HOW HORNS HOPE TO KEEP RECEIVERS AT HOME
Victory at Oklahoma will mean little if Texas can’t follow up with another W.
Just when you thought they were dead, the Texas Longhorns kept their NCAA tourney hopes alive with a huge road win over the free-falling Oklahoma Sooners, who were inexplicably still ranked No. 23 in the country despite four straight losses.
As for the Horns, that three-game losing streak is in the rearview mirror. Texas (16-11, 6-8 Big 12) can gain a measure of revenge and move one step closer to the Big Dance with a win at Kansas State on Wednesday. Yes, that’s the same Kansas State team that walked into the Erwin Center two weeks ago and beat the Horns 67-64.
Shaka Smart’s bunch showed up that night with very little enthusiasm or hunger against a Wildcats team it should have beaten. A win in Manhattan would be huge, of course. At this point, the win over Oklahoma won’t mean much if Texas can’t follow up with another W for its
first two-game winning streak since conference play began. “It’s a battlefield,” Smart said during his Monday media availability. “We’ve got two weeks left in the regular season, and I think the teams that are able find a way to be mentally sharp, and that’s a choice, are going to have the best chance.”
They’re still breathing. UFC Fight Night 126 at
the Erwin Center was a rip-roaring smash Sunday, and Texas fighters were the story of the evening, especially the biggest one of them all, Derrick “Black Beast” Lewis of Houston.
Texans went 7-1 before a great crowd of 10,502. UFC president Dana White wasn’t in attendance, but he was undoubtedly giddy at the turnout and the quality of competition his fighters displayed. The announced gate was $794,350, providing hope that even when Texas tears down the Erwin Center and builds a smaller venue, great events like the UFC will still continue to come to our great city.
The 33-year-old Lewis, a longtime fan favorite ranked No. 7 in the world among heavyweights, electrified the crowd with a vicious third-round knockout of Poland’s Marcin Tybura in the co-main event. After an even first two rounds, Lewis, who spent much of the first two rounds on his back, appeared to be on the losing end of things — until he unleashed a game-changing four-punch combination to drop the fresher Tybura.
Lewis quickly finished the job and improved to 19-5 in his MMA career and 10-3 in UFC fights after briefly retiring last year amid issues with his back.
“What they know about them Texas boys?” Lewis said in the post-fight ring interview as the crowd continued to go wild. So what next? “I heard they’re giving people $500,000 just to fight for a world title,” he said. “So big boy will have to step his game up.”
At a robust 264 pounds, Lewis enters every match knowing he won’t have the advantage in the cardio department. He also has knockout power in both hands, which can be a great equalizer.
Lewis has a great back story. Born in New Orleans, he moved to Houston in 1998 but remembers many relatives losing their homes to the ravages of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Twelve years later, with Hurricane Harvey pounding his new city, Lewis quickly joined the humanitarian effort. He jumped into his Chevy 3500 HD Dually High Country and began rounding up victims. All told, he said he transported an estimated 100 people to emergency aid locations throughout the city over a span of two days.
“I feel if I was in that situation, I would want somebody to help me too,” Lewis said. “I was able to help, so I did it.”
It says a lot about the man he is outside the Octagon. Before LeBron James was named the MVP in Sunday’s refreshingly watchable NBA All-Star Game, he spent most of the week answering questions about criticism he and Kevin Durant received from Fox News personality Laura Ingraham, who said they should “shut up and dribble” after they criticized the presidential administration in an interview with ESPN. James, perhaps the
most recognizable athlete on the planet, has chosen to use his platform to become a voice in his community. Should it matter that he’s sports star paid to entertain us on a basketball court? He’s a U.S. citizen too, one not immune from bigotry and hatred. James’ millions didn’t save his Los Angeles home from being vandalized with racial epithets last summer.
He famously called the president a bum on Twitter last year, and while my position doesn’t allow me to take sides, I will say that Mr. Trump has dished out just as much as he has taken — he called NFL players “SOBs” amid anthem protests last season — since he took office.
James should speak. Many tried to silence people like Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens and Billie Jean King, but they persevered and made our country more inclusive for others.
Just like Ingraham, LeBron has a voice, and if he chooses to speak up for his community between dribbles, then good for him.