Absolutely Obknoxious

So long, website...

2008-07-31T02:47:00.003-05:00

Hello NEW WEBSITE!

Alright, I am shutting down operation of this specific blog. No longer will you be able to come here and read my take on sports or any news I see relevant. Instead, you'll have to go to my new site, which is still without an awesome template, but has some other cool features.

2008-07-28T01:34:00.000-05:00

Busy summer, working on new blogsite. updates few and far between until players report in a week or so.

Leach article

2008-06-20T14:46:00.000-05:00

Here's an article about Mike Leach from Chip Brown at the DMN.

Update time

2008-06-19T18:05:00.002-05:00

Back in town until Monday, so here are some updates from the week...

Vote for Crabtree (scroll to bottom) for Big 12 Men's Performance of the Year

Tech lands a great committ in Friendswood QB Jacob Karam. This is huge for Leach and company because he is a very legitimate talent who can easily battle for the quarterback position in 2009 against Potts, Loucks and Doege. Karam doesn't have the high school passing numbers like some of the other quarterbacks already on campus, but his athleticism (and lack of knee surgeries) adds a lot of promise. Story from Friendswood on Karam. Karam is highly ranked in the state and has a 14-7 record in 2 years for the Mustangs.

Danny Amendola survives first round of cuts by Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys trimmed their roster to 79 players, with Amendola being included in that 79. Good luck Danny!

The College World Series in Omaha has kicked off, and Rice is already back in Houston, dropping games to unranked Fresno State and 7th ranked LSU.

Cedric Benson, shame on you.

2008-06-07T03:41:00.003-05:00

You heard it here first folks, Cedric Benson is sitting in the Travis County Jail tonight after being arrested for a drunk driving. The current time is 3:42 CST.

Story from AAS posted 5 hours after my blog :)

Draft Day 2!

2008-06-06T13:00:00.010-05:00

Round 7:

210. Jordan Danks, OF, Texas - Chicago AL (Brother John is starting P for CWS)
217. Cole St. Clair, LHP, Rice - Los Angeles NL
221. Luis Flores, C, Oklahoma State - Chicago NL
222. Nate Ten Brink, 3B, Kansas State - Seattle
225. Adam Zornes, C, Rice - San Diego

Round 8:

251. James Leverton, LHP, Texas Tech - Chicago NL
255. Beemer Weems, SS, Baylor - San Diego

Round 9:

264. Matt Hague, 3B, Oklahoma State - Pittsburgh
268. Dan Jennings, LHP, Nebraska - Florida
275. Aaron Luna, OF, Rice - St. Louis
285. Kyle Thebeau, RHP, Texas A&M - San Diego

Round 10:

311. Alex Wilson, RHP, Texas A&M - Chicago NL
313. Robert Weinhardt, RHP, Oklahoma State - Detroit
321. Donnie Webb, OF, Oklahoma State - Cleveland

Round 11:

332. Jacob Priday, OF, Missouri - Houston
347. Kyle Walker, LHP, Texas - Colorado
351. Matt Langwell, RHP, Rice - Cleveland

Round 12:

371. Jake Opitz, 2B, Nebraska - Chicago NL
372. Kenn Kasparek, RHP, Texas - Seattle

Round 13:

391. Blake Stouffer, 2B, Texas A&M - Washington
403. Jared Gayhart, RHP, Rice - Detroit

Round 15:

446. Jason Gurka, LHP, Angelina JC - Baltimore (Texas Tech signee)
448. Johnny Dorn, RHP, Nebraska - Florida

Round 16:

493. Thad Weber, RHP, Nebraska - Detroit
500. Luke Anders, 1B, Texas A&M - New York AL

Round 18:

549. Bobby Bell, RHP, Rice - Toronto

Round 19:

569. Mace Thurman, LHP, Baylor - Cincinnati
590. Mitch Abeita, C, Nebraska - New York AL

Round 20:

613. Ryan Lollis, OF, Missouri - Detroit

Round 21:

