Big 12 Sports by Big12-fans.com

2006 Big 12 Baseball; Overrated or Under Performing?

2006-06-14T19:35:00.000-06:00

If you are a Big 12 baseball fan, check out 2006 Big 12 Baseball; Overrated or Under Performing? and tell them what you think. The staff at Big 12 fans has found that The College Endzone is a great College sports resource and has a very active, strong forum.

2006 Baylor Bears Football Preview

2006-06-13T19:13:00.000-06:00

Big 12 fans has posted their 2006 Baylor football preview over on their site at Big12-fans.com!

Big 12 Baseball Tournament Championship Results

2006-05-28T19:02:00.000-06:00

Big 12 Tournament Results - Saturday

#5 Baylor 5, #8 Texas Tech 3
#4 Nebraska 6, #1 Texas 5
#3 Oklahoma 21, #2 Oklahoma State 6
#6 Kansas 4, vs. #7 Missouri 3

Big 12 Tournament Results - Sunday

Big XII Championship Game #6 Kansas 9, #4 Nebraska 7
Big 12 Baseball Tournament Championship game Box Score

Big 12 Baseball Tournament Results

2006-05-26T19:35:00.000-06:00

Big 12 Baseball Tournament Results Big 12 Tournament Results - Wednesday

#4 Nebraska 3, #5 Baylor 2
#1 Texas 4, #8 Texas Tech 0
#6 Kansas 7, #3 Oklahoma 2
#7 Missouri 9, #2 Oklahoma State 5

Big 12 Tournament Results - Thursday

#1 Texas 16, #5 Baylor 8
#4 Nebraska 6, #8 Texas Tech 4

Big 12 Tournament Results - Friday

#7 Missouri 11, #3 Oklahoma 0
#6 Kansas 11 #2, Oklahoma State 6

Big 12 Tournament Results - Saturday

#5 Baylor vs. #8 Texas Tech, 10 a.m.
#1 Texas vs. #4 Nebraska, 1 p.m.
#2 Oklahoma State vs. #3 Oklahoma, 5 p.m.
#6 Kansas vs. #7 Missouri, 8 p.m.

Big 12 Tournament Results - Sunday

Championship Game Division 1 winner vs. Division 2 winner, 1 p.m.

Big 12 message boards - Team sports forums for all Big 12 teams

2006-05-07T15:32:00.000-06:00

Attention Big 12 sports fans! Big12-fans.com is at it again with the newest addition to their site. In addition to their active Big 12 sports message board which has a strong group of knowledgeable, respectful Big 12 sports fans and is reasonably moderated, Big 12 fans has added a new section of Big 12 sports message boards listing Big 12 team message boards. Now Big 12 sports fans can not only post on the Big12-fans.com board and read the original articles, but they can also use the great collection of data on the site to find team message boards for their favorite school as well. Baylor message boards Colorado message boards Iowa State message boards Kansas message boards Kansas State message boards Missouri message boards Nebraska message boards Oklahoma message boards Oklahoma State message boards Texas Longhorns message boards Texas A&M message boards Texas Tech message boards

Big 12 Tournament Preview

2006-03-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Big12-fans.com Preview and predictions for the entire 2006 Big XII Basketball Tournament is now live over at Big12-fans.com. http://www.big12-fans.com/articles/cline10_030806.html

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Updated

2006-03-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to make sure you all know that the Big12-fans.com staff has voted on our weekly Power Rankings which are now live over at Big12-fans.com.

Big 12 Baseball Preview

2006-02-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to say that the Big12-fans.com Big 12 baseball preview is now live. Big12-fans.com Staff Writer Zach Ocken put a lot of hard work into compiling the stats, players and data for this preview and any baseball fan is sure to enjoy it. Use the link below to check it out today! http://www.big12-fans.com/baseball/06preview/index.html

Watch Out for Kansas in March

2006-02-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Big12-fans.com features a few new articles that I think you all will like. "Watch out for Kansas in March" is one of these new articles that can only be found at Big12-fans.com. Check it out today!

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings

2006-01-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Big 12 Basketball Power Poll is voted on by the staff of Big12-fans.com and updated at the beginning of each week. Each staff member at Big12-fans.com has the option to vote on this weekly poll and I encourage you to check it out at http://www.big12-fans.com.

Big 12 Sports Fan Site covers Big 12 football, basketball & baseball

2006-01-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of Big XII sports have I got a site for you. Big12-fans.com is a relatively new Big 12 sports fan site with a few things the other conference fan sites do not have. The dedicated staff enjoys their work in expanding the site and has an expertise in Internet Marketing. But enough about that. It's all about the fans. Why would you want to visit Big12-fans.com? Here are a few reasons why...

