This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend SiriusXM host Ari Temkin. Fitz and Temkin met through Temkin's show Big 12 This Morning on the Big 12 channel (SXM 375) and they quickly hit it off. Temkin, a 2007 graduate of Kansas, has spent a majority of his career in Texas, hosting shows in Austin and San Antonio before moving to SiriusXM to co-host his show with former Iowa State and NFL quarterback Dave Archer. Temkin also hosts the pregame and postgame shows on the Dallas Cowboys radio network. Fitz and Ari recently saw each other in Arlington, Texas, at Big 12 Media Days and Fitz's pledge to have him on his podcast has now come true.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

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This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State receiver Curry Sexton, who now practices law in Kansas City. Sexton is a former walk-on from Abilene, Kansas, who developed into a special pass-catcher during his career. He currently sits at seventh on the school's all-time reception list and made many key plays during his career from 2011-14, but a remarkable one-handed touchdown catch against Texas Tech during his senior season is worthy of any highlight reel. Now working for the firm Seigfreid Bingham in Kansas City, Missouri, one of Sexton's areas of law deals with sports and entertainment, so he's keeping a close watch on recent developments with the NCAA concerning name, image, and likeness rights, as well as the recent unanimous Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his former employee, Matt Hall, who became a competitor in recent years. Fitz and Matt had a public falling out when GoPowercat left the Rivals.com Network to join 247Sports and Matt became part of the new Rivals team that competed against GPC. Their relationship soured and their feud became public, but in the spring of 2020 everything changed. As Matt explains, he reacted poorly to some medication and it led to what his doctor now believes was a manic episode. He was either fired or quit his job at K-State Online, the Rivals site, and his divorce from his boss was also public. He moved to Las Vegas and when an expected job didn't work out, he came back to Kansas and now lives in Newton, Kansas, to gather his life together after a divorce, career change and personal financial ruin. However, when Matt began to struggle emotionally, Fitz and Matt reconnected as he tried to sort through what he was experiencing. Now, a year later, his one-year restriction on talking about K-State sports has expired and he's become a member of GoPowercat.com. It's been quite a journey.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling Manhattan businessman Larry Weigel, a former Kansas State basketball player and assistant coach. Weigel played for Coach Tex Winter and was a member of the 1964 Final Four team starring Willie Murrell. He went on to serve as an assistant coach for Winter, then Cotton Fitzsimmons and Jack Hartman. Last week's guest, Lon Kruger, was recruited to come to K-State by Weigel, first under Fitzsimmons and then Hartman. Weigel left coaching to work for Kansas State in different capacities until he entered private business. Since around 2010, Weigel has shared a newsletter with friends called Triangulate News with the intention of updating people on Coach Winter and then eventually educating people about the history of Kansas State athletics. He is a walking encyclopedia concerning some of the greatest days in K-State basketball history. If you would like to be included on Weigel's mail list for Triangulate News, send him a request to [email protected].

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State basketball player and coach Lon Kruger, who retired from coaching this fall when he stepped down at the University of Oklahoma. Fitz was a senior at Kansas State in 1986 when Kruger was hired to replace the legendary Jack Hartman, and his official hiring was a story Fitz scooped as the sports editor of The Collegian, K-State's student newspaper. Kruger stayed at K-State just four years before heading to Florida and then Illinois. Kruger then moved into the NBA for four years before returning to the college game in 2004 when he was hired as head coach at UNLV. Then in 2011, OU hired Kruger and provided him with his longest stretch as a coach in his entire career. Kruger and his wife, Barb, still reside in Norman but they will eventually make Vegas their retirement home because their son, Kevin, was named UNLV's head coach this spring. Their daughter, Angie, is a doctor who recently moved with her family to Puerto Rico. The Krugers have five grandchildren. In addition, Kruger has long been involved with the organization, Coach vs. Cancer, and hosts an annual golf event each summer in Las Vegas on behalf of the organization.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State assistant coach Mark Mangino, who went on to win a national title as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma and then became Kansas' head coach for nine seasons, leading the Jayhawks to a historic Orange Bowl season in 2007. Two years later, KU athletics director Lew Perkins fired Mangino and Kansas football has never been the same. Mangino served as associate head coach at Youngstown State for a season and then was offensive coordinator at Iowa State for two seasons, but now is retired with his wife Mary Jane in Naples, Florida. His son, Tommy, coaches high school football now in Austin, Texas, where he and his wife have four sons. His daughter, Samantha, lives in Oklahoma City with her husband and three daughters. 

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former receiver/quarterback Kody Cook in Hutchinson, Kansas. Cook is now the wide receivers coach at his alma mater Hutchinson Community College, and after playing a spring season this year due to COVID-19, the Blue Dragons captured the national title. Before going to Hutch and eventually Kansas State, Cook was the quarterback at Louisburg (Kan.) High, a town of fewer than 5,000 people just south over the Kansas City metro area. Cook played both receiver and QB at Hutch and after coming to K-State and redshirting in 2013, he ended up doing the exact same thing in Manhattan, ending his college football career by starting at quarterback for the Wildcats in the 2015 Liberty Bowl versus Arkansas. Now back in Hutch, Kody and his wife Kylie, the daughter of K-State football legend Michael Smith, are preparing for their life adventure in football coaching.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State defensive end Darren Howard in Tampa, Florida. Howard came to K-State from the Florida prep ranks in 1995, playing for Coach Bill Snyder during the 1996 through 1999 seasons. During that span of time, Howard asserted himself as one of the more disruptive defensive ends in college football, and then he was drafted in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the board New Orleans Saints. Howard played 10 years in the NFL, completing his career in Philadelphia before returning to his home state and settling in Tampa, meeting his wife, Lyani, and starting a family. Professionally, he dabbles in a lot of different area, including owning a professional audio post-production company.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State quarterback, baseball player and football coach Matt Miller. Miller was the quarterback for the 1995 Kansas State team and was named the second-team All-Big Eight quarterback after a record-setting senior season. Miller directed the program to its first 10-win season and into a Holiday Bowl berth that is best known for Miller suffering one of his numerous concussions and being relieved by junior Brian Kavanagh, who proceeded to play one of the best games in the bowl's history at the Wildcats beat Colorado State, 54-21. Miller has overcome battles with alcohol and now has been diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, which has brought Matt and Fitz together. This episode of this podcast is Matt's first public discussion of his dire medical situation. Matt has two teenage daughters and a five-year-old daughter, Dani. He's been living in Pittsburg, Kansas, but will soon be moving to the Kansas City area to be closer to his doctors at KU Med. When he spoke with Fitz over the weekend, Matt was visiting his parents in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Of course, Matt's father, Les Miller was the Kansas City Chiefs’ director of player personnel for 13 years. He also worked also for the Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, and Cleveland Browns, and also was involved in NFL Europe.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State placekicker Mark Porter. Porter redshirted in 1984 and then played for the Wildcats from 1985-88. Older fans may remember Porter as a player, but all fans now know him as the father of two walk-on receivers in the K-State program, sophomore Seth and incoming freshman Shane, who is better known for having a million followers on a social media app called TikTok. Mark Porter is a great person to speak about the past of K-State football and what the future holds for Chris Klieman's program.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Stitcher

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices