Stephen F. Austin is the best basketball team in Texas

In the same school year the Texas A&M football team represented the entire state with a Heisman trophy and a No. 5 final ranking the Aggies men's basketball team is the only team worth a poop from this great state.

Actually, that's not entirely true. But it's close. Other than Stephen F. Austin and Baylor, the men's college basketball teams from Texas this season are combining to be collectively terrible.

Texas A&M is 12-5 in its first year of SEC basketball. Not great, but better than Texas. Baylor is probably the best team in the state, but this is not one of Scott Drew's best teams.

In the latest Top 25 AP poll not one Texas school is even receiving votes, let alone ranked.

Stephen F. may be the best team, but the 'Jacks are going to have to win their conference tournament to reach the NCAA tourney, and that's always dicey.

Texas is having its worst season in years and it's so bad that head coach Rick Barnes may be in trouble, that's assuming anyone actually is paying any attention in Austin.

Of the 20 schools in this state that play on the Division I level, six have winning records.

Baylor: 13-5 (Big 12)
Texas Tech: 8-8 (Big 12)
TCU: 9-9 (Big 12)
Texas: 8-10 (Big 12)
UTEP: 10-7 (C-USA)
Houston: 12-5 (C-USA)
SMU: 11-9 (C-USA)
Rice: 4-13 (C-USA)
Texas Pan-American: 10-10 (Great West)
Houston Baptist: 4-14  (Great West)
Texas A&M: 12-5 (SEC)
Stephen F. Austin: 16-1 (Southland)
Sam Houston State: 11-7 (Southland)
Texas A&M-CC: 2-14 (Southland)
Lamar: 2-16 (Southland)
Texas Southern: 6-14 (SWAC)
Prairie View A&M: 7-13: (SWAC)
North Texas: 8-12 (Sun Belt)
Texas-Arlington: 8-8 (WAC)
Texas State: 5-14  (WAC)

 

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TCU loses major player to NFL draft, who should have stayed

On Sunday afternoon TCU head coach Gary Patterson was not sure if he was going to lose defensive end Stansly Maponga to the NFL draft, but he sounded like the announcement was coming.

On Monday afternoon, the announcement came. According to multiple reports, Maponga will skip his senior year to enter the draft.

GP told me all of the NFL scouts he has talked to said Maponga should stay in school for his senior year. There are nearly 20 quality defensive ends who are going to be available in this draft, and unless Maponga has a fantastic individual workout at TCU Pro Day, and/or NFL Combine, we are not talking about a first or second round pick.

If you are not a first or a second round pick, the guaranteed money drops fast.

Maponga is listed as 6-foot-2, 265 pounds. That's a little on the light side for a defensive end. He may be moved to outside linebacker, but he has never played in coverage.

It's a huge loss for TCU. Had he returned the Horned Frogs would have had Devonte Fields and Maponga as bookend rushers, easily the best pair in the Big 12.

This smells like another kid who simply does not want to go to school, which is his right.

 

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Blame football for this RG3 mess

Gotta hand it to Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan for having the vision to throw his one-legged franchise quarterback back into the wildcard game against the Seattle Seahawks. Who cares if Robert Griffin III could barely move? This was a wildcard game.

We know how this story has ended, or at least evolved. RGIII is having surgery on Wednesday morning to repair tears in his lateral collateral ligament and to have his ACL examined. The timetable on his return is nine to 12 months. Don't be surprised if RG3 returns sooner, as Vikings running back Adrian Peterson did this season after he ripped his ACL late last season.

Younger guys have a tendency to heal quicker. For RG3's sake, let's hope he does. He is a good pro, and good for his sport.

Football players suffer injuries all the time, and they know the risks involved even if they never think it's never going to happen to them.

Most of the criticism today, and there is a lot, is aimed squarely at Shanahan for putting RG3 back on the field against the Seahawks. He deserves his share of the blame. So does RG3.

I blame the sport. 

This whole situation confirms our worst fears about contact sports, especially football - Coaches will put a player's health in jeopardy because they don't want to jeopardize losing a game, and in turn the player will consent because he doesn't want to lose his job. It is this same mindset that has players routinely lying about concussions, or the state of their overall physical health when they are playing.

This begins in high school and does not end until a player's career is over - "Coach, I'm OK. I can go."

RG3 was in no threat of losing his job, but he wanted to push through. It's admirable, right up to the point when it's stupid. Playing in a wildcard game against the Seahawks was not worth the risk.

It shows you how powerful Dr. James Andrews is that he openly questioned Shanahan for letting him play despite the bad knee.  Shanahan said Andrews cleared him, which the doctor denies. Whom do you believe? Most doctors who are receiving a check from a team would NEVER openly say such things against the mighty head coach.

