Big 12 Football

Just one more post about football today.
Every Monday Big-12 coaches have a teleconference call. I sat in yesterday and wrote a couple stories about their comments. Nothing real earth shaking, but there were some interesting insights into what they are thinking as the season begins.
Here is the link to the sports blog.
I hope to post my own stories there, as well as stories from around the Big-12 and the SEC to some extent. There are a lot of really cool sports blogs out there so it will be a center for blogs.

Arkansas City football time

The Arkansas City Bulldogs start their season Friday at Valley Center. It is going to be a few weeks before the new stadium hosts a game.
It is a bit odd, but the Bulldogs will play Winfield (at Winfield) in the second game of the season on Sept. 10. Gonna be strange not having that game during Arkalalah week.
The first varsity game at the new stadium will be Sept. 17 when the Bulldogs host Goddard.
I have found a couple of good links for following the Bulldogs. Catch it Kansas has a good preview of the upcoming season, and scores and stats will be updated there regularly. Here is the link.

The other place is Hovpen Sports, which is a really good high school sports website

So there is time for the loose ends to be tied up at the new stadium. I noticed there is no press box, but that is probably one of the loose ends that will be fixed.
Now, before the naysayers get rolling, there are just five varsity games scheduled at the new stadium, but there will be a lot more than that going on there. There is JV football, and whatever other football teams the Bulldogs have.
Soccer will likely be played there as well. Then there will be track and field. Im sure the field will get a lot more use than just five games.
Im not sure what the policy will be on allowing other public events .. outdoor concerts or whatever, but hopefully there will be some of that.
A few commented about the cost and such when I posted the snake dance photos.
Yea it cost a lot. But how long has it been since they got a new stadium. Ive no idea the history of Curry Field, but it has been many years.
There were major parking problems at Curry Field, not so at the new stadium. Plenty of parking available, modern restrooms.
I think it is good for the town to have a new stadium. It can be a point of civic pride. There are some good things happening in Ark City whether the naysayers admit it or not. And during a recession or depression IS a good time to build because costs go down. It is tax money well spent.
I have visited many high school football stadiums in my years of covering high school sports for newspapers.
Often that has been what shaped my opinion of a town and was the only real information I had about the town. People who come to games from out of town do that as well. Issues like parking matter. Also just the general aesthetics and intuitive nature of the facility matters. Is the stadium easy to find? You may not find it just by driving into Ark City, but at least having it at the high school is more user friendly from that viewpoint. Is it obvious where to park once you find it, or is it obvious where to go to enter once you find it?
Just how a stadium feels is important too. A new stadium has a nice feel.
It also has a tremendous impact on the athletes. Would not surprise me to see more kids come out for football and for the team to improve a bit just because of their surroundings.

Having said that. I have always enjoyed Southwestern College's football stadium in Winfield. It violates everything I just wrote, but it just has that really nice feel to it that makes up for it being hard to find and not having real good parking. The Aesthetics and design are great.  I also like the stadium at Wellington for the same reasons. I dont dislike Curry Field but it is time to move on.

Cowley begins fall sports season

 Cowley College kicked off its fall sports season over the weekend. The Volleyball team went 2-2 at a tournament involving nationally ranked teams at Johnson County. Cowley is ranked No. 1 nationally.
Cross country and soccer teams also rolled to wins.
See the jump for all the stories

New Bulldog Stadium

Here are a couple pictures from the Snake Dance Friday evening at the Arkansas City High School. This is the preseason ritual held each year as school starts. They had food and then the football team had a scrimmage. After the scrimmage people were able to walk out on the new field.
This was all held at the new stadium.
It does look very nice. They dont have the pressbox up yet and there are a few things here and there to be finished, but it still looks good.
One big difference you will see at football games this year is the parking. The new stadium has a big parking lot, so that will make it a lot easier.
Lighting will be better. Modern bathrooms and a nice entry way. The field itself looked sharp with lines painted and theres a bulldog logo at midfield.
Your tax dollars at work.

Cause of financial woes

Here is a long and complicated story, but it exposes more criminal bank activity that caused billions in profits, all paid for and subsidized with our tax dollars. Corporate welfare so that bankers could illegally get billions in profits and then get a federal bailout to cover it up. These people should be in jail, not getting 100 million dollar bonuses..

Here is the longer version ...

Here is a shorter version for those of you in a hurry :)

And some people worry about some bum getting $100 a week in welfare to buy drugs.
How about drug tests for bankers eh.

New Bulldog Stadium

The new Bulldog Stadium is ready to roll. There are some finishing touches being done there and there, but it will be used for the first time tomorrow to get ready for the season.
The Snake dance and a scrimmage will be held.
Here is the schedule of events.
August 27, 2010
5:30 pm: Snake Dance and parade down Bulldog Ave. into Bulldog Stadium (start at tennis complex).
6:15 pm: Introductions of Head Coaches at Sally's Pavilion (at stadium).
6:30 pm: Hotdog Feed in Curry Corner/Alumni Area (at stadium)
6:45 pm: Purple/Gold Scrimmage
***People will have the opportunity to walk on the field after the scrimmage.

Vaccinations for your animals?

  Here is something I received from the AC Police Dept. Is this a problem in Ark City?

  Rabies Vaccinations for Dogs and Cats

       The Arkansas City Police Department has found that citizens have been getting some confusing information about rabies vaccinations for pets within the city limits.  It is our hopes that this press release can clear up some of that confusion. 

What’s the law?

More on Chilean Miners

Im fascinated by this Chile Miners story. Here is the latest. Sounds like they had a good team spirit down there. The story also said that Chile has about the best mining technology there is... Just made me wonder what other countries are "among the best:" at ..

Cowley soccer rained out

Due to rain, the Cowley College men’s soccer scrimmage today has been cancelled. The Tiger soccer teams will open their seasons on Saturday when they host Ranger College. The women’s game will begin at 1 p.m. and the men’s game will follow at 3 p.m.

Miss Mexico is Miss Universe

This is for all those anti-Mexicans. I just thought it was too ironic to pass up. In Nevada,, a Mexican wins the Miss Universe title...Here is the link to Miss Universe

Kinda strange to have no comments today. Readership is not particularly down, so ... not sure what that means. Maybe there just wasnt anything controversial.
Maybe Miss Mexico as Miss universe will get some people going.