SPORTSDAY

In what could be an interesting case, former Oklahoma State pitcher Andy Oliver is suing the NCAA and his advisor after being declared ineligible earlier this year. Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Daily has the details.

Add SMU football coach June Jones to the list of John McCain supporters.

Jones was questioned about his politics during his recent football camp in American Samoa, when he appeared on The 4-1-1, a local public affairs show. (Think more Wayne and Garth than Charlie Rose, although you can make your own judgment via the video link).

After Jones' move to SMU was glossed over ("This is, uh, going to be your first year?"), he was asked about the presidential race and cited McCain's experience as a deciding factor. While Jones praised Obama as "a perfect politician," he said that the Illinois senator was "not seasoned enough," a criticism that also surfaced in the Democratic primaries.

"Is McCain? He's been in it long enough," Jones said. "He's gone to war, made some pretty tough decisions in his life. In the end, that will weigh out."

Like many football coaches, Jones expressed skepticism of the media. He related that to the coverage of the current situation in Iraq, which he believes has improved dramatically.

"It's unfortunate that we are where we are, but I think we have to stay the course until it's over," Jones said.

As political views go, Jones' seem to be clearly in the mainstream and probably not that different from many other Bowl Subdivision football coaches. Plus, he exhibited some bipartisanship, with a little praise for Hillary Clinton.

His remarks, while interesting, probably won't be seen as controversial, unlike other coaches who ventured into politics and ensuing hot water. St. Louis men's basketball coach Rick Majerus backed abortion rights last season at a Jesuit institution. A couple of decades ago, then-Arkansas football coach Lou Holtz endorsed conservative North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms.

June Jones is planning a shindig to kick off his first season at SMU, raise money for charity and possibly reunite a program fractured from its past.

Mustang Legends for Charity, an evening banquet celebrating SMU's football tradition, is Aug. 23 at the Adolphus Hotel. Eric Dickerson is a planned speaker, and Craig James, Jerry LeVias, Ron Meyer and Jerry Ball are among those expected to attend. Rudy Ruettiger, who inspired the movie Rudy, will attend.

Gary Cogill, of WFAA, was a high school classmate of Jones' in Portland, and will MC.

The event benefits SMU's Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development, the Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Foundation and the June Jones Foundation.

Jones reached out to former players and coaches of the infamous death penalty era - some who hadn't heard from SMU in many years, Jones said - in an effort to unite the past with the present and future.

"This event will unite everybody," Jones said. "It's time to move on. It's a new era."

Tickets:.

Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy now admits the rant heard 'round the world was a mistake, at least in tone.

Gundy told the Tulsa World that he wasn't prepared for the reaction to the "I'm a man, I'm 40" monologue after the win over Texas Tech.

"I had no idea," Gundy told the newspaper. "I had no idea that it would have a life of its own. I didn't know all about YouTube and all of that stuff. That's why I'm sorry it happened. I think it has overshadowed everything. That wasn't the intent."

Now excuse me in advance for a mini-rant.

I've heard the excuse before and not just from Gundy. If Bowl Subdivision head coaches, who now average more than $1 million in salary, don't understand the information age, they need a crash course. YouTube, yeah, you might want to know about it, just like you know about other parts of the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle. It's part of the job now. I cringe when I hear coaches say they still don't understand e-mail. Knowledge is power, something pro coaches in all sports learned a long time ago. End of rant.

Oh, and what Gundy blog post would be complete without the YouTube clip in question -- and its best parody, if you've been living in a cave for the past 10 months.

OK, as a pro football linebacker, Brian Bosworth was hardly the engine of destruction he personified at Irving's MacArthur High and Oklahoma. As for his acting career, I refer you to IMDB for the cold facts on Stone Cold.

But the Boz is back in the news for a good thing, helping rescue a woman who was trapped in her SUV after a car crash in Canada. The Winnipeg Free Press has the details.

Kansas State's Leon Patton, a junior from W.T. White, was penciled into a starting spot with the Wildcats this season after two years as an undersized, productive change-of-pace back.

