January.  The play of Isaiah Austin has been a disappointment but Cory Jefferson and Brady Heslip are guys who seem like they've played at Baylor for six years.  The Bears seem tougher than past BU teams but we've also seen that opinion change once conference season rolls around and Scott Drew's teams get punched in the mouth by the likes of KU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.  Baylor is solidly in the Hold category for now.

Hold:  Kansas' throwback uniforms.  Why isn't this a Sell given that the Jayhawks are 2-0 wearing these togs?  Well, the issue is adidas--the uniform supplier.  While the three-stripe company is to be applauded for the design of the two sets of unis, in typical adidas merchandising style the replica jerseys and shorts aren't available until next season.  Huh!?  But, hey, you can buy t-shirts right now that utilize the two designs.

Hold:  Texas is a work in progress and two important tests are upcoming--Iowa State in Austin on Saturday followed by KSU at home the following Tuesday.  Texas owns what, at the time, was a marquee win at North Carolina but given the Tarheels' issues, that win has lost a bit of luster.  The Longhorns lost at Oklahoma State and at home to Oklahoma, held serve versus Texas Tech and won at West Virginia.  It's hard to know what we'll get from UT over the next six weeks--let's hold on to this investment for now.

Sell:  Brent Musberger.  Big 12 fans were rudely reminded last night that, once again, we get Brent Musberger as the play-by-play guy on ESPN's broadcasts.  Musberger, whose voice is more tightly linked to college football, is out of his element on basketball broadcasts.  He's ill-prepared, acts as if he is more of a hoops expert than he is, and simply has lost several steps.  Among ESPN's stable of game broadcasters, Musberger trails--far behind--Dan Schulman, Dave Pasch, Sean McDonough and pretty much anyone the World Wide Leader has to offer.  Last night's broadcast made me reminisce of the days of Ron Franklin and Jon Sundvold.

Putting a bow on the BCS...and this season

We bid adieu to the Bowl Championship Series--whipping boy for pundits and fans alike but a system that over its shelf life of 16 years brought together the nation's number one and number two team each of those post-seasons.  In comparison, the number one and two teams met in bowl games only eight times in 56 prior years.  (Remember the Bowl Coalition and the Bowl Alliance?  Yeah, I didn't think so.)  So, while flawed, the BCS ratcheted up interest in college football such that the sport is now pushing the NFL in avid fan interest and is solidly in second place in viewership, attendance and overall interest among our nation's sports fans.

Let's put a bow on this season, and the BCS, with some final observations about 2013-2014.

Best national championship game ever?  It's hard to point to another BCS National Championship Game that was better than Monday night's Florida State victory over Auburn.  The 2005 Texas win over USC, also in the Rose Bowl, was the prior best final game with the Ohio State two-overtime win over Miami, in 2002, also in the running.

Phil Steele.  Let's give it up for Phil Steele, the guy who publishes what annually is the best preseason manual for the coming college football season.  Steele picked Florida State as his "surprise team of the year" and they certainly delivered with a magical 2013 season.

SEC.  Which SEC team won a meaningful bowl game?  Well, that would be Missouri and its win over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.  Not only did Auburn fail to continue the SEC national championship streak but Alabama whiffed against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Johnny Football.  Love him or not, name me another college football player in recent memory who has been so mesmerizing on the field as Johnny Manziel.  He's the kind of player who makes you run back into the TV room to see what he'll do when Texas A&M has the ball.  If Manziel announces today that he is leaving for the NFL, college football will lose one of its most compelling stars.

Brent.  It's time for Brent Musberger to go quietly into that announcing night.  Musberger's awkward forays into hip-hop mentions and other odd on-air left turns were a continuation of the Katherine Webb dust-up last year.  There simply are other, quality options for on-air talent for a stage as big as the national championship event.

ESPN.  The Monday night Megacast was a hit as ESPN used its portfolio of programming options to provide fans with coach insight and unique camera views for the national championship game.  Let's hope the Worldwide Leader, and other sports cable programmers, do more of this unique viewing solution.

The fans.  Fans are watching college football in droves with viewership on the title game eclipsing the NCAA basketball final, NBA Finals, Daytona 500 and other major non-NFL sports events.  However, a danger cloud is on the horizon and that is fan attendance and ticket buyer satisfaction.  The college game has got to get its act together when it comes to customer service, game-day experience, affordability and venue bandwidth in order to attract students, alums and fans back into stadiums.

Why do we care about preseason rankings?

On the eve of the last BCS National Championship Game, let's pause, go back and take a look how one national media outlet, like most others, whiffed on predicting the top teams in college football for the 2013 season.

Sports Illustrated issued its preseason edition of the magazine on August 19 and chose Alabama as its number one team.  The top ten was rounded out by Alabama, Stanford, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oregon, South Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame, Florida and Clemson.  Nope, no Florida State and no Auburn, and no Michigan State or Missouri either.  SI had the Seminoles at #13 with Auburn failing to dent the top 25.  Missouri also didn't make it into that preseason group as the Tigers weren't chosen over the likes of Virginia Tech (25), Northern Illinois (24), Northwestern (22) and Boise State (20.)

As for the Heisman winner, SI tabbed Jameis Winston as 25 to 1 to win the award, listing him with others who "are a long way from New York City but could replicate Manziel's rise and make an out-of-nowhere run at the Heisman Trophy."

Now, it's easy to yelp about how the media once again failed to adequately predict who would be the winners and who would be the losers in this season of college football.  But, isn't that unpredictability what makes this sport great?  I'm all for holding these preseason predictors accountable but also love that, each year, there is an Auburn who comes from nowhere with a story that's compelling and sucks us all in.

Here's to another stellar year of college football--let's hope tomorrow night's BCS National Championship Game will be a fitting jumping off to the new College Football Playoff that debuts next year.

Coaches, memories and a November to remember

Where were you:  I can remember where I was when Doug Flutie worked his magic against Miami in 1984, when Charles White ran amok for four second half TDs versus Notre Dame, and when Vince Young seemed to single-handedly beat USC for a national championship.  Last night will be another to add to that list.

Where were you when Auburn's Chris Davis pulled off a "War Damn Miracle" by returning a failed field goal the distance against hated rival Alabama, catapulting the Tigers into next Saturday's SEC Championship?

Yes, the wonderful world of college football has given us yet another "where were you" moment and this one is, arguably, the greatest ever given the oddity of the play, the stakes, and the rivalry.

The November to remember:  Has there ever been a better November in college basketball than the past month?  It's been less than three weeks since we saw Julius Randle and Kentucky lose to Michigan State's veterans, the scintillating overall game of Duke's Jabari Parker and the late-game heroics of Kansas' Andrew Wiggins.  Since then, Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State positioned himself as the clubhouse leader for Player of the Year honors, Arizona showcased what perhaps is the best overall team in the land, and Villanova beat Kansas and Iowa to likely jump into the top ten.  If November is any indication, this year's college basketball season will rival the drama we've witnessed over the past few weekends in college football.

Feel good:  It's incredibly fitting that Missouri's Henry Josey scored the winning touchdown in last night's Tiger win over Texas A&M.  Josey is the feel-good story of this college football season given his return from what seemingly was a catastrophic knee injury.

Coaches, coaches, coaches:  Votes of confidence were issued yesterday to notable coaches Bo Pellini of Nebraska and Will Muschamp of Florida.  Elsewhere, Kansas athletics director Sheahon Zenger did the same for his coaching hire, Charlie Weis.  While I agree with Zenger's sentiment that turning around a program takes time, it's obvious that Weis' short-term fix approach of transfers and junior college players was an abysmal failure.  Weis first over-sold Dayne Crist and, this year, did the same with Jake Heaps and Justin McCay.  Only one juco transfer, Cassius Sendish, panned out to the level expected of those that joined the KU program.  Next year, Kansas will have a senior-laden lineup and, if rumors are true, a new offensive coordinator and O-line coach in John Reagan from Rice.  The seat is very, very hot for Weis given the growing apathy surrounding the Jayhawk program.

Rules:  I remain skeptical about the positive impact of the rules changes/emphasis in college hoops.  The charge call is a distant memory in the college game and players, coaches and officials all seem to be struggling with how this change has affected the sport.

And, finally:  There's something fitting about Auburn beating Alabama in the year that the historic trees at Toomer's Corner in Auburn, AL had to be chopped down due to the poison that a misguided Bama fan used on the oaks.  The lack of trees didn't stop Tiger fans from littering that historic intersection with toilet paper last night.

Wiggins, Selden, Andrew Baggett and other sporting odds 'n' ends

Hype:  I don't know that I've ever anticipated an exhibition game more than tonight's Kansas vs Pittsburg State match-up.  Yes, Pitt State is a NCAA Division II institution that is one of KU's regular exhibition foes.  And, yes, these games are typically blow-outs or feature lackluster play--or both.  But, this year--this year is different.

The hype machine that is Andrew Wiggins and his Fab Five freshman cronies has been on overdrive.  Tonight--finally--we get to see, at least partially, what the hype is all about.

Reality:  Personally, I'm actually more excited to see Wayne Selden of Kansas in action tonight.  Selden is Wiggins' fellow McDonald's All-American recruit, and several members of the media have gushed about Selden's skill and practice work ethic.

Sickening:  The morons and cowards who have bashed Missouri's Andrew Baggett via social media should be ashamed.  In case you missed it, Baggett is MU's kicker who missed a field goal attempt in the third overtime, thus securing South Carolina's come-from-behind victory.  The world of social media lit up with several tweeting sickening rants aimed at Baggett.

Reality-check:  Look, I think Baylor is really, really good and that this Bear team finally has a defense that can stop someone.  The offense is, well, the most potent this side of Eugene, Oregon.  Let's then look at who these Bears have beaten, shall we?  Kansas?  Check.  Louisiana-Monroe?  Check.  West Virginia?  Check.  Wofford?  Check.  The harsh reality for Baylor is that, after this bye week, they now face Oklahoma and Texas Tech at home followed by Oklahoma State on the road.  Baylor then finishes with unranked TCU in Ft. Worth and Texas at home, marking the last game at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco.  It's hard to see Baylor going through those five games without a couple of losses.

Hype:  How do you set a decibel record in an very open stadium in the last few minutes of a game after many in the crowd are comatose from hours of tailgating and pre-game fun?  Just askin'...

Week One: Winners and losers

Week one of college football 2013 style is almost in the books so let's go ahead and review the opening weekend winners and losers.

Winner:  College Football.  The final year of the BCS generated tons of media coverage last week and a scintillating opening marquee match-up in Clemson-Georgia.  It is, indeed, "the best regular season in sports."

Loser:  Kansas State.  I'm not sure what's worse--losing to an FCS team or doing it on the day when a statue of Bill Snyder was unveiled.  While North Dakota State has proven that it's worthy of respect, given its record against BCS foes, few saw this upset coming.

Winner:  Clemson.  The Tigers emerged as a legitimate top five team after scoring one for the ACC over the SEC.

Loser:  Johnny Manzeil.  The guy is pure electricity when the ball is in his hand; when it's not...not so much.

Winner:  Bobby Petrino.  Let's give a nod to Petrino for his return to college coaching and a very solid opening win by Western Kentucky over Kentucky.  (Explain to me again why they played that game in Nashville?)

Loser:  Big 12.  Hmm--KSU goes down to an FCS school as does Iowa State.  West Virginia looks anything but tough in beating William & Mary.  And, Kansas will soon face a Rice team that hung with Texas A&M for a half.

Winner:  Oklahoma State's defense.  We all knew about OSU's offense but holding Mississippi State to three points--c'mon!

Loser:  Will Muschamp, head coach at Florida, was upset at three media outlets for reporting that freshman Jaynard Bostwick was suspended.  Bostwick wasn't among the four suspended but it would alleviate these issues if Muschamp and his peers would announce who IS suspended and/or not playing.  The week one hi-jinks of guys like Muschamp, Les Miles of LSU and Gary Patterson of TCU was petty and silly.

And finally, let's give one final shout-out to Iowa, loser in weekend one to Northern Illinois.  How much longer can the folks in Iowa City keep paying big bucks to Kirk Ferentz, the most overrated coach in college football?

Finally--College Football is back!

Sure, the Royals were competitive further into the season than is normal in Kansas City.  And, yes, it was fun to watch Kansas native Gary Woodland make a late season surge on the PGA Tour.  The Kansas City Chiefs are generating optimism and Sporting KC is once again a contender for an MLS crown.

But, finally, FINALLY--College Football is back.  The season kicked off last night and immediately reminded us of why we love this game that features the best regular season in sports.  ESPN viewers were treated to the pageantry of the SEC with a marquee opener of North Carolina at South Carolina, followed by Ole Miss against Vanderbilt.  Fresno State held on in overtime against Rutgers.  And, USC went on the road (or should I say ocean) to beat Hawaii--not the easiest of away games.

Let's break down a few things as we open college football in full swing this weekend.

Heisman watch:  Is Jadeavean Clowney a product of the hype machine?  The kid is incredibly talented and his mega-hit in last year's Outback Bowl is the stuff of YouTube multi-million viewings.  Yet, he took plays off last night, was frequently double-teamed and seldom was a factor.  Unfortunately for Clowney, there are infrequent occasions for a defensive lineman to have "Heisman moments."

Underrated:  The Pac-12 is loaded this year.  Stanford and Oregon are top 10 teams, USC will rebound from a miserable 2012, UCLA under Jim Mora has an electric QB in Brett Hundley, Washington is much improved and look out for the Arizona schools.

Overrated:  This is the year the Big 12 needs to put up or shut up.  Oklahoma State may be the cream of the conference crop but it's schools like Oklahoma and Texas that need to win big games again.  Kansas State is the darling of local media but, once again, no one nationally is taking them seriously.  Baylor may have the most productive offense in the country but can they stop anybody?  The league has lost a bit of its mojo and now trails the SEC and the Pac-12 as a power football conference.

Weis:  To Charlie's credit, he is not automatically granting starting berths to his crop of junior college transfers.  Kansas is disappointed that highly regarded Chris Martin was booted from the team, that transfer Nick Harwell has to sit out a year, and that Marcus Jenkins-Moore is out with a knee injury.  That means other transfers must step up and, thus far, only a select few are listed as starters.  Good for Weis--he knows fans want instant improvement but he also understands the need for long-term stability and cultural change in the program.  Improving in the win column is a must to show progress but, after next week's opener, where will KU get its wins?  A win at Rice on September 14 is absolutely critical.

Pinkel:  There's a hot seat in Columbia, MO and Gary Pinkel is on it.  What's the number of wins required for this season to be a success?  The Tigers had better start 4-0 (although a trip to Indiana will not be a sure win) before road trips to Vanderbilt and Georgia followed by visits from Florida and South Carolina.  If the Tigers are 5-3 at that point, they could easily finish 7-5; if they are 4-4, then it could be a struggle to become bowl eligible.

Snyder:  How does Saint Bill improve on last season?  Gone are Collin Klein and Arthur Brown but methinks that Purple Nation will see a reloaded K-State.  The 'Cats won't make a second straight BCS game given the prospects at Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Texas but will likely finish fourth in an improved league.

Bye-bye:  It's bye-bye, BCS.  The system that irked fans, coaches and media types is giving way to the College Football Playoff in 2014-2015.  Yet, for all of its faults, the BCS did successfully pit one versus two on a consistent basis, even if the ranking system riled up emotions across the country.  We look forward  to the new four-team playoff and the controversy that will occur the first time that the fifth ranked team cries "foul!"