On this Memorial Day 2015, it is only appropriate that we use the random juke box to honor those men and women in our armed forces. In wars, engagements and skirmishes that spanned parts of four centuries, we are here today because of what they have done and what they continue to do.
My friends, I give you Kate Smith with the unofficial national anthem of this nation.
****
For many of us on this board, we have a loved one or know of someone who served in our nation’s armed forces. As some of you know, my late father Vincent served in World War II and was a tail gunner in B-25s and B-29s. He was a corporal in the Air Force and served in the Caribbean and Pacific theatres. He was part of the B-29 529 squadron that dropped the two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the end of World War II. He was not on those missions.
The humility that with any soldier serves is unparalleled to any act. Thanks seems so inappropriate. But then again, they weren’t looking for it either. As my father would tell me, they did what they had to do.
The business of the United States of America goes on.
****
Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of the countdown to the upcoming football season. We’re just 102 days away from Baylor opening the 2015 season at SMU.
****
I knew it: Given how Texas has turned an extension of the Gulf of Mexico, you would think that that state’s drought has passed. Oh, but you knew there would be one weather expert who wasn’t willing to go there. Meteorologist Forrest Mitchell at National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma said this in a national news story: "It looks like the rainfall that we're getting now, may actually officially end the drought.’’
Mitchell noted that moisture has now reached about two feet below the surface of the soil and many lakes and reservoirs are full.
May actually officially end the drought? Really? You don’t think all of these rivers and lakes in the state reaching or cresting above flood stage wasn’t enough?
Thanks, Forrest. SMH!
****
In case you missed it, Frisco Lone Star safety Chris Miller – the latest commitment – has been rated three stars with a 5.5 rating. That’s about where I thought he was going to be rated. There is still time for that to inch higher.
****
So the move Ian McCaw made with the change of leadership in the Baylor baseball program has occurred.
When a long-tenured coach like Steve Smith doesn’t have the ceremonious exit that he and many others probably envisioned, it is a reminder that it’s a results industry. There is no question that what Smith accomplished with Baylor will never be forgotten.
Baylor baseball was the face of Baylor athletics when there was very little else. The misery of fall and winter appropriately gave way to the hope of spring. That’s what Smith’s teams did.
The Bears won Big 12 conference titles in 2000, 2005 and 2012, appeared in four Super Regionals and made the 2005 College World Series.
Baylor put Smith into its Hall of Fame in 2006. Smith won 744 games, which are the most of any Baylor coach in history.
But somehow I can’t help but think this decline happened because of the meltdown in the 2012 Super Regional series against Arkansas at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears were one strike away from returning to Omaha. And not only did they miss winning the clinching Game 2, they then lost Game 3.
This program was never the same since. In the last three years, the Bears were 76-88 (23-32 in 2015) and fielded teams that were soft offensively and inconsistent defensively. Baylor didn’t pitch poorly. But the pressure on the staff became too much to endure and would yield from time to time.
Hope began in February when the Bears opened the season with a three-game sweep of then-No. 13 Cal-Poly. Baylor started 6-2.Then a 10-game losing streak sent this season spinning in the wrong direction. The program never recovered. Baylor’s 23 wins were the fewest since 1981.
You could probably say McCaw was too patient. Back-to-back NCAA tournament appearance misses could have been enough for McCaw to do this in 2014.
However, Smith had built in enough equity over his career for McCaw to give him one more year to right things. The Bears barely made the 2015 Big 12 tournament. There were fun wins over TCU and Texas Tech. But when the season ended in a 4-0 loss to Texas – the Bears were held to two hits – that performance returned everything to reality.
It was just time. Smith probably knew it.
So Baylor now moves on to finding the successor who can return this program to better days. We’ve mentioned Dallas Baptist’s Dan Heefner whose team is hosting a regional in the upcoming NCAA tournament. He’s built a powerhouse there for more than a decade.
Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson built a great program at Navarro before moving to Texas. No doubt he has some credibility with the Longhorns pitched in the Big 12 tournament to win and clinch a spot in the field. It’s known in some circles that he covets this job.
Houston’s Todd Whitting has been running the Cougars for the past five seasons. He’s continued to build on the past success with that program. But Houston isn’t a P5 school. The pay is better and the competition is the best.
We’ll see who else emerges. A new coach should be in place by the time the College World Series begins later in June.
***
I have no feel for what Fort Bend Hightower linebacker Clifton Lewis is going to do on Wednesday when he announces his commitment decision. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.
For all I know, Lewis is capable of announcing someone other than Baylor, TCU or Oklahoma State. But if Baylor doesn’t get him, I wouldn’t be stunned.
There are more candidates to pursue. As I have cautioned, this recruiting season is going to go all the way to 2016 National Signing Day (Feb. 3). Baylor is seriously involved in too many big names who are going to take their time when making these decisions.
This is a really good class that Baylor has constructed. However, the impatience from the fan base to have it all (instant gratification alert) yesterday is peculiar. I understand that everybody got jazzed by the 2013 and 2014 classes which filled up so fast. Recruiting followers could enjoy the football season with a look here and there at recruiting.
But forgive me as I remind you for the zillionth time: When you are recruiting at this high a level against some pretty big names you have to grind this out. If kids like Shyheim Carter and Michael Divinity are coming to your school, you don’t tell them: Sorry, we’re full. If you feel you’re in it, you stay in it until you’re told you’re not in it.
Look no further than Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones. Rivals No. 28 recruit appeared to have a solid visit to Baylor this past Saturday. He wouldn’t have visited if he wasn’t interested. Anybody who follows this stuff knows Jones isn’t doing anything for a long time. So you ride with it until that process has a conclusion.
Alabama and Georgia each have nine commitments. USC has eight. Auburn has six. Oklahoma and Texas each have four.
I do think Baylor will probably get to low double figure commitments by the time the 2015 football seasons starts. If Trophy Club Byron Nelson tackle Kellen Diesch announces next Monday – or somewhere around that – then that’s another player where Baylor has a really good chance to get.
Actually, I’m finding this recruiting season to be one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever covered because Baylor is legitimately involved in so many races. In previous years when Baylor offered these types of players, you likely gave it little thought.
Now, you’re emotionally invested. You can taste it. It stings when Baylor isn’t picked. But you also know Baylor isn’t out of options.
Enjoy the ride because when Baylor wins one of these like it with Copperas Cove offensive tackle J.P. Urquidez the excitement is like no other.
***
Lest we forget, the rest of the 2015 football and basketball signing classes should start to arrive on Thursday for that first summer session that starts on June 1. That’s when there should be more clarity to the roster. We’ll try to get a little more insight on the 2015 class in the Blitz.
***
Camp season also begins on Sunday with the first one on Sunday. Then it’s off to Cy Falls on June 1, Richardson Pearce on June 5, Marshall on June 6 and then back to Baylor June 7. I think I had a count of about 2300+ camp participants who attended those in 2014. Given Baylor’s success, I would look for that number to increase. What the Baylor coaches have to prepare for – and they probably are – is how to make sure the numbers don’t swell so much that the quality of the instruction doesn’t suffer. When you have big numbers, there’s only so much you can do.
There’s no doubt that it’s a great problem to have. I can tell you that based on the Sachse kids who are tweeting me, there are going to be a lot of players from that school making their way to J.J. Pearce.
But in order to get the vibe of these camps, I have to start getting into listening to the hip hop music again. No Baylor camp can be complete without it. I can be driving on an errand, change the channel on my car radio, a hip hop song pops up, and I immediately think of Baylor’s camp.
I guess that’s the Pavlovian Dog in me.
***
Josh Hamilton’s second tour with the Rangers begins on Monday in Cleveland. Manager Jeff Bannister made the smart move by waiting until this team was out of New York. Hamilton can go to work in a less chaotic environment.
