40 Acres Sports

Not many Texas fans have their own team making a long run in this year’s NCAA Tournament, but both college basketball experts from Yahoo Sports think the Horns could make some noise in the East regional. The team has been horribly inconsistent throughout the 2008-09 season but does have the ability to beat most anyone if they play well. Thanks to big front line including [tag]Damion James[/tag], [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag], and [tag]Gary Johnson[/tag] they believe the Horns match up well against [tag]Duke[/tag] and could give the region’s #2 seed fits.

Watch the region preview below:

Jason Horowitz and Greg Anthony of CBS Sports discuss the first round matchup between 7-seed Texas and 10-seed [tag]Minnesota[/tag]. Anthony talks about the Gophers’ lack of offense and something we all know very well: the Horns’ lack of quality guard play. If the Texas big men including [tag]Damion James[/tag] and [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] play well they could dominate the opening round game. Watch the preview below…

Texas opens the NCAA Tournament Thursday at 6:10pm.

NCAA Tournament live streaming audio & video, highlights, and scores direct on your iPhone.

Not unproductive enough at work during March Madness? Your iPhone and CBS Sports are going to do their best this year to make it even worse. They’ve released a $4.99 app for the iPhone and iPod touch that allows you (via WiFi or 3G) to stream live game video and get highlights, audio, scores, and more wherever you choose to be when not working. Details from the iTunes App Store:

For the first time ever starting March 19, CBS Sports Mobile: NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) is streaming every game on WiFi from the first round to the NCAA Championship LIVE. This includes the NCAA Sweet 16, Elite 8, NCAA Final Four and National Championship, all on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

As long as you have a WiFi connection, you can see the games where you go – at work, on the road, at the stadium, or even at home. Catch the college basketball upsets and buzzer beaters as they happen, no matter where you are! NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) also features game recaps, bracket information, and up to the minute scores and headlines. It’s your complete NCAA March Madness companion, and it’s only on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Go download MMOD for iPhone (iTunes link) now, just don’t tell your boss.

Barely any Texas talk but ESPN has a brief look at the teams in the East Region of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Watch Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, and Scott Bilas break down the region below…

Rick Barnes has his work cut out for him in the East bracket. (TexasSports.com)

The Texas basketball team’s once in a decade loss to [tag]Baylor[/tag] was bad but apparently two Big 12 tournament wins were enough to get the Horns a 7 seed in the tough East bracket. The Longhorns will open the tournament against Minnesota on Thursday at 6:10pm.

The East may be the toughest region in the tourney. If Texas can get past Minnesota they’ll have to face [tag]Duke[/tag] in the second round in what would be essentially a home game for the Blue Devils in Greensboro, North Carolina. If the Horns get by that tough test, it could actually set up a rematch with two top teams they beat earlier this season in 3-seed [tag]Villanova[/tag] or [tag]UCLA[/tag].

We’ll have previews of Thursday’s game and the rest of the tourney so check back in on the 40 Acres all tourney long.

Related Links

• Tourney bracket
• Downloadable bracket (PDF)

Great news for former Horn [tag]Cory Redding[/tag] this weekend as he was traded along with a 5th round draft pick from the woeful (both team and city) Detroit Lions to the Seattle Seahawks for linebacker Julian Peterson. The trade sends Redding from a team with historically little talent to… a different team and any team is better than Detroit. Seattle struggled last year after making the playoffs in 2007, but with a healthy quarterback and playing in the NFC West they’re decades closer to being a playoff team. A defensive tackle the last three years in Detroit, Redding will play both inside and outside on the line in Seattle.

With Jay Cutler wanting out, could Chris Simms be the Broncos' next starting QB?

The s-word is hitting the proverbial fan in Denver and it could be good news for former Longhorn QB [tag]Chris Simms[/tag]. Broncos starting quarterback Jay Cutler has had his feelings hurt and is making it known to anyone who will listen that he wants to be traded. Simms, who signed with the Broncos earlier this month, was in line to be the number two guy but could now be the opening week starter if Cutler gets his wish. Denver will likely look for a QB in the trade or via the draft, but Simms would likely have the first shot at the starting job.

The Texas Longhorns did exactly what they were supposed to today in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament, they throttled an overmatched Colorado team that finished the season at the bottom of the conference standings. Junior center [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] played more minutes than he has any other game this season and dominated an outclassed CU frontcourt with 26 points. Brief ESPN highlights are below:

The Horns take on [tag]Kansas State[/tag] Thursday at 2pm.

Two of my favorite things about Sports Illustrated growing up were the weekly “Sign of the Apocalypse” and “They Said It” bits in ever issue. They were a glimpse at the weird and interesting side of sports that we didn’t get to see much before we had access to the the ubiquitous freak show we call the Internet.

In this week’s issue (with “Up For Grabs” cover) two former Texas defensive linemen were featured, just another sign of the tons of Horns now playing throughout the NFL. Defensive end [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] had an awkward quote about he’ll fit in NFL defenses, “a versatile guy is a guy who can be very versatile.” Very well put Brian. Meanwhile, in this week’s “Sign of the Apocalypse”:

The Browns’ [tag]Shaun Rogers[/tag] reportedly wants to be traded, in part because new coach Eric Mangini didn’t say hello to at the team’s practice facility in January.

I’m sure more there’s more to the Rogers/Mangini story, judging by his quick and unceremonious exit from New York he definitely appears to be a tough person to like. You don’t have to be friends with your coaches or teammates, but someone small and petty enough to intentionally walk past you without saying high doesn’t exactly earn much respect.

In fantastic news for the fortunes of the Texas baseball team, catcher Cameron Rupp’s shoulder injury is not as serious as initially feared. Rupp took a pitch directly to his collarbone in Tuesday’s game against [tag]Texas State[/tag] and the rumors were he would be out an extended period with a broken collarbone. Instead he was back out at practice already today and suffered only a deep bruise to his shoulder/chest area.

There is no word yet whether Rupp will be available for this weekend’s series against [tag]Stanford[/tag].

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