Texas Christian University

Slater Martin, 86, the defensive-minded Hall of Fame guard who won four NBA titles with the Minneapolis Lakers and one with the St. Louis Hawks, died Thursday at a skilled nursing facility in Houston after a sudden illness, his family said. Martin was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. He entered the University of Texas' Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1962, and the school retired his No. 15 in 2009. "I think he's the best defensive guard that ever lived. That includes all the ones right now," said Sid Hartman, the 92-year-old sports columnist for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis who served as the de facto general manager of the Lakers.

Slater Martin, 86, the defensive-minded Hall of Fame guard who won four NBA titles with the Minneapolis Lakers and one with the St. Louis Hawks, died Thursday at a skilled nursing facility in Houston after a sudden illness, his family said. Martin was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. He entered the University of Texas' Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1962, and the school retired his No. 15 in 2009. "I think he's the best defensive guard that ever lived. That includes all the ones right now," said Sid Hartman, the 92-year-old sports columnist for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis who served as the de facto general manager of the Lakers.

Reid Ryan, son of major league pitcher Nolan Ryan, said that he will leave the University of Texas and listed Pepperdine among schools he is considering attending. Ryan asked for a release from his baseball scholarship at Texas, saying he needs more playing time to improve. He pitched in only two games in his freshman season with the Longhorns.

Texas Christian University loves to court the local oil and natural gas barons whose pockets are deeper than most of the wells from which their immense wealth has been drawn. And when those barons debate whether to donate pocket change ? a few million dollars or so ? to the roughly 8,700-student private school, Texas Christian sends in its closer: Gary Patterson. Chris Del Conte, athletic director at Texas Christian, even calls the school's football coach "Dennis Eckersley," referring to the right-handed reliever who is in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Texas Christian University loves to court the local oil and natural gas barons whose pockets are deeper than most of the wells from which their immense wealth has been drawn. And when those barons debate whether to donate pocket change ? a few million dollars or so ? to the roughly 8,700-student private school, Texas Christian sends in its closer: Gary Patterson. Chris Del Conte, athletic director at Texas Christian, even calls the school's football coach "Dennis Eckersley," referring to the right-handed reliever who is in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Nolan Ryan was ejected for apparently the second time in his career on Friday night when an umpire gave him the heave-ho for protesting a called strike in the ninth inning of the Rice-Texas Christian game. Ryan, now a pitching coach for TCU, complained from the dugout when Tim Henderson called a strike on Ryan Dunn on a pitch that appeared to be outside. The entire TCU dugout began yelling, but Henderson singled Ryan out for ejection.

LaDainian Tomlinson of Texas Christian broke the NCAA Division I-A rushing record, gaining 406 yards and scoring six touchdowns in 43 carries as the Horned Frogs defeated Texas El Paso, 52-24, Saturday in a Western Athletic Conference game. Tomlinson broke the record held by Tony Sands of Kansas, who rushed for 396 yards in 58 carries against Missouri on Nov. 23, 1991. The junior first-year starter also set a single-season rushing record for TCU, 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the WAC.

The Sun Bowl has been good to USC Coach Paul Hackett. He got his first head coaching job in the locker room before the game in 1989, when he was named coach at Pittsburgh shortly before kickoff of a 31-28 victory over Texas A&M. "Last time was just craziness," said Hackett, who had been quarterback coach and was named interim coach in place of Mike Gottfried. "Interviewing for the job, meeting with the president, hammering out the contract. It all took away from the game.

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time. No. 11 Texas Christian Texas Christian is a fine team, with a fine defense, and a fine coach. The Horned Frogs should have a fine year -- so there you have it. And that's not nearly enough type to fill this capsule. To be frog frank, not nearly enough attention has been paid to TCU. Maybe it has to do with the school's vagabond conference wanderings or the fact Rankman has never stepped foot on its Fort Worth campus.

Welcome to this week's edition of "Inside Political Football," hosted by weak-side linebacker Rolf Blitzer. Two weeks after Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) called college football "un-American" and "a rigged game," the bowl championship series system some have deemed a monopoly may have found a get-out-of-jail-free card. Texas Christian, only days ago Exhibit A evidence that a non-BCS school could never break through the BCS glass ceiling, is 9-0 and No. 6 in the BCS standings.