If RG3 returns to form this story will fade. Until that day happens, Shanahan is going to face a lot of deserved criticism, RG3 will be lauded for his toughness, and the Washington Redskins will pray to any God it can find that their franchise QB will be the same guy.

Meanwhile, don't expect what should be yet another cautionary tale to change anything. 

 

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Alabama at Texas A&M on Sept. 14 & other games we want to see

The 2012 college football season is over and the amateur Alabama Crimson Tide are yet again national champions with a win so boring over "No. 1" Notre Dame that most of us turned it off by the third quarter.

Cut to it - here are a a few of the area related games we can't wait to see in 2013: 

8/31 - TCU v. LSU, Cowboys Stadium. Whether this game is close depends if Casey Pachall is TCU's starting QB, and he has some line protection. If he's good, and TCU somehow wins, his draft stock should take off.

9/14 - Alabama at Texas A&M. Aggies handed Tide only loss in '12. The Aggies will be 2-0 and hosting the No. 1 Tide in what will be the biggest game in College Station in ... decades? This could be a No. 1 vs. No. 3.

9/28 - Oklahoma at Notre Dame. The Sooners lost at home against the Irish in '12 and with so much of ND returning another loss is likely for Stoops.

10/12 - Oklahoma v. Texas. This one Mack Brown can't afford to lose.

10/26 - Texas at TCU. Frogs won in Austin last year and Fort Worth will be primed for UT's first visit since the SWC days.

11/23 - Texas A&M at LSU. The Tigers play Alabama on Nov. 9 then have a bye before hosting the Aggies.

 

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The beauty that is Brittney Griner

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Google machine is a wonderful device to spread meanness as its vast empty space is the ideal location to spew hate with the luxury of hiding behind a fake name. Feelings be damned.

It's all "well and good" until you see the face of the person on the receiving end, in this case Baylor senior women's basketball player Brittney Griner. There has not been an athlete who has been on the receiving end of so much meanness in recent years as much as Griner, and it's all because she violates the unpardonable sin of not being hot.

There is not a bigger sin in sports a woman can commit than not looking like a cover candidate for Vogue. It's OK to be gay now, but for the love of God please be pretty.

Rather than offer some shallow judgement on her appearance just appreciate what she is - the best player her sport has ever had and an inspiration for tall young girls. She is, as TCU coach Jeff Mittie said, the "Wilt Chamberlain" of women's basketball, and worth the price to watch in person.

On Wednesday night in Fort Worth, Griner came to Fort Worth to play the Horned Frogs and I wanted to see what the fuss is all about with Brittney Griner. What I saw was a woman's basketball player who is not a man. Watching her play in person and then considering that idea is as preposterous as it is cruel.

If she just looked like Lisa Leslie, Cheryl Swoopes or Becky Hammon no one would be saying a thing other than commenting on her greatness. Swoopes was the most dominant player on her generation, and no one whispered about her gender.

The whole idea is just beyond mean.

What I saw was a young woman who very likely has been picked on for forever because of her height, and the resulting meanness has likely scarred her.

As to the name-calling and the meanness, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said that has slowed down. 

"We've controlled it more. I've controlled it better as a coach," Mulkey said. "Any time I hear something as a coach I have made a committment that I'm going to stop the game. I'm going to call a time out, or get security. There is no place for that. It has gotten so much better."

Now in her fourth year at Baylor, Griner is used to this. All of it. Good or bad.

Griner is accustomed to the double and triple teams, as well as the thousands who show up consistently to see Baylor play specifically because of her. 

"I would say I'm kinda used to it," she said after Baylor defeated TCU on Wednesday night. "Sometimes I'm surprised a litlte bit. I just try to play as hard as I can and don't disappoint them."

She didn't; Griner dunked for the ninth time in her career on Wednesday night.

We have seen good and dominant women's basketball players before, but we have never seen a 6-foot-8, athletic woman who is blessed with good eye-hand coordination. That is what makes her so special.

"I never take that child for granted," Mulkey said. "I've never seen it before and I don't know if we'll ever see it again."

 

WATCH GRINER'S DUNK HERE - 

 

 

 

 

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What Tony Romo could learn from RG3

(Have to give this to Star-Telegram's Clarence E. Hill jr. (Twitter - @Clarencehilljr) for this one ...)

If you want to see the difference between Robert Griffin III and Tony Romo just look at their interceptions. The rookie season is when NFL quarterbacks enjoy a grace period of being able to toss picks right and left (Peyton threw 28 as a rookie; Elway had 14 against 7 TDs; Andrew Luck has 18). Even as a rookie, however, RGIII never throws interceptions.

He never has. He either runs, or eats it. He seldom forces the ball.

In 393 passing attempts this season with the Redskins, RGIII threw 20 TDs and was intercepted five times.

