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Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Seven damn long years...)

Well then perhaps you should say that. Because you CLEARLY tried to get cute by saying Roger is now the second best Clemens in school history.
well, I stand by the fact that one will end his career at Texas as an All-American, something the daddy didn't do.
 
well, I stand by the fact that one will end his career at Texas as an All-American, something the daddy didn't do.

Ok. Again, something you probably should have simply said w/o trying to get cute. The overall vibe is you did a pretty piss poor job of trying to make what should have been a slam-dunk statement about Clemens' 2018 season.
 
was there a surprise? something you were looking for?
I thought you were going to value your Sixers more than you did. Looks about right although I do think the gap between LeBron and KD is closing. I would have Kawhi top 10 not top 5.
 
I think he needs to be in the ballpark of 25 wins and at least a win in the Tournament would represent tangible progress.

Good luck with that because even if Roach returns the roster next season is not one built to win 25 games.
 
Ok. Again, something you probably should have simply said w/o trying to get cute. The overall vibe is you did a pretty piss poor job of trying to make what should have been a slam-dunk statement about Clemens' 2018 season.
Here's what was written:

"What in the world do we even say about the kid that practically put this Texas team on his back towards the back end of a championship push?

Let's start with this ... he's a better college baseball player than his old man ... yanno ... that guy that has his number retired.

Don't get me wrong, his old man was a hell of a player, but he never had an all-America season on par with what young Kody has produced this season. Roger wasn't a national player of the year candidate. Some would argue he wasn't the best pitcher on that 1983 national championship team.

What his old man did have, though, was a special moment. Roger started in the 1983 national championship game and went down as the winning pitcher. Of course, later on he did all those other things.

Well, Kody can't quite match that, but his walk-off home run on Friday night and overall weekend performance in a championship winning moment will be remembered around these parts forever. It reminded me of the time Miami's Pat Burrell came to town for an NCAA regional and just made the entire event his own.

We're going to remember Kody Clemens for a long time around here and it's going to have much more to do with what he's personally accomplished this season than anything the second-best Clemens on the 40 Acres achieved 35 years ago."
 
Here's what was written:

"What in the world do we even say about the kid that practically put this Texas team on his back towards the back end of a championship push?

Let's start with this ... he's a better college baseball player than his old man ... yanno ... that guy that has his number retired.

Don't get me wrong, his old man was a hell of a player, but he never had an all-America season on par with what young Kody has produced this season. Roger wasn't a national player of the year candidate. Some would argue he wasn't the best pitcher on that 1983 national championship team.

What his old man did have, though, was a special moment. Roger started in the 1983 national championship game and went down as the winning pitcher. Of course, later on he did all those other things.

Well, Kody can't quite match that, but his walk-off home run on Friday night and overall weekend performance in a championship winning moment will be remembered around these parts forever. It reminded me of the time Miami's Pat Burrell came to town for an NCAA regional and just made the entire event his own.

We're going to remember Kody Clemens for a long time around here and it's going to have much more to do with what he's personally accomplished this season than anything the second-best Clemens on the 40 Acres achieved 35 years ago."

So, like I said, a piss-poor job of what should have been a slam-dunk statement about Clemens's play this weekend. Thanks for confirming that.
 
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Well then perhaps you should say that. Because you CLEARLY tried to get cute by saying Roger is now the second best Clemens in school history.

And that's what I had an issue with in this debate. Kody has had a very good year. Last year, not so much.

Roger wasn't an All-American and Kody should be one this year. Roger went 12-2 in 1982 and wasn't an AA :eek::(. He followed that up with a 13-5 1983 season that ended up with him winning the NC game with a CG. Until his sons win a NC at Texas, he will be the #1 Clemens of all-times at Texas. AA or not. That's all.

Everyone is going to remember Kody for his great year this season and we will remember Kacy for his very good year last season. Both had great junior years, prior to that, not so much.
 
So, like I said, a piss-poor job of what should have been a slam-dunk statement about Clemens's play this weekend. Thanks for confirming that.
I guess sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some.
 
Roger wasn't an All-American and Kody should be one this year. Roger went 12-2 in 1982 and wasn't an AA :eek::(. He followed that up with a 13-5 1983 season that ended up with him winning the NC game with a CG. Until his sons win a NC at Texas, he will be the #1 Clemens of all-times at Texas. AA or not. That's all.

Roger has been fantastic for UT baseball for many, many years. I would assume that continues even after his kids are gone. That's just the kind of fan he appears to be.

As for Roger and his career at UT, it was great. But what helped it be great was all the talent on those teams, of which Roger was certainly a big piece. Kody doesn't have that kind of talent around him.

Ketch has asked several times if Roger was the best pitcher on the 1983 team. That team was loaded with pitching and if you watched that team play, you knew that the ace was Schiraldi.

Roger went on to do amazing things in the MLB. That's why Gus went around DeLoss and retired Roger's number (the first number to be retired).
 
A lot to unpack here.

First off, Mensah is listed as an outside linebacker in the Rivals rankings. It's likely that he puts his hand on the ground in college, but he's officially listed as a linebacker in the database. Truth is that he's a bit of a Tweener, the kind that have not historically had a high hit rate.

Second, it'll be interesting to see how Texas fills out its linebacker class from here. Gbenda s obviously slotted for one seat. The next two aren't as obvious.

Third, Catalon might move up in the rankings (obviously possible), but it doesn;t change the greater conversation taking place, which has little to do with his ranking.

Fourth, Green isn't more important than those guys because they are better (especially Bragg). They are more important because they like Texas more.

It sounds like you have 15 players that would be in your top 8.


Off the top of my head (a top 26)

1 WR Garrett Wilson

2 DL DeMarvin Leal

3 Ath. Jordan Whittington

4 OT Tyler Johnson

5 Ath Demani Richardson

6 QB Grant Gunnell

7 WR Theo Wease

8 S Jalen Catalon

9 Roschon Johnson

11 S Erick Young

12 WR Dylan Wright

13 DT Marcus Stripling

14 S Brian Williams

15 G Kenyon Green

16 OL Branson Bragg

17 LB Marcel Brooks

18 DL NaNa Osafo-Mensah

19 Lewis Cine

20 EJ Ndoma-Ogar

21 Javonne Shepherd

22 Arjei Henderson

23 Austin Stogner

24 Elijah Higgins

25 Baylor Cupp

26 Tamauzia Brown
 

Seven damn long years.

That's how long it had been since one of the big three men's sports teams on the 40 Acres had won a conference title before Saturday's return to burnt orange peacocking. Seven years for the baseball team. Nine years for the football team. We've hit a decade in basketball.

Even when you know the details, sometimes it still doesn't sink in until you see it right front of your face.

2011 is when Charlie Sheen had his meltdown. The final Harry Potter movie hadn't yet been released. Manny Diaz hadn't coached a game in burnt orange.

I mean ... damn ... it's been a while.

Therefore, to see the Texas baseball team pull off something I figured was highly improbable over the last few weeks meant that the tens of thousands of people that frequent Orangebloods each week had a chance to enjoy something they really hadn't enjoyed in far too damn long ... a true moment of fulfillment as a fan of Texas athletics that can only be felt when true excellence has been achieved.

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A friend of mine actually texted me early Sunday morning and the exchange went like this:

Him: "We're winning 10 games this year, I don''t give a &^%$ what you say."

Me: "How long have you been drinking?"

Him: "I stopped counting."

Me: "Winning is awesome. It's like so much better than losing."

Him: "I don't want this day to end."

You know what that is?

Absolute perfect happiness.

There was an exhilaration enjoyed over the weekend that you'd love to capture in a bottle in an effort to preserve it. In the aftermath of winning on Saturday, I felt almost a sense of relief for everyone that cares about all things burnt orange.

I'm sure the members of the baseball team realize they accomplished something big in winning the league, but they could never fully know the valve of frustration they opened over the course of three days, and the amount of pressure that was released.

