I am a 1990 RHIM grad from TTU now living in South Georgia.  I work in the technical education field teaching culinary arts. Currently, I am working on my getting my Ed.D from UGA in the field of Adult Education. However, I have two issues:

1) My lead advisor spent many years as a professor at UT. This is not so bad as...

2) In researching articles for my thesis, there are several articles I need to use that are written or co-written by an.... AGGIE!!!!

My main advisor landed at UT from Wisconsin, so she is not your typical longhorn and she does share my hatred for everything Aggie. However, it turns my stomach to have to use information by and quote scholastically from someone from the aTm.   

How would you all handle this situation?

I was watching College Football Today on ESPN 2 today. The panel consisted of none other than TTU's new 'favorite' college talking head, Craig James. In the same vein of Old School Raider's previous post, I was wondering how we could get him to stay off these programs.

Then it occurred to me: If Tubbs leads us to a 10, 11, or undefeated season, Tech will be a major topic on all college football shows. If the WWL keeps to its promise that they will keep Big Daddy away from all things Tech, then he could find himself with a whole bunch of time on his hands.

He would find himself a victim of his own coniving circumstances. I think John Lennon put it best: "Instant Karma's gonna get you!"

I asked a co-worker, an Auburnite and close follwer of all things Tigers, about Tuberville's coaches. My friend had warned me about them. Here is what I sent to him when I read here about who TT was considering hiring:

He wants to hire Andy Lutz, Terry Price, Don Dunn, and Steve Ensminger at Texas Tech.

Do you know about any of these?

Here is his reply:

Yes, they make up what we called the BBQ gang.  Tuberville and them are like one big family.  The only problem is none of them can coach offense. They have been with Tubbs since Ole Miss and there is a lot of loyalty between tubs and these guys. So much that if he would of fired them he could have kept his job at AU… but he refused to do it.   These guys are the ones that shunned Tony Franklin and resisted changing to his spread offense two years ago. (Tony Franklin stated this on an sports radio interview)

Another one that’s not on your list is Hugh Nall.  He’s a member of the BBQ gang also. 

I don’t know Andy Lutz.

If he brings them in, there is more than likely going to be problems in the near future.

I like the BBQ Gang moniker!

Listening this week to ESPN Radio, I am a little more optimistic about our chances to build on our success. From Mac Brown's own mouth, I heard that TU's defensive line will be new. That could bode well for us if our running game is coming along. That and the fact that they moved the game up giving the d-line less time to gel, may give us a better chance than I thought.

Griffin says OU's o-line will be the difference bewtween them and TU to win the Big 12. We get them in Lubbock and could take advantge if Ruffin's defense can improve.

Also, OSU's defense may not improve as much as they need to be the "Suprise of the South" like we were last year. If this is the case, we may be able to escape with a win.

This is ALOT of "If's" that have to fall for us. And it also includes our level of play continuing from last year without missing a beat on both sides of the ball. Realistically, I was hoping for a 9-3, 8-4 season. But something is telling me 11-1, 10-2 is reachable. Again, many, many things have to drop our way.

With Crabs gracing the cover of the X-Box version of EA Sports' NCAA College Football 10, a few questions come to mind:

1. How much money does Michael get for his likeness?

2. How much money does Tech get for its uniform, logo, etc.?

3. What will Tech do with that money?

(and most importantly)

4. Will Crabtree on the cover influence your purchase and playing of the game?

I do not have the X-Box. My son has the Wii and I bought 09's version to stomp TU and OU. I doubt I will buy an X-Box system just to get the Tech version of the game.

I was wondering whether #5 on the cover would influence the sales for Raider fans.

I created a bracket pick em on Yahoo for those of us interested in picking the games for bragging rights.

Go to Yahoo and find the 2009 Men's Bracket Pick "em. The group name is:

Red Radier Bracket Busters

You could try this link: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/97375?ng=1&b=er but my computer skills suck and I don't know if it will work exactly.

The password is: capnleach

Please use the same name you use here for your entry so we can keep everyone straight.

