Tight end Gray’s departure leaves UT short on depth
Beck, Brewer only players at position with receptions.
the defensive pass interference rules from a spot foul to a 15-yard penalty (absolutely essential) although I’d prefer spot fouls for egregious, obvious infractions and 15 yards for garden-variety fouls. Change some rules, NCAA. And do it in a week. Or sooner. Change any rule that does not benefit the athletes. Remember them? Let ’em transfer without restrictions one time. Let ’em receive monetary value for their names on jerseys or autographs. Work with the NBA to change its rule and let ’em go pro out of high school or make ‘em stay at least two or three years in basketball and football. Let ’em not go to class and delay classwork until after their eligibility is exhausted if the athletes so desire. College sports is about entertaining consumers, about preparing athletes for a job or pro sports and about allowing athletes who are not pro material to get a free education and grow up. The model is broken, NCAA. Fix it. Now. ... Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte continues to embrace the model of amateurism in light of the FBI probe that has led to the arrests of four college basketball assistants and the naming of at least 25 players who allegedly received improper financial benefits. He says the average non-athlete student leaves with at least $28,000 in student loan debt and says college grads are known to make more than $1 million in income over their work lives than those without a degree. Applause for Earl Campbell, who hosts the seventh annual Flavors of Austin sponsored by Biogen on Saturday at the Hyatt Regency. The event benefits the Pro Player Foundation and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Earl’s youngest son, Tyler, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007. Besides Earl, fellow Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett, Joe Greene, Randall McDaniel and nominee Lorenzo Neal will attend along with T.J. Ford, Casey Hampton, Kasey Studdard and Aaron Ross. Guests dine on delicacies from Austin restaurants and bid on Houston Astros sports memorabilia, Dell Match Play passes, restaurant packages and ResorTime vacations to Hawaii and Mexico. Huston Street, who announced Monday he’s 99 percent sure he is retiring, hasn’t given up his dream. “I wanted to be in the Hall of Fame,” he told me. “That’s every kid’s dream. Going into the 2016 season, I thought I had a chance. Of course, I needed six more phenomenal seasons. Yeah, I just needed 300 more saves (to his 324).” Injuries curtailed his effectiveness, especially the last two seasons. “I probably spent about two years on the DL in my 13 years.” Closers have never been fully embraced as they should. How else do you explain Lee Smith’s exclusion despite his 478 saves ? There would be 13 first-timers in the WGC-Dell Match Play field if it were set today. Among them could be 22-year-old Haotong Li, who would be the first player from China to play in the Dell tourney, and Luke List, who fell to Justin Thomas in a playoff in last weekend’s Honda Classic. Thomas passed his good friend Jordan Spieth at No. 3 in the world golf rankings, and both have committed to the Dell tournament. I really want to believe Mark Cuban. I don’t like him, but I like his candor and boldness. Given his meticulous attention to detail as maybe the most hands-on sports owner after Jerry Jones, I find it incredulous he had no knowledge that sexual harassment had gone on forever inside his Mavericks offices. If he’s honest,
One fewer tight end exists on Texas’ depth chart.
On Tuesday, a Texas spokesperson confirmed Garrett Gray has left the football program. Gray had a year of eligibility remaining. The economics major, however, has plans on graduating this semester and entering the workforce.
Gray was recruited out of Marble Falls during the Mack Brown era, and the threestar receiver honored his commitment upon Charlie Strong’s hire. After red-shirting in 2014, Gray played sparingly on special teams the following two years. He was converted to tight end by Tom Herman’s staff and was the starter at that position against Maryland.
Gray caught four passes over two games last season. His junior year, however, was cut short by a knee injury and a suspension from the Texas Bowl.
Following Gray’s departure, Andrew Beck and Cade Brewer are the only tight ends with collegiate catches on their resume. Beck (foot) and Brewer (knee) sustained significant injuries last year. Reese Leitao and Max Cummins are coming off their redshirt seasons, but Cummins was a defensive lineman last year. Three-star recruit Malcolm Epps was a member of Texas’ 2018 signing class.
Tennis: All-American Yuya Ito was honored by the Big 12 on Tuesday.
Ito was selected as the men’s tennis player of the week, his second selection of the season. He also received the honor Feb. 13. Cuban should be ashamed he’s paying so much attention to trivial matters like tanking and not to making it a safe workplace. As for his presidential run, I don’t see how it hurts, given our current White House resident’s background in that area, but I do think it would be interesting to see a president hold press conferences while wearing a T-shirt . ... And speaking of tanking, it’s easily stopped. Put all 30 teams’ names in a hat, draw ’em out at random regardless of their season records, and determine draft order that way. Then, maybe some NBA teams might actually try to win a game or two. When I heard Rick Pitino rail against the NCAA’s vacating Louisville’s basketball national championship by saying the players’ party with strippers didn’t help them win the title, I’d like to introduce Pitino to the forest. That’s the exact type of recruiting advantage that probably lured some of Louisville’s players to that school. Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Glen Gaspard,
The sophomore, who is ranked 118th in the nation, moved his record to 8-0 with his victory of Georgia Tech’s Carlos Divar, 6-1, 6-2. Divar is ranked 41st by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Ito has not lost a set in singles play this month.
Texas will face No. 16 North Carolina State and No. 6 North Carolina this weekend in North Carolina.
Texas Relays: Tickets for this year’s Texas Relays, scheduled for March 28-31, are on sale. Tickets are only needed for Friday and Saturday sessions. Wednesday and Thursday’s sessions are free.
An all-session pass is $35 for bleachers and $15 for general admission in advance. Walk-up tickets are $40 and $20, respectively. Individual sessions are $20 for reserved and $10 general admission per session and can only be purchased the day of the event.
Academics: Seven UT athletes received the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, which is the Big 12’s highest honor.
The athletes are Trevor Carr (football), Jack Holbrook (football), Paige Hooper (soccer), Randel Leahy (softball), Jake McKenzie (baseball), Remedy Rule (women’s swimming) and Erica Wright (softball).
To be eligible, athletes are required to earn a letter at least once and maintain residence for one academic year. Also, the athlete needs 100 hours of earned credit with a grade-point average of 3.8 or above. the two-time All-SWC linebacker from Winnie who was the cover boy for Dave Campbell Texas Football magazine before his senior season in 1973. Email me at kbohls@statesman . ... I learned Larry Robinson stayed in Sweden after a long professional basketball career there and runs a sporting goods company. Didn’t think “Game Night” was hilariously funny, but was entertaining enough. Be sure and stay for the last scene during the credits. Gave it 7 ducks. My Oscar winners are “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” over “Darkest Hour” for Best Movie; Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington for Best Actress and Actor; and slam-dunks Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell in supporting roles. I found “Dunkirk” vastly overrated. “The Shape of Water” was good but not 13 nominations good. Crazy prediction: The Longhorns will make this year’s NCAA Tournament.