Now go back to his days at Baylor and RGIII never threw interceptions.
2008: - 15 TDs/3 interceptions in 267 attempts.
2009: - 4 TDs/0 interceptions in 69 attempts (injury cut short his season).
2010: - 22 TDs/8 interceptions in 454 attempts.
2011: - 37 TDs/6 interceptions in 402 attempts.

That is 98 TD passes and 22 interceptions in 1,585 attempts since 2008.

Tony Romo? Different story. The man is not afraid to throw the football on the football field, which at times has been a detriment to his team.

2000 Eastern Illinois - 27 TDs/12 interceptions in 278 atts.
2001 Eastern Illinois - 21 TDs/6 interceptions in 207 atts.
2002 Eastern Illinois - 34 TDs/16 interceptions in 407 atts.
2006 Cowboys - 19 TDs/13 interceptions in 337 atts.
2007 Cowboys - 36 TDs/19 interceptions in 520 atts.
2008 Cowboys - 26 TDs/14 interceptions in 450 atts.
2009 Cowboys - 26 TDs/9 interceptions in 550 atts.
2010 Cowboys - 11 TDs/7 interceptions in 213 atts.
2011 Cowboys - 31 TDs/10 interceptions in 522 atts.
2012 Cowboys - 28 TDs/19 interceptions in 648 atts.

The moral of the story - Don't throw interceptions. It can only hurt the ballclub.

 

 

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Texas Tech at TCU tops best games of 2012 in FW/d

The one thing we can never get enough of is lists. A list of our favorite songs. The best Nicholas Sparks novels. The top 10 Rocky movies.

The end of the year brings the trite, mail-it-end look back at the year that was. Because The Big Mac Blog loves cliches as much as the next, here is a look at the best games of the year. I tried to spread the wealth ...

1. Texas Tech 56, TCU 53 (3 ot); Oct. 20, 2012.
Hands down the most entertaining game of the Big 12 season. 
In TCU's first year of the Big 12, the Frogs led Tech by five in the fourth quarter before the Red Raiders rallied to take a 10-point lead with 4:06 remaining.
TCU managed to tie the game with 18 seconds lef that set up one of the more entertaining series of overtimes you could watch.

2. Cowboys 27, Steelers 24 (ot); Dec. 16, 2012.
Tony Romo played one of the best games of his career as the Cowboys rallied to win a game they trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter.
Romo passed for 341 yards and two touchdowns, one to the busted-fingered Dez Bryant.
The Steelers weren't as good as advertised but this was a highly entertaining game and offered the Cowboys at their best. 

3. Texas Rangers 11, LA Angels 10, (10 innings); Aug. 1, 2012
The Angels led 7-1 after four innings. The Rangers scored four in the fifth, and runs in the eighth and the ninth to send the game into extra innings. The Angels scored three times in the top of the 10th, but the Rangers scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, the final two on an Elvis Andrus single.

4. Texas Rangers 10, Baltimore Orioles 3; May 9, 2012
Josh Hamilton hit four home runs. 

5. DeSoto 49, Southlake Carroll 45; Dec. 8, 2012.
In the 5A quarterfinals, DeSoto trailed by 18 points in the first half before taking the lead. Carroll QB Kenny Hill was stopped on consecutive running plays from the 1-yard line, the final as time expired.  

6. TCU 20, Texas 13; Nov. 22, 2012.
Easily the biggest win of the year for TCU as the Frogs won on Thanksgiving night in Austin. The Frogs forced four turnovers, including the game-clinching pick by Sam Carter with less than two minutes remaining.

7. Oklahoma 63, Texas 21; Oct. 13, 2012.
The game was boring as hell but there was so much comedy and amazement to watch Bob Stoops' Sooners put yet another nasty beatdown on Mack Brown's Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. It truly was watching a train wreck.

8. Dallas Mavericks 101, San Antonio Spurs 100 (ot); Jan. 29, 2012
This was before the Mavericks completely crashed in the playoffs and was Jason Terry at his best. He hit a 15-foot game-tying shot to tie the game with 1 second remaining and send the game into OT. Terry finished with 34 points.

9. Dallas Stars 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (ot); Feb. 26, 2012
Before the Stars fell apart to miss the playoffs yet again, they rallied for this impressive win against a good Canucks team. The Stars were down 2-1 with less than one minute remaining before Mike Ribeiro scored to tie the game. In overtime, Loui Eriksson scored the game winner.

10. Cowboys 24, NY Giants 17; Sept. 5, 2012
In the NFL season opener, the Cowboys defeated the defending Super Bowl champions in what would be arguably their most complete win of the season.
Romo threw for 307 yards with three touchdowns; Kevin Ogletree caught eight passes for 114 yards with two TDs; DeMarco Murray rushed for 131 yards.