Now, we’ll see how this goes. But after a brutal April with the bats, the Rangers really look like they’re finding some things. Yes, the Yankees are pretty average. But to go into New York and sweep them is a no small accomplishment.
I think I read a national baseball writer who quoted a scout who said that Prince Fielder could no longer really lift the ball. I was thinking about that over the weekend as I saw Fielder put three balls into the Yankee Stadium bleachers and smoke a wall-ball single off the right field wall.
Also, a great weekend by the Astros in Detroit. When you take two of three from the Tigers, that’s also a lot to feel good about. Houston has MLB’s best record at 29-16.
***
Now a look at the other Baylor sports. We are winding down the 2014-15 athletics calendar.
>The Baylor men's golf team finished in sixth place at the NCAA Bremerton Regional after shooting 1-over-par 289 in Saturday's final round. The sixth-place finish was one spot shy of the cut to make the NCAA Championships, ending the Bears season.
BU finished the 54-hole tournament at 2-under-par 862, eight strokes back of TCU and Washington in a tie for fourth place. UAB (-21) won the regional, while South Carolina (-19) took second and Southern California (-17) finished in third. The Bears entered the final round in fifth place, but tournament-host Washington shot 11-under on Saturday to climb three spots in the standings from seventh to fourth.
>Baylor's track and field teams will be represented by 28 entries and 23 athletes in the NCAA West Preliminary Championships next week at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
BU will have 15 entries on the women's side and 13 more on the men's side vying for a chance to get into the top 12 in their respective events and earn a berth to the championship finals site in Eugene, Ore. At the NCAA West Preliminary, competitors in individual events will be pared from 48 to 24 in the first round and then down to 12 in the second round. Meanwhile, the relay races will only have one round of action, trimming 24 entries down to 12.
The Baylor women will have 14 entries in individual events, along with the 4x100 relay. Of those entries, Baylor has seven currently ranked among the top 12 in the West region.
On the men's side, Baylor has 11 in individual events and the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams. The Bears have eight entries currently ranked among the region's top 12. BU has one athlete, who is ranked No. 1 in their event going into the regional meet. Tiffani McReynolds has the fastest 100-hurdle time at 12.70. Meanwhile, the Bears have four runner-up marks in the region, including Trayvon Bromell (100m, 200m), Felix Obi (triple jump) and Brianna Richardson (triple jump).
>Baylor sophomore sprinter Trayvon Bromell was named the Big 12 Men's Track & Field Performer of the Year, the conference office announced Thursday.
The St. Petersburg, Fla., native becomes the third BU male athlete to win the honor, joining Brandon Couts (1998) and Darold Williamson (2004).
Last weekend at the Big 12 Championships, Bromell won titles in the 100 and 200-meter events.
>After making program history Saturday, the eighth-ranked Baylor men's tennis doubles tandem of Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz lost a three-set battle to No. 19 Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen in the NCAA Doubles Championship semifinals Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
The loss ended the duo's season, after winning three matches to open its championship run.
The BU tandem, which is ranked No. 8 in the country, won the first set over Texas' Glasspool and Hess-Olesen, but then lost the next two to drop the match 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
>The Baylor women's tennis doubles pairing of Ema Burgic and Blair Shankle had its season ended with a three-set defeat in the NCAA Doubles Championship quarterfinals Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
After picking up two wins to start its NCAA run, the 14th-ranked BU duo fell short against Alabama's No. 1 ranked pairing of Maya Jansen and Erin Routliffe, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. The loss drops the BU tandem's record to 13-5 on the season.
>Baylor women's golf is in fifth place after Sunday's third round of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship at The Concession Golf Club. BU shot 18-over 306 on Sunday, giving the Bears a 54-hole total of 46-over 910. Baylor will have to wait for the remaining six teams to finish their third rounds before Monday's fourth-round tee times are known. Third rounds will be resumed at 6:30 a.m. CT Monday.
