SB Nation User Blog: TR

Support for Rick Barnes

TR — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 04:48:48 -0000

I am disappointed that Texas lost. Of course there were problems with the way we played against LSU. I think our team had as much talent as anyone in the country, and the head coach deserves blame when things don't work out.

That being said, I am 100% supportive of Rick Barnes as our coach. The program's growth has to be attributed to him, and anyone who suggests that he needs to go should have their head examined. Critique the game plan, the execution, the players, anything, but please spare me the talk of replacing Barnes.

Look how long it took Mack Brown to win "the big one." I am well aware that Mack and Rick were hired the same year, but Texas basketball is a distant second to Texas football. The support and tradition for the football program dwarf that of the basketball program.

Mack eventually rewarded our patience with a title. Does anyone really doubt that we're going to eventually win one in basketball too? The recruits continue to pour in. It's just a matter of time.

Look how far we've come from the Penders years. We just won 30 games in one season, and we're bitching that we lost in the Elite Eight. Simply making the tournament used to be a good season for Texas. Now anything short of the Final Four is a disappointment. That's called raising the bar.

Thank you Rick Barnes for the season and what you've done for the past eight years. It's not Barnes' fault that LA decided to shoot 20 fadeaways against LSU or that Baby Shaq apparently is a damn good three-point shooter from the top of the key.

Close enough to steal

TR — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 00:19:23 -0000

The trophy is as beautiful up close as you'd expect.

When I got my hands on an extra ticket to today's event, I knew I had to invite Peter to thank him for handling the heavy lifting here at BON while I am preoccupied for a few months.

I'm sure he'll have an excellent recap later, so I won't say much more.

But here's one more pretty cool picture.

Mack: "There he is, Mr. President. Don't let him near the trophy."

The President: "That's ok, Mack. Let him have his fun. He was there the day they hired you, so this has to be great for him."

Growing up I always imagined my favorite team would one day get to go the White House after winning it all. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be there.

Thank you Mack Brown. You are the man.

--TR--

Diary of a lost sports fan

TR — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 02:35:04 -0000

Devoted readers of this site may have noticed my lack of posts lately, and for that I truly apologize. I discussed this with PB the other day, and rather than boot me from the blog he suggested I share my plight with you all. Feel free to either feel sorry for me or to rip on me, either is fine.

I use to have all the time in the word for sports. I had an easy state job back in Texas where I had plenty of time to blog to my heart's content. After work, I'd head home and watch all the sports I could handle. My brother and I moved the three TVs in our apartment into the same room so we could watch three football games at a time. Saturdays featured ESPN Gameday followed by at least eight consecutive hours of drinking and watching college games. Then the big boys came out on Sundays and we'd waste all day watching the Sunday Ticket. Of course we had Tivo so we'd never miss a game or have a lack of replays. It was bliss.

In late December I left my job and my place in Texas for an internship in DC. I can't/won't tell you what I'm doing, but let's just say I don't have time anymore to blog at work.

Still, the job alone doesn't explain my lack of blogging, oh no. I am currently living in a house with 17 other college interns. Imagine "Real World DC," just without cameras. It's fun, but living with more women than men means the two TVs we have are frequently tuned to crap like The Bachelor and American Idol.

And here's the absolute kicker: we don't get ESPN. We do get ESPN2 and some Comcast Sports Channel, but not the E. You guys have no idea how much ESPN you watch until it's gone.

The main reason I haven't been posting about the Horns is honestly I haven't seen much of them. I watched the Rose Bowl at a sports bar up here and saw the Villanova game at a bar on a weekend trip to NYC, but that's it.

I'll make time to get to sports bars up here for the games in March but right now my schedule is so hectic I can't trek to a bar for every 30-point whipping the Horns give another Big 12 chump.

Please forgive my absence. Thanks to everyone who is writing the great diaries that are more than carrying the slack while I'm on lockdown, and I'm glad to welcome to our two new guys to the team.

I have a whole new level of appreciation for this blog now that I get all my UT sports news from here. It's my first stop every morning.

--TR--

Another collectible

TR — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 21:59:56 -0000

Dear Vince, I love you.

