GrandGreen

I thought going with Simmons in the game was surprising. Troy's Williams pitching in her third tournament game, and NT was starting their third pitcher. Williams also started today against ULL and pitched five good innings. Troy just had a hot pitcher at the right time. Simmons actually did very well until substituted leaving tied at 1 to 1. Pitching obviously was not the problem for NT, they still couldn't get to Williams, and base running was very questionable. NT should continue to build on their first winning season. They do lose their first two pitchers but have all their bats back except Waters. It has been a slow climb for the team but they seem to finally have a coaching staff that can grow the program. Recruiting looks good, but it does look like they need at least another pitcher next year. They return all conference seniors to be Martinez and Cantler as well as sophomore Johnson who should have gotten conference recognition.

Not unexpected but interesting that TSSM is making overtures to the WAC.

Does anyone know for sure if Mangrum is going to play at SMU? I hope he does, I think he can do well there. I echo the above and hope Collin will be a success in the classroom and court.

I agree, apparently Williams is about the only pitcher they use, she is 20-21 for the year. She did give up 9 hits in their last game, so maybe she is tiring. Of course, Lail for NT also pitched yesterday but NT does have a little more pitching depth than most softball teams. I know softball pitchers can seemingly pitch forever, but it has to be at least a small factor. NT did beat them 2 out of 3 in the regular season so I do also like NT's chances. Hopefully, losing the first tournament game 0-8 and being no hit can turn into a positive revenge factor for the team. I do think NT is the better team.

NT wins 5-1 with Lawson winning pitcher. NT is scheduled to play Troy at 5:30 today.

Good match by the ladies, other than doubles; the teams were really close. With all but one player back next year, NT should continue to climb.

With NT batting in bottom of sixth, 5-1 NT.

Amazing how exciting watching the live scoring is. Girls seem to be really fighting it out.

NT ahead 5-0 bottom of third. HR's by Bromley and Johnson.

Wonder if ladies had a little extra incentive with FIU dominating the all conference awards. They had pitcher of year, player of year, freshman of the year and co-coach of the year. NT has now beat them 3 out of 4 this year. Winning the tournament from the losers bracket is tough, but at least NT is still in it.

NT beat and eliminated second seed FIU 2-1. Ashley Lail was winning pitcher and Rebecca Waters went 2-3 with a hr. Martinez, Cantler and Bradshaw also had two hiits.

I appreciate your comments, it is nice to hear from someone who has been there. The facts are that the NCAA limits scholarships based on all three sports, indoor track, outdoor track, and cross country; so although the sports are different they all draw from the same group of athletes. The current ship limits are 12.6 for men and 18 for women thanks to title 9 considerations. I would hope that NT does offer the maximum. I do wonder how WKU with 10 foreigners on their men's team and eight on their women's does it and stays within the rules. What WKU and to a slightly less extent MTSU does, is fill their cross distance team with foreigners, who also dominate the distance events in track. This is a proven strategy used by many schools but it unusual to see a school like WKU who also seems to have a very deep track team. Usually those type of foreign dominated teams are thin and seldom win conference meets but do well in regional and national competition.

Lets see the football program sucks, therefore the track programs should not be criticised. My suggestion for RV to look at the program actually ties in to your comments. Note, I did not say that the team lacked coaching or dedicated atheletes. I learned a long time ago when looking at non-revenue sports that funding is often the issue. One issue you mentioned was WKU and the number of foreigners and participants they had on the team. My question is how to they do it when all teams have the same scholarship limits? It appears to me that NT a very large university sitting in the middle of the metroplex in sports that are mostly played by athletes on partial ships should be dominate. I guess my standards are too high but NT's track teams does not win enough when you consider that there are 6 championships a year. Being in the top four most years is not that great of an accomplishment when you factor in the Belt competition. Another pet peeve of mind is the seemingly focus in track of getting participants in the regionals, I like most fans could not care much less. The focus is on the conference meet as all other meets are participated in as practice or qualifying events. If NT were a regional track power then the number of regional qualifiers might be more meaningful. I do follow track as it has always been one of my favorite sports and I do appreciate the individual NT athletes but NT does IMO a poor job in these sports. For instance, it is the only sport I can think of that usually does not even announce their recruits. The lack of information makes following the team difficult. For instance, Anderson ran one of the fastest times in NT history although wind aided in the 100m and then just disappeared. If track is as poorly funded as you indicate than I hope that the budget is improved and visions of adding more teams like baseball is dropped at NT until the current sports can be maintained at a high competitive level. I do get the feeling that the track teams are more an afterthought at NT, and finishing in the top half is viewed as more than satisfactory.

