Big 12 to concede all future titles to Kansas after it signed nation's top player

Baylor, nice try.
Same for Oklahoma State.

Just when the Big 12 was ready to crown a new men's basketball champion for the first time since 1934, Kansas just had to step in and go all Kansas on the conference yet again.

In a highly, highly anticipated decision, top prep basketball prospect Andrew Wiggins said he will attend the University of Kansas to play basketball beginning in the fall.

Wiggins is listed as a 6-foot-7 small forward; he has been called one of the top recruits in the past decade.

HOORAY FOR KANSAS, and specifically the institution of higher learning and edumicashion.

This has to be KU's biggest name recruit since Larry Brown hired assistant coach Ed Manning so his son, Danny, would play basketball in Lawrence. Ed apparently was a dynamite coach.

Wiggins is the best prep player in the country, and he was attracting interest from every blue blood program in the nation. He picked KU over Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida State to play college basketball.

He may even attend class, although I don't why.

(* It should be noted that I am a KU undergrad alum, class of ... just very recently.)

This guy is so gone to the NBA this time a year from now the only classes he should be taking are How to Change My Cell Phone Number Every 15 Minutes, The History of Groupies and Entourage Studies.

KU could potentially have the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft - Ben McLemore - and '14 draft, Wiggins.

Both Baylor and Oklahoma State should have an edge in terms of preseason conference ranking because of the number of quality returning players, but the addition of a talent like Wiggins to Kansas changes everything.

Just prepare now for another KU Big 12 title.

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The worst team in Texas needs to lose more

Just when you thought some of those God-awful Dallas Mavericks teams of the '90s were the very worst, the Houston Astros are in a serious battle of "we can be the worstest".

In their first year of the American League, the Astros are 8-25 for an impressive .250 "winning" percentage. The Astros did not play on Monday night, but still lost 5-3 in extra innings.

The Astros simply must lose more if they want any hope of challenging the 1899 Cleveland Spiders for the supremacy of crap. The Spiders were 20-134, a .120 winning percentage, the worst in pro baseball history. What the final record does not reflect is that the Spiders were in a lot of those games, and needed just a few calls and they could have won as many as 25 games.

At the very least, the Astros are hard at work trying to at least be "worser" than their garbage year of 2012, when they finished 55-107 (.340).

BTW - The worst season in the history of the Texas Rangers was their first in the state, 1972, when they finished 54-100.

The sad part is there is no way for the Astros to post a winning percentage bad enough to distinguish itself as the very worst in the history of pro sports in this great state.

The Dallas Cowboys were 0-11-1 in their first season. The Houston Oilers had a few one-win seasons.

The Astros can't challenge winning .000 percentages like that because they play too many games. But for sheer quality of badness, these Astros could challenge the 1992-'93 Dallas Mavericks (11-71, .134) as one of the worst in the history of the state.

The odd part is that normally teams that suffer through seasons such as the one by the Astros normally are in their early part of the existence. The Astros have been around since 1962.

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On this day in 1991: Nolan Ryan's 7th no hitter

There is an entire generation of baseball fans who only know Nolan Ryan as a baseball executive and don't know much about his days as a pitcher. How sad. Kids, time to learn some history. 

On May 1, 1991 Nolan Ryan threw his seventh no-hitter in a win against the Toronto Blue Jays at now-long-gone Arlington Stadium.

I dug up in the Star-Telegram's archives the story written by Mr. T.R. Sullivan, he now of MLB.com. This is fun nostalgia. Enjoy ...

7th Heaven Rangers' Ryan fans 16 Jays in no-hitter
By: T.R. Sullivan
ARLINGTON - Nolan Ryan continues to go where no man has gone before, throwing his seventh career no-hitter, three more than any other pitcher in baseball history.

Ryan, extending a record he set almost 10 years ago, thrilled a crowd of 33,439 and a national television audience in Canada by holding the Toronto Blue Jays hitless in the Texas Rangers' 3-0 victory last night at Arlington Stadium.

That it came at Arlington Stadium, on Arlington Appreciation Night, made this no-hitter stand out from the others.

