Category Archives: Texas Sports

I Ignored my Wife and Kids, Walked Into Traffic and Couldn’t Shoot a 3-Pointer to Save My Life

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NBA and long-time San Antonio Spurs player, Matt Bonner believes that his iPhone 6 hurt his shooting last season.  Bonner blames the large-screen smartphone for an elbow injury that reduced his shooting percentage last season.  Bonner has been an effective 3-point big man for the Spurs related that that an injury to his left (non-shooting) elbow lasted from early December to the mid-season All-Star break.   As a result, Bonner made 36.5 percent of long-range shots last season, compared to 41.4 percent during his 11-year NBA career.

Bonner told the Concord Monitor, “I hate to make excuses, I was raised to never make excuses, but I went through a two-and-a-half month stretch where I had really bad tennis elbow, and during that stretch it made it so painful for me to shoot I’d almost be cringing before I even caught the ball like, ‘Oh, this is going to kill.’ Everybody is going to find this hilarious, but here’s my theory on how I got it. When the new iPhone came out it was way bigger than the last one, and I think because I got that new phone it was a strain to use it, you have to stretch further to hit the buttons, and I honestly think that’s how I ended up developing it.”

Thank God Somebody Finally Figured Out What is Wrong with the UT Football Team

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Short Answer:  They suck!

For an in depth analysis for the ultimate sports geek, please turn to SB Nation which runs through a myriad of statistics and graphical analyses to come up with a precise answer as to why the Longhorns have underperformed over the last 5 years.  And the answer is – They suck! 

To illustrate the Longhorns’ suckiness, SB Nation presents exciting and allegedly meaningful visual aids such as –

Not to mention insightful analysis like –

And if that doesn’t get you excited about the upcoming season, try –

And if you haven’t fallen asleep – Hook ’em.

Today in Texas History – June 25

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From the Annals of the NBA –  In 1999, the San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA title beating the New York Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.  After a lock-out shortened 50-game season, the Spurs earned an NBA-best 37–13 record which was the only time since Tim Duncan was drafted that the Spurs did not win at least 50 games in a season. The team, anchored by David Robinson and Duncan, was dominant in the playoffs, rolling through the Western Conference with a record of 11–1, and completed their remarkable playoff run with a 15-2 record. In the Finals, they faced the Knicks who had made history by becoming the first eighth seed to ever make the NBA Finals.   Duncan was named the Finals MVP. The Spurs became the first former ABA team to reach and to win the NBA Finals.

Our Obese State

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No one will ever accuse Red of being svelte – but at least I try. At the Dyanamo match  last night (a rousing 4-2  victory over the Red Bulls) a woman in the row in front of us was so fat that she broke the seat. Plop on her ample behind as the seat bottom gave way under her considerable gross tonnage. The kind of person you don’t want sitting next to you. Stadium personnel did an excellent job of responding to the calorie caused crisis and managed the situation in a professional manner. Red is not a fat shamer, but if you take up your seat and 27%  of the seats on either side – do us all a favor and watch on TV.

Is There No End to Their Evil?

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FIFA has elected Sepp Blatter to a fifth term to lead the organization which almost single-handedly controls the biggest sport in the world.  The 209 FIFA member federations voted to keep Blatter despite the allegations of massive corruption occurring during Blatter’s watch.  The 79-year-old Blatter outpolled Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan by 133-73 in the first round of voting.  The Prince, who promised of a clean break from Blatter’s legacy of corruption, conceded defeat.

“I like you, I like my job,” Blatter said to cheering voters. “I am not perfect, nobody is perfect, but we will do a good job together I am sure.”

Blatter isn’t on the same continent with perfect. Blatter wouldn’t know perfect if Red attached it to briefcase filled with 100’s and handed it to him.   And it is hard to fathom what FIFA members considered to be a “good job.”  If their definition includes almost unlimited opportunities for fraud, graft and corruption, then Blatter is probably the right guy.

Red loves his soccer, but this stain on the world’s greatest game must be expunged.  Red urges all soccer fans to write their national federation demanding that they not participate in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups unless and until a full and complete investigation is undertaken into the award of the World Cup Finals to Russia and Qatar.  Both awards are clearly tainted by massive corruption.  Heads need to roll.  And Blatter’s should be the first.

No Thanksgiving Game for Texas A&M this Year

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LSU has rejected the possibility of the Tigers playing Texas A&M on Thanksgiving in Baton Rouge in 2015 according to CBS Sports.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told The Advocate there has been a push to move this year’s regular season finale against Texas A&M to Thanksgiving night, but prior traditions and the quest for ratings will not shake the AD’s stance on home games in Tiger Stadium.

