What is "moral victory"?

Well, I've been accused in the past, always unjustly, of claiming "moral victory". This year, the Aggies have been a horrible disappointment, have suffered three blowout conference losses, including one to a bitter rival, and another at Kyle Field. Our many returning starters were either big disappointments, or got injured. The defense is last in the Big 12 and statistically one of the worst in A&M history. Bottom line, the only things left to salvage the season are a spoiler victory over UT, glimpses of next season, and, that's right, moral victory.

A&M quickly fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter yesterday morning. Visions of the CU game were abound, and with the defense missing two of our leading tacklers, Jaxson Appel and Justin Warren, there was no hope. This is where Ted Kennedy tuned out. Fortunately, the Aggie players did not. Determined to avoid a repeat of the 2003 debacle (77-0) in Norman, the Aggies never gave up. After picking up a quick TD on a turnover, they appeared to be back in the game......not so fast, OU drives for another TD. Behind by 21 again, this is where A&M dug in. The offense engineered a long TD drive to pull back within 14, then the defense finally got the much needed stop. Reggie and company were moving towards the end zone again with little time left in the half. A perfect pass at the 1 foot line bounced off of Jason Carter's sternum. This dropped ball, along with 2 missed field goals could have made the difference in the game.

But that's not what impressed me most. In the second half, the decimated and embarrassed Aggie defense managed to hold the Sooners to 6 points, finally giving the offense a chance. After watching Reggie leave the field on a stretcher midway through the third quarter, I knew the giveup I had anticipated was coming. Again, I was wrong. Stephen McGee, our highly touted backup QB, and heir apparent for next year, was 0/6 passing, but perfectly executed the option to drive the Aggies for a score, and pulled within 6.

This is when OU pulled off their only score of the second half, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Aggies made two more field goals, and just ran out of time. I have to say, in the face of all that has happened this season, I am very proud of the effort the Aggies put forward in this game. It would have been easy to give up, down 21, on the road, star QB on crutches, but they hung tough and kept playing. So now my friends, I will formally declare moral victory for the Aggies. For this season, it may be all we have left.

SI pic of the day

Ted, I think you missed the boat on this one. The pic of the day from SI is below. The caption makes it even better: "Seven guys in the background and none are checking out these two girls."

Everything is Fran-tastic!

Young, Hodges are O'Brien semifinalists

10:20 PM CST on Tuesday, November 8, 2005

By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News

Texas Tech senior Cody Hodges and Texas junior Vince Young were two of the 15 quarterbacks named semifinalists Tuesday for the Davey O'Brien Award.

Newsflash: Rooster Bowl Float in St Patty's Parade

We are currently negotiating with the organizers of the Dallas Lower Greenville St Patrick's Day Parade to have a float, complete with hot tub of course. We are close to finalizing the deal, although the official announcement will not come until early next year due a confidentiality clause in the propsed contract.

Can't you just see roosterjoe holding a green cock in one hand, and pouring leftover, stale beer from Rooster Bowl XIII all over a Rooster Chick with the other while the Aggie War Hym blasts across Greenville Ave?

This is a photo from the parade in 2002

BCS: Tech has a shot

DMN article

Aggies win Big 12!

A&M women claim Big 12 soccer title

09:12 PM CST on Sunday, November 6, 2005

From wire reports

SAN ANTONIO –Suzzette Devloo gave Texas A&M its second straight Big 12 women's soccer tournament title Sunday, scoring the winning goal 38 seconds into the second overtime for a 2-1 victory over Colorado.

Devloo, who came off the bench, scored on a cross from Laura Probst.

The Aggies (16-3-2) earned the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Colorado fell to 12-7-3.

Texas A&M had taken a 1-0 lead in the first half when Melissa Garey scored off a pass from Kat Krambeer. Alexis Cousins tied it for Colorado on an assist by Laura Munnell in the second half.

Fran's Brother to the Rescue

Or was it really Alamo Mike pretending to be this "Mark Clauder"?




Classless fans

Per a story Sunday "Tech fans also did plenty of celebrating after the victory, but they didn't rush the field or tear down a goal post like they did after victories in 2001 and 1999. They did chant 'Worse than Baylor' at A&M players as the team walked up the visiting tunnel."

Who should expect more from no-class fans from Texas Tech.

When your team visits College Station, win or lose, your team is not heckled off the field. Your fans are greeted with a "Howdy".

Sportsmanship. Look it up. It is not in the Texas Tech vocabulary.

Stories like this make me ashamed of the "Texas" in Texas Tech".

MARK CLAUDER/Arlington

Fran-tastic performances

I found this list on franunderfire.com

• Oct. 4, 2003 Lubbock, TX The Ags are thoroughly embarassed with a 59-28 drudging at the hands of one of our much hated in state schools Tech. Game televised by FSN.
• Oct. 18, 2003 Lincoln, NEB Ags get it handed to them by the Cornhuskers 48-12 on a nationally televised game by FSN.
• Nov. 8, 2003 Norman, OK A sad day in Aggieland as the once proud Wrecking Crew is all but forgotten after a 77-0 savage beating at the hands of the Sooner Nation televised by ABC.
  *note - worst lost in ATM histoy
• Nov. 28, 2003 College Station, TX Cedric Benson runs wild on the Aggie defense with a 283 yard, 4 TD game en route to a 56-14 whomping of the Ags broadcast nationally by ABC.
  *note - most yards and TD's by an opponents RB ever allowed
• Sep. 2, 2004 Salt Lake City, UT A very good but unknown Utah team slaughters the Ags 41-21 in front a national audience on ESPN.
• Oct. 30, 2004 Waco, TX A day that will live in infamy as the nationally ranked Ags are humiliated by the Bears 35-34 for the first time since 1985.
  *note - The Ags had the advantage of a homefield crowd. Game holds special tormenting memory for me as I witnessed the tearing down of the goal posts amid 30,000+ of my fellow Ags
• Jan.1, 2005 Dallas, TX The Cotton Bowl ... ah The Cotton Bowl, long cherised by the Aggie teams of yesteryear. Now it brings memories of the loss of the Aggie spirit on campus (the Listeater) as well as being totally dominated by Tennessee 35-7.
  *note - Again, I witnessed firsthand the complete domination of the Ags amungst
  60,000+ loyal Aggies.
• Oct. 8, 2005 Boulder, CO A stellar first quarter in which the quarterback threw for an amazing 200+ yards. Unfortunately, it was Joel Klatt. Once, again we are embarassed with a 41-20 route of our beloved Ags.
  *note-The real score was 41-6 but the Buffs gave us two sympathy touchdowns late in the fourth quarter with the second and third stringers in.
• Oct. 29, 2005 College Station, TX Another 350+ yards passing, 4 TD day for the Aggie....defense. Fran has accumulated quite a nice resume here on the embarassments page. Hopefully, we fire him at seasons end after this 42-14 @$$ kicking.
• Nov. 5, 2005 Lubbock, TX As expected, we are again humiliated on TV. Tech routes us 56-17 on our way to our second losing season under Fran.
  *note-Worst loss to the Red Raiders in series history... seems like we've said that abou a lot
  of games under Fran...

Torbush

Well, the complete humiliation of the former beast known as the Texas Aggie defense was not enough to ruin our weekend, but it certainly spells doom for the rest of the Aggie season, and especially for the career of Carl Torbush. We saw him at Taco Villa on the way out of town talking to the manager.As defenseless as A&M is, maybe we should start calling him "Coach France". I don't want to beleaguer this too much, just making my thoughts known, since I am normally such an Aggie optimist.

It was a great weekend regardless, just as Roosterbowl weekend always is. I will have the pictures posted later in the week.

Police: Two NFL cheerleaders arrested at Tampa bar

VIDEO LINK: "Police say Keathley was so drunk she could hardly stand"

Tampa, Florida – Two Carolina Panther cheerleaders spent the night in jail after a rough night in Channelside. The Panthers were in town to play the Bucs Sunday afternoon.

Witnesses say Angela Keathley and Renee Thomas were engaged in some type of sexual activity inside a bathroom stall at Banana Joe's around 2:20 am Sunday. Another woman waiting to use the bathroom got into an argument with the pair.

Police say Thomas punched the woman in the face. When Thomas was arrested, she gave police the name of another Panthers cheerleader.

Thomas could face additional charges for lying to police, once they confirm her identity.

Keathley was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing or opposing an officer, while Thomas was charged with one count of battery.

The two women were taken to Hillsborough County jail, where they both bonded out later Sunday morning.

The Rooster has landed

The Rooster has landed. We are at University and 5th, directly across University from the South end zone.

214-914-1911 if you can't find us.

Arrived in Lubbock at 12:35

Arrived in Lubbock at 12:35 am....straight to Bash's for beers.... Hit the strip at 10 am, now looking for parking. Will up

SHOCKER in Lubbock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My prediction is simple. The Aggies surprise everyone and pull off the upset of the year in the Big 12.

A&M 41
Tech 38

What They Play For...

Cock Under Glass, 1998

Oil and beer on balsa wood

12.2" x 3.5"

Currently on loan from the Hub City South Collection

2001: The Year Leach Became My Coach

The Man:

Alamo Mike

The Myth:

"It was like the Alamo, they were just coming up over the wall. I grabbed my binoculars and said, 'The next one that comes up gets it.' Then somebody, I didn't see who it was, knocked the fool out of me. "I'm sure (Gov. Perry) will be real proud of this." - Mike McKinney

The Reality:

In initial interviews after the game, McKinney said he was assaulted by an unidentified Tech student. In offense reports from the Tech Police Department released to The Avalanche-Journal through the district attorney's office, the student who hit McKinney, Reginald Wallace, said he was trying to prevent fighting when McKinney shoved him and hit him with binoculars. The A&M student told Tech police that he got angry and punched McKinney in the eye.

