NBA Comes to Kansas City Tonight

Kansas City will be an NBA town for one night only, as the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder square off in a preseason contest. The event is sold out with the game starting at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 5:30 when players will begin warming up. Before the game, H&R Block will be hosting a block party in which fans can win last-minute tickets. The party is free.

Lebron James is always a must-see attraction, but even more so now that he stabbed Cleveland in the back and formed a superteam in Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Love him or hate him, James always puts on a show, and tonight should be no different.

Not only does this game feature the NBA's new possible dynasty, but it also features a team that Kansas City almost had. When moving from Seattle, many thought the Sonics would move to Kansas City. Instead, the Sprint Center was not built fast enough, and Oklahoma City got a talented young team with future MVP Kevin Durant. Kansas City fans can watch both the most hyped team in recent history compete with a talented young team that should have been its own. At the very least, it should be a good game.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Rout Kansas State Wildcats

Nebraska Cornhuskers Rout Kansas State Wildcats

What was billed as a close contest and a battle for the Big 12 North (by local folk, anyway), was anything but as Nebraska absolutely rolled Kansas State in Manhattan last night. The final was 48-13, but the game wasn't even that close. Redshirt freshman Quarterback Tayler Martinez burned the Wildcat defense all night running for 241 yards and 4 touchdowns, including runs of 35, 40, and 80 yards for scores. But it wasn't just the Taylor Martinez show, the Nebraska line was opening up huge holes that yours truly could have run through and with Martinez's blazing speed the K-State defence didn't stand a chance. It's going to be a few tough years for Nebraska's opponents with this kid on the field.

On the other side of the ball, K-State's leading rusher Daniel Thomas could not get it going. Nebraska's "BlackShirts" defence held him to under 3 yards per carry. He had been averaging six yards/carry in their first 4 games. This caused problems as K State's passing attack has been suspect all year. After the game Coach Snyder said he was opening up competition at the Quarterback position this week.

Kansas State was rightfully embarrassed by their performance. As one Wildcat player noted, This one hurt. To have a HATED rival come into your home stadium and put the beat down on you is unacceptable. Rumors that the Wildcats also let the Huskers sleep with their girlfriends could not be substantiated. The only thing worse would be to lose to a terrible Jayhawk football team next week when they visit Lawrence.

K-State vs. Nebraska Could Decide the North

Stop if you've heard this before: Nebraska and Kansas State have a big game that will likely decide the North title. No, it isn't 1997, 2001 or last year. The winner of tonight's K-State Nebraska will once again gain an inside track to making it to the Big 12 title game in Dallas.

K-State got to this point (undefeated and first in the North standings) the way it always does under Bill Snyder - running the ball, controlling the clock and not making mistakes. While the cats haven't beaten anyone impressive, they have executed on both sides of the ball all year long and should contend for the North in a weak year for the Big 12.

Most insiders predict Nebaska to win this game and the North, and for good reason. The Huskers finally have a playmaker under center in Taylor Martinez, and its offense has looked explosive at times this season. Despite losing all-world DT Ndamukung Song to the NFL, the defense is in typical Bo Pelini form.

Nebraska appears to be the better team from top to bottom, but don't count out the Wildcats. K-State has a hall-of-fame coach and will feed off of what should be a great home crowd. The game should remind us of the great Nebraska vs. Kansas State matchups from the late 90's and early 2000's. The winner of this game gains a big inside track to the North title, and with the Big 12 South being down, a shot at a Big 12 crown and BCS berth is not out of the question.

Missouri Senate Race Heats Up

Missouri Senate Race Heats Up

With less than a month before Missourians go to the polls to elect a Senator to take the place of the retiring (it's about time) Christopher Bond, the mudslinging and political ads are as expected this time of year. This year's race is between two political veterans from well connected Missouri Political Families. Robin Carnahan, Democrat, is the current Missouri Secretary of State, and daughter of former Governor, the late Mel Carnahan. Her Brother is a US Congressman from St Louis. Roy Blunt has been involved in Missouri politics since 1972, and has been a Congressman since 1997. Blunt's son, Matt Blunt is the former Governor of Missouri. His other two children are lobbyists. Both candidates have solid name recognition with voters.

Recently Blunt has managed a clear lead in the polls, capitalizing on President Obama's huge unpopularity in the state. Even the NY Times says so. Recent ads from Blunt show Obama saying in a speech that "I need another vote", and "It would have already been done of I had Robin up there". With Obama job approval ratings at well below 50% in Missouri, especially on Health Care, these ads have been effective. Blunt has also attacked Carnahan on the $107 million grant that Carnahan's brother's company received from federal stimulus money. Inferring that Political influence was used to steer the money his direction.

Carnahan's camp counters that Blunt is nothing more than a Washington insider who also has used influence to benefit family members. Blunt's wife and two of his children are lobbyists. Of course the real problem lies with the voting public. Let's be honest, neither candidate really is worth voting for, both are too politically connected to serve the people well. If voters would really pay attention and stop just pulling a lever that has a name they recognize, we would all benefit.

Roy Halladay Throws Postseason No-Hitter

Many baseball fans and analysts wondered how veteran all-star Roy Halladay would pitch when he finally found himself in a meaningful game. After a very productive career with the average-at-best Blue Jays, Halladay signed with the Phillies for a shot at a ring.

Halladay answered the questions of the baseball world and moved the Phillies closer to a second title in three years in dramatic fashion - throwing only the second no-hitter in baseball postseason history. In the first playoff game of his career, Halladay shut down the Cincinnati Reds, one of the best offensive teams in the sport.

Halladay has consistently been one of the best pitchers in baseball, however this performance makes him a legend. He is only the second pitcher to throw a no-no in the playoffs, and his stellar career shows this is certainly no fluke. 2010 was the year of the pitcher, and the stellar pitcher match-ups in the postseason reflect this notion. Despite all the talent, Halladay continues to be the best, and is now one game closer to being a champion.