SB Nation User Blog: 40AS

Some Thoughts on the Eve of Roundball '09

40AS — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:20:07 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Avery Bradley: the face of a super recruiting class set to take the court at the Erwin Center.

(The following comes from the WAO half of 40AS, although I feel confident that JMA agrees with the general sentiment. Except for the first one. I know he disagrees with that one.)

Sixty-four teams will get good news in March: they will have the opportunity to win the national championship on the court. By beating other teams that also want to win it. Many supporters of the BCS argue that the system makes college football's regular season better than those of other sports, yet the basketball regular season stands in clear defiance of that notion. Basketball season is proof that, in the moment, we fans simply want our team to beat the other team, and the end of close hoops game is every bit as gut-wrenching in January as a football game in November. It may only be the difference between a 3 seed and a 5 seed, but it matters.
Here comes the real heresy: I had more fun in college at the Drum than at DKR. That's not necessarily to say that I liked basketball better than football. I simply mean that I have more specific game memories from hoops than pigskin. Reasons after the jump.

TJ Ford was still in Austin my freshman year. I was there when TJ hit a shot after being fouled hard, on his way to the floor. He released the ball while parallel to the floor, about a foot from hitting it. I am not making this up. I was there in Waco when TJ came out of absolutely nowhere to throw down a rebound. I was in the building, yet it still felt like he came in from off the TV screen. I can' find it on YouTube. You'll just have to believe me.
The student section is right on the other team. I have ben a part of (or witness to) yelling at Danny Manning to put his Horns up, screaming at the KU team to raise their hands if Roy Williams lied to them, chanting until the entire arena was on its feet for the whole first half of an Oklahoma State game, and making a sign that said "Hey Aggies: BAAAAA means No!" The unifying theme is that the five guys in visitors' uniforms actually heard us every time. It's not that I am naive enough to believe that we actually had an impact on the game, but the ability to interact more directly with the players made basketball special.
The Texas basketball team's wins result in a feeling of pure joy for fans more often than those of the football team. Out of 12 potential regular season victories for Mack's boys, at least 9 per year can only cause two reactions: misery or relief. Win and the sense is one of survival. From just a quick perusal of the hoop schedule, wins over USC, Iowa, either Wichita State or Pitt, Carolina, Michigan State, Arkansas, A&M (twice), Kansas, UConn, OU (twice), and Okie State (twice) have the chance to bring pure joy to the hearts of Longhorn fans. And losses need not be totally devastating. The overall happiness factor during basketball is higher.
We get to watch Texas twice a week.
The lack of major punishment for losing a single game allows fantastic intersectional matchups like the ones listed above. There's no reward for playing it safe in the non-conference schedule and major upside to plying the big boys. Every year, Texas fans can look forward to big games from November all the way through the Big Dance.

It's time to get pumped for some hooping ball. Hook 'em.

#2 in the Polls, #1 in our hearts

40AS — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:17:07 -0000

#2 in the Polls, #1 in our hearts

Polls are out, Horns still #2. Somehow Oklahoma is not ranked despite only losing four games by a total of 12 points.

Quick Wednesday Evening Injury Update

40AS — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:43:23 -0000

Undoubtedly you've noticed the lack of an Injury Report this week. One of us is experiencing the best of law school, and those of you that have Comcast will understand the whole internet-goes-out-for-72-hours-just-for-the-hell-of-it experience that the other went through. Anyhow, enough of the excuses, play like a champion.

Heading into UCF (or is it Florida Atlantic?) the Horns are just about as healthy as could be hoped for at this point in the year. The only major injury story is Aaron Williams' strained knee, suffered in the second quarter against Okie State. He's listed as day-to-day, but given the expected competition for Saturday we don't really think he'll to play. Calvin Howell and Mason Walters are the only players mentioned with injury problems and neither are expected to play.

UCF will probably be without the services of junior WR Jamar Newsome with an unspecified leg injury. Newsome was the team's third leading receiver with 22 catches for 276 yards and 3 TDs on the year. Newsome also was used on kickoff returns, including an 89 yarder against Southern Miss. Other than that there're no new injuries to report for UCF.

