Looks as though talk of minor league baseball in Topeka isn’t going to go away anytime soon. I saw this past week that the Northern League would like to field a team in Topeka by 2010. You know, I’ve always been of the mindset that professional sports couldn’t do well in Topeka and I believe that there have been several instances that would back up that statement.
     However, after thinking about it a bit and weighing the pros and cons of such a venture, I have now decided that minor league baseball in Topeka would probably go over very well.
     First off, I’m in total agreement with anyone who believes that bringing pro baseball to downtown Topeka would breath life into downtown. Think of Kansas City’s Power and Light district, albeit on a smaller scale.
     Yeah, I know that there would have to be other things going on besides baseball to attract folks downtown, but if you started with baseball, other opportunities would present themselves and before you know it, downtown would be crawling with people.
     Baseball itself could attract quite a crowd. The Northern League is an independent league, meaning that the teams have no affiliation with major league teams so they can sign and release whoever they want. Do you remember Rickey Henderson? How about Jose Canseco? John Rocker? Yep, all of those guys have played for independent teams recently. How about Ken Harvey? Yeah, the former Kansas City Royals first baseman. He currently plays for the Kansas City T-Bones in the Northern League. How fun would it be to go to a ball field in downtown Topeka and watch a former major leaguer play who is trying to work his way back to the show?
     The real question is, could a team in Topeka draw 4000 plus people a game to make them successful? That number may be high or not high enough, but you get the idea. Will the city of Topeka embrace a pro baseball team or will the brand new stadium be empty within a few years? Hopefully in a couple of years we’ll have the answer.
     Switching gears for a minute, Kansas and Kansas State received some love from the NBA last week during the draft. Of course, K-State’s Michael Beasley went #2 to the Miami Heat. I think he should have gone first overall to Chicago, but I guess they thought they needed the hometown kid to put people in the seats. They’ll regret that one. The Wildcats also saw Bill Walker drafted by the Boston Celtics.
     The Kansas Jayhawks saw 5 players drafted, tying the record for most players from one school drafted in one year. All five of the former Jayhawks were also traded on draft night. Brandon Rush was drafted #13 and he ended up with the Indiana Pacers where he’ll join his brother Kareem. Darrell Arthur was selected at #27 and he found his way to Memphis where he should start immediately.
     Mario Chalmers had to wait until the 34th pick to hear his name called, but he may have stepped into the best situation as any of the Jayhawks. He joins Beasley in Miami where he may have the opportunity to win the starting point guard spot and pass to Beasley, Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion. Not too bad!
     Darnell Jackson was taken with the 52nd pick and Sasha Kaun went at #56 and both ended up in Cleveland with LeBron James. Kaun will play in Russia for the next two years, but when he returns, he could be quite the force inside.
     To Contact Rob go to rmooney143@msn.com
    
    
    
     If you have any sports events or news coming up, let Rob know. He can be reached at 232-8600 or metro@topekametronews.com