Jace

Baylor University Alum | TX

[the Sports ON Tap @thesportsontap]

Baylor football is wearing a six-year-old's artwork on their helmets today.

Her name is ILaria Ramirez. She is from Cameron, Texas.

She is a patient at Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center.

Here is how it happened.

Baylor players went over to the children's hospital and sat down with the pediatric patients. Not a photo op, not a walk through and wave. They actually sat down at tables with the kids and drew together.

Blank Baylor Bear heads. Markers. Make it yours.

ILaria made hers pink and teal. She put a bear right in the middle of it.

And then she did two things that nobody told her to do.

She gave it a name. She called it the Helmet of Hope.

And she picked three words to go around the edge of it.

FAITH.

VICTORY.

STRENGTH.

A six-year-old chose those. Not a marketing department. Not a coach. Not her parents. Her.

Baylor took her drawing, turned it into a decal, and put it on every single helmet for today's Gold Rush game against Louisiana Tech.

Not a sticker on one guy's helmet. Not a patch on the sleeve.

Every player on the field wearing a first grader's bear on the side of their head.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and gold is the color for it worldwide. Baylor asked the entire stadium to wear gold today.

Head coach Dave Aranda on why:

"ILaria is one of us, and so we represent her and want her and her family to know that we're fighting along with her."

And linebacker Kyler Jordan, on what today actually is:

"Way bigger than football."

Here is the number that sits underneath all of this.

Nearly 1 in 285 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer before they turn 20.

One in 285. Before 20 years old.

Which means in a stadium that holds 45,000 people, the math says a few hundred of them have already been through some version of what ILaria is going through right now.

That is why the gold matters. That is why a helmet decal matters.

Somewhere in that building today there is a kid who knows exactly what a hospital room looks like, watching a Division I football team run out of the tunnel wearing a drawing made by a girl who is six.

FAITH. VICTORY. STRENGTH.

She picked those words herself.

[Shehan Jeyarajah @ShehanJeyarajah]

DJ Lagway being carried off the field by his teammates because he can't walk -- while also throwing for 200 yards and a touchdown in the first half. What a scene.

[ESPN @espn]

OH MAMA DON'T YOU CRY 🦅

USA HOCKEY IS GOLDEN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1980 🥇🇺🇸

[Baylor Football @BUFootball]

Newest member of the Baylor Family ➡️ @DerekLagway

[Myron Medcalf (Matt and Myron, 3-5p ET/ESPN Radio) @MedcalfByESPN]

When Baylor announced the signing of former NBA draft pick James Nnaji, there were strong opinions. So I flew to Waco to talk to him and let him tell his story. I met a young man who never asked for any of this: “Why am I getting so much hate from people?” https://t.co/ONBX9ZQJ5r

[Chris Hummer @chris_hummer]

The current expectation is DJ Lagway will transfer to Baylor, sources tell @mzenitz and I for @CBSSports.

The former 5-star recruit ranks as the No. 15 overall player in the portal. It's a huge win for Baylor, which brings Lagway home to Texas.

https://t.co/9aOoHPtB3R

[Georgia Football @GeorgiaFootball]

IT JUST MEANS MORE

#GoDawgs

[Mecole Hardman Jr. @MecoleHardman4]

WHATS THAT COMING DOWN THE TRACK? 🐶

[Craig Smoak @CraigSmoak]

If you run it back next season, what is there to build off?

No Sawyer, no Trigg, no Cameron, etc. Freshmen and some portal guys aren't drastically changing the overall direction unless Baylor has their own version of Cody Campbell & Co. waiting in the wings.

[Big 12 Conference @Big12Conference]

Coach Venables lost eight Conference games in his two seasons in the Big 12

[New York Yankees @Yankees]

The Bronx Zoo.

@yankeestadium | #RepBX

[New York Yankees @Yankees]

One game at a time.

#RepBX

[Barstool Sports @barstoolsports]

Playoff Baseball

Euphoric

[Baylor Football @BUFootball]

Leading the Nation.

SawDawg.

#SicEm

[Brandon Walker College Football Show @BFWshow]

MICHAEL TRIGG IS A JOKE

[New York Yankees @Yankees]

Onto the next.

#RepBX

[MLB @MLB]

IT WAS FAIR, I WAS THERE
I REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELLS

#POSTSEASON

[New York Yankees @Yankees]

Baseball is full of change.
Our goal remains the same.

#RepBX

[New York Yankees @Yankees]

POV: Clinching a postseason berth 🎉