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Page 2B - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - Plainview Herald www.MyPlainview.com
Houston’s Kevin Sumlin to coach Texas A&M
By CHRIS DUNCAN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON — A person
ith knowledge of the
ecision says Houston’s
evin
umlin has
ccepted
n offer
o become
he coach
t Texas
&M.
Tech
Corporate
Sponsor
SUMLIN
The person spoke on
ondition of anonymty
to The Associated
ress because no offi cial
announcement has been
made.
Sumlin arrived at the
Houston student athletics
center about noon Saturday.
He refused to answer
questions as he walked
into the building.
Continued from Page 1B
again, remember Joe
Montana getting dealt to
the Chiefs after he got hurt
and Steve Young proved
to be a more-than-capable
starter? Yeah, Manning’s
gone.
So, the question now
becomes, not will the Colts
deal Manning, but who is
going to want Manning
badly enough to give the
Colts something deemed
valuable enough? Let’s
rank the 31 teams in the
league from least likely to
most likely to go Manning
shopping come this
offseason.
� The No Reason on
arth Group
31. Packers; 30. Saints;
9. Patriots; 28. Steelers
This group is completely
elf explanatory. Those
eams’ QBs won the last
ight Super Bowls. (Wait,
he Giants beat the Patriots
n 2008? That didn’t hapen.
Nobody catches a ball
gainst their helmet!) I
now three of four of those
uys (all but Rodgers) are
etting near the end of
heir prime, but they don’t
eed Manning.
� The We Might
onsider It If the Deal
as Absolutely Perfect
roup
27. Carolina; T-26. Dalas,
Atlanta; 24. New York
iants; 23. San Diego; 22.
ew York Jets; 21. Cininnati;
20. Philadelphia
This is a weird group beause
you have teams with
ither veteran QBs (The
omoCoaster, Eli Maning,
Phillip “IT WASN’T
Y !^@%# Fault” Rivers,
ichael Vick, Matt Ryan)
r young guys believed to
e the future (Cam Newon,
Andy Dalton). I don’t
hink these teams are makng
a move just because it
The person told the AP
that Sumlin informed his
team that he was leaving in
a meeting on Saturday, and
that assistant Tony Levine
will serve as the interim
head coach for the bowl
game. The Cougars (12-1)
play Penn State (9-3) in the
Ticket City Bowl in Dallas
on Jan. 2.
Houston won its fi rst 12
games and was in line for
a Bowl Championship Series
berth this season until
losing at home to Southern
Mississippi in the Conference
USA championship
game.
Despite the loss, Sumlin
remained a hot name to
fi ll just about every highprofi
le coaching vacancy
available. Reports linked
him to Mississippi, Illinois,
Arizona State and UCLA,
would require such a large
investment, and they could
have a breakthrough without
the guys they already
have.
� The We’re Listening
But Pretending We’re
Not So We Don’t Hurt
Our Current QB’s Feelings
Group
19. Detroit; 18. Buffalo;
17. Houston; 16. Baltimore;
15. Chicago; 14.
Tampa Bay; 13. Washington;
12. Denver; 11.
Oakland; 10. St. Louis; 9.
San Francisco; 8. Arizona;
7. Kansas City
The broadest and most
complicated group in the
bunch, so let’s spend some
time here.
You have the Lions,
who are playing well,
but come on! Matthew
Stafford is one good hit
away from being done for
the year. It’s like if you
had a girlfriend and went
to summer camp, and one
night the really hot chick
left you a note to meet her
under the dock at midnight.
You probably would
do it just because she’s so
hot and you never know
when your girlfriend might
snap her leg. (Sorry, that
simile fell apart.) The point
is, Manning would turn
Calvin Johnson into the
best receiver in the NFL
if he isn’t already. That
combination would scare
defenses to death.
You have Buffalo,
which gave Ryan Fitzpatrick
a bazillion dollars and
saw him immediately turn
into their own personal
Michael Vick.
Houston has a franchise
(and I use that term loosely)
quarterback in Matt
Schaub, but after years of
being mediocre, wouldn’t
Houston’s owners love a
chance to become elite?
You have teams that are
Sonic is an Authorized
Toys for Tots drop off location!