"I'm glad I was able to throw it at home because of the way the fans have treated me since I've been here," Ryan said. "The fans have really been supportive here; that's what makes this one so special."

Afterward, manager Bobby Valentine broke out a bottle of Dom Perrignon given to him by former Rangers owner Brad Corbett on Opening Day 1986. Valentine had been saving it for a World Series celebration but couldn't resist popping the cork and having his players drink a toast in Ryan's honor.

"This was too special not to," Valentine said. "Plus, we drank a toast to October, too."

The no-hitter comes with an extraordinary set of circumstances, including the fact that at age 44, Ryan is the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter. Of course, he already set that record when he pitched his no-hitter last year, at 43, against the Oakland Athletics.

He did it pitching on four days rest, which, at least statistically, is not the best time for him to make a start, Ryan was 6-7 with a 4.07 earned-run average pitching on four days rest last year.

He did it with a stiff back, sore bones and a bloody right middle finger, the result of his skin and scar tissue breaking open while warming up in the bullpen.

"It was a downer of a day physically," Ryan said. "A no-hitter was the furthest thing from my mind when I came to the ballpark."

"He had one of his worst warmups ever in the bullpen," Valentine said. "(Pitching coach) Tom House told me his back was stiff, every bone was killing him, he feels like he's getting old, don't leave him out there too long."

Valentine asked Ryan before the game if the back was a problem and was told it was a little stiff. He asked his pitcher how it would be once the game started.

"He told me it would be history," Valentine said. "Little did he know what he meant by history."

His teammates knew something special was in the air after the second inning, whenRyan struck out the side in order, catching John Olerud, Mark Whiten and Glenallen Hill looking at strike-three curve balls.

"Steve (Buechele) and I came off the field after the second inning and told each other all we need is one run," shortstop Jeff Huson said. "We could tell he had his great stuff then. We just knew."

"In the second inning, his curveball just jumped out of the woodwork," Valentine said. "That's as good a curve as he has had. He had an outstanding curve, an outstanding fastball, and he was hitting wonderful spots." Ryan struck out 16, tying his own team record, and walked two, certainly one of the most overpowering no-hitters anybody has thrown. Ryan's "best" no-hitter generally has been considered his second, when, pitching for the California Angels against the Detroit Tigers in 1973, he struck out 17 and walked four.

"The key tonight was I had good command of all three of my pitches," Ryan said. "I had a good fastball, and I was able to establish my changeup and curveball early, which is what we intended to do."

The closest the Blue Jays came to a hit was Manny Lee's blooper to short center in the fifth inning that Gary Pettis ran down and caught it at knee level.

"I really felt it had a shot at falling in at first," Ryan said. "But I knew we were playing him shallow, and if anybody can make that play coming on like that, the best is Gary Pettis."

Pettis said he thought, when the ball came off the bat, it was going to fall in because, "I playing him shaded to left, and it was hit toward right. But I got a good jump on the ball."

Toronto's hardest-hit ball was Whiten's line drive to lead off the eighth inning, but the ball headed straight toward right fielder Ruben Sierra for the out. There were no other close calls from the team that entered the game leading the American League in team batting average and runs scored.

"Anytime you face Nolan Ryan, two things can happen," Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. "He can beat you or he can throw a no-hitter. The biggest thing you can do is prevent him from beating you, because you can't do anything about tonight. He just had great stuff."

The Rangers got Ryan the runs he needed in the third against Toronto starter Jimmy Key as Sierra belted a two-run homer, his third home run in the last two games.

From then on, all attention was directed toward Ryan and his bid to add another chapter to an already lustrous legacy, and by the fourth inning, if not earlier, the crowd knew what was going on.

"The great thing was the fans," Huson said. "They really started getting into it with each pitch, cheering with each strike and oohing with each ball. The crowd made it even more fun."

The frenzy reached its zenith in the ninth as Ryan retired Lee and Devon White on ground balls to second baseman Julio Franco. That brought up Roberto Alomar, son of former California Angels second baseman Sandy Alomar, once a teammate ofRyan.

