DMN reports on the Texas Injury Report.

Fozzy is probable, so is Ian Harris. Buck Burnette is out.

Plus there's this ending sentence:

Last week, offensive coordinator Greg Davis said Whittaker had been practicing and was up to speed on the offense.

So, Greg, I've never had the pleasure of calling you a sneaky, underhanded sonofabitch. Gimme a shot...

A little omen: Shipley's dad, Bob, is now the coach at Coppel. They beat Southlake Carroll, 57-51, tonight in a district game, the first SLC has lost in district since 2001. Some dynasties do end. Kudos to Bob.

And Todd Dodge learns all greens aren't the same.

Sometimes in this life the greatest opportunity happens to occur within the context of our greatest threats, in the midst of our most powerful fears, where our basic human dignity and integrity are threatened, and our whole concept of who and what we are in this world is challenged.

OU this weekend is such a situation.

We can be somewhat consoled that the greatest gain can come from such risks, although it must be said, this is not a risk we have necessarily chosen but has fallen to us as a function of this season. The truth be told, we would be much more comfortable waiting a month or so. But we have no such luxury at this moment. 

The future is upon us, and our duty is clear. We must engage the enemy; there is little choice*.  And what little time that remains until our destiny is joined, we must collect and direct our attention to those efforts which will effectively turn the tide our way.

The rest of this post will not reduce our fear. In fact, it will increase it. But of all the things this Texas Longhorn team must do is face their fear, because if they can do that, the future can be theirs. And if they can't, the game is already lost.

*2003  a non-engagement engagement, by all accounts. No hissing.

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The Austin American Statemen just released a statement noting that Fozzy Whitaker will not make the trip to Colorado.

The article also noted that Ian Harris will not play, as well as Buck Burnette (hip) and Montre Webber (ankle). It did not note any new injury to Harris, but restated the sprained neck a month ago.

The key information released is that Fozzy has had ligament sprains in both knees over the last two months.

Saturday, October 16, 1965. My hunger for football was approaching the heavenly, bloated level. The Horns were 4-0, ranked #1 and I had just experienced my first OU weekend, exhilarating in a 19-0 victory, the second shutout for the season. Life was great.The Horns were great. Everything I had hoped was happening, including tons of beautiful women. What could go wrong?

On this day in history, little did I know that all that would fade to black and stay that way for several years. My personal animosity toward the Razorbacks would start that day and, quite frankly, has never ended. There's still a part of me shocked and saddened by the events of that game. And virtually every loss to the Hogs since then has turned the knife in my gut a little more. I can feel it right now,  less than a day before game time, that certain anxiety that comes for only certain games at certain times. There's an irrationality to it that I can't contend with, can't explain and there's damn little I can do about it all.

Luck. Some days you have it, some you don't. Some say luck is a product of preparation in conjunction with opportunity; some say it is a function of personal power, the ability to sieze and act on one particular moment. Some say it is blind and can happen for anyone. Some say it is a lady and a fickle one at that. But on that day in October, 1965, the Horns had absolutely none because Arkansas got it all.

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 Last century, Lake Travis football sucked.  It was not just that they were a losing program since their inception, they were considered soft, rich lake kids that ran the spread long before it was popular and never had a defense. Golf, soccer, basketball, baseball, those sports flourished and produced elite players. Then something happened after the turn of the century.

Football  finally got a meanass coach, one who also was trying to pull himself up from the bootstraps after serving on the staff of state championship teams but wasn't finding life out in the hinterlands too successful. The football culture did a turnaround, the softness tag was soon forgotten and the Cavaliers started winning. The transformation came to completion this past year with a Class 4A-Div. II state championship under the leadership of a talented quarterback, Garret Gilbert.

