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Articles by Matt Lunsford
Mens National Gymnastics Semifinals
Last week, a special feature was published of tips on how to save at the grocery store. The goal is to cut costs on items you are already purchasing, but make it simple. Saving Money on a Weekly Grocery Trip Can Be Easy! Here's How The items pictured were actual purchases and the last photo highlighted additional deals, at both Kroger and Publix, that may be beneficial to the majority. Did you find this helpful? Let us know in the comments how it was helpful and/or how it can be improved!
NCAA Gymnastics: Mens National Gymnastics Semifinals
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NCAA Basketball: VCU at Dayton
Last week, a special feature was published of tips on how to save at the grocery store. The goal is to cut costs on items you are already purchasing, but make it simple. Saving Money on a Weekly Grocery Trip Can Be Easy! Here's How The items pictured were actual purchases and the last photo highlighted additional deals, at both Kroger and Publix, that may be beneficial to the majority. Did you find this helpful? Let us know in the comments how it was helpful and/or how it can be improved!
Fordham at Dayton
Happy Valentine's Day! A day to celebrate love and that special someone. If you mark the occasion, what is your go-to gift? Traditional style with flowers and chocolate or something else? Alternatively, are you a couple that opts out of Valentine's Day? Let us know!
George Washington at Dayton
Four teams will battle it out in the NFL Playoff Conference Title Games this weekend. Detroit Lions take on San Francisco 49ers. Kansas City Chiefs take on Baltimore Ravens. The winners will advance and play in Super Bowl LVIII. What are your predictions for football's biggest match-up on Feb. 11?
NCAA Football: Iowa State at Ohio
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Braid 'Frame & Canvas' Special on Apple Podcasts
Whether you hailed from Gainesville, Grand Forks or Green Bay in the late 90's, it wasn't rare to hear criss-crossing vocal shouts, razor-sharp guitars and drums with jazz-like precision, all blasting out of your local VFW hall. That's partly thanks to Braid, four modest Midwesterners who funneled their obsessions with Fugazi, Jawbox and Gauge through a roulette wheel of glorious rhythmic shifts and six-string swan dives.
Chris Klieman upset about targeting penalty on Texas that injured Kansas State WR Wykeen Gill
Chris Klieman is frustrated and upset about multiple parts of a targeting penalty called on Texas defensive back Jalen Green in the fourth quarter of last week’s game. He didn’t like that a flag wasn’t thrown initially. He didn’t like that it wasn’t going to be reviewed until he said something to the officiating crew.
Kansas State tight end Sammy Wheeler tears ACL, will miss rest of season
Kansas State’s depth at tight end will be thinner for the remainder of the year. Sammy Wheeler, a redshirt freshman, tore his ACL during the team’s 38-10 win over Kansas on Nov. 2. Kansas State head coach Klieman said the injury occurred on a non-contact play late in the first half. “It’s unfortunate,” Klieman said. “(I’m) really sad and sick for Sammy, because he was coming on and really playing good football for us.
Bruce Weber updates status of 2 injured Kansas State forwards
Kansas State will continue to play without a pair of reserve forwards for at least the next few weeks. Fourth-year junior James Love III and third-year sophomore Nigel Shadd missed both of the Wildcats' preseason exhibitions. And they won't be available for Tuesday's regular-season opener against North Dakota State, either. During a press conference Monday, Weber said he feels more optimistic about Shadd than Love. "Nigel's probably (going to be back) a little quicker than James," Weber said.
K-State hosts third KSUnite Wednesday
K-State will cancel classes Wednesday afternoon for its third KSUnite, the annual event in which the university community reaffirms its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Most classes between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Wednesday are cancelled to give students, faculty and other K-State community members the chance to go to the event, but attendance is not mandatory.
Game time, broadcast partner for K-State/Texas in holding pattern
Kansas State football has a time and television channel set for next week's trip to Austin, Texas. At least, in a sense. The Big 12 Conference and its television partners announced Monday that the game, which will be played Nov. 9 contest, had been placed on a six-day waiting list. The kickoff time and TV station will be announced Sunday. What is known: The contest will begin at either 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m., and will air on either FS1, ABC or ESPN.
