2024 College Football Preview: Classic Big 8

Nebraska hasn't won the Classic Big 8 since 2009, but the Conference remains formidable.  This year, they begin the year with four teams ranked in the CBS top 20:

11.  Missouri

17.  Kansas St.

18.  Oklahoma

19.  Oklahoma St.

25.  Kansas

27.  Iowa St.

34.  Nebraska

55.  Colorado

On November 9, Mizzou will host Oklahoma for the first time since 2010.  Oklahoma leads the all-time series 67-24-5, but Mizzou won the last matchup in Colombia.

Kansas St. will play Oklahoma St., Colorado, Kansas, and Iowa St.  The Wildcats' game with Colorado will be their first since 2010.  The Buffaloes lead the all-time series 45-20-1.

Oklahoma St. will end its season on November 29 in Boulder, Colorado.  This will be the first meeting between the Pokes and the Buffaloes since they met in the 2016 Alamo Bowl, and their first regular season meeting since 2009.  Colorado leads the all-time series 26-20-1.

Colorado will also visit Nebraska on September 7.  Colorado hosted Nebraska last year, and the Buffaloes have won the last three matchups in the series.  But Nebraska still has the all-time lead:  49-21-2.

Only one classic conference left.

College Baseball Update

The final contest of the NCAA's 2015-16 school year will take place tonight in Omaha, Nebraska, as the Arizona Wildcats and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will meet to decide the College World Series.  This is the first time since 2004 that no team from the SEC or the ACC made the final, and it has been a humdinger.  Arizona won the first game 3-0, but Coastal fought back yesterday for a 5-4 victory.  Tonight's game will decide the title, and will cap off a very entertaining NCAA Baseball Tournament.

College Baseball Update

The tournament of upsets continues, as Arizona and Coastal Carolina fight back through the loser's side of the bracket in order to reach the CWS final.

BRACKET ONE:
Coastal Carolina 2, (1) Florida 1
Texas Christian 5, (5) Texas Tech 3
(5) Texas Tech 3, (1) Florida 2 (Florida eliminated)
Texas Christian 6, Coastal Carolina 1
Coastal Carolina 7, (5) Texas Tech 5 (Texas Tech eliminated)
Coastal Carolina 4, Texas Christian 1
Coastal Carolina 7, Texas Christian 5 (Texas Christian eliminated)

BRACKET TWO:
Arizona 5, (3) Miami (Fla.) 1
Oklahoma St. 1, UC Santa Barbara 0
UC Santa Barbara 5, (3) Miami (Fla.) 3 (Miami (Fla.) eliminated)
Oklahoma St. 1, Arizona 0
Arizona 3, UC Santa Barbara 0 (UC Santa Barbara eliminated)
Arizona 9, Oklahoma St. 3
Arizona 5, Oklahoma St. 1 (Oklahoma St. eliminated)

College Baseball Update

If there's no drama at the U.S. Open today, you can always check out the College World Series.  It appears to be as difficult as ever to score at TD Ameritrade Park.  My advice is to keep the ball on the ground -- you won't be hitting a lot of homers out there.

Bracket One:
Oklahoma St. 1, UC-Santa Barbara 0
Arizona 5, (3) Miami (Fla.) 1

Bracket Two: (all times Central):
2 P.M.:  (5) Texas Tech v. Texas Christian
7 P.M.:  (1) Florida v. Coastal Carolina

Hooray For Christmas, TV: The Brady Bunch

This aired Dec. 19, 1969, and it was written by John Fenton Murray, and I love it. Rest in peace, Mr. Murray.

KENNY PERRY WINS THE U.S. SENIOR OPEN!

Over the years, Kenny Perry has played a lot of golf in many different places.  Many of those places are, to those of us from Western Kentucky, quite exotic.  California, Florida, Scotland -- many of the world's greatest courses are a long way from I-24, both literally and culturally.

But this weekend, Kenny Perry found himself in Omaha, Nebraska, facing a course -- the Omaha Country Club -- that featured gentle hills, big deciduous trees, and bright, sunny skies -- just like home.  The temperature was close to 90 today, and the place was absolutely packed.  Nebraskans, like Kentuckians, are devoted sports fans, and they turned out in enormous numbers to see the first major championship ever to be played in the Cornhusker State.  I couldn't help thinking that Perry was playing in his backyard -- figuratively, if not literally.

And he responded with absolutely spectacular golf.  After Friday's second round, Perry was at even par -- 10 shots behind the leader, Michael Allen.  Perry then went out on Saturday and shot a 64 to move to 6-under par -- leaving him only two shots behind Allen, who shot a 2-over 72.  But today Perry was even better -- putting up a 7-under par 63.  He played the last 36 holes in 13-under par, and cruised home with a spectacular five-shot victory over Fred Funk.  (Allen shot another 72, and finished at 6 under).

When it was all over, Kenny Perry said it was the greatest round of golf he ever played.  "I can't explain why, after all these years -- here I am, almost 53 years old, and it all came together today."  He also credited a friend who sent him some passages from the Book of Proverbs to consider.

Perry, of course, never won a major on the regular tour -- he lost playoffs for the 1996 PGA and the 2009 Masters -- but he also never stopped trying, and never stopped improving.  Now he has won two Senior Majors in a row -- and has vaulted into consideration for Kentuckian of the Year.  All of us at the Heath Post are thrilled for him, and are so happy that he played the best round of his life on such a big stage.  And he has inspired us to keep trying, and to keep improving. That's exactly what sports heroes are supposed to do.