I had no idea what to write about for today, so I sent out a request for topic suggestions on Twitter, and a good friend of mine from college suggested I keep it K-State themed. As you probably know if you’ve been here, I’m a K-Stater, and right now, it’s Nebraska week. We’re playing them tomorrow night on national TV. So, I’m gonna go with 12 random K-State college stories.

Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. Click here to see why I’m running 61 marathons this year for Train 4 Autism.

The Good
1. A lot of people ask me how I chose K-State, because I was born and raised in Southern California. Spent my entire pre-Kansas life there. Well, I was a journalism student at my local community college and I narrowed it down to five colleges I wanted to go to based on the quality of the journalism department and the student newspaper.

My list included USC, Missouri (Columbia), North Carolina (Chapel Hill), the University of Kansas and K-State. USC was too expensive for a journalism degree, North Carolina was farther away than I wanted to go and I probably wasn’t going to get into Mizzou, because they have an incredible (and incredibly competitive) journalism department and they had very tough standards for junior-college transfers (I was about a 3.0 student, which is OK, but not good enough to go there).

So, all of a sudden, I was down to KU and KSU. My neighbor in California was from Topeka and I asked her about the in-state reputation of the two schools. She told me the people that are better than KSU go to KU. And the people who don’t care about the people who are better than them go to KSU. I figured KSU was my place, so I applied, got accepted, and flew out to see the campus and register without ever looking at KU. And in case you couldn’t tell, I’m thrilled with the decision I made. I loved it there.

2. Since we’re talking K-State today, it was a lot of fun going to a college that was (at the time) a major football factory. The program was top 10 for most of the time I was there and even No. 1 in the nation during a chunk of my last semester. The biggest win while I was there was against Nebraska in 1998. We hadn’t beaten Nebraska in 30 years until that night. It was fun being in the press box for the AP for that one. With the team doing so well, there were about 300 media credentials issued weekly. For that game, the national media converged and there were more than 600 members of the media there. ESPN did their College Gameday broadcast there. While I was writing in the press box after the game, I was talking with folks from the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe … the list went on and on. It was certainly a memorable experience.

3. My buddy who told me to write this column told me to include the play that one of my stories got that week. I was writing for the AP, and since the game was the national game of the week, my stories would go out on the wire and get picked up by everybody. There was one I wrote about our quarterback, Michael Bishop, that spent 24 hours as the lead story on every major sports website — espn.com, cnnsi.com, thesportingnews.com, usatoday.com. It was pretty cool, still being in my final months as a student, to see something like that.

The college football reporter from the L.A. Times did a huge story on K-State football that took up half of the front page back home in the paper, and he talked to me and my buddy and quoted us in the story. They took a pull quote (when they make it bigger so you see the quote before you read the story) from me and it was above the fold on the front page of the sports section of the Times. I had a TON of people back home calling me up about that.

4. My last semester, I had a sweet 800-square foot studio apartment. It was in a great part of town, Aggieville, and it had thick green shag carpeting that killed a bag every time I vacuumed. There were flowers on the wallpaper, wood paneling from the ’70s, it came fully furnished (including an olive green refrigerator), it had off-street parking, was a three-minute walk to campus and two-minute walk to the bars, there was bright red carpeting in the bathroom, sweet formica countertops and my kitchen was about eight feet away from the country bar next door, so I could always hear the music. The price tag? $350/month. That’s living large, my friends. It was awesome.

5. I just did my thing at the time, but I got to talk to a bunch of people who’d end up having pretty good NFL careers. I had a 15-minute phone interview with Donovan McNabb when he was a junior at Syracuse. I spent 5 or 10 minutes doing a 1-on-1 with Drew Brees in San Antonio when he was a sophomore at Purdue. Most of the guys who were in college back in 1998 are out of the league now, but for several years, I couldn’t turn on a game without seeing multiple players I had interviewed.

