Incredible. Augie Garrido, after the game against Boston College :
It was as if no one wanted to leave the scene of the magic, and to UT coach Augie Garrido, that was undoubtedly understandable.
"There's something spiritual about baseball — like Mother Nature," Garrido said. "You don't mess with it. And I think before a player can really believe in it, he has to experience it."
Austin Wood on the Boston College game.
Austin Wood gave what Texas coach Augie Garrido called "the best pitching performance I have ever seen" in 41 years of coaching."
Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, Texas lefthander Austin Wood kept heading to the Disch-Falk Field mound.
"Our pitching coach (Skip Johnson) is always preaching about taking it one pitch at a time," Wood said.
It would eventually become an amazing 169 pitches at a time.
Peter King, SI NFL columnist, was impressed.
"Did you sleep OK?'' I asked.
"About four hours,'' Wood said. "But I'll tell you this: Fell asleep smiling, woke up smiling.''
And that is why we love sports.
Luckily, Wood got Sunday off while the Longhorns beat Army to advance to the Super Regional.
And then there was one. The Longhorns are the only Big 12 team left in the NCAA baseball tournament. Three teams in the tournament are football-baseball powerhouses. Of course, we are one. TCU and Florida are the other two.
Mack Brown checks in from his trip to the Middle East to visit the troops.
Colt McCoy talks about last season's Big 12 title snub on ESPN Radio.
Two future Longhorn quarterbacks, Connor Wood and Case McCoy, attended Nike's Football Training Camp.
McCoy's performance was very similar to his showing at the Fort Worth Elite 11 workout in April. He makes quick decisions and has good feet. Those who have seen him play believe he can end up being the same type of quarterback as his older brother, current Texas starter and Heisman Trophy candidate Colt McCoy.
Wood has excellent feet and a big arm. He displayed good leadership qualities Sunday, congratulating his receivers when they made good catches. Most important, he knows where to go with the football. In the position drills, it was clear that he had above-average athleticism. He was one of the top quarterbacks in the one-on-ones, during which he was on the money with most of his passes.
Puff and choux... scheduling again. Dave Matter, Columbis Tribune, has all the nonconference games that actually matter. Guess what Big 12 team did not make Matter's top 12 games?
Coming up with a dozen of the Big 12’s best nonconference games for the upcoming season is no easy task.
As coaches continue to rake in exorbitant salaries and plush contract incentives, they continue to protect themselves with cushy nonconference schedules. The formula has more or less been set for the four-game slate: one game against a fellow Bowl Championship Series conference team, two mid-major conference opponents and a sacrificial lamb from the Football Championship Subdivision ranks, formerly known as Division I-AA.
Big 12 athletic departments say they are feeling the economic pinch, but several coaches still rake in huge salaries.
Hey, the superstar coaches — Bob Stoops, Mack Brown and Bill Self among others in the Big 12 — generate much more income than they make. Even a Big 12 athletic director, Kansas’ Lew Perkins, ranks at the top of his profession’s salary scale. And he has elevated the Jayhawks’ athletic program to a different financial level.
Mark your calendars. The Big 12 released some of the televised game schedule for the 2009 season.
You better sit down for this. It could come as quite a shock. It has been reported that the Sooners committed secondary violations.
In its investigation, titled "Secrecy 101," which included making extensive open records requests from all 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, the Dispatch learned that among several violations committed by various schools across the country, an unidentified University of Oklahoma football player committed a violation last spring that was discovered in November 2008.
According to the Dispatch, the player traveled to an NFL Draft party as the guest of a former college teammate. The $1,300 trip, which included use of a credit card, was paid for by the former teammate’s agent. The university erased all names from the violation report.
Not to worry, Sooner fans. Scandal and the NCAA go hand-in-hand.
How about a defensive tackle for a Heisman candidate? Nebraska offers Ndamukong Suh for your consideration.
They cannot count in the Big Ten Conference. Currently at 11 teams, if the Big Ten were to add one more, who would it be? The University of Missouri?
And a big thank you to Boone Pickens. Oklahoma State football coaches and staff are beginning to move into their new offices in the west end zone area of the stadium.
ESPN's Bruce Feldman has some ideas about this year's gatecrashers in the BCS. Two Texas schools make the list.
Houston: Kevin Sumlin is a rising star in the coaching business and his team should be dangerous this season. QB Case Keenum is an underrated gem with wonderful pocket presence and is just one of those undersized, Texas-bred quarterbacks who light up the scoreboard all season. He has a lot of speed around him and UH imported some talented juco O-linemen. The D does have a lot of holes to fill but UH is going to win a lot of shootouts. The game at Oklahoma State could be a 70-55 kind of affair. Then, UH gets a week off before hosting Texas Tech; Mike Leach protégé UH offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen gets to try to take down his mentor. The Cougs have the talent to keep both games very interesting. Road trips to Tulsa and UTEP also will be worth watching. Ten wins might seem like a lot but I think it's very realistic and would get them into the top 25.
TCU: This might be Gary Patterson's fastest team. Once again, TCU should be nasty on defense and junior QB Andy Dalton has some capable weapons to work with. The middle of the D is new, but Patterson says it's going to be more athletic than it was last year. The Horned Frogs have to go to Virginia, Clemson and BYU and get Utah at home. Going 10-2 might not be good enough for a BCS spot, but they might have enough speed to get to 11 wins.
A newspaper in Ohio requests player-related documentation from Big 12 schools. Some schools willingly comply, other schools not so much.
The Heisman Pundit has the top 10 underrated coaches. Art Briles comes in at No. 1.
And finally...
Condolences to the Aggies. A member of the infamous 1939 national championship team, All-America lineman Joe Boyd, has passed away.