Let’s make it a great week.
My friends, I give you Kate Smith with the unofficial national anthem of this nation.
****
For many of us on this board, we have a loved one or know of someone who served in our nation’s armed forces. As some of you know, my late father Vincent served in World War II and was a tail gunner in B-25s and B-29s. He was a corporal in the Air Force and served in the Caribbean and Pacific theatres. He was part of the B-29 529 squadron that dropped the two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the end of World War II. He was not on those missions.
The humility that with any soldier serves is unparalleled to any act. Thanks seems so inappropriate. But then again, they weren’t looking for it either. As my father would tell me, they did what they had to do.
The business of the United States of America goes on.
****
Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of the countdown to the upcoming football season. We’re just 102 days away from Baylor opening the 2015 season at SMU.
****
I knew it: Given how Texas has turned an extension of the Gulf of Mexico, you would think that that state’s drought has passed. Oh, but you knew there would be one weather expert who wasn’t willing to go there. Meteorologist Forrest Mitchell at National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma said this in a national news story: "It looks like the rainfall that we're getting now, may actually officially end the drought.’’
Mitchell noted that moisture has now reached about two feet below the surface of the soil and many lakes and reservoirs are full.
May actually officially end the drought? Really? You don’t think all of these rivers and lakes in the state reaching or cresting above flood stage wasn’t enough?
Thanks, Forrest. SMH!
****
In case you missed it, Frisco Lone Star safety Chris Miller – the latest commitment – has been rated three stars with a 5.5 rating. That’s about where I thought he was going to be rated. There is still time for that to inch higher.
****
So the move Ian McCaw made with the change of leadership in the Baylor baseball program has occurred.
When a long-tenured coach like Steve Smith doesn’t have the ceremonious exit that he and many others probably envisioned, it is a reminder that it’s a results industry. There is no question that what Smith accomplished with Baylor will never be forgotten.
Baylor baseball was the face of Baylor athletics when there was very little else. The misery of fall and winter appropriately gave way to the hope of spring. That’s what Smith’s teams did.
The Bears won Big 12 conference titles in 2000, 2005 and 2012, appeared in four Super Regionals and made the 2005 College World Series.
Baylor put Smith into its Hall of Fame in 2006. Smith won 744 games, which are the most of any Baylor coach in history.
But somehow I can’t help but think this decline happened because of the meltdown in the 2012 Super Regional series against Arkansas at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears were one strike away from returning to Omaha. And not only did they miss winning the clinching Game 2, they then lost Game 3.
This program was never the same since. In the last three years, the Bears were 76-88 (23-32 in 2015) and fielded teams that were soft offensively and inconsistent defensively. Baylor didn’t pitch poorly. But the pressure on the staff became too much to endure and would yield from time to time.
Hope began in February when the Bears opened the season with a three-game sweep of then-No. 13 Cal-Poly. Baylor started 6-2.Then a 10-game losing streak sent this season spinning in the wrong direction. The program never recovered. Baylor’s 23 wins were the fewest since 1981.
You could probably say McCaw was too patient. Back-to-back NCAA tournament appearance misses could have been enough for McCaw to do this in 2014.
However, Smith had built in enough equity over his career for McCaw to give him one more year to right things. The Bears barely made the 2015 Big 12 tournament. There were fun wins over TCU and Texas Tech. But when the season ended in a 4-0 loss to Texas – the Bears were held to two hits – that performance returned everything to reality.
It was just time. Smith probably knew it.
So Baylor now moves on to finding the successor who can return this program to better days. We’ve mentioned Dallas Baptist’s Dan Heefner whose team is hosting a regional in the upcoming NCAA tournament. He’s built a powerhouse there for more than a decade.
Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson built a great program at Navarro before moving to Texas. No doubt he has some credibility with the Longhorns pitched in the Big 12 tournament to win and clinch a spot in the field. It’s known in some circles that he covets this job.
