We've been given the keys to a sporty new blog for the week and we're taking advantage. You can find us over at Burnt Orange Nation until at least May 29th. We'll be back with you scum after that...and we only consider you scum compared to the BON readers.
May 23, 2007
We're House Sitting for the Week
We've been given the keys to a sporty new blog for the week and we're taking advantage. You can find us over at Burnt Orange Nation until at least May 29th. We'll be back with you scum after that...and we only consider you scum compared to the BON readers.
Your Guide to the Big XII Baseball Tournament
Big XII Player of the Year Kyle Russell, Big XII Pitcher of the Year Adrian Alaniz, and co-Big XII Coach of the Year Augie Garrido lead the Longhorns into the conference tournament starting today (Wednesday, May 23) as the number 1 seed. Texas takes on 8-seed K-State at 1 PM CDT. And friends, you can watch the entire tournament for free at the Big 12 website. But we figured that, since the tourney is such an odd bird, we should inform you as to what exactly is going on before you tune in.Most postseason college baseball tournaments--e.g., many conference tourneys, NCAA sub-regionals, and the College World Series--are formatted as four-team, double-elimination affairs. In the case of conference tournaments and the CWS, there are 2 of these brackets and the winners play one another for the title in either a single championship game (conferences) or 3-game set (World Series). But the Big XII has just got to be different.
Our conference uses a "pool play" round-robin format instead. So, unlike in a double-elimination setup, we already know who will play whom and when. The official explanation for this system is that it guarantees that each team will play a minimum of three games. That's true, and it's legitimate because it means that fans of any of the eight schools involved will get to see their boys three times no matter what. However, the more important effect of this format is that it guarantees that any given squad plays a maximum of four games. That means that there's no dropping into the losers' bracket and desperately using up all your pitching the week before the NCAA Tournament begins. From a Longhorn perspective, that's a very good thing. Texas' schedule is as follows:
- Wednesday, 1 PM: vs. 8-seed Kansas State.
- Thursday, 4:30 PM: vs. 5-seed texas a and m
- Saturday, 1 PM: vs. 4-seed Nebraska
- Sunday, 1 PM (hopefully): Championship Game vs. other bracket winner (2. Missouri, 3. OK State, 6. Baylor, 7. oklahoma)
For a more complete explanation of the tournament, its format, and its free video (!), visit the Big 12 Baseball Championship Homepage.
May 22, 2007
And The Winner Is...
Ladies and Gents, our hero Kevin Durant will be headed to the Pacific Northwest! He will most likely go as the second pick to the Seattle (soon to be Oklahoma City?) SuperSonics, although it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Portland Trail Blazers will take him at number one. So congratulations to Peter Bean and our own Jeff Asher, whose selections in the KD Mock Draft look to match reality. Here is how the NBA Lottery played out:
1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
Which forced Bill Simmons' Celtics to 5th. It's a good night.
1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
Which forced Bill Simmons' Celtics to 5th. It's a good night.
The Week Ahead...
A few notes from the upcoming week in sports:
- NBA Draft Lottery tonight 7 PM CST. We'll post the winning KD Mock Draft later tonight to remind you why it's a good thing. If the Celtics get the third pick, the ensuing Bill Simmons column should be golden.
- Big XII baseball tournament starts Wednesday. Texas plays its first game at 1 PM tomorrow. Expect a breakdown of the tourney later on.
- The baseball postseason begins in force on Monday with the NCAA selection show. Texas should have a national seed locked up regardless of the Big XII tourney outcome.
- Finally, starting Thursday we'll be guest blogging over at Burnt Orange Nation, check us out over there for a few days. We hope to bring the 'A' game while we're over there. It would be a good idea to look at today's countdown. We plan to be there, hopefully the Horns will too.
May 21, 2007
Kyle Russell -- Superman
A great article today in USA Today about Kyle Russell's bounce back from a horrible 2006 summer season. Leading the nation in homers is a nice way to bounce back. Not so bad for a guy who's so skinny he's nicknamed 'Stick'. The article also refers to Kyle's second career AB, a 2-run game winning home run against Rice which you can see below.
A Great Time to be a Longhorn
First, we readily admit that this is a classic offseason thing to notice. But, we're noticing it anyway. The thought shot from the back of our minds to the front of our blog during a recent round of golf with an Alabama fan. Our initial conversation was born when he saw our Longhorn head covers, golf towel, and divot-repair tool. The exchange went like this:
Bama Guy: Texas fan, huh?
Us: Yeah; what tipped you off?
Bama guy: Well, it's a good school to pull for; they win a lot, and do it with class.
This level of respect from a total, non-conference outsider got us thinking actively again: we are a lucky bunch of fans. We are blessed to have three classy winners as coaches in the three biggest sports. The combination of Mack Brown, Rick Barnes, and Augie Garrido is enough to make almost any American 
university jealous. These guys generally bring in good kids, good athletes, and win the right way. They run high-profile programs in a manner that can make us proud that they are the most recognizable faces of The University. So the next time one of the Horns' ball teams is in the middle of a sub-par season, don't get sucked in by some of our more hotheaded brethren who are calling for firings. Instead, remember: this guy is our coach, and if we continue to trust him he'll bring us a winner next year. Enjoy these men. It won't last forever, folks.
Bama Guy: Texas fan, huh?
Us: Yeah; what tipped you off?
Bama guy: Well, it's a good school to pull for; they win a lot, and do it with class.
This level of respect from a total, non-conference outsider got us thinking actively again: we are a lucky bunch of fans. We are blessed to have three classy winners as coaches in the three biggest sports. The combination of Mack Brown, Rick Barnes, and Augie Garrido is enough to make almost any American 
university jealous. These guys generally bring in good kids, good athletes, and win the right way. They run high-profile programs in a manner that can make us proud that they are the most recognizable faces of The University. So the next time one of the Horns' ball teams is in the middle of a sub-par season, don't get sucked in by some of our more hotheaded brethren who are calling for firings. Instead, remember: this guy is our coach, and if we continue to trust him he'll bring us a winner next year. Enjoy these men. It won't last forever, folks.
May 20, 2007
Baseball Semi-Round Up -- Light the Tower Orange!
Through six innings last night, Texas had not played Texas baseball. There were numerous examplese of missed opportunities and poor execution:
Nick Peoples failed to get a sacrifice bunt down in the 6th then grounded into a double play. Kyle Russell was caught stealing second in 5th hurting the chance for a big inning. Josh Prince failed to execute a suicide squeeze in the 4th that would have tied the game. Moreover, Adrian Alaniz just didn't have it. He couldn't find the strike zone, and when he did the Aggies took full advantage.
Listening to this game, however, we got the feeling that the Aggies could not turn to their bullpen, and that is the difference between Texas and Texas A&M baseball. Joseph Krebs was amazing in relief, throwing 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. Krebs did not walk a batter and struck out four. Randy Boone came in and did his best Huston Street impersonation, striking out the side on 13 pitches.
It was only a matter of time before Texas would breakthrough after getting past Aggie starter David Newmann. Texas got their chance in the eighth. An Aggie error on a double play ball left Chais Fuller (who is having a fantastic series) on second with two outs. Josh Prince came through in the clutch, scoring Fuller on an RBI single.
It was a huge team win for the Horns. Every Longhorn hitter got a base hit, the bullpen was lights out, they get the chance to go for a sweep against a top ten opponent, Texas clinched the Lone Star Showdown, not to mention clinching the regular season conference title. To honor the Longhorns big win, Texas decided to light the tower orange last night with an 07, which we assume can only signify Texas having won seven straight versus the Ags.
The Horns will try for their 21st conference win and the sweep today at 2 PM CST. No Big XII team has won more than 20 games since Iowa State left the conference in 2002.
Nick Peoples failed to get a sacrifice bunt down in the 6th then grounded into a double play. Kyle Russell was caught stealing second in 5th hurting the chance for a big inning. Josh Prince failed to execute a suicide squeeze in the 4th that would have tied the game. Moreover, Adrian Alaniz just didn't have it. He couldn't find the strike zone, and when he did the Aggies took full advantage.
Listening to this game, however, we got the feeling that the Aggies could not turn to their bullpen, and that is the difference between Texas and Texas A&M baseball. Joseph Krebs was amazing in relief, throwing 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. Krebs did not walk a batter and struck out four. Randy Boone came in and did his best Huston Street impersonation, striking out the side on 13 pitches.
It was only a matter of time before Texas would breakthrough after getting past Aggie starter David Newmann. Texas got their chance in the eighth. An Aggie error on a double play ball left Chais Fuller (who is having a fantastic series) on second with two outs. Josh Prince came through in the clutch, scoring Fuller on an RBI single.
It was a huge team win for the Horns. Every Longhorn hitter got a base hit, the bullpen was lights out, they get the chance to go for a sweep against a top ten opponent, Texas clinched the Lone Star Showdown, not to mention clinching the regular season conference title. To honor the Longhorns big win, Texas decided to light the tower orange last night with an 07, which we assume can only signify Texas having won seven straight versus the Ags.
The Horns will try for their 21st conference win and the sweep today at 2 PM CST. No Big XII team has won more than 20 games since Iowa State left the conference in 2002.
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 2, Picks 4 -- 7
Eleven picks down, three to go go...The second round of the Kevin Durant Mock Draft is rolling. Enjoy.
4) Micah --
Tough call - as a Longhorn fan on the East coast, staying up to watch the late games can be brutal. On the other hand, the Sacramento Kings are probably the most likely franchise to move to Las Vegas given that their owners, the Maloofs, own the Palms.
Therefore, I choose Sacto. They have a history of putting together incredibly entertaining offensive clubs, and GM Geoff Petrie is one of the savviest personnel men in the league. I have full confidence that he'll be able to put together a roster around KD that will make them competitive for years to come, thus ensuring plenty of national TV appearances for Longhorn fans to enjoy.
Plus he'll be in Vegas.
Vegas baby, Vegas.
5) Greg -- L.A. Clippers
Kevin Durant loves the show Entourage. The Clippers love Kevin Durant's talent. The Clippers are so thrilled to get Kevin Durant that Ari Gold will be Durant's agent. The Clippers have big things for Durant. For starters, they are going to posters entitled "The Dynamic Duo" It will be a picture of Durant and Kaman. Kevin Durant also loved watching big time Clippers fan Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Now, 34 years old, Malcom will be a huge influence in helping Kevin Durant land a chick his own age, namely Hillary Duff. Also, LA is in close vicinity to the USC campus, so any payback needed on Taj Gibson will be easy to come by.
6) Jeff -- Seattle
There is a reason that Seattle slipped all the way to the 13th pick. I've never been do the Pacific Northwest, but I understand the weather there is awful. I can't really think of any reason to like Seattle other than the fact that my new roommate is from there. I've never been there, however, and I hate to speak ill of places I've never visited...that's the kind of thing they do in Russia. But the SuperSonics aren't going to be in Seattle much longer. The team was recently bought by a group from Oklahoma City. We all know that Oklahoma sucks, but playing in OKC would put KD only 6 hours from Austin. That's the closest KD could be to The University without playing on one of the Texas teams. Kevin Durant to the OKC SuperSonics could be the steal of the draft.
7) Abram -- Charlotte
First and Formost, I must object to my esteemed colleague's comments about Seattle. I have recently visited there and it is a wonderful city. That said, here is why Charlotte would be a great place for KD to end up. Not only were the Bobcats the very last team available and I had the very last pick, but also...well, that's pretty much it. But there are some positives. Much like Cleveland and the Browns, it was very impressive the way the community rallied after losing their NBA team to New Orleans and got themselves a new franchise. Obviously, this is a basketball town where KD would be the fledgling team's first superstar. So he'd have that going for him, which is nice. Charlotte is the biggest city in a hoops-crazed state--take a look at Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and NC State if you don't believe me. It would actually be a great place for Durant to flourish, with low expectations and a loving fan base. And I hear the Panther cheerleaders have interesting ideas about what makes for a good night on the town.
4) Micah --
Tough call - as a Longhorn fan on the East coast, staying up to watch the late games can be brutal. On the other hand, the Sacramento Kings are probably the most likely franchise to move to Las Vegas given that their owners, the Maloofs, own the Palms.
Therefore, I choose Sacto. They have a history of putting together incredibly entertaining offensive clubs, and GM Geoff Petrie is one of the savviest personnel men in the league. I have full confidence that he'll be able to put together a roster around KD that will make them competitive for years to come, thus ensuring plenty of national TV appearances for Longhorn fans to enjoy.
Plus he'll be in Vegas.
Vegas baby, Vegas.
5) Greg -- L.A. Clippers
Kevin Durant loves the show Entourage. The Clippers love Kevin Durant's talent. The Clippers are so thrilled to get Kevin Durant that Ari Gold will be Durant's agent. The Clippers have big things for Durant. For starters, they are going to posters entitled "The Dynamic Duo" It will be a picture of Durant and Kaman. Kevin Durant also loved watching big time Clippers fan Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Now, 34 years old, Malcom will be a huge influence in helping Kevin Durant land a chick his own age, namely Hillary Duff. Also, LA is in close vicinity to the USC campus, so any payback needed on Taj Gibson will be easy to come by.
6) Jeff -- Seattle
There is a reason that Seattle slipped all the way to the 13th pick. I've never been do the Pacific Northwest, but I understand the weather there is awful. I can't really think of any reason to like Seattle other than the fact that my new roommate is from there. I've never been there, however, and I hate to speak ill of places I've never visited...that's the kind of thing they do in Russia. But the SuperSonics aren't going to be in Seattle much longer. The team was recently bought by a group from Oklahoma City. We all know that Oklahoma sucks, but playing in OKC would put KD only 6 hours from Austin. That's the closest KD could be to The University without playing on one of the Texas teams. Kevin Durant to the OKC SuperSonics could be the steal of the draft.
7) Abram -- Charlotte
First and Formost, I must object to my esteemed colleague's comments about Seattle. I have recently visited there and it is a wonderful city. That said, here is why Charlotte would be a great place for KD to end up. Not only were the Bobcats the very last team available and I had the very last pick, but also...well, that's pretty much it. But there are some positives. Much like Cleveland and the Browns, it was very impressive the way the community rallied after losing their NBA team to New Orleans and got themselves a new franchise. Obviously, this is a basketball town where KD would be the fledgling team's first superstar. So he'd have that going for him, which is nice. Charlotte is the biggest city in a hoops-crazed state--take a look at Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and NC State if you don't believe me. It would actually be a great place for Durant to flourish, with low expectations and a loving fan base. And I hear the Panther cheerleaders have interesting ideas about what makes for a good night on the town.
May 19, 2007
Offseason Caption Contest #9 Reminder
Just a reminder that the caption contest deadline is tomorrow night. We still don't have a commenter recognizing this mug shot. An extra point will still be awarded to the first commenter who correctly identifies the alleged criminal in question. Seriously, nobody knows who this is? There is only one more caption contest to go after this one so caption up.
Contest #8 was won by Jonathan Brater with an entry: "Um, excuse me guys, I think you spelled my name wrong on this thing. "By Default" is not my middle name..."
Contest #8 was won by Jonathan Brater with an entry: "Um, excuse me guys, I think you spelled my name wrong on this thing. "By Default" is not my middle name..."
Caption Contest Standings:
Ben Dorfman -- 2
Jonathan Brater -- 2
Scott Price -- 1
Greg Kelminson -- 1
Benjamin Orlansky --1
Jonny Orlansky -- 1
Weekend Notes
Texas had a huge victory last night against Texas A&M. The Horns trailed 4-1 through 3 innings but scored a run in the 6th and 2 more in both the 7th and 9th innings. James Russell had a solid outing, going 6 2/3 innings (8 hits, 4 ER) and Joseph Krebs and Randy Boone completed the game keeping the Aggies scoreless.
Kyle Russell hit home run #27 in the top of the first, extending his lead in the NCAA home run chase. Nick Peoples came up huge for the Horns, going 3-4, scoring 2 runs including the eventual game winner.
The win puts Texas one win away from clinching a complete victory in the Lone Star Showdown. Moreover, the Horns have a magic number of 1 to clinch sole ownership of the Big XII regular season championship. A Texas win or a Missouri loss would clinch it. Texas returns to action tonight at 6 PM CST.
Finally, for your weekend viewing pleasure, enjoy the following video. If this doesn't inspire you, you must not have gone to Texas.
Kyle Russell hit home run #27 in the top of the first, extending his lead in the NCAA home run chase. Nick Peoples came up huge for the Horns, going 3-4, scoring 2 runs including the eventual game winner.
The win puts Texas one win away from clinching a complete victory in the Lone Star Showdown. Moreover, the Horns have a magic number of 1 to clinch sole ownership of the Big XII regular season championship. A Texas win or a Missouri loss would clinch it. Texas returns to action tonight at 6 PM CST.
Finally, for your weekend viewing pleasure, enjoy the following video. If this doesn't inspire you, you must not have gone to Texas.
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 2, Picks 1 -- 3
Seven picks down, seven to go...just like the NFL, the second round of the Kevin Durant Mock Draft goes much quicker. Enjoy.
1) Ben D. -- Philadelphia 76ers
If there's ever been a city in more of a dire need of a sports savior, i've never seen it. granted, they've got the worst fans in the country (they threw batteries at mike schmidt, for crying out loud!!), but if anybody can bring them together, it's young kevin. raw, unlimited talent combined with his naivete and pure love of the game separates him from the elite sports stars the city has known over the years - he doesn't have iverson's thuggishness, mcnabb's mom, mike schmidt's mustache, or eric lindross's hockey playing. seriously, who plays hockey? kevin in philly would basically make him the next rocky balboa in the philly fans' eyes. he would immediately become their favorite son. for about a week. then, wow. good luck, kev.
2) Peter -- Portland Trailblazers
My second round choice for Durant was an easy one... at least when you consider the other cities available:
My second round choice for Durant was an easy one... at least when you consider the other cities available:New York: If every Isaiah Thomas joke hadn't already been made before, I'd make one here. No way I want the Knicks to squander KD.
Charlotte: No. No. NO.
Seattle: Maybe if they move to Oklahoma City... Until then: no.
Sacramento: Do you want Kevin Durant to have daily contact with Ron Artest? Me, neither.
Clippers: And let Bill Simmons see him play every day? Over my dead body.
That left Portland, a team I liked back in the (Rasheed, Sabonis, Stoudamire) day, and one that's becoming increasingly easier to like again: Lamarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy give the team an exciting young nucleus to work from, and adding Durant just makes them the most interesting young team in the league. Works for me.
3) Ziggy -- New York Knicks
3) Ziggy -- New York Knicks
Let's face it... New York is the world's biggest stage. Madison Square Garden is the arena of arenas - it has it's own television network, for Vince's sake! If Kevin Durant is not going to be in my hometown, as he should be, star of the team in the biggest media market on earth is probably the next best thing. The Knicks, with a superstar, will be on tv all the time - good for KD fans everywhere! They'll be NBA Christmas Day game participants. Shaq vs. Kobe is tired and the Big Apple is ready. Put Kevin at the core and New York is back. Make a Longhorn great New York's biggest basketball star and see if highly-rated recruits from the New York area, of which there are plenty, don't start giving Texas and Rick Barnes a second look. Start spreadin' the news!
May 18, 2007
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 7
With the final pick in the first round of the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Abram selects the Boston Celtics.
Despite the fact that this would make Bill Simmons--in all his Barnes-bashing sin--a very happy man, I think Boston is the best place for KD to end up (especially since all 3 teams within my driving distance were taken in the first 4 picks). Let's start with reasons to love the city itself.
KD will have the chance to join such historic Boston heroes as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Crispus Attucks, and Carl Yastrzemski. Along with delightful clam chowder and lobster, Boston has much to offer to keep KD entertained. Yes, the city is full of history--but despite Kevin's reputation as quite a good student, I somehow doubt his first act upon arriving will be to stroll the Freedom Walk. The main feature of Boston that I am referring to is the fact that there are 50 colleges and universities in the metro area. Durant said repeatedly that leaving UT was a very tough decision for him because he loved college and loved the college lifestyle. Boston is a college town on steroids. Remember, the kid is going to turn 20 during his rookie year. He would love living in such a young city.
