Double-T Nation News:
I've got to take care of a few of house-cleaning items this morning.
First up, and this is probably going to appeal to some of the younger readers of Double-T Nation, but DTN has a Facebook page. I'll be totally honest, I'm not real sure how Facebook is supposed to work, other than you can go there and leave messages and stuff, but I can say that DTN is there and please feel free to add me as a friend. I think the problem is that I'm just old enough to have missed the Facebook phenomenon, which means that I'm a little lost. If someone wants to create a DTN group, feel free (I'm not real sure how to do this myself). I'm not real sure how to link to my page, but I suppose you can just search for "Double T Nation" and DTN should be the first result.
Next, I love how you guys are posting like madmen on the FanPosts and FanShots. As some of you may have guessed, I cannot comment or post during the day, which means that I'm leaning on you to post during the day, and you guys are doing an outstanding job. Thank you, it's great that this community has progressed to the point that you guys are picking up my slack when I'm not available. Much appreciated.
Last, but certainly not least, welcome back Disco Tech!, who is back from hiatus with Bob Knight's Eyebrows at the helm. It's a little bit of a coincidence, but I've been trying to figure out which English Premier League team I want to follow after watching quite a bit of the Euro Cup and really enjoying the sport, and I'll take it as a sign from above, that it should be Aresenal Arsenal.
Texas Tech Football:
First and foremost, I'm truly excited to point you towards Tim Griffin's Big 12 blog. Last year while Griffin was at the San Antonio Express News, he covered the conference like no other. Now, he's moved on to the WWL and you can expect the same excellent work from Griffin.
A hearty welcome to the blogosphere.
ESPN blogger Bruce Feldman (is his content free now?) ranks the best quarterback conferences, with the Big 12 coming in 1st:
Big 12: This is a clear top choice thanks to a lot of heady leaders who make smart decisions and have proven to be very accurate with the ball. The league has four guys with legit Heisman hopes in Chase Daniel, Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell and Colt McCoy. A fifth, Todd Reesing of Kansas, is as tough and as sharp as they come, although I expect KU to backslide some this year. Behind those five is plenty more talent that probably could merit all-conference consideration in any other league save for the SEC. In fact, 10 of the league's top 11 passers return. Depth-wise, this is better than it's ever been for the Big 12.
It's not even close between the Big 12 and the other conferences. I'm surprised the Pac-10 has fallen below both the Big East and the MAC, but as Feldman points out, the conference is replacing starters at traditional powerhouses like Oregon, USC and UCLA.
One other Feldman note, he mentions that former Red Raider coach and current Arizona offensive coordinator Spike Sonny Dykes was voted by his peers as the "best coach to talk ball with." Dykes won by a healthy margin and although I've never talked with Dykes, it sounds like he has the same gift for gab and pleasant demeanor, much like his father.
Texas Tech Basketball:
Jeff Goodman's College Hoop Blog, Good 'N Plenty details a few items from each team in his Big 12 Offseason Rundown, confirms that Ricardo De Bem will play at Oklahoma City next year. This is the first place I've seen this information actually confirmed that De Bem will no longer be with the Red Raiders next year. This news was reported on RRS.com back in May, but I could never get any sort of confirmation that it was De Bem anywhere else. Case closed.