Kansas Makes First Move to Legalize Gambling Well say it ain't so? Joining the ranks of other states that have modernized and progressed, Kansas has made the first step toward legalizing gambling by granting approval in the House. Despite a 13-hour filibuster, many of the closed-minded critics finally caved and voted "yay."
Now let's see what happens next. The legalized gambling would bring opportunities to Wyandotte County and the Woodlands Racing track. Sun, 25 Mar 2007 16:06:00 +0000
Well I'm not going to lie about my feelings or try to cover anything up. I believe in blogging and sharing my precise emotions.
I'm happy for a tremendous season, but also greatly disappointed. College basketball is odd in the sense that unless you win a national championship, everything accomplished earlier in the year may as well be erased. The true success of a team, or individual players, always amounts to a national championship.
Kansas basketball has such a rich tradition and some of the best fans in the country. We also haven't won a national championship since 1988. While some teams wish their last success was but 20 years ago, this just doesn't seem right for a Kansas team that has the 3rd highest team career victories in D-I basketball. And let's also throw in the fact the inventor of the game of basketball, James Naismith, was our very first coach.
It sucks that we played as piss-poor as we did in the 2nd half. Trying to dribble through screens and defenders is not what we have done all year. Not attempting three point shots is not what we have been trying to do all year long. Shooting about 11 for 37 on layups and dunks is definitely not Kansas basketball. Imagine if those shots had fallen. Can't do that though in sports, the what-ifs just don't matter.
So speaking as die-hard, dedicated Kansas basketball fan...all we can do is wait until next year. It sucks saying it year-after-year-after-year-after-year, but it's reality for a Kansas fan.
Good thing I was raised a Cubs fan; I'm very used to that. Wait, is it a good thing?!?
Of course it is!
Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:43:00 +0000
Big Day for the Kansas Jayhawks So after practically sitting out the last two years of the NCAA tournament, the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves poised to win their way into the Final Four. Shouldn't come easy though, as they play the #2 West region seeded UCLA Bruins. Tip-off is at 6:05pm.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves, is what former Jayhawk Chris Piper is saying.
"The fans, all they want to talk about is the Final Four — making travel arrangements for the Final Four, making ticket arrangements for the Final Four,” said Piper, hoofing it back to the team hotel in San Jose after attempting to watch KU’s practice at HP Pavilion. “I don’t want to jinx myself. It’s just, ‘Let’s win and go forward.'"
So, let's win and go forward then! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!! Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:54:00 +0000
A man's vehicle, carrying plenty of furniture, broke down near I-70 and I-670 earlier this week. He was eventually approached by a passing car that stopped, yielding two guys to give a hand.
Seemingly innocent and graciously helpful, the two men started loading their pickup truck with the furniture. According to the Kansas City Star and Kansas City, KS police, the men loaded a sofa, loveseat, three coffee tables and a television.
But they drove off leaving one important item...THE OWNER OF THE ITEMS!
ONLY rat poison? Holy momma. The slight bit of rat poison is anybody's food can prove to be quite fatal.
This afternoon the New York Agriculture Department announced the toxin found in the recalled food was that of aminopterin, which is used to kill and regulate rat populations in many states.
This news really has several pet owners on high alert, since so many pet owners have given their beloved animals many of the recalled products.
To date, 16 pets have died. Hundreds, if not thousands, of pets have been showing symptoms after eating the tainted products.
Tough to stay patient after the virtual cock-tease we have received from both the NHL and Pittsburgh in our quest to secure a professional hockey team. But be patient we will have to remain.
Kansas City was given some assurances that we have put ourselves into national consideration for future expansions and/or movement of teams. This isnt' as common in the NHL as other professional sports leagues, but never say never.
“The priority was to keep the team in Pittsburgh; everyone understood that,” Bettman said. “Just as if teams in Kansas City have issues, you’d want to know the league is doing everything it could to keep them there.
“But Kansas City put itself on the map as an attractive, viable place for a future arena franchise, be it the NHL or NBA. I can’t speak for the NBA, but no doubt if we were considering a relocation or expansion — neither of which we are considering at the time — we would have to consider Kansas City.”
So in the meantime, we just play the waiting game and see what comes our way. Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:02:00 +0000
Bartender Beatdown My apologies for providing old news, but I just couldn't resist after seeing the video footage over-and-over.
