Texas Two Step

I am done recovering from the three-day madness that was Big 12 Media Days that concluded on Wednesday. And after hearing from all of the coaches and players, I learned many things. But one thing stood out -- the way different caliber teams protect their players.

The cliche answers roll constantly out of the mouths one after another from the players of Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Even Texas A&M speaks differently from the lower level football programs in the Big 12. You can see how they have been trained to say the right things.

With so many NCAA violations occurring throughout major universities, everyone has to be more careful. Texas and Oklahoma were definitely the ultimate in making sure no one slips up or has to answer a question they don't want to hear.

While some teams did not even have a sports information director or media relations person from the university in the room, Texas had a person standing only a couple feet away from each player ready to interject in case a controversial question is asked.

So as the season approaches don't be surprised if you don't hear anything interesting from the big-name programs as some of their quarterbacks are protected better by the media relations staff than their offensive line.

Next most important thing I learned from Big 12 Media Days -- the reason why so many members of the sports' media are overweight. After seeing all the buffets offered at these events, it's understandable to see why some of these guys are breathing so heavily after walking up a couple stairs. I need to make sure I don't end up like that.

Houstonians are extremely sad to Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt go. Berkman and Oswalt were supposed to be lifetime Astros -- just like Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. But as much as it hurts to see the Astros' two franchise players over the past few years be in new uniforms, it is something that had to been done.

The Astros were not going anywhere with their aging stars. Their farm system has been lifeless for the last several years, and they need to try to find those players who can be the future face of the franchise.

After all of the wheeling and dealing, the Astros ended up with first baseman Brett Wallace who made his major league debut Saturday as Berkman's replacement. Wallace was the third rookie in the starting lineup for the Astros, filling up the 6-8 spots in the order in Wallace, Chris Johnson (not the football player) and Jason Castro.

So far Astros general manager Ed Wade is looking like a genius following the trade of sending Oswalt to the Phillies. Oswalt had a subpar debut in Philadelphia losing 8-1. Meanwhile, the Astros behind former Phillie J.A. Happ, shut down the Brewers in six scoreless innings in a 5-0 win for Houston.

Only time will tell on how these trades end up working out.

Bob Bradley must have seen something in Team U.S.A.'s training camp last week that no one else sees. Forward Brian Ching, who was an integral part in United States' World Cup qualifying and has been a mainstay on Team U.S.A. over the last four years, was left off the final 23-man roster that was released on Wednesday.

An injury in an MLS game on April 1 sidelined Ching for more than a month. He was named to the 30-man preliminary roster, and despite a solid performance in a friendly Tuesday night against the Czech Republic, Ching was sent back to Houston where he will watch the World Cup on TV.

Ching, who has scored 11 goals in 44 appearances for Team U.S.A., made the World Cup roster in 2006, but did not make an appearance in a game. Ching is a ball hawk. He finds his way to ball and he finishes. He may not be the quickest, but he has a great soccer IQ and is exceptional in the clutch. This year was likely the final opportunity for the 32-year old Hawaiian.



Taking place of Ching, who was expected to make the roster, is 29-year-old Edson Buddle who is having an impressive season with the Los Angeles Galaxy this season and Herculez Gomez. Gomez, 28, became the first American to win the Golden Boot in another country's league with Mexico's Pachuca. With his appearance on Tuesday, Gomez made only his third appearance for the U.S. National Team. Buddle made his second appearance in the 4-2 loss to the Czechs.

See anything wrong with this?

Ching has played 44 games for the Yanks. Buddle and Gomez have combined for five. Ching knows all the guys, has the experience and has played against the best in the world.

He has recovered from his injury and he flat out deserves to be in South Africa on June 12 against England.

By the way, don't expect to see much playing time from either Buddle or Gomez in the World Cup as Bradley is expected to move up midfielder Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey to join Jozy Alitdore up front for the Americans.

The city of Houston let out a sigh of relief on Thursday when Andre Johnson showed up for OTAs after skipping the first three days of the voluntary practices.

