Lutz

* I’m mad about North senior guard Conner Frankamp not being chosen to the McDonald’s high school All-America team. What does the kid have to do? He’s set to become the all-time leading scorer in a legit, tough, historical league. He’s going to Kansas next season, not Kansas Wesleyan. He’s been a star internationally and in the summer AAU circuit.

* Here’s what makes me mad, though. In 25 years, when I’m either long gone or living in my son’s basement, the legacy of Frankamp will be diminished. He belongs in any discussion of greatest City Leaguers ever with the likes of Perry Ellis, Ricky Ross, Antoine Carr, Darnell Valentine, Aubrey Sherrod and Greg Dreiling. But all of those guys were McDonald’s All-Americans. Frankamp is not.

* Of course, I haven’t seen enough of the other McDonald’s All-Americans to know how Frankamp stacks up. But his absence from the team makes me question the selection process. Frankamp tweeted earlier today that his McDonald’s All-America snub – not his word, mine – will motivate him the rest of the season and, presumably, beyond.

Moving on.

* I’m counting the minutes (226 as I write this) until the Eagles documentary airs tonight on Showtime. This is just Part I; Part II airs tomorrow night. I think I know a lot about this band, but I think there are going to be some revelations in this documentary. I’m looking forward to hearing the interviews with past Eagles Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner and especially Don Felder, who was unceremoniously dumped by the band a in the early 2000s. I’m curious to hear what David Geffen, the former music mogul who later turned to movies, has to say. His relationship with Don Henley and Glenn Frey turned acrimonious. And I’m also eager to hear Henley and Frey, the architects of the band, talk about everything.

* Wichita State has a tough road the rest of the way in the Missouri Valley Conference basketball race. So even with a one-game lead and four to play, it’s not a sure thing that the Shockers will win or even tie for the conference title. The Shockers play at Illinois State on Sunday and at Indiana State on Tuesday. Will they win both, lose both or split? I’m saying WSU splits, but that might be optimistic. Illinois State is playing better than any other team in the Valley and I expect Indiana State to pull it together after a rough stretch. This is one of the most interesting, and toughest, back-to-back road games the Shockers have played in a while.

* I’ve been surprised by the lack of minutes recently for sophomore forward Jake White.

* Baylor at Kansas State is an interesting game Saturday. I’m not sure how the Wildcats will bounce back from their beat-down at the hands of Kansas on Big Monday in Allen Fieldhouse. And Baylor is such a hot and cold team, who knows how the Bears will play? Being at home will help K-State and I expect the Cats will handle Baylor.

* I would think Creighton basketball fans are somewhat dismayed by the team’s recent struggles. Remember, Greg McDermott didn’t last long as coach at Iowa State. And certainly this Bluejays team has hit an unforeseen wall, losing five of eight. Strange and it makes you wonder just a little bit about McDermott, doesn’t it? Then again, who’s to say Creighton doesn’t rediscover its mojo and go on a big run the rest of the way?

* I heard a great interview on “The Jim Rome Show” today with Miami (Fla.) coach Jim Larranaga. Man, that guy just gets it. Nice to see the Hurricanes having success in basketball. And more and more, this looks like a team that could win it all.

* Miami winning it all? I guess that says it all about college basketball in 2012-13.

* At some point, don’t we have to stop being surprised by anything someone in the public eye does? The latest “shocking” development is the alleged murder of Reeva Steenkamp by her boyfriend, 2012 London Olympian Oscar Pistorius, who is also a double amputee. Who didn’t get behind Pistorius? He has an amazing athletic story. But it didn’t mean anything more than he has an amazing story. We do not know these people, thus we shouldn’t be shocked by anything that happens.

* Michael Jordan says Kobe Bryant is better than LeBron James. Thanks for weighing in, Mike. Now get back to your ESPN 50th birthday celebration.

* I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but the Washington Wizards are 5-5 in their past 10 games. Still 15-36 overall, but it’s something.

* Can we just wrap up the NBA championship and give it to the Miami Heat. Miami’s dismantling of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, in OKC, was beyond impressive.

* I enjoy the Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles. The Lakers are one of those teams you either love or hate. And with most of those teams, I’m probably in the “hate” ledger. The Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees are other examples. And “hate” is probably too strong of a word. But “strongly dislike” just doesn’t have the zing.

* I’m a big, big fan of Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins.