He probably will still get his chance but might have a little explaining to do to coach Ron Prince. Patton was arrested for driving on a suspended license early this morning. Police then discovered outstanding warrants for misdemeanor theft and failure to appear, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal. Oops.

Kansas State officials are saying the matter will be handled internally.

Longar Longar, Oklahoma's starting center last season, didn't get selected in last week's NBA Draft but he did get picked by the iconic Harlem Globetrotters on Wednesday in the team's second annual player draft.

Longar, the 6-11 Sudanese standout, led the Sooners in blocked shots as a senior and ranked second on the team in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage.

Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr., who was a second-round pick of the Sacramento Kings last week, was the Globetrotters' top pick. The Globetrotters also drafted Arkansas' Sonny Weems, the 2008 State Farm college slam dunk champion,
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's William Bullard, Siena's Tay Fisher (one of the nation's top 3-point shooters) and Auburn's Donald Thomas, an Olympian from the Bahamas and the reigning men's world indoor high jump champion.

The six players will be invited to camp in the fall to compete for the honor of joining the Globetrotters for their 83rd consecutive season of touring the world.

"When evaluating draft prospects, we look for players that bring special skills and the personality to potentially be Harlem Globetrotters," Globetrotters coach Clyde Sinclair said in a statement.

It took Gary Blair a couple of seasons but he now has the women's basketball program at Texas A&M on the national map.

After a trip to the regional finals last year and a close loss to eventual national champion Tennessee, the Aggies are reaping the rewards. A&M will take part in the 2008 State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic, it was announced Wednesday. The four-team event traditionally features some of the nation's top teams.

A&M will face Pittsburgh on Nov. 16 in Baton Rouge, La. Pittsburgh, if you remember, eliminated Baylor from the women's NCAA Tournament last season.

We're still waiting to see what the hiring of June Jones will mean on the field. But clearly SMU is doing everything it can to make this seem like the dawn of a new era. The latest bit of news is a uniform makeover, which should please alumni and longtime fans.

Here's the press release that just arrived:

The SMU football team will don new uniforms in 2008, it was announced today. SMU will return to white helmets and white pants and will have three jerseys to choose from: red, white and SMU blue.

The helmet will feature a red Mustang logo, trimmed in blue, blue and red stripes and a red facemask. SMU wore white helmets during the famed "Pony Express" era and continued using the helmets until the 2003 season when the Mustangs switched to a navy helmet.

The jerseys, which will come in red, white and SMU blue, will feature a Mustang logo at the base of the collar, shoulder stripes and "SMU" stitched above the white numerals. SMU will wear white pants with red and blue stripes for both home and away games.

SMU will officially "unveil" the uniforms at the annual Football Kickoff Luncheon on August 20th at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.

"The fans have spoken and we have listened. Since I arrived at SMU, I have stated that I wanted to return the Mustang football program to national prominence," said SMU Director of Athletics Steve Orsini. "When people think of SMU, they think of white helmets with a red Mustang logo. When you have a rich tradition like we do here at SMU, it only makes sense to draw from that."

Texas Tech sophomore wide receiver Michael Crabtree of Carter was recently named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list.

Crabtree, who should receive strong Heisman Trophy consideration if he can match his numbers from last season, will likely turn pro after this year. Crabtree was tabbed as the nation's top receiver last year after setting freshman NCAA records with 134 catches for 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading the nation in each category.

Check out ESPN's Joe Schad talking about Crabtree here.

Somewhere, you know some rabid Kentucky fans are blaming Billy Gillispie for this -- even though the museum seems headed for a resurrection. Probably a good thing. It might preserve actual evidence that former Mav Antoine Walker was once a real player.

SI.com has come up with 10 defining games in 2008.

The list includes Texas-Oklahoma and Texas-Texas Tech.

Texas Tech senior quarterback Graham Harrell of Ennis could receive some Heisman Trophy consideration this season, especially if the Red Raiders match their high expectations and Harrell continues to put up gaudy numbers.