"I've known him since he was 3," Ryan said.

Ryan got ahead in the count with two fastballs, but Alomar, whose first major-league hit was off Ryan, fouled off two pitches and took two pitches for balls before whiffing at one final fastball.

Once again, Ryan had rewritten history.

 

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The Dallas Cowboys worst draft picks of all time - No. 3

As a celebration of NFL draft week, The Big Mac Blog will look back at the best and worst of the Dallas Cowboys' draft history. We will start with The Bad:

3. Shante Carver, DE, Arizona State, 1994, 23rd overall pick
He has the distinction of being the first draft pick in the post Jimmy Johnson era. Not that Jimmy didn't have his stinkers, but this was a major whiff as a first rounder. Shante was too thin, and not quick enough, to be a dominant defensive end. He wasn't awful, but the production never merited a first round selection.

In four NFL seasons, Carver collected 11.5 sacks. In 1995, he started three games as a backup behind Charles Haley on a team that won the Super Bowl.

Ironically, Carver's most productive NFL season came in 1997 when he had six sacks and started 16 games. Of course, that was the same year the team finished 6-10. This was Carver's last NFL season.

He played in the XFL's one year of existence, and then played for the Dallas Desperadoes of the Arena Football League to finish out his pro football career.

 

Picked immediately after: Rob Fredrickson, OLB, Michigan State
Picked immediately ahead of: Thomas Lewis, RB, Indiana 

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A massive, but expected, blow for Longhorns basketball

The garbage season that was in Austin for University of Texas men's basketball coach Rick Barnes continued on Friday as his best player announced he was leaving.

But unlike leading scorer Sheldon McClellan, who plans to transfer, point guard Myck Kabongo will go to the NBA.

According to UT, Kabongo will skip his final two years in Austin in hopes of being drafted. Hmm ... wonder if he's earned his degree?

Not a good move. With approximately 4,342 early entries into this draft class, Kabongo is going to need to score major marks in the pre-draft class and individual workouts to move up.

Right now NBADraft.net doesn't even have Kabongo being drafted. 
But DraftExpress.net has Kabongo going in the second round.

He is a pure point guard who knows how to run an offense, push the ball and put guys in the right spot. He also has one maaaaajor flaw - he is generously listed as 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. If he is 6-1 that means I am 7-foot-8.

This season, he was limited to just 11 games because to serve an NCAA suspension for some stupid violation that exists only in the selective integrity world of the NCAA. But in the 11 games he did play, he averaged 14.6 points and 5.5 assists.

He is going to need to improve his shot - he made just 8 of 27 3 pointers - and at some point he will have to learn to create his own offense to survive in the NBA.

No one questions his ability to play or create for others, but standing maybe 6-1 he will have to make some major improvements for this decision to pay off the way he hopes.

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A former Texas player nails the Longhorns' second biggest problem

AUSTIN, Texas - Alex Okafor has more important things to worry about than Texas Longhorns' spring ball, and he is not about to trash a program that he obviously so dearly loves, but the man has some honest insight into what troubles his college team.

On Tuesday at UT's Pro Day, Okafor worked out for the various NFL teams who made the trip. After his workout, he spoke about playing for UT and admitted there is some stress that comes with playing for a college program that has such high expectations, and has failed to live up to them for the past few seasons.

"After the past two years, there is some stress," Okafor said. "There is going to be stress on next year's team. It's no different."

How can a program that routinely ranks among the nation's best in recruiting start winning the way this team should?

"Physcially, we have to get better," Okafor said.

Amen and amen.

As long as Mack Brown can't find another Vince Young or Colt McCoy, and this state's best quarterbacks routinely go anywhere but Austin, his team needs to embrace a more phsyically dominant brand of football.

Alabama doesn't exactly have Andrew Luck as its quarterback, but there may not be a team that is more physically imposing. Playing physical can compensate for shortcomings in other areas.

I asked Okafor if he meant by physical that means getting bigger, or something else.

"Physically, on the field," he said. "Physically, and mentally, we have to dominate."

UT does not have Alabama's players, but these guys aren't stiffs. This starts with the culture in Austin that needs a slight adjustment. No one is scared of playing Texas.

