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Nate Yarnell: LT QB Senior Year opportunity to shine.

Written by Tucker Stephenson on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The quarterback factory known as Lake Travis High School just keeps
on churning out NCAA Division I-caliber talent.

Senior Nate Yarnell, a 6-foot-6 signal caller, is the latest in a
long line of gunslingers that have helped the Cavaliers become a
perennial state title contender and one of the most explosive and
efficient prep offenses in the nation. When Yarnell verbally
committed to Pitt in May, he also became the 10th consecutive
Lake Travis QB to receive a full athletic scholarship at the next level.

In fact, Yarnell was offered a full ride to the University of Houston
before he ever took a varsity snap. Most thought that Yarnell would
have to wait until this season to showcase his skills, but an unfortunate
injury to Texas enrollee Hudson Card thrust the junior into the spotlight
in late October of 2019. He responded by helping the Cavs reel off six
consecutive victories, including playoff wins against Smithson Valley,
San Antonio Madison and Weslaco.

During his six starts, he completed 91 of his 135 pass attempts for
1,248 yards and 11 touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, he earned plenty of
praise from head coach Hank Carter as a result.

“He did awesome,” Carter said. “He was able to get in there and
basically just take the reins and roll with it. I thought he did a fantastic
job and we weren’t surprised. We knew he was a heck of a player
and are now looking forward to him even improving more coming
into his senior year. I think he’s got that kind of potential.”

By now, Lake Travis’ tradition of excellence at the QB position is far
from a secret. But even with the spotlight shining brightly upon him,
Yarnell displayed poise after being thrown into the proverbial fire.

Carter said it’s all just business as usual for those that plan to line up
behind center for the Cavaliers.

“I think that any time a young man at Lake Travis wants to take the
route of playing quarterback they know that, number one, it’s going
to be highly competitive,” Carter said. “We’ve been very fortunate to
have a lot of great players come through here and we still have a lot
of really good quarterbacks in the system right now. I think all of those
guys understand that and they welcome that challenge and that competition
and all of the responsibility that comes with it.

“At the same time, football is a game and there’s pressure on all of those
kids out there and the pressure typically comes from themselves first and
they want to be at their best. I think Nate has handled that appropriately
and he wants to be one of the best players in the country and wants
to win a state championship his senior year.”

A state title win would catapult Yarnell into Lake Travis lore alongside names like
Charlie Brewer, Baker Mayfield, Michael Brewer and Garrett Gilbert.
The Cavaliers currently boast six state championship victories in their history,
with three of those coming during Carter’s tenure as head coach. Lake Travis’
most recent title win was in 2016.

When asked what makes Yarnell a natural at QB, Carter said the senior checks all
the boxes. “He’s a great thrower of the football, he’s a great leader and a super
smart kid,” Carter said. “I think all of the things you would want to start with to
have an excellent quarterback — and obviously his size at 6-foot-6.”

Now for the scary part — for opponents, that is. Carter said that Yarnell is only
scratching the surface of his ability and will continue to improve with more
experience on the field and additional time in the weight room.

“As a high school student-athlete, his body is still maturing and even during
this time we’ve been off he’s been working to get bigger and stronger and
just to make decisions quicker,” Carter said. “I think the maturation process
for a quarterback happens when everything starts slowing down for them.
It’s just because they’ve gotten a certain number of reps under their belt.
I think that’s what Nate is going to focus on and Coach (Tommy) Mangino
is excited to start working with him once we start getting kids back on campus.”

If all goes according to plan, the Cavaliers will open the 2020 regular season
Thursday, Oct. 1 on the road against the Westwood Warriors. However, even
if there are any further disruptions in the schedule due to COVID-19, Carter
said his new starting QB will be prepared to handle whatever hurdles come
his way.

“I think that’s kind of been the name of the game,” Carter said of the
uncertainty caused by the pandemic. “I think you have to be flexible and
be ready to adapt to what’s happening nowadays and he’s done that, so
I think he’ll be ready to roll when we get back out there.”

Hutto Hippos 2020

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The Hutto Hippos are a program on the rise within the Greater Austin area. Since current head coach Brad LaPlante arrived in 2014, Hutto hasn’t missed the playoffs and are now looking to book the Hippos’ first postseason trip as a Class 6A competitor. Texas Sports Monthly got the opportunity to catch up with LaPlante prior to the 2020 season to ask what makes Hutto a budding Central Texas power.

