BILL BROCK RETURNS TO BAYLOR, AND THAT’S OK; REALLY!

Good evening West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

BROCK BACK TO BAYLOR

Texas Tech Lady Raider Head Coach Kristy Curry will be looking to fill two big roles as Associate Head Coach Bill Brock returns to Baylor where he helped the Lady Bruins win a National Championship in 2005. Along with Bill his wife Janice will depart, taking an integral cog of the women’s basketball office and camps along with her.

http://www.kwtx.com/sports/headlines/50488117.html

I can’t say enough good things about what Coach Brock did trying to revive Lady Raider Basketball. From being a tireless recruiter to working on skills and player motivation, Bill is a good as it gets. On a personal note, he and his family have been great friends of my own and while I’m glad he’s going back where his entire family can be together, I’ll miss him, his wife, Whitney and Brock!

For those that don’t know, Bill Brock’s  son-in law is on the men’s staff at Baylor, so that will put him back with family. I also think rumors of great discord and a huge rift between himself and Kim Mulkey were way overblown. That was evident last fall when the Lady Raiders and Baylor Bears shared a trip to St. Thomas. It was obvious by fan reaction and the way the Baylor and Tech staff got along that there was no significant rift.

I’m sure there were some hard feelings amongst some Baylor fans when Brock left, just as there will be some Tech fans that won’t understand how he could go back.

It is those people that don’t realize that college sports, while a grand stage for passion and pride, is still a business. It is how coaches make a living, not how they live. Fans have one team, maybe two, for a life-time. Coaches have to make decisions based on what is best for their family and their careers. If right now, at this moment, what is best for Bill Brock is to be in Waco with his entire family and coach the Lady Bears, then God Bless him and good luck. Every Tech fan should be thankful that while he was here he did everything he could to make Lady Raider Basketball better than when he got here. I can think of no better compliment to give a coach than that.

Of course I realize some “fans” will never get that. That’s ok. They’re the same fans that are never really happy in the first place unless their team wins every game, wins every conference championship and never looks bad at all. Oh, and they’re the same fans that think every opponent travels and goes over the back on every possession. . . ya, we know who you are.

Good Luck Coach Brock and thanks for all the hard work,

Ryan Hyatt

A TEXAS TECH QB NOT THROWING FOR FOUR THOUSAND YARDS??? COME ON!

Good evening West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

CAN TAYLOR POTTS REALLY NOT! THROW FOR 4K YARDS THIS FALL?

Still not really sure how we swerved into it, but we had a discussion on The Show tonight about the possibility of Taylor Potts NOT throwing for over four thousand yards this coming season. I scoffed at the idea at first, but when you look it from Don’s perspective he makes a rational case that while it isn’t probable, it is possible that Potts could be the first Mike Leach QB since Kingsbury in year two to not throw for four thousand yards.

If you dare, here’s the conversation in glorious audio form from the podcast:

http://williamsandhyatt.podomatic.com/

In 2001 Kliff Kingsbury threw for over 3,500 yards, a staggering number at that time but one that today would make folks wonder if the Lead Pirate had gone to the wishbone or something nasty like that. Kliff’s number would jump to 5,017 in 2002. Now, that’s more like it.

In 2005 Cody Hodges would throw for a “paltry” 4,195 yards causing locals to ask outloud if he was suffering from something.

So, that’s the standard more or less these days.

I can’t imagine a healthy Potts playing in every game not hitting the four thousand yard mark at this point the evolution of the Leach Offense. The talent level overall, even with fairly major changes up-front on the offensive line and a receiving corp that has some talent like Detron Lewis but is largely unproven from a play-maker game-breaker standpoint is still an upgrade over the early transition years for Mike Leach.

While I’m concerned most about the receiving corp a big challenge will be to establish a consistent high YPC rushing attack that will force linebackers not to cheat and at least keep safeties thinking run-stop on some downs. If that breaks down Tech fans are going to be talking about how they didn’t realize Shannon Woods was so valuable. The Lead Pirate sure did, that’s why he gave him so many chances to be a part of the program.

