5 Things We Know On A Friday: 7/9/10

1. Nothing LeBron James did over the past 48 hours made me want to be a fan of his more. . . wasn’t that supposedly the point of all this? Wasn’t this about increasing his brand power? He’ll have “brand power” when he gets a ring. Or two. Or six. Good luck with that. On a side note, I love the fact that Stephen A. Smith scorched the Mother Ship and 4-letter network by getting the story right, first. I can’t stand him on TV or radio, but I pay attention to him. Every time.

2. Lake Alan Henry gets shut down because of an oil pipeline upstream this week and we come to find out the City of Lubbock really hasn’t done much research on this little factor and what it might do to the folks in the Hubbaplex when it comes to drinking the stuff in the future. Nice to know we’re spending millions and millions to pump that water uphill. I still say sell it downstream, use the money to buy more water rights that can be cheaply brought into Lubbock and use the rest to eradicate salt cedar along the Canadian River to improve Lake Meredith. Too easy I guess.

3. The new L.I.S.D. Hall of Honor is a great idea by A.D. Mark Ball and long over-due. Bobby Moegle and Louis Kelly need to be in the first class. After that, let’s make sure we get in the luminaries from Lubbock High and Dunbar from the 1920′s to 1950 or so. Several State titles between those schools brought to you by many men that most in Lubbock don’t remember.

4. No matter what Don Williams says, it is still a bad idea to play Texas in the third week of the season. It was a bad idea last year and it is a bad idea this year. Always try and play your toughest competition late if you can. The downside is too great for a school like Texas Tech. A Texas will get resuscitated by the media with an early loss. A Texas Tech just gets thrown to the side and as we saw last year, the wind can come out of the sails of both the fans and the players. Don’t give me the TV argument either. TV will be there no matter when you play them.

5. Texas Tech Football Coach Tommy Tuberville has given Texas Tech their first true modern-era C.E.O. ( I hate that term) style coach. Spike was a throwback to the Darrell Royal era and Mike Leach was, well he’s Mike Leach-an era unto himself and unlike almost any major BCS playing school coach you’ll ever see. In just a few short months Tuberville has elevated culture around the football program and set a pattern of expectation that Texas Tech hasn’t seen since Jim Carlen came in and spit in the eyes of those in Austin, Fayetteville and College Station. True, Leach acknowledged no sacred bevos, but Tuberville has brought a different air to the program and folks inside and out are noticing. Now he’s got the same challenge LeBron James has. You gotta deliver the goods or all the rest won’t matter. Interesting parallel.

Hyatt