Kickoff time set for Sunflower Showdown
Kansas State and Kansas will tee it up in the afternoon in this year's edition of the Sunflower Showdown. In a joint announcement from the Big 12 and Fox Sports Monday, it was revealed that the the game between the Wildcat and Jayhawks will begin at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. The contest will be televised nationally on FS1. The Sunflower Showdown is the fourth-longest uninterrupted series in FBS history.
Kansas State men's basketball picked to finish 9th in Big 12 preseason poll
If Kansas State's men's basketball team goes on to have a good season in 2019-20, it will have exceeded the expectations of Big 12 coaches. That's because the league's head coaches don't expect much out of the Wildcats this year. In the conference's preseason coaches poll, voted on by the coaches and released Thursday, K-State was picked to finish ninth in the 10-team league. The only team below the Wildcats in the preseason poll is TCU.
Kansas State baseball homers 8 times in 18-3 rout of Johnson County Community College
Kansas State's baseball team got off to a smashing start to its fall slate Thursday. The Wildcats launched eight home runs, routing Johnson County Community College 18-3 in a 12-inning exhibition game at Tointon Family Stadium. “Eight home runs by seven different guys,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said in a release. “That kind of describes our team this year: our depth. If you want to be good at this level, you’ve got to be deep, and I think we showed our depth today.
K-State baseball announces 2020 schedule
Kansas State will christen the newly renovated Tointon Family Stadium on Feb. 28, 2020. It will be one of 28 home games for the Wildcats’ 2020 baseball schedule, which head coach Pete Hughes announced Tuesday. “The most important goal when formulating a schedule is making sure it will provide a national-tournament-worthy résumé,” Hughes, entering his second year as K-State’s head coach, said in a release.
Kansas State expanding alcohol sales to include Bramlage Coliseum
Kansas State fans will have an opportunity to enjoy beer at basketball games this coming season. The K-State Athletics department announced Wednesday that it will begin offering sales of beer and wine in all public areas of Bramlage Coliseum during men’s and women’s basketball games in the 2019-20 seasons. Bramlage Coliseum will become the third K-State athletics venue in which fans can purchase alcohol.
What's the next step for Kansas State sophomore guard Shawn Williams?
Shawn Williams wasn't asked to do much last season. Williams, then a true freshman guard, was part of a senior-laden Kansas State men's basketball roster, which leaned on the trio of Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade to do most of the heavy lifting. To a lesser extent, the Wildcats counted on Makol Mawien, Xavier Sneed, Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl. So Williams — who then went by Neal-Williams, but has since dropped the former name — found minutes where he could.
Offseason took physical, mental toll on Kansas State men's basketball team
Bruce Weber could tell Xavier Sneed wasn't himself the first month of June. And it worried Weber. At the time, Sneed was just days removed from making one of the most stressful decisions of his life: returning to Kansas State for his senior season instead of remaining in the NBA draft pool.
How John Holcombe II's transfer affects Kansas State's quarterback depth chart
Courtney Messingham didn't sense John Holcombe II was unhappy at Kansas State. So when Holcombe, a redshirt freshman quarterback, announced Tuesday night that he was transferring out of the program, Messingham admits the news blindsided him. "I was somewhat caught off guard," Messingham, the Wildcats' first-year offensive coordinator, said Thursday, "and surprised.” With Holcombe moving on, K-State now has to adjust its quarterback depth chart.
Quote Roundup: Kansas State coordinators, position coaches evaluate their groups a third of the way through the season
Kansas State is one-third of the way through its regular season. Four games int the Chris Klieman era, how are various units of the team coming along? The Mercury asked the Wildcats' coordinators and some of the position coaches who were made available this week for their thoughts. SCOTTIE HAZELTON, defensive coordinator On the play of the defense as a whole ... "I think we're coming along with our effort. There are certain guys who, from Game 1, have really embraced it, and that's really good.
'That's just the way it is': Kansas State QBs coach Collin Klein, teammates surprised at John Holcombe II's transfer
Collin Klein, Dalton Schoen and Landry Weber all had the same reaction when they first heard the news John Holcombe II announced he was leaving Kansas State. They were surprised. Of the trio, which met with reporters Wednesday, Klein was the least astonished, and most well informed, about Holcombe's decision to depart. Holcombe announced his plans Tuesday night on Twitter. "We sat down and had a conversation," said Klein, who tutors the Wildcats' quarterbacks and was Holcombe's position coach.
