The Morning Stake | 2017.11.22

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We missed this last year, but the staff will have their Staking The Plains Gift Guide on Monday, December 4th. I’m sure that nothing fun will happen that day (fingers crossed) and you’ll be able to buy some stuff for your favorite Red Raider (or add some of this stuff to your list for Santa).

More on Corky Oglesby

This was a pretty terrific eulogy from Amarillo Globe News’ Jon Mark Beilue on the passing of Red Raider Corky Oglesby. You get a lot more details about Oglesby’s life, including how he was the first coach to recruit African-American players to play basketball for Texas Tech, signing Gene Knolle and Greg Lowrey in 1970 (I’m still amazed that it took that long to sign African-American basketball players). Here’s the end:

But the end did come, at age 81 on Sunday when chemotherapy and other drugs could do nothing to slow the relentless cancer. In one calendar year, West Texas lost the character of a Spike and a Corky. The end came at least two months too soon.

Tech recently opened its $48 million Sports Performance Center, in which Corky knew every donor who gave a dime to the expansive building. In that center is an indoor track facility.

In August, I sent a note of encouragement to Corky. In short order, despite failing health, I got a note back. There were three handwritten sentences with kind things to say about me. But here was the last: “Hope you can come to our first indoor meet on the new track, Jan. 13, 2018.”

I think I will, Corky. And I, like many others that day, will rightly think of the First Ambassador of Texas Tech.

Texas Tech Golf

Lady Raider Basketball

Texas Tech Football

I feel like this is a complete waste of time, but Sportstacular Pete Christy face-timed Washington State head coach Mike Leach about a possible return to Texas Tech and here’s what he said:

“You never know what happens in this business. You don’t know what the future holds. You don’t know what’s going to happen with anybody really,” Leach said. “I know first and foremost I wish Washington State the very best as always I wish the very best to Texas Tech minus about 3 or 4 people that hopefully they booted out of there.”

This is a non-answer, which is what you’d expect. Leaving the door open, but being non-committal. Of course, Leach has a job and I cannot imagine that he would actually return to the scene of the crime if you will, but I suppose stranger things have happened. I truly haven’t had anyone email me (if you want to email me, you can email me at stakingtheplains AT gmail DOT com) any inside information and generally speaking, I don’t have any insider information. I’m actually more connected to some Aggie folks than anything else and I commented yesterday that Chad Morris really doesn’t want the Texas Tech job and it isn’t on his radar. I’ve got folks that know Morris and his family as well as folks that grew up with him (he grew up in Edgewood, which is about 40 minutes from where I stay). We’ll see, but I’m not holding my breath for a Leach return. I’ve learned in my 43 years on this earth that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. If it happens, then it will be the upset of the year.

Statesman’s Kevin Lyttle opines that Texas Tech head coach is a good guy, but things aren’t trending in the right direction and writes that the recruiting has gone in the wrong direction:

That’s one area Kingsbury has disappointed the most. His classes peaked in 2015 with a No. 32 national ranking, according to the 247Sports composite list. Since then the Raiders were 44th, 49th and 58th (2018). Notice a trend?

Say what you will about Tuberville rubbing Tech fans the wrong way, but his three classes were rated 35th, 19th and 28th. Fact is, he got more players than Kingsbury.

Houston Chronicle’s Brent Zwerneman is reporting that TAMU head coach Kevin Sumlin will be fired the day following the LSU game:

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin will be fired following the Aggies’ regular-season finale at LSU on Saturday night, multiple people with knowledge of the situation said.

Sumlin is expected to be dismissed in the day or days following the A&M game against the Tigers. The Aggies are a double-digit underdog to the Tigers, and an A&M victory wouldn’t save his job at this point, the sources said.

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