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FRIDAY FIVE: EATING KU CROW, MU'S SEARCH, KSU'S PETTINESS, DUFFY'S RESURGENCE
Kansas City Star
May 23 2014
By VAHE GREGORIAN
The Kansas City Star
Former Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick was a true gentleman,
and he once sent me a book we had discussed embellished with a touching
inscription that I treasure.
Even several years since his death, I often think of his kind,
measured voice as representative of KU.
And he's been on my mind in the aftermath of a column I wrote last
Sunday reiterating my belief that something is lost when Missouri and
Kansas don't play and that it's important the schools find a way to
overcome their differences and make it work.
As much as I do want to see it happen, I'm now persuaded that
my argument for its imminent revival actually has been shallow,
a checkers mentality in a game of 3D chess.
With a few heated exceptions, I've received a lot of polite, logical
input in the spirit of Frederick from both strangers and friends with
allegiances to KU that make me feel like my rationale has been flimsy.
Among Kansas constituents, the sense of toxicity in the rivalry
is exceeded now only by the sense of duplicity in MU's departure,
particularly because then-chancellor and Big 12 chairman Brady Deaton
had insisted in the months before resigning the Big 12 role that he
was "working every day to keep the Big 12 together."
It's easy for me to say "get over it," but I think now that was
tone-deaf and actually hardens the stance against it.
Another ill-considered element of my latest case: I was so drawn
Saturday to the color I found at the scene of the KU-MU softball game,
the Tiger fan who cherishes Quantrill's savage attack on Lawrence,
that I really didn't frame that in the proper context of absurdity ...
151 years ago or not, disputes about cause-and-effect notwithstanding.
And, really, it wasn't so much evidence that the rivalry lives as
the sound of one hand clapping.
Plenty of people made these points to me a year ago when I wrote
about the rivalry, and you might think some of that would have gotten
through then.
But, hey, as my father likes to say, "You can fool an Armenian once,
you can fool an Armenian twice, but you can't fool an Armenian
indefinitely."
So I still hope this heals sooner than later, and I still think what's
lost is a shame.
But what will be will be when it will be, and thanks to all who took
the time to explain why in such a reasonable way that evoked someone
I think of with such admiration.
* Meanwhile, MU's Evan Boehm (Lee's Summit West) perhaps best summed
up the state of Mizzou's search for a rival in the Southeastern
Conference as he considered that Arkansas has been designated as such.
OK, but ... "We don't mind Arkansas," he said earlier this week. "Right
now, it's like we haven't done anything to them, and they haven't
done anything to us."
Their football teams on Nov. 29 in Columbia will meet in the
regular-season for the first time since 1963. They split two bowl
games in between.
* Come on, Kansas State. Free Leticia Romero. No matter what triggered
putting the squeeze on the basketball player, it's mean-spirited
and petty to not release her to receive an immediate scholarship
elsewhere. Really, there's no way to override a sacred committee's
"final and binding" ruling on this?
* Danny Duffy tonight in Anaheim makes his first start since last
Saturday when he was perfect until Baltimore's Adam Jones singled
with two outs in the seventh.
Earlier this week, Duffy said he hadn't gotten distracted by the
possibility of pitching the first perfect game in franchise history.
"I was conscious of it, but I wasn't thinking about it," he said,
making a subtle but important distinction. "Cliche as it sounds,
I was just trying to get outs. ... Lot of fun, lot of fun.
"Got to build on that and take it to Anaheim with us."
Duffy's season has been a microcosm of his career, marked by ups and
downs and highs and lows but still on trajectory to big possibilities.
After Yordano Ventura outperformed him in spring to earn the final
spot in the rotation, Duffy struggled as a bullpen possibility and
was assigned to Class AAA Omaha.
But injuries paved his way back, Duffy's stuff appears as compelling
as it's ever been and he's showing signs of maturing emotionally.
"Got to build on everything you do, good and bad," he said. "Got to
stay calm out there, and don't let one bad pitch turn into another.
That's what we did the other day."
The native of southern California will be challenged on that in a new
way tonight in his first career appearance in Anaheim, where he'll have
"probably about 50 to 70" relatives and friends on hand to watch him.
"No pressure," he said, smiling. "It's just baseball at the end
of the day. If you put pressure on yourself, that's when you start
thinking about failing, so I'm just going to go out there and try
to take what we had here into there. Simple as can be. Just keep it
simple and be happy."
* I've heard a lot of theories about what has been ailing Royals third
baseman Mike Moustakas, who was sent to Class AAA Omaha on Thursday.
Maybe it's his vision. Maybe it's the wad of gum he's chomping on.
Maybe the wad of gum he's chomping on is affecting his vision?
And then there's this offering from George Ferris, who believes
Moustakas (and Billy Butler) need to lose weight:
"I've worked out a mathematical formula that proves as a players
weight goes down his batting average goes up proportionately.
"I also have a plan for players that appear "lost at the plate",
but that's completely different equation, it involves GPS."
