I’m signing off for a while, folks. Probably until Tuesday. Feel free to keep commenting and antagonizing each other, but I’m headed back to Vermont for my best friend’s wedding. Wouldn’t miss it for the world, although Jordan-Hare is enticing. I trust you’ll relay your best stories about what you all did or saw in Auburn. We’ll start it back up next week - and there a couple of surprises in store.
As always, handle your business…
Kirk Sampson, the sports information director at Auburn, said senior left tackle King Dunlap will play Saturday against K-State despite being arrested Monday on a misdemeanor warrant for not paying a speeding ticket.
"The discipline will be handled internally," Sampson said.
Also, in response to Internet chatter about the availability of junior running back Brad Lester, who ran for 510 yards and nine touchdowns in 2006, Sampson said there was no update from coach Tommy Tuberville.
I’m leafing through Auburn’s media guide and on page 202, there’s a picture of Ryan Lackey, a recent K-State graduate who worked in media relations. It says he’s doing the same at Auburn, an assistant handling cross country, gymnastics and women’s tennis.
Lucky fellow.
Anyway, on Monday at the Vanier Football Complex, there’s Lackey, back in Manhattan, in his first day on his new job at his alma mater, helping out on football and assuming the lead role on all things baseball.
He’s not listed in K-State’s award-winning media guide.
So I figured he’d be uniquely qualified to give the straight scoop on what might go down this weekend at Jordan-Hare Stadium and, well, I was wrong.
Asked how he was going to handle being a K-State alum while working at Auburn, Lackey said, “It was going to be difficult, I know that.”
He quickly realized the difference between the SEC and the Big 12 when he turned on the radio. The sports talk programs are bombarded with calls from Auburn or Alabama fans, both camps taking shots at each other. And the bitter rivals don’t play until Nov. 24.
K-State/KU, it’s not, he said.
And then there’s Jordan-Hare, which holds a capacity of 87,451 — about 35,000 more than “The Bill.”
“It’s not even the biggest stadium in the SEC,” Lackey said.
Auburn has only the fifth-largest, behind Georgia (92,746), Alabama (92,158), LSU (91,600) and Florida (88,548). But as Ron Prince recently said, fans won’t coming out of the stands to tackle the Wildcats.
There is a mystique, though. Look at the point spread — 13.5 points is a lot.
How about it, Lackey? A prediction?
“I can’t make a prediction,” Lackey said. “I’m not in a place to do that. I don’t know. I got nothing.”
Aren’t you better for reading this blog?
The Auburn quarterback speaks. He seems like a nice kid, real polite. He’s a winner, 19-5 as a starter. He’s also comfortable being a "caretaker" of the offense, but more on that in Thursday’s Eagle.
I asked him what he thought when he heard "Kansas State." This was his response:
"The Big 12. It’s a strong conference, no different than the SEC. A good team."
I asked him what he thought about Josh Freeman, and being the "other" quarterback in Saturday’s game:
"I haven’t thought too much about their offense, but in talking to our guys, (K-State) has a real talented quarterback. … I’m OK with that."
And finally, I asked him what we could expect:
"They’re a talented team. We’re going to have to play a good game."
OK, nothing earth-shattering here, I know. But bear with me. I’m still trying to get into the swing of things…
C’mon, you all knew it was just a matter of time. Yep, the powers that be have relented and given me a blog, a forum to inform, perhaps educate and hopefully entertain K-State Nation. A little ambitious, sure, but you have to aim high, right?
What can you expect from “K-Stated”? Quirky, off-beat stories, a weekly feature I will call “Five Questions” that will allow you, the reader, to understand your favorite Wildcats a little differently, a glossary of Ron Prince’s favorite terms and much more. I want this to be interactive, so definitely send in questions. I plan to publish live updates during games, home and away. There will be contests - I promise to send readers stuff taken directly from my desk - and it should be a blast.
But it won’t be all light. There will be news and analysis, too. Predictions. Maybe some video at some point. Basically, it will be everything a K-State fan could want, and hopefully more. Nah, now I’m setting the bar too high, placing myself in a position to fail. Seriously, it’s going to be a lot of fun - but only if you all help.
What do you think?