Good luck and I hope to see you all there!

For those of you who were waiting for the saga to hit the national media, today is your day. ESPN.com had it on the main page. Doug Gottlieb took Tech's side on his show, basically calling Leach out for daring to compare himself with the likes of Mack Brown and Bob Stoops. Freddie Coleman will opine in about 20 minutes (8:10 p.m. EST) about it.

I wasn't able to catch ATH or PTI tonight, but I'm sure they were all over it. I even had someone put me in a panic today about 4 p.m. by offering his condolences over Leach's firing. He was sure it had happened because his sources close to the situation new about it. I realized that a Georgia Tech alum from 1960 living in Americus, Georgia probably didn't have inside sources in Lubbock! 

So, I first showed him DTN , and ESPN as a second source, as proof that it hadn't happened yet. I also explained that the contract is still valid for another 2 years and there's plenty of time to work something if calmer heads prevail Friday.

I don't know about y'all, put I'm beginning to wish that this thing was not national anymore.

I was Christmas shopping in the mall in Albany, GA yesterday and happened into a store called University Gifts and Apparel. I always like to see if any Big 12 stuff makes out here this far and then if any Tech stuff made past the Texas, OU, and Aggie crap.

I was delighted to see, stuck in a small corner, the Big 12 section. In the Big 12 section was a smaller corner of Tech items: a Double-T car coaster, a rear-window sticker, a decal, a necktie, a front liscence plate (Georgia only requires one tag on cars) , and several red Tech t-shirts.

The t-shirt design had "Texas Tech Red Raiders" in a white banner above the Double-T logo. On either side of the logo were the numbers 18 and 23.

I could not for the life of me figure out the signifcance of those numbers. My class ring has 1923, which is when we opened for business. My question to you guys: Were these shirts probably a mistake and they were trying to get rid of them, or does 18 and 23 have significance at Tech?

That is the question! Other than the immediate pay raise, could Leach have motives not to sign this extension? He may believe that the way this thing has been handled tells him he may not be all that valuable to Tech and he may want to keep his options open in the next two years.

If he signs the extension, the buyout probably goes up, plus he locked into a longer commitment. When the Notre Dame job opens up, for instance, it would be harder to leave Tech.

I am just wondering if  this scenario go be adding to the delay in getting a deal done.

I was watching a basketball game on ESPN over the Thanksgiving break and noticed Coach Bob Knight riding the analysis role. I did not realize it at first, but it dawned on me that the guy breaking down the game was actually explaining the whys and hows of the game and not just trying to be entertaining. I don't usually get into college basketball until March Madness, but I found Coach Knight's addition to the broadcast refreshingly informative. He explained the game in a way that very, very few do not. He only adds to his reputation as a great coach!

I will try to watch more games he does. Maybe I will like basketball a little more!

I am wondering if the loss to OU will bring Cap'n Leach's stock down on the national stage, and allow us to be able to sign him a little easier. I know he is a great coach and the record should speak for itself. But  I wonder how much luster was lost after Saturday.

Also, I wonder if Meyers will use this loss as a way to low-ball the Cap'n which might cause him to abandon ship. I hope Meyers does the right thing and rewards Leach for this season. I would hate for this loss to be the final straw of disrespect that sinks us!

I am finding myself too excited to sleep thinking about the OU game. I am not nervous about the outcome, but I am walking on air at the fact that we have the opportunity to do something great on Saturday.

I am tired of the talking heads STILL not giving Tech any love. We were not given a chance to beat Kansas State or Kansas. With Texas, all I heard was "the gauntlet" they had to run through. OSU was supposed to run over us. Now, all I hear is that after OU beats us, the BCS will have fits.

I wish I had made a video diary of all the doubters. I would post it on youtube after the Championship game and hopefully embarrass the Corsos, Mays, Holtzs, et al. who even to this day are doubting Tech's amazing run.

I will have to watch Saturday's game from a hotel room in Atlanta, but, MAN, am I excited!