Side Show Joe

Here is a recent OK Preps podcast interview with Bryce Drummond. The first half of the interview is mostly about his high school numbers. His comments on committing to North Texas start around the 20:50 mark. I hope we can hang on to this young man. Enjoy. http://okpreps.com/2020/04/19/verbal-commit-bryce-drummond/

I was PMing Lifer, when I saw you both had the same question. I've been fortunate over the past few years, and now earn between $10 to $12K for a bronze bust like this. Of course I love UNT and would complete it for much less. Provided COVID-19 doesn't interfere with the operations at the foundry, I could have the bronze bust with a nice green marble base done within 5 months, at a cost of $5,000. As for where a Haynes bust could be placed... I'd place it in the recruiting lounge at the IPF. Wren has the matching Joe Greene bust I finished did back in 2013 (a photo of the Greene bust is in another thread). I think the two would look nice in that space. I could also make a heroic size action pose similar to the Joe Greene, but it would be more expensive. Not as expensive as Brian Hanlon, but it would still cost a good chunk of change. I think such a statue would look great at the student entrance. Here are the best poses for such a statue. It's a long off season, so pick your favorite pose. 1,2, or 3?

I know this isn't the time for the athletic department to be spending money, but the way this virus disproportionately effects our older population really got me to thinking about Abner Haynes. Wren did a great job of getting a quality sculptor to honor Joe Greene. I really hope once we get past COVID-19, Haynes will also get his due. I've had this sculpture finished for the last 4 years, and I see it every time I go into my studio to work. If Wren wants to go another direction, that fine. I just hope UNT gets to honor Haynes, like we did Joe Greene.

@MeanGreenTexan be sure to tell Lindsey we said happy birthday! I sure hope we get to see y'all this season at the games.

Here is a great video from the guys at MeanGreen247. Enjoy. https://youtu.be/vqzV4S9hxd0

Very interesting interview with Wren Baker. Enjoy.... Experts’ Roundtable: Leading Through The Coronavirus With the continuous change and uncertainty that has transpired due to the coronavirus pandemic, AthleticDirectorU sat down with a pair of Athletics Directors to discuss how they are leading their departments, making decisions and effectively communicating to their student-athletes, coaches and staff. What’s your daily routine right now in terms of gathering information, talking to other leaders on your campus & around the nation to determine the next course of action(s)? Wren Baker (Director of Athletics – North Texas): In the span of one day, we’ll be shifting gears based on new and updated information and what we’re learning from state, local and national authorities and at each individual institution. I’m pretty plugged into social media, so I’ll monitor that, especially throughout the evening. And I stay in touch constantly on a group text with a lot of our ADs in the league and then on a group text with ADs outside of our league. I’ll talk to a couple of guys in the American , the Big 12 and/or the SEC just to find out what their experiences are. https://www.athleticdirectoru.com/articles/experts-roundtable-leading-through-covid-19/

This was spontaneous. It just came to me. The athletic department didn't dream this up as a marketing campaign. It is organic and is coming from within the fan base. If others on this board begin to use the phrase, and Brett writes it into his articles, then we will begin to see other media use the moniker.

With all sports gone for the foreseeable future, and many of us at home, we need something to discuss.... Southern Miss has "the Rock" and LA Tech has "the Joe". I think Apogee needs a moniker too. Since Littrell took over as coach, the Mean Green have won 75% of our games at Apogee (18-6 home record). I think that is a significant home field advantage, and worthy of a moniker. My proposal... Apogee Stadium- the Palace of Malice. Thoughts?

BYU isn't P5. We need to aim higher. Somewhere there is a P5 that would like a million dollar payday to play in DFW in 2022.

That right there makes me very happy!

The girls would probably be ranked this week, if they had not dropped that game on Saturday. Now it will probably take two strong weeks and a win over OU on the 18th if we are going to break into the rankings.

