Texas Tech vs Coach Mike Leach: My stories/my arguments

Yesterday I was asked if I would write a story about the chaos brewing at Texas Tech University, but I was unable to for different reasons -mostly mental fatigue. Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about all things Texas Tech and how torn up I have been because of said chaos. I have been a fan since the age of 5, and I still firmly believe it is an excellent learning institution with much to offer and it continues to be competitive among other fine universities anywhere. This truly is an issue which could easily tear at the very fabric between fan and foe, but I for one refuse to allow it. Persons with close ties to the university are in shock over the firing of Coach Mike Leach and are experiencing some kind of disappointment and disdain and that is where I have been emotionally.

Today, however, I am in a better place spiritually and mentally and I have reached a resolution for myself that one can be for something without having to be against another; therefore because I am for Coach Leach does not mean I am against Texas Tech – the university. That the good ole boy saying which goes as such: “you are either with us or against us” is nothing but rubbish – just meaningless semantics with no real cause except to try to bully people. I do hold true to my beliefs of the other adage I posted yesterday on my FB wall which states: "A person who stands for nothing will fall for anything".

With that said and off my shoulders and with no more cross to bear, per se, this is my story.

As I began my morning ritual this morning, I kept thinking that I wish things were different in Red Raider land and that the public events which began Monday’s unfair suspension of Coach Mike Leach and his ultimate termination on Wednesday were just a dream. I say public events because the lynch mob, which is the Texas Tech brass, had already met and convened several days ago in regards to the Coach Leach allegations and had long ago decided on a “guilty verdict” and sentence to terminate his employment. Yep, they were going to show him! By the way the Tech brass, as I will refer to them going forward consists of: President Guy Bailey, Chancellor Kent Hance and Athletic Director Gerald Myers. They are the very culprits who paved the way for Coach Leach’s ultimate demise as head football coach of Texas Tech U. They are the ones who did the dirty deed yesterday and rid our university of the most successful Coach that our football program has ever had. How I would have preferred that the brass had instead extended an olive branch to Coach Leach and allowed him to tell his side of the story versus treating him like he had broken the Geneva Convention and been sending out orders of torture towards his players. This would be a non-issue if the school had been true to their own and allowed Coach Leach to tell his side of things first and foremost.

I do believe that this controversy was started by the Tech brass indeed when they listened to people (James family) who clearly never had Tech’s best interest in mind. The Tech brass began their witch hunt of Coach Leach and then had the audacity to believe that no one would care or pay attention to their unethical decisions against Coach Leach. Because the Tech brass did that, they had part in drawing a proverbial line in the dirt which in turn forced Tech fans/alumni to do what we thought was best. Thus “Team Leach” was formed and many of us have joined it in support of him. This is our stance and we stand true in our convictions and steadfast at what needs to be done. In the end, right is right and the Tech brass got it wrong as Coach Leach was “not afforded process” as he himself stated.

Coach Leach will have his day and the truth is certain to come out eventually, but for now, let's keep minds open as the Tech brass should have done and let due process run its course. I am not insinuating that the cited allegations should have been swept under the rug or kept hush-hush; no one is in support of torture of any player but this incident falls short of that by any means. As I stated above in reference to the Geneva Convention comment, Coach Leach broke no rules there - which has no bearing whatsoever on college ball, I merely used it to drive a point. Nope, no sir, no rules broken there much less any NCAA rules. In fact the NCAA says that they have nothing to do with said ordeal and are allowing Texas Tech to conduct their own in house investigation. If Coach Leach had indeed broken any rules by mistreating an injured player, the NCAA surely would have intervened and had their hands all over this issue - like “white on rice”! The Tech brass did need to listen to the allegations brought about by the James family, but they should have done it carefully and not so hastily…started out quietly (in house as the NCAA stated) and not made it so public so quick. It needed to be a lengthy process instead it was expedited. Coach Leach was not allowed the right which states one is innocent until found guilty. Unfortunately - it was vice versa and he was made to look guilty from the get-go stemming from actions that his own employers took against him.

Disappointedly so - in the end, this entire ordeal just places an ugly blotch on Texas Tech U. The Tech brass will be able to hide behind the curtain which is their authority and the James family will be allowed to continue their associations with the university (and ESPN) like things are okay and status quo. However, the reputations of the university, the football program and Raider Nation is forever tainted and perhaps jaded.  I for one would like to kindly request that Adam James be removed from the Red Raider football team immediately and not be take part in the Alamo Bowl, and that he then register and attend another university. As I write this, I do wish him well.

