There is a fantastically hilarious story today in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Let me summarize:

• Texas A&M wants to go to the SEC.
• Texas A&M will leave the Big 12 no matter what, even if threats of litigation prevent aggy from going to the SEC.
• Texas A&M is ready and willing to go independent - yes, the new Notre Dame, my friends - if they are prevented from joining the SEC in 2012.

So this begs the question: how petulant and delusional can Little Brother get at this point? Does aggy really believe it's a better thing to go independent, or is this just another idle threat?
I'm so deliciously confused ... the character of the Bill Byrne faction is on full display, and it's not pretty.

Now that it's officially the off-season for basketball, I have but one topic in mind for my boys in burnt orange. Will our most-talented team members move on to the $greener$ pastures of the NBA, or will they stick around the 40 Acres and give us a real shot at a national title?

The three prime candidates for consideration are:

• Tristan Thompson. He would be the highest pick among the trio, and for good reason. But as the last game of the season showed, he does have work to do on his offensive game. He had difficulty posting up, shooting and scoring against serious talent. Many here have cited the need for additional lower-body strength in the paint. Free throws remain a problem. The kid is extremely coachable, which means another year under the tutelage of Rick Barnes could result in a higher draft position.
• Jordan Hamilton. Folks seem to assume he is gone, no question. But make no mistake, he has a lot of improving to do. Is his shot selection better? Yes. But put him in a stressful situation, and his basketball IQ - as well as his shot - seem to fade to zero. Would another year in college help?
• Cory Joseph. Personally, I don't think Cory warrants discussion here. Clearly, he is not ready for the NBA. But I thought the same thing about Avery Bradley. Perhaps Bradley's decision to jump will give Joseph pause, since Bradley has struggled mightily in his rookie season. In my mind, the kid has star potential, but needs more work on his shot, confidence and decision-making abilities.

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The UT crowd was rockin' at Ferrell Center in Waco last night. But perhaps the best UT crowd moment came when the players were in the locker room at halftime.

Baylor Athletics ran a contest sponsored by some car dealerships. Each of three dealerships sent a customer to the game. At halftime, they each had a chance to dribble down the court and put up a 3-point shot. The first one to make a bucket would win a 42-inch flat-screen TV.

The first fan dribbled down the court ... and missed. The second missed. The third fan, wearing a nondescript black shirt and jeans, took the ball up the court and executed a very nice jump shot. Score!

The crowd went wild! Until ... the winner got a smug look on his face, threw up both arms and flashed the double Hook 'Em. He just stood there, turning around to face different sections of the crowd, with his Hook 'Em held defiantly high.

Again, the crowd went wild. The large contingent of Longhorn fans cheered. And the home crowd booed, and booed, and booed.

Greatness.

Do you feel it? Is it looming over you, its shadow slowly expanding to fill the room?

It's here. And it's ugly. The off-season.

There are a few things that make this off-season different from recent years:

1. It's shorter. Hooray for baseball! By going three games, they extended their season to the latest possible date. So our gameless months are shortened considerably.
2. There's more anticipation. This holds true for both money-making sports. Both the football and men's hoops programs are regarded as top 5 pre-season prospects. Wow. Just, wow.
3. Personnel is particularly fascinating. Perhaps it's just me. But because of 2 above, the scrutiny regarding potential lineups is greater than ever. What's more, the breathless anticipation for the opportunity to evaluate new talent (particularly for running back and point guard, yes I know I'm mixing sports) is high, since these critical roles must be filled if there is any hope of a national championship run.

Any other Burnt Orange themes and ideas to preoccupy us? After all, today is the first day of the rest of the off-season.

According to the Statesman, Harrison Smith is leaving to play for another school.

Here's the scoop.

So this brings up a couple of questions:

1. Will we miss Harrison? He hasn't contributed much overall, but was starting to come on with a few decent performances late last year. He pulled the trigger a bit too often for my taste, though, with some questionable shot selection.

2. Will this solve the scholarship issue? By Harrison leaving, Damion James now will retain his spot with no problem. If J'Covan Brown actually qualifies (as his dad claims, but the clearinghouse hasn't said so yet), Texas will be +1. Word has it that the transfer knew when he signed up that he may not get a scholarship the first year.

Any insights? I'm so very excited about this team.

ESPN greatly surpassed my expectations of homerism last night. No, it wasn't the worn out small-ball storyline. Nor was it the "mighty" bats of LSU.

It was the wardrobe.