Johnson's absence was a minor protest to show his dissatisfaction about his contract.

Being displeased with the way organizations are being run has been a common theme among star wide receivers. Johnson, who is considered one of the top receivers in the NFL, stuck with his reputation of being a team-first player and not the me-first egoistic superstar.

“You can’t win against the organization," Johnson said. "When you’re under contract, they can hold you to it. It’s up to them to re-do it, give you an extension or whatever. They really don’t have to do anything. But I’m past all that now. I’m here working and I’m going to continue to work and hopefully we can achieve our goal of getting to the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl."

Then Johnson, a Florida native, pledged his loyalty to the team.

“I plan on being a Texan until the day I retire."

Johnson has five years left on his eight-year, $60 million contract.

And for those of you like me who just need to see some type of football, here is "The Ultimate" compilation of Andre Johnson.

Mark Cuban appears tired of competing with the Arlington Cowboys (that football team that plays in northeast Texas). He and his Mavericks will always be second to Jerry Jones’ boys. But all that can change.

I can’t stand Dallas and the sports teams it produces, but as much as it would kill me to see this, the Dallas Mavericks should seriously pursue LeBron James. Cuban wants to win championships. LeBron wants to win championships. Perfect fit, right?

The American Airlines Center will sell out. Half of the Mavericks’ games would be nationally televised. Celebrities would wear Dallas jerseys. And Cuban and his squad would become a dynasty.

The pieces are there for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki is one of the most versatile big men to ever play the game. Jason Kidd can still create. Brendan Haywood is the big body that produces unlike Erick Dampier, who should have been out of Dallas years ago.

Either Caron Butler or Shawn Marion should be traded to clear up some cap room and then poof, give LeBron his max contract and become the best team in basketball.

There may be some salary cap problems with this, but Cuban is a smart man and can find a way around it.

Whichever team LeBron chooses to go to will be a contender. He could turn the lowly Nets in to the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. But he can make the Dallas Mavericks the favorite to win not just the 2011 NBA Finals, but many more.

It is unlikely that this will happen, and I don’t think LeBron is going to leave Cleveland. But it should not be surprising if Cuban chooses to go after LeBron and turn “The King” into “The Sheriff.”

I started off slow in my quest to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs and went back and forth between the Astros-Cardinals game and the Canadiens-Penguins game followed by the end of the Flyers-Bruins.


After 15 minutes of trying to find the Versus Network on my television, there were some observations that I made that bothered me as well as some aspects of the game that confused me.

1. First of all, while I could barely follow the puck on the screen, I was wondering how the hell can the people sitting in the nose bleed section in the opposite side of the arena see the puck. And when a goal is scored, it seems like no one knows until the siren goes off. This bugged me a little. Even on a penalty shot in the Flyers game, I had no clue what had happened until the siren did not go off.

2. Speaking of penalty shots. I think I finally understand that they are awarded when someone is fouled (is fouled the right term?) on a breakaway and is one on one with the goalie.

3. Thanks to Wikipedia I finally know what a "Hab" is and that it is not a spelling error when it says Canadiens and not Canadians. For those of you who are not aware, the term Habs is short for Les Habitants which is a French nickname of the squad from Montreal. Now I just need to find out what a Flyer is.

4. I know the basic rules of hockey and learned offsides from video games. But I still have never been able to understand what icing is. When I hear icing, I just think about cakes. I never know when and why icing is called sometimes and why it isn't at other times. Also, I am not completely sure about which checks are legal and which ones end up with a player in the penalty box.

These are my immediate observations from just a couple periods and there are more to come.

Has anyone outside of the cities of the team's playing actually watched an entire NBA playoff game? I don't understand how an NBA playoff game can be tolerated. It is becoming a chore to watch these blowouts. It is the same thing game after game.

With that being said, I have decided to try something new. I am going to attempt to watch as much of the Stanley Cup playoffs as I can in the upcoming weeks. I am going to give hockey a try. In Texas, hockey is the least of anyone's worries. You can't see the puck and can't even find what channel the games are on.

