Superstar! UT-ex Young loosening up Titans

A star in the making... no, wait a SUPERSTAR in the making. Vince (heh, like I know him...) has what it takes to be the next superstar in the NFL. Move over LT, step aside Payton Manning... there's a new sheriff in town.













Now if they could just get him some more help... but that's a different story!

UT-ex Young loosening up Titans | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Colleges: Texas

Getting ready for tryouts...

I was thinking of some things to consider as we get ready for soccer tryouts in North Texas. As you may recall we are looking for a new team and, to make matters a little more stressful, my daughter has also suffered an ankle injury.

Just a few tidbits of information that I will or have imparted on my daughter. I'm not perfect or all-knowing but this is a good starting point. The actual tryout period here lasts about a week and, this year, starts on July 1. Open practices began on June 1 and last the whole month of June. To that end, Open practices, also serve as a tryout period, so now is also a time to consider this list.

Here's a list of things to keep in mind:

1. Have fun!
   Fairly simple, but often forgotten in our haste to impress and earn a hard-sought position on a top-flight team. If you are struggling to get ready for practice, it will show in practice. Save yourself and your parent's some grief. If you are not having fun then it's not worth doing.
2. Be in shape.
   Open practices and tryouts are grueling. If you are not prepared for the physical work, then you will fall behind the other girls who are. If you are injured, you will have to work a little harder to get back in shape. Whatever it takes, be prepared to do it.
   
3. Skills - practice them and show them
   Remember all that time and effort learning skills? For some of you, the additional costs? Well now's the time for the payoff. Put those moves and ball handling skills to work! Keep it in context, however. No one likes a show-off, but everyone loves the player who shows a move in a proper moment of the game. Even in practice, there are times when a skill will show the coach that you know when and how to use it. It will also show him/her that you are thinking.
   
4. Be prepared
   That means have ALL of your equipment at ALL times. It's a given to have ball, shin guards, cleats, water, etc. But what if you are coming off an injury? Get the protective braces/wraps you need and USE them. There is no shame in wearing protective gear; absolutely none. However, nothing is worse than re-injuring an already injured part of your body. At some point, you will probably want to consider wrapping ankles as both a precaution and a necessity for a previously injured ankle. My daughter has rolled both ankles in the last year - from now on both will be taped and she will wear ankle braces.
   
5. Don't worry about positions
   The goal is to MAKE a team; positions should be secondary. My daughter is an excellent mid-fielder; she has vision, makes nice passes and can shoot and score when the opportunity arises. So far, she is not playing much in mid and she has been injured. If she works at defender, then that is where she needs to work. Coaches will put a player where they think they best fit on their team. End of story... Unless your child is the second coming of (insert favorite soccer star here), then it doesn't matter where they play, as long as they play and show progress.
   
6. Be confident
   Don't be afraid to make mistakes; learn from them and move on. Don't be afraid to show a skill or a move; sometimes the effort or thought process is noticed more than the actual execution. Don't be afraid to take some risks. Without risks there are no rewards.
7. Be prepared to accept rejection
   It will happen and when it does embrace it as an opportunity. As I explained to my daughter that that every closed door opens another... her reply was "maybe two!"... Damn near shed a tear over that one!
   

As usual, GL&HF!

Half of Big 12 makes NCAA baseball field

Probably should have had a seventh team, but the Sooners were not good enough in the eyes of the NCAA gods... Not sure if they were better compared to teams from the SEC, PAC 10 or even Big 10, but I'm fairly sure they were better than some of the lesser conference champions that do get in... But that's the nature of the beast when you get automatic bids for conference champs. The 'Horns will host a regional, but at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, which is actually a closer drive for me, if my daughter doesn't play in a tournament in Houston this coming weekend. Texas will also host a Super Regional in Corpus Christi if they win the regional.

Go 'Horns!

Half of Big 12 makes NCAA field | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Colleges: Texas

Update from San Angelo...

Aside from this hotel being VASTLY inferior to the Red Rock Casino, this has been a good trip. So far we are 2-0, having defeated both teams we played, rather handily, 9-0 and 4-1. We expected a couple of easier games, but not that easy and actually, the first game was 10-1, as we had three girls get a hat trick and my daughter scored one goal on a very nice run from the mid/right wing, but the official forgot to credit it us with one goal... go figure. Tomorrow's game will be a challenge. The game is 8:00 a.m. so that's already a challenge!