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A few thoughts on my 'Dead Raiders'

2006-01-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

So the new year was great. Lots of friends, family, eating and drinking. We cooked enough to feed an army for Tech's tilt with Alabama. It really was a pretty crushing defeat. I had that feeling, knowing tech didn't deserve to win, but that they might. Alabama flat out smothered every receiver in the offense. I haven't seen anything like that in a few seasons. I think the referees called a consistent game, allowing the physical play on balls. I'm not complaining. Texas Tech often faces the physical coverages, but they normally play through it. This time they didn't. I called the loss crushing because, as a huge homer for Texas Tech, this was going to be our storybook ending. The criticism of Tech fandom is that we are crying out for attention, and I've never given any credence to that idea. Even though it seemed like the media, the Texas media in particular, seemed to hate us as a third stepchild (that our reader and viewership doesn't compare with those of UT and A&M) we were about to get our love. That was Cody Hodges essentially gutting the remote chance of going pro by walking back onto the field with a busted leg. A few plays later Tech scores. Alabama drove the field, but their kicker had missed a short one and had one blocked. I was pretty sure there was now way Tech wouldn't get the ball back and score, or Bama would shank another one. My nightmare came true when whatever that was that looked like a broken football squirted in there. The story book was over and Commander Cody and his troops would not return to the field. Needless to say, it took a little while to get past it, but I'm here. I'm healthy, and spring practices are actually closer than the end of the regular season. Tonight: The most overhyped game, regardless of how it turns out, ever broadcast. The last three weeks of ESPN should be taped and reviewed by some media criticism dork, and handed in for a Nobel Prize. I do hope Texas wins, but I can't pick against SC. Not after what they did to OU last year. There's a million stats and bios you can talk about for this game, but what makes it a perfect showdown is that you don't have to, or more aptly, there's no reason to. Everything cancels everything out. They're both offensive and defensive leaders, both playing to make history.

Enough Already

2005-12-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

To all the media outlets and such: Look, we get it. Enough, already. Southern Cal and Texas is going to be a great matchup. For the first time in a long time, the BCS worked to perfection. But do I really need to know who's playing Vince Young in the SC practices? More to the point, do I care? Even more to the point, Why would you think I did? When the Alamo Bowl ended, I decided to stay up for a bit to watch SportsCenter. After they got that first segment of news out of the way, Stuart Scott jumped onto my screen holding a football. "It's finally HERE!" "What's here?" I asked, confused. "The epic battle between man and mouse, dominant force versus overmatched nancies in skirts. The Rose Bowl!" "Stuart, the game's a week out. Unless...did they move it up?" "Nope. It's still Wednesday, January 4th. BUT IT'S HERE!" "But it's not Wednesday." "But it's here!" I promptly snapped the TV off, confused by Scott's insistence that it was already Wednesday the 4th, when I was quite certain it was Wednesday the 28th, and more than a little bit frightened that Stuart Scott was speaking to me directly through some sort of portal between Bristol and my bedroom. I did not sleep well. With all the hype and madness surrounding this game, is there any possibility that the event can't live up to it? I remember a similar sequence of events last year, in which a team in crimson and cream was pummeled at the hands of these Trojans. It was a matchup of the ages decided by a scant 30 points. Those that built it up suddenly did an about face and proclaimed Oklahoma wasn't the proper team to be there. Auburn should have been sent in their stead. I'm not sure that it would have mattered, but they're the experts. This year, ESPN is predicting an outright mudhole stomping. It's not just the experts but none other than Rodger Lodge. Yes that Rodger Lodge, who with his vast experience in sending harlots and meatheads out for dinner, drinks, and a skanky hottub romp, no doubt deserves a seat on Jim Rome's panel. Every night another of college football's historically great teams is defeated by this Trojan juggernaut, courtesy of the opinion of resident fools Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May. I'm not even a Texas fan. I can't pick against SC until they lose. They haven't done that in 3 years. But pairing them with the greatest teams of all time, when they haven't even proven themselves as the best team this year, could prove to be a very humbling experience for the network. But seeing as how it's here, I guess maybe Stuart Scott let the rest of the College Football guys in on the outcome.

