I promised a few college basketball thoughts last time, so even though the Horns really let me down yesterday and I don't want to talk too much about it, here it goes:
- Uggghh. Fortunately for me, I was busy and missed all of the first half, and didn't tune in until there were nine minutes remaining in regulation, with Texas down 53-40. Needless to say, I was shocked at the deficit, since the Horns have been playing much better since the beatdown they got in Norman a few weeks ago. After falling down by as much as 17, UT fought back to tie the game late and go into overtime.
- At this point, I thought they had it. The Horns played the last five minutes of regulation with extremely high intensity and did almost everything right in their frantic run to close the gap, and I thought this would carry over to the extra session.
- Even though KState went up early, I thought UT had a shot until they missed the rebound with 11 seconds left after KState missed two free-throws. The Horns fouled the right guy, he predictably missed both freebies, but instead of getting the rebound and having the last possession down two points, Conner Atchley decided not to secure the ball, KState did, and subsequently made one of two free throws to essentially seal the game. While Texas did get the ball back, KState smartly fouled, (you listening, Calapari?) sending Dogus Balbay to the line where he made the first, but didn't hit rim on his intentional miss which gave the ball to the Cats, and that was pretty much all she wrote. In a game where Texas played so badly for the first 2/3 of the game, it's hard to blame on play or player for the loss, but missed free-throws in OT, not securing rebounds, and a killer three-pointer from KState (from about 30 feet with the shot clock running down, no less) won't win you close games.
- What's the deal with UT not being able to beat Kansas State? Two years in a row in football, and the past two times they've come to the Drum, the Cats have won. In fact, the last time the Horns lost there was Super Bowl weekend, 2007 to...you guessed it, the Kansas State Wildcats. Someone needs to shuffle the schedule a little bit.
Alright, now for the FNL recap of the week. As always, it was another great episode, with many future storylines developing. First of all, glad Smash decided to go to college-even if it is aTm-and not take the deal to become a store manager at Alamo Freeze. This actually could go under the 'unrealistic' list, if only because many people I know in his situation (former HS star, tons of scholarship offers, injury, loss of scholarship and being reduced to walking on) probably would have taken the job offer (hey, I got a company car!) and just went on with life. However, he did what will best suit him for the long-run, even if he isn't able to earn a scholarship, so that was nice to see for Smash.
I hate Team Buddy McCoy. Obviously, that's what the show wants from it's viewers, but let me tell ya, it's working. If Coach Taylor had punched out Buddy or Joe (is it Joe? I forgot) McCoy in the pool room, no one would have blamed him, and Coach is a better man than I am for walking away. I am looking forward to the where this storyline goes in the future, though. Will Coach stick with Saracen, even though he doesn't secure the ball on the goal-line on the game-winning play? Will he give in to the booster's demands to put in the freshman phenom? Will he flip the bird to the (extremely unreasonable) Dillon faithful and leave for another high school next year, or even follow one of his players-most likely Smash or Riggins-to college? I don't know the answer to any of these, but you can bet I'll stick around to find out.
A few quick things to hit on, and I'll be done. What happened to Street? He wasn't my favorite character, and his story line wasn't exactly 'neat' or 'fun to watch' even, but still, where'd he go? Did I miss something or what, because if I'm not mistaken, he was in most episodes last year, and even had a few that centered around him, but this year it's like he fell of the face of the earth. Also, fans of Dillon: y'all suck. What makes you think it's acceptable to put For Sale signs in the front yard of a coach who currently has a winning record (2-1, with two convincing wins and one last-second loss)? Is it because he won't play a 15 year old freshman at quarterback, even though he has a three-year starter who, lest we forget, won the state championship as a sophomore? Call me crazy, but I'm thinking Coach Taylor knows a little more about how to win football games than the entire Dillon population combined. Just saying, chill and let the Wonder Boy take over next year. Something tells me that won't happen; not on this show, not this season.
Another Special Forces book that didn't live up to expectations. This one focuses on the Special Police Operations Battalion in Rio de Janeiro. It's actually a two-part book, and the first one isn't half bad, giving first-person accounts of experiences in the BOPE, including an unnerving amount of backward dealings inside the units. However, the book takes a bad turn in the second part, which tells a confusing, twisting story that may or may not be fictional, and ends so abruptly that it makes no sense at all. One word: Underwhelming. 
