Odds and Ends
Housekeeping
I worked a little bit on the Red Offense last night, but didn't get it finished. You can look forward to this and the Red Defense next week.
Texas Tech Football
NFL Draft Notes
DT's Adam Coleman looks at the Texas Tech draft hopefuls, other that Michael Crabtree. Safety Darcel McBath is expected to go anywhere between the 2nd and 4th round and defensive end Brandon Williams has worked out with Dallas, Denver and Tampa Bay. Here's McBath on what being drafted means to him:
"I don't think I've grasp the situation yet," he said. "I think when I'm around my family and I hear my name get called, I know where I'm going, it'll all hit me."
Big 12 North Review
Big Red Network has a nice look at the Big 12 North teams for those of you trying to keep up with all things Big 12.
Michael Crabtree News
The National Football Post's Matt Bowen lays out why he believes that Michael Crabtree may not be successful his first year (i.e. press coverage, reading defenses, the playbook, the length of season and athletic ability) and this may be the most reasoned piece that I've read as to why Bowen believes rookie receivers struggle, which is true. Obviously, it's based on Bowen's opinion and to each his own, however, the one thing that I would argue is the "diva attitude" which seems to be the prevailing opinion about Crabtree. It seems the only thing that this report is being based upon is the report out of Cleveland, which is all according to a source. The other notion is that all Crabtree cares about his what he's going to wear on Saturday and I can assure you that he does care. Crabtree has openly admitted that he loves fashion and has always wanted to start his own clothing line for a long time, so it makes sense that he cares about that, but I don't think that makes him a diva. I keep thinking that there's the perception about receivers, but now I wonder how much of this is just that, it's expected therefore it must be true. I think that's just a lazy way to think about any player, much less the best receiver in the draft.
In other Crabtree news, the NY Daily News' Ohm Youngmisuk profiles Mr. Crabtree and his day in New York.
Neglected Video, Audio and Photos
Fox34 has a long look at a number of players including defensive tackle Colby Whitlock and his wrestling background and safety Cody Davis taking steps to starting next year.
Meanwhile, Ryan Hyatt talks with LAJ's Don Williams about the special teams in yesterday's radio broadcast.
Texas Tech Baseball
| Date | Start Time | Texas Tech Starting Pitcher |
Missouri Starting Pitcher |
Result |
| 4/24/2009 | 6:30 p.m. | Brian Cloud (2-3, 5.97) | Kyle Gibson (6-3, 3.00) | - |
| 4/25/2009 | 2:00 p.m. | AJ Ramos (4-3, 4.53) | TBA | - |
| 4/26/2009 | 1:00 p.m. | Nate Karns (3-4, 5.40) | Nick Tepesch (3-4, 6.92) | - |
Outfield:
LF - Michael Reed (Jr.); CF - Taylor Ashby (Jr.); RF - Garrett Totten (Fr.)
Infield:
3RD - Justin Berry (Fr.); SS - Joey Kenworthy (Jr.); 2ND - Willie Rueda (Sr.); 1ST - Chris Richburg (Sr.)
C - Jeremy Mayo (Fr.)
DH - Scott LeJeune (Fr.)
*Click on the score for boxscore. Texas Tech series preview (pdf).
Texas Tech Travels to Missouri
DT's Mike Graham previews this weekend's series between the Red Raiders and Missouri Tigers. Tonight's starting pitcher realizes how important it is to pitch well to night:
"We're going to a place where they're going to put out an All-American out on Friday night," Cloud said. "Obviously coming out Friday is going to be real big. The start is big, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself and I've done some extra work. I'm a little better this week and I anticipate to put our team in a real good position to take Friday."
Taylor Ashby Improved After Sophomore Season
LAJ's George Watson has an excellent piece on Texas Tech centerfielder Taylor Ashby. Ashby, who had a lackluster sophomore season, has been exceptional this year:
"I had a rough season last year and I knew I didn’t have a good season at the plate at all," Ashby said before the team departed for its three-game Big 12 series at Missouri. "I knew I was going to have to compete for a position this year and we did have a good recruiting class and some good help coming in. I just had to buckle up and put on some weight over the summer, come out and win the position in the fall."
And head coach Dan Spencer talks about Ashby's play:
"He has turned into as good a center fielder as there is in the league," Spencer said. "He’s become a complete player. I don’t know what the numbers are … But I think when you talk about all-Big 12 center fielders you have to talk about Taylor on the basis of the numbers and the balls he’s caught and the balls he’s gotten to. He’s been a tremendous player."
That was one thing that I noticed about Ashby when I watched the game on Saturday, was Ashby's range in centerfield. There was one pop-fly that he got to that I'm not sure that the average centerfielder is able to corral.