Chris Klieman, Wildcat football predictions and Happy Gilmore sequel: K-State Q&A
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Adam Sandler releases Happy Gilmore 2 nearly 30 years after original film.
- K-State tackle George Fitzpatrick recovering from health scare, return unknown.
- Coach Chris Klieman remains committed despite past health concerns and rumors.
Before we get to your questions about the Kansas State Wildcats, I would like to take a few moments to discuss one of the funniest sports movies of all time — “Happy Gilmore.”
Nearly 30 years after that film came out in theaters, Adam Sandler and Netflix are releasing a sequel today (July 25).
My expectations for “Happy Gilmore 2” aren’t very high. The trailers make it look like nothing more than a bunch of recycled jokes and celebrity cameos. I hope I am wrong about that. Still, I am very much looking forward to this movie. Why? Because anything that gets the world thinking about how a mediocre hockey player became an incredible golfer is a good thing.
The original movie spoke to me as a teenager, in part, because I played golf and my best friend played hockey. But you didn’t have to know those sports to enjoy it.
Classic one-liners such as, “you just pulled landscaping duty” and “you can’t learn that in a hockey rink” and “he spends more time in the sand than David Hasselhoff” have stood the test of time.
But there is one thing that always bugged me about the first movie. Who was keeping score at the Tour Championship?
One scene depicts Happy Gilmore swinging and whiffing at a ball in the rough until he duffs it into a water hazard. He appeared well on his way to a quadruple bogey (or worse) but was only credited with a bogey on the leaderboard. Later, Shooter McGavin hit his tee shot into a hazard on a par 3, but he somehow escaped with a par. Either he holed out from the drop zone on his next shot or the scorekeeper got that one wrong.
I feel like someone was cheated out of a gold jacket.
In any case, this week seems like a good opportunity to try and sneak in some Happy Gilmore references while I answer your questions about the K-State Wildcats. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Any updates on how George Fitzpatrick is doing? Prayers up for the kid! -@hfgvj via X.
Kansas State and the Fitzpatrick family have been intentionally vague about the circumstances of the “medical situation” he is currently recovering from. So, no, I don’t have any update beyond the statement that was shared about his status earlier this week.
It read: “George had a medical situation to which the training staff quickly responded. He is improving every day and we appreciate all who have cared for and supported him as he continues to recover.”
In other words, Fitzpatrick had a health scare during summer workouts that required medical attention. He is now working his way back to normal.
Fitzpatrick wasn’t in attendance when media were allowed to watch K-State football practice on Thursday. A timetable for his return is not yet known. I’m certainly not going to speculate on it.
The hope is that he will respond like Happy Gilmore after he got run over by a Volkswagen Beetle during the final round of the Tour Championship — keep playing and win a championship. But even that doesn’t happen let’s just all hope he recovers.
Coach Chris Klieman is holding a news conference on Monday. I assume the situation will be addressed more then.
Who is next in line to start at left tackle after the George Fitzpatrick news? -@garrett_b_1983 via X.
The two most likely candidates are John Pastore and Terrence Enos.
Both players possess enough size and heft to excel at the position. And both players have experience on the offensive line.
Enos is a transfer from Pitt who started two games at left tackle last season.
Pastore has proven himself as a productive blocker with the Wildcats, he has just struggled to stay healthy. If he can avoid injuries this season, he could be a valuable plug-and-play lineman until Fitzpatrick is able to return.
Here’s what Klieman had to say about Pastore at Big 12 Media Days: “John missed the entire 2024 season. He was penciled in to be in the rotation, if not a starter, at tackle. He’s back now, healthy this year and over 300 pounds at 6-foot-5. He’ll be a big player for us.”
More often than that, the Wildcats have been able to find adequate replacements when they have experienced injuries on the offensive line.
Happy Gilmore doesn’t need an experienced caddie. K-State doesn’t need a completely healthy offensive line. At least that’s what fans will once again be hoping for in 2025.
If the Kansas State Wildcats lose to Iowa State, is their season over? -@mrtroyh via X.
Over is a strong word.
With all the parity in the Big 12 and recent playoff expansion, one loss isn’t going to eliminate any team from championship contention.
Arizona State lost to lowly Cincinnati last season and found a way to win the conference championship. Iowa State consecutive games to Texas Tech and Kansas, then the Cyclones made the league championship game.
One loss, especially in Week 0, isn’t going to ruin a team ... unless we’re talking about Florida State from last season.
But it is worth noting that K-State has only won one game against Iowa State over the past five seasons. The year the Wildcats beat the Cyclones, they won the Big 12 and played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The other four years, they weren’t contenders.
So you can call it a huge game. The winner will have a huge advantage in the Big 12 championship race. But it’s certainly not win or go home like the Waterbury Open, where only the medalist at a single 18-hole competition gets promoted to the pro tour.
By the way, can you imagine some of the wild characters who would make the PGA Tour if that’s how they ran Q School?
Yeah, right. And Grizzly Adams had a beard. Who has the best beard on this team? -@bfullingt1 via X.
Grizzly Adams did have a beard!
It’s hard for me to pick a winner at this very moment, because when I see K-State football players at practice they all mostly have helmets on. So it’s not like I was able to get a good look at beards this week.
But I do have a short list of candidates for you.
The best beards on the team belong to ... Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder, Michael Capria, Terrence Enos, Damian Ilalio and Taylor Poitier.
None of them are as good as the beard that Happy Gilmore’s caddie showed us back in the day. But they are all pretty good.
Has Chris Klieman addressed his health. last year had some bit of a serious problem. Seems like a coach that could retire at anytime -@MrJaKaRa via X.
He explained his health situation last season after he felt dizzy (but didn’t miss a single play) of a home victory over Kansas.
He also shot down a retirement question a few weeks later.
I’m not sure what else there is for him to say.
He is back and ready to coach another season with the Wildcats, just like Adam Sandler is back and ready to make us all laugh in Happy Gilmore 2.
While it is certainly concerning that Klieman has suffered from dizziness in the past, it hasn’t caused him to miss any games during his six-year tenure in Manhattan. I know some fans are worried about this topic, but I think it’s a bit overblown. I would be much more concerned if an alligator bit his hand off years ago on a course down in Florida and he had to coach with a wooden replacement.
Klieman may not continue coaching until he is 80, but I don’t see him as a threat to retire “at anytime.”
What are your thoughts on CJ Jones returning to the K-State basketball team? - Jeff M. via e-mail.
Let’s hope CJ Jones and Jerome Tang had a conversation similar to when Happy Gilmore asked for help from Chubbs Peterson after he initially rejected him as a golf coach.
Gilmore: “I’m stupid, you’re smart. I was wrong, you were right. You’re the best, I’m the worst. You’re very good looking, I’m not attractive.”
Peterson: “All right. As long as you’re willing to admit that now.”
In all seriousness, Jones withdrawing from the transfer portal and returning to K-State is “meh” all the way around. It’s only an option because Jones was unable to find a better transfer destination and Tang was unable to find a better backcourt option in the portal.
Jones averaged 5.7 points and 1.5 assists in 18.9 minutes of playing time last season. The Wildcats have upgraded their roster over the past few months. So he will probably be asked to do less next season.
Bringing him back doesn’t move the needle in any way. But continuity is never a bad thing. Maybe having an extra returning guard on the roster will help the Wildcats when Tang looks to his bench.