Which brings us to basketball (here comes a killer segue!). KD would come in and make an immediate impact on what is a relatively young Celtics team (10 of their 15 players are 25 or younger). More than that, he would have the opportunity to rebuild a once-great team back into a winner; he'll have a chance to "pull a Mack Brown," if you will. When you think of NBA greatness, two franchises come to mind before any others: Lakers and Celtics. For KD to join the tradition of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and (my childhood favorite) Larry Bird would be a huge honor. True, their last championship was in 1986. And true, they tore down the Gahden. But the Celtics are an important part of this country's sporting history. And they are in danger of becoming irrelevant in their own city. The Sox are Yankees Lite at this point with the way they buy their way into the postseason every season, and the Patriots have been the most consistent franchise in the NFL for the last few years. New Englanders (New Englishmen?) expect winners, and KD represents the Celtics' best shot at winning them back.
Despite the fact that this would make Bill Simmons--in all his Barnes-bashing sin--a very happy man, I think Boston is the best place for KD to end up (especially since all 3 teams within my driving distance were taken in the first 4 picks). Let's start with reasons to love the city itself.
KD will have the chance to join such historic Boston heroes as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Crispus Attucks, and Carl Yastrzemski. Along with delightful clam chowder and lobster, Boston has much to offer to keep KD entertained. Yes, the city is full of history--but despite Kevin's reputation as quite a good student, I somehow doubt his first act upon arriving will be to stroll the Freedom Walk. The main feature of Boston that I am referring to is the fact that there are 50 colleges and universities in the metro area. Durant said repeatedly that leaving UT was a very tough decision for him because he loved college and loved the college lifestyle. Boston is a college town on steroids. Remember, the kid is going to turn 20 during his rookie year. He would love living in such a young city.
Which brings us to basketball (here comes a killer segue!). KD would come in and make an immediate impact on what is a relatively young Celtics team (10 of their 15 players are 25 or younger). More than that, he would have the opportunity to rebuild a once-great team back into a winner; he'll have a chance to "pull a Mack Brown," if you will. When you think of NBA greatness, two franchises come to mind before any others: Lakers and Celtics. For KD to join the tradition of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and (my childhood favorite) Larry Bird would be a huge honor. True, their last championship was in 1986. And true, they tore down the Gahden. But the Celtics are an important part of this country's sporting history. And they are in danger of becoming irrelevant in their own city. The Sox are Yankees Lite at this point with the way they buy their way into the postseason every season, and the Patriots have been the most consistent franchise in the NFL for the last few years. New Englanders (New Englishmen?) expect winners, and KD represents the Celtics' best shot at winning them back.
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 6
With the sixth pick in the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Jeff selects the Milwaukee Bucks.
When this pick was made, it seemed like a steal at #6. There once was a time when TJ Ford was the greatest Longhorn to ever wear a basketball uniform. TJ may not be the best shooter in the NBA, but I doubt you can find a quicker player in the league. He has had some injury problems, but the chance to match my two favorite Longhorn basketball players at the next level was too much to pass up. So I took the Bucks with the sixth pick.
Apparently TJ was traded.
There are still a few reasons to like a TJ-less Milwaukee Bucks. First and foremost, the Bucks are one of the few teams in the NBA that would seemingly take Kevin Durant with the first pick. The Bucks already have a franchise center in Andrew Bogut that they took at the top of the 2005 draft. The Bucks have one of the NBA's best guards in Michael Redd, and KD would make one of the East's best offenses even better. The Bucks would seemingly be one of the few teams that wouldn't rely on KD to be their primary scorer right away, lessening his short term stress.
Finally, the Bucks seem to have a history of trading Longhorns to the Raptors, so maybe KD and TJ can be reunited after all. Oh, and happy 24th birthday VY.
When this pick was made, it seemed like a steal at #6. There once was a time when TJ Ford was the greatest Longhorn to ever wear a basketball uniform. TJ may not be the best shooter in the NBA, but I doubt you can find a quicker player in the league. He has had some injury problems, but the chance to match my two favorite Longhorn basketball players at the next level was too much to pass up. So I took the Bucks with the sixth pick. Apparently TJ was traded.
There are still a few reasons to like a TJ-less Milwaukee Bucks. First and foremost, the Bucks are one of the few teams in the NBA that would seemingly take Kevin Durant with the first pick. The Bucks already have a franchise center in Andrew Bogut that they took at the top of the 2005 draft. The Bucks have one of the NBA's best guards in Michael Redd, and KD would make one of the East's best offenses even better. The Bucks would seemingly be one of the few teams that wouldn't rely on KD to be their primary scorer right away, lessening his short term stress.
Finally, the Bucks seem to have a history of trading Longhorns to the Raptors, so maybe KD and TJ can be reunited after all. Oh, and happy 24th birthday VY.
May 17, 2007
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 5
With the fifth pick in the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Greg Kelminson selects the Minnesotta Timberwolves
Kevin Durant has been compared to Kevin Garnett. It's time to shut those critics up. The Timberwolves select Durant so they can trade Garnett because we all know Garnett does not like being upstaged by a rookie. In addition, Minnesota offers the Mall of America, a perfect location for a teenager like Durant.
It is only fitting for Kevin Durant to play in the state where the first intercollegiate basketball game occurred. Furthermore, he has great role models on the team like Ricky Davis and Eddie Griffin to mold him into a Timberwolf.
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 4
With the fourth pick in the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Micah Hart selects...the Atlanta Hawks. 
I suppose I should be up front with my biases and say that I work for the Atlanta Hawks, and so I have a personal stake in seeing Kevin Durant put on a Hawks uni. But much like Ziggy picked Durant to come to Memphis to play for his hometown Grizzlies, I would want to see Durant find a home in the ATL simply for the selfish opportunity to see him play 41 times a year (plus playoffs!), regardless of my employment.
Having said that, Atlanta is the best place for Durant to end up, hands down. Look at the sports landscape of the city: the Braves success has bred complacency in their fan base. The Thrashers are an up-and-coming success (disclosure - I work for them too), but in a niche sport. The Falcons are led by a quarterback who appears to be engaged in some sort of legal trouble can-you-top-this battle with his brother ("I see your weapons charge and raise you a cruelty-to-animals rap!"). That leaves the Hawks.
KD is a breath of fresh air, a charismatic and enjoyable personality that the city would gravitate towards post-haste. His presence on the Hawks roster would immediately make the franchise the most-talked about in the city, and the fact that he would lead them to the playoffs for the first time in a decade would bring the fans out in droves.
People like to make fun of the Hawks and the amount of fans that come to the games dressed as empty seats, but this city loves basketball. Atlanta typically pulls close to the highest out-of-market ratings in the country for the NBA. They are dying to support a winner. A Durant-to-the-Hawks scenario would be the perfect storm, much like Vick was at the beginning of the decade for the Falcons, only without the herpes. He would rule the city in much the same way he rules Austin, and would instantly make the franchise relevant again, which would be music to David Stern's ears given that the team resides in the country's 9th largest media market.
Then again, maybe getting Durant would be too much for me to take. I nearly shit my pants when the Hawks drafted Royal Ivey for god's sake - drafting Durant might make me catatonic.
I suppose I should be up front with my biases and say that I work for the Atlanta Hawks, and so I have a personal stake in seeing Kevin Durant put on a Hawks uni. But much like Ziggy picked Durant to come to Memphis to play for his hometown Grizzlies, I would want to see Durant find a home in the ATL simply for the selfish opportunity to see him play 41 times a year (plus playoffs!), regardless of my employment.Having said that, Atlanta is the best place for Durant to end up, hands down. Look at the sports landscape of the city: the Braves success has bred complacency in their fan base. The Thrashers are an up-and-coming success (disclosure - I work for them too), but in a niche sport. The Falcons are led by a quarterback who appears to be engaged in some sort of legal trouble can-you-top-this battle with his brother ("I see your weapons charge and raise you a cruelty-to-animals rap!"). That leaves the Hawks.
KD is a breath of fresh air, a charismatic and enjoyable personality that the city would gravitate towards post-haste. His presence on the Hawks roster would immediately make the franchise the most-talked about in the city, and the fact that he would lead them to the playoffs for the first time in a decade would bring the fans out in droves.
People like to make fun of the Hawks and the amount of fans that come to the games dressed as empty seats, but this city loves basketball. Atlanta typically pulls close to the highest out-of-market ratings in the country for the NBA. They are dying to support a winner. A Durant-to-the-Hawks scenario would be the perfect storm, much like Vick was at the beginning of the decade for the Falcons, only without the herpes. He would rule the city in much the same way he rules Austin, and would instantly make the franchise relevant again, which would be music to David Stern's ears given that the team resides in the country's 9th largest media market.
Then again, maybe getting Durant would be too much for me to take. I nearly shit my pants when the Hawks drafted Royal Ivey for god's sake - drafting Durant might make me catatonic.
May 16, 2007
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 3
Next up, with the third pick in the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Ziggy selects none other than the Memphis Grizzlies.
Remember the Alamo? Of course you do. It's the surprisingly small (I built a bigger one out of sugar cubes in 4th grade) mission in San Antonio where the deep and long-standing relationship between the states of Tennessee and Texas began (and home to the non-existent basement in which Pee Wee's bicycle was rumored to have been held). The Alamo's historic freedom fight was led by a tough and committed contingent of Tennessee volunteers (yep! that's where the nickname comes from). Yes, Texas and Tennessee have, since that time, been inextricably linked. Bosom buddies, if you will. Through the years, the pipeline has been open, with great talents and treasures (remember when I went to Texas?) being shared by the sister states, and the connection has never been stronger.
Tennesseeans have become accustomed to sports greats from the State and The University of Texas. The state's undisputed star of stars is none other than legendary Longhorn quarterback Vince Young. Adding Kevin Durant as the state's biggest basketball star, in the state's biggest city, is the next logical step for everyone. Longhorn fans can see all of their favorites on one glorious roadtrip. VY and KD can gather as often as they want to sing The Eyes of Texas in their super voices, powerful enough to make Chuck Norris run for cover. I can see both of them play. See? It's great for everyone!
