40 Acres Sports

8.8 million people tuned in to see Texas beat Iowa.

Texas knocked off UT – Arlington tonight in Austin by 32 points in a game that was still close at halftime. It was an eight point game at the half, but the Horns offense kicked in and they were able to pull away and win by a final score of Texas 84, UTA 52.

[tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] had another great night as he chipped in his usual 21 points and 15 rebounds. The kid is just amazingly solid and consistent, he’s averaging a double-double so far in his freshman season. If he continue this kind of production through Big 12 conference play he’ll be getting freshman POY honors and some All-American mentions as well. [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] knocked down three more 3-pointers and [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag] continued his great work at the point. Those three players can lead this team a long way with just a little help on defense and the boards from the interior guys.

Great to see big [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag]’s line for the night: 10 minutes, 4 rebounds, and 9 points. The kid is only going to get better this season and could be a force next year.

The Longhorns begin conference play Saturday at 3pm against Colorado.

Standout in baseball and football in the 1930’s passes at age 97.

Denver Broncos cornerback and former Oklahoma State Cowboy Darrent Williams was killed early New Year’s morning in a drive-by shooting. Williams had an excellent career at [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] and had two solid season in Denver on defense and as punt returner. Williams was a Texas kid who attended O.D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth.

A little after 2 a.m., a white Hummer limousine was sprayed with bullets from a vehicle that pulled up along its side, said Sonny Jackson, spokesperson for the Denver Police Department.

Three people in the limousine were hit and were taken to area hospitals, where one man was pronounced dead, Jackson said. The other man and woman who were shot were not identified.

Pretty shocking news but if you’ve been following professional sports lately you knew something like this would be coming soon. I don’t know the particulars and it’s possible Williams did absolutely nothing to provoke the shooting, but professional athletes such as the Bears’ Tank Johnson and the Pacers’ Stephen Jackson keep ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The leagues really need to do more to educated their players about the dangers of being a ludicrously rich and famous person out in the middle of the night. And they need to do more to discipline the guys who have such a knack for finding trouble. Incidents such as this are only going to get more common and more violent.

Our thoughts go out to Williams’ family and friends as they begin the new year with some very tough news.

Happy New Year’s! Texas finished out 2006 a winner of 10 games for a nation’s best sixth straight year and 2007 will begin with a great slate of New Year’s Day games. Make sure you wake up early Monday and don’t sleep too late to catch the Outback and Cotton Bowls. The week finishes up in Glendale, Arizona as Florida will try to upset Ohio State for the national title.

Here’s our picks for the final set of bowl games and the BCS Championship Game:

Related Links

• Bevo Sports Picks The Bowl Winners: Week 2
• Bevo Sports Picks The Bowl Winners: Week 1
• Complete 2006-2007 Bowl Schedule

One ESPN writer thinks Vince Young deserves the honor.

Seems they discuss removing the statues from the South Mall every few years or so.

Colt McCoy one of SI.com’s breakout players of the year in all sports.

McCoy’s favorite target will be back for his senior year.

Finally some decent games. Week one of the bowl season was boring and ugly, a bunch of bowls you’ve never heard of featuring two teams you couldn’t care less about.

Here’s this week’s bowl games both straight up and against the spread:

Related Links

• Bevo Sports Picks The Bowl Winners: Week 1
• Complete 2006-2007 Bowl Schedule