Football poised for another successful season
Coming off of a third-straight bowl game appearance and second straight bowl win, Baylor football is still hungry for something more: a Big 12 Championship.
Baylor has never won a Big 12 Championship, but this season I think that will change. From top to bottom, this could be the best roster the Bears have ever fielded with head coach Art Briles at the helm.
Fan violence never acceptable
Less than 48 hours before the 4-1 thrashing of Real Madrid, it was announced that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Götze would join rival team Bayern München. Immediately, fans began to call him Judas and burn his jerseys.
NCAA brackets bound to fail early
During mid-to-late February, a certain air begins to come over the sports world. Everyone feels it and there’s no doubt to its source: March Madness. Or as I call it, March Sadness.
Before filling out my bracket this year, I watched hours of analysis of ESPN’s so-called “experts” and gained as much insight as I could. I thought I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. I really can’t emphasize my wrongness enough. Here’s what I got:
Despite NIT Championship, Baylor men underachieved
Considering the Bears’ lofty preseason ranking of No. 19 in the country, it’s difficult to see this season as nothing short of bittersweet.
Sure, it’s fantastic for head coach Scott Drew and seniors Pierre Jackson and A.J. Walton to go out on top in with an NIT championship, but the NIT was never the goal for this group of Bears.
Baylor must win
Anyone that has been to a Baylor Lady Bears basketball game has seen the video that plays before player introductions. Head coach Kim Mulkey stands before her players and talks about the expectation that this team will repeat as National Champions.
Defense wins championships
Having a defense is important to win games. One may think that it’s common sense. There are many examples even throughout Baylor Athletics that support this notion.
Last season, Baylor football played West Virginia early in the season. ESPN was basically giving Gino Smith the Heisman after torching Baylor’s defense for 656 yards and eight touchdowns. However, ESPN didn’t notice the fact that Baylor scored 63 points. Senior quarterback Nick Florence had 581 yards for five touchdowns.
Paterno report will not change anything
Those who choose to see Joe Paterno as a blameless scapegoat now have their own thick report to wave in the air and cite as proof.
Those who believe Paterno and other Penn State officials failed to act properly in 2001, allowing Jerry Sandusky to continue to prey on children, have the Freeh report and the grand jury presentment. As of Sunday, when the results of an investigation commissioned by the Paterno family were released, Paterno loyalists have their own gospel from which to preach.
Big three highlight football recruiting class
Baylor’s recruiting class has drawn some national attention. ESPN ranked Baylor’s recruiting class at No. 28 in the country, just behind Oklahoma State and Oregon. There are only three Big 12 schools ahead of Baylor on the list: No. 15 Texas, No. 16 Oklahoma, and No. 27 Oklahoma State.
The Bears’ most highly touted recruit this year is wide receiver Robbie Rhodes. As a senior at Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Rhodes racked up 20 touchdowns, including 15 through the air. During his three years on varsity, Rhodes tallied 2,500 receiving yards and 751 rushing yards.
Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats
Nowadays, no matter what the sport is, you almost have to assume that most athletes are taking some form of performance-enhancing drugs.
It seems as if every other week a different athlete’s name is scrolling across the bottom of ESPN for having been caught using PEDs. Over the past few years, many iconic names have been linked to steroids, most notably Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds.
Concussion research, players call NFL future into question
President Barack Obama has two daughters, but if he had a son, he said that he is not sure if he’d let him play football.
Although Obama is a football fan, he worries about the general safety of the sport.
Obama told The New Republic that he “would have to think long and hard” before letting his son play football.