But I know that they are considered to be one of the most intense and exciting events in sports, and I want to be a part of it. First of all, I am going to need to find a team to cheer for. Other than knowing that Crosby is on the Penguins and Ovechkin is on the Capitals, I can not tell you anything else about who is on what team. I am most likely going to root for the American team -- assuming there is one there. And if there are two American teams, I will do it based on which city I like better.

I am tired of seeing the final minute of an NBA game last 20 and am sick of all the complaining that every player in the NBA takes part it. So I am going to give up on the NBA, and try to find the Versus network on my TV.

Wish me luck!

Coaches around the NFL have continuously been saying that their draft class should not be graded until two or three years after the draft.

So with the 2010 draft behind us, let's look back and grade the 2007 drafts of the Texans and Cowboys.

In 2007 the Texans draft board looked like this:

First round: Amobi Okoye

Third round: Jacoby Jones

Fourth round: Fred Bennett

Fifth round: Brandon Harrison

Fifth round: Brandon Frye

Sixth round: Kasey Studdard

Seventh round: Zac Diles

The best: Zac Diles has proved that the later rounds of the draft are just as important as the first round. Diles broke into the top of the Texan depth chart in 2008 starting the first eight games before breaking his left tibia. He played in all 16 games,including 12 starts in 2009 and has recorded 132 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception since arriving in Houston.

The worst: Is it too early to call Amobi Okoye a bust. The defensive tackle, who has played three seasons in the NFL and hasn't even turned 23, has only eight sacks and 94 tackles since entering the league. The Texans are still hoping the Okoye can be great, but are already starting to look elsewhere spending a third round draft pick on tackle Earl Mitchell.

The rest: Jacoby Jones has become a fan favorite with his speed and improved his skills as a receiver last season catching 27 passes for 437 yards and six touchdowns.

Studdard had to fill in on the offensive line last season with all the injuries to the starters and showed why he should be considered for a starter for the 2010 season.

Bennett has shown sparks, but has also been picked on plenty of times by opposing quarterbacks in his first three seasons. He has intercepted five passes in his career, but did not see any playing time in the second half of the 2009 season and will likely be limited in 2010.

Frye and Harrison had short stints with the team and failed to remain Texans.

Final Verdict: C+ Until Okoye does something, this draft class will never get above this grade. Five of the seven picks are still on the team, but no superstars or playmakers and all five of them could easily be replaced.

The Cowboys top rookies following the 2007 draft were:

Round 1: Anthony Spencer

Round 3: James Marten

Round 4: Isaiah Stanback

Round 4: Doug Free

Round 6: Nick Folk

Round 6; Deon Anderson

Round 7: Courtney Brown

Round 7: Alan Ball

The best: Anthony Spencer has worked his way into the Cowboy lineup and started all 16 games last season at linebacker. He has 10.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception.

The worst: James Marten has only played one NFL game and has been on three different teams in three season.

The rest: Still on the roster are Free, Anderson and Ball. All have seen playing time, but have not become consistent starters.

Folk was booed out of town late in 2009 after missing way too many field goals.

Final Verdict: C- Spencer has produced and is the only reason that the grade is not a D or lower. The others who are still in Dallas will likely be fighting for roster spots this summer as Jerry Jones wants to play in his own building in February for the Super Bowl.

I was watching a Yankee game the other night and something caught my eye. The eighth spot in the Yankee starting lineup was Nick Swisher.

I find this very vexing. Swisher is a solid veteran player who can hit the ball and get on base.

Meanwhile, I have been watching my hometown team Houston Astros fail to win a game. The Astros lineup features a handful of players that pretty much no one else wanted. In the eighth spot is rookie Tommy Manzella, a defensive shortstop who has spent his entire career up to now in minor league clubhouses.

This is flat out not fair. Swisher would be in the three hole in the Houston lineup.

