the best day of the year returns! and other stuff ...

* YES! YES! YES!

* WOO! WOO! WOO!

* (fist pumps!) (excited fist pumps!)

* No, that wasn't to celebrate Duke reaching Indy (that's next). Or Gus Johnson calling the KSU / Xavier game. Nope, that's all me.

The preseason schedules came out today! The Chiefs open at Atlanta, then visit Tampa, and close against Green Bay.

Its the third game that has me creaming in my pants. The weekend of August 19th-21st. Against the Eagles.

Pick a day, any day, to play that game.

(steve grinning broadly ...) Because the Royals are home every day that week.

Which means ... for the first time since 2003 ... (steve hyperventilating) ... we get ... (steve reaching orgasm ...)

DOUBLE! HEADER! DAY!!!

Royals at noon! Chiefs at 7! A freaking 14 hour party at the Sports Complex! Tailgate for breakfast. Catch a few innings of the Royals vs the White Sox or Indians (depending on when the Chiefs game is scheduled). Tailgate between games. Catch the Chiefs open the all new Arrowhead against Philly. And tailgate until the cops kick us out.

Holy cow. The day I live for is going to happen. The day I drool about just wishing would occur again, is going to occur again. I feel like I'm higher than when I sit on "the couch". Seriously. This is so freaking awesome. So freaking awesome. I gotta haul The Rock voice out for this. "Finally, Double Header Day, has come back to Kansas City!!!"

So freaking sweet. (best guess) Saturday August 21st can't get here soon enough ...

* Congrats to Duke and Jon Scheyer, for navigating what ultimately turned out to be the toughest road to Indy, and reaching their first Final Four since 2004. As I texted after the win, "weakest one seed my ass".

Consider:

1. Duke is the only one seed to reach the Final Four. KU crapped its pants in the second round; Syracuse choked in the Sweet 16, and Kentucky didn't bother to show up for the first 38 1/2 minutes in the Elite 8. By flaming out, they all were weaker than Duke. At least when it mattered most.
2. Duke only faced one double digit seed, Arkansas Pine Bluff in the first round. After that, they had to go through the Pac 10 champion (Cal), the Big 10 (plus one) co-champion (Purdue), and a Baylor team that finished third in the Big XII, and (see point 3) had a huge, huge advantage over them. Pretty much the seeding held to form, as they faced a 16 / 8 / 4 / 3 on the way to Indy. Conversely, Michigan State faced a 12 / 4 / 9 / 6; Butler faced a 12 / 13 / 1 / 2; and West Virginia faced a 15 / 10 / 11 / 1.
3. Duke is the only one seed forced to play at a distinct home court disadvantage. Had KU won, they'd have been in St. Louis. While no doubt the fans of Ohio State, Tennessee, and Michigan State still would have shown up, they would have been far outnumbered by Jayhawk Nation. Syracuse and Kentucky both were playing true neutral site games against neutral site opponents. But Duke? Got to play Baylor ... in Houston. Yeah, that's not giving the three seed a huge built in crowd. And had A&M held on against Purdue, Duke would have had to face a team playing less than an hour from its campus. Yeah, that's treating the one seed like a one seed.

* I am somewhat fired up about this Final Four. Not as fired up as I'd be if KU was in it, but there's some interesting storylines in this thing:

1. Butler, the mid major that could, playing in front of its home crowd.
2. Michigan State, the only Big 10 (plus one) team that's watchable, once again reaching the Final Four. That's six times in 12 years, for those keeping track. And keeping alive the jaw-dropping "Every senior class has reached at least one Final Four under Coach Izzo" streak alive until 2013.
3. West Virginia, with last-second assassin Da'Sean Butler, reaching the Final Four for the first time in 50 years, and reaching it coached by one of its finest alumni, Bob "Huggy Bear" Huggins. You know, the class act who was one-and-done in Manhattan. The guy who was fired for getting two DUI's and crashing a school car while at Cincinnati. The guy with a 0% graduation rate at Cincinnati in the mid and late 1990s. (I'm not a Bob Huggins fan, to put it mildly).
4. and Duke, returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2004. This is anything but Coach K's best team ... and yet, you have to consider them the favorites at this point, don't you?

* For as awful as my first bracket was ... if Duke beats West Virginia but does NOT win the national title, I finish 3rd in our pool (out of 90). Not a bad recovery.

* I really, really, really want to see "Hot Tub Time Machine". It looks fun.