Seeing Red

2005-12-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

It was good to see the Nebraska come away with that win last night, pushing the Big 12 record to 2-1. I also have to say that Colorado showed some real toughness on Wednesday. I had a feeling they'd fight, and they did, but they just came up short. But rather than dwell on Colorado's 0-4 slide, I think I'll concentrate on the Cornhusker's 3-0 finish. I wrote earlier in the year that the Big Red looked like they were in for a real rough patch for the next year or so. In a three game slide they'd dropped games to Missouri, Oklahoma, and for the first time in over 30 years, Kansas. My claim was the team wasn't playing with pride, and I stand by that today. But they turned it around. They rebounded with the win over Kansas State, a road thrashing of Colorado, and now this, a strong, come from behind victory over Michigan. The Michigan game was , in fact, a microcosm of the Nebraska season. They started well, with Cory Ross seemingly running at will on, in case you didn't hear Tirico or Herbstreit mention it the first fifty times, the maize and blue. Michigan put together some offensive fireworks and, for whatever reason, Callahan decided to start airing it out. I'm not sure you can blame Callahan for this. After all, Nebraska's offensive line provided about as much protection as French security at a Nazi rally. Zac Taylor took one of the most brutal hits I've seen a QB take in a while, from two Wolverines, sending his mouthpiece somewhere between Commerce and Market streets in downtown San Antonio (Take that, Joel Klatt.) It was only when Callahan went back to the run, and the Blackshirts upped their already gritty performance, that Nebraska took over. Tonight it'll be OU and UO. Oklahoma and Oregon. Sooners and Ducks. That last one sounds a little bit like a comic strip that never took off. I think there's a couple of things to watch for in this game. The first being Adrian Peterson running like a warhorse. Rhett Bomar will get to sling it a few times, probably play action, and he'll have a good night. Peterson, however, will go off. The only comparable running backs Oregon has faced were Southern Cal's Reggie Bush and Lendale White. A case could be made that as a pure running back, at full strength, Peterson is better than both. Once Peterson gets that full head of steam, sprinting from nine yards deep in the backfield, Duck tacklers will crumple and fold. It might be a little bit painful to watch. The second thing to keep an eye on is the Sooner front seven. Oregon hasn't faced a defense like this yet. Every one of these guys has a motor that doesn't stop, Dusty Dvoracek's being fueled by grain alcohol (cheap, I know, I know). The only vulnerability would be Oklahoma's 55th ranked secondary, which seems to be more of a statistical malady than anything. They contained the Texas Tech attack, and PEterson's rushing should provide time consuming, ground munching drives to keep Oregon off the field. This one might not even be close. To finish up, I'd like to make like a monkey and fling some poo at ESPN. I appreciate them bringing all the bowls, both the blatant impartiality toward Big 11 schools has to stop. Watching the Nebraska win last night, Tirico and Big 11 spokesperson Kirk Herbstreit would not let up on their affection for the 'maize and blue'. The Big 12 has taken lumps all season for being weak. The fourth best team in the Big 12 just took down a team tied for third in the Big 11. You won't hear or see any ESPN analysts talking about that though. They're too busy calling out officials and barking about how great the 'maize and blue' band looks, how polished the 'maize and blue' offense looks, and how 'maize and blue' goes with anything between the summer and winter months, in addition to making a great stocking stuffer. And that last play wasn't 'great' or 'impressive'. It was desperate. The only reason it ALMOST worked is because of a fumble, and most people believed Mike Hart was down. And the 'maize and blue' weren't screwed for not getting an illegal participation call on the play. The 'maize and blue' thought the game was over too. Here's another note:A broadcaster calling out officials for not working replays is indefensible. Disagree with the call, that's fine, but calling the guy out for being incompetent, even if you're right, is going too far. That said, the Sunbelt officials were way out of their league last night, and I mean that in the most hyperbolic sense you can conjure. The speed of teams from these two conferences can't even be compared to the Sunbelt conference, and putting Sunbelt officials in a game between powers like Nebraska and Michigan is an inexcusable error by the NCAA. Yeah, I know they had two teams make bowls last year, so they get two crews this bowl season. I've got a few words for you: New Orleans. GMAC. Las Vegas. Poinsettia. Leave Alamo out of that vocabulary.

The Story of Wounded Buffalo

2005-12-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I could've missed that Kansas and Houston game any worse than I did. I will take credit for saying that if either the Kansas offense or the Houston defense took over, it could get ugly. And it did. Good win for the Kansas program to finish the season and a great way for Big 12 football to begin the bowl season. The conference is 1-0 with seven to play. The next game is tonight and could really go every which way. I would love to be able to rip on the Buffs for so many reasons. I would love to call them out for the now infamous 100-6 in two or 133-22, whichever you deem worse. I would love to flame Barnett for letting the program get out of control, for not seizing power over his players and commanding their respect instead of some Calabrese mafioso-type deposition testimony type loyalty. It would be entertaining for me to comment on the university as a whole, how winning is obviously more important than integrity within the program. I could rest that theory comfortably ont hte scenario that played out, allowing Barnett to hold his job amid rarely ignored allegations as he won the Big 12 North in barnstorming style, but lost his job when the Athletic Department allowed those same allegations to resurface a year later when he embarrassedly backed into that same championship and was throttled by the University of Texas behemoth. I would love to bring all of that up, but I'm not going to do it. I'd rather focus on the positive angle here. I'll admit it. I took Clemson in this game. In every office pool, internet bowl contest, and conversation I've had, I'm on the record as taking Clemson. I'm starting to doubt this pick though. I've looked over the numbers. Colorado in bowl games over the last five years is clearly unimpressive. They're 1-2, with a win over UTEP and losses to Wisconsin and Oregon. They've been outscored 97-77 in those games. They're 12-14 all time and over the last ten years they're 5-2 outscoring their opponents 261-95. That's something but it's not really refelctive of the team we've seen this year, much less the last six weeks. Clemson on the other hand is 2-2 in their last five, beating Tennessee and Lousiana Tech, and getting crushed by Texas Tech and Virginia Tech. One trend you notice with Clemson in bowl games, especially over the last five years, is when they lose, they give it up. Texas tech hung 55 and Virginia Tech 41. Over the last ten years, Clemson has fared no better, going 2-6. They're 14-13 all timein bowls, with Colorado holding the advantage with one win in 1957. All that said, I don't believe numbers have anything to do with it. Colorado is down. The heads have to be hanging and with a new coach , most of the seniors may just take their trip to Orlando, whatever goodies the Champ's bowl pipes into their hotel rooms and go home. In spite of what I'm on the record having said, I think everything is piled up to high on one side. Typically, when you see this in college sports, a team comes out and viciously cracks the other team. Colorado will play ugly and excited. Their defense will fly all over the place, the offense will find a groove. If Colorado was overmatched talentwise, I'd give it to any other team. But they're not. Clemson is no Texas, Clemson isn't even Iowa State. Clemson lost to Wake Forest. They squeaked one out against a lousy Texas A&M team at home. I really expect Colorado to come out and fight for pride, dignity, and the program itself. It's a simple metaphor to draw from, the Colorado team as a wounded wild animal, cornered and apparently frightened, lunging and destroying all in its path. If they can keep themselves in the game and not get down early by Clemson, that will almost certainly be the case.

Fort Worth Bowl:Bad vs. Worse

2005-12-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Is there any doubt that too many bowl games exist when Kansas is favored to win one? I can barely sleep at night knowing that Arkansas State was allowed to make a trip to a bowl against Southern Mississippi, but a six win Kansas squad being favored? The only thing Kansas should be favored in is a pie eating contest with Mangino as the captain. Now that I've worked in my finely crafted, requisite MAngino fat joke, let's talk my real issue here: Cal, Navy and Toledo were all programs that deserved to be in bowls. Each had a respectable season and, let's face it, Navy and Toledo are better than a couple of teams in the Big 12 this year. But Kansas either caught three Big 12 squads sleeping or is unstoppable at home. I'd like to go with the second option, but just using the word unstoppable in association with the Kansas football program makes my brain hurt so much it gives my sister a stutter. So let's evaluate Kansas's six bowl qualifying wins. After a mostly unimpressive preseason in which they beat Florida Atlantic (30-19), Appalachian State (36-8) and Louisiana Tech (34-14), Kansas took to the road and lost four straight in Big 12 conference play. Through this run, everyone knew their defense was good enough to keep up, with stars like LB Nick Reid and Charles Gordon, but the offense was anemic. Calling it anemic is really too much of a compliment. The offense was comatose, averaging 165 passing yards and just south of 75 yards rushing per game. Since then, there's new life with the Jayhawks. They've pushed those numbers up to 186 passing/game and 181 rushing/game in wins over Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa State. The defense is playing with the same tenacity and purpose and with the offense locating the running game, the could be peaking at just the right time. But they're favored. I have a hard time believing that having watched them all year. You never know if Kansas can put together enough points to win much less cover a spread. So if Kansas can't be favored, and they are, what's the story with Houston? Houston is not a very good team either. The offense can be potent, but the defense is more of a deterrent than anything. Only against IAA Sam Houston State did they hold an opponent to 10 points, and they gave up 20 or more 6 times. That said, if the Houston defense can hold Kansas to 20 points or less, they put themselves in position to win. They're 4-0 in those games. All in all, this might shape up to be a decent game. A sticky defense against a solid offense is a game I don't mind watching. But should the Kansas offense take over the show, or the Houston defense put on a clinic, this will get ugly in a hurry, so put the kids to bed with visions of Mangino dancing in their heads.

Big 12 Sports

2005-12-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

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