“Thank you” to all my family and friends (FB friends as well) who are joining me in support of Coach Leach.

Why Texas Tech fans and alumni have created and joined “Team Leach”:

As supporters of Coach Leach, we stand up for doing the right thing, we are not Tech haters, quite contrary, we still love our university. However, we are focused on our university also doing the right thing and siding with someone who has been with them for 10 years and has brought a lot of fame and fortune their way versus siding with a player (Adam James) who has not established himself as a football player or shown any signs of siempre fidelis to Texas Tech and their football program. Adam has rather shown signs of laziness and entitlement because of who his father (Craig James) is. By the way, Craig (the helicopter dad) was neither ethical himself when he played football at SMU nor did he leave behind a reputable legacy for Adam to follow. As part of the “pony express”, Craig accepted illegal-financial-hand-outs by SMU alumni which lead directly to the “death penalty” brought upon SMU by the NCAA. Craig himself is a persona non grata at SMU as I am afraid Adam will become at Texas Tech. I don’t blame the James family for Coach Leach being fired as they clearly do NOT have that kind of clout no matter what they may want to think in that narcissistic world of theirs. The Tech brass is merely using them as an end to a means.

Why Texas Tech should have been more patient:

The brass should have waited for the Alamo Bowl to conclude and then set forth with its investigation to involve all parties…James, Leach, other coaches, trainers, players and parents! Doing all of this before an important bowl game is ludicrous. It messes with the mindset of players and coaches to finish the season on a positive note. It just makes the Tech brass appear like money hungry mongrels hell-bent on keeping Coach Leach from getting any monies owed to him. Never mind what it does to the recruiting aspect as potential players become leery of attending a university with so many issues at hand. Coach Leach, although at times different and maybe quirky, drew players to our university who otherwise might not have given Tech a second look. The immature brass at Tech acted like keepers of the flame; they agreed to punish Coach Leach long ago when his contract was extended earlier this year. That was when they decided to deal a mighty blow to Coach Leach, and like the vultures they have been portraying, to look out for anything and everything that would help their plight to rid themselves of this successful Coach. Thus, in December 2009 do enter the James family and said allegations…do let the witch trials begin, my friends.

Why Coach Leach should remain Head Coach of the Texas Tech football program:

Let us not forget that under Coach Leach, the football program enjoyed a very high graduation rate…the last few years having been in the top 10 nationally, but number one among public institutions. A huge turn-around from when he took over the program and Tech was on NCAA probation. Plus, he helped take Tech to a bowl game each of the 10 years under his helm. We had winning records every year under Coach Leach. More Tech football players began to get drafted into the NFL. Tech ticket sales increased for sure and not just for home games, but for away games. That in itself was an awesome feat. People can watch bowl games now and see as many or more Texas Tech fans in the crowd. This year’s Alamo Bowl sold out twice, and who was the majority of the fan base to buy it out each time? Yes, Texas Tech. There is so much that Coach Leach did for our university. As fans and alumni, we know his resume and his accolades, but for anyone else wishing to research his accomplishments, google it for there are many. Plus, under Coach Leach we were not just fans, we became more like a family. Raider Nation and Raider Power took on a deeper meaning, and our pride increased. Our popularity increased as well, sometimes because of the quirky coach, but most often because our football program had finally arrived and they were winning more games - not just the games they were supposed to win, but important and significant games. Under Coach Leach, Tech started giving the bigger schools in the Big 12 and around the country a run for their money in many facets of the game - especially in the logistics that is football. Lest we not forget Pirate Nation! Coach Leach brought that tradition to our university and the camaraderie which ensued was awesome. What is our Pirate Nation without Captain Leach?!! It is nonsensical under the helm of any other coach. It will become another awesome tradition lost due to the Tech brass who wanted to save some money. The brass who never did partake in the Pirate Nation tradition which in turn makes me question if they were ever on the Raider Nation bandwagon.

