SB Nation Kansas City: All Posts by Craig Brenner

Five-Orite Friday: The year that was 2012

2012-12-28T15:00:28Z

Who doesn't love a list? I love lists and I assume you do too. Hence why I do a weekly column that is a list. I am one of those people who will click on almost any link that has a list or a countdown on it. With that in mind I figured I would look back at the year of 2012 with my own lists. Yes I said lists not list. I now bring you my lists of what happened this past year Five-Orite Friday style.

Five-Orite Games:

5. Game 6 Eastern Conference Finals:

LeBron Freaking James! In a must win game on the road King James dropped 45-15-5 and completely dominated the Boston Celtics. In the basketball world it was the year of LeBron James. Which brings us to number 4 on the list...

4. Team USA Gold Medal Game vs. Spain:

Combine national pride with the fact that Spain is an easy team to root against and you get the Gold Medal game in the 2012 Olympics. USA! USA! USA!

3. Game 5 N.L. Division Playoffs Cardinals vs. Nationals:

I was lying on my couch just counting down the minutes until the Cardinals were eliminated from the post season. The St. Louis Cardinals had other plans that night. Thankfully for Royals fans everywhere the Cardinals lost in the NLCS vs. the Giants a few weeks later.

2. MLB Home Run Derby:

The Royals, Kauffman Stadium, and the city of Kansas City were had the national spot light shined upon them and they did not disappoint. Booing Robinson Cano to loudly and passionately gave me great pride in the town I have spent my entire life in. It was a great moment for this town to show how much they love their baseball.

1. MU vs. KU For The Last Times:

I am going to include both of the regular season games between MU and KU from 2012. Both were classic games and will be ones people talk about for years. It appears that those will be the last games between these two hated rivals for some time. If that is the case they picked two great ways to go out.

Five-Orite Players I Enjoyed Watching Play:

5. De'Anthony Thomas - Oregon Ducks

I find myself watching a lot of late night west coast college this year. I watched a lot of Oregon and every time Thomas touched the ball I expected something special to happen and many times it did.

4. Peyton Manning - Denver Broncos

The NFL is a lesser place without Peyton Manning in it. He is one of my all time favorite players and he is picking up right where he left off this season. And he makes awesome commercials.

3. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings

I have been a fan of All Day for many years now. I loved watching him play at Oklahoma and have had him on a fantasy football team ever since he rookie year. What he is doing this season barely a year after ripping up his ACL and MCL vaulted him in to straight up freak of nature status. I am now convince that he isn't human at all. I am beginning to think he is an alien that came to this planet many years ago and is powered by Earth's yellow sun.

2. Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City Thunder

What do you get when you combine a 6'11 forward who has unlimited range, handle skills like a guard with incredible work ethic, and is humble beyond belief? You get the Durantula. He is everything that is right about the NBA and professional sports in general.

1. LeBron James - Miami Heat

Every time I watch LeBron play I see something new and different about his game. He is the great basketball player on this planet right now and it isn't even close. This past season he got his one of what I am sure will be many rings.

Now for some non sports topics from 2012.

Five-Orite Movies I actually Saw:

Honorable Mention

Prometheus:

I really enjoyed this movie a lot. I liked the over arching theme and the fact that not everything was spelled out for you. Sometimes it is nice to have a movie treat you like you are intelligent and trust you to connect some dots on your own. Plus it looked sooo pretty.

The Amazing Spider-Man:

Telling the origin story of Spider-Man this quickly after the other Spider-Man films annoyed me. But I love Spider-Man and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker were really enjoyable.

Now time for the list...

5. Safety Not Guaranteed:

This movie was funny, smart, emotional and had depth. It is one of my favorite movies I have seen in years. I can't recommend this film enough. Aubrey Plaza was great in this film. If you love her on Parks and Recs you will love her in this film.

4. Skyfall:

I am not the biggest James Bond ever. I have enjoyed the more recent Bond films but they were not anything I would rush out to see. Skyfall is the best Bond film I have ever seen. Well worth your money.

3. Django Unchained:

I saw this movie two days ago and enjoyed every minute of it. I am a huge Quentin Tarantino fan and tend to love everything he does sans Jackie Brown. Christopher Waltz was absolutely fantastic and gave one of the best performances I have seen in the past decade. I imagine a lot of hardware is coming his way.

2. The Dark Knight Rises:

The final chapter of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy had its set of problems but as a whole it was a really good movie. I worried about how the character of Bane would play on screen (and if I would be able to understand him) but those fears went away during the first ten minutes of the film.

1. Avengers:

You might be noticing a theme here. I like comic books and I like comic book movies. The Avengers had many ingredients that looked like this movie could fail horrible. Thankfully for all movie goers out there super nerd Joss Whedon was the man calling all of the shots for this film. If you are a Whedon fan you could tell early on that this was his movie. It shared many of the same qualities that made Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly great.

Five-Orite Movies I Wanted To See But Didn't:

5. Master:

At that time there were about 5 movies I wanted to see in the theatres and never got a chance to get around to them. This was one of them.

4. Dredd:

Sometimes seeing a mindless action flick is all you need in life.

3. Perks Of Being A Wallflower:

One of those films that comes and goes before you ever get a chance to plan when and where you are going to see it.

2. Argo:

I mean its Ben Affleck. The dude was the bomb in Phantoms yo.

1. Looper:

A movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and time travel. Really bummed I missed this one.

Five-Orite Albums:

5. Of Monsters And Men - My Head Is An Animal

4. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.d. City

3. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Part 1

2. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

1. Jack White - Blunderbuss

Hope you enjoyed a stroll into pop culture with me this week. Make sure to follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next year peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: Christmas list edition

2012-12-21T15:00:26Z

Tis the season for wishing and hoping for gifts that you probably won't end up getting. So what better way to celebrate the holiday season then with a Five-Orite Friday Wish List Edition. These are the top five things I want to have happened for the upcoming year.

1. Kansas City Chiefs Draft a QB:

This has to happen right? I mean it is such a given its akin to candy in your stocking right? No matter what gifts you do or don't receive you know you will at least have candy in your stocking. The Chiefs have to finally draft a QB in the first round this year. Can you imagine if the Chiefs didn't draft a QB in the first round in April? What if they don't draft a QB at all? I kind of hope the Chiefs don't draft a QB this year in the draft. Simply because that means all that money I invested in that pitchforks and torches business would really start bringing in the dollars. HELLO KID'S COLLEGE FUND FOR STANFORD!!!!!

So it is safe to assume the Chiefs will draft a QB in the first round. So now the question becomes whom do they take with said draft selection. Even though there is not a sure fire number one prospect like Andrew Luck there are still many players to choose from this year. Here is how I rank this year's crop of QBs. Now these are my rankings and strengths and weaknesses based on what I saw from them this season. Take it for what it is worth.

Geno Smith: West Virginia

Strength - Insanely accurate on deep passes

Weakness - Disappeared in big games

Matt Barkley: USC

Strength - Has all of the polish and the arm of big time NFL QB

Weakness - Height, injury concerns, and he is a USC QB

Tyler Wilson: Arkansas

Strength - Incredibly tough, not afraid of being hit, makes strong throws in traffic

Weakness - Concussions and maybe not be able to shake the stink of this last season at Arkansas

Tyler Bray: Tenneessee

Strength - All the measurables of a high level NFL QB

Weakness - Questions of maturity and ineffective when forced to move around.

Landry Jones: Oklahoma

Strength - Mature and won a lot of games and broke many records at OU

Weakness - Lack of growth after staying an extra year

Those are all of the guys I look as potential first round picks in 2013. Obviously they all have their flaws but that doesn't mean that they can't become a really good player. One of those players will be on the Kansas City Chiefs next season.

2. Kansas City Royals Win 81 Games:

The Royals made a splash this off-season with trading Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and Mike Montgomery to the Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields and Wade Davis two weeks ago. Royals fans might get an immediate return on this as the Royals could very well finish .500 or better for the first time since 2003. God...2003 really does seem like forever ago. It will be ten years ago this upcoming season since the Royals finished over .500. I would love nothing more than to see the Royals get back to the point and doing it in a way where the success should be able to last. Unlike the flash in the pan that was 2003.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat Finals Rematch:

I want this to happen so badly. The series between these two teams last June was special for everyone who watched and soaked it in. We need to see it again. And again and again and again. Last year went by too quickly. We only got five games of these two superstar lead and super talented teams playing against each other. There needs to be seven more games of this and it needs to happen now. If these two teams meet in the NBA Finals for the next 3 years with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant taking on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade everyone's life in the world would be better.

Kevin Durant and LeBron James are transcendent , once in a life time superstars. They are the two best players in the NBA right now and there really isn't any other players in their class. They are special in every since of the word and seeing them compete vs. each other for the ultimate prize is a no lose situation. Well....it is no lose for us. For them one of them will lose.

4. The End Of Conference Realignment:

This truly is a wish that has zero chance of appearing underneath the Christmas tree. Conference expansion/realignment is my least favorite topic in college athletics. It really makes me not enjoy college football at all. It will never stop but a boy can dream can't he?

Every summer there is another story about some team leaving this conference for that conference and it always seems like the Big 12 is getting shafted in some way. I just want it to end. If it can't end completely then can it at least take one year off?

5. Tim Tebow:

I wrote the two words that get all search engines firing. Tim Tebow. Much like the previous topic I hope the Tim Tebow phenomena would finally be put to rest. I never understood the infatuation with him to begin with and now it has got to a point where it is completely ridiculous. Please make it end as fast as possible.

One of my biggest problems with the Tebow-mania last year was that when Tebow was winning games running a high school offense it directly spit in the fave of the QB position in the NFL. It somehow cheapened the greatness of QBs like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Ben Roethlisberger. It takes special players to excel at the highest level they way they do. When Tim Tebow goes out there and completes two passes in a game and wins it insults everything it means to be a great NFL QB.

There is my Christmas wish list for 2012. Next week we will look back at the year that was 2012 Five-Orite Friday style. There might even be a few lists that go beyond the world of sports.

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Royals take off-season headlines

2012-12-14T16:15:23Z

Who would have thought that in the second week in December the biggest sports story in Kansas City would be the Royals. That is a very rare thing. So we start this week by looking at major principles involved in the biggest trade of the MLB off-season so far.

1. Who The Royals Got:

Late Sunday evening news began to surface via twitter that the Royals had acquired pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays. I was taken aback when I heard news of the trade because to be honest I thought the chances of the Royals making an acquisition of this caliber were slim. These are two legitimate starting pitchers the Royals have added to their rotation and now makes this one of the most talented Royals rotations in ten plus years.

James Shields was not my first choice of Rays pitchers I was hoping the Royals would trade for this off-season. That honor went to super stud and current A.L. Cy Young winner David Price. But Shields it not a bad consolation prize. A lot of the fear that comes with James Shields is his work load the past few seasons. Since 2007 Shields has logged 200+ innings every year. So the natural Royals fan reaction is to assume that his arm is going to explode in late May.

Pitchers get hurt. That is a fact of Major League Baseball so Royals fans have a right to be fearful of that with Shields. But there is recent history of these work horse type pitchers being holding up over time. The main examples being C.C. Sabathia, Felix Hernandez, Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, and Roy Halladay to name a few. Based on Shields' age I think the chances are less likely that he gets hurt like Roy Halladay was this past season. If Shields does blow out his arm the Royals only control him and his contract for two years. Shields is a work horses who eats innings, strikes out a crapton of batters and can win a playoff game 1-0. The Royals have only had one pitcher in the last ten years who could do that in his name was Zack Greinke.

The other Rays pitcher the Royals acquired in the trade was former starter and current bullpen guy Wade Davis. I have been a fan of Davis for the past few years and I can't really tell you a specific reason why. The closest thing I can remember was flipping on a Rays game when he was starting and was drawn to the way he pitched and commanded a game made me a fan. He has a chance to the real gem of this trade for the Royals. The Royals control Davis for potential the next five years and they are going to have him back starting this season. That is five seasons of a #3 type pitcher on a team desperate for starting pitching.

How insane is it to think that the Royals could actually make the playoffs this season? It really is nuts to say that. That is what this trade did for the Royals. It added something they were greatly lacking while not taking away any of the current pieces on the big league roster. Which brings me to the other side of the trade...

2. Who The Royals Gave Up:

Well...It finally happened. The Royals traded Wil Myers. The prospects of all prospects. The Minor League Player Of The Year. Super-Man owns one athlete jersey and its of Wil Myers. That is how awesome Wil Myers will potentially be. Notice I used the word potentially. I was born in Kansas City and lived here my entire life and at this point it is safe to say I will die in this city. They Royals have sucked for 90% of the time I have been alive. They are a joke among my friends who root for teams not named the Royals. We were forced to memorize the names in baseball prospectus and masters of major league service time. For so long fans have waited for the big league club to finally get to a point where winning and winning now matters and this trade showed that. So naturally Royals fans hated it. Well maybe not all Royals fans more like Royals Minor League fans hate it.

