Tennis
Your Texas Tech Lady Raiders will host Boston, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State as the No. 16 seed. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/SzkYxeVNpc
— Texas Tech Tennis (@TexasTechTennis) May 3, 2016
Ladies to Host Regional. Congrats to the ladies tennis team as they’ll host a regional starting May 13th through May 14th, featuring Boston, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech.
“I’m super excited for these young ladies,” Petty said. “It was a bit nerve-racking not knowing where we were going to fall, but they deserve to host after such a good run at the Big 12 tournament and the great non-conference season they were able to put together. We know it’s a tough pod, and we have a tough road ahead being the No. 16 seed. We feel fortunate to be at home and play In front of the people who have supported us for so many years. Also, to play alongside of our men’s team and share the experience with them is special. It’s a great day for Texas Tech tennis.”
Your Texas Tech Red Raiders will host New Mexico State, SMU and Washington as the No. 8 seed #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/NAVarUKEWS
— Texas Tech Tennis (@TexasTechTennis) May 3, 2016
Men’s Tennis Host Regional. Another congrats to the men’s tennis team as they’ll also host a regional featuring New Mexico State, Washington and SMU.
“Being able to host NCAAs means a great deal to our program,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “It shows the hard work that the guys have put in has paid off. Hosting gives a distinct advantage, and we’re hopeful to get to the next set of matches in Tulsa. We have wind and altitude in Lubbock, and our guys are used to playing under those conditions. Our guys are going to feel comfortable when they step out on the court next Saturday.”
Lady Raiders Basketball
We could not be more excited to welcome Arella Guirantes to the Lady Raider family! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/bqwzgF13gV
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) May 3, 2016
Texas Tech Adds to 2016 Class. Texas Tech added 4-star guard Arella Guirantes. Guirantes averaged 33 points a game for IMG Academy in New York to go along with 13 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3 steals and 2.6 blocks, and joins Brittany Brewer and Grayson Bright.
“Arella is an elite scorer,” Whitaker said. “She has the ability to score at all three levels and has great instincts on both ends of the floor. I love her versatility and passion for the game. We could not be happier to have Arella be part of the Lady Raider family.”
Baseball
Garcia Named Scholar Athlete of the Month. Congrats to Orlando Garcia for being named the Scholar Athlete of the Month!
Football
Is the Bubble About to Burst? Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand has an interesting article about whether or not the sports media rights bubble is about to burst:
Interviews with nearly a dozen league and network executives painted a picture of networks that are becoming more judicious about where they spend their money, sometimes opting to produce cheaper studio programming over carrying live sporting events.
Live sports rights still are critically important to television networks. Live sports is the most advertiser-friendly genre on television. The programming is DVR-proof, meaning that viewers can’t fast-forward through the commercials. And it generally caters to younger demographics that advertisers seek. Live sports programming also generally commands bigger television ratings than nonsports programs.
But networks have started questioning the theory that all live sports matter, and they have been negotiating tougher deals with smaller properties that they feel will not help affiliate sales or ad sales. The French Open, for example, is not the type of sports event that would cause cable operators to do a deal for ESPN. Fox Sports 1 will not lose any standing with distributors because it passed on the rights to the International Champions Cup.
Spring Questions. ESPN’s Max Olson has final questions for the Big 12 teams after the spring:
Texas Tech: How will the receiving corps come together? Kliff Kingsbury’s offense has a lot of weapons to work with at receiver. Derrick Willies is as good as advertised. Dylan Cantrell is back from injury. Reginald Davis is stepping up. Devin Lauderdale might rejoin the team. Ian Sadler was sidelined this spring. A group of sophomores will grow up. So there are a lot of moving parts there. Who will take over as Patrick Mahomes’ top targets?
Miscellaneous. Via CBS Sports Tom Fornelli, he’s ranking all college football coaches and has Kliff Kingsbury at #47 . . . it is not even a week after the 2016 NFL but SI has a 2017 mock draft and has Patrick Mahomes at #16 . . .