The RJB is feeling pretty spiritual in this week’s selection. I have no idea how you want to choose to interpret the meaning of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” as blasphemous. I don’t. Before we posted this, we looked into the pros and cons and the history of this song. Why? Because a song that was recorded in 1969 is probably going to carry a lot of protest to it. Sure enough, there was. But the optimist in me believes Greenbaum may have had a better intention in recording it. In fact, when we hear it, the thinking is, “Well, isn’t that where we all hope we end up?”
But we’re not using Greenbaum’s. There was a cover of it in the 1980s by Doctor and the Medics. Oddly, this is one of the rare instances where the cover may actually be better than the original.
So Moses came down from Mt. Sinai bestowing the greatest laws from the highest of all authorities: The 10 commandments.
As we know, one of those is to remember the Sabbath Day and to keep it holy. We reserve that for Sunday.
Well, how did that work out yesterday? Obviously, new Baylor head coach Matt Rhule and his staff didn’t pay one lick of attention to that blessed law of the Lord by the events of Jan. 15. The nerve of some people. At some point, the frantic pace of the commitments that occurred between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. gave that commandment feel something like this:
And obviously, my tongue is firmly inserted on my keyboard as I’m writing. We love to worship. We also love our football. And you have to have players to play the game that you think are going to help you move in a positive direction. That’s probably where the man upstairs gives you that look of where he closes his eyes and does a slight up and down head shake to approve. He of all people should understand. After all, we deem him more merciful than anyone who is a part of our sphere.
I kid you not. As Jason Moore is about to come down, I’m walking into church. As I’m coming out, that’s when Eleasah Anderson announces. As I’m getting into my car after visiting with some people, Xavier Newman announces. A little later, Trestan Ebner announces. Talk about the fruits of thy labor.
Of course, you shouldn’t use prayer in the form of, “Oh, my Lord, please let Baylor football have a prosperous commitment surge from this first weekend so that the football program will continue the recent trend of success.’’
Admittedly, when I was kid, I prayed for my athletic teams to win all the time. Then I realized that someone else was probably praying for my team’s opponent to have similar success. I think God might have been saying, “C’mon now….”
But it was a fun Sunday – the Cowboys playoff result notwithstanding – wasn’t it? Baylor has dealt with multiple commitments in one day. I just can’t remember when it had four. If I’m right, I think the last time Baylor had something close to this was back in the summer of 2015 when parts of the now-defunct 2017 class came together. I remember I was on a plane when two came down.
The rush isn’t over from this first official visit weekend. Baylor is going to get more. As I referred to in my quick take from the weekend, I still believe Baylor is going to get DeSoto wide receiver K.D. Nixon to flip from Colorado.
I would think LaPorte linebacker Terrel Bernard will flip to Houston. In fact, I’d be shocked if he didn’t. Fort Worth Arlington Heights wide receiver Tariq Woolen is a 6-5 threat who I think can flip to Baylor from UTSA. But when you have a 6-5 frame, can catch the football and can run pretty well, Baylor probably isn’t the only one who knows about you.
Maybe Houston commit Chidi Ogbonnaya will become a Baylor Bear soon as well. He also has a pretty impressive 6-5 frame that you can build something around. He’s a player who should take a redshirt and develop in the new strength and conditioning program. I still think Baylor’s coaches are going to look for some stop gap help from JUCOs in the May term.
So let’s presume that these four become Bears. That means Baylor’s recruiting class went from one commitment on the day that Matt Rhule was hired (Dec. 7) to what is now 12 to what could become 16 at some point.
That’s pretty amazing work given the issues that Baylor confronted. Yet it’s not unprecedented. Remember between late April 2013 through the first half of June 2013 – a span of about seven weeks – Art Briles staff collected double digit commitments.
However, I understand that those were apples. What Rhule and his staff are dealing with is oranges. I admit that is beyond my expectations. I didn’t believe Baylor could get to 25. It still may not but it could be really close. I thought Baylor might be able to flip a few players. But not at this rate. We’re going to split hairs on a couple of these because players had re-opened a few weeks before becoming Baylor Bears.
>Lake Travis QB Charlie Brewer flips from SMU
>Abilene RB Abram Smith eventually flips from Tulsa to Baylor
>College Station DB Timarcus Davis flips from Houston to Baylor
>Cy Ranch WR R.J. Sneed flips from Ole Miss to Baylor
>Round Rock defensive end James Lynch eventually flips from USC to Baylor
>Henderson WR Trestan Ebner eventually flips from TCU to Baylor
>DeSoto offensive lineman Xavier Newman eventually flips from Colorado to Baylor
Indeed, this is the year of the flip. That’s seven of the current 12 who were committed to another school and changed direction. If anyone on this board thought Baylor was going to have this kind of success, then congratulations on picking all of the winners on Wall Street.
Like I wrote last week and what some of you have said, you can thank Art Briles. The perception of Baylor football is different now than what it was. Because young men of today are all about keeping it in the present, this benefits the program.
The scandal hurt but not as much as critics thought it was going to hurt. Now, getting all of the parts to fit and function is another thing. You could suspect that several of these will be ready to step on the field in the 2017 season opener against Liberty.
Still, February and March will be important. But it all starts with players. You have to have them. Baylor has the start it wants….and then some.
****
>On Friday, we witness one of the greatest things about the United States of America: the peaceful transition of power from one president to another. At 12:01 p.m. Jan. 20 Donald J. Trump is sworn as the nation’s 45th president. It will be peaceful in the way ceremony is conducted. It may not be with what we’re hearing could be very disruptive events during the ceremony and the speech. But the history will carry forward. One drastic ideology of allowing the government to handle everything will change to a government that wants to get people to believe in themselves.
That’s the one thing we can truly embrace. The United States is the great experiment that keeps working. Despite its numerous flaws, there are billions of people who would give up everything to come live here. For those of us who do, we know how fortunate we are. Other countries haven’t joined the 21st century in terms of how they want their governments to run.
Again, your publisher’s candidate was a write in, but I will watch the inauguration. I watch every one of them. Put the politics aside and watch how the United States conducts itself. It’s like no other.
>The day after the Cowboys season ended can be a bummer. But if you’re Dallas, you know you have something with Dak Prescott at quarterback and Ezekial Elliott at running back. Dallas just has to get its defense shored up a bit more.
>I don’t know all of the particulars surrounding the strain between Houston coach Bill O’Brien and Texans’ management. But I can’t understand why a coach who has taken this team to the playoffs in two consecutive seasons would be at philosophical odds with management.
>On Wednesday the Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2017 class. It’s a later than normal because this announcement is usually the first week of January. You would think that former Rangers catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is a shoo-in to make it. On a personal note, I hope former Montreal outfield Tim Raines finally gets in.
>Pitchers and catcher report in February. It’s getting closer.
****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
>To finish out its season-opening indoor meet, the Baylor track and field team tallied six event titles at the Texas A&M Team Invitational Saturday.
Competing for the second straight day at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, Baylor's women's squad racked up 128 points for a second-place team finish, while the men were third with 97 points.
In their final race of the day, the BU women collected its last of four event wins. The 4x400-meter relay of Victoria Powell, Kiana Hawn, Aaliyah Miller and Leticia De Souza ran a 3:34.00 to claim first. The Bears trailed in the opening two legs to Texas A&M, but Miller drew BU just ahead of the Aggies with a split of 53.24, before De Souza produced an anchor split of 51.83 to clinch the victory. The time is the sixth-fastest in school history and currently No. 1 in the NCAA.
The BU women picked up two wins in the field events, including Cion Hicks dominating performance in the shot put with a best throw of 54-1.25 [16.49m]. The senior won the competition by almost half of a meter.
Competing in a collegiate meet for the first time since June 2015, senior Brianna Richardson won the long jump with a leap of 19-0.75 [5.81m], which she accomplished on her first attempt of the day. Richardson suffered a hamstring injury in the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships and then suffered a stress fracture that kept her out of 2016 action.
Baylor will now travel to the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 20-21
>Two years ago, the Billy W. Williams Golf Practice Facility was nothing more than a dream and a vision of what could be.
Saturday afternoon, the dream was realized when the Baylor men’s and women’s golf teams took their first shots from the 16 ½-acre green oasis of the on-campus practice facility off University Parks Drive, next to the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
“When you have a dream – until you’re actually there – it’s not really reality,” men’s golf coach Mike McGraw said. “Today is the reality of what Billy (Williams) and I talked about two years ago. We’re really excited, and I know Coach (Jay) Goble and I are going to be able to do a lot more with this facility than we would have without it, for sure.”
-Jerry Hill of the Baylor Bear Foundation
>Baylor men's tennis continued its winning ways Sunday at the Sherwood Country Club to get two singles players and a doubles tandem into the Sherwood Collegiate Cup’s finals. The event continues Monday at noon Pacific.
But we’re not using Greenbaum’s. There was a cover of it in the 1980s by Doctor and the Medics. Oddly, this is one of the rare instances where the cover may actually be better than the original.
So Moses came down from Mt. Sinai bestowing the greatest laws from the highest of all authorities: The 10 commandments.
As we know, one of those is to remember the Sabbath Day and to keep it holy. We reserve that for Sunday.
Well, how did that work out yesterday? Obviously, new Baylor head coach Matt Rhule and his staff didn’t pay one lick of attention to that blessed law of the Lord by the events of Jan. 15. The nerve of some people. At some point, the frantic pace of the commitments that occurred between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. gave that commandment feel something like this:
And obviously, my tongue is firmly inserted on my keyboard as I’m writing. We love to worship. We also love our football. And you have to have players to play the game that you think are going to help you move in a positive direction. That’s probably where the man upstairs gives you that look of where he closes his eyes and does a slight up and down head shake to approve. He of all people should understand. After all, we deem him more merciful than anyone who is a part of our sphere.
I kid you not. As Jason Moore is about to come down, I’m walking into church. As I’m coming out, that’s when Eleasah Anderson announces. As I’m getting into my car after visiting with some people, Xavier Newman announces. A little later, Trestan Ebner announces. Talk about the fruits of thy labor.
Of course, you shouldn’t use prayer in the form of, “Oh, my Lord, please let Baylor football have a prosperous commitment surge from this first weekend so that the football program will continue the recent trend of success.’’
Admittedly, when I was kid, I prayed for my athletic teams to win all the time. Then I realized that someone else was probably praying for my team’s opponent to have similar success. I think God might have been saying, “C’mon now….”
But it was a fun Sunday – the Cowboys playoff result notwithstanding – wasn’t it? Baylor has dealt with multiple commitments in one day. I just can’t remember when it had four. If I’m right, I think the last time Baylor had something close to this was back in the summer of 2015 when parts of the now-defunct 2017 class came together. I remember I was on a plane when two came down.
The rush isn’t over from this first official visit weekend. Baylor is going to get more. As I referred to in my quick take from the weekend, I still believe Baylor is going to get DeSoto wide receiver K.D. Nixon to flip from Colorado.
I would think LaPorte linebacker Terrel Bernard will flip to Houston. In fact, I’d be shocked if he didn’t. Fort Worth Arlington Heights wide receiver Tariq Woolen is a 6-5 threat who I think can flip to Baylor from UTSA. But when you have a 6-5 frame, can catch the football and can run pretty well, Baylor probably isn’t the only one who knows about you.
Maybe Houston commit Chidi Ogbonnaya will become a Baylor Bear soon as well. He also has a pretty impressive 6-5 frame that you can build something around. He’s a player who should take a redshirt and develop in the new strength and conditioning program. I still think Baylor’s coaches are going to look for some stop gap help from JUCOs in the May term.
So let’s presume that these four become Bears. That means Baylor’s recruiting class went from one commitment on the day that Matt Rhule was hired (Dec. 7) to what is now 12 to what could become 16 at some point.
That’s pretty amazing work given the issues that Baylor confronted. Yet it’s not unprecedented. Remember between late April 2013 through the first half of June 2013 – a span of about seven weeks – Art Briles staff collected double digit commitments.
However, I understand that those were apples. What Rhule and his staff are dealing with is oranges. I admit that is beyond my expectations. I didn’t believe Baylor could get to 25. It still may not but it could be really close. I thought Baylor might be able to flip a few players. But not at this rate. We’re going to split hairs on a couple of these because players had re-opened a few weeks before becoming Baylor Bears.
>Lake Travis QB Charlie Brewer flips from SMU
>Abilene RB Abram Smith eventually flips from Tulsa to Baylor
>College Station DB Timarcus Davis flips from Houston to Baylor
>Cy Ranch WR R.J. Sneed flips from Ole Miss to Baylor
>Round Rock defensive end James Lynch eventually flips from USC to Baylor
>Henderson WR Trestan Ebner eventually flips from TCU to Baylor
>DeSoto offensive lineman Xavier Newman eventually flips from Colorado to Baylor
Indeed, this is the year of the flip. That’s seven of the current 12 who were committed to another school and changed direction. If anyone on this board thought Baylor was going to have this kind of success, then congratulations on picking all of the winners on Wall Street.
Like I wrote last week and what some of you have said, you can thank Art Briles. The perception of Baylor football is different now than what it was. Because young men of today are all about keeping it in the present, this benefits the program.
The scandal hurt but not as much as critics thought it was going to hurt. Now, getting all of the parts to fit and function is another thing. You could suspect that several of these will be ready to step on the field in the 2017 season opener against Liberty.
Still, February and March will be important. But it all starts with players. You have to have them. Baylor has the start it wants….and then some.
****
>On Friday, we witness one of the greatest things about the United States of America: the peaceful transition of power from one president to another. At 12:01 p.m. Jan. 20 Donald J. Trump is sworn as the nation’s 45th president. It will be peaceful in the way ceremony is conducted. It may not be with what we’re hearing could be very disruptive events during the ceremony and the speech. But the history will carry forward. One drastic ideology of allowing the government to handle everything will change to a government that wants to get people to believe in themselves.
That’s the one thing we can truly embrace. The United States is the great experiment that keeps working. Despite its numerous flaws, there are billions of people who would give up everything to come live here. For those of us who do, we know how fortunate we are. Other countries haven’t joined the 21st century in terms of how they want their governments to run.
Again, your publisher’s candidate was a write in, but I will watch the inauguration. I watch every one of them. Put the politics aside and watch how the United States conducts itself. It’s like no other.
>The day after the Cowboys season ended can be a bummer. But if you’re Dallas, you know you have something with Dak Prescott at quarterback and Ezekial Elliott at running back. Dallas just has to get its defense shored up a bit more.
>I don’t know all of the particulars surrounding the strain between Houston coach Bill O’Brien and Texans’ management. But I can’t understand why a coach who has taken this team to the playoffs in two consecutive seasons would be at philosophical odds with management.
>On Wednesday the Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2017 class. It’s a later than normal because this announcement is usually the first week of January. You would think that former Rangers catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is a shoo-in to make it. On a personal note, I hope former Montreal outfield Tim Raines finally gets in.
>Pitchers and catcher report in February. It’s getting closer.
****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
>To finish out its season-opening indoor meet, the Baylor track and field team tallied six event titles at the Texas A&M Team Invitational Saturday.
Competing for the second straight day at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, Baylor's women's squad racked up 128 points for a second-place team finish, while the men were third with 97 points.
In their final race of the day, the BU women collected its last of four event wins. The 4x400-meter relay of Victoria Powell, Kiana Hawn, Aaliyah Miller and Leticia De Souza ran a 3:34.00 to claim first. The Bears trailed in the opening two legs to Texas A&M, but Miller drew BU just ahead of the Aggies with a split of 53.24, before De Souza produced an anchor split of 51.83 to clinch the victory. The time is the sixth-fastest in school history and currently No. 1 in the NCAA.
The BU women picked up two wins in the field events, including Cion Hicks dominating performance in the shot put with a best throw of 54-1.25 [16.49m]. The senior won the competition by almost half of a meter.
Competing in a collegiate meet for the first time since June 2015, senior Brianna Richardson won the long jump with a leap of 19-0.75 [5.81m], which she accomplished on her first attempt of the day. Richardson suffered a hamstring injury in the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships and then suffered a stress fracture that kept her out of 2016 action.
Baylor will now travel to the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 20-21
>Two years ago, the Billy W. Williams Golf Practice Facility was nothing more than a dream and a vision of what could be.
Saturday afternoon, the dream was realized when the Baylor men’s and women’s golf teams took their first shots from the 16 ½-acre green oasis of the on-campus practice facility off University Parks Drive, next to the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
“When you have a dream – until you’re actually there – it’s not really reality,” men’s golf coach Mike McGraw said. “Today is the reality of what Billy (Williams) and I talked about two years ago. We’re really excited, and I know Coach (Jay) Goble and I are going to be able to do a lot more with this facility than we would have without it, for sure.”
-Jerry Hill of the Baylor Bear Foundation
>Baylor men's tennis continued its winning ways Sunday at the Sherwood Country Club to get two singles players and a doubles tandem into the Sherwood Collegiate Cup’s finals. The event continues Monday at noon Pacific.
