40 Acres Sports

Bo Scaife: Stud, or the next Ben Troupe? I think Vince and Bo both rebound this season.

Vikings waive Marcus Griffin. It’s early enough that hopefully he gets a chance with another team. (via)

Former Texas Longhorn earns spot on U.S. swim team. Aaron Peirsol earned a trip to the Beijing Olympics with a world-record time of 52.89.

NCAA Football 09 isn’t even out yet (and we’re giving it away!!) but I’m also getting excited about Madden 09 thanks to some new video and screenshots that have hit the web.

Operation Sports has up a ton of new images including the great one above of Titans’ [tag]Vince Young[/tag] diving for a beautiful touchdown at the pylon against the Jaguars. I love the flashes going off in the crowd. It’s accurately catching what really happens, despite the fact that with most cameras that probably means you just took a photo of the guy’s head in front of you.

Word from the guys at IGN and Gamespot is that Madden 09 is more than just a roster update, hopefully they’re right and there are some cool new features. Other than last year’s version (which I bought just because Vince was on the cover), I’ve been buying NCAA and renting Madden every year for a while. There will have to be more than a rewind/cheat feature to make me purchase the game this year.

Check out the screenshots.

Former Longhorns Sloan Thomas, Roy Williams, & BJ Johnson making their marks off the football field. Big 3 receivers are running football camp together.

Ten years have passed since [tag]Ricky Williams[/tag] won the Heisman Trophy. In honor of that anniversary, the 50th anniversary for Pete Dawkins (Army) and the 25th for Mike Rozier (Nebraska running back) the second annual Heisman Anniversary Winners weekend is going on right now in Austin. It’s a chance for former winners to get together and of course play a little golf.

The official Texas football site has a Q&A with Ricky available (which I’ve also posted below) as well as a great photo gallery from the event’s golf tournament.

Was it everything you thought it would be, I know we talked to you a month ago when you were anticipating it, is it everything you thought it would be: Yeah, I try not to anticipate too much. The main thing I wanted to do is come with my family and have a good time, and so far, so good. For me the big thing is just being back in Austin. I’ve had more fun driving around Austin than anything else.

Has one of the Heisman winners had a bigger influence on you: It’s no question – it’s Earl [Campbell]. He was here from day one, and he’s still here and he’s still one of my biggest supporters. It’s definitely Earl.

Tony Dorsett was reminiscing when he was there when you broke the record and he kind of got emotional about it: Yeah, I mean, it was a record that lasted for 20 years, and you know, when I had it, it only lasted for one (smiling). I think it’s one of the most prestigious records in all of college football.

(more …)

More mature Ricky Williams embracing football. He has a new desire & zest for leadership.

Robert Joseph and Andre Jones plead guilty to felony charges. Joseph gets time served and probation. Jones will serve 30 days in jail.

Texas point guard [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag] has been selected with the 9th pick in the first round by Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats. A couple picks higher than most mock drafts had DJ going so congrats to him on being selected and the big contract that’s going to be coming his way.

Charlotte was not expected to select a point guard, they currently have PG Raymond Felton starting who they drafted just three years ago in the top five picks. There were some rumors before the draft that the Portland Trailblazers were looking to move up to take Augustin and now there’s already rumors that the Bobcats took this pick with the intention of turning it around to complete a trade. Maybe Charlotte has a deal with Portland set up? That be great news for Texas fans for sure.

Congrats DJ and good luck with your NBA career. We’ll be watching and rooting for you.

Update: The Blazers just took Kansas guard Brandon Rush at #13. Rush is 100% a shooting guard, a position the Blazers already have the outstanding young Brandon Roy. Maybe send Rush to Charlotte for Augustin? Probably just wishful thinking.

Update 2: I was right about the Blazers picking Rush to trade him for a point guard, but it was with Indiana at #11 and not Charlotte. Charlotte is reportedly shopping Raymond Felton.

In the weeks leading up to tomorrow’s NBA draft the Indiana Pacers were one of the most likely destinations for Texas point guard [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag]. Now that’s not going happen thanks to another former Horn point guard. On the eve of the draft the Pacers have completed a deal to send Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors for [tag]TJ Ford[/tag].

ESPN is reporting that the Pacers and the Raptors have agreed to a deal that would send O’Neal to Toronto in exchange for Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the 17th pick in the draft. Due to Ford’s contract the deal cannot be officially completed until July 9th. Players will also have to pass physicals, not necessarily a given considering TJ’s history of neck problems.

A possible O’Neal/Ford swap has been in the news since Monday. Toronto had two excellent point guards and TJ has been rumored to be on the trading block for the last several weeks. The Pacers have been pursuing a point guard and wanted to get rid of O’Neal so the needs of the two teams match up well.

After being in Milwaukee and Toronto, Indiana still isn’t a marquee market but he’ll have a chance to get a fresh start in a place where he’ll be the sure #1 guy. Good luck to TJ with his new team.