Oh, and on the hotel, it was a dump when I stayed here back in the early '80s and still one when we were here for a baseball tournament some 5 or 6 years ago. Let's just say, that a cot and a wash pan are not much lower on the accommodations scale! But we will push through...

Getting ready to play...















Daughter scores on a very nice run!

Backup QB plan emerging for UT

A little news and analysis from Saturday's Spring Game. It looks like backup quarterback will come down to who does the best over the summer during 7-on-7 drills. John Chiles and Sherrod Harris are both up to the task and both splendid athletes, who can electrify with their athletic abilities. They will provide an interesting change of pace on offense with their ability to run the ball out of the zone read sets. Should be a fun season.

Backup QB plan emerging for UT | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Colleges: Texas

Military family...

My family has been well-represented in modern conflicts, and, as far as I know, thankfully, no family member has lost their life fighting for our country.

The latest, is my second cousin's son, which would make him my third cousin, right? Is that the way these things work; I have never been good with the whole, second-, third-, -removed, etc. convention. Suffice it to say, this young man has always been a good, well-grounded kid, and I know his mother, Cynthia, aunt, Celia, grandmother and grandfather, Toni and Robert, are very proud. I wish him well and pray for his safety.

All I have is this scan of him being presented with his Army Ranger tab, by my cousin, Joe, a Vietnam veteran. I really have special feelings for Vietnam vets, because of the way they were treated back home and the problems they faced, while in-country and upon returning. I really appreciate the efforts of people like this...

Good luck and God speed, Jesse!



My cousin, David, let me know that this scan was from the San Patricio News, in Sinton, TX. Didn't want this article to go uncredited. Thanks, David!

Another commitment for the Horns!

This kid is supposed to be pretty special; side-line to side-line player, very much in the mold of John Lynch. What is even more interesting is his father is the new coach at Minnesota. So that's TWO commitments, count them TWO, whose father's are D1 football coaches.

Now I ask you, what does that say about Coach Mack Brown and UT football? Think about that...

If you're contemplating where to send your son, and Mack Brown offers him, how much sway does he NOW command, knowing that two other HEAD coaches at D1 schools have entrusted their own kids to another program, the University of Texas Longhorns. That's a feather in anyone's cap.

Go Horns!

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Colleges: Texas

The Horns add another recruit for '08

Big defensive tackle from 2006 5A Champion, Cedar Hill is the newest recruit for the Horns. You can never have enough DT and the Horns will lose a couple of good ones after next season. He will be a good addition and joins an already impressive group of verbal commitments that have picked Texas.

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Top Stories

Also, this just in LONGHORNNATION is back in action. The site had been down for most of the this year due to hardware problems that never seemed to end. If I were them, their host, whoever it was, would be facing some legal action. I think they've moved the site to a new hosting company. I hope things go well for them from now on.

Windy Saturday...

Woah... last Saturday we had the windstorm from hell here in North Texas. The winds were so strong that the sky was red from all the sand that was picked up in West Texas. There were power outages, trees uprooted and many roofs were damaged. We had the privilege of driving to my daughter's soccer match, in Plano, TX. just to have them cancel the game as we got there. True, it was much worse at 3:00 p.m., game time was 4:00 p.m., but by 5:00 p.m. the skies were clear. It was still windy, but not as bad. It was surreal.

Really reminded me of my youth... pt0ooie, excuse me as I spit sand out of my mouth... I remember having to ride my bike to basketball (yes, we played Little Dribbler's basketball... seriously) practice one Saturday morning. By the time we were done with practice, the wind had kicked up and the sand was everywhere. Now, remember we had just finished practice, so I was sorta sweaty... The bike ride home was almost directly south, except for a couple of turns, so by the time I got home, my whole RIGHT SIDE was caked in sand... Another time, my friend Larry had to go to Lubbock for some reason, and by the return trip, one of these sandstorms had kicked up and literally SANDBLASTED his car. Seriously, the whole right side of his car was flecked with small indentations in the finish that had been blasted away by the sand. He had to have the car re-painted.

