Not two days after I started squawking about elevating our football discourse do we get our first chance to see it in action. Last night, Chip Brown filed a Big 12 preview and predictions piece. In it he notes (as he did on the June 12 broadcast of EDSBS LIVE) that Oklahoma State has a chance to win the Big 12 South this year. Take it away, Chip:
If Oklahoma struggles with a first-year quarterback, if Texas can't solve its problems running the ball or stopping the pass, or if Texas A&M gets beaten down by a brutal schedule, the Cowboys could be BCS-bound in 2007.
Chip goes on to reiterate that this isn't necessarily the most likely scenario, but that it's well within the possibilities. It is, he notes, certainly not crazy.
Over at Orangebloods, where every Texas-related story finds its way to the board, Chip's article is linked to with, "Has Chip Brown lost his mind???" Various snickers from other posters follow, with a healthy dose of others noting that Chip's article is damn reasonable.
My point? I don't want to be the kind of fan who snickers at a well-reasoned argument just because I'm so stupidly in love with Texas. I don't see Oklahoma State winning the South, but I think Chip's made a very strong case for why it could play out that way. To deny that is plain silly. When we're talking about elevating the discourse, we're talking about considering reasonable ideas. Nothing more, nothing less.
Orangebloods' Gerry Hamilton provides a brief update on Gary Johnson ($), noting that the heart condition was caught by Texas team doctors during his first physical in Austin. What's unknown, at this point, is how long - or whether, even - the condition will sideline Johnson. It might end his career or he might not have to sit out at all; physicians don't know enough yet to make that call.
Orangebloods, of course, is a site on the Rivals.com network, which yesterday was acquired by Yahoo, Inc. for an undisclosed amount of money. No word yet on what Yahoo will do to integrate Rivals content into its own sports coverage, or whether/how the move will affect the various Rivals.com sites.
Briefly: SMQ notes in his Thursday hub why he doesn't bother with subscription-based messageboards like those on the Rivals network... Suzanne Haliburton checks in on voluntary Longhorn summer football workouts... Jake is really enjoying Omaha now... The Aggie blogosphere is organizing - a good thing. An inaugural roundtable is up for perusal...
--PB--