FOOTBALL IS BACK! After a great year for the Texas Longhorns and a deep run in the State High School Playoffs for several local teams in central Texas, we dig right in to the ACTION! Dallas Cowboys and Texans revamp for playoff runs this season. Listen to our new RADIO SHOW on 104.9 THE HORN FM as THE FRIDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN RETURNS 6:30-7:15pm every Friday Night. Take a look at our preview edition and reserve your ad space this season!
By Coach James Bills
As football season approaches many high school players are preparing themselves for the gridiron. Student athletes are getting ready to start two-a-days by running and lifting weights. Kids are getting in to see their doctors and getting physicals per the UIL and NCAA rules. However, many now days are just crawling out of the cave or what is actually their bedroom where they have spent most of their summer drinking sodas, eating junk and building up finger muscles from playing video games. And all this while wearing headphones cussing out guys as old as 30 yr olds that still live in their parents’ basement.
The problem is we expect them to jump up and put on heavy gear and go running out on a football field in 105 degree weather and compete. Compete with guys that eat and sleep the game. Compete with multiple sport athletes that play baseball, run track and play pick up basketball or actually play with their high school. I am not saying they shouldn’t play. Im saying they shouldn’t play like that.
It is up to us as parents to make better decisions on their extracurricular activities in summer. It is up to the parent to not coddle these kids and not allow them to binge on junk food and sugar loaded drinks if they are planning to take that field in August. Limit that time or risk that chance where your kid may not be acclimated in life threatening temperatures. Everyone loves to point to the coaches failure of hydrating the kids during practice properly but many never talk about how the parents should have seen to it that their kids drank more than Coke or Pepsi and ate more than popcorn all week.
Every year the volume of injuries on the football field goes up. The number of deaths that could have been avoided does too. The temperatures are the same as when we were kids. Technology and rules are better. More questions are raised with often more rules being established. The ignorance is mind boggling. Just look at the kids with lack of time out in the summer weather.
As a baseball coach and former multiple sport athlete, I remember being prepared come football season because I spent most of my summer out in the heat. I had a job most of the time not indoors and spent most of the week playing homerun derby and tackle football at the park. When I strapped that football helmet on I actually felt like a sissy considering I had spent most of my summer with busted lips and bloody noses from getting closed line running a ball.
Ultimately, it is up to you as a parent to see to it that your kid is prepared for that first day. When you boil that new mouth piece for him for football season and its the first time he has tasted water for the whole summer, just know that all the equipment in the world can’t protect him from dehydration.
Coach James Bills, President of Texas Pitching Coaches Association, is a former high school and college coach. Coach Bills has been a professional scout for 8 years as well as has trained 100’s of college and professional athletes. He is also the owner of The University of Baseball located in Leander Texas and a managing partner with Silverstone Sports Management out of LA. Podcast: In Your Face Sports
Email: jbills3750@gmail.com
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This edition of TSM covers the red hot Houston Astros and all the local High School Baseball Playoffs. THE MLB Draft, Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Horns Youth Baseball and a preview of the High School All Star game at the Dell Diamond. We will return this September for our 2019 High School Football edition. Have a great Summer!
Available now at All HEBs & Randall’s.
The Texas Sports Monthly radio show The Friday Night Countdown will not only be moving to 104.9 The Horn FM this fall , but will also be launching its sister program the day before in The Thursday Night Countdown as well.
After 17 weeks on AM1300 The Zone in the 2018 season, FNC will move to The Horn studios beginning this August 30th as the official Pre-Game show launch for the 2019 Football season. The Thursdays show to air the day before on Thursday August 29th. With all the High School football, College, and NFL in recent decades, Thursdays have been kicking off our football weekends the last few years. Adding this additional night to local programming strengthens the coverage of what is rapidly becoming an even more recognizable brand; Central Texas High School Football.
With coaches interviews, player profiles, game highlights and analysis Texas Sports Monthly’s radio brands add great value to the Student Athlete coverage that Horn FM already offers. The official Flagship for the Longhorns also carries Lake Travis Broadcast, Vandegrift, & Bowie games.
Wednesdays the last two years has featured our friend Rick Epstein of iHSFAN short for – I am a High School Fan -show “Under The Lights”. Epstein will return for his 3rd year of UTL at 8pm on the Horn, but is also adding 7 more schools to his coverage through the HORN FM APP. These schools games can also be heard through the app or website beginning this fall: Austin High, Hays, Cedar Ridge, Leander Glenn, Westwood, Anderson, & Round Rock!
With all this local programming sports fans of Austin will get a heavy dose of all things Football with the new lineup on 104.9 The Horn. Texas Sports Monthly is currently offering sponsorships of its radio programs and magazine for the upcoming 2019 football season. If you or your business is interested in working with us please contact our staff for more information on packages available.
AUSTIN TX – Texas basketball hosted the five-seed Lipscomb Bisons as barley a 1.5-point favorite at MSG last Thursday Night and brought home a Championship to the 40 acres. The question is will this victory ease the pain of the regular season for the Texas faithful and it’s struggles in 2019?
For the 3rd time in 21 years the Longhorns missed the NCAA tournament and were edged out by a very competitive Big 12 Conference in 2019 and a mediocre season falling short of Texas fan base expectations as the horns went a mere 16-16.
Shooting guard Kerwin Roach Jr. heated up in the NIT after missing several games and throughout the 2019 regular season amidst some controversy. However the Sr. finished the season hard and gained some support by Texas fans closing out the season winning 5 strait.
UT’s 81-66 victory in the NIT Championship Game at Madison Square Garden may be enough for head Coach Shaka Smart to stay in Austin a few more season amidst rumors in the local media speculating the coaches future.
Big 12 rival Texas Tech has built up a strong program in recent years under head coach Chris Beard. While it was Texas who celebrated the NIT National Championship in New York Thursday it will be the Red Raiders of Lubbock playing for “All the Marbles” against Virginia in Minneapolis for the true National Title.
Texas Tech may be the red headed step child to the Longhorns in Football in the Big 12, but in hoops the Horns will have to wait for next year to compete with the in-state-rival for Big 12 Title and a chance to prove worthy of a 20′ NCAA invite next spring.
The Red Raiders play Monday night for the National Championship against Virginia. This is both teams first time in the title game and first time since 1979 have two schools competed for their first national title when Michigan State defeated Indiana State beginning the Magic/Bird rivalry in the 80’s
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Shaka Smart’s team got their HOOP ON Tuesday night from the MSG and played a great defensive game against the Horned Frogs who won the 2 previous meetings this season over the Horns. But winning three in one season is a tall order for any team and the Longhorns used the previous losses as motivation and would not be denied a trip to the NIT Championship game this Thursday Night.
Texas (20-16) had help from Sr. Dylan Osetkowski as he put up 13 points while Kerwin Roach dominated throughout the semifinal game against the Horned Frogs and tallied a team-high 22 points for Texas in the low scoring night.
In just the second time in the Longhorns history , Texas will advance to the NIT Championship game to face off against Lipscomb. Horns were crowned NIT Champions during the 1978 season.
Road to the NIT Championship
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas Men’s Basketball team will host Colorado in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Longhorns and Buffaloes will play on Wednesday, March 27 at 8 p.m. Central at the Frank Erwin Center, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
The Longhorns (18-16) are the No. 2 seed in one of the four 8-team brackets, while Colorado (23-12) is the No. 4 seed. In NIT Second-Round action, Texas defeated Xavier (78-76 OT) on Sunday, while the Buffaloes topped Norfolk State (76-60) on Monday evening.
The winner of Wednesday’s Texas-Colorado contest will advance to the NIT semifinals, scheduled for Tuesday, April 2. The NIT semifinals and championship will be played at historic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Longhorns are 8-3 all-time in their five appearances in the NIT. Texas captured the 1978 NIT Championship.
source: Texassports.com
By JIM VERTUNO, AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In a Big 12 season of ups and downs for Texas, none was more befuddling than an early loss to last-place Oklahoma State.
The Longhorns made sure there would be no repeat on Saturday.
Kerwin Roach II scored 16 points, Dylan Osetkowski scored 14 on 5-of-5 shooting a 69-57 Texas win that sent the Cowboys to their fifth straight loss and eighth loss in nine games.
“It was our emphasis today to come out, just be aggressive, don’t take these guys lightly,” Roach said. “Respect them. They beat us the first time. We wanted to pay them back.”
Oklahoma State (9-16, 2-10) jumped on Texas early the first time the teams met and looked to do it again with a flurry of 3-pointers, including three by Thomas Dziagwa. Texas responded when the Longhorns pushed out to defend further on the perimeter, and Oklahoma State made just one from long range over the final 9 minutes of the first half.
Dziagwa finished with 23 points behind seven 3-pointers.
“We just shut down everybody else,” Roach said. “We made it tough on him, too, but he still made some tough ones.”
Texas (15-11, 7-6) led 20-19 before closing the first half on a 19-7 run punctuated by Roach’s 3-pointer from the corner with 1 second left in the half.
Texas led by 13 early in the second before the Cowboys cut it 42-38. The Longhorns responded with three straight baskets and a 3-point play by Courtney Ramey to end the threat.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton dismissed three players for team rule violations after a 2-3 start in the Big 12 that included the previous win over Texas. The Cowboys are down to just seven scholarship players.
“That’s kind of a moving target. I put a walk-on on scholarship, but he broke his foot,” Boynton said. “(Texas) has players who weren’t even dressed that could start for us … I still sense a very frustrated group that feels like it cannot win.”
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys had very little working offensively when Dziagwa wasn’t firing away from long range. They were 12 of 30 inside the arc and went 9 of 18 from the free throw line. Dziagwa was 0-6 when he wasn’t shooting 3-pointers.