If the football team can do the same thing in the very near future, we're going to see some damn good fun around here.

No. 2 - Kody F'ing Clemens ...

What in the world do we even say about the kid that practically put this Texas team on his back towards the back end of a championship push?

Let's start with this ... he's a better college baseball player than his old man ... yanno ... that guy that has his number retired.

Don't get me wrong, his old man was a hell of a player, but he never had an all-America season on par with what young Kody has produced this season. Roger wasn't a national player of the year candidate. Some would argue he wasn't the best pitcher on that 1983 national championship team.

What his old man did have, though, was a special moment. Roger started in the 1983 national championship game and went down as the winning pitcher. Of course, later on he did all those other things.

Well, Kody can't quite match that, but his walk-off home run on Friday night and overall weekend performance in a championship winning moment will be remembered around these parts forever. It reminded me of the time Miami's Pat Burrell came to town for an NCAA regional and just made the entire event his own.

We're going to remember Kody Clemens for a long time around here and it's going to have much more to do with what he's personally accomplished this season than anything the second-best Clemens on the 40 Acres achieved 35 years ago.

No. 3 - Someone check on T-Boone ...

The Oklahoma State Cowboys ended the month of April with a three-game sweep over Bedlam rival Oklahoma and a mountain's worth of wiggle room in their pursuit of a Big 12 regular-season championship. Barring Texas sweeping its final six game of the season (which it didn't do), all the Cowboys had to do entering the month of May was win two of their final six conference games.

Just two.

Despite losing three of four non-conference games going into the Baylor series last weekend, they still found a way to win a game, which means the Cowboys needed to win only a single game to ensure a share of the Big 12 title at the very least. Just win a single game in Stillwater at home against Tech Tech and you're gold.

Didn't happen. Instead, the Cowboys were pelted over the course of three games by a 30-13 score and now find themselves having lost eight of their final 10 games as they enter the Big 12 Tournament.

Yikes.

No. 4 - Deserving of its own section ...

Love seeing the Texas football program invest time in its players future outside of football and I thought this deserved its own section.




No. 5 – Nana Nana Boo-boo ...


It's not a loss that will leave the same type of sting that losing Garrett Wilson to Ohio State created, but there are a bunch of little stings being felt with the loss of Fort Worth Nolan Catholic linebacker/defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah to Notre Dame this weekend.

Let's go through the significance of the loss.

1. Osafo-Mensah is the top in-state linebacker on the Texas recruiting board and one of only two that currently have offers.

2. It makes Katy Cinco Ranch offer David Gbenda a little more important as he represents the only remaining in-state linebacker target with an offer.

3. Of the top 10 prospects in the current Rivals250 rankings from the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, Osafo-Mensah probably represented Tom Herman's best shot of landing someone from that group. There's a very real chance that Texas will get shut out of the Metroplex’s best prospects in 2019 outside of Mansfield Legacy defensive back Jalen Catalon, who currently ranks No. 11 in the Metroplex in the current Rivals rankings.

4. It once again underscores the importance of the school's out of state recruiting efforts. Having De'Gabriel Floyd in the cupboard nullifies the pain of the loss, while other out of state prospects could help fill in spaces if this is a position group the coaches want to address with three or four slots in the class.

No. 6 - The most important in-state prospects left on the board ...

Here are the remaining four-star and five-star prospects from inside state borders that the Longhorns are still heavily in the mix with (with Suchomel's UT percentages from the recent Longhorn Recruiting Board):

Five-stars

Humble Atascocita offensive lineman Kenyon Green (30-percent)

High four-stars

Richmond Bush defensive back Erick Young (15-percent)

Mid four-stars

Conroe Oak Ridge offensive lineman Tyler Johnson (75-percent)
Mansfield Legacy defensive back Jalen Catalon (70-percent)
Cedar Hill Trinity Christian defensive back Lewis Cine (35-percent)
Houston Mayde Creek defensive end Marcus Stripling (30-percent)

Low four stars

Crandall offensive lineman Brandon Bragg (75-percent)
West Mesquite wide receiver Dylan Wright (70-percent)
Austin Bowie wide receiver Elijah Higgins (50-percent)
Katy running back Deondrick Glass (30-percent)

No. 7 – Buy or Sell …
BUY-SELL.gif


BUY or SELL: IF Houston had hired Orlando instead of Major, UT’s offense would be better off today with Applewhite as our OC instead of Tim Beck.