Basketball-wise, here's a franchise that has tasted success and yearns for more. After years of cellar-dwelling, the Grizzlies broke through a couple years ago with 50 wins and playoff trips. It can be done... not by Mike and not by Pau, but by KD alone (1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1...2...3...). The Grizzlies have a fantastic arena, great fans that are waiting for a star, and even the freedom to hire a coach to suit a new franchise player. If Kevin Durant could do what he did as a boy in the live music capital, eating Texas barbecue, just imagine Kevin as a man, fueled by Memphis bbq, rockin' the rims in the birthplace of rock and roll. See you in Memphis and, of course... Remember the Forum!
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 2
With the second pick of the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Peter selects...the Indiana Pacers.
Why Indiana? Two words: Larry. Bird.
Okay, four words: Larry Bird and Reggie Miller.
Shit, that's five, but you get the idea. When thinking about where I want the most talented Texas Longhorn basketball player of all time to wind up, I can't help but reminisce on my two favorite players of my formative basketball years.
If Durant goes to Indiana, he gets hands on Larry Bird guidance. There aren't many non-sleazebags in the NBA who I'd trust not to sully our pristine hero, but Larry Legend's one of 'em.
Meanwhile, the Pacers desperately need a face to their franchise now that Reggie's boring us from the announcers' table, and damnit, I need a reason to like the Pacers again. When Miller finally retired from basketball last season, I realized that I wasn't so much an Indiana Pacers fans so much as I was a Reggie Miller fan.
Without Miller, the Pacers are a mess of a basketball team desperately in need of a big scoring guard in Durant's mold. If Larry Bird gets to draft KD to Indiana, the Pacers get what they need, I get what I need to root for the team again, and Durant lands in a city with fans who will worship him. And appreciate him.
It's hard to even talk about KD as a professional just yet, as I'm just now emerging from the "If I can't have him, nobody can" phase, but I know my road to letting go would be infinitely more bearable if he somehow fell into the Pacers' lap.
Here's to hoping…
Why Indiana? Two words: Larry. Bird.Okay, four words: Larry Bird and Reggie Miller.
Shit, that's five, but you get the idea. When thinking about where I want the most talented Texas Longhorn basketball player of all time to wind up, I can't help but reminisce on my two favorite players of my formative basketball years.
If Durant goes to Indiana, he gets hands on Larry Bird guidance. There aren't many non-sleazebags in the NBA who I'd trust not to sully our pristine hero, but Larry Legend's one of 'em.
Meanwhile, the Pacers desperately need a face to their franchise now that Reggie's boring us from the announcers' table, and damnit, I need a reason to like the Pacers again. When Miller finally retired from basketball last season, I realized that I wasn't so much an Indiana Pacers fans so much as I was a Reggie Miller fan.
Without Miller, the Pacers are a mess of a basketball team desperately in need of a big scoring guard in Durant's mold. If Larry Bird gets to draft KD to Indiana, the Pacers get what they need, I get what I need to root for the team again, and Durant lands in a city with fans who will worship him. And appreciate him.
It's hard to even talk about KD as a professional just yet, as I'm just now emerging from the "If I can't have him, nobody can" phase, but I know my road to letting go would be infinitely more bearable if he somehow fell into the Pacers' lap.
Here's to hoping…
May 15, 2007
The Kevin Durant Mock Draft
We are now exactly one week to go until the NBA Draft Lottery on May 22nd. Just as all true Longhorn fans became interested in the Titans when Vince Young was drafted by the Titans, we expect that Horn fans will follow KD's team when he is drafted. The question we wanted to answer, therefore, was this: What team does the average Longhorn fan want to see draft Kevin Durant? In other words, which NBA team do Texas fans want to support for years to come? All too often we see mock drafts which decide which teams will want a certain player, but we wanted to find out which teams would be best for the NBA's next big thing.To complete this project, we held the Kevin Durant NBA Team Mock Draft. 14 lottery teams meant 2 rounds of 7 drafters. We asked seven of the web's biggest Longhorn fans to serve as the drafters. Or, at least, seven of the web's biggest Longhorn fans that also fit the other key criteria: we have their email addresses.
The order was as follows:
1) Ben D. -- Of Manifest Destiny fame
2) Peter -- The king of UT blogs...Burnt Orange Nation
3) Ziggy -- Funniest person in Memphis
4) Micah -- If only the Hawks were as good as their blog.
5) Greg -- No blog, but he is on Facebook...
6) Jeff -- The looks and brains behind 40 Acre Sports
7) Abram -- The beard behind 40 Acre Sports
We, therefore, begin the Kevin Durant Mock Draft...And with the first pick in the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Ben Dorfman selects NOOCH!
Wow, the first pick in the draft. I'd be more excited if I actually got to stand on stage with david stern wearing a 17 button suit and a NOOCH hat, but this is still pretty good. and for the record, i know that NOOCH is no longer, i just like saying NOOCH. who doesn't like saying NOOCH? NOOCH!Anyway, being a longhorn fan is serious business. you have to be committed. i'm moving to atlanta in a few weeks, and my new apartment is on durant street. that's no lie, i'm really going to be living on durant street. the kid's got talent, there's no way around it, but is he really worthy of all this love and affection being being bestowed upon him? he had a phenomenal, unprecedented freshman season, he was the anchor of one of the three teams that really put Big 12 basketball on the map this year, and he won so many awards that he's renting space in lebron's house to store them all until he can build a mcmansion of his own. but as far as his longhorn status is concerned, in my opinion, he's no brad buckman. blame the system, though, not the kid. i'd have left school if somebody offered me $500 and a spicy chicken combo at wendy's.
So, i wasn't really sure how to play this one. i debated the "good luck in atlanta, we're all pulling for you!!" route, but it felt a little contrived, and i didn't want to steal micah's thunder. i also debated the "screw you, durant, enjoy your time in portland," but i'm not a vengeful person, and again, you can't blame the kid for taking his game somewhere he can make the money for himself and enjoy life to the fullest. it's that enjoying life to the fullest part that led me to NOOCH. nowhere in the league is there more fun to be had than in new orleans, and with kevin durant leading the way (now that the pain of the baron davis loss is sure to be felt city-wide), he can have fun and be the biggest star on the local hardwood. it could also be nothing but good for the city to have a genuine nice kid to focus on, now that we all know reggie bush is a punk.
A Different Kind of Countdown
We've already told you about the really cool countdown to football season going on over at Burnt Orange Nation. There is now another day besides September 1st to look forward to, July 17. We're not going to lie, the above picture gets us pretty excited for NCAA 2008 to come out. Just 3 1/2 months until our long offseason is over.
May 14, 2007
You Can't Spell San Antonio without "Choke"*
*Well, maybe YOU can.
It's 11:37 PM CST, so this will be brief. But we've just finished watching the Spurs lead Game Four of their series against Phoenix from the middle of the 2nd quarter until the last 2 minutes, and then lose. They led by 5 with under 2 and a half to play, and managed to blow it. This unlikely meltdown can be chalked up to 2 specific failings:
1. The Spurs failed to get themselves open shots in the final moments of the game, instead opting to run the shot clock all the way down and then fling up a wild turnaround jumper. By the time they decided they were actually going to try to score, the Suns were playing adrenaline-laced D and San Antonio couldn't get an open look. Just goes to show: stalling when you've far from wrapped it up will only cause failure. Kind of like the Prevent Defense in football.
2. Steve Nash is an unbelievable passer. The Spurs' D had no idea where the ball was on two crucial behind-the-back passes during the late rally, and Amare Stoudamire ended up with a couple of easy open shots that got the Suns in position to win.
Add in the fact that this game continued the trend of very violent matchups between these two squads, especially with Robert Horry's frustration-inspired linebacker shot on Nash with 20 seconds to go, and you've got yourself easily the most interesting series in these playoffs. At least so far, but we wouldn't be shocked if it was all downhill from here. For our part, we hope it goes 7.
It's 11:37 PM CST, so this will be brief. But we've just finished watching the Spurs lead Game Four of their series against Phoenix from the middle of the 2nd quarter until the last 2 minutes, and then lose. They led by 5 with under 2 and a half to play, and managed to blow it. This unlikely meltdown can be chalked up to 2 specific failings:
1. The Spurs failed to get themselves open shots in the final moments of the game, instead opting to run the shot clock all the way down and then fling up a wild turnaround jumper. By the time they decided they were actually going to try to score, the Suns were playing adrenaline-laced D and San Antonio couldn't get an open look. Just goes to show: stalling when you've far from wrapped it up will only cause failure. Kind of like the Prevent Defense in football.
2. Steve Nash is an unbelievable passer. The Spurs' D had no idea where the ball was on two crucial behind-the-back passes during the late rally, and Amare Stoudamire ended up with a couple of easy open shots that got the Suns in position to win.
Add in the fact that this game continued the trend of very violent matchups between these two squads, especially with Robert Horry's frustration-inspired linebacker shot on Nash with 20 seconds to go, and you've got yourself easily the most interesting series in these playoffs. At least so far, but we wouldn't be shocked if it was all downhill from here. For our part, we hope it goes 7.
Light The Tower Orange...
Like a slightly less important Ryder Cup, Texas needed only 9.5 points to keep the Lone Star Showdown title. With a (relative) victory in the Men's Outdoor Track & Field Big XII Championship, the Longhorns have now accomplished that.
We're a little bit disappointed that it took so long to clinch this year, but the fact remains: the "Lone Star Showdown" is a symbol of inevitability. The University of Texas will occasionally lose to its little stepsister in the occasional single contest. But when taken as a whole, in the combination of all athletic activities in a given school year, aggie simply has no prayer of defeating The University. We have actually often wondered why a&m agreed to this annual confirmation of their inferiority to the Horns in the first place...but now we're certainly glad they did.
As a related side note, in football (obviously the key sport in the rivalry) Texas holds a 73-35-5 record all-time against aggie. Think about that for just a moment. Texas has defeated a&m more than twice the number of times we've lost. The story of Texas versus a&m is one of complete dominance by the Orange and White, and of increasing frustration and jealousy on the part of the farmers. All the Lone Star Showdown does is lend a quantifiable, formulaic brand of proof that this is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, a fact of Texas life.
Hook 'Em!