������ ��� ������ �� ����
Texas Tech
2 Locations in Plainview:
4004 Olton Rd.
293-4848
in addition to Texas A&M.
The Aggies entered this
season with 18 returning
starters and a top-10 ranking.
They were expected
to contend for the Big 12
championship and be a
factor in the national title
hunt, but then lost early
games to Oklahoma State
and Arkansas after holding
double-digit halftime
leads.
A&M won three in a
row after the fi rst skid, but
a three-game losing streak,
which included two overtime
losses, ensured the
Aggies of a mediocre season.
The low point of the
season came when Texas
A&M ended its more than
century-old rivalry with
Texas with a 27-25 loss at
home on Thanksgiving.
Speculation intensifi ed
MANNING: Where will he end up next?
on the brink of possibly
being the next Patriots or
Colts (Baltimore, Chicago),
but they need that one
piece. If you’re a Ravens
fan (I believe there are
one or two in the world),
would you rather hear the
phrase, “With two minutes
left and the Ravens down
six, Joe Flacco leads the
Ravens on the most important
drive of the season”
or would you rather have
Peyton Manning’s name in
there? No contest. But do
you give up possibly seven
years of good teams for
maybe two years of great
teams?
Washington’s owner has
no idea what he is doing, so
even if the Redskins have a
chance they would screw it
up somehow. Plus, there is
no way Manning plays here.
Denver may have
Tebow, but look me in the
eye and tell me John Elway
is sold on him? Even
with a fi ve-game winning
streak, Elway is being coy
about committing to him
for next season. Which
we could totally turn into
a conspiracy theory about
how Elway is totally planning
on snaring Manning,
but I’m running out of
space, so let’s move on.
Oakland just gave a
truckload of money to Carson
Palmer and they have
Jason Campbell still on the
roster, St. Louis is desperately
clinging to the idea
Sam Bradford can revive
the franchise, Arizona’s
Kolb experiment has gone
about as well as an NBC
sitcom fall, and Kansas
City has Matt Cassell and
the most unlucky team on
earth.
Arizona is intriguing
because even though they
just gave Kolb a ton of
money, he’s obviously no
saviour, and Larry Fitzger-
501 W. 5th
293-3199
that Sumlin would move
about 100 miles northwest
to College Station after
A&M fi red Mike Sherman.
Sumlin was an assistant
coach at A&M under
R.C. Slocum in 2001-02.
Texas A&M would not
confi rm that Sumlin was
taking the job. The Aggies
(6-6) will play Northwestern
(6-6) in the Meineke
Car Care Bowl in Houston
on Dec. 31, and A&M
defensive coordinator Tim
DeRuyter is serving as
interim coach.
Sumlin, 47, was 35-17
in four seasons with
Houston. An Indianapolis
native, Sumlin played
linebacker for Purdue in
the 1980s before beginning
his coaching career
as a graduate assistant at
Washington State in 1989.
UCLA hires Jim Mora as new football coach
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES — Veteran
FL coach Jim Mora was hired as
CLA’s coach Saturday, replacing
ick Neuheisel and becoming the
rst football coach of the Bruins in
ore than 60 years with no ties to
he school.
Mora was the coach of the Atlanta
alcons and Seattle Seahawks, going
1-33 over four seasons. The son of
ongtime NFL coach Jim Mora is a
ormer University of Washington deensive
back who had only one season
of college coaching experience at his
alma mater in 1984 before beginning a
25-year career in the NFL.
Mora will be introduced at a news
conference next week.
Neuheisel, who went 21-29 over
four seasons at his alma mater. He
was fi red last month after UCLA was
embarrassed 50-0 by No. 5 Southern
California. The Trojans’ postseason
ban still allowed the Bruins to play in
the fi rst Pac-12 championship game,
where UCLA lost 49-31 to Oregon
last week.
UCLA will play Illinois in the Kraft
Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec. 31 under
interim coach Mike Johnson, Neuheisel’s
offensive coordinator. Johnson
also was Mora’s quarterbacks coach
for two seasons with the Falcons.
Mora spent the past two years out
of coaching, working as a television
analyst after the Seahawks fi red him
in January 2010 and replaced him
with former USC coach Pete Carroll
after just one season.
The 50-year-old Mora was born
in Los Angeles and spent part of his
childhood in the area, but has no
links UCLA. Athletic director Dan
Guerrero said that wasn’t a prerequisite
for the job.
ald doesn’t deserve to rot
in the desert with mediocre
quarterbacks.
Wait, I left out San
Francisco? More on this in
a minute.
� The We’ll Give You
Whatever You Want
Group
Every single one of
these teams would do
anything to get Manning to
turn their franchise around
(except Minnesota giving
up Adrian Peterson). However,
would he go to teams
that aren’t close to being
contenders? Plus, what
trade bait do any of those
teams have to give back to
the Colts? Reggie Bush?
Peyton Hillis? A big hug?
That becomes the problem.
Who is on the verge
of greatness, but has a
quarterback that adds little
to nothing to the team?
I’ll give you a second.
You got it. San Francisco.
The team proved
with a decent coach it could
be a contender, but has Alex
Smith had anything to do
with the team’s rise to glory?
Other than not screwing
it up, no. So, combine Jim
Harbaugh and a ticked off
Peyton Manning looking
for some vindication
and playing in the worst
division in football and you
have some trouble.
Ladies and gentlemen, I
give you your 2012 NFC
Champions, the 49ers —
quarterbacked by Peyton
Manning.
Ryan Thurman is the sports
editor of the Herald.
phsports@hearstnp.com or
806.296.1355
TEXAS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 TXism: “____ as a
bug’s ear”
5 TX Roy Orbison ‘64
hit: “It’s ____”
6 ankle-length skirt
7 ____ of attack
8 TX Perot started
this co. in ‘62
9 in Howard Co.
on I-20
16 TXism: “___ _
sleeping dog lie”
18 Rumsfeld was TX
George W’s “Secretary
__ ______”
21 most TX hotels offer
__-fi service
22 Zebu cows have
droopy ones
23 classic ‘57 western:
“The ___ Star”
24 TXism: “happy __
_ ___ in mud”
30 how often TXns
renew their vehicle
registration (3 wds.)
34 Joan Crawford was
TX-born as Lucille
Fay __Sueur
35 tropical shorebird
found in TX
36 acronym for state
air force militia
37 “see you _____,
alligator”
39 he started “Texas
Football” publication
43 last name of J.R. on
TV series “Dallas”
44 TXism: “____ __ _
lap dog”
45 1st State Forest:
“_ _ Sieckle”
46 _____-Lakeview, TX
47 in Medina Co. on I-35
49 TX chili accompaniment
52 Hidalgo Co.: “Santa ___
National Wildlife Refuge”
53 Dublin, TX has a famous
__ Pepper plant
54 in Hidalgo Co. off 83
55 picture takers
58 primary feature of “Six
Flags Hurricane Harbor”
59 ‘87 nuclear Treaty
24 25 26 27
35
39
60 pigeon sound
61 “to ___ is
human”
DOWN
44
1 TX judge can
______ a witness
to come to court
2 actor Matthew
McConaughey was
born in this TX city
3 “_____ ___-step”
4 ‘07 “Tropical Storm
____” flooded TX
9 Charley & Guy __created
the “Texas
Crossword”
10 ‘83 film of TX Perot
rescue of execs:
“On Wings __
_______”
11 TX Meatloaf’s
birth surname
12 TXism: “skeedaddle
out of ____”
Ryan Thurman/Plainview Herald
Plainview’s Laura Castillo looks to make a pass as Dumas’ Jacie
Eudey defends during Friday’s game. Castillo led all scorers
with 25 points.
LADY DOGS: Frenship
next on Tuesday
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Fri. & Sat., Nights 8-10 pm • Sat. & Sun., Afternoons 2-4pm
921 N. Ash • 296-0062 • Rollergames, Inc.
47
52
28
Continued from Page 1B
as they got a shot off
and allowed Dumas to
end the quarter on a 6-2
run to pull within two at
14-12.
“We didn’t start real
well,” Plainview head
coach Danny Wrenn said.
