You never know when the Saturday column will show up. Usually on Saturdays, so keep your eyes peeled for it! Here’s what we’re looking at today in Raiderland!
- Six wasn’t enough today for #16 Texas Tech MBB against #17. Limited by injuries, Texas Tech fizzled out in the final five minutes or so of a great back-and-forth game against #17 Arkansas today, falling 93-86 in Dallas. It was pretty much a one possession game for a lot of the day, like you’d expect for these two programs. Very close in rankings and other metrics. It was like a Sweet 16 game played in Mid-December. So what’s the biggest takeaway? It didn’t help you much, but it sure didn’t hurt you much if you’re Texas Tech. This loss is much better in the eyes of the committee come March than a 27-point win over Abilene Christian. The upgrade in schedule has been great and the LSU win helps. Now, the game in NYC against #1 Duke still matters. We’ll talk about it more as the week goes on, but Texas Tech started the day on the 5/6 seed line at HoopsHD.com and Bracketville.wordpress.com and they didn’t hurt themselves at all. Again, I’d much rather see Tech lose a close game to Arkansas than beat up brutal teams in the 100s/200s of power rankings. Now, get healthy and get ready for Duke.
- The Army/Navy Game is the Greatest American Sporting Event. And…. it’s not even close. Nothing better. Alabama vs Auburn is a rivalry. This transcends rivalry. These are the best young men in America playing for pride, for their school and the thousands of men and women they represent in the branch of Service to America. I hope the NFL never tries to drop a game in on Saturday against Army/Navy. These men have earned the right to a stand-alone game. Go Army – Beat Navy! Go Navy – Beat Army. For the record, I root for Army as my Grandfather was in the Army Air Corps in WWII and my father-in-law served in the Army in his younger days. That said, there is no more pure sporting event left in America than this game today!
- After much speculation and what looked like a sure thing, Alabama sports media personality Paul Finebaum has decided NOT to run for U.S. Senate. In his statements about why he mentions not being able to run against the “Woke” nature of ESPN, his long-time employer. You can read the quotes here, via Barrett Media. All this tells us that Finebaum is making the right call. He’s simply not tough enough nor principled enough to run for Senate and serve the people of Alabama on the Republican side of the aisle. As we expected, Finebaum is more concerned about being liked that being right. With Finebaum saying he couldn’t “draw a line and say I’m for you and I’m against you” shows he can’t handle what it takes to govern. You have to be able to make principled stands and be willing to say that yes, I’m against what you are promoting, proposing and wanting our government to do or not do. But, I’m sure he enjoyed the attention. He always does. . .
Hyatt
Thanks for dropping by for some quick Saturday thoughts. We’ll see you in the morning for 5 Things We Know On A Sunday.
