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Kim Mulkey roast provides plenty of laughs
Take a break from bickering and check out our video below from Wednesday night’s celebrity roast of Kim Mulkey. Rick May, Butch Henry, Dave Campbell, Steve Fallon and others were on hand to dish out the wisecracks. But in the end, Mulkey herself got the last laugh.
You can also click here for plenty of photos from the event. And Brice Cherry provides his own wrap-up of the proceedings in this article.
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Baylor stacks up in Big 12
Considering that Baylor football has won just 11 conference games in the 12-year history of the Big 12, it’s safe to say that the Bears have not stacked up in football.
And until this last year, you could throw men’s basketball in there as well. The Bears had made just one postseason appearance in the NIT (since the start of the Big 12) and hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in 20 years.
But as the latest Big 12 all-sports standings show, across the board, Baylor can compete with the big boys (and girls, for that matter). Using a points system devised by former sports editor and current Page 1 editor Kim Gorum that’s based on conference finish and postseason results, Baylor finished in the top half of the league for the seventh time in eight years at No. 6. Not too shabby.
I’ve seen and heard comments that rankings and standings like these are only for schools that can’t compete in the “big-time” sports like football and men’s basketball. Well, look at the top of the standings: 1. Texas. 2. Texas A&M. And those two are always going to be up there because of their overall strength. But what it does show is that even little ol’ Baylor can compete. Sure, it helps that the Bears dominate in tennis and continue to be a strong presence nationally in track and field. But they also had strong finishes this year in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s cross country (tops at the national meet among Big 12 teams) and were able to keep their heads above water despite disappointing seasons in baseball and softball.
I don’t know that the all-sports rankings make any kind of definitive, bold statement. But when people start talking about kicking Baylor out of the Big 12 because of its failures in football, I have to laugh. If you’re going to dump anybody, look at Iowa State and Kansas State. Other than occasional blips on the radar, those two remain weak across the board. Even with the struggles in football and men’s basketball (and I think those days are over), I would say Baylor’s more than carrying its weight.
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Don’t underestimate Smith
Baylor baseball coach Steve Smith announced Friday that he had withdrawn his name from consideration for the Mississippi State and Auburn jobs.
Mississippi State is being filled by Kentucky coach John Cohen while Auburn remains open.
Baylor fans should be happy Smith will be back for his 15th season.
Coaching and recruiting at the only private school in the Big 12 is a tough job — and Smith has done it remarkably well with nine regional appearances, including a trip to the 2005 College World Series.
Baseball is allowed only a paltry 11.7 scholarships by the NCAA, which means coaches have to divvy them up. The players and their families end up paying for a lot themselves, and Baylor’s tuition is steeper than state schools.
Though this year’s team was disappointing, I wouldn’t be surprised if next year’s squad bounces back strong since nearly everybody will be back.
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Should know Steve Smith’s fate soon
We could know by Friday whether Steve Smith will remain as Baylor’s baseball coach or move to Auburn or Mississippi State.
Smith reportedly interviewed for the Mississippi State job Sunday in Waco before interviewing with Auburn Monday at an undisclosed site.
Both coaching searches appear to be moving fast.
Louisville coach Dan McDonnell withdrew his name from consideration for the Auburn job Tuesday. Besides Smith, Kentucky coach John Cohen is expected to be a leading candidate at Mississippi State.
Smith grew up in SEC country in Gulfport, Miss., so there’s a natural attraction to that region of the country. But he played at Baylor and has coached the Bears for 14 years.
So stay tuned.
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Little help out there
Going through the coaching changes listed on texasfootball.com, I noticed a few Baylor connections that might come in handy during recruiting season.
Former Baylor all-American Robert Blackmon, who played nine years in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, has been promoted to the head coaching job at Bay City. Former Baylor and NFL defensive back Gary Green has returned to his alma mater at San Antonio Sam Houston to be the head coach, while former linebacker Kris Micheaux was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach at Class 3A Gonzales.
Former D-end Teddy (now Ted) Patton left 2A Elysian Fields for 3A Rusk.
