House Criticizes Leach

House Judiciary Committee member Linda Sanchez criticized the hiding of injuries in sports after hearing testimony Monday on Texas Tech's firing of coach Mike Leach.
Referring to the Texas Tech incident involving wide receiver Adam James that led to Leach's dismissal in December, Sanchez, D-Calif., said at a Manhattan forum that players, assistant coaches and trainers should not have been silent concerning James' concussion.
Leach was fired on Dec. 30, two days after he was suspended amid allegations of mistreatment of James. Leach has continually denied that he mistreated James and has stated publicly that the $800,000 bonus he was due on Dec. 31 is the reason for his firing. His lawsuit includes allegations of libel and slander and breach of contract. Leach had just completed the first year of a five-year, $12.7 million deal that came after months of negotiations. Since the lawsuit began, those have come under fire as a contentious precursor to Leach's firing.

This is part of a story from ESPN.com.

Now I think it is terrible that sports have come this far that people are faking injuries. I don't believe Leach when he says he was keeping James out of the light when he put him in the shed and I believe Leach did this to discourage James from telling people that he had a concussion. Leach is a crazy competitor, and sadly, he will probably get another job somewhere and be just as brutal. Hopefully it's not anytime soon for the sake of the kids.

Lots of Big 12 Talent in NFL Draft

In the first round of this year's NFL draft, the Big 12 was represented really well. five of the first six picks were players who played in the Big 12 and each of the first four picks were members of the conference. Eight players overall were taken in the first round

(1) Sam Bradford, Oklahoma

(2) Ndamakong Suh, Nebraska

(3) Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma

(4) Trent Williams, Oklahoma

(6) Russell Okung, Oklahoma State

(14) Earl Thomas, Texas

(19) Sean Witherspoon, Missouri

(21) Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma

(24) Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State

Texas Longhorns Team Preview

The Texas Longhorns shouldn't miss much with the loss of Colt McCoy. Now a sophomore, Garrett Gilbert performed admirably in the place of McCoy during last seasons championship game and is ready to take over as the teams new starting quarterback. The Longhorns return six players on offense and 6 on defense, but they're loaded everywhere on the field. They have running back Tre' Newton, wide reciever Malcolm Williams and quarterback Garrett Gilbert to lead the offense. Defensive end Sam Ancho and linebacker Keenan Robinson will anchor the defense. Even though they're one year removed from playing in the BCS Championship, the Longhorns might get there again very soon.

Oklahoma Sooners Team Preview

The Oklahoma Sooners return 9 starters on the offensive side of the ball and 5 starters from the defensive side of the ball from the team that beat Stanford in the Sun Bowl to end their season. The three players they're losing on offense were huge stars for them. They're losing Sam Bradford, Trent Williams, and Jermaine Gresham, all top 25 picks in the 2010 NFL draft. Their is still no doubting the Sooner's talent. They return Sun Bowl MVP Landry Jones and star running back DeMarco Murray. Landry Jones got a ton of experience this last season by starting 11 games for the injured Sam Bradford. The Sooner's are loaded with talent, as usual, and should be gunning for a Big 12 Championship.

Garrett Gilbert is More Than Ready to Take Over.

During last season's National Title Game, you could probably hear fans moaning and crying when their Heisman Trophy Candidate quarterback Colt McCoy, but what they didn't know was that Garrett Gilbert was more than ready to handle the situation and they also got a glimpse at the future. He threw two touchdowns and four interceptions, but many analysts said that he played much better than his stats indicate. Gilbert was groomed for this moment. He sparked a comeback for the Longhorns as he led them on a scoring drive to bring the score to 21-24, but Alabama went on to win the game. He was the 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year and is regarded as the most talented quarterback of his class. He's the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert. Former college head coach Jackie Sherill said that Gilbert is the best high school quarterback prospect since Dan Marino. Don't worry Longhorn fans. Just the hand the keys over to Gilbert because he'll take you places.

Can the Cornhuskers Score Enough?

Ndamukong Suh was taken with the 2nd pick in the 2010 draft and received prestigious awards such as the Associated Press's College Football Player of the Year Award and the Outland Trophy. Suh also finished 4th in the Heisman voting. Even though the Huskers are losing Suh, he says their defense should be even better next year. I wouldn't argue with an NFL lineman with the first name that means "The House of Spears." Head Coach Bo Pelini has recruited extremely well and now "his guys" will be the ones playing for the Big Red. The defense ranked 7th in efficiency last season and if it's better than last year's, it should be one of the best in the nation. Nebraska had one of the least efficient offenses last season but the Huskers return most of their starters and are hoping that with another year of experience that the offense will blossom. Pelini's defense is going to keep the Huskers in every game and if they get anything out of their offense they will win a lot of games. If the offense blossoms into something special, the Huskers will have a shot at the National Title.

Big 12 Basketball News... Iowa State Cyclones see the return of Fred Hoiberg

I know that this is a football blog, but Big 12 Team Iowa State had big news this week that I felt was worth sharing. Former Iowa State Cyclones basketball star Fred Hoiberg was named the new head coach of the ISU Men's Basketball Team.

Fred Hoiberg, who started 4 years at Iowa State went to the NBA and had his career ended early by heart problems. Known for his hard work-ethic and dedication to the game, Iowa State Cyclones fan nicknamed Fred Hoiberg "the Mayor". Fred Hoiberg returns to the Iowa State Cyclones Athletic Program after working in the front office for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Welcome Home Fred Hoiberg!