Bob Wise was a loyal supporter

Friday’s favorites…

BOB WISE WILL BE MISSED – It was always a running joke between Bob Wise and myself that someday we were going to do lunch.

Bob, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86 (even though he looked 20 years younger), was one of my most faithful supporters in McPherson, literally from the time I moved to town in 1979. I got to know him by covering McPherson College football, a school he was a standout lineman for and played with the late, great Eddie Ball during the Bulldogs’ glory days in the 1950s.

Bob, a well-known and highly respected lawyer, would often tell me how much he enjoyed my coverage not just of the Bulldogs, but of all the local sports. He would send me notes and even phone me to say I made his day with an article I had written. He always was so encouraging and supportive of my work.

He often stopped into The Sentinel when I worked there and we would discuss Mac College sports or golf or anything else he wanted to talk about. He would see my name in the paper for my performance in the City Golf Tournament and call to congratulate me.

No matter the conversation on the phone or in person, Bob would always end it by saying, “we’re going to do lunch one of these days.”

Bob was an amazing individual. He never really retired from his law practice and told me a couple of years ago he still enjoyed going into the office, working and being with his partners. He’s one of those guys who was always upbeat and never said a bad word about anybody.

I’m just sorry we never had that lunch. Rest in peace Bob, you’re now with the angels. And I bet a lot of your former McPherson College teammates were there to greet you.

FABER TO RETIRE – One of the most colorful basketball coaches in all my years of covering sports has been Dale Faber of Friends University.

Faber has been the men’s head coach of the Falcons for 18 years, many of them highly successful. While he’s known for his coaching acumen, he may be even more well known for his humor and sideline antics, as few coaches ever get into a  game like Faber. He’s loud and brash and has drawn his fair share of technicals in his day, mostly for standing up for his players.

Faber also was the hit of the annual KCAC Media Day. Reporters braced themselves for what he would say and also laughed even before he took the dais as we all knew he would have a story or two. Between him and former Friends football coach Monty Lewis, they made Media Day what it is today.

Faber this week announced he is going to retire from coaching, but stay with the school as a fundraiser for the athletic department.

Faber has led the Falcons to seven NAIA National Tournament appearances and has had some amazing teams. He’s coached some of the greatest players in KCAC history, including Joe Mitchell and Jordan Murdock, both of whom have to rate among the Top 10 ever to play in the conference.

Anthony White has been Faber’s top assistant for the last 7 years and I’m guessing he’ll be the leading candidate as his successor.

CLEVELAND TEARING IT DOWN – Good news for Royals fans, AL Central rival Cleveland apparently is blowing it up and starting over.

The team on Thursday traded two All-Stars in all-everything shortstop Francisco Lindor and top-of-the-line pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets for a batch of prospects. That came on the heels of not offering a contract to longtime Royals killer Carlos Santana, who was snapped up by KC to play first base and DH.

The start of the rebuild actually came late last season when standout pitcher Mike Cleavinger was dealt to San Diego for the stretch run, resulting in the Padres making the playoffs.

Cleveland still has some great players in Cy Young winner Shane Bieber and third baseman Jose Ramirez, but apparently team officials believe the window has closed and they’re retooling.

The Royals, who were fourth in the AL Central in the shortened season, probably still rate behind Minnesota and Chicago, which could be the favorite in the division. But KC and Cleveland are closer together now, while Detroit still appears to be destined for the basement.

The Royals have made some shrewd, under-the-radar moves in the offseason and they may not be done as there’s a lot of quality players still out there looking for a new home.

Sub-state, KU and K-State

Wednesday’s ramblings…

SUB-STATE BASKETBALL INFORMATION – I posted a story earlier today about KSHSAA’s plan for sub-state basketball tournaments and they’re much on the line of the state volleyball tournaments contested this past fall.

State tournaments will be four-team events and no third-place games will be played. The state quarterfinals will be different this year in that there are pre-determined groupings for games on Monday and Tuesday – No. 1 vs. No. 2, No. 3 vs. No. 4, No. 5 vs. No. 6 and No. 7 vs. No. 8. The host will be determined by the higher seed.

Then at state, teams will be seeded by records.

McPherson High will be in a sub-state grouping that includes Buhler, Nickerson, Pratt and Ulysses. I would imagine the MHS boys and Buhler being matched in the finals, while the MHS and Nickerson girls are expected to meet.

For the Bullpup teams, they just need to keep winning to grab the No. 1 seed. Both teams appear to be the class of AVCTL Division III, but a difficult non-conference schedule needs to be navigated. Especially for the boys, as the Invitational field will be strong and there’s also games with Andover Central, Andale and Derby.

