Weis sure knows his Jayhawks
Kansas football Coach Charlie Weis wasn’t afraid to tell reporters about his team’s poor 2012 season.
“Well, we were 1-11 [in 2012] and picked by everybody to finish last in the league [this season], and that’s justifiable,” Weis said this week at Big 12 media days.
“If I were you, I’d pick us in the same spot. We’ve given you no evidence or no reason to be picked anywhere other than that.”
The former Notre Dame coach and NFL assistant coach revealed his unusual recruiting pitch to reporters as well.
“Everyone wants to play,” Weis said. “There’s no one that wants to not play. I said, ‘Have you looked at that pile of crap out there? Have you taken a look at that? So if you don’t think you can play here, where do you think you can play?’
“It’s a pretty simple approach.
And that’s not a sales pitch. That’s practical. You’ve seen it, right?
Unfortunately, so have I.”
The recruiting pitch apparently worked for junior college players.
Of the Jayhawks’ 25 signees in the 2013 class, 18 played at junior colleges.
Kansas’ only victory in 2011 came against South Dakota State, which plays in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. In fact, the Jayhawks have not won a Big 12 game since Nov. 6, 2010, against Colorado - which is now playing in the Pacific-12 Conference. Also, Kansas has not won a road game since Sept. 12, 2009, when it won at Texas-El Paso.
The Jayhawks open the season at home Sept. 7 against South Dakota. Their first Big 12 game is Oct. 5 against Texas Tech at Lawrence.
Instant reaction
Several major league baseball players, past and present, weighed in on Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun’s suspension on Twitter.
Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson: “Any news today?
Anything new in the baseball world?”
Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench: “Braun and society, deny, deny, deny! Good for MLB doing a great job.”
Former major league pitcher Mark Mulder: “The sample collector that Braun bashed and tore apart should get the rest of Braun’s entire contract.”
Angels pitcher Barry Enright: “I wonder how angry the collector is now…or Matt Kemp…”
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon McCarthy: “ ‘I realize now…’ and right there I checked out.”
And then there’s former major league outfielder Jose Canseco:
“America and MLB what f * * * ing hypocrites. Captain America was created on steroids. LOL.”
Tough break
Actor Dennis Farina, who died Monday at 69 after suffering from a blood clot in his lung, had the misfortune of losing two sports jobs on the big screen.
Farina played Minnesota Twins Manager George O’Farrell in the 1994 motion picture Little Big League. O’Farrell was replaced by 12-year-old Twins owner Billy Heywood (played by Luke Edwards).
Two years later, in 1996, Farina was in Eddie, where he was the head coach of the New York Knicks. Farina’s character John Bailey struggled with the Knicks and one of the team’s most devoted fans, Eddie Franklin (played by Whoopi Goldberg) takes over.
Fortunately for Farina, most movie fans will remember him for starring in Midnight Run (1988) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) as well as the NBC TV show Law & Order in 2004-2006.
Quote of the day
“Watching him talk right now makes me sick.” Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Skip Schumaker on Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who accepted a 65-game suspension Monday for violations of baseball’s drug program and labor contract
Sports, Pages 20 on 07/24/2013