638. Lucas Luetge, LHP, Rice - Milwaukee

Round 22:

659. Byron Wiley, OF, Kansas State - Cincinnati
663. Trevor Hurley, RHP, Kansas State - Texas
670. Dane Carter, 3B, Texas A&M - Atlanta

Round 23:

697. Brian Ruggiano, 2B, Texas A&M - Los Angeles NL
703. Michael Gosse, 2B, Oklahoma - Detroit
712. Seth Garrison, RHP, TCU - Boston

Round 24:

717. Wes Musick, LHP, Houston - San Francisco
721. Chris Kelley, RHP, Rice - Washington
739. Taylor Jungmann, RHP, Georgetown HS - Los Angeles AL (Texas signee)

Round 25:

761. Rebel Ridling, 1B, Oklahoma State - Chicago NL
766. Dan Edwards, RHP, Kansas State - Philadelphia

Round 26:

777. Ryan Lormand, 2B, Houston - San Francisco

Round 27:

805. Timothy Huber, LHP, Nebraska - Kansas City
810. Doug Thennis, 1B, Texas Tech - Chicago AL
819. Bryan Kervin, SS, TCU - Toronto
827. Tim Matthews, RHP, Baylor - Colorado
832. Hunter Cervenka, LHP, Sterling HS (Houston) - Boston (Texas signee)

Round 28:

858. Adam Smith, SS, Klein HS - Arizona (Texas A&M signee)

Round 29:

870. Randall Thorpe, OF, Heritage HS (Colleyville, TX) - Chicago AL (Texas A&M signee)
874. Justin Murray, RHP, Kansas State - Oakland
877. Jonathan Runnels, LHP, Rice - Los Angeles NL

Round 30:

901. Casey Whitmer, RHP, Texas - Washington
909. Cody Dunbar, RHP, TCU - Toronto

Round 32:

956. Brandon Loy, SS, Rowlett HS - Baltimore (Texas signee)
964. Ben Hornbeck, LHP, Kansas State - Oakland
965. Sam Freeman, LHP, Kansas - St. Louis
968. Colt Farrar, RHP, First Baptist Academy (Royse City, Tx) - Milwaukee (Texas Tech signee)
971. Kurt Calvert, OF, Missouri - Chicago NL

Round 33:

987. Ryne Price, OF, Kansas - San Francisco
1004. Neil Medchill, OF, Oklahoma State - New York NL

Round 34:

1033. Bryan Pounds, 3B, Houston - Detroit

Round 35:

1052. Nick Czyz, LHP, Kansas - Seattle

Round 37:

1109. Randall Linebaugh, RHP, Baylor - Cincinnati
1112. Kirkland Rivers, RHP, Texas A&M - Houston
1123. Nick Cassavechia, RHP, Baylor - Detroit

Round 38:

1152. Andres Esquibel, RHP, Kansas - Seattle
1155. Zach Herr, LHP, Nebraska - San Diego

ROUND 40:

1222. Sam Stafford, LHP, Collins HS (Klein, TX) - Boston (Texas signee)

Round 42:

1266. Riley Boening, LHP, Texas - Minnesota

Round 44:

1321. J.P. Padron, 1B, Rice - Washington

Round 46:

1377. Lee Fischer, SS, Missouri - Chicago AL
1380. Erik Morrison, SS, Kansas - Texas
1391. James Cesario, 2B, Houston - Colorado

Round 48:

1425. Owen Brolsma, RHP, Texas Tech - Pittsburgh

The Draft Looms

2008-06-05T07:42:00.006-05:00

Today is draft day in the MLB. I will try to keep a semi-realtime update going on today, but can't promise anything. I'll focus most on Big 12 players.

For the Red Raider fans, expect to see Roger Kieschnick, Zach Stewart and James Leverton taken fairly early today.

Longhorn fans can expect to see Kyle Russell, Jordan Danks and Preston Clark on the board today.

