My Sears auto nightmare

I was all ready to make the trek back to Olathe from my parents' house in Minnesota on Wednesday morning. The car was packed, the dog was ready, the sandwiches to eat on the road were made. Then I found out I had a headlight out.


I debated just letting it go and hitting the road, but rain was falling pretty steadily, so I figured I'd better get it taken care of to avoid getting pulled over. So I dropped the dog back at home and drove to Sears, figuring I could get a new bulb and get it installed there fast.


When I got to Sears they had one of those drive-up auto shops, where you pull your car in yourself. I pulled up and the garage door opened, but there were two cars in front of me, so I just idled in front of the garage for awhile. The door stayed open, stayed open, stayed open, so I figured I was hitting the sensor. The cars in front of me moved, I pulled forward and when I was almost in the garage, I heard a loud crash and a screeching of scraped metal and felt the car shake. The industrial strength garage door had dropped right on the roof of my Toyota Corolla.


Once I cleared the door I quickly put the car in park and hopped out to survey the damage. My first reaction was "God *#%& it, son of a ^&*#@, how does that even happen?" The teenage mouth-breather Sears employee who arrived on the scene's first reaction was "Whoa dude, that sucks." Gee, ya think? The roof was scratched and deeply dented and the antenna busted off.

So the mouth-breather (who was probably also a stoner, given his instinctual, completely inappropriate use of the word "dude") goes and gets his supervisor, a short, wrinkled troll-looking "dude." We spend the next hour and a half filling out incident reports, talking to the other customer who witnessed the whole thing (a nice, older Indian guy named Ramesh -- he pretty much backed everything I said) and waiting for a "loss prevention" Sears guy to come and take pictures. By this time I had also called my dad in from work as reinforcements. I'm going on 28 years old now, but I still feel like a little kid in those kind of situations, afraid I'm going to get taken advantage of.

So while we're waiting on the loss prevention guy, the troll guy starts trying to make small talk, asking me what I do for a living. I tell him I'm a laid-off journalist, which initiates this maddening conversation:

Troll: "Oh, newspaper man, huh?"

Me: "Yeah. At least I used to be."

Troll: "Yep. Looks like newspapers are going the way of the ol' horse and buggy."

Me: "So I'm told." (At this point I'm wondering if this guy is deliberately trying to piss me off).

Troll: "I guess if people were smart, they would have known that these things were taking over the world." (He pats his ancient, yellowed PC, which looks like it couldn't take over a game of minesweeper).

This is the point where the conversation ends because I am so enraged I know that if I open my mouth I'll start screaming. This guy's garage door just crunched my car and now he's giving me a "I just pulled this tidbit of wisdom out of my butt" lecture about why I lost my job? What school of customer service did this genius graduate from? These are the times when I wish God would have left me with at least one middle finger.

Fortunately Dad is there to back me up. Literally shaking with anger, he shoots back, "Yeah, and if people were smart, there'd probably be more cars in this garage too."

Troll: "What do you mean?"

Dad: "I mean, years ago, this garage used to be full every time I came in. Looks like business has fallen off quite a bit."

The troll doesn't really get what he's driving at and launches into some speech about how bad it is for the auto industry all over the place and how GM is shutting down all kinds of dealerships. That's true, but business at most repair shops is actually up, because if people aren't buying new cars, they're generally spending more to repair their old ones. What Dad was driving at, of course, was that business was bad at this particular Sears because the troll and his crack staff were less than competent.

Anyway, we finally got everything settled, although apparently the responsibility is on me to get three different estimates for the repairs and then fax them to Sears. Seems like a lot of my time wasted because of their screw-up. The only good thing I'd have to say about the whole situation is that the loss prevention guy, Derek, actually seemed very smart and sympathetic. Oh, and the headlight got fixed. I finally hit the road, although the loss of my antenna had put my radio reception at somewhere around half-capacity, which is just what you want on an eight-hour drive -- one less entertainment option. Thank God for mp3 players. Anyway, I made it, safe and sound. Here's the proof (I'm holding the antenna):

LeBron and Kobe are ruining the NBA

After skipping the entire regular season I started watching the NBA again now that the playoffs are on. I've found that I can probably take another month off from it. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have sucked all the suspense out of the league.

LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers swept a suddenly old and feeble Detroit squad, winning every game by at least 11 points. Kobe's LA Lakers lost one game (by two points) to the Utah Jazz, but were never really in trouble. Their four wins also all came by double digits. It's gotten to the point where LeBron and Kobe are almost impossible to guard and it gives the games a boring inevitability.

The Jazz have a 24-year-old kid named Ronnie Brewer who actually looked like he was doing a good job guarding Kobe. He's 6-foot-7, strong and quick, and he generally didn't give up anything easy. But it still seemed like Kobe was just toying with him:

"OK, I'll just dribble over this way for awhile, then cross over and dribble the other way for awhile, now pick it up and give you a couple head-fakes. Wait, you're still here? Alright, guess I'll just rise up over you and hit a 20-foot fadeaway jumper."

No fair, really. Brewer was in his shirt most of the series and Kobe still averaged more than 27 points a game. Something about Kobe rubs me the wrong way. Part of it has to do with that whole "I'll go ahead and commit adultery with some hotel employee I just met and then buy my wife's love back with a giant diamond" thing. Part of it's just that he seems insufferably smug. I'm not a huge fan of his, but I have to admit, the guy is really good.

But LeBron might be even better. He doesn't toy with defenders so much as overpower them. It hardly seems physically possible that a guy that big and strong (6-foot-8, about 265 pounds of mostly muscle) can also be that quick and agile. If you're defending him and he gets one step ahead of you in the lane you've got three choices: let him go, bear-hug him, or get dunked on. Hard. Detroit had no Ronnie Brewer to even make life a little difficult for LeBron. He averaged 32 points, 11 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the opening round of the playoffs, which are numbers that would make Jordan proud.

The individual dominance of Kobe and LeBron is special, but it's not the kind of basketball I like to watch. My favorite basketball team of all-time was the MidAmerica Nazarene University squad that won an NAIA championship in 2007. It was a group of guys who were very skilled, but not athletic enough to take over a game by themselves, so they had to play together, move the ball and trust each other. I vividly remember a play where one of the Pioneers saved the ball under his own basket and it turned into a fastbreak lay-up on the other end after all five players touched it with only one or two dribbles total. That's the kind of basketball that gets my blood flowing, the old "five pistons, firing as one," as they say in the movie Hoosiers.

After just one week of NBA playoffs I'm already tired of watching LeBron and Kobe dominate people one-on-one. There's a reason there aren't a lot of spectators rushing out to watch people play one-on-one: it's boring. Give me some good old-fashioned NAIA ball any day.

Of course, at this rate LeBron and the Cavs and Kobe and the Lakers are on a collision course to meet in the Finals. Now that could be fun, as long as they guard each other (which probably won't happen very often, because they need to conserve energy for the offensive end). My prediction? Cavaliers top the Lakers in seven games. It's LeBron's time, this year and for the foreseeable future. Which means more boring seasons ahead.

Chiefs vs.Vikings drafts: the safe pick vs. the wild card

Well, the 2009 NFL Draft is over. No, I did not watch the 30-plus hour, wall-to-wall television coverage (I had some more important stuff to do, like stocking up on surgical masks in advance of swine flu and staring off into space). No, I have not read the bios of all 300-plus players. But if, for whatever silly reason, you want to know what I think about how the Chiefs and Vikings did, read on:

Chiefs

I would grade the Chiefs a “B.” In his first draft with the team GM Scott Pioli appears to have gone for big, solid linemen who will probably remain anonymous to all but the most ardent Chiefs fans, but should be able to do their jobs. Not a lot of flash, but some substance. It worked for him in New England, so it’s hard to second-guess him.

But Pioli’s first choice, taking LSU defensive Tyson Jackson with the third overall pick, is still a bit of a head-scratcher. Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, considered by many talking heads to be the top overall player in the draft, was still available, as was Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, who was voted the best wide receiver in college football the last two years running.