The Bad
6. I used to drink a lot in college. One day, we had our daily newspaper budget meeting at a bar. It was St. Patrick’s Day and half-yards were $1. I spent $4 and then we went back to campus. Good thing I wasn’t driving. Somebody brought in a tray of Jell-o and for whatever reason, I thought it would be a good idea to stick a square on the ceiling in the newsroom. It stuck! We put a table beneath it for when it fell, but it didn’t fall that night! Nor did it fall the next week! Nor has it fallen over the past 12 1/2 years! The water evaporated and it basically turned to a rock. It’s still there, and there are all sorts of urban legends about the Jell-o now, but I’m the one who put it there. Yes, that’s my legacy at Kansas State University.

7. 776-5577, call us now, Pizza Shuttle. I still remember the number, 15+ years after I first arrived on campus. Is it bad if you turn a pizza upside down in the box for 10 minutes to let all the grease soak out? Not if that pizza only costs $3.50! Best 2 a.m. food ever.

8. We had a football player named Frank Murphy who was a highly-touted recruit with blazing speed, but he had to miss the first four games of the season for accepting improper benefits (a deal on a $3,000 used car) from a booster. He was not made available to the media before his first game of the season, at Colorado, so I asked Michael Bishop, our quarterback, about how excited Murphy was. Bishop told me that he was talking to Murphy, who said he wanted to score a touchdown on his first play. Bishop asked him, “What if we’re only on the 20?” Murphy told him, “Then I want to go 80!”

Well, I put that in my story, and I didn’t take it out of context at all. But my story ran on the wire and Woody Paige, who’s a big-time columnist in Denver, wrote a column about how Murphy bragged he was going to go 80 yards against CU’s defense the first time he touched the ball. That went over well.

It turned into a war of words, Murphy didn’t play much in the game, and afterwards, at the press conference, KSU coach Bill Snyder dragged Murphy into the press conference to apologize to CU coach Rick Neuheisel. It was extremely awkward, because Neuheisel didn’t seem to think it was any big deal. But then when Neuheisel and Murphy left, Snyder went off, yelling at all of us media gathered there. The press conference was broadcast live. I was about three feet from him when he was yelling and he was looking right at me about half the time. I really, really, really didn’t want to be there at that point.

The Ugly
9. My fraternity went on probation for hazing at one point when I was there. One of the things that got us in trouble was an active cracking a whip and threatening a pledge in the middle of a large lecture class with about 300 people in it. Seemed bad at the time, but it sure is a fun story to tell. I mean, who can say that their fraternity went on probation for that? Oh yeah, I can.

10. Two times, I played drunk football in college. The only problem is, one time was in the hallway of a hotel, and I outweighed my opponent (who was sober) by more than 100 pounds He wasn’t a willing participant and there wasn’t a ball. The second time was in the hallways of Kedzie Hall, the journalism building, and my two opponents each weighed about 80 pounds less than me. And again, they were sober, there was no ball, and they didn’t want to play.

11. Have you ever been on a teleconference for a men’s basketball postseason announcement, and thought your line was muted, and then made a phone call from your cell to talk to a friend and used too much profanity to tell her about how bad the men’s basketball team was going to get beat in its postseason game, only to find out your line wasn’t really muted? Yeah, I have.

12. I spent 6 1/2 years getting a mass communications degree. I had fun, went on academic probation, and did a million memorable things to have the “college experience” everybody should have. When push came to shove, though, I got it done and was set to graduate in December 1998. A funny thing happened, though. Somehow, I was failing a one-hour freshman geology lab class I was taking that semester. I found that out about three or four days before graduation and didn’t know what to do. Apparently, I’d missed one too many labs. So, I begged the instructor, a GTA, to let me make up the work, and she was cool with that. I got to go out by a lake in the freezing December weather and dig around for fossils. I must have spent an hour or two out there. It was miserable. But it was better than explaining to my dad how after all the money he spent, and 6 1/2 years chasing a journalism degree, I couldn’t graduate because of a one-hour freshman geology lab.