When the Rose Parade winds down and the football game begins at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, no Pac-10 team will be on the field. But don't cry for Pasadena, the host city of the historic game. Pasadena and all of Southern California are certain to reap big economic benefits again, experts said, as two teams from Middle America draw an army of free-spending fans to the region. "With such events, the farther they travel the better," said Michael Harker, a senior partner with Enigma Research Corp.

The Times' Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time. No. 11 Texas Christian Texas Christian is a fine team, with a fine defense, and a fine coach. The Horned Frogs should have a fine year -- so there you have it. And that's not nearly enough type to fill this capsule. To be frog frank, not nearly enough attention has been paid to TCU. Maybe it has to do with the school's vagabond conference wanderings or the fact Rankman has never stepped foot on its Fort Worth campus.

Welcome to this week's edition of "Inside Political Football," hosted by weak-side linebacker Rolf Blitzer. Two weeks after Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) called college football "un-American" and "a rigged game," the bowl championship series system some have deemed a monopoly may have found a get-out-of-jail-free card. Texas Christian, only days ago Exhibit A evidence that a non-BCS school could never break through the BCS glass ceiling, is 9-0 and No. 6 in the BCS standings.

When Texas Christian stunned USC, 28-19, in the 1998 Sun Bowl, it seemed to signify a turning point for both programs, most strikingly the demise of Tailback U. The rise of the Horned Frogs and the fall of the Trojans is commonly attributed to the coaching of Dennis Franchione and Paul Hackett, respectively. USC UNDER HACKETT Record Since Sun Bowl: 9-10 Last 11 games: USC is 6-5 Bowls: No Bowl Appearance in '99 Conference: Currently in last place in Pac-10.

LaDainian Tomlinson of Texas Christian broke the NCAA Division I-A rushing record, gaining 406 yards and scoring six touchdowns in 43 carries as the Horned Frogs defeated Texas El Paso, 52-24, Saturday in a Western Athletic Conference game. Tomlinson broke the record held by Tony Sands of Kansas, who rushed for 396 yards in 58 carries against Missouri on Nov. 23, 1991. The junior first-year starter also set a single-season rushing record for TCU, 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the WAC.

The best move Chris Claiborne made was when he said, earnestly and often, that he would let his coach, Paul Hackett, determine whether Claiborne will skip his senior year at USC and turn pro. The best moments of the telecast of the Sun Bowl game between USC and Texas Christian were the clever commercials that Bob Newhart did for Norwest, the conglomerate that sponsored the Sun Bowl.

The best move Chris Claiborne made was when he said, earnestly and often, that he would let his coach, Paul Hackett, determine whether Claiborne will skip his senior year at USC and turn pro. The best moments of the telecast of the Sun Bowl game between USC and Texas Christian were the clever commercials that Bob Newhart did for Norwest, the conglomerate that sponsored the Sun Bowl.

The 200-point game never came. That was what Billy Tubbs used to talk about when Oklahoma, Loyola Marymount and U.S. International were trying to make scoreboards blow a fuse. No Division I team ever pulled it off. But four years after leaving Oklahoma for Texas Christian, Tubbs still strains the limits of the game--not to mention his relationships with the coaches he never lets up on. "Basically, we moved the Oklahoma program south to Fort Worth, Texas," Tubbs said.

Yes, those Frogs had horns. USC was impaled on the spines of 16-point underdog Texas Christian in the Sun Bowl on Thursday, 28-19, stabbed clear through by an option attack the vaunted Trojan defense couldn't stop.

The Sun Bowl has been good to USC Coach Paul Hackett. He got his first head coaching job in the locker room before the game in 1989, when he was named coach at Pittsburgh shortly before kickoff of a 31-28 victory over Texas A&M. "Last time was just craziness," said Hackett, who had been quarterback coach and was named interim coach in place of Mike Gottfried. "Interviewing for the job, meeting with the president, hammering out the contract. It all took away from the game.