ODDS AND ENDS | Totally Texas Tech's TTU Red with some campus pictures and did you know that the soccer team is getting an indoor practice facility (I didn't)? Just starting to go up.
MEN'S BASKETBALL | This is interesting. Marsha Sharp and Billy Gillispie have teamed up and are having a golf tournament (details here) to help fund a Leadership Academy. You can read more details from the LAJ's Tommy Magelssen and he basically terms it as a boot camp for Texas Tech teams led by Mark Tribus where he helps teaches team building and leadership skills. Tribus is a 20-year Army veteran and you can see more at his website. The interesting thing is that I think that what Sharp and Gillispie want to do is have this program open for all Texas Tech athletics, not just the men's basketball team. Here's Sharp:
"We want it to be a yearly thing that helps us fund the academy," she said. "It’s going to be what we use to try to bring, not just Mark, but other presenters and send people from Tech to seminars and different places in the country to get as much knowledge as we can bring back and gather together and hopefully impact each other."
You can also watch Sharp as part of this press conference. This is why I want Sharp to have a more public role with Texas Tech athletics and I'm happy to see Sharp and Gillispie team up to make Texas Tech's athletes better.
SOCCER | LAJ's Tommy Magelssen previews the soccer team (I don't know how much I will be able to keep up with this) as they report to spring practices.
BASEBALL | 1340 The Fan's Sports Shack talked with head coach Tim Tadlock and he talks about all sorts of things including playing college vs. minor leagues, the tournament that was held in Lubbock recently for youth, etc.
FOOTBALL | RRS.com's Chris Level and Aaron Dickens previews the linebackers. I don't have much to add here as this is pretty much where we left this during the spring, which is that Terrance Bullitt, Will Smith and Sam Eguavoen all starting, with Chris Payne, Blake Dees and Justin Cooper baking them up with guys like Daniel Cobb and Zach Winbush also getting snaps.
The sportstacular KCBD's Pete Christy continues his series with Tuberville and apparently Tuberville is a dune buggy aficionado (he said he bought them for his sons, which is cool) and he has a lot of watches, that's bling to you younger folks (and he gets them from going to bowl games). Again, these are hilarious to me, but maybe I'm weird.
Some good SB Nation links: SB Nation's Bill Connelly is (finally!) starting his previews of the Big 12 and leads off with a look at Iowa St. . . . TCU blog Frogs O' War takes a look at Texas Tech (it's TTU week for them and I've answered some questions for them that I think they'll post on Friday) . . . Crimson and Cream Machine takes a look at the weaknesses of every Big 12 team . .
The Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star football game was held last night and QB Clayton Nicholas, ATH/S Keenan Ward and WR Reginald Davis all played and played well. You can read an update from the LAJ's George Watson for Nicholas and Ward and the Longview News-Journal for Davis.
Miscellaneous: LAJ's Don Williams has a preview of the women's clinic , which I think is today, and will benefit the Women’s Protective Services in Lubbock . . . RP.com's Joe Yeager with four areas of concern . . . CJOnline writes that the Texas Tech defense must be tougher . . . Meet the two deep continues with QB Seth Doege