Q: Of course, it’s been the most unique offseason in Texas high school football history with the pandemic. Were you able to stay in contact with your team over summer and did it end up affecting summer workouts?

A: We still stay in contact, whether it’s Google Meet or Zoom or text or phone or team communications app. We shut down for a little bit there with our strength camp just as a precaution. That was the end of June going into July, so we missed just a few days of strength camp.

Q: What has helped the Hutto program not only gain success but become a consistent winner among a very competitive and talent-rich area of Texas?

A: That’s one of the best things about our kids — they get along, they believe in each other and they want to win. They’ve had success and they want to keep that going. The last time Hutto wasn’t in the playoffs was 2013, so these kids work hard to make sure that we keep that going. The other part of that is they do know that tougher competition is coming and they want to respect that and we’ve got a lot of respect as a coaching staff for the other Round Rock and Leander schools. This year, a favorable thing for us is we had so many unknowns. It wasn’t pressure from the coaching staff, but I think just from each other like, ‘OK, who’s going to start this year? I don’t know, so I better be working hard to make sure I’m the guy.’ The fact that we’re going to be really, really young kept these guys hungry I think.

Q: Coach, who is going to be back on defense to try and help slow down some of the high-powered and uptempo offenses that are featured every week in District 25-6A?

A: Defensively, we’re going to have our team leader back — and everybody knows him — Landyn Watson. He’s a rush end and an outside backer and a recent TCU commit as a four-star kid. Joining him is an inside backer, Braylon Sugg, and our other outside backer is going to be a sophomore, Brody Bujnoch. I think our linebacking corps is going to be pretty salty in our 3-4 defense. Then we have Junior Torres, he was a freshman up on varsity last year. We had four freshmen up on varsity last year playing against Shadow Creek in the second round of the playoffs. Defensively, those are some probably names that people are going to need to familiarize themselves with.

Q: As a team, you guy were able to average 399 yards per game and more than 35 points per outing offensively. Who will be relied upon to try and improve those numbers this season?

A: We do have a retuning quarterback in Grayson Doggett who was a sophomore last year. By watching him in our skills session and if you came to a practice, you would not know that we missed spring ball and 7-on-7. He is looking fantastic and is sharp. His offensive line in front of him is a veteran group. There’s not DI guys all over the place, but four out of five of them have game experience and they’re just good, hardworking kids and there’s cohesion between the group. We do have four guys who are going to get some reps at tailback and that will shake out in the scrimmage and early games. We have a receiver coming back, Jairiez Lambert, who has super soft hands and he’s getting some good receiver looks and he may start at safety for us too and play both ways. He’s a good competitor and kind of the rest of the receiving corps could be unknowns that didn’t play varsity last year.

Q: What are the unique challenges provided by the move from Class 5A to 6A, and specifically, into 25-6A alongside new foes like Vandegrift, Westwood, Vista Ridge, Cedar Ridge, McNeil, Round Rock and Stony Point?

A: That even stretches out into our non-district with College Station and Waco. We haven’t had those rascals on the schedule for a while. We played College Station a couple of times in the 5A playoffs and Steve Huff does a great job down there. Lot of respect for them. Then, of course, you open up with Anthony Wood and Westwood over at Dragon Stadium as our first district ballgame. That one could be 78-77 or whatever it’s going to be. They have a salty bunch and a new defensive coordinator over there. The McNeil and Round Rock, and some people have said they can’t wait to see us against Vandegrift the week before Thanksgiving, and I’m thinking we just have to get through game one. We’ve got to make sure we build up our numbers and get our depth going and do things right.

NFL WILDCARD EXPANDS: Draft hosts Video Conferencing Event

Written by Hunter Cooke on . Posted in NFL.

Two More Wild Card Teams Added To Playoffs 
Older generations may remember the NFL  days before the term Wild Card Team became part of our sports vocabulary. Those were the pre-1970 AFL-NFL merger years. If your team was good enough then to be a division champion, you advanced into the NFL playoffs. If you failed to win your division, you went home, celebrated the holidays, and then began working your off-season job. 

The NFL owners held a conference call meeting last Tuesday and formally approved a resolution which adds two more Wild Card teams to the playoffs starting this season. 

