BOULDER, Co. – In a shocking turn of events, Curtis Kelly completed his destruction of the Kansas State Wildcats basketball team by whacking his coach, Frank Martin, in the back with a steel chair during the Wildcats 58-56 loss against Colorado on Saturday. Immediately after the chair shot, Kelly tore off his Kansas State jersey to reveal a University of Kansas t-shirt, then extended both middle fingers to the Wildcats’ bench and walked off the court to a chorus of boos from the K-State fans in Boulder.
The events culminated Kelly’s slow turn on his coach and teammates, as he has seemingly spent the entire season undermining the Kansas State basketball team, which was coming off an appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in 2010, and had earned a pre-season ranking of No. 3 in the country.
The chair shot only added to the painful night for the Wildcats, which fell to 4-6 in Big 12 play after Rodney McGruder's apparent game-winning 3-pointer was waved off. The Wildcats now find themselves in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament, and have to deal with losing what should have been their best frontcourt player in Kelly.
“Looking back, all the signs were there, but as a fan you just didn’t want to believe it,” said Wyatt Thompson, the voice of the Kansas State Wildcats. “When it happened, all I could think was, ‘Good God, what is he doing? No, no, no!’”
Kelly’s season got off to a rocky start when he was benched for three games by Martin for allegedly giving poor effort during practice. He then picked up a six-game suspension in December for an impermissible benefits violation when he accepted free clothing from a Dillards in the Manhattan mall. And the most recent events come on the heels of another possible university violation that caused controversy throughout last week.
When reached for comment, Kelly said the turn started well before the season.
“All last year, I was the guy who put us on our shoulders and took us to the Elite Eight. But when you’d hear from fans and the media, all they talked about was Frank’s stare, or Jake’s beard,” Kelly said. “It’s bullshit. That was my team. And if they’re not gonna recognize, then I’m gonna make them recognize. And that's the bottom line.”
Showing posts with label Frank Martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Martin. Show all posts
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Frank Martin gets call of support from Charlie Sheen
MANHATTAN – Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin today received a call from television star Charlie Sheen, offering words of encouragement to the embattled coach.
Martin, who came under fire this weekend after being caught on tape smacking one of his players, said he’s been inundated with calls of support from coaches, fans and especially celebrities, such as Tom Sizemore, Chris Brown and, of course, Sheen.
Sheen has a history of alleged violence against women, including recent accusations that he held a knife to his wife’s throat and threatened to have her killed. However, he has apparently made amends with his wife, who has requested that the recent restraining order against him be dropped.
“He just said that he understood what I was going through, and that by apologizing, professing my love for Chris (Merrieweather) and promising to never to it again, I was guaranteeing myself a free pass this time, and possibly next time it happens,” said Martin. “It was good to hear from a guy like Charlie, who’s dealt with this sort of thing a lot. I’ve got his number now, so next time it happens I can give him a call first.”
Martin said he’s trying to put the incident behind him, but that he’s flattered so many famous people have reached out. There was one call, however, that Martin decided not to take.
“OJ Simpson called yesterday morning. I let that one go to voicemail.”
Martin, who came under fire this weekend after being caught on tape smacking one of his players, said he’s been inundated with calls of support from coaches, fans and especially celebrities, such as Tom Sizemore, Chris Brown and, of course, Sheen.
Sheen has a history of alleged violence against women, including recent accusations that he held a knife to his wife’s throat and threatened to have her killed. However, he has apparently made amends with his wife, who has requested that the recent restraining order against him be dropped.
“He just said that he understood what I was going through, and that by apologizing, professing my love for Chris (Merrieweather) and promising to never to it again, I was guaranteeing myself a free pass this time, and possibly next time it happens,” said Martin. “It was good to hear from a guy like Charlie, who’s dealt with this sort of thing a lot. I’ve got his number now, so next time it happens I can give him a call first.”
Martin said he’s trying to put the incident behind him, but that he’s flattered so many famous people have reached out. There was one call, however, that Martin decided not to take.
“OJ Simpson called yesterday morning. I let that one go to voicemail.”
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Frank Martin Halloween masks flying off shelves
OTTAWA – Halloween is fully of scary characters, but according to Larry Steinsfield’s customers, no one is scarier than Frank Martin, men’s basketball coach at Kansas State University.
Steinsfield, who manages two Targets in Kansas, including the Target in Ottawa, said his store cannot keep rubber masks of Martin’s face in the store, despite three reorders.
“It’s the first thing people ask for. Apparently, his face is terrifying,” said Steinsfield, 53, adding Martin’s mask moved places on the shelves early in the costume-buying season. “At first, we had him among the celebrities, like Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, Kate Gosselin, and Dwight Schrute. But people kept going to our horror section looking for the mask. So it’s now between Freddy Kruger and that guy from the Saw movies. And, by looking at the face, it makes more sense there.”
The idea of a Frank Martin mask came from Rick Georgio, who heads up marketing for Scare-Me, Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that manufactures rubber masks. Georgio, who grew up in Oklahoma, said he was watching Martin coach the Kansas State Wildcats against his alma matter, Oklahoma State, when inspiration struck. A call had gone against Kansas State and Martin’s eyes bulged from his head before he erupted in a screaming fit against one of his players.
“I had it on DVR, and I kept replaying it and watching over and over again. Every once in while I’d stop it just as he’s about to explode,” said Georgio. “There’s so much intensity in that face. You can almost see the veins pop out of his head. It really looked like he was about to murder someone. My wife made me stop doing it because it was really freaking her out. She ended up having a nightmare about it.”
Georgio’s bosses at Scare-Me were initially skeptical about manufacturing a rubber mask of the coach of a second-rate basketball team. But after a quick viewing of a Frank Martin explosion on the sidelines, they quickly agreed to give it a trial run. Within three days of the masks hitting the shelves, the company was getting requests for more product, prompting another printing of masks.
Because of Georgio’s inspiration, and Martin’s terrifying expressions, children and teenagers in the Kansas City area, and even beyond the Midwest, will don the mask to spook neighbors and friends. Even those who are clueless about the person who inspired the mask wear it with pride.
“He’s a coach?” asked Daryl Yarmin, 16, of Bentonville, Arkansas. “I thought he was a serial killer or some kind of high-ranking gangster. That face was so scary. I’d be afraid if I was a referee for that guy. He’d probably kill you if you made a bad call.”
For Steinsfield, the Frank Martin mask has been a blessing for sales, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s not the scariest mask on the shelves.
“The Frank Martin mask is scary. But he’s still no Kate Gosselin,” said Steinsfield. “That bitch makes my skin crawl.”
Steinsfield, who manages two Targets in Kansas, including the Target in Ottawa, said his store cannot keep rubber masks of Martin’s face in the store, despite three reorders.
“It’s the first thing people ask for. Apparently, his face is terrifying,” said Steinsfield, 53, adding Martin’s mask moved places on the shelves early in the costume-buying season. “At first, we had him among the celebrities, like Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, Kate Gosselin, and Dwight Schrute. But people kept going to our horror section looking for the mask. So it’s now between Freddy Kruger and that guy from the Saw movies. And, by looking at the face, it makes more sense there.”
The idea of a Frank Martin mask came from Rick Georgio, who heads up marketing for Scare-Me, Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that manufactures rubber masks. Georgio, who grew up in Oklahoma, said he was watching Martin coach the Kansas State Wildcats against his alma matter, Oklahoma State, when inspiration struck. A call had gone against Kansas State and Martin’s eyes bulged from his head before he erupted in a screaming fit against one of his players.
“I had it on DVR, and I kept replaying it and watching over and over again. Every once in while I’d stop it just as he’s about to explode,” said Georgio. “There’s so much intensity in that face. You can almost see the veins pop out of his head. It really looked like he was about to murder someone. My wife made me stop doing it because it was really freaking her out. She ended up having a nightmare about it.”
Georgio’s bosses at Scare-Me were initially skeptical about manufacturing a rubber mask of the coach of a second-rate basketball team. But after a quick viewing of a Frank Martin explosion on the sidelines, they quickly agreed to give it a trial run. Within three days of the masks hitting the shelves, the company was getting requests for more product, prompting another printing of masks.
Because of Georgio’s inspiration, and Martin’s terrifying expressions, children and teenagers in the Kansas City area, and even beyond the Midwest, will don the mask to spook neighbors and friends. Even those who are clueless about the person who inspired the mask wear it with pride.
“He’s a coach?” asked Daryl Yarmin, 16, of Bentonville, Arkansas. “I thought he was a serial killer or some kind of high-ranking gangster. That face was so scary. I’d be afraid if I was a referee for that guy. He’d probably kill you if you made a bad call.”
For Steinsfield, the Frank Martin mask has been a blessing for sales, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s not the scariest mask on the shelves.
“The Frank Martin mask is scary. But he’s still no Kate Gosselin,” said Steinsfield. “That bitch makes my skin crawl.”
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