We don’t know what the fan situation will be by that time, but as of now only parents are allowed into games until Jan. 28. At that time, the situation will be re-evaluated. As of now, numbers are showing no decline in Kansas.

Hopefully by May when the spring sports titles are determined, we’ll have a better grip on the pandemic and crowds will be allowed back in.

GOOD BOUNCEBACK FOR KU – I was really worried how the Kansas Jayhawks would respond after their lopsided home loss to Texas.

They had to go on the road Tuesday to play TCU and were down injured All-American candidate Marcus Garrett and freshman standout Bryce Thompson, leaving little depth.

TCU also hasn’t been one of the easier places to play for the Jayhawks. But they took control of the game early and went on for a rout.

The barometer of this KU team may be big man David McCormack, who has been wildly inconsistent. He had a good game against TCU, even though he was going up against a quality big man. McCormack is 6-10 and 250 pounds, with a chiseled body. He needs to use that mass to power up instead of settling for half-hooks and fadeaways.

The Jayhawks now have Oklahoma coming up and you can bet Lon Kruger will have a well-devised game plan.

WILDCATS STRUGGLING – Full admission. I probably haven’t watched 30 minutes of Kansas State’s basketball season.

The Wildcats are 5-7 and just out of the cellar in the Big 12, thanks to a conference-opening victory at Iowa State.

From what little that I’ve watched and also from what I’ve read, it’s a team that plays hard, but its talent is young and growing pains are obvious.

I did catch quite a bit of the Texas Tech game on Tuesday and KSU never backed down. While it hung around, you never got the sense it was going to win as Texas Tech is a good team with better players.

The Wildcats are going to be one of those teams, however, that opponents won’t be able to overlook. Oklahoma State comes into Manhattan on Saturday and while the Cowboys are an up-and-comer, don’t be surprised if KSU pulls off a victory.

Remembering the legendary Tim Wesselowski

I’ve reminisced with several people the last couple of days about the late Tim Wesselowski -- the former McPherson High teacher and coach who passed away on Saturday -- and a common theme popped up during most of the conversations.

Fun.

Wesselowski was as unique and refreshing of a coach as any I have ever worked with in my 45 years. In addition to football, he coached track and field and was known for making his History and Civics classes enjoyable. His style may have been somewhat unusual to some, but for the kids he was the perfect teacher with his combination of making kids work hard, but having fun at the same time.

As a coach, he was able to get the most out of his teams.

“The kids loved playing for Tim,” said Carol Swenson, who arrived in McPherson as a teacher the same time as Wesselowski in 1970. “He made practice fun and brought enough ‘stuff,’ what many might have thought was unorthodox, to his practices and play calling that his kids looked forward to, not knowing what he might come up with next.”

Wesselowski started out coaching the eighth grade at McPherson Junior High, then moved up to the ninth grade in 1977.  He carved out a legendary record at MJH, including a winning streak that extended over several seasons, ably assisted by Phil Lane. They were quite the tandem as they were both characters and idolized by those who played for them.

He seemed comfortable coaching at that level, but in 1984 the high school job opened up and he agreed to take over. While the Bullpups were just 2-7 in his first year, his final four years – all of them winning seasons -- produced a 24-15 record for a final mark of 26-22.

In the final game of 1986, the Bullpups routed then arch-rival Newton 33-8 as sophomore running back Dwayne Chandler went off with a huge game, which was a forerunner to what would be two special seasons. Chandler was an angular, sleek runner with long strides, one reason he would eventually be a state champion in the 400 meters and later started for the Kansas Jayhawks as a tight end as he was one of the best in the Big 8.

In 1987, the Bullpups -- for only the second time in their history -- qualified for the Class 5A playoffs. They won their first-ever playoff game when they made the long trip to Liberal, winning 21-7, before losing at home 34-7 in the semifinals the following week to then-Kansas power Kapaun.

By now, the Bullpups were running the “Wessobone” offense that featured a punishing ground game led by Chandler and Troy Babcock, with the cerebral Tim Hein at quarterback. Because the team was so junior-dominated in ’87, expectations were off the charts  for 1988 as the seniors made up a special class.

MHS would go 7-2 in the regular season, losing to just Campus and Arkansas City. The big game, however, was in the district against Salina South when Wesselowski’s son, Nathan, kicked the game-winning field goal in a 12-10 victory – his fourth of the game.