Each conference now will have four division champions and three Wild Card teams. The division champion with the best record In each conference will be the only team to enjoy the benefit of a bye in the first playoff round. 

There will be six games played on the opening postseason weekend—three on Saturday and three on Sunday. The new TV revenue from the additional games will —in part—indirectly help pay for some of the pension increases and new benefits for many NFL alumni. The addition of the two Wild Card teams had been anticipated in the new CBA that took effect this week. 

The owners on Tuesday’s call also discussed the logistics of this month’s NFL Draft (April 23-25). It originally was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas but now will be conducted through videoconferencing.

Commissioner Goodell on the first night will be in one location and connected to 32 separate club venues. Also, there will be the ability to connect into the homes of 50 top college prospects so that TV can capture the emotion and interviews of those young men and the families. All three days of the Draft will be televised as usual by ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network. 

The Draft telecasts may be the only “usual” sports offering thing in many of our lives this month.

We at Texas Sports Monthly continue to hope that you and your families are able to stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.

NFL Alumnus Jon Kitna Back Having Impact on High School Student-Athletes

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in NFL FOOTBALL.

When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brought in a new coaching staff last January, the team’s outgoing quarterbacks coach Jon Kitna did not have to travel far for his next job.

Kitna, 47, was named Athletic Coordinator & Head Coach at Burleson High School located outside Ft. Worth. It’s not as unusual a  career change as it might appear.

Kitna played quarterback for four teams during a 16-year NFL career (1997-2011, 2013).  After his playing career, he began coaching at his alma mater Lincoln High School in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington.

He moved his young family to Texas in 2015 and continued coaching on the high school level in Waxahachie. In 2018, he took another high school coaching position in Phoenix before then-head coach Jason Garrett recruited him to the Cowboys to work with Zak Prescott last season. Garrett now is the Giants offensive coordinator and Kitna has resumed his high school head coaching career.

“I can’t think of a better environment for a young man than to play high school ball in a program run by Jon”, says Garrett. “He has brought out the best in those around him at every level he has coached. The significant impact he will have on his student-athletes at Burleson will be felt for the rest of their lives.” 

Kitna’s return to high school coaching  will be an opportunity to work on the field with his two teenage sons. QB Jalen will be a senior at Burleson this fall and already has been recruited by colleges from Oregon State to Yale. J.T. is a younger 14-year old son who also will  enroll and play at the school.

“One of the things I missed last year with the Cowboys was coaching Jalen,” says the elder Kitna, “but I am super excited about being able to finish coaching him this fall and then J.T. who’s coming up behind him.” 

We at NFL Alumni wish the entire Kitna family (including mom Jennifer) much success and good health in their exciting new environment.

Sports Future Uncertain

Written by Tucker Stephenson on . Posted in SPORTS NEWS.

It all started innocently enough on Thursday, March 11 with an announcement that the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments would continue with a limited number of spectators in attendance.

Sure, fans thought it would be a little odd to watch March Madness without the stands full of people cheering for their favorite underdog, but at least the sports world would go on. That was supposed to be the silver lining.

And then, one by one, the dominoes began to fall.

By that same night, it was discovered that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the coronavirus, which prompted the NBA’s decision to suspend the rest of the 2019-20 regular season, as well as the playoffs. It came as a shocking move at first, but as the days went on, the list of leagues following suit began to grow exponentially.

On March 12, the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments were canceled altogether, followed by the remainder of all remaining college winter and spring sports, including spring practices for the University of Texas football team. It was also announced that Major League Baseball had pushed back opening day at least two weeks, from March 26 to April 9.

The cancellations and postponements continued to sweep through the Lone Star State on March 13 as both the University Interscholastic League (UIL) and Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) suspended their current high school sports seasons for a minimum of two weeks. In the case of TAPPS, the return of athletic activity was pushed past Easter Sunday (April 12).

The UIL state boys basketball tournament was put on hold literally while it was being played, as the announcement regarding the suspension of games came at halftime of the Class 3A semifinal between Dallas Madison and Coldspring-Oakhurst at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The UIL has since announced that it plans to complete the state tournament “at some point in the future.”

Even the XFL shuttered its doors by cutting the 2020 season short, much to the dismay of football enthusiasts craving their fix until August rolled around.

By March 14, it was apparent that the spreading COVID-19 pandemic wouldn’t be just a passing trend. With the exception of the UFC, every major athletic organization in the country had altered its plans due to the virus.

Perhaps the only fans relieved by the postponements were in Houston, as the coronavirus stole all the headlines away from the Astros’ recent sign stealing scandal and subsequent fallout.

The only question remaining is simple — now what?

As of right now, there doesn’t seem to be an answer other than wait and hope. Some have used their spare time to gather around the house with family and watch movies or play video games. Some rediscovered their rec rooms and have already played countless games of billiards or air hockey.

Others tried to see how much toilet paper they could cram into their carts during a single trip to the grocery store.

On a serious note, it’s no secret that sports are an integral part of the nation and can provide a much-needed distraction when times get tough. Here’s hoping they return as soon as possible, and that the precautionary measures taken by all of the leagues worldwide will pay off and help limit the impact of COVID-19.

In the meantime, we’ll be patiently waiting until the next tipoff, pitch or starter’s pistol. Until then, stay safe everyone.

Houston Roughnecks start XFL Perfect 4-0

Written by River Tompkins on . Posted in XFL.

The Texas XFL showdown took place in Globe Life Park as the Houston Roughnecks took on the Dallas Renegades in a game where two teams lock horns to become best in Texas. In a game full of relentless taunting by both sides, two top XFL offenses battled it out with the Roughnecks claiming victory over the Renegades 27-20.

A game with the highest predicted point total of the season was off to an unexpected start as defense rained superior through the opening minutes.

The Roughnecks were immediately put in a bad position after going three and out. The Renegades looked strong moving down the field until quarterback Landry Jones released the ball past the line of scrimmage. Jones’ throw was picked off by stud safety Cody Brown who brought it back to half field.



Capitalizing on the short field P.J. Walker led his team to score three points. History would soon repeat itself after piecing together a four-play drive, Landry Jones’ pass was tipped into the hands of Roughnecks safety Deatrick Nichols. The Roughnecks split the uprights once again boosting the score to 6-0.

Landry Jones was seeing ghosts at this point. The Roughnecks constantly shut his passing game down forcing him to throw yet another interception right after the other. This one picked off by Charles James II who perfectly read and jumped the curl route. Walker steadily moved the chains with gains of nine to both Cam Phillips and Nick Holley as well as a 14-yard pass to Kahlil Lewis. Coming out in five wide Walker split the cover 3 zone finding Nick Holley for 8-yards and the first TD of the game.



“P.J. walker has done a great job, I am not surprised by his play making ability, I witnessed it when he was an 18-year old freshman at Temple. He got my attention so much I introduced myself after the game. He’s a playmaker like you said and he is trying to stay inside the offense to make those plays too. The last two throws to get first downs to end the game, thats what the great ones do”, stated Roughnecks head coach June Jones.

The Roughnecks kicking woes were apparent as the kickoff soared out of bounds placing the Renegades at Houston’s 45-yard line. Landry Jones quickly turned things around completing the next six passes. Aided by Lance Dunbar who picked up a  fourth and one on a jet sweep and took it 20-yards setting up end zone threat Donald Pharam for an 8-yard TD.

The score was 15-11 going into halftime. Through the first half both defenses had obviously shown up but what impacted the game more was field position. Houston had scored all 15 of their points off of a turnover and Dallas had their make-right drive after the penalty on the kickoff. Whichever team could manipulate the field position the best would win this game.

In the second drive of the new half, the Roughnecks threw being methodical out of the window. After an electric run by P.J. Walker, he hit the red hot Nick Holley over the top putting them in plus territory. Cam Phillips who could be seen limping at times was replaced by 6th string receiver Blake Jackson. Jackson made use of his minutes running a deep corner route, Walker stepped up in the pocket to find him for a 24-yard TD.

Dallas immediately responded with Landry Jones looking like a surgeon with a degree in defense exploitation and coverage dissection. Driving downfield the Renegades dialed up the same play from fourth and one handing the jet sweep off to Lance Dunbar who strutted into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown.   

After a successful 3-point conversion the score was 21-20. With Dallas preparing to make another big drive the Roughnecks defense stepped up. Collapsing the pocket linebacker Edmond Robinson not only sacked Landry Jones, he stripped the ball then recovered it and brought it back into the endzone bolstering the Roughnecks lead.   