(Buy) The track record of the Herman/Applewhite offense is a better one than the Herman/Beck offense. Their success at Houston would have given them a lot more cover after the first season in Austin if the storylines had remained somewhat the same.

BUY or SELL: Tre Watson is really better than Young and Carter ?

(Buy) I think he brings a different, much-needed skill set to the table and does so in a more experienced and mature package. I don't know that I'm willing to say his overall upside is as high, but I think he's got a chance to be better in the 2018 season window.

BUY or SELL: Tom Herman wins a Big 12 championship before Shaka Smart?

(Buy) I can see the football program winning a conference title by the end of the 2019 season, in part because I don't know that a Kansas-type program will be in its way like it is in basketball. A Baker Mayfield/Bob Stoops-less Sooners program is a brave new world for the entire Big 12.

BUY or SELL: If Texas has close to the same record as last year and gets bounced out of the tourney in the first round, Shaka Smart is still the coach at Texas in 2019-2020?

(Sell) I think he needs more than accomplishing the bare minimum of acceptable standards. He can't be the Connie Clark of the men's athletic department. I think he needs to be in the ballpark of 25 wins and at least a win in the Tournament would represent tangible progress. Less than 20 wins and no success in the Tournament is the kind of lame season the athletic department can't get by with when fundraising is largely the name of the game for the athletic director.

BUY or SELL: Pierce wins at least 7 regular-season titles at Texas. He is 23 years younger than when Augie retired. All things consistent, let us say he coaches 20 more years?

(Sell) I'm just not the person to ask these types of questions to because the odds would suggest anyone having a 20-year career when they are 1/10th of the way there are pretty unlikely to occur and I can't ignore that. Yet, Piece is off to almost exactly the kind of start you'd hope to have as he finishes his second season. The only thing missing is a trip to Omaha.

BUY or SELL: The 1970s is the decade that produced the best movies?

(Buy) I'm tempted to go with the 90s, but when you consider The Godfather I and II, One Flew Over the Cuckcoo's Nest, Jaws, Apocalypse Now, Rocky, A Clockwork Orange, Patton, The Exorcist, The Deer Hunter ... oh ... and STAR WARS ... yeah you have to go with the 70s.

BUY or SELL: We see a New Orleans Pelicans vs. Philadelphia 76ers NBA Finals sometime in the next five years?

(Sell) Anthony Davis is going to need to leave New Orleans before he plays in a Finals.

No. 8 – So, it turns out that Steph Curry is just fine...


Well, that got out of hand in a hurry.

In a moment, game three of the Western Conference Finals was a game that the Warriors led by 10, but could have been up 20 (if it had made shots) or tied (if the Rockets made layups) at the same time.

The next moment, the Warriors were up 20...*blink*... and then 30.

And Steph Curry was out on the floor stuntin' on James Harden like he had entered the game with a grudge.

Suddenly, the wiggle room for the Rockets is getting small. Harden and Co. have to shake off the cobwebs from this Sunday night beat-down and put together 48 minutes of good basketball or this thing is going to be 3-1 by the end middle of this week. The ominous cloud that hangs over this series is that the Warriors still haven't really had a night when two of its stars go nuclear on the same night.

Either James Harden plays the post-season game of his life on Tuesday night or his MVP trophy will lose a little shine. What happened on Sunday night wasn't completely his fault...not by a long stretch, but part of being an MVP is shouldering the responsibility when YOUR team loses by 41.

Let's see what you got, James. There better be an answer.

