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1. Jenkins Under the Microscope | The LAJ takes a look at freshman MLB Malik Jenkins, from Ennis. He was mentioned a bit yesterday as being a guy that would be at middle linebacker, but that may not be the eventual destination for Jenkins:
Jenkins, listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds when he signed out of Ennis, appeals to Tech coaches because of his growth potential and athletic ability. Smith said he won’t be surprised if Jenkins winds up growing into the "bandit" defensive end-outside linebacker position, where the Red Raiders first had 6-4, 255-pound Branden Jackson (since moved to end) and 6-3, 230-pound Pete Robertson.
They don’t seem worried about Jenkins’ losing much as he gains weight.
"Malik Jenkins is very athletic," defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt said. "Guys have said they’ve seen him do 360 dunks and all kinds of stuff on the basketball court. He’s a lengthy kid with a great frame."
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2. Open Practice on Saturday | Texas Tech will open up their first practice to the public on Saturday, the gates open at 5:00 pm and practice starting at 6:00 pm. If any VTM'ers go to the practice, I think we would all love a report. More details at the link. I'm sure they will be showing off the scoreboard, but if you'd like to see some video of the scoreboard in action, the Texas Tech video crew did just that. It was Formula 1 stuff (or open wheel or I really don't know the correct term). So yeah, this is going to be a lot better to watch.
3. Conference Predictions | CBS Sports has their conference predictions and Texas Tech is anywhere between 6th and 7th.
4. Team USA and Adams 3-0; Will Face Russia | Per the official site, Luke Adams and Team USA are 3-0 thus far in the Deaflympics and will face Russia today at 6:00 am. There is also a link there if you want to watch the game.
5. Bettis and Kieschnick Called Up | Congrats to Roger Kieschnick and Chad Bettis for being called up to their respective minor league teams, Kieschnick to the Giants and Bettis to the Rockies!
6. Swoopes Back in Action | The LAJ has an AP article about how former Red Raider Sheryl Swoopes is adjusting to coaching at Loyola of Chicago.
7. Power Conferences Making a Move | The Sporting News' Matt Hayes writes that the power conferences "will" play by their own rules. This isn't one of those articles where he is supposing that something might happen, but it will happen.
8. NCAA Things | A few NCAA things. Bylaw Blog writes that you should watch for changes to July recruiting in 2015. Also from Bylaw Blog, he writes about Stanford's David Shaw and his recent comments regarding the stipend.
9. Battle Between ESPN and Fox Sports 1 | SI's Richard Deitsch takes another look at the differences between ESPN and Fox Sports 1, banking on the idea of that Fox Sports 1 will be much more fun than ESPN.
10. Catching Up With Stone | The LAJ catches up with former Red Raider defensive back Nathan Stone, who went from walk-on to special teams star. Stone's career ended too early with a ruptured disc in his back and is now in Frisco working as a landman.
11. Tori Polk on Team USA | Congrats to long-jumper Tori Polk for being named to the Team USA roster. Polk still holds the school record from back in 2005 and she also competed in the London Olympics and I think she placed 4th.
12. Volleyball Team to be on ESPNU | Good news for the volleyball team for being selected to be on ESPNU against Iowa St. I don't recall a lot of television appearances for the volleyball team, so this is good.
13. Gray Moving On | CBS Sports has a profile on former Red Raider Josh Gray. I don't care about this, but there it is. He says Memphis is recruiting his the hardest.
14. Five Best Moments for Soccer | The official site is counting down the five best moments from last year and at #5 is a win against Long Beach State.
15. Foiled By the Longhorn Network | Funny stuff from Good Bull Hunting as they try to work their way into the Longhorn Network.
16. DMN Preview | The DMN has a slideshow of key players, breakout players and stuff.
17. Changes for Comments | Blog Huddle on some small functional changes today, including being able to hide an image, that the comment timer will not be tied to the network and other things.