I don't have any pictures from this past weekend... not sure why, as that was really dumb now that I think about it, but here's a picture my sister sent me from a storm rolling in near Brownfield, TX.













And here's one I DID take in Lubbock, TX last summer as a sandstorm preceded a thunderstorm as it rolled in from the west. This was the weekend of the Great Class of '81 Pre-Reunion... well that's what I call it, as we ended up having another reunion during the Homecoming football game later last fall. I missed that one...

A little UT basketball news to start the day

I haven't written much about the Longhorns basketball team, but this years team is quite exciting and dynamic. The college game is a different beast now that the new NBA draft rules has created a scenario where the BEST players have to attend college for at least 1-2 years. In the past these players would have gone directly to the pros, ala Lebron James. This year the two best players from high school are Greg Oden, Ohio St., and Kevin Durant, already considered by some, the best basketball player ever to play at UT. This story deals with speculation that young Mr. Durant will only play one year at UT before jumping to the NBA. Personally, I wouldn't blame him for doing just that, but if he wants to stay in school one more year to try to win a national title, then I'm all for that, too! Good luck, Kevin on whatever decision you make. Your stay at UT has been a fun ride, no matter if it's one year or two!

From the Dallas Morning News:

Will Durant go pro? Don't go there

02:46 AM CST on Thursday, February 15, 2007

By CHIP BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
chipbrown@dallasnews.com

AUSTIN – The father of Texas freshman Kevin Durant said Wednesday it's not a slam dunk that Durant will turn pro after this season.

"There's a chance he would come back to Texas next year," said Durant's father, Wayne Pratt. "Kevin is so young. There's not a rush for him to go to the NBA. Right now, we're not even talking about that. We're talking about winning the Big 12, and Kevin continuing to progress academically."

Durant, the Big 12's leading scorer (24.9 ppg) and rebounder (11.4 rpg), is tired of questions about whether he'll jump to the NBA after this season. He doesn't answer them anymore because he says it draws attention away from his teammates.

"Right now, I'm trying to win games at Texas," Durant said. "That's all I'm thinking about."

Pratt, a police officer at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., said just because Kevin could be the first or second pick in this year's draft doesn't mean he'll turn pro.

"There's certain things that Kevin has to show and do before that decision is made, and we still have some things we need to see," Pratt said.

When asked about the goals Kevin needs to reach, Pratt is quick to point out that Kevin only turned 18 in September.

"It's a total thing – mentally, physically, all those things have to be intact before a decision can be made," Pratt said. "My wife and I have pretty good jobs. There's no rush for him to go to the NBA."

Kevin's mother, Wanda Pratt, is a manager for the U.S. Postal Service.

Durant made a 3.0 grade point average in the fall semester and has said he wants to improve on that this semester. He has told Texas officials will attend classes the entire spring semester, which concludes with finals in mid-May. The deadline for underclassmen to enter the NBA Draft is April 29.

AP

Kevin Durant's concern right now is lending a hand to coach Rick Barnes and Texas.

"Kevin is enjoying college life," Pratt said. "He's grown from a young boy to a young man, and he's doing well academically, which is most important to me and my wife."

Texas coach Rick Barnes said he's tired of reporters and TV commentators making assumptions about Durant jumping to the NBA. Barnes was even upset with Texas students who began chanting, "One More Year!" to Durant during Monday's victory against Oklahoma State.

"Kevin doesn't want it to be about him," Barnes said. "He thinks all that stuff takes away from the team. And all Kevin cares about are his teammates."

Barnes, whose Longhorns play at Baylor on Saturday, said Kevin's parents have been consistent in their message to him about Kevin's future.

"Kevin and his parents are smart, intelligent people, who are going to make their own decision," Barnes said. "They are not going to let other people make this decision for them."

Pratt said Kevin desperately wants to win a national title at Texas.

"Kevin's got to light that Tower up," Pratt said. "That's what we came there to do to help with getting that done. Coach Barnes laid the foundation and we just want to be a part of that. I'm looking forward to Texas being on top of the basketball world. If they play like they did Monday, I think they can get it done this season."