Bob’s Blog

It started Friday when I played golf, at Willowbend, with Woody Austin and a group of three others, including Rick Nuckolls. Now, it’s rare when I have an experience unlike any other I’ve ever had, but this one qualifies. I was in a group with one of the five best players in the world _ and, yes, one of the five worst. Me.

My nerves were calmed years ago but they flared up some Friday, especially on my first tee shot of the day. It wasn’t just our group watching. There were five or six other guys standing at the tee box watching Woody make his first drive of the day. His was down the middle and very, very long. Mine was down the middle and very, very short. We’ll leave it at that.

Anyway, the day was gorgeous and the golf course was fun and the company was incredible. Woody could have ignored me totally. Instead, he really made an effort to help me with my game. He told me a lot of things about my stance that should help my game. And he was somewhat encouraging, though he’s a bit crusty. I like crusty, by the way.

I rode with Rick Nuckolls, the head pro. What a great guy. He also gave me pointers. If I just had an ounce of talent, all of this instruction might really pay a dividend.

Saturday, a group of us dressed up as the castaways from Gilligan’s Island and went to Margarita’s. Which is just the best. The band, Lotus, is so good. And the lead singer _ wow. Anyway, I was the skipper and I think we really nailed it. Our group was the talk of Margarita’s because of our costumes, for which the credit goes to Andrea Gordon, who put it all together.

Oh, Friday night I went to a party at Brent Kemnitz’s house, hosted by our pal Tom Kosich. It was a great time. Lots of interesting people there, from Frank Carney to Gregg Marshall.

Good weekend.

I get upset when people try to tell me baseball isn’t for them because it’s too slow. They compare it to football, which is the slowest game on the face of the earth. Not that I don’t love football, but c’mon. A play is run and there is at least 45 seconds of dead time before another one.

Anyway, now that I have that off my chest, I want to write about the Colorado Rockies, who have won 18 of their past 19 games and look like a team on the verge of getting to their first World Series. I was just thinking on my drive to The Eagle about how much fun it must be to be a Rocks fan now and to bask in this unbelievable run of success. And to think about all that lies ahead with a young team of outstanding players like Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe and Jeff Francis.

The Rockies look like they’re going to be around for a while. There used to be talk that Colorado could never win because of their ballpark, Coors Field, and because the Rockies could never put together the kind of pitching staff to win championships.

When you have a lineup as good as the Rockies, you don’t need a ton of pitching. But Colorado’s pitching staff is much better now than it used to be.

How can anyone not be enjoying the Rockies’ streak?

Left Wichita at 6:30 this morning for Manhattan. One of the interesting aspects of the trip is picking the route. Today, I chose Highway 15 through Newton, to Abilene, and over to Manhattan on I-70.

My custom is to stop at the Casey’s General Store in Abilene to take care of business. But today, the toilet in the men’s room was broken. This proved to be a major ordeal because I then decided to attempt to make it all the way to K-State.

Mistake

I made it. Still a mistake.

Parking outside of Snyder Family Stadium is, to say the least, troublesome. People are tailgating and it’s sometimes difficult not to hit them as the stand there, refusing to move. My general inclination is to go ahead and run over them, but I’m told that is against the law. Too bad.

I did finally find a parking spot and rushed to the press box, which for this day served as Casey’s General Store.

The drive was highlighted by two new CDs _ by Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty. Yes, I’m a child of the 1970s, although there is new music I listen to. I’m not a snob.

The Springsteen CD was outstanding but I preferred Fogerty. They’re both amazing, but Fogerty’s music speaks to me. That sounds a little weird, but if you love music you know what I mean.

Anyway, we’re just minutes away from kickoff _ 13:41 to be exact. I’m looking forward to this game and have no idea what will happen.

I can’t remember looking forward to a college football game as much as I am this one. It’s great to have these two playing a game, as they will be Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, with a lot on the line. I think KU and K-State are both excellent football teams, legitimate threats to win the Big 12 North and perhaps even the Big 12 championship.

Call me crazy.

I’ve been thinking all week about which team to pick to win this game and I’m still not sure. I’m probably going to give the edge to Kansas State, but only because the Wildcats will be playing at home. I like their defense, especially Ian Campbell and Rob Jackson up front. Those guys will make it difficult for KU quarterback Todd Reesing because of their size and because of his. He’s short and the K-State defensive front has made a living off of batting balls down at the line of scrimmage.

But I don’t see anything even close to a one-sided game.

Kansas State 24, Kansas 20.

Do not take that one to the bank.