“In the Salina South game in 1988 when I was lining up for what would be the game-winning field goal, Salina South called a timeout to try and ice me,” he recalled. “I didn’t go to the huddle, I just stood in silence looking at the goal posts. Dad walked past me as he went to the huddle. As he walked past me, he said, ‘No sweat son.’ That was the only thing I heard in that frozen moment until the ball went through the uprights.”

The very next game, Chandler would rush for a school-record 408 yards in the greatest individual performance I’ve ever covered. And the Bullpups needed it all as they outlasted Great Bend 35-21 to again make the playoffs, only to lose a 14-12 game to Goddard, which we didn’t know at the time would be his last game.

I always laughed when he would greet me for our postgame interview. He started every time by saying, “Uh oh, it’s the press. I better watch what I say.” Then he would laugh and it was that way win or lose. He never allowed himself to get too high after a win or too low after a loss, though I do remember talking with him years later that the Goddard game always stung because he truly believed the Bullpups were the better team.

He stepped away from coaching football while still in his prime. I really believe coaching throwers in track and field gave him as much or even more satisfaction. He was a thrower at McPherson College and had the school record for the shot put when he graduated.

Ray Wilson, who later played football for Kansas State before Bill Snyder’s resurrection of the program, said Wesselowski had an uncanny way of relating to both athletes and students.

“He was a true mentor and friend,” said Wilson, who was a rare combination of speed (he ran the 100 and 200) and power (he threw the shot and discus). “We spent countless hours working overtime and weekends on whatever sport he was helping you with. It was always fun and he celebrated your success. His living room was always open to talk and share a laugh and treat you like an adult. We spent countless hours driving to summer track meets in my high school years and even after. He taught me levity and laughter. Work hard, but not take yourself too seriously. We spent an afternoon canoeing down the Smokey River when I was in high school and I’ll never forget it. Just relaxing, laughing and talking about life.”

Even after he had retired from coaching, he was always up to help young athletes develop their throwing.

“Wesso was my teacher and track coach as well,” said Karyne (Greischar) Schrag. “About 7 years ago, my daughter was in the eighth grade and wanted to throw the discus and shot put. I had no idea how to coach her through this, so I thought of Wesso. I called him up and he said ‘I’ll meet you at the middle school and at this time the very next day.’ He didn’t even hesitate. We were there waiting and up rides Wesso on his bike. My daughter was like “Mom, really?” He got off his bike and said ‘are you ready?’...that day you could see his passion come out and his love for the sport. She will never forget Wesso that day, neither will I and the coaching tips he gave her. What an icon.”

I didn’t see that much of Wesso the last 20 years. Every once in a while I would see him at a McPherson College football game and ask him if he missed coaching. He always told me he coached just about as long as he should have, as he didn’t want to be one of those who hung around too long. Ironically after he stepped down as football coach, MHS went through its most difficult stretch in school history, never making the playoffs from 1989 to 2005. It wasn’t until Tom Young came along did the program return to the good, ol’  “Wesso’s Days.”

MHS players surprisingly snubbed for Shrine Bowl

Tuesday’s thoughts…

NO SHRINE BOWLERS FOR MHS – For the first time since 2008, McPherson High will not be represented in the annual Shrine Bowl Football Game this summer.

This year’s game is practically in the back yard of McPherson, as Hutchinson’s Gowans Stadium will be the site.

The Bullpups have had one of the state’s longest streaks, beginning with Tanner Hawkinson in 2008. He was followed by Zach Peterson, Joel Piper, Christian Ulsaker, Jordan Hart, Collin French, Garrett Larson, Ty Hart, Jake Nikkel, Jack Reifschneider, Jared Ruth, Wyatt Seidl, Gabe Hoover and Cody Stufflebean. Reifschneider and Ruth were picked in 2017, the one year MHS had two selections.

Prior to Hawkinson, MHS’ picks had been Mike Easter, Greg Cook, Ray Wilson, Dwayne Chandler and Boe Soden.

Bullpup coach Jace Pavlovich said he was “frustrated” as he believed MHS – which was 10-2 and advanced to the state semifinals for the fourth year in a row – had three worthy candidates. Brycen Labertew, Jonah Scott and Dylan Rinker were on practically every Class 4A first or second team.

When I was at The McPherson Sentinel, I received a ballot every year and took my voting responsibilities seriously. Since leaving to join Midkansasonline.com, though, I no longer have a vote and I don’t know if Sentinel sports editors have had one since I left.  The Sentinel once published 6 days a week and now is twice-a-week, with no actual sports editor. For someone who worked there 33-plus years, it saddens me to see how the paper provides very little coverage due to corporate decisions.

The Bullpups certainly deserved at least one selection. Labertew was first-team 4A All-State by every “all” team I saw, including the state’s Big 2 papers. Scott, who also made all the teams, was arguably among the top linemen in Kansas, while Rinker’s numbers were easily among the best in the state.

I would certainly have nominated all three Bullpups in the hopes of at least one being named.

“It is a huge honor to get to play in the Shrine Bowl, I would like to see the selection process change,” Pavlovich said. “At the very least, I would be supportive of more transparency in the selection process.”

It should be noted that some players that are selected wind up opting out and then are replaced, so the MHS streak isn’t totally over yet.

At least the McPherson area, which had an incredible year with Little River winning the state title, and Canton-Galva and Inman having tremendous years, wasn’t totally shut out as Little River’s Jayden Garrison and Inman’s Carter Brown were selected to play at Hutch.  

WILL KU DROP TO 2-2 IN BIG 12? – When was the last time the Kansas Jayhawks started 2-2 in the Big 12?

That could very well happen tonight.

The Jayhawks are licking their wounds after being embarrassed by Texas in the worst loss at Allen Field House under Bill Self. KU was physically and mentally weak as Texas did whatever it wanted, exposing the Jayhawks’ weaknesses of lack of size and overall team athleticism.

Now KU has to pack up and head to play at TCU, where it often has struggled. This is not a great Horned Frog team by any stretch of the imagination, but teams are realizing KU has never been more vulnerable. While it does have wins over Kentucky (which just ended a six-game losing streak) and a good Creighton team, this is Self’s least-talented team during his KU run. Never has it been so void of an inside game, as David McCormack just can’t seem to figure it out on a consistent basis and Mitch Lightfoot simply doesn’t get enough minutes.

Teams don’t fear KU like they normally do and a TCU win tonight wouldn’t be a shock to anybody.

CHIEFS WILL LOSE BIENIEMY – It’s a virtual cinch that offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s time with the Chiefs is coming to an end.

With six available NFL head coaching openings, any team that doesn’t give Bieniemy an interview would be crazy. He has paid his dues and learned under the offensive wizard himself, Andy Reid. Reid has been Bieniemy’s biggest booster as he believes he’s more than ready to lead his own team.

There’s also a big push in the NFL for minority inclusion. If Bieniemy doesn’t land a head job, there will be a hue and cry – and deservedly so. Too many times coaches are recycled, like the Adam Gases of the world. He’s been a two-time flop and it’s hard to imagine him getting another head job.

Of the openings, Los Angeles’ Chargers would appear to me to be the best situation. Just think of Bieniemy going up against Big Red twice a year. I would probably rank Houston as the next-best because of DeShaun Watson, while Atlanta has good talent, but is hamstrung by the salary cap. Other openings are Jacksonville, Detroit and the New York Jets. Jacksonville might be a good destination because it will be picking Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick. Detroit and New York are dead-end jobs.

Sticking with the Ravens to win it all

The Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks were my picks to play for the Super Bowl prior to the season, with Baltimore winning it all.

And I’m not getting off the Ravens.

They have taken a rather circuitous route by starting 6-5 after 11 games, but right now no team in the NFL is playing better, though the schedule certainly has helped. Yet, they’ve returned to their roots of pounding the rock and playing with cruel intentions on defense.

Of course, they will have to overcome their kryptonite in the Kansas City Chiefs, but I don’t like the way the defending Super Bowl champs are trending. I don’t count their B-team game with Los Angeles on Sunday when Andy Reid rested the starters, but in the seven previous games they won by a touchdown or less.

Somehow, we were able to get in a complete NFL regular season with no games being lost as Game No. 256 was played Sunday night and it determined the final playoff participant.

We’re going to have a wild wild-card weekend, with six games on tap instead of the customary four. Remember, one extra team made the playoffs this year, with just Kansas City and Green Bay receiving a bye for their respective conferences.

Here’s how I see the six weekend games:

SATURDAY

New Orleans 24, Chicago 14 – The Bears had a strong final 6 weeks of the season as they finally relented and re-inserted perennial whipping-post Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback. His time on the bench much have lit a fire under him, as he played well down the stretch. But New Orleans’ defense will shut his offense down.

Seattle 27, Los Angeles Rams 17 – The Rams are decimated by injuries, while Seattle’s defense has improved greatly. Russell Wilson was in the MVP talk halfway through the season, but his play fell off the second half. Still, the Rams are in a bad way health-wise.