I get why people freaked out upon hearing that Wil Myers was traded. I, like most others think the chances that Myers is a complete bust are slim. He looks like a can't miss, top self player in the minor league but I have seen that before. We have all seen that before. It happens in other organizations with other players like Brandon Wood, Matt LaPorta, and Brandon Belt. All guys who were very highly thought of prospects and turned out to be just okay players and in the case of Brandon Wood not good at all. Royals fans have seen it before in Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, and Eric Hosmer. It is still early for Moose and Hos so the chances they become the stars they were projected to be is still there. But lets take a closer look at Alex Gordon.

Very few players have come with the hype and pomp and circumstance that Alex Gordon did. A kid who grew up around the area (Nebraska) and as a Royals fan. Idolized the greatest player in Royals history (George Brett) and played the same position as him and etc. Gordon's career took a lot longer than anyone thought it would take to get on track. After stints in triple A and a position change to the outfield Gordon has now become a very fine player. But that is all he is. A pretty good player. A top 20 player at his position but not a super star by any means.

So that brings me to Wil Myers. What if Myers turns out to be just a good player? Another Alex Gordon type player for the Royals. Would he had been worth not trading? My biggest frustration with the reaction surrounding trading Myers from Royals fans and the media members who don't cover this team as closely saying that Myers is a 100% guarantee to be a star. There are no guarantees when it comes to prospects in baseball. Especially if your named the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals traded an unknown and unproven commodity (Myers, Odorizzi, Montegomery, and Leonard) for players that are known and proven in Davis and Shields. If the Royals are going to make any noise in the post season it is going be a lot more akin to the San Francisco Giants (awesome starting pitching & just enough hitting) than it will be like the Detroit Tigers (awesome hitters falling out of your ass)

The other two major names in this trade that the Royals sent to Tampa Bay are RHP Jake Odorizzi and LHP Mike Montgomery. I know 3B Jeremy Leonard was also included in the trade but this trade was really about the Myers, Odorizzi, and Montgomery. Odorizzi showed some glimpses of promise in the minors last season but struggled to go deep into games and did not set the world on fire when he has called up at the end of last season. The thought is that Odorizzi's ceiling is as a number three starter in the majors. Mike Montgomery was very highly thought of in the Royals organization two years ago and then he completely fell off the map. Montgomery looks like a project the Rays are going to try to fix and see if they can turn him into something. It is clear that the Royals made a mistake not trading Montgomery back when his value was at its highest.

That is the tricky part when it comes to MLB prospects. Knowing when to turn those highly thought of prospects into other assets and when to hold on to them. That is one of the few reasons why I like the trade the Royals made. They traded Wil Myers at the height of his value. He was never going to be worth more than he is now for the simple reason that he has yet to fail at the big league level. The Royals saw that and turn him into two legitimate starting pitchers in order to win. The Royals major league team has sucked and sucked hard for a long time. That is something the outsiders who were quick to call this trade a horrible one for the Royals fail to understand.

Royals fans have been told year after year after year for the past six years to wait and eventually all of this rebuilding and repairing of the minor league system was going to positively effect the major league team. It was going to effect it in term of real wins that count in standings and not in Baseball America's top prospects list.

3. The Great Wide Open:

And now we get around to the Kansas City Chiefs. They find new ways to be relevant while still being a very bad team. This week's fun centers around WR Steve Breaston and how well he grasps the game plan. If you listened to Romeo Crennel on Wednesday you would know that Breaston will play and be active for the games once he shows a great understanding of the game plan. Then if you listened to Romeo Crennel on Thursday you know that he never said that Breaston did not need to have a better understanding of the game plan. Yes go ahead and let that whole thing sink in for a few mins. With all the misdirection and all over the place RAC threw at us this week I would not be shocked to learn he writes for the show American Horror Story.

There are many different angles and when it comes to the curious case of Steve Breaston. First off let me say that I absolutely, 100% completely loved the way Breaston handled himself on Wednesday when he was asked about his understanding of the game plan. His line that "you can't fight City Hall" was classic. I loved hearing it and have yet to get sick of it. I want to make that my ring tone. You know he had to be thinking of that line before hand. No way someone just drops that out like that without having practiced it. Breaston was a true profession when asked about his lack of playing time and showed many of the qualities that his peers have raved about. He did what grown ups in jobs tend to handle himself. He did not make excuses, get angry and throw a fit. He just added another reason why he is my favorite Chiefs player. That and we both love comic books and Thunder Cats.

Now lets get real about this Steve Breaston thing. This has a lot to do with him being a Todd Haley guy and a lot less to do with his production. Wide Receivers who are getting signed off the practice squad on Saturday are starting over Breaston the next day. So those guys have that great understanding of the game that Breaston has been lacking. I am glad to see that Jon Baldwin can scream at his QB on national TV and run poor route after poor route and still get plenty of playing time while Breaston hangs out on the side line in street clothes on Sunday afternoons. Once again this feels like the upper management of the Chiefs worrying too much about the little things and failing to see the bigger picture.

Now, all of that being said I fully expect Steve Breaston to be active for Sunday's game at the Raiders. After all of the heat RAC took this week about Breaston being inactive I can see him finally having that "great understanding of the game plan" that he has been missing. Hell, Breaston might even get a few passes thrown his way.

4. Are You Mocking Me?

We can all rejoice. ESPN scouting God Todd McShay has released his mock draft of the season. Right now the Chiefs are in line to have the first overall pick in the 2013 draft and McShay has them taking.....A defensive tackle?

(unfortunate horn sound)

And there you go. Todd McShay has the Chiefs drafting Utah DT Star Lotulelei who I have no doubt is a fine player but if the Chiefs draft ANOTHER defensive lineman with a top 5 pick I am sure the Hellmouth will open up and release many many badd things upon the Earth. McShay also has West Virginia QB Geno Smith being the first QB drafted with the 8th overall. Well since I don't see it taking until the 8th pick for a QB to be taken I am going to go ahead and assume if the Chiefs do in fact end up with the first overall pick that they will not be drafting a defensive tackle.

5. Bes-ler In The Trap:

Chiefs and Royals weren't the only pro sports team in town making news this week. As Sporting Kansas City continues to put the disappointing playoff lose behind them by making sure the club is ready to contend again in 2013. One of the moves was to resign MLS Defender Of The Year and local boy Matt Besler to a three-year deal. I know there are many sports fans in the city who feel like soccer is being crammed down their collective throats. Moves like resigning Besler is why so many people are trying to get you to like soccer and Sporting KC. They are a professional sports franchise that truly gets it. Matt Besler is a home town guy who went to high school in the area and has been a fixture of the community since being drafted. Only bad things could have happened if Sporting was not able to retain him. Having Besler be a really good player made the decision that much easier for the club too. Lets not get it mistaken. If Besler sucked then the resigning would be seen as more of a PR move being he was a local guy.

I have had the pleasure of meeting and being around Matt Besler on a hand full of occasions (humblebrag) and he is a great reflection of what Sporting KC is about. So far I own two pieces of Sporting KC gears. The third piece is going to be a Matt Besler shirt.

Follow me on Twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: Tragedy puts Kansas City Chiefs center stage

2012-12-07T15:01:42Z

This past week has been one of the most interesting weeks I have experienced since I have worked in and around Kansas City sports. I am not going to spend the entire column discussing the events that happened last weekend in Kansas City but this is the first real chance I have been able to discuss it for bare with me.

1. Javon Belcher Murders and Suicide:

Last Saturday morning seems like an eternity ago. It was a little bit after 9am and I was being very lazy and lying in bed refusing to get up and become a real grown up when my wife came upstairs to tell me something. She told me that the Facebook page for Sports Radio 810 had a post saying that a Chiefs' player had shot and killed his girlfriend and then drove to the Arrowhead practice facility and took his own life.

My first response was disbelief. I told her she means a fan or something like that. At first it really didn't register with me that a current player on the Chiefs roster would do something like that. After that I was glued to Twitter and Facebook and begin texting friends and coworkers to see exactly what had happened. There are a few moments and events in my life where I will always remember where I was and how I found out about them. For me those moments are Columbine, 9/11, President Obama winning the 2004 Presidential election and now the Jovan Belcher tragedy.

A lot has already been said about the events that unfolded on that Saturday morning but I will offer a few of them. I have never been the biggest fan of Chiefs' GM Scott Pioli and the work he has done in his four years in Kansas City. I am also not the biggest fan of Scott Pioli the person and the way he treats the people who work for him. Saturday was the first time I truly had sympathy and felt bad for Scott Pioli the human being. I can't even begin to imagine what last Saturday was like for that man. To witness what he did and having to be in the middle of those events is something you truly can't un-see no matter how hard you try. I begin to wonder who does he talk to about what he experienced? Does he lean on his wife or a close personal friend? It had to be an utter nightmare for Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel.

There has been a lot of discussion about the action of the players after the events caused by Belcher's actions and whether or not they were right or wrong. Here is the only thing I will say about that and I will quote a good friend and coworker T.J. Carpenter. Grieving is a very personal thing and everyone grieves in their own way and you can't judge them for it because it is not the way you would do it.

It has been almost a week and since this is a sports site I am looking forward to discussing more sports topics. Which is where we start number two on the list...

2. Will The Real KC Chiefs Please Stand Up?

The Chiefs played their best game of the season. I did not see that coming at all after the events that unfolded on Saturday. When the Chiefs scored at the end of the 1st half I tweeted that the Chiefs offense vs the Panthers is the offense we all thought we would see this season. It was an offense that ran the ball very well and used that to set up big gains in the passing game. It was effective and efficient and most importantly it protected the football.

Brady Quinn played the best season of his career. Let me say that again BRADY QUINN PLAYED HIS BEST GAME IN THE NFL EVER!!!! The defensive secondary was banged up yet their play didn't show it. If it wasn't for the late penalty then the Chiefs would have played a flawless game.

Now to pee all in your corn flakes. With all of those awesome things the Chiefs did last Sunday they were only up six points and a TD away from losing the game to the 3 win Panthers. The Chiefs are far from perfect. Hell, they are far from a decent team. But for one Sunday they were able to over come everything going on around them and play a really good football game.

All of that being said I do not like the chances of the Chiefs pulling out a win this Sunday vs. the Cleveland Browns. After having a week to slow down and process everything that happened last weekend it is going to catch up to them. I like the Browns and the points.

3. Payroll Blues:

It might be best for Royals owner David Glass and the higher ups with the club to just quit talking about payroll because every time he does it goes poorly. It all started Thursday afternoon when K.C. Star Royals beat writer Bob Dutton published a story that the Royals' payroll figure of $70 million that was discussed by Glass last week includes all of the money spent on the amateur draft players and signing bonuses, international signings and the entire 40 man roster. Meaning that the payroll for the actual 25 man roster that you will see on opening day would actually be around $56 million.

Seriously.....$56 million for the 25 man roster? Am I being punk'd right now? I mean this can't be real?

So that happened in the afternoon then around about 3 hours later Dutton tweeted out this gem.

OK, #Royals fans, just got off the phone with club officials who say they gave me bad info; $70 million payroll is for 40-man roster but...
— Bob Dutton (@Royals_Report) December 6, 2012

...it doesn't include the signing bonus budgets for the draft and international signings. Am correcting story.
— Bob Dutton (@Royals_Report) December 6, 2012

So...yeah....there is that. There are some very smart people working on the baseball and business side of the Royals but moments like this I feel like the higher level members of the Royals organization are clueless.

4. Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow:

Missouri football found a way to get into the news cycle this week when long time coach and current offensive coordinator David Yost resigned from his current position on the team. The curious thing about this announcement is that it appears to be all Yost's decision. It wasn't one of those situations where he was forced out and the team spins it as a resignation to save face. According to all of the people who follow the program closely it really does seem like this was truly Yost's call from beginning to end.

So what does David Yost do now? It does not appear that he is going to be taking another job for next season so what do you think Yost is going to do with his free time? I imagine it is kind of a culture shock when you go from being employed as a football coach and going to work day after day to suddenly having nothing to do. How do you think he fills all of his free time? Do you think he grows his hair out even longer now? Does burn through all of those seasons of Mad Men he has on his Netflix queue? My guess is he finally finishes that zombie novel Z Is For Zombie.

5. Thunderstruck:

Now to end on a lighter note. This week Kevin Durant's feature film debut Thunderstruck came out on Blu Ray and DVD and it looks cheesetasticly awesome! I love that KD is in this movie and I love that he and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to get seen by many young kids all across the nation. This is a great thing for him and the team. Its great publicity for all parties involved.