So that’s it. My 12 random things about K-State, since it’s Nebraska week. We get them tomorrow night. They’ll probably beat us, but even if they do, I’m still proud of where I went to school and I always will be!

I didn’t think I was going to write a 10 random things for Tuesday blog, but then I came up with 10 random things. And it’s Tuesday. So here we go, 10 random things for Tuesday!

One not-so-random thing first, though — my standard introduction! If this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I recover fairly quickly from marathons, so I decided to try to take advantage of that gift and I’m trying to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 35 marathons, I’ve raised a fair amount of money and people from Washington to Florida to Maine are now aware of Train 4 Autism. So, I think it’s working.

OK, so I like to come up with 10 random things on Tuesdays. Here we go!

1. I thought this year was flying by pretty quick and I just did the math in my head and I have five months left until race 61. What a mirage this calendar is — I thought I was so close! But I know the year will be over before I know it and then I’ll miss it.

2. We got through a bunch of testing and final start our new bio-medical routine with Jack yesterday. Just when we thought our daily grind was tough, we cranked it up even more. Creams, supplements, dietary restrictions … you name it, Tiff is consumed with administering it right now. We don’t have enough on our plate, so maybe this will help us pass the time. Obviously, that’s sarcasm, but we don’t mind this. Any of you who are parents understand that there’s nothing you won’t do for your kids.

3. I’m going to hit you with a couple of fundraising things in here. I haven’t pushed the fundraising much here lately, but that’s still a big goal. We have t-shirts, tech shirts and sweatshirts. If you have one, do me a favor and leave a comment and let others know what you think. I know most people seem to like them.

The point is, we use them as a fundraiser, but they’re also a great tool to help get the word out. If you want a t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt, leave a comment and tell me you want one. If you want to wear one, I want you to wear one. I just need to cover our costs, which aren’t as bad as you’d think. E-mail me and we’ll get it rolling. Or if you just want to go with the standard donation, check the levels here.

There are I think three of you out there who we still need to get shirts to. They’re coming, they’re coming.

4. That San Francisco course was a killer. I feel like I got run over by a truck. And not a little toy Tonka truck. I’m talking F-350 here. It was the day before yesterday and now I have to start carb loading tomorrow. These Saturday races following Sunday races are a killer!

5. Benjamin didn’t like tee ball and turned away from tee ball/baseball after kindergarten. That’s three years he’s been away from the game and he’s never really face live pitching. He wants to play little league in the spring, but I’m concerned with how far behind he might be. I’ve played with him a little bit and hit seems like his hand-eye coordination is at least OK, so I’m thinking of spending the summer and fall working hard with him with wiffle balls so he can get used to adjusting his swing on pitches that move. Then we’ll start going to the cages. I’m guessing that might help? Anybody have any other ideas?

6. You know what Manhattan, Minneapolis, Arkansas City, Ottawa and Pittsburg all have in common? They’re all cities in Kansas! Another reason why the Sunflower State is my favorite!

7. I don’t know that there’s a better value out there than all-you-can-eat pancakes at Denny’s for $4. Seriously, $4? That’s about the cost of a happy meal.

8. Booking travel is probably the biggest pain of this whole thing. Sometimes, it only takes me an hour for a trip. But sometimes, there are so many different options that it takes me a lot more. I’ve probably spent five or six hours trying to figure out the weekend of August 14-15 and I absolutely must book today.

9. Just want to point you towards the 10×10 program I have. I haven’t pushed it in a little while, but it’s a really easy way to help. I get a lot of visitors here and I have no idea who a lot of you are, but if you believe in the cause and want to try to help by doing something that’s a whole lot easier than running 61 marathons, take a look at this. I’ve said all year that I’m counting on a lot of people to do a little tiny bit, not a few people to do a lot. So, if you want to do a little tiny bit, this is a great way.

10. One week from today until my grandparents move to an assisted living facility that’s about 5 minutes from my work and 15 minutes from my house! They currently live about 45 minutes away, so I’m pretty excited! I think I have to go say goodbye to their house on Sunday, though. They’ve been there since 1968 (way before I was born). It’s gonna be sad to go up there for the last time.

Wow … look at that. That’s 10. Have a great Tuesday everybody! See you tomorrow!

I love holidays. I’ve only put in eight hours at the office so far this week and it’s already Wednesday! Wait … I’ve only put in eight hours at the office so far this week and I have to start carb loading again tomorrow. Hmmm, that’s no bargain. Oh well, my weekend recap was yesterday, which means today is time for 10 random things.

Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and I’m trying to make a difference in the autism world. I’m trying to run 60 marathons this year to raise money for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 32 of the 60 and I’m pushing every day to raise money and bring people into the organization.

1. OK, there’s a recurring theme between now and next Monday. I NEED you to help me with this Chase Community Giving contest. 200 small charities will each win $20,000, and for Operation Jack/Train 4 Autism, that would be HUGE.

We’re so close to winning, but we’re also pretty close to not winning. This contest runs through next Monday and it seems like every charity out there is ratcheting their efforts. For $20,000, I have to do the same. So please vote (if you haven’t already), share it on Facebook and share it on Twitter!

If you have any creative ideas, please let me know! By no means do I have a monopoly on creative ways to market things through social media. Heck, I barely have a clue! Please, give me some ideas if you can! I’m begging!

2. Last weekend, I received a check for $20 as an age group award from the Fargo Marathon. Does this make me a professional athlete?

3. I spent four weeks on a civil jury trial in 2001. It was a boring trial. Very boring. How boring? One of my fellow jurors had diabetes and intentionally overloaded on sugar at lunch one day so that she’d have to go to the hospital and get dismissed from the jury. Her strategy worked.

4. Tomorrow I’m going to post about things Jack likes to do. I promised a follower I’d do that, so I will. Plus, I might be able to talk Tiff into helping me out with it a little bit, which will save me some time tonight. Speaking of Tiff, she’s going to guest blog here next Monday. She asked me about that last night and that’s totally fine with me — saves me from cranking something out on Sunday night!

5. I wasn’t a very good student in high school (lazy!) and almost failed accounting, which would have kept me from graduating. My dad, a CPA, wasn’t very impressed. I also almost failed art my last semester due to not turning in enough projects, but after arguing about a D vs. an F, my teacher decided to pass me because she realized an F would have landed me in her summer school class. She hated me.

6. About five or six years ago, I went to a Dave Matthews concert with a good friend of mine and we had tickets in the eighth row. While we were walking in, I told him those were the best concert tickets I’d had since I was four seats from the front at a Lionel Richie concert in 1997. He told me to not say that out loud again while we were at the show that night.

7. Only 27 more days until my grandparents move into an assisted living facility that’s less than 10 minutes from my work and less than 20 minutes from my house. I can’t wait to be able to go visit them more, although I’m going to cry like a baby when they move out of their house. They’ve been in it for more than 42 years.

8. On Saturday when I travel to Montana, I’m flying into Spokane. So, I want to run a mile in California before I leave, then a mile in Washington when I get there, then a mile in Idaho and eventually a mile in Montana. That would give me at least a mile in four different states on the same day. I’m an idiot like that.

9. The ice cream steak is up to 157 if you’re keeping track. If you are keeping track, I have one word … why?

10. Just a reminder about the Chase contest. Sorry — I can’t help it!

Have a great Wednesday everybody! I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Did I remind you to vote?

I normally write 10 random things for Tuesday, although really, I’ve been pretty out of my weekly routine lately and writing my “random things” column on Wednesdays. And that’s the case again this week. It’s Wednesday, time for 10 random things for Tuesday. Or something like that.

Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. To try to make a difference in the autism world in his honor, I’m trying to take advantage of my ability to recover well from marathons by running 60 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, so good. I’m reaching people and raising money and I’m through 31 of the 60 marathons.

