Bob’s Blog

I missed my assignment for Saturday’s blog. Sorry. I was on assignment for The Eagle and coming down with the flu and the blog became an afterthought. So I didn’t get to it. But I’m here today, sitting courtside at Bramlage Coliseum awaiting the big game. It’s an interesting atmosphere. Kansas’ players are out doing some shooting and stretch and the K-State students are all over them. Some of it is even in good taste. For the most part, though, it’s stuff you wouldn’t want your kid to hear.

I think this is going to be an interesting game. It better be. I’ve never seen so many media members at a KU-KSU game. And this place is not equipped for a large group of media. Bramlage Coliseum is, to be blunt, a bad venue. It really doesn’t have much going for it. But I won’t dwell on the negatives tonight. This game is just too important for negative vibes.

I’ve spent much of the past three days in bed because of this flu, which came on me slowly and kicked my butt. I’m not good at being sick. I don’t get sick very often. And when I do, I whine. Except there’s nobody there to hear me, so my whining is really for naught. But it makes me feel better.  Last night, while I was in bed, I heard what sounded like moaning. No, not that kind of moaning. Anyway, I woke up my son to ask if he was all right. He said he was and that he didn’t hear the moaning. So I went back to bed and heard it again. This time, I knew it was coming from just outside my front door. So I opened the door and a cat was making all kind of noise. I ran at the cat and it scampered away, which was my intent. Had the cat not scampered away as I ran toward it, I would have felt quite silly.

I’m a dog person, hands down. I would never own a cat, but I have had several dogs in my life. I don’t have one now because I’m out of town too much and I wouldn’t want to drop off my dog at a shelter as much as I would have to. But I would someway like to have a Black Lab. Those dogs are the best.

Tomorrow night, my friend Denise Neil is having me over to her house to . . . . watch the return of Lost. I wanted to keep you people in suspense about her reasoning, maybe start some rumors. But it is what it is. Her husband, Nick, will be there. So will Lori Linenberger, another co-worker. We’re all big fans of the show, even though I’m at an advanced age now that makes it difficult for me to follow the series from one episode to the other. I probably need to watch each episode four or five times before moving on to the next one, but who has time for that? I do plan to watch last season’s two-hour season finale before I embark on the new season. I think Lost is one of the most incredible television shows in history because of its complexities. I admit to having no idea what’s going on most of the time, but I enjoy trying to figure it out.

Lost is probably my favorite television show of the moment. I’m not watching nearly as much TV this season as I’m accustomed to watching and I blame the writer’s strike. It’s just so hard to know what’s on and when it’s on and whether it’s a rerun or not. I sure do wish the writer’s were back at work.

I didn’t make a prediction about the KU-KSU game in the newspaper. At least not in our newspaper. I received an e-mail from Tim Bisel of the Topeka Capital-Journal on Tuesday, asking if I would pick the score. I obliged, picking Kansas to win, 80-75. I think it could be worse than that, but I’m giving K-State some home-court friendliness. And with a player like Michael Beasley, the Wildcats are capable of making this a great game. Beasley could score 30 points and grab 20 rebounds and it wouldn’t shock anyone. If the Wildcats can get another 45 points out of everyone else, they could win this game. I think it’s all about the Jayhawks’ experience. They’ve been in so many tough places to play and I believe these players relish their 24-game winning streak in Manhattan. The crowd will amp up Kansas State, but it will do the same to the Kansas players. So, I’m sticking by my 80-75 pick.

We’ll talk more Saturday.