By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings at the mid-month:
• Happy for Topeka’s Andrew Beckler to qualify for the U.S. Open.
• Seems like he should pick up some points for that to help with qualifications for, oh, the Korn Ferry Tour.
• At the very least, maybe some exemptions could be in order when your first event on the PGA Tour happens to be the U.S. Open.
• Glad Andrew could escape being known primarily as the son of Kevin Haskin’s dentist.
• Kidding. His exploits for Washburn made him a top player in Division II and again proved that the level of talent is deep in golf.
• Enough that we now have the LIV Tour.
• Of course, Scottie Scheffler put it best when he said he didn’t notice that start-up robbing the PGA Tour of anyone consequential except Dustin Johnson.
• The point is valid. The LIV Tour seems like a place for the 40-somethings to kick around and make incredible money before joining the senior circuit.
• Fun to watch? Couldn’t tell you. I found no urge to summon something LIV streamed on Facebook.
• Why embark on such a colossal venture without a major TV deal?
• Just another question for the deep-pocketed Saudis to answer.
• I know, I know, streaming is the wave of the future.
• Channel surfing, meanwhile, can go like this in the spring/summer months:
• Doubles teams playing ping pong with a soccer ball (Teqball), youngsters playing a sport popularized by boomers (pickleball), and more doubles teams swishing bean bags through a board (cornhole).
• One more click the other day and I detected father-and-son bowling teams.
• Ahh, but this time I recognized one of the dads, Topekan Chris Barnes.
• He and his son, Ryan, a Wichita State bowler, won the event. I watched the last three frames and each fired nothing but strikes.
• With that, I turned off the tube and read a book.
• By now, you know I don’t get the Royals from my TV provider, and nobody cares.
• MLB Network, meanwhile, pretends it’s the 1980s and enforces blackouts of local teams.
• So, I’ve learned not to give a hoot about the Royals. By this point in the season, my indifference usually blends well with those who do tune in.
• Hearing great things, though, about Cal Eldred.
• I miss seeing Bobby Witt Jr. and mainstays such as Salvy and Whit, so I check in on occasion.
• Have Twitter spats become so mindless that some genuinely believe Tua is a better quarterback than Mahomes?
• Great receivers are fun to watch, and Tyreek Hill is among them. To fulfill their potential, however, receivers need a capable quarterback.
• Not that Hill’s departure doesn’t leave a void in the Chiefs’ offense.
• It will be up to Mahomes to overcome any negative impact. I believe he can.
• Seems that everyone except My Pillow Guy picks K-State as a sleeper to win the Big 12 in football.
• Two big-time standouts, Deuce Vaughn and Felix Anudike-Uzomah, lead a strong returning corps while the Adrian Martinez effect provides intrigue.
• Chris Klieman gets credit for developing quarterbacks, though the results have been lackluster among QBs he has recruited to K-State.
• His 13-14 conference record in three seasons also does not scream a breakthrough is imminent, but that’s part of what defines a sleeper.
• Vaughn is worth the price of admission … or the price of a TV package that doesn’t include the Royals.
• Andrew Wiggins always showed us glimpses, dating to his season at KU.
• But to sparkle like he has in the playoffs, on a team loaded with talent, is impressive.
• Wiggins’ nose for the ball, and the rim, now has a fearless quality about it.
• Meanwhile, at ol’ KU, conjecture over next year’s starting five and subsequent rotation is cresting as expected coming off a national championship season.
• Calling Zach Clemence a better “prospect” than Jalen Wilson could be accurate, though Bill Self had a reason for citing Wilson specifically in that statement.
• Expectations will be high for Wilson after he considered the draft, so Self wants his proven standout to be focused.
• I always liked curving along I-70 downtown or zagging into traffic off the US-24 cloverleaf. Probably because I’ve lived to tell about it.
• However, infrastructure can get frail when doubling as a historical artifact.
• “Timber” is never what you want to yell at a concrete barrier wall measuring half a football field.
• Save that expression while cheering on the crew demolishing another Topeka relic, White Lakes Mall.
• One of my favorite events of the year, the Topeka Shawnee County High Schools Sports Awards banquet, is scheduled June 22.
• Here’s a shout-out to everyone who helps with the event, and hats off to nominees, awardees and inductees.
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