The Aggies can expect Jose Duran, Blake Stouffer and Kyle Thebeau to be safe bet picks.

UPDATE

Round 1:

9. Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri - Cincinnati
19. Andrew Cashner, RHP, TCU - Chicago NL
45. Bryan Price, RHP, Rice - Boston

Round 3:

79. Jordy Mercer, SS, Oklahoma State - Pittsburgh
82. Roger Kieschnick, OF, Texas Tech - San Francisco
84. Zach Stewart, RHP, Texas Tech - Cincinnati
93. Kyle Russell, OF, University of Texas - Los Angeles NL
98. Benjamin Pribanic, RHP, Nebraska - Seattle

Round 6:

174. Robert Grossman, CF, Cy-Fair HS (Houston) - Pittsburgh (Texas signee)
188. Jose Duran, SS, Texas A&M - Milwaukee

That's all for today, folks. I only had a list of signees for Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M, so I can't comment on any other Big 12 signees who were taken.

Also, I am not a fan of having this on ESPN. It has taken 3 hours to get through the first round. Baseball America did a much better job with much better analysis when they did their live stream.

Larry Hays steps down, Spencer head coach

2008-06-04T03:44:00.002-05:00

On Monday, Larry Hays officially announced his retirement from Texas Tech University. Hays had served as the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team for the previous 22 years of his 38-year career in coaching.

Dan Spencer will take over as the head coach for the Raiders.

Texas Tech Official Release

Lasting Impression - Don Williams (LAJ)

2008-05-31T21:44:00.001-05:00

I've got like 3 unfinished projects saved that i need to finish and post, but i've been doing a lot of work around the house and outside. I'll get it posted before I'm gone for another week.

Oh yeah...

2008-05-01T23:29:00.000-05:00

Kenn Kasparek threw a no-hitter or something...

:)

What hasn't happened today?

2008-04-30T14:03:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I saw that Tech has named Dan Spencer the Head Coach Designate for the baseball team. Whenever Larry Hays decides to hang 'em up, Spencer will be the man.

Texas Tech press release

The Dallas Mavericks fired head coach Avery Johnson after losing their 3rd straight playoff series.

CBS Sports

The Phoenix Suns shifted all the blame on Mike D'Antoni, sending him looking for a new job. If I remember correctly, it wasn't D'Antoni who makes the trades.

SI

Dallas Cowboys, holla

2008-04-29T11:56:00.003-05:00

So the draft has come and gone once again, lets see how the Cowboys did...

In round one, the Cowboys had to wait until pick 22 to get their feet wet. When their turn finally came around, they nabbed Arkansas RB Felix Jones. Good pick, IMO. Jones will provide much need support to Marion Barber III. While I was high on Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall, friends made the good point that there is no need to have two running backs with the same style on a team. That being said, Jones has the speed to create an outside presence, and should compliment the straight ahead style that Barber prefers.

The Cowboys traded up from their 28th spot to grab CB Mike Jenkins out of South Florida at #25. Another solid choice by the Cowboys. The one thing that has hurt them in recent years has been Roy Williams...err...secondary. With the drafting of Jenkins and the addition of CB Adam "Pacman" Jones from Tennessee, the Cowboys shouldn't have to worry about Roy Williams attempting to cover an opposing WR. A DB was Dallas' most needed position, and they got a good one. Jenkins was ranked as high as 3rd among fellow cornerbacks. He is also one year removed from an arrest, a perfect fit in Dallas!

With their last pick on the first day, the Dallas Cowboys drafted a legend. Now, this legend is not a legend because of his on-field abilities, but rather an internet message-board legend because of the text message he recieved from LSU QB Ryan Perrilloux during his announcement on signing day a few years ago. Martellus Bennett, HOLLA!

I'm not too thrilled about this pick. Dallas needed a TE, but I think that Michigan State TE Kellen Davis was a better selection than Money-B (Oh yeah, I forgot to add that Martellus is a "rapper"...hip-hop lifestyle, holla!) Money-B is very talented, but extremely raw. Coming from Dennis Franchione's "system" at A&M, Martellus has a lot of catching up to do. Luckily for everyone, he wasn't converted to an oversized RB, and stayed at his TE spot, where he gained a lot of valuable experience as a blocker and running around without the ball.

47/3 =15.7

2008-04-25T12:23:00.003-05:00

A seven game losing streak for the Red Raiders quickly turned into a three game win streak. After celebrating a series win over then #2 Missouri, Texas Tech followed up by sweeping A&M-Corpus Christi to give Coach Larry Hays his 1,500th overall win. It took a span 13 games until they got to 1,502. Tech suffered weekend sweeps at Nebraska and Kansas, and a midweek sweep in Las Vegas against UNLV. Tech's only win during that span was a 10-0 gem against the New Mexico Lobos, who split their midweek series with a Wednesday victory. It took until game 3 against the Kansas State Wildcats for Tech to break out of the funk.

Since that 19-4 run-ruling by the Raiders, Tech has defeated New Mexico State twice, scoring 12 and 16 runs, respectively.

During their 1-12 stretch, Tech scored 51 runs, or 3.9 runs per game. Since that drought was snapped, Tech has plated 47 runs in 3 games, or 15.7 runs per game. Much of this is in large part due to the re-emergence of Texas Collegiate League Player of the Year Chris Richburg, who returned to the lineup after a 6 week absence. Richburg broke his left fibula while rounding second base against Central Arkansas.

In the 3 game streak, Richburg is 8 for 10 with 8 runs and 6 RBIs. He has collected 5 extra base hits, including becoming only the 5th player in Texas Tech history to hit for the cycle, a feat he accomplished in Tech's 16-10 victory over New Mexico State in Roswell. On the year, Richburg is hitting at .329, the second highest average among Tech starters.

The hitting is going great for the Raiders, but that doesn't mean anything if the pitching cannot keep up. With a season ERA sitting at an even 6.00, the pitching staff is forcing the bats to win games, which is causing the Red Raiders to lose games. The problem with the staff is not one single player or group of players, but rather one position: starting pitcher. In Tech's 46 games this season, the starting pitchers have amassed a group ERA of roughly 7.12, while the bullpen stays at approximately 4.46. Not good.

Couple those numbers with the recent loss of veteran AJ Ramos, and Tech could be in for a bad ending if the hitting fizzles out. It's all up to the bats to pull the rabbit out of the hat now.

Augustin and Abrams testing NBA waters...might be too cold for one of them.

2008-04-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

Both DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams are declaring for the NBA draft, but won't hire agents. They can still withdraw their names by June 16th, unless they sign an agent.

I think this is a great move for DJ, because, honestly, why the hell not? 19.8 ppg in the Big 12 and the winner of the Bob Cousy Award...sounds good to me. He has great moves, can shoot, and has very good court awareness. I predict 1st round and a better rookie season than Acie Law.

AJ, on the other hand should withdraw his name. He just seems too spotty to be NBA calibur. His only real tool is his 3-point shooting. He isn't good at making his own shots, defense, or shooting inside the arc. That spells NBDL all the way.

Spurs improve to 2-0, Mavericks improve to 0-2

2008-04-23T18:57:00.002-05:00

The Spurs were the Spurs while the Mavericks were the Mavericks.

It should be no surprise to anyone that San Antonio has taken both games on their home court to jump out to a 2-0 start over the Phoenix Suns. They played their game, came back from a large deficit and held on to frustrate Amare Stoudemire and his team. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs. The first half featured 3 points from Brent Barry and 51 from the Big 3, while the second half saw they others score 20 of the 48 Spurs points. Regardless, the Spurs took the lead with a series of scoring spurts and held on in the end to take the 2 game series lead.

While this was happening, Dallas was keeping up their current trend of playoff woe. Since taking a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA Finals, Dallas has successfully lost 10 of their last 12 playoff games, including 6 of 8 in the first round, as well as their last 8 on the road. Unfortunately for the Mavs, they would need two wins at New Orleans Arena to move on to the quarterfinals. It just doesn't seem plausible for New Orleans to allow this to happen, especially with the level of play that Chris Paul has been experiencing.

Pacman a Cowboy

2008-04-23T18:54:00.003-05:00

Well, it finally happened, the Cowboys and Titans agreed, in principle, to a deal that will send 6-time arrestee Adam "Pacman" Jones to the Dallas Cowboys. The teams have not released all the terms of the deal, but I have a feeling that it probably involved a few late draft picks.

This could be interesting. The upsides are that the Cowboys get a need position for cheap (hopefully), and bring in a veteran who has game-changing ability on defense and special teams. The downside is that Pacman brings a troubled past with him. Either way, it isn't a huge gamble if the speculated 4th and 6th round picks are indeed what the Cowboys gave up for Jones.

Let's talk NFL Draft

2008-04-22T12:39:00.002-05:00

So the first pick is already locked up. The Miami Herald is reporting that Jake Long has agreed to a deal, in principle, with the Dolphins for 5 years. So with that done, we move on to pick #2, which is held by the Rams. Honestly, I don't know who the Rams are going to pick, only they do. As I peruse all these sports sites, I am bombarded with MOCK DRAFTS! In my opinion, mock drafts are about as useful as an asshole on your elbow. People who make mock drafts are up there with those people who think that they are all knowing due to their March Madness picks. Its all about guessing right, and usually without any real knowledge, just luck.

Now I'm sure there are people out there who really can tell you what options a team has when picking their draft pick, but once you get past pick 10, every pick is dependent on those before it, so you have such a large pool of variants, that it really does come down to lucky guesses.

With that stated, most of the expert picks for the Cowboys have them taking a RB and CB, or a WR and CB, or a WR and RB...the trend is nearly endless. CBS offers 3 mock drafts, all have the Cowboys picking 6 different players with their 2 picks. That just furthers my point of variants in the late round. Its comical.

If I were to guess at who the Cowboys were going to pick, I wouldn't be able to give you a name, but rather a position. Personally, with what I saw last year, there is one area that the Cowboys must address immediately, and that is secondary. They have good cornerbacks in Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry, and one Pro-Bowl caliber safety in Ken Hamlin, but they have that huge hole in Roy Williams. The guy should be paying Brett Robin millions for making him a superstar fraud. Williams just doesn't cut it, and he needs to be replaced, badly.

One option I have heard was moving Henry to Williams' safety spot and selecting a CB at #22. I can see that strategy working very well. There should be a few solid corners left at that junction. Aqib Talib, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antoine Cason, Brandon Flowers, Reggie Smith and Justin King would all be safe picks.

After shoring up that pick, Dallas can now look past filling gaps, and find a player that can give them an immediate impact. There will really be no glaring needs on the defensive side, which leaves the door wide open for an offensive player, be it a strong RB or a playmaking WR. Personally, I think that it would be best to find a good sized WR who can help out Owens and Glenn. I have a leaning towards Limas Sweed and James Hardy. Both are tall, can catch and Sweed has excellent speed. Or they can take a small slot receiver who can catch the ball and take a hit, like that Danny Amendola kid from Texas Tech...alright, maybe a little bit of a stretch, but someone should take him in the late rounds solely because of Welker's success.

So there you have it.

Let's Make It Official

2008-04-21T20:57:00.003-05:00

We (I) here at Absolutely Obknoxious are ready to announce which NBA team will be our favored club throughout the NBA Playoffs. We (I) have done extensive research, comparing endless pages of statistics for weeks to figure out which team is worthy of being crowned the World Champions of basketball. We (I) spent sleepless nights trying to decide if Steve Nash would be the man to jockey his team to the Finals, or if the newly re-made Celtics would weather the storm and win 16 games. After all of this, we (I) decided that it was pointless since I'm a huge Spurs homer!