Curry has perfect size for his position and was the fastest linebacker at the combine (4.56-second forty-yard dash). He’s considered incredibly versatile, which would seem to make him a natural fit for the Chiefs’ upcoming four-linebacker defensive scheme. Crabtree’s numbers were over-inflated in Texas Tech’s “pass-first-and-ask-questions-later” offense, and he’s not super fast or super big for a receiver, but he’s still a stud. He has freakishly long arms, and vacuum-seal hands that don’t let anything escape. Plus, he runs great routes. He may not be the next Jerry Rice, but he could be the next Isaac Bruce, and that ain’t bad.

It’s hard for me to see passing on either of those guys for Jackson. Jackson is a big dude who may turn out to be a great run-stuffer, but he’s relatively slow for a D-lineman (5.00 forty). He’s probably not going to make a lot of plays unless they’re run right at him. Rest assured, if Carl Peterson had made that pick Chiefs fans would be storming Arrowhead Stadium with torches and pitchforks. Pioli’s gets a pass because of his track record, but he’s risking his honeymoon period. Even if he knew Jackson was the guy he wanted most, he should have traded down to get something else in addition to him. Jackson was between 15 and 20 on most draft boards, so Pioli could have dealt down eight or nine picks and still been pretty confident he’d be there. On the plus side, Jackson is by all accounts a high-character guy who attends church religiously (pun intended). And that’s an underrated strength in the NFL.

Kansas City’s other picks are similar – not flashy, but solid. Alex Magee from Purdue is another run-stuffing D-lineman, just a little bit smaller and even slower than Jackson. Donald Washington (Ohio State) looks like a possible steal in the third round – a cornerback who never made many interceptions but has good size and speed for his position. Colin Brown (Missouri) is gigantic, provides much-needed depth on the O-line and some local flavor. Quentin Lawrence (WR, McNeese State) and Javarris Williams (RB, Tennessee State) are reportedly crazy fast, and I like the idea of taking skill players from small colleges late in the draft. They’re often overlooked and underappreciated. If KC gets anything out of Jake O’Connell (TE, Miami of Ohio) or Mr. Irrelevant, Ryan Succop (K, South Carolina), it’s a bonus.

Vikings

I would grade the Vikings a “C,” with the potential to go up or down, depending on Percy Harvin’s urine tests.

Harvin, of course, is the ultra-talented receiver of questionable character who slipped to the Vikes in the late first round. Sound familiar, Vikings fans? Highly-touted wide receiver with crazy stats, a taste for pot and a history of arrogance and poor sportsmanship? Yes, it is a little reminiscent of Randy Moss, except that Moss is 6-foot-4 and Harvin is 5-foot-11. Harvin is undoubtedly a special athlete, but the Vikings should be a little concerned that they might be getting Ted Ginn, Jr. with a bad attitude.

Another fun fact on Harvin, who somehow got into the U of Florida: he scored a 12 on the Wonderlic test, one of the worst marks of any of this year’s draftees. That roughly corresponds to an IQ of 84, which is troubling, but might explain why Harvin smoked pot a few weeks before the combine, at which he knew there would be mandatory drug testing. Genius, Percy, sheer genius. He was also suspended multiple times in high school, once for bumping a football official and once for fighting a basketball opponent. Promising. Harvin might turn out to be an explosive playmaker who keeps his nose clean, or he might turn out to be a cancer. This is the opposite of a nice, safe, Pioli pick.

Harvin’s talent will also afford him a honeymoon period. At his first Vikings’ press conference, the local media seemed charmed by his gaudy, white Miami Vice-style suit and its accessories (“Oh, he wore gator-skin shoes and he was a Florida Gator in college! How cute!”). To me, it seemed like another repulsive “Look at me!” moment from a guy who has a history of them. With no proven, veteran quarterback to keep him in line, Harvin could be trouble. But maybe Adrian Peterson will rub off on him.

Minnesota’s second-round pick, Oklahoma O-lineman Phil Loadholt, looks safer off the field, and should be solid, if unspectacular on it. He’s a giant: 6-foot-8, 340 pounds, and he faced some pretty good D-lineman, like Brian Orakpo of Texas, in his college days. He’s also slower than molasses going up a hill in January (as my friend Greg used to say), but you kind of expect that from a guy his size. With him, Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson, the Vikes’ O-line should terrorize most defenses with their run-blocking, and terrorize most Old Country Buffetts, as well. Their slowness afoot will leave them vulnerable to pass rushes off the edge, but with Peterson at RB and the two-headed turnover machine of Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson at QB, the Vikes are going to want to keep it on the ground as much as possible anyway.