* Speaking of fun, I gotta give props to whoever came up with the new commercials during the NCAA toonumunt. There's easily three, four of them that never fail to make me laugh out loud. The Southwest Airlines "Bags Fly Free" ad with the painted chests is funny. The Bud Light Golden Wheat "They Hooked Up" ads are hysterical. And the new Sony TV ad with George Takei. The way he says "Oh my!", well, anyone who listens to the Howard Stern Show knows how great that line is. (Takei is a co-host, for those of you who don't listen to Stern). But in this ad, its just freaking awesome.

Really, the Bud Light "They Hooked Up" ads might be the best series of ads on TV in a long time. The whole premise is so absurd that you can't help but laugh. And the tagline song, "This is LOOOOOOOVE ... Love at first sight!" I'll put it this way -- I hate Bud Light. If my only beer choice is Bud Light, I'm not drinking. (OK, that's a lie. But I definitely would drink far less than if another beer was available). But these ads actually make me want to buy a six pack of Bud Light Golden Wheat.

"This is LOOOOOOOVE ... Love at first sight!" Freaking awesome.

* "Survivor" is turning in arguably its finest season ever. The sheer hate between Boston Rob and Russell is awesome to watch unfold every week. Plus, watching the Heroes tribe implode has been great to watch. Mainly because I hate half the folks on that tribe. Especially Rupert. You know you strongly dislike someone when a highlight of your trip to the Indy 500 every year is getting to boo Rupert in the prerace festivities. What a tool.

And yes, he gets out there in the friggin ride around truck, all decked out in his tie-dye t-shirts, looking like he hasn't bathed in five years, and lives it up like he's some freaking superstar. Its embarrassing, is what it is. Pathetic and embarrassing. Go away Rupert.

* Speaking of pathetic and embarrassing ... the Kansas Legislature everyone!

You would think that adequately funding public education would be a priority. Or closing the $400 million hole in the budget. Or dealing with unemployment, declining revenues, you know, legitimate issues facing the state.

But oh no. The top legislative priority is ... legislating adult entertainment establishments out of business.

Under a bill currently awaiting reconciliation, all nude entertainment would be outlawed. Patrons would have to maintain at least a six foot distance from the entertainment. And of course, new taxes would be imposed on the industry, and only on the adult entertainment industry, that would effectively destroy strip clubs in Kansas.

(Note: the six foot rule confuses me. Is it six feet from where the chair, or six feet based on your body? Seems to me some folks could move to within 5 feet and an inch or two if its based on body distance).

To say this bill enrages me, is an understatement. I don't frequent strip clubs, because other than military flyovers, they're the biggest waste of money imaginable. You get nothing for what you spend, outside of a need to hurry home and rub one out. And no offense, but I can get that urge quite frequently without having to drop a $20 cover, $20 for a dance, and $1 / hour for the jukebox.

And I certainly agree that adult establishment shouldn't be next to a school, or a house of worship. Hell, even the industry agrees with that, which is why they don't locate there.

So, who in the hell do these legislators think they are, to attempt to cram their outdated, ridiculous conservative views on sex down the throats of every citizen of the state of Kansas? Really? We have NO money in the state coffers. Highway projects are being cancelled right and left. The budget has a $400 million hole that has to be closed in the next 90 days. Our schools are shutting down and even going to four day class schedules because there's no money to keep them open. Yet THIS is the top priority? THIS is what you waste a week debating? Whether a 20 year old reasonably attractive chick with serious daddy and cocaine issues should wear a pasty while performing onstage?

Frank Rich wrote a great book a few years ago called "What's the Matter With Kansas". I highly recommend it to anyone. The transformation of Kansas from a forward-thinking, progressive state, to the laughing stock of the educated world, in literally just 12-15 years, is amazing. The lesson of the book is simple: when you elect religious zealots to run your state, nothing good can happen. They won't focus on the real issues facing the voters, but rather will enact the agenda they want to see pushed instead.

And you see it all over the state. A refusal to raise taxes to fund needed social services. A threat to strip the Supreme Court of its power because the Court dared to force the Legislature to adequately finance the schools. The debate over teaching evolution or creation in schools. (Note: I actually do believe in creation, but evolution must be taught in the schools, if only to prep students for future education outside the state of Kansas). An attempt to stop teaching sex ed in schools, and instead to mandate a religion course. (Of course, they claimed it would teach "all religions", but come on. Examine the source of the promise).

And now this, their latest attempt to cram their view of morality and societal standards down the throats of Kansans. Voters of Kansas, its time to let the gag reflex kick in. We've had it shoved down our throats for the final time. Boot these ass clowns out of power, return power to the moderates of both parties, and let's get Kansas back to what it was in the 1990s: a model state that attracted the nation's finest to its borders, rather than what it is today: a regressive state that is a national joke.