Horns Destroy Okie State 41-14 -- Celebration Thread

40AS — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:19:15 -0000

Sweetness. Lots more to come on the best win of the year so far, but for now enjoy the victory and the extra hour of sleep.

We Have Our Health

40AS — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:49:14 -0000

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

Fozzy Whittaker: healthy, happy, and running the football. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Browse more photos »

Your Okie State-week injury report is, thankfully, very sparse. Mason Walters remains out, but all the rest of the Longhorns will be ready to roll on Saturday barring anybody getting hurt in practice (we are knocking on wood as we type, don't worry a bit). Michael Huey is back in action, so Texas will be very near full strength for The Season in Stillwater.

The closest thing to an injury in Missouri was team-wide sleep deprivation, as Texas was stuck in the Columbia airport (we didn't know there was such a thing either) until 3:00 AM and didn't arrive back in Austin until 5:00.

Football coaches love the conventional wisdom that playing passive is the best way to get hurt. That should mean good news on the injury front for Will Muschamp's defense going forward.

Baseball Beats Baylor in 14 Inning Scrimmage

40AS — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:38:25 -0000

Baseball Beats Baylor in 14 Inning Scrimmage

Russell Moldenhauer picked up where he left off in Omaha, going yard twice for the Horns in a 10-8 victory over Baylor. Kevin Keyes got the start at 1B and made an error, suggesting there's a good chance of growing pains with him taking over a new position. Freshman catcher Jonathan Walsh hit a two run homer in the 13th to provide the final tally.

On the pitching front, Taylor Jungmann got the start and gave up two runs (one earned) in two innings. Freshman Josh Urban, Sam Stafford and Stayton Thomas each pitched a scoreless frame, and the trio of Ruffin, Workman and Green pitched a combined 6 IP with 1 ER and 8 strikeouts. Overall a happy day for Texas baseball. While this scrimmage didn't provide any real answers for the major questions for the Horns (mainly who'll be the closer) it did highlight the fact that there'll be lots of talented options for Augie to choose from.

There'll be one more scrimmage, Texas State this time, next Sunday at noon.

El Ced runs wild on Bears

40AS — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:51:47 -0000

Career high yards rushing for Cedric Benson against his old team, 31 carries for 172 yards in a blowout. Good to see him playing well and should be the NFL's leading rusher after this week.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=291025004

Horns Destroy Mizzou 41-7 -- Celebration Thread

40AS — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:23:46 -0000

No screaming lady, no problem. Colt was terrific, the Horns ran it well enough, and the defense was stellar. This was the performance we've been expecting all year and was very refreshing to see heading into The Season next week in Stillwater. Tonight, we celebrate. We'll take this any day considering Bama needed a miracle to survive, Florida didn't look particularly sharp and USC is struggling to put away Oregon State.

Somewhere Winston Churchill Is Rolling In His Grave

40AS — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:32:56 -0000

Courtesy of Bill Byrne's latest piece of crap (link). If Bill Byrne is Churchill then what does that make Mike Sherman?

"Like all of you, I felt awful on Sunday. I licked my wounds by reading a book by Winston Churchill on the history of the Second World War. One of the things Churchill talked about was having a resolve to win. A resolve to not panic. A resolve to fight the enemy on the beaches, fight them in the fields, and so forth. That's what we have to do here at Texas A&M. We have to resolve not to panic. We have to resolve to win. We have to resolve to not make hasty short term decisions that will negatively impact our long term goals. We will do that."

Bradford Speaking to Media At 5:30 PM Today

40AS — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:15:14 -0000

Bradford Speaking to Media At 5:30 PM Today

[UPDATE -- 4:30 PM]: Bradford canceled the presser as noted in the comments, saying he wants more time to decide

Per the article:
"Stoops said Bradford would "answer a couple of questions and address that for a few minutes after practice tomorrow," and talk about "what the plan will be" regarding his availability for the rest of the season, whether or not he'll have surgery, and, if he does take the rest of the season off, his concerns about returning in time for next April's NFL Draft, where he's projected as the potential No. 1 overall pick."

That sounds like coachspeak for he's going pro, but we'll see