Leading Off
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Fantasy Novelist Robert E. Howard. I was directed here via Neatorama, which is one of those sites that I like to read or just look at because there’s something interesting there on a constant basis. In any event, via Miss Cellania @ Blogspot, the home of Robert E. Howard, author of Conan the Barbarian and other pulp fiction novels, grew up in Cross Plains, which is on the South side of 20 and about 45 miles southeast from Abilene. Anyway, there is a museum of Robert E. Howard’s home and this was something that I simply did not know:
This article is not intended to be a biography of Robert E. Howard. It is more of a travelogue with relevant information about the Howard family. Links for several biographies are found in the ‘SELECT RESOURCES’ section at the end. Suffice to say that REH was a true visionary, blessed with a peerless imagination and great natural writing and poetical talent and abilities, but cursed with a dysfunctional family, the particulars of which, combined with the poor economic circumstances prevalent during the Great Depression of the 1930’s and an assortment of personal issues and personal tragedies, drove him to commit suicide at just shy of 30-1/2 years of age.
Robert was unlike anyone else in Cross Plains. He didn’t ‘work’ for a living as the townsfolk thought he should, was antisocial, and possessed of unusual mannerisms and eccentric behavior that made many people wary. Some avoided him altogether, although those who did not have described him as a pleasant enough fellow. As he once wrote to a fellow author, “People around here think I’m crazy as hell”. Yet, fifty years after his death, Cross Plains finally embraced her wayward son and no parent could be prouder. Project Pride, a Cross Plains social organization dedicated to promoting the town and its noteworthy history, created Howard Days in celebration and honor of their favorite son. From the first, small group of enthusiasts in 1986, the annual Howard Days gathering each June on the weekend closest to the 11th, sponsored by Project Pride, the Robert E. Howard Foundation, and the Robert E. Howard United Press Association, has grown to attract people from all over the USA and the world. As it turns out, REH has quite the following in France today.
Texas Tech Volleyball
𝐖𝐄 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 ⤴️
2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣9️⃣ saw even more success! 🔥 We can’t wait to ring in the New Year and a new season in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣!
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/NDx2wMRoW1
— Texas Tech Volleyball (@TexasTechVB) December 31, 2019
Lady Raider Basketball
Preview of Iowa State vs. Lady Raiders. Game is on Friday night at 7:00 p.m and on FSSW in case you’re interested.
We’re just ✌️ days out from the start of conference play, and the Lady Raiders are looking to start the New Year strong!
🔴#M2M | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/mFzEn3RKpC
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) January 1, 2020
Led by four Lady Raiders in double figures, Texas Tech ranks top-🔟 nationally in scoring offense (84.2) and field goal percentage (.482).
The Lady Raiders also have an average scoring margin of +32.2, which ranks fourth in the country.
🔴#M2M | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/f74cwgetC6
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) December 31, 2019
Texas Tech Basketball
Official Site Preview of Oklahoma State. First conference game is on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎.
🆚: Oklahoma State
📍: #Lubbock
⏰: 11 a.m., Saturday
📺: @espn 2️⃣
📻: @DoubleT973𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖: https://t.co/su01ERbXHR
🔴#4To1 | #WreckEm⚫ pic.twitter.com/88IAtTBqHz
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) December 31, 2019
Factors for a Final Four Team. ESPN’s Kyle Soppe had an interesting piece about two factors that Final Four teams have, including a leading scorer over 17.8 and an assist percentage over 21%. There are currently 4 teams that meet this model, Duke, Michigan State, Texas Tech, and Baylor:
Now, that’s obviously a cherry-picked example to help support my agenda, but they are facts. Facts that are trending even more in my favor. The past five champions have assisted on 23.1% of their baskets for the season, a significant spike in the 19.7% assist rate the five previous champions averaged. This is a team sport, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that when everyone is working together at a high level toward a common goal, success follows. I’ll always encourage you to shoot your shot when it comes to filling in your bracket … just make sure it’s a high-percentage shot that I helped you get!
Jahmi’us Ramsey is currently averaging 17.4 points, but Texas Tech has an assist percentage of 21.5%, so they’re not quite there, but pretty close.
Jarrett Culver Dunks on Robin Lopez. Last night Minnesota Timbervolves guard and former Red Raider basketballer, Jarrett Culver, dunked on Milwaukee’s Robin Lopez. What Culver says, twice, is “How about that!” and that’s what makes Lopez chase him down.
Jarrett Culver dunked on Robin Lopez, and then Lopez chased Culver down 😳 pic.twitter.com/WpULBXY52G
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 2, 2020
Texas Tech Football
T.J. Vasher to return for Senior Season. Soon-to-be senior T.J. Vasher announced on da gram that he would return for his senior season.
Best Win for the Decade. LandGrant Gauntlet’s Josh Cowan runs down the best win for each team and he chose Texas Tech’s upset of Oklahoma in 2011 as the best win from the past decade:
The Red Raiders are known for being a tough out in Lubbock, but this upset over the No. 3 Sooners – Texas Tech’s only Top 5 win of the decade – was a rare win for an opposing Big 12 team in Norman. This ended up being a shootout between quarterback Seth Doege and Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, who accounted for nine touchdowns and over 800 yards of offense combined. Yep, this was as Big 12 as a Big 12 game could get.
I’m pretty terrible at being introspective as I tend to forget about games, misremember results, or maybe I’m not introspective because the last decade of Texas Tech football was largely disappointing. Oh, sure, there were some terrific moments, but there wasn’t a win that propelled this program further, the win against Oklahoma was great, but it didn’t lead to anything significant. Cowan’s worst loss for Texas Tech was the 66-10 thrashing by Iowa State in 2016. Any loss to Iowa State recently hasn’t been fun, but this is the one that started their run, the Cyclones were 2-8, Texas Tech was playing to be bowl eligible (which didn’t happen). Cowan also could have picked between the 66-6 loss to Oklahoma State in 2011 or the 82-27 loss to TCU in 2014.