Martin proving to be great hire for K-State

When Kansas State hired basketball coach Frank Martin following the one and done season of Bob Huggins, school officials and fans really had little clue what they were getting other than a man known as a good recruiter with a fiery temper.

Three years in and they know they like what they’ve got.  Monday night Martin and his Wildcats knocked off number one ranked Texas on K-State’s home court and served notice that they are a team to contend with for the Big 12 title and a trip to the Final Four.

The amazing thing about the 71-62 victory over the Longhorns was that the Wildcats didn’t really play that well.  Outstanding guard tandem Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen were a combined 4 of 24 from the field but were bailed out by the stellar play on the inside of UConn transfer Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels, who had 17 and 20 respectively.

After a first half where the Wildcats overpowered Texas big front line, beat them up defensively and raced to a 10 point lead, they worked to blow it all in the opening minutes of the second half.  But Martin stayed calm and his team weathered the storm even though they did fall behind with just under 12 minutes to play.

Just when it appeared K-State might fold, it was the Longhorns who cracked under the pressure.  While the Cats spent much of the second half taking questionable shots and mishandling the ball, they kept hustling on defense and played hard.  Most coaches will tell you, that will over overcome a lot of problems.

In the end, Martin’s club recorded possibly the biggest win in school history and assured his club of moving up from the 10th spot in the national rankings.  Lofty territory for a school who has struggled to return to relevancy after years in the basketball wilderness.  Credit Martin for the basketball version of the Miracle in Manhattan.  Who knows where they’ll go from here.  

Favre making Viking fans happy in the frozen north

The Minnesota Vikings are headed to the NFC Championship game.  It’s exactly what everybody was hoping for the day Brad Childress jumped in his vehicle and personally picked Brett Favre up at the airport back in August.

The 40 year old QB was at his best against the Cowboys, tossing four touchdown passes without a turnover as the Vikes manhandled Dallas 34-3.  Brett hit them deep, short and everywhere else as Sidney Rice hauled in three of the scoring passes tying an NFL playoff record.

The Minnesota defense put together the type performance they are capable on any weekend as they held Dallas to a field goal, the fewest points they’ve ever allowed in a playoff game.  Ray Edwards recorded three sacks while the Vikes hounded Tony Romo with six total as well as two forced fumbles and an interception.  When left tackle Flozell Adams went down with a knee injury, Jared Allen and company turned up the heat.

For any Dallas fans who wanted to scream at the Minnesota bench like Keith Brooking did when Favre tossed his fourth TD pass with 1:55 to play....Get a life.  This is professional football, not Pee Wee.  If you didn’t like it Cowboys, you should have stopped them.  They had a chance all day and didn’t do it.

Even former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson told everyone to back off the Vikings. Payback may be a bitch some day, but Favre and the Vikings are headed to New Orleans to play the Saints for a shot at the Super Bowl.  Do you think they care right now?

Jets make me eat my words

Okay, so I was wrong about the Chargers.  The good news is I wasn’t alone.  The Jets pulled the stunner of the weekend when they shocked San Diego in Southern California 17-14 to advance to the AFC Championship game.

I give all the credit in the world to Rex Ryan and his team.  They had a game plan that they executed to near perfection.  Despite the fact San Diego should have led by much more, the score was just 7-0 at the half.  The Jets had weathered half the game, stayed within reach and the Chargers were play into their hands. 

Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer stayed patient with the running game while the New York defense kept the Chargers and Philip Rivers off balance by mixing their blitz packages.  By late in the first half rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez seemed to have settled down and gotten into the flow of the game.  

The Jets didn’t ask him to do much and with 100 yards passing, he didn’t.  But with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, he made a great pass to Dustin Keller for a TD and Shonn Greene burst for a 53 yard score and iced the win.  

Blame the Chargers for a poor game plan and Norv Turner for a bonehead onside kick decision in the final two and a half minutes, but the Jets deserved this win.  Now they have to go to Indianapolis to play Peyton Manning and the Colts.  Just like the Ravens, if the Jets can’t show more of a passing attack than the 93 yard performance they had against the Chargers, their road to the Super Bowl will be halted in Indiana.