'HORNS LOOK TO PLAY FOOTBALL, FORGET ARRESTS
It was a rough summer for Mack Brown. [Starts, as all of these sorts of articles do, with sympathy for a coach experiencing the outcome of his own cynical recruitment strategies.]
Six of his Texas players were arrested -- the most recent on Monday -- and close wins against teams most considered big underdogs have left many wondering if his team is overrated.
Still, the No. 7 Longhorns are 3-0 heading into Saturday night's game against Rice (0-3). A comfortable win there could ease a lot of the anxiety around campus.
The talk of Texas right now is not about football. It's about a rash of felony and misdemeanor arrests, suspensions and what Brown can do to minimize the damage to the reputations of coach and school.
Fans are complaining, national sports columnists are taking pot shots and "Book'em Horns!" jokes are zipping around the Internet, leaving Brown trying to reign in a wave of bad publicity. [This is an AP story. You'd think the AP would know how to spell rein.]
"I've spent 33 years of my life coaching young people and trying to be a great role model for young people and prepare them for life after football," Brown said. "It has been very, very important in my life that we have a team with character and that they act responsibly. When someone is accused of trouble or has trouble, it's devastating to me personally." [As the criminals I recruit become more brazen, my cliches become more threadbare.]
University President William Powers went public this week with his support of Brown and the program.
"I strongly endorse the penalties he has imposed on this player and others who have been arrested for various offenses. [SOS likes "arrested for various offenses." It's a neat catch-all term.] I know Coach Brown feels accountable for the conduct of his team and that these players must be held accountable for their own behavior on and off the field," Powers said. [As the criminals we've recruited become more brazen, my cliches become more threadbare.]
Brown this week reinstated sophomore linebacker Sergio Kindle and junior defensive end Henry Melton, both suspended three games for drunken driving arrests over the summer.
"It's going to be good for us to have those guys back," linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy said.
Anything that allows Texas to concentrate on the playbook rather than the police blotter is welcome right now. Senior defensive tackle Derek Lokey said playing Rice helps the team put the arrests in the past.
"Instead of dividing the team, it's going to unite the team," Lokey said. [Win this one for the probation officer!] '