May 13, 2007
"Not as polished as McNeal"
"This guy's got so much potential, it's scary." Posted without further comment.
Weekend Roundup
Baseball
Texas fairly easily took care of UAPB 10-4 on Saturday. The Horns were up 8-0 through 3 innings and cruised after that. Russell Moldenhauer went 3-3 from the plate to lead the Texas offense. James Russell, Adrian Alaniz, Austin Wood, Joseph Krebs and Randy Boone combined to pitch 8 1/3 scoreless innings. The only problem for the Horns was former shortstop Josh Prince giving up 4 earned runs over only 2/3 of an inning. Randy Boone was given the win for pitching a scoreless 9th. Allegedly, Augie decided before the game to give the win to the pitcher who gave up the fewest runs despite Russell making a declared start. Since four pitchers did not give up a run, the Horns drew cards after the game and Boone drew the highest card, giving him the win for the day.
Texas returns to action next weekend against Texas A&M in a series which may have implications far beyond baseball (more on that below). Oklahoma and Missouri split the first two games of their series, giving Texas a magic number of two to clinch the conference outright. Oklahoma State has reentered the picture as well by taking the first two games from Texas Tech. Texas either needs to take 2 of 3 from Texas A&M, have OSU and Mizzou drop 2 of their final 4 games, or a combination of Texas wins and Mizzou/OSU losses. To clinch a share of the title, the magic number is only 1.
Track and Field
Both the women's and men's track and field teams lead Texas A&M through two days. The men are in second place and the women in seventh with many of the running events on the docket for today. As we said earlier, one victory over the Ags would clinch a share of the Lone Star Showdown, two wins would clinch the title outright. We'd really prefer it not all boil down to baseball. Good luck to both teams today.
Football
Finally, a hearty congrats go out to Limas Sweed and Dallas Griffin for being named to the Playboy All-America Team. Limas joins a bevy of former Texas greats, including former offensive stars Roy Williams, Cedric Benson and Ricky Williams. Dallas was named as the Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete, an award which honors "the nation's premier student-athlete in football." Hook 'em and congrats.
We'll be back later today to update the baseball and track and field standings.
Texas fairly easily took care of UAPB 10-4 on Saturday. The Horns were up 8-0 through 3 innings and cruised after that. Russell Moldenhauer went 3-3 from the plate to lead the Texas offense. James Russell, Adrian Alaniz, Austin Wood, Joseph Krebs and Randy Boone combined to pitch 8 1/3 scoreless innings. The only problem for the Horns was former shortstop Josh Prince giving up 4 earned runs over only 2/3 of an inning. Randy Boone was given the win for pitching a scoreless 9th. Allegedly, Augie decided before the game to give the win to the pitcher who gave up the fewest runs despite Russell making a declared start. Since four pitchers did not give up a run, the Horns drew cards after the game and Boone drew the highest card, giving him the win for the day.
Texas returns to action next weekend against Texas A&M in a series which may have implications far beyond baseball (more on that below). Oklahoma and Missouri split the first two games of their series, giving Texas a magic number of two to clinch the conference outright. Oklahoma State has reentered the picture as well by taking the first two games from Texas Tech. Texas either needs to take 2 of 3 from Texas A&M, have OSU and Mizzou drop 2 of their final 4 games, or a combination of Texas wins and Mizzou/OSU losses. To clinch a share of the title, the magic number is only 1.
Track and Field
Both the women's and men's track and field teams lead Texas A&M through two days. The men are in second place and the women in seventh with many of the running events on the docket for today. As we said earlier, one victory over the Ags would clinch a share of the Lone Star Showdown, two wins would clinch the title outright. We'd really prefer it not all boil down to baseball. Good luck to both teams today.
Football
Finally, a hearty congrats go out to Limas Sweed and Dallas Griffin for being named to the Playboy All-America Team. Limas joins a bevy of former Texas greats, including former offensive stars Roy Williams, Cedric Benson and Ricky Williams. Dallas was named as the Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete, an award which honors "the nation's premier student-athlete in football." Hook 'em and congrats.
We'll be back later today to update the baseball and track and field standings.
May 11, 2007
Weekend Preview
Baseball takes on UAPB Saturday at 2:00 in Austin. Both Men's and Women's Track and Field have the Big XII Championship in Lincoln. Either team finishing higher than Texas A&M would clinch at least a share of the Lone Star Showdown, and both teams beating the Aggies would give Texas the title outright. We're also big fans of the tower being lit orange, so both squads winning the Big XII title would be cool too. Finally, Men's Tennis began its run today in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Navy. They return to action Sunday against a Boise State squad looking for its second major upset in the last 6 months.
Enjoy the weekend and Hook 'em Horns.
Enjoy the weekend and Hook 'em Horns.
Where's Mel Gibson Now?
"He's in rehab and Youkilis is at first base!" Apologies if this is old news to you but one of us hadn't seen it yet and found it too funny not to post. Thanks go out to Yankees fan and fellow Texas Ex Evan Remer for pointing us to this hilarious clip. Apparently Kevin Youkilis is not Greek...
Your Morning Offseason Random College Football "News" Story
For years, Tulane fans (yes, Tulane fans) have historically had two ways of classifying their coaches: Tommy Bowden good and Buddy Teevens bad. Bowden, of course, led the Green Wave to some of the greenest pastures they have seen since at least the Tulane teams between 1970 and 1972. Teevens, on the other hand, somehow conned Tulane into a head coaching position. Buddy replaced Greg Davis in 1992 and responded with an 11-45 record between 1992 and 1996. The Buddy System was a failure in New Orleans and Buddy somehow translated that failure into more failure at Stanford (10-23 between 2002 and 2004).
Apparently being fired by two of the worst non-BCS and BCS Division I football schools made Teevens an attractive candidate for the Dartmouth (his alma mater) head coaching position. Teevens has stayed true to his coaching standards, leading the Big Green to a combined 4-15 record over his first two years. What would be the real world equivalent of being fired by Tulane, Stanford and Dartmouth?
The reason we weave this sad tale now is that apparently the Buddy System is back in the (offseason) news. Buddy is planning to ride across America in his bike during the month of May. Buddy may even use the trek to visit potential recruits. Imagine a sweaty 50 year old coach showing up at your high school with only his bike and a 25-83 record over the last 15 years. That ought to get the program rolling. Gotta love The Buddy System.
May 10, 2007
A Post with Bullet Points!
- The World Champions managed to score more than 3 runs for the first time in 10 games on Tuesday, beating the Rockies 4-1. They then matched their best win streak in recent memory at 2 in a row by winning 9-2 on Wednesday. If only the Cards could play the Astros and Rockies exclusively until September, they could be right around .500 when it's all said and/or done.
- Michael Vick has dog fights in his house? WHAT?! The jury has been out on Vick for quite some time, but we are now essentially convinced that the dude is just weird, and that's it.
- Apparently, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is doing something noteworthy at some point in the future. This is interesting only because it has taken valuable space on sports pages that should be reserved for sports.
- BoSox manager Terry Francona has publicly asked both David Ortiz and Curt Schilling, and by extension the whole team, to shut up in public on the Barry Bonds homerun/steroids/jerk issue. While we generally agree that Bonds is not the type of guy we're going to tell our kids about and get nostalgic one day, we also applaud Francona for telling his players to act like players, not fans. Especially when one of them is factually incorrect in what he's saying.
- If you're not watching Burnt Orange Nation's daily countdown to Texas football season...start now! It'll quickly become one of the best parts of your day. Or the very best, depending on your quality of life at the moment.
One Last Dig At Pete Prisco
We won't promise this will be our last critique of Pete Prisco, but it will be our last critique of Prisco this week....or maybe not. We recently read Pete's first NFL power rankings of the year, which somewhat understandably had the Tennessee Titans ranked #29. The Titans may have lost their run game in Travis Henry, VY lost his receivers, and we all know about Pacman Jones. It's not much of a stretch to imagine the Titans not having as much success next year, but Pete went too far when he said:
That's absolutely insane. VY went 8-5 as a starter on a squad that may have been the worst team in the NFL in September. He set a rookie record for rushing yards and nearly led the Titans to the playoffs. For Pete Prisco to say a guy he thought was "years away" from even playing was anything but brilliant is sheer lunacy.
It's nice to see we're not alone in our belief that Pete Prisco sucks. The good people over at Cold, Hard Football Facts have apparently been mocking Prisco's take on the NFL Draft for years. Their yearly report can be seen here, and they provide the extraordinarily detailed scorecard that we've always wanted to create. CHFF suggests that there are five...deficiencies...in Pete's work:
1) He doesn't write that good (seeing how we don't either, we'll forgive him for that one)
2) He gets simple facts wrong
3) He constantly overrates the Trojans (6 of 8 Trojans drafted in 2006 were the "Best Pick" of their respective teams)
4) He has a limited vocabulary
5) His crystal ball doesn't work so well.
It is also worth mentioning that CHFF predicted a Texas victory before the 2006 Rose Bowl, and called VY's 2006 year the "greatest year ever for a college-to-pro quarterback." Their site is highly recommended for an alternative look at the world of football.
Here's to CHFF! Keep up the great work.
Vince Young played well, but not nearly as well as the hype.
That's absolutely insane. VY went 8-5 as a starter on a squad that may have been the worst team in the NFL in September. He set a rookie record for rushing yards and nearly led the Titans to the playoffs. For Pete Prisco to say a guy he thought was "years away" from even playing was anything but brilliant is sheer lunacy.
It's nice to see we're not alone in our belief that Pete Prisco sucks. The good people over at Cold, Hard Football Facts have apparently been mocking Prisco's take on the NFL Draft for years. Their yearly report can be seen here, and they provide the extraordinarily detailed scorecard that we've always wanted to create. CHFF suggests that there are five...deficiencies...in Pete's work:
1) He doesn't write that good (seeing how we don't either, we'll forgive him for that one)
2) He gets simple facts wrong
3) He constantly overrates the Trojans (6 of 8 Trojans drafted in 2006 were the "Best Pick" of their respective teams)
4) He has a limited vocabulary
5) His crystal ball doesn't work so well.
It is also worth mentioning that CHFF predicted a Texas victory before the 2006 Rose Bowl, and called VY's 2006 year the "greatest year ever for a college-to-pro quarterback." Their site is highly recommended for an alternative look at the world of football.
Here's to CHFF! Keep up the great work.
May 9, 2007
'Sugar & Spice' meets 'Man of the House'?
Do you know this girl? She clearly has tons of school spirit (Hook 'em!). She seems to have a pretty smile. She also has a handful of unmarked $20 bills and the attention of the Austin Police Department.It turns out our blond friend recently robbed an Austin Wachovia Bank branch, getting away with an undisclosed amount of cash. There is no proof that the perp is a cheerleader, but c'mon...School spirit, roughly 5 feet tall, blond hair, blue eyes, about 115 pounds? If we were running the investigation, here or here is the first place we'd look.
Old Quarterbacks Never Die; They Just Fade Away
During football season, news about Arena Football won't make the cut. Since it is the offseason, however, we couldn't resist. In case you don't remember, Adrian McPherson won Arena Football Rookie of the Year in 2004. He earned a shot at the NFL after being drafted in 5th round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. Adrian's NFL career was cut tragically short after he was run over by a golf cart being driven by Tennessee Titans mascot T-Rac during a 2006 preseason game.
Death on wheels indeed
Adrian was then picked up by the AFL's Utah Blaze and eventually traded to your very own Austin Wranglers. On Monday, the Wranglers, apparently unhappy with his 42 TDs to 10 INTs, cut Adrian after he had led the Wranglers to a 3-6 record.
McPherson being cut comes on the heels of former Tulane star Shaun King being cut by the Las Vegas Gladiators after a 1-5 start. The AFL is clearly a 'win-now' kind of league. As a final note, the Wranglers have signed former Texas great Chance Mock as the backup quarterback. Ah, the circle of life.
Offseason Caption Contest #8
Congratulations to Ben Dorfman, who took a commanding Caption Contest lead at 2 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 with his Contest #7 entry, "Wait, I'm confused. Which is my rifle and which is my gun?"
Classic. Special appreciation as well to Jonny Orlansky and Benjamin Orlansky for stellar efforts. For Contest #8 (through Sunday), give us your thoughts on Jason White looking as puzzled as anyone else about winning college football's "most prestigious" trophy before getting walloped by LSU for the National Championship:
Caption Contest Standings:
Ben Dorfman -- 2
Jonathan Brater -- 1
Scott Price -- 1
Greg Kelminson -- 1
Benjamin Orlansky --1
Jonny Orlansky -- 1
Classic. Special appreciation as well to Jonny Orlansky and Benjamin Orlansky for stellar efforts. For Contest #8 (through Sunday), give us your thoughts on Jason White looking as puzzled as anyone else about winning college football's "most prestigious" trophy before getting walloped by LSU for the National Championship:
Caption Contest Standings:Ben Dorfman -- 2
Jonathan Brater -- 1
Scott Price -- 1
Greg Kelminson -- 1
Benjamin Orlansky --1
Jonny Orlansky -- 1
May 8, 2007
That's Just Awesome
Our favorite football coach meets our second favorite football coach, and it's featured on our favorite website!?! We would have killed to have been a fly on the wall during this meeting. You can read the whole interview with Sean Payton on here.Our favorite response from Payton came to the question about what are his impressions of Texas and Mack Brown?
"He has done a great job. I have heard a lot of great things about coach and you could see his impact immediately with the recruiting and the players he was bringing in and with his coaching staff and what they have been able to accomplish. A National Championship. All of the reasons why he was brought here and he has delivered. It's special and a good place."
Awesome, only 115 days until football starts again!
TBA=UAPB
The "TBA" team that Texas baseball was scheduled to play on Saturday night has been revealed as The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. As TexasSports has it, the Horns will be using the game as a warmup for the big A&M series the following week while UAPB will be preparing for the SWAC Tournament, to take place in Jacktown (that's Jackson, MS for you non-locals).
Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson will host the SWAC Tournament. We grew up watching the Jackson Mets and Jackson Generals in Double-A ball in this ballpark. We never caught a single foul ball.
Here's hoping that Augie uses the opportunity to give each weekend starter 3 innings of work. UAPB will probably throw their ace and go all out to get the win against a top-10 team, so don't be too surprised if the game is closer than your sensibilities say it should be.
This, by the way, is another reason to love college baseball. Texas didn't even have a team to play against on Saturday until 6 days in advance! It's a kind of laid-back, very local-sports feel that makes the game unique and a lot of fun.
This Week's Sign that Skip Bayless Has No Soul
Skip Bayless has done it again. It has come to our attention that on "First and 10" last week, Skip suggested that Tony La Russa had "set the stage" for Josh Hancock's DUI-related death by committing the same offense during spring training.
There is no question that La Russa exercised poor judgment and made a huge mistake with his actions in Florida. However, the idea of publicly laying blame on a man for the death of another person--especially one whom La Russa cared a lot about--is beyond Bayless's normal buffoonery. That crosses the line into the realm of irresponsible. Most people in the media understand the power of their words, but Skip has proven here that he is incapable of distinguishing between thought-provoking commentary and abandoning human decency.
There is no question that La Russa exercised poor judgment and made a huge mistake with his actions in Florida. However, the idea of publicly laying blame on a man for the death of another person--especially one whom La Russa cared a lot about--is beyond Bayless's normal buffoonery. That crosses the line into the realm of irresponsible. Most people in the media understand the power of their words, but Skip has proven here that he is incapable of distinguishing between thought-provoking commentary and abandoning human decency.
Cold Pizza is no more
We know what you're thinking, but don't pop open the bottle of champagne just yet. We turned on ESPN2 this morning to watch Cold Pizza and drink a nice glass of syrup like we do every morning. Instead we found a snazzy new set and brand new title to the same show: ESPN First Take.
Cold Pizza with NEW HAT!
Other than moving the HQ to Bristol, it's unclear how the new changes will destroy our morning routine. You shouldn't worry, however, because Skip Bayless will still be featured in his "1st and 10" segment. If giving Skip a snazzy new set doesn't dramatically improve ratings then we don't know what will.
May 7, 2007
Hey Roger, Right Here Buddy!
See Stan (far left) for our response to Roger Clemens signing with the Yankees for a prorated $28 million. If our math is correct, that brings the Yankees payroll this season to around $225 million, give or take a few million dollars. According to our calculations, the Yankees payroll is more than the GDP of the Falkland Islands and the Marshall Islands combined. We may not love Bill Simmons when he's unfairly bashing Rick Barnes, but he's spot on with Clemens when he says: We're coming closer and closer to my dream of Clemens' Hall of Fame plaque featuring a cap with a dollar sign on it.
The NBA Playoffs are Officially Cool
We have been hinting at it. We have been inching towards it. We are now officially stating the obvious: while we stand by our belief that the NBA regular season is boring, too long, and completely lacking in a thing called "defense," the playoffs are really sweet. The fact is, if you like basketball at any level then you can't help but enjoy watching the best players in the world when they're acting like every game actually matters.
For starters, having attended the University of Texas, we can't help but giggle a little when both Dallas and Houston entered the postseason with high expectations and both flamed out in the first round. Don't get us wrong, we feel for our friends who are from those two cities; we just have a funny way of showing it. The Mavs lost in spectacular fashion--arguably the most disappointing disappointment in the history of the playoffs. And the Rockets, well...they couldn't overcome the presence of Tracy McGrady. And now Jeff Van Gundy can't take it anymore.
Elsewhere in the Association, the Spurs continued to work their magic on the Suns in Game One. Every year, you look up in May and there's San Antonio. As a side note, the fact that this series is happening in the second round is a travesty. Grand Sultan David Stern needs to revisit the seeding system.
The Bulls-Pistons series is reminiscent of some of the great playoff matcups of our youth, with Isaiah's Pistons and Michael's Bulls duking it out frequently. This series lacks that level of star power, but both squads are fun to watch, and the Ben Wallace link between them makes for an intriguing back-story. Detroit leads 1-0, and if they go up 2-0 it may be insurmountable for Chicago.
The Cleveland-New jersey series has LeBron James. Which, for casual fans like us, is enough.
Finally, way out west, the Warriors will try to continue their unlikely playoff run against the Jazz in Game One tonight. These guys are easily the best story in the '07 playoffs thus far. Experience tells us that it's hard to keep a full head of steam after pulling off a huge upset. But then again, we saw the Fiesta Bowl. Which is to say, anything's possible.
So the NBA Playoffs are entertaining. But we still won't budge on NASCAR.
For starters, having attended the University of Texas, we can't help but giggle a little when both Dallas and Houston entered the postseason with high expectations and both flamed out in the first round. Don't get us wrong, we feel for our friends who are from those two cities; we just have a funny way of showing it. The Mavs lost in spectacular fashion--arguably the most disappointing disappointment in the history of the playoffs. And the Rockets, well...they couldn't overcome the presence of Tracy McGrady. And now Jeff Van Gundy can't take it anymore.
Elsewhere in the Association, the Spurs continued to work their magic on the Suns in Game One. Every year, you look up in May and there's San Antonio. As a side note, the fact that this series is happening in the second round is a travesty. Grand Sultan David Stern needs to revisit the seeding system.
The Bulls-Pistons series is reminiscent of some of the great playoff matcups of our youth, with Isaiah's Pistons and Michael's Bulls duking it out frequently. This series lacks that level of star power, but both squads are fun to watch, and the Ben Wallace link between them makes for an intriguing back-story. Detroit leads 1-0, and if they go up 2-0 it may be insurmountable for Chicago.
The Cleveland-New jersey series has LeBron James. Which, for casual fans like us, is enough.
Finally, way out west, the Warriors will try to continue their unlikely playoff run against the Jazz in Game One tonight. These guys are easily the best story in the '07 playoffs thus far. Experience tells us that it's hard to keep a full head of steam after pulling off a huge upset. But then again, we saw the Fiesta Bowl. Which is to say, anything's possible.
So the NBA Playoffs are entertaining. But we still won't budge on NASCAR.
On Polls, Barry Bonds and Jayson Stark
To be completely upfront, we took high school statistics, so we probably understand how to read a poll a bit better than you do. That having been said, in the case of Barry Bonds, there are a few undeniable certainties. Barry is a jerk, Barry has been hitting home runs for a long time, and Barry's head has grown since joining the Giants.