This doesn't mean players - sorry, student athletes - should be deprived of water or food but it does mean someone either on the staff or on the team sells and embraces a nastier, meaner and ultimately more physical attitude.

If David Ash is going to be this team's QB, and right now that is the case, the defense has to compensate by demoralizing its opponents. Some of that is talent, but a lot of it is attitude.

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A&M will play Texas when this sorority cat fight stops

I do love me some DeLoss Dodds. The University of Texas director of athletics and de facto Big 12 commish can't help himself. Whether it's giving the green light for his teams to have losing seasons, or remaining absolutely tone deaf to anything not Texas, the man provides good copy.

The Daily Texan asked Mr. Dodds when Texas might play Texas A&M again in football, to which Dodds answered: 

“I think we'll play sometime. I don't know when it will happen or how it will happen, but I'm sure it will happen. They left. They're the ones that decided not to play us. We get to decide when we play again. I think that's fair. If you did a survey of our fans about playing A&M, they don't want to. It's overwhelming. I know. I hear it. Our fans are important to us. I think there's got to be a period where things get different. I think there's too many hard feelings."

That last sentence is true - there are too many hard feelings. On both sides. The A&M people are hacked because the Aggies feel that rather than take something else into consideration other than itself, Texas did what was best for Texas by jumping into bed with ESPN and creating the Longhorn Network and keeping all of the profits. A&M would have done the same thing had ESPN called the Aggies. Bristol didn't call College Station, so the Aggies bolted to the SEC with a giant middle finger on its way East.

Dodds said "We get to decide." Not sure A&M director of athletics Eric Hyman agrees. When I asked him such a question in an interview last fall, he sounded none too eager to play UT primarily because of the brutality of the SEC schedule.

You can bet neither Mack Brown nor Kevin Sumlin want this game for fear of losing a non-conference date.

Financially, the respective decisions made sense for both schools but there is something bigger than DeLoss, Mack, Hyman, Sumlin and any of the power brokers who wear the maroon and white or the orange and white: Texas and Texas A&M.

The schools, the programs, the alumni and the tradition are much bigger than any of these men who are acting like a sparring sorority girls who are upset over the float in the homecoming parade. 

It happens in other states all the time - Georgia plays Georgia Tech in football. Florida plays Florida State. Clemson plays South Carolina. 

Get over it and do the right thing by putting Texas v. Texas A&M back on the schedule. 

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Nolan Ryan statement says nothing while saying a lot

Paging Robert Langdon. Paging Doctor Robert Langdon. We really could use you right about now. (that's a DaVinci Code reference)

For the first time since Star-Telegram columnist Randy Galloway broke the story that Texas Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan was seriously considering leaving the Texas Rangers, the man has spoken. Well, kind of.

Ryan released this statement today through the Rangers: 

“Over the last week, Ray Davis, Bob Simpson, and I have been in discussion and met in-person. The conversations have been productive, and we have discussed my role as CEO of the organization. We agreed these discussions will continue as we go forward.

"I am very proud of what the Rangers have accomplished over the last several years, and I believe our preparations for upcoming season are what is important." 

What does this say? Technically, nothing. It does, however, leave the door wide open to Nolan staying, and leaving.

Clearly the Rangers are in full crisis, red alert, oh-crap spin control mode after the poop hit the fan when it was announced that all baseball decisions were all going to go through GM Jon Daniels, and the business part was left to Rick George.

No one much cared about the business part anyway. People wanted to know if Ryan was going to have a final say about the team on the field.

The power structure left Nolan Ryan as the final say on nothing.

My first take on that announcement was that Nolan, 66, was tired of the day to day stuff and wanted to step back. Because no one other than Jerry Jones would be stupid enough to slap a Texas sports icon in the face like this. Turns out I was wrong - the Rangers were indeed that stupid, and Nolan wants to work.

Rangers ownership clearly was not aware of the backlash and criticism they were about to face when they outlined a power structure that did not include the one man who has brought more credibility to this franchise than any other, either as a player or an executive (sorry, Doug Melvin).

