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Sunday, August 31, 2008

Gary Bedore’s KU in Canada postcard

By Gary Bedore

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KU in Canada: Day 1

It's easy to see why Kansas University's basketball team prefers traveling to Canada over, say, Mexico or France for the Jayhawks' once-every-four-years foreign tour.

¢ Travel is easy ... as in flying an hour to Chicago and connecting for another hour and a half on to Ottawa, Ontario.

¢ The government is accommodating: Wait in a short line, show your passport, state your business, and you are in.

¢ Accomodations are sweet. The downtown Fairmont Chateau Laurier is relatively inexpensive for a big city at $170 a night and is located right next to the Parliament and other tourist attractions. Plenty of restaurants are within walking distance of the hotel.

¢ And perhaps most importantly, it's convenient for KU's legion of fans, who never cease to amaze.

There were about 200 KU fans, maybe 20 McGill fans at Saturday's exhibition game at the University of Ottawa's Montpetit Hall, which seats about 800 fans.

The Jayhawk Nation seemed to enjoy itself, especially after somebody turned on the air conditioning in the muggy building.

I've always liked Canada, perhaps because it's the home of one of my favorite Jayhawks of all time - former KU All-America javelin thrower Scott Russell. Perhaps also because its national anthem is easy to sing, hence the renditions have always been riveting throughout the years.

Keep coming to Canada, KU.

Vancouver was great four years ago; Ottawahas been an excellent adventure so far in '08.

I've yet to run into a hoser of any kind up here.

Comments

approx (anonymous) says...

Travis Releford and Tyshawn Taylor are the real deal! I'm really excited that our kids gritted out a couple of wins; I have a lot of faith in Self's recruits. Now if we can get the twins eligible we can do some real damage this year. Reloaded!

PS I hate CBS (CSTV) couldnt get the audio on the game even though they said it was available. Once against those guys completely fail. Give up the rights, you hosers! You suck, hey?!!!

August 31, 2008 at 5:31 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

5DecadeHawk (anonymous) says...

The sooner Lew Perkins can opt out of that CSTV contract the better.

That service is absolutely horrible.

Imagine how many KU fans around the country would be clamoring to get online to follow KU if there was a decent online service to provide access?

August 31, 2008 at 7:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

DCJayhawk0208 (anonymous) says...

Seriously, 5Decade. I want to see KU sign a Notre Dame-like deal for TV coverage.

The tournament last year was jut as bad. I saw a grand total of 30 minutes of KU basketball on the national feed until the Davidson game. How many freaking channels exist? Why can't they put the regional feeds up for cable stations to pull down?

August 31, 2008 at 8:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jbrownjib (anonymous) says...

I live in ATL, GA and I would love to see all the b-ball and football games down here. I would pay a cable station for that ability to choose the team that I want to watch if they had a station that could do that.

August 31, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

OutlawJHawk (anonymous) says...

I just learned from another poster that the b-ball game had a live feed via Canada and he watched the whole game, free. I listened to the football game free via the FIU Football Network and without the connection problems others had with the fee KUAC on-line service. You have to get creative to follow our hawks as the KUAC and/or LJW seem to not care about the fan's need to hear or watch their team UNLESS there is some money in it for them. Yes, you will miss Bob Davis, but always try the opposing teams network to watch or hear games.

August 31, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

halogenlamps (anonymous) says...

AMEN Brothers!!

Give CBS the boot, ESPECIALLY with the tournament. I want to watch my team (the hawks) play, and I could not care less about some other game that has come down to the wire or is in overtime. I want to see the Jayhawks beginning to end in a nailbiter and in a 50 point blowout! DOWN WITH CBS!!!

August 31, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

halogenlamps (anonymous) says...

btw, i listened to the football game on the klwn site with no problems at all...during some football games and nearly all basketball games, though, you have to connect to the live stream at least 1/2 hour early or there will not be any available slots for you. do a google for jayhawk radio network affiliates, then check each radio station for live feeds. last year there a couple small stations with live feeds that I could connect to to listen to football and basketball when all the big ones were full.

btw, again on the basketball tournament, i signed up to march madness on demand at ncaa sports and did get to watch every minute of all the ku games online. the service was a little jerky and a little bit behind reality and the quality not neaerly as good as television, but at least it was live. ncaa.com/mmod

August 31, 2008 at 9:53 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

OutlawJHawk (anonymous) says...

halogenlamps-I listened to the first b-ball game via 610 radio in KC. I kept 610 on all day...I was dropped, actually switched to ESPN National Sports Radio coeverage, 20 minutes before the football game. I tried almost every station on the Jayhawk Radio Network, hoping a station forgot to block the KU football coverage, to no avail. I finally got the football game by going to the FIU Radio Network. KUAC wants fans to subscribe, $9.95 a month, to hear games via live feed, and I have been told this feed is unreliable and basically pathetic with NO support. I am almost certain KUAC (KU Always Charges) does not want their stations broadcasting live feeds for free. Others I know were dropped as well either before the football game or at various points early in the game and UNABLE to get back on. The opposing teams networks are the key to reliable, free KU coverage...how pathetic is that!!!

August 31, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

OutlawJHawk (anonymous) says...

CBS Haters-first I am in Phoenix, so local or regional KU coverage does nothing for me. However, during the tourney, Cox, the cable provider here, had 3 channels supposedely covering 3 different games. One of the KU games was scheduled for one of the channels and sure as hell they cut out early in the first half to a crap game that was being shown on one of the other channels. I was so pissed I called CBS...they promptly told me they would transfer me to an executive. Hah, Hah, I end up in a generic voice mail stating "executives" (executive interns, maybe) would review every message and adjust coverage as they "felt" necessary. What a croc...

I ended up watching most of the others games via the on-line free feed at the NCAA web-site, sponsored by Pontiac. It was grainy, choppy, but at least I got to watch the Hawks. My point is I agree that CBS sucks and there is nothing one can do to change it, except avoid their coverage.

August 31, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Sparko (anonymous) says...

The purpose of commercial radio is listeners. There is no excuse we can't hear the Kansas Radio Network via the internet at no extra charge. We alumni living out of range need some reliable method to hear the games without wasting money on Sirius or some other excremental service.
It only builds popularity and fans.

August 31, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

OutlawJHawk (anonymous) says...

You are right on and preaching to my choir, Sparko.

August 31, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

I love the last line of this article. Almost seems unprofessional, but it's also hilarious.

August 31, 2008 at 7:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )