Morning Brew: Tryout opportunities aplenty

By Case Keefer

Friday, October 3, 2008

Dig through your closet and find your athletic shoes from high school, because it’s time to revive your career.

The calendar just flipped to October — the month of open tryouts. If you think you’re good enough to play basketball at an elite collegiate level or tough enough to play professional football, you’re in luck.

Let’s start with the team almost everyone would love to be a part of. The Kansas basketball team will hold walk-on tryouts Sunday, Oct. 26.

Anyone who wants to participate needs to pick up an information packet from the men’s basketball office in Allen Fieldhouse before Wednesday, Oct. 15.

If you’ve got hoop skills, don’t pass on this tryout thinking you don’t stand a chance. It’s worth it. Just ask Brad Witherspoon.

Witherspoon played on the basketball team for the past two seasons after earning a spot through one of these open tryouts. Witherspoon exhausted his eligibility but left with a championship ring.

Not to mention his popularity on campus skyrocketed and the Kansan featured a “Witherspoon Meter” every game day, which ranked the probability of him playing that night.

If your glory came on the gridiron instead of the hardwood, don’t worry. The Arena Football League’s Kansas City Brigade will hold its open tryouts Sunday, Oct. 12 at the Kansas City Soccer Dome.

You can register on the team’s official Web site and will receive a discount if you do it by Wednesday, Oct. 8. Just think — you could be teammates with Quincy Carter, former Georgia great and the Brigade’s starting quarterback.

The Brigade also held a tryout for their dance team that started yesterday. Although it’s too late to apply, the finals will be held Friday, Oct. 10 at the Ameristar Casino and are open to the public.

WACKY WEEKEND

IN THE BIG 12

Six Big 12 teams are ranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Yet, none of them will play each other Saturday.

How is that even possible? If all six of the favorites win, the Big 12 will really be a juggernaut in next week’s poll. But the odds are against that. This is college football. Count on at least one upset in the Big 12 this weekend.

The most likely Top 25 Big 12 team to fall? I’d say Missouri traveling to Nebraska. The Tigers haven’t won at Memorial Stadium in 30 years and Nebraska coach Bo Pelini is desperate for a trademark victory to kick off his tenure.

The most likely Top 25 Big 12 team to roll? Oklahoma State playing Texas A&M at home. The Aggies are in complete disarray and barely slipped by Army last week. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is the most surprising team in the conference and has destroyed everyone standing in its way.

WORLD SERIES PICK?

Sure, Major League Baseball playoffs are what October is all about.

I’ll take the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox to be playing for the title. The Phillies power their way to a seventh game triumph at Fenway Park.

— Edited by Kelsey Hayes

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