--TR--

Review: Street & Smith's Champions

TR — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 03:36:28 -0000

Thanks to Jay and the fine folks at Street & Smith's for sending BON the 2005 Champions special edition highlighting the Longhorns' championship season.

The 96-page special edition is a bargain at $6.99. I think most of us would buy anything commemorating this season, and there plenty of great pictures to make give this an easy recommendation to buy.

There are recaps of each game from this season, but the photography is what makes this a must-buy.

Many of the plays everyone has been talking about in the recent diary about the top 10 plays are shown. My favorite photo is near the end, a full page shot of Mack Brown holding the crystal BCS trophy. Thinking of the weight that has been lifted off Mack's shoulders once and for all will always bring a smile to my face.

There's not a lot of new information in this, but it's better than the programs you buy at games for sure and it provides bare bones recaps of each game, yearbook-style.

I'd give it an A- overall. If you see it on newsstands in Austin, don't hesitate to pick it up. You can also order it online here, where there are PDF previews of some of the pages. Check it out.

--TR--

Weekend reflections

TR — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 21:11:58 -0000

Sorry I have been slow to post the past couple of days, but spending a three-day weekend in New York City will do that to you. (If you're up there and want to watch the Horns, head to the Back Page at 83rd and 3rd)

Two observations from UT events over the past few days:

1. The basketball team is great. I'm all in, and I'm going to be very surprised if the Horns don't reach the Final Four in Indianapolis. As far as completing the Texas Crown (three consecutive titles, not in one year), who the hell knows. A trip to the Final Four is all you can ever wish for, because you never know who else will be there at the end.

Of course Duke is the favorite, and I wouldn't like our chances if we played them tomorrow, but April's a long way off and I expect the Horns to get even better as they battle through conference play. I won't even mind if they lose a couple of games along the way, because tough battles in the regular (practice) season often lead to big wins in March.

The guard play is still a little worrisome, but our frontline is monstrous. Buckman's got to be healthy, though, because when he's manning the paint Aldridge can float and run the pick and roll with Gibson, which I still think is our best play.

I'm fine with matching up a core of Buckman, Aldridge, Tucker, Gibson and Paulino with any five players in the country. Depth and point play is a question, but every team - except Duke - has questions, and Duke usually chokes in the tournament anyway.

I still think any criticism of Rick Barnes should be met with a slap to the head, but I am willing to admit that anything less than an appearance in the Sweet 16 would be a huge underachievement given the talent on this year's team.

2. I love the NFL. I watched damn near every game this season on the Sunday Ticket. But come 7 p.m. eastern Sunday I didn't hesitate to turn off the early second half of the Panthers-Bears game to sit in front of a computer and watch the football celebration online from DKR-TMS.

First, let me thank the folks at MackBrown-TexasFootball.com for hosting the stream. I almost felt like I was there.

I still get goosebumps watching highlights of the season. Following the roller coaster ride of emotion that was the Rose Bowl, I had forgotten some of those great plays. I look forward to the DVD, and I'm sure someone here at BON will compile a "top 10 plays of the season" list soon, if a reader doesn't beat us to it in a diary.

The speakers were ok. I mean what did you expect? Those people are some of the most powerful in the state, and they were all in Austin bowing before King Mack. What a moment.

I was at the press conference in December 1997 at the Erwin Center when they introduced Mack, and during Sunday's rally I kept thinking, "This is exactly what they hired him to do." Our patience has been rewarded, and I will never forget this season.

For a few minutes, I had hopes that Vince was going to step to the podium and announce he was changing his mind and coming back for his senior season. I watched the stream with loyal commenter Eric, who said if that happened, everyone at DRK-TMS would spontaneously combust. I think the speakers on Eric's computer would have been blown from the roar of the crowd had Vince made such an announcement. Oh well, at least Justin Blalock is coming back.

Vince's victory lap reminded me of Cal Ripken's when he broke The Streak. I wish I could have been there to shake The Man's hand on Sunday.

By the way, a bum on the NYC subway saw me wearing my Texas sweatshirt this weekend, and as he got up to leave the train, he tapped me on the shoulder and told me the Rose Bowl was the greatest sporting even he had ever seen.

I have never been so proud to wear burnt orange as I am in 2006. Thank you guys.

Rumor has it:

TR — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 19:55:39 -0000

Credit: Kirk Bohls and the Statesman's web site.

