Tag archives for texas longhorns

New College Conference Names

15th June 2010 by under College Football     

With the Big 10 conference at 12 members and the Big 12 conference at 10 members it’s time to use some creativity and regional flavor to rename the conferences.

SEC, ACC, Mountain West; these are great names for a conference that tell you all you need to know about where they’re located. Seriously, how much of a give up is it to just put the word ‘Big’ in front of a number?

With all of the money pouring into these conferences you’d think they could hire a decent brand marketing firm.

So here’s my unsolicited advice for each conference:

Big 10 – BMNC (Big Money, No Championships), The Un-SEC, Mistakes by the Lakes Conference, Irish Ass Kissers, the Blue States Conference or the Great Upper Midwest and Nebraska Conference.

Big 12 – TPC (Tea Party Conference), the TIC (Texas Invitational Conference), TLB (The Longhorns’ Bitches) or the Big Oil/Haliburton/BP/George W. Conference.

Oh snap!

Leave me your thoughts in the comments below.

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Big 12 holds on, what’s next?

15th June 2010 by SportsFags under College Football     

Big 12 commish Dan Beebe and influential behind-the-scenes power brokers apparently brokered a deal to keep Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 stabble. Don’t be surprised if down the road we learn the bowls, and possibly bowl sponsors, got involved in order to slow down or stall realignment. After all, most insiders believe the advent of four to five super conferences would’ve hastened efforts to end the bowl system and institute a college football playoff. Follow the money.

big_12_logoAlso, where’s this new TV contract money coming from? Anyone believe ESPN and/or Fox got involved in these negotiations? I say count on it. Keeping the Big 12 intact keeps the relationships between the conference and the networks intact, preventing a revised league from striking a new deal with an upstart network or even starting their own network modeled after the Big 10′s highly successful network.

Is the Big 12 competitive?
The big question remaining for me is, how competitive will the Big 12 be in football? My initial thoughts are the Big 12 is top heavy and just took a step back towards mediocrity.

Unequal revenue sharing was a great idea to keep Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M happy, but long term I believe it’s a failed idea which will only increase the gap between the haves and have nots in the Big 12.

Even with or without Nebraska you can make an argument that the Mountain West with TCU, Utah, BYU and now Boise State can match up with the top four teams from the Big 12.

Big 12/Mountain West
The way I see things, the Big 12 needs to improve the middle of its lineup to keep other conferences from prying away member institutions in the coming years. Why would the Big 12 not consider merging with the football powers in the Mountain West to better secure their flank?

There’s no doubt in my mind that Nebraska, playing in a Big 12 North division that included Boise State, Utah and/or BYU, would still be in the Big 12.

Now that the Big 12 has momentum it’s time to be aggressive.

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Nebraska to Big 10 Makes Sense

22nd May 2010 by SportsFags under College Football     

There’s nothing worse than adding a little bit of rumor and speculation to the diet of the average college football fan. When rumor and speculation are driving, reality takes a back seat, and the facts are stuffed in the trunk.

Rumors have it the Big 10 is considering extending membership offers to some combination of Notre Dame, Texas, Missouri, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and/or Nebraska. Who wouldn’t want Notre Dame, Texas or Nebraska? Missouri, Rutgers and Pittsburgh, they’re nice parts but….eh.

Let’s open the trunk and unpack the facts so Big 10 fans can get a clear idea of where this thing should be headed.

Texas, like Notre Dame, is in a league of its own.

Texas, like Notre Dame, is in a league of its own.