Harrell has been receiving much preseason hype of late. He was recently named among one of 26 of the nation's top senior college quarterbacks who have made the first cut to be considered for the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior collegiate quarterback.

The award takes into consideration his impressive collegiate career to this point, as well as his off-the-field values of good character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, and strong leadership qualities.

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, who filled a day during the deadest period of the off-season by forecasting the bowls, thinks so.

There's no question that this is the most hyped team in Tech history. It remains to be seen whether the Red Raiders can play enough defense to live up to it.

So says ESPN.com's Pat Forde.

The Longhorns don't lack talent, but they drew a killer Big 12 schedule: three 2007 bowl teams from the North division (Colorado, Missouri and Kansas), and they'll play two of those teams on the road. And in addition to facing Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, they must face trendy breakout pick Texas Tech in Lubbock. Burnt orange fans are encouraged to beat the rush and start criticizing offensive coordinator Greg Davis now.

Well, at least the Horns have a chance to beat Texas A&M now that Coach Fran is gone.

Duke took an inventive approach and avoided paying $450,000 after declining to play three scheduled football games with Louisville. The Blue Devils' legal defense: We're horrible. Really.

Here's an excerpt from the Louisville Courier-Journal:

The contract called for a penalty of $150,000 per game if a date with a "team of similar stature" could not be arranged.

Duke's lawyers argued the Blue Devils, which have a record of 6-45 over the past five seasons, were so bad that any team would be a suitable replacement.

Judge Shepherd agreed in his summary:

"At oral argument, Duke (with a candor perhaps more attributable to good legal strategy than to institutional modesty) persuasively asserted that this is a threshold that could not be any lower. Duke's argument on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville."

Even though he's in Dallas now, SMU football June Jones hasn't forgotten the nine years he spent in the Pacific.

Jones -- along with assistants Frank Gansz, Dennis McKnight, Jeff Reinebold and Wes Suan -- will be jetting to Pago Pago in American Samoa for the inaugural June Jones American Samoa Football Academy June 26-29. Basically, it's a free two-day clinic for American Samoa high school players and coaches.

The camp fits Jones' profile of giving back to an area he grew to love. A side benefit will be to raise SMU's presence and name recognition in a region that produces Division I talent annually.

Here's the full press release:

I've read all the bickering between Aggies and Red Raiders on this here blog over the last few days. I tried to stay out of it, but it's clear that an unbiased party needs to talk some sense into those silly Aggies.

Texas Tech has a better football program than Texas A&M at this point. The Aggies have a huge advantage in the history department, but there's no possible way to argue that A&M has been better than Tech since Mike Leach arrived in Lubbock.

Tech has won six of eight meetings between the rivals -- and, yes, the Red Raiders are rivals of the Aggies -- with Leach on the sideline. That includes the last three. Let's face it: Pirates beat soliders most of the time these days.

Leach is 65-37 with eight consecutive bowl appearances. The Aggies are 53-45 with five bowl appearances during that span. Those numbers are pretty convincingly in Tech's favor, don't you reckon?

Aggies, stop slamming the Red Raiders and start hoping that Mike Sherman can get A&M's program back to Tech's level.

Yesterday's blog item about Texas Tech making the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football generated quite a response. But the common thread that shines through in the comments is all the Tech-Texas A&M hate along with the general Texas malaise to the whole situation.

This comment summed it up perfectly:

Thanks, Brian. One of the greatest blogs ever. It pulls out the traditional approach of the three schools: Aggies incensed to the point of showing their inherent boorish behavior; Red Raiders reveling in the success they've worked hard to achieve; Longhorns as an amused observer, sitting on the sidelines letting the wannabes slug it out. I won't miss the Tech-A&M game this year. It should be the watershed year that forever puts A&M in the lower tier and puts Tech second as the best team in the state. If Tech wins, I can't see A&M recovering until the middle of the century. By then Texas State will be above A&M.

Texas State will be above A&M? Well, I'm not sure about that.