Burnie Battles: Father, Teacher, Fan and Much More
2:00 P.M. WEDNESDAY, June 24, 2009
JERRY HILL (E-MAIL)

It's funny how little we know about people we see all the time.

Monday was when I first heard about the tragic death of Burnie Battles, a former deacon at my church who I knew as a friend and passionate Baylor fan.

Until I read his obituary in the newspaper and attended his funeral on Wednesday, I had no idea that he had taught in the HHPR department at Baylor for more than 42 years. You see, he was never one to boast about his own accomplishments.

I was much more likely to hear about the accomplishments of his sons, Jay and Aaron, or daughter, Chrissy. While they were going to school, I knew he was a huge fan of the Waco Christian Warriors.

But I didn't know that this 68-year-old man had run in marathons and rode in 100-mile bicycle rides and canoed the rapids. I didn't know he had spent the last 17 years of his life devoting most of the spare time he had to a camp for special needs children.

It just wasn't his way to talk about himself. When we talked, the conversation usually went to our respective families. Although we haven't gone to the same church for several years, he would still ask me about my two boys and how they were doing.

Back in August, when I saw him on "Move-In" Day at Baylor, he congratulated me on my new job and talked about how proud he was of Jason Smith. He commented on how inquisitive and diligent Jason was in his class and how he was expecting big things from him in the '08 season.

I'm sure Burnie was beaming in April, when one of his former students - All-American offensive tackle Jason Smith - was taken with the second pick overall by the St. Louis Rams in the NFL Draft.

As his son, Aaron, put it: "Dad really did bleed green and gold."

I wish I had known more about Burnie and all of his accomplishments and all the special things he did in his life. How he touched thousands of lives as a teacher and mentor at Baylor and a counselor at Camp John Marc.

But what I knew about the man was probably what he held the dearest: God, family and Baylor. And from what I can tell, there's nothing wrong with setting those three things as your highest priorities. We'll miss you at the games, Burnie.

Deal . . . or No Deal?
12:15 P.M. FRIDAY, June 19, 2009
JERRY HILL (E-MAIL)

As of Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates still had not signed fourth-round draft pick Zackry Dodson, a left-handed pitcher from Medina Valley (Texas) High School who signed a letter of intent with Baylor last November.

It doesn't mean that he won't eventually sign with the Pirates and take the pro baseball route instead of taking the detour to college. But maybe, just maybe, he's at least having second thoughts.

According to Baylor coach Steve Smith, high school players drafted in the fourth round historically have about a 25 percent chance of making it to the major leagues for even one day. Even worse is the statistic that one in 20 will ever get their college degree, "and the difference in earnings between having a degree and not having a degree is about $1 million over your lifetime," Smith added.

"So it's not unlike the show, `Deal or No Deal,''' Smith said. "Except you're doing it with your life. It's as real as who you're going to marry. What he's got is a one in four chance, historically, of ever throwing a pitch in the big leagues, much less a career."

Depending on the amount of the bonus, drafted high school players are taking a big gamble when they go the pro route instead of going to college first.

But when an organization is waving thousands of dollars in your face and giving you a chance to live your dream, just saying "No" can be the hardest thing you ever do. Even when it's the right thing to say.

Region Track Meets Have Outlived Their Welcome
3:45 P.M. SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2009
JERRY HILL (E-MAIL)

If this weekend was the last we see of the NCAA regional track meets, it won't be soon enough.

Not for the Baylor men's 4x100-meter relay, anyway. When the Bears false-started in Saturday's final at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Norman, Okla., their season was done.

This was a team that ranked fifth in the country coming into the regional with a season-best time of 39.25 seconds at Texas Relays. But the way this regional system works, they are automatically eliminated from the NCAA Championships. I've got to think that's not the way the NCAA envisioned this thing working.

"We feel like as long as we get the stick around the track in the 4x1 and the 4x4, we're OK," Baylor coach Todd Harbour said on Thursday, when the team loaded up for the four-hour bus ride to Norman.

Originally built in as an opportunity to give more athletes a chance to compete on something close to a national stage, the regionals seems to have done more to take away chances for the best to compete at the NCAA Championships. And don't you want the best to compete against the best?

That's why the Pac-10 Conference has proposed legislation to eliminate the regional meets, a suggestion that received unanimous backing from the Big 12 athletic directors at last week's meetings in Colorado.

"There are some good athletes that don't get to the NCAA meet because of this regional system," Harbour said. "A pole vaulter may no-height. I just think the negatives far outweigh the positives of it. And it's just another major hard competition on your athletes, coming off of the conference meets like some of us do."