The reaction was - You don't do this to Nolan Ryan.
The other reaction was - We can find another Jon Daniels. There never will be another Nolan Ryan.

For fans of Nolan, this statement is encouraging because it's not a giant middle finger to the franchise and a declaration of departure. 
For fans of Nolan, this statement is not totally encouraging because it does not say he is going to remain with the team.

What the ownership has to do is figure out a way to save face while ensuring Ryan has say in baseball decisions.

The Rangers can't be expected to be quite as competitive in '13 as they were in previous seasons, so this is not the right time to alienate and run off the proudest face of this franchise.

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Tim Tebow cancels visit to Dallas church because he's smart

Tim Tebow may never be able to throw the football down the football field to score football points, but the man is PR savvy enough to know there is no way to keep his rather pristine image so nice and shiny after speaking at church led by Robert Jeffress.

Last week it was announced that Tebow was scheduled to appear at the First Baptist Church of Dallas at the end of April. Now the quarterback of the New York Jets has changed his mind.

On the Twitter thingy this morning, Tebow wrote from his account @TimTebow, "While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ's unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to the new information that has been brought to my attention I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance. I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all of those needing a brighter day. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!"

Wise move, sir.

This church is led by the oh-just-slightly-controversial Robert Jeffress, who I am sure has plenty of friends who are both gay and voted for Barack Obama. Oh, and Catholics, too.

How did Tebow not realize this church was led by such a controversial figure? And if he didn't care for the reaction that his scheduled appearance has generated why did it take a week to back out?

Personally, I planned on attending the service Tebow was slated to speak just so I could see the scene and hear his message. I applaud Tebow's convinction.

This is America, and both Tebow and Jeffress are allowed the freedom to say whatever they want, just as we enjoy the same space to disagree.

The whole thing was rather odd. Nothing Tebow has reportedly said since he became TIM TEBOW has been even remotely close to some of the judgemental hate that Jeffress has said. Maybe Tebow agrees with Jeffress line for line, but this announcement shows that he is smart enough not to publicly declare it.

Even if Tebow can't repair his battered image as an NFL-caliber quarterback the decision to stay away from Jeffress' church should maintain his shiny image as a person.

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Myck Kabongo needs to return to Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas - University of Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes says that former Longhorns guard Cory Joseph has told him if could do it again he should have stayed in college rather than turn pro early. The same for P.J. Tucker.

Longhorns point guard Myck Kabongo would be wise to learn from Joseph and Tucker's decisions and stick around for one more year. All signs point to Kabongo leaving UT after this season for the NBA draft, but he would be so smart to give stick around a little bit longer.

Kabongo has now played three games in this his sophomore season. A stupid and pointless NCAA suspension has all but wiped out Kabongo's year, and as a result killed UT's season. Kabongo is a natural point guard with solid floor-director's skills. UT is 2-1 since he returned, and maybe can make a run at .500 now that he is back.

"Think about it - he's played three games and done pretty well," Barnes said after UT defeated TCU on Tuesday night in Fort Worth. "We were at Kansas and getting killed and I asked him if he wanted to come out of the game. He said, 'Coach, I want to play.' He told his teammates, 'We're not quitting.' That speaks volumes about him. (His team) knows there is a confidence level they feel. There is a difference with Myck out there and we see it."

Myck looks like a guy who lives to set up his teammates, and has the quickness to penetrate and kick. This is a not shoot-first point guard. But he is only 6-foot-1, and he needs to develop a consistent perimeter shot.

If you are going to be 6-1 in the NBA, you better be stupid quick and have the ability to knock down an open shot. Talent alone says he is going to get NBA money at some point, the question is how big that first check is.

If he genuinely thinks he is a top 10 pick, he has to leave. Anything other than that, he should stay. 

Under Barnes UT has had a lot of players leave early. Players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant made the right call. Joseph and Tucker both have told Barnes they should not have left. 

Selfishly, I hope Kabongo stays. He is fun to watch. If he does return, UT should be again be near the top of the Big 12 next season. If he doesn't, hopefully that check is a big one.

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