Thoughts from the nation's capital
It's always nice to get out of a town for a little while, but it just so happened I got out of town during the first week of the fall sports season. It also just so happened that while I was ready to get out of town, I am now ready to back in to town.
A few observations from my time at the Nation's capital.
Although I lived in Virginia until I was 16, I had not been in Washington, D.C. since I was in eighth grade. It was good to see the sights, especially since during the eighth grade field trip all we cared about was listening to our head phones, and what was for lunch.
Missing the first week of the football season was tough. After not being around for pigskin games a year ago, I was ready for the start of the 2007 season. Of course there are eight more Friday nights left, not to mention the playoffs.
One day this week I was in the hotel room watching some golf with my brother Willie, when two-year-old Mitch came in. He threw his hands up and yelled, "I watch, golf ball." Why wouldn't it be called that? I mean there is baseball, football, and basketball? I tried to explain to him it was just called golf, but I don't think it sunk in.
As I was reading results from Marion High School's cross country meet, I realized why I could never hack it running. Thinking about running for 15-20 minutes straight made me sick. And we're only talking about 1/13 of a marathon. That could be why I am so much better at watching sports than playing them.
Marion's upset of Halstead, and Hillsboro's loss to Nickerson Friday make the statement, "That's why you play the game," ring true. Hardly anyone expected either outcome, but it shows why games aren't played on paper.
Marion's victory got me thinking about number 5 Michigan's loss to tiny Appalachian State. Some people are saying it was the biggest college football upset ever. I say maybe Michigan isn't as good as everyone thought, and maybe Marion is better than some people thought.
Ever since I covered the women's volleyball team at the University of Kansas, I have become a much bigger volleyball fan than in the past. Part of the reason is because when the team qualified for the NCAA tournament in Malibu, I was able to go and cover the games for the paper. I'm thinking about petitioning the Kansas State High School Activities Association to move the state tournament to Southern California. It's worth a shot.
In the first week of the "Gridiron Challenge" the five Marion County High School principals tried to predict eight high school and college football games in the area. Tim Robertson of Peabody-Burns can now claim himself "Smartest Football Picking Principal in Marion County," after going 6-2 and winning a tie-break against Marion's Jim Piper. The other principals all went 5-3. Look for a new set of contestants in next week's issue.
KU won 52-7 this past week, and K-State lost 23-13. I still think the Wildcats are better than the 'Hawks. We'll see Oct. 6. I hope I'm wrong. It happened once before.