* It’s been fun to reminisce this week about Shocker basketball during the Harry Miller era. Miller, who died this week, coached WSU from 1971-78 and had some of the finest players in Shocker history. If there’s one topic that sports fans in this community like talking about, it’s Wichita State basketball. And I’m always game.

* Next week in these musings, I’m going to break down the contestants I think will go the farthest this season on “American Idol.” I know you can’t wait. If you’ve been watching this season, what do you think? I think the competitors, especially the females, are as strong as ever. I also don’t understand why some people dislike this show so much. But not everybody is like me. I have finally come to accept that.

* Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful weekend. It’s not 187 minutes until the Eagles documentary.

The subjective nature of writing used to be maddening for me.

It was my goal – my focused, intense goal – to be a good writer. Whatever “good” means when it comes to writing, because it’s so often in the eyes of the reader.

I grew up appreciating, though, what I deemed to be good writing. I enjoyed reading The Wichita Eagle as a kid and was drawn to the writing of people like Max Seibel, John Swagerty, Bill Hodge and others. Were they good writers? I sure think they were, especially in their primes.

Later, I enjoyed the writing of many of the people I worked with in the sports department at The Eagle, such as Dan Lauck, who had a brief period as our columnist way back in the 1970s. I would start listing some of the names of the writers I admired over the years at the newspaper, but I would surely miss someone and then have some serious explaining to do.

So much of what a newspaper does is about reporting. And bulldog reporters are worth their weight in gold, even if they’re only so-so writers. Getting the story is much more than half the battle.

But even after four decades in this business, I’m drawn most to those who can turn a phrase and pull me into a story with the ability to write.

Those who can both report and write are the best in the business, in my opinion. A guy like Rick Plumlee, who for more than 30 years covered KU sports for us and more recently has been a jack of all trades on our news side, is a tremendous reporter and writer.

Kirk Seminoff, currently The Eagle’s sports editor, moved up the ladder from being a part-time correspondent because of his ability to report a story and write it with equal aplomb. (It never hurts to suck up to the sports editor. And using the word “aplomb” when describing him is sure to get me a raise.)

I have admired many others of my colleagues and contemporaries over the years, of course. And I have learned different things from most of the people I have worked with.

What makes for a good sports writer?

That’s the million-dollar question.

The ability to make a story rich is one thing I look for. I admire those who can turn what could be a mundane story into something more. It almost always takes some extra time to find that element that will make an OK story something better, but it’s important to do so.

Words, of course, are important. But not too many. Getting bogged down by words will turn a reader off and this is one of the great battles most writers face. I still occasionally want to use too many words when fewer would tell the story better.

I can’t really pinpoint where I learned to write. I know that I gained a lot of confidence in my writing during my junior year of high school, when I was far from an ardent student. One of my composition teachers, I believe it was Mrs. Thomas, gave us an assignment to pick a subject and to write a 20-page paper.

I chose, of course, Chinese art. I had a bit of an attitude problem in high school, and I was going to show the teacher that I was capable of writing about a subject that I previously knew nothing about. It was one of my many silly decisions in those years, but I was determined to pull it off. And determination, at times, was in short supply for me.

So I read everything I could find about Chinese art. It was an age before the Internet, so I actually had to scramble to find stuff. I was pretty sure that I had made a huge mistake by picking this subject matter, but the fact that I had something to prove pushed me.

I wrote the paper. And I got an ‘A.’ Little did I know then that researching the subject matter, and then writing a paper, was the best training possible for what I was going to do with my career. It tested me as a reporter and as a writer.

I think I got a ‘C’ in the class, but that’s not important. Or at least that’s probably what I told my parents at the time. What was important, and what sticks with me to this day, was that I wrote a 20-page research paper on Chinese art, the most obscure subject in the world to me at the time.

I’ve been in many uncomfortable spots as a reporter and columnist since then. But I’ve always been able to draw on that one high school experience to help me through.

I don’t know if I’m a good writer or not. And that’s the truth. Writers are the most insecure people in the world because we’re putting it out there on a regular basis. It’s like running naked through city streets. OK, not quite like that, but you get my point.

Every time I sit down with a blank computer screen, it’s my job to put something readable on it. I want to be enlightening and entertaining. I want to push your buttons. I want you to either love me or hate me. That’s my goal. But I’m probably failing because I’m no good.

There I go, being a writer again.

* Do Wichita State and Kansas bounce back Saturday and defeat Missouri State and Oklahoma? Great question. How can anyone who has been paying attention think it’s automatic. Kansas plays at OU and it won’t be easy. The Sooners are not a bad club and are getting better under Lon Kruger. Missouri State, meanwhile, is only 7-17, but is 5-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears can’t score, averaging just 60 points per game. You would think this would be a relatively easy one for the Shockers. You would think . . .