On February 19th, a drunken off-duty Chicago cop was cut-off at a local watering hole on Chicago's NW side. He ended up getting into a verbal spat with the bartender, which soon after turned into punches.
The 12-year Chicago cop veteran, Anthony Abbate, walked behind the bar to throw the 24-year old, 115-lb. bartender to the ground and delivered several blows to her face and neck. Nobody in the bar came to her aid, which was even more disheartening to watch.
Abbate was initially filed misdemeanor charges for battery, but this past week they were upgraded to felony. The upgrade in charges could result in up to 5 years of state prison good 'ol Joliet.
In the meantime, the bartender, bar owner and bar patrons have all been threatened and intimidated to not provide witness testimony or file charges.
When the boys in Joliet State Pen. gain word an ex-Chicago cop, who beat a woman 1/2 her size, has joined their ranks...oh boy! Something tells me this cop will learn his lesson quickly.
Now is when I start to join the ranks of the faithful Jayhawk alumnus and get nervous watching the tournament.
The past two years were rare. Early 1st round departures from the NCAA basketball tournament is definitely not synonomous with Kansas basketball, but it happened.
The Kansas Jayhawks finally appear to have returned to their old selves advancing to the Elite Eight.
It didn't come easy however. The Salukis of Southern Illinois University played one tough-nosed defensive game with KU, but falling short losing 61-58. The Salukis had the opportunity to drive down the court and shoot a three to tie the game, but didn't connect.
KU advances to the Elite Eight to take on UCLA. The game is scheduled for 6pm in San Jose, which should prove to be a homecourt advantage for Bruins fans. The winner advances to the Final Four.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:11:00 +0000
Blog Sites are NOT Journalism Few readers of The Northlander realize that I also maintain a blog dedicated to Kansas City supporters of Sen. Barack Obama. My personal politics are actually a moot point here. I enjoy following politics and blogging online. I decided to combine the two passions, which keep me out of trouble.
Occasionally, I receive emails from readers who attack my credibility as a "reporter." Well idiot, I'm not a reporter...I'M A BLOGGER. Anybody and everybody can be a blogger.
After The Politico.com, an online political website with blogs, made an early judgement of the campaign fate of John Edwards, they received major criticism. So I felt the desire to write a blog entry on my other blog site and thought I would share it with my Kansas City Northland residents.
Disclaimer: If you don't like politics, or become easily bored....READ A NEW POST NOW!!!!
Ok let's establish this right away--The Politico.com is a blog, not a journalistic/reporting site similar to the likes of CNN, ABC or The Washington Post. Frankly, it is placed into the same very category as this little KCforObama.com website, a blog. The Politico does have a staff however, conducting interviews and scooping out leads, but in the end, they are merely a blog.
A blog site is able to take many more risks than other major news outlet. If they pose themselves as a credible media source, they should follow the journalistic golden rules--cite sources, corroborate/confirm news leads with secondary sources, print factual information and BE CORRECT. But a blog site, by definition, is able to deviate from these expectations slightly because it is not a major media outlet. The intent of a blog is to educate, inform and entertain.
The Politico announced early yesterday morning that John Edwards was calling it quits, dropping out of the campaign. Immediately after "confirming the story" with Edwards campaign officials "pigeonholed" in their Chapel Hill location, The Politico ran with the story on the front page. The Drudge Report linked it on their front page and within minutes, several radio/tv interviews were being conducted by the "reporter" who broke this story--Ben Smith, writer for The Politico.
As it would turn-out, Edwards did not quit. Instead, he feels even more motivated to move ahead with this election. As a matter of fact, Edwards can be found campaigning in private receptions all day today in Santa Monica, CA.
Smith wrote a personal and apologetic letter which was published at The Politico today. I do feel bad for him, and I believe that he did have some "leads," but none of which were credible.
This is a lesson to Smith, acting as a journalist not to rush through the gate. Talk about a lifelong lesson, eh?!!?
But this is also a lesson to America. IT IS A BLOG SITE, NOT CNN. I don't fault the citizenry for putting such blind trust in internet sites...but they will have to open their eyes wider and realize that via the internet, anybody can appear to be a credentialed professional. Still don't believe me, how about Wikipedia's entry about how Sinbad the comic died two weeks ago? Until Sinbad contacted Wikipedia, he would have still been published as dead.
I have even received personal emails by several readers, two of which write consistently. I am constantly "reminded" that I am not a journalist and should not be including information on my personal blog regarding the Obama campaign. I have even been asked "who am I to include commentary about news events?" Great question.