(And the ultimate irony is that these quacks in Topeka will wind up making the budget disaster WORSE as a result of this, because the adult industry will sue the state, and they will win, as they have everywhere else this type of bill has been passed, including in Missouri. Not just wasting their time on non-issues, they're making the real issues worse by doing this. The Kansas Legislature blows. Go back to your pews guys, and leave the governing to people who actually want to govern, and not erect a theocracy, ok? and yes, the use of "erect" was intentional).

* The BuKCs clinched a .500 record last night. Let that sink in. The WORST the BuKCs can do is finish 41-41. The BuKCs can post their first winning season in eight years with one more win. They can reach the playoffs for the first time in four years with a couple more wins, or a couple more Bulls losses.

Really, the job John Hammond did in putting this roster together is astonishing. He trades away arguably the BuKCs best player (RJ). He lets "Chuck E. Cheese" Villanueva and Ramon Sessions walk for nothing. And he rolls the dice in the biggest gamble in the draft, taking Brandon Jennings with the 10th pick. Any sane person would look at the moves made in June and July last year, and think "we're headed for a 15-67 catastrophe".

But Hammond clearly knew more than your average deer. He trusted his draft picks of Ilyasova and Luc "I am NOT your father" Mbah a Moute to fill the RJ slot. He trusted Andrew Bogut to finally develop into a dominating force in the middle. He trusted he was right on BJ. He bet the house on his hand-picked coach somehow getting all this young talent to gel.

I'd say he's won that bet. The BuKCs look set for a decade at the two key positions on the floor (center, point guard). Michael Redd's horrendous contract comes off the books this summer, allowing the BuKCs to be players in the 2011 free agent bonanza (which is every bit as good as the 2010 free-for-all upcoming). Ilyasova looks like a keeper. Mbah a Moute is the defensive stopper 29 other teams would kill to have.

And best of all, its a fun team to watch. You won't close your eyes in boredom watching these guys. As great as this season has been, and granted its not over yet ... the best is yet to come.

* I wasn't as angry, upset, disappointed, insert your adjective here, about the KU defeat as most people. For starters, as I noted in my predictions, I thought the 2nd round opponent would be our toughest out. Both UNLV and Northern Iowa are well coached teams that shoot the ball very well. Those are the teams that KU struggles against. We lost two games this year prior to the toonumunt. Tennessee and Oklahoma State. Both the same type of teams as Northern Iowa -- extremely well coached, solid jump shooters. (Plus Oklahoma State has a solid inside game).

But also, when you look back at it, you could kind of see this coming. Something just didn't feel right about this team. Namely, they really struggled at times to put inferior opponents away. Granted, they always did (all three games KU lost, they trailed big early and had to play the comeback role), but dominant teams tend to put the hammer down. The Big XII Title Game was indicative of this -- as Bob Knight kept noting in the second half, KU couldn't get the lead past 8. Granted, some of that is because KSU is a really, really well coached team, and it has probably the best guard combination in the nation to boot, but KU teams of the past in that spot pull out the tire iron and finish the deal.

I'm not going to rip on Bill Self's coaching, specifically not going to the full court press sooner, because I think he felt the same as I did most of the game -- there isn't a shot in hell they can keep shooting 75% from three land. Also, he had to be thinking, there's no way in hell Sherron Collins can keep playing this poorly. Collins, Taylor, and Morningstar combined to go 0-12 from behind the arc. As the great Jim Mora would say, "you ain't gonna beat anybody I just talked about when you play like that, anybody!"

* One thing I did want to note ... for all my bitching about the Morris twins this year (all of it justly earned), they were the two performances in that game worth remembering. They actually hit free throws (8 of 11). They shot 8 for 12 from the floor. They played under control, didn't commit stupid turnovers, and played solid defense. (Three things Sherron Collins won't be accused of doing in that game).

* The KSU / Xavier game was just epic. Man, I wish we'd had Lundquist and Raftery on the call, a game that great deserves the best. On second thought, it was played in Salt Lake City, not exactly night life central. So its probably good Bill didn't get the assignment. I'm sure he and Verne had much more fun in the Landing.

* Some NBA team is going to get a steal with Denis Clemente. He's going to be a solid backup guard in the league. I can easily see him evolving into a JJ Redick / Luke Ridnour / Derek Fisher (pre-2010) type role. And he'd be damned good at it.

* I'm still waiting for one logical explanation for why Mike Anderson didn't leave Dixon on the floor for most of the second half against West Virginia. They could have won that game. They probably should have, had Anderson left his best player that day on the floor, instead of keeping JT "George" Tiller out there to brick everything he threw up.