As always we want your feed-back, so give us your thoughts here and we’ll read some on the air. Is there any chance, any, that Potts doesn’t throw for four thousand yards this year? Let us know.

MORE LATER

HYATT

TIME FOR TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL TO DO A THROWBACK GAME!!!!

Good afternoon West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

BACK TO WORK ON A MONDAY

Hope everyone had a great July 4th. Spent the weekend at Lake Tanglewood. Great little slice of Americana with a parade and then lots of fun on the water. I might have snuck in some golf late in the day, if I remember right.

THROWBACK TIME

Last week there was a report that Nebraska was going to trot out some throwback uni’s from the early 60’s in honor of their streak of 300 straight sell-outs. I love it. Texas Tech is missing the boat by not having a throwback weekend. The fans would love it and I imagine you could make a little money off it as well if you auctioned off the jerseys. The big question though is what year do you throw back to?

For my money you’ve got three choices.

First, go with the 1938 Red Raiders that went to the Cotton Bowl and lost to St. Mary’s. The Elmer Tarbox-led Red Raiders were undefeated prior to the game and lost 20-13 to the Gaels. The loss stung Texas Tech coach Pete Cawthon so much that he jumped off the train on the ride back to Lubbock out around Slaton and walked back to town so he wouldn’t have to face the crowds waiting for the Red Raiders. Rumor has it he then sat in a wooden chair in the locker room facing the wall for several days afterwards. He was intense. He didn’t surf.

Here’s a shot of the 1938 uniform that Tarbox and crew wore:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/junkytrinket/422575759/

My next choice would be to throwback to the mid-60’s and the Donny Anderson era Red Raiders. Their uniforms may be the best God-Fearin’ Football Playin’ uniforms Texas Tech has ever worn.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/11072/index.htm

The S.I. link gives you an idea of the early 60’s look that would transform later into a bolder look with more stripes and some shadow outlines on the numbers. Great stuff. Oh, and some pretty good players could be honored too with Anderson, John Scovell, Tom Wilson and Richard Campbell just to name a few.

Third would be the 1989 Red Raiders that won the All-American Bowl. I hated the home uniform with the L.A. Raiders look of silver pants and black tops, but the road look was great. If it worked for James Gray it could work for Barron Batch.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mmbolding.com/bowls/AllAmerican892.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mmbolding.com/bowls/All_American_Bowl_1989.htm&usg=__UX1yifK-6EjMsnZdOWkJbG7bMFU=&h=520&w=519&sz=55&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=IAG5yPeOoVTOEM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522Jamie%2BGill%2522%2BTexas%2BTech%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1

That link will take you to a recap of the 1989 All-American Bowl (R.I.P.) that will take you back a few years…

Ok, there are my picks. If you could have the Red Raiders throwback to any year, what year would you choose? Let us know.

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HYATT

HYATT PLAYS IN LUBBOCK MAJOR GOLF TOURNAMENT–FINISHES DEAD LAST!

Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

“IF YOU AIN’T FIRST, YOU’RE LAST”–RICKY BOBBY, NASCAR CHAMPION.

“I WAS LAST”–RYAN HYATT, BAD GOLFER.

This past weekend I did something I probably shouldn’t have done, but had a blast doing it anyways. I played in the 2009 Hillcrest Swinger Partnership Golf Tournament. Seeing as how I didn’t begin to play golf until last fall, most folks thought I was nuts to sign up for one of Lubbock’s Majors. In a way I was but not from the golf stand-point.

I knew going into the tournament that I had the worst handicap (try 23 or so) and that I’d have to play the best golf I’ve ever played just to not be embarrassed. I also knew that my partner, a great guy and golfer–Mike Boone–was playing with a torn rotator cuff as well as a torn bicep tendon. He was willing and gave it is all knowing he’d have surgery this week to get it fixed. He wanted to go out in style and I’d say we did!

