Happy President's Day! You remember the 44 guys who have held the highest office in the land. Somehow, this Federal Holiday has lost its luster. Regardless of what we think of those who have held it - past and present - they should be recognized. I'm sure all of us in grade school thought about being President of United States. And then we decided to aim higher. But I digress.
I'm not sure where to begin with this other than I know that when the baton is passed to you, you better not drop it and your time in the leg you are running better be a personal best. As Jake said he's going to be around every now and then. But the chaos at his house this weekend was definite with showings and using a power window washer to prepare the place.
Admittedly, this new edition of "Thoughts" will primarily focus on Baylor. But it also doesn't hurt to bring up things outside of the community and the world around us. As I've said in the past, I have no problem if topics discussed on this board are way off the beaten path. I realize that many of us are probably not comfortable with that and want to stick with the usual. No problem there. Still, test a boundary here and there and see what kind of response you get. You may bring up something that no one considered. And as this goes along, I hope to settle in and carve a niche or style that seems to fit this entry.
By the way, I'm getting to closer to making announcements to the SicEmSports family. I'm probably about 10 days away from doing that. So bear (no pun intended) with me as we continue to move along.
Actually, I tried this about a year ago with a segment of, "What was he thinking?" Because I didn't want it to overlap too much with Jake I just let it end without any ceremony. But now it's back. We've had a pretty important weekend to digest, so let's get to it.
We have to start with spring football workouts beginning a week from today. In fact, Baylor begins its spring football season earlier than anybody else in the Big 12. The Bears also finish before several others even start. Why wait? This has pretty much been the standing operating procedure from Art Briles ever since he arrived in December 2007. It's really all about the way they do things and maintaining the routine. There's going to be position evaluations throughout the week. The Friday Night Lights spring game on March 20 really has merit to it because it's a different way to attract fans and recruits and show off the stadium. Plus, more people there can attend. Let's face it that jamming about 4,000 into the field at Highers sometimes had the feel of sardines. McLane Stadium's presence is the new toy that can be used for more possibilities and is obviously more fan friendly. The spring game is one of those opportunities.
I'm going to start by claiming that this quarterback race between Seth Russell and Jarrett Stidham will be glorious theatre. Now, I'm not saying this because Stidham said in December he was going to get a chance to compete for the starting job. And trusting this offense to a true freshman really seems risky regardless of his early enrollment. In the seven seasons Briles has run this program, it's never been short of taking bold steps. Call it uncommon confidence or risks that have panned out. Having said that, Stidham will earn a fair chance because the roster pretty much sets up that way. And Russell still does some things that bother me with throws he has had no business making -- against lesser opponent. Chris Johnson will remain as the third string. He was a project when he arrived. There have never really been any expectations for him. So other than Russell, who is really going to compete for the job? At the very least, Russell needs to be pushed.
There was a part of me that wanted to dig into what happened and find out what really went on with defensive lineman Javonte Magee's departure from the Baylor program. But I just decided there are some cases where less is more. In the summer of 2013 he up and left in the summer causing Baylor coaches to use every resource to convince him to return for the 2014 spring semester. They didn't want to give up on him at the time. In fact, Art Briles called him an X-factor for the 2014 defensive line. But sometimes, there are moments where you have to cut your losses. Unfortunately, this is one of them. Whatever the personal problems Magee had and has been dealing with apparently became too much of a distraction and sucked him back into that life. That feel-good story that The San Antonio Express News' Tim Griffin did last year gave you an appreciation. But this story likely won't have a happy ending. At least, it won't from Baylor's perspective.
When I was on David Smoak's show on ESPN Central Texas on Feb. 6, a listener texted in a question how good I felt about the 2016 commitments sticking with their pledges to Baylor. I said then that the Patrick Hudson situation seemed on better footing as did Kameron Martin. Zach Smith has been locked since the day he committed. But I cautioned about the longevity of Tren'Davian Dickson's commitment. When a bunch of major programs were jumping into offering him based on his national record setting season, you could see and understand how all of the newfound attention would have a profound influence on him. And I'm not buying for a moment that the report that a change in the Baylor coaching staff (Tate Wallis now at WR) really had an impact at all. That's spin your way out of it and justify the de-commitment. Really? Wallis officially got the job in January, so Dickson needed four weeks to determine this relationship wasn't going to work? Ok, that's fine. Navasota's a great program and has produced some solid talent. But I liken Dickson's situation to what happened with Burton athlete Louis Brown. The big recruiting world descends upon a talent from a small town and pretty much seduces him. When it hits you so hard so fast, it creates a world of confusion. Now Brown made the mistake of bouncing from commitment to commitment before settling in at Oklahoma State. From my view, he didn't seem to receive quality support. I don't know if that's the case with Dickson. What I do know is that I really don't see him re-committing to Baylor. But I'm also not going to lose sleep over this either.
To be honest, I'm really shocked that Baylor had six 2016 commitments before National Signing Day 2015. I'm glad for all of these players and that they've pledged to Baylor. And if they are that dead set on coming to Waco, great. But in general, I just have to wonder what the rush is. Are recruits really giving themselves that much of a chance to explore their options without really knowing everything about them? Look at Sachse DB Jared Mayden. He said in January he was cutting his list to Ohio State, TCU and Oregon. In fact, he announced that the day before Baylor' junior day. That move steamed the Baylor coaching staff. What's the rush to announing a top 3 with then 13 months before NSD 2016? A lot can happen. And it did. Alabama comes along and offers and now he's not sure what he's going to do with that. Mayden also that he wasn't dismissing the idea of looking at Baylor again. If there was anything I could tell a recruit is give yourself every opportunity to look at everything before you make this move. I can talk about the proliferation of these recruits' egos because of sites like this and social media, but that can be for another time.
The Baylor basketball program is a real head scratcher. There always seems to be an unspoken tension between this thing and the fan base. And I don't know why. Scott Drew has taken this program to the Sweet 16 in three of the previous five years (there's not a lot of programs that can claim that). He's also won an NIT title (Ok, not many people care about that but it's a championship). But in big games at the Ferrell Center, the apparent indifference is noticeable. Only 7,000-plus show up for Kansas. Following a big win at West Virginia and then riding some momentum, Oklahoma State is coming to town and fewer people show up for that. He's recruited some really good players, accomplished quite a bit….and yet I feel like the crickets have control of the scene. There was only tepid disappointment in the 74-64 loss at Kansas on Saturday. Yes, there was some complaining about the officiating. It's just a real shame that in what I consider the best era of Baylor basketball, people just aren't invested. This is a good team and it has an important game Tuesday at Texas Tech, a team that picked them off in Lubbock last year. It's filled with worker bees and barring any kind of collapse, it's going back to the NCAA tournament. Rosebud!
I'll try to offer some commentary on the other sports:
*You couldn't ask for a better start from Steve Smith's baseball team. A 3-game sweep of No. 13 Cal-Poly was ideal for a program facing so many questions to get some confidence. I really thought if the Bears could grab one in that series, it would be a positive start. So this is house money. Baseball is a bizarre game because it's the most fair game. It's more realistic that an outmanned team can sweep a powerhouse as opposed to basketball and football. When a team that struggled to score runs in 2014 opens with 22 in a 3-game series, it offers hope.
*Make it 23 consecutive for the No. 3 Lady Bears (24-1, 13-0 Big 12)) who punished West Virginia Sunday at the Ferrell Center, 79-51. Nina Davis had 22. Baylor travels to Texas Tech on Wednesday.
*The No. 9 softball team is now 9-0 after a sweep of Northwestern State over the weekend….the No. 6 women's team ran its record to 10-0 with a 4-3 victory over No. 14 Clemson… After two wins over top-10 opponents, the 10th-ranked and 11th-seeded Baylor men's tennis team (6-2) came up short against No. 2 Oklahoma, 4-2, in the semifinal round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Sunday at Midtown Athletic Club. The Bears had advanced to the semifinals of the national event by knocking off No. 6 Duke (4-1) and No. 3 Virginia (4-3).
I can claim success on Sunday because I avoided watching the NBA All-Star game for the umpteenth consecutive year. I've never watched the Pro Bowl. I didn't even know the NHL had an All-Star game until the week after it happened. And as big of a baseball fan as I am, I'm becoming less and less interested in the mid-summer classic. I think All-Star games have had their run and just really aren't entertaining anymore. The exhibition premise notwithstanding, I just don't get jazzed for them anymore. Yeah, it was cool to see your favorite player from your favorite team play in this game. But maybe I'm getting too old and too cynical to be stoked. Let's be honest, the 4 big leagues know these games' future are in trouble with the way they're tricking them up. The NFL is trying to have former greats draft players to create teams. MLB made the egregious mistake of stating that the winner would get home field advantage in the World Series. But as long as these things generate money for the leagues, they're going to stay. How many people paying attention is another story.
I think I'll close every thoughts with a trip to the jukebox time machine. It could come from the rock era or country music. I don't think there's any need to go back to Mozart. But this week, we'll take you to country and this classic from the late Keith Whitley.
This post was edited on 2/16 9:02 AM by K Lonnquist
I'm not sure where to begin with this other than I know that when the baton is passed to you, you better not drop it and your time in the leg you are running better be a personal best. As Jake said he's going to be around every now and then. But the chaos at his house this weekend was definite with showings and using a power window washer to prepare the place.
Admittedly, this new edition of "Thoughts" will primarily focus on Baylor. But it also doesn't hurt to bring up things outside of the community and the world around us. As I've said in the past, I have no problem if topics discussed on this board are way off the beaten path. I realize that many of us are probably not comfortable with that and want to stick with the usual. No problem there. Still, test a boundary here and there and see what kind of response you get. You may bring up something that no one considered. And as this goes along, I hope to settle in and carve a niche or style that seems to fit this entry.
By the way, I'm getting to closer to making announcements to the SicEmSports family. I'm probably about 10 days away from doing that. So bear (no pun intended) with me as we continue to move along.
Actually, I tried this about a year ago with a segment of, "What was he thinking?" Because I didn't want it to overlap too much with Jake I just let it end without any ceremony. But now it's back. We've had a pretty important weekend to digest, so let's get to it.
We have to start with spring football workouts beginning a week from today. In fact, Baylor begins its spring football season earlier than anybody else in the Big 12. The Bears also finish before several others even start. Why wait? This has pretty much been the standing operating procedure from Art Briles ever since he arrived in December 2007. It's really all about the way they do things and maintaining the routine. There's going to be position evaluations throughout the week. The Friday Night Lights spring game on March 20 really has merit to it because it's a different way to attract fans and recruits and show off the stadium. Plus, more people there can attend. Let's face it that jamming about 4,000 into the field at Highers sometimes had the feel of sardines. McLane Stadium's presence is the new toy that can be used for more possibilities and is obviously more fan friendly. The spring game is one of those opportunities.
I'm going to start by claiming that this quarterback race between Seth Russell and Jarrett Stidham will be glorious theatre. Now, I'm not saying this because Stidham said in December he was going to get a chance to compete for the starting job. And trusting this offense to a true freshman really seems risky regardless of his early enrollment. In the seven seasons Briles has run this program, it's never been short of taking bold steps. Call it uncommon confidence or risks that have panned out. Having said that, Stidham will earn a fair chance because the roster pretty much sets up that way. And Russell still does some things that bother me with throws he has had no business making -- against lesser opponent. Chris Johnson will remain as the third string. He was a project when he arrived. There have never really been any expectations for him. So other than Russell, who is really going to compete for the job? At the very least, Russell needs to be pushed.
There was a part of me that wanted to dig into what happened and find out what really went on with defensive lineman Javonte Magee's departure from the Baylor program. But I just decided there are some cases where less is more. In the summer of 2013 he up and left in the summer causing Baylor coaches to use every resource to convince him to return for the 2014 spring semester. They didn't want to give up on him at the time. In fact, Art Briles called him an X-factor for the 2014 defensive line. But sometimes, there are moments where you have to cut your losses. Unfortunately, this is one of them. Whatever the personal problems Magee had and has been dealing with apparently became too much of a distraction and sucked him back into that life. That feel-good story that The San Antonio Express News' Tim Griffin did last year gave you an appreciation. But this story likely won't have a happy ending. At least, it won't from Baylor's perspective.
When I was on David Smoak's show on ESPN Central Texas on Feb. 6, a listener texted in a question how good I felt about the 2016 commitments sticking with their pledges to Baylor. I said then that the Patrick Hudson situation seemed on better footing as did Kameron Martin. Zach Smith has been locked since the day he committed. But I cautioned about the longevity of Tren'Davian Dickson's commitment. When a bunch of major programs were jumping into offering him based on his national record setting season, you could see and understand how all of the newfound attention would have a profound influence on him. And I'm not buying for a moment that the report that a change in the Baylor coaching staff (Tate Wallis now at WR) really had an impact at all. That's spin your way out of it and justify the de-commitment. Really? Wallis officially got the job in January, so Dickson needed four weeks to determine this relationship wasn't going to work? Ok, that's fine. Navasota's a great program and has produced some solid talent. But I liken Dickson's situation to what happened with Burton athlete Louis Brown. The big recruiting world descends upon a talent from a small town and pretty much seduces him. When it hits you so hard so fast, it creates a world of confusion. Now Brown made the mistake of bouncing from commitment to commitment before settling in at Oklahoma State. From my view, he didn't seem to receive quality support. I don't know if that's the case with Dickson. What I do know is that I really don't see him re-committing to Baylor. But I'm also not going to lose sleep over this either.
To be honest, I'm really shocked that Baylor had six 2016 commitments before National Signing Day 2015. I'm glad for all of these players and that they've pledged to Baylor. And if they are that dead set on coming to Waco, great. But in general, I just have to wonder what the rush is. Are recruits really giving themselves that much of a chance to explore their options without really knowing everything about them? Look at Sachse DB Jared Mayden. He said in January he was cutting his list to Ohio State, TCU and Oregon. In fact, he announced that the day before Baylor' junior day. That move steamed the Baylor coaching staff. What's the rush to announing a top 3 with then 13 months before NSD 2016? A lot can happen. And it did. Alabama comes along and offers and now he's not sure what he's going to do with that. Mayden also that he wasn't dismissing the idea of looking at Baylor again. If there was anything I could tell a recruit is give yourself every opportunity to look at everything before you make this move. I can talk about the proliferation of these recruits' egos because of sites like this and social media, but that can be for another time.
The Baylor basketball program is a real head scratcher. There always seems to be an unspoken tension between this thing and the fan base. And I don't know why. Scott Drew has taken this program to the Sweet 16 in three of the previous five years (there's not a lot of programs that can claim that). He's also won an NIT title (Ok, not many people care about that but it's a championship). But in big games at the Ferrell Center, the apparent indifference is noticeable. Only 7,000-plus show up for Kansas. Following a big win at West Virginia and then riding some momentum, Oklahoma State is coming to town and fewer people show up for that. He's recruited some really good players, accomplished quite a bit….and yet I feel like the crickets have control of the scene. There was only tepid disappointment in the 74-64 loss at Kansas on Saturday. Yes, there was some complaining about the officiating. It's just a real shame that in what I consider the best era of Baylor basketball, people just aren't invested. This is a good team and it has an important game Tuesday at Texas Tech, a team that picked them off in Lubbock last year. It's filled with worker bees and barring any kind of collapse, it's going back to the NCAA tournament. Rosebud!
I'll try to offer some commentary on the other sports:
*You couldn't ask for a better start from Steve Smith's baseball team. A 3-game sweep of No. 13 Cal-Poly was ideal for a program facing so many questions to get some confidence. I really thought if the Bears could grab one in that series, it would be a positive start. So this is house money. Baseball is a bizarre game because it's the most fair game. It's more realistic that an outmanned team can sweep a powerhouse as opposed to basketball and football. When a team that struggled to score runs in 2014 opens with 22 in a 3-game series, it offers hope.
*Make it 23 consecutive for the No. 3 Lady Bears (24-1, 13-0 Big 12)) who punished West Virginia Sunday at the Ferrell Center, 79-51. Nina Davis had 22. Baylor travels to Texas Tech on Wednesday.
*The No. 9 softball team is now 9-0 after a sweep of Northwestern State over the weekend….the No. 6 women's team ran its record to 10-0 with a 4-3 victory over No. 14 Clemson… After two wins over top-10 opponents, the 10th-ranked and 11th-seeded Baylor men's tennis team (6-2) came up short against No. 2 Oklahoma, 4-2, in the semifinal round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Sunday at Midtown Athletic Club. The Bears had advanced to the semifinals of the national event by knocking off No. 6 Duke (4-1) and No. 3 Virginia (4-3).
I can claim success on Sunday because I avoided watching the NBA All-Star game for the umpteenth consecutive year. I've never watched the Pro Bowl. I didn't even know the NHL had an All-Star game until the week after it happened. And as big of a baseball fan as I am, I'm becoming less and less interested in the mid-summer classic. I think All-Star games have had their run and just really aren't entertaining anymore. The exhibition premise notwithstanding, I just don't get jazzed for them anymore. Yeah, it was cool to see your favorite player from your favorite team play in this game. But maybe I'm getting too old and too cynical to be stoked. Let's be honest, the 4 big leagues know these games' future are in trouble with the way they're tricking them up. The NFL is trying to have former greats draft players to create teams. MLB made the egregious mistake of stating that the winner would get home field advantage in the World Series. But as long as these things generate money for the leagues, they're going to stay. How many people paying attention is another story.
I think I'll close every thoughts with a trip to the jukebox time machine. It could come from the rock era or country music. I don't think there's any need to go back to Mozart. But this week, we'll take you to country and this classic from the late Keith Whitley.
This post was edited on 2/16 9:02 AM by K Lonnquist
