So yesterday I saw that Tech has named Dan Spencer the Head Coach Designate for the baseball team. Whenever Larry Hays decides to hang 'em up, Spencer will be the man.
Texas Tech press release
The Dallas Mavericks fired head coach Avery Johnson after losing their 3rd straight playoff series.
CBS Sports
The Phoenix Suns shifted all the blame on Mike D'Antoni, sending him looking for a new job. If I remember correctly, it wasn't D'Antoni who makes the trades.
SI
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Dallas Cowboys, holla
So the draft has come and gone once again, lets see how the Cowboys did...
In round one, the Cowboys had to wait until pick 22 to get their feet wet. When their turn finally came around, they nabbed Arkansas RB Felix Jones. Good pick, IMO. Jones will provide much need support to Marion Barber III. While I was high on Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall, friends made the good point that there is no need to have two running backs with the same style on a team. That being said, Jones has the speed to create an outside presence, and should compliment the straight ahead style that Barber prefers.
The Cowboys traded up from their 28th spot to grab CB Mike Jenkins out of South Florida at #25. Another solid choice by the Cowboys. The one thing that has hurt them in recent years has been Roy Williams...err...secondary. With the drafting of Jenkins and the addition of CB Adam "Pacman" Jones from Tennessee, the Cowboys shouldn't have to worry about Roy Williams attempting to cover an opposing WR. A DB was Dallas' most needed position, and they got a good one. Jenkins was ranked as high as 3rd among fellow cornerbacks. He is also one year removed from an arrest, a perfect fit in Dallas!
With their last pick on the first day, the Dallas Cowboys drafted a legend. Now, this legend is not a legend because of his on-field abilities, but rather an internet message-board legend because of the text message he recieved from LSU QB Ryan Perrilloux during his announcement on signing day a few years ago. Martellus Bennett, HOLLA!
I'm not too thrilled about this pick. Dallas needed a TE, but I think that Michigan State TE Kellen Davis was a better selection than Money-B (Oh yeah, I forgot to add that Martellus is a "rapper"...hip-hop lifestyle, holla!) Money-B is very talented, but extremely raw. Coming from Dennis Franchione's "system" at A&M, Martellus has a lot of catching up to do. Luckily for everyone, he wasn't converted to an oversized RB, and stayed at his TE spot, where he gained a lot of valuable experience as a blocker and running around without the ball.
In round one, the Cowboys had to wait until pick 22 to get their feet wet. When their turn finally came around, they nabbed Arkansas RB Felix Jones. Good pick, IMO. Jones will provide much need support to Marion Barber III. While I was high on Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall, friends made the good point that there is no need to have two running backs with the same style on a team. That being said, Jones has the speed to create an outside presence, and should compliment the straight ahead style that Barber prefers.
The Cowboys traded up from their 28th spot to grab CB Mike Jenkins out of South Florida at #25. Another solid choice by the Cowboys. The one thing that has hurt them in recent years has been Roy Williams...err...secondary. With the drafting of Jenkins and the addition of CB Adam "Pacman" Jones from Tennessee, the Cowboys shouldn't have to worry about Roy Williams attempting to cover an opposing WR. A DB was Dallas' most needed position, and they got a good one. Jenkins was ranked as high as 3rd among fellow cornerbacks. He is also one year removed from an arrest, a perfect fit in Dallas!
With their last pick on the first day, the Dallas Cowboys drafted a legend. Now, this legend is not a legend because of his on-field abilities, but rather an internet message-board legend because of the text message he recieved from LSU QB Ryan Perrilloux during his announcement on signing day a few years ago. Martellus Bennett, HOLLA!
I'm not too thrilled about this pick. Dallas needed a TE, but I think that Michigan State TE Kellen Davis was a better selection than Money-B (Oh yeah, I forgot to add that Martellus is a "rapper"...hip-hop lifestyle, holla!) Money-B is very talented, but extremely raw. Coming from Dennis Franchione's "system" at A&M, Martellus has a lot of catching up to do. Luckily for everyone, he wasn't converted to an oversized RB, and stayed at his TE spot, where he gained a lot of valuable experience as a blocker and running around without the ball.