Seeing this movie being released does make me think back to a time when people worried that being in a small market like OKC was going to hamper the national appeal and ability of Durant to land any big time sponsorship. Looking back it is clear that was a very silly thing to work about. Durant is a superstar and one of the faces of the NBA. If you can ball stardom will find you no matter where you call home.

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: They call me Mr. Glass

2012-11-30T15:01:45Z

Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with his presence. With the Kansas City Chiefs continuing to be an embarrassment to the city and the college football season coming to an end eyes have now turned to the Kansas City Royals and the hot stove. And by hot stove I mean pay roll which is where we start this week.

1. Margin Call:

This week Royals fans every where were graced with the wisdom of the team owner David Glass. If you are unfamiliar with the complete garbage that Mr. Glass was throwing out there I direct you to the well written article by Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The main part that stood out to me in Mr. Glass' comments were the ones concerning the profit he has made on the team. Or if you believe him the lack there of.

In the article Mr. Glass claimed that since owning the Royals that he has barely been able to break uneven when it comes to making a profit. If you are someone who believes what Mr. Glass is spewing out there then I am sure you also believe that Abu Nazir really exists and that Carrie Matheson is a rational person who never loses her cool.

When I read those comments I began to shout many things in my mind. First one was similar to those of a Jon Stewart on an episode of The Daily Show a month and a half ago. That moment can be seen at the 4:30 mark of the clip below but I do highly recommend watching the entire clip.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Honestly...How dumb does David Glass think Royals fans are? I have written and said many times before how knowledge the Royals fan base is and when Mr. Glass makes comments like this it is an insult to the intelligence of the entire fan base. Mr. Glass has to think that the entire fan base is made up of a bunch of idiots. Why else would he think that crap he threw out there would fly?

David Glass wants you to ignore what Forbes Magazine says about how much he has made owning the Royals and believe him. Since he has a great track record of being completely honest with the fan base and having their best interests in mind. Call me crazy but I am going to go ahead and trust Forbes and not the man who was misusing tax payer money given for the stadium.

2. K-State Aiming Big:

Two weeks ago Kansas State was on top of the college football world and in line to play for the BCS National Championship. With the road loss to Baylor those dreams died and died hard. But not all is lost for the Wildcats this season. A win vs. Texas on Saturday gives KSU their 3rd Big 12 Conference title and although it isn't a national championship or a Heisman Trophy for Collin Klein it is still an accomplishment that every KSU fan should be proud of.

If I were to tell you that in the first two years of the Big 12 round robin conference play schedule that a team would have only lost three total games in that time I am sure many would think that team was either Oklahoma or Texas. I am sure many would not have imagined it would have been Bill Snyder and the K-State Wildcats. I know I did not. The last two season have further cemented the genius that is Bill Snyder. The Cats look poised to play in a BCS Bowl game and have their QB sitting in New York to be part of the Heisman Trophy presentation. The national championship is dead but that does not take away from how special this season truly was for KSU.

3. RACs on RACs on RACs:

It really does take talent to be an NFL franchise in a city that only has three major professional sports teams and to be this irrelevant. That is exactly what the Chiefs are right now. Irrelevant and embarrassing. Plain and simple. The are the poster children on how not to run a team right now.

Here is how embarrassing it is for the Chiefs right now. Head coach Romeo Crennel spent part of his Monday afternoon news conference discussing the fact that he needed to make sure the team avoided a let down. Yes...a let down after a close loss. Not an actually win. But a loss. That is how bad the Chiefs are. When they lose close games to average/good teams that you need to make sure they don't have a let down and get blown out be a lesser team. Well...not lesser than the Chiefs but lesser than the average/good teams. Crazy part is the let down is something that has actually been a problem for this team.

The Chiefs won vs. Saints then got blown out the next game vs. the Chargers. They had a close loss to the Ravens then get rolled the next week vs. the Buccaneers. They don't get completely rolled by the Steelers on Monday Night Football then get embarrassed at home by the Bengals. It is just plain comical that a 1-10 team has to worry about avoiding the let down.

4. Pinkel-ton Album:

Missouri's first football season in the SEC finally ended last weekend and boy was that not a whole bunch of fun for the Tigers. Mainly it did not look fun for head coach Gary Pinkel. For the past few weeks there were rumors on twitter and post on message boards that Pinkel's career at Mizzou was coming to an end. That was all put to rest earlier this week when A.D. Mike Alden came out and said Pinkel would be back for the the 2013 season and beyond.

I am a fan of Pinkel as MU's coach and thought making a change would have been a mistake. At this time in the MU athletic program you want stability and that is what Gary Pinkel gives the football program. Now, I know Gary Pinkel is not without his flaws and short comings. I made my feelings about the way he handled James Franklin not taking a pain killing shot well known. But getting rid of Pinkel at this stage would be very short sighted of the Tigers and shows that MU doesn't understand where it stands in the pecking order of college football.

MU is not a program that is going to or should be competing for National Championships. They simply are not at that level. It took the greatest season in the history of MU football for them to be ranked #1 in the country and having a shot at playing in the BCS title game back in 2007. Know who you are and know that winning 8 games a season is about the heights that the program can reach with some season playing up or down from that win total. Accept that and understand that there is nothing wrong with being that level of a program. Especially now that the Tigers are in the SEC.

5: Humblebrag:

Charlie Weis is a very interesting cat in my opinion. He along with many other people from the New England Patriots owe almost all of their success to one Tom Brady. Yet you would know that from listening to the man talk. He does not lack for confidence that is for damn sure and he doesn't mind telling you about his excellence either.

This week in came during the weekly Big 12 coaches conference call when Charlie Weis was asked about Notre Dame being ranked #1 in the BCS and set to play in the title game and the players he recruited on the team. Weis started off saying that he figured it was best to stay away from the lime light when it came to the Fighting Irish's success then season. When using an example of what he didn't want to do when it came to taking credit he made to let everyone know how those are his players especially Heisman candidate Manti Te'o. You know, taking credit for it.

Bravo Chuck. Bravo. You some how found a way for me to talk about the KU football coach even though they are about to go winless in the Big 12 yet again.

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas State reaches the mountain top

2012-11-16T14:41:30Z

All it took for the Kansas City Chiefs to get knocked from the top spot on Five-Orite Friday was a college football team being ranked #1 in the BCS.

1. Wizardry 101:

K-State, welcome to the top of the college football landscape and you can thank Bill Snyder for it. We all know I am a fan of The Wizard and what he has done at KSU in his second tenure there. Everything that Snyder has worked and built towards reached its culmination this week when his team became the #1 ranked team in the BCS.

