Lutz

I’ve been at this a while and can’t remember covering a crazier game than the one last night between Creighton and Wichita State in the Valley tournament. It was crazy to the point of being stressful, especially with the way the game ended and the controversy about the clock. Memo to Valley: I hope whomever was manning the clock during Friday’s games, when there were issues all day long, wasn’t back at his post for Saturday’s semifinals.

As the winning shot by Creighton’s Booker Woodfox was unfolding, I thought for sure he had been unable to get everything he needed to get done _ the catch, two dribbles and the shot _ in the allotted 1.9 seconds. As I wrote in my column this morning, my mind changed when Valley commissioner Doug Elgin asked me to look at the replay in the Metro Sports production truck.

I know WSU fans are eager to think there’s some big conspiracy going on here; that the Valley badly needed Creighton to win the game to keep alive its NCAA at-large hopes. Well, if there’s such a conspiracy, how do you explain the Shockers’ comeback from a 22-point second-half deficit? Take your conspiracy theories to the next X-Files movie.

This was a case of an incompetent shot-clock operator making a huge mistake at the end of the game. Turns out, the mistake didn’t cost Wichita State the game, but it was close. Much too close.

I was preparing to write a much different column from the one that appeared in the newspaper and on Kansas.com today until I was able to look at the replay, in regular time and slow motion, several times. I was prepared to write that Wichita State had had a victory stolen away and that the Valley hadn’t done nearly enough after the fact to get things straightened out.

As I watched the play in real time while it was happening, I didn’t think there was any way Woodfox could have gotten a shot up in time. I immediately turned to my buddy and WSU beat writer, Paul Suellentrop, and told him the Shockers had been cheated. I asked Creighton coach Dana Altman about it in post-game news conference and I asked WSU coach Gregg Marshall whether he had been able to watch any replays when he took the podium after the game.

I also asked Elgin about allowing a pool reporter to look at the replay, a common practice when there is controversy at the end of a game. At first, he didn’t sound enthused about the idea but he later approached me and Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel about looking at the final 1.9 seconds, and at the play that led to that final 1.9 when WSU’s Clevin Hannah dropped the ball out of bounds and time on the clock ran out. Officials put 1.9 back on the clock, which also was the correct call.

I want to stress that Wichita State athletic director Eric Sexton was also in the production truck and did not question the call after being allowed to look at the same replays that were shown to me.

Listen, I would have loved for Wichita State to have won Friday night’s game. It has nothing to do with being a Shocker homer; it’s all about that it would have been such a great, unbelievable story because of Toure Murry’s three-pointer with nine seconds to play that put WSU up by a point after it trailed by 16 with just 4:19 to play. It was an amazing comeback by a WSU team that never quit and should be proud of itself for the way it recovered from more than 30 minutes of uninspired and lethargic play.

I would love to be in St. Louis again today covering the Valley semifinals. Had the Shockers beaten Creighton, who’s to say they couldn’t have also beaten Illinois State today to get to Sunday’s championship game?

Instead, I got out of bed at 8 this morning _ after a rather long night in the Valley’s hospitality room _ and drove to Lawrence for this afternoon’s KU-Texas game. It’s Senior Day here and the Jayhawks can wrap up the Big 12 championship. As I write this, Missouri is getting drubbed at Texas A&M, by the way. Nice job, Mizzou.

My mind, though, is still on the WSU-Creighton game from last night. The last five minutes were so incredibly wild. What ensued after the game was even wilder. I’ve never covered a more draining game. I’m sure it left the players and coaches for both sides emotionally spent. I know that’s how it left me.

Thanks for reading.

Bowling was fun last year, even though the season went on and on and on. For more than eight months. But it was fun. It was new; I hadn’t bowled in a league since my early 20s. I enjoyed meeting some new people.

The novelty has worn off. I would much rather be at home tonight watching Kansas State play Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Instead, I’m going to record that game and watch it after bowling and after I go to the YMCA, which I plan to do after bowling.

I’m a 160-average bowler. That’s it. I’m never going to be much better and I’ll only get worse. So today I am announcing my retirement from league bowling after the 2009 season. I vow never again to pick up a bowling ball and to turn my attention toward golf, another game in which I’m not very good but at least enjoy a lot more than bowling.

Golf is outdoors. Bowling, of course, is indoors. Golf courses are usually beautiful. Bowling alleys are usually . . . bowling alleys. Golf requires a lot of thinking. Bowling requires a lot of drinking. Golf is relaxing. Bowling is drudgery. Golf is something I anticipate. Bowling is something I dread.

I spent two years in a bowling league and I do appreciate all the people out there who love the sport and who are so good at it. There are people in my league who average 220 and above. It’s amazing to watch them. But I do wonder, just a little bit, what thrill they’re getting out of the repetition of bowling. It is a very good social game; all the hand slapping and back-patting after a strike or a spare. But when I don’t get a strike or a spare, I get really angry. And getting really angry about bowling seems pretty childish to me. Yet I can’t seem to shake the disappointment/rage I feel when I screw up at bowling.

So this is it. In just a few more weeks, I’ll store my bowling ball and shoes in a closet somewhere and, within a few weeks, probably forget I own them. I’ll go to Golf Warehouse and look for a new set of irons and dedicate my spring and summer to trying to get just a little bit better at that game. Doing so will require practice, which is a problem. I love to play golf; I don’t particularly care about going to a golf course and hitting balls off the practice tee.

But I’m going to be better about that this year. Without bowling to tie me down, I’ll feel like a new man.

