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Wednesday Morning Notes - July 4th Edition

By Seth C

HAPPY JULY 4TH! I hope everyone has a happy 4th, stay safe, stay very, very safe.

The Big 12 and College Football

Around the Oval had a funny bit, as they tried to imagine college coaches picking up women. Of course he failed to mention how Captain Leach would go about picking up the ladies. Because I completely lack imagination, I leave it up to you my dear readers, leave your answers in the comments below.

ESPN's Mark Schlaback details the easiest schedules in the nation, and guess who checks in at number 8? Our beloved Red Raiders:

8. TEXAS TECH: Give the Red Raiders some credit for scheduling a pair of nonconference road games ... at SMU and Rice. A home game against UTEP might be challenging, but a Sept. 29 game against Division I-AA Northwestern State will be a rout. Texas Tech plays home games against two of the Big 12 conference's most talented teams, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

Nonconference opponents: SMU (road), UTEP (home), Rice (road), Northwestern State (home)

Toughest game: at Texas, Nov. 10

Easiest game: vs. Northwestern State, Sept. 29

Also included in this list is Kansas at #1, Hawaii at #2, Arkansas at #3, Ohio State at #9 and Texas at #10.

Always controversial, Sporting News' Tom Deinhart ranks the top 40 players in the Big 12, regardless of position. The first Red Raider checks in at #20, Graham Harrell. Shannon Woods is ranked #34 and Jake Ratliff at #38 I'll let you send the angry emails.

SI's Stewart Mandel has his weekly mailbag and this week someone asks if there's any reason to get excited about Texas Tech this year. First and foremost, Mandel is excited about having a quarterback return for his 2nd season, mentions that Tech is replacing a number of starters, but also contends that Leach has consistently won while at Tech. I don't think Mandel's said anything truly noteworthy, but in any event, it's good to get a mention in SI.

Texas Tech Baseball

LAJ's has a pretty good article on the new assistant coaches, Dan Spencer and Trent Petrie. I must have missed this yesterday, but my favorite quote is from Coach Hays:

"I think he's the top pitching coach in the country and his track record is there. You don't have to say much," Hays said. "He wants to be at Tech, and that's a real plus for our program and where we want to be today and in the future."

Is there a coach in America who would have the humility to put the betterment of the program ahead of himself? Don't get me wrong, hiring Spencer will benefit Coach Hays, but putting his pride aside and hiring Spencer was the best thing that Coach Hays could have done for Tech, not for himself.

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