This was from a Firing Line submission:

Don’t boo Wyoming

In light of the tragic death of a Wyoming football player earlier this week, can we please not boo them when they come out on the field or if they make a decent play or two?
I always feel pity for the students and others that feel the need to boo whenever an opponent comes out of the visitor’s locker room. Why bother in the first place?
On top of that, Wyoming had a lot to deal with, including an away game after something so awful. Just don’t boo.

— Creighton Weber
Texas Exes life member

 I approve of this message. 

I have never booed the opposing team, but I agree that it would be in particularly poor taste this weekend.  As I understand it, we will be paying tribute to Ruben Narcisse before the game.

http://www.utexas.edu/know/2010/08/31/broadcast_advertisements/

Four of the five are pretty much the same commercial, just different voiceovers.  The one called "Brag" is very, very Texas.  Everyone not associated with UT will hate it, which is probably what we were going for. The fifth one is people flashing the Hook 'em sign all over the world.  Very cool. 

 I love how simple our ads always are.  No need to geek up our commercials with science majors in research labs or kids wearing burnt orange t-shirts lounging around on the South Mall.  We're cooler than that.

Urban runs a tight ship over there in Gainesville.

 Dominique Easley, Ronald Powell at center of rumors

According to the Independent Florida Alligator, Powell and Easley didn't just skip Tuesday's practice, but also threatened to transfer after coaches criticized the two during special teams practice Monday.

 "At the end of the day the freshmen need to just shut their mouth and play," offensive lineman Mike Pouncey said Tuesday. "They haven't done anything on Saturday, and most of the fans don't even know who they are."

Meanwhile, John Brantley is playing the role of Chip Diller:

"We've been mixing in with them fine, they came in here, they're trying to make an impact and you can't ask for anything more," he said.

I just got my tickets in the mail.  The Longhorn Foundation said some tickets were mailed Tuesday but  most were mailed Wednesday (with parking permits) and should arrive today or tomorrow via USPS Priority Mail.  A signature is required (if you have an ethical postman anyway).  If you selected Will Call, they will send out an e-mail later this month to let you know when you can pick up your tickets at the Bellmont ticket office.

Really?  If his computer spat this out, I would know to know the methodology behind it.  No sane person would ever claim that the 2009 Alabama team was the best ever.  I can only name 20 better ones off the top of my head, including some teams that didn't even win a national title.

http://www.cfrc.com/Archives/NC_Rating_2009.htm

Billingsley's Top 10:

The season officially begins on February 19 with a home series against New Mexico, but you can catch a glimpse of this year's team in 2 weeks when the current Longhorns take on former Longhorns in the annual Alumni Game.  The game is Jan. 30 at the Disch.  Admission and parking are free.  Limited souvenirs and concessions (hot dogs and sodas) will be free also.  Gates open at 9 for pictures with Bevo, and families can play catch in the outfield until batting practice.  The game starts at 11:30, and players will sign autographs for 2 hours afterward.

Some of the alumni who will be returning ... Huston Street, Taylor Teagarden, Drew Stubbs, Curtis Thigpen, Adrian Alaniz, Kyle Russell, and Brandon Belt.  Burt Hooton, Brooks Kieschnick, Greg Swindell, and Jose Tolentino will serve as coaches for the alumni.

More details here.

This is one of those dreaded "Big 12 Network" games that show up on random local affiliates.  TV clearances are listed on TexasSports.com.  For those of you in Austin who are unable to attend the game for whatever reason or just want to record it and watch it again later, the game is on DirecTV channel 51 and Time Warner Cable channel 1525, which is an HD tier channel.  These games are no longer airing on KNVA (the CW) in Austin, from what I have been told.

The game is also on ESPN Full Court, which, coincidentally is starting a free preview week tomorrow.  This is in the 720s on DTV and 900s on TWC.  Specifically, tomorrow's game is on 725 on DTV and 906 on TWC.  We will have two games on Full Court in the coming week (Colorado tomorrow and Iowa State on Wednesday) that are part of this Big 12 Network garbage, and that may be the only free way that some of you can watch these games.  We'll have 2 other games on these channels later this season (Baylor and Nebraska, both home games), and you can buy the ESPN Full Court half-season package after the free preview week for $79 on TWC.  Not sure if DTV offers a half-season package.

The NCAA selection committee's attempt to screw Texas didn't work, as the Horns defeated Nebraska 3-1 to win the Omaha regional.  It's the third win of the season for Texas over the Huskers and is especially sweet coming on what is basically Nebraska's home court and in front of their fans.  Nebraska got out to a fast start and fought off a Texas rally to win the first set, but the Horns dominated the rest of the match, despite some uncharacteristic serving errors and poor passing.

Texas will play Minnesota in the semifinals Thursday night in Tampa.  If they win, they'll most likely face undefeated and two-time defending national champion Penn State in the national title match.

Thursday's semifinal will be televised on ESPNU.

In the midst of celebrating football's hard work and good fortune, let us not forget about another Texas team ranked #2.

The Long Beach State 49ers are in town tonight.  They are 4-3 with not much of an impressive resume.  Mostly, they've beaten up on weaklings, but they are coming off a 79-68 win over UCLA.  They have blowout losses to Notre Dame and West Virginia and played Clemson hard before falling by 8.  They depend a lot on outside shooting (nearly 40% from 3) and on 6'7 forward TJ Robinson in the paint.  They have little depth to speak of.  And they are actually worse at the free-throw line than we are (but not by much).

They don't have anyone who can match up with Dex in the middle, but DaMo vs. the Robinson kid could be entertaining.  If we aren't focused, this could turn out a lot like Iowa ... a team that is physically overmatched but can get hot outside and stay in the game.

Important to note, this is one of two remaining games before Jai Lucas is eligible.

If you can get to the Erwin Center, go support the guys.  Also, the football team will be honored at halftime.  If you can't make it, it will air on ESPNU at 8 PM, following Michigan State vs. The Citadel.

Barnes was on Craig Way's radio show today to talk about Damion James returning, and Craig asked, in a roundabout way, what kind of position that would put the team in with regard to scholarships.  Barnes replied that they had planned on Damion leaving, so they didn't expect to have a scholarship problem, but he said they do know what they're going to do and that it's something they've known could be a possibility for a while, so they weren't caught off guard by it.  He did not offer any details, but he did say that "when it happens, everyone will be reporting it."  Just speculation, but to me, sounds like a transfer.  I don't think someone switching to walk-on status would really be big news.  It should be noted that he never mentioned J'Covan Brown.

He also said Shawn Williams is already on campus working out and that he expects Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton to be here as soon as they get their final clearinghouse issues worked out.  He also expects Lamarcus Aldridge to be joining Durant, Ford, Gibson, and Ivey on campus this summer.

http://clemson.scout.com/2/844011.html

Free article that mentions Dabo Swinney and his entire staff visited campus earlier this week to learn how Mack and Co. do things.  The third and fourth paragraphs of Swinney's opening comments talk about the visit, and there is a question toward the end where he addresses it further.  Just thought it was interesting.  Swinney says the only difference between Texas and Clemson is that Texas believes it can be great.

This game was not originally scheduled for television, but I guess someone got intrigued.  TexasSports.com is showing that the first game of the Stanford series (in Palo Alto) will be aired at 7 PM on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV).  As of now, only three other regular season games are scheduled for TV, so this may be the only chance to catch this team for a while, for those of you who live out of town/out of state.