Thursday Recycle: Speed Version + Robot Dog

Summer Conditioning Starts Monday (6/2)
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/may/29/ryan_woods_ku_football_notebook/

Katie Martincich, a junior on the 2007 Jayhawk volleyball squad takes Big 12 Sportsperson of the year -- kinda cool
http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stories/052808aab.html

We're Still Talking About Glen?
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/may/29/mason_makes_career_change/

Tom Keegan Is Clearly Bored
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/may/28/keegan_barber_poll/?football

And then there was a voice in the wilderness, Rockie Browning of Images on Ninth Street. Friends, he said, call him a curmudgeon when it comes to KU football. He predicted 7-5.

“It’s KU football,” he said. “That pretty much sums it up. I hope I’m wrong, but I’ve always been a realist when it comes to football.”

Later today, I'll be heading down to the Olathe small engine repair shop to see what the boys down there think about the 2008 KU football season. I'll ride my bike to save on gas. Rocky -- that's the old KU mentality. Get on board with the program.

Hawk Digest is Clearly Bored This Week -- Is It Wrong To Kick A Robot Dog?

Earnest Norman Rating Set

In working up new LB commit Earnest Norman's Hawk Digest Rating (Hdr), I took a little time to reset the formula, so all four KU recruits saw an adjustment. The formula is a calculation based on free published data plus an X factor. Flawed, yes ... but is there any system out there that can equal Mangino and staff.

2009 Kansas Football Recruits - Verbal Commitments

OFFENSE
Hdr/PS   Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
25.5-QB -- Jordan Webb/Union, MO -- 6-0/204 -- 4/12/2008

33.3-RB -- Deshaun Sands/Coconut Creek, FLA -- 5-9/175/4.5 -- 4/10/2008

DEFENSE
Hdr/PS  Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
31.7-LB -- Ernest Norman/Euless, TX -- 5-11/220/4.58 -- 5/27/2008

16.2-DB --Tyler Patmon/Cedar Park,TX -- 5-11/180 -- 4/17/2008

Hdr = Hawk Digest Rating

Linebacker Earnest Norman Commits To KU

The Rivals website was reporting last night that Euless, TX linebacker Earnest Norman (5-11/220/4.58 forty) verbally commited to the Kansas Jayhawks. No rating was available on either recruiting site, but the Hawk Digest rating should be available this evening. A couple of video's were posted on the Gridiron Board:

 junior video

sophmore video

2009 Kansas Football Recruits - Verbal Commitments

OFFENSE

Hdr/PS   Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
40-QB -- Jordan Webb/Union, MO -- 6-0/204 -- 4/12/2008

38-RB -- Deshaun Sands/Coconut Creek, FLA -- 5-9/175/4.5 -- 4/10/2008

DEFENSE
Hdr/PS  Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
XX-LB -- Ernest Norman/Euless, TX -- 5-11/220/4.58 -- 5/27/2008

12-DB --Tyler Patmon/Cedar Park,TX -- 5-11/180 -- 4/17/2008

XX = No Hdr Rating Yet
Hdr = Hawk Digest Rating

Sound and the Fury: Double-Wide Website

Why is your website (Hawk Digest) so wide?

Short answer: Because it fits both my laptop and desktop screens.

Longer answer: Despite the fact that an obscene number of internet users are still operating with tiny little box monitors from 1998 (15" or 17") the proliferation of widescreen laptops and the fact that decent-sized monitors of nice girth width are moderately priced justified my expansion. For some reason, it was deemed as some general rule for web designers that you were always supposed to design to accommodate all users. I'm here to break the rules and admit that I'm a widescreen monitor elitist. There I said it. To properly enjoy Hawk Digest, give the boys at Best Buy and Circuit City some love. They gotta make a living too.

Plus, whenever I run across a quality photo, I'd like to have the option to spread it all the way across the screen. 

Required Shirt For November

  
                           Front                                                    Back

That's right ... dollar signs. More details on this shirt to come, but suffice it to say that Hawk Digest has now doubled the available game day T-shirts in the Hawk Digest store. This one should be good for a certain late November game.

Dollar Signs Shirt Link

Hawk Digest Shop

Good KU Video For A Summer Holiday

Sunday Recycle: Tony Stubbs in AF2

Tony Stubbs Gets A Mention | I love it when an ex-KU player pops in one of the feeds. Looks like Tony Stubbs (senior in '04) is kickin' around in the Arena Football 2 league. Always good to hear about a former Jayhawk warrior:

"Florida defensive back and former Kansas Jayhawk Tony Stubbs broke up a would-be Wildcats touchdown pass in the end zone on fourth down."

Nebraska Paper Previews KU | The Lincoln Journal-Star offered a preview of Husker opponents. Excerpt:

"The Jayhawks are also looking for a replacement for cornerback and playmaker Aqib Talib, though chances of finding someone who can match all that Talib did for the team is remote."

Mostly the leadership and bravado will be missed. We feel good about corner and the wideouts are pretty deep as well.

Also should mention that Mangino is all about understatement. There are subtle signs that the '08 squad could be the best defense of the Mangino era -- which I guess would be the best defense at KU ever.

Saturday Recycle: Big 12 Revenue and Phil Steele Is Wrong

Big 12 Revenue Sharing | Via Blair Kerkoff and the Kansas City Star:

"And after a year in which two mid-to-smaller-budget programs — the Jayhawks and Tigers — wound up as the league’s highest-ranked Big 12 teams, it’s difficult to argue for change."

I guess, if you say so. All I care about it is getting all of KU's away games televised, so bring on the Big 12 Network. Here's a companion article by Blair on this year's Big 12 ABC/ESPN schedule. I also liked Husker Mike's take from Corn Nation, noting that ABC passed on Virginia Tech vs Nebraska.

Phil Steele No Like Todd Reesing? | C'mon. I know the Corn is kind of a big deal, but leaving TR off is a football sin. Put Sam Bradford on the Texas cover since he plays in the Texas division ... not the North. Do something. Full line-up of Phil Steele covers, but don't go there. Phil should be boycotted.

KU Working A New Deal For Mark Mangino

Reported on KUsports.com just a few minutes ago. Very interested to see the number of years. Mangino can build quite a legacy at KU.

“They’ve almost got his contract re-done,” Marchiony said. “They’re working on it right now. They’re just down to a few little things, and when it’s done they’ll release it.”

Friday Recycler: Charles Gordon is Still The Man + Joe Paterno

Charles Gordon Graduates | Ryan Wood is reporting that CG will walk the hill Sunday as a business administration major. Great news for Charles -- Congratulations and what a great example.

Paterno on A Playoff | I guess I didn't know that Joe Paterno was a playoff man. Definitely some interesting comments in this SI article:

"I don't think so right now, and I don't know why," said Paterno, who is entering his 43rd season as Penn State's head coach. "I'm only going to be a head coach another 10 or 15 years, and I don't think it will happen by then."

"Not that I'm against what other people want to do, it's just that  philosophically I think you ought to win it on the field. If I have to vote for somebody only because people have said these are the two teams that ought to be in the BCS championship game and I think they left somebody out that probably ought to be in it, that's when I'll feel a playoff ought to be appropriate. I've always been for a playoff."

Here's A Song I Don't Care For | But this text/photo version by JoshuaTheGreat on the Gridiron Forum may change my mind. A nice offseason pick me up.

QUICK LINKS:

Big 12 Top Players by Position - Sporting News

Athlon Ranking #13

Top 10 College Coaches-Rivals

The Dexton Fields Collider is Real

Photographic Evidence of DFC testing

Let's Turn This Sucker On and See What Happens

The Dexton Fields Collider (DFC) is a football particle receptor located in Lawrence, Kansas, USA. Experiments have been conducted across the nation, but the receptor is most frequently activated at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. To date the receptor has operated only at experimental levels. The DFC is scheduled to be engaged at full levels on August 29, 2008 through January of 2009.

Here's an explanation about what it's going to do:

When activated, it is theorized that the collider will produce the elusive 3,000 receiving yard season, the observation of which could result in massive wheat waving at KU's Memorial Stadium.

And here's an explanation about what could go wrong:

Concerns have been raised that cranking the DFC to previously unexplored energies might unleash new and disastrous phenomena. These include the production of micro black holes, and strangelets, potentially resulting in a scenario where every football in the air throughout the college football season could be attracted to and absorbed by the Dexton Fields Collider. Such issues were raised in connection with the NCAA and in the scientific community; however, after detailed studies, scientists reached such conclusions as "beyond reasonable doubt, DFC of the Kansas Jayhawks will not endanger our college football season, unless of course you are opposed to another year of KU chasing undefeated."

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In simple English, Mark Mangino is going to turn this thing on and Dexton Fields is going to score 24 TDs next season on the way to a Big 12 Championship and National Title.

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Related scientific article:

Large Hadron Collider (wikipedia)

Sound and the Fury: The Huddle vs The Grid

Which is the better free KU football forum -- the Huddle or the Gridiron?

I guess that all depends on how you define better. The Gridiron board on Phog.net is clearly more popular than KUsports.com Huddle. A random sampling yesterday of topics for the day around noon came up with this quick stats rundown:

Grid = 8 new topics / 451 replies to those topics / 10,157 views
Huddle = 7 new topics / 49 replies / 2,018 views

So is bigger better? Not necessarily. Since it's my job to troll both boards, I can say that you have to wade through less "crap" replies on the Huddle and generally the same general KU football news links hit both boards. The reader topics sometimes diverge and both boards have guys that know their stuff.

On appearance, the Grid is nice because it adjusts to fit your browser. Very nice when posters pirate professional photos. However, there's something clean and simple about the Huddle that makes for a pleasant experience.

Okay, so you want a final opinion. It goes back and forth, but right now I lean toward The Huddle because there aren't 900 topics pinned to the top. For me, it's all about the content and the ease in getting to it.