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Parity? Not So Much
Charlie's Corner
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Much is made about the parity that exists in college basketball, especially in Big 12 Men’s play. True enough but if we take a look at the Western Athletic Conference, (WAC) in Kansas high school play, that parity is mostly missing, especially in boys action.
Hays High and Liberal are rocking along at 13-2 and 11-4 respectively as we head into Friday night action. The rest of the league, Dodge City, Great Bend and Garden City are struggling to keep their heads above water. Dodge City is 7-9, Garden City 5-11 and Great Bend 3-12. Ventures outside of league play are not pretty.
Dodge City did win on Tuesday evening but that was against a not-so-good Ulysses team. Great Bend was dismantled by a good McPherson team, 67-34.
In girls play Dodge City is 11-5 and the Great Bend Black Panthers are 9-6. Liberal is 8-7, Hays 6-8 and Garden City 6-10. Due to travel concerns, a lot of Liberal’s games are played against teams from smaller communities. That isn’t necessarily a good thing because most small communities take their basketball more serious than bigger towns. Recently at the Pratt Tournament of Champions, the two poorest teams there were from Kansas City and Wichita.
The point here is that this is not a banner year in basketball for the WAC but there are a lot of good basketball teams in the area, especially when you look at the Central Kansas League and the Central Prairie League.
The Hays High boys and Liberal might make some noise come tournament time while Dodge City and Great Bend have a shot at state tournament action on the girls side of the ledger. With only four games remaining before tournament play coaches know what their teams are and what they are not.  
Let’s hope your team can make a run.
CHALK TALK
Viewership of this year’s Super Bowl was down compared to the past two years. Probably not so in Western Kansas and Colorado because of the Broncos but the east coast went “Ho Hum.” That certainly was my reaction to the much ballyhooed commercials and the halftime show. If I can’t figure out what the heck they are advertising in a commercial they’ve got a problem and that is the case with most of them! The halftime show? Usually a vivid picture of the downward spiral of our culture. Old Fogey? I hope so!
K-State may be down in the Big 12 standings but Manhattan is not an easy win for anybody. The Cats took down Oklahoma and took Iowa State and West Virginia into overtime in close losses. Young teams struggle on the road but watch out on their home courts!
Here’s how crazy this “signing day” for high school athletes to sign their letters-of-intent to play college football has become. On Feb. 3, there were actually 19 television stations around the country  that broadcast the silly signings of high school athletes announcing that they would play for old “Swamee Tech.” Of course all of the ESPN’s various stations were involved along with a lot of others. Does the word “OVERKILL” come to mind? The Romans and the Gladiators? It’s enough to make one run away from home!