"The Houston Texans, who probably will hire Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak as their new head coach whenever Denver is eliminated from the playoffs or wins the Super Bowl, are considering sending quarterback David Carr to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for former Longhorn running back Ricky Williams and Miami's first-round draft pick in 2007.

Kubiak would hire former Longhorn great Jerry Gray as his defensive coordinator (Gray may want to bolt the sinking ship in Buffalo) and hire Texas' Greg Davis as his quarterbacks coach. Davis has long had a close association with the Broncos.

Maybe the Dolphins figure Williams is tainted goods, considering all his baggage and may think Carr is ready to blossom after going through all his growing pains in Houston. That could free up Houston to take Vince Young with the No. 1 pick on April 29. Sounds interesting."

Hell yeah! Can you imagine Vince and Ricky in the same backfield?

--TR--

In Praise of Chris Simms

TR — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 21:28:27 -0000

I will admit that I have been one of the leaders in ripping Chris Simms over the years. But those days are dead and gone.

I'd give him a solid "B" grade for his performance in college, because even thought he led Texas to a lot of wins he didn't ever win the big one.

As far as his prospects for having a good NFL career, I wasn't holding my breath. Still, I did want the Dallas Cowboys to draft him in the second round of the 2003 Draft despite my doubts. Not only did they pass on him there, they passed on him again in the third round and he fell all the way to Tampa Bay with a late third-round pick.

He didn't do squat his first two years, and then when he took over for an injured Brian Griese midway through this season I figured the Bucs would immediately go into the toilet.

Not so. Simms led the team to a 6-5 record as the starter, including a 5-1 division record that led Tampa Bay to the NFC South title. Then came last week's playoff game against the Redskins, where I was rooting my ass off for Chris to succeed.

I know for a fact some of you can't let Chris' past failures go, but I have. It's time to support him the same way we do any other Texas Ex. Simms played great against the Redskins, unfortunately throwing a few passes too low and getting them tipped at the line, which led to interceptions.

But with the game on the line, Simms delivered a perfect pass that his receiver dropped in the end zone. That would have forced overtime, and the way the Redskins offense was going I'd be willing to bet with almost 100% certainty that Tampa would have won in overtime and had a good shot to beat the Bears this weekend.

Simms, making his first playoff start, played way better than Eli Manning did in his. Carson Palmer's playoff debut lasted only two plays.

What I'm getting at is that now it's not a matter of "if" but "when" will Simms become an NFL star. If recent rumors are true and Tampa makes a run at Terrell Owens, that time will be next season.

However, and here's the irony of ironies, Simms becomes a restricted free agent in March, meaning the Bucs will have the right to match any offer he receives from another team or demand compensation. I guarantee he's going to be one of the hottest free agents on the market and someone will be willing to throw a lot of money at him and give up a draft pick or two.

Would you really rather draft a rookie or get a guy like Simms, who is ready now to start and who has already taken his lumps learning the pro game? I can tell you at least 20 teams who would experience an upgrade at quarterback if they signed Simms. I know, I can't believe I just wrote that either.

Hell, Dallas may realize its still looking for the next Troy Aikman and bring Simms back to Texas. Imagine Vince Young playing for the Texans and Chris Simms playing for the Cowboys. If that thought doesn't make a smile come across your face, you aren't a true member of the Burnt Orange Nation.

--TR--

Regarding life A.V. (After Vince)

TR — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 16:49:03 -0000

Mack: "We have 15 starters back next year and our expectations today remain the same as before Vince's decision. We are defending champions and will move forward."

Texas fans, fear not. We are Texas, and now that means we are one of the teams that will (not hopes to) contend for the national championship every single season.

We don't rebuild, we reload. I can't wait for spring football to see Colt McCoy, who redshirted last season, and Jevan Snead, who plans to enroll in school this month and participate in spring drills.

--TR--

Dear Vince ...

TR — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 21:46:48 -0000

To Vince Young, from the Burnt Orange Nation, thank you so very much for all of the memories.

We understand and support your decision to enter the NFL draft, and we wish you the best in the NFL.

You have become the all-time favorite player for many of us, and those memories will never fade.

--TR--

Please add your own Vince testimonals below.