Friday DBR: Those Preseason Blues

Bad news first.

Yesterday wasn't a fun one in Austin. The Longhorns have likely lost four players in a single day. Two wide receivers, Montrel Meander and Kendall Sanders, are involved in an sexual assault case. I won't go into details, but if the allegations are true then staying on the team will be the least of Meander and Sanders' concerns. Nasty business, and terrible news for the Texas program and the sport as a whole. Both players have been indefinitely suspended by Charlie Strong.

The other two cases involve RB Jalen Overstreet and S Chevoski Collins, both of whom have been dismissed for a violation of team rules. It appears Charlie Strong is quickly establishing his reputation as a disciplinarian at Texas; he hasn't messed around so far, and it's probably a very healthy thing for the program.

The impact these events may have on recruiting is probably negligible, since none of the players were recruited by Strong, but as Prashanth pointed out in the recruiting thread, recruiting implications are pretty low on the list of priorities when a violent crime has been (allegedly) committed.

Now, on to more cheerful matters.

Basketball Accolades

MBB's Heslip and Lowery Earn NABC Honor: Baylor men's basketball student-athletes Brady Heslip and Logan Lowery were honored as members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, which recognizes student-athletes who excelled in academics during the 2013-14 season. Smart cookies.

Also, I can't recall if it's been posted on ODB, so I'll include it here: two days ago,Cory Jefferson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Nets after a good show in summer play. SB Nation's Nets blog had the story and their commentariat seems quite high on 2Sleeves. Pierre Jackson also signed a one year contract with the 76ers after his ACL tear.

Briles on Parade

Art Briles was everywhere yesterday after making a trip to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. I don't even know how many radio and television appearances he made, but the athletic department has a behind-the-scenes take on his day.

McLane Stadium to honor Baylor Legends

Baylor will mark five of its six home games in 2014 by honoring a great Baylor football player of the past. Honestly, all of these guys are from way before my time, so I'll leave discussion of the story up to wiser readers. Still, it seems like a cool way to tie the current program to its roots now that the Bears have new digs that will make the Case and the teams of old seem like ancient history.

Obligatory Stadium Picture

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>My seat view from 310 row 2 <a href="http://t.co/nQD1Vpcj6u">pic.twitter.com/nQD1Vpcj6u</a></p>&mdash; Wade (@TXSVT) <a href="https://twitter.com/TXSVT/statuses/492392720057393153">July 24, 2014</a></blockquote>

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If what I've been told is true, the gold bleachers and the entire plaza section behind them will be student seating, and students will have their own concourse to keep them from clogging other foot traffic inside the stadium on game day. The Line section will be held and freshmen will file up the tunnel after the team has exited and be brought to their seats, thus eliminating fence jumpers and ensuring that those closest to the mouth of the tunnel will get prime real estate behind the opposing bench. Coordinating cheers will be a challenge given the breadth of the section, but should be a... unique... experience for opposing players once an effective system is put in place.

Podcast Plug

Peter is still looking for the perfect intro song for Our Daily Podcast. If you stumble across a song that screams "Baylor podcast" just mention it in the comments. The podcast is resuming its weekly schedule in order to gear up for the season, which means we get more juicy football talk to overanalyze.

That Daily Bear

HoverBear says, "Go science!"