61-year-old KU superfan marries 22-year-old

I don't usually write multiple postings on one day but I've got a little free time and I found a link that's too good to not pass along.

Jimmy Neal is an avid Jayhawks fan nicknamed the "White Owl" who is 61 years old. He apparently spends a lot of time at Wescoe Beach on KU's campus shouting at students to "Wake up!" Basically, he's the complete opposite of MU's Brother Jed but just as crazy. 

The Daily Kansan says he is "known for his enthusiastic dancing and cheering at KU games." It also reports that he's set to marry 22-year-old KU student Julia Lee.

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

It gets better. The two have only known each other for a little over a month. The soon-to-be Mrs. Owl also told the Kansan reporter about her engagement before her father.

Neal has spawned two baby owls from previous marriages but he expects this marriage to last because "In previous marriages I (Neal) would see the reflection of my love, not their love."

He knew that he and Julia were meant to be together the first time he laid eyes on her, "I saw an injured spirit and I'm all about helping people and being a light."

It sounds like this guy has been spending a little too much time hanging out with Aqib Talib.

But don't worry, the couple doesn't plan to become sexually active until after they're married. And even though the White Owl is settling down he still plans to be a regular at KU basketball and football games. 

For the sake of humanity lets hope these two don't produce a child. 

Armageddon Part II relegated to Fox Sports Net

Rewind to Nov. 24, 2007 for a moment. 

The nation's second- and third-ranked teams square off in a memorial contest on neutral territory bringing one of college football's oldest rivalries to the attention of a national public that had previously been largely unfamiliar with the rivalry's history. It would be the highest rated game of the 2007 college football season.

Fast forward to a little over 6 months later. Both schools are preparing for a college football season in which expectations are higher than they have ever been for both teams.

So it only makes sense to not nationally televise this year's Border War, right?

That's right. Armageddon: The Sequel, will be televised only on FSN at either 11:30 a.m. or 2. Those of us that don't live in the KC area and don't want to get up at the crack of dawn can kiss tailgating goodbye. 

I understand that it's highly unlikely that this year's game will match the hype surrounding last year's. But you're telling me we can't at least get the 2:30 ABC game? We got ABC two years ago when both teams were just hoping to get in a bowl. Now both teams have legitimate BCS dreams and we can only get FSN Midwest? The only other games that day that I could understand getting the national slot over us would be USC-Notre Dame because the Fighting Irish actually rule the world (already scheduled for 7 p.m., not sure if ABC or ESPN will get it though) and possibly Alabama-Auburn. 

Inexplicable.

In other news:

• Remember how I was saying Danario's injury gives JP the perfect opportunity to return to his freshman form? Graham Watson agrees with me.

• I guess the time we miss tailgating at Arrowhead we can make up for by tailgating extra long at the Arch Rivalry. 

• Gary Pinkel and Tony Temple won the Oscar of college sports commercials for their work in "Speed." I personally preferred the one where Chase threw a pass to Will Franklin from Faurot to the columns. I thought the special effects in that one were George Lucasesque.

• Mike Alden has the respect of his peers. Love him or hate him, the MU Athletic Department is in pretty good shape (minus the basketball teams).

NCAA Football 09: GOLD PANTS!!!

This will probably only interest  those of you who are dorky enough, like me, to count down the days every year until EA Sports releases their NCAA Football video game (July 15 for PS2).

But this year we have a reason to be especially stoked because we get the GOLD PANTS!!!

We also get the privilege of beating Kansas in their red and whites. I was going to bash those uniforms until I realized they're the color of the American flag. Horribly unfortunate that those two entities have to be associated in any way, shape or form.

Colorado and Texas Tech are the other Big 12 teams that will have alternate unis available.

The player rankings for the Top 25 teams has also been released. You can download the spreadsheet here.

Baseball bipolarism and links

I was on the verge of dismissing Mizzou baseball's chances of making to the CWS and then they went out this weekend and outscored No. 5-ranked Nebraska 37-13 and TOTALLY REDEEMED THEMSELVES!

OK, sorry for the Harry Dunne impersonation. But in all seriousness, I really don't know what our chances are of making it to Omaha. But all of a sudden we've won 8 of our last 10 and might be getting hot at the right time. 

I think the big X-factor is Nick Tepesch (you could also count Rick Zagone and possibly Ian Berger as significant variables). It's no secret our bullpen might be the combustible relief corps this side of Busch Stadium. But Tepesch easily has the best stuff of all our relievers and has the best potential to come out of the 'pen and pitch 3+ dominant innings. He did a solid job today in only giving up one earned run in 3.2 innings. 

But his inexperience has shown all year. His control has been downright awful at times. He's a guy that could come out and not give up a single hit or not get a single out, depending on the day. 

But at least we're playing well for the time being. 

Now onto a few links from the past few days:

• If Tiger baseball isn't able to make it to Omaha, then maybe their female counterparts can advance to OKC. For more info, Dave Matter is taking a hiatus from football to cover softball's run.

• Did you realize that Athena Night Club reopened? Did you realize there's already been another altercation outside the club, this one involving gunfire? Sigh.

• So Kansas cheated to win the National Championship. Not really. It's impossible to determine how much blame should be put on KU at this point and as Jason Whitlock points out, the real criminal is the NCAA. But I recall getting an inordinate amount of crap during the Ricky Clemmons era so I have no problem rubbing Beakers fans noses in this. You deserve it whenever you try to argue that your school's athletic department spotless. Bottom line, it's likely that every athletic department in the NCAA, from mid-majors on up, contain a certain degree of corruption. And it looks like Kansas might be worse than most.

• Willy-Mo and Leo Lyons are "Ridin' Neon." Personally, I'm partial to Willy-Mo's performance at the Sun Bowl talent show: 

• Also from youtube, if you ever feel like reliving the Glen Dandridge era, here it is courtesy of GD25 himself:

Finals induced inactivity

I apologize for the lack of activity here at Big MO Sports the past couple weeks. Five papers due in the next two weeks in addition to preparing for finals have diverted my attention away from Big MO. As soon as the semester ends I plan on spending much more time trying to expand Big MO, so you have that to look forward to.

In the meantime, take a gander at these videos I found this weekend on youtube:

A Clarence Gilbert shooting exhibition against KU circa 2000.

And the end of a classic '97 Big Monday matchup with the Beakers at Hearnes.

And finally, a video from a fan sitting directly behind the goalposts of the second missed FG from Armageddon.