By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Score one for the RJB. A few months ago when the Crimson Tide was home, we were running errands. In the car, the RJB pulled out a song from her era that she had never heard.
Had to do a double take. Really? You haven’t. No Dad, I haven’t. This was one of the moments where the RJB could wet the tip of his finger and do the tally mark in the air in a rare sign of victory.
Anyway, it’s a song that the RJB uses doing his workout thing. It’s from the great Ava Max.
Come on, you all know who she is. Well, maybe you recognize the 28-year-old from Milwaukee under her given name, Amanda Ava Koci.
Still don’t know? What is wrong with you people.
All kidding aside, Ava Max blended the 2000 “Around the World” track from the German group ATC into her release that came out in late 2020.
She said she wanted to have a song for people to dance to while they were stuck at home during the pandemic. While it was received well by the critics, it only peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard charts. It did better in the U.K. topping at No. 18.
Here we go with this week’s selection.
****
Before we get into spring football, this part is about the Final Four.
While there is no Baylor, welcome to one of the best Final Fours you will see in your lifetime. Also, enjoy the great storylines that come with it when it begins Saturday in New Orleans.
It’s a blue blood fest with Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova. Villanova is getting closer to joining that club. For context, Duke is making its 17th Final Four appearance, North Carolina 21st, Kansas 16th and Villanova 7th.
TBS should be ecstatic because this could be a TV ratings bonanza.
Let’s start with the obvious in Coach K in his last run. This is his record-setting 13th appearance in the event. He just passed John Wooden. The Blue Devils appeared to be on the ropes in the Sweet 16 matchup with Texas Tech but found that extra gear in the final five minutes. They then pretty much controlled Arkansas in the West regional final (I had two very disappointed Razorbacks in my house). Interesting note about Coach K. This is his first and only Final Four out of the West.
Then you have North Carolina making its first appearance under first-year head coach Hubert Davis. Yes, they knocked out the great story in St. Peter’s in the East regional final. But if you’re Baylor, you’re just a bit consoled by the fact the Tar Heels made it because it makes the Bears performance against them look that much better.
After Kansas-Villanova, destiny plays a hand as Duke and North Carolina meet in the second game, the 258th all-time meeting. It’s also the rubber match this season because they split their ACC meetings winning in the other’s building. The Tar Heels won in Coach K’s final game at Cameron. This is awesome that they meet one more time, especially because it is coach K’s final season. Maybe only appropriate they meet one more time.
Kansas represents the Big 12 with just an incredible second half performance in the Midwest regional final against Miami. Guard Remy Martin returning for the Jayhawks changed that team. KU has won nine straight.
If Baylor had LJ Cryer – so much for the crowd that had him heading into the portal - and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua or one of them, maybe we’re talking about the Bears returning and playing in Caesars Superdome.
Villanova gutting out an ugly South regional final win over Houston in San Antonio was about survival and thank the Cougars for going 1-20 from long distance.
But it’s time for everyone to start watching the Cougars closely since they will be joining the Big 12 in 2023. Kelvin Sampson has built a very solid program and there won’t be much of a basketball drop off when Texas and Oklahoma leave.
Of course, the media will go into warp drive playing up the narrative of Coach K going out on top. Should be a lot of fun.
****
If there’s anything that we learned about Baylor’s starting QB race is that the quotes from BU QB coach Shawn Bell, Gerry Bohanon, Blake Shapen and Kyron Drones is that everybody loves each other. There’s peace. It’s great competition. They are there to support each other.
Well, what did you expect them to say when they met with the media last Thursday? Oh, it would have been stunning and arguably refreshing to see one of them say, “I want to beat him out because I’m better than him. I know I’m better than him and I give us the best chance to win.’’
I would have paid top dollar for Drones to say, “I can’t believe I’m running third. This is an insult to my ability. I’m getting disrespected.’’
It certainly would have helped message boards across the Baylor nation. Alas, we got vanilla.
That’s fine. What you can take away from that was contrary to my position battle story a couple of weeks where it wasn’t clear where Shapen’s shoulder situation was (you heard behind the scenes things were good, but I wanted to error on the side of caution), the fact that he’s ready to go, there will be a true competition for the starting job and Dave Aranda wants to name a starter by the end of spring is all the better.