Tampa Bay 35, Washington 14 – Probably the most lopsided of the NFC games. Bless Alex Smith’s courageous heart for getting Washington into the playoffs, but Tampa Bay is really rolling now as Tom Brady has been drinking from the Fountain of Youth the last 8 games of the season.

SUNDAY

Buffalo 38, Indianapolis 24 – If the Ravens aren’t playing the best football in the AFC, then the Bills are. Josh Allen has turned into a monster and the Bills are putting up huge numbers. This may be it for Philip Rivers at Colts’ quarterback as Carson Wentz reportedly is their target in the offseason as they want to get younger.

Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 21 – I’ve become more and more of a believer in Cleveland because of its running game, but the Browns barely won Sunday’s matchup with Ben Roethlisbeger on the bench for rest. But it’s nice to see the Browns in the playoffs after being the NFL’s longest-running joke.

Baltimore 31, Tennessee 24 – Best game of the weekend. This game will not be for the faint of heart as both teams are just so physical. But now is not the time to abandon the Ravens’ bandwagon.

So if my picks work out, we would have these semifinals:

Tampa Bay at Green Bay

Seattle at New Orleans

Pittsburgh at Buffalo

Baltimore at Kansas City

I know Chiefs’ fans believe I’m crazy and of course, I want to see the Chiefs win. But I have my reasons their playoff run will be brief:

1. The offensive line – Patrick Mahomes’ MVP chances became fainter and fainter as the season rolled along. His numbers weren’t as strong the final 6 games of the season as he took way too many hits. The line is beat up and can’t dominate.

2. Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s availability – Even if he’s a go after a long break, he’s not going to be 100 percent. He’s a huge piece of this offense. Le’Veon Bell isn’t a bad option, but at this point in his career he’s not CEH.

3. The defense can’t get off the field – If the Ravens and Chiefs do meet, somebody had better grab Jim Harbaugh around the neck and tell him to run, run and run the ball some more. For whatever reason, the Ravens try to have Lamar Jackson match Mahomes throw for throw. The Kansas City front can easily get pushed around and injuries at linebacker make the Chiefs even more vulnerable. If Tennessee prevails, it’s more of the same. Derrick Henry could go for 300 against this porous defense.

4. The defense as a whole – Mahomes was able to mask the deficient defense last year until it finally started to play well around playoff time. But Frank Clark has been way down (even though he somehow was named to the Pro Bowl) and there’s too much youth in the secondary.

I’m a big believer in that the Super Bowl champion may not be the best team in the NFL, but the one playing the best at the time. And right now, that’s the Ravens.

2020 was a year unlike any other

I’ve been on this earth for nearly 64 years and this is a year I thought we’d never experience.

There had been warnings a few years ago about a possible pandemic, but I always dismissed that possibility. Because of advancements in science and medicine and so many brilliant people in this world, I thought pandemics had become extinct.

But it hit home during the Kansas State Basketball Tournaments.

After McPherson High had won its opening-round game at Emporia, word of a novel “coronavirus” began to sweep across the White Auditorium like an out-of-control wildfire. The state immediately shut down the rest of the tournament, as well as Little River’s 1A semifinal game. Schools went remote soon after. Spring sports were cancelled. Summer sports were a fraction of what they normally were.

By the time the fall rolled around, there was trepidation whether we would have a sporting season. But with reduced fans or fans not at all at some events, we somehow managed to crown champions in every sport.

Winter sports are under way and fortunately McPherson High teams have been able to get nearly all of their events in, the one exception being the girls basketball team having its opener postponed, only to play it shortly after. Both Bullpup teams were able to play six games before the break, with just one game played before no fans.

The wrestling and swimming teams have been able to get their events in and with continued caution, we’ll proceed as scheduled.

McPherson College and Central Christian College haven’t been as fortunate. Mac College was able to get in seven football games before the season was shut down and the other sports played half a schedule. Then in basketball, both Bulldog teams have played just more than half of their scheduled games. Both had long stretches where they were sidelined.

It’s been much tougher at Central Christian, especially in basketball. The Tiger women were able to get games in early, but then were shut down after five. The CCC men have played only four. The Sooner Athletic Conference as a whole has had its conference schedule decimated.

Again, the presumption is we’ll play games when we can. There will be bumps in the road and games will be postponed and then, hopefully, made up.

I fully expect the spring season to be played for both high school and college. Maybe by April, when the brunt of the season takes place, enough vaccines will have been given to make things safer, though it’s disappointing to see the early returns of the rollout. It was thought that 20 million people would be vaccinated by the end of the year, but just more than 2 million have been given. Let’s hope the kinks get worked out and there are at least a million a day in the country as has been hoped.