Just the Facts
Fact – This is all about football; the only college sport that consistently makes money and delivers ratings.
Fact – Texas and Notre Dame would be trading down; they’re better off now.
Fact – The Big 10 is actually the Big 11 so adding an odd number of teams and splitting into divisions makes sense. Adding either two or four teams would put the league at 13 or 15 schools and create a scheduling nightmare.
Fact – Texas is linked to Oklahoma and Texas A&M, they’re not going anywhere without them, and it’s highly unlikely they’d play a Big 10 schedule, the Sooners and the Aggies every year.
Fact – Texas is about to launch their own television network, why would they want to f that up by joining the Big 10?
Fact – Notre Dame already has an exclusive television contract with NBC, why would they want to f that up?
Fact – Nebraska, Texas and Notre Dame have national followings. Rutgers, Missouri and Pittsburgh are nice regional teams.
Fact I can’t prove – So maybe this isn’t a fact but making a big move right now would almost certainly set in motion a chain of events where only three or four major BCS conferences would be left standing. I’m not saying realignment into three or four power conferences would be a bad thing, but it will likely happen if the Big 10 goes big and adds major television markets like St. Louis, Kansas City and New York to its footprint.

Smart move
Move slowly. What’s the rush Big 10? After all, your two most highly coveted acquisitions, Texas and Notre Dame, aren’t exactly searching the college football landscape looking for a good fit. In case you haven’t noticed, Texas is basically printing their own money right now and while the Catholic church may be hurting, Notre Dame is….well its Notre Dame.

Sometimes the best moves are the ones you decide not to make, like not eating the water that forms on top of the yogurt, not going out to eat on Valentine’s Day or not resisting arrest. So instead of making a big splash why not just test the water. Go get Nebraska.

With the Cornhuskers you get a once-proud program with a rabid, football mad fan base that travels extremely well. It’s no secret Cornhusker fans feel slighted by the Big 12 and have little loyalty for it after playing in relative obscurity in the North. Hell, I’d even call up the Big 12 and offer up a straight up trade: Iowa State for Nebraska. It doesn’t make sense that Iowa and Iowa State are in different conferences anyways.

So play it safe for now; get Nebraska, split into two divisions and schedule what would surely be a hugely successful conference championship game.

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Great endings don’t excuse bad basketball

19th March 2010 by under College Basketball     

The NCAA tournament’s first day offered up dramatic endings and plenty of upsets, something we haven’t seen a lot of in recent years. But with all of the close calls and attention grabbing heroics comes the realization that the actual basketball product stinks.

Texas Guard Damion Jones walks off after the Longhorns blow an eight-point lead in OT.

Texas Guard Damion Jones walks off after the Longhorns blow an eight-point lead in OT.

Maybe I’m overreacting a bit, but as I laid in bed watching Texas clank free throws en route to blowing an eight-point lead in OT, I couldn’t help but think about how badly some of the teams played during the day.

Then I remembered my husband and I discussing, some would call it arguing, the merits of both the NCAA Tournament versus the NBA Playoffs. It’s my contention that the NBA playoffs, as a product, trumps the NCAA tournament by a factor of 10, and the action from Thursday’s opening-round games was proof positive that I’m right.

Why the NBA Playoffs are better
I love college sports but playing bad basketball in front of half empty arenas — I’m being generous here — in off-campus megaplexes makes for some pretty boring basketball. I’ll grant the argument that the sheer number of games allows for one or two close finishes in a day, but it’s rare that the elevated level of play from the players is the reason for that excitement, usually it’s the opposite; players missing free throws or playing horrible defense that allows for a dramatic close.

Don’t get me wrong, when Wake Forest guard Ishmael Smith rose up and nailed the game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds left in the game I was excited. However, the only reason Wake was in that situation was because Texas’ free throw shooting was disgraceful.

The NBA’s best-of-seven playoff format guarantees us two things: (1) the favorite almost always wins, which in turn leads to (2) the best players in the world making plays during crunch time. The ohs and ahs emanating from the NCAA tournament are more likely to be ‘oh shit’ or ‘ah damn’ versus ‘oh my god’ or ‘ohhhhh, how’d he do that?’.

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Kansas Jayhawks Beat Down Texas

9th February 2010 by under College Basketball     

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson and Marcus Morris with the flying chest bump. (Photo: Nick Krug/LJWorld.com)

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson and Marcus Morris with the flying chest bump. (Photo: Nick Krug/LJWorld.com)

Just a couple of weeks ago most college basketball fans, including myself, thought Kansas’ visit to Austin would decided which school would go on to win the Big 12 regular season title. Both teams had been ranked #1 at different points in the season and seemed like they were on a collision course.