There is also a heavy, unproven suspicion of serious steroid abuse by Bonds over the last decade or so. We believe that Bonds probably knowingly used steroids, but we admit that there is no direct proof at present. Aside from an admission from Bonds, it seems unlikely that direct proof of steroid abuse will be possible.
A recently released ABC News poll concluded that a majority of Americans don't want Barry Bonds to break the home run record. That doesn't surprise us in the least. The poll revealed that 52% of people identifying themselves as "baseball fans" are cheering against Bonds. Moreover, only 37% of baseball fans are cheering for Bonds to succeed.
The poll also examines the role of race on the Barry Bonds issue. According to the poll, 39% of white people and 26% of black people identify themselves as baseball fans.
Which brings us to Jayson Stark. We generally like reading Jayson Stark, but his recent piece attempting to dissect the meaning of this poll was lacking to say the least.
Stark starts off saying that "until now, we haven't spent much time talking about the racial issues that hover over this man and this event. But this poll tells us we need to do more of that, too." He asks "would you have known, from the way this issue has been portrayed by all of us in the media biz, that the percentage of fans who wish this moment wasn't happening would be only 52 percent? Would you have guessed that three fans out of every eight actually want Barry Bonds to break this record?"
On the racial issue, Stark writes that "nearly half of all black fans think Bonds has been given a raw deal. And a quarter of those fans think that raw deal is all about race -- not steroids or anything else."
The career home run record is arguably the biggest record in all of sports. Jayson Stark is questioning the media's portrayal of America being firmly anti-Bonds. Of course, Jayson doesn't mention that Hank Aaron had 77% of Americans cheering for him to break Babe Ruth's record in 1974. Is it not a pretty big story that 40% fewer Americans are cheering for Bonds to break the home run record than Aaron? Are a majority of Americans not openly rooting against this record to be broken whereas 30 years ago only a quarter of Americans opposed it?
Jayson mentions that many fans think Bonds has been treated unfairly, but he fails to mention that overall only 10% attribute this to race. While a quarter of black baseball fans who think Bonds has been treated unfairly believe it is because of race, 62% believe it is either because of the steroids or because Barry is a jerk. Overall, fans who don't believe Bonds took steroids are three times more likely to believe he has been treated unfairly, a figure which makes a lot of sense. If somehow it is proven that Bonds didn't take steroids, we would agree that he has probably been treated unfairly. It is no surprise that those who don't think he took steroids today feel like he is getting a raw deal.
Finally, there is the issue of the media's portrayal. Stark argues that ONLY 52% of America is openly against Bonds, and about 35% WANT Bonds to break the record. Is the media really portraying America v. Bonds inaccurately? Attaching no political subtext, we point to an April 22nd Pew poll relating to President Bush's approval rating. This poll suggests that Bush and Bonds share roughly the same approval ratings.
According to the Pew poll, 35% of Americans approve of the President and 57% of Americans disapprove of his job performance. Should the media focus on the fact that President Bush has a core group of supporters or that his disapproval rating is nearing dangerous levels? Should the media be portraying Americans as "conflicted" in their support for Bush? Would it be accurate to say that only 57% of Americans think Bush isn't doing a great job and almost two-fifths think the Prez is doing a good job? Is suggesting that at present most Americans disapprove of both Bonds and Bush an example of misreading the mood of the nation on this? We wouldn't argue that America is conflicted on either Bonds or Bush (again, no political agenda here, just using similar poll numbers).
Stark concludes that "we have a greater feel now for all of the powerful elements that will collide when that historic baseball takes its fateful ride through the sky. And they won't be colliding quite the way most of us suspected before these poll results knocked on the door to our brains." If that isn't a load of crap, we don't know what is. But, hey, only 94% of Americans believe we landed on the Moon. If we ever do land on the moon for real, knowing that 6% of Americans never believed the lies should give us a better feel for all of the powerful elements that will collide.
There is also a heavy, unproven suspicion of serious steroid abuse by Bonds over the last decade or so. We believe that Bonds probably knowingly used steroids, but we admit that there is no direct proof at present. Aside from an admission from Bonds, it seems unlikely that direct proof of steroid abuse will be possible.
A recently released ABC News poll concluded that a majority of Americans don't want Barry Bonds to break the home run record. That doesn't surprise us in the least. The poll revealed that 52% of people identifying themselves as "baseball fans" are cheering against Bonds. Moreover, only 37% of baseball fans are cheering for Bonds to succeed.
The poll also examines the role of race on the Barry Bonds issue. According to the poll, 39% of white people and 26% of black people identify themselves as baseball fans.
Which brings us to Jayson Stark. We generally like reading Jayson Stark, but his recent piece attempting to dissect the meaning of this poll was lacking to say the least.
Stark starts off saying that "until now, we haven't spent much time talking about the racial issues that hover over this man and this event. But this poll tells us we need to do more of that, too." He asks "would you have known, from the way this issue has been portrayed by all of us in the media biz, that the percentage of fans who wish this moment wasn't happening would be only 52 percent? Would you have guessed that three fans out of every eight actually want Barry Bonds to break this record?"
On the racial issue, Stark writes that "nearly half of all black fans think Bonds has been given a raw deal. And a quarter of those fans think that raw deal is all about race -- not steroids or anything else."
The career home run record is arguably the biggest record in all of sports. Jayson Stark is questioning the media's portrayal of America being firmly anti-Bonds. Of course, Jayson doesn't mention that Hank Aaron had 77% of Americans cheering for him to break Babe Ruth's record in 1974. Is it not a pretty big story that 40% fewer Americans are cheering for Bonds to break the home run record than Aaron? Are a majority of Americans not openly rooting against this record to be broken whereas 30 years ago only a quarter of Americans opposed it?
Jayson mentions that many fans think Bonds has been treated unfairly, but he fails to mention that overall only 10% attribute this to race. While a quarter of black baseball fans who think Bonds has been treated unfairly believe it is because of race, 62% believe it is either because of the steroids or because Barry is a jerk. Overall, fans who don't believe Bonds took steroids are three times more likely to believe he has been treated unfairly, a figure which makes a lot of sense. If somehow it is proven that Bonds didn't take steroids, we would agree that he has probably been treated unfairly. It is no surprise that those who don't think he took steroids today feel like he is getting a raw deal.
Finally, there is the issue of the media's portrayal. Stark argues that ONLY 52% of America is openly against Bonds, and about 35% WANT Bonds to break the record. Is the media really portraying America v. Bonds inaccurately? Attaching no political subtext, we point to an April 22nd Pew poll relating to President Bush's approval rating. This poll suggests that Bush and Bonds share roughly the same approval ratings.
According to the Pew poll, 35% of Americans approve of the President and 57% of Americans disapprove of his job performance. Should the media focus on the fact that President Bush has a core group of supporters or that his disapproval rating is nearing dangerous levels? Should the media be portraying Americans as "conflicted" in their support for Bush? Would it be accurate to say that only 57% of Americans think Bush isn't doing a great job and almost two-fifths think the Prez is doing a good job? Is suggesting that at present most Americans disapprove of both Bonds and Bush an example of misreading the mood of the nation on this? We wouldn't argue that America is conflicted on either Bonds or Bush (again, no political agenda here, just using similar poll numbers).
Stark concludes that "we have a greater feel now for all of the powerful elements that will collide when that historic baseball takes its fateful ride through the sky. And they won't be colliding quite the way most of us suspected before these poll results knocked on the door to our brains." If that isn't a load of crap, we don't know what is. But, hey, only 94% of Americans believe we landed on the Moon. If we ever do land on the moon for real, knowing that 6% of Americans never believed the lies should give us a better feel for all of the powerful elements that will collide.
May 6, 2007
He Reminds Me Of Brad Smith...
Did you believe you were witnessing the greatest quarterback in college football history?
Baseball Round Up -- Texas v. Missouri
Well...crap. Texas dropped its first conference series of the year this weekend. The Horns also missed a terrific chance to clinch a share of the Big XII title. Finally, and most importantly, Jordan Danks and Kyle Russell sustained injuries which forced them to miss action. It appears that neither injury is serious, but you never know. Texas has now lost its first series in May in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
Offensively, Nick Peoples struggled from the leadoff spot, going a combined 1-11 over the weekend. Both Russell and Danks had nice weekends until they got hurt. Texas pounded out 35 hits but were only able to score 15 runs.
The starting pitching was very solid for Texas, but Joseph Krebs had a miserable weekend. Krebs pitched only 1 1/3 innings but gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits. The three starters combined for 21 1/3 innings and gave up only 5 runs.
We might question some of Augie's moves this weekend, but we've learned through experience that it is unwise to question college baseball's all-time win leader. After the game, Augie told the media "We're going to win the championship. We're the best team, and we're going to win it." Augie rocks.
Texas returns to action this Saturday night versus TBA. We expect to see Tobias Fünke on the mound for the Horns.
Offensively, Nick Peoples struggled from the leadoff spot, going a combined 1-11 over the weekend. Both Russell and Danks had nice weekends until they got hurt. Texas pounded out 35 hits but were only able to score 15 runs.
The starting pitching was very solid for Texas, but Joseph Krebs had a miserable weekend. Krebs pitched only 1 1/3 innings but gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits. The three starters combined for 21 1/3 innings and gave up only 5 runs.
We might question some of Augie's moves this weekend, but we've learned through experience that it is unwise to question college baseball's all-time win leader. After the game, Augie told the media "We're going to win the championship. We're the best team, and we're going to win it." Augie rocks.
Texas returns to action this Saturday night versus TBA. We expect to see Tobias Fünke on the mound for the Horns.
Offseason Caption Contest #7
We're almost embarrassed that this picture hasn't been used yet. This one should be like shooting fish in a barrel. Jonny Orlansky was deemed winner of the Ramonce Taylor caption contest, with special appreciation to Barry Pelz for a top-notch entry.
Caption Contest Standings:
Jonathan Brater -- 1
Scott Price -- 1
Ben Dorfman -- 1
Greg Kelminson -- 1
Benjamin Orlansky -- 1
Jonny Orlansky -- 1
Caption Contest Standings:Jonathan Brater -- 1
Scott Price -- 1
Ben Dorfman -- 1
Greg Kelminson -- 1
Benjamin Orlansky -- 1
Jonny Orlansky -- 1
May 4, 2007
There Are Baseball Gods And They Are All-Powerful
Clearly the deities which oversee all of baseball read our weekend preview and decided to flex a little muscle last night. We wrote that Texas has only given up 7 runs or more 9 times all season, so of course Texas gives up 7 runs. We suggested that A&M may have a pitching problem, so they throw a shut out. We said "Joseph Krebs has put together a string of solid starts", so of course he comes in and gives up 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning of work. We said both Chais Fuller and Russell Moldenhauer had contributed nicely last week, so the two go a combined 0-5 from the plate. Finally, and most impressively, we said that "Texas will need Jordan Danks to bust out of his slump and it has been a little too long since Kyle Russell's last home run." Danks went 3 for 5 and Russell hit two long bombs.Texas fell to Missouri 7-6 in 11 innings. Clay Van Hook was thrown out trying to score on a Jordan Danks single in the 11th, ending the game. We did not see the game but it seems to be a general rule that one should not end a game like that. We won't try to predict how the remainder of the series will go, let's just hope the baseball gods ease up on us the rest of the weekend. It is interesting to note, however, that Adrian Alaniz hasn't thrown a no-hitter in over two years.
Baseball Preview v. Missouri
The #5 Texas Longhorns return to action Friday night for a weekend series against Missouri. The Tigers come to Austin 31-12 overall (12-6 Big XII) and in second place in the Big XII. Texas has a 3.5 game lead over Missouri in the standings. With just one win this weekend, Texas would need to win one of three games next weekend in order to take the Big XII regular season title.
How good is this Texas team? Since losing its first two series, Texas has taken eleven straight. Offensively, Texas is batting .317 as a team, good for the fifth best all-time team record. Texas needs only 13 more home runs in order to set a new team record in that category. Whether this regular season success will translate into Omaha success remains to be seen.
As for this weekend's pitching, James Russell has not picked up a win the last two weekends. Adrian Alaniz has been fantastic the last three starts, and Joseph Krebs has put together a string of solid starts to go along with several innings of strong relief last weekend. On Sunday, Texas will either start Krebs or Austin Wood (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER last Sunday) hoping to give the Horns their fifth straight Sunday victory.
Last weekend, the Horns picked up increasing contributions with the bat from freshman Russell Moldenhauer (2 HR, 5 RBI) and senior Chais Fuller (5-9, 2 BB). Texas will need Jordan Danks to bust out of his slump and it has been a little too long since Kyle Russell's last home run.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
May 4, 2007
Texas: LHP James Russell (8-3, 3.65 ERA)
Missouri: RHP Aaron Crow (4-2, 2.55 ERA
May 5, 2007
Texas: RHP Adrian Alaniz (10-2, 2.54 ERA)
Missouri: LHP Rick Zagone (6-0, 3.92 ERA)
May 6, 2007
Texas: LHP Joseph Krebs (6-0, 2.45 ERA) or LHP Austin Wood (6-1, 3.39 ERA)
Missouri: RHP Ian Berger (3-1, 3.77 ERA)
How good is this Texas team? Since losing its first two series, Texas has taken eleven straight. Offensively, Texas is batting .317 as a team, good for the fifth best all-time team record. Texas needs only 13 more home runs in order to set a new team record in that category. Whether this regular season success will translate into Omaha success remains to be seen.
As for this weekend's pitching, James Russell has not picked up a win the last two weekends. Adrian Alaniz has been fantastic the last three starts, and Joseph Krebs has put together a string of solid starts to go along with several innings of strong relief last weekend. On Sunday, Texas will either start Krebs or Austin Wood (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER last Sunday) hoping to give the Horns their fifth straight Sunday victory.
Last weekend, the Horns picked up increasing contributions with the bat from freshman Russell Moldenhauer (2 HR, 5 RBI) and senior Chais Fuller (5-9, 2 BB). Texas will need Jordan Danks to bust out of his slump and it has been a little too long since Kyle Russell's last home run.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
May 4, 2007
Texas: LHP James Russell (8-3, 3.65 ERA)
Missouri: RHP Aaron Crow (4-2, 2.55 ERA
May 5, 2007
Texas: RHP Adrian Alaniz (10-2, 2.54 ERA)
Missouri: LHP Rick Zagone (6-0, 3.92 ERA)
May 6, 2007
Texas: LHP Joseph Krebs (6-0, 2.45 ERA) or LHP Austin Wood (6-1, 3.39 ERA)
Missouri: RHP Ian Berger (3-1, 3.77 ERA)
May 3, 2007
Texas A&M Might Have A Pitching Problem
For a team with allegedly the second best pitching rotation in the Big XII, Texas A&M has allowed runs in bunches. Since March 17th, Texas A&M has played 26 games and given up 7 or more runs in 13 of them. The Aggies are not suprisingly 5-8 in those 13 games. The Aggies only gave up 7 runs once in their first 21 games, suggesting that early weekend series versus UTPA and Jacksonville State weren't great barometers of future performance. For comparison sake, the best pitching sqaud in the Big XII has given up 7 runs only 9 times all season (49 games). There's really only one thing we can say to that...
Given these revalations, expect to see dominant pitching performances from the Aggies when they face the Horns in two weeks.
Given these revalations, expect to see dominant pitching performances from the Aggies when they face the Horns in two weeks.
Kevin Durant Forces NCAA To Push Back 3-Point Line
The NCAA announced today that it will be pushing back the men's college basketball 3-point line a foot to 20' 9". We assume this radical step was somehow related to Kevin Durant's season of dominance.
It's unclear how the change will affect the game, aside from lowering three point shooting throughout college basketball. We see the change as a good thing in that it will hopefully convince Connor Atchley to shoot less. You can read the ESPN.com article here including positive spin from Billy Donovan and Texas A&M sharpshooter Josh Carter. Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl was less enthusiastic, suggesting that "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
It's unclear how the change will affect the game, aside from lowering three point shooting throughout college basketball. We see the change as a good thing in that it will hopefully convince Connor Atchley to shoot less. You can read the ESPN.com article here including positive spin from Billy Donovan and Texas A&M sharpshooter Josh Carter. Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl was less enthusiastic, suggesting that "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
Thoughts Upon Successfully Getting Through Customs
- As some of you may have known, this half of "us" has been in Israel for the past week or so. The Other Half (insert married couple joke here) performed ably despite a very busy schedule, as anyone who knows him should of course have expected. It's nice to be home.
- While in the Holy Land, we couldn't help but hear about the tragic and untimely passing of Josh Hancock. In the shadow of the Virginia Tech shootings, it seems a bit crass to make a much bigger deal out of this tragedy over that just because we like the team he pitches for. Still, Josh was a Mississippi boy--we even have a mutual friend--and a member of the Cardinal family, and he will be sorely missed. The Birds' losing streak does not appear to be such a big issue in the wake of his passing.
- We had the opportunity to visit the offices of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel's preeminent pro basketball powerhouse. They have a list of the years Maccabi has won the Israeli championship and the Euroleague championship on a big board in there. Since 1950--the first year of the Israeli league's existence--Maccabi has failed to win the championship of Israel only 6 times. When you get past the fact that it's really just a bunch of American guys who couldn't cut it in the NBA, it's pretty amazing.
- The NBA playoffs have been very entertaining so far. For (over-) informed commentary, refer to frequent commenter Benji Orlansky.
- And finally, a quick on-the-field thought on America's Game. Barry Bonds gets closer and closer to Hank Aaron's record each week, and our stomachs get more and more nauseated. Even if the steroids thing wasn't an issue--and it is--this is about the least likable baseball star since Ty Cobb. Athletes may not owe it to us to be nice guys; but we certainly don't owe it to them to cheer for them if they're jerks. Along those lines, the most interesting idea we've read on the topic was offered by Rumors and Rants. You can read the full piece here, but the most important point is that if/when Bonds breaks the HR record, baseball may find a new savior in...Alex Rodriguez. For the time being, however, we'll stick to anti-Bonds voodoo.
May 2, 2007
UPDATED: Offseason Caption Contest #6
Better yet, give us your best Romance Taylor caption. Benji Orlansky won the 5th caption contest and it wasn't really close.
May 1, 2007
Breaking News: TJ Ford Admitted to Hospital with "Stinger"
Former Texas PG TJ Ford was admitted to a Toronto hospital after Vince Carter fell on him during a scramble for the ball. According to SI.com, "Raptors officials said he was taken to hospital to undergo precautionary tests." Longhorn fans should be well aware of TJ's previous neck issues and we wish him a very speedy recovery.
On MLB, NBA Playoffs and Texas Longhorns
Now that we're settled back into full off season mode, it's time to take a look at the rest of the sports world.
On the MLB front...
The Red Sox will take a break from beating the Yankees to play a non-AL East opponent for a few games. The Yanks may be 9-14, but if we've learned one thing over the last decade it's that Torre will get the Yankees into the playoffs. It would be nice to think somebody else can win that division, but it ain't happening.
Additionally, last night the Tigers and Orioles took one step closer to being the most vicious rivalry in all of sports. Baltimore and Detroit seem to be becoming natural enemies like Scots and other Scots.
Damned Scots! They ruined Scotland!
On the NBA front...
Big shot Bob is just that, the Wizards were easy targets without Agent Zero, the Raptors aren't relying on TJ enough, D-Wade is a pansy, Kobe clearly isn't taking enough shots, Rockets fans would probably trade it all for VY, apparently German people have no heart, and we've already met our quota for Detroit reference in a post so there's no need for another.
On the Horns front...
Austin Wood was named Big XII pitcher of the week after picking up victories on Tuesday and Sunday. Additionally, since moving to the lead off spot, Jordan Danks has been struggling, to the point where he was moved to the 7th spot on Sunday. Finally, 40 Acre Sports will be beginning to scout out the Texas Longhorn football schedule. Over the next few weeks we hope to bring you detailed analysis and information on the 2007 football season to the point where the season is so boring and predictable for our readers that they may prefer not to watch the games.
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