Despite the dark cloud hanging over, there were a few highlights in 2020. McPherson High’s Landon Frantz became the fourth Bullpup state wrestling champion in as many years, following Austin Eldredge, Rhett Edmonson and Scott Radke. Wrestling was able to get its season in under the wire.

The McPherson High boys swimming team had the best season in school history as it took second with minimal squad numbers. William Powers won the first two individual gold medals in school history. He also combined with Justus Hampton, Rhys Vanderhoof and Matthew Powers to win a gold in a relay.

The MHS football team again thrilled fans by making it to the state semifinals for the fourth year in a row and this time appeared headed for the finals as it led Arkansas City 27-14 in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs came back to win 28-27 and MHS again was disappointed after having such a great 10-2 season.

The Little River boys won the 8-Man Division I state title by defeating Wichita County-Leoti, a year after Canton-Galva had won it. The Eagles had been No. 1 all season until losing to Madison in the quarters. The Inman football team made the 1A semis before losing to Oakley.

MHS’ volleyball team returned to the Final Four and took fourth place, while it was another good year for MHS girls tennis, boys soccer and both cross country teams. The MHS girl harriers qualified as a team, ending a more than 10-year drought of getting everyone in.

Smoky Valley’s boys cross country team took second in Class 3A, led by third-place finisher Ryan Heline. Canton-Galva’s Morgan Becker and Christian Darran were individual state medalists, as was Smoky Valley’s Gracie Lambert.

So, there was some good to come out of a forgettable year. Let’s put this behind us and hope we can get back to some semblance of normalcy in 2021.

Bills emerging as serious challenger to KC

Tuesday’s thoughts…

BILLS BIGGEST CHALLENGER? – I’ve maintained all season that I believe the biggest challenger to the Kansas City Chiefs getting back to the Super Bowl is Baltimore – my pick to win it all before the season.

The Ravens at one point were on the outside looking in, but a hot streak has vaulted them back into the postseason race and all they need to do is win Sunday against Cincinnati, which is 4-10-1 and without its starting quarterback.

But another team has started to open my eyes – the Buffalo Bills.

And why not? The Bills are 12-3 and have won five games in a row, mostly by lopsided margins.

Maybe I dismissed the Bills after Kansas City went into Buffalo and made it look easy. The final was 26-17, but in actuality the game wasn’t that close. The Kansas City offense had its way with the Bills’ defense, doing about whatever it wanted.

But the Bills are playing with an air of confidence. They dismantled New England on Monday night and while the Patriots are just a shell of their former selves, they’re still coached by Bill Belichick, who remains a master strategist. But for all his wiles, he had no answer for Allen and the Bills, who simply shredded the punchless Pats.

Pittsburgh, despite losing three of four, can’t be counted out. The Steelers have had the Chiefs’ number in recent years and I have a bad feeling if the teams meet because the Chiefs’ suspect offensive line could be overwhelmed by the Pittsburgh front. And the Chiefs’ pass defense has been leaky.

The good news about the Chiefs securing the bye is they have to win one less game to make the Super Bowl. They’ll also be home throughout, though this year that’s not that big of an advantage. In fact, the Chiefs in all honestly have played better on the road than at home.

PADRES THE NEW “IT” TEAM? – If the two proposed trades go through for the San Diego Padres, they’re going to go from anonymity to the spotlight.

The Padres had a breakout season in the shortened 2020 campaign, advancing to the postseason. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado are as good of a 1-2 duo as there is, and former Royals Eric Hosmer and Will Myers aren’t bad complements.

But if the Padres indeed acquire pitchers Blake Snell and Yu Darvish as reported, they could have enough to overcome the World Champion Dodgers.

Snell and Darvish are Cy Young guys and Darvish is coming off a phenomenal year. Snell is a pitcher’s pitcher, though he doesn’t go deep into games. But he’s probably in the Top 5 currently in the game, as is Darvish if he repeats his 2020 season.

The Padres are gambling that they can win now and not wait for the bushel of top prospects they are about to deal away to develop.

LONG BREAK – Normally high school winter sports teams would be back at practice preparing for the 2021 portion of the schedule.

But this isn’t your normal year. Due to COVID, teams are off until Jan. 4, which gives them precious little practice time before returning to action on Jan. 8 at the earliest.

Hopefully the athletes are working out on their own and staying in shape.

Chiefs continue to walk tightrope

The Kansas City Chiefs have used up seven of their nine lives.

The Chiefs on Sunday continued to play with fire, but somehow, some way avoided getting burned.

Their 17-14 victory over Atlanta was the seventh straight win by a touchdown or less, as they continue to play with their fans’ emotions and send their pulses racing.

Of all the wins in this seven-game tightrope, this one was probably the luckiest. The Chiefs appeared to be sunk late in the game when Patrick Mahomes had a pass that Falcon defensive back A.J Terrell picked off, but couldn’t complete the progression to the end. On the very next play, Mahomes rifled a TD strike to DeMarcus Robinson for the lead.

The Chiefs still weren’t out of the woods. Their defense, which lately plays well for three quarters before apparently running out of gas in the final period, allowed Matty Ice to take the Falcons right down the field, but a sliced 39-yard field goal by recently named Pro Bowl kicker Younghoe Koo allowed the Chiefs to win the game in regulation and not have to go into overtime.

KC will be the No. 1 seed in the AFC throughout the postseason, but more importantly it is the only team in the conference to receive the precious bye in the first week. Given the physical state of the Chiefs right now, they can rest their regulars next week if they want, then get another week to heal.

Red flags, however, continue to pop up everywhere. Most noticeable is the offensive line, which didn’t allow a sack but also gave Mahomes little time to throw as only his pocket presence and sense of wherewithal allowed him to escape. I focused a lot on the line Sunday and left tackle Eric Fisher appeared to have another tough day as he’s simply not 100 percent. No question the Chiefs miss Mitchell Schwartz on the right side, but amazingly they have not lost a game in his absence, which is approaching 3 months. It’s safe to say if he plays in the postseason, it would be considered a bonus.

Mahomes’ dancing act, however, is leading him to being off on his throws. He was just 24 of 45 for 278 yards, but give the Atlanta defense a lot of credit as it disguised coverages that confused him. Travis Kelce was the security blanket, while Tyreek Hill made only one big catch as that went for 31 yards, while his others totaled only 34. And the Chiefs’ gadget plays, which were fewer than most games, mostly blew up in their face, like the 4th-and-1 when Sammy Watkins wound up throwing an end-around pass to Mahomes that failed miserably.

When looking at the AFC, the Chiefs had better brace themselves for Baltimore, which has played its way back into the mainstream with four straight wins and has looked like a powerhouse in doing it. My big thing always has been it’s not the team with the best record that makes the Super Bowl, but the team playing the best heading into the playoffs. Right now, that may be Baltimore as it’s not been having to pull off Houdini acts like the Chiefs.

The other team considered dangerous for the Chiefs -- the Raiders -- bungled their way out of the playoffs on Saturday with a collapse of epic proportions against Miami. For whatever reason, the Raiders seemed to have the formula to hang with KC in both games this season as the teams wound up splitting.

Feel-good night for MHS basketball teams

McPherson High’s basketball teams left Buhler on Tuesday night feeling good and flying high.

And why not? What better way to go into the holidays than with decisive, double-digit victories over their most fiercest rival. The only downer was that more people weren’t on hand to see it due to COVID precautions, as the atmosphere in the stands wasn’t nearly as electric, but the play on the court certainly was.

You had to wonder about the Bullpups’ focus going into the games. Both MHS teams were playing their fourth game in a span of eight days and suffered disappointing losses on Saturday after making the nearly the 3-hour trip up to Kansas City and then 3 hours back.

Fortunately for the MHS girls, they played a Buhler team with a new coach and new system, not to mention a new starting lineup. They gave themselves a much-needed shot of confidence with a performance that has been so typical of them for so many years.

MHS jumped all over the Crusaders in the first quarter to lead 21-8, then ramped it up defensively even more in the second quarter to bury Buhler by the half, 46-12.

Coach Chris Strathman’s team had its best ball movement of the year as the sphere seldom got stuck. I didn’t keep track of assists, but I’m sure they were plentiful.

MHS also was able to score more inside, something it is going to have to establish moving forward when it plays the tougher teams on its schedule. The Bullpups’ next three games are with Division III foes Winfield, Augusta and Circle, with Circle the only expected game that should provide much difficulty.

After those three games complete the first half of league play, the Bullpups return to Andover Central for the second year in a row to play a Jaguar team that lost only one game last year – to MHS – and like the Bullpups made the Class 5A Final Four before the season was halted. Central has most of its top players back and may be the best team left on the schedule, other than perhaps teams in the Mid America Classic.

The Bullpup boys’ game with Buhler was dripping with intensity. These teams didn’t need a howling crowd to be spurred on as both came out breathing fire.

