May 20, 2012
Texas sports blog
Some surprises and interesting developments came through this week in all levels of basketball.
Once again, it’s another all basketball podcast, where both the High School and College games are winding down their seasons.
Enjoy!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:46 — 24.9MB)
While March Madness is nearly here, teams in college basketball are starting to prepare for conference tournament season and the prospect for an automatic tourney bid.
This week, I talk about the four “contenders” I mentioned in last week’s podcast. Just how far do those teams have to go to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament?
Also, Lehman High School announced their new Athletic Coordinator for the 2012-2013 football season. I’ll discuss what the acquisition of Todd Raymond’s coaching ability will mean for the Lobo program.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:44 — 20.3MB)
The last thing TCU needs before heading into the Big 12 is bad press.
A recent drug scandal that has rocked Texas Christian University and Gary Patterson’s football program isn’t just bad press; It’s a school’s worst nightmare. According to multiple sources: Four TCU football players were among 17 students that were arrested in a drug bust conducted by the Fort Worth Police Department and other authorities. This bust was the culimation of a 6 month investigation into drug peddling within the TCU campus.
While it’s a shocking development for the school, it gets much more disappointing for the football program. During FWPD’s investigation, one of the TCU players mentioned to authorities that 82 players allegedly failed a recent school administered impromtu drug test.
Suddenly, all eyes are now cast upon TCU’s AD Chris Del Conte and Head Coach Gary Patterson. The main question being: What is going on behind closed doors?
Here’s a portion of what Gary Patterson said (in a prepared statement) after the news of failed drug tests came out (via the Austin American Statesman and Associated Press):
“The comments about failed drug tests made by the separated players in affidavits cannot be verified simply because they were made in the context of a drug buy,”
Yeah, coach. Disregarding the fact that these guys were once a part of the team and probably knew what they meant, then that statement would make a lot of sense.
While everything is alleged, it still casts a rather negative pall on the football program. Just the whisper of failed drug tests by athletes raises many sports fans’ eyebrows. The staggering number of 82 is something that is just mind boggling, even if it’s just a pervasive rumor. The amount of neglect that would be needed for this to happen was thought to have been a thing of the past. Something that died when SMU was administered the “Death Penalty” in the 80′s.
If these rumors prove to be true, then TCU could have the beginning of a big problem on their hands.
Apologies for the lack of posts/podcasts over the last few weeks. It got very busy and stressful for my family and I; Thankfully, everything has calmed down and I can go back to blogging!
In this podcast: Talking about a scheduling snafu that has split Hays CISD, as well as going over the new UIL realignment and how it affects Hays County.
Enjoy!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:24 — 13.0MB)
According to the Austin American Statesman, the University of Texas is prepared to extend Mack Brown’s contract to the year 2020. This will add on to a recent extension Coach Brown received in 2009, which had him coaching through 2016.
Here are the details of the new 4 year contract extention:
“…[Texas Head Coach Mack] Brown would continue to receive annual raises of $100,000. His current annual compensation is $5.2 million.”
However, the Board of Regents did structure Brown’s contract with a rather large loophole:
“…the regents are also expected to approve a provision that would in essence allow the university to dismiss Brown for $3.5 million with about six months’ notice, the source said.”
Which begs the question: Why would the Board of Regents give such a lengthy extension, especially with that large of a buyout loophole?
It’s hard to fathom the reasoning behind this move by the UT Board. I would understand the logic had the Horns been more competitive in past two seasons. Additionally, this would make more sense had there not been any rumors swirling that Athletic Director Deloss Dodds tried to force out Brown as Head Coach.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case. An additonal 4 years added to the 2016 deal is just too long. The current length of contract worked well enough; It gave the Board of Regents and the Athletic Department enough time to assess whether Coach Brown is able to continue as head coach. Suddenly, the problem becomes whether Texas’ Board and AD’s will be cognizant enough to let Brown go if he underwhelms over the next few years.
Coach Brown will be 68 when the restructred contract ends; There are already complaints that he might not have “fire” left within him to lead a championship caliber team.
Why the University would allow themselves to further extend this contract is puzzling. Just let the 2016 contract run it’s course, then make the decision to reward Coach Brown at that point.
The last thing anyone wants at UT is a Florida State/Bobby Bowden situation: When a school waits too long to let go and the coach feels he shouldn’t depart.
What do you think? Should Texas have extended Mack Brown’s contract to 2020?
Can you believe that the football season is almost over!? We only have 3 and 1/2 more weeks before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis! It seemed like it was only yesterday that Opening Weekend festivities were taking place.
However, as the days go by in January, so goes the hourglass on the 2011-12 season. In this podcast, I’ll talk about the Houston Texans and their postseason run, as well as Texas teams in the FBS and FCS during the collegiate postseason.
Finally, it’s time to start talking about College Basketball; Texas teams are beginning conference play, I’ll let you know who to watch down the stretch.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:19 — 21.0MB)
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