Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Football updates, golf rankings

Other obligations prevented updates to the blog and site last night, but a few things that need mentioning.

Riley Dodge has been cleared to play by his doctors, so it's pretty much up to UNT how to use him the next two games before he has surgery on his broken wrist during the team's Oct. 23 bye week. The small wrist bone that's fractured is one that gets less blood flow in our hands, so he and UNT need to be careful not to further damage it.

From talking to both Dodges, it appears Riley made the call himself on putting off surgery and wants to be available to play as long as possible this season. Right now, the hard cast he's wearing can't be worn during games, Todd Dodge said, so it'll be cut off in favor of a thinner, more flexible, orthopedic apparatus on Saturday. Afterwards, it'll be re-cast.

On Tuesday, Riley wasn't in pads but took a good number of snaps. Throws aren't the issue. Exchanges and handoffs are, and protecting the wrist while not fumbling requires some thinking. In the heat of a game, you wonder if there's time to worry about stuff like that.

Nonetheless, the real mystery is if UNT will actually use Chase Baine with all the time being invested in him this week. I'm told offensive coordinator Mike Canales really likes what he sees so far. At this point, I say play both of them, but what I think shouldn't amount to more than a bucket of spit. Game experience is the biggest knock on Baine right now, but how else will he ever get any?

Offensive guard Esteban Santiago was out of pads Tuesday, limping slightly with a heavy wrap around one leg from that spider bite. Doctors drained a ton of fluid Monday or Tuesday off the wound, and he said he should be ready to go Saturday. Gross.

Latest golf rankings are out, and UNT is well-represented across the board. In Golfweek, the men are 20th and women are 47th. Golfstat, a computer-based ratings, also has the men 20th and the women's 37th. I'm surprised the women aren't rising more in Golfstat after two fall victories, but I can't begin to understand all the components in the Golfstat formula.

Last, the Golfworld/Nike GCAA Coaches Poll (men only) still has UNT outside the top 25 with three votes received.

Kelsey Kipp was named Sun Belt Conference women's golfer of the month after finishing second in one event and winning a 12-hole playoff for first at the Rose City Intercollegiate in Portland, Ore.

No comments:

Post a Comment