40 Acres Sports

Oklahoma says NCAA infractions hearing was “fair”. Hopefully fair means the death penalty, but I doubt it.

IGN has another preview up of NCAA Football 2008. Sounds like the next gen versions will have full feature sets this year.

Kyle Russell is one homer away from Texas season record, with 20 regular season games to go.

paidContent.org is reporting that Yahoo may be about to acquire Rivals.com for up to $100 million. The guys running Orangebloods.com are saying it’s not a done deal yet, but it certainly looks like its just a matter of getting the final dollar amount ironed out between the two companies.

You’re reading it here first: Yahoo is close to making its biggest sports acquisition after, well, the Broadcast.com deal: the college sports network Rivals.com, paidContent.org has learned. The price could reach around $100 million, which some we’ve spoken to say is overpriced, and that’s why the traditional sports media buyers are sitting out on this one. One exec involved in online sports acquisitions told us $50-75 million would be more realistic given a model that can—and has been—replicated and described the reaction to what Rivals was asking—$100 million—as “sticker shock.”

For comparison, FIM paid $60 million for Scout Media in September 2005.

The new acquisition would be a boost to Yahoo Sports, which has been looking for ways to catch up to the juggernaut of ESPN.com and the surge from FoxSports.com. It has an already-existing deal with Rivals.com for sharing sports content; Rivals also supplies content to USAToday.com, AOL Sports, SportingNews.com, MSNBC.com and SI.com.

Rivals is an incredible network of websites for college sports fans, and an Orangebloods membership is a must have for any hardcore Longhorn fan. They’ve got great writers at both the national and school level and their recruiting coverage is second to none. It’s probably the best ten bucks I spend every month. Hopefully Yahoo is simply looking to improve their college sports coverage and won’t be changing too much with the sites.

Coach Bibb Falk to be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Longhorns now now have 3 of the first 21 inductees.

Kevin Durant is keeping his word and still attending classes. Hires Aaron Goodwin as his agent.

Jermichael Finley is Rivals.com’s #8 tight end. Martellus Bennet is so overrated.

A group of guys from the Orangebloods message boards are starting up a “Basketball Attendance Committee” in an attempt to improve the fan showing at UT basketball games. If you are interested in participating, show up at the Starbucks on 24th and San Antonio at 3PM on Saturday. Definitely a worthy cause if you’ve got the time.

Check out the details below:

This Saturday [a group of] students will be meeting at the Starbucks on 24th and San Antonio at 3PM.

If there are any other students (or non-students for that matter) that would like to help contribute to improving the basketball attendance to the level that is reflective of a top program, we would love for you to attend and share your thoughts.

We as fans expect quite a great deal from our basketball team, as we should, We’re Texas, but in order for this program to become a legitimate national power, it needs the support of our fanbase, one of the biggest and most supportive in all of college sports.

Fan support in influential in many ways. To begin with, it is a focal part in ensuring that our basketball program has the level of facilities needed to keep up with rival schools. If there aren’t people attending games, the revenue from ticket sales, concessions, merchandise, and advertising are all adversely affected. This in turn reduces the funding available for upgrades for the basketball program. Also, what top level recruit is going to want to play in front of an arena that is only 1/2 or 3/5 full? When recruits are visiting Texas and contemplating where to attend college, the fan support and gameday atmosphere undoubtedly play into the decision. The same is true for coaches, as Barnes has on numerous occasions expressed his disappointment in some of the turnouts for games. If we want to keep top caliber coaches around we must give them the support the deserve and desire.

Bottom line: If we want to have a great basketball program, we need to support it better. There is a great opportunity to take this issue in our own hands and be the change we desire to see take place. Even if you are unable to meet with us this Saturday, you can still help make a difference by just attending games and encouraging those you know to do the same. I know that this is a little anachronistic as the season has just ended and it is several months until next season, but now is the time to start shaping the culture of the fanbase so that when the 07-08 season does roll around, the response from Longhorn fans will be overwhelming.

Hook ‘Em

Update

If you have any questions or want more info contact Chris at hornsbball@gmail.com. A new web site is under development now for the group and they’re setting up a Facebook group as well. Continue to check back here for updates.

Ricky Williams was on ESPN Radio’s Dan Patrick Show at the ned of last week and his interview with Dan and Keith Olbermann was incredible. Ricky sounds intelligent and introspective and I’m really rooting for him again to get that chance to prove people wrong in the NFL.

The first 15 minutes of audio is Ricky and the last 10 is Dan and Keith discussing it. Listen to the entire thing below:

It appears Ricky is finally comfortable being Ricky Williams and he’s found ways to deal with the celebrity and stress that comes with being an NFL superstar. Sounds like Dan and Keith were pretty impressed with him, and like them I hope Ricky is able to keep things together when the full pressure of the NFL comes back.

Update: Anybody else having issues with the Odeo player? If so use the player below:

The condition that caused [tag]LaMarcus Aldridge[/tag]’s dizziness and irregular heartbeat has been diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.

Portland Trail Blazers Forward LaMarcus Aldridge underwent a series of tests today at Providence St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Portland. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW) and was treated for the condition by Dr. Daniel Oseran at St. Vincent’s. The procedure was successful.

Aldridge will be monitored by a cardiologist and will miss the remainder of the season. He is expected to make a full recovery and be cleared to resume physical activity, including basketball, in the near future.

Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome can be serious if untreated, causing dizziness, chest palpitations, fainting, or possibly cardiac arrest. However, the procedure performed on LaMarcus is relatively simple and if successful everything should be back to normal only a day or two afterwards. Sounds like if the issue had come up earlier in the season he could have been back on the court pretty quick, but with the season winding down they went ahead and shut him down. Glad to hear it was nothing too serious and it’ll be great to see Aldridge back on the court next year.

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