2.23.2012 Daily Bears Report: Getting Ready for the Weekend, You Guys

Just to get this out of the way, I'm somewhat perturbed with SBNation's posting platform right now because I scheduled the fourth installment of the Recruit Impact Rankings to go up this morning at 8 and it didn't. I was busy for most of the morning and unable to check to make sure, so I just assumed it had. I've never had a post fail to go up at all before. Every now and then a Game Thread will not post on the front page, but it will post somewhere. This one ventured off into the cyberworld ether never to be seen again. That's frustrating.

Worry not, though, because I write those posts in Word and I have them all saved before I post. And don't act like you weren't worried, either. I have people asking me CONSTANTLY where Brian Nance slots on the list. Same goes for Seth Russell. Are they 8th? 2nd? THE PRESSURE IS KILLING YOU AND YOU KNOW IT.

I'll make sure it goes up this evening so we can avoid this whole situation happening again and people can stop egging my house out of anger.

Before we get to the links, a little housekeeping: I've had a couple of responses to my latest request for a contributor, but I'm still looking for someone who wants to help cover recruiting for the blog. It doesn't have to be anything particularly intense or onerous; I'm looking for someone with an eye for football, perhaps a little expertise, that can give us thoughts about recruits, commits, and the like. Maybe break down players Baylor is interested in and share a bit about what we can expect. I can/will help you find whatever information you need to do the job, and like I said, it doesn't have to be some outrageous commitment. If you are passionate about Baylor recruiting (basketball, football, baseball, or any combination of the three), shoot me an email at OurDailyBears@gmail.com and we can talk about it. That's the next place I want this blog to go now that we have more coverage of basketball and baseball lined up.

Links below the jumperoo...

Consolidated Basketball:

WBB's Shanay Washington Suffers ACL Tear - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
Sophomore guard Shanay Washington suffered another torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Baylor's 80-59 victory over Texas on Tuesday night.

Bracketology - Women's College Basketball Brackets and Predictions - ESPN
Get the latest NCAA women's college basketball bracketology breakdown from ESPN's Charlie Creme.

Bracketology 2012: Michigan State Conquers The Top Line - SBNation.com
The Spartans join Syracuse, Kentucky, and Missouri on the top line of Chris Dobbertean's latest bracket projection.

Bracketology - NCAA College Basketball Brackets and Predictions - ESPN
Get the latest NCAA college basketball bracketology breakdown from ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

An early look at NCAA tournament sleeper teams - NCB - ESPN
ESPN Insider John Gasaway examines five teams that might be slipping under the radar due to a lack of national notoriety. His words of caution: Sleep on these teams at your own peril.

College Hoops - Top 68 Rankings - Michigan State Spartans enter the Bilas Index's top four - ESPN
ESPN Insider- Jay Bilas has his latest top 68 rankings, where the top two teams remain the same and Michigan State climbs from No. 7 to No. 4.

NCAA College Basketball Power Rankings - NCAA Basketball - ESPN
Just when it appeared their season had taken a permanent turn for the worse, the Bears showed a ton of heart by rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Texas in Austin. Forward Quincy Acy had 22 points and 16 rebounds.

Drew family celebrates for many reasons on Tuesday night -- college basketball - ESPN
We all remember the hugs, the ones that have so much emotion, tremendous meaning and end with tears unleashed. The Drews had one that will last their lifetimes on Tuesday night.

Baylor Baseball:

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No. 25 Baylor (5-0) at No. 22 UCLA (2-2) Feb. 24-26 | Los Angeles Calif. | Jackie Robinson Stadium (1,820) GAME NOTES
FRI. | 8 P.M. Probable Starters: BU - LHP Josh Turley 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 2 K UCLA - RHP Adam Plutko 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 10 K		SAT. | 4 P.M. Probable Starters: BU - RHP Max Garner 0-0, 5.40 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 K UCLA - RHP Nick Vander Tuig 1-0, 7.20 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 K		SUN. | 3 P.M. Probable Starters: BU - LHP Brad Kuntz 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 6 K UCLA - RHP Zack Weiss 0-1, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 K

Baseball Hits Road to No. 22 UCLA - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
Baylor puts its perfect 5-0 record on the line when the Bears travel to Los Angeles, Calif. for a three-game series against No. 22 UCLA.