We didn’t win and we weren’t expected to. Most didn’t think we’d break into double-digits. We shot 87 on day one and felt like we’d won the tournament. We followed that up with a 90 on a brutally hot Saturday afternoon and then fell back to 97 during the rain on Sunday morning. After a horrendous start we battled back and played good golf (for us) on the back nine to save us from putting up a truly astronomical score. We finished last in the last flight by two strokes and we had an absolute blast.

For me it was about setting a goal and doing something I’d never done. When I told my friend and golf guru Wray last fall I wanted to do this I think he thought I was crazy. I couldn’t break a hundred then on a good day. I think he thought me and Mike were both nuts when we teed off on Friday, but there we went. I was nervous on the first tee, but it was also a great feeling to do something outside your comfort zone! It was great to compete not against the other golfers but against my own game, my own nerves and my own expectations. That was my favorite part. (well, that and the 5-iron I stuck within five feet from the hole on the par 5 #4 from 180 yards out)

I want to thank Mike Boone for being willing to play with me. I couldn’t have asked for a better playing partner and someone to have fun with at the same time. Mike got us off to a great start, grinding away on day one while I tried to figure out what the heck was going on. The pain he played through I don’t want to imagine. He had his goals too and met them.

I also want to thank the three groups we played with for helping us have a blast, play some good golf and enjoy being out there. On day one I wish we could have pushed Rex Andrews and Joe Anderson a little more, but I’m glad we were paired with them. Thanks also to them for not minding our little gallery that followed us a bit on that morning!

On Saturday we had the pleasure of playing with local golf legends Brent Murray and Dustin Stone. Brent got hot with the flat-stick on the front nine, including drilling an 85 foot putt on # 6. I’ve never seen a longer putt made in person!

Sunday in the rain we got to play with Rob Stokes and Nick Becker. The weather was bad but the company was great. I apologize to those guys for us getting off to such a brutal start that morning. I think we could have pushed them to an even better score if I hadn’t have been a knuckle-head on the first three holes. It was great fun guys!

Like I said, I know most folks will look at our scores and laugh and that’s ok. I didn’t do this to win, I did it to compete and see how I would handle the situation. I haven’t heard for sure but I think if you look at what we did in relation to our handicaps we’d have one of the lowest nets of the tournament. I heard it translated to going 65-68-75 for the weekend. I’ll take that!

I hope I get the chance to play in some more tournaments and that I also continue to improve. Mainly I hope I can use this a springboard to continue to remind myself to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone more often. It is easy as you approach 40 to forget to do those things.

A mid-life crisis? Maybe. I’d like to think of it as a mid-life opportunity. I encourage all of you to try it yourself, no matter how old you are. Get out, try something you aren’t good at, be willing to put yourself out there and don’t worry about what folks think. It is a blast!

Finally I want to thank Glen Robertson, Jared Robertson, Pete Peterson and all the great staff at Hillcrest Country Club for putting on a great event, allowing us to broadcast The Show from there on Friday and for not laughing out loud when I signed-up for the Swinger. I hope you guys will let me back in next year!

(if you want to hear Don Williams grill me about the tournament go to the podcast from Monday night at Rudy’s BBQ)

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/062909/spo_455891036.shtml

http://williamsandhyatt.podomatic.com/

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HYATT

W&H SHOW PODCAST FEATURING THE BIG 12 VS. THE SEC, BEST BASEBALL PLAYERS IN YOUR LIFETIME AND OTHER HUBBAPLEX WHATNOT

Good evening West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

As June turns into July and I wonder how the summer has come about so suddenly, we give you some podcast from the Show to tide you over.

http://williamsandhyatt.podomatic.com/

We’ve got a little of everything over the past two days.

On Monday, DMN’er Chuck Carlton joined us as we debated the SEC Vs. Big 12 in football.

Today we take on the tough question of greatest hitter and pitcher in your lifetime.

For you guys outside of Lubbock, it is just a little taste of what’s going on inside the 289 these days so sit back and enjoy some West Texas Radio!

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HYATT

AND THIS IS WHY IOWA WON’T EVER WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN FOOTBALL: MOPEDS.

Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

AND THIS IS WHY IOWA JUST WON’T EVER WIN A NATIONAL TITLE IN FOOTBALL!

There just isn’t a lot going on around Texas Tech right now so we’ll take a look around the country and the crime reports today. If you’re wondering why Iowa can’t seem to get over the hump with Kirk Ferentz, wonder no more. They can’t even seem to get legitimate criminals in there these days. How do they expect to compete for the “Fulmer Cup” let alone a real mythical title with crime sprees on a moped!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4274754

Drunk. On a moped. They’d never survive in the SEC on down in Florida.

Just ask Bobby Bowden what it takes to compete these days. In fact, we’ll show ya.

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2009/06/23/florida-state-seminole-gets-arrested-just-for-attention/

The legendary blog of all sports blogs, Every Day Should Be Saturday, keeps up with wrong-doings around the country each year for college football programs by awarding the Fulmer Cup. Lane Kiffin will give the key-note address this year from stall number #3 at a Love’s Truck Stop later this summer. Don’t miss it and don’t miss those specials on whip antennaes!

EDSBS points out very effectively the lack of production both on and off the field for the Seminoles. They just aren’t able to attract the same high-caliber criminal they did in the past.

So Tech fans, the standard has been set. IF the Red Raiders have dreams of being in the mix next December for a BCS berth, they might want to try and move up the Fulmer Cup Standing Board this summer. Then again . . .

They need to update it, but here is the latest Fulmer Cup Update:

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2009/06/09/fulmer-cupdate-the-big-board-hits-a-lull/

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HYATT

LUBBOCK, JUST SAY NO TO PUBLICLY FUNDED DOWNTOWN RE-DEVELOPMENT!

Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

LUBBOCK’S DOWNTOWN RE-DEVELOPMENT GOING TO BE A HOT TOPIC SOON

The A-J ran a story this past weekend about Lubbock businesses leaving downtown and going where the customers are. What a concept! It is also why NO public money should be used for any downtown re-development in the Hubbaplex.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/062109/bus_453061519.shtml

I’m against using public money to chose one area of town over another to try and promote for business. If folks want to work down there or live down there they will. If they want to go to East Lubbock or Southwest Lubbock they will.

Now, if someone wants to use private money like the McDougals did on the Overton Project, more power to ya! But, don’t try and social engineer an outdated idea that a city’s downtown has to be booming and full of business in order for a city to be strong. Just because it worked that way in Greek, Roman and Feudal times doesn’t mean it has to be that way today.

Thanks to technology and infrastructure business can flourish anywhere the public chooses they want to access it. It doesn’t have to be around the Courthouse to have a chance.

I’m convinced the idea of “downtown re-development”  is mainly pushed by out of work architects, committee members that don’t mind spending my money and folks that miss 1957.

Keep the roads fixed, make sure the power grid works, fight the crime and then let the market decide if businesses want to be downtown. Sounds to me like most businesses have figured out it is better to go where the money is and not to try and artificially force the dollars to come to them!

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HYATT

JON & KATE + 8 = DIVORCE.

Good evening West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

JON AND KATE +8 = DIVORCE.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/celebrities/index.ssf/2009/06/jon_and_kate_plus_8_jon_and_ka.html

So America, how does it feel to know you along with TLC helped a family unravel?

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HYATT

GLOVE(R) LOVE FOR THE U.S. OPEN, A PREVIEW OF TEXAS TECH’S NFL PROSPECTS AND NO BEER FOR YOU!!!

Good afternoon West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

HE’S NO TIN CUP!

Really enjoyed taking the U.S. Open into Monday. Maybe this is something the U.S.G.A. should look at doing every year. Somehow, figure out a way to get a play-off or rain delay or something that takes the Tournament into Monday. There just seems to be some added drama this way. That or it is a great excuse not to get some work done that needs to be done at the start of the week, not sure.

Lucus Glover held off a determined David Duval, Phil Mickelson and the rest to claim the title today. Glover is no more an unlikely winner than anyone else given the way the course played over the weekend with the rains. That he could hold on, that is the unlikely part. Still this Open will go down as one that never felt like an Open til the final few hours on Monday when Phil made a run, Tiger got under par briefly and the Terminator made a return in the form of Duval. Throw in Ricky Barnes who golfs like Ricky Bobby drives and then, we finally had an Open!

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/usopen09/news/story?id=4277782

I know that there are those that will say Phil choked another one away after his fifth runner-up finish at an Open, but they’d be wrong. He had a rough stretch there, but he made no bad decisions, took no bad swings, just didn’t score.  That is golf. That is Open golf.

The real story may be the return of David Duval. IF he is really back to stay, he will become the greatest comeback story in the history of sports.

A LITTLE TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL NEWS FOR YA

The National Football Post is doing some great run-downs on pro prospects for all the Big-Time football playing schools out there. They’ve got the breakdown on the Red Raiders today. Their analysis of the offensive linemen is very telling, considering what the Pirate has to replace up-front this year.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009-NFP-scouting-series-Texas-Tech.html

Does NFL talent automatically translate to wins? No. Does it really help? You betcha. Just ask Mike Leach how many wins he had last year and how many players he had drafted in the top four rounds this past spring.

AND THE DOWNSIDE TO PLAYING BAYLOR AT JERRYWORLD….

Hat-tip to the DMN and Tim Griffin at espn.com:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/big12/0-10-100/Arlington-facility-provides-huge-revenue-to-Big-12-teams.html

Well, Lubbock may have voted to go wet, but Arlington will be Waco-North come this fall when Tech and Baylor move their game from Waco to Arlington in search of money, publicity and a few good flasks! The DMN has learned that while all other college games will feature beer sales in the stadium, only the richest of the rich will get to enjoy the game with an ice cold berruh. Click the link and read on. Oh well, the trade-offs of taking on the Baptists. It wasn’t like you’d be able to buy a beer at old Floyd Casey anyways, huh?

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HYATT

THE BLOG IS BACK–WHY MIKE LEACH IS WRONG AT LEAST ACCORDING TO ONE TEXAS TECH FAN

Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

THE BLOG IS BACK, LONG LIVE THE BLOG…

Ok, after a few days where we couldn’t get anything to post, things seem to be working again. The only redeeming thing about this is that it happened in mid-June when there isn’t a ton of stuff coming out about Texas Tech or Lubbock in general. Sorry for the delay. We’ll try to make up for it!

TECH’S LEAD PIRATE SLAPPED IN FACE WITH REALITY CHECK–OUCH

From the in case you missed it department, this piece appeared on doubleTnation a few weeks back in response to Tech Coach Mike Leach ripping NFL GM’s and Coaches for their seeming inability to draft quarterbacks with much success. I’ll let you read this masterpiece of research and get your thoughts. HAT TIP TO: LondonRaider!

http://www.doubletnation.com/2009/5/20/880953/why-leach-is-wrong-harrell-wont

The NFL takes a lot of heat for some busted draft picks but when you get right down to it and read this piece you realize they do a pretty good job of identifying the players that can play. The biggest thing in my mind that hurts a guy like Graham Harrell is not having an NFL Europe to play in and develop skills needed to run an NFL offense. You can’t get that in the CFL or Arena Ball and the slots are few and far between now on NFL rosters for QB’s that have a risk-factor.

We’ll have more later, time to go watch the U.S. Open then get ready for The Williams and Hyatt Show live from River Smith’s at 83rd and University tonight from 4-6p.m.

Hyatt