Sheryl? Shery? and Academic Success

Where have you gone Sheryl Swoopes, Raider Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. College Basketball March Madness started this week and neither the Tech Men’s basketball team nor the Lady-Raiders are participating in any post season play. I was initially disappointed that neither team had performed well enough during the regular season to warrant a bid to any tournament. However, a smart kid in my 7th grade class once said, “If everything in life were great, those things that were once great would only be good.” So while this season was not as successful as we had all hoped, our inevitable return to greatness under the strong leadership of Pat Knight and Kristy Curry will be valued to a greater extent because of the effort that will be required to build our programs back to the championship level that Lubbock was blessed with in 1993 when Sheryl Swoopes led the Lady Raiders to the National Championship.

With that said, I would like to point out that success at Tech is not measured simply on the court or field, but also in the classroom. A study last October examined the 4 year graduation rates of the Top 25 ranked schools in college football, and Texas Tech ranked third at 79%, behind only Vanderbilt (91%) and Wake Forest (83%). The average FBS 4-year graduation rate was 67%. Ironically, two schools rounding out two of the last three spots in the top 25 rankings were Texas and Oklahoma at an appalling 50% and 48% graduation rate. So while these teams may have enjoyed participating in BCS bowl games last year, its clear they can’t carry Red Raider jocks when it comes to producing well rounded athletes that will contribute to society not only through sports, but also through education. NCAA statistics also revealed that the worst 4-year graduation rate of any FBS football team was San Jose St (52%) and the 4th lowest rate was Louisiana Monroe at (61%). I think Joe and Dave, Fans 4 Life of these two teams, should start academic scholarship programs at these schools in an effort to reach the greatness that is Texas Tech. Guns Up!!

Biggest comeback in Big 12 Tournament History!!!

I’ve always wondered what its like to have the same name as somebody famous? How do you create your own identity and jump out of the shadow that has been cast over you your whole life? I’ll tell you how-you score 43 points in the Big 12 Tournament against your arch rival in route to the biggest comeback victory in Big 12 Tournament history. Tonight, Tech was down 19 to Texas A&M at the half in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big Twelve 12 Tournament and sophomore forward, Mike Singletary, proceeded to score 29 points in a row for the Red Raiders in the second half to lead Tech to a huge comeback victory, 88-83. TWENTY NINE STRAIGHT POINTS!! Singletary has averaged 11.1 points per game this year and has only scored more than 20 in a game twice this year, but tonight the March Madness has begun. Singletary’s 43 was the best scoring effort in Big 12 Conference Tournament history, eclipsing memorable efforts by Big 12 greats Marcus Fizer and Kevin Dura….WHO?

Tomorrow night Singletary, who came of the bench by the way, will lead the Red Raiders against the third seeded Missouri Tigers. The conference tournaments have already produced a few upset automatic births, including Robert Morris College?? I see no reason why this performance wont lead the Red Raiders to a deep Big 12 Tournament run, and dare I say Pat Knight and crew may have to try on the glass slipper as I serenade the city of Lubbock with my best rendition of, “you always did your best, because inside you knewwwwwww…and one shining moment you reach for the stars…One Shining Moment!!!” I love college basketball-I can’t imagine how incomplete the world would be without March Madness. Tonight the sports world forgets all about the hall of fame linebacker, and says Guns Up.

Tonight, I will also start the Guns Up Big Iron Point System, where I will award 1-10 Guns Up Big Iron points for athletic efforts by Red Raider athletes and teams to memorialize great moments in Tech history. Tonight I award Mike Singletary and the Red Raiders 9 Guns Up Big Iron Points, marking this the greatest moment in Tech History AR (After Russ).

A Rivalry is Born

The Texas Tech women’s golf squad heads to Sin City today to play in the UNLV Spring Invitational, and so begins the Team 4 Life created rivalry between my beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders and Cox’s UNLV Runnin’ “the other way with their tail between their legs” Rebels. Most Tech fans focus on natural rivalries with Texas and Texas A&M. In fact the disgust towards A&M is evidenced by a Will Rogers statue on Tech’s campus that is appropriately placed with the horse’s ass facing directly towards A&M’s campus. While these rivalries are very important to Tech fans, today no sense of animosity could burn greater than that which women’s golf brings to the table. So when Megan Dowdy and Rosalyn Kim are walking up to the 18th green with victory in hand, Tech fans throughout the world will all stand and yell “Wreck Em Tech.” On the other hand this inevitable Rebel defeat will likely cause the entire UNLV athletic program to descend into the bleak world of dismal college athletics. Hopefully life at the bottom won’t be too bad, I’m sure San Jose State and Louisiana Monroe fans can tell you Rebel fans all about it.

Rock Chalk??

Last night I experienced my first game as a Texas Tech fan-and what do you know it was against the “Reigning...and Defending” National Champion Kansas Jayhawks. At first when I saw that the game was going to be on I was pumped because I’ve always liked Kansas, but the moment I turned on ESPN2 my allegiances were put to the test. So am I allowed to cheer for Kansas at all for the rest of my life? What if Texas Tech doesn’t go to the Big Dance-do I support other Big 12 teams because of my Tech loyalty? Who are my hated rivals? How far does this team for life thing extend? Only time will tell.

With that said what a great night to start bleeding Raider Red. Alan Voskuil dropped a dirty 35 on the Jayhawks in route to a blowout win on senior night. Surely, this was the spark Tech is going to need heading into next weeks Big 12 Tournament. To all those Jayhawk fans out there; if you think Danny Manning, Jacque Vaughn, and Greg Ostertag are going to walk through that door next week in Oklahoma City you better think again. Rock Chalk Jayhawk my ass.

The Draft

Tonight I was part of a college team for life draft. The idea originated with a group of students at the University of Minnesota. While attending school, the group of students became fed up with the fact that all of their college sports teams were perennial losers. So the students remedied their problem by drafting a new team for life. My friends and I thought drafting a team for life would be a great idea. So tonight 13 of us blindly drafted 2 colleges out of a hat and each of us chose which team out of the two would be our team for life. Going into the draft my main fear was picking two teams that I despised, for example Florida and Duke. As luck would have it the two random teams I got to choose from were Texas Tech and Florida-Ironic. So without thinking twice I dedicated my college sports allegiance to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The other teams that were drafted included: Wake Forest, Ohio, Ole Miss, UTEP, San Jose State, Texas A&M, TCU, "The U", Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Boise State, and Syracuse. This Blog will be dedicated to the support of Texas Tech athletics and to the endless mocking and ridiculing of the University of Florida, my implied hated team for life, and all of my buddies teams listed above. Guns Up!!!