GO SPURS GO!

I am so biased about this that it isn't even funny. I will be rooting on the Spurs and rooting off the Mavs. Hopefully I will be able to proudly display my Dirk logo once the Hornets dismantle Dallas.

AJ Ramos out for the year

2008-04-21T20:53:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, AJ Ramos is no longer in service for the remainder of the year. Ouch.

The official release says that it is the result of a torn UCL, suffered earlier in the season. This will leave Tech struggling to find another weekend starter, who won't struggle.

Official Release

PICTURES!

2008-04-21T20:08:00.005-05:00

The first batch is from a home game against Central Arkansas, while the last 4 are from Coach Hays' 1500 career victory.

Tech falling faster than Britney Spears

2008-04-13T18:55:00.003-05:00

6 conference games in a row, and 7 of the last 8. Texas Tech just isn't getting it done. I'm not sure if the team has quit on themselves, or if they are in a team-wide slump, but it hasn't been pretty at all lately. I'll let the box scores and 1 hitter speak for themselves, rather than writing a rant. It seems that Kansas has our number this year.

Kansas bats power Jayhawks past Tech, 9-5

Jayhawks crush Red Raiders, 9-1 (1 hit, but 7 walks, and only 1 run)

Kansas "complets" weekend sweep. (no typo on my part.)

Texas managed to steal a game from the Missouri Tigers today, and didn't give up double digit runs doing it! Of course, in the 3 game series, the Longhorns were outscored 46-23. On a positive note, Kyle Russell hit 2 more home runs, bringing his yearly total to 7, up from 2 weeks ago. his batting average has also jumped to around .250, its highest since week 2. One thing troubling me about the Longhorns is their ERA, which is above 5.00. I don't think Texas has had a staff ERA this high since around 2001. Very troubling, especially if they want to get past the Regionals for the first time since the 2005 Championship.

How to ruin an ERA, Longhorn style.

2008-04-12T01:43:00.003-05:00

Aaron Crow gave up 9 runs in 5 innings, after going 42+ straight scoreless innings. He also picked up his 8th win.

Texas jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, before Missouri went on a 28-3 run to close out the game. Highlighting the offensive plague was Jacob Priday, who collected 4 home runs and 9 RBIs. Missouri hitters collected a total of 7 home runs off the Texas staff, trumping Kyle Russell's pair.

Let me be the first to say, "What the &*$&!" The 31 runs allowed in a single game is a new record for the Longhorns, breaking the previous high of 26 that Texas Tech collected in 1995.

4 of the 7 pitchers in orange each gave up 6 runs in a combined 5.2 innings pitched. The "good pitchers" only allowed 8 runs in their 2.1 innings.

I don't have much more to say, I'm in that much shock.

Tech lost too, but the only surrendered 9 runs.

Tech swept by Nebraska, Texas beats OU twice

2008-04-08T12:40:00.003-05:00

This is gonna be quick. I was unable to follow or see any games this weekend due to a funeral, but here is a quick rundown.

Nebraska swept Texas Tech in 3 games to stay atop the Bog 12 leaderboards. The Huskers beat Tech by scores of 6-2, 5-2 and 5-3. While the sweep is nothing to enjoy, the fact that the Raiders did not get blown out, or give up tons of runs are both positives to take away from the weekend. Nebraska's pitching staff was dominant, or Tech's bats became anemic and strikeout riddled during the road series. I'm not sure which choice fits the hole better, but that was the best synopsis from my quick boxscore review.

Texas managed to win their series against the Sooners, taking the Friday and Sunday games, while surrendering the Saturday contest. Kyle Russell may have jumped out of his slump, hitting 2 home runs over the weekend, including a grandslam. For the Longhorns' sake, lets hope this is his way of informing his fans that his .209 average and 1 home run are a thing of the past.

