The RJB asks you what you thing the most quotable movie ever made is. But if you gave an answer without this one, well, then you would be wrong. Let’s see if this jogs your memory.
“Boy, you never get used to the smell.’’
“Will you murder me? Sure.”
“Moon River! Going to use the full fist, doc?...Just relax!”
“What kind of a name is Poon? Comanche Indian.’’
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull rank with you. There are no tags on these mattresses.’’
“The coroner found Stanwyk dead…or extremely sleepy.’’
“Tommy Lasorda, huh? I hate Tommy Lasorda.’’
“In fact you bought the tickets for Sally Ann Cavanaugh…Doesn’t mean I want her sitting next to me.’’
If you don’t know that by now, then you just let the 1985 cult classic Fletch pass you by. The RJB thinks of this movie because of the recent road rage incident involving the movie’s star, Chevy Chase. Chase, 74, was in some altercation with some younger drivers in New York. It’s a crazy story.
So back to the selection, we’ll give you two – the opening theme from Stephanie Mills and the great Harold Faltermeyer.
****
Welcome to Spring Break 2018. It started Saturday and runs through Sunday. That doesn’t mean the coaches are running on idle. But with campus pretty much shut down, there’s not going to be a lot going on except wondering if the basketball team is going to make the NCAA tournament.
What was lacking from leading up to this past weekend and going through the weekend was the Baylor presence at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
The combine began last Tuesday and runs through Monday. Following the 2016 season, Baylor sent three players to it, wide receiver K.D. Cannon, quarterback Seth Russell and center Kyle Fuller.
It used to be that you could be assured that Baylor was going to send a couple there every year. Look at the list below.
BAYLOR AT NFL COMBINE (2009-2017)
2017: WR KD Cannon, C Kyle Fuller, QB Seth Russell
2016: DT Andrew Billings, WR Corey Coleman, OT Spencer Drango, CB Xavien Howard, DS Jimmy Landes, DE Shawn Oakman
2015: WR Antwan Goodley, LB Bryce Hager, QB Bryce Petty, P Spencer Roth
2014: S Ahmad Dixon, CB Demetri Goodson, TE Jordan Najvar, WR Tevin Reese, OG Cyril Richardson, RB Lache Seastrunk
2013: WR Lanear Sampson, WR Terrance Williams
2012: OL Philip Blake, RB Terrance Ganaway, QB Robert Griffin III, WR Kendall Wright
2011: DL Phil Taylor, OL Danny Watkins
2010: WR David Gettis, OL J.D. Walton
2009: OL Dan Gay, OL Jason Smith
With Baylor going through the extraordinary changes from the Art Briles era to the Matt Rhule era, the subsequent philosophical approach to the game and the overhaul of the roster, not following this week long distraction is part of the fallout that comes with a rebuild.
It wasn’t a shock that Baylor didn’t have anyone compete at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Baylor 2017 senior class just didn’t have anyone who really jumped out and had pro written all over him. At least, the program didn’t have anyone who drew the invite. Baylor also didn’t have a player who declared early for the draft.
Baylor will still get a chance to have someone catch the NFL’s eye when it holds its Pro Day on March 29. All any player wants is a chance. The standards to play at the highest level are so extreme that it’s nearly impossible to reach them unless you’re in the top 1%. Baylor’s likely best chance to have someone play in the NFL in 2017 is signing a free agent contract.
Rhule and his coaching staff want to return the program to a state where this week of the last of February and the beginning of March is a viewed as landmark event.
By sending players to the combine, a program can puff out its chest and demonstrate that it can prepare players for the league. Baylor enjoyed that.
That’s what Rhule and his staff are now selling. They have the NFL experience and connections to sell it. It’s just a matter of time, experience and development so that it will happen.
If you want to look at a crystal ball for the 2019 combine, your best chances for invites would be Tennessee wide receiver Jalen Hurd, offensive lineman Blake Blackmar and punter Drew Galitz.
The wild cards are wide receiver Chris Platt and defensive end Greg Roberts. Platt’s fortunes likely will be determined by how well he has recovered from his knee surgery and plays in 2018. If he’s fine, then his speed is his greatest asset. If NFL executives want to knock 5-11, 173 good for them. Others have played in the league with those dimensions.