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/23/5042186/friday-five-eating-ku-crow-mus.html
From: Baghdasarian
Kansas City Star
May 23 2014
By VAHE GREGORIAN
The Kansas City Star
Former Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick was a true gentleman,
and he once sent me a book we had discussed embellished with a touching
inscription that I treasure.
Even several years since his death, I often think of his kind,
measured voice as representative of KU.
And he's been on my mind in the aftermath of a column I wrote last
Sunday reiterating my belief that something is lost when Missouri and
Kansas don't play and that it's important the schools find a way to
overcome their differences and make it work.
As much as I do want to see it happen, I'm now persuaded that
my argument for its imminent revival actually has been shallow,
a checkers mentality in a game of 3D chess.
With a few heated exceptions, I've received a lot of polite, logical
input in the spirit of Frederick from both strangers and friends with
allegiances to KU that make me feel like my rationale has been flimsy.
Among Kansas constituents, the sense of toxicity in the rivalry
is exceeded now only by the sense of duplicity in MU's departure,
particularly because then-chancellor and Big 12 chairman Brady Deaton
had insisted in the months before resigning the Big 12 role that he
was "working every day to keep the Big 12 together."
It's easy for me to say "get over it," but I think now that was
tone-deaf and actually hardens the stance against it.
Another ill-considered element of my latest case: I was so drawn
Saturday to the color I found at the scene of the KU-MU softball game,
the Tiger fan who cherishes Quantrill's savage attack on Lawrence,
that I really didn't frame that in the proper context of absurdity ...
151 years ago or not, disputes about cause-and-effect notwithstanding.
And, really, it wasn't so much evidence that the rivalry lives as
the sound of one hand clapping.
Plenty of people made these points to me a year ago when I wrote
about the rivalry, and you might think some of that would have gotten
through then.
But, hey, as my father likes to say, "You can fool an Armenian once,
you can fool an Armenian twice, but you can't fool an Armenian
indefinitely."
So I still hope this heals sooner than later, and I still think what's
lost is a shame.
But what will be will be when it will be, and thanks to all who took
the time to explain why in such a reasonable way that evoked someone
I think of with such admiration.
* Meanwhile, MU's Evan Boehm (Lee's Summit West) perhaps best summed
up the state of Mizzou's search for a rival in the Southeastern
Conference as he considered that Arkansas has been designated as such.
OK, but ... "We don't mind Arkansas," he said earlier this week. "Right
now, it's like we haven't done anything to them, and they haven't
done anything to us."
Their football teams on Nov. 29 in Columbia will meet in the
regular-season for the first time since 1963. They split two bowl
games in between.
* Come on, Kansas State. Free Leticia Romero. No matter what triggered
putting the squeeze on the basketball player, it's mean-spirited
and petty to not release her to receive an immediate scholarship
elsewhere. Really, there's no way to override a sacred committee's
"final and binding" ruling on this?
* Danny Duffy tonight in Anaheim makes his first start since last
Saturday when he was perfect until Baltimore's Adam Jones singled
with two outs in the seventh.
Earlier this week, Duffy said he hadn't gotten distracted by the
possibility of pitching the first perfect game in franchise history.
"I was conscious of it, but I wasn't thinking about it," he said,
making a subtle but important distinction. "Cliche as it sounds,
I was just trying to get outs. ... Lot of fun, lot of fun.
"Got to build on that and take it to Anaheim with us."
Duffy's season has been a microcosm of his career, marked by ups and
downs and highs and lows but still on trajectory to big possibilities.
After Yordano Ventura outperformed him in spring to earn the final
spot in the rotation, Duffy struggled as a bullpen possibility and
was assigned to Class AAA Omaha.
But injuries paved his way back, Duffy's stuff appears as compelling
as it's ever been and he's showing signs of maturing emotionally.
"Got to build on everything you do, good and bad," he said. "Got to
stay calm out there, and don't let one bad pitch turn into another.
That's what we did the other day."
The native of southern California will be challenged on that in a new
way tonight in his first career appearance in Anaheim, where he'll have
"probably about 50 to 70" relatives and friends on hand to watch him.
"No pressure," he said, smiling. "It's just baseball at the end
of the day. If you put pressure on yourself, that's when you start
thinking about failing, so I'm just going to go out there and try
to take what we had here into there. Simple as can be. Just keep it
simple and be happy."
* I've heard a lot of theories about what has been ailing Royals third
baseman Mike Moustakas, who was sent to Class AAA Omaha on Thursday.
Maybe it's his vision. Maybe it's the wad of gum he's chomping on.
Maybe the wad of gum he's chomping on is affecting his vision?
And then there's this offering from George Ferris, who believes
Moustakas (and Billy Butler) need to lose weight:
"I've worked out a mathematical formula that proves as a players
weight goes down his batting average goes up proportionately.
"I also have a plan for players that appear "lost at the plate",
but that's completely different equation, it involves GPS."
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/23/5042186/friday-five-eating-ku-crow-mus.html
From: Baghdasarian