I am a blog writer. I am interested in politics and blogging, and therefore have chosen to combine my two passions by creating a blog site to share some information with others. I am interested in making an attempt to provoke an online conversation, so others will share their comments with the world, inciting a great online debate.
I am not a journalist. I am not a politician. I am not a PhD holder in political science.
I am a blog site.
If this bothers, or further annoys any readers, all I can offer is an apology for drawing your attention.
It's weird to even have to think the final season has come, but The Sopranos will be making its final airing this season.
It seems like years now that I have been gathering around my tv on Sunday nights, sometimes with friends, to watch the newest episode of The Sopranos. It was our thing to do, especially considering the fact that my friends and I grew up in the "hot spot" of organized crime activity on Chicago's northwest side of the city, near O'Hare Airport.
The Sopranos was quite entertaining, at times gross and obviously quite crude. But that's what made The Sopranos so much fun to watch.
I've been watching the repeat episodes airing on A&E, but it's just not the same...especially with no nudity and swearing.
Normally, I could probably care less. I was flipping through the tv channels on my spring break and stumbled across Metro Sports airing the Youth Basketball Challenge III. I immediately started rolling my eyes and thought to myself, "first off, who the hell actually airs this? and who even watches this?"
About five minutes later, I realized that these sixth grade girls play better fundamental basketball than the 7th grade boys I coach in the Kansas City, KS school district. Now, I'm not saying the girls are more athletic than my 7th grade squad, but they clearly understand the strategy much better than my 7th graders ever could.
I'm not even sure why I felt compelled to write a blog entry about this, but I just couldn't resist. I found myself totally impressed with the play of 6th grade girls basketball.
The State of Missouri board of education voted 5-1 to strip the St. Louis school district of its accreditation, infuriating students.
After years of underperformance and low assessment results, the state board of education has intervened. The St. Louis school district's locally elected school board will remain present, but will have absolutely no power.
So who is going to run the school district? Missouri's finest--3 state bureaucrats.
Certainly the solution is always the government, right? Yeah, right.
Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:20:00 +0000
New Home Construction Still on the Rise in KC This is a buyer's market, particularly in Kansas City. There is a surplus of existing and new homes for sale, which has been steadily increasing every month for the last four years.
About 3 months ago, there were an estimated 17,000 existing and new homes for sale, with only 4,000 homes sold. Be advised, for the past 4-5 years the monthly average homes sold is about 4,000. So while existing and new home sales have remained constant (proven to be the case over years) the number of existing and new homes new to the market for sale is increasing.
If you're a buyer, very good news! You can definitely negotiate your buying offer down and perhaps get a pretty good mortgage rate.
Although the rate of new-home construction in the Kansas City area remains lower than normal for this time of year, the good news is that builders are continuing to focus on reducing speculative inventories, according to HBA Executive Vice President/CEO Tim Underwood.
“Like much of the nation, our local housing industry is adjusting to higher than normal levels of inventory,” Underwood said in a news release. “The good news is that Kansas City remains in a much better position than other parts of country, with encouraging signs that consumers are ready to take advantage of low mortgage rates and other very favorable conditions for buying a new home.”
As a Cubs fan, I want to watch baseball...I don't have time for listening/bantering with annoying people (Cardinals fans). We don't even consider them to be on the same level as us, despite the numerous World Series appearances and trophies they can boast, which we definitely can not.
I make it a point to not mock the Cardinals, or their fans. But when a story too-good-to-be-true comes along, the gloves come on.
Police found La Russa slumped over in the driver's seat of the running SUV. The manager of the world champion Cardinals had his foot on the brake and did not respond to knocks on the window, police said. He finally woke up and parked the car.
Police said they noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath, and a field sobriety test was conducted.
Fortunately, nobody was injured or hurt from this totally stupid and clearly-impaired decision by LaRussa.
The Missouri Highway Patrol and Kansas City police arrested 16 intoxicated drivers at two joint-operated sobriety checkpoints over the St. Patrick's Day weekend. Officers checked 1,439 vehicles. They also made one misdemeanor arrest and issued 94 warnings.
The patrol and Kansas City police plan to conduct two sobriety checkpoints next month somewhere in Clay County.