Tech plays a series this week againts New Mexico, battling tonight and Wednesday night, while the Longhorns face off against their I-35 rivals from San Marcos. UT vs. Texas State is scheduled for a 6:00 first pitch.

I have some pictures from Coach Hays' 1500 win that I will upload as soon as I remember to get my camera. I was awarded as the fan of the game, recieving Rudy's BBQ "Sause" and a $10 gift card. That makes 2 prize winnings for me, and 1 that was actually worth something.

Doug Thennis named Big 12 POW

2008-03-31T17:50:00.001-05:00

5-10 with 7 RBIs, including the game winning grand slam on Sunday and the game tying RBI single on Saturday was enough to get Doug the Player of the Week award for the 2nd time in his career. Congrats.

Texas Tech release

A-mazing

2008-03-30T18:24:00.004-05:00

So I'm here to gladly eat my crow. Texas Tech, in dramatic fashion, beat the Missouri Tigers in two of the three games this weekend. Both wins for the Raiders came in the bottom of the 9th inning, a 3-2 win Saturday and a 15-11 win on Sunday.

Friday's game was a heartbreaker. Missouri's Aaron Crow did what Aaron Crow do. He shut out the Raiders for 8 innings, helping Missouri to a 1-0 win. Tech's starting pitcher, Nathan Karns, had his best outing of the season, giving up one run in the 1st inning and walking only a single batter, well below his season average.

Saturday's game would start off the same. Missouri scored one in the 1st, but was answered by the Raiders with a single score of their own. The game continued at 1-1, seeing great pitching from Tech's AJ Ramos and Missouri's Ian Berger, until a bases loaded, full count walk gave Missouri a 2-1 lead. It was a strike, by the way. Tech seemed destined to lose another 1 run game, until the 9th inning decided to be all drama-like. Monk Kreder's 1-out walk, followed by consecutive singles from Jason Seefeld and Doug Thennis tied the game at 2. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Tech LF Taylor Ashby ripped a single up the middle, making way for Jason Seefeld to score the winning run, albeit on a horrible slide that sidelined him for Sunday's game.

Sunday would be a goose of a different feather. Missouri's 4 run 1st inning paved the way for a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. Tech pieced together a 3-run rally to knot the game at 7. Missouri, being the #2 team in the nation, picked the 8th inning to score another 4 runs in an attempt to spit in the face of their hosting opponent. The Red Raiders would have none of their tomfoolery. A 2-run 8th inning kept Tech within reach of making my sunburn worthwhile. Tech reliever Zach Stewart held the Tigers in check in the 9th, bringing up the meat of Tech's lineup for the final at bat. A walk, single and a sacrifice bunt gave Tech runners on 2nd and 3rd with only 1 out. 2B Willie Rueda ripped a triple into left center to tie the game at 11. With the winning run on 3rd, and only 1 out, Missouri opted to load the bases, hoping for a double play to end the threat. Instead, Doug Thennis lifted a would be game-winning sacrifice fly into the gusting wind and over the left field wall for a walk-off grand slam. It was very dramatic. Tech won 15-11.

So, this weekend was huge. Not only does Tech finally put it together, but they avoid losing their 3rd straight conference series to open the year. Winning 2 of 3 against the best pitching staff in the nation also helps. The confidence from both the wins could be what the Raiders needed to turn their hard luck around into soft luck, assuming soft luck is the good kind that wins games.

Video of Thennis Grand Slam

On another note, Texas won their game against Nebraska, salvaging a win to put them at 5-4 in conference play. Their basketball team decided not to win, losing to Memphis by more than I care to write down. Stupid Memphis, with their free throws and make-out parties.

On a sad note, the starting QB for the Hub City Bulls, a semi-pro team that plays in Lubbock, suffered a broken neck on the first play from scrimmage in Saturday's game against the opponent (I honestly never knew who they were playing). I haven't heard any updates on his condition, but it did not look good at all. Prayers are with him and his family. The Bulls won 21-16 to go to 2-0.