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2/13/2012 - 2-13-2012 Lefty Plays Smokin' Joe to Tiger's Ali
It's official. Phil Mickelson now owns Tiger Woods.
Lefty's run away win at Pebble Beach yesterday left the entire group in his wake, most notably the guy who once blew away the U. S. Open field on that course. There was a time that Mickelson, like everyone else on tour cowared when Tiger was heading for victory. But those days are long gone. Sunday marked the fifth straight time Phil had defeated Tiger head up on a Sunday. And Woods has still not won a tournament since 2010. Mickelson admitted after the win that playing against Tiger gets his juices flowing. Tiger used to love those challenges and thrived on real or perceived slights using those as added fuel. But these days, the tank is empty.

1/22/2012 - 1/22/12 Joe Pa
The death of Joe Paterno Sunday in State College is definitely the end of an era at Penn State and could signal the beginning of the end of the Coach as King of the Campus.
While Paterno undoubtedly did a lot of good for his sport and his university the Jerry Sandusky scandal also gave us a peek into a man who was not only deified but who at times acted like deity in his handling of the program. Joe Pa was untouchable in Pennsylvania. He knew it, his players knew it, the fans knew it and campus administators and directors knew it. It should come as no surprise that we have elevated the coach to the position of king. After all, it's his team around which our lives revolve. What could be more important than victory? There are rumblings that university presidents may be ready to take back the university. But we've heard those threats before. At most campuses they will last only as long as the team is losing.

12/1/2011 - 12-1-11 Send in the Clowns
This is not the first time that A&M leaders have botched a coaching change. It's impossible for me to believe that college administrators think they can operate quietly in today's twitter society. If Bowen Loftin wants Sherman out, he should have had a successor in mind and hired as Sherman was leaving. If Sherman is staying, that announcement should have been made the Friday after Thanksgiving night or Monday at the latest. This on going soap opera is certainly not the way Bill Byrne has handled things and it's obvious Byrne is out of the loop,just as he was when the SEC decision was made. If this is how the athletic department is run in the future, the impending league change does not bode well for the university.

11/25/2011 - 11-25-11 Deja Vu
The loss to the Longhorns on the final play was a fitting ending to the 2011 season. The game itself was not a classic, although Aggie fans would label it as such if it had ended at the 1:48 mark when Jeff Fuller of all people caught the touchdown pass. The game was hard fought as expected, but it was not pretty football. It was, in fact, a game between two 6-5 football teams. When LSU and Alabama played a 9-6 ot yawner, it was two great defenses and two mediocre offenses going at it. This one was simply two mediocre teams. Aggie fans have lamented all season the "ifs". But after 12 games you are what you are...a .500 team.

11/8/2011 - 11-8-11 Smokin'
It's fitting that Joe Frazier's death at age 67 last night is being overshadowed by the horror at Penn State.
Frazier, the son of a South Carolina share cropper, never quite got his due. He will forever be known as the man who fought Muhammad Ali three times including the most famous bout of all time, the Thrilla in Manilla. Frazier couldn't keep up with Ali outside the ring and he almost died keeping up with him in it. Frazier was as brutal at his craft as he was gentle in spirit. Even though he beat Ali in 1971 in the first of three fights, it was the loss in the Phillipines and the loss to George Foreman ("Down goes Frazuh!") that define his career. He never forgave Ali for the brutal taunts after he had supported Ali during his exile and even loaned him money. Joe Frazier was one of a kind. But, like his career, he will be swallowed up by bigger headlines.