The KC Star will occasionally print official statstics of the KCPD's checkpoint results, which generally reveal about a 1.5% success rate, if that. Many argue that's still 20 arrests of drivers that shouldn't be on the road--but is it worth the high price it takes to pay for all the operational expenses. Again, the passionate claim yes it is worth it. Others definitely disagree.
Maybe I'm finally maturing a bit, but drinking-and-driving is becoming quite an issue to me. I think the KCPD checkpoints should be continued, but I definitely want to see more arrests being made.
If nothing else, gotta get our monies worth, right?!!?
Well I'm not going to lie about my feelings or try to cover anything up. I believe in blogging and sharing my precise emotions.I'm happy for a tremendous season, but also greatly disappointed. College basketball is odd in the sense that unless you win a national championship, everything accomplished earlier in the year may as well be erased. The true success of a team, or individual players, always amounts to a national championship.Kansas basketball has such a rich tradition and some of the best fans in the country. We also haven't won a national championship since 1988. While some teams wish their last success was but 20 years ago, this just doesn't seem right for a Kansas team that has the 3rd highest team career victories in D-I basketball. And let's also throw in the fact the inventor of the game of basketball, James Naismith, was our very first coach.It sucks that we played as piss-poor as we did in the 2nd half. Trying to dribble through screens and defenders is not what we have done all year. Not attempting three point shots is not what we have been trying to do all year long. Shooting about 11 for 37 on layups and dunks is definitely not Kansas basketball. Imagine if those shots had fallen. Can't do that though in sports, the what-ifs just don't matter.So speaking as die-hard, dedicated Kansas basketball fan...all we can do is wait until next year. It sucks saying it year-after-year-after-year-after-year, but it's reality for a Kansas fan.Good thing I was raised a Cubs fan; I'm very used to that. Wait, is it a good thing?!?Of course it is!
Surprise, Surprise!A man's vehicle, carrying plenty of furniture, broke down near I-70 and I-670 earlier this week. He was eventually approached by a passing car that stopped, yielding two guys to give a hand.Seemingly innocent and graciously helpful, the two men started loading their pickup truck with the furniture. According to the Kansas City Star and Kansas City, KS police, the men loaded a sofa, loveseat, three coffee tables and a television.But they drove off leaving one important item...THE OWNER OF THE ITEMS!Ah, only in Kansas City, KS.
ONLY rat poison? Holy momma. The slight bit of rat poison is anybody's food can prove to be quite fatal.This afternoon the New York Agriculture Department announced the toxin found in the recalled food was that of aminopterin, which is used to kill and regulate rat populations in many states.This news really has several pet owners on high alert, since so many pet owners have given their beloved animals many of the recalled products.To date, 16 pets have died. Hundreds, if not thousands, of pets have been showing symptoms after eating the tainted products.What a mess!
Now is when I start to join the ranks of the faithful Jayhawk alumnus and get nervous watching the tournament.The past two years were rare. Early 1st round departures from the NCAA basketball tournament is definitely not synonomous with Kansas basketball, but it happened.The Kansas Jayhawks finally appear to have returned to their old selves advancing to the Elite Eight.It didn't come easy however. The Salukis of Southern Illinois University played one tough-nosed defensive game with KU, but falling short losing 61-58. The Salukis had the opportunity to drive down the court and shoot a three to tie the game, but didn't connect.KU advances to the Elite Eight to take on UCLA. The game is scheduled for 6pm in San Jose, which should prove to be a homecourt advantage for Bruins fans. The winner advances to the Final Four.Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
It's weird to even have to think the final season has come, but The Sopranos will be making its final airing this season.
Normally, I could probably care less. I was flipping through the tv channels on my spring break and stumbled across Metro Sports airing the Youth Basketball Challenge III. I immediately started rolling my eyes and thought to myself, "first off, who the hell actually airs this? and who even watches this?"About five minutes later, I realized that these sixth grade girls play better fundamental basketball than the 7th grade boys I coach in the Kansas City, KS school district. Now, I'm not saying the girls are more athletic than my 7th grade squad, but they clearly understand the strategy much better than my 7th graders ever could.I'm not even sure why I felt compelled to write a blog entry about this, but I just couldn't resist. I found myself totally impressed with the play of 6th grade girls basketball.Nice job girls!
St. Louis Cardinals fans, on-the-whole, are bitter people. They believe they have a part-time career in mocking and ridiculing the Chicago Cubs and Cubs fans.
Courtesy of the Kansas City Star:
