College Football and the "Blog"

I don't really read many college football blogs. I keep up with Rock Chalk Talk and KJ-IBT because they also cover my team. Lately, I've been trying to figure out the slick looking "The Shiver" blogsite as well. The only other one is Double Extra Point and sometimes I don't even really feel that my interest in going there has anything to do with football (example -- all of the sudden I have a stronger interest in UK Hockey).

However, lately I've found that I've been reading a lot more Dr. Saturday (aka Matt Hinton and formerly known as SMQ). I don't even really check EDSBS, so why do I keep finding myself at Dr. Saturday's Yahoo/Rivals page? One reason -- he's keeps showing up in my "My Yahoo" featured news module with bizarre headlines like "Girlfriend Tricks Player, Fans."

What's all the hubbub? Evidently, Alabama DT Terrence Cody shares his Facebook password with his girlfriend. Ah, young love. Terrence, I suggest you check out movies such as Double Indemnity, Fatal Attraction, War of the Roses and Intolerable Cruelty. Sharing your life with a partner is a beautiful thing, but there certain things in life a man just can't do -- like let another man ride his Harley or play his Randy Rhoads edition Flying V or share your Facebook password with a woman (under questionable, see also -- admitting you have a Facebook page).

So, why am I so chapped about all of this? Here I am reading "college football news" based on a Facebook page. At some point, I figured Yahoo and Rivals would mature and become more of a legitimate news source. The truth is, this type of gossip and Facebook journalism is what drives internet traffic and the opposite is true. And really, Rivals is based on trading the secrets of high school athletes, so I guess the lack of journalistic growth shouldn't really be a surprise. So, as print/paper media fades (or maybe burns out with this economy), web content has to be updated constantly to even maintain a fraction of what real print revenue generated. So, since real news doesn't actually happen all that often, expect more of a quality digression and the dirty, secondary web stalker feeling that comes with reading stories based on college kids' Facebook pages.

On the upside, if you're ever out of work, a job plan is out there for you. Just start scanning the social media for stories/photos/video and post every hour (the HD plan is actually the same, but only on a daily basis). If you're really good, you may get called up to the bigs.

Saturday Chatter: No Refunds

Early morning thoughts before I sink into my first Bloody Mary ...

• Dugan talks about Kerry Meier being a deep threat in today's LJW coverage. One thing that helps is having a great pair of hands and K-10 certainly has that.
  
• My projected player to breakout today -- Jake Laptad puts together a multiple sack day
  
• Nominee number two -- Justin Thornton. He's had some opportunities to pad his career INT total already this year, but with a patchwork line and QB under criticism and in a hostile enviroment, I like his chances to make a pick today
  

As promised, the KSU: No Refunds video in the main column:

Saturday Chatter: Concerns, Big East

Concerns, Issues ...
I would guess the word "concern" is probably the most utilized word in the college football world (print, TV, blogs, fans) during the month of September. "Issues" might rank directly behind. Still, today I would encourage KU football fans (especially the ones that have been around a while) to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere. The game shouldn't be much of a challenge, but tonight we'll be treated to great weather and a full house. Stick around for four quarters and take it all in. You only get seven/eight chances to watch football in Memorial each year.

Big 12/Big East Challenge
Baylor gave it probably their best shot but fell at UCONN 31-28. That makes the Big 12 1-3 this week versus the Big East. Of course all three losses were on the road. Still, not a good start for the Big 12 which is now 4-6 in BCS match-ups.

The Buffs
Nobody wants to play in Boulder, but still the WVA win is pretty impressive and a good way to start off the stretch of playing four straight ranked opponents. CU will travel to Jacksonville to match up against #24 FSU in two weeks then host #7 Texas in Boulder before their trip to Lawrence. We should know a lot about the Buffs by then.

USF Fans
It was interesting that the talk about USF fans getting hardcore with KU fans at the Ray Jay carried on throughout the week. More interesting was the fact that it was partially driven by apologetic Bulls fans. In fact, USF QB Matt Grothe mentioned witnessing some of the behavior as well and was pretty disappointed. Hopefully, they can work that out. I was thinking this was a good series to continue. A solid BCS opponent that gives fans a chance to go to Florida every now and then. Of course, if the game experience is brutal, then there is no reason to keep it going.

Neil Barlow De-Commits
I mentioned this in the forum, but didn't have time to post it in the main news section. WR Neil Barlow has switched to Arkansas according to Rivals. It's not the end of the world, but I have to say it sure would have been interesting to have a receiver with that kind of height and speed on deck.

Saturday Chatter | Newsletter Launch

Today, I'm releasing the first Hawk Digest Newsletter in PDF form. It's been a long-term goal to put together a weekly PDF during the season. The idea was just something fans could print out with a roster and starting line-up for game day. In theory, it's not too big of a deal. Throw together the standings, game schedules, rosters, line-ups, stats, etc. and drop it on the net for download. In practice, it takes a pretty good effort. KUathletics.com already offers several nice PDFs, but I thought we could consolidate it a bit. You'll find material posted on the HD site in the newsletter plus more. It's certainly not perfect and I'll be improving the design and tweaking the look throughout the season. Feedback is appreciated via the comments button below.

Hawk Digest Newsletter #1 PDF Download

(also can be found on the HD Newsletter link at the top of the site)

Now for our regularly scheduled Saturday Chatter info ...

Media Watch

Brian Hanni did an interview with Lee Corso this week on KLWN 1320. Corso continued to bash the Hawks for a "weak" schedule in 2007 and generally appeared to be un-informed about the 2008 KU squad. He spent most of the interview harping on how great Mizzou is -- occasionally referencing KU's tough schedule. Hanni noted after the interview that Corso appeared to be a little more "read up" on Missouri here in the early part of the year.

Mark Mangino mentioned that punt return skills were "just part of the story" for Daymond Patterson on his TV show this week. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book.

"The win over Mississippi State was probably one of the top two or three home wins in Joe Aillet Stadium history. Although MSU wasn't ranked, they had SEC caliber players across the board and were the more talented team overall. However, Tech outplayed them on special teams and were very opportunistic on defense. MSU had a vaunted defensive line, which got pressure, but did not get a sack on Tech's Taylor Bennett."
Jimmy Watson / Shreveport Times -- from an interview with KJ-IBT

"Phillip Livas is a one-man highlight show. You'll enjoy seeing him play. He had a big game last year against LSU and was a game-changer against MSU last Saturday. P.J. is a guy who can hurt you in a number of ways ... strong runner, good receiver out of the backfield and an excellent kick returner. Shane Womack, Philip Beck and Cruz Williams are a couple of other offensive playmakers who could make a difference."
Jimmy Watson / Shreveport Times -- from an interview with KJ-IBT

Jayhawk Quotes This Week

Mark Mangino -- On the Louisiana Tech defense:
“I think they are pretty sound fundamentally and assignment-wise. Their kids get where they need to be. Rarely on tape could you see them have an alignment bust on defense. They have corners that are good players that allow them to do things with their safeties and linebackers. They just play good fundamental football; the kind of football that coaches like to see.”

Ryan Cantrell -- On the team’s running game:
“Every team is going to try and key in on our run game. If you look at the stats from last year, you will see that the team went as our running game went. We have to run the ball, and I think that will be a major emphasis this week as we go and get prepared.”

Joe Mortensen -- On what the defense needs to improve upon:
“We want go get more turnovers. We are trying to lead the nation in turnovers. We got three last week, so four or five would be nice this week. We also want to get some big hits.”

Jake Laptad -- On the possibility of looking ahead to South Florida:
“I think it is pretty easy to stay concentrated, Coach Mangino keeps us level so we don’t get a big head.  So I think we are always really concentrated for the next game and the next game is always the most important game, as he always says, so we just try to focus on that. The next game.”

Caleb Blakesly -- On Louisiana Tech:
“I think Louisiana Tech is going to provide some challenges overall.  So far what we have seen on them they look like a pretty good team.  They beat Mississippi State.  They started the season out strong.  They come in with a lot of confidence and some momentum.  They have some real good skilled guys.  They look good as a team, but it is going to be the same as every other game.  We prepare and get ready for them like everyone else.”

Click here for more quotes from KUathletics.com