The Vikings’ other three picks were: Asher Allen (Georgia), an undersized cornerback who says he idolizes Antoine Winfield, which can only be a good thing; Jasper Brinkley (South Carolina), a hard-hitting linebacker with good size and decent speed who seems like a pretty good value for a fifth-rounder and Jamarca Sanford (Ole Miss) a safety who will be lucky to make the team. The Vikes went heavy on the SEC guys, which is a good idea in the early rounds, but you’re probably not going to find many hidden gems from that well-publicized conference in the late rounds.

Allen and Brinkley have potential, though, and Loadholt could end up being a 10-year starter (though probably never a Pro Bowler). But this draft will be remembered for Harvin. That could be a good thing or a really bad thing for Minnesota.

This could be the year for the Royals -- really

Every spring my Kansas City friends say, "You know, I really think the Royals could get back to the playoffs this year." (I'm paraphrasing, and I still used quotes and I know that's wrong, but come on, it's a blog... lighten up). They're joking, but only half-joking. You can see it in their eyes, that little glimmer of hope that accompanies every April, whether you're a spoiled Yankees fan or a long-suffering Royals fan.

Usually I just nod and smile and say something like, "Yeah, you never know, this could be the year. Stranger things have happened." I don't want to crush that glimmer of hope. Of course, what I'm actually thinking is, "Right, the Royals are in the playoffs this year, just as long as all the other teams come down with five-month dystentary."

But this year, when I say this could be the year, I actually mean it. As of Wednesday, the Royals were in a three-way tie for first place in the AL Central and I actually think that could hold up. The three teams at the top were only 7-6 and I think that sort of winning percentage is probably going to be good enough to stay in the race. Win 85 games and you've got a real chance to take the division this year. Win 90 and you're in really good shape.

There's no dominant team in the Central this season. Every squad has flaws. The Twins were picked by many pundits to win it, and, though I'd love to see it happen, I have my doubts. The Twins have five solid starting pitchers, but no dominant ones (unless Francisco Liriano returns to his pre-reconstructive elbow surgery form, which is kind of like asking Hendrix to be the same guitarist after breaking all his fingers.). The Twins also have bullpen questions (aside from Joe Nathan) and not a lot of power in the lineup. Maybe I'm overly pessimistic about them right now because, as I write this, they're getting blasted by the Red Sox. But I just don't see them dominating this division.

Of course, the Twins could still end up on top because no other Central team is particularly scary either. The White Sox have power hitters and a couple good starters, but their on-base percentage could be dismal this year. The Tigers have bought themselves a loaded offense, but haven't proved they can pitch and field consistently enough to be a playoff team. Cleveland has no starting pitching beyond Cliff Lee, who is flaming out like Britney Spears so far this year.

That leaves the Royals, and while they still have weaknesses, they're not nearly as glaring as they used to be. They're still power-starved, but signing Mike Jacobs has helped. He had four homers in his first 13 games as a Royal and, even if his batting average falls below .250 like last year, he'll still be a bargain. The Royals smartly bought power at a time when it had gone out of vogue, getting a 30-homer guy like Jacobs for $3.275 million per year (yes, that's considered a bargain now for a Major League power hitter and yes, that's fairly ridiculous to anyone who has a real job).

Bringing in Coco Crisp was another savvy move. Not only does he have an adorable name that the Kauffman kiddies will love, he also makes KC's outfield defense doubly better. He shores up the centerfield spot and also frees up David DeJesus to go to one of the corner spots, where he's well above average.

So the Royals have some power, but not as much as the White Sox or Tigers. They've improved their fielding, but they're still not up to the Twins' standard in that category. The Royals have something that no one else in the Central has, though: Gil Meche and Zack Greinke. Unless Lee recovers his Cy Young form, they look like they might be the best two starting pitchers in the whole division, and they happen to play for the same team. Right now it looks like no one else in the Central will have a 1-2 punch as good as Meche/Greinke.

I'll be the first to admit I was skeptical when the Royals signed Meche for more than $11 mill. per year. I figured they'd grossly overpaid for a guy who'd only once had an ERA better than 4.48 in six seasons with Seattle. I'll be the first to admit he's proved me wrong. His first two seasons with KC his ERA was 3.67 and 3.98. In his first three starts this season it's 2.25 and he's striking out more than four batters for every one he walks. He looks like a true ace, and yet he hasn't been KC's best pitcher in the first few weeks of 2009.

That honor goes to Greinke, who has been the best pitcher in all the Majors. He's 3-0, has not given up a single run and is striking out more than a batter per inning. His stuff is dominant -- mid-90s fastball with multiple above average breaking pitches -- and he's only 25. I watch Meche's success with a little bit of resentment, because he's making me look foolish for doubting him. But I can't be anything but happy for Greinke. The struggle with depression that nearly derailed his career is well-documented and seeing him overcome it so decisively is inspiring. Watch enough of his interviews and you get the impression he's a really thoughtful guy with a clever, dry sense of humor (for a list of quippy Greinke quotes, check out this site, after you're done reading my blog, of course: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?p=5656495 ).

With Meche and Greinke pitching back-to-back, the Royals have a special slump-stopper. Every other team in the Central is likely to have a five-game losing streak at some point in the season. The Royals may not, simply because Meche and Greinke aren't likely to lose back-to-back games very often. That alone could be the difference in a division race that looks wide-open and likely to be tight.

Let's just say the Royals take advantage of the weak division and make the playoffs. Now let's get crazy. Who's to say KC can't win the whole thing? As a team the Royals are set up even better for the playoffs than the regular season. They can pitch guys on short rest and set up a three-man rotation of Meche, Greinke and Kyle Davies. That way, if a series goes seven games, the Royals have Meche or Greinke on the hill for five of them. Davies, though a bit overshadowed, has been no slouch himself this season, with a three-start ERA of 2.89. With that kind of starting pitching the Royals should be in every game, and would just need a couple timely hits to win.

There probably aren't a whole lot of ESPN-types ready to call the Royals a darkhorse World Series team, but I'll go there. This could be the year. Stranger things have happened. And I'm not just saying that -- this year I actually mean it.

The right way to give Vick a second chance

Last week my brother Dan suggested that our beloved Minnesota Vikings should sign Michael Vick, the former Pro Bowl quarterback who had just been released from Leavenworth penitentiary (in case you've recently developed amnesia, he was convicted of running a large dog-fighting ring).

I disagreed.

What followed was a multi-hour, multi-venue argument (if you're familiar with the Marso Brothers, you know this is not a particularly rare occurrence). As usual, I'm not sure I really expressed my side of the argument very well in the heat of the moment, so here's my attempt to express it more clearly.

First of all, I don't think that Vick is the worst human being in the world, as the militant wing of PETA would have everyone believe. I love dogs, but I don't equate abusing dogs with violence against humans. There's a lot of other pro football players who have done worse in my eyes, like Rae Carruth (murder), Ray Lewis (assault) and Pacman Jones (part of a shooting that left a man paralyzed). Also, Vick was brought up in a rough part of Virginia where human life was relatively cheap, so maybe it shouldn't be terribly surprising that he didn't respect canine life.

That being said, the environment you grow up in and the fact that people you work with are doing horrible things don't excuse your own misdeeds.

Dan's main argument was that Vick has served his time and it's unfair to bar him from pro football, his main source of income. That makes sense to me on a lot of levels. If Vick was a plumber, an electrician, or even a journalist I would say sure, let him have his job back. But I have a problem with letting him be a high-profile NFL player a few months after he was enclosed in one of the most godforsaken places with some of the most anti-social people in the world.

My problem is this: pro athletes are public figures and kids look up to them.

When I was eight years old I got Gary Gaetti's autograph at a Twins game. My parents took a picture of me in my little Twins shirt and hat, staring up at a big, broad-shouldered Major League third baseman. You can see it in the eyes of that little kid in the picture: Gaetti's not a human being to him, he's a superhero.

It's not realistic, of course, to expect pro athletes to be superheroes. But I think we can expect them to follow the law. We need them to follow the law, because a huge part of pro sports is public relations. The more awful pro athletes act off the field, the less likely people will be to pay to watch them, especially in the current economic climate. And let's face it, they've been acting pretty awful lately. There's a reason “you can't spell felony without NFL” has become a popular joke.

I love sports, and I want to see them thrive. Which makes my first instinct to say let's get guys like Vick, Carruth, Lewis and Jones out, and out for good. There's plenty of law-abiding college players who would love to take their jobs. I also think it sends a bad message to kids to essentially say, “It doesn't matter what you did, if you're talented enough you can have your job back as soon as you get out of the pen.”

On the other hand, Dan also said that people deserve second chances and that our justice system is supposed to be about rehabilitation and not just punishment. All of which makes perfect sense to me (as it turns out, my bro makes a lot of good arguments).

So here's my dilemma. I think character counts in sports, and we have a responsibility to make sure our nation's kids have good role models. Like it or not, pro athletes are role models. On the other hand, I agree with Dan, in that we need to give Vick and others like him a path to redemption. It's the human thing to do.

So here's my proposal, specifically for the NFL: every player who commits a felony must complete a one-year rehabilitation program before they take the field. They must sign for the league minimum (still a generous, six-figure salary) and can only participate on the practice squad. At the same time they must perform a set amount of supervised community service – say 500 hours – to prove they can be positive role models.

That way, they can come back to the league, but they have to earn their way back. They're public figures, so they have to re-earn the public trust.

That's what I would have said to Dan regarding Mr. Vick, if I'd taken the time to organize my thoughts properly. I don't want to see him on the field in Viking purple this coming fall. But, given a year of exemplary behavior, he might change my mind.

The shortest dog haircut in history

This is only my second post and I'm already straying from my sports theme. But this was just too funny to exclude from the Internets/web-o-spheres/series of tubes. On Wednesday I took my dog, Baxter, to get a haircut. I had let his hair get pretty long and he was starting to get overheated easily (he's part Lhasa Apso, which is a breed native to Tibet, so even the 75-degree days we've been having in KC lately are a little warm for him).

When I found out they were going to charge me $40 at Petsmart, I told them to cut it really short. I figured that way it would at least be awhile before I had to plunk down $40 again for another dog haircut. The result is a bit ridiculous.

Baxter before haircut:

Baxter after haircut:

Now that is SHORT. It's the kind of haircut that makes me wonder if dogs have any self-awareness. Does Baxter know how ridiculous he looks? Does he feel self-conscious when we go for walks and the other neighborhood dogs see him like this? Does he realize that the haircut has revealed that he has a really small head?

The poor guy seems to be shivering a lot, so hopefully it will warm up soon or I might have to get him one of those ridiculous sweaters, which will make him look even more pitiful.

Anyway, so there's a non-sports post for you. I'll try to tie it to sports, though. My next post will be about the most famous dog-abuser in human history, Michael Vick.

Sometimes it's good to get left out of the NCAA tourney

Missing out on the NCAA tournament this year may end up being the best thing that could have happened to the Kansas women's basketball team. Everybody wants to play in the Big Dance, of course, but the Jayhawks' run to the WNIT championship felt like the start of something special. I was at the title game at Allen Fieldhouse, one of the 16,113 fans who set a Big 12 women's basketball attendance record.

I was also at the semifinal game three days earlier. It was the first time I'd been to consecutive women's games, but it probably won't be the last. The Jayhawks lost in the championship to a poised, veteran South Florida squad 75-71, but the experience was well worth the $8 price of admission. When Kansas cut a big deficit to one possession late in the game, the near-capacity crowd was on its feet and the scoreboard's decibel meter briefly topped 100 – a noise level comparable to a rock concert.

South Florida called timeout, and the P.A. system started blaring ACDC's “Thunderstruck,” with thousands of people chanting along. It was a spine-tingling, goosebump-raising moment usually reserved for football or men's basketball games against big rivals. As we trudged back to the parking lot after South Florida hung on, any disappointment soon faded.

“That was the most fun I've ever had at a women's basketball game,” my younger brother, Dan, said. “And they lost.”

No doubt many other people who were there felt the same way. The KU women came close to duplicating the men's basketball atmosphere, and for a fraction of the cost to the fans. At least some of those fans are likely to come back for more next fall, and there's reason to believe the women can win enough games keep them coming.

This year's squad loses just three seniors: Katie Smith, Marija Zinic and Ivana Catic. Smith and Zinic rarely got off the bench. Catic was a starter, but probably only because highly-touted freshman Angel Goodrich tore her ACL in October, just before the season opener. Catic was a heady point guard with a big heart, but Goodrich, a high school All-American from Oklahoma, should have little problem replacing her athletically and statistically. She was cleared for full participation April 15 after knee surgery and six months of physical therapy.

The Jayhawks should be able to bring Goodrich along slowly next year, considering the veteran group they've got coming back. Two returning starters, Danielle McCray and Sade Morris, will be seniors. The other two, Nicollette Smith and Krysten Boogaard, will be juniors.

Boogaard is a 6-foot-5 center who can be a dominant force on the occasions when she decides to hit the glass hard and go up strong around the basket. Smith is the rare 6-foot-2 women's player who can light it up from 3-point range, though she's been streaky her first two seasons. Both may find it hard to hold on to their starting spots with freshman Aishah Sutherland, an irrepressible 6-foot-2 uber-athlete, coming on strong. Sutherland runs like a gazelle, consistently makes 15-foot jumpers and reportedly can dunk. She had 12 points and 9 rebounds in the WNIT championship.

Morris and McCray – known somewhat confusingly as 'De and 'D' to their teammates – may be the best tandem in the Big 12 next year. Morris is a long, lean guard with sweet mid-range shooting touch who averaged 12.7 points and was the Jayhawks' top perimeter defender this season. McCray has established herself as quite simply one of the best college players in the country. She averaged 21.6 points and 7.7 rebounds on the season, set the WNIT scoring record, was named First Team All-Big 12 and honorable mention All-America.

McCray is 5-foot-11, muscular and can shoot the 3. Too quick for most interior defenders and too strong for most perimeter defenders, she's a match-up nightmare and should be on everyone's short list for 2009-2010 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.

Aside from Morris, McCray and Goodrich, the Jayhawks will also have athletic point guard LaChelda Jacobs and capable outside shooter Kelly Kohn to provide backcourt depth. With seven of their top eight players set to return, the Jayhawks will bring back as much talent as any of the six teams that finished ahead of them in the conference this year. Competing for a Big 12 championship doesn't seem out of the question.

It will be a crucial season for coach Bonnie Henrickson. She's taken some heat for having a big contract and not getting the team into the NCAA tourney, but it's still only her fifth year, which means she's only recently gotten to work with players who were all recruited by her. It's been two steps forward and one step back for much of her tenure, but some of the hardships, like Goodrich's injury, have been out of her hands.

Henrickson is building a strong recruiting presence in eastern Kansas, finally drawing some of the state's top talent away from Kansas State. McCray was a product of Olathe East and high-potential Lawrence High forward Tania Jackson will be a KU freshman next year. Henrickson is also a solid game coach. Her three top scorers – McCray, Morris and Boogaard – were in serious foul trouble against South Florida, but Henrickson juggled her line-up and had them all available to make that thrilling run late in the game.

Even though that run came up short, it's hard to overstate how important it was. Getting blown out at home in front of 16,000 fans would have been devastating. Instead those fans got a little taste of what it's like to watch a close, hard-fought, meaningful women's game. For many of them, it might be just an appetizer.

It's doubtful this new fan support would have materialized if Kansas had climbed out of the bubble and crept into the NCAA tournament. Realistically, the Jayhawks might have won one game in the NCAAs, maybe two if everything aligned in their favor. They really weren't ready, as their struggles against ranked teams showed. Instead they got the experience of playing five must-win games in 12 days. They got to play four of those games at home, which would not have happened in the NCAAs.

The Kansas women still have to follow up on it next year. But the stage is set, and it's all because the Jayhawks got left out of the NCAA tournament. They may be the best advertisement for the WNIT in that tournament's history.