Again, I want to introduce Tamsyn, to our Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorns Fans! Tamsyn’s passion is sports and she does a wonderful job. We would love comments. Hook ‘em and Go Cowboys! Randy

Tamsyn’s Superbowl Video
VIDEO: Superbowl Preview!
By Tamsyn – Featured Reporter Silver and Blue Report & Hook’em Report

My first NFL video about a game I don’t care about, but hey…It is football!

Enjoy my Superbowl Preview!

PREDICTION!  Welcome Massimo, another “Featured Writer”

Massimo’s NFL Blog
PREDICTION!!!! AFC Title Showdown
Super Bowl XLVI: Prediction!
By Massimo Russo – Featured Writer Silver and Blue Report & Hook’em Report

They Meet Again

Can Tom Brady and the Patriots offense avoid the Giants veracious pass rush and dethrone their nemesis dating back to 07? Massimo Russo goes deep inside the helmet and predicts the outcome in a rematch of a classic match-up

Super Bowl XLVI – TV: NBC 6:30 pm ET

N.Y. Giants vs. New England Patriots

Super Bowl XLVI brings us a classic match-up to endure, a game that I find very intriguing with one team, the Giants that fought through a wave of injuries, a brutal schedule and winning against the odds. The other, the Patriots with a lack-luster defense but an offense that lit up the scoreboard, highlighted by a record setting tight end that enters the greatest stage the game brings with a high ankle sprain.

The big question mark over of the last two weeks has been the status of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (high ankle sprain) and how effective he will be come game time. The Gronk should play, but not being 100% may give the Giants defense an extra step on how they’ll defend the Patriots high powered passing game on critical passing downs. With Gronkowski’s health status playing a key factor, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Giants will defend him with either weak-side linebacker Michael Boley or an extra defensive back. With New York’s defense keying on Gronkowski, look for the Patriots to use some draw and stretch plays to avoid the Giants pass rush by trying to establish the run and hopefully get the Giants dominant defensive front tired by the fourth quarter. If the Patriots can do this effectively, Tom Brady should be able to find Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez, his second and third options outside of Gronkowski.

On the flip side of things for New England’s defense, they’ll need a huge performance from defensive tackle Vince Wilfork to get a push up the middle to possibly free up the outside to provide a significant amount of pressure on the red hot Eli Manning. Look for the Patriots to use six defensive backs, doubling the Giants dynamic receivers Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, while rushing either two or three down lineman with two or three linebackers, and possibly an extra safety down in the box to try to limit Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw from having a breakout game on the ground. With all the attention on New York’s speedy wide-outs, this could leave some favorable match-ups for tight end Jake Ballard on passing downs, particularly in the red zone for Eli Manning and the Giants passing attack.

Pick: With all the outside factors and match-ups playing a key factor in a game of this magnitude, the game of football always reminds me of what the most important factor really is, and that’s the line of scrimmage, something New York has better than its opponent in this game. The play of Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora, Anvil Joseph, Chris Canty and Mathias Kiwanuka has made life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. And I see New York using the same defensive approach they used in the 07 super bowl and that’s using four defensive ends, a brilliant idea considering the fact that you have four pass rushers instead of only two on the outside to provide pressure from all angles.

N.Y. Giants 34, Patriots 24.

MVP: Jason Pierre-Paul, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles.

Randy’s Longhorns Blog
Jake Raulerson| Texas Longhorns: 2013  Commitment
By Randy Maltz – Founder/Editor Silver and Blue Report & Hook’em Report

Jake Raulerson, the two-way lineman from Celina High School was the only junior prospect on campus the weekend of January 21st on his unofficial visit.  This meant he and his parents, had to pay for their own meals.

Raulerson is one of the top (if not the top) juniors in the 2013 recruiting class. Raulerson stated, “It’s the coaching staff, the players there. They are going to win a national title in the next three years and I want to be a part of it. They have one of the best recruiting classes I have ever seen coming in. They are ridiculous.”

Raulerson (6-foot-5, 250 pounds) plays right tackle and nose guard for Celina, a 3A program 45 minutes north of Dallas that has eight state titles to its name. But Texas is recruiting him as a defensive end and a tight end. Matt Brown stated, “Son, you are going to play anywhere you want in the country. I just hope it’s at Texas.” It came down to Texas and Stanford.

2012 Signing Day features another strong class for Texas Football
The Texas staff welcomes 28 newcomers that cover virtually every position on the field.
http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/020112aab.html?hq_e=el&hq_m=258827&hq_l=4&hq_v=5350f73770

Joe Washington’s presidential courting
By Ivan Maisel | ESPN.com

Former President Lyndon B. Johnson, wasn’t a fan of spectator sports, but he understood the importance of Texas football and coach Darrell Royal

MUST READ ARTICLE!
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7522643/recruiting-joe-washington-turned-lyndon-b-johnson-texas-longhorns?eleven=twelve

Former Longhorn Roger Clemens returned to Texas to play in the team’s annual alumni game.

At the annual alumni game on Saturday, lucky fans watched 49-year-old Roger Clemens striking out two current members of the University of Texas baseball team.  He looked great out there and making a MLB comback did not look out of the question, even at 49.  There was still a lot of movement on those pitches. Clemens was born in August 1962, while Jamie Moyer was born in November of 1962. Jamie Moyer came the first current major leaguer to celebrate his 50th birthday in 2012.

Thanks to our friends at Bachelors Degree Online. Enjoy, fans of the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys. Hook ‘em Horns and Go Cowboys! Enjoy both the Hook ‘em Report and Silver and Blue Report…. Randy

The Dark Side of College Football
Bachelors Degree Online
bachelorsdegreeonline.com
Link Below

Baseball may have been America’s national pastime once, but today football is king. No doubt attention spans are shorter, and the relaxed pace of a 9-inning ballgame isn’t for everyone. But the exodus of fans from the gentlemen’s game was certainly hastened by the Steroid Era.

People who had loved baseball because of its purity and resistance to change felt betrayed by players who had shattered decades-old records by cheating. For many, college sports remain the only place to see pure competition. Though baseball and basketball seem clean enough, college football unfortunately has an ugly side seeping through that in recent years has become increasingly difficult to ignore.

1. Sleazy recruiting

   Recruiting is easily the ugliest aspect of college football. Recruiting violations are popping up more and more. Coaches pepper players as young as 13 with text messages and phone calls, or treat them to alcohol and strippers. Agents arrange rides in Ferraris and gifts for family members. And it doesn’t get any better when college players head for the NFL draft. They are met by more greedy agents looking to capitalize on football stars by any means necessary.

2. Health damage

   For a game that has been played for a century and a half, it is only recently that steps have been taken to prevent dangerous head injuries to players. In fact, it took the NFL instituting policies penalizing helmet-to-helmet hits before colleges started getting serious about protecting players. Still, two former college footballers recently sued the NCAA alleging the association did not do its due diligence to crack down on coaches teaching players to hit with the helmet, or to provide for injured student athletes.

3. De-committing

   At least some football players do it for motives other than just a love of the game. In a practice tactfully referred to as “de-committing,” players who had previously pledged to attend a certain university renege on the promise and go somewhere else. In layman’s terms, they bail for a better deal. Part of the problem is coaches try to lock high school players in so early that the team’s management or competitiveness may have changed by the time a player gets there. But students aren’t the only ones to blame; players can have promised scholarships revoked if a new head coach chooses not to honor prior agreements.

4. Steroid use

   Although coaches and officials claim a decline in steroid use in the last decade — writing it off as “a problem in the 90s” — some allege the problem persists in Division I football. In 2005, former BYU player and later NFL-er Jason Scukanec claimed up to 15 Brigham Young players had doped and that the story was the same for teams around the country. The same year, USA Today reported steroid usage among high school athletes had more than doubled from 1991 to 2003. It is naïve to think a ‘roiding high school star would not try to find a way to pass NCAA drug tests in order to maintain a high level of performance in college.

5. Keeping the status quo

   As the recent events at Penn State have made abundantly clear, football is a sacred cow. An assistant coach saw a young boy being raped and his first move was to call his dad for advice on how to proceed. He knew exactly what Joe Paterno knew: don’t rock the boat. The venerable head coach was aware of the molestation, and apparently even he was afraid to come forward. He knew perfectly well it meant heads would roll in Penn State’s multi-million dollar athletics program. When he was fired for sitting on the information, students at Penn State rioted, proving once again that you don’t mess with college football.

6. Soaring revenues

   With heads firmly buried in the sand, some still contend that to allow college football players to see some of the revenue that schools and promoters are reaping off their work would hurt the “integrity” of the game. It is true that footballers with scholarships get free room and board, which can be worth as much as $40,000 per year or more. However, compare that to the average pay for the CEOs of football bowl games: $500,000 per year. The Texas Longhorns team is worth $129 million. Meanwhile, many of the players’ families who are poor hope and pray that their son will make it to the NFL (a 1% chance) so he can finally be paid for his work and send some money home. If he doesn’t, he’ll find all that time he spent playing and training hurt his chances of landing a job in the non-athletic world.

7. Coach meltdowns

   Every so often, a college football coach goes over to the dark side. It’s that moment when the pent-up aggression from watching grown men smash into each other for three hours gives way to rage. Upset that a journalist had referred to one of his players as “fat,” OSU head coach Mike Gundy went on a long, screaming tirade. Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer warned a reporter to “be very careful” and threatened to fight him. Coaching legend Woody Hayes went to the dark side when he punched an opposing player for intercepting his quarterback at a crucial point in the game. Hayes never coached again.

http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2012/the-dark-side-of-college-football/

Here is a quotation from Mack Brown of the Texas Longhorns about the death of Joe Paterno:
“I’ve known Coach Paterno since I started coaching. Sally and I built a great relationship with him and Sue over the last 10 to 15 years, and we shared many great times. I know our lives are better because we had the opportunity to spend time with them. He was a gift to us, and when we heard the sad news today, we both openly wept, not only because college football lost a great man, but we lost a great friend. I appreciate all of the advice, the attention and the time he’s given us over the years. We will miss him dearly and will always cherish the wonderful memories. College football will be left with a major void because he has done so much for our game and for Penn State. It’s a very sad day, and with his passing, we have lost one of the greatest coaches our game, and all sports, will ever have. He leaves us with great stories, memories and records that may never be broken. There will never be another Joe Paterno. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sue and the family.”

Here is a quotation from Darrell Royal of the Texas Longhorns about the death of Joe Paterno:
“What I remember about our days when we were both coaching is that Joe was very honest, he was a heckuva a coach, and he was one of the outstanding coaches of all time. You can’t say that about every coach, but you darn sure can say that about Joe Paterno. He meant a lot to the game, and he meant a lot to me. He was a solid person, and a solid friend.”

Thanks to our friends at OnlineColleges.net. Enjoy, fans of the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys. Hook ‘em Horns and Go Cowboys! Enjoy both the Hook ‘em Report and Silver and Blue Report…. Randy

The BCS Scam
Online Colleges
OnlineColleges.net
Link Below

As you know, the Allstate BCS National Championship just passed. We thought now would be a perfect time to spark some discussion about the The BCS Scam. Please have a look at our infographic on the topic and I hope that you’ll share it with others.

MUST SEE INFOGRAPHIC!

Via: Online Colleges Blog
http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/01/04/bcs-scam