On fourth and one with the game on the line, Dallas needed some points – it was do or die. Renegade quarterback Landry Jones dove forward reaching the sticks but with a consequence. Jones who had missed the opening game of the season had reinjured his same knee and would not return.

Phillip Nelson came into the game and continued the trend Landry Jones had set. Nelson moved down to the Roughnecks 3-yard line trying to hit Flynn Nagel on a bubble screen, however the pass was bobbled. Linebacker DeMarquis Gates dove extending one hand and bringing the ball in for his second game-sealing interception.



The Renegades will face off against the New York Guardians in Arlington next Saturday, unfortunately without their starting quarterback Landry Jones who stated he suffered an MCL injury during the fourth quarter. Renegades head coach Bob Stoops had this to say about improvements that need to be made, “Being able to secure the ball. To catch the football, there are way too many drops or bobbles that lead to interceptions. Execution in our screen game and our run game on offense. Defensively too, we are never satisfied. I thought a couple of the touchdowns, if we had played a little better in some scenarios we could have forced another field goal as opposed to giving up a touchdown. So, I think a bright spot is our special teams have been awesome. You know Austin and Drew (kicker and punter) have been playing really well.”

The Roughnecks remain the only undefeated team in the XFL league and have control over the West division with at least two more wins than any other team in the west. The XFL has shown amazing growth with 1,500 more fans attending this game than the last. The Roughnecks will look to capitalize on a struggling D.C. Defenders team next week when they play in Houston on Saturday.

FANTASY BASEBALL: WINNING THE NUMBERS GAME

Written by Thomas L. Seltzer on . Posted in BASEBALL.

The 2020 MLB baseball season starts on March 26th, and the truth is we don’t know anything about where the 30 MLB teams will wind up. Many of the analysts and pundits will tell you the Dodgers are a lock to win the World Series this year, with the acquisition of Mookie Betts. If you want an even-money bet on the Dodgers, I’ll take your bet against the field.  

The fantasy baseball season also starts on March 26th. Fantasy baseball, like fantasy football, is a game within the game. Team owners manage rosters of players, using fictional team names. Scores are determined based on baseball statistics. If you ever wanted to own, or manage a baseball team, you will love playing fantasy baseball. Just like I do. 

In fantasy baseball, there are season-long leagues, keeper leagues and dynasty leagues. There is National League only, American League only and mixed (both leagues). There are points leagues and rotisserie, or “Roto.” I only play Roto because it is the one that requires the most skill in building and managing a roster. Your team must be balanced to win. 

Rotisserie scoring ranks your team against every other team in your league in 10 categories. For position players, the categories are runs, home runs, RBI, stolen bases and batting average. If there are 10 teams, and your team is first in home runs, you get 10 points. If your team is last in home runs, you get one point. Teams are ranked daily for the season. 

In pitching, you have starting pitchers and relief pitchers on your roster. In ESPN leagues, you have nine pitcher roster spots to fill. Keep in mind that the five categories for pitchers are wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. Starting pitchers can help you in four categories. Realistically, relief pitchers can only help you in three – saves, ERA and WHIP.

Head-to-head (H2H) scoring uses the same categories as Rotisserie, but your team plays each of the other teams in your league. At the end of each game or each week the wins/losses are tallied, and if you have more wins than losses you get one winning point for the game or week. If you have more losses than wins, you get one loss point for that game or week.

There is also daily fantasy baseball (DFS). I like season-long fantasy baseball better than daily because it’s more like managing a real baseball team. In the season-long version, you spend time pouring over player stats in preparation for the draft. In the draft, you meticulously fill your roster with hitters and pitchers. Then, you manage your team the season.  

The reality is most people in the 21st century have short attention spans. They don’t want to manage a team for six months. That’s why more people are playing DFS. In fact, it has become one of the hottest trends in fantasy sports, largely because it’s fast, easy and gives you a chance to start over every day with a new team. If that sounds like you, play DFS. 

I don’t play DFS anymore. I’ve dabbled in it before, entering contests and even winning a couple. But I prefer season-long leagues. I play on ESPN, although Yahoo, CBS Sports and others offer leagues. You can play in private leagues, but I’ve always played fantasy baseball in public leagues because I can’t find enough players that want to commit to the season. 