Kansas State volleyball battles, but can’t topple Texas Tech in 3-0 loss
On so many occasions Wednesday night, Kansas State did everything right against Texas Tech. Made a slick dig. Placed the ball well on kills. Dove for balls, even, and prolonged sets that never seemed to end. The problem for the Wildcats: the Red Raiders could say the same. Texas Tech claimed a clean 3-0 (33-31, 25-21, 25-20) sweep of K-State, though the final score doesn’t tell the story, not necessarily. “I think that was a frustrating performance on our end,” K-State coach Suzie Fritz said.
BREAKING: Kansas State quarterback John Holcombe II entering transfer portal
John Holcombe II's time at Kansas State has come to an end. Holcombe, who battled for the team's backup quarterback spot alongside Nick Ast throughout the spring and preseason camp, announced Tuesday night that he was entering the NCAA's transfer portal. Holcombe announced the news in a message posted on his personal Twitter account. After thanking the Wildcats' fan base, his coaches, fellow students and professors, Holcombe said he was departing Manhattan.
Kansas State wide receiver Malik Knowles 'week to week' with lower-body injury
Malik Knowles' availability in the near future remains murky. Knowles, Kansas State's leading receiver entering last week, didn't travel with the team for its last game, a 26-13 loss at Oklahoma State. During his postgame press conference, head coach Chris Klieman said he wasn't sure how long Knowles would be out. That hasn't changed. “I do not have any more clarity," Klieman said during his weekly press conference Tuesday. "It truly will be a week-to-week deal.
Kansas State quarterback John Holcombe II entering transfer portal
John Holcombe II's time at Kansas State has come to an end. Holcombe, who battled for the team's backup quarterback spot alongside Nick Ast throughout the spring and preseason camp, announced Tuesday night that he was entering the NCAA's transfer portal. Holcombe announced the news in a message posted on his personal Twitter account. After thanking the Wildcats' fan base, his coaches, fellow students and professors, Holcombe said he was departing Manhattan.
Kansas State wide receiver Malik Knowles 'week to week' with lower-body injury
Malik Knowles' availability in the near future remains murky. Knowles, Kansas State's leading receiver entering last week, didn't travel with the team for its last game, a 26-13 loss at Oklahoma State. During his postgame press conference, head coach Chris Klieman said he wasn't sure how long Knowles would be out. That hasn't changed. “I do not have any more clarity," Klieman said during his weekly press conference Tuesday. "It truly will be a week-to-week deal.
As scandal rocks college basketball again, Kansas State's Bruce Weber continues to stress doing things 'the right way'
Bruce Weber prefers not to comment when approached about a subject he doesn't know enough about. That's what he did in an interview Thursday, when talk turned to the latest scandals roiling the college basketball world. Kansas received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA on Monday that cited three Level I violations — the most serious in the NCAA's by-laws — and leveled a responsibility charge against the Jayhawks' legendary Hall of Fame head coach, Bill Self.
View From the Other Side(line): Q&A with Mississippi State beat writer Tyler Horka
Kansas State is exactly where it hoped it would be after two games of the Chris Klieman era: undefeated. But those victories came against overmatched opponents: first Nicholls from the FCS, then Bowling Green from the Mid-American Conference. K-State steps up a few levels in terms of quality Saturday, when it faces Mississippi State on the road. The Bulldogs won going away last season, topping the Wildcats 31-10 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Will Kansas State be down 2 starters on defense against Mississippi State?
Just days before Kansas State's road opener, the status of two of its most important players on defense remains unclear. Defensive end Wyatt Hubert and defensive back Walter Neil Jr. — both starters at their respective positions — left last week's game against Bowling Green with undisclosed injuries. Neither reentered the contest, which K-State won going away in a 52-0 rout. Afterward, Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman said Neil's injury wasn't serious.