Anyway, here are some numbers for you to dwell on about the worst team in baseball.

The Astros have 13 runs in seven games. The Arizona Diamondbacks scored 13 runs in one inning on Sunday.

The Astros have walked six times in seven games. Since 1952, only one other team has had fewer walks than games played after at least six games.

Albert Pujols already has more RBI than the Astros' amount of total runs.

The team's on base percentage is .245, the worst in the majors.

In pitching, the Astros' ERA is the third worst in the majors and have allowed the most hits.

Should I keep going? Can it get any worse? I have to stop for my own sake. Watching and talking about this team makes me and the entire city of Houston sick.

It's only been seven games and Houston is being written off. Hurry up, football.

It will only be a month until baseball fans in Texas are asking, “Is it football season yet?” This season will be that bad for the Astros and Rangers.

Once everyone goes to a game or two at either Minute Maid Park or the Ballpark in Arlington, attendance will decrease and fans will just stay at home and watch a couple innings of bad baseball from their living rooms.

Besides the fact that by staying at home fans won’t have to spend $7.50 for a beer and another $8 for a handful of chips with cheese on it, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers will flat out not be good this year and not be fun to watch.

Both teams have too many old players and not strong enough pitching staffs. And if things couldn’t be any more difficult, they are both already facing injury troubles before opening day.

Houston’s Lance Berkman was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday, and both Roy Oswalt and newly acquired Bret Myers have struggled to get through the spring healthy.

For the Rangers, second baseman Ian Kinsler just went on the disabled list and will miss opening day for the Rangers.

Now back to the old players. Last year the Astros were the oldest team in baseball. They got younger by getting rid of Miguel Tejada and Darin Erstad among others.

The Rangers, on the other hand, added some age this year with the addition of Vladimir Guerrero and Rich Harden.

But both teams have tons of confidence that they can finish at the top of their division. The only way they can do that is by getting production from their youngsters.

Michael Bourn of the Astros and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers have both proven themselves as everyday ball players.

But this year, they are looking for other new faces to make impacts. The Astros are finally letting shortstop Tommy Manzella get his shot. Manzella is being called an Adam Everett that can hit a little bit better. In other words, he is should be a great fielder, but hit .240 with six home runs and 40 RBI.

The Rangers are hoping that Julio Borbon stays in the same form that he finished last year once being called up. Borbon saw 46 and is expected to be the opening day centerfielder.

No matter what happens, the season will come down to pitching. The Astros expect Oswalt to be back in regular form after a poor 2009. But the big question mark is Wandy Rodriguez who had a career year last season, but has had an awful spring.

For the Rangers, the top of their rotation is set with Scott Feldman and Harden. But after that, there are question marks. Three unproven starters in C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison are expected to fill the rest of the rotation.

How I see it ending for the Rangers: Expect as always a lot of high-scoring losses. This team can score tons, but also will allow plenty of them. Don’t be surprised if manager Ron Washington gets back on cocaine.

For the Astros: Expect a long six months of baseball. New manager Brad Mills just does not have the players that it will take to win. Too much inconsistency throughout the lineup will haunt this team as the Astros once again finish in the bottom half of the N.L. Central.

The excitement of baseball season won’t last long as everyone will be keeping their eyes glued to the NFL Draft come April 22, rather than their favorite Texas baseball team.

CBS’ ratings for the NCAA Tournament are down this year.

But who cares?

The mid-majors are making the tournament more entertaining and giving impartial fans something to cheer for instead of just their bracket.

Half of the country’s brackets were wiped out with Northern Iowa’s upset of Kansas. So now it is time to cheer for more upsets.

I’m talking to you, Cornell and St. Mary’s.

The world no longer cares about Sherron Collins or Cole Aldrich. John Wall is not as important anymore. Basketball fans wants to see Ali Farokhmanesh and Omar Samhan. They want upsets. They want to see fundamental basketball in Cornell’s team-first mentality.

