115,000+ Baseball Fans Can't Be Wrong....Just Gridlocked

KLOS is broadcasting live from the Coliseum on Saturday, noon-4pm, prior to the coolest game played in these parts since the Syringin' A's folded like an ironing board in the '88 Series. I was lucky enough to check out the stadium on Thursday, thought you'd dig on the shots. Talk about a field of countless dreams....

NY Times Gives WKU Props--For The Greatest Reason

For showing courage, guts and humanity during a time when many in power had none. Pete Thamel's great story is here.

Phugly In Phoenix

If WKU learned anything in the west regional Thursday night, it's that you can't spot a number-freaking-ONE seed 21 points and expect to win. Not while they've got Kevin Love. Not when they outrebound you 49-33. Not when you shoot 18% in the first half (and an anemic 34% for the game). Second half? Now those looked more like the true Toppers. So much so they made Love describe his team's overall effort as "Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable" afterwards. And he's probably right. Western outscored UCLA 58-47 in the second half, and even made star guard Darren Collison foul out for the first time all season. Instead of adding on and blowing out their seemingly-overmatched opponents, the Bruins came frightfully close to a collapse of epic proportions. Xavier probably won't be rattled by those four letters on the uniforms the way WKU was initially. And as good as UCLA's defense truly is, the X-men won't shoot 18% in the first half. A word of caution to Westwoodians: The potholes on the road to San Antone are much more treacherous than they appear.

ESPN "mystified" by The Blob...uh, I mean, Big Red

The homepage at espn.go.com has a picture of Big Red, the obsequious Western Kentucky mascot, right at the top today. The Espin folks say they're "mystified" by him...her....it. Then you scroll all the way down here for more fascination with B.R., who, incidentally, did conquer anorexia.

Heralding The Underdawgs

Eons ago, before Al Gore invented this very internet you're soaking in, I worked for one of the top 3 college newspapers in America: The College Heights Herald at Western Kentucky University. In the interest of full disclosure, I don't recall it retaining that ranking while I toiled there....but it certainly regained that status after I left. A mere coincidence. But here's why the Herald has consistently been ranked as one of the top 10 college papers year after year. They cover our Toppers like the red fuzz on Big Red, the mascot...

"We really wanted UCLA bad...."

The first and only time my Western Kentucky Hilltoppers made it to the final four was 1971, at the Astrodome in Houston, losing to Howard Porter and Villanova. Porter & 'Nova would then go on to lose to Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Steve Patterson, Kenny Booker, Henry Bibby and UCLA. WKU's all-everything that season was Jim McDaniels, who said they wanted the Bruins. No, really. 37 years later, 'Topper eyes are still focusing on Westwood's Whiz Kids...

March, When We're All A Little Nostradamus

Hubert Davis of ESPN--and ex-Tar Heel--is predicting WKU will upset UCLA. I'll see his upset and raise him one better: WKU beats WVU in the West Regional Finals. Remember, you laughed at it here first.

Hilltopper Fever Sweeping Nation!

And the best part? No cold sores! OK, second best. Obviously being part of a great run as either a student/alum/employee/fan of Western Kentucky University is reward aplently. The Toppers last made it to the Sweet 16 in 1993, beating Penny Hardaway & Memphis and #2 seed Seton Hall before falling to Sam Cassell, Bobby Sura and Florida State in OT. Do we have a chance? Absofreakin'lutely! Clamp down on the guards, collapse the D on #42, hope Shipp sails more bricks and put Mata-Real on the line if we're behind. Oh yeah, and score 1 more point while we're at it. GO TOPPERS!

How 'bout them Hilltoppers?

Now that's my kind of madness.
My alma mater, Western Kentucky University, finally did what it hadn't done all season: beat a higher-ranked team, Drake. And nice TIMING, dudes. Having grown up in western Kentucky (Murray), I couldn't be more proud of WKU's Ty Rogers (top photo, #5) who hails from nearby Eddyville, Ky. His bucket with no time remaining ranks right up there with the Clarence Glover shot in 1971. In that game against Jacksonville (and Artis Gilmore) Clarence faked tying his shoe, then jumped up from behind, caught the inbounds lob from Gary Sundmaker and scored the winning basket that helped the 1970-71 'Toppers reach the Final Four. Thanks for the trey, Ty--one of THE greatest shots for one of THE finest schools, in my anything but humble opinion. Who knows where it'll lead now?