By Ernie W. Webb III MADISON – With the clock winding down in overtime, Burlingame senior Emily Punches drove to the middle of the lane, drawing two defenders about 10 feet from the basket. As they converged, she leaned toward the middle, releasing a short jumper that hit the side and back of the rim […]
Punches’ game-winner sends Burlingame girls to sub-state championship game Read More »
In the summer of 2006, I’d just started as the editor of the Page 2 project at the Topeka Capital-Journal. For a 30-year-old, it was an awesome opportunity. The brainchild of publisher Mark Nusbaum, the second page of the news and sports section was to feature fresh, edgy content every day. What I remember about
Webb: Remembering Pete Goering on the 12th anniversary of his passing Read More »
A week after my Dad told us he had six months to live, we hunkered down in his house for Missouri’s bowl game, the last of many Tiger football games we watched together through the years. Though competitive, I rarely saw the old man get angry during games. This was different. He cussed and threw
Webb: Dad was right … Mahomes pulled it off Read More »
These kids are winners. That thought keeps running through my head as I think about Burlingame’s 52-49 win against Centralia in Friday night’s sub-state game at Clay Center. The Bearcats trailed virtually the entire night, couldn’t grab a rebound against the always burly and physical Panthers to save their lives and missed a half dozen
Bearcats do what winners do: Find a way to win Read More »
ALMA – For several weeks, the only basketball activity Montana Giffin could participate in was shooting free throws due to an ankle injury that sidelined the junior for 16 games. That came in handy Saturday night with a trip to the state tournament on the line. Giffin calmly buried four straight free throws down the
Webb: Practice makes perfect for Giffin as Bearcats reach state tournament Read More »
Walking up to Southern Coffey County’s football field Friday night brought back memories of the last time I watched a game in LeRoy. That was 13 years ago, and the Titans were the LeRoy Bluejays. They also were a perennial playoff team. Burlingame was not. In fact, that chilly November night was the first playoff
Webb: Bearcats continue to wipe out decades of misery Read More »
The last time Burlingame’s boys basketball team played in a state tournament, Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” was a top-10 hit, “Seinfeld” was No. 2 in the TV ratings (behind “E.R.”) and “Seven” was a revelation on the big screen. Twenty-two years. It’s been a long drought for the Bearcats, whose last
Bearcats partying like it’s 1995 Read More »
“To develop good citizenship.” It’s the fourth goal outlined in the Burlingame Unified School District policy index. Some of the folks in town might want to refer to that before they make a mistake and run a good coach off. It’s not every day a school district asks a coach to resign after leading a
Being small-minded in a small town Read More »
A few days into our tenure as members of the Burlingame school board, my best friend and I attended a welcome-back-to-school barbecue for faculty and staff. One of the first people we spoke with that steamy August day in 1997 was a new history teacher and football coach with big dreams. As an alumnus and
Dreaming big in Burlingame Read More »
As a boy growing up in rural Missouri, I spent hundreds of hours hitting rocks from our driveway into an open field across the highway. I must have delivered the game-winning hit thousands of times in Game 7 of the World Series, usually a long home run to right field at Kauffman Stadium. I thought
Lasting memories: Royals and rocks Read More »