Friday, April 25, 2008
47/3 =15.7
A seven game losing streak for the Red Raiders quickly turned into a three game win streak. After celebrating a series win over then #2 Missouri, Texas Tech followed up by sweeping A&M-Corpus Christi to give Coach Larry Hays his 1,500th overall win. It took a span 13 games until they got to 1,502. Tech suffered weekend sweeps at Nebraska and Kansas, and a midweek sweep in Las Vegas against UNLV. Tech's only win during that span was a 10-0 gem against the New Mexico Lobos, who split their midweek series with a Wednesday victory. It took until game 3 against the Kansas State Wildcats for Tech to break out of the funk.
Since that 19-4 run-ruling by the Raiders, Tech has defeated New Mexico State twice, scoring 12 and 16 runs, respectively.
During their 1-12 stretch, Tech scored 51 runs, or 3.9 runs per game. Since that drought was snapped, Tech has plated 47 runs in 3 games, or 15.7 runs per game. Much of this is in large part due to the re-emergence of Texas Collegiate League Player of the Year Chris Richburg, who returned to the lineup after a 6 week absence. Richburg broke his left fibula while rounding second base against Central Arkansas.
In the 3 game streak, Richburg is 8 for 10 with 8 runs and 6 RBIs. He has collected 5 extra base hits, including becoming only the 5th player in Texas Tech history to hit for the cycle, a feat he accomplished in Tech's 16-10 victory over New Mexico State in Roswell. On the year, Richburg is hitting at .329, the second highest average among Tech starters.
The hitting is going great for the Raiders, but that doesn't mean anything if the pitching cannot keep up. With a season ERA sitting at an even 6.00, the pitching staff is forcing the bats to win games, which is causing the Red Raiders to lose games. The problem with the staff is not one single player or group of players, but rather one position: starting pitcher. In Tech's 46 games this season, the starting pitchers have amassed a group ERA of roughly 7.12, while the bullpen stays at approximately 4.46. Not good.
Couple those numbers with the recent loss of veteran AJ Ramos, and Tech could be in for a bad ending if the hitting fizzles out. It's all up to the bats to pull the rabbit out of the hat now.
Since that 19-4 run-ruling by the Raiders, Tech has defeated New Mexico State twice, scoring 12 and 16 runs, respectively.
During their 1-12 stretch, Tech scored 51 runs, or 3.9 runs per game. Since that drought was snapped, Tech has plated 47 runs in 3 games, or 15.7 runs per game. Much of this is in large part due to the re-emergence of Texas Collegiate League Player of the Year Chris Richburg, who returned to the lineup after a 6 week absence. Richburg broke his left fibula while rounding second base against Central Arkansas.
In the 3 game streak, Richburg is 8 for 10 with 8 runs and 6 RBIs. He has collected 5 extra base hits, including becoming only the 5th player in Texas Tech history to hit for the cycle, a feat he accomplished in Tech's 16-10 victory over New Mexico State in Roswell. On the year, Richburg is hitting at .329, the second highest average among Tech starters.
The hitting is going great for the Raiders, but that doesn't mean anything if the pitching cannot keep up. With a season ERA sitting at an even 6.00, the pitching staff is forcing the bats to win games, which is causing the Red Raiders to lose games. The problem with the staff is not one single player or group of players, but rather one position: starting pitcher. In Tech's 46 games this season, the starting pitchers have amassed a group ERA of roughly 7.12, while the bullpen stays at approximately 4.46. Not good.
Couple those numbers with the recent loss of veteran AJ Ramos, and Tech could be in for a bad ending if the hitting fizzles out. It's all up to the bats to pull the rabbit out of the hat now.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Augustin and Abrams testing NBA waters...might be too cold for one of them.