Kansas State in 'wait and see' with DE Wyatt Hubert
Injured Kansas State defensive end Wyatt Hubert’s status is still uncertain heading into Saturday’s game at Mississippi State. K-State head coach Chris Klieman said Monday that the Wildcats were in a “wait-and-see” mode with Hubert, who left last week’s win over Bowling Green in the first half and did not return. “We haven’t met with the guys yet,” Klieman said during his time on the Big 12 coaches teleconference Monday.
K-State volleyball extends win streak, claims four-set win over Central Arkansas
Suzie Fritz didn’t think her Kansas State squad played its best volleyball Saturday night. The good news for the Wildcats was that they still played well enough to win. K-State dispatched Central Arkansas, 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15), completing a 3-0 K-State Invitational over the weekend at Bramlage Coliseum. “I thought we were a little flat,” Fritz said. “We got better as we went, which was kind of a hallmark of the weekend, I think, for us.
Kansas State coach Chris Klieman updates status of injured defenders Wyatt Hubert, Walter Neil
Kansas State won easily Saturday, beating Bowling Green 52-0. But it didn't come without a potential cost. The Wildcats had two defenders go down with injuries in the first half. The two players — defensive end Wyatt Hubert and defensive back Walter Neil Jr. — didn't return. After the shutout victory, K-State head coach Chris Klieman updated their status. Klieman said he had "no information" on Hubert, a third-year sophomore from Topeka.
Injuries won't slow down Kansas State's offensive line
There's no indication Scott Frantz won't play Saturday. But there's no evidence to the contrary, either. Frantz, a senior offensive lineman for Kansas State, has been a mainstay in the lineup the past three seasons. Every game the last three years, plus last week's opener versus Nicholls — 39 contests in all — he's started at left tackle for the Wildcats. But in the middle of the first half against the Colonels, he left with an undisclosed injury.
City gives owner three months to clean flooded La Hacienda, Golden Wok property
Plans to raze the building that formerly housed La Hacienda and Golden Wok Buffet restaurants are now on hold after the Manhattan City Commission gave the property owner three months to clean up or remove the building. Exactly a year after the Labor Day flooding destroyed several businesses near Wildcat Creek in west Manhattan, city administrators came to the commission Tuesday with a request to declare the building on the east side of the Plaza West Shopping Center at 3003 Anderson Ave.
K-State football puts 3 on scholarship
Chris Klieman helped three Kansas State football players’ dreams come true during preseason camp. Running back Tyler Burns, offensive lineman Noah Johnson and wide receiver Landry Weber are all on scholarship, with Klieman, in his first season as K-State’s head coach, awarding the trio earlier this month. Weber and Johnson joined the program as walk-ons, while Burns had played for the Wildcats in 2016 and 2017 under former head coach Bill Snyder before leaving.
How Phillip Brooks became Kansas State's top return man heading into 2019 season
Weeks before Phillips Brooks officially became Kansas State's go-to option in the return game, he was confident. At the team's media day Aug. 9, he said he'll willingly take on the role. "I’d love to be that guy just to help my team out," he said. "So I’d have no problem being that guy.” Before taking a redshirt, Brooks had a handful of opportunities in the return game last year. He returned three kickoffs for 56 years and had one punt return for six yards.
Matt Schreiber, Blue Valley gain numbers following strong season
In a perfect world, Matt Schreiber would have 17 or 18 players on his football team at Blue Valley High School in Randolph. Realistically, that number will be at around 15 this fall, and that’s still exciting considering the circumstances in 2018, when the Rams has nine players on the roster in eight-man football. “Last year, with nine guys, we couldn’t even have a self scrimmage,” Schreiber said. “We are excited.
Who is Kansas State's vocal leader on defense?
When Justin Hughes tore his ACL this spring, Kansas State didn't just lose one of its starting linebackers. It lost the undisputed vocal leader of the defense. Four months later, the Wildcats still are working to find that voice. And it hasn't been easy. "Justin Hughes was that guy throughout spring ball," head coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday. "It was so late when he got injured that we’re still trying to identify it.” With the opener against Nicholls three days away, the role is in a state of flux.