Why Texas Tech AD, Gerald Myers must resign or also be terminated:

I am especially citing Gerald Myers for using the James family ordeal to terminate Coach Leach because it was Myers who first wanted to hire Coach Leach then became indignant with Coach Leach in years to come because he never joined “Country Club Myers”. Furthermore, Coach Leach refused to succumb to being a “yes man”; he did things his way as a head coach should be allowed. No decent coach would ever agree to play the role of marionette. In further stating my views of Myers and his inabilities as an Athletic Director, it was Myers who proceeded to get Coach Bob Knight hired even when Indiana University fired him and no other institution wanted him. But, because Myers was a friend of Coach Knight, Myers disregarded Bob’s reputation for being hard on players. At the beginning of being hired by Myers, Bob Knight brought a lot of fame to Tech but little glory half-way through his contract and almost none in the end. The Tech men’s basketball team suffered severely under Knight as many good players gradually left the team for obvious reasons directly relating to Knight’s treatment of them. Our team diminished in power through the years under Knight and as victories became fewer, they were usually over-shadowed amidst controversies that be Coach Knight. This was a coach who blatantly mistreated his players, but he was allowed to retire his position in his own time as head coach of the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball Program and even allowed to name his replacement long before he retired. The replacement Knight named was his son, Pat Knight, whom I strongly do support and wish well.

So what is my point regarding Myers not being a good AD for Texas Tech?  That he allows a coach like Bob Knight (whom I do respect and support), with a long-storied reputation for being hard on his players and whom has had numerous grievances filed against him, to remain employed as a coach for Tech.  But then takes part in firing Coach Leach whom has never had such allegations brought forth against him in nearly 10 years with Tech prior to James.  That deal stinks but will not go away, Mr Myers, you will be next if Raider Nation has anything to do with it.

Family members we missed this Christmas day.

Another year-another Christmas. Everything went well this year and all the Dominguez family once again gathered at my Mom's home in Big Spring to celebrate another Xmas holiday. The usual suspects were there sans my niece, Michelle, and her husband. Also missing were my two nephews, Gilbert and his new family; they spent the holiday at their home in San Francisco. My other nephew who was missing was Jay; we hope he is home next year to celebrate with us as he was sorely missed as were his comedic ways. My brother, his wife and their 3 sons (Rudy III, Christopher & Jacob) were also not there but missed just as much. To add, his second oldest son, Christopher, is in Afghanistan via the Army doing a second tour of duty. Many blessings and God speed to him while he is there and may he come home safe, sound and soon.

Another awesome Christmas for the record books!

Anyway as is the "norm" in my family, Mom's home was jammed-packed with loved ones. Mom, my four sisters (Aurora, Betty, Josie & Eva), and I were there including our respective spouses, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren - with the exception of the ones aforementioned who were unable to join us in our annual Xmas folly this year for different reasons. I was in awe as I looked across the room and thought about how our family has been so blessed and how it has grown so much in size. With the addition of my great-great nephew, Ayden, this year - our family is now into our 5th generation. I plan to write an article for a local media outlet who requested I do so as 5th generation-based stories are rare and of human interest for the avid reader. BTW: Ayden was born to my great niece, Dominique, on June 25th. 3 days after my birthday (23rd); he was born on the very day that the great Farrah Fawcett passed away due to cancer. Oh, yeah, Michael J. also died that day.

Anyway, like I said, my family and I did partake in our usual follies...one has to be witness to appreciate what I mean, but we do have a great time. We gather on Christmas Eve and everyone eats until their hearts content as everyone pitches in a variety of foods to compliment the food Mom has already prepared. Oh and how there are a bunch of desserts from which to pick from as well. All kinds of edibles one could imagine -sweet, sweet'n'sour, surf'n'turf, hot'n'spicy - is strewed out on the stove, the counter tops, the table, even some making their way onto the washer and dryer because there are so many. As those who did not attend mass await those who did, we keep ourselves occupied closely watching out for the church-goers to finally arrive so we can first eat before we start tearing open all the many gifts placed under the awesome tree. Again I give thanks but for the many gifts which clearly stretch a good 15 ft diameter under the tree which is a pretty big pre-lit one that towers a good 7.5 ft in size. Because of all the gifts each member of the family has brought, it makes the tree seem almost diminutive in size . Despite the bad economic times this world is currently experiencing, our tree does not denote such set-back, but for that we acknowledge the luck we have had rather than being petty and proud of having such things because now is a time to remember so many who have so little and to give thanks and appreciation for what we were able to have because no one knows when that could come to a halt for any of us.