 

 

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Time for TCU to no longer just be happy about being here

FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU finished its 2012 conference home schedule without a win for the first time since 1986. The prevailing feeling generated by fans and players etc. is that this first season in the Big 12 was a massive success.

If you look at the numbers - 7-5 record, 4-5 conference - this is TCU's worst season since 2007. The string of double-digit win seasons has been snapped at four. TCU will likely finish unranked for the first time since 2004.

Look past the numbers and this may have been one of the best seasons ever coached by Gary Patterson, and easily the most entertaining TCU regular season in decades. The scene and the crowds at Amon G. Carter Stadium this season were fun, and a place to be.

Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas State and the rest coming to Fort Worth was laughably better than Colorado State, UNLV or New Mexico.

That said, enough with the "Thank yous, we're so happy to be invited to the cool kids' party" from GP and all of TCU nation. This school has tripped over itself in thanking de facto Big 12 commissioner DeLoss Dodds and everyone else associated with the conference. TCU proved it can hang and it belongs in the Big 12, and no one was embarrassed by adding the Horned Frogs to this league. 

Gratitude and humility are always appreciated, but TCU earned this. They were invited for a reason.

In this first season of the Big 12, TCU should have been happy to be invited to the cool kids' party. Now go find the homecoming queen and take her out.

 

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How Johnny Football could help Texas establish a Heisman first

After much internal debate, Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M should win the Heisman Trophy over Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o.

Te'o is the best defensive player on a defensive-oriented team that won games specifically because of stopping the other guy, but Manziel has been the best college player this season. Texas A&M is not having this season without Johnny Football. Notre Dame may not be undefeated, but the Irish would still have had a very good season without Te'o.

When the Heisman Trophy is awarded on Dec. 8 in New York City, Manziel should be there. He should win.

If he does win he will make history not only for his university, but the great state a Texas.

The Heisman trophy has been awarded since 1935 and seven times it has gone to players from Texas schools. While the trophy has been awarded to native Texans in consecutive years (Earl Campbell in '77, Billy Simms in '78, etc.) never has the Heisman trophy gone to a Texas school in consecutive seasons.

Baylor's Robert Griffin III won the award last season, meaning Johnny Football could give the Heisman a Texas Two Year Step.

Here are the Heisman winners from Texas:

1938 Davey O'Brien, TCU
1948 Doak Walker, SMU
1957 John David Crow, Texas A&M
1977 Earl Campbell, Texas
1989 Andre Ware, Houston 
1998 Ricky Williams, Texas
2011 Robert Griffin III, Baylor 

 

 

 

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Why Gary Patterson may scrap the 'Frog Walk'

FORT WORTH, Texas - Trying to establish a new tradition, Gary Patterson and TCU have done a 'Frog Walk' before every home game. Just as many college teams do elsewhere, the players and staff walk as a team through the tailgate scene/campus to the stadium. It may be fun. It may be a way to connect with fans. It was also new, and thus far at the renovated Amon G. Carter Stadium the Frog Walk has yielded nothing.

"I'm superstitous. We may cut that out," Gary Patterson said on Tuesday. 

Why? Despite playing in a wonderfully renovated stadium, the team has been dramatically better on the road than at home. There is a very good chance all of TCU's wins in the Big 12 will have come on the road, and not a one will be at home.

TCU HOME BIG 12
Oct. 6 v. Iowa State, L 37-23
Oct. 20 v. No. 17 Texas Tech, L 56-53 (3 ot)
Nov. 10 v. No. 1 Kansas State, L 23-10
Dec. 1 v. No. 11 Oklahoma 

TCU AWAY BIG 12
Sept. 15 at Kansas, W 20-6
Oct. 13 at Baylor, W 49-21
Oct. 27 at Okie State, L 36-14
Nov. 3 at No. 21 West Virginia, W 39-38 (2 ot)
Nov. 22 at No. 16 Texas, W 20-13 

The Oklahoma Sooners amateur football team is favored by 6.5 points to win on Saturday against TCU. If that holds, TCU would finish a conference home record without a win for the first time in ... forever.

"It's never happened while I've been here," GP said.

The last time TCU finished without a home win in a conference schedule was 1986 when the Frogs finished 3-8 overall, and 1-7 in the Southwest Conference under coach Jim Wacker. Their lone conference win that season was 30-14 at Houston on Nov. 1, 1986.

"If you don't win at home you'll never win a championship," GP said. 

TCU's first season in the Big 12 has to be classified a success. All things considered - a new conference, the February drug bust, the departure of quarterback Casey Pachall and the need to start Trevone Boykin, relying on so many freshman to play - this was a good year.

It would be just a little bizarre to finish a season with so much process without at least one home Big 12 win.

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