From the stick to politics division:
Gov. Greg Abbott’s State of the State speech was heavy with policy priorities for the Texas Legislature, but he ended his 50 -minute address by throwing his support behind legislation that would require the University of Texas and Texas A & M to get back to playing football every year.
Beyond being music to many sports fans’ ears, Abbott’s support was an olive branch of sorts to the bill’s author, state Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio. Abbott and Larson have clashed on several issues in recent years, most notably ethics reform, and the governor took the rare step of backing Larson’s challenger in last year’s GOP primary. On Tuesday, Abbott said he was inspired by the unprecedented spirit of “camaraderie and collaboration” that he has felt in the first month of the legislative session.
“I gotta tell you, I’m feeling it myself. I’m feeling moved, and I want to set an example,” the UT graduate turned governor said, smiling. “I’m willing to step up and put aside past differences and work with Lyle Larson to reinstate the rivalry game between the Aggies and the Longhorns.” Larson, an A&M graduate, filed House Bill 412 to require the schools to meet on the football field on the fourth Thursday, Friday or Saturday of November — returning a marquee matchup between the Texas schools to college football’s rivalry weekend.
“There’s a huge hole in rivalry weekend, and it’s A&M and Texas not playing each other,” Larson said shortly after filing the bill in November. “I think we’re depriving generations if we don’t restore this.”
Man, depriving generations, he tells ‘ya! Sounds like a serious issue.
The schools have indicated a willingness to restart the rivalry, but “scheduling nonconference games is complicated”. Might want to un-complicate that, boys. The pols don’t sound like they’re letting this low hanging fruit go unplucked.
Get The Picture 
Senator, I know you recall enough from the 8 iterations of Texas History we took growing up in Texas that it’s the Lt. Gov. Who holds all the real power. Wonder if he cares enough?
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Texas got themselves in this mess if I remember correctly. The Georgia, South Carolina and Florida schools have figured out how to play at the end of the year without screwing up the schedule. Get this done … same for Missouri and Kansas. You could say the same for Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Texas and the LHN screwed up all of this.
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Kansas deserves nothing in football.
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During the Mangino years, that game was pretty darn good.
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The oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi, and conference realignment killed it.
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Even when both schools weren’t good at all, there was a lot of bad blood between them.
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Yeah, it’s pandering and I fully support it. Texas and Texas A&M should play football against each other. Period.
Makes me wonder if Nebraska would still suck as much as they do if they still played OU every year.
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I am completely incapable of mustering up even a sliver of sympathy for anyone associated with either of those schools.
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Wonder who thinks it’s a good idea for governments to inject themselves into sports scheduling? Don’t the governor and legislature in Texas have more important things on which to spend their time? If not, then the slogan of some presidential candidate or another from years gone by seems appropriate: “Cut their pay and send them home.”
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The list of things the state of Texas is currently “depriving generations” of is longer than my arm, but sure, let’s put Texas–TAMU at the top of that list.
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I can imagine the GTU version of this bill, where we’re required to spot them 14 points, they get to play two-hand touch when they’re on defense, and each of their ‘fans’ gets 4 hot dogs and 4 cokes…
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So long as the schools take state money, then being told by the legislature who they have to play would be expected.
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That’s what Alabama’s legislature did to get the Iron Bowl back up and running. I’m sure there are other examples as well.
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Jerry$ world ju$t love$ him $ome rivalry flow…..
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