Mack Brown throws out the first pitch before the Texas Rangers season openerTom Hicks and the Texas Rangers honored the 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorn football team today at the season opener in Arlington. Coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] threw out the first pitch and Longhorn coaching legend [tag]Darrell Royal[/tag] was also recognized. Royal and Hicks were influential in bringing Brown to Texas from North Carolina almost nine years ago. Always coaching, Mack didn’t let next season or our quarterback situation slip his mind for even a minute:

“If I put one in the dirt, which I’m not planning on, it will not change my life any, except (the media) will have more fun with it,” Brown joked before the toss. “If one of our young quarterbacks puts one in the dirt, it changes my life. I’m a lot more focused on the throws next fall than the throw today.”

I can handle a few in the dirt Mack, it’s the ones that hit the defenders that worry me.

Roger Clemens was also at the game, which threw the national media and Rangers fans into a frenzy thinking he was interested in joining the Rangers if he decides to pitch this season. I’m still fairly certain that if Clemens pitches this year it’ll be for the Houston Astros.

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Posted March 9th, 2006 by Matt
Filed under: Baseball, Football

Texas Rangers to Honor Longhorns on Opening DayIn an exclusive interview earlier today on SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket, Texas Rangers’ owner Tom Hicks announced that on opening day the Texas Rangers will honor the 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorns, with [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] and [tag]Darrell Royal[/tag] throwing out the first pitches.

This comes on the heels of the Rangers going after Roger Clemens, a former Texas Longhorn himself. I wonder if this is just one more tactic in trying to lure the indecisive Roger Clemens to the Rangers?

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Posted January 12th, 2006 by Brian
Filed under: Football

ESPN is running an interesting series of articles on NCAA football boosters and the power their money gives them. They’ve profiled ten of the richest and most powerful boosters and provided a little background on how they got their money, what they’ve done with it, and what kind of power it has given them with the team they support.

Here’s the profile of one of the Longhorns’ biggest backers…

Joe Jamail Jr.

School ties: University of Texas (B.A. Class of ’50; J.D. Class of ’53)
Age: 79

Reported wealth: $1.4 billion
How made money: The salty-tongued Houston lawyer amassed his fortune overseeing major personal injury cases, most recently representing victims of a BP refinery explosion.
How much donated: Estimated $30 million
School song/cheer: Hook ’em Horns
Braggin’ Rights: Just a few telltale signs of money and influence seen around campus: Joe Jamail Field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. … Only individual with two bronze statues on campus bearing his likeness, the most recent sits inside the football stadium. … Called the “King of Torts” by Time and Newsweek, his $11.2 billion verdict against Texaco in 1985 is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the largest civil damages award in history.

The Buzz: The Longhorns lead the college sports world in fat cats, with Jamail and Billy Joe “Red” McCombs on the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans. Another influential big-timer is Jim-Bob Moffett, an ex-Longhorn tackle for [tag]Darrell Royal[/tag], who built Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold into a business with annual revenues of almost $2 billion. … McCombs, who recently sold the Minnesota Vikings for $600 million, gave UT’s largest single donation ever of $50 million to the business school. The business school and women’s softball complex bear his name.

I really don’t have a problem with these donors and the powers they wield, as long as everything is on the up and up. They support the team and therefore deserve at least a little bit of say in how it is run. I do think you have to leave people like the university president, athletic director, and head coach in charge and let them run things since they’re held accountable for their actions. I also would prefer the stadiums themselves be named after people who had a role in building the program and not just the person who donates the most money. I think Joe Jamail Field at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is a pretty good compromise.

Be sure to check out the rest of the articles in the sidebar about halfway down the page.

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