By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings two-thirds into the month:
• Quick one: What’s your favorite Halloween candy?
• This one sorta stumps me. One, because I don’t eat candy. Ha, fake news. I do.
• My favorite candy bar, though, is a Fifth Avenue. Tough to find. And, you rarely see the fun size bars.
• So, Butterfinger? Nope. Don’t mind them but I prefer other candy, including the nougat trifecta of Snickers, Milky Way and Three Musketeers.
• However, it’s a quinella for me since Three Musketeers is trash.
• All right, the point is we’ve all got our favorite. And I’m betting we all understand why the Neco Wafer, circus peanuts and jelly orange slices have never been branded to give to Trick or Treaters.
• But no Fifth Avenue fun-size bars? Come on, confectioners.
• Shout out to the Topeka Mars plant during this time of year.
• Hey, was that Kansas that I saw win a football game Saturday? In dominant fashion, no less.
• The Jayhawks ride on Jalen Daniels. When he’s on, look out. The KU receivers are good and Devin Neal loosens defenses.
• Hard sometimes to emerge from a tailspin and show the firepower that shaped high expectations in the preseason.
• Was it the breakthrough KU needed to be upset Kansas State?
• I already like the Jayhawks’ ability to keep games close. Finishing became a key issue.
• K-State, though, looks tough all around and will have a vociferous nighttime crowd in its favor. Also, there’s a 15-game series win streak to uphold.
• Seems, too, that Avery Johnson improves each week, even when limited to using his arm as a singular weapon.
• None of the K-State receivers will likely be all-conference picks, but they’re solid. Especially when opponents must contend with D.J. Giddens and Dylan Edwards out of the backfield.
• About halfway through the season, you get over players who moved on but for a few weeks I stared at the TV and missed K-State’s Cooper Beebe and KU’s Kenny Logan.
• Underrated quality for KU is the ability of their secondary to break on throws, as witnessed by Cobee Bryant’s three interceptions against Houston.
• For K-State, an underrated quality is the reconstruction of the offensive line into a competitive unit. That, and the Wildcats’ tacklers swarming to the ball.
• Picking K-State to beat KU, 38-30.
• After Saturday, the two most intriguing games for each team will be against Iowa State.
• For KU, it will be interesting to see how many ISU fans travel to Arrowhead for the Nov. 9 clash.
• For K-State, the Nov. 30 showdown in Ames could be for incredibly high stakes.
• The Cyclones are for real. Their late rally to avert an upset bid by UCF revealed the moxie possessed by quarterback Rocco Becht.
• The Big 12 is better than most national observers think, but when coverage tilts toward hyping the Big Ten and SEC, bias is king.
• And, in a year when the SEC looks balanced, down or both.
• We’re seeing Neal Brown’s final year at West Virginia, Willie Fritz’s worst year at Houston and, dare I write this, Matt Campbell’s best year at Iowa State.
• So, the league championship series to determine the World Series participants were on the other night. So, too was college football.
• Yet I found myself surfing to the WNBA finals and kept it there to watch a tight finish that sent the series to a decisive game.
• Credit Caitlan Clark for this. Rather than bully and berate her, opponents should be sending a percentage of their pay Clark’s way.
• Still, the fervor escalated among other fan bases, too.
• Is it fair to compare Clark’s rock star status to Michael Jordan in his prime?
• Well, she’s only played her rookie season but I’m willing to go there.
• My interest in the baseball playoffs wanes with big spenders such as the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets playing for league pennants.
• Drove with two buddies to the Wild Card series the Royals swept at Baltimore.
• Good time? Yes, but I root for the Orioles and was bummed about the outcome.
• Six straight postseason losses to the Royals for Baltimore. Not something many franchises get saddled with.
• One slight excursion we took on our own was getting in the truck and taking a limited tour of Baltimore filming locations for the HBO hit, The Wire.
• Topeka neighborhoods, you have it pretty good.
• As long as construction barrels don’t block your path.
• Joined my wife for her craft exhibit at Baldwin’s Maple Leaf Festival.
• Pretty cool to see a small town come alive for that kind of thing. The two-day event debuted in 1958, just like me. The festival, however, remains vibrant.
• Oops, I’m late getting over there to help man the booth.