* As good as the KSU / Xavier game was, the game so far that's entertained me the most was Tennessee / Michigan State. Tremendous game. And yes, you're damned right Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery were up to the call. Here's why I love their pairing so much: the broadcast style, its just two good friends sitting there "discussing" the game as it unfolds. They're not looking for cliche moments (Jim Nantz), or screaming hysterically for no sensible reason (Dick Vitale), or informing us that an interview with "Rick Romo" is coming up in the postgame (Bryant Gumble).

The best announcing teams, its like listening to you and a friend react to the game on your couch. For instance, like watching a KU football game with me and Gregg. Or a KU basketball game with Gregg and Brent. Or a IndyCar or Cup race with me and Brett. The jokes are cracking, the excitement shows, you're passionate for what you're watching, and there's probably a cocktail or three being consumed. Bill and Verne exhibit that quality better than any other announcing team around.

Which brings me to my question: why is it that all the really good commentating teams are calling basketball? If I had to list my seven favorite announcer pairings, five of them are calling hoops:

Verne Lundquist / Bill Raftery, CBS
Sean McDonough / Bill Raftery / Jay Bilas, ESPN
Mike Patrick / Dick Vitale, ESPN
Doc Emrick / Ed Olczyk, NBC
Mike Breen / Mark Jackson / Jeff Van Gundy, ABC / ESPN
Gus Johnson / Clyde Frazier, MSG
Brent Musburger / Kirk Herbstreit, ABC

Only NBC's hockey guys and ABC's top team for college football make my top 7, and I don't pay attention to hockey until the playoffs start. (And yes, Emrick / Olczyk are this damned good. Rewatch the USA / Canada gold medal game. Might be the single best announced sporting event of the decade. Absolute brilliance).

All of these teams though, bring the same qualities to the table. They're passionate about the sport they cover. They're knowledgable as well. They bring the viewer into the game with their excitement. They treat the gig like its a privilege, like they're a fan lucky enough to have scored center court seats. They also seem like they're having fun, that its not a job, its a game! I could listen to those seven teams call anything.

Case in point: my sister in law, not a fan of basketball. At all. We're over at my brother's on Sunday, working on flooring, and had the Tennessee / Michigan State game on. Raftery and Lundquist had the call. And as my sister in law noted, just from standing in the room for 30 seconds, not really even paying attention to the game, "it must be a great game. The announcers sound like they're having fun".

"The announcers sound like they're having fun". What a freaking concept.

Contrast that to seven of my most hated announcing teams:

Pam Ward / Ray Bentley, ESPN (college football)
Jim Nantz / Phil Simms, CBS (pro football)
Joe Buck / Tim McCarver, FOX (baseball)
Jon Miller / Joe Morgan / Orel Hershiser, ESPN (baseball)
Mark Jones / Bob Davie, ABC / ESPN (college football)
Mike Tirico / Ron Jaworski / Jon Gruden, ESPN (pro football)
Brent Musburger / Bob Knight, ESPN (college basketball)

These teams are the exact opposite of the seven above. Pam Ward and Ray Bentley are probably why the Big 10 (plus one) formed its own network, to avoid having them broadcast their games in the 11am slot. Nantz and Tirico have the same problem: they're both extremely good at announcing golf, and very good at calling basketball. They're terrible at broadcasting football. Why? My theory is, its third on their list of enjoyable sports. Its certainly not number one. And it shows.

Buck, Miller, and Musburger have the same problem as well. They're both very good broadcasters and easy to listen to. Their partners, however, are (dusty voice) criminitely bad. Joe Morgan is just a grouchy, grumpy old man that's mad as hell about the stat revolution in the sport. Hershiser is the newbie -- he's extremely good calling college baseball with Sean McDonough, so I hope that translates well, but again, Joe Morgan is that awful. Tim McCarver, oy. Its not that he's unbearable, or even that he's a bad broadcaster. He's just completely uneducated about the game. Which is stunning, given that he's been THE play-by-play guy of the World Series since at least 1985. And Bob Knight, good God. When I agree with Kevin Kietzman on something, you know its bad. You're damned right I signed his "dump Bob Knight from the Big Monday" petition.

But in addition to the obvious problems, there's no flow to their broadcasts. Its not a couple buddies sitting on the couch reacting to what they're watching. Its over-analysis, over-use of statistics, obvious on-air chemistry issues that kill any positive vibe (really applicable in Nantz / Simms and Musburger / Knight). Its like they're just doing their job. A 9 to 5 job that nobody cares about, and that's how their broadcasts come off.

They DON'T sound like they're having fun.

What's the point? I don't know. Just that announcers that have fun on the air make for a better broadcast. And nobody does it better than Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist ...