Being in the heart of Big 12 country, we are graced with both excellent football and basketball. Though Big 12 basketball often gets overshadowed in the national media by more traditional basketball conferences such as the ACC and Big East, there is no denying the fact that the Big 12 has some of the most competitive basketball in the country this season. With three teams in the top 10 (#4 Mizzouri, #6 Baylor, #8 Kansas), Kansas State hovering around the top 25, and Iowa State playing exciting ball, the Big 12 looks to make a strong showing in the tournament with four (possibly five) teams in the Tournament. Austin is home to a motley collection of fans from all around the Big 12. We love you all. That being said, this town is dominated by Bears, Aggies, and of course, Longhorns. For those of you just checking into basketball season, here are my thoughts on the local favorites thus far and predictions for the weeks to come.

Perry Jones III

Baylor Bears

It has already been an exciting year for Baylor athletics (RG3 anyone?) and for Bears fans, there is lots more to come. Starting the season with 17 straight wins, the freakishly athletic Baylor squad lead by Perry Jones III (a national player of the year candidate) was brought back down to earth by back to back losses to Kansas and Missouri. The Kansas game was never close, with the Bears looking a little overwhelmed by the energy in Phog Allen Field House by the Jayhawk faithful. The following game at home against (then ranked) #5Missouri Tigers was a solid effort, especially at the end, yet I believe the better team won in the end. The Bears have gotten things back on track since and are fighting to break back into the top 4 and claim a coveted 1 seed in the tournament. This won’t come easy with another tough stretch of games ahead: Kansas, at Missouri, Iowa State (who just beat Kansas) and Kansas State. I see the Bears cruising into the Sweet 16 but getting beat by a more refined and organized team.

J'Covan Brown

Texas Longhorns

A model of consistency in the Big 12, the Longhorns have made it to 12 straight NCAA tournaments.  This season, however, may very well be the end of their streak. After losing all their starters from last year, (three to the NBA), this extremely young Longhorn Squad has been thrown into the fire and learned quickly  what it takes to win in the Big 12. Lead by junior J’Covan Brown, a shoe in for first team all Big 12, and gaggle of super talented freshmen, Texas has yet to log any big resume wins. Though they have steadily improved throughout the season, the Longhorn’s suffered tough losses to Kansas (lost by 3), Baylor (lost by 5 but within 2 points in the last minute), and Missouri (lost by 1).  They have another shot against Kansas (away) and Baylor to make their case. Tough losses don’t translate to tournament bids and I predict Texas being one of the last four teams out of the tournament. Cheers to next year, especially if Brown sticks around.

Khris Middleton

Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies had high hopes for this year, coming into the season ranked 21^st in the country. None of that matters now as they have been rocked by injuries, losing their star small forward Khris Middleton to a knee injury in November which he has yet to fully recover from. Making matters worse, the Aggies are down to a walk-on at point guard (though he was the spark plug in a win against OSU) as they limp through Big 12 play. Most losses have been by margins of 10 points or more, with no key wins to speak of. Wins against Kansas and/or Missouri would most certainly still not be enough to get the Aggies a spot in the tournament this season.

PS: a quick shout out to the UT-San Antonio Road Runners and my old teammate Melvin Johnson III. Hope to see ya’ll in the tourney again this year.

Melvin Johnson III and former Dallas Blue Devil

Click here for more information

Dallas Cowboys – A solid offensive line and a few good D-men. Once again the Dallas Cowboys finish the season out of the playoffs and in the middle of the pack. They seem committed to Tony Romo as the man calling the shots behind center, but they have got to get him some protection to stay healthy and buy some time for him to connect with Dez Bryant. Hopefully this offseason they will be able to beef up the offensive line and find some defensive characters that can play up to the abilities of guys like DeMarcus Ware. The solid sacker cannot do it on his own.

Houston Texans – Lots of bubble wrap for their quarterbacks. The team has run through a number of them this season and managed to still end up with a shot at the playoffs. Here’s hoping rookie TJ Yates can carry them through and stay injury-free.

Dallas Stars – This team is simply looking for consistency. After a tough loss last week against the league’s last-ranked Columbus Blue Jackets, they came out and stunned last year’s Stanley Cup Champions, the Boston Bruins on Saturday in a wild New Year’s Eve contest. They dropped a close one last night against Detroit, but will need to string together some wins to stay in playoff contention in the tough Western Conference.

Dallas Mavericks – Where to begin? After winning the NBA Title in June, the team has started off this season struggling. After an emotional banner raising at the American Airlines Center, the team put up a dismal performance against the Miami Heat and went on to lose 4 of their first 6 games. Despite signing big name Lamar Odom (welcome Khloe Kardashian?), the Mavs have not looked good and are currently sitting at the bottom of their division.

Houston Rockets: Houston has started the season in the middle of the pack this year, currently sitting at 3-2. While the Rockets could use some help on the court, the one thing they probably did not ask Santa for this year was some dance lessons. Check out this video from their open practice – http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/12/20/RookiesDancing512Kcopymov-1941210/index.html

San Antonio Spurs – Manu Ginobli to heal quickly! Ginobli suffered a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand this week. Spurs fans know he has played hurt, but with the aging team, they need him at his best.

In an NFL year rife with injuries to star quarterbacks, the Houston Texans are no strangers to the woes of losing your starting gunslinger for the season. Matt Schaub went out during the Texans pounding of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a Lisfranc fracture as fans cringed at the thought of backup Matt Leinart running the show. While Texans’ fans were concerned about relying on Leinart at the helm, things got worse when he also went down with a broken collarbone the following week. The Texans brought in several quarterbacks to work out, aged veterans, such as Jeff Garcia, Jake Delhomme, but Sunday will be leaning on rookie T.J. Yates.

So just who is this 24-year old kid the Texans are pinning their playoff hopes on this weekend? Yates was drafted in the fifth round by the Texans from the University of North Carolina.  Yates finished his college career with 9,377 yards and 58 touchdowns, setting more than 40 school records, including every mark for single-season and career pass completions and yards. Despite his college success, playing in the NFL, much less starting, seemed something of a long shot for Yates. He is the first quarterback from the school to start an NFL game.

Will Yates be good enough to carry the Texans to the playoffs? The team has the benefit of being in a weak division overall, with the winless Indianapolis Colts and the 3-8 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Texans are currently leading the AFC South, but have Tennessee nipping at their heels for the division leader spot.

Fast forward to 2011 and another season in jeopardy of being locked out. The NBAplayers rejected the owners’ latest labor proposal last week and will disband the union and turn to the courts for a resolution. This latest move puts the entire 2011-2012 season in jeopardy. Older and wiser, I look at this lockout in an entirely different light. I see the way it affects many more than just the players and owners. Working in the sports business, I see the ushers whose hours were cut drastically at arenas. I see front office staff who have been laid off in light of the inability to sell something that does not exist.

When the league managed to scrape together a 50-game season in the late 90s following the lockout, they were able to win back fans with the creation of a new dynasty in Los Angeles. Kobe, Shaq and the Lakers gave the crowds something to get excited about. Even IF the league is able to still preserve some of the season this year, changes to the CBA threaten to severely alter the free agent races of the future. So what will bring them back in? Only time will tell if the NBA can recover from this mess. With 22 of 30 teams losing money as it is, it will be interesting to see if they can bounce back this time.

Courtesy of DallasStars.com

While the Texas Rangers failed to bring home another World Series title and the Dallas Cowboys were destroyed by the Philadelphia Eagles last week, another team in North Texas is quietly becoming one to watch. The Dallas Stars have put together an impressive start to the season and have become the first team in the NHL to collect 10 wins, sitting at the top of the league now with an 11-3 record. During the off-season, the team lost one of the most highly touted free agents in recent history, Brad Richards. Richards took a lucrative deal to head to one of hockey’s original six, the New York Rangers. All summer, critics speculated that the Stars would not be able to replace Richards and as a result, would linger near the bottom of the Pacific Division. Instead General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk stealthily assembled a team of free agent additions that would prove to be invaluable as the season got underway this fall.

Nieuwendyk invested in a veteran blue liner, Sheldon Souray, a guy many considered washed up, or at very best, a project. With Souray, the team got a solid contributor on defense with a monster shot from the point – something that had been missing for quite some time on the Dallas D. Known as “The Hammer,” Souray has collected 4 goals and 8 assists in 13 games played and is a +10. Richards by comparison, also has 4 goals, but only 6 assists and is a -1. And that is just one player. For the money the Rangers are paying Richards, Dallas also signed defenseman Adam Pardy, another big presence on the blue line, and five other guys up front.

The biggest addition at forward for the Stars when it comes to the stat sheet is Michael Ryder, signed from the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Ryder has 6 goals and 5 assists on the season. Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak have been great pickups on the checking line and Jake Dowell has added some depth to the fourth line.

