UT athletic director Deloss Dodds thinks you're an idiot

As OU fans, we're all painfully aware of the new Longhorn Network and the spin machine that is ESPN behind it.  We already know just how great the University of Texas and its fanbase think they are, so all the commercials ESPiN seemingly runs every 30 seconds reminding themselves us of it are really just kind of sad.  Now it's not like I don't expect them to promote their product, but I'm fairly confident that there is a target audience out there (UT alumni) and they've already bought in.  So if the geniuses at ESPiN think they're going to convince any non-UT fans out there to sign up for the Longhorn Network, they might want to try and avoid annoying the hell out of a potential customer by constantly rerunning the same ad therefore turning them off before it's even available.  Oh and unless he's reprising the role of Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, having McConaughey do the voice over was pretty much a deal killer right out the gate.

But, really, in the grand scheme of things all of that won't really affect OU fans because we just simply won't watch.  I could be speaking out of turn, but I think at this point the fact that Texas will have their own network really doesn't much register with OU fans anymore.  I believe most could really care less as we've pretty much become accustomed to Texas telling us how superior they believe themselves to be and naturally ignoring them, so a channel broadcasting the same crap they all spew 24/7 just provides us with the benefit of a mute button (or even better, never going to that channel in the first place).  So we'll gladly refrain from the pointless arguing back and forth like what has been going on lately over in BON and A&M land.  However the one issue we, and pretty much every other school in the country, still do have with the Longhorn Network is the stipulation that they would be allowed to air high school football games.  It's a beyond obvious unfair recruiting advantage, despite UT's pathetically transparent attempts to convince you otherwise, and yet as it stands today there is no reason to believe they won't be allowed to get away with it.  It would seem pretty simple and straight forward when you consider the potential issues in question.

At issue, potentially, are three elements of Title 13, Section 10 of the NCAA rulebook, which, among other things, prohibits colleges from arranging radio or TV appearances for prospective student-athletes and prohibits schools from allowing prospects on shows conducted by coaches or shows in which coaches are participating.

However, please allow UT A.D. Deloss Dodds put your fears at ease.  Dodds, last week in the Houston Chronicle, offered up these reassuring words.

Dodds said the Texas athletic department will not be involved with selecting high school games on LHN. He said the university "intends to be safe and ESPN to be safe when it comes to NCAA issues."

"ESPN will select the games based on what they feel is best," Dodds said. "We understand that this is a new world and that we're leading the way in an area that is new to us and new to the NCAA and new to ESPN. Like everything else, we will do it in a first-class way, in the light of day, and we will do it the right way."

So for those of you out there who, such as myself, are not fans of the University of Texas and might have just missed what he actually said there I'll translate.  What Dodds actually meant to say was "If you actually believe that ESPN will select the high school games on LHN, you are the one of the stupidest human beings on the face of the planet the University of Texas will happily enjoy mocking you from our newly constructed burnt orange ivory tower."  Now admittedly, that's a loose translation but I think you get the gist.  If this freaking guy is really going to sit there and try and have us believe that Texas won't play a role in what teams, or more specifically current/potential UT commits, are featured on LHN then good lord does this guy have a set on him the size of, well Texas.  I can't even imagine the level of arrogance one must have to make such a statement, let alone actually expect anyone to believe it.

Hopefully what actually just happed with that ridiculous Dodds quote was he just gave away to the NCAA gestapo the loophole they planned to use in order to get around a potential violation.  Then the NCAA can grow a pair and inform UT that the only high school (equivalent) football games they'll be allowed to show are from their stellar 5-7 season last year.  Of course then the NCAA will likely give in eventually, but only after Texas threatens to cecede from college football.  Oh wait, that's Rick Perry and the other Texas?  Well, maybe that scenario exactly won't happen but we all know Texas' arrogance knows no bounds so I suppose anything is possible.