I’ve won every public league I’ve entered in fantasy baseball. Before you think I’m too awesome, I’ll add this. My record is only 4-0. This is my third season playing fantasy baseball. I generally manage two teams per season. One rule is that I never use the same player on both teams. The reason for this is if a player gets injured, I only lose him in one league.

In ESPN leagues, there are 25 roster spots to fill. You have 13 position players, nine pitchers and three players on the bench. When I drafted my first team back in January, I was able to roster many of my favorite position players. However, my pitchers were not as strong as I would have liked – especially relievers. I actually only drafted one relief pitcher. 

On my second team, drafted in February, I felt like I was balanced. I got some solid position players, but I did much better with pitchers in this draft. My starting pitchers are Jack Flaherty, Patrick Corbin, Zack Greinke, Chris Paddack, Tyler Glasnow, Sonny Gray and Zac Gallen. My relief pitchers are Roberto Osuna, Taylor Rogers and Gio Gallegos. 

There is no such thing as a perfect draft. While I do recommend approaching the draft with a plan, your plan will change during the draft. Keep in mind that you have nine other team owners vying for the same players. You might think you’re going to get Bo Bichette in the ninth round, but then you see him taken in the eighth round by someone else.

Don’t lose heart if you miss out on several of the players you were hoping to get in the draft. You can attempt to trade for a player with one of the other owners. Look at the team rosters in your league and figure out what they need. If they are short on pitchers, and you have extra pitching, offer one of your pitchers for a position player you really want.

In my first draft, there was an early run on relief pitchers, and the best closers were gone by the eighth round. I picked up Brad Hand but never got another closer during the draft. When I looked at my team, I had a wealth of power hitters. So, I offered to trade Pete Alonso of the Mets for Josh Hader, the top reliever in baseball. My trade offer was accepted.

But don’t count on trades to fix your team. In public leagues, owners are reluctant to trade. I’m not sure why this is, but it probably has something to do with the fact that everyone in a public league is a stranger. People don’t trust strangers. There is another way to fix your team – utilizing the waiver wire. Undrafted players are listed on the waiver wire each day. 

Hader, the aforementioned player, was a waiver wire find for me in 2018 and helped me win a fantasy baseball championship on one of my teams. Last year, it was Alonso, the rookie sensation, who hit 53 home runs, scored 103 runs and drove in 120 more. Alonso went undrafted, but I picked him up off the wire after he proved himself in spring training.

If you love our national pastime, you may love fantasy baseball as much as I do. Start reading about it online, find a format, league and draft a team. If you don’t feel like you know enough to draft a team, you can simply but your team on “autopick.” Your team will be automatically drafted by the folks at ESPN, of whatever league sponsor you choose.  

For insight or feedback readers can email Thomas Seltzer with questions or comments at [email protected].

Horns upset #22 Tech

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in NCAA BASKETBALL.

LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Longhorns have been on a tear giving a spark in recent weeks as the end of the regular season play nears. Shaka Smart’s young team is seeking a push for redemption and a NCAA Tournament bid. Tech has been a very stingy 13-2 at home coming into Saturday’s game against Texas. However, the Horns stayed the course out rebounding and out shooting the Red Raiders late in the 2nd half of Saturdays contest pulling away with a huge 68-58 win against No. 22 Texas Tech.

The Horns will have a chance at a third straight victory Tuesday night against Oklahoma. The Longhorns upset No. 20 West Virginia last Monday in Austin and have been playing injured and with sick players as of late, but have shown a lot of heart.

Texas is on the outside looking in as the season comes to a close in hopes for a bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2020. Missing out last year still bore the fruit of a NIT Title for the Shaka Smart lead team that has been largely viewed by most critics as mediocre at best.

Currently they are (18-11, 8-8 in Big 12). Texas will travel to Norman tomorrow night to face the Sooners and then will play their final game of the season at home against OSU. Game Airs on TV/ ESPN2 & Radio: Longhorn Radio Network, Sirius XM 385.

Jones, Ramey lead Texas past No. 20 West Virginia 67-57

Written by Charles Branch on . Posted in NCAA BASKETBALL.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas got pummeled by West Virginia earlier this season. The Longhorns were anything but the same timid bunch in the rematch.

Andrew Jones scored 22 points and Courtney Ramey added 21 to lead the surging Longhorns over the 20th-ranked Mountaineers 67-57 on Monday night as Texas won its third in a row with an injury-depleted lineup.

