ODDS AND ENDS
Pretty sure I saw SARR yesterday.
Student voice not heard in Tech-Raider Park deal - The Daily Toreador: News
Keep beating that drum good folks at the DT. Perhaps the second round of articles, some of the news stations will pick up on this story.
CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT
Louisville Coaches Telling Recruits They're Headed For The Big 12? - Big East Coast Bias
I do think that Louisville has an informal and handshake sort of invite to the Big 12 because they went away all to quietly. Now, perhaps the coaches are telling recruits they'll be in the Big 12. Maybe not this year, but next year is my guess.
LADY RAIDER VOLLEYBALL
Best season of decade ends with loss to Mizzou - The Daily Toreador: Sports and Dowdy earns All-Big 12 First Team honors again - The Daily Toreador: Sports
I had previously posted about Dowdy being named to the Big 12 First Team, but I guess I just didn't realize that the volleyball team had their best season in a decade. Very proud of the ladies and coach Don Flora. Keep it going.
LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL
Lady Raiders focusing on Texas State, not Penn State | Red Raiders and No. 19 Lady Raiders to host Texas State tonight - The Daily Toreador: Sports
Coach Curry wants the Lady Raiders focused on Texas St. and not on No. 16 ranked Penn St., who will be in Lubbock on Saturday:
"It’s nothing about Penn State right now," Curry said Sunday after a 94-54 clobbering of Louisiana-Monroe. "It’s Texas State. That’s our focus. It’s not about Penn State, it’s about us getting better and getting the job done Wednesday night."
Curry also said that she doesn't think that the players being possibly tired should even enter the players' minds:
"They’re 18 to 22 years old," she said. "There’s no excuse for tired. That’s why you play these games: to improve your conditioning and your stamina heading into January. I don’t think there is anybody who played 30-plus minutes for us all weekend. Three games in a row is really nothing — it shouldn’t be — because we would be practicing a lot more minutes than we actually played on the floor."
Men's basketball and football are after the jump.
RED RAIDER BASKETBALL
Red Raiders aiming to reduce 'careless mistakes' | Red Raiders and Texas Tech's Billy Gillispie not satisfied after three-loss tournament performance | The Dallas Morning News and Tech prepares for Islanders after losing three straight in Orlando - The Daily Toreador: Sports
I didn't get to watch the last two Old Spice Classic games (losses to DePaul and Wake Forest), but as I've previously said, please don't judge this team by wins or losses, but by the improvement you see on the floor or if the team is getting worse. I'm not predicting a lot of wins for this team, so in that respect I think it's going to be a tough season, but I do think this team will play tough basketball. Anyway, I very much appreciate that head coach Billy Gillispie disagrees with me:
"Sometimes, you’re going to get beat," he said. "We understand that, but we don’t have to like it. I just want our team to play harder, play tougher and eventually play smarter than anybody we play against. But, no matter what the circumstances are, I do not like getting beat."
And the best for last:
"I go there to win, period," he said. "I’m not one of those five-year plan (guys); I’m not a next-year guy. I don’t buy that stuff. I don’t like that, and we’re not going to be a part of that stuff. We got beat three times, and to me, there’s nothing worse that you could have happen."
TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com Ranking - Rivals.com Rivals250 2012
The Red Raiders have 3 players on the Rivals 250 list for 2012, including WR Dominique Wheeler at #77, OL/DL Michael Starts at #166 and WR Reginald Davis at #235. Wheeler and Davis both player quarterback for their respective teams.
Devine moment: Joseph Sadler breaks Texas scoring record. - More Sports - SI.com and Sadler devine for Warhorses - San Antonio Express-News and ‘King of Devine' reigns on gridiron - San Antonio Express-News
I ran across this yesterday and thought it was interesting as you have a running back that is breaking every Texas high school record and he doesn't even have a scholarship offer from any major school. Texas Tech has shown interest, so there's that. I'll actually be in the San Antonio area this weekend, Castroville to be specific and to see my grandmother and Devine is right down the road.
Texas And Texas A&M: A Strange Divorce In The Church Of Football - SBNation.com
An excellent read from SBN's Spencer Hall.
The Forde-Yard Dash: Handing out pre-bowl awards - College Football - Rivals.com
I just like Forde and thought this was a good re-cap of the college football season.