Baylor Baseball Shuts Down Texas State
The Bears break the game open with a four-run fifth inning on their way to a 5-1 win on Wednesday night at The Dell Diamond.

Baylor Softball:

NO. 9 BAYLOR 3, NORTHWESTERN ST. 0 Box Score | Highlights

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 8 0

No. 9 Softball Blanks Northwestern State - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
The No. 9 Baylor softball team (8-1) picked up a pair shutout wins, defeating Northwestern State (2-8) 3-0 in game one and following with another 3-0 victory in game two.

NFL Draft and Combine:

Top 64: Luck leads off, but plenty of talent to spare at combine - NFL - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com
Stanford's Andrew Luck's the gold standard for this year's NFL Draft class, but there are a plethora of impact players at the next level. Frank Cooney profiles the top 64 players entering the combine.

Dear Wonderlic: Don't Pick A Fight With The Internet - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
On Wednesday, SB Nation published a feature by Jon Bois called The NFL Combine's New Wonderlic Test, Designed To Measure Grown-Ass Adulthood. As the title suggests -- and the ensuing article confirms -- it was a work of parody, something that Wonderlic's legal team ignored with their claim of copyright infringement. Here's the crux of the nastygram sent by their lawyer, David W. Arnold (the "W" is for Willis, awesomely enough).

NFL Combine 2012: Kendall Wright Expected To Run 40-Yard Dash - SBNation.com
Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright is a player whose draft stock could potentially propel him to be the first wide receiver taken in the 2012 NFL Draft, depending on how he grades out at the NFL Combine compared to the other top-rated wide receivers. Wright missed a chance to separate himself at the 2012 Senior Bowl, pulling out with an ankle injury. Wright is expected to run the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis however, despite dealing with the ankle injury.

2012 NFL Mock Draft: Final Draft Order Is Set, Colts Are On The Clock - SBNation.com
3. Seattle Seahawks, Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (Projected trade: from Vikings) - This is not necessarily a prediction; I'm just exploring the possibility. With Washington and Miami finding solutions elsewhere, and Cleveland waffling on trading their picks, the next best fit for RGIII would be the Seahawks. Minnesota would be more than willing to trade down. Seattle is a good landing spot for Griffin with a pretty good roster to make the transition easier for a rookie quarterback. Hell, he could even sit for a while behind Tarvaris Jackson.

Why RG3 needs to stay on his toes - San Antonio Express-News
Mike Jinks, the Steele High football coach, stood near Robert Griffin III on a practice field a few months ago and did what coaches often do. "It's the old weight-guessing game they play at state fairs," Jinks said. The NFL combine will be more specific this weekend. At Purdue, he was asked if he could play quarterback in the NFL at that height, and Brees referenced his high school days. The NFL can't measure competitive nature — or instincts — at a combine. For every Drew Brees," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said recently, "it's a laundry list of names that didn't make it. Or, as Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome framed it, "You can't put too much weight on the measurables — but big, fast guys do play in our league." According to reports, the Browns are wondering whether they should be more aggressive and move up to No. 2 to make sure they get the Heisman Trophy winner.

Baylor QB Robert Griffin III has game plan for NFL combine – USATODAY.com
The next step in the process has arrived, with roughly 300 draft prospects gathering in Indianapolis for the NFL's annual scouting combine that begins today, and there is no mistaking the verve Robert Griffin III is packing for the trip.

NFL Combine Interview with Philip Blake of Baylor : Video | cleveland.com
Who better than to know a little more about draft prospect Robert Griffin III than speaking with his center of two years at Baylor University, Philip Blake.

Conference News: