@approxinfinity said in 2026 Transfer Portal Chaos/Madness Thread:

In all seriousness i stopped in ames when i drove across the country after college. Met some kids at a bar, hung out at their place, played guitar with them, slept on their couch and headed on my way in the morning. Ames is alright in my book.

Now that @approxinfinity has opened that can of worms ... i'll share my cross country story about Chattanooga, Tennessee.

After my sophomore year at KU (during the Danny era), me and my friends from the East Coast decided to all get summer jobs on the Hilton Head island golf courses and have a fun summer.

I packed up my tiny car, a Triumph Spitfire if that rings a bell to anybody, and headed East. I made it as far as Chattanooga, and my car speedometer and tachometer both hit zero, in the middle of rush hour. Then they instantly went back up to normal. I'm thinking...ok, that's weird. A few miles later, same thing. BAM! both went back to zero, and some smoke started coming out of my hood. This can't be good!

I pulled over as quickly as i could, thankfully near a highway exit, and frantically tossed all my stuff out of the car onto a hillside as my car was engulfed in flames!

This was all pre cell phone days, so i stuck out my thumb and hoped somebody would give me a ride to a pay phone. Soon enough, a young University of Tennessee college kid my age stopped and drove me over to a 7-11 down the hill. I called 911, told em where i was and what was happening, and about 10 seconds later heard and saw sirens above me on the freeway.

Long story short, he was kind enough to see i was screwed in every way possible, so he said f*ck it, come stay with me and my roommates this weekend. We'll hit all the parties we can, get all liquored up and have a good time!

I'll forever be grateful for the kindness shown at the University of Tennessee.

Yahoo team ranking story says this about the Chiefs:

15 — The overreaction to the Chiefs’ season will be fierce. People have been dying to dunk on the NFL’s current dynasty, and now is their chance. No, the Chiefs don’t need a full rebuild. They just haven’t won close games. Kansas City is still the No. 7 team in DVOA this season after Sunday’s loss, ahead of teams like Denver, Buffalo, Philadelphia and New England. Haters will get in their licks now. Level-headed people will understand it’s just an unlucky season for a team that’s still good.

Yea, like with many others, it’s been a rough year with loss and family tears.

Just lost my poor mom.

Not fully paying attention to the world outside my immediate focus, but still attempting to track roster construction.

Hoping by the time my misery clears, we’ll have a full team of players to discuss.

Cheers to all.

A friend had an alternate theory on DP that I hadn’t heard.

He’s simply bored with college ball.

I'm seeing Flory mentioned more and more in mock drafts this year.
Good for him. I still think he's way undersized (no freaking way he's 6-10), and needs more offensive game to have a consistent NBA career.
we can dream, right?

Yea, i listened to some of that Dickie V / Barkley game. Honestly, it's not about the game to them. They toss out a generic phrase about a player here and there, but generally not great to listen to. Dickie V is past tense as a broadcaster IMO.

Looks like the USA got a great group draw.

Paraguay, Australia and the winner of a three-team playoff.

The Australians aren’t a pushover, but all our games are winnable.

I hear others saying England is in the group of death, but I don’t see any really crazy groups.

@crimsonblu22 said in 2026 Transfer Portal Chaos/Madness Thread:

@rockchalkjayhawk is there a rest of the story?

Ha, for sure. Left out lots during and after!

I think the next day i somehow caught a flight down to south carolina, but how i got all my belongings there is a distant memory.

One of my buddies picked me up at the airport and took me to our rented condo (with cable we stole from the unit next door). they were bummed about my car, because it would have been one of our main means of transportation for the summer.

A few days later we simply walked into the Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club and asked for jobs. As luck would have it, they needed greenskeepers and general workers for the golf courses they had. Three if i recall. We mowed the greens every day, cleaned up the bunkers, cut trees, you name it. There was one hole you had to be very careful when mowing the greens and grass ... there was a cranky alligator in the greenside pond!