No. 9 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …

... I kind of feel like game four is going to be everything in the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA. If LeBron and Co. tie the series at 2-2, I think we're going to see the Cavs in the Finals.

... I think I'd take Luka Doncic with the first pick of the upcoming NBA Draft.

... Dallas wide receiver Terrance Williams has a 2017 Lamborghini. He scored zero touchdowns in 2017.

... Justify is 2 for 2, but if the Preakness had been another 10 meters, I'm not sure if that statement would be true. As it stands, just one more win from all-time great greatness.

... Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera struck out in a five-pitch at-bat against Cardinals rookie Jordan Hicks on Sunday with the five sinkers he faced reaching 104, 105, 104, 105 and 103 mph on the gun. According to Statcast, those were the five fastest pitches thrown by any player all season.

... I don't think I've looked forward to a sports event as much as I'm looking forward to Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid since the Rose Bowl in January of 2006. You heard it here first: Liverpool 3 Real Madrid 2. Sadio Mane will be the Man of the Match.

... I wish Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte could play each other every week.

No. 10 – And Finally …

Harry got the right girl.
Sorry ketch, Madrid 3 Liverpool 1...Hala Madrid
 
First off, Mensah is not a LB'er. He will be playing with his hand on the ground esp. if he flips to Texas at some point.

Second, Texas needs LB'ers in bad way. So yes, Gbenda is very important. But, Henry committing to Tennessee this weekend is a big blow. Arguably, a bigger blow than losing NaNa to the Irish. Texas needs to get Henry on campus. Thank God we have Floyd. Tongue is very important. Texas needs at least four LB'ers this haul.

Catalon is the 11th rated player in the Metroplex?!? He should be in the top 8 in the state. Richardson (and this is a maybe) is the only player that's should be rated higher than Catalon. Williams isn't in sniffing distance of Catalon. And while Wease is an exceptional talent...well, they're both in the top 8. Texas isn't giving up on Richardson and I bet they're really looking at him as a rover. Again...we need LB'ers.

Green is not more important than Johnson or Bragg as far as OL go.

Young is terrific player. Another guy I can possibly see ending up at LB'er but as a safety he is not as good as Catalon.

Wright is a freak talent. I'll take him over anybody not named Garrett Wilson.
I think Tongue sticks at WR.
 
Off the top of my head (a top 26)

1 WR Garrett Wilson

2 DL DeMarvin Leal

3 Ath. Jordan Whittington

4 OT Tyler Johnson

5 Ath Demani Richardson

6 QB Grant Gunnell

7 WR Theo Wease

8 S Jalen Catalon

9 Roschon Johnson

11 S Erick Young

12 WR Dylan Wright

13 DT Marcus Stripling

14 S Brian Williams

15 G Kenyon Green

16 OL Branson Bragg

17 LB Marcel Brooks

18 DL NaNa Osafo-Mensah

19 Lewis Cine

20 EJ Ndoma-Ogar

21 Javonne Shepherd

22 Arjei Henderson

23 Austin Stogner

24 Elijah Higgins

25 Baylor Cupp

26 Tamauzia Brown
26 worthy of top 8 or just your top 26 off the top of your head?
 
BUY or SELL: The 1970s is the decade that produced the best movies?

(Buy) I'm tempted to go with the 90s, but when you consider The Godfather I and II, One Flew Over the Cuckcoo's Nest, Jaws, Apocalypse Now, Rocky, A Clockwork Orange, Patton, The Exorcist, The Deer Hunter ... oh ... and STAR WARS ... yeah you have to go with the 70s.

Agree with the 70s movie claim. Also, Deliverance, Dog Day Afternoon, The Sting, Taxi Driver, Halloween and Animal House.

70's were really good... list goes on and on...

Alien
Dirty Harry
Holy Grail
Young Frankenstein
Grease
Rocky Horror
Papillon
Willy Wonka (original)
Enter The Dragon
Close Encounters
Superman
 
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26 worthy of top 8 or just your top 26 off the top of your head?
How I would rank them with not much thought other than I'm pretty damn sure all those guys are no brainer top 30 dudes. Pretty sure I have the top 12 to 15 pretty accurate.
 
Ketchum talking about soccer like he knows anything about the sport at all is hysterical.

I find it funny too.

He has been a fan for three years and now this match is second behind big Texas being in the national title game for the first time in 30 years? What the what?
 
Your argument is sorta like asking "is Steph Curry the best player on the Warriors?" At worst he was the second best pitcher on an absolutely LOADED pitching staff that had 4 pitchers drafted that summer.

I’m not sure why Ketch is acting like that is a bad thing. The second best player on a loaded team can be better than the best player on a not so loaded team.
 
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I’m not sure why Ketch is acting like that is a bad thing. The second best player on a loaded team can be better than the best player on a not so loaded team.
I'm not acting like it's a bad thing. I defining levels of play.

Here are the levels of individual achievement from the 1983 team:

Awards and honors[edit]
Billy Bates
  • College World Series All-Tournament Team[2]
  • Freshamn All-American[3]
Mike Brumley
  • College World Series All-Tournament Team[2]
  • First Team All-SWC[3]
Jeff Hearron
  • College World Series All-Tournament Team[2]
Kirk Killingsworth
  • First Team All-SWC[3]
Calvin Schiraldi
Jose Tolentino
  • First Team All-SWC[3]
 
No. 2 - Kody F'ing Clemens ...

Let's start with this ... he's a better college baseball player than his old man ... yanno ... that guy that has his number retired.

Don't get me wrong, his old man was a hell of a player, but he never had an all-America season on par with what young Kody has produced this season. Roger wasn't a national player of the year candidate. Some would argue he wasn't the best pitcher on that 1983 national championship team.

What his old man did have, though, was a special moment. Roger started in the 1983 national championship game and went down as the winning pitcher. Of course, later on he did all those other things.

Thats not correct information: He was POY. Among other things.
He attended the University of Texas at Austin, compiling a 25–7 record in two All-American seasons, and was on the mound when the Longhorns won the 1983 College World Series. He became the first player to have his baseball uniform number retired at The University of Texas.[13] In 2004, the Rotary Smith Award, given to America's best college baseball player, was changed to the Roger Clemens Award, honoring the best pitcher.[14][15]

At Texas, Clemens pitched 35 consecutive scoreless innings, a NCAA record that stood until Justin Pope broke it in 2001

I get that he is a superstar. But Dad casts a huge shadow he will never touch. Not that many will.
 
Thats not correct information: He was POY. Among other things.
He attended the University of Texas at Austin, compiling a 25–7 record in two All-American seasons, and was on the mound when the Longhorns won the 1983 College World Series. He became the first player to have his baseball uniform number retired at The University of Texas.[13] In 2004, the Rotary Smith Award, given to America's best college baseball player, was changed to the Roger Clemens Award, honoring the best pitcher.[14][15]

At Texas, Clemens pitched 35 consecutive scoreless innings, a NCAA record that stood until Justin Pope broke it in 2001

I get that he is a superstar. But Dad casts a huge shadow he will never touch. Not that many will.
No,he was not an All-American player, nor was he an All-SWC player.

His Wikipedia page is not correct.
 
No,he was not an All-American player, nor was he an All-SWC player.

His Wikipedia page is not correct.

Just for discussion purposes. How can you go 12-2 and not make All SWC? Was it that loaded?? Crazy stuff.
 
Seems like Texas should have had more players on that team.

Southwest Conference
Conference
Overall
Team
W L GB W L
Texas 18 3 - 66 14
Arkansas 13 8 5 44 21
Houston 13 8 5 43 15
Baylor 11 10 7 26 22
Rice 11 10 7 36 16
Texas Tech 8 13 10 18 23
Texas Christian 6 15 12 26 25
Texas A&M 4 17 14 24 21
 
I find it hard to believe a guy who went 12-2 with a 1.99 ERA didn't make the All-SWC team in '82.
 
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