Roberts is a rail for a defensive end (6-5, 260). But his 6-5 is a great starting point. If he puts together a strong season, you never know.
Yes, this weekend did feel like something was missing. It’ll pass.
****
The Big 12 men’s postseason tournament doesn’t get started until Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. against West Virginia at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
But looking back, the final week of the regular season embodies Baylor’s 2017-18 campaign. The Bears looked absolutely unbeatable and steamrolled Oklahoma. They couldn’t get out of their own way and played poorly at Kansas State.
This is what happens when you are an imbalanced team. The Bears have to make their living around the cup. If they can get something going from the perimeter, much less the 3-point line it’s a bonus.
I had a chance to review what I wrote in the 2017-18 preview (provide here in this link). It was a little surprising that I came closer than I thought.
The biggest thing hurting this team is that Johnathan Motley didn’t return for his senior year. Obviously, we knew he wasn’t coming back. But his presence could have influenced how the Bears ran their offense and what they could do on defensive.
We know the situation with big Leonard Allen situation Scott Drew and his staff gambled and lost. Had Allen been with the team, I wouldn’t have looked for him to be consistent performer anyway. I say that because of his track record on and off the court. It was a low risk move.
A season like this where a team has one shooter and is asking for a lot from the block tells you how well Scott Drew did with keeping this thing in the NCAA tournament hunt.
You learn a lot about coaches not from the championships they win but when they get the maximum out of a roster filled with limitations. Drew has done that this year.
****
I lost a part of my youth on Sunday. I awoke to the news of the passing of running legend Roger Bannister, the first man to break the 4-minute mile. He was 88.
Bannister broke the magical barrier on May 6, 1954 with a time of 3:59.4.
The connection with this goes back to when I was in eighth grade. In what I would consider my first major paper, my history teacher, Mr. Glen Gillette, handed out assignments to all of us between the time period of 1930-1960.
I chose or was given – I can’t really remember – Roger Bannister. I had no idea who he was. I asked Mr. Gillette who he was. His answer was basically go research it and then you’ll know.
So I did. I can remember the night my mom and I went to the UNLV main library to find whatever we could find on him. I dug it out and put together about a 10-page paper on Bannister’s life story and how he battled with Australian John Landy to become the first to make history.
Between the times I researched and wrote that project to Bannister’s passing, every I time I saw something on Bannister or saw an interview with him, I would stop whatever I was doing and listen or watch. That project had a profound impact on me. I think I got a B+ on it.
Well, that history class did. Mr. Gillette’s passion for history and his presentation of the material turned me into a history buff.
Now, you know why when I talk about reading presidential biographies or something else, you know the origin.
I don’t know whatever happened to Mr. Gillette. I lost track of him about 10 years after I left 8th grade. I would presume he’s passed on.
Each of us likely has that one teacher who reached us like no other teacher did during our lifetimes. For me, that was Mr. Gilette.
****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
> OKLAHOMA CITY - Kim Mulkey, a former point guard herself, likes the idea of having two on the floor at the same time.
With senior point guard Kristy Wallace sidelined with an ACL injury, Baylor's duo of freshman Alexis Morris and sophomore Juicy Landrum combined for 31 points and 15 assists with just five turnovers as the third-ranked and top-seeded Lady Bears (30-1) crushed TCU, 94-48, Sunday afternoon in the most lopsided game in the history of the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor will meet Texas in the championship game at 8:00 p.m. Monday (FS1).
Morris, stepping in for Wallace as the starter the last two games, scored a career-high 18 points to go with six assists, six rebounds and three steals.
"At first, I was kind of nervous, but then reality hit," Morris said. "It's always been a dream to run a Division I basketball team. I was kind of nervous, but there is never a challenge that I run from. So, I'm not afraid and I just attack the challenge."
Mulkey said she didn't have any questions about Morris replacing Wallace, who went out with the knee injury in Monday's regular-season finale against West Virginia.
"The only thing Alexis doesn't have that Kristy had is minutes played and game experience as you go along in the playoffs," said Mulkey, whose team won its 27th in a row and reached the Big 12 championship game for the eighth consecutive year and 11th time overall. "She has the talent. She brings different things to the table than Kristy does. . . . What a beautiful jump shot that kid has."