“We were giving Dumas
too many open looks, too
many opportunities, and
they were scoring. Give
them credit.”
But a couple of steals
from Castillo and Michelle
Portillo helped the
Lady Dogs go on a 10-3
run to open the second
quarter and build a 22-15
lead.
“We just had to get
more aggressive, put
more pressure on the
ball,” Castillo said.
“That leads to turnovers,
which lead to easy
points.”
Dumas eventually
closed the defi cit to seven
and Plainview went into
the half up 30-23. The
Lady Dogs ramped up
the defensive pressure
even higher in the third
quarter and outscored
the Demonettes 16-6 to
give themselves a nice
cushion for the last eight
minutes.
In addition to Castillo’s
25, Plainview got six
points each from Bailey
Davis and Kristian
Reynolds.
“We expect Laura to
play good night in and
night out, but I’m smart
enough to know other
1 2 3 4
5
6
TEXAS
CROSSWORD
by Charley & Guy Orbison
7
Copyright 2011 by Orbison Bros.
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18
19
29
40
21
30 31 32
13 cattle transaction
needs “bill __ ____”
14 TX Kristofferson
song: “Why __”
15 Marshall hosts the
“Fire ___ Festival”
17 TXism: “if the saddle
squeaks, it ____
____ for”
19 ‘85 film of TX rancher
Chuck Norris: “Code
of _______”
20 Kerr-McGee bought
TX “Oryx ______”
in ‘99
24 famous TX racer
_ _ Foyt
25 TXism: “tear jerker”
(___ movie)
55
58
59
60
61
22
36 37
41 42 43
53
48
56 57
HOLIDAY FUN!
26 TXism: “jumpy as
_ ___ on ice”
27 Cuba capital city
28 “___-___ band”
29 1st TX newspaper:
“______ de Texas”
31 taxi
32 dir. to Denton from
Abilene
teams are going to try to
put the clamps on her, so
other people have got to
pitch in,” Wrenn said.
Katie Campbell scored
13 points to lead Dumas,
and Haleigh Valenzuela
added 11.
The Lady Dogs face a
big test at 6 p.m. Tuesday
when they host the Frenship
Lady Tigers. Frenship
(7-4) beat Caprock
57-35.
“We have to play
much better than we did
(Friday),” Wrenn said.
“We’ve got to rebound
better, defend better,
execute better on offense.
. . . They’re a hard matchup.
They’ve got size, but
they’ve also got speed
and then throw in their
experience.”
To comment:
phsports@hearstnp.com
806.296.1355
PLAINVIEW 52, DUMAS 34
Plainview 14 18 16 4 — 52
Dumas 12 11 6 5 — 34
L.Dogs FG 3PT FT TP R
Reynolds 3-9 0-3 0-0 6 2
McDonough 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2
Ramirez 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0
Garcia 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 2
Portillo 2-4 0-2 1-3 5 3
Wheeler 2-3 0-1 0-1 4 3
Bennett 1-2 0-1 2-4 4 3
Tunnell 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 3
Castillo 8-16 2-6 7-8 25 5
Davis 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 5
Hearn 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1
TOTALS 20-48 2-15 10-16 52 26
Demonettes FG 3PT FT TP R
Valenzuela 3-10 1-4 4-5 11 4
Campbell 6-8 0-1 1-4 13 6
TOTALS 13-44 2-11 6-13 34 29
Assists: PHS 8 (Castillo 3), DHS 4
(Swaim 2); Turnovers: PHS 15 (Wheeler
4), DHS: 20 (Swaim 5); Steals: PHS
8 (Castillo 5), DHS: 7 (Valenzuela
3); Blocks: PHS 1 (Wheeler), DHS: 2
(Swain, Felts). Fouled out: None.
33
45 46
49 50 51
54
23
38
34
20
P-1038
33 this Horace won
1st U.S. Open
38 Sam Houston’s
Cherokee wife
40 Andrews h.s. class
41 old league for the
Dallas Sidekicks
42 TXism: “______
___ bear” (ready)
48 curved shapes
50 TX folk____
51 org. of state care
givers
56 Jim Wells Co. seat
57 Round Rock is
AAA _____ league
affiliate of Rangers