The Draft... (And Why I Kinda Don't Care)

Draft day is officially upon us and Round 1 is finished out, and I kept updates on my phone telling me what was going on, but I had no real desire to actually watch the draft. I am only concerned with two players and that's impressive most years I flat out just don't care about the draft. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I have no actual desire to waste my time with the super stellar likes of the NFL.

Let me put it to you like this, the last time I actually watched the draft was when Vince Young decided to go up and the time before that Kliff Kingsbury. That should give you an idea of how much I really don't care. Needless to say the draft affects a teams performance... kinda.

So the two players that I was waiting for updates on were Manziel and Jace Amaro. I think that any team would be lucky to have either one of these guys on the team, but the combination of the two together gives me goose bumps...

Now while I know that the actuality of that happening is slim to none, I still think its a great thought.

But as we all know Manziel got drafted to the Browns. I had decided that whoever drafted Manziel was going to gain a viewer... then he got drafted to the Browns. I refuse to watch, for the sheer reason of I don't want to watch him get beaten to death, nor do I want to sit and watch a team that you know will come out with a lack luster and... well... I'll just say it sad season.

This is how conversations around my house go, "If you have to sit down and rank all the NFL teams in the country you can always put the Browns at the bottom and  you at least know that you got that one right."...

Yes, this was an actual conversation that went on in my house last night.

I will admit that I knew that Manziel was going to end up on a lack luster team. I however was really hoping for the Texans. They at least have some hope. The Browns and their fans have it continually beaten out of them. This whole lack luster team thing for excellent athletes has one small problem. Your risk of getting hurt goes up significantly, this is worse for QB's mainly because a lot of times these lack luster teams have lack luster lines that can't hold it together long enough to protect you.

How do I think he will perform? I can't say. Every season is a new season. Just because something went well last year doesn't mean it will go well again.

This is what I can say. Here is what still floors me about The Cowboys not drafting Manziel when they had the chance, this kid is guaranteed bank. Think of him like the Howard Stern of football. People might have hated Stern, but they still listened to him, just to see if they could find something to hate him over. Its the same way with Manziel. Love or hate the kid your going to watch.

Don't lie about it either. You hate him, your gonna watch him, just to watch how miserably Mr. Heisman fails. You like him your going to watch to see how he grows and pray that he doesn't get hurt. But none the less your all going to be watching.

Which is why I'm so floored that Jones didn't jump on Manziel the second he got the chance. Its no secret that Jones doesn't mind a subpar team with what many would argue is the leagues crappiest QB sitting at the wheel. Why? Because the team still makes money. And Romo's inability to pull off wins and being a seeming jinx for the team is still making headlines. And I believe that saying is bad publicity is better than no publicity. Correct me if I'm worng... The fact still remains that The Dallas Cowboys are still the 2nd largest merchandised team in the world behind only Manchester United. Which means that this team is makes lots of money and so does its owner and its not winning... anything. Which should tell you that its about money and the capability to make it.

So, what I will be watching is the figures and the gains that the Browns will be having in every way because of Manziel. For no other reason than I can sit there and laugh that brilliant football man Jerri Jones missed out on guaranteed money.

And anyone that starts in with the character BS, please let me stop you. The NFL is home to some of the world's greatest thugs, abusers, and rapists... among other things... and as of recently they can add murder suspect to the list. I think Manziel ragging on the team/school he plays for is a little junior league in the NFL. He's gonna have to really step up his game... I'm just saying.

I however am not predicting Manziel's stay with the Browns to be long standing. So no worries, I don't have to watch the pro's just yet.

So needless to say I will just have to continue watching college football. Darn the luck.

But this is all this sports junkies opinion.  

It's That Odd Season

Right now is that weird time of year for this sports junkie. You know football is over, hockey is kinda boring, and baseball hasn't started yet.

So I'm filling the lull with my own for of torture....

Well, not really. I get up willingly for this form of torture. Everyday at 5:30 in the morning I am up and in a CrossFit class. Doing grueling, crazy things, that are producing some amazing things.

Well maybe grueling and crazy are a bit over exaggerated. I mean when did 40 sit-ups make a person want to fling themselves off a building because they were so sore? But in the right context and with the proper accompanying exercise, all of a sudden you are sore in places you weren't aware you could make sore.

