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.

Princess Diana Exhibit Opens Today at Union Station in Kansas City

At the same time her son will be getting married to Kate Middleton, Princess Diana's famous wedding dress will be on display right here in Kansas City. Diana: A Celebration opens today at Union Station near downtown Kansas City. The exhibit will run until June 12 and is open daily except for Mondays. On display will be photos and memorabilia from the Princess's life from childhood to wedding to her life after her marriage to Prince Charles.

There are more than 25 dresses worn by Diana in the exhibit, the most famous being her wedding dress that was seen by 750 million people worldwide on her wedding day. The gown requires a display case 25 feet long. Other items include Bernie Taupin's handwritten lyrics to "Goodbye England's Rose" and various tiaras and home movies.

This exhibit will be an important one in Union Station's 2011 financial year. Attendance of 60,000 plus would be break even for the show - a better showing could make for a financial windfall badly needed for the complex. The exhibit sold over 95,000 tickets in it's recent showing in Grand Rapids, MI - which was more than expected. After it's stay in Kansas City, the items will return to the Althorp Estate, Diana's ancestral home.

Prices range from $10 for Union Station Members to $23.50 for adults. Available at the door.

New Twists to NFL Labor Talks

The NFL Labor Talks have had several new recent developments which provide some hope that we will have professional football next season. Late yesterday, both sides agreed on a 24 hour extention, which extends the deadline and could also be a sign that a middle ground is becoming more of a reality between the players and owners.

It appears as if the players' union has gained the upper hand in the talks at the moment. It is now being reported that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees are now backing the NFL Players Association's DeMaurice Smith, an unexpected and somewhat shocking move. Star players almost never side with the NFLPA, and this can only help Smith's side gain more leverage.

The owners are becomming increasingly more disorganized, and are also growing frustrated with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his inability to take immediate action. Goodell has frequently urged the owners not to let this dispute go to court, as the owners have historically come up short when these disputes are settled with legal action. Hopefully a new collective bargaining argeement can be reached soon, as both sides continue to negotiated.

KU Wins Seventh Straight Big 12 Title

In the year that KState was supposed to win the Big 12 and many "experts" picked KU to finish as low as fourth, at least a share of the Big 12 title is heading to Lawrence once again. The Jayhawks now have back to back to back to back to back to back to back league titles, a ridiculous streak that no one else in the nation seems to notice.

To win another piece of hardware for its crowded trophy case, KU had to go through a tough, tournament bound Texas A&M team coached by former KU player Mark Turgeon. It wasn't always pretty, but the Jayhawks finally wore down the Aggies 64-51. It was senior night in Lawrence, as KU said goodbye to Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Mario Little and possibly the Morris twins as well. KU has now won 28 straight senior nights.

Another interesting fact: KU's Bill Self only has seven home losses in his tenure as KU head coach. For at least until next season, Self has seven consecutive league titles and only seven home losses: something no other coach in recent basketball history has come close to duplicating. How has this not gotten more national attention? If Duke or UNC had done anything close to this, we would see a montage hailing Coach K before every Big Monday game for the next two years. Just look at last night - KU wins a seventh straight title and the front page of ESPN.com features an article about the UNC - Florida State game (yawn).

Think if any team in college football won its league more than 3-4 years in a row. It'd be all over the news. KU does it seven straight times with a national title during its streak and hardly anyone raises an eyebrow. One problem is the nature of basketball - the regular season doesn't mean a whole lot when everything is settled with a crazy single-elimination tournament. Bill Self has now captured three league titles when his team wasn't the preseason favorite, and officially owns the Big 12 (usually one of the toughest college basketball conferences). Its time for ESPN and other media outlets to stop its love affair with the east coast teams and give KU the respect it has earned.

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.