The Crusaders, who were playing their first game of the year due to COVID so they were an unknown quantity, sped to a 13-5 lead as they came out knocking down shots. The Bullpups were somewhat flat-footed at the outset and it didn’t take long for the realization to hit that Buhler wasn’t messing around.

The Crusaders, however, went with a 2-3 zone, which was like a green light to the Bullpups. This can be a very good 3-point shooting Bullpup team and it destroyed the zone in the first half by making 8 of 16 from beyond the arc.

A frantic 12-0 Bullpup run over the final 61 seconds of the half turned what was a close game into a comfortable Bullpup lead as they went from up 32-31 to breathing easier at 44-31 as Buhler’s lack of practice time showed as the Bullpups got them sped up.

The second half was simply a case of MHS massaging the lead and not allowing the Crusaders to reel off any type of streak.

The Bullpups are getting better and better at getting everybody involved as four players scored in double figures. Jayton Alexander, who always seems to get up for Buhler, had a career night with 23 points, Seth Madron chipped in with 15, and Eli Pyle and Adam Elliott tallied 11 apiece. For the Bullpups to beat the really good teams, Pyle and Elliott have to shoot it like they did Tuesday.

It’s amazing how far this Bullpup team has come in less than 3 weeks. After watching Andover take it apart in the opener, the Bullpups have made light-years of improvement and will be a tough out for anybody.

Bullpups looking to take good vibe into holidays

What better Christmas present would there be for McPherson High’s basketball teams than wins tonight over arch-rival Buhler on the Crusaders’ home court?

Tonight’s games were originally scheduled for Jan. 5, but KSHSAA ruled recently that no games could be played before Jan. 8 as it wants to give teams a longer break for health reasons. So the schools decided to move the games up a couple of weeks.

I haven’t looked at the schedule, but I’m guessing there aren’t many games slated for tonight as this is the last day of school for the majority of Kansas institutions.

For the McPherson girls, they want to get back to playing “Bullpup Basketball,” which includes getting off to a flying start that has been a trademark of so many of their victories. In games Friday and Saturday, the Bullpups found themselves down double digits early as they were cold from the outset in the losses to Dodge City and Barstow Academy.

3-point shooting has been such a staple of the program, but they have been around the 20 percent mark the last two games. The Bullpups have not yet developed a consistent inside scoring game, due in part to this being one of the smallest teams coach Chris Strathman has ever put on the floor. The tallest player is Grace Pyle, but she’s a perimeter player though she has scored more inside than she did last year by putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket.

The other MHS problem has been excessive fouling, as at times the Bullpups are a bit ramped up on the defensive end and reach with their hands. In the Barstow game, they put the Knights at the foul line 38 times.

Buhler might be the elixir tonight as the Crusaders were a senior-dominated team last year and so far this year have  struggled to score, averaging 27.7 points a game.

As for the Bullpup boys, this team has come such a long way since opening the season with a lopsided loss to Andover, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A.

The Bullpups have progressively improved as they’re playing fundamental basketball. They have kept their turnovers at a minimum, including just 19 total in the two games this past weekend, which has pleased coach Kurt Kinnamon to no end.

They’re doing it with no true post presence as Seth Madron is the tallest starter on the floor at 6-1. Madron is an explosive player and is realizing he can use his athleticism to get to the basket.

Guards Jayton Alexander and the emerging Jayden Dukes have turned into quite a tandem as the ball is in their hands extensively. Alexander is the ultimate competitor and has been a model of consistency. Dukes has been by far the big surprise of the season after playing only a handful of varsity minutes last year. He’s smooth, plays under control and is an excellent rebounder for a guard.

Eli Pyle and Adam Elliott are outstanding 3-point shooters as they’re getting good looks due to the Bullpups’ crisp ball movement. Once they become more consistent, this is a Bullpup offense that should be able to put a lot of points on the board.

There’s an air of mystery surrounding Buhler tonight since the Crusaders have yet to play a game due to COVID. It’s a given Max Alexander will be their best player, but the transfer of 6-7 Myles Thompson, who was a talented offensive player and physical presence, is sure to be felt.

But Buhler is still Buhler, which means it will compete its tails off. The Bullpups have quite a streak going against the Crusaders, including last year’s pulsating finish at Jim Baker Field House when Jayton Alexander scored the game-winning basket with 3.3 seconds left.

As of now, the Bullpups will come back in January to host Winfield on the 8th, then play key road games the following week at Augusta and Circle to complete the first time through the league schedule.