That was before Texas was exposed as just another college basketball team with mediocre guard play and before Kansas established themselves as the only team capable of winning a Big 12 road game. So instead of a battle for the top spot, the Longhorns were merely trying to close the gap between the Big 1 and the other 11.

The Jayhawks improved to 23-1 (9-0) with an 80-68 victory at Texas that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Kansas took charge midway through the first half, forcing the Longhorns into 17 turnovers versus only 6 assists. Senior point guard Sherron Collins almost out-assisted Texas by himself as he dished out 5 and scored 15 points.

Two tough road games, Texas A&M and Missouri, remain on the Jayhawks Big 12 schedule, but with every other team in the conference already earning three league losses, Kansas’ win Monday night locked up the regular season title and #1 seed in the Big 12 tourney.

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Turnovers and Injuries Doom Texas

8th January 2010 by under College Football     

I’ve been disappointed in a lot of things in my life, there was Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the guy with the big feet…well you get the point. But never had I experienced what was close to outright sports depression as when I saw Colt McCoy get knocked out of the BCS title game.

To say that I was a little bummed is like saying Porky Pig has a slight speech impediment. Forget about staring at his hot ass all night long, I was mostly bummed because I was being cheated out of what I thought would’ve been one of the best college football championship games ever played.

Garrett Gilbert is cute

Garrett Gilbert is cute

With Colt McCoy, Texas and Alabama were even. Without Colt McCoy, game plans were altered on both sides and the BCS title game turned into a snoozer for the better part of an hour. Alabama turned extremely conservative offensively and Texas backup QB Garret Gilbert tried to overcome nerves solely on the strength of his rocket arm.

Side note: Gilbert’s really cute and he’s gotta cannon for an arm, however, I’ll still take Colt’s ass.

Back to the game, with McCoy getting x-rays on his injured shoulder, Gilbert completed just one pass in the first half. With Alabama playing not to lose for most of the third quarter, the game was about as exciting as waiting for your partner to orgasm after you’ve completed yours. And then the unexpected happen.

Gilbert faked a short route, looked off a defender and delivered a rope to a streaking Jordan Shipley who caught it in stride and raced for the end zone. Suddenly, down only 24-13, these steers had some fight in ‘em. On Texas’ next possession Gilbert took something off the ball and floated another TD pass to a wide open Shipley, and with a 2-point conversion the Longhorns trailed 24-21.

Texas got the ball back again down by three, deep in their own territory with just a few minutes left in the game. Could a true freshmen quarterback who couldn’t hit the broad side of a drag queen in the first half really rally his team from an 18-point deficit against the #1 team in the country at the Rose Bowl?

Hells No!

Mark Ingram kisses the crystal ball

Mark Ingram kisses the crystal ball

A sack from Gilbert’s blind side, a fumble and the game was over, Alabama wins the national championship. Turnovers, the one factor you can’t predict, decides the game.

There was the controversial interception on a shuffle pass, which was returned for a TD in the closing minute of the first half for Alabama, and there was the fumble at the end of the game which stood out, however Texas turned the ball over a total of five times.

In the end, it was as Texas head coach Mack Brown had predicted in his pre-game ABC interview, “whoever wins the turnover battle will win the game.”

Alabama won the game 37-21 and the turnover battle by three.

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Mack’s the Daddy

10th December 2009 by under College Football     

As Sugar Daddies go, USA Today reports that Mack Brown of Texas will be the top paid coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision next season when he earns $5.1M, USC’s Pete Carroll is second coming in at $4.4M.

Many writers and sports fans have long argued that athletic programs bring in so much money to their respective schools that coaches deserve their handsome salaries. However, according to this report Texas is 1 of 25 athletics programs that are in the black.

Clearly football is the major driver of revenue for most athletic programs but what is not known is how many athletic programs would be in the black were it not for football.

Highest-paid coaches

  1. Mack Brown, Texas – $5.1M
  2. Pete Carroll, USC – $4.4M
  3. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma – $4.3M
  4. Urban Meyer, Florida – $4.0M
  5. Nick Saban, Alabama – $3.9M

At almost every Bowl Subdivision school the revenue generated from the football program enables the athletic department to offer scholarships for non-revenue generating sports such as swimming, golf, etc… While these salaries may be out of whack when compared to other university faculty it’s clear that money spent to develop a top tier football program is a good return on investment.

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Texas and Alabama, Initial Thoughts

6th December 2009 by under College Football     

Initial thoughts on the BCS championship game which will obviously evolve throughout the month as injuries occur or, more than likely, an arrest happens.

Looking at the entire body of work, Alabama appears to be the better team. In football the better team doesn’t always win, just ask USC who Texas beat in the 2005 BCS championship game. We will never know for sure if TCU or Cincinnati would have been able to beat either Texas or Alabama.

Before we all concede the game to Alabama based on their performance against Florida let’s remember they were almost beat by an inferior Auburn team the week before. How Mack Brown and Nick Saban use this next month to prepare their respective teams and what mindset they come into the game with will be the deciding factor.

For Saban it’s a chance to exorcise the demons of a Utah beat down in last year’s Sugar Bowl.

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McCoy and Shipley Take On Reesing

20th November 2009 by under College Football     

With a win Saturday against Kansas, or next Thursday against rival Texas A&M, Texas wraps up the Big 12 South title and will face the winner of this week’s Nebraska / Kansas State game in the Big 12 championship.

Kansas is in turmoil both on the field and off. The Jayhawks have lost five straight and only once this season have held an opponent to less than 30 points. Former players are speaking out against uncomfortably named head coach Mark Mangino’s (real close to mangina, like vagina) verbal abuse.

The Longhorns are on a roll and Colt McCoy has the next four games to make a statement for the Heisman Trophy. McCoy’s roommate and fellow hottie Jordan Shipley will return to kickoff duties this week following the suspension of D.J. Monroe. I expect Texas to roll and possibly cover as 28-point favorites.

It’s a night game which gives us gay sports fans a much better look at Colt McCoy’s ass through those Texas football pants. And while Colt’s bubble butt looks mighty meaty, don’t forget to get a look at Jordan Shipley’s muscular ass as well. I don’t know which one I prefer more?

colt mccoy assjordan shipley ass

Butt my favorite hottie in this game may just be Kansas quarterback Tood Reesing, seen here boozing it up Jay Cutler style.

todd reesing shirtlesstodd reesing

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Florida and Texas take care of business

1st November 2009 by SportsFags under College Football     

Florida and Texas appear to be gathering momentum as they roll through the most difficult portions of their 2009 schedule. Led by Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy, much was expected of the offenses, however, the Longhorns and Gators are making some noise on the defensive side of the ball.

Tim Tebow surpassed Herschel Walker's SEC record for most rushing touchdowns

Tim Tebow surpassed Herschel Walker's SEC record for most rushing touchdowns

On Saturday the Gators held Georgia to less than 300 yards and forced four turnovers. The previous week, against Mississippi State, the Gators allowed only 237 yards and forced three more turnovers. In it’s last three games, Texas, has faced three potent offenses (Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State) and surrendered a total of 34 points.

With Alabama struggling offensively, the bye week could not have come at a better time for the Tide. However, Greg McElroy, isn’t Tebow or McCoy, and he doesn’t have the offensive weapons the Gators and Longhorns are able to deploy. With games remaining against LSU and at Auburn, I don’t expect Alabama to stay undefeated.

Iowa, TCU, Cincinnati and possibly a once-beaten LSU team could slip into the BCS title game under the right circumstances but most college football fans, without an allegiance to one of those teams, is looking forward to a match up of the Longhorns and Gators. I don’t think it’s an over stating things to say that, if it happens, Tebow versus McCoy will be this generation’s Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird. The two best teams led by college football’s two biggest stars.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below, by voting in our college football poll on the home page or sound off in our forum. You must register to participate in the sportsfags forums.

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