With that being said, here’s my 10 random things for … today.

1. We’re a part of a contest on Facebook called Chase Community Giving. Chase is giving out at least $20,000 to 200 different small charities and we’re somewhere around No. 130 or so. So, if you haven’t voted yet, I need you to vote! You can only vote once, so it’s super easy. If you haven’t voted, PLEASE CLICK HERE and vote! It’s a simple contest and you can vote once and once only using your Facebook account. Your vote makes a huge difference, so please do it and use their features to easily share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!

If you’ve already voted, I certainly wouldn’t complain if you took a minute to click that link in the previous paragraph and re-share it with your friends!

2. I blogged about this yesterday, but a friend of mine named Jonathan Gunderson is an amazing distance runner — he’s completed the Bandwater Ultramarathon four times, including an 11th-place finish last year. He competed in the Western States 100 this past weekend, one of the most prestigious trail races in the country.

One of the most common lofty goals that participants aim for is a sub-24-hour finish. It’s a tough course and weather is always a problem. A sub-24 gets you a silver belt buckle, but Jonathan set his sights higher than that. He was aiming for somewhere around 19 hours and possibly a top-10 finish if all went well.

Unfortunately, he severely sprained his ankle 10 miles into the run and he battled nausea for the majority of the race. He still worked his way to a 23:47 to get the belt buckle. So yes, he ran 90 MILES of the Western States 100 with a severely sprained ankle and still nailed the sub-24. Amazing, just like his character. He’s a great guy and he works tirelessly to raise money to build wells in Uganda.

So, I’m asking, PLEASE, take a look at his site. He’s awesome and deserves a visit!

3. This is why I’m doing what I’m doing … this right here came from nothing the other day and the kids had to leave the park early.

We deal with meltdowns out of the blue on a daily basis. We keep fighting to do what we can for Jack, and I’m still holding out hope that he’ll mainstream. But the reality is that he’s not going to have the same childhood as a typical kid. I’m trying to help Train 4 Autism increase people’s ability to raise funds for autism-related charities. I’ll never really see where the money goes, nor will I know exactly what the impact is.

But I have faith that somewhere, someday, 10 kids like Jack will somehow have better days as a result of the charities that are the recipients of the money raised through Train 4 Autism. That makes it worth it, no question.

4. Sometimes my 4 1/2-year-old daughter Ava misbehaves. She knows that’s called being a troublemaker. Last night, when I tucked her into bed, she told me, “Daddy, I was a goodmaker today!” Ahhh, kids. They say the darndest things!

5. I don’t care if Stephen Strasburg has only made five major-league starts. I think he should play in the All Star Game. The game is for the fans and I want to see him throw two innings against the best the American League has to offer.

6. One of my wife’s best friends just gave birth and she’s going out of town to visit her from July 12 – 14. It’s going to be me and the three short people along with quite a bit of help from my mother-in-law. A lot of you say nice things about me as a dad. Please reserve any future comment until July 15.

7. I went to Kansas State University, one of the 10 members of the Big XII Conference. I have followers from two of our conference rivals, the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri, who are starting up Operation Jack fundraising teams and talking smack about who’s going to win their competition. Well the answer, of course, is Operation Jack and Train 4 Autism. But I think I’m going to recruit K-Staters into the mix. I just need to figure out a good competition to give people incentive to participate. It probably boils down to me humiliating myself, but for charity, I’ll do almost anything. Almost.

8. My ice cream streak is up to 150 days now thanks to a bowl of peanut butter fudge swirl with s’mores flavored Magic Shell last night. I know you were wondering.

9. My streak of consecutive days eating at In-N-Out is at one through yesterday. My streak of not eating at In-N-Out was 16 consecutive days heading into yesterday. I know, incredibly sad.

10. That Chase contest I mentioned in item No. 1 is a really big deal to Operation Jack, so I’m using two items to cover it. PLEASE vote and spread the word!

OK, that’s all for today! Get over that hump and I’ll see you tomorrow!