Given that the offensive and defensive fronts are pretty much settled, and the re-tooling is concentrated to the offensive skill positions and the back seven to the defense, this should be a really good team.
In fact, if Aranda, Bell and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes make the right call with the starting QB, you may have the best team in Baylor history.
That’s saying something considering that 2021 was record setting with a Big 12 title, Sugar Bowl win and No. 5 final ranking.
I stress may be the best because so many things can happen with players getting hurt in spring or during the season and wind up being lost for the year. I stress may be because if the QB play just doesn’t cut it, then you have a problem. I stress may be because they have to go on the road for five Big 12 games including Oklahoma and Texas and a tricky non-conference game at BYU.
That said, this team is loaded. We’re talking a legitimate chance to make the college football playoff if health is with them, they get a break here or there and whoever takes over those skill positions emerges big time.
My way-too-early forecast was for 9-3. I’m still sticking with that for now. You know I’ll do my hard forecast the week of the season opener against Albany.
In this QB battle, I made it known in last week’s podcast that I favor Shapen to be the starter simply because of what I saw from him when he ran the offense when Bohanon popped his hamstring at Kansas State.
Then again, I favored Jacob Zeno over Bohanon last year and look where that got me. A transfer to UAB.
Bohanon won’t win beaty contests playing the position. That’s just not him. He just has to be able to run the offense and be the strong locker room presence that has been portrayed over the last year. A Trent Dilfer running the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
Plus, Aranda said Shapen is going to have to pass Bohanon to win the job. What that entails only that brain trust knows. Shapen has more ability. I thought Zeno had more ability.
Bohanon probably secretly enjoys the overlooked and under appreciated label that’s made its way through the rounds. He never doubted himself and won the job last fall, even though it took until fall camp to do it.
But here he is again having to fight for it despite putting in a championship season.
What this starting job is going to come down to is a mixture of talent, who has the better chemistry with the receivers, who simply has better command of the offense and who has the leadership to take Baylor to back-to-back Big 12 titles and a possible CFB playoff berth.
Let the drama unfold.
****
Now, let’s take a look at other Baylor sports…
>At the Texas Relays this past weekend in Austin…
Johnny Brackins competed in the long jump and ended as the collegiate champion with his jump of 26-9 ¾, with a college-legal 3.7 m/s wind. That length is good for the program record in the event, broken for the first time since Danny Brabham set the record in 1973. The true-freshman now leads the nation by over an inch so far in this early outdoor season.
Ackera Nugent won the bronze medal in the final round of the women's 100-meter hurdles Saturday, putting up a new collegiate PR of 12.72 seconds (2.5 wind). In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Elijah Morris finished in seventh place with a 13.80-second race (2.6 wind), followed by Brackins in ninth.
Dillon Bedell, Matthew Moorer, Nathaniel Ezekiel and Howard Fields III recorded the fastest 4x400-meter relay the program has seen since the 2021 Texas Relays, finishing in a quick 3:02.68 for third place, notably first among Big 12 programs competing. For the women, Mariah Ayers, Kavia Francis, Aaliyah Miller and Imaobong Uko recorded a fifth-place finish in 3:32.05.
Baylor hosts its first home meet of the 2022 season this coming weekend, with discus throw held Friday evening followed by the remainder of the meet on Saturday.
>Baylor men's golf will host Abilene Christian, Texas State and UTSA in a four-team match-play event Monday morning at Ridgewood Country Club.
It is the first team event in Waco since the Baylor invitational in 2005. The four teams were seeded based on their Golfstat ranking and will each play two matches. No. 1 seeded Baylor will open against No. 4 seed Abilene Christian, while No. 2 seed UTSA will play No. 3 seed Texas State. The winner of each match will face off in the championship match, while the losing teams will play a third-place match.
Last week in Humble, the final round of the All-American Intercollegiate was canceled Tuesday due to inclement weather, with the Bears in 11th place.
With the results from Monday's 36 holes standing, Johnny Keefer was BU's highest finisher with a tie for 14th, his 13th-career top-25 finish.
> No. 9 Baylor men's tennis slayed No. 1 TCU on Friday night in Fort Worth, besting the Frogs 5-2.
