KU Ice Hockey Video

I stay pretty true to posting only football stories, but long-time readers know that I'll sneak in the occasional hockey post. The season is over for KU hockey for 2008-2009, but if you ever get a chance to go out and check out the club it's a pretty good time. They sell beer and the Mizzou game in early September is usually packed. You can check out more on the team at their site: kuhockey.com (although their message board is currently down).

The New Google (Cuil): A KU Football Blog's Take

So www.cuil.com is out this morning, and I had high hopes. The three-column format is awesome, but the font is too large. The result is not enough visible results above the fold. I do like being on page one of the "KU football" search though.

Reinvent Yourself

Hardcore readers may have noticed that a lot of the Hawk Digest resources recently disappeared. There's no need to get into the gory details, but let's just say we leaned to the side of caution. The good thing is that has presented the opportunity to re-think the mission of Hawk Digest and maybe streamline some resources. It's all still in the "brainstorming" stage. In the meantime, I'm pleased to announce that I've brought back the Big 12 Blogs page and have added a news feed page (KU Football News). You'll find the links in the left column. The news feed still needs a little work (I may have to consider dropping some feeds that continue to filter in KU hoops). Still, it's a page under development and it won't take long before it eclipses the old football portal page.

The bottom line -- Hawk Digest is as strong as ever, looking forward and ready for the spring game.

KU Hockey Hosts Big 12 Tourney

I try to stay true to the mission here -- a site dedicated to Kansas Jayhawk football; however, I do have a weakness for the KU ice hockey club. They're hosting the Big 12 ice hockey clubs for a tourney this weekend. The Hawks are already underway against A&M, but if you want to get your Border War on, the Red Legs will battle Mizzou tonight at 8:00 p.m. They play at Ice Midwest at 135th and Quivera in Overland Park and last time I went they did sell beer.

Tournament Schedule: 

Friday 2/1/08
12pm - Texas A&M vs. Kansas
2:10pm - Iowa State vs. Missouri
4:20pm - Nebraska vs. Texas Tech
8:00pm - Kansas vs. Missouri

Saturday 2/2/08
12:30pm - Iowa State vs. Texas Tech
2:40pm - Nebraska vs. Missouri
4:50pm - Texas A&M vs. Iowa State
7:00pm - Texas Tech vs. Kansas
9:30pm - Texas A&M vs. Nebraska

Sunday 2/3/08
9am - 5th Place Game
11:20am - 3rd Place Game
1:30pm- Championship

Confession From a KU Football Blogger

Kansas City's Back

Here's the confession. My number one passion is KU football, but there are a few other sports that I truly enjoy following. The fact that I follow KU basketball pretty seriously is probably no surprise, but a little less traditional for the KC area is my devotion to hockey and cycling. So yes, I was at yesterday's Stage One of the Inaugural Tour of Missouri in Kansas City. And yes, it was an experience that was difficult to wrap my brain around -- the Tour de France winner was racing on Ward Parkway in my city. The turnout was impressive (judged to be 40,000) and the event was top of the line all of the way. I was blown away and it was a true moment of pride for Kansas City.

It got me to thinking about the turnaround that is happening in KC and what a great line-up of events in the city has in store for the next seven months:

1. September -- Tour of Missouri (Contador, Hincapie and Leipheimer in Kansas City -- never even considered it to be a possibility).
2. November -- The CBE Classic college basketball tournament at the brand new Sprint Center (Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri and UCLA are all hosts for the early rounds).
3. November -- The Border War at Arrowhead which is pretty much guaranteed to be filled to capacity at this point. Plus KU and MU now are just six wins away from entering the game with eight wins each. This should be a huge showcase for both KU and Missouri and Big 12 football as well. Depending on how #6 below shapes up possibly the marquee event for the sports year.
4. December -- The 'Hawks make their first visit to the Sprint Center vs Ohio University.
5. February -- The Big 12 Club Ice Hockey tournament will be held in the KC metro area (for more info, check out KUhockey.com).
6. March -- Big 12 Tourney, the Sprint Center and downtown Kansas City. A dream realized.

As the riders made their way through downtown yesterday, I know they had a good view of the Sprint Center. Many projects make up what is the downtown renaissance, but the new arena is the crown jewel and the driving force. Within a year or two an NHL team will be in house and the movement will be complete. The result will be a first-class city with a thriving downtown. Enjoy it, it's a great time to live in the metro or surrounding area.

NHL Playoffs Are Coming Soon

To Good To Pass Up

Okay, this will be my first non-KU football related post. I just couldn't pass it up. This scene from Swingers will get you in the mood for the Stanley Cup Playoff Wars if you're an ice fan:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=owk4S0GGDbU

In addition, I've opened up a KC hockey site at www.kchockeylink.com. Still developmental, but definitely functioning. And yes, don't worry, KC will get an NHL team.