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The Big Roundup - July 2, 2010

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Texas Exes love Deloss Dodds.

University of Texas Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds has been selected to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Exes. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes meritorious service to the University. It is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a non-alumnus of the University.

Only five other individuals have been honored with the award: former University of Texas President Peter T. Flawn, University Senior Vice President William Livingston, philanthropist Peter O’Donnell, three-time national championship-winning football coach Darrell K. Royal, and highly renowned professor Elspeth Rostow.

 

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The Big 12 has some three-headed monsters.

The Aggie offensive line is one of the questions going into the 2010 season.

The offensive line again comes into the season with question marks. Will Luke Joeckel, a true freshman, be able to hold his own and protect Johnson's blind side at left tackle? Who is going to play right tackle? Is Matt Allen ready to be a full-time starter at center?

Having to replace three-fifths of a line is no small task, so look for the team to struggle a bit out of the gate. Luckily, the Aggies will face powderpuffs Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana Tech and Florida International early to give them time to gel.

Maybe the Cornhuskers will still be stealing Texas talent after their departure for the Big Twelve Ten.

If Nebraska's staff stays committed to its newly formed connections in the Lone Star State, Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com, doesn't see why the Huskers couldn't keep the pipelines open southward.

"The good news is, they've got great relationships built with the high school coaches across the state." Crabtree said. "The coaches are the gate keepers. Right now, when (Nebraska's coaches) walk through the door, the high school head coach isn't going to be shy about letting them in."

The Bears are happy.

Baylor coach Art Briles summed up the joy he was feeling in seven words: "It’s like we’ve been given new life."

Briles was talking about his football program, but his words could stand for the entire Baylor athletic department after the Big 12 decided to stick together with 10 teams.

Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn gives us all a great lesson on how to provide bulletin board material for your rival.


The Cyclones' first three games will be televised.

The Jayhawks have been busy.

Tuesday, the Kansas University football staff received yet another oral commitment from an offensive lineman in the Class of 2011.

That makes four commitments in six days at the position, unprecedented progress for the KU program, according to Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jon Kirby.

NewsOK has a personal profile on OU receiver Justin McCay.

Bob Bullock, patron saint of Bears and Raiders.

Bullock, invigorated by the triumph and praise of the previous legislative session, summoned Bill Cunningham of UT and Herb Richardson of A&M to his office early in 1994, when the conference shuffle – converting the Big 8 to the Big 10 -- was on the verge of being a done deal. Glaring at the two men he said, “You’re taking Tech and Baylor or you’re not taking anything. I’ll cut your money off and you can join privately if you want, but you won’t get another nickel of state money.”

The university representatives apparently believed the subject was open for discussion, that they had a negotiating position. When they expressed hesitation, Bullock cut them off. “If you want to try me, go ahead,” he said.

“Governor, we understand,” Cunningham said.

We're so thrilled for the happy couple. It will be a love fest between Nebraska and the Big Ten.

Sporting News' Matt Hayes has the Pokes at 64 on his college football countdown.

Coach Mike Gundy, who doesn't get nearly the credit he should for building the program, hired passing game whiz (and Mike Leach disciple) Dana Holgorsen to run his offense. Now, the problem: the Cowboys are replacing four offensive linemen and have little experience at wide receiver. If that's not a big enough issue, consider that the team's biggest offensive weapon (TB Kendall Hunter) could be minimized in the pass-happy scheme. The offense was multiple when Gundy ran the show, leaning on a power running game in tight spots. Now it's all throwing, all the time.

Tulas World's Dave Sittler takes issue with Tommy Tuberville's dire prediction about the future of the Big 12.

While the remaining members of the beleaguered Big 12 Conference have adopted Jones' famous, "I have not yet begun to fight," attitude about survival, Tuberville is already waving the white flag.

This is strange, because Tuberville has never backed down in his career. You don't survive 14 years as a head football coach in the tough-as-it-gets SEC without knowing how to put up your dukes.

