Apparently, here in Sports Columnist Land we're going to spend the day answering emails and phone calls from concerned Kansas State football fans who would like it pointed out that their beloved Wildcats play at Louisville this year, whereas* in today's column, yours truly only mentioned the other three nonconference games: North Texas, Louisiana-Lafayette and Montana State.

*I'm not even sure I used it correctly, but "whereas" is a pretty snooty sounding word. I'll try to work "henceforth" in here later to keep it company.

Among the angry was Aaron from Kansas City. Take it away ...
"You obviously did a little research on K-State's non-conference schedule, however, you blatantly left out a key ingredient to that line-up. That's their September 17 match-up on the road against the Louisville Cardinals. That's a pretty big omission on your part, don't you think?"

Of course it was an omission. Always omiss the details that hurt your argument. They teach you that on the first day of columnist school. I'm not sure it qualifies as "pretty big" though. The Wildcats still have a bad nonconference schedule, or as they should be calling it, "The Sun Belt Conference Tours Manhattan, Kansas."

But we here at the blog would like to commend these faithful Kansas State fans for their commitment to accuracy, as well as their persistence. It takes a long time to dial 11 numbers on a rotary phone*.

*That would be the standard Kansas-lacks-technology joke, which I am allowed to tell because I am, as many of you know, a native of the Sunflower State. Yes, a proud member of the Hugoton High School class of 1995, an elite group of 62 graduates. (Some time the blog will explain how it lost a rigged class officer election.) It's a little like the dentist on "Seinfeld," who converted to Judaism and then felt it was OK for him to tell Jewish jokes. That's me. I was born in Kansas, raised there, drove a tractor, slopped hogs (even though I don't know what that means), ate at the Dairy Queen and the Pizza Hut, so I've paid my dues. I can make fun.

Because we are a service blog -- making up for the inadequacies of the column has suddenly become a full-time gig -- we now present the new-and-improved, fully-updated 2008 Kansas State football schedule, in its completeness. You can judge for yourself.

KANSAS STATE
Aug. 30 - North Texas.................. Manhattan, Kan.
Sept. 6 - Montana State............... Manhattan, Kan.
Sept. 17 - at Louisville.................... Louisville, Ky.
Sept. 27 - Louisiana-Lafayette...... Manhattan, Kan.
Oct. 4 - Texas Tech*.................... Manhattan, Kan.
Oct. 11 - at Texas A&M*....... College Station, Texas
Oct. 18 - at Colorado*...................... Boulder, Colo.
Oct. 25 - Oklahoma*..................... Manhattan, Kan.
Nov. 1 - at Kansas*........................ Lawrence, Kan.
Nov. 8 - at Missouri*........................ Columbia, Mo.
Nov. 15 - Nebraska*...................... Manhattan, Kan.
Nov. 22 - Iowa State*..................... Manhattan, Kan.
(*Big 12 conference games)

In full disclosure, I should tell you that not all have been annoyed at the column. Many Kansas State fans were in full agreement, and those emails were actually worse than the angry ones because those people were standing at the edge of full-blown depression, and that's no way to be when your team is still five months away from a kickoff.

Galen from Belton, Missouri, you have the floor ...
"I am a K-State season ticket holder, and I agree with you 100%. Prince is trying to save his job."

It seems that, yes, Kansas State football coach Ron Prince is trying to save his job. What other impression could you get from his signing of 19 junior college transfers and dumping Fresno State from the schedule? Hard to be too upset with him, though. If someone gave you a $750,000 job and said, "Win or it's gone," you'd be inviting the Sun Belt to town, too. If I'm a Kansas State season ticket holder, though, forking over three installments of $6.99, or whatever they charge in the Midwest, I'd be a little annoyed at the devaluation of my entertainment dollar. Can you imagine selling season tickets to Broadway, and before the 2008 theater season, it was announced that, oh by the way, instead of Les Miserables in Week 5, you would be watching two chubby mechanics eat Carl's Jr. chili burgers? I'm not saying Fresno State is Les Mis and Montana State is a couple chubby mechanics (Though I did kind of say that, didn't I?), but as a college football fan, the Bulldogs are a team I want to see in '08. Ryan Mathews at running back. A good passing game. A possibly ranked team.

Still, it still isn't a bad season ticket when you get to see Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa State. There are college football fans who would walk through plate-glass windows to see the Sooners and Cornhuskers in the same season. (Also, there are quite a few college football fans who've walked through plate-glass windows on their own, with absolutely nothing on the line.) Fresno State fans would surely like to see games like that. This year is a rarity. Wisconsin comes to Fresno, and someone at Fresno State says the university from Madison has already purchased 4,000 tickets. It's going to be a good one. Badgers and Bulldogs. Red Wave vs. Bucky Badger. Fresno State administrators are so sure it's going to sell out, they've already devised ways to force you into buying tickets for all the other home games, just to get to see the Wisconsin game. No single tickets will be available, just group packages or season tickets. That's what I'm told. The messenger requests no punches to the face.

We love added bonus material, so here is your 2008 Fresno State schedule, conference games asterisked for your convenience, because that's how the blog rolls...

FRESNO STATE
Sept. 1 - at Rutgers..................... Piscataway, N.J.
Sept. 13 - Wisconsin................................. Fresno
Sept. 20 - at Toledo......................... Toledo, Ohio
Sept. 27 - at UCLA....................... Pasadena, Calif.
Oct. 4 - Hawaii*........................................ Fresno
Oct. 11 - Idaho*........................................ Fresno
Oct. 25 - at Utah State*..................... Logan, Utah
Nov. 1 - at Louisiana Tech*.................. Ruston, La.
Nov. 7 - Nevada*....................................... Fresno
Nov. 15 - New Mexico State*...................... Fresno
Nov. 21 - at San Jose State*........... San Jose, Calif.
Nov. 28 - at Boise State*.................... Boise, Idaho
(*WAC conference games)

Wisconsin pretty much makes the home ticket. Without the Badgers, you'd be buying season passes to watch Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico State and Idaho. But that's what happens in mid-major land. Can't pay enough to get I-AA games, and the BCS schools can buy out of pretty much any contract to come to your place. Even if you're in the Big East, which we can all hopefully agree is a pretty shoddy football conference, you get seven home games. Observe the Rutgers schedule, which still has a hole to be filled ...

RUTGERS
Sept. 1 - Fresno State................... Piscataway, N.J.
Sept. 11 - North Carolina .............. Piscataway, N.J.
Sept. 20 - at Navy........................... Annapolis, Md.
Sept. 27 - TBA.............................. Piscataway, N.J.
Oct. 4 - at West Virginia*............ Morgantown, W.V.
Oct. 11 - at Cincinnati*.................. Cincinnati, Ohio
Oct. 18 - Connecticut*................... Piscataway, N.J.
Oct. 25 - at Pittsburgh*.................... Pittsburgh, Pa.
Nov. 8 - Syracuse*......................... Piscataway, N.J.
Nov. 15 - at South Florida*................... Tampa, Fla.
Nov. 22 - Army.............................. Piscataway, N.J.
Dec. 4 - Louisville*........................ Piscataway, N.J.
(*Big East conference games)

Now there's good dollar-value for your season ticket: Fresno State, North Carolina and the conference schedule. Can't beat that. And, as an added bonus, you get Army, and who doesn't want to cheer those who serve our country in the armed forces? No seriously. Tell me who. Because I've been instructed by the president to point these people out, so they can be relocated to a special, secret location where people speak an entirely different dialect -- like southern Illinois.

Seriously, though, I cannot describe in words how long it took make all these schedules look the same, and make all those little periods line up. I have literally written columns that won awards in the time it took me to put three schedules on this blog. Henceforth, I'm giving myself the rest of the day off.