That's just not acceptable to me. Regardless of what Wren has said, Cal is dropping our game, and giving us $1 million. In my opinion the value of hosting Cal is of far greater value than the million bucks. Wren has to replace that game with a P5 home game. If he can't then UNT will not host a P5 until at least 2027. And what is to say Texas Tech won't pull a Cal and buy out that return game too. If I were Wren I'd take that million and put it towards trying to buy a home game against "the U" in 2022 with no return game in Miami. They have the opening, and would probably welcome the opportunity to make $1 million while playing in front of DFW recruits. They might say no, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

While I'm glad we have a home and home with Missouri, I will be an old man by the time that game gets played. We need a series like this being played within the next 5 years. Some on here will say I'm being negative. Someone might even post a gif of a hand throwing away a wrinkled dollar bill. That's fine. Everyone gets an opinion. I just feel like we need a legit P5 home and home within the next few seasons.

North Texas 6 UTSA 2 Bottom of the 7th https://goutsa.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

I think this win proves De Long deserves a raise. In my opinion this win over #5 OU is much bigger than the win over #8 ULL. Our win today in Norman is the first regular season home loss Oklahoma has suffered since 2016. They just don't lose at home. Our team is very good, and we need to keep it that way.

As it turns out my brother-in-law played baseball with De Long at MacArthur in Lawton, and he had nothing but good things to say about him. I don't know about the Army angle, but I will ask. My brother-in-law did say that he thinks De Long wants to rise as high as he can in the sport. Which makes sense. Everyone wants to be the best they can. Our job at North Texas is to make the UNT job the equal of any other job (more money & better facilities ) so no one pries him away. OU has a great softball complex, but their fans were complaining about it. They want a new stadium. We are doing some major renovating to Lovelace, so that is good. Now we need to get more fans to the games and open up the wallet. I hope we don't neglect the momentum we have built in softball. I see no reason UNT can't become a perennial power like ULL. P5/G5 means almost nothing in softball.

I had a great time today in Norman. Watching the girls beat OU was probably the best women's sports win I've ever seen. Congratulations to the softball team! I hope we have a big crowd show up when OU plays in Denton in a few weeks. I really hope Wren is working on keeping De Long in Denton. In two seasons, this guy has turned us into one of the best programs in the country. With wins over two top 10 teams in the first 3 weeks, I think UNT deserves a ranking in the coaches poll.

I'm looking forward to heading out for our game with OU tomorrow. I bought our groups tickets today. I hope we have a good crowd there to support the girls.

UNT is on the upswing.... 4. North Texas (13-2) UNT beat Louisiana on opening weekend and suffered a one-run loss to Texas in a mid-week game. Hope Trautwein (7-1 .70 ERA, 72 strike outs, 21 walks) has been stellar in the circle for UNT, picking up two Conference USA honors in three weeks. The Mean Green went 4-0 for the second straight weekend as they head to Oklahoma for a bigger test. Upcoming Games: Northwestern, Abilene, Oklahoma https://d1softball.com/on-the-upswing-week-three-rising-teams/

As far as softball salaries go, most of the P5 programs don't pay exorbitant amounts of money for their coaches, and North Texas is currently better than most P5 softball programs. There are only a handful of programs like OU where their softball coach is banking big money. Also, I think North Texas has one very big advantage over most other softball programs... De Long is from Lawton, Oklahoma. North Texas is the only major softball program within a 3 hour drive of his family, that isn't ranked in the top 25 (#5OU, #15OK State, or #25Texas Tech), so there is no regional competition for his services. If North Texas paid him in the same ballpark as the average Big12 softball coach, I'd think we could keep him as long as he wanted to coach. Remember TCU and SMU don't sponsor softball. In my opinion, softball should be a top priority among our women's sports.

It's not a vent right now. I'd call it a concerned inquiry at this point. But, if the Cal game is gone and Wren doesn't have a replacement of equal value (P5 @ home), then yeah, I'm going to be hot. I'd hope I would not be the only one.

I don't have social media. I'm old. Also, if Cal dropped our return game, that isn't the kind of information fans should have to dig up or request from the athletic department. You would think someone in the athletics would think to report it. But, if no one on this board has any information, then I guess I'll have to make a call.

UNT Softball has never looked better. North Texas has 34 votes in the coaches poll this week. We are just 4 places away from being ranked in the top 25. De Long is the real deal. Does anyone know if Wren is looking to renegotiate De Long and his staffs contracts? I'd hate to see another program wrench them away from us at the end of the season. I honesty believe our current staff could elevate our program to among the elites in this sport.