40 Acres Sports

Ricky Williams tears chest muscle in first game back. Was it a dirty play? At least now he gets a weekly paycheck.

Kevin Durant discusses notoriety and attention he has received since entering the NBA and joining the Sonics. Kevin is doing a great job adjusting.

Cedric Benson to have season ending leg surgery. Tough end to a tough season for Cedric.

The Aggies aren’t officially in need of a head coach yet but that hasn’t stopped the crazy train for getting going full steam ahead. Coaching candidates from across the country including Tommy Tuberville, Mike Sherman, and Paul Bear Bryant have all reportedly begged to have the job and silently accepted the position.

The latest hot name is the one and only Steve Spurrier, but Aggie fans aren’t sure he’s good enough for them. Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel probably spit coffee all over his keyboard when he read this email from Aggie Matt from Corpus:

I am sure you are tired of hearing questions about the Texas A&M coaching situation, but I heard Steve Spurrier mentioned as a possible candidate. Do you think the Aggies will actually consider him, and if so, how do you think he would compete against Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech in recruiting?
–Matt, Corpus Christi, Texas

Mandel’s response is a classic:

At some point, I’d like to take a visit to whatever planet it is Aggies fans come from. Would A&M “consider” Spurrier? Sure. They’ve already set their sights on Tommy Tuberville, and Dennis Erickson is apparently on their “Plan B” list. Why not throw Spurrier into the mix as long as we’re playing Monopoly?

Now, will Spurrier “consider” the Aggies? Sure… for about as long as it takes to read this sentence.

The guy specifically chose South Carolina because at this point in his career, he wanted a low-pressure environment where the expectations are manageable. Texas A&M — where they expect the coach to compete at the same level as Texas, despite an all-time record of 35-73-5 against the ‘Horns — does not fit that description.

Nice to see we’re not the only ones who can have a good chuckle at the Aggies’ expense. They may not be from another planet but they sure can drink the Kool-Aid in College Station. I love the note about their expectations and hopes to be as good as Texas, and of course pointing out their horrid all-time record against the Horns.

Hilarious.

Aerial assaults on the rise in Big 12, at least in part thanks to the awful pass defenses of the Longhorns and Aggies.

Ricky Williams returns to Dolphins’ practice for first time. No news on when he’ll make his debut.

Video: Yahoo sports previews Texas at Texas A&M. Both Terry Bowden and other guest beleive Horns win by at least 14.

After several big hits this weekend left him with tingling in his extremities, [tag]Priest Holmes[/tag] has been forced to retire from the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL. Holmes had played in four games this season after missing two years with a neck injury, but the recurrence of symptoms Sunday made him rethink his comeback.

Video from today’s press conference is below:

Sad to see him have to hang them up after working so hard to come back, but I’m glad Priest is walking away before it’s too late. Neck and brain injuries are nothing to mess around with and his quality of life is much more important than football.

Priest came back again and again and was always the underdog, but he had a heck of an NFL career and for a while was one of the top running backs in the league. He represented the University of Texas well and I enjoyed watching him play for the Horns and for the Chiefs. Thanks for the memories Priest.

Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman is reporting that SMU is possibly interested in Texas offensive coordinator [tag]Greg Davis[/tag] for their recently vacated head coaching position. Though Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds said no one from SMU had requested permission to speak to Davis a source did confirm that they had contacted him unofficially.

A surprising amount of coaching rumors today. Before the Davis to SMU rumor this afternoon there was some buzz on the Arkansas message boards that Davis was headed for retirement and former Arky offensive coordinator Guz Malzahn would be Texas’ next OC. When that rumor was brought up on Orangebloods.com, posters claiming to be “in the know” wouldn’t comment on particular coaches coming or going just that there was some smoke that one of the Texas coaches may be headed for retirement.

I’m certainly not going to claim that Davis has no faults (in fact he’s got tons of them), but he’s a solid offensive coordinator and an even better quarterbacks coach. The development of Vince Young and Colt McCoy as quarterbacks has been incredible and Davis deserves a huge amount of the credit. His gameplanning and playcalling often leave a lot to be desired but it won’t be easy to replace him if he leaves.

Texas’ offense might be more exciting with someone like Malzahn calling the shots, but I’m not sure it would be better.

We’ll keep you updated on any other juicy rumors or actual news as we hear it.

Priest Holmes’ career in jeopardy again. Another neck injury looks like it will end his comeback attempt and his career. Update.