Both DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams are declaring for the NBA draft, but won't hire agents. They can still withdraw their names by June 16th, unless they sign an agent.
I think this is a great move for DJ, because, honestly, why the hell not? 19.8 ppg in the Big 12 and the winner of the Bob Cousy Award...sounds good to me. He has great moves, can shoot, and has very good court awareness. I predict 1st round and a better rookie season than Acie Law.
AJ, on the other hand should withdraw his name. He just seems too spotty to be NBA calibur. His only real tool is his 3-point shooting. He isn't good at making his own shots, defense, or shooting inside the arc. That spells NBDL all the way.
I think this is a great move for DJ, because, honestly, why the hell not? 19.8 ppg in the Big 12 and the winner of the Bob Cousy Award...sounds good to me. He has great moves, can shoot, and has very good court awareness. I predict 1st round and a better rookie season than Acie Law.
AJ, on the other hand should withdraw his name. He just seems too spotty to be NBA calibur. His only real tool is his 3-point shooting. He isn't good at making his own shots, defense, or shooting inside the arc. That spells NBDL all the way.
Spurs improve to 2-0, Mavericks improve to 0-2
The Spurs were the Spurs while the Mavericks were the Mavericks.
It should be no surprise to anyone that San Antonio has taken both games on their home court to jump out to a 2-0 start over the Phoenix Suns. They played their game, came back from a large deficit and held on to frustrate Amare Stoudemire and his team. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs. The first half featured 3 points from Brent Barry and 51 from the Big 3, while the second half saw they others score 20 of the 48 Spurs points. Regardless, the Spurs took the lead with a series of scoring spurts and held on in the end to take the 2 game series lead.
While this was happening, Dallas was keeping up their current trend of playoff woe. Since taking a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA Finals, Dallas has successfully lost 10 of their last 12 playoff games, including 6 of 8 in the first round, as well as their last 8 on the road. Unfortunately for the Mavs, they would need two wins at New Orleans Arena to move on to the quarterfinals. It just doesn't seem plausible for New Orleans to allow this to happen, especially with the level of play that Chris Paul has been experiencing.
It should be no surprise to anyone that San Antonio has taken both games on their home court to jump out to a 2-0 start over the Phoenix Suns. They played their game, came back from a large deficit and held on to frustrate Amare Stoudemire and his team. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs. The first half featured 3 points from Brent Barry and 51 from the Big 3, while the second half saw they others score 20 of the 48 Spurs points. Regardless, the Spurs took the lead with a series of scoring spurts and held on in the end to take the 2 game series lead.
While this was happening, Dallas was keeping up their current trend of playoff woe. Since taking a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA Finals, Dallas has successfully lost 10 of their last 12 playoff games, including 6 of 8 in the first round, as well as their last 8 on the road. Unfortunately for the Mavs, they would need two wins at New Orleans Arena to move on to the quarterfinals. It just doesn't seem plausible for New Orleans to allow this to happen, especially with the level of play that Chris Paul has been experiencing.
Pacman a Cowboy
Well, it finally happened, the Cowboys and Titans agreed, in principle, to a deal that will send 6-time arrestee Adam "Pacman" Jones to the Dallas Cowboys. The teams have not released all the terms of the deal, but I have a feeling that it probably involved a few late draft picks.
This could be interesting. The upsides are that the Cowboys get a need position for cheap (hopefully), and bring in a veteran who has game-changing ability on defense and special teams. The downside is that Pacman brings a troubled past with him. Either way, it isn't a huge gamble if the speculated 4th and 6th round picks are indeed what the Cowboys gave up for Jones.
