I’m headed to Gupton Stadium for the Game of the Week, which is McCallum vs. Vista Ridge. The Rangers have surpassed their win total from 2009 already. After a 1-9 season they’re now 3-0. Oddly enough, they’ve allowed 21 points in each game they’ve played. McCallum is 1-2 after a crazy game against Hutto, where they came back from a 28-7 deficit for a 55-42 final.

Lake Travis plays Kerville Tivy and no word on Michael Brewer’s status for the Cavaliers. After winning 48 games in a row, the Cavs are now trying to put together another win streak. Aledo is one of the best teams in the state, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of rematch between those two schools, which would likely happen some time around Christmas, if you know what I mean.

Having covered high school sports in Oklahoma and in Texas, the Daxx Garman case certainly interested me. So naturally, hearing his appeal to the UIL today was something I was going to try to go to. And I went.

This is about a teenager. A kid. A kid who probably has homework to finish tonight and isn’t watching what he has to eat and isn’t paying bills and was born in the 90s. But what that teenager’s parents did was against both OSSAA and UIL rules. The OSSAA is the Texas equivalent of the UIL, for background.

Evidence against Garman was read by UIL policy director Mark Cousins, who had a memo from the OSSAA to the Garman family, indicating that Garman would not be eligible to play sports in Oklahoma again until he sat out the eight games he played “illegally” while he was attending Jones high school. Garman did not have a transfer to play at Jones, causing his ineligibility there.

The letter was issued in January.

In February, the Garman family moved to Southlake.

There they signed the famous lease, where their friend, a self-proclaimed trial attorney from Oklahoma, said he wrote the clause in which read that if Garman were not accepted into the Carroll football program, “football” being the key word, the lease would be nullified.  He said he used poor language. It was language written and binding, nonetheless.

Garman’s attorneys also said he was the “subject of a witch hunt” at Jones, which has been debated publicly in the state of Oklahoma. The attorneys said he had “issues” at Carl Albert where he was a backup quarterback, then more “issues” at Jones occured. Now there are these “issues” at Carroll, where the attorneys nearly used the “witch hunt” terminology again.

What I found the most fascinating was perhaps what the Garman family was not saying to the UIL committee. Garman’s parents pleaded with the UIL, saying they love Southlake and the atmosphere it provides for their four children, who range in age from seven to a senior in high school, almost making it sound like they would have to move if Daxx was not granted eligibility. There’s no rule preventing the Garman children from attending Southlake schools, just rules preventing their son from playing football with the wrong intentions.

I tried to figure out what made this story so intriguing. Perhaps it was the backdrop with which I am familiar. Perhaps it was high school football. Perhaps it’s because it involves Southlake Carroll.

Then I realized it was none of those things. It’s the same reason everyone is interested in this story.

We live in an era where cheaters are winning. Maybe they don’t win for very long, but they still get the immediate gratification. Baseball players who used steriods still hit the home run. Reggie Bush still smiled at the podium in New York City in 2005. Maurice Clarett still raised the National Championship trophy.

But Daxx Garman will not play high school football in the State of Texas.

The Longhorns start practicing tomorrow (can you believe it?) and that means today was the annual Mack Brown pre-practice press conference. We heard from Mack, Garrett Gilbert, Sam Acho, James Kirkendoll and more as they got ready for camp.

Mack said he wasn’t leaning on the freshman class any more than usual but the talk certainly centered around them today. He said one of the biggest elements to camp is that tomorrow is the day you find out who these kids are on your field with your players against college competition. I’d imagine that never gets old.

Had a nice chat with James Kirkendoll as he will see his role with the team increase in the post Colt and Shipley era. Kirkendoll will likely see his catches total increase and as a senior, he is now the expected leader of this receiving corps. He said his main goal for his and Gilbert’s relationship is that he wants Gilbert to know he can depend on him when he throws the ball.

Make no mistake: this is finally Gilbert’s team. It’s interesting that our final images of Colt McCoy’s last year with the Longhorns star Gilbert, but this year Gilbert gets the reigns from the start. He said he and Greg Davis have discussed what it takes to take over for McCoy, and perhaps the best advice Davis told him was to just be himself. Gilbert is not a guy who talks a lot, but he says he knows he will have to speak up more because that’s what the position requires. After interviewing Gilbert for three years, I’d say he seemed fairly comfortable with this idea.

With Big 12 Media Days just a few days away, the start of football season is here. The Longhorns have also announced their open practice dates, which will be held this year at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

This from UT today:

The two open practices will be on Wednesday, Aug. 11, and Thursday, Aug. 12, from 7-9 p.m. Fans can enter through gates 14 and 16 in the Red McCombs Red Zone in the north end zone and parking will be available in the Manor, San Jacinto and Trinity Garages.
 
However, if practice is moved to the Indoor Practice Facility (“The Bubble”) at Denius Fields at any point, space limitations prevent the workout from remaining open.

Plus, Saturday August 21 will be the now annual football autograph day and volleyball open practice at Gregory Gym. Get there early, because I’ve interviewed people who camp out overnight for that one.

It’s kind of like supply and demand.

The football supply runs dry in the summer, and the demand increases. We all get itchy for whatever football news we can find this time of the year (although the Rangers, Express and Astros are doing a good job in the meantime).

Last week we wrapped up 7-on-7 football in College Station. And while I cheered silently in the 1,000,000-degree weather for every slight breeze that came my way, I was also excited to see some of the Central Texas teams really in the mix. We all know winning 7-on-7 can be a curse, but it’s a great way to see the talent for the upcoming season.

Pflugerville looked solid. Their quarterback Alex Dean made some great passes, and the team has several projected Division I committments this year. Storm Woods is expected to go to Oregon State, which is on my radar because of Jacquizz Rodgers, who of course faced quite a few area teams during his years in high school.

Lake Travis won the entire thing. It was the last football championship the Cavs hadn’t won yet. The Michael Brewer-Connor Floyd connection looked like it picked up right where it left off in Waco at the 4A State Championship game.

Moving up in the ranks, it was great to see Colt McCoy and his family in Temple. The children’s wing at Scott and White was packed to the gills with media, kids and doctors. It was funny to see surgeons bust out their cell phone cameras and take a few pictures with the rest of us. Funny mostly because I don’t observe surgeons a lot and I like that they got to get in on the mix too.

McCoy reiterated how excited he is to go to Cleveland and study under Mike Holmgren and Eric Mangini. Why shouldn’t he be? McCoy hasn’t signed his contract yet but says he expects to do that soon. The former Texas QB turns quite a page in his life this summer. He talked about how he’s “redshirting,” thanks to teachers like Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace already there. Sounds like a good way to transition into the NFL.

Speaking of NFL… Just one week until the Cowboys report to camp in San Antonio. One glorious, wait-filled week.

After a few hours of sitting with “THE DECISION” I’ve come to a few conclusions about LeBron James’ move to Miami.

First, if someone told you that you could go to Miami and work with your friends and that you could be the best in whatever business you were in, that doesn’t sound like a bad deal.  And similar to Texas, Florida doesn’t have a state income tax. I imagine that when you make over $100 million a year, that state income tax can take a toll.

But did James need to come out on television, a la National Signing Day (which he never got to do) and announce to his hometown that he wasn’t going to stay there anymore?

No.

Because whether James likes it or not, he basically told Cavs fans that Miami is a better place than Cleveland. And he did it publically. That’s what you do if you want to stay at home. It’s not what you do if you want to leave.

Maybe ESPN should have done a “Where in the World is LeBron James?” like that old Carmen San Diego show and then he could have just popped up on camera from Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, waving at the lens while we all watched on TV.  That would have been less painful for Ohio, which has suffered a lot through this recession, and didn’t need this on top of it.

Perhaps this is what happens when mega-stars try to identify with the public. They think doing something like this would help them re-connect. That live television would give James a way to explain why he did what he did. And James did his best. But like my old high school editor said, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” And James said enough after his first sentence.

Lance Armstrong, aka, @lancearmstrong, just said on Twitter, that this will be his final Tour de France. Here’s what the Tweets said:

“And yes, this will be final Tour de France. It’s been a great ride. Looking forward to 3 great weeks.”

“Doh, sorry, meant ‘my’ final Tour.”

If so that makes this one all the more exciting. Yes, Lance has retired before, and I’ll argue so did Michael Jordan, and that didn’t make that last Finals series against the Jazz any less fun to watch.

Armstrong finished third in last year’s TDF after coming out of retirement.