The Bears (18-2) won the doubles point and took the first set on all six singles courts in route to taking the win over the Frogs (16-3). BU took down the No. 1-ranked team for the first time since March of 2011 when it bested Tennessee.
The Bears head south on I-35 to Austin to take on Texas Friday, with match time set for 6 p.m.
>Baylor softball (17-13, 0-3 Big 12) fell in a heartbreaker Sunday afternoon at No. 1 Oklahoma, 3-1, in seven innings. OU swept the series winning Friday, 9-1, and Saturday, 8-0. The team returns home to play Incarnate Word Tuesday and then play host to Oklahoma State Friday-Sunday.
>Baylor women's golf notched its sixth top-five finish of the season on Sunday with a tie for third place at the PING Arizona State Invitational at Papago Golf Club.
Individually, Gurleen Kaur used a strong final two rounds to secure a fourth top-five finish this season, with a 5-under 211. The Bears will compete in the Bruzzy Challenge April 11-12th at Lantana Golf Club in Lantana, Texas.
>No. 22 Baylor women's tennis (13-6, 4-2) fell, 5-2, to No. 11 Oklahoma State (12-3, 3-1) Sunday afternoon at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater. With nothing on the schedule for the first weekend in April, the Bears will be back in action against Kansas State and Kansas on April 8 and 10, respectively at home.
>No. 6 Baylor equestrian (7-7) collected a 12-6 win over No. 8 Fresno State (6-10) in the Big 12 Consolation Round Saturday morning at Diamond Creek Ranch in Burleson. Baylor finished third.
Baylor (7-7) awaits its final ranking for the 2022 NCEA National Championship, which begins on Thursday, April 14, at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fl.
>No. 1 Baylor acrobatics & tumbling extended their winning streak to six with the 279.460 – 257.725 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday night in Belton.
The Bears improved to 6-0 on the season with the 21.735-point decision over the Crusaders. Baylor returns home to the Ferrell Center to take on No. 8 Hawaii Pacific for its final home meet of the season and senior day. The meet is set to start at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Let’s make it a great week!
Publisher
Score one for the RJB. A few months ago when the Crimson Tide was home, we were running errands. In the car, the RJB pulled out a song from her era that she had never heard.
Had to do a double take. Really? You haven’t. No Dad, I haven’t. This was one of the moments where the RJB could wet the tip of his finger and do the tally mark in the air in a rare sign of victory.
Anyway, it’s a song that the RJB uses doing his workout thing. It’s from the great Ava Max.
Come on, you all know who she is. Well, maybe you recognize the 28-year-old from Milwaukee under her given name, Amanda Ava Koci.
Still don’t know? What is wrong with you people.
All kidding aside, Ava Max blended the 2000 “Around the World” track from the German group ATC into her release that came out in late 2020.
She said she wanted to have a song for people to dance to while they were stuck at home during the pandemic. While it was received well by the critics, it only peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard charts. It did better in the U.K. topping at No. 18.
Here we go with this week’s selection.
****
Before we get into spring football, this part is about the Final Four.
While there is no Baylor, welcome to one of the best Final Fours you will see in your lifetime. Also, enjoy the great storylines that come with it when it begins Saturday in New Orleans.
It’s a blue blood fest with Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova. Villanova is getting closer to joining that club. For context, Duke is making its 17th Final Four appearance, North Carolina 21st, Kansas 16th and Villanova 7th.
TBS should be ecstatic because this could be a TV ratings bonanza.
Let’s start with the obvious in Coach K in his last run. This is his record-setting 13th appearance in the event. He just passed John Wooden. The Blue Devils appeared to be on the ropes in the Sweet 16 matchup with Texas Tech but found that extra gear in the final five minutes. They then pretty much controlled Arkansas in the West regional final (I had two very disappointed Razorbacks in my house). Interesting note about Coach K. This is his first and only Final Four out of the West.
Then you have North Carolina making its first appearance under first-year head coach Hubert Davis. Yes, they knocked out the great story in St. Peter’s in the East regional final. But if you’re Baylor, you’re just a bit consoled by the fact the Tar Heels made it because it makes the Bears performance against them look that much better.
