lots of game. The candlepower inside his head, however, couldn't brighten a small utility closet. Pippen's entire career has been marred with stupid, classless actions and statements. A petty, nasty spat with Toni Kukoc. The infamous refusal to play the last 1.7 seconds of a playoff game against the Knicks because Jackson didn't set the last shot up for him. An ugly, ultra-personal, long-running squabble with Chicago management because Einstein demanded to sign a long-term contract the Bulls warned him he'd grow to hate, because his ego demanded his 30-second splash on ESPN. This bile festered into Scottie's most memorable moment when he "retired" rather than ever "wear a Chicago uniform again ... " which he did a few weeks later. This got him traded just nine months ago to Houston, which was sure, for some reason, it had just won a championship. The Light Bulb bubbled with enthusiasm over his liberation from Chicago hell, then proceeded to have the worst season of his career. Barely a day passed without the Genius bitching and moaning that he had to have the ball more. His entire off-season was spent trying to get himself traded to L.A. A few weeks ago Charles Barkley made some relatively innocuous comments about how excited he was about Steve Francis, how ready he was to start playing, and how he wished Pippen would stop demanding a trade and get ready to win. Pippen replied with a characteristic, feral, anti-Barkley tirade, accusing Charles of being a selfish loser, saying Barkley's the reason the Rockets can't win, and demanding a trade away from this unseemly influence. Much of the national media, to my astonishment, seemed to side with the idiot. To my eyes, Barkley is about the hardest working player in the league, who plays hurt and does it productively. Pippen got half of what he wished. He got traded. Now many media experts (people with less wattage than Pippen) think a Portland title, like Houston's last year, is a given.
Longhorn coach Mack Brown -- suffering his first bad defeat in Austin -- got his initial feel from the lash of the Bevo wackos out in talk-radio land. Come to think of it, we need even more synonyms for idiot. Pippen doesn't cover these losers. Anyway, to repeat a point from an earlier column, let's count the more subtle ways UT misses Ricky Williams. Facing 9- and 10-man lines wasn't unusual for the UT offense during the long Reign of Ricky. They were there to try to stop 34 -- a misson rarely accomplished. On Saturday, Texas faced a massive front with another intention: kill the quarterback. K-State, playing a jazzed-up Buddy Ryan 46 defense, sold out completely to the pass rush. They were perfectly willing to give up the odd 10-yard gain on a draw play, knowing UT couldn't sustain a ground game. They were willing to gamble against the big pass play. As Ryan used to say, "If the quarterback can hit the open receiver with a forearm in his mouth as he's being slammed into the ground, I want him on my team." Until Texas finds a running game defenses have to respect, this is an excellent tactic. But it's easier said than done. Don't look for Oklahoma, a team that's gone from being, well, Oklahoma, to BYU overnight, to be successful with the same scheme. The Sooner D is average. I look for a combined point total above 70 this weekend. Nebraska and A&M, however, both itching for revenge, will punch you in the nuts with defense. I'm sure they'll look closely and with glee at Bill Snyder's game plan. That Applewhite survived the relentless Wildcat savaging is a testament to great toughness. A more germane question is, can he forget it?
On the subject of violence, the hockey commentary always begins thus: "Is it going to take someone getting killed before the league changes ... ?" The sorry fact is, that's exactly what it will take before the NHL goes after players who specialize in cheap, potentially lethal "hits" like the savage, intentional shove from behind that sent Dallas Stars center Mike Modano headfirst -- at 60 mph -- into the boards last Saturday. A crumpled, motionless Modano was carried off the ice on a gurney. Thank God he woke up. This isn't the first time defenseman Ruslan Salei has done this sort of cowardly thing. Modano's teammate Brett Hull spoke bitterly and at length about this odious occurrence, saying Salei should be banned for life. I agree. It won't happen, though. Modano lived.
Baseball (in particular the NL) finished on a wildly exciting note this year as Houston, Cincinnati, and New York all collapsed and then, as they were about to fall over the precipice, gathered themselves again. This is the most wide-open baseball playoff season I can remember. I can make a legit case for each team in both leagues winning the World Series. First-round upset prediction: Texas over New York.
Finally, I want to thank you for voting me Best Sportswriter in Austin and for your notes of congratulations. I do appreciate it.
