Tag Archives: football

The economic effect of losing college football this fall

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have some sympathy, but I also have some skepticism. Texas’ five major conference football teams – Baylor University, Texas Christian University, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University and the University of Texas at Austin — are massive economic drivers … Continue reading →

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College sports roundup

Posted on August 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Southland Conference postpones fall sports. After much deliberation, the Southland Conference has postponed league competition in all of its fall sports with the intent of playing a football season in the spring of 2021 due to concerns over COVID-19. The … Continue reading →

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The Big XII will play football

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s their plan, anyway. The start of the Big 12 Conference’s college football season will move forward as scheduled, conference officials said Wednesday, meaning four major Texas football programs are one step closer to playing this fall. “Ultimately, our student-athletes … Continue reading →

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Big 10 and PAC 12 scrap football for this fall

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Big Ten Conference presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday to postpone all fall sports seasons, including football, with the hopes of playing in the spring, it announced Tuesday. “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been … Continue reading →

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So where are we with college football?

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly on the brink of postponing the season. Commissioners of the Power 5 conferences held an emergency meeting on Sunday, as there is growing concern among college athletics officials that the upcoming football season and other fall sports can’t be … Continue reading →

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FBS versus FCS

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m referring in the title to the two types of Division I NCAA college football, the Football Bowl Subdivision, which includes the power 5 conferences, and the Football Championship Subdivision, which used to be known as 1-AA and which has … Continue reading →

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UT prepares for fantasy football

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea what they’re thinking. The University of Texas at Austin will kick off the football season Sept. 5, albeit with a stadium open at half its capacity, athletics officials told ticket holders Monday. While both NCAA and … Continue reading →

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High school sports pushed back a bit

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a guess, but I’d bet this winds up being redone at least once more before any actual sports get played. The University Interscholastic League is delaying the start of high school football’s regular season to Sept. 24 for Class … Continue reading →

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Will college football shift to the spring?

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. [Dell] Billings, who graduated from A&M in 1995, also realizes it’s looking more like the brakes are about to be mashed on any “full speed ahead” approach, perhaps within a few weeks. “I can’t see how we would be … Continue reading →

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Fauci and football

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I hate to rain on your tailgate, but… The NFL is planning to begin its season on time, but Dr. Anthony Fauci pulled the reins on that optimistic view Wednesday. “Unless players are essentially in a bubble – insulated from … Continue reading →

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What kind of college football season will there be?

Posted on June 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Governor says to expect half-full stadiums for college football. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told athletic directors from the state’s largest schools to expect 50 percent capacity at football games this fall, USA Today reported, but Texas A&M athletic … Continue reading →

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UT athletes take a stand

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Several athletes at the University of Texas at Austin are refusing to participate in recruiting incoming players or show up at donor-related events if university and athletics officials fail to respond to a list of demands geared … Continue reading →

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Here comes high school football

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Surely you didn’t think that Texas’ favorite sport would stay on the sidelines for long? More focus will be on instruction, caution and care than nailing the perfect squat rep when University Interscholastic League athletic programs return to in-person strength … Continue reading →

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Reopening 3.0

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Who wants to go to a water park? Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation Tuesday announcing additional services and activities that can resume under his second wave of reopenings, allowing food courts in shopping malls to reopen immediately and giving … Continue reading →

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Abbott expects there to be college football this fall

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty optimistic, if you ask me. Gov. Greg Abbott said he believes college football will begin on schedule in Texas with some fans in the stands, he told KXAN during an interview Friday. “My prediction is yes we’re going to … Continue reading →

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Whither college football?

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

All NCAA spring sports were canceled due to coronavirus, beginning with March Madness and going through baseball and softball and soccer and everything else. Everyone has been looking forward to the fall when things were supposed to be back to … Continue reading →

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RIP, XFL

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Tough break. The XFL suspended operations Friday morning and laid off nearly all of its staff, multiple sources told ESPN. While a handful of executives remain employed, the league currently has no plans to return in 2021. The league canceled … Continue reading →

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The Houston Roughnecks

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your new XFL team. When the XFL kicks off in February, the Houston team will be known as the Houston Roughnecks. The XFL unveiled team names and logos for all eight teams in the league Wednesday. The Houston Roughnecks … Continue reading →

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Rock me like a Herricane

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea this existed. Rose Kelley was jogging through Memorial Park one summer evening when she saw a group of women practicing football. One of the women spotted Kelley, with her sturdy frame and strong legs, and figured … Continue reading →

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RIP, AAF

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe it’s only mostly dead, but it looks pretty dead. After eight weeks of games and less than one season into Alliance of American Football’s existence, league owner Tom Dundon has decided to suspend all operations, league co-founder Bill Polian … Continue reading →

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Will the AAF be one and done?