Last season, the Aggies hosted LSU in a 23-17 loss on that Thursday night — the slot previously dedicated to their annual rivalry game against Texas. While Texas A&M may continue that tradition at home with the Tigers, Alleva said there is no chance the game gets moved from Saturday to Thursday under his watch.

“As long as I’m here, we will not play in Tiger Stadium on a Thursday,” Alleva said “I guarantee you that.”

It is possible, according The Advocate, that the game gets moved to the Friday after Thanksgiving, a spot on the calendar where LSU has frequently played Arkansas in the past.

Too bad for Red, who really likes watching the Cowboys and the Aggies lose on Turkey Day.  Unfortunately, he also gets to see the Longhorns lose.

Image from http://www.tigertailgating.com

Notre Dame Won’t Let Quarterback Transfer to Texas

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Texas fans continue to wonder how Ohio State can win the national championship with a third-string quarterback at the helm, while the Longhorns struggle to find even a decent starter. The Longhorns may be in desperate need of a major college quality quarterback, but they will have to look to someone other than Everett Golson.  The Notre Dame quarterback has indicated that he will to transfer to another school for his last year of eligibility.  Because Golson has graduated (despite missing the 2013 season for academic reasons), he can play immediately for a quarterback-hungry team.  Golson who led the Fighting Irish to a 8-5 record in 2014, including a Music City Bowl win over LSU, has thrown for 5,850 yards, 41 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in his college career.  He threw for 3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns last year, but his 14 interceptions and losing 4 straight games to end the regular season were enough to open a competition with Malik Zaire. Zaire was ahead in the competition after spring training prompting Golson’s decision to transfer.

But Notre Dame can control the terms of releasing Golson from his scholarship.  Coach Brian Kelly will apparently refuse to allow Golson to transfer to Texas – where he would likely be the frontrunner  – because Notre Dame opens against Texas in South Bend next year.   Maybe just maybe there is a quarterback out there somewhere for the hapless Horns.

The Appropriately Named Charlie Strong

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The Sporting News has an excellent story on Charlie Strong’s struggle to rise to the top of college football’s coaching ranks and his determination to succeed at UT.

A boy who grew to become a young man, who walked on to play football at tiny Central Arkansas, who wanted to be a college professor but decided to give coaching football a shot. A young man who grew to become an elite assistant coach, who was passed over and over and over for head coaching jobs because those same decades of institutional racism that confidently strolled down the streets of Batesville years earlier were engrained in the hearts and minds of university academia, too.

A coach who nearly gave up on his dream of becoming a head coach, only to get a chance at Louisville and win big, and the next thing you know, he’s standing in the posh office that overlooks the gigantic stadium at the University of Texas — smack in the middle of the best damn job in all of college football.

“I went down in the stadium and walked across the field and looked around and thought, wow, this is it,” Strong said. “I said to myself, you cannot fail, buddy. Too many people are counting on you.”

Red has a reason to root for his Texas Longhorns again.  The burnt orange tie is a nice touch.

Today in Texas History – April 27

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From the Annals of the Baseball Legends –  In 1983, Nolan Ryan recorded strikeout number 3509 while pitching for the Houston Astros in a game against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium.  Ryan, nicknamed the Ryan Express, broke Walter Johnson’s career strikeout record which had stood for 55 years since 1927.   ”I don’t get too excited about anything,” Ryan said after pitching the Astros to a 4-2 victory and striking out 5 batters. ”I was more relieved than anything else. Now I can sit back and relax and get more satisfaction out of it.” Ryan broke the record by striking out Brad Mills, a pinch-hitter, looking on a 1-2 curveball in the eighth inning.

Minor League Baseball in Texas

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The joys of Minor League Baseball are many.  Inexpensive tickets, cheap hot dogs and all kinds of weird promotions and between inning antics. However, two of the greatest joys are knowing that you are not contributing much to the deep pockets of a franchise owner slurping at the public trough (see previous post re: Mark Cuban); and knowing that the players are not knocking down millions but are playing for the true love of the game – and the opportunity to perhaps knock down millions.  So if you don’t live in Houston or the MetroPlex, go out and support your local team.

Here are the Texas Minor League teams affiliated with Major League clubs:

Corpus Christi Hooks
El Paso Chihuahuas
Frisco RoughRiders
Midland RockHounds
Round Rock Express
San Antonio Missions

Then there are the independent Sugar Land Skeeters – whose players really are playing for love of the game.  Unfortunately, the other independent team, the Fort Worth Cats, were booted from LaGrave Field and do not appear to be playing in 2015.

You really have to admire a team that has a tiny hairless Mexican dog as its mascot – even if it is one bad ass looking tiny hairless Mexican dog.