If I would've told you before this baseball season began that I though this Tech baseball team would be in first place heading into their final Big 12 series of the season, and that they would've done so leading the race for the league's regular season title wire-to-wire, I would've been lying.

Sure, I had heard from a number of people - folks that I trust for an opinion on Red Raider baseball - that this was a sneaky good team with a lot more talent than most realized. But, I knew that was the case when it came to the batting order. Smith, Gutierrez, Raley, and Neslony naturally made up the core of what was one of the most veteran-heavy and heavy-hitting lineups in the conference at the plate.

I knew they'd provide offensive fireworks and put up a ton of runs with so many experienced power bats making up the meat of the lineup.

But, then there were a whole lot of questions as far as the pitching rotation, both the starting lineup and the bullpen. Other than Ryan Moseley and Ty Damron, there just wasn't another true vet to toss out there and trust.

Well, this young group of newcomers led by Davis Martin, Ryan Dugger, and Hayden Howard have silenced those questions with an exclamation point this season.

I mean, who would've seen Martin taking the mantle of Friday night ace?

To say he's been stellar is almost an understatement. He's the only freshman in the country sitting at 8-0. In fact, he's basically allowed Tim Tadlock and the team to check off Friday nights in Big 12 plays as a W before they even step on the field. He's been the front runner and banner bearer for a young and surging rotation of pitchers.

And that's what has Texas Tech sitting here with their eyes on the Big 12 prize. That's been the true difference maker and dynamic factor that's pushed Tim Tadlock's program forward another step.

So, now it's about taking care of business against ACU on Tuesday and finishing things off against West Virginia next weekend.

Do that, and this Tech team may be poised to make some serious noise this postseason, and it should be a whole lot of fun.

Sam Bradford has backed down from his holdout with the Eagles, which is a battle he wasn't ever going to win.

Looks like they're going to go the Rated R route with the new Wolverine movie, which supposedly will be the final installment with Hugh Jackman starring as the mutant.

Mets rotund pitcher Bartolo Colon hit his first career home run at age 42 over the weekend, and it helped Topps Now break a sales record.

Initial reviews for X-Men: Apocalypse are rolling in. Here's the one from Collider if you want to see what they thought.

This week in Florida Man: Florida Man blames indecent exposure on "alternative lifestyle"

The mustache can be two different things: A great mustache is a symbol of power, the representation of a total alpha male. It's flat out majestic. A bad mustache, however, radiates creepiness and activates gag reflexes abound.

It's the hardest of facial hair styles to pull off successfully, so today I celebrate the five men with the five best mustaches in existence.

5. Ron Burgundy - By the beard of Zeus! Well, the mustache half of the equation, anyway. Burgundy brings it with the high and tight push broom stache. It's classy, just like San Diego

4. Lou Brown - Major League is chock full of greatness, and Lou Brown is a big part of it. Maybe it's also because that mustache is incredibly out of control while also in total command. That bad boy is flat out mesmerizing.

3. Ron Swanson - Nick Offerman's stache as Ron Swanson is the total embodiment of the character: He's a man, and he's going to let you know it first and foremost with the most classic of mustaches.

2. Sam Elliot - The Cowboy Mustache is vastly underrated, and none is better than Elliot's. That thing is beefy, it's rugged, and it's intimidating. He wouldn't have it any other way.

1. Tom Selleck - The holy grail of mustaches sits firmly on the upper lip of Thomas Magnum himself. This is the one true king of the mustache. It's power in hair form. There's simply none better. Period.

This week, McKinney ISD passed a bond to build a 62.8 million dollar football stadium that seats 12,000 people. It's set to be an extremely impressive facility, and at this rate will be the most expensive high school stadium in the entire country.

Look, I love sports as much as almost anyone out there, which is a major "duh" statement considering I write about them for a living, specifically football, which is something that means so very much to me as more than just a game.

But, at the same time, I will be the first person at the very front of the line to tell you that spending sixty million dollars on a high school football stadium is utterly ridiculous. It's a wild representation of opulence that represents a much bigger issue that plagues us as an American society.

The fact that certain school districts - public school districts, mind you - spend this much on a stadium where less than 10 football games will occur a year should be a huge red flag in my book.

We're focused on the wrong things so often as a society, and this is the embodiment of that. Instead of investing a huge chunk of money into educating and bettering students, their future, and the future of our country through education, educations that could mean so much more than they currently do if we'd invest in them, we decide to construct a wildly luxurious athletic facility that's just flat out unnecessary in its scope.

Again, I definitely think there's a balance, and I absolutely want high school athletes to have quality facilities to train and play in. I want them to get the best experience they can. But, I also want that for the general student, who usually gets put on the back burner so athletics can flourish while academics take a back seat.

The spectrum is wildly out of balance, and I'll be the first to admit so.