* Texas coach Mack Brown says Oklahoma edging out his team for a
national title bid won't change the way he operates: "Our goals are
to win the opening game, win the Big 12 South, win the conference
championship and win a bowl game every year, and hopefully that
would be the national championship." In other words, as far as 2008
goes, two out of five ain't bad.
* Former Michigan quarterback Steven Threet is reportedly
planning to transfer to Arizona State, and former LSU cornerback
Phelon Jones is reportedly planning to transfer to Alabama.
Actually, only Threet is transferring; in the SEC, going from Baton
Rouge to Tuscaloosa is more like "defecting."
* Speaking of
Alabama, they have signed a contract for a home-and-home series with
Michigan State in 2016 and 2017. That should be interesting: Nick
Saban taking on the program with whom he rose to prominence. Then
again, 2016 is a long time from now: by then Saban could be coaching
the Spartans again.
* Still sorting through the aftermath of the 2009 NFL
Draftpocalypse, and one of the historical footnotes is that Miami
saw its fourteen-year streak of having at least one player drafted
in the first round come to an end. Here's a possible silver lining:
maybe some of those potential future first rounders just really like
Coral Gables and have decided to stick around on campus a little
longer.
* One program that is filling Miami's NFL void is USC, which led
all schools with 11 players chosen. That follows last season's NFL
haul of 10 Trojans drafted. Pete Carroll said, "It was a great two
days for the guys. It's an awesome representation of how hard they
work." In a related story, Carroll thinks lots of things are
awesome.
* Speaking of awesome, Ohio State set a new record for spring
game attendance: 95,722 fans came out to see Terrelle Pryor lead the
Gray over the Scarlet. That game broke Alabama's record of 92,138 of
2007, which happened to be Nick Saban's debut. Who says Ohio State
can't beat the SEC?
* Not sure you heard about this, because it was a little under
the radar, but the NFL held its annual draft this past weekend. And
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach was still fuming about rumors that a
meeting between his former All-American wide receiver Michael
Crabtree and the Cleveland Browns didn't go well. He directed some
of his ire at Browns coach Eric Mangini: "Michael Crabtree has been
more successful as a receiver than that guy has a coach at this
point." And although Leach has been pretty darned good as a
coach, he's probably been more successful as a quote machine at this
point.
* Aaron Corp was doubly excited about Saturday's draft outcome,
both because he was happy for former teammate Mark Sanchez and
because Sanchez's departure paved the way for him to start this
season at USC. And Corp no doubt is looking forward to his own
spectacular season, followed by his own awkward NFL sending-off by
Pete Carroll.
* Our not-so-long national nightmare is over (or maybe it's just
beginning, depending on your point of view): the Apple Cup,
Washington vs. Washington State, will not be played at Qwest Field
after all.
* North Carolina starting QB T.J. Yates sprained his thumb on his
throwing hand while playing frisbee during a recent team picnic.
Man, Butch Davis is so intense, even his team PICNICS are brutal.
123 days and counting...
Mack Brown
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20090426_92_B1_Texasc805674&allcom=1
Steven Threet
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/football/index.ssf/2009/04/report_former_um_quarterback_s.html
Phelon Jones
http://blog.al.com/rapsheet/2009/04/phelon_jones_dad_phelon_is_par.html
Alabama
http://blog.al.com/tidecorner/2009/04/alabama_announces_homeandhome.html
Miami
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090425/SPORTS/904250327/1002/SPORTS
USC
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-nfl-report27-2009apr27,0,1969653.story
Ohio State
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/04/25/ohiostate.spring.game.ap/index.html
Mike Leach
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/Tech-coach-rips-Mangini-for-diva-ish-comment-a;_ylt=AgeXB2MIFstcdNhwmgz8khI5nYcB?urn=nfl,158993
Aaron Corp
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-usc-football26-2009apr26,0,6213412.story
Apple Cup
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/collegesports/2009116857_applecup25.html
T.J. Yates
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/story/5019915/