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Could be. The first-year Alliance of American Football’s inability to secure cooperation from the NFL Players’ Association to use young players from NFL rosters has put the AAF in danger of folding, Tom Dundon, the league’s majority owner, told USA … Continue reading →

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“How Baylor Happened”

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Deadspin: There’s not much to recommend spending four years in Waco. Driving into town up Interstate 35 from the south, the endless stretch of Texas nothing fills out slowly. It’s flat in the way you think Texas is flat. … Continue reading →

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Houston to get XFL 2.0 team

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you that need more football. TDECU Stadium at the University of Houston will be the home field for Houston’s team in the XFL, the spring football league owned by WWE chairman Vince McMahon that will begin play … Continue reading →

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RIP, Bob McNair

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Texans owner has passed away. The death of Texans owner and founder Bob McNair rocked the NFL, the city of Houston and his players and coaches Friday, sparking rich remembrances of his life and legacy. McNair was 81 … Continue reading →

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Babygate, 25 years later

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, I remember this. Remember Babygate? Scot Cooper Williams came into this world Oct. 16, 1993 and was the center of a firestorm 24 hours later. His father David, an offensive tackle for the Houston Oilers, had missed the team’s … Continue reading →

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Texans’ cheer coach quits

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Altovise Gary, the longtime director of the Houston Texans cheerleaders squad who was named as a defendant in one of two recent federal court lawsuits filed against the team, has resigned, a team spokeswoman said Tuesday. Gary resigned … Continue reading →

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Texans cheerleader lawsuit update

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Couple points of interest here. A former Texans cheerleader who says cheer director Alto Gary derided her as “skinny fat” and applied duct tape to her stomach before a 2017 game added her name Friday to one of two lawsuits … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to get pro football team

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not the NFL or the XFL but the AAF. “After talking to [league co-founder and CEO] Charlie Ebersol, I knew the Alliance of American Football was right for San Antonio, and that San Antonio was right for the Alliance,” said … Continue reading →

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Texans move to dismiss one cheerleader lawsuit

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Standard stuff, I presume. Attorneys for the Houston Texans have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the team by five former cheerleaders or to delay proceedings while the former cheerleaders’ complaints are submitted to arbitration. Team … Continue reading →

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They’re still trying to make XFL 2.0 happen

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And who knows, maybe it will. Oliver Luck, the former Oilers quarterback and Dynamo executive who has most recently worked at the NCAA, was named Tuesday as the commissioner of the relaunched XFL that World Wrestling Entertainment will launch in … Continue reading →

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More on the Texans’ cheerleader lawsuit

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a story in Vanity Fair about the second lawsuit filed against the Houston Texans by a group of former cheerleaders, who allege wage theft and harassment, among other things. The tale is from the perspective of plaintiff Gabriella Davis, … Continue reading →

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Second group of cheerleaders sues the Texans

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Different group, same basic complaints. Hannah Turnbow spent the 2017 NFL season wearing a bright smile and a Texans cheerleaders uniform, dancing on the field, waving pompons on the sideline, meeting fans in NRG Stadium suites and concourses and attending … Continue reading →

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Former cheerleaders file lawsuit against Texans over pay

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been wondering if something like this was going to happen here. Three former Texans cheerleaders sued the team and its cheerleading supervisor Tuesday, accusing the Texans of failing to pay minimum wage and overtime and accusing the cheer squad … Continue reading →

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Stadiums and sports betting

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sheryl Ring at Fangraphs adds another dimension to the SCOTUS sports betting decision story. But there is another incentive for states to legalize sports betting aside from just basic tax revenue. We’ve talked about ballpark deals, particularly in the context … Continue reading →

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