This could be interesting. The upsides are that the Cowboys get a need position for cheap (hopefully), and bring in a veteran who has game-changing ability on defense and special teams. The downside is that Pacman brings a troubled past with him. Either way, it isn't a huge gamble if the speculated 4th and 6th round picks are indeed what the Cowboys gave up for Jones.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Let's talk NFL Draft
So the first pick is already locked up. The Miami Herald is reporting that Jake Long has agreed to a deal, in principle, with the Dolphins for 5 years. So with that done, we move on to pick #2, which is held by the Rams. Honestly, I don't know who the Rams are going to pick, only they do. As I peruse all these sports sites, I am bombarded with MOCK DRAFTS! In my opinion, mock drafts are about as useful as an asshole on your elbow. People who make mock drafts are up there with those people who think that they are all knowing due to their March Madness picks. Its all about guessing right, and usually without any real knowledge, just luck.
Now I'm sure there are people out there who really can tell you what options a team has when picking their draft pick, but once you get past pick 10, every pick is dependent on those before it, so you have such a large pool of variants, that it really does come down to lucky guesses.
With that stated, most of the expert picks for the Cowboys have them taking a RB and CB, or a WR and CB, or a WR and RB...the trend is nearly endless. CBS offers 3 mock drafts, all have the Cowboys picking 6 different players with their 2 picks. That just furthers my point of variants in the late round. Its comical.
If I were to guess at who the Cowboys were going to pick, I wouldn't be able to give you a name, but rather a position. Personally, with what I saw last year, there is one area that the Cowboys must address immediately, and that is secondary. They have good cornerbacks in Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry, and one Pro-Bowl caliber safety in Ken Hamlin, but they have that huge hole in Roy Williams. The guy should be paying Brett Robin millions for making him a superstar fraud. Williams just doesn't cut it, and he needs to be replaced, badly.
One option I have heard was moving Henry to Williams' safety spot and selecting a CB at #22. I can see that strategy working very well. There should be a few solid corners left at that junction. Aqib Talib, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antoine Cason, Brandon Flowers, Reggie Smith and Justin King would all be safe picks.
After shoring up that pick, Dallas can now look past filling gaps, and find a player that can give them an immediate impact. There will really be no glaring needs on the defensive side, which leaves the door wide open for an offensive player, be it a strong RB or a playmaking WR. Personally, I think that it would be best to find a good sized WR who can help out Owens and Glenn. I have a leaning towards Limas Sweed and James Hardy. Both are tall, can catch and Sweed has excellent speed. Or they can take a small slot receiver who can catch the ball and take a hit, like that Danny Amendola kid from Texas Tech...alright, maybe a little bit of a stretch, but someone should take him in the late rounds solely because of Welker's success.
So there you have it.
Now I'm sure there are people out there who really can tell you what options a team has when picking their draft pick, but once you get past pick 10, every pick is dependent on those before it, so you have such a large pool of variants, that it really does come down to lucky guesses.
With that stated, most of the expert picks for the Cowboys have them taking a RB and CB, or a WR and CB, or a WR and RB...the trend is nearly endless. CBS offers 3 mock drafts, all have the Cowboys picking 6 different players with their 2 picks. That just furthers my point of variants in the late round. Its comical.
If I were to guess at who the Cowboys were going to pick, I wouldn't be able to give you a name, but rather a position. Personally, with what I saw last year, there is one area that the Cowboys must address immediately, and that is secondary. They have good cornerbacks in Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry, and one Pro-Bowl caliber safety in Ken Hamlin, but they have that huge hole in Roy Williams. The guy should be paying Brett Robin millions for making him a superstar fraud. Williams just doesn't cut it, and he needs to be replaced, badly.
One option I have heard was moving Henry to Williams' safety spot and selecting a CB at #22. I can see that strategy working very well. There should be a few solid corners left at that junction. Aqib Talib, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antoine Cason, Brandon Flowers, Reggie Smith and Justin King would all be safe picks.
After shoring up that pick, Dallas can now look past filling gaps, and find a player that can give them an immediate impact. There will really be no glaring needs on the defensive side, which leaves the door wide open for an offensive player, be it a strong RB or a playmaking WR. Personally, I think that it would be best to find a good sized WR who can help out Owens and Glenn. I have a leaning towards Limas Sweed and James Hardy. Both are tall, can catch and Sweed has excellent speed. Or they can take a small slot receiver who can catch the ball and take a hit, like that Danny Amendola kid from Texas Tech...alright, maybe a little bit of a stretch, but someone should take him in the late rounds solely because of Welker's success.