Its crazy to think that I can spend between 20 and 35 minutes working out and it is making noticeable differences in me. And the best part is the workouts are never the same thing over and over. The constant changes in what your focusing on is actually helping you build your body faster.

I don't know how or why exactly it works... That's why I go to a certified box with a certified trainer.I pay him to know that stuff. ;-)

What I do know is that even though I'm not doing deadlifts everyday, anytime they come up in a workout I find that I'm able to have a little better control and take on more weight than last time.

Now am I claiming that CrossFit is a cure all or for everyone? No. I know that each person needs to work to their potential, and that is different for every person.

In fact there is lots of controversy that surrounds the sport. With people not thinking things all the way through, doing dangerous things, and just generically being stupid the stigma surrounding CrossFit is its great until you get hurt.

Then don't get me started about the questions and things that come up about women who do CrossFit. I know that this woman can outlift you, but do you have to attack her? Let's be adult about this.

Here's my thoughts on all of it.

CrossFit isn't dangerous... when you do it right. If you work up and you build your body like you need too. The heavy lifts aren't easy, but you won't injure yourself. Its a challenge, that once you take on a conquer you can't wait till the next one. If you don't want to listen to the trainers that you pay, and do stupid things then you kind of are asking to get hurt. You have to be smart about your fitness the same way you have to be smart about what you put in your body. You know, don't eat fried chicken everyday and expect 6 pack abs. If you don't work up to a 300 pound lift, don't expect for things to turn out well.

Now... women of CrossFit. Let me start off by saying we are a awesome breed of woman and anyone that thinks otherwise obviously doesn't get the full scope of how awesome we are. There is this huge debate over sexy as far as women are concerned. Want my view point? Of course you do.

I think sexy is healthy. Women who work to take care of their body and this means weight training of some sort... that is sexy. Now how you decide to handle the weight training that is up to you. As for me... I"m not minding the rock solid results that CrossFit is giving me. So I think I will stick with it.

So while we are waiting for baseball pant season... I mean baseball season to start up, get active and find what your new addiction might be.

I'm calling it an addiction, because it is.

Have fun junkies and be safe!

College Football Season is Over

So the final game of the college football season was played last night and it didn't end the way I wanted it too. I know... everyone thinks that I am crazy to cheer on a SEC team.

But this Texas girl has learned to love her SEC teams, and let's face it... A lot of my preference has a lot to do with what I grew up watching and SEC ball was one of those things.

So this year there was a lot of controversy placed around FSU and their Heisman winning QB, Jameis Winston.

Early in the season it broke in the sports world that Winston was involved in a rape investigation. This wasn't like a recent investigation either. It was a case that had been open for investigation for a year. Okay that's not okay. While I know that there were no formal charges and there was no evidence backing the claim... and even I will admit that the leak had some odd timing this season, I will say that it made me stop and think about the type of people that are set up there as role models.

I mean this guy not only has a national title to his name, but he is a Heisman winner.

I do have to say this, Manziel might be taken as a d-bag for whatever reasons by people, but at least no one has accused the kid of rape.

In some cases I think that the accusation bothers me more than the actual confirmation of rape... Nix that. It all bothers me. But what really bothers me is that theses teams let these guys continue to play. If I was a team owner, ran a collegiate program, or anything in between. I would suspend the guys from play until the case closed. Period. If nothing else it might make them think about keeping it in their pants.

I digress and need to get off that soap box.

So Auburn showed up to play and leading up to the BCS last night everyone will admit that AU is a flukey team and they lucked into it this season. So I found some irony in the plays, and upsets that got pulled off by FSU. Auburn had done that several times this season. However, the overall game, was what the BCS is suppose to be, a close game that is anyone's game, up until the bitter end.

I will say that I have no ill feelings towards FSU for winning. They deserved that. They came up from a huge deficit and fought hard... AU just fought a little harder from the start... and for a large chunk of the game.

So I mention the irony to a colleague and he doesn't exactly get it... That's okay, he's a Yankee. So after I explain it he tosses out the worst thing I think I've ever heard, "Well, I guess now the SEC will have a new tri-fecta that they will look for in quarterbacks... Can they run, pass, and rape."...

Men that read this...

Please know that if you thought that was funny you need to check yourself. Its tasteless jokes like this that makes light of very serious situations, and make people think that its okay. Rape isn't funny. Period. Jokes about it are unwelcome. Not only that, it tells me a lot about you... You apparently don't respect women enough to not make the joke, because if you stopped and thought about that joke for one second and it being your wife, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, aunt or anything in between. I bet you wouldn't approach the topic with such levity.

That and I know my fair share of SEC fans that would like to opportunity to straighten you out on what you seem to think is deemed as "acceptable behavior" now in their conference.

They are the Southern conference I'm just saying....

More digression...

I will say this that if that was the finale of this season I can't wait to see what 2014 comes in with, with an actual playoff system and the possibility of the SEC being totally knocked out of the BCS opportunity.

Good thing I've got baseball to tide me over till the next 254 days pass till the start of next football season.

And that's all this junkie's opinion.    

Perception Is Reality

I know what you're thinking... There is something wrong with the title of this blog. Nope, folks its not a typo. I was gonna break down what happened this last weekend with Tech and football in general, but then I was given this nugget... A beautiful gem in this world that is going to let me explore the world outside of sports.

I am going to approach the topic of the nasty things that Jake Owen said about the coveted King at Texas Tech.

Now before I actually tackle what was said and the way that it has been approached, by the fan base and the media in Lubbock I would like to preface all of this.

You see the blonde chick in this photo, who is hugged up on Kliff, that's me, Miss Junkie... I have actually met and interviewed Kilff Kingsbury. He is a stellar guy. I have no doubt in my mind that Kliff is all about the team mentality. You succeed as a team you fail as a team. I knew this was the type of guy that Tech has been aching for as far as a coach goes, for about ten years or so.

And yes I know that time period includes that of the coveted Mike Leach era. I never liked Leach and I never mixed my words when it came to Leach. When Tech got rid of Leach they gained a student and a fan came home. I grew up watching Texas Tech and Spike Dykes. So I am the Scarlet and Black. Part of my disdain with Leach was the skewed focus that came along, stopped being about the team and started being about the "mad scientist". It was no longer abut Raider Red and the Red Raiders, but about a pirate mentality... ?... Never understood it, never liked it, so I fell out of love and stopped watching and supporting. That is no longer the case.

As this season started and phrases that started getting passed around like "quarterback whisperer" caused me to hope that for Kliffs sake we had a great season, but all the attention of the media and the nations watchful eye was on Lubbock from the get go.

And how could it not be with things like this being published in Sports Illustrated before the season even started. I know that Kliff had made a name for himself long before he came to Tech. All thanks to the stellar season and the Heisman that his young freshman protege Johnny Manziel added to his resume, but I can almost guarantee that Kingsbury looks at all that stuff as things that happened in the past. And past success doesn't always determine future success. His favorite quote, "Fortune favors the bold." That alone says a lot about the type of caliber of character you are dealing with when it comes to Coach Kingsbury.

I knew that Kliff was the type of coach that Tech was desperately in need of the morning that it hit local news that he was asking that his image be removed from merchandise.

These shirts hit store shelves almost two days after it was made official that Kingsbury was coming back to roost at Tech. Kingsbury asked that his image be removed from the merch for the simple reason that he wants it to remain about the team and not about him.

In this junkie's opinion that is an awesome move, but I hate to break it to you Kliff it won't ever really be about the team as a whole. I think that mentality is falling to the way side like old school manners. But I applaud you for stepping up on that one.

Now on to the things that inspired this blog...

First go watch what horrible, awful, terrible, no good, very bad thing happened this last weekend on ESPN's College Game Day.

Jake Owen was a guest on the show and they ask guests to make game day predictions.

Here's how the Tech OSU prediction came across....

Now after that one joking comment Red Raider Nation stood up in a total up roar.

Think the Dixie Chicks, after their President Bush comment in Europe type thing, but on a way smaller scale.

Now here is the thing. Jake Owen isn't a local to Lubbock, he's probably not even very aware of the things that lots of locals see on a daily basis when it comes to Kingsbury and his team.

I had a colleague walking around saying that perception sin't the reality of the situation. Which is true, but here is the question, what does the nation really perceive about Kingsbury? I mean really what do they think about the super young, good looking coach that is leading the Red Raiders this season?

Well, I mean with pieces like this what can the nation think?

Here's the thing with all of this...

AND THIS IS TOTALLY MY OPINION... so haters peddle it elsewhere.

With things like the garbage above being peddled around the only person to really blame for Jake Owen's misinformed comment is the media department at Tech. Kingsbury has handlers that negotiate his press and so on. Whoever thought that it would be a brilliant idea to peddle the Kingsbury product this way, didn't think this one all the way through, on multiple levels. But I will go with the sheer fact (that is such a glaring example right now), that no one really takes a coach seriously when it is perceived, outside of the Red Raider Nation area of Lubbock, that this guy is just in it for the fame and has some what turned into a sex object.

Now I know better, anybody that really knows the team, the area, and the type of person Kingsbury is, knows that this idea is way off base.

But to a nation that doesn't get to see what Red Raider Nation is privied to, you have to admit that they are misinformed on multiple levels. I blame his media handlers for this, and it came around to bite them in the backside... Because unfortunately Owen's prediction was spot on, but not for the reason that Kliff spends to much time in front of the mirror. Tech neglected to show up to their home game and our being a second half team status is catching up to us in murders row at the end of the season. Like I figured it would.

And if your reading this thinking that I'm off base and that Jake Owen is a total narrow minded jerk and you will never listen to his music again. You might want to hear what Kliff has to say about the comments that were made on Saturday.

Kliff Notes 11/4

If you didn't watch the video, here's the break down he laughed it off. Said that's what you do on shows like that, and that he still really likes the guys music.

To me Kingsbury is writing it off as nothing more than a jokingly made comment, which I am sure is the way that it was totally intended.

So before you start talking about ignorance, and name calling... I think that is what has really gotten me about this ordeal is the name calling... Stop and think about what the nation as a whole is being fed from our end. When you look at things like a nationally trending twitter hashtag (#mycoachishotterthanyourcoach), to the cover of SI, and nationally syndicated shows, like E! News, the wrong perception is being presented.

Because as much as I love the crew at KCBD, they aren't syndicated on a nightly basis. Which I think is shameful, they're awesome!

So while perception isn't exactly reality, what people are lead to believe and what they think is right is what they are going to believe.... And that is their perception of reality.

Just some food for thought from this weekend.

And that is all this Junkies opinion.

Silly Girl

So variations of the photo above are circulating all over Red Raider Land. Hey, its where I work and where I play.

This post, along with the fact that save second base weekend was a couple of weekends ago and teams were rolling out special things for breast cancer awareness, it made this girl stop and think.

Has college football become a fashion show?

I uttered these words around a bunch of male colleagues and you would have thought that I would have drop kicked an infant across the room the way they were arguing and whining about it.

This is my point with the whole thing. I think somewhere along the lines the view got skewed, for the fans in particular. I've heard every weird argument in the book. From its used for recruiting, to well... I won't go there.

So let's look at this whole, we must have new pretty uniforms every week to recruit players thing. Call me old school, but I thought a coach with a name and the ability to produce a winning program was all you really needed to pull in players. I mean look at the house that Bear Bryant built in Alabama. I have then had the argument that the only reason they have top recruits is because they are the only school in the state. I have family in the deep south that argue otherwise. There are other schools, just schools that don't have programs like the machine at Alabama, and think about this, what if the machine got built somewhere else?... uh-oh I just got existential on ya. Be careful now.

I do have to say that I have a lot of respect for Alabama's program, because it produces, without fluff. It has in essence produced a winning program without a new costume change every time they take the field... yes I went there. At this point new uniforms including helmets every week is starting to wear thin on this junkie, and I consider it a costume change... Alabama has built a program on two jerseys and one helmet. It must be awful to have so much success that you can't have new uniforms every week.

I guess I'm getting fed up with the whole what do you think of this weeks new look question... I along with every female, which makes up over half of your viewing demo have some opinions on the Red Raiders new looks.

Let's start with the gray... I as Tech Alum, didn't receive the memo that our new colors were black and gray with touches of scarlet. In fact I believe it is the scarlet and black, I could be mistaken in the chants, songs and everything else where school color is mentioned. While I admit that the gray looks sharp, there is one thing that every woman in the world will agree on and it is the sweat factor. I do not need to visibly see from my seats in the stands that the 250+ lineman has a butt crack sweat issue. While I am as turned on as the next girl by a sweaty man that works hard I don't need to see it from a long distance, without visual assistance. Stop and think about that. I will tell you this there is a reason that you rarely have the option to purchase women's workout wear in gray, and you almost never see a woman actually wearing gray to the gym. There is a reason behind it, and smart men don't wear it in the gym either.

I'm not a superstitious sports fan so when I bring up the fact that I like seeing scarlet jerseys on our team, and your argument is that we never won in them, it is totally lost on me. Its not about the color of the jersey on your back, its about the team. Did they train, did they prepare, and is their mental game in order? Those things determine a game... not a "lucky jock strap".

Here's my thing...

I know that college football is a huge industry. The alumni donations alone after a big win is reason enough to win, its a money maker. But I as a fan don't care what the team is wearing, because a loss is a loss, no matter what your wearing.

I would rather focus on the game and the strategy of what's going on and not how "fierce" a new uniform looks for game day.

Side note: I think the uniform above would be more "fierce" if the uniform was solid black with that helmet. But I'm female what do I know about color coordination, or the perception of color. For example, black is actually a menacing color, i.e. nothing good happens in the dark of night. Red's are very impassioned colors, that is also used as a symbol strong for warriors. There is a reason that gray business suits are a dime a dozen. I'm just saying...

I have then had the back handed argument that we need to recruit players so that we can have a winning program... I'm not sure I want a player playing for my team who cares more about the way he's gonna look on the gridiron over all, than how he's gonna look when he fumbles the ball.

I guess my argument is this simple, produce the program, then play dress up if you want.

I did have one loving and generous (tongue and cheek) friend point out that we were in a worse position last season under Tuberville and the team just gave up. He wants to know what I think happened. What this has to do with the fact that I think this new uniform every week thing is beyond ridiculous, I don't know.

I will first point out that we are ending our season taking on murders row. Season isn't over yet. Tech can still ... I'll say Tech up the season. I hope they don't for no other reason than Kingsbury's sake. I like the guy and I would like to see him build a program at Tech that makes every fan go Mike who?

As for last season I blame the fans for that give up. Having played organized sports, I know that when the fans are disgruntled with anything you do, at a point you wonder why do it. The fact that fans hated Tubberville and wanted his job win or lose, I would have given up too. And you can't tell me that these kids don't read it, see it, and hear it. I went to college on that campus I know how it is and how many people think that it is okay to air their opinion about everything. I'll never forget Potts having to go to classes in disguise after a loss. You thought grade school was tough, be an athlete in a football king state, in college.

Unfortunately there is an infant loop on the uniform argument, but none the less I think its ridiculous and I think that vision has gone a little wonky.

I just found it funny how many men started defending the gray when I said I didn't like it. I never knew I had so many divas in my presence.

But that's all this just junkies opinion.

Week 9: I Can't Believe It Happened

So last weekend was the weekend that I professed my love for college football and that I love weekends filled with upsets, and amazing changes in the polls.

This weekend I was disgusted and couldn't stand to watch another game.

Yes, the same girl who watched for 12 solid hours the weekend before... Turned off football and said, "Sorry I have a headache."

Yup I just went there.

So this weekend Texas Tech walked into Norman with a perfect winning streak and they unfortunately didn't walk away with one.

Tech was leading the Big 12 with a perfect overall season and because of some absolutely disgusting and sloppy plays Tech suffered a loss. It was like I was saying all week leading up to it, Tech is going to have to bring their best game. I wasn't sure the team caught the bus... Well, there early on I was afraid that the offense got left in Lubbock.

What was terrible was the fact that Tech's defense got so run ragged and I think mentally beaten down early on. Webb was making mistakes that couldn't be made and then Tech wasn't able to convert when we needed to, so our defense got to see lots of field time early on. Which could have been a good thing, except I think at some point that the defense threw their hands in the air and said, what's the point? The offense isn't doing their job. So by the time we really needed the defense to step up they were too tired to do anything.

Not only that this game is a prime example of us being a late start team catching up to us. I knew it would, the question was how lucky was Tech going to get for how long. Tech can't afford late starts for the rest of the season. It has officially caught up to us and we need to fix it.

I could continue to harp about the huge hole that our defense seems to neglect to close... Come on ladies cross your legs, let's not let everyone in our business.... But I've been beating that horse from the start of the season.

One thing that I still have yet to understand the strategic gain for leaving in a player that isn't performing.

Maybe I need the men in my life to explain this to me.

I was an athlete in high school and I remember that no one was above being pulled, for not performing. My uncle was a high school varsity basketball coach (one of the winningest coaches in the state) and he would pull his own kids when they didn't perform up to standard. So I'm not understanding why when Webb couldn't make the plays, and was obviously rattled; why Kingsbury didn't pull him.

Things I guess the tata's don't understand, but you can't tell me that you weren't thinking it yourself.

None the less I got so disgusted with that game I couldn't watch anymore football after that. So instead I turned on movies this weekend.

The real problem I had with this loss was we shouldn't have lost. I won't even talk about the fact that I don't think OU's Bell probably was able to work up his best game this season for Tech. That kid was playing so far above his head it was ridiculous, and Tech couldn't make the connections, it was almost the perfect comedy of errors.

Now here's going to be the kicker for Tech. Are they going to take this loss learn from it and build to have a better game next go around, or are we going to in typical Tech fashion, roll over and die for the rest of the season and prove to everyone that Tech is a flash in the pan team?

So I will continue to watch and cheer, but Tech you've got to prove to yourself, before you can prove to the rest of the country, that you are better than people think. And it all starts when you take the field and it all starts with your mental game. Its there or its not. And this past weekend it wasn't there.

So the question this week is, will you mentally be prepared to handle what ever OSU brings? I'm not sure. We shall see...

But that is all just this sports junkies opinion.

Week 8: The Week of Upsets

Well, another fun filled weekend of college football has passed us by and the BCS standings are officially out. I love weekends like this. This is one of those weekends that I was so giddy about what was going on that I almost couldn't stand myself.

For those of you that missed it six of the top ten teams in the nation suffered upsets against opponents. If it hadn't been for the battle at Death Valley and Auburn cracking the Top 25 last week they would have all been unranked teams causing the upsets.

I love college football anything can happen!

Let's take a look at what happened this week. In a nut shell the football gods decided to toss the tables and see what happened... I blame the pink.

It was breast cancer awareness weekend around the NCAA, so pink was everywhere. I jokingly texted friends that pink seems to zap the powers of these otherwise great teams. Do I have the stats to justify what I am implying... Not really, but none the less I'm sure it is distracting to hormonal men on the field.

Follow me for a second...

Pink is used to remember to save the tatas... Society has now trained us that pink means boobs. What distracts most red blooded men in this country?... I will say that when I wear a low cut shirt its my cleavage. So how could we not expect the guys, boys, man-children, what ever you like to call them, not be distracted by the one thing that the NCAA wanted at the forefronts of everyone's mind? Saving second base. Heck it became so laughable, I even gave out an award for who wore "save second base the best"... The award went to Oregon. They went neon pink and managed a great win.I guess neon pink is more masculine than some of the other pinks that were being worn.

I digress...

So lets look at some of the big upsets of the week. There was the Louisville game... Meh. Then there was the A&M game. This was a big loss for A&M, because it dropped them out of the top 10 rather handily. Which is justified, not sure that where they landed is where they should be, but what do I know? I'm just a silly girl. I did get to watch the A&M game and I knew that if A&M walked away with the win that were gonna have to fight for it, because Auburn came to play and they came to win.

On a side note, be sure to catch Auburn and Freshman receiver Marshall... I'm just saying, they are making some interesting waves. And if you think that Auburn hasn't produced anything of worth in decades, or what not... two words Cam Newton.