* Kansas State could atop the Big 12 standings by Saturday evening, provided the Cats can beat Iowa State at Bramlage Coliseum and OU is able to top Kansas. I’m hoping both K-State and KU win Saturday to set up a Big Monday showdown at Allen Fieldhouse, a game that would be for sole possession of first place.

* Is K-State’s Bruce Weber a national coach of the year candidate? I think he’s in the discussion, at least. The frontrunner should be Miami (Fla.) coach Jim Larranaga, with Michigan’s John Beilein, Indiana’s Tom Crean, Florida’s Billy Donovan, Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Arizona’s Sean Miller also in the discussion.

* It breaks my heart that right-hander Chris Carpenter won’t be able to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. He’s my second-favorite Cardinals pitcher ever, behind Bob Gibson. Carpenter and Gibson shared an intensity that I admire. They were battlers and could be mean and nasty.

* I tried to be mean and nasty back when I pitched years ago. But my 82 mph fastball didn’t intimidate anyone. I did have a mean hook, though.

* Of all of my athletic endeavors – and let’s not make it out like I was some tremendous all-around stud because I wasn’t – pitching was the most fun. I loved the one-on-one nature of being on the mound. I still occasionally have dreams about being a pitcher and that feeling of trying to get hitters out by any means necessary.

* I was a decent shooter in basketball, although I never acknowledged defense.

* I could play some ping-pong, too, back in the day. But chicks, I discovered, don’t really dig ping-pong.

* If Alex Rodriguez never plays another inning of baseball, I think I’ll be OK. It’ll be tough, but I’ll do my best to persevere.

* The Grammy Awards might be my favorite awards show. Of course, it has nothing to do with the awards; I watch for the performances. It looks like there are a bunch of intriguing pairings for Sunday night’s show, including what should be a wonderful tribute to the late Levon Helm of The Band that will include Elton John, Mumford & Sons, Zac Brown, Alabama Shakes singer Brittany Howard and Mavis Staples, with T Bone Burnett on board as musical director.

* There will also be a Bob Marley tribute starring Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Sting and an as-yet-unconfirmed combination of Marley descendants that may include Ziggy, Steven and Damian. Should be interesting.

* I’m always torn at this time of the year, between my anticipation for baseball season and the excitement of the final weeks of the college basketball season leading up to the NCAA Tournament. I guess there’s room for both to excite me.

* This is a huge season for Wichita State’s baseball team, which hasn’t been to an NCAA Tournament in three years. But it’s a gargantuan season for the Shockers’ veteran coach, Gene Stephenson, who might need to get to the postseason to survive. This will be one of the biggest stories of the spring in Wichita.

* One of my favorite new bands is Alabama Shakes. Their lead singer, Brittany Howard, reminds me a little of Janis Joplin. That’s pretty high praise, I’m aware.

* We’re down to 43 male contestants in “American Idol,” and I’m picking three to go far. They are: Curtis Finch, Nick Boddington, Devin Velez.

* I think Scott Pelley is a terrific anchor for “CBS News,” and an even better correspondent for “60 Minutes.”

* I can’t wait to see Melissa McCarthy in “Identify Thief,” even though the movie is getting only lukewarm reviews.

* Are you watching “The Following” on Fox? Or is it too intense for you? My wife stuck with it for a couple of episodes before she had to give up. She now watches HGTV on the upstairs television while I watch Kevin Bacon chase killers, who so far have been able to separate themselves from getting caught by more than six degrees.

* That was a stretch, but I think it might have worked. Maybe.

* Valentine’s Day is so ridiculous. I treat my wife like it’s Valentine’s Day 365 days a year. I wonder if she agrees.

* I’ve tried to get an interview with Super Bowl official and Derby’s own Steve Stelljes, who was the head linesman for last Sunday’s game. But the NFL won’t allow Stelljes to talk to the media.

* When it comes to social media, I spend 75 percent of my time on Facebook and 25 percent on Twitter. Which makes me a Facebook guy, I suppose.

* It’ll be fun over the next few years watching the construction of the 13th Street bridge, which is going on close to where I live. That’s a game-changing project for Wichita’s west side. I know you east-siders don’t really care. But we’re pretty excited about it over here in the sticks.

* My phone just buzzed with the news that the Cardinals and third baseman David Freese have avoided arbitration with a one-year deal. My phone buzzes several times a day with news, some of which I care about. My phone pretty much owns me.

* Have you had just about enough of this Kobe Bryant-Dwight Howard nonsense?

* Thanks for checking in. I hope your weekend is good. I’ll be back with more on the blog Monday, before I head up to Lawrence for the Kansas-Kansas State game.

Last week, I took you throughthe first phase of my newspaper career at The Eagle. Riveting stuff, as I recall. I’m sure you’ve been on the edge of your seats, waiting for Part II.

But Part II is what you’re getting today, like it or not.

So we’ll pick up the story in 1991, after the high school extra, “Score,”  that some of us produced for four years folded.

My sports editor at the time, Tom Shine, decided to put me back on the Wichita State beat, which I had previously in 1980-81. I was older now, more assured and, honestly, a much better reporter, which is the essence of covering any beat. The best beat writers are really beat reporters. It’s getting the story that is the most important thing. Not that good writing isn’t important because I think it always is. But if you don’t cover the beat, you don’t have stories to write.

Make sense?

Anyway, this time I spent four years on the WSU beat, traveling to garden spots like Terre Haute, Ind., and Cedar Falls, Iowa. Actually, it was a blast, even though the Shockers’ basketball team, coached by Mike Cohen and Scott Thompson, was abysmal. WSU literally won a handful of road games during my four seasons on the beat.

But our traveling party included sports information director Scott Schumacher, KAKE television anchor Roger Wallace, who did the TV games at the time, Mike Kennedy, Steve Shogren and Roger’s analyst, who was Tom Kosich.

We all got along well and that made the road trips bearable. And as bad as Shocker basketball was during those years, Shocker baseball was a different story. I covered WSU in the College World Series three years in a row, from 1991 to 1993. The Shocks were loaded with great players and good guys and covering that team is one of the highlights of my career.

Still, I was ready to get off the beat by the end of the 1994 baseball season and try something new. I became the sports department’s general assignment reporter and was given great freedom to find good stories and write them. My emphasis was producing a good Sunday reader each week. I was a GA for about two years before kind of stumbling into the columnist position.

When our columnist at the time, Fred Mann, decided to move to our news side, I pushed for the job. Fortunately, the sports editor at the time, Sherry Johnson, was open to the idea. But she first wanted to give me a trial run and asked me to come up with some columns.

One of the first I wrote was about the 1996 United States women’s gymnastics team, and it wasn’t entirely flattering. The editors at The Eagle put that column on Page 1A, to my surprise, and it created some feedback, much of it negative. Little did I know that was going to be the story of my life as a sports columnist.

I didn’t flench. One of my next columns called for the firing of Scott Thompson as Wichita State’s basketball coach. I had covered Thompson’s teams for three seasons and consider him one of the best people I have ever been around in this business. But the Shockers were awful and Thompson, who appeared to be a good hire after some success as Rice, wasn’t turning things around.

It wasn’t long after that column that Thompson was, indeed, fired. And Randy Smithson was hired. I would go on to have a hot and cold relationship with Smithson during his four seasons as coach, writing some of the most critical columns I have ever written about a guy I have always had respect for.

Column writing is an interesting profession, and it’s not for everyone. At first, I wasn’t sure it was for me. I was getting a lot of feedback, which any writer enjoys, but a good percentage of it was hateful. It was a brand new world and it took me time to understand why people were so fired up about the things I was writing.

My editors – first Sherry Johnson and then Kirk Seminoff – were encouraging. More than once, I’m sure, they talked me off the ledge. Honestly, though, I did enjoy the give-and-take with readers, even when they disagreed. I enjoy conflict, what can I say. But I also know, I think, when to turn it off. And I have always understood that sports is not about life and death, usually, and that a difference of opinion should not become a character assassination.

Readers, for the most part, have been tremendous. Even most of those who don’t agree with something I’ve written. No columnist wants total agreement with what he/she writes. That would be boring and it would mean the columnist wasn’t doing the job.

I have always had strong opinions (just ask my friends), and I have never been shy about sharing them. And they’re just that, opinions. Neither right nor wrong, although I certainly believe everything I write.

Writing columns has given me the best years of my journalism career. I’d like to do it another few years before starting to perhaps slow down just a little. I hope, though, that I’m always writing at least occasionally for The Eagle, where I have worked since I was 19. Apparently I like it.

Thanks again for reading and for indulging me as I write about me.