40 Acres Sports

Again, video of [tag]Cedric Benson[/tag] looking about as cooperative as you can look when being arrested:

I know I’m a UT homer but every single bit of new news and information I get supports Benson more and more. I have a feeling this gets thrown out at his hearing on May 19th.

Coaches, fans hold their breath as more players flirt with NBA. Discussion on AJ Abrams and other NBA Draft early entries.

Cedric Dockery and Chris Hall named to trophy watch lists. Dockery up for the Outland and Hall for the Rimington.

We now have another account of this weekend’s events on Lake Travis from a friend of [tag]Cedric Benson[/tag]. Elizabeth Cartwright, a senior English major at Texas, corroborates Benson’s version of the events and also questions why he was pepper sprayed.

Notes on Cartwright’s interview from the Chicago Tribune below:

Cartwright, an English major at the University of Texas who is to graduate later this month, estimated she and her fiance had been boating with Benson six times this spring and each time a Lower Colorado River Authority boat pulled them over for a safety check.

There were about 15 people on the boat, including Benson’s mother, Jackie, who had spent much of the evening swimming in a part of the lake known as Devil’s Cove. Just when the group had decided to head back to shore around 9:30 p.m. and go out to dinner, a patrol boat stopped to conduct a random check.

According to Cartwright, she had consumed one beer and Benson had two drinks.

“I know Cedric and I don’t think he was drunk,” Cartwright said.

The arrival of LCRA police perturbed Benson because of the frequency of the checks on his 30-foot boat, Cartwright said.

When Benson’s boat passed the safety inspection, Cartwright said she and her fiance were surprised the officer then required a sobriety test for Benson.

“We were all like, ‘Why?’ ” she said.

After an officer led Benson to the LCRA boat for the test, the second officer left behind on Benson’s boat assured a nervous Jackie Benson that her son would be fine, Cartwright recalled.

A few minutes later, Cartwright said she heard Benson begin to scream after the officer pepper-sprayed him in the eye. By the time Benson was in handcuffs, he was screaming, “Please stop, Mom, make them please stop.”

Cartwright disputed that Benson was resisting arrest.

Panicked, Cartwright called her father, Jeff, to give him a description of the physical way she saw her friend being treated and told him to call 911.

Unaware the friend in question was Benson, Jeff Cartwright called 911 and told the dispatcher that police “were beating up a black kid on Lake Travis.”

The biggest thing that stands out from her statement is that she had been out on the lake with Benson six times this year and every single time they have been stopped for “random safety inspections.” Doesn’t seem so random anymore does it? If that is true, there’s something clearly wrong here.

Quarterback GJ Kinne transferring to Tulsa. Will play for former Rice coach Todd Graham and Arky OC Gus Malzahn.

Ex-Longhorn running back [tag]Cedric Benson[/tag] was arrested over the weekend on Lake Travis for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. According to police, Saturday night he failed a sobriety test and resisted arrest strongly enough that officers had to use pepper spray and drag him ashore.

Benson’s side of the story is very different and according to his lawyer he is going to fight the charges. He claims he was not drunk, did not resist arrest, and was pepper sprayed unnecessarily:

“They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down,” Benson told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m thinking, I passed all the tests, did everything right. Then the officer told me we needed to go to land to take more tests. I politely asked him why we needed to go to land to take more tests when I took every test. Then he sprayed me with mace, on his boat.

“I’m not handcuffed. I’m not under arrest. I’m not threatening him. I’m not pushing him. I’m not touching him. And he sprays me right in my eye.”

Cedric believes he not only passed the sobriety test but was also cooperative with the police when his boat was stopped for a “random safety inspection.” That sure sounds like a possible BWB (boating while black) issue.

Not a good situation and even worse timing for Cedric as he was already going to spend training camp fighting for his starting gig in Chicago. These are pretty serious charges and a conviction could possibly even mean jail time. The Austin Police Department doesn’t exactly have the best track record and things here don’t seem exactly right, so hopefully Ced is innocent and things are cleared up as quickly as possible.

Note: Some people (including notoriously incorrect blowhard Colin Cowherd) have commented on Cedric’s mugshot as evidence he was drunk. I imagine being pepper sprayed in the face might have something to do with his bloodshot eyes in the photo.

Big 12 spring game reviews from CFN. They take a brief look at all the games.

Kenn Kasparek named national pitcher of the week. Throwing a no hitter doesn’t hurt.

Peter King discusses Chris Simms‘ situation with the Bucs in his latest mailbag. They need to either trade him or cut him.

Safety [tag]Drew Kelson[/tag] and linebacker [tag]Robert Killebrew[/tag] have been invited to the Chicago Bears’ rookie camp for a try-out. They will join 26 other unsigned players, 12 draftees, and 10 rookie free agents at the Bears’ rookie minicamp this weekend and will have three practices to try to get someone’s attention.

A try-out is not the same as signing a rookie free agent deal, there will definitely be a huge uphill battle in front of them to make the team. Their best hope may be that in this limited opportunity they can impress enough to make the Bears’ coaching staff believe they could make an important contribution on special teams. Even if they don’t make the Bears’ roster it is important they show up well and generate a little buzz around their name, hopefully resulting in a try-out with another team.