Stream of consciousness stuff:

It would be fine with me if music-formatted radio stations cut out sports reports all together. Most of the time, the people giving them don’t really have much of an idea what they’re talking about.

I have high hopes that Skip Schumaker will adapt to second base for the St. Louis Cardinals this spring, which would really give the offense a boost. Schumaker is trying to make the conversion from the outfield. By the way, I’ve been checking the Cardinals’ box score from their exhibition game with Baltimore pretty frequently this afternoon. I’m not well.

Congratulations to my very good friend, Denise, who recently announced her engagement. You might remember her as being my love interest from a year or two ago. She moved to California and found the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. I have that affect on women. Denise, by the way, is a faithful reader of this blog.

I need to listen to more new music than I do. But I really like the music I already listen to and for some reason am unwilling to expand my horizons. That disappoints me. I thought I was more hip than that. Apparently, I’m not.

Every night, when I drive home from The Eagle, I go past the new Intrust Bank Arena even though it’s a few blocks out of the way. I can’t wait for that place to open. It’s amazing how quickly it is being built.

I really need Wichita State to win at Southern Illinois on Saturday night. Not being a homer here; I just don’t want to have to go to St. Louis on Thursday for a Valley tournament play-in game. I’m selfish that way. I’m hoping against hope that the Shockers win and become the tournament’s fifth seed, which would bring about a 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal game Friday. Writing on a tight deadline kind of sucks.

Kansas 87, Missouri 81. It’ll be a really exciting atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. These two teams don’t care for one another, in case you hadn’t heard. I think KU goes 3-0 to finish out the regular season and gets a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Who woulda thunk it?

Speaking of Kansas, junior guard Sherron Collins probably doesn’t have the numbers to be a first-team All-American. But he’s as important to his team as any player in the country. You forgive Collins for his occasional transgression because of all those times he turns nothing into something.

My admiration for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner brought about an interesting and exciting change in my life. Details to come. I’m sure you’re all just clamoring to know what I’m talking about.

I don’t care at all about NASCAR, but our Pit Crew segment on Sports Daily is one of my favorite times of the week. Or every other week. Warren Hardy from 81 Speedway and J.R. from Autocraft are great guys and they do a great job with the segment.

Thanks for reading. I’m enjoying the blog. If there’s anything you want me to address, just let me know. I’m here to please.

I’m sure there are Kansas basketball fans who hope Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, who suffered a concussion during Saturday’s loss against Texas, doesn’t answer the bell tonight against the Jayhawks.

To them, I say “hogwash.”

I want Griffin to play and I want him to be at as close to 100 percent as possible tonight. He’s the best player in the country, in my opinion, and a KU win over the Sooners minus Griffin won’t be nearly as meaningful as one in which he plays.

I’m headed to Norman in a few minutes and, selfishly, I will be very disappointed if Griffin can’t go. I expect him to play, but I’m not sure how much. Nor do I know how effective he will be.

Kansas has a big opportunity tonight. Did anyone really expect the Jayhawks would be in a position to win another Big 12 championship just a season after losing so many key players? I know I didn’t. I thought the Jayhawks, realistically, could finish in the top three or four of the conference. But if they are able to get past OU, they’ll have a clear path to yet another championship.

Who is the Big 12’s coach of the year? I’ll go with the coach of tonight’s winning team. Jeff Capel has done an outstanding job at Oklahoma, especially in building depth. The Sooners would have wilted without Griffin earlier this season. Against Texas, though, they hung tough because of freshman guard Willie Warren and because they have a much deeper bench than they had previously.

If KU wins tonight, you have to give the coach of the year award to Self, who is still under-appreciated nationally, in my opinion.

Missouri’s Mike Anderson is still in the discussion. And Kansas State’s Frank Martin has done a great job, particularly considering the Wildcats opened 0-4 in Big 12 play.

On another matter, I was looking at Jerry Palm’s latest NCAA Tournament bracket and it includes six Big 12 teams, but not K-State. In addition to OU, KU, MU and Texas, Palm has Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in the field.

I realize K-State’s RPI is low. But the Wildcats won at Texas A&M last month and have a chance to win at Oklahoma State next week. I’m surprised Palm has A&M in the field.

What are your thoughts about how many teams the Big 12 can expect to get into the NCAA Tournament?

When I first received my jury duty summons, about a month ago, I was put off. “I don’t have time for this,” I thought. “I have too much else going on. I’m busy. Surely, the justice system can manage to get by without me.”

Tuesday was my jury day. I reported to the Sedgwick County Courthouse at 8:30 a.m. and went through the process of jury selection. A little before 5 p.m., I was chosen to be on my first jury. And you know what? It’s exciting. It’s fascinating. It’s daunting. Today, I’m going to hear about a case and help make a decision that could send a person to jail. Or set that person free.

As the day went on Tuesday, I became more and more involved in the process. By the afternoon, I was hoping to get picked for the jury. In fact, I would have been a little bit disappointed if I had been bypassed.

There were 28 of us originally. The attorneys for both sides _ especially the prosecutor _ asked all of us a myriad of questions. Some people were eliminated then and there, especially those who had trouble with English.

I’m missing work for a couple of days. Actually, I’m just re-arranging work and doing some stuff at night instead of during the day. I was put off by the people who told the judge that they just had too much going on to be able to sit on a jury, even though that’s exactly the way I felt.

I’m looking forward to today. I’m in awe of how the process works and honored to be a part of it. You could say I have changed my tune.