Texas (17-11, 7-8 Big 12) has its first three-game win streak in conference play since 2016. The Mountaineers (19-9, 7-8) have lost six straight on the road in the Big 12.

West Virginia beat Texas by 38 points back on Jan. 20, the worst loss of coach Shaka Smart’s five years with the Longhorns. But the Mountaineers came staggering into the rematch off a long road trip and Texas didn’t buckle in a physical matchup while Jones and Ramey poured in points from the outside.

Oscar Tshiebwe scored 14 points to lead West Virginia.

Jones scored 16 points in the first half on a barrage of 3-pointers, and the Longhorns shot 62% against one of the best defensive teams in the country to lead 34-28 at halftime. Texas trailed by 25 at halftime in the first meeting.

Texas is missing three starters or regular players with injuries and had another, forward Kamaka Hepa, knocked out with strep throat Monday night.

“Over the last couple of games, me and Courtney have just felt a chemistry. It’s beginning to click,” Jones said. “With guys out, it’s forcing me to step up. When two players are in sync, you can do great things and lead a team to victory.”

West Virginia cut the Texas lead to three early in the second half before Ramey drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing, then made another to push the lead to nine.

The Mountaineers’ last real chance to push for the lead came when Smart was called for a technical foul and Sean McNeil made both free throws to get West Virginia within 54-47. But Texas’ Matt Coleman III made a quick jumper on the other end and any momentum quickly died.

“I did not try to get that. When you are playing (West Virginia), it’s hand-to-hand combat,” Smart said. “It’s a very challenging game to officiate. I imagine I just got caught up standing up for our guys.”

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: The Mountaineers have been woeful on the road and terrible free-throw shooting doomed them Monday night. They were 10 of 21 on a night they got to the shooting bonus early in the second half. Just a few made shots would have kept the game close.

The Mountaineers are also just 7 of 44 shooting 3-pointers over the the last three games. West Virginia made three against Texas, none in the second half.

“This game is about making shots. They made shots and we can’t,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “They continue to clank off the rim and its demoralizing. It zaps your enthusiasm.”

Texas: The Longhorns are playing with the desperation they needed a month ago. They have clawed back from the bottom third of the league in a season of open speculation on Smart’s future. Texas hasn’t finished at .500 or better in the Big 12 since Smart’s first season in 2015-2016.

“Our guys really exemplify Texas fight,” Smart said. “We haven’t talked to the guys about the negative stuff people say about us. … What you are seeing the last few games is the back against the wall and still fighting.”

BIG PLAY SUB

Texas freshman guard Brock Cunningham barely played much of this season but has taken on a much bigger role as injuries decimated the lineup and has delivered some big and timely plays.

Cunningham had two key offensive rebounds in the final three minutes, then came flying down the baseline to block a shot by Jermaine Haley, protecting a 62-54 lead with 1:44 left.

“That’s just what I bring to the team,” said Cunningham, whose defensive intensity has sparked similar efforts from teammates.

Cunningham didn’t even play in 15 games this season, but has logged at least 15 minutes in each of the last four.

“We’re at a point of this season where if we had lost any of these last three games, our postseason dreams would have been shattered,” he said.

UP NEXT

West Virginia hosts Oklahoma on Saturday.

Texas plays at Texas Tech on Saturday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Here’s Your Sign.

Written by James Bills on . Posted in MLB.


The night that AJ Hinch didn’t send Gerrit Cole out in game 7 of the World Series to close out the game when the Astros had the lead gave me a gut feeling a loss would be an easier pill to swallow for Hinch. Then the Nats pulled off the comeback and went on to be the 2019 World Series Champs. Behind the scenes, many of us knew that the MLB had the ball rolling already and soon the hammer would drop on that mouse trap. The one sign that the Astros couldn’t read was how the baseball world would receive a team that was on the verge of a dynasty in baseball that was caught red handed illegally stealing signs since 2017.


With coaches being fired, Managers removed, fines dished out and the biggest black cloud in Houston’s sports history surpassing Bud Adams taking the Oilers away, the internet is still in a state of denial, frustration, hate, sadness, non-understanding, and just flat out disgust about the 2019 Astros sign stealing scandal. Why? Who? How long? Who else? These are all questions of people everywhere.


From die hard fans to other teams’ fans, from bookies to loan sharks, from owners to coaches, and from players to facility personnel, everyone wants to know the truth. Not just did the sign stealing help for one swing against one of the greatest closers in the game right now with Aroldis Chapman and not do they want to know about just was it whistles or trashcans being used to beat on. No, they want to know how long has it been going on and who else is doing it.


The truth is, all teams steal signs. From baserunners at second, to base coaches, they all have simple tip offs at sometime. Hitters and players in the dugouts watch pitchers and they try to read simple tipoffs to see what pitch is coming next. A hitter often can pick up things himself and never needs a tip from his teammates.


Even catchers can read hitters and see tendencies. But more than that, they often call signs in the big leagues now with a coach looking up stats based on pitch locations using an ipad. Yes a computer in the dugout.
We can sit here and talk until we are blue in the face about all the different ways to pickup signs watching the other team. The truth is, since the game of baseball started, using signs from catchers to call pitches, base coaches to tell runners when to steal on bases, or any other detail shown by hands that are quickly swatted around like someone being attacked by a bee, sign stealing has been an art. A true part of the game.


Just like the player follows every move of each hand or finger that the person delivering the sign intentionally gives, so does the opponent’s coaches, players, or sometimes secret little spy.


Anyone that says different is either bitter that their team lost or never played the game with any real intent. Or, like many of the stunned and shocked fans stuffing their face week to week with $20 hot dogs and cokes while wearing the $75 jerseys and paying $124 a seat to sit right behind the dugouts, they have never really been baseball players, just baseball fans. A lot of those are the fans that Rob Manfred believes he is helping to enjoy the game more by speeding up the game.


Rob Manfred? You know, the commissioner of Major League Baseball. You know, the guy that single handedly is driving away the traditionalist fan from enjoying the game with over talking analytics, throwing time clocks on parts of the game, not knowing what part of the season he should allow teams to use loaded baseballs or not, drastically changing ERA’s worse than a pitcher just hollering out, “Hey! I am throwing you the ole numero uno right now!” Or, “Hey bro! Here comes the deuce!” Yah, pitchers have been run out of a job after giving up tape measure home runs off of that decision by ole’ Rob when it probably would have been a warning track fly ball out but that’s for another write up.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, left, yells at umpire Jerry Meals after being ejected from a baseball game for arguing a strike-out by Giancarlo Stanton during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians, Saturday, July 14, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)


Anyways, all of this write up brings me to this, regardless of who your favorite team is, how long sign stealing has gone on in the baseball, who knew about it, or why it was happening, the Astros by all behind the scenes standards cheated. PERIOD!!! In 1961 MLB banned the use of a “mechanical device” to steal signs, binoculars, telescopes, etc. It does not specifically say electronics in the rule book, but in 2001, Sandy Alderson, then executive vice president for baseball operations of MLB, issued a memorandum stating that, “Teams cannot use electronic equipment to communicate with each other during games, especially for the purpose of stealing signs.” Before the 2019 season, Rob Manfred specifically reassured in a memorandum to the league after the Red Sox was caught using electronic watches that it was illegal to position cameras in outfield to be used to communicate with managers in an effort to reduce illicit sign stealing.
Therefore, the Astros were warned like all the others before the 2019 season and knew what they were doing was wrong. Pretty sure that MLB is overlooking the 2017 season a little bit more than the 2019 season for the simple fact of most of these players may not have even been playing Little League in 2001 when the last memorandum went out.

Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander works against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)


For me, the most frustrating thing about baseball in the last 10 years is that there is no clarity. The traditions have gone away. With so many changes due to money hungry businesses feeding the giant and so many technological advances that can be used in the sport, I think that the words “electronic devices” should have been put in the rulebook a long time ago. I know that not everyone in my business reads my memorandums. Or at least they say they don’t. You are required to read my businesses’ rule book.

Good luck to you all you baseball players out there this spring. Will be interesting to see what kind of protective gear the many sports businesses will come up with this year for players. I’m sure your parents will get to follow the Astros this year to see what gear actually works for protecting you at the plate.

Coach James Bills is a former high school and college coach. Coach Bills has been a professional scout for 8 years as well as has trained 100’s of college and professional athletes. He is also the owner of The University of Baseball located in Leander Texas and a managing partner with Silverstone Sports Management out of LA. Podcast: In Your Face Sports Email: [email protected]