SB Nation - Joel Filani

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 05.14.09

Seth C — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:23:41 -0000

Odds and Ends

Basketball Review, Small Forwards

I've got the small forward review (and after thinking about it, it's really more of a preview, but it's too late to change now) scheduled for a noon posting.

Texas Tech Football

Sit Down With Alexander Torres

ESPN Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin sits down with walk-on receiver Alexander Torres. Torres is the Air Force Academy transfer, who broke his hand in basic training at the Academy, and ended up transferring to Texas Tech. Torres sounds happy to be at Texas Tech:

"There's a huge difference in the programs," Torres said. "It's a receiver's dream to play at this school. I'm very excited and happy how it all turned out. I couldn't feel more fortunate."

Captain Mike Leach likes Torres' work ethic:

"He has superior intelligence and work ethic and he probably catches the fade route as well as anybody we have," Leach said. "And the thing about him is that his development has come the old-fashioned way with a lot of hard work. He may not be the best at making a superior play, but he never passes anything up when he's out there. He just works very hard."

And the Captain likes that if you come to Texas Tech and work hard (throw in some talent as well), you can and will play for the Red Raiders:

"We make dreams come true around here if somebody is willing to work hard to make it happen," Leach said. "We were blessed when Torres came to our team and he's made the most of his opportunity as it's happened."

Joel Filani Signs with Tampa Bay

Former Red Raider Joel Filani has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Congrats and I hope it works out for Filani.

Texas Tech Baseball

Previewing the Cowboys

LAJ's George Watson takes a good look at the Oklahoma State Cowboys who come to Lubbock for a weekend series, and is in danger of missing the conference tournament for the first time since 1977. OSU head coach Frank Anderson says it was a combination of things:

"It’s been kind of a unique deal," sixth-year Cowboys head coach Frank Anderson said. "Too many new people at times. Probably the newness of it in handling situations. I think part of it is the fact we lost five all-conference guys from last year and that hurt us. That’s a huge turnover in guys who had been around for awhile."

Duke von Schamann Update

Yesterday, Duke von Schamann led Edmond Santa Fe to victory as he pitched 4 scoreless innings and gave up 2 unearned runs in the 5th AND a pair of two-run doubles that scored all four of his team's runs.

Lions Re-Sign Drew Henson to Active Roster

Sean Yuille — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:04:51 -0000

Since this is a short week and Drew Stanton suffered a concussion during yesterday's game, there is no way that he will be ready to play on Thursday against the Titans. Because the Lions don't want to have only one healthy quarterback on the team, Drew Henson was signed to the active roster today and will be Daunte Culpepper's backup.

According to John Niyo, the deal is two-years long, so I'm inclined to believe that Dan Orlovsky will be headed to the injured reserve to make room for Henson. If Henson was simply going to be on the active roster until Stanton was healthy again, there would be no reason to sign him for two years. Since the Lions did just that, my guess is that they want to keep him on the team for at least the rest of this season and are keeping him in their future plans.

The Lions also re-signed wide receiver Eric Fowler to the practice squad and released Joel Filani, another WR, from it.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Sign Two, Release Three from Practice Squad

Sean Yuille — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:36:08 -0000

Safety LaMarcus Hicks, who was released from the active roster, was signed to the practice squad yet again. The Lions also signed wide receiver Joel Filani, who played for Seattle earlier this season, to the practice squad. Former Grand Valley State receiver Eric Fowler, tight end Jake Nordin, and cornerback Antonio Smith were released from the practice squad.
I expect to find out how many tickets are left for Sunday's game sometime today. My estimate is somewhere around nine or ten thousand. The last home game had around seven thousand tickets left on the Thursday before the game, so chances are there will be even more available since the Lions have lost twice since then.
MLive's Philip Zaroo rounded up some different reactions to the Lions' 2-point conversion attempt against Carolina that resulted in no penalties even though Daunte Culpepper got his face mask pulled. I personally like the headline of the post, as it shows how the referees must have been thinking during the play: "Lions QB Culpepper's facemask attacks hand of Panthers LB Beason."
Peter King suggests that a team like the Lions or 49ers take a look at hiring Scott Pioli, the Patriots' VP of Player Personnel. My belief is that if the Lions can't hire a proven general manager, then they should go after someone that works for a proven winner. The Falcons hired Thomas Dimitroff from the Patriots earlier this year, and that move looks like it was a pretty good one already.