After Kansas-Villanova, destiny plays a hand as Duke and North Carolina meet in the second game, the 258th all-time meeting. It’s also the rubber match this season because they split their ACC meetings winning in the other’s building. The Tar Heels won in Coach K’s final game at Cameron. This is awesome that they meet one more time, especially because it is coach K’s final season. Maybe only appropriate they meet one more time.
Kansas represents the Big 12 with just an incredible second half performance in the Midwest regional final against Miami. Guard Remy Martin returning for the Jayhawks changed that team. KU has won nine straight.
If Baylor had LJ Cryer – so much for the crowd that had him heading into the portal - and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua or one of them, maybe we’re talking about the Bears returning and playing in Caesars Superdome.
Villanova gutting out an ugly South regional final win over Houston in San Antonio was about survival and thank the Cougars for going 1-20 from long distance.
But it’s time for everyone to start watching the Cougars closely since they will be joining the Big 12 in 2023. Kelvin Sampson has built a very solid program and there won’t be much of a basketball drop off when Texas and Oklahoma leave.
Of course, the media will go into warp drive playing up the narrative of Coach K going out on top. Should be a lot of fun.
****
If there’s anything that we learned about Baylor’s starting QB race is that the quotes from BU QB coach Shawn Bell, Gerry Bohanon, Blake Shapen and Kyron Drones is that everybody loves each other. There’s peace. It’s great competition. They are there to support each other.
Well, what did you expect them to say when they met with the media last Thursday? Oh, it would have been stunning and arguably refreshing to see one of them say, “I want to beat him out because I’m better than him. I know I’m better than him and I give us the best chance to win.’’
I would have paid top dollar for Drones to say, “I can’t believe I’m running third. This is an insult to my ability. I’m getting disrespected.’’
It certainly would have helped message boards across the Baylor nation. Alas, we got vanilla.
That’s fine. What you can take away from that was contrary to my position battle story a couple of weeks where it wasn’t clear where Shapen’s shoulder situation was (you heard behind the scenes things were good, but I wanted to error on the side of caution), the fact that he’s ready to go, there will be a true competition for the starting job and Dave Aranda wants to name a starter by the end of spring is all the better.
Given that the offensive and defensive fronts are pretty much settled, and the re-tooling is concentrated to the offensive skill positions and the back seven to the defense, this should be a really good team.
In fact, if Aranda, Bell and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes make the right call with the starting QB, you may have the best team in Baylor history.
That’s saying something considering that 2021 was record setting with a Big 12 title, Sugar Bowl win and No. 5 final ranking.
I stress may be the best because so many things can happen with players getting hurt in spring or during the season and wind up being lost for the year. I stress may be because if the QB play just doesn’t cut it, then you have a problem. I stress may be because they have to go on the road for five Big 12 games including Oklahoma and Texas and a tricky non-conference game at BYU.
That said, this team is loaded. We’re talking a legitimate chance to make the college football playoff if health is with them, they get a break here or there and whoever takes over those skill positions emerges big time.
My way-too-early forecast was for 9-3. I’m still sticking with that for now. You know I’ll do my hard forecast the week of the season opener against Albany.
In this QB battle, I made it known in last week’s podcast that I favor Shapen to be the starter simply because of what I saw from him when he ran the offense when Bohanon popped his hamstring at Kansas State.
Then again, I favored Jacob Zeno over Bohanon last year and look where that got me. A transfer to UAB.
Bohanon won’t win beaty contests playing the position. That’s just not him. He just has to be able to run the offense and be the strong locker room presence that has been portrayed over the last year. A Trent Dilfer running the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
Plus, Aranda said Shapen is going to have to pass Bohanon to win the job. What that entails only that brain trust knows. Shapen has more ability. I thought Zeno had more ability.
Bohanon probably secretly enjoys the overlooked and under appreciated label that’s made its way through the rounds. He never doubted himself and won the job last fall, even though it took until fall camp to do it.
But here he is again having to fight for it despite putting in a championship season.
What this starting job is going to come down to is a mixture of talent, who has the better chemistry with the receivers, who simply has better command of the offense and who has the leadership to take Baylor to back-to-back Big 12 titles and a possible CFB playoff berth.
Let the drama unfold.