Yes, I'm a girl. But that wasn't why I noticed. Actually, my dear husband saw it first. We were watching around the third inning or so, and he says, "What the hell are those guys wearing??" I had to back up the tape to see ... all three ESPN commentators were wearing LSU purple. Unbelievable. I've never seen such a thing ... you'd think that the wardrobe folks would have made sure something like that wouldn't happen.  I can NEVER remember a sporting even where the entire on-camera crew wore the colors of one of the teams that was playing.

So tonight, what will the homerism be? Will one announcer play with a stuffed tiger doll? Will the story line focus on LSU's invincibility during the playoffs? Will Orel find yet another way to talk down UT's pitching staff?

Personally, I'd like to see all three of them wearing tiger-stripe makeup on their faces and doing that "claw" thing.

Any better ideas we should pass along to the ESPN crew?

Ever since the Reggie Bush Heisman debacle and the allegations that soon followed, I know many of my fellow BON'ers have shared my interest in the compliance of USC with NCAA rules.

Things got much uglier over the last few weeks, when new allegations made the rounds about the basketball team. Nope, the dirty deeds were not limited to football.

Tim Floyd threw more gasoline on the fire today, when he resigned. He claims innocence ... but this sure seems like a strange way to prove you're not guilty. He was accused to handing an envelope of cash to a handler. No joke.

Tim Floyd flies the coop

Last week, the LA Times also had some interesting coverage ... all about how the AD and the head coaches were being so tight-lipped about their situations. Allegedly, the NCAA is just about finished (finally) with their investigations.

So will this affect their MNC seasons? Hmmmm ....

So every time I flipped to ESPNU this weekend, there was a game from the East or the West ... it seemed like an overload of SEC and Pac-10 teams. Not once did I see coverage of the Austin or Fort Worth regionals. Nor did I see coverage of OU or OSU.

Is it just me? Did I miss something?

What do you think? Is the East Coast/West Coast sportswriter bias really alive and well at ESPN - even in baseball?

Yes, the non-conference competition has been less than stellar.

But even if the Horns were playing a pickup team made up of me and my oldest, most-decrepit relatives, I still wouldn't expect Colt to have a QB rating this high.

His cumulative rating for the season is a mind-boggling 210.01.

Broken down by game:

• Fla. Atl. - 181.20
• UTEP - 189.27
• Rice - 260.16
• Piggie - 223.37

Now, forgive me if my numbers are slightly off ... it's getting late. But I'm sure that I'm in the ballpark.

The real question comes next week ... how will the QB rating survive the conference schedule?

Hook 'em.

I hope the drinks were really tasty.

Cedric has been booted by the Bears, according to the Statesman.

So does he get picked up elsewhere? Or is he radioactive for now? I've seen some speculation out there that the Titans might be interested, since they need a strong back. Also, he would already have the VY chemistry going.

Of course, there's the possibility that owners won't want to deal with the commish. Unless, of course, Jerry Jones needs a hard case to fill a hole. Since that's not currently the case, might he be unemployed this year?

First there were the allegations that The Rocket aubsed steriods.

Now there is more ugliness, with claims that Roger Clemens had a 10-year affair with country music star Mindy McCready. The nasty part? The affair allegedly began when she was 15 years old.

So is Roger destined to be another black eye for the University's athletic program ... right up there with Ricky's weed habit?

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Some time ago, there was a poll on BON asking what would make us happy. Would Rick Barnes have to take his team all the way to a national championship for this season to be considered a success? Or would a win or two in the tourney be enough?

I'm interested to see how the BON community's feelings have changes - or perhaps have not - since that prior poll. How do you feel now? What does Rick have to deliver to avoid "Coach February"-type sentiments?

Poll

What would make you satisfied with the basketball season?

38%

This team will be underachieving if they don't make it to the Elite Eight.

55 votes

34%

Only a trip to the Final Four down I-35 is acceptable at this point.

49 votes

8%

National Championship or bust.

12 votes

18%

I'm already happy - Sweet 16, baby!

27 votes

143 votes | Poll has closed

Why do you bleed orange? Are you a student, a graduate, or the much-maligned "T-shirt fan"?

Since BON is a pretty learned sports community, I'm wondering about the population. Let us all know ... what are you?

Poll

Describe yourself, people!

4%

Attended UT, didn't graduate

12 votes

20%

Didn't go there, but orange blood runs in the family

58 votes

3%

Just like the Horns - because who doesn't love a winner

11 votes

15%

Current UT student

44 votes

55%

UT grad

153 votes

278 votes | Poll has closed

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The Associated Press has named Rick Big 12 coach of the year. Baylor coach Scott Drew came in a distant second.

Check out this nice Dallas Morning News piece, which includes some coaching highlights for the year. Barnes is a tough coach, who even acknowledges that his tough-love style is not for everyone. Clearly, it has worked wonders with this group.

Big 12 COY