What is up with Kansas sports teams...?

Logged on to ESPN.com today like I do any other day just to browse around. I wasn't expecting to read anything earth-shattering, but I was very startled to read this story about Kansas basketball player Tyshawn Taylor. The headline said that the sophomore swingman dislocated his thumb, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. But then details emerged.

It was first reported by the Lawrence Journal-World & News that Taylor's injury was caused by a punch he threw. Not smart, but believable. However, this was no average Joe he swung at, it was a Kansas football player. Supposedly about 6:30 p.m., athletes from both teams began arguing outside of the student union on campus. He was treated at a hospital and released. So far no other players involved have been named.

The statements on the ESPN article taken from Taylor's Facebook page are pretty jarring. I'm not sure what to make of that. As an athlete at a top university like Kansas, he's got to know he's a celebrity and a public figure. He should be smarter than to post updates like that.

Overall, this is a pretty strange thing to happen. As a former college athlete, I know there can sometimes be tension between football and basketball teams. When I played at Division III Simpson College, we shared a locker room with the football team. Sure, there would be times the teams would get frustrated with each other, but never to the point where someone wanted to throw a punch at someone from the opposite team.

There's obviously something deeper going on between these players or teams. Who knows what it is, but it will be interesting to follow as more facts are gathered and released. We all know Kansas doesn't follow the typical university sports hierarchy, with football being the top-dog of the athletic department and usually the entire college. Basketball is the money-maker at Kansas, although the football team is finally relevant and making huge strides in the Big 12 and nationally in recent years. Maybe this has something to do with respect in those terms.

In the big picture, things should be fine. Taylor, who averaged 9.7 points per game and three assists per game as a frosh, looks to be out three weeks to a month. The Jayhawks are nearly a unanimous choice to be ranked preseason No. 1 overall. The team begins its season with the annual "Late Night at The Phog" on Oct. 16.

(ESPN reported that heralded recruit Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa, the No. 1 ranked player in the 2010 class, will possibly be taking his official visit to KU the weekend of "Late Nigh at The Phog." For sure, No. 26-rated shooting guard Royce Woolridge, who has already verbally committed, will be in attendance.)

I'm out. RL