Houston’s Todd Whitting has been running the Cougars for the past five seasons. He’s continued to build on the past success with that program. But Houston isn’t a P5 school. The pay is better and the competition is the best.
We’ll see who else emerges. A new coach should be in place by the time the College World Series begins later in June.
***
I have no feel for what Fort Bend Hightower linebacker Clifton Lewis is going to do on Wednesday when he announces his commitment decision. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.
For all I know, Lewis is capable of announcing someone other than Baylor, TCU or Oklahoma State. But if Baylor doesn’t get him, I wouldn’t be stunned.
There are more candidates to pursue. As I have cautioned, this recruiting season is going to go all the way to 2016 National Signing Day (Feb. 3). Baylor is seriously involved in too many big names who are going to take their time when making these decisions.
This is a really good class that Baylor has constructed. However, the impatience from the fan base to have it all (instant gratification alert) yesterday is peculiar. I understand that everybody got jazzed by the 2013 and 2014 classes which filled up so fast. Recruiting followers could enjoy the football season with a look here and there at recruiting.
But forgive me as I remind you for the zillionth time: When you are recruiting at this high a level against some pretty big names you have to grind this out. If kids like Shyheim Carter and Michael Divinity are coming to your school, you don’t tell them: Sorry, we’re full. If you feel you’re in it, you stay in it until you’re told you’re not in it.
Look no further than Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones. Rivals No. 28 recruit appeared to have a solid visit to Baylor this past Saturday. He wouldn’t have visited if he wasn’t interested. Anybody who follows this stuff knows Jones isn’t doing anything for a long time. So you ride with it until that process has a conclusion.
Alabama and Georgia each have nine commitments. USC has eight. Auburn has six. Oklahoma and Texas each have four.
I do think Baylor will probably get to low double figure commitments by the time the 2015 football seasons starts. If Trophy Club Byron Nelson tackle Kellen Diesch announces next Monday – or somewhere around that – then that’s another player where Baylor has a really good chance to get.
Actually, I’m finding this recruiting season to be one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever covered because Baylor is legitimately involved in so many races. In previous years when Baylor offered these types of players, you likely gave it little thought.
Now, you’re emotionally invested. You can taste it. It stings when Baylor isn’t picked. But you also know Baylor isn’t out of options.
Enjoy the ride because when Baylor wins one of these like it with Copperas Cove offensive tackle J.P. Urquidez the excitement is like no other.
***
Lest we forget, the rest of the 2015 football and basketball signing classes should start to arrive on Thursday for that first summer session that starts on June 1. That’s when there should be more clarity to the roster. We’ll try to get a little more insight on the 2015 class in the Blitz.
***
Camp season also begins on Sunday with the first one on Sunday. Then it’s off to Cy Falls on June 1, Richardson Pearce on June 5, Marshall on June 6 and then back to Baylor June 7. I think I had a count of about 2300+ camp participants who attended those in 2014. Given Baylor’s success, I would look for that number to increase. What the Baylor coaches have to prepare for – and they probably are – is how to make sure the numbers don’t swell so much that the quality of the instruction doesn’t suffer. When you have big numbers, there’s only so much you can do.
There’s no doubt that it’s a great problem to have. I can tell you that based on the Sachse kids who are tweeting me, there are going to be a lot of players from that school making their way to J.J. Pearce.
But in order to get the vibe of these camps, I have to start getting into listening to the hip hop music again. No Baylor camp can be complete without it. I can be driving on an errand, change the channel on my car radio, a hip hop song pops up, and I immediately think of Baylor’s camp.
I guess that’s the Pavlovian Dog in me.
***
Josh Hamilton’s second tour with the Rangers begins on Monday in Cleveland. Manager Jeff Bannister made the smart move by waiting until this team was out of New York. Hamilton can go to work in a less chaotic environment.