****
Now, let’s take a look at other Baylor sports…
>At the Texas Relays this past weekend in Austin…
Johnny Brackins competed in the long jump and ended as the collegiate champion with his jump of 26-9 ¾, with a college-legal 3.7 m/s wind. That length is good for the program record in the event, broken for the first time since Danny Brabham set the record in 1973. The true-freshman now leads the nation by over an inch so far in this early outdoor season.
Ackera Nugent won the bronze medal in the final round of the women's 100-meter hurdles Saturday, putting up a new collegiate PR of 12.72 seconds (2.5 wind). In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Elijah Morris finished in seventh place with a 13.80-second race (2.6 wind), followed by Brackins in ninth.
Dillon Bedell, Matthew Moorer, Nathaniel Ezekiel and Howard Fields III recorded the fastest 4x400-meter relay the program has seen since the 2021 Texas Relays, finishing in a quick 3:02.68 for third place, notably first among Big 12 programs competing. For the women, Mariah Ayers, Kavia Francis, Aaliyah Miller and Imaobong Uko recorded a fifth-place finish in 3:32.05.
Baylor hosts its first home meet of the 2022 season this coming weekend, with discus throw held Friday evening followed by the remainder of the meet on Saturday.
>Baylor men's golf will host Abilene Christian, Texas State and UTSA in a four-team match-play event Monday morning at Ridgewood Country Club.
It is the first team event in Waco since the Baylor invitational in 2005. The four teams were seeded based on their Golfstat ranking and will each play two matches. No. 1 seeded Baylor will open against No. 4 seed Abilene Christian, while No. 2 seed UTSA will play No. 3 seed Texas State. The winner of each match will face off in the championship match, while the losing teams will play a third-place match.
Last week in Humble, the final round of the All-American Intercollegiate was canceled Tuesday due to inclement weather, with the Bears in 11th place.
With the results from Monday's 36 holes standing, Johnny Keefer was BU's highest finisher with a tie for 14th, his 13th-career top-25 finish.
> No. 9 Baylor men's tennis slayed No. 1 TCU on Friday night in Fort Worth, besting the Frogs 5-2.
The Bears (18-2) won the doubles point and took the first set on all six singles courts in route to taking the win over the Frogs (16-3). BU took down the No. 1-ranked team for the first time since March of 2011 when it bested Tennessee.
The Bears head south on I-35 to Austin to take on Texas Friday, with match time set for 6 p.m.
>Baylor softball (17-13, 0-3 Big 12) fell in a heartbreaker Sunday afternoon at No. 1 Oklahoma, 3-1, in seven innings. OU swept the series winning Friday, 9-1, and Saturday, 8-0. The team returns home to play Incarnate Word Tuesday and then play host to Oklahoma State Friday-Sunday.
>Baylor women's golf notched its sixth top-five finish of the season on Sunday with a tie for third place at the PING Arizona State Invitational at Papago Golf Club.
Individually, Gurleen Kaur used a strong final two rounds to secure a fourth top-five finish this season, with a 5-under 211. The Bears will compete in the Bruzzy Challenge April 11-12th at Lantana Golf Club in Lantana, Texas.
>No. 22 Baylor women's tennis (13-6, 4-2) fell, 5-2, to No. 11 Oklahoma State (12-3, 3-1) Sunday afternoon at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater. With nothing on the schedule for the first weekend in April, the Bears will be back in action against Kansas State and Kansas on April 8 and 10, respectively at home.
>No. 6 Baylor equestrian (7-7) collected a 12-6 win over No. 8 Fresno State (6-10) in the Big 12 Consolation Round Saturday morning at Diamond Creek Ranch in Burleson. Baylor finished third.
Baylor (7-7) awaits its final ranking for the 2022 NCEA National Championship, which begins on Thursday, April 14, at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fl.
>No. 1 Baylor acrobatics & tumbling extended their winning streak to six with the 279.460 – 257.725 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday night in Belton.
The Bears improved to 6-0 on the season with the 21.735-point decision over the Crusaders. Baylor returns home to the Ferrell Center to take on No. 8 Hawaii Pacific for its final home meet of the season and senior day. The meet is set to start at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Let’s make it a great week!
