40 Acres Sports

It’s that wonderful time of the year, a time when you can spend most of your work week filling out as many NCAA Tournament brackets as possible.

Want to fill out one more? Then join the Bevo Sports group bracket on Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em. Here is how you sign-up.

1. Go to the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em homepage.
2. Click on the ‘Join a Group’ button.
3. The group number is 93724.
4. The password is ‘longhorns’.

The Texas Longhorns have a tough road ahead if they plan on making it to the Final Four, possibly having to face #1 North Carolina and #2 Georgetown (who is playing like a #1 seed). Thankfully, though, it looks like they can easily make it to the Sweet 16, as USC is a pretty weak #5 seed.

I was really hoping Texas would somehow end up in the South region and have the opportunity to play in San Antonio, but A&M deservedly got the #3 there.

All-in-all it looks like it will be a great tournament and I felt the overall selection process was pretty fair. We will have more information on the Tourney soon, including our official Bevo Sports brackets.

Bill Simmons has a huge man crush on Kevin Durant, but has some pretty harsh words for how [tag]Rick Barnes[/tag] is handling his super-star freshman. In his latest Page 2 article on ESPN.com, Simmons absolutely rips into Rick Barnes, calling for his retirement and labeling his coaching unconscionable. Here is one of the funniest lines from his rant:

Do they have plays in their playbook called “Durant stands frozen 25 feet from the basket while other guys dribble aimlessly” and “half-assed pick-and-roll that leads to nothing” and “Durant posts up while the point guards stare him down, then reverse the ball the other way?”

I have to admit, lately I have been saying something along the same lines. Durant needs to get the ball more. Actually, Durant has to WANT the ball more. But I think this will come in time. Durant is still young and growing into a leader.

I actually think Barnes is doing a good job handling all of the youth he has on the floor. I mean, Texas is 22-8 so far on the season and was 1 game away from winning the tough Big 12. I would say he is doing an alright job. Ease up Bill.

You can read the whole rant after the jump.

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Name: [tag]Brandon Collins[/tag]
Position: Wide Receiver/Defensive Back
Ranking:

Hometown: Brenham, TX
School: Brenham
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 167 lbs

Background

Although Brandon Collins isn’t all that highly rated in his position, he was still the 31st ranked player in the State of Texas according to Rivals.com. Brandon is a great athlete, and was a versatile three-sport letterman named second-team 4A all-state by the Texas Sports Writers Association at wide receiver as a senior. Brandon averaged 19.1 yards per reception and a touchdown every 3.4 receptions for his career. Not too shabby.

An interesting fact: Brandon was the ballboy for Brenham as a sophmore when they won the 4A Division II championship. And guess who was a senior on that team? No other than Limas Sweed.

Immediate Impact

I don’t see Brandon Collins seeing that much action right off the bat as a wide receiver. But I do think it is hard to keep someone this athletic off the field. And with Brandon Collins playing a lot of defensive back in high school, who knows, he might just make it in the secondary.

Future

Collins should be able to help Texas on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Not sure he will be a superstar at Texas, but I do see him contributing some good playing time throughout his career.

Ok, well obviously [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] is not yet named the Player of the Year in college basketball, but Grant Wahl from Sports Illustrated is already saying that Durant should be. I agree with him 100%. And frankly, who are we to argue with Sports Illustrated? Let’s just give him the award now.

On a side note, it seems like there have been a lot of Longhorns on sports covers over the past year or so. I guess it is a good time to be an athlete down in Austin. So who will be the next Longhorn on a major cover? I will go with the easy choice, Colt McCoy.

Well, since [tag]Cat Osterman[/tag]’s career is over at the University of Texas, I guess it is time for her to start promoting her professional career. Cat has launched her own website at CatOsterman.com, which includes all of her stats and records, as well as upcoming events she will be attending.

Overall the site is pretty cool and it seems like she has a lot of stuff going on in her post UT career. Here is my favorite clip from her Bio:

A left-hander, Cat stands 6-2, with hands so large she can grip a softball entirely with her fingers rather than having to cradle it in her palm.

It almost sounds like she is the Shaq of women’s softball, though her large hands don’t affect her pitching like Shaq’s hands affect his free-throws.

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So, how do you assure a potential recruit (Joe McKnight) that possible sanctions against your school won’t be any issue for the program? Well, obviously you just violate another NCAA rule and call a former player (Reggie Bush) to let him clear everything up.

The story is that #1 high school recruit Joe McKnight made some remarks in a press conference that made it sound like he had a conversation with Reggie Bush regarding previous potential USC NCAA violations. Well, this is definitely against the rules, as the NCAA prohibits former players to contact recruits or their family before signing.

Pete Carroll has of course denied that this conversation ever happened. However, not knowing about Carroll’s denial, McKnight’s high school coach J.T. Curtis told reporters in an interview that “Coach Carroll was talking to Reggie on the speakerphone and Joe was able to listen and hear Reggie Bush’s side of the story.” Hmm…

Now McKnight is saying this:

“I was not on the speakerphone. I never called him and he never called me. I want to make it clear I never spoke to Reggie and he never spoke to me. I just messed it up. I shouldn’t have said it that way [at the news conference].”

All-in all it seems like there is just too much ‘saying one thing only to deny it’ for this not to cause some issues down in Southern Cal. With what has happened with USC in the past though, I can’t say that I am all that surprised.

Source

Open Letter From Your Recruit on Signing Day. Funniest thing I have read all week. Not for the easily offended.

Name: [tag]Sam Acho[/tag]
Position: Defensive End
Ranking:

Hometown: Dallas, TX
School: St. Mark’s
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 250 lbs

Background

Sam Acho looks to be the sleeper of the 2007 recruiting class. He came out of nowhere in the summer of 2006, getting multiple offers from several big-time BCS schools such as Oklahoma, USC, Virginia, and Iowa. Texas started to take notice and made a great impression on him in an official visit to Austin in August 2006.

Sam was a three-time All-Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) performer at St. Mark’s in Dallas, TX. He was also a three-sport letterman and a member of ESPN’s top 150 national prospects.

Sam also takes his academics very seriously. He scored a 1220 on his SAT and was a four-year member of the honor roll. He is almost fluent in Spanish and helps teach adults English as a second language at a local community center.

Immediate Impact

Tough to say what will play out with Sam Acho because of his relative obscurity in 2006. Might not play much in 2007, but with his athleticism he has great upside potential for the future.

Future

With his athletic ability, Sam could project as either a tight end or a defensive end. He is a natural fit at defensive end and says he tries to model his game after Julius Peppers. Watch out for him in the years to come. This kid looks to be a special player.

Remember that new clock rule in college football? Well, it looks like CBS made some good money off of it.