With the new heights that KSU has now reached the natural reaction from the fan base is to be freaked out that they are on the precipice of being upset and seeing all of your hopes and dreams thrown into the trash like 3 day old Mexican food. More fuel was added to this fear when Collin Klein graced the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated.

Well allow me to do my best to calm your fear. First grab this paper bag and breathe in and out slowly while I tell you about your next two opponents. First up are the Baylor Bears who have a really good offense and absolutely no defense. The Bears have one conference win and that came against KU. That almost shouldn't count as a real win anyway.

K-State's last regular season game is at home vs. Texas. The recent history in this series is that KSU owns Texas in football. I don't know what it is about the KSU vs Texas football games but Texas does not beat the Cats. Even Ron Prince rolled up on Texas when we was at K-State. This game is at home and looks to be for a birth in the BCS title game. I like the Cats chances of finishing the season undefeated.

I will say this about K-State and their pursuit of a national championship. Now that we are at this point where KSU has two games between them and playing in the BCS title game. If KSU loses either one of these games and that loss bounces them from the title game then they choked it away. I know the expectations before the season were not for the team to reach these heights but things change. Once you begin to have a season like this expectations change. Once Alabama lost to Texas A&M the ante went up for KSU. If I had to bet money on whether or not KSU will choke away this rare opportunity I would ride my money on The Wizard.

2. Dancing Queens:

I said last week that the Chiefs are one of the most interesting bad teams to talk about and they did not disappoint this week. On Monday Night Football in front of the entire nation the then 1-7 Chiefs decided it was a the perfect time to break out every dance celebration they had been saving this season. How and why the players thought this was a good idea is completely beyond me. They looked like clowns. Well...I guess in their defense they did finally have a lead in a game so why not act a fool. Nah....scratch that noise. They were clowns out there.

The Chiefs find new ways futility to impress even the most cynical of people like myself. A majority of the Chiefs defensive players decided it was a smart idea to celebrate and then get flagged for a fumble return for a touchdown that was later over turned. So the Chiefs celebrated a TD that never happened. Am I in the Matrix? I was simply stunned when this happened

Apparently the Chiefs wanted to show everyone how much swag they have. Can you really have swag when you have been blown out and dominated and embarrassed in the majority of your games? I will go ahead and answer that for you. No. You cannot.

This is another nail adding to the many other nails that are hammered into Romeo Crennel's coffin as Chiefs head coach. This team has no discipline and no respect for the him or the rest of the coaching staff.

3. Return Of The Bowe Show:

I really do enjoy whenever Dwayne Bowe talks to the media. I think he is a congenial person and it comes across when he is interviewed. So I absolutely loved reading his comments in the Kansas City Star after practice. The comment that stood at the most from D-Bowe was the one about him wanting to clear the air about wanting out of Kansas City.

In the story D-Bowe wanted to let everyone know he is not a bad guy and never said anything about wanting out of KC. I don't know anyone who ever thought Bowe was the bad guy in the Chiefs vs. Bowe training camp stand off. I understood where Bowe was coming from and likewise the Chiefs. It is a business and both sides were doing what is best for themselves. But lets be honest. Why wouldn't Bowe want out of Kansas City. This team sucks. It sucks hard. He is not getting any younger and has only played one playoff game in his career. I can't blame for him wanting to get as far as human possible from this car wreck of a franchise.

I love that Bowe said he wanted to end his career with the Chiefs. When asked that question I have never heard an athlete give the opposite response. Every athlete says that and maybe 30% of them actually mean it. I am sure that Bowe would like to end his career as a member of the Chiefs but its safe to say he isn't hell bent on making it reality.

4. Goodbye Horses:

Now to add some fun into the ever depressing Kansas City Chiefs. This week there has been a video going around the internet where Chiefs Safety Eric Berry completely freaks out at the sight of a horse. The horse in question is War Paint and it (I don't know if its a he or a she) will ride around on the field after scoring plays at Arrowhead and etc. Apparently Eric Berry is not friends with War Paint on Facebook and would be fine if he and the horse never saw each other again.

After the video exploded this week Eric Berry cleared up why he isn't the biggest fan of horses. I will say this I am 100% with Eric Berry on this one. I am not the biggest fans of horses and those creatures are dangerous. When I was younger my family had a horse. Why we had a horse I have no idea. But one thing I do know and remember vividly is when I was riding the horse and it decided it would be fun to take a nice trot under a metal clothesline wire. Being flipped off a horse via metal clothesline makes it where you tend to keep you distance from them. I have never felt safe anytime I have been on or near a horse.

Eric Berry has one person in his corner on this one. I don't know if the Chiefs players do a secret Santa or anything but I think it would be hilarious if someone got Eric Berry a copy of All The Pretty Horses or Black Beauty or even some horse back riding lessons.

5. Hard Knock Life:

It took a while but the Missouri Tigers finally got their first road win as a member of the SEC last weekend when they beat Tennessee in 4 OTs. This isn't the big bad Tennessee of old but it is still a road win in the SEC and Mizzou needed one of those in the worst way. The inaugural season in the SEC for MU has been very bumpy and a month ago they were in danger of not making a bowl game. Now the chances of that happening look very promising.

Of course this is Missouri and we are quickly reminded why they can't have nice things. Yesterday evening Gabe DeArmond from PowerMizzou.com broke the news that DT Sheldon Richardson is suspended for the game vs. Syracuse for violating teams rules. According to Ashley Zavala from KOMU-TV in Columbia sources tell her the reasons for the suspension is for skipping classes multiple times and for not completely some after practice punishment work that was assigned him. Once again, this is why MU can't have nice things.

Even without Richardson I am picking MU to beat Syracuse this weekend. Both teams look ripe for a let down after their wins last weekend. But Syracuse will have the bigger let down because they had the bigger win. If that makes any sense. Another reason I like MU in this game is the emotional lift the team will get from it being Senior Day. Last season Gary Pinkel missed the Senior Day game due to serving a suspension for his DUI arrest. This day is really important to him and to his players and it will show on Saturday.

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Chiefs shuffle deck chairs on the Titanic

2012-11-09T14:57:51Z

It really is amazing how the Kansas City Chiefs continue to stay topical in the local sports landscape while being such a terrible football. They are able to rise above the other crappy local football teams (MU and KU) and surpass the best team football team in the area (KSU) and they even bump the most successful profession sports team (Sporting Kansas City) down the Five-Orite Friday list.

1. Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?

Romeo Crennel announced this week that he was firing himself as defensive coordinator. This move happened about six months too late. In all honesty Romeo Crennel should not have been allowed to hold the title of both defensive coordinator and head coach from the outset. He is already a coach who failed in Cleveland while being only the head coach. What made anyone think that in his second tenure as a head coach that it would be a smart idea to have him keep being the defensive coordinator? Him holding both positions was doomed from the start and the experiment was finally blown up this week.

This move screams of one of desperation in order to prevent RAC from losing the locker room. Well, based on the games I have watched this season and the screaming match between Jonathan Baldwin and Matt Cassel last week in the middle of the huddle it is safe to assume he lost this team a long long time ago. The impact of this latest move by the Chiefs will be very slight if any. This flaws on this team are too deep and too grand that simplly having RAC spend more time in the offensive meeting is not going to cure it.

2. The Wrong Routt:

I wonder if Scott Pioli eats his crow with jelly oozing out of the side like his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Pioli had to eat a giant helping of crow this week when the Chiefs waived defensive back Stanford Routt. For those keeping track at home Stanford Routt was the free agent the Chiefs signed to replace Brandon Carr who left for bigger dollars with the Dallas Cowboys. Pioli went bargain shopping when he signed Routt and like many bargains there is a reason why they are that cheap.

This is an epic disaster of a free agent signing. You sign a player to be your starting corner back and the player ends up being so bad that you waive him ten weeks into the season. When you add Routt to Peyton Hillis, Eric Winston's displeasure with the Chiefs fans, and Brady Quinn. The 2012 free agent class signed by the Chiefs is a giant turd salad. I hear those don't taste good.

3. Deep In The Heart Of Texas:

To continue with the run of crappy things happening to our professional sports teams Sporting Kansas City was knocked out of the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Houston Dynamo this week. This is the second consecutive year that Houston has knocked Sporting out of the playoffs. I was thinking of a parallel from another sport to use when discussing how Sporting KC is unable to figure out the Dynamo and then it dawned on me.

Sporting is Peyton Manning's Colts while the Dynamo are Bill Belicheck's Patriots. The Colts were always the better regular season team but when they face the Patriots in the playoffs Peyton Manning always had difficulty getting passed them. It would appear that is the case with Sporting and the Dynamo.

The way the season ended for Sporting KC was no doubt a disappointment but this is a team that people in Kansas City should be very proud to support. Everything fans of the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs hate about the ownership of those teams is what makes Sporting so great. The ownership group of Sporting KC are smart, aggressive people who above everything else they want to win a title. They set goals and do their best to back them up. Sporting was unable to paint the wall with MLS title this season but I know it was not for lack of trying. And I know they will be a similar position next season.

4. Optimus Klein:

Another week and another victory by Kansas State. Now KSU fans hope last week's win vs. Oklahoma State did not come at a steep price as Collin Klein left with game with an injury. Now, exactly what kind of injury Klein sustained is up for debate. At first it was said to be his wrist then it was a concussion now it may in fact be his wrist. I am waiting for news that somehow his leg fell off and they are working to reattach it.

Regardless of what the injury is I have a feeling that Klein will play this Saturday evening vs. TCU. Before the season I picked TCU to win this game but that was before K-State became a team of destiny. That is what this team is right now. A team destined to do something big and special. It continues this weekend when they travel down to Fort Worth to welcome TCU and former K-Stater Gary Patterson to the Big 12.

5. Round Ball:

This football season has been long and no fun at all for KU and MU fans. Thankfully for both fan bases the college basketball season gets started this weekend. For Kansas they are once again loaded with young talent and picked to win the Big 12. There is a saying when it comes to gambling that you never want to try to stop the streak.

That is how I feel about KU basketball. No matter the circumstances they always find a way to win at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title. This season will not be any different. Until I see another team win the regular season title I will continue to pick them to win it.

For the Missouri Tigers they enter their first season in the SEC picked to finish third behind defending NCAA champions Kentucky and perennial tournament team Florida. The Tigers are going to look a lot different than they did last season. Mainly because they are playing more than six and a half players. I count Steve Moore as half a player based on his extreme lack of offensive skill. All of the transfer players that Frank Haith brought in can finally play and we get to see if the on court production lives up to the practice and scrimmage hype.

One thing is for certain when it comes to the Tigers this season. As Phil Pressey goes so do the Tigers. Pressey took a giant step last season and was able to shine under Frank Haith's direction. He is an NBA player and the key to the Tigers living up to their preseason conference selection.

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Chiefs find new lows

2012-11-02T14:01:46Z

You know I was ready to bury the Kansas City Chiefs in this week's Five-Orite Friday. I felt like I had every right to do so. The team is God awful and there are stories lines in the Kansas City sports landscape like the OKC Thunder, Royals and Kansas State that are more interesting that the horrible Chiefs. Then I watched Thursday night football on NFL Network. Which is where we start this week.

1. Chief Loser:

I have grown up in KC and lived here my entire life. So being a Chiefs fan pretty much comes with the territory. Over the past few years I have become numb to Chiefs losses. A lot of that has to do with the day job of covering the Chiefs. I worked the Chiefs post game show in in 2007 when the Chiefs started the season 4-3 and went on to lose their next 9 games. After doing that you become detached to all of the awful ways the Chiefs find to lose. I was fully prepared to have the same apathetic and detached reaction to the blowout vs. the Chargers but then GM Scott Pioli's was flashed on the screen and then I got a text.

The text I received was from my best friend who is from KC and is now transplanted out in Los Angeles. He texted me last night during the game asking about which QB the Chiefs should take in the upcoming draft and things of that nature. Then the topic shifted to GM Scott Pioli, his contract, and the Hunt family owning the team. He sent me something that really stuck with me and actually elicited an emotional reaction from me. That rarely happens when it comes to the Chiefs.

The comment was that other fan bases in other cities demand more from their sports franchise and their owners. This implication that somehow the Chiefs fans share some of the blame for this utterly and historically bad team because we don't 'demand' more from the team felt almost slanderous to me. I take offense greatly to that notice. If anything the Chiefs fans are the only who give a crap about the embarrassing output that the Chiefs continue to say passes for professional football.

People in KC are pissed. They are angry. They voice their frustrations on a consistent basis. They show their displeasure in the empty seats at Arrowhead on game. They show it by flying banners over the stadium before games. The idea that somehow if Chiefs just start demanding it a little more and a little hard then things would change is laughable. All of sudden after we demand it more then all of a sudden Harry Potter will show up to waive his magic wand and it will fix everything.