Now, we’ll see how this goes. But after a brutal April with the bats, the Rangers really look like they’re finding some things. Yes, the Yankees are pretty average. But to go into New York and sweep them is a no small accomplishment.
I think I read a national baseball writer who quoted a scout who said that Prince Fielder could no longer really lift the ball. I was thinking about that over the weekend as I saw Fielder put three balls into the Yankee Stadium bleachers and smoke a wall-ball single off the right field wall.
Also, a great weekend by the Astros in Detroit. When you take two of three from the Tigers, that’s also a lot to feel good about. Houston has MLB’s best record at 29-16.
***
Now a look at the other Baylor sports. We are winding down the 2014-15 athletics calendar.
>The Baylor men's golf team finished in sixth place at the NCAA Bremerton Regional after shooting 1-over-par 289 in Saturday's final round. The sixth-place finish was one spot shy of the cut to make the NCAA Championships, ending the Bears season.
BU finished the 54-hole tournament at 2-under-par 862, eight strokes back of TCU and Washington in a tie for fourth place. UAB (-21) won the regional, while South Carolina (-19) took second and Southern California (-17) finished in third. The Bears entered the final round in fifth place, but tournament-host Washington shot 11-under on Saturday to climb three spots in the standings from seventh to fourth.
>Baylor's track and field teams will be represented by 28 entries and 23 athletes in the NCAA West Preliminary Championships next week at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
BU will have 15 entries on the women's side and 13 more on the men's side vying for a chance to get into the top 12 in their respective events and earn a berth to the championship finals site in Eugene, Ore. At the NCAA West Preliminary, competitors in individual events will be pared from 48 to 24 in the first round and then down to 12 in the second round. Meanwhile, the relay races will only have one round of action, trimming 24 entries down to 12.
The Baylor women will have 14 entries in individual events, along with the 4x100 relay. Of those entries, Baylor has seven currently ranked among the top 12 in the West region.
On the men's side, Baylor has 11 in individual events and the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams. The Bears have eight entries currently ranked among the region's top 12. BU has one athlete, who is ranked No. 1 in their event going into the regional meet. Tiffani McReynolds has the fastest 100-hurdle time at 12.70. Meanwhile, the Bears have four runner-up marks in the region, including Trayvon Bromell (100m, 200m), Felix Obi (triple jump) and Brianna Richardson (triple jump).
>Baylor sophomore sprinter Trayvon Bromell was named the Big 12 Men's Track & Field Performer of the Year, the conference office announced Thursday.
The St. Petersburg, Fla., native becomes the third BU male athlete to win the honor, joining Brandon Couts (1998) and Darold Williamson (2004).
Last weekend at the Big 12 Championships, Bromell won titles in the 100 and 200-meter events.
>After making program history Saturday, the eighth-ranked Baylor men's tennis doubles tandem of Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz lost a three-set battle to No. 19 Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen in the NCAA Doubles Championship semifinals Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
The loss ended the duo's season, after winning three matches to open its championship run.
The BU tandem, which is ranked No. 8 in the country, won the first set over Texas' Glasspool and Hess-Olesen, but then lost the next two to drop the match 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
>The Baylor women's tennis doubles pairing of Ema Burgic and Blair Shankle had its season ended with a three-set defeat in the NCAA Doubles Championship quarterfinals Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
After picking up two wins to start its NCAA run, the 14th-ranked BU duo fell short against Alabama's No. 1 ranked pairing of Maya Jansen and Erin Routliffe, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. The loss drops the BU tandem's record to 13-5 on the season.
>Baylor women's golf is in fifth place after Sunday's third round of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship at The Concession Golf Club. BU shot 18-over 306 on Sunday, giving the Bears a 54-hole total of 46-over 910. Baylor will have to wait for the remaining six teams to finish their third rounds before Monday's fourth-round tee times are known. Third rounds will be resumed at 6:30 a.m. CT Monday.
Let’s make it a great week.