After we worked under the hot sun all day, we'd hit the condo pool area and drink and nap for a few hours, then head out on the town. Rinse, repeat all summer. Fun.

At the end of the summer, i didn't have a way back to KU, so me and a buddy or two rented a car and drove up the East Coast toward our families. BTW, it's not easy to rent a car when you're 18-19 years old. I can't even remember the hoops we had to jump through. We stopped in Virginia to drop off one guy, and his mom was kind enough to cook us a great Southern meal. My first time eating a twice-backed potato. mmm.

Ended up at my family home, and a week later had to hop a flight back to KU.

Coulda made a movie of that summer i think.

Ha, seems like i'm the only one in this thread, but may as well keep myself entertained!

Well hmmmm. this got interesting.

The Titans are hiring 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their next head coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Didn't see that Saleh was even in the equation. I think he should have stayed in SF as a coordinator, but where does that leave Nagy????

Just a reminder for some...you can cancel your ESPN+ subscription if ya want. We just have one more hoops game on Dec. 22, then that's it til football or hoops next year.

Hey, that was one heckuva first half! Wow. Dominating.

It pains me to say it, but yea, that was a pretty nice Gioooo goal. good for him.

One slip up in a semi transition to defense — which has been my fear with this formation. Otherwise well played.

Watched USA v Germany yesterday.
Crappy start, but not a bad effort in general.
I still dislike the formation Poch has chosen. 3-2-4-1
Mostly on transition attacks by opposing teams. It was quite apparent to me at least that the team struggles to organize and cover all the bodies. That’s a problem.
On offense we at least to seem to have a bunch of bodies that push forward.
Weston as a central attacking “mid” and playmaker just doesn’t work for me. Nor him. Not his skill set.
And if you didn’t watch, at least catch highlights of Jedi’s blister! Wow.

So we still have one guy to add, right?

The Mbiya thing is all part of the proposed big bill to rule over college sports.

One of the components is no player who has received payment for play as a pro is eligible (basically with some give or take).

It has a loooong way to go to pass, if it does.

So, no current danger i'd guess.

And just to be clear, Paul Mbiya played professionally for money in France.

@JAYHAWKFAN214 said in KU ROSTER 2026-27:

The man himself has arrived to his new home
https://x.com/i/status/2061551546106613777

Ha, sad but true:

He's looking forward to this being his home for the next 8 months

the sad part knowing it's only 8 months!

Defense used to be the strength of this team, huh. A little offense never hurts!

I’m just weirded out seeing guys play outside their usual spots on the field. But apparently it’s already confusing opponents.

yep, team looked good today. The first half in particular. Pulisic had some positive energy for sure.

Odd that we've still yet to see the World Cup starters on the field together...

Or does that mean Weston is a bench player??

Oh, did Gio play today?

@BShark said in World Cup:

@rockchalkjayhawk literally how does Gio keep making it

????

Once a teen prodigy, now not even living in the ballpark of expectation. A mystery.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup:

@rockchalkjayhawk I love that Gio made it haha. But bummed Luna didnt. I think we are short a couple horses in the backline. Chris Richards coming back from injury and the ageless Tim Reim to anchor our defense?

Gio! He’s a divisive figure for sure.

Yea, many complaining about the back line as well. And that he added like 30 wingbacks.

I don’t think I really care for his 3-4-2-1 system so far. That puts players like Jedi out of position.

Fingers crossed we make a run.

Somewhat disappointed in the US World Cup roster decision making.

Bummed that Gio made it, and Musah and Luna did not. Tessman, meh. Probably fine he didn't make the cut, but others are complaining we're thin at central mid.

Gio should be banned for life after his petulant behavior last time round! ha.

Plus he's not that good and doesn't play much for his club.

This will be interesting for sure. Poch didn't really line up his guys with any consistency. So, who knows if they'll gel enough to make it out of the group phase. Hope so!