(Jerry Hill)
> Baylor men's golf is in 14th place after shooting 15-over-par 299 in Sunday's first round at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate. The Bears are 12 shots backs of the top five with two rounds remaining at Los Cabos Querencia Country Club. Baylor is paired with Texas, Duke and Arkansas for Monday's 10 a.m. CT shotgun start for the second round. May will begin from the 10th tee, Perrine starts on No. 11, McInroe tees off from No. 12, Kober begins on No. 13, Bailey starts from No. 14 and Grider tees off from No. 17. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
> After taking the doubles point in dominant fashion, No. 32 Baylor men's tennis (10-3) took down 41st-ranked Memphis, 4-1, at the Hurd Tennis Center Friday afternoon. The Bears trek east to take on UCF on Monday, March 5, in Orlando, Fla. The match is slated for a 5 p.m. CT start with live scoring and live video available.
> The Baylor track and field team had junior sprinters Wil London and Kiana Horton were selected to the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, the NCAA Committee announced.
The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 9-10 in College Station, Texas. Both London and Horton qualified and will compete in the 400 meters.
The preliminary round will take place at 6:25 p.m. (men) and 6:40 p.m. (women) CT on Friday, March 9. If either runner qualifies a top-eight time, the finals will be at 4:50 p.m. (men) and 5 p.m. (women) on Saturday, March 10.
> No. 7 Baylor equestrian (5-5) couldn’t overcome a late rally by the Hornets, dropping an 8-6 road meet at Delaware State (1-8) on Saturday afternoon at the Dovington Training Center. Baylor had beaten South Carolina on Friday. BU closes the regular season on March 17, hosting Big 12 rival Oklahoma State at 10 a.m. at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
> Baylor women's golf finished in 14th place with a 54-hole total of 52-over-par 904 at the 2018 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. BU shot 15-over-par 299 in Sunday's final round at Long Cove Club, climbing one spot in the standings. Baylor returns to tournament action in three weeks at the SDSU March Mayhem. The three-day match play event runs March 26-28 at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
> Strong singles play led the comeback charge for 47th-ranked Baylor women's tennis, which notched its third upset victory in the last four dual matches, 4-1, over 11th-ranked Ohio State at Hurd Tennis Center Friday night. Baylor travels to Houston to face Rice on Tuesday. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
Let’s make it a great week!
“Boy, you never get used to the smell.’’
“Will you murder me? Sure.”
“Moon River! Going to use the full fist, doc?...Just relax!”
“What kind of a name is Poon? Comanche Indian.’’
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull rank with you. There are no tags on these mattresses.’’
“The coroner found Stanwyk dead…or extremely sleepy.’’
“Tommy Lasorda, huh? I hate Tommy Lasorda.’’
“In fact you bought the tickets for Sally Ann Cavanaugh…Doesn’t mean I want her sitting next to me.’’
If you don’t know that by now, then you just let the 1985 cult classic Fletch pass you by. The RJB thinks of this movie because of the recent road rage incident involving the movie’s star, Chevy Chase. Chase, 74, was in some altercation with some younger drivers in New York. It’s a crazy story.
So back to the selection, we’ll give you two – the opening theme from Stephanie Mills and the great Harold Faltermeyer.
****
Welcome to Spring Break 2018. It started Saturday and runs through Sunday. That doesn’t mean the coaches are running on idle. But with campus pretty much shut down, there’s not going to be a lot going on except wondering if the basketball team is going to make the NCAA tournament.
What was lacking from leading up to this past weekend and going through the weekend was the Baylor presence at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
The combine began last Tuesday and runs through Monday. Following the 2016 season, Baylor sent three players to it, wide receiver K.D. Cannon, quarterback Seth Russell and center Kyle Fuller.
It used to be that you could be assured that Baylor was going to send a couple there every year. Look at the list below.
BAYLOR AT NFL COMBINE (2009-2017)
2017: WR KD Cannon, C Kyle Fuller, QB Seth Russell
2016: DT Andrew Billings, WR Corey Coleman, OT Spencer Drango, CB Xavien Howard, DS Jimmy Landes, DE Shawn Oakman
2015: WR Antwan Goodley, LB Bryce Hager, QB Bryce Petty, P Spencer Roth
2014: S Ahmad Dixon, CB Demetri Goodson, TE Jordan Najvar, WR Tevin Reese, OG Cyril Richardson, RB Lache Seastrunk
2013: WR Lanear Sampson, WR Terrance Williams
2012: OL Philip Blake, RB Terrance Ganaway, QB Robert Griffin III, WR Kendall Wright
2011: DL Phil Taylor, OL Danny Watkins
2010: WR David Gettis, OL J.D. Walton
2009: OL Dan Gay, OL Jason Smith
With Baylor going through the extraordinary changes from the Art Briles era to the Matt Rhule era, the subsequent philosophical approach to the game and the overhaul of the roster, not following this week long distraction is part of the fallout that comes with a rebuild.