"After the separation of the two men, (McKinney) proceeded to make threats to the police and other stadium workers that they will hear about this later because of some 'high' governmental position that he held,"the report stated.

When McKinney entered the Aggie locker room, he simply said, "Welcome to Lubbock" to a surprised RC Slocum. The offense reports said McKinney's son, Aggie player Seth McKinney, planned to seek revenge after the game for the injuries his father suffered.

After the game, McKinney's son exited the visiting team dressing room, along with a few other players, and went up the ramp to Gate 4, apparently to avenge the injury, or at least that is what A&M fans above the ramp were shouting, a Tech police officer reported.

Parents and a few students from the A&M section decided to throw ice violently directly into the faces of the Tech students," student Nicklus Beihl said in his sworn statement.

"Once the A&M fans ran out of ice to throw, a few Tech student climbed into the stands and tried to bring the pole up into the stands," his statement said. "The A&M students started to hit the first Tech student and after two or three seconds, five people were beating this particular Tech student."

"The behavior by the Tech fans was not unprovoked, and the A&M fans could have left numerous times, but the dozen or so that stayed kept arguing and screaming and threatening the fans on the field," Joel Corbin said in a sworn statement. "I was amazed how grown men and one woman kept arguing and screaming at the Tech students

The Coach:

"A&M wants to rip on our fans and all that. Our fans are as good as their fans are. One thing our fans don't do is sit around and whine about other teams' fans. A&M spent a significant part of the week whining about what our fans are like. Why don't they worry about what themselves are like?
There may be an individual or two that got out of hand. If someone commits criminal behavior ... then that individual is responsible for it. It's interesting to me that all these Aggies — whether they're at A&M or here — are sitting around with halos over their heads and they have some divine expertise on fanmanship. I just don't believe that's the case. For the record, I think our fans are better than the Aggie fans." - Mike Leach

Bring it on!

Well I prayed for rain, but it looks like it will be a perfect fall day in Lubbock. I have my helmet and flak jacket packed, plus an umbrella to shield from Kool-aid and tortillas............I am ready for war, so, in the words of President Bush, "BRING IT ON!"

Don't count my beloved Aggies out on this one just yet gentlemen. With Reggie on the field, we always have the chance to turn this thing into a full blown shootout. Yes, it's the #1 passing offense vs the 115th passing defense, but, as a wise man once said, " statistics are for losers." Besides, this is almost the same mismatch as last year. A&M was 92nd against the pass in 2004, and managed to beat a top ranked passing offense from Tech. The only difference is Lubbock, where the ranked team isn't always the victor in this matchup.

MY PREDICTION

I am still formulating my prediction for the game. No doubt, there will be a lot of scoring, but the Ags will score more than you think. Stay tuned...................

Rooster-spective 2004

November 13, 2004
Kyle Field, Texas
Aggies 32, Red Raiders 25

Attendees: I barely remember (Joe & Shannon, Blake, Rob, Robert & Carol, Melba & Carol, Joe & Tammy, Scott, Fletch, Brad & Amy, Kyler & Maricka, Jeff "Full Throttle" James.........)

Notable:

• Another OT
• HOT TUB!
• Joe's car got towed from the Chicken
• Naked girls from the Chicken got in the hot tub
• "Neighbor" RV moved to get away from our post-game party.
  

what a weird analogy....I guess Blake bought into this one.

Tech's Leach makes point with sword

03:39 AM CST on Tuesday, November 1, 2005

By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News

LUBBOCK – Coach Mike Leach brandished a replica of a pirate's sword at Sunday night's team meeting to stress teamwork. Leach is a something of a pirate buff and gave a similar speech with the sword before playing Navy in the 2003 Houston Bowl.

Leach said the speech was about how pirates used teamwork to attain a common goal. No players were in danger because Leach said the sword isn't sharpened.

"Actually, it's not, because I'm afraid I'll cut myself," he said.

Rooster-spective 2003

Roosterbowl VI
October 4, 2003
"Cocktoberfest"

Attendees: Blake, Rob, Joe, Shannon, Justin, Melba, Carol, Robert & Carol, Kyler, Brad, Wes and the "Aggie Bar at Tech Law"

Memorable events:

• 9 pm kickoff = all day tailgating
• Wes coned off a parking place for us in the RV lot
• First time for Shannon to attend since the "maiden voyage" in 1999
• Amanda the hot check writer--still owes me $100

Big Tech victory--Aggies totally overmatched at STD