I know there’s a lot more out there, but here’s a few others I’ve tracked down: Danny Servance at Lubbock Estacado, Scott Smith at Rockwall, David Wetzel at San Antonio Reagan, Bobby Jack Goforth at San Antonio Jay and Adam Arroyo at Skidmore-Tynan.
Help me out. If you’ve got some other names, send them into the blog. Duke Christian, a former Baylor offensive coordinator, just retired after posting a 49-34 record at Fort Worth Arlington Heights.
One other interesting note on that list of new coaches: Former New York Knick and Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward is the new head coach at Houston Westbury Christian.
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Bricktown still a showcase
It’s been 10 years since Bricktown Ballpark opened in Oklahoma City — and it’s still the perfect place to hold the Big 12 Tournament.
The first Big 12 Tournament was held at Oklahoma City’s All Sports Stadium in 1997. Bricktown was completed the following year for the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks, and the Big 12 reserved a week in late May.
The tournament has been here ever since except for a couple of seasons at the Ballpark in Arlington. While the Big 12 players enjoyed playing in a major league park, the size of the place overwhelmed the crowds. While Bricktown Ballpark rarely sells out for the Big 12 Tournament, it does have a more intimate feel.
What really makes this place special is the surroundings. The ballpark is just part of Bricktown, which is filled with restaurants, hotels and shops within walking distance. It’s just a great place to hang around.
The Big 12 plans to keep the tournament here for a long time. Why mess with perfection?
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Aggies help out Horns
Who said the Aggies and Longhorns can’t help each other out?
With their 6-2 win over Missouri Saturday, the Aggies sent Texas into Sunday’s Big 12 Tournament championship game.
After losing to Missouri in the first game of the tournament, the Longhorns responded with wins over A&M and Oklahoma. Texas rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Sooners, 11-10, Saturday.
Both the Longhorns and Sooners finished 2-1 in their pool, but Texas advanced with the win in the head-to-head matchup.
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Win tournament or else
I think the Big 12 is just going to get five teams in the NCAA Tournament this year unless Baylor, Oklahoma or Kansas State wins the conference tournament.
Oklahoma is currently No. 38 in the RPI followed by Baylor at 43 and Kansas State at 45. That’s bubble territory. But none of these teams won more than 11 Big 12 games during the regular season, and that’s a big strike against them.
With wins over Texas A&M and Missouri, the Sooners can advance to the tournament championship game with a win over Texas today. If they beat the Longhorns, it will be their fourth straight win over a Top 25 team, but that 9-17-1 conference regular season record is a big eyesore.
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Tolleson delivers again
Baylor redshirt freshman Shawn Tolleson has delivered some of his best games of the season the road — and Wednesday was no exception.
Tolleson limited the No. 12 Cornhuskers to five hits, three walks and four runs in 6 1/3 innings in the Bears’ 10-4 win in the Big 12 Tournament opener at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.
Earlier this season, he shut out Kansas State on the road, and threw a gem against Texas in Baylor’s 6-1 on May 3 in Austin.
With Tolleson’s strong performance, the Bears played one of their best games of the year. They’ll need another great performance from redshirt freshman Craig Fritsch Friday against Oklahoma State to have a chance to win the tournament and advance to regionals.
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Aggies in doldrums
Texas A&M picked a bad time to go through a major slump.
They once looked unbeatable as they reeled off 16 straight Big 12 wins. But with a 4-1 loss to No. 8 seed Oklahoma in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament at Bricktown Ballpark, the Aggies have dropped seven straight games.
A team that came up with big hits and clutch pitching performances all season just hasn’t delivered in recent games.
The Aggies have enough wins in the bank to probably host a regional, but they need to change things quickly if they want to stick around long.
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Tears for ZZ
Lenka Broosova and Jelena Stanivuk couldn’t keep the tears from flowing after Monday’s bitter 4-3 loss to No. 8 California in the semifinals of the NCAA Tennis Championships in Tulsa.
But it wasn’t just the loss that bothered them. It was clearly that they didn’t bring home a championship for senior all-American Zuzana Zemenova.
“I really had a dream to win this tournament for ZZ and coach,” said Stanivuk, who won a three-setter at No. 5 to keep the Bears in the match. “Because they changed the program. All of us are here because ZZ and (coach Joey Scrivano) put in such great work. And other players, of course. It’s just that we wanted to win that for her. She’s our champion.”
It was especially tough on Broosova, who has been Zemenova’s doubles partner and best friend.
“That’s what hurts the most is that I’m losing my doubles partner,” Broosova said. “Me and ZZ have been best friends. I’ve never played with, I’ve never had a teammate like that before. This hurts a lot, because I really think this team was capable of winning it.”
Even Scrivano had to fight back a few tears as he reminisced about Zemenova’s unbelievable career.
“If every kid can come in and leave the program in better shape than they find it, we’ll be really rocking and rolling,” he said. “And that’s what she’s done. She came in when the program was coming off not making the (NCAA) tournament. We were ranked 45 in the country. And she’s come in and helped change the culture of the program. I’m just so thankful that I was able to coach her for the last four years. That was a real blessing. And she’s got a bright future in whatever she decides to do.”
Zemenova will join Broosova and freshman Taylor Ormond fore the NCAA individual singles and doubles tournament that starts Wednesday. But she has elected not to turn pro. She’s expected to move to Chicago after the season and teach tennis in that area.
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Will Big 12 get six teams in NCAAs?
The NCAA has shown the Big 12 a lot of respect in the last two years.
After landing a record seven teams in the 2006 baseball regionals, the Big 12 put six more teams in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
But the league might be hard pressed to get six in this year. Texas A&M, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Texas all appear in good shape to make the tournament. But one of the bottom five teams will likely have to get hot to have a shot.
Baylor stands at No. 43 in the Boyd’s World pseudo-RPI, while Oklahoma is 48 and Kansas State is 49. None of those three teams can finish the regular season with a winning Big 12 record, so they’re going to have to do some damage in the conference tournament next weekend in Oklahoma City to have a shot.
The last time the Big 12 put just five teams in the NCAA Tournament was 2005 when Texas won the College World Series and Baylor and Nebraska both made it to Omaha. So getting five teams in regionals may not be the worst thing for the league.
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Fashion faux pas
Since I took my share of good-natured ribbing (most of it, anyway) over the maroon shirt I wore to Sunday’s region tennis match between the Baylor men and Texas A&M, I’m going to attempt an explanation.
Firstly, I rarely give a first thought much less a second to my wardrobe choices. It usually comes down to what’s clean and still hanging up in the closet rather than piled up in a bundle on the floor. And secondly, since I went right after a Mother’s Day lunch, I was wearing the same thing I had on that morning at church.
It’s funny, because when I was covering high school sports, I always made sure that my colors were neutral. I didn’t want either side to think I was rooting for the other. So if I went to a Waco High-University game, I would make sure that I didn’t wear either a red or purple shirt. And as a Baylor beat writer for the last 21 years, covering football, women’s basketball and now tennis, I have made a habit of not wearing green and gold attire to Baylor events. It may seem trivial, but I don’t want to give the impression that I’m a fan rather than an unbiased reporter.
So for my fashion faux pas, I apologize. But trust me, there was nothing intentional. Just the day before, one of my fellow Trib writers actually accused me of matching my shorts to a logo on the shirt I was wearing. She was assuming that I actually care about what I wear. Other than making sure that I don’t wear dark socks with shorts and tennis shoes, I’m totally oblivious.
From now on, maybe I should just go with the traditional all-white for tennis.
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Bears need repeat of 2007
The Baylor baseball team squeezed into the NCAA Tournament last season by sweeping its final regular season series against Kansas State and then winning three Big 12 Tournament games.
The Bears will likely need a similar late run this year. But it will be much more difficult since their final regular season series is in Lubbock where they’ve lost 11 of the last 12 games to Texas Tech.
With a 10-14 Big 12 record, the Bears can’t finish with a winning league record. But they’ve made the NCAA Tournament the last two years with losing conference records.
The only way the Bears can be assured of a berth is by winning four games to win the Big 12 Tournament for the league’s automatic berth. But putting together a string of wins will be challenging for a team that hasn’t shown much consistency all season.
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New Disch-Falk a beauty
For years, I was wondering when Texas was going to upgrade Disch-Falk Field.
A college baseball palace when it opened in 1975, the Longhorns’ ballpark was definitely showing its age.
But after undergoing massive renovations, the new UFCU Disch-Falk Field is a thing of beauty.
The $25.8 million renovation project features 6,756 chairback seats and a row of luxury boxes across the top. The old pressbox used to be cramped and uncomfortable, but now it’s plush and roomy. The ballpark looks as good as any new minor league baseball facility.
It’s remarkable that this facility was built on the old site, but Texas pulled it off in a big way.
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Tolleson delivers key win
Just when you think the Bears are about to drive themselves out of NCAA Tournament contention, they come through with an unexpected performance.
Last week, Willie Kempf pitched the Bears to an 8-3 win over Nebraska after the Cornhuskers swept Saturday’s doubleheader.
After an embarrassing 12-1 loss to Texas Friday night at Baylor Ballpark, the Bears came back with a 6-1 win Saturday at Disch-Falk Field.
Rocked in two straight Big 12 starts against Texas A&M and Nebraska, redshirt freshman Shawn Tolleson delivered a gutsy performance by limiting Texas to one run in 7 1/3 innings before Kempf finished it off.
A win over the Longhorns Sunday would go a long way toward helping the Bears reach regionals. They still have a lot of work to do since they have to go to Lubbock in two weeks, but at least they still have a prayer.
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Bears need a miracle
With all five remaining Big 12 games on the road, the Bears need a miracle now to make the NCAA Tournament.
With Friday’s 12-1 drubbing by the Longhorns, the Bears dropped to 9-13 in the Big 12 with two games coming up this weekend at Disch-Falk Field and three games coming up against Texas Tech May 16-18 in Lubbock.
The Bears have dropped 11 straight to the Longhorns and 11 of the last 12 to the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Those aren’t good odds for a Baylor team that hasn’t played consistently since opening the season with an 11-1 record.
The air went out of the Bears Friday night when starting pitcher Kendal Volz left after the third inning with a strained oblique. Texas only held a 1-0 lead at the point, but it quickly got worse as the Longhorns strummed Baylor’s relievers for 13 hits and 11 runs.
That’s the third Big 12 blowout for the Bears in as many weekends at Baylor Ballpark. The Aggies broke out for an 11-1 win and the Cornhuskers run-ruled the Bears, 14-1.
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Volz out with injury
Baylor starting pitcher Kendal Volz had to leave Friday’s series opener against Texas with a strained oblique.
Volz had allowed a run on three hits in three innings while striking out seven at Baylor Ballpark.
Volz was replaced by Randall Linebaugh, who gave up a run in the fourth inning to give the Longhorns a 2-0 lead.
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Volz deserves better
Baylor ace Kendal Volz hasn’t won a game since beating Mississippi State on March 9.
But it’s not because he hasn’t been pitching well.
Three weeks ago, Volz gave up just eight hits and three runs while striking out 12 in 7 2/3 innings, but got a no-decision against Kansas.
Two weeks ago, Volz allowed seven hits, two walks and two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings to get the loss against Kansas State.
Volz turned in another strong performance last week as he allowed just six, two walks and one earned run in 7 1/3 innings. But he got the loss against Texas A&M.
On Saturday, Volz limited Nebraska to five hits, five walks and two runs in six innings but got a no-decision in Baylor’s 6-4 loss to Nebraska in 10 innings.
The biggest reason for Volz’s drought has been little run support from Baylor’s offense. The Bears have scored just 10 runs in their last four Big 12 series openers.
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OK, Mulk, try to top this one
Kim Mulkey’s playing a game of oneupmanship with herself. And depending on how you look at it, she’s either winning or losing. But no matter how you look at it, she keeps coming up with ways to top herself.
When lead assistant Bill Brock left after the 2005-06 season to join Kristy Curry at Texas Tech, Mulkey didn’t panic. She just smiled and went out and raided Texas coach Jody Conradt’s staff to lure away one of the top recruiters in the game in Karen Aston. At worst, it was a wash.
And then when Aston jumped ship after one year and took the head job at North Carolina-Charlotte, it took Mulkey all of 10 days to come up with an answer. She hired Richard Barron, who had six years experience as a head coach at Princeton and a reputation as a strong recruiter. Again, not a bad trade.
But what she pulled off on Friday was the kind of shock-the-world move rarely seen in the women’s game. And again, it took all of 10 days.
When assistant coach Jennifer Roberts had to leave for health reasons, Mulkey kind of hinted at the time that she might have a trick up her sleeve. “If I can pull it off, you’ll be shocked,” she said. The answer came Friday, when she named legendary Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore, her former mentor.
Now granted, the guy turns 64 in June. But he’s not going to be the head coach, and I suspect that he won’t have to carry the normal workload of a 60-hours-per-week, bust-your-hump assistant coach. I mean, here’s a guy that won 576 games in 20 seasons as the Lady Techsters’ head coach, taking them to the NCAA Tournament every year and the Final Four nine times. That’s right, nine times.
“That sucker can coach,” Mulkey said. “You’ve got a Hall of Fame coach that’s willing to come out of retirement to join our program and help us to continue to build an elite team.”
Barmore tried to retire in 2000, wanting Mulkey to follow him as the coach at Louisiana Tech. But when the president wouldn’t budge and give her a five-year contract, Mulkey bolted for Baylor, and Barmore came out of retirement. And then when he retired again in 2002, he was inducted the next year into the Naismith Memorial and Women’s Basketball halls of fame.
How many programs have ever been able to boast of two Hall of Fame coaches, each with a national championship to their credit?
With Mulkey, I’ve learned never to say never. But I can’t imagine her being able to top this one. I wonder if that Pat Summitt gal would be interested?
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Baylor’s hitters inconsistent
One good thing came out of Baylor’s 13-12 loss to Texas A&M Sunday at Baylor Ballpark.
The Bears collected a season-high 22 hits.
But Baylor’s hitting didn’t carry over to Tuesday’s rare nonconference game against Texas. Kenn Kasparek and Stayton Thomas combined for a four-hitter in the Longhorns’ 8-2 win.
Baylor’s only hits came from Dustin Dickerson, Adam Hornung, Landis Ware and Aaron Miller. Three of those hits contributed to runs, but it just wasn’t enough.
The Bears are still striking out way too much — they had 12 against Texas. There’s still time to pick it up, but the Bears can’t wait much longer if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
Who came out winners and losers? Vote here.
Latest comments
It appears Just Fact..No Factors is correct. The information in the blog comes from The Associated Press on Nov 18, 2007 at 2:31 pm.
Also it can be found on Dallas CBS TV Channel 11 sports page.
Fred is right, we are the bad news bears.
... read the full comment by Baylor Grad 76 | Comment on Baylor stacks up in Big 12 Read Baylor stacks up in Big 12
Have you ever noticed that hell-cat Kim Mulkey has an extremely large mouth? When she opens that pie-hole and screams at courtside you think that the entire Baylor campus is about to be sucked into a bottomless black-hole. She’s not a large woman
... read the full comment by Fred | Comment on Kim Mulkey roast provides plenty of laughs Read Kim Mulkey roast provides plenty of laughs
Bear Facts…It’s not that one strength coach is going to change anything. The entire coaching staff will and so will the players (based on the good coaching). Baylor has historically been a door mat for many teams in the Big 12…no where
... read the full comment by Spurlover | Comment on Baylor stacks up in Big 12 Read Baylor stacks up in Big 12
Unfortunately, that is correct. We’ve not had a winning season as a member of the Big 12. On the positive side, we landed twice as many players on the All-Big 12 preseason team as Texas A&M, which should really get under Fred’s skin.
... read the full comment by 91Bear | Comment on Baylor stacks up in Big 12 Read Baylor stacks up in Big 12