Even my mother was going wild throughout Northern Iowa's upset of the Jayhawks. People like these stories, so make something of it, CBS, and the people will watch.

This year’s tournament is about real college basketball. Not just one-and-done players. It is about groups of 10-15 college students who have been playing together for years.

The one-year freshman rule is destroying big-time college basketball programs. Let the best players go pro straight from high school. College basketball does not need them. Wall will be gone and Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors will likely leave. Even Texas’ Avery Bradley who had a very disappointing freshman year is mulling over leaving for the NBA. More on Bradley in a future post.

Let’s celebrate these mid-major schools making runs into the Sweet 16. You know never, maybe we will have Butler, Cornell, St. Mary’s and Northern Iowa in the Final Four. Yeah, that will happen when pigs fly.<

The state of Texas is sending seven teams to the NCAA Tournament, tying the record that was set by California in 2002.

At least one team from the Lone Star State is guaranteed to advance to the second round as Baylor will play Southland Conference champion Sam Houston St. But beside one of them, it is very possible that the rest of the Texas teams could be eliminated in time for the second round.

Fifth-seeded Texas A&M in the South Regional begins the tournament against Utah State. If there is one team that is capable of making a little run, it is the Aggies who should stroll into the Sweet 16 where they would have a home-court advantage in Houston’s Reliant Stadium. But a likely matchup with Duke could turn into trouble for the Aggies who have struggled from long distance this year.

Eighth-seeded Texas in the East Regional enters the tournament with a big question mark. The team has fallen off and become only the second team to be the top-ranked team earlier in the season and end up being an eight seed or lower. Damion James has to take over if the Longhorns have any chance of advancing in the tournament. Longhorn fans may prematurely looking ahead to Kentucky, but cannot forget that Wake Forest is no walk in the park.

12th-seeded UTEP in the West Regional begins the NCAA Tournament against another mid-major team in Butler. The Miners are coming off of a disappointing loss in the C-USA finals to the Houston, but have what it takes to be a bracket buster and pull off an upset or two. UTEP has good size and an aggressive nature that should worry future opponents. The Miners just need to make sure they don’t let leads slip away and commit stupid turnovers.

13th-seeded Houston is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992. The Cougars will face Maryland in the first round in the Midwest regional. Although Maryland has not been very consistant on the season, the Cougars have not either. They showed they can win without the nation’s leading scorer Aubrey Coleman who struggled in the C-USA championship on Saturday, but Maryland and Greivis Vasquez should make it a quick trip to Spokane for the Cougars.

The Mean Green of North Texas enters the tournament for the second consecutive year. This year they will have a chance to shock the world as a 15th seed against Kansas State in the West Regional. The Sun Belt Champions will be well rested for the Wildcats, but should not cause much of a probably for Frank Martin’s squad. The Mean Green have four players who average at least 10 points, but do not have the size and athleticism that the Wildcats bring into the tournament.

But then again, it is March and anything is possible.

The final week of the college basketball regular season begins this week and we are approaching arguable the best four days of the sports year.

The first and second rounds are approaching, and I feel that anyone is capable of winning it all. There is no clear-cut choice of who is No. 1. Expect one or possibly two top seeds to fall in the second round and for a five, six or seven seed to make the Final Four.

It is too hard to know now since we haven’t even seen a bracket, but here is who I think can make a run deep into March and possibly make it to Indianapolis. And since I mainly watch the Big 12, I am not going to try to analyze anything else and talk about things that I really have no clue about.

Obvious favorite:

Kansas: Sherron Collins is the most dangerous player in college basketball and is the player I would most want to have the ball in the waning seconds of a game (see 2007 Final Four). The Jayhawks are loaded with superstars and have been there before. They have what it takes to win it all.

Sleepers:
Texas A&M: Mark Turgeon has his Aggies playing energetic and exciting basketball. There are no superstars on this team, but they play smart basketball and use good teamwork and when on their game are capable of pulling off an upset.