I’ve received quite a bit of Aggie feedback on Twitter on Texas A&M’s potential rumored (and I repeat, rumored) move to the SEC. I echo the confusion of most fans as to why it would be a good move, especially for the football team.

There’s no question having a Texas team would be huge for the SEC, but the Aggies would be moving from one strong football conference in the Big 12 to the best football conference in the country, at least as we know now, before the pending Pac-10 moves are over. The Aggies would potentially be in the SEC West, facing the likes of Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. Pending a move, the divisions may realign, but that’s a murderer’s row of opponents.

In other sports, especially men’s basketball, the Aggies could fare pretty well. But they would have to face Eastern opponents Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia.

One of the most extreme points I’ve heard is the Aggies don’t want to “follow Texas” in their potential conference moves.  I don’t think it’s about who is “bowing down” to whom at this point. I think this is about what is best for the school and its athletic programs. And Aggie fans have to ask themselves if playing in the SEC gives their teams the best chance to win.

The SEC was the front-runner in the idea of the super-conference. It made the prototype and it is the strongest athletic conference. With the recent moves of the Big Ten and the Pac-10, only time will tell if their versions can match the SEC in their power. That said, Aggies fans have to ask if they benefit from this potential possibility.

I love “Anchorman.” I am a fan of funny movies, and especially a fan of making fun of myself, so it was no secret that “Anchorman” would be up there for me. I also love “Old School,” “Talladega Nights,” and “Saturday Night Live.” So imagine my delight to find out Will Ferrell was coming to the Dell Diamond.

Ferrell did not disappoint as he played “Rojo Johnson,” an exiled pitcher from Venezuela who was back from jail after having illegal reptiles as pets. He was hilarious, and the video of his pitching performance is all over the internet.

Will Ferrell as Rojo Johnson, Express Pitcher

But more importantly, Ferrell is in town to promote an organization called “Cancer for College,” which gives college scholarships to kids who have survived cancer. The golf tournament he promoted raised between $50,000 and $75,000 for scholarships going to students here in Central Texas.

Ferell was happy to oblige for TV cameras, not only at the Express game, but also for me at the golf tournament today. The first hole was supposed to be a drive with a Nintendo Wii, but instead, he kicked it old school (couldn’t resist) and drove, just for our cameras. I got to follow him around for a lot of the practice rounds, as he happily posed for pitctures and talked to people at the golf course. You can tell this is a casue Ferell is behind, and he put his full performance and real character into it.

After being drafted by Cleveland with the 85th pick in the draft, we caught up with Colt McCoy on the big move. The QB’s reaction was obvious on TV– he was happy to have his name called and said as much to us after the results.

“I’m really excited,” he said to us. “It’s been a long couple of days, honestly, but to have my name called, there’s not a better feeling and to have your phone ring and coach [Mike] Holmgren and coach [Eric] Mangini to be on the line saying ‘Hey, sometimes good things come to those who wait, has it been a long day?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s been a long day.’ But I understand that the needs of different teams, from all that I’ve heard, I was at the top of the board for everybody, but most teams just didn’t need a quarterback and that was a tough process. I understand that teams are going to go after guys that they need to help their team and I knew that if I was still on there at the end of that, I never thought that would happen that way, but I really felt confident in that.”

McCoy also talked about who Holmgren’s worked with: Joe Montana was drafted in the third round. Holmgren also coached Brett Favre with the Packers. That’s quite a list with just those two, who many consider to be two of the best in the past 20 years. I’d add Aikman, Marino and Elway, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

“I think it’s a great fit. Coach Holmgren has all his staff in line, coach Mangini is the head coach and from meeting with all the coaches, it’s all about winning and that’s what it’s like around here and that’s what I want to be a part of,” McCoy said. ”I feel really confident going in there. I’m going to study with Jake [Delhomme] and Seneca [Wallace], get to know those guys and I just got off the phone with coach [Brian] Daboll, the offensive coordinator, and he just said, ‘Come in here and do what you always do.’ He said, ‘What do I expect from you? I expect you to come in here and do your best.’ That’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to work my tail off. I can’t wait for the opportunity to get up there and learn and study and be there for the team.”

First-Round honors went to Earl Thomas who heads to Seattle. Jordan Shipley was picked by Cincinnati, where we hear he might be competing with former Texas teammate Quan Cosby in the return department. Roddrick Muckelroy also went on Saturday to Cincinnati.