Writing in the Austin American-Statesman today, sports columnist Kirk Bohls says the annual University of Texas-University of Oklahoma game at the Cotton Bowl is damned near a done-gone deal:
"'I think it's 80-20 that Texas will leave,' said someone with connections to both Texas and the Cotton Bowl...Barring a change of heart by Texas--or firm, credible promises that the City of Dallas really will renovate the stadium with more than a Band-Aid and maybe even add a dozen luxury boxes--I believe sadly that the location will soon change. Come 2009, I expect we will see the Texas-Oklahoma game for the last time at the broken-down Cotton Bowl."
There is, I guess, good news for Longhorns fans: Texas may still play an annual game in Dallas every year (Arlington, actually, at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium), but it would be against...the University of Arkansas. And OU still wants to play in the metroplex too; Bohls suggests it would be some rival that ain't named Texas or Texas A&M. Turns out both schools don't really want to leave the metroplex; too many recruits come from here, and an annual game here helps keeps those universities top of mind for potential ballers. So why can't the Longhorns and Sooners work out a deal with Dallas to keep the Red River Shootout at Fair Park? Money, and lots of it--bond money, ticket revenue, parking fees, you name it. --Robert Wilonsky