It wasn’t a shock that Baylor didn’t have anyone compete at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Baylor 2017 senior class just didn’t have anyone who really jumped out and had pro written all over him. At least, the program didn’t have anyone who drew the invite. Baylor also didn’t have a player who declared early for the draft.
Baylor will still get a chance to have someone catch the NFL’s eye when it holds its Pro Day on March 29. All any player wants is a chance. The standards to play at the highest level are so extreme that it’s nearly impossible to reach them unless you’re in the top 1%. Baylor’s likely best chance to have someone play in the NFL in 2017 is signing a free agent contract.
Rhule and his coaching staff want to return the program to a state where this week of the last of February and the beginning of March is a viewed as landmark event.
By sending players to the combine, a program can puff out its chest and demonstrate that it can prepare players for the league. Baylor enjoyed that.
That’s what Rhule and his staff are now selling. They have the NFL experience and connections to sell it. It’s just a matter of time, experience and development so that it will happen.
If you want to look at a crystal ball for the 2019 combine, your best chances for invites would be Tennessee wide receiver Jalen Hurd, offensive lineman Blake Blackmar and punter Drew Galitz.
The wild cards are wide receiver Chris Platt and defensive end Greg Roberts. Platt’s fortunes likely will be determined by how well he has recovered from his knee surgery and plays in 2018. If he’s fine, then his speed is his greatest asset. If NFL executives want to knock 5-11, 173 good for them. Others have played in the league with those dimensions.
Roberts is a rail for a defensive end (6-5, 260). But his 6-5 is a great starting point. If he puts together a strong season, you never know.
Yes, this weekend did feel like something was missing. It’ll pass.
****
The Big 12 men’s postseason tournament doesn’t get started until Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. against West Virginia at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
But looking back, the final week of the regular season embodies Baylor’s 2017-18 campaign. The Bears looked absolutely unbeatable and steamrolled Oklahoma. They couldn’t get out of their own way and played poorly at Kansas State.
This is what happens when you are an imbalanced team. The Bears have to make their living around the cup. If they can get something going from the perimeter, much less the 3-point line it’s a bonus.
I had a chance to review what I wrote in the 2017-18 preview (provide here in this link). It was a little surprising that I came closer than I thought.
The biggest thing hurting this team is that Johnathan Motley didn’t return for his senior year. Obviously, we knew he wasn’t coming back. But his presence could have influenced how the Bears ran their offense and what they could do on defensive.
We know the situation with big Leonard Allen situation Scott Drew and his staff gambled and lost. Had Allen been with the team, I wouldn’t have looked for him to be consistent performer anyway. I say that because of his track record on and off the court. It was a low risk move.
A season like this where a team has one shooter and is asking for a lot from the block tells you how well Scott Drew did with keeping this thing in the NCAA tournament hunt.
You learn a lot about coaches not from the championships they win but when they get the maximum out of a roster filled with limitations. Drew has done that this year.
****
I lost a part of my youth on Sunday. I awoke to the news of the passing of running legend Roger Bannister, the first man to break the 4-minute mile. He was 88.
Bannister broke the magical barrier on May 6, 1954 with a time of 3:59.4.
The connection with this goes back to when I was in eighth grade. In what I would consider my first major paper, my history teacher, Mr. Glen Gillette, handed out assignments to all of us between the time period of 1930-1960.
I chose or was given – I can’t really remember – Roger Bannister. I had no idea who he was. I asked Mr. Gillette who he was. His answer was basically go research it and then you’ll know.
So I did. I can remember the night my mom and I went to the UNLV main library to find whatever we could find on him. I dug it out and put together about a 10-page paper on Bannister’s life story and how he battled with Australian John Landy to become the first to make history.
Between the times I researched and wrote that project to Bannister’s passing, every I time I saw something on Bannister or saw an interview with him, I would stop whatever I was doing and listen or watch. That project had a profound impact on me. I think I got a B+ on it.
Well, that history class did. Mr. Gillette’s passion for history and his presentation of the material turned me into a history buff.
Now, you know why when I talk about reading presidential biographies or something else, you know the origin.
I don’t know whatever happened to Mr. Gillette. I lost track of him about 10 years after I left 8th grade. I would presume he’s passed on.
Each of us likely has that one teacher who reached us like no other teacher did during our lifetimes. For me, that was Mr. Gilette.
****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
> OKLAHOMA CITY - Kim Mulkey, a former point guard herself, likes the idea of having two on the floor at the same time.
With senior point guard Kristy Wallace sidelined with an ACL injury, Baylor's duo of freshman Alexis Morris and sophomore Juicy Landrum combined for 31 points and 15 assists with just five turnovers as the third-ranked and top-seeded Lady Bears (30-1) crushed TCU, 94-48, Sunday afternoon in the most lopsided game in the history of the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor will meet Texas in the championship game at 8:00 p.m. Monday (FS1).
Morris, stepping in for Wallace as the starter the last two games, scored a career-high 18 points to go with six assists, six rebounds and three steals.
"At first, I was kind of nervous, but then reality hit," Morris said. "It's always been a dream to run a Division I basketball team. I was kind of nervous, but there is never a challenge that I run from. So, I'm not afraid and I just attack the challenge."
Mulkey said she didn't have any questions about Morris replacing Wallace, who went out with the knee injury in Monday's regular-season finale against West Virginia.
"The only thing Alexis doesn't have that Kristy had is minutes played and game experience as you go along in the playoffs," said Mulkey, whose team won its 27th in a row and reached the Big 12 championship game for the eighth consecutive year and 11th time overall. "She has the talent. She brings different things to the table than Kristy does. . . . What a beautiful jump shot that kid has."
(Jerry Hill)
> Baylor men's golf is in 14th place after shooting 15-over-par 299 in Sunday's first round at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate. The Bears are 12 shots backs of the top five with two rounds remaining at Los Cabos Querencia Country Club. Baylor is paired with Texas, Duke and Arkansas for Monday's 10 a.m. CT shotgun start for the second round. May will begin from the 10th tee, Perrine starts on No. 11, McInroe tees off from No. 12, Kober begins on No. 13, Bailey starts from No. 14 and Grider tees off from No. 17. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
> After taking the doubles point in dominant fashion, No. 32 Baylor men's tennis (10-3) took down 41st-ranked Memphis, 4-1, at the Hurd Tennis Center Friday afternoon. The Bears trek east to take on UCF on Monday, March 5, in Orlando, Fla. The match is slated for a 5 p.m. CT start with live scoring and live video available.
> The Baylor track and field team had junior sprinters Wil London and Kiana Horton were selected to the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, the NCAA Committee announced.
The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 9-10 in College Station, Texas. Both London and Horton qualified and will compete in the 400 meters.
The preliminary round will take place at 6:25 p.m. (men) and 6:40 p.m. (women) CT on Friday, March 9. If either runner qualifies a top-eight time, the finals will be at 4:50 p.m. (men) and 5 p.m. (women) on Saturday, March 10.
> No. 7 Baylor equestrian (5-5) couldn’t overcome a late rally by the Hornets, dropping an 8-6 road meet at Delaware State (1-8) on Saturday afternoon at the Dovington Training Center. Baylor had beaten South Carolina on Friday. BU closes the regular season on March 17, hosting Big 12 rival Oklahoma State at 10 a.m. at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
> Baylor women's golf finished in 14th place with a 54-hole total of 52-over-par 904 at the 2018 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. BU shot 15-over-par 299 in Sunday's final round at Long Cove Club, climbing one spot in the standings. Baylor returns to tournament action in three weeks at the SDSU March Mayhem. The three-day match play event runs March 26-28 at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
> Strong singles play led the comeback charge for 47th-ranked Baylor women's tennis, which notched its third upset victory in the last four dual matches, 4-1, over 11th-ranked Ohio State at Hurd Tennis Center Friday night. Baylor travels to Houston to face Rice on Tuesday. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
Let’s make it a great week!