Skylar Thompson isn’t K-State football’s team barber, but he’s getting there client by client
Late last week, when Kansas State’s football team was holding a weightlifting session in preparation for the upcoming season, senior defensive back Denzel Goolsby strolled into the room with a question for fellow defensive back Walter Neil Jr. “Bro, do I look good?” Goolsby asked Neil. “Yeah, bro,” Neil replied, a tad confused. “You look straight.” Goolsby was asking because the day prior, he became the first subject of starting quarterback Skylar Thompson’s new hobby: cutting hair.
Kansas State releases 1st depth chart under Chris Klieman
Kansas State football provided clarity Monday with its season opener on tap later this week. The Wildcats released their first depth chart under new head coach Chris Klieman Monday. Ball State graduate transfer James Gilbert, who joined K-State in the spring, will get the starting nod at running back when the team takes on Nicholls at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Bruce Weber adds 3 to Kansas State men's basketball coaching staff
Bruce Weber altered the Kansas State men's basketball coaching staff Monday. Weber, entering his eighth season with the program, made a trio of moves, promoting Mike Furlong to director of student-athlete development and adding of Jordan Henriquez-Roberts, Mason Schoen and Nate Michael as graduate student managers. Furlong spent the past two seasons as the Wildcats' video coordinator.
Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson finally comfortable after 'difficult' 2018 season
ARLINGTON, Texas — Skylar Thompson doesn’t say it with a hint of rudeness or arrogance. It comes across as open and honest. Describing how difficult last season was, he said, is one thing. But to truly understand it, he said you would have to be in a similar situation. Such is life in the fishbowl being a quarterback at a high-profile football school. That’s doubly true when a battle for the starting job seemingly never ends.
Wildcats senior Kyle Ball juggling leadership, recovery and gameplan
Kyle Ball’s numbers last season don’t necessarily jump off the page. Sixteen tackles (four for loss). Two sacks. Five quarterback hurries. But they were good enough to earn an All-Big 12 honorable mention accolade, which is significant considering Ball wasn’t entirely pleased with how his 2018 campaign unfolded. “I got to start last year, and I was really excited,” said Ball, a senior defensive end for Kansas State.
Wildcats soccer draws with Omaha
Kansas State soccer played to a draw on the road against Omaha on Sunday at Caniglia Field, marking the third time in four seasons the team has played in an overtime match in the opening weekend. The Wildcats haven’t won in 11 consecutive matches, including six straight losses on the road. “The effort and the energy we had Friday night wasn’t there and we were a little zapped,” Kansas State head coach Mike Dibbini said in a release. “I didn’t feel like we had it consistently today.
How Kansas State OC Courtney Messingham feels 2 weeks into preseason camp
As Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham assessed the team’s preseason camp two weeks in — the Wildcats reported Aug. 1 and held their first session the following day — he took a level approach. The good: K-State is “well ahead” of where it started. The bad? “We’re a long ways away from being ready for gameday,” Messingham said in a post-practice interview Thursday.
Wildcats extend women's basketball coach Jeff Mittie
Jeff Mittie is a popular guy within the Kansas State athletics program as the women's basketball head coach, and he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Mittie agreed to a two-year contract extension that stretches through the 2023-24 season, as announced Friday morning by Director of Athletics Gene Taylor. The Wildcats have reached the NCAA tournament in three of the last four seasons under Mittie.
Kansas State running back touches likely by committee
There is a semblance of separation at the running back position for Kansas State. The line of demarcation is experience. “The separation is the older guys versus the young guys," K-State running backs coach Brian Anderson said in a post-practice interview Tuesday.
Kansas State starting DE Reggie Walker battling injury
One of Kansas State's top defenders won't be able to fully participate in practice in the next few days. Fifth-year senior defensive end Reggie Walker, K-State's lone selection on the preseason All-Big 12 team, didn't take part in Monday's session. During a post-practice press conference Monday, head coach Chris Klieman revealed the nature of Walker's injury. "He turned an ankle during the last week of summer conditioning," Klieman said.
What to look for as Kansas State football reports for camp
Less than a month remains until Kansas State football takes the field for the first game under new head coach Chris Klieman. The run-up to the Aug. 31 opener against Nicholls begins Thursday, with players reporting back for the beginning of preseason camp. The Wildcats will hold their first practice Friday. And then on Monday, Klieman will meet with media members. Here are a few storylines to follow as the 2019 campaign draws ever closer.
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