Double-T Nation News:
There's not much news today, other than the fact that every newspaper is picking up on Harrell's 180 on his coach. If nothing else, this gives me the perfect opportunity to let you know that I added some basketball content to the right and left sidebars. Once football season is over, I'll take off all of the football widgets (that's what those boxes are called), just have basketball and patiently wait for football season to start again. On the left, there are the next 5 games and the last 5 games. On the right, there is the next game, team leaders in scoring, rebounding, etc., conference standings, and the roster at the very bottom.
I've got a new poll up to your left and it's basketball related. I'm curious as to where you guys (and gals) feel that the men's basketball team will finish?
Cotton Bowl:
SI's Stewart Mandel is ranking the bowl games (everyone's doing it) and has the Cotton Bowl checking in at #9, behind game like the Poinsettia Bowl (Boise St. vs. TCU), Capital One Bow (Georgia vs. Michigan St.) and the Orange Bowl (Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech).
Lots of Rebel players have received post-season accolades as Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher and defensive tackle Peria Jerry were named to the first team All-SEC by the coaches. On the 2nd team was offensive tackle John Jerry and kicker Joshua Shene. The AP writers voted Oher, Shene and offensive tackle Peria Jerry on the first team, RB/WR/QB Dexter McCluster was named to the 2nd team and quarterback Jevan Snead, defensive end Greg Hardy and defensive tackle Lawon Scott were honorable mention.
Houston Nutt is "crossing fingers on grades":
Nutt is hopeful there will be no serious academic casualties before the Jan. 2 game, but he has reason to be nervous. Had Ole Miss gone to a bowl last season, estimates from Ole Miss officials, including Nutt, indicated about 30 players would not have been eligible because of poor grades.Last year's academic misery likely had something to do with the general malaise hanging over the football program. UM knew it was out of the bowl picture with several weeks left in the regular season and players could have slacked off, knowing they had the spring and summer semesters to get their grades back up.
Texas Tech Football:
ESPN Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin empties out the mailbag and has this on Leach:
Jon from Houston writes: Any updates on Mike Leach? I haven't heard anything further about his extension. Is his name still in the mix at Auburn?Tim Griffin: The talks between Leach and Texas Tech are taking a break this week as Leach visits New York City to the Hall of Fame awards and will be visiting Florida for the awards presentation. I would expect to see him back in New York City if Graham Harrell is deservedly chosen as a Heisman finalist.
But my gut tells me that if Auburn had wanted to hire him, we would have already heard something by now. And with the parade of various candidates emerging, I'm thinking his chances for that job -- if he ever really wanted it -- are growing dimmer by the day.
That's interesting, I don't recall I've seen anyone throw out the idea that although it has appeared that Leach threw his hat in the ring, but Auburn quickly tossed it back, there's the other side that perhaps it was Auburn, whose administration is a mess and quickly threw out the name of the "hot-coach" as an option to appear relevant.
There's the distinct possibility that Leach never wanted or interviewd with Auburn and perhaps Harrell's comments from yesterday ring true, it was the Washington job or nothing. The question that we still don't know the answer to, and we may never, is if Leach voluntarily pulled his offer or if Washington did?
I'm not sure if this is good news, but DMN's Brandon George is reporting that Texas Tech defensive back De'Shon Sanders posted a $25,000 bond and was released from custody:
The crimes Sanders were charged with were allegedly committed in Lea County, New Mexico, on or between June 6 and June 7 of this year. No drugs were found on Sanders at the time of his arrest or in his apartment close to campus.Ramirez said the charges against Sanders, a junior from Hobbs, N.M., are still pending. Ramirez said U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Clinton E. Averitte of the Northern District of Texas released Sanders after bond was posted under the conditions that his travel is restricted to the Northern District of Texas and New Mexico.
Ramirez said Sanders, 22, will have to report to an arraignment hearing in Las Cruces, N.M., and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty within the next 30 to 45 days.
Sanders is facing up to a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. The investigation is still ongoing.
Texas Tech Basketball:
A couple of Big 12 roundups and power rankings, the first from Columbia Tribune's Steve Walentik's blog, Courtside View (BTW, Walentik may be the best beat reporter on the Big 12):
7. Texas Tech (7-1)
This week: vs. Lamar on Saturday
The Red Raiders look to be the best shooting team in the Big 12 Conference. They're hitting 44.8 percent of their 3-point attempts. John Roberson and Alan Voskuil are both shooting better than 48 percent from beyond the arc.
And FWST's Mike Jones looks at Texas' win against Villanova and the rest of the Big 12:
Texas Tech: Obviously, this is not your father’s Tech anymore. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 with a 90.4-point scoring average, a tad more than last year’s 69.9. If they could keep up this pace, which they won’t once conference play begins, they would be on pace to break the school’s single-season all-time point total (2,664) set in 1995. Tech set 10 conference records with the 167-point game against East Central Oklahoma on Nov.12.