At a time when the NCAA is trying to keep costs down, the regional meets just don't make much sense. And if you did away with them, you could have held the NCAA Championships this weekend and given the student-athletes participating a chance to start the first summer session on time.

Maybe it just makes too much sense. .

Lady Bears Certainly Played the Best
7:45 A.M. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009
JERRY HILL (E-MAIL)

Glenn Moore will never be accused of shying away from competition.

The Baylor softball coach played one of, if not the, toughest schedules in the country this season.

Just look at the Softball World Series that starts tonight in Oklahoma City. Of the eight teams that made it, Arizona and Arizona State are the only ones that the Lady Bears didn't play this year.

In fact, including the two losses to Michigan at last weekend's Super Regional in Ann Arbor, over half of Baylor's 22 losses this year came against teams in the World Series.

After opening the season by winning one of three at Florida, the Lady Bears lost two apiece to Alabama and Georgia and one to Washington at the Easton SEC/Pac-10/Big 12 Challenge in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; got swept by Missouri in a weekend series at Getterman Stadium; and then lost to the Tigers, 1-0, in the semifinals at the Big 12 Championships.

Granted, the Lady Bears were only 1-12 against the World Series field. But four of the games were decided by one run, and six of the games were played without All-American third baseman Brette Reagan.

There's no doubt that Moore and the Lady Bears would love to be playing this week at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. But as they watch the games from the comfort of home, they can smile a little bit and know that they've played the best.

Baylor could buy a billboard on Time Square or dish out millions of dollars for a commercial during the Super Bowl, and never come close to the publicity the school is getting from Jason Smith.

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound walking advertisement is expected to be taken with one of the first few picks in Saturday's NFL draft and could even go No. 1 overall to the Detroit Lions.

Smith is rated the best in a class of offensive tackles that's considered the strength of this year's class - Eugene Monroe from Virginia, Michael Oher from Mississippi and Andre Smith from Alabama are all expected to go in the first 10 picks.

"We could get a room full of the smartest marketers in Texas and say, `Hey, what's the best way we can market Baylor University?' And we couldn't come up with a better scenario than what's going to happen Saturday in New York," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "Jason's a great person that represents a great university. It's nothing but positives for Baylor."

So how big of a deal is this? Consider this: Baylor hasn't had a player drafted in the first round since defensive lineman Daryl Gardener was taken with the 20th pick overall by the Miami Dolphins in 1996 and has never had the No. 1 pick overall.

In the last 12 years of the draft, offensive guard Leonard Davis from Texas was the Big 12 Conference's highest selection when he was taken with the second pick overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 2001.

"It means that as a prospective athlete, you can come to Baylor . . . and you can get to the highest position in the NFL, which is No. 1 overall," Smith said. "I just feel that I'm a walking testimony for guys that here at Baylor that want to make to the NFL that hey, this is what you have to do. This is the standard that's been set."

The other part of the equation is that Baylor couldn't ask for a better ambassador. I mean the guy has a BU tattoo on his right arm.

"The more you talk about me, the more you talk about Baylor," said Smith, who's taking Briles, co-offensive coordinator Randy Clements and strength coach Kaz Kazdi with him to New York. "And the more some kid in high school sees you can go to Baylor and you can be just like Jason. How do I do that? Well, go get the secrets. They'll tell you when you get there. Commit, sign, get in here and play football. We can get you to where Jason is, but you've got to do your part."

Don't even try to wipe that smile off Homer Drew's face.

The longtime head coach at Valparaiso University in Indiana, Drew also happens to be the father of Baylor head coach Scott Drew. And you can tell that he's enjoyed watching the Bears' magical postseason run to the NIT championship game.

"Scott is a shining example of what hard work will do in any profession," said Homer Drew, who has won over 600 games in his career. "If you work hard, good things will happen."

The elder Drew was especially proud of the way his son and the Bears weathered the storm of a difficult stretch during the regular season, when they lost 10 of their last 12. The key adjustments, he said, were the team sharing the ball more and switching to a zone defense that involved 7-footers Josh Lomers and Mamadou Diene more.

Homer said Valpo's trip to Waco for the Dr Pepper Invitational in December 1992 eventually opened the door for his son to return as the program's head coach 11 years later.

"We met (Dr Pepper CEO and Baylor regent) Jim Turner and became quick friends," Homer said. "Baylor's such a special place, and they really made us feel at home. And then when Scott got the offer to coach at Baylor, we sat down and talked about it and we both thought it would be a great fit."

The Drew family, including Scott's brother, Bryce, will be in full force for Thursday night's game at Madison Square Garden.

"I'm drained after I watch his games," Homer said, "because I want so badly for them to do well."