Monthly Archives: October 2008

Behind the scenes: KCAC Media Day

Oct. 15, 20085:42 p.m.

My second media day in two days. This one, for KCAC men’s and women’s basketball at Friends. Can’t say I feel too bad for myself … those sentiments are strictly reserved for the Salina Journal’s Bob Davidson, who made the trek down I-135 two days in a row in pouring rain for Jayhawk media day yesterday and then again Tuesday for the KCAC. Back and forth, back and forth. Not a lot of sleep for that guy, or as he told me:”Tony, I love your city, I really do. But I might not be back for awhile.” Can’t blame him. He looked exhausted.

And thanks to Mrs. O’Hara and Mrs. Alter in the Friends writing center for letting me type my story there and get out of the rain. What a great pair of ladies.

Down to the nitty gritty:

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By Tony Adame | Filed under KCAC | Comments Off

Behind the scenes: Jayhawk Media Day

Oct. 13, 20086:42 p.m.

All of the schools from the Jayhawk Conference — East and West — convened in Wichita this morning at the Airport Best Western for Media Day, and as always, much hilarity ensued.

There were a lot of highlights from the day … I got to see a lot of old friends and colleagues, and an old college classmate who is now the cream of the crop for women’s coaches on the junior college level. There’s a lot to be said for finding a place you like, close to home, and building something out of nothing. Emily, are you listening?

Let’s run this down. We’ve got a lot to go over.

1. Steve Eck, Steve Eck, Steve Eck.

Steve Eck, Cowley

ECK

Coach Eck and Media Day are an interesting fit. I walked into the hotel at the same time as he did and asked what he thought of these things. I got a look, and a laugh. There’s a lot of bluffing that goes on at these things, and Coach Eck, while he isn’t bad at putting on a poker face … isn’t fooling anybody. That’s just the way it is. And his team got picked to finish first, which I’m sure irked him to no end. I talked to a lot of coaches who say they’ve signifigantly scaled back their recruiting efforts in Wichita since he took over. One look at his roster (eight City League kids) lets you know why. They’re not sure how bad he’s hurt yet, but Southeast’s Adonis Gantt (a Division I signee at Georgia Southern) hurt his knee at a jamboree in Dallas over the weekend, which is bad news. On the good news front, last year’s leading scorer, Chris Rhymes, tore his ACL at the Region VI Tournament and the Tigers finished second without him. He’s doing well at Cal State-Fullerton, thank you very much. Good for Chris.

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By Tony Adame | Filed under Butler, Coffeyville, Cowley, Jayhawk | Comments Off

FB SCORE UPDATES 10.11

Oct. 11, 20085:02 p.m.

Last updated at 8:42 p.m.

MIAA

Washburn 14, Emporia State 6

Missouri Southern 28, Fort Hays State 0

No. 14 Pittsburg State 45, Truman State 28

KCAC

No. 7 Friends 31, SW Assemblies of God 9

Ottawa 14, Kansas Wesleyan 7

Sterling 28, McPherson 0

Bethany 21, Tabor 14

No. 18 Bethel 38, Southwestern 18

Saint Mary 37, Haskell 6

JAYHAWK

No. 5 Fort Scott 30, Dodge City 0

No. 19 Garden City 37, Highland 10

Coffeyville (2-4, 1-3) at Hutchinson (2-3, 1-3), 7 p.m. _

Air Force Prep (3-4) at at Independence (2-3, 2-2), 7 p.m. _

By Tony Adame | Filed under Jayhawk, KCAC, MIAA | Comments (2)

Congrats to Ronda Shirley

Oct. 10, 20089:29 p.m.

Hutchinson Community College volleyball coach Ronda Shirley hit a milestone Friday night with her 300th win. At Sunflower Slate, we’re all about milestones.

Ronda Shirley, HCC

Ronda Shirley, HCC

Here’s the release from Hutchinson SID Steve Carpenter, a former sports writer:

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By Tony Adame | Filed under Hutchinson C.C., Jayhawk | Comments Off

Q&A with Sunflower Slate: Newman AD Vic Trilli

Oct. 9, 200810:59 p.m.

Newly-minted Newman University athletic director Vic Trilli was kind enough to sit down with Sunflower Slate for a Q&A last week, and while he’s adjusting to his move from Garden City — where he was the Garden City Community College AD since 2005 — to Wichita just fine, there’s still a few loose ends that needed to be tied up in Western Kansas before he can set up roots here. I had the opportunity to cover a Trilli-led athletic department for the better part of two seasons when I was with the Garden City Telegram, so there’s a little history there between us, which of course makes him a Sunflower Slate favorite. He’s also got big-time experience; he was the men’s basketball coach at North Texas and an assistant at the University of Texas before getting into an administration role.

Vic Trilli, Newman AD

Vic Trilli, Newman AD

Here’s some excerpts from our interview:

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By Tony Adame | Filed under Heartland Conference, Newman, Q&A with Sunflower Slate | Comments (1)

Roll call: Best of the MIAA, KCAC & Jayhawk (10/6)

Oct. 6, 20086:35 p.m.

Roll call has officially returned, Sunflower State-ians. And this week’s a doozy. Let’s hit it.

FOOTBALL

MIAA

Nothing like being named defensive player of the week in your first start, right Brad Cole?

The Washburn wide receiver-turned-linebacker grabbed MIAA honors for defense in his first start after switching to linebacker from wide receiver and produced dividends immediately. Cole, a 6 foot-3, 205-pound junior, picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards for the Ichabods’ first score in a 23-0 win at Missouri Southern, Wasburn’s first shutout in 46 games. Cole also recovered a fumble and returned it eight yards, and had three tackles — including a tackle for loss. That’s called stepping up when your team needs you, and trust me this one needed a boost after a hot start followed by some deflating losses.

Brad Cole, Washburn

Brad Cole, Washburn

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By Tony Adame | Filed under Jayhawk, KCAC, MIAA | Comments (5)

Scores update 10/4

Oct. 4, 20085:35 p.m.

Here’s some scores from the MIAA, KCAC and Jayhawk Conference as of 8-ish on Saturday night. Will definitely update after they’re all said and done:

MIAA

22 Central Missouri 42, Emporia State 14

Missouri Western 31, Fort Hays State 28

Washburn 23, Missouri Southern 0

#7 Northwest Missouri 35, #6 Pittsburg St. 10

KCAC

Kansas Wesleyan 40, Southwestern 0

Saint Mary’s 30, McPherson 28

#7 Friends 58, Tabor 6

Ottawa at SW Assemblies of God, 2 p.m.

#10 NW Oklahoma State 38, #25 Sterling 14

Bethany at #20 Bethel, 7 p.m.

KJCCC

Air Force Prep 33, Highland 0 (Friday)

#11 Fort Scott 35, Independence 0

Hutch at #5 Butler, 7 p.m.

Garden City at Coffeyville, 7 p.m.
By Tony Adame | Filed under Jayhawk, KCAC, MIAA | Comments Off

UPSET SPECIALS (NEWMAN, PITT STATE)

Oct. 4, 200812:16 a.m.

There were a couple of big upsets in state college sports Friday and none bigger than the one right here in the Air Capitol by the newly-minted NCAA Division II Newman Jets, who defeated No. 7-ranked Drury University 3-2. Much props to Brian Alvarez, a fellow Wichita Northwest graduate who scored one of Newman’s three goals. He gets his picture on this blog right here, right now, because he’s a Grizzly. And he’s a pretty good soccer player. But more because he’s a Grizzly.

Brian Alvarez, Newman

Brian Alvarez, Newman

Newman SID Brian Petrotta wrote a great story on the game.

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By Tony Adame | Filed under Heartland Conference, MIAA, Newman, Pittsburg State | Comments (1)

Newman’s May gets big win

Oct. 2, 200811:44 p.m.

Props to Newman’s Nick May — A Kechi native — on his big win Tuesday at the SMUBWMI on Tuesday in Austin. Nothing like a great win at the SMUBWMI. And no, the tournament’s name isn’t SMUBWMI, it’s just short for its ridiculously long proper name.

Here’s the release from Newman SID Bryan Petrotta, who is doing a heckuva job in his new role in Wichita. And when I say he’s doing a heckuva job I don’t mean like this. That’s definitely somebody who wasn’t doing a good job.

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By Tony Adame | Filed under Heartland Conference, Newman | Comments Off