Kansas State: They are not really a sleeper, because everyone already knows how good they are. But the Wildcats have lots of talent that plays well together. They will probably be a two or three seed and should cruise to the Sweet 16 and possibly the Elite Eight.

Baylor: All six of the Bears’ losses were close games that could have easily gone the other way. LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter are the most underrated pair of players on any team in college basketball and will show it in the tournament.

First-Round Exits:

Texas: Has any team fallen off worse than the Longhorns who less than two months ago were the top team in the nation? As much as it kills me to say, the Longhorns are the most underachieving team in the country and will not make it out of the first round of the tournament. With all of the talent they have, it is hard to imagine this, but Rick Barnes’ squad is not who we thought they were.

Oklahoma State: James Anderson is fun to watch, but he does not have enough support around him. The win against top-ranked Kansas was a rare game when the entire Cowboy squad was playing at its best and the Jayhawks took a night off.

I can’t wait to see how wrong I am about all of these!

The players don’t want to play. And the fans aren’t going to watch.

So what is the point of the Pro Bowl?

After six months of taking a beating in practice and games, the Pro Bowl is the worst all-star game in all of professional sports.

It is understandable why these men would not want to play. And to make matters even worse, it is no longer a week-long luxurious trip in Hawaii as the game was moved to the site of the Super Bowl beginning this year.

A “Sporting News” columnist wrote that they call it the Pro Bowl because you only need to be a professional to be able to play. I could not agree more. There are seven Pro Bowl quarterbacks. Originally named to the roster was Peyton Manning who is playing in the Super Bowl and Tom Brady and Philip Rivers who are “nursing injuries.” Even the first alternate Ben Roethlisberger dropped out.

So leading the offense on Sunday for the AFC will be the combination of Matt Schaub, Vince Young and David Garrard.

In a sport that requires hard hits and constant aggressiveness, the Pro Bowl allows neither. There are injuries in every football game every week during the regular season and even in the preseason.

There is no reason to have the best players out there making that same risk. The solution is simple (or at least it is in my eye). Let’s get rid of the Pro Bowl.

The NFL should name Pro Bowl rosters based on whatever crazy system they have. And then there should be no game. Let the real Pro Bowlers have their honor and then that’s it. Nothing else.

If people really want to see their favorite athletes one more time, how about letting them have a charity softball or basketball game?

The University of Texas has been atop of the elite college sports programs over the past 12 months. Don’t believe me? Check it out.
Football: Ranked second in both January 2009 and January 2010

Men’s Basketball: Currently ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history

Baseball: Preseason pick to win the College World Series and finished second in 2009

Volleyball: Finished second in the country to a Penn State team that hasn’t lost in more than 100 matches

Men’s Swimming and Diving: A team of past and future Olympic gold medalists are ranked No. 1 in the nation

Women’s Swimming and Diving: Another team with future Olympians and is currently ranked fourth

Men’s Tennis: Reached the Final Four for the second consecutive year in 2009 and is currently ranked eighth in preseason polls

Men’s golf: Ranked number eight in the latest polls

Women’s basketball is ranked and softball and women’s soccer have hovered around the top 25 over the past few months.

The Texas athletic department even earns more money than any other university in the nation (most of the universities lose money from athletics). It sells more apparel and paraphernalia than any other university. And it is only No. 2 to the University of Miami in partying (which isn’t fair because they have South Beach).

Has there ever been a time when one college athletic department was this dominant compared to the others?

All I can think of recently is Florida who looked as if it was getting tired of winning so many championships when Joakim Noah and company and Chris Leak and Tim Tebow carried the way. But that is only two sports.

Does it matter that the Longhorns have not WON national championships in any sport over the past 12 months?

I say NO, and it is not just because I am student at UT. It is a great enough accomplishment to finish a season second in the land and to be among the best – and even better to do it in three different sports.

And by the way: If Colt McCoy had not gotten hurt, the Longhorns would have destroyed Alabama and that is a fact. OK. Destroyed may have been an exaggeration, but the Horns would have won.

What do ya’ll think?