So there you have it.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Let's Make It Official
We (I) here at Absolutely Obknoxious are ready to announce which NBA team will be our favored club throughout the NBA Playoffs. We (I) have done extensive research, comparing endless pages of statistics for weeks to figure out which team is worthy of being crowned the World Champions of basketball. We (I) spent sleepless nights trying to decide if Steve Nash would be the man to jockey his team to the Finals, or if the newly re-made Celtics would weather the storm and win 16 games. After all of this, we (I) decided that it was pointless since I'm a huge Spurs homer!
GO SPURS GO!
I am so biased about this that it isn't even funny. I will be rooting on the Spurs and rooting off the Mavs. Hopefully I will be able to proudly display my Dirk logo once the Hornets dismantle Dallas.
GO SPURS GO!
I am so biased about this that it isn't even funny. I will be rooting on the Spurs and rooting off the Mavs. Hopefully I will be able to proudly display my Dirk logo once the Hornets dismantle Dallas.
AJ Ramos out for the year
Unfortunately, AJ Ramos is no longer in service for the remainder of the year. Ouch.
The official release says that it is the result of a torn UCL, suffered earlier in the season. This will leave Tech struggling to find another weekend starter, who won't struggle.
Official Release
The official release says that it is the result of a torn UCL, suffered earlier in the season. This will leave Tech struggling to find another weekend starter, who won't struggle.
Official Release
PICTURES!
The first batch is from a home game against Central Arkansas, while the last 4 are from Coach Hays' 1500 career victory.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tech falling faster than Britney Spears
6 conference games in a row, and 7 of the last 8. Texas Tech just isn't getting it done. I'm not sure if the team has quit on themselves, or if they are in a team-wide slump, but it hasn't been pretty at all lately. I'll let the box scores and 1 hitter speak for themselves, rather than writing a rant. It seems that Kansas has our number this year.
Kansas bats power Jayhawks past Tech, 9-5
Jayhawks crush Red Raiders, 9-1 (1 hit, but 7 walks, and only 1 run)
Kansas "complets" weekend sweep. (no typo on my part.)
Texas managed to steal a game from the Missouri Tigers today, and didn't give up double digit runs doing it! Of course, in the 3 game series, the Longhorns were outscored 46-23. On a positive note, Kyle Russell hit 2 more home runs, bringing his yearly total to 7, up from 2 weeks ago. his batting average has also jumped to around .250, its highest since week 2. One thing troubling me about the Longhorns is their ERA, which is above 5.00. I don't think Texas has had a staff ERA this high since around 2001. Very troubling, especially if they want to get past the Regionals for the first time since the 2005 Championship.
Kansas bats power Jayhawks past Tech, 9-5
Jayhawks crush Red Raiders, 9-1 (1 hit, but 7 walks, and only 1 run)
Kansas "complets" weekend sweep. (no typo on my part.)
Texas managed to steal a game from the Missouri Tigers today, and didn't give up double digit runs doing it! Of course, in the 3 game series, the Longhorns were outscored 46-23. On a positive note, Kyle Russell hit 2 more home runs, bringing his yearly total to 7, up from 2 weeks ago. his batting average has also jumped to around .250, its highest since week 2. One thing troubling me about the Longhorns is their ERA, which is above 5.00. I don't think Texas has had a staff ERA this high since around 2001. Very troubling, especially if they want to get past the Regionals for the first time since the 2005 Championship.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
How to ruin an ERA, Longhorn style.
Aaron Crow gave up 9 runs in 5 innings, after going 42+ straight scoreless innings. He also picked up his 8th win.
Texas jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, before Missouri went on a 28-3 run to close out the game. Highlighting the offensive plague was Jacob Priday, who collected 4 home runs and 9 RBIs. Missouri hitters collected a total of 7 home runs off the Texas staff, trumping Kyle Russell's pair.
Let me be the first to say, "What the &*$&!" The 31 runs allowed in a single game is a new record for the Longhorns, breaking the previous high of 26 that Texas Tech collected in 1995.
4 of the 7 pitchers in orange each gave up 6 runs in a combined 5.2 innings pitched. The "good pitchers" only allowed 8 runs in their 2.1 innings.
I don't have much more to say, I'm in that much shock.
Tech lost too, but the only surrendered 9 runs.
Texas jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, before Missouri went on a 28-3 run to close out the game. Highlighting the offensive plague was Jacob Priday, who collected 4 home runs and 9 RBIs. Missouri hitters collected a total of 7 home runs off the Texas staff, trumping Kyle Russell's pair.
Let me be the first to say, "What the &*$&!" The 31 runs allowed in a single game is a new record for the Longhorns, breaking the previous high of 26 that Texas Tech collected in 1995.
4 of the 7 pitchers in orange each gave up 6 runs in a combined 5.2 innings pitched. The "good pitchers" only allowed 8 runs in their 2.1 innings.
I don't have much more to say, I'm in that much shock.
Tech lost too, but the only surrendered 9 runs.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Tech swept by Nebraska, Texas beats OU twice
This is gonna be quick. I was unable to follow or see any games this weekend due to a funeral, but here is a quick rundown.
Nebraska swept Texas Tech in 3 games to stay atop the Bog 12 leaderboards. The Huskers beat Tech by scores of 6-2, 5-2 and 5-3. While the sweep is nothing to enjoy, the fact that the Raiders did not get blown out, or give up tons of runs are both positives to take away from the weekend. Nebraska's pitching staff was dominant, or Tech's bats became anemic and strikeout riddled during the road series. I'm not sure which choice fits the hole better, but that was the best synopsis from my quick boxscore review.
Texas managed to win their series against the Sooners, taking the Friday and Sunday games, while surrendering the Saturday contest. Kyle Russell may have jumped out of his slump, hitting 2 home runs over the weekend, including a grandslam. For the Longhorns' sake, lets hope this is his way of informing his fans that his .209 average and 1 home run are a thing of the past.
Tech plays a series this week againts New Mexico, battling tonight and Wednesday night, while the Longhorns face off against their I-35 rivals from San Marcos. UT vs. Texas State is scheduled for a 6:00 first pitch.
I have some pictures from Coach Hays' 1500 win that I will upload as soon as I remember to get my camera. I was awarded as the fan of the game, recieving Rudy's BBQ "Sause" and a $10 gift card. That makes 2 prize winnings for me, and 1 that was actually worth something.
Nebraska swept Texas Tech in 3 games to stay atop the Bog 12 leaderboards. The Huskers beat Tech by scores of 6-2, 5-2 and 5-3. While the sweep is nothing to enjoy, the fact that the Raiders did not get blown out, or give up tons of runs are both positives to take away from the weekend. Nebraska's pitching staff was dominant, or Tech's bats became anemic and strikeout riddled during the road series. I'm not sure which choice fits the hole better, but that was the best synopsis from my quick boxscore review.
Texas managed to win their series against the Sooners, taking the Friday and Sunday games, while surrendering the Saturday contest. Kyle Russell may have jumped out of his slump, hitting 2 home runs over the weekend, including a grandslam. For the Longhorns' sake, lets hope this is his way of informing his fans that his .209 average and 1 home run are a thing of the past.
Tech plays a series this week againts New Mexico, battling tonight and Wednesday night, while the Longhorns face off against their I-35 rivals from San Marcos. UT vs. Texas State is scheduled for a 6:00 first pitch.
I have some pictures from Coach Hays' 1500 win that I will upload as soon as I remember to get my camera. I was awarded as the fan of the game, recieving Rudy's BBQ "Sause" and a $10 gift card. That makes 2 prize winnings for me, and 1 that was actually worth something.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)