“Even on a night we make eight (3-pointers) we still don’t get to 60 points,” Boynton said.
Texas: The Longhorns will like the confident shooting stroke from Osetkowski, who came in just 2 of 21 shooting 3-pointers in the previous nine games. He made two from the same spot in right corner in the first half, then made another with 7:12 to play that put Texas ahead by 10. His ability to score away from the basket will be key to the Texas offense over the stretch run of the season.
Osetkowski’s three 3-pointers were his season high.
“I’m looking for seven 3s like I did last season at Iowa State,” Osetkowski said. “It’s great see some going in.”
SCORING DEPTH
Texas’s deeper bench made a big difference. While Oklahoma State had four players log at least 38 minutes and two — Cameron McGriff and Lindy Waters III — played the entire game, Texas has only two players on the court for more than 30 minutes.
The Texas bench outscored Oklahoma State’s 16-2. Longhorns guard Elijah Mitrou-Long had six points and three assists and Royce Hamm Jr. had four points and three aggressive rebounds.
“Those guys gave us a real lift in terms of spirit and energy,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “We wanted to take advantage of the fact we had more depth.”
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State hosts TCU on Monday. The Cowboys lost the previous matchup 70-68.
Texas plays Oklahoma Saturday, looking for a season sweep over the Sooners. Texas won the previous meeting 75-72 when the Sooners missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A big comeback. A blown call. And, finally, a booming kick that sent the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl.
After rallying from an early 13-0 deficit, the Rams stunned the New Orleans Saints with Greg Zuerlein’s 57-yard field goal in overtime for a 26-23 victory in the NFC championship game Sunday — an outcome that might not have been possible without an egregious mistake by the officials in the closing minutes of regulation.
Los Angeles cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman committed a blatant interference penalty with a helmet-to-helmet hit inside the 5, forcing the Saints to settle for Wil Lutz’s 31-yard field goal that made it 23-20 with 1:45 left in regulation.
That was enough time for Jared Goff to lead the Rams down the field for Zuerlein’s tying field goal, a 48-yarder with 15 seconds remaining.
New Orleans won the coin toss and got the ball first in the extra period. But, with a Rams defender in his face, Drew Brees fluttered up a pass that was picked off by John Johnson III, who was able to hang on to the interception while stumbling backward. Johnson hopped up and celebrated by doing with the “Choppa Style” dance popularized by New Orleans rapper Choppa, whose namesake song had become a Saints’ rallying cry and was even performed during the halftime show.
The Rams weren’t able to do much offensively, but it didn’t matter. Zuerlein booted through the winning field goal from just inside midfield with plenty of room to spare.
“It’s unbelievable, man. I can’t put it into words,” Goff said. “The defense played the way they did to force it to overtime. The defense gets a pick and Greg makes a 57-yarder to win it. That was good from about 70. Unbelievable.”
The Superdome, which had been in uproar all afternoon, suddenly turned eerily silent. It was the first home playoff loss for the Saints with Brees and coach Sean Payton, who and been 6-0 in those games since their pairing began in 2006.
The Rams (15-3) and their 32-year-old coach, Sean McVay, capped a remarkable rise since moving back to Los Angeles three years ago. The team will be appearing in its first Super Bowl since the 2001 season, when the “Greatest Show on Turf” was still in St. Louis.
“Shoot, I don’t even know what day it is,” McVay said. “All I know is we’re NFC champs, baby!”
It was another bitter end to the season for the Saints, who lost the previous season in the divisional round on the “Minnesota Miracle” — the Vikings’ long touchdown pass on the final play of the game.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Brees, who was denied a shot at adding to the Super Bowl title he won during the 2009 season.
This time, New Orleans (14-4) couldn’t hang on to the lead or overcome a mistake by the officials.
The Saints were on the verge of blowing out the Rams, scoring on their first three possessions and taking advantage of an interception off a dropped pass by Todd Gurley.
Then a fake punt early in the second quarter gave Los Angeles its initial first down of the game. Sparked by that play, the Rams finally came to life offensively and drove into position for the first of four field goals by Zuerlein. Gurley made it 13-10 at halftime on a 6-yard touchdown run just before the intermission.
INJURY REPORT:
The Saints lost tight end Josh Hill to a concussion in the first quarter.
Hill was injured after hauling in a 24-yard pass from Brees. While making the tackle, Los Angeles Rams linebacker Cory Littleton delivered a forearm to Hill’s head.
No penalty was called, but Hill staggered off the field to be evaluated by the medical staff. Just before halftime, the Saints announced he was done for the game. The loss of Hill led to a much bigger role in the offense for Garrett Griffin, who spent most of the season on the practice squad. He caught a 5-yard pass for his first career touchdown.
UP NEXT:
The Rams head to Atlanta in about a week for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They will face either the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots, who met Sunday night for the AFC title.
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paul%20newberry
For more AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