However, there was one notch still left to carve, one that was so close that it always hurt no matter how much they accomplished: their next door neighbor, Westlake, who had been the powerhouse Lake Travis only saw in their dreams. For decades there were beaten on the field like step-children kidnaped by pirates. Westlake was richer, closer to Austin, older, faster, had more famous UT sons, had a sports reporter who lived there and adored them and gave them ink by the barrel. Lake Travis just had a neo-European name from another era, Cavaliers, and a rich but not rich enough chip on their shoulder. The only things the Cavs ever ran over were the thousands of deer who insisted that every road and pathway belonged to them.

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Any physical stats for football players are suspect to some degree.

I've even known coaches to fudge downwards, but for the same reasons as some enhance their players sizes and times.  One of the more amusing aspects of the NFL combine is to knock the bottom out of the exaggerations. However,  we know from high school through recruiting and then college, speed and size are the currencies of the inexact art of player assessment.

This emerges re: PB's inclusion of my statement regarding the relative speeds of Vondrell McGee, Jordon Shipley and Quan Cosby and the contrary comments about the accuracy about those very speeds by several BONers.

Do I have to believe those speeds are accurate? No, I don't have to. They were merely landmarks for what Mack was doing: he was creating myth.

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I came to Texas with high football expectations.

Sky high expectations. I didn't know much about urban living nor what the university was really all about. Through all the cultural shock, the one expectation was that I was going to see some great football up close and personal. Realistic? I thought so.

After the great teams of '61 (10-1) and '62 (9-1-1) had put Texas in the mix for the national championship, the Horns had used a vicious defense to power their way to their first national championship in 1963. That defense forced three shut outs (Tulane, Baylor and TCU), five games with single digit scoring, including Navy in the Cotton Bowl, and only Arkansas and aTm scored the high of 13 points. Grand total for the season for points allowed: 71.  Great D centered around Tommy Nobis.

In 1964, a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to #8 Arkansas at Memorial Stadium knocked the Horns out of #1 but they would not lose another game, defeating Bear Bryant, Joe Willie Namath and 'Bama for a rousing start to 1965.

DRK and the Horns went 40-3-1 coming into '65, so I wasn't alone in my expectations. With Nobis coming back for his senior year and great recruiting classes coming off the national championship, it seems preordained that greatness would follow.

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Texas announced two open practices for fans:

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 6:45 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 7, 6:45

Both will be at Denius Fields, 26th and Red River. The MB-TF announcement also noted that if practices should be moved into The Bubble, the practice would no longer be open. No mention of a re-schedule in such an event.

The Texas site also recommends parking at the Manor Garage (PG-5) across from DKR-Memorial Stadium. In the past there has been parking across the street from Denius in the lots there as well as on eastbound 26th before the Red River light.

The Horns will not be in full pads until Friday, Aug. 8th.

Fan Appreciation Day will be Saturday, Aug. 16, at the stadium at 11 a.m. There will be a closed scrimmage before this event, which is really for autographs and photos. If y'all are looking to adopt a player, this would be a good time for a photo to cement the bond, unless, of course, you want to retain your anonymity or the reward for your capture is just too great to risk it. Other arrangements may be available.

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While it may be 45 days until we finally start the season, it's only 18 days until the Horns hit the field for fall practice.

The ESPN blog has now noted that Texas starts practice on Monday, August 4. Some Big 12 teams will start as early as Aug. 31, all will get after it by Aug. 5.

The MB-TF site has yet to release a schedule, times or how many practices the public can attend.

The last two years only two practices have been open to the public.

This came about because of an injury to a player (Jordon Shipley) which was released via some fan's cell phones before the UT staff could notify Shipley's parents. This caused the staff some embarrassment and resulted in a ban on cell phones, later modified to just turn them off, and fewer practices became available to the public.

I hated to see those restrictions, especially with what are obviously dedicated Longhorn fans. On the other hand, I know Shipley's parents. Bob would actually arrange Burnet practices so he could see a couple of practices each year and I've sat with him and his wife a couple of times; that was always entertaining and informative. But no one wants to hear about their kid being injured from the radio or TV. All these parents have such high expectations that it creates a lot of emotional turmoil.

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