USA yawn, obviously is already a member of the Belt. Now, unlike when the Belt searched for more teams and were instrumental in moving FIU and FAU into FB Division football, the Belt does not need teams just to survive. UTSA and TSUSM may not go away, but at this point it is certainly not a done deal that they make it into the FB Division. It certainly would be nice to have more geographically friendly league, however I don't remember any great rivalries being established when we were in the Southland. The closest thing NT had to a rival in that conference was NE La. My guess is a lot of the wild excitement is going to go away after UTSA actually starts playing and starts getting pounded in front of meager crowds. If in time, they are successful then they will get deserved opportunities. They do have a big advantage of being the only game in SA, but as programs like UH, TCU, SMU, Rice and NT playing in a big population center doesn't guarantee much in support in a Big 12 and Pro dominated sports state.

Western Kentucky wins both men and women's outdoor track crown for third straight year. NT men finish sixth out of ten teams and women end up in third. Alysha Adams was female athlete of the meet. I think it is time for RV to look at the track program, there is no reason NT should continually settle for mediocre in track and field. This meet was at Denton and IMO the results were very disappointing. Congrats to the NT winners but there should have been a lot more.

May be because UNT does not want to help another football program to get started in Texas and the Belt doesn't need them. Do you really think NT playing in San Antonio is going to help recruiting in South Texas more than a brand new competitive football team in the area is going to hinder recruiting? UTSA and TS at San Marcos have a long way to go before they are going to be an asset to any fb division league. UTSA and TSSM are going to be able to get games against some good programs because they are relatively cheap and offer little competition. Now filling out a 12 game schedule will be a challenge. I doubt I am the only one that sees two more lower tier poorly funded football programs competing for coverage and recruits in Texas as a negative.

Could have been Delante Taylor a guard with great hops.

McMillan had a great vertical. Kenneth Lyons arguably the best player ever at NT could dunk with the best. Brandon Gilbert from Trilli era had some of the greatest dunks I've seen. I will give a vote for Leroy Winfield who never dunked because it was not allowed, but he jumped center for NT and seldom lost. At 6'2 he could jump out of the gym. I still refuse to give any credit to Shawson Johnson, the player gave a two year ship to play one semester. Adam Smith who played for Jank was also a prolific dunker.

NT men will probably have little chance against WKU and their 10 foreign athletes. The women's race should be closer, WKU only has 8 foreigners. Being that track is a sport that has relative few ships and most athletes only get partial scholarships, I wonder how WKU gets so many international players. NT has 3 foreigners on the men's' team and none on the women's team. NT's distance runners are a little better than last year but will get few points, the throwing events are another almost void on the NT teams. NT should do well in the sprints and relays. WKU should win the men's easy with NT having a good shot at third. The women's side should be close with WKU the favorite but Middle and NT close. However, NT does have the home field advantage and could surprise. NT track does seen to be improving , although they are usually in the top three or four, they seldom win despite having six championships a year to compete in including cross country.

Even though NT lost both games, they played well with one more game scheduled with ULL. They will be a third seed and that should put them in the opposite bracket of ULL, not a bad tournament position. It should be an interesting and very competitive tournament. NT with several victories over ranked teams and ULL although still dominate in the conference can be beat. For years, ULL went through the conference unbeaten with little struggle, those days are at least over.

Another bloated all conference team with 16 named, a pet peeve of mine. Name first, second, and third teams if you must but having 16 on an all conference first team golf team greatly cheapens the honor. I just saw an all district high school girls soccer team that included eleven players from one school among those honored as first team. Why even bother?

Greeneaglealone, great to have you as a fan, I really do enjoy your articles. Thanks for the great work. I certainly don't agree with everything, but your point of view is well presented. I look forward to your future features.

The only thing surprising about the first team is there are absolutely no surprises, including not naming a first team QB. The fall newcomers may change a few first teamers, but it will really alter the second squad. The second team named did have a few minor surprises, Dodge and walk on Jones ahead of last year's starter and long distance threat Outlaw. Franklin, Noble and Fortenberry ahead of Bean and Flax on the offensive line. On the defensive side, certainly not unanticipated, but Cantly again being tried at DE. I wonder if this is just a function of no numbers at the position in the spring and Owusu-Hemeng staying in the dog house, or is there still a strong feeling that this is where he should play. Herron and Anyiam not in the two deep is a little disappointing.

Really disappointing day, NT went from second place to fourth with next to worst round on day 2. Ortiz after setting the course record with a 64 on the first day was 11 over par today. Ortiz is now 11 on the leaderboard and the team is 12 behind Middle. Not an impossible feat to win but they are going to have to have a great round.

Thanks for the info, looks like NT has a great pipeline into Mexico.