Burnt Orange Nation

From The Oklahoma Daily: NCAA violations not harsh enough for lawbreakers. The article compares Augie Garrido's punishment for his DUI to Kelvin Sampson's considerable recruiting violations.

In total, Garrido is effectively suspended for three days, including the Feb. 20 opener, a double-header the next day and the series finale on Sunday, Feb. 22.

Harsh punishment.

Compare that to former OU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and his violations of NCAA rules and his punishment.

Sampson was reprimanded for making more than 550 illegal phone calls to 17 different recruits while at OU, and was denied off-campus recruiting rights and couldn’t make phone calls for a year.

Case McCoy, Robert Sellers/Robs Sports Pics.

According to RealFootball365, the Gilbert Era starts now.

Early in Mack Brown’s tenure in Austin, detractors nicknamed him "Coach February" because of UT’s highly touted recruiting classes and disappointments on the playing field. But with five consecutive bowl triumphs and eight straight 10-win seasons, the moniker takes on new meaning. Last week’s signees -- especially Gilbert, the country’s best quarterback prospect -- proved once again the Longhorns will remain a force in the national championship chase.

You have probably heard, but there will be another McCoy on the roster soon. Case McCoy talks about his dream school.

"As I visited other schools, I began to realize that I would not find a trust level like I have with the coaches at Texas. No one else can compare to that trust level. I have seen how these coaches treat their players," McCoy continued.

I Am The 12th Man is not impressed with our newest Junior Day commitments. They think Mack Brown is handing out offers like candy.

The National Championship Issue uses past versions of the BCS system to rank the 2008 rankings. Texas comes out at No. 3 in all.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach has changed his mind about the 2009 preseason Top 25. OU has moved into the No. 2 spot, Texas comes in at No.3.

Basketball

Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford apologized for a profanity-laced outburst during a game.

According to a source close to the basketball program, Ford was telling junior Obi Muonelo to "(expletive) get into it," meaning OSU’s full-court press. Fans on message boards and sports talk radio were outraged, saying they thought Ford called called Muonelo "a (expletive) idiot."

Oklahoma basketball player Roy Willis has been suspended from the team. Willis was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

OU's coach Jeff Capel is really popular with Sooner fans. They don't seem to mind the continued whining about no respect.

The Kansas basketball team is ready for the Missouri border rivalry. Turning off their cell phones is first on the list.

"Coach said he got a call at 2:30 in the morning," KU freshman Tyshawn Taylor said, noting he had not received any calls ... yet.

"I’m hoping and praying nobody calls my cell phone. Coach said to be ready," Taylor added.

Self confirmed the calls.

"They started last night. They were great, very friendly," he joked.

How the heck do the Antlers get the KU players’ numbers?

"Probably from some girls we gave them to, not knowing who they were," Taylor theorized. "If it gets too annoying, I’ll just turn my phone off."

Illegal contact with recruits is a lot more common than most people think.

"I think you'd shut all the schools down in the country if you didn't allow that," said Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon. "I've seen a lot of it happen, and I've done it a few times."

The encounters can be so innocent, the coach doesn't even know it's happening, said Baylor's Scott Drew.

"You can be coming out of a restroom after a game and a parent or somebody could be coming in and say, `Hey, thanks for coming,"' said Drew. "And you say thanks and not even know if it was the parent. Or after the game's over and you're talking to the coach and the kid walked by and said, `Hey, coach."'

Football

Houston Chronicle's Brent Zwerneman discusses the strange case of Kellen Heard.

Bob Stoops isn't concerned about the players that OU didn't sign this year.

"I really feel our assistant coaches and staff really worked hard and did an excellent job throughout the year," Stoops said. "More and more players are making their decisions early, and we had a good number of commitments early before the fall season began, but then worked it through the fall and here through the winter months to really sign an excellent class."

OU's third-string running back Mossis Madu will probably be used in the slot, according to Stoops. Madu ran 114-yard, three-touchdown effort in the Big 12 Championship, replacing the injured DeMarco Murray.

ESPN's Tim Griffin puts out his 2009 Big 12 power rankings.

1. Texas -- A sense of unfinished business is present after the Longhorns came within seconds of challenging for the national championship last season. That feeling helped lure Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley back for another year. If recruit Chris Whaley can emerge at running back and the defensive line can be rebuilt, the Longhorns should be in the hunt for a shot at the national title game at the Rose Bowl. The last time the crystal ball was awarded there, Texas upset USC for the championship. Could history repeat itself?

The Mike Leach watch. The details are just ugly. Dr. Saturday takes a look at the contract negotiations.

The real issue here for Leach is whether his stock can actually go any higher than it is right now, off what looks like Tech's peak. If the Cap'n can't strongarm them now, how's he going to manage it off more ordinary efforts in two years?

Baseball

Big 12 Hardball has previews of Baylor and Nebraska.

What do coaches consider when evaluating recruits? Tulsa World has the intangibles.

Not the bench presses, the 40 times, the tackles, or the touchdowns. Those are easy.

It's the character, the toughness, the desire and the attitude that are difficult to identify. Yet those characteristics are often more important in defining a prospect — and, ultimately, a college program.

"The hard part, with the limited phone calls you get and the limited time you get to see them, is evaluating the non-physical skill," said Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.

The recruiting process is a system run amok.

Then there was a defensive back named Craig Loston, out of Houston, who picked LSU. His Eisenhower High coach was excited. Funny thing is, Loston doesn't even attend school anymore. According to the coach, the kid lives in Louisiana. According to the principal, the kid says he's taking online classes to finish his requirements. Online?

How about a Texas safety named Colton Valencia, who brought four hats to his news conference, then, for drama, ignored them and pulled out a Texas A&M hat from under the table. What's next? A rabbit?