Don't Miss Your Chance to Get in the Game with the TCU Baseball Team

Baseball season is here!  I'm thrilled to be co-hosting TCU's fourth annual "Frogs for the Cure" Women's Baseball Clinic featuring baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle and his players this Thursday, February 7 at the Sam Baugh Indoor Facility.

It's a night to get to the know the 2013 squad as it enters its 10th year under Coach Schlossnagle and first in Big 12 competition (TCU went 8-3 against Big 12 teams last year, btw).  Proceeds from the evening benefit the Susan G. Komen of Greater Fort Worth for the Cure to provide funds for research and breast cancer treatment.  The event is open to all women ages 21 and up.

Some of the highlights will include:

• A fashion show featuring members of the baseball team who will model the 2013 uniforms and the Showgirls modeling attire from Leddy's Ranch and CD Ski and Sport.
• A chance to take batting practice, test your velocity on your fastball and more.
• Dinner provided by Blue Mesa Grill.
• Raffle items, door prizes and other surprises.

There will also be a discussion with Coach Schlossnagle and players Stefan Crichton, Kevin Cron, Jantzen Witte and Davy Wright.  Guests attending the evening will get the chance to ask them questions, on just about anything.

Here's where you come in:
Players need a walkup song when they step up to the plate in a game and they'll need one when they step on stage to join us for our discussion.  Suggest a walkup song for the players participating in the panel.  It can be anything.  Get creative.  Submit your song suggestions by posting in the comments section, tweeting me or TCU baseball.  

Here are some songs to get you in the mood.

You can get complete details on the "Frogs for the Cure" Women's Baseball Clinic presented by State Farm here.

TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium Facelift Progress Report

Clearing debris on west side

Those Frogs move fast.

The day they received their invitation to the Rose Bowl, TCU imploded the north and west sides of Amon G. Carter stadium.  That was December 5th and just a little more than a month later, structural elements of the new additions are already in place.  (here's a link to the plans)

The entire project is expected to be complete and ready for the 2012 season.  This means that construction will continue during the 2011 season.  Can you imagine the challenge this could present?  Construction will stop for the six gamedays next season and then resume as soon as possible once a game is complete.

What's the biggest concern with this entire $125 million renovation?  "The weather," according to TCU athletic director Chris del Conte.  Understandably.  Lengthy weather delays could be a nightmare.

During 2011, seating capacity for games will be limited to low to mid-30,000 range.  Once the renovation is complete, the school anticipates capacity to be a little more than 40,000.  The new stadium will also feature 25 luxury suites.

The pièce de résistance for anyone who has ever covered a TCU game is the proposed new press box.  The old one featured an old, creaky elevator that you literally had to pray to whatever God you worship on the ride up because you didn't know if you were going to make it.  The accordion-style gate and oh-so-popular handle that got passengers to the top will be on display in the new stadium.  Sweet, sweet memories.

Enough babble.

Here's a look at the progress, as off January 11, 2011:

Debris on the west side of stadium next to lower level which will remain for 2011 season

View to the north of Amon G. Carter stadium

Beams in place on the north side of the stadium for structural support for a future second level. 

Everything still coming up roses on-campus

Are There Football Spies Among Us? TCU Thinks So

TCU's Gary Patterson thinks there's a spy in the college football ranks.  Not quite 007-style but he does think the Baylor Bears got an edge on Saturday in something that someone saw at a Frog practice or scrimmage.

Patterson says the Bears ran a particular play against his team that has only been run by one group.

"Our own offense," he said.  "When would you have seen that?  Sometime in the spring in a scrimmage? Some other time?"

"I've been playing Art Briles going back to Houston and he's never lined up and ran a read option out of a double-wing, tight end formation, ever. But there's only team that ever has: our offense. So where would you see that?"

"People come to our scrimmages in the spring and the fall," he explaines. "There (are) a lot of guys that are ex-coaches now that can write down on a piece of paper how you defend each other."

It's one reason why he limits media access to practice.  Like most programs do, TCU only allows media members to attend and shoot practice during particular drills.  Practices are also, typically, closed to the public.  He admits he'd rather be overcautious in this area.

Even Patterson admitted he got some video from a newscast "five or six years ago" out of Lubbock that fired his kids up. "It's my job to help you do your jobs," he said referring to the media. "It's also my job to help my kids not get beat."

Patterson isn't the first coach to believe that there are football spies out there or that opposing teams can learn something from watching local newscasts.  When I covered the University of Tennessee, there was a rumor going around that a Vol scout was in Atlanta one weekend and saw something that the Bulldogs were working on in video used on an Atlanta affiliates 6pm newscast.

Who knows. 

The Cowboys took advantage of the Redskins a number of years ago when they charged admission to training camp.  Then-coach Dave Campo sent one of the Cowboys scouts to watch Redskins practice.  That Redskins game on September 18, 2000 resulted in Campo's first win, a game ball for the scout AND yours truly!

TCU vs SMU: The Lesson Gary Patterson Learned from the 2005 Loss

It's the battle for the Iron Skillet.  4th-ranked TCU puts its 3-0 record on the line when they play 2-1 SMU on Friday in University Park.  The Frogs will be the highest ranked opponent ever to visit Ford Stadium.


The Famous Skillet Getting Air-Time

Honestly, many of the current TCU players have no clue what the Iron Skillet is. 

"Isn't it something you cook in?" half-joked safety Tejay Johnson.

The trophy for the winner of this game was born after the post-WWII college football boom, according to both schools.  TCU and SMU students created the ceremonial trophy that was given to the game's winner.  The tradition died but was resurrected in 1993.

TCU's Gary Patterson has only lost once to SMU in his ten years as the Frogs head coach.  That one loss came on September 10, 2005 when the then-Phil Bennett coached Ponies beat TCU 21-10, ending the school's six-game win streak over the Mustangs.  It was the Frogs only loss of the season. 

The loss came a week after TCU had upset 5th ranked Oklahoma in Norman.  Let down game?  Trap game?  What happened the week between the OU win and the SMU loss?  Patterson explained during his weekly media briefing on Tuesday.

"The mistake I made is that I shouldn't have let anybody come to my practice," Patterson said.  "I was asked by my marketing group if I would allow media to come see our team because nobody had really showed up and we'd been 5-6 before in 2004."

"I let people come down and talk to my players on the field after practice on Sunday and treat them like celebrities.  That's the way they played all week.  They didn't concentrate they didn't do anything they needed to do to get ready for the ballgame."

So is Patterson doing anything differently this week, after the win over Baylor?  Well considering it's a short week and the game is this Friday, they'll be in shorts all week.  Patterson has found it keeps them fresher when they don't have a full week between games.  Another lesson learned.