KCTV Flubs Border War Broadcast

With less than 5 minutes remaining in Saturday's Missouri-Kansas Basketball game, CBS Sports inexplicably switched the feed to the Michigan-Michigan State game. Needless to say, there was slightly less demand for the Big 10 rivalry game as there was for the Border War locally. And yes, it a WAR, not a "Showdown" as some PC pantywaists want you to believe. Though Kansas should have had the game well in hand, Missouri did mount a furious too little-too late comeback to eventually lose by just 4 with local fans running to their radios to hear the outcome of the final minutes.

Soon after the game, the horribly lame excuses started roll in from KCTV, CBS's local affiliate in Kansas City. First it was noted that it was not KCTV's fault for the feed is sent by CBS - that excuse was soon rendered useless as word got out that Topeka and St Louis's CBS affiliate switched back to the MU-KU game within minutes. The next excuse was sun spots. Are you freaking kidding me? Sun spots? Are you sure it wasn't Bigfoot or a Leprechaun who tripped over the network feed cable? No matter what the problem was, there simply is no excuse for KCTV to have dropped the ball like this. I have a feeling what really happened is that no one noticed the problem until it was too late to do anything about. They were literally "asleep at the switch". What should we expect from a news station that did not even have a sports department for 7 years until last year when they hired Michael Coleman (ugh) to be their Sports Director.

I'd link to Coleman's page on KCTV's website if there was one. In fact, you can't even find the guy's name mentioned on the website. Has he been fired? Well, if so I don't think anyone would notice. Oh, I almost forgot, KU can SUCK IT!

KU beats Mizzou, Wins Big 12 Title Outright

Turns out, Kansas won't be sharing anything this season, as it won the Big 12 title outright with a tough 70-66 win over Mizzou in Columbia. The game showcased the Jayhawks' toughness, as they survived a late Tiger push, some of the worst calls you will ever see and even the ever classy Mizzou fans throwing things on the court. Kansas has now won at least a share of seven consecutive conference titles, and has won the last three outright.

Despite being terrible on the road, Missouri had been undefeated at home leading up to Saturday's contest. Once again, the Tigers had absolutely no answer for the KU big men, especially Marcus Morris, who had a monster game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas Robinson helped KU build a lead it wouldn't lose in the second half with a lot of tough put-backs, and ended up with 15 points and 13 boards. If KU's big men continue to play at a high level, KU is almost unbeatable - no other team in the country has the firepower to match what the Jayhawks do inside.

For Missouri, it was the same old story. Despite a perfect home record, the Tigers again couldn't avoid a season sweep at the hands of their rival. Is it time for Mizzou fans to panic? Possibly - Mizzou ended its regular season with three straight losses and is limping into the post season. Its tournament seed will be average at best, which means the Tigers will likely have to knock off a very good team in round two to crash the Sweet 16. It looks like Mike Anderson may have taken this program as far as he can. MU is always competitive and good enough to finish in the top half of the Big 12 and make the NCAA tournament, but thats about it. Missouri rarely beats Kansas - the Jayhawks have won the last five meetings and 11 of the last 14 - and has still never been to the Final 4. Anderson is rumored to be interested in the Arkansas job, and it would be interesting to get a Tigers' perspective on this.

Previewing the Last Weekend of Big 12 Play

The Big 12 regular season comes to a close this weekend, and there is still a lot to be decided. The current Big 12 standings have KU sitting alone in first, and the Jayhawks have already clinched a share of the regular season title. Texas will attempt to snap out of its annual tailspin for a shot at a share of the title as well, although it must go through Baylor in Waco, with the Bears fighting for their tournament lives.

In ESPN's current Bracketology, Joe Lunardi has Baylor and Colorado in his first four out grouping, while Nebraska is in his next four out. All three teams have a chance to boost their tournament stock this weekend. Colorado and Nebraska fittingly will face each other, as the Buffs will try to recover from a disasterous 95-90 loss to last place Iowa State. Colorado appeared in after its comeback win over Texas, however the Buffs tournament hopes are on life support at the moment. CU needs to beat Nebraska (who can only get in with a win today and a deep Big 12 tournament run) and make some noise in the conference tournament for a spot. Baylor's position is pretty simple: beat Texas and win its opening Big 12 tournament game, and the Bears are back in good shape. Anything less, and a talented Baylor team that reached the Elite 8 last year will be watching March Madness from home.

With all the bubble drama, fans can find a nice distraction in what should be another great Border War. Missouri has been unbeatable at home, and equally terrible on the road. The game should be a great opening for what looks like the best regular season weekend of the year.

Mizzou Finishes Road Conference Season at an Embarassing 1-7

Mike Anderson's Missouri basketball team plopped another turd on the court Tuesday night to end their Conference road season at 1-7. Now, we MU fans are generally not nearly as reactionary as KU fans, but that is F'n ridiculous! There is no way in hell this team should be only muster one stinking road win.

Even worse perhaps, was the way they lost on Tuesday night. The Tigers were out-rebounded 32-18 while tying the Cornholers in the turnover battle 17-17. Mizzou had ZERO second chance points. You're not going to win many games with those kind of stats. Really, to me, it seems they just don;t have their heads in the game - almost like the opposing crown is getting to them. That should not happen at this level and Coach Anderson is to blame.

That's not to say something stupid like Mike Anderson should be fired, but he is definitely having a down year and we should expect better from him in the future. The good news is that Missouri has no more road games left, and they have been decent on neutral courts. With just one home win over rival Kansas standing between them and an undefeated season at home, Missouri could sure make their faithful breathe easier if they take care of business on Saturday at Mizzou Arena. This team could still do some damage in the tournament and salvage the season.

Border War TIckets Now on Sale

 
KU vs. MU at Arrowhead - Border War

Tickets for the fourth annual Border War are now open to the public. The tickets became available yesterday morning at around 10 a.m., with many KU and MU fans gobbling up tickets as soon as they became available.

The game will be fourth installment of the series to be played at Arrowhead Stadium. After being met with criticism and skepticism from both KU and MU fans and officials, the rivalry game has been a huge success. All three games have been nail-biters decided in the final seconds, and the revenue and turnout for all three contests has exceeded expectations.

Fans can purchase tickets to the KU / MU Border War at Arrowhead Stadium by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.com/bordershowdown or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase through Missouri by calling 800-228-7297 or Kansas at 800-344-2957.

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