So A&M hobbled off the field with a loss and an injured shoulder for Manziel, but if A&M wants to keep up their defensive line is going to have to show up for every play at every game. The O-line was solid, giving Manziel time to look for the options. And I will say that Manziel is gonna have to stop with the interceptions... It's getting a little old shug, you're better than that. Now do I think that Manziel is out of the hunt for the Heisman. This year it is quiet possible, unless there are a couple of teams that can sneak up the machine of the SEC, which I don't foresee happening, but this is college football. Anything can happen.

Now on to the Tech game. I know... Its where I work, where I play, and on occasion a place that I admit that I got my degree from.

So Tech is 7-0 and is sitting at the top of the Big 12 so far this season. Behind us is Baylor and then Texas as far as the conference goes. Which I find really funny given the way everyone was positioned at the beginning of the season. Heck the team that was positioned to finish 7th overall in the Big 12 is the only team with a 7-0 season. I know that Baylor also hasn't lost, but we're a game up on them at this point. Things can change during Tech's bye week later this season.

There were a couple of things that went on during this game that I think need to be addressed on a coaching and player level. This is the second game this season that a players in ability to tuck has cost us. Earlier this season it was a ball that was just randomly dropped at the half yard line, by a receiver. No one around, just decided to drop the ball after he had taken it out of its tucked position. This week it looked like a sloppy and loose tuck by the QB, Webb, that was fumbled and recovered, by well, not us. These are the types of things that will kill Tech in the upcoming weekend against OU. Let's face facts there have been plenty of seasons where on the boards we should have beaten OU, but didn't because we didn't monopolize on the opportunities that were given to us in the same degree of effectiveness that OU did.

So what needs to be re-thought you ask?

On the coaches end, the sloppy carries and the dropped things in practice. I've had a colleague running around saying, "Perfect practice makes perfect execution." This is true.

Back in the days when I was playing competitive sports I remember, going through drills that made everything muscle memory. Our coach wanted us to just have it ingrained, period. So in practice, you slack off you would hear the words, "Do it again, and do it right."... For Tech this should mean that in practice the coaches should be looking for the loose carries and yelling, "Do it again." When they are doing drills. They should also be watching for when the receivers pull the ball out of their carry when they near the end zone. It should stay put until they cross that line, period. I hope this week at practice the team gets tired of hearing the words, "Again." And that it shows in the upcoming game. Its a partial coaching error to allow for the slack... Slack can mean sloppy and sloppy is the difference between a win and a loss. Besides there is a reason that I call Alabama the machine. They are in every aspect. No slack, they expect perfection and they execute it.

Now Tech did do somethings right. Like our time to answer mistakes that window is slowly closing. We aren't exactly to next play answers yet, but it is taking less than a quarter. That's improvement. Webb is getting better at reading his options. I don't like that he keeps using his safety blanket as much as he does, but to that extent Amaro is putting up nice numbers.

So with all that said, where do I stand on the Tech OU game coming up?

I am going with Tech for the win. And yes I have looked at the fact that we are playing in Norman. I'm not gonna say its gonna be a big win, or even a pretty win. I'm thinking that this will be as ugly as the TCU win, if not uglier. Here's the things that Tech is gonna need to win. The defense needs to show up, and put lots of pressure on Bell early on. He will make plenty of mistakes on his own as long as we rattle his cage early and often. Let's create opportunity and not just take the opportunities that we happen to be handed.

The second half team bs has got to stop... This is one of those typical Tech patterns that we keep falling into. Doesn't matter the team, the year, or the coach. Its Tech's trademark at this point I think. Late starting will catch up to you at some point. We don't need it to catch up to us now, or when we play Baylor.

The O-line needs to show up before halftime and we have to diversify our receivers... I know that Amaro is a nice big target, but look for the options. We've got them so let's use them.

And lastly this is the game where you see what type of ground game we have. OU is notorious for covering the passing routes... Let's change it up Tech! Instead of falling on that sword use the great run game that we have and work it. I would bet that OU can't keep up.

And lastly we can't go in thinking that we have this won. The thing about being on the top of the conference is that everyone wants to topple the king. We need to play this game like we are 0-7, and prove everyone wrong, because no one is expecting us to win. That is what will win this game, before you even step foot on the field.

And I'll be praying for a decent referee staff... but we haven't been able to buy one of those even if we tried.

But that is all just this sports junkies opinion.