But there was Tuberville, who has yet to coach a game in the Big 12, predicting doom and gloom Tuesday about the future of a league that was rocked last month by the defections of Nebraska and Colorado.

Who will replace Dan Hawkins as the Buffs head coach?

In regard to your question, I don't know what people you are listening to, but forget Leach. Too much baggage, right or wrong, with the Red Raiders. The Buffs will never go there.

I'll give you four to consider: Tosh Lupoi, Brent Venables, Kirby Smart and Dave Logan.

 

Colorado seems really, really happy to be leaving the Big 12.

Bohn said the athletic department is already benefiting from the decision to change conferences with increased interest in CU from alumni, fans and donors.

Usually, it`s difficult for the Buffs to receive much attention from the Denver and national media during the spring and summer months. With the hiring of two new basketball coaches, the historic decision to join the Pac-10, and the ongoing Hawkins watch there have been plenty of headlines coming out of Boulder.

"It has been frenetic and it hasn`t slowed down yet," Bohn said. "Based on my physique I`m not a sprinter and I`m not a marathoner. I have to find some way to continue to lean on our leadership, on our donor base, on our sponsor base, on our fans in a way that we know collectively we`re all moving in one direction. That`s where I get my fuel from. I will try to be a leader and create an opportunity for us to take advantage of this opportunity of a lifetime."

 

Would Bob Stoops rather be in the PAC 10?

“I thought it was exciting when all that came about,” Stoops said. “The Pac-10 brings long tradition and history, great schools, great academic schools. I just thought all of it was a win-win in my eyes.

“We’ve moved this way (to save the Big 12),” Stoops added. “I’m not at all complaining. But if that (Pac-16) was going to happen, the possibility of that was exciting.”

 

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Dennis Dodd has another day of lessons planned on expansion.

The Lost Lettermen has the 10 worst football program scandals. Our dear friends from up north made the list.

BYU wasn't left out of the PAC-10 because of academic standards.

OK, can we cut the crapola already?

Can we dispense with the nonsense of blaming BYU's exclusion from the Pac-10 on the school's perceived shortcomings as a "research institution."

Pa-leeeze.

Research? What, are they going to do, host a lab-rat race? A find-that-genome contest? A league-wide all-nighter over the Bunsen burner? First one to cold fusion wins!

Whatever happened to C.J. Miles?

C.J. Miles jumped from Skyline High to the NBA as a second-round pick in 2005 despite doubters who thought he should go to Texas for seasoning. He felt growing pains, but Miles is a five-year NBA veteran at 23.

C.J. Miles is coming off his most significant playing time in the playoffs of his career, averaging 14.4 points in Utah's series against Denver and the Lakers. The 6-6 forward wants to parlay that into a more productive regular season next year.

Miles appreciates that he's come a long way from when he arrived in Utah as an 18-year-old, Dallas' only player to make the jump from high school to the NBA. The NBA implemented a rule that ended such explorations in 2006.

Helmets don't hurt players, players do. Coaches want players to stop using helmets as a weapon.

As helmets have been padded and outfitted in the last 10 to 20 years, ostensibly to protect against head injury, the age perversely seems to have generated some of the most gruesome and damaging collisions ever.

Barking Carnival's ScipioTex looks at CTE.

There are three major rites of passage for a football player: a concussion, a stinger (compression of the brachial plexis), a blown knee. I experienced all three playing only through high school (my first stinger in junior high I proclaimed myself “paralyzed” and thrashed about in confusion while my coaches chuckled at me, taking delight in describing to my mother after practice exactly what it looked like). A concussion wasn’t treated with much more seriousness, particularly if it was “mild.” We would rewind the inflicting play during film sessions over and over, high-fiving. Stingers were a lesser injury, concussions were of moderate concern, and a knee injury was, of course, tragic, as it meant a blown season and a painful rehab.

Now we know that calculus may be very wrong.

All the guys reading this post can relax. Erin Andrews has signed a tentative agreement with ESPN.

 

And finally...

Just 64 days...

 

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