Due to a cruel twist of fate, in which Sean Avery somehow finds a way to pester the Dallas Stars yet again (the Stars are still paying half of his salary as he was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers when the team dumped him in 2008), his demotion to the AHL caused Dallas to be under the salary cap floor, and the team had to make a move. The Stars received Eric Nystrom in exchange for “future considerations,” from the Minnesota Wild. Nystrom had a rough start to the year with the Wild, but has made an immediate impact in Dallas, with goals in each of his last 4 games. Nystrom has also been a big hit off the ice with his Movember fundraising efforts, single-handedly already raising almost $5000 for the cause.

Of course the NHL season is long, and there are almost 70 games remaining before the post-season in the spring, but the Stars are steadily proving everyone wrong in the league. They jumped up to #2 in ESPN’s power rankings this week and faced a true test tonight on the road against the Washington Capitals, turning in another impressive victory. Hockey fans can always catch their favorite game at any of Third Base’s locations, all of which carry the NHL Center Ice package. Bring your friends and wear your favorite hockey sweater!

We think she is fabulous and wanted to introduce her to all our fans!

Third Base: Where is your hometown?

Rachel: Honolulu

Third Base: COOL!!

Third Base: What’s your favorite memory or thing about living in Austin/Round Rock?

Rachel: Attending my first Austin City Limits festival in 2008

Third Base: Favorite sports team(s)?

Rachel: Texas Longhorns! Obviously

Third Base: Favorite drink?

Rachel: Beer-garita (from Third Base, of course)

Third Base: What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Rachel: Their hairstyle

Third Base: What famous person do you (or other people) think you resemble?

Rachel: Cameron Diaz

Third Base: I can see that!

Third Base: What 3 things can always be found in your fridge?

Rachel: Ranch, pepperoncini’s, and chocolate milk

Third Base: If you could go back or forward in time, where would you go?

Rachel: 1969 to experience Woodstock!

Third Base:  What do you do when no one is watching?

Rachel: Sing in the shower

Third Base: If they made a movie about your life, what actor/actress would be you?

Rachel: Blake Lively on Gossip Girl—I wish!

Third Base: Do you talk to yourself?

Rachel: Yes, all the time

Third Base: What would you do if you didn’t have to work? if you won the lottery?

Rachel: Take my family and myself on a 2-week private safari to Kenya and Tanzania

Third Base: Guilty pleasure?

Rachel: Watching old Disney movies – Aladdin’s my favorite!

Third Base: Worst dating experience?

Rachel: My current boyfriend, nah just kidding he’s great

Third Base: Craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Rachel: Bungee jumping at night, in the rain forest, into water in Cairn’s, Australia

Thanks Rachel, we really enjoyed getting to know you a little better.

Photo courtesy of BleacherReport.com

Despite a slow start, the Longhorns put up big numbers this past weekend against UCLA. With Case McCoy leading the charge, the ‘Horns beat the Bruins 49-20 on their home turf this Saturday. While this does give fans a glimmer of hope, it begs the question…are the Longhorns for real? Does this young team have potential to shake things up this season and surprise the doubters?

Longhorn fans were certainly glad to hear the familiar “McCoy to Shipley” call, but it was the balanced offensive attack that really led the Horns to victory. Malcolm Brown and Fozzie Whittaker got it done on the ground for Texas and McCoy was solid through the air, finishing the game with 168 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Texas defense was also stingy, causing a fumble and picking up 3 interceptions against the Bruins starting quarterback, Kevin Prince.

The Longhorns will be on the road again this weekend as they face another 3-0 team at Iowa State. While the victory over the Bruins was a huge moral win for the Horns, this matchup with the Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium Saturday is a statement game…a chance for the young team to show critics that they are ready to compete with the big boys. Kickoff is 6 pm CST…where will you be watching?

This past week in our own community, we had some heros of our own. As the Austin Metro area was ravaged by wild fires, our hometown heros fought bravely to contain the disaster. It was also great to see how one of our local sports teams stepped up to help in the efforts. Texas Stars hockey Team Captain Brad Lukowich took to his Twitter account at @Luko37 to offer assistance and a safe place to stay for those displaced by the fires. In addition, he shared information about how to donate and help during the tragedy. The Texas Stars Foundation announced this week that they would be donating $10,000 to the Austin Disaster Relief Network to support their efforts in response to the wildfires.

Third Base is also doing its part to help out in this time of need. All of our locations are accepting donations to assist the community and the downtown location will be hosting a Deep Stack Charity Poker Tournament on Wednesday, September 21st to aid fire victims in the Austin area. There have been some great prizes donated and it is a $30 suggested donation to participate. If you bring two grocery bag donations of canned/hard items you will receive an additional $20K chip.

Cheer on your favorite team today, but take a minute to reflect on the tragedies we have faced as a nation and a city. Let’s go Austin!