I hate this idea that somehow KC fans are soft on their franchise. That fans in New York, Dallas and LA are somehow better because they are louder and to a certain extent, dumber than the Kansas City sports fans. I guess the only way to prove to the rest of the country that we 'demand' the Chiefs to be better is to storm the gates of Arrowhead with torches and pitchforks and burn that mother down.

Trust me. Chiefs fans are doing their part to 'demand' the Chiefs get better. The Chiefs organization and the decision makers at the top are the ones who are not demanding that this team gets better. But hey...at least the stairwells at the Arrowhead offices are candy wrapper free. So...you know, the important things are being taken care of around there.

2. Royalty:

It did not take long for the Royals to make one of those very hyped and much promised pitching acquisitions now did it. Earlier this week the Royals traded minor league LHP Brandon Sisk for Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting pitch Ervin Santana. When news of the trade came down my fear was that the Royals being the Royals that they had given up too much for Santana and his 5+ ERA he carried around last season. When I heard Brandon Sisk's name those fears went to rest. This has the potential to be a pretty good trade for the Royals. There is one very important condition that needs to occur in order for this to be a really good trade for the boys in blue.

This cannot be the only pitcher the Royals acquire this off-season. Plain and simple. Ervin Santana can't be the Royals opening day/ace pitcher next season. If you haven't read K.C. Star Columnist Sam Mellinger's take on this please do. I love Sam's writing and he nails a lot of the way I feel concerning this trade. If this ends up being the only major move the Royals make this off-season then we should hold out zero hope for the team getting better anytime soon. I have said it before and I will continue to say it. Royals GM Dayton Moore needs to make a trade that hurts. He needs to move one of HIS drafted prospects to get better pitching talent. Whether its Wil Myers, John Lamb, Mike Moustakas, Aaron Crow, Alex Gordon or Eric Hosmer. It needs to happen.

That is how the Oakland A's have done it and it worked out pretty well for them. And Kauffman stadium is like way nicer looking than the dump they play in.

3. Thunder Struck:

Well it did not take long for fans and commentators to completely freak out about the Oklahoma City Thunder. 3 days before the tip off of the 2012-2013 NBA season the Thunder shipped sixth man virtuoso James Harden to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and draft picks.

If Harden was not going to sign an extension then the Thunder made the right move trading him. Now, I think the Thunder screwed up by letting it getto a point where they had to trade him. Last April I wrote an article on if the Thunder were forced to choose between locking up James Harden or Serge Ibaka long-term that they should choose Ibaka. I stand by that statement. But I also wrote in that article there is no reason the Thunder could not have both for the long haul. That they should not be deathly afraid of having to pay the luxury tax like it is some walker trying to claw into your house.

After I wrote all of that the Thunder went and got all freaked out about having to pay the luxury tax and made a move that looks to be more driven by money than basketball. The luxury tax is something that can really hamper teams in markets like the one the Thunder are in. But you never...EVER take for granted the window you have to win a title in the NBA. Prime example being the Chicago Bulls. Especially when you find yourself in a position like the Thunder were/are. Being a young, athletic team that just lost in the NBA Finals and having two players who are in the top twenty players in the league you need to push all your chips into the middle of the table and sacrifice money now for winning now. The Thunder got into their own head and now they don't have James Harden.

James Harden now moves on to Houston where in his debut as being 'the man' for the Rockets he dropped 37-6-12-4-1. This was hours after signing a max extension worth just under $80 million. I don't know if Harden is the superstar the Rockets think he is/will be but he did get started on the right foot.

Quick side note. You really need to read SB Nation NBA guru Tom Ziller's article on the James Harden trade. If you are an NBA fan and don't already follow him on twitter you need to right now @teamziller

To pour more salt in the wound the Thunder's fans were treated to a sloppy opening game vs. the Spurs where the Thunder had a chance to win it at the end. Only to see Kevin Durant get the ball stolen and Russell Westbrook get completely lost on the last play of the game that lead to Tony Parker sinking the game winning shot. The Westbrook is everything that is wrong with the Thunder narrative has already kicked into high gear.

Man...this is going to be a fun NBA season. You will enjoy it too Thunder fans. The team is still a title contender without James Harden. All is not lost.

4. Cat Chatter

It is almost getting boring talking about how awesome the Kansas State Wildcats have been this season. Notice I said almost because for KSU fans it is not boring at all. There is not a whole lot to add to the accomplishments K-State has reached this season. They are the second ranked team in the BCS and if they win the rest of their games they will play for the BCS Championship. They have already achieved a level I did not see them reaching this season. My one piece of advice to all the EMAWs out there is really enjoy this moment. Don't get caught up in the who is ranked behind you in the BCS and could leap frog you if they win out and all of that nonsense. If you do that you won't able to fully appreciate how special this season has been and will be. Soak it in for as long as you can because it is fleeting.

5. Lets talk about shirts man:

Time to end Five-Orite on a somewhat lighter note. Mizzou finally got their first SEC win as a member of the conference. And what happens when you win a 'big game' in college athletics? You print shirts to commemorate the occasion and that is exactly what the Tigers did. Making these shirts is something MU had planned to do from the beginning of the football season. Unfortunately for MU their season has not gone exactly as planned and that win came vs. Kentucky and not Georgia, South Carolina or Vanderbilt. They did not plan on their fist SEC win coming against bottom dweller Kentucky. But it did and for a little bit the shirts were out on the open market. That pretty much seems like a good microcosm of how MU's first season as a member of the SEC has gone so far.

Follow me on twitter @craig_a_brenner and until next week peace out.

SB Nation Kansas City: All Posts by Craig Brenner

Five-Orite Friday: The year that was 2012

Top Five Local Sports Stories:

Five-Orite Games:

Five-Orite Players I Enjoyed Watching Play:

Five-Orite Movies I actually Saw:

Five-Orite Movies I Wanted To See But Didn't:

Five-Orite Albums:

Five-Orite Friday: Christmas list edition

Geno Smith: West Virginia

Matt Barkley: USC

Tyler Wilson: Arkansas

Tyler Bray: Tenneessee

Landry Jones: Oklahoma

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Royals take off-season headlines

(unfortunate horn sound)

Five-Orite Friday: Tragedy puts Kansas City Chiefs center stage

Five-Orite Friday: They call me Mr. Glass

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas State reaches the mountain top

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Chiefs shuffle deck chairs on the Titanic

Five-Orite Friday: Kansas City Chiefs find new lows