It's All Over, Part One

It's all over. The year Twenty-Oh-Five. The Holiday Season. The College Bowl season. And because of this, I now have adequate time to comment on the world around me (and KU basketball). (For those of you who find unending analysis of sports unappetizing, hang in there; the more interesting stuff is toward the end of this post.)

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Last night's KU-Yale game was nothing original. The Jayhawks looked like total crap for the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game. Then they cranked up the defense against a totally overmatched team and put the game out of reach. As usual, there were things to like and things to dislike about the game.

LIKED

* The starting lineup. C.J. Giles, Christian Moody, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson. Gone were Jeff Hawkins and Sasha Kaun. Which proved to be beneficial in a number of ways. Chalmers looked a lot better to me at the off-guard position, where he was less responsible for distributing and was able to look for his own shot. Robinson seemed more comfortable looking to set people up rather than score. Hawkins seemed to have a fire lit beneath him as he had his best game in a Kansas uniform. Sasha Kaun got more minutes alongside Julian Wright.

* The relentless defensive intensity from the guards. Hawkins brought a lot of energy when he came in and combined with Robinson and Chalmers to rack up 8 steals. If the guards can consistently play with that much fervor, we will have a chance in every game. In addition, their combined 14-5 assist-to-turnover ratio was much improved and much needed.
* Julian Wright. This guy needs to get as many minutes as possible. One of the things the commentators mentioned was the fact that Wright always looks inside, whether the big guys are open or not. This is crucial in keeping our offense flowing, rather than spinning the ball around the perimeter for 25 seconds at a time. His play elevates Kaun's as Wright looks for him every time down the floor. I think Kaun works harder to get position when Wright is in the game because he knows the ball will be coming his direction. I hope Bill Self realizes this and gets these guys in the game together more often.

DISLIKED

* Our opponent. All these good things happened against Yale. This is a school that has won exactly one postseason game in their entire history as a basketball program. Yet we played the first 10 minutes as if we were trying to grind out a win against Oklahoma. I have a feeling that once the conference season starts, it will be like starting the season all over again. It will take a handful of games for these youngsters to acclimate to the physical and intense basketball that defines the Big XII.

* The continued tentativeness of Brandon Rush. Brandon Rush has enough talent to take over any game he plays. Unfortunately, he's always been the bright, shining star throughout his career and now he wants to be a part of the team and learn the more subtle aspects of the game. Which is fine, except that this team will lose many more games if he doesn't assert himself immediately and completely every time he steps on the floor. I'm tired of seeing him swing the ball from the wing over to Hawkins or Robinson when he could clearly blow past the inferior athlete that is trying to guard him. Our team will live and die during the Big XII season depending on what Rush brings to each game.

Our final tune-up for the conference season come against Kentucky in Allen Fieldhouse this Saturday. We can win this game and gain much-needed confidence if three things happen: A)the guards put unending pressure on Rajon Rondo, B) Julian Wright gets a healthy dose of minutes and feeds the inside guys who should have an advantage with Randolph Morris being out, and C) Brandon Rush comes out of his shell and puts up 20 points. All of these things are well within reason and could propel the Jayhawks into the conference season with the proper attitude.

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The college football season ended with one of the best championship games I've ever seen. The 1991 Orange Bowl when Colorado beat Notre Dame 10-9 is the only other championship game that comes close, in my book. This year's game had the two best teams and the four best offensive players. And the game was decided by those players. Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush gave away a scoring opportunity when he foolishly tried to lateral to a teammate after a 35-yard run. Matt Leinart methodically picked apart the Texas defense. LenDale White gave his best Larry Johnson impression. But Vince Young stood out among the rest. He threw for 267 yards and ran for 200(!) yards. He gave the impression that he could run for a touchdown on every play. And he played his best game against the best competition on the biggest stage and came out on top. You couldn't really ask for anything more.

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Dick Vermeil ended his five-year run as head coach of the Chiefs. Let's recap, Vermeil-style, what was accomplished during his rein:

-- 0 Super Bowl wins, in five seasons
-- 0 playoff wins, in five seasons
-- 1 playoff berth, in five seasons
-- 1 divisional title, in five seasons
-- 2 winning seasons, in five seasons

Don't get me wrong; I think Dick Vermeil is a great guy and a very good football coach. Unfortunately, winning the Super Bowl is the only goal in the NFL and Vermeil came up short. Part of that is on him and part of that is on Carl Peterson. The bottom line is that this city has gone over 30 years without sniffing a Super Bowl and we don't seem to be any nearer to that goal. At this point, I'm waiting for Lamar Hunt and his profit-oriented ownership style and his toady Carl Peterson to leave our fair city and let us take a new path to the ultimate goal. Because we're just not going to get there with these fellas at the helm, no matter who the next head coach may be.

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I had a splendid Christmas and a thoroughly enjoyable New Year's Eve. I had the Junior Blakeleys on Christmas Eve. Blakeley tradition normally constitutes the family sitting around and biding their time until dinner. Once dinner is wolfed down, the kids pester the adults for the opportunity to open some gifts. The adults, traditionally, make playful excuses such as "Hold on, kids; I'm waiting for my food to settle," and "Let me smoke one more cigarette." This year, though, had none of the traditional trappings.

All family (smoking members and non-) were out of town and it came down to just myself and the youngsters. Dave and Sam arrived at 10:00 am and immediately upon bursting through the front door pleaded to open presents right away. Since the kids were being picked up at 6:00 that evening to go to Christmas Eve Service, dinner was going to be thrown together, and I don't smoke, I decided that it would be fine to open presents right then and there. The kids were not expecting this answer but quickly adjusted from being shocked to ripping open wrapping paper.

After the carnage was complete, we decided to take the numerous Target gift cards we had received and go shopping. First, we had lunch at Chipotle. We were going to need some energy to brave Christmas Eve crowds at the most popular store in town. Surprisingly, though, the crowds were not terrible and seemed to be well-distributed around the store. After some initial hesitation, Samantha turned on the after-burners and came within $1.90 of her spending limit. David blew past his limit and into his own pocket for about 18 bucks and I managed to find a handful of worthy gifts while saving a little for later.

Once home, we enjoyed Phase II of Christmas Eve, unwrapping the cellophane from our new purchases and trying out our new toys. We played some Sorry! and watched the Chiefs until it was time for them to go. All-in-all, it was one of the better Christmases we've had.

New Year's Eve found me at Tuttle's mom's lake house with eight other good buddies. Much food and alcohol were packed for the 2-hour drive and 24-hour stay. After avoiding near death at the hands of an over-zealous trucker on the back-roads of Missouri (and a "stopping short" episode that won't soon be forgotten), we arrived. We unpacked said nourishments and other unnecessary articles like clothes and blankets and explored the lake front. I can't say that I would want to retire to a lake-front community, but it sure is fun to visit.

We opened some snacks and hung out until we were made aware of an enormous bonfire across the street. I've been around a number of bonfires/campfires in my life, but this was the hottest fire of them all. We were ten feet away and you still had to turn your face away from the flames to avoid looking like George Hamilton.

Following the bonfire activity, we retired to our quarters for some food and a rousing game of Apples to Apples. If you haven't played it, you need to. It's best played with a large group of people. Each person gets 5 cards with different nouns on them (pigs, Helen Keller, clowns). Each round, one person throws out a card with an adjective on it (exciting, sanguine, masculine) for everyone to play against. Everyone but the person who threw out the adjective decides which of the cards in their hands would best fit the description and throws it in the middle, face-down. The adjective person gathers the noun cards and judges which one he or she finds most appropriate. Since a new person is the judge each round, the key is to play based on how that person judges. Some judges may play it straight. For example, the adjective might be "mischievous" and the judge might select the card labeled "kids". The person who threw out the "kids" card would win that point. You play until someone has come acquired the pre-determined number of points. What was most fun, though, were the folks who took a less-traditional slant in their judgments. It opened up the group to throw out wholly inappropriate material and still win. My favorite was the winner for the adjective "melodramatic": Anne Frank. You might find it funny, cruel or unusual, but I found it to be absolutely hysterical. Anyway, we played that game well into the evening, straining abdominal and facial muscles along the way from all the laughing.

Eventually, midnight came around and we all got the disappointment and displeasure of seeing a less-than-perfect Dick Clark ring in the New Year. Champagne was imbibed, friends were hugged and the less-rugged headed for bed. Our hearty foursome decided to stay up and play some pool and discuss the issues of the day until 3:30 or so. It was a delightful way to ring in the New Year.

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Wow. Well, that's a lot to digest. I'll come back with Part Two and recall the highlights of the past year.