A long while after the clock struck midnight and brought in this day of Christmas, everyone at Mom's knew somewhat of the gifts Santa and his helpers had brought them this year. Even after we all gathered for the holiday at Mom's, many of us still had more presents to open up as each respective family gathers again in various homes to open more presents immediately following this first celebration.  That adds to our great fortune this year, and I continue to be thankful and hopeful.  I hear this year brought more electronics than ever as some received their much anticipated laptops, Wii(s), Playstation3s, X-box3s, PSPs, DSs, MP3s, MP4s, HDTVs, Droids, Iphones...I received several Bollywood DVD's and was ecstatic to see my DVD collection grow to the point where I have to keep it catalogued.
In reflection of Christmas 2009 come and gone, it makes me giggle as I think about how much time and care that goes into wrapping of the gifts, and how it takes just seconds to tear them open with probably little thought being given to how pretty the box looked all draped in Xmas paper attire.  As the gifts are opened, the culprits that are us begin to create another layer of flooring - Christmas wrapper flooring - across Mom's living room and foyer. My sister's and I usually take the lead and ensure that all left-over wrapping, bows, boxes, etc is carefully placed into trash bags before we leave or Mom won't let us go (ha,ha).  We also do this to prevent too much chaos at the end because as careful as we are to make certain that no gifts are thrown away...trust me, in our family, this has been an occurrence for the past few years to have a gift accidentally thrown away.  It is guaranteed to happen each year so we now deem it a family tradition only now we await to see who will fall victim to such said event. This year it was yours truly and my cat. (story about that to follow).

Anyway, another successful Christmas...many blessings...much happiness - yea!

Dude, where's our Xmas gifts?!!

As I wrote in the post above, our family Christmases are always surrounded with lots of people so that when it comes time to open up presents, chaos almost breaks out in the form of lost Xmas presents.  This year it was moi and my cat who fell victim to the lost present's bandit.  With over 20 adults and over 20 children gathered at Mom's when we open gifts, it can easily be that someone will accidentally take someone else's gift by mistake or it can be accidentally thrown away.  Each year we separate every one in such a way that each person has her/his own little space for which she/he may open up gifts.  For the most part it works out okay except for the one or two gifts which get lost in the shuffle somehow.  This year, I thought I was being "slick-Willy" by retrieving silently into a corner where the foyer turns into the living room.  All the furniture had been placed back onto different walls to give us more floor space so all could spread about and such.  My Mom hates the look of furniture backed onto walls, but for this day, we opt for that arrangement for obvious reasons.  Anyway since I thought my gifts would be safe, after I opened up all my stuff I left it carefully placed in said corner and began to assist with putting trash into bags so we could control the amount of litter in the room(s).  I even helped my great-nephew, J.J., pack away his presents.  Yes, I even helped him with his UT Longhorn stuff; some of which Sara and I bought him since we support collegiate interest of all kids in our families even if it is not Texas Tech. 

(on a tangent...We just want the kids to go to college, but I am happy and proud to say that 24 out of 25 nieces, nephews (great & great-great) are Tech fanatics.  Especially Rudy, Erica, Felicia, Alex and Gabby they will not start any smack-talk but if anyone is stupid enough to start in on them and try to put down anything Texas Tech, watch out.  Yes, indeedy, their Auntie Dora is proud of them for that!)

Anyway, my gift and my cat Caty's gifts went missing.  The weird thing was that both gifts were from my sister, Eva, and my niece, Felicia.  Even funnier---both gifts ended up being accidentally taken by the same family member my other sis', Betty, but she did not find them until they went back to their home.  Eva's hubby Philip retrieved my gift that same night, but we are still waiting for Betty's son, Rudy (my nephew) to bring Caty's gift over.  At least we know where it is and who has it.

Don’t forget the furry-family members at Xmas time!

Each year our family remembers each others furry-family members, and this year we added several more to the Xmas list. Aside from almost 40 family members who received gifts this year, there were 2 cats, 8 dogs, 1 turtle and 2 horses.

Cats (our cat, Caty; Felicia's cat, Noey)

Dogs (Alex's 2 dogs, Shadow & Spirit; Rudy's 2 dogs, Jackson & Mike; Erica & Nick's 3 dogs, Lola, Emma, Ricco; and Betty's dog, Casper)

Turtle (Felicia's mini turtle, Squirt)

Horses (Erica's 2 horses, Red & Raider)