Harry's reasoning is deeply flawed. First, it assumes that Big 12 officials would even consider holding a tournament in a state with no member institutions. Two, it assumes that Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State would lobby to hold the event in Kansas City after Mizzou asked for a divorce from its old Big 8 rivals. Hey, no hard feelings, Missouri. We sure do love paying those exorbitant taxes at the hotels and restaurants in your state's largest city.
On Wednesday, Harry made his regular appearance on Kevin Kietzman's show on WHB 810. Kietzman likes to needle Harry, but Wednesday's segment went to another level when Harry shared his fantasy about the Sprint Center hosting future Big 12 tournaments with or without Missouri. The comment sent Kietzman reaching for his knives.
"I purposefully was not going to bring this up with you today, because I will shred you on this argument," Kietzman said. He sounded almost regretful about the pain he was about to inflict on the veteran sportscaster.
Kietzman then went into all the reasons that Harry was a fool to believe that the Big 12 would conduct significant business in Missouri if the state's flagship university bolted for the SEC. He explained that there are plenty of capable arenas scattered across the post-Missouri Big 12 map. Dallas and Oklahoma City have hosted the event in recent years. New arenas opened in Des Moines in 2005 and Wichita in 2010.
Kietzman told Harry he had lost his mind if he believed that Kansas City could continue to host the tournament after Missouri took up with another conference.
"I hear you keep harping on this thing, and I wasn't even going to bring it up today, and you just brought it up out of nowhere," he said. "That is the most harebrained idea I've ever heard. The Big 12, everybody in the conference should be fired if they play this thing in Missouri."
Harry went on to claim that Kansas and Missouri would continue their rivalry with basketball games at the Sprint Center and football games at Arrowhead Stadium. It's a startling thing to say, given that Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self has indicated that he thinks Missouri's name should be torn out of the phone book if it joins another athletic conference.
Kietzman sounded dismayed that Harry could believe Kansas would be eager to compete with Missouri on Missouri soil if the latter left the Big 12. "If some guy kicked sand on your face on the beach and stole your girlfriend, would you go back and be buddies with that guy?" Kietzman asked.
"I think I'd fight back," Harry said. "I think I'd fight back."
"You know what fighting back is with Kansas? It's not playing Missouri, because Missouri needs that basketball game more than KU. KU doesn't need Missouri's basketball game in way, shape or form ever. Ever. They don't need Frank Haith at Sprint Center helping them sell tickets. They can go get Podunk U and throw 'em into Sprint Center and sell it out."
Full of bluster when there's nobody on a TV set to challenge him, Harry failed to make much of a counterargument. "Talk to yourself, Kevin," he said weakly at one point. "Just keep talking."
The segment — which is like watching a man have a kidney carved out and fed to him — is available at WHB's podcasts page. Click on any of the interviews to be taken to the page that stores Harry's appearance on Between the Lines.
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Sound like KU needs Missouri more than Missouri needs KU. It is sad to think that KU fans believe there program is so important, how dare Missouri or any other school leave the mighty KU conference. It makes KU fans look like they always have, spoiled little children that are going to take their ball and go home because people aren't playing the way they want them to. This move is about one thing only, MONEY. The coaches, players and fans have no say in this. So stop pissing in your Wheaties and move on.
What everyone seems to be missing here is that Missouri's football recruiting will only get BETTER. Why I have to ask?
Because any HS recruit would by FAR rather play for a team from the SEC instead of the Big 12. They know their ticket to the NFL has a much better chance with a SEC team.
That number 1 HS Wide receiver recruit out of Springfield MO will probably go to Mizzou if they are in the SEC.
Blaine Gabbert's has a younger brother in HS that they say is WAY better than he was at that age as well.
KK's argument is a cowardly as I've ever heard. "Missouri is going to have less fun". I would certainly get more excited about losing 38 -24 to LSU than beating Iowa State by 35. Please. If we apply KK's logic, we should join Conf USA because it's "more fun" to beat up on weaklings. Jack is correct.
To Jim:
Pretty soon we'll have everything we need in JO and no one will have to cross the state line for anything. Unfortunately, we'll just end up with a big trashy city for a neighbor....kind of like we have already. You lost the soccer team to KCK, which should be embarassing enough, sooner or later we'll take over your other sports teams too. People in KS don't want to travel into KCMO for your dumbass KCPL, Westport and now Plaza crimezones, to get shot at while driving through your crime ridden neighborhoods after patronizing the zoo or Starlight.
If you leave to go to the SEC you'll fare worse than you have it in the Big 12, but by all means go. You belong with the rest of the Slavers.
Perhaps the Kansans should've built their own Arena out in JoCo or Crimedotte if they were so worried about losing the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. Anyone ever notice how the people doing the most complaining about a Mizzou move to the SEC and the possibility of KC losing the Big 12 Tournament are not even Mizzou people? The biggest complainers about it are KU and KSU fans in the area that don't want to have to travel to Dallas or OKC every year for the tournament. Also Kansas businesses stand to lose out if the tournament leaves because the money from hosting it doesn't just flow into Missouri but rather the whole metro area.
Not sure why all you Mizzery fans are getting your panties in a bunch. Keitzman isn't the gospel, but he's dead right about Missouri to the SEC. Enjoy being 5-7 every year for eternity (or worse). He is far from a K-state homer, that's just lazy research. I remember him saying just 2 weeks ago that "Missouri should win against K-State, they have no business losing to them".
Although you guys did lose, badly. haha
Wow, people are so gullible. Yeah, what ever Kietzman says is gospel. What a joke, he's such a K-state homer it's not even funny man. He could care less about MU, all he's concerned about is his bottom dollar at the radio station that he owns. He's so one sided on this issue it's ridiculous. Kietman is a joke.
He knows that when MU goes, it fragments his listeners and therefore his rating i.e. his wallet. Why would Mizzou fans care what's going on in the Big 12 if they no longer belong? They wouldn't.
All these goofy Kansas/K-State fans just can't stand the thought of being left at the mercy of Texas and their pals down south. Get over it.
“Tell me if this describes your college football team: you’re a school who has worked hard all its life. You have a nice campus, a large endowment, and good sports programs. But now there is just one problem: your conference members all around you are saying they want out and they want a divorce. Suddenly everything you’ve worked so hard for is all
on the table: your traditions, your rivalries, and most important, your kids. They say they feels terrible about the way things have turned out. They say they want to be fair. Trust us, they say. May I suggest an alternative?”
The SEC, to Mizzou, GregHallKC.com
While the St. Louis metropolitan area is larger than Kansas City's, KCMO proper is the state's largest city.
"Hey, no hard feelings, Missouri. We sure do love paying those exorbitant taxes at the hotels and restaurants in your state's largest city."
When did Kansas City become the largest city in Missouri?
It amazes me that MU fans think their beloved football team is so great!! LOOK IT UP !!! your team leads the border war only by two games in it's entire history!!! In basketball KU could start losing every game for the next ten years and MU wouldn't catch up!! Who's kidding who??? Go to the SEC and get the crap kicked out of you every weekend who cares...
You should really look at how ignorant, two-faced and wrong KK has been on anything regarding the Big 12's death march.
If getting the best of Jack Harry on ONE thing is the best KK can do it explains why he's a big ol' carp in itsy bitsy pool.
IF MU leaves the Big 12 the KU, KSU & IS will have so little voice they would need a 100,000-watt station to broadcast a whimper.
Maybe the one good thing to come out of this is Congress will change the tax laws where donating to an athletic team or holding VIP/Booster tickets are no longer tax deductions.
And maybe the NCAA will vanish as well.
I'm an MU Grad and long-time supporter but I agree that Jack Harry's "argument" was embarrassing to listen to. I think Kietzman can be just as much a blowhard as Harry but he destroyed him during this interview. I was actually feeling sorry for Harry and wondering why he couldn't find anything substantive to counter Kietzman's points.
KC lost any leverage in 1996 when the Texas schools came in. Jack Harry is an idiot, as is every Mizzou fan that wants to leave the Big 12. Mizzou will NEVER make a BCS game in the SEC, just like they never did in the Big 12. KC media should blackout Mizzou if it had any sense. KC based Mizzou business owners should be picketing outside of the President's office.
Oh and Kietzman is just a model of unbiased journalism... Come on... This guy has nothing positive to say about Mizzou so what do you expect. If his beloved Bill Snyder and the KSU pussycats could get an invite ANYWHERE he would be all over it.
The writer also fails to mention that while KU may not need to play MU in basketball, Mizzou doesn't need to play KU at Arrowhead in football either. Not saying it would happen, but after a few years in the SEC they could do the same game with Arkansas if they wanted or even play a nonconference game there and sell penty of tickets. This goes both ways.
The center of gravity the conference will shift south when Missouri leaves. If KC had any leverage, it should have used it a long time ago. Jack Harry and the rest of Missouri are like children throwing a fit. This tizzy they are in is clouding their judgement and they are making decisions for short term gain, but with long term consequences. The Sprint Center was built for one thing only, which was to get the Big 12 basketball tournement back in KC. When Missouri skulks away to the SEC, the tournement will be gone from KC forever.
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