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Just a reminder that if you’re interested in getting a free copy of NCAA Football 08 for the Xbox 360 you need to contact us before the end of the weekend. Check out this post for a few more details.

Again, video of Cedric Benson looking about as cooperative as you can look when being arrested:

I know I’m a UT homer but every single bit of new news and information I get supports Benson more and more. I have a feeling this gets thrown out at his hearing on May 19th.

We now have another account of this weekend’s events on Lake Travis from a friend of Cedric Benson. Elizabeth Cartwright, a senior English major at Texas, corroborates Benson’s version of the events and also questions why he was pepper sprayed.

Notes on Cartwright’s interview from the Chicago Tribune below:

Cartwright, an English major at the University of Texas who is to graduate later this month, estimated she and her fiance had been boating with Benson six times this spring and each time a Lower Colorado River Authority boat pulled them over for a safety check.

There were about 15 people on the boat, including Benson’s mother, Jackie, who had spent much of the evening swimming in a part of the lake known as Devil’s Cove. Just when the group had decided to head back to shore around 9:30 p.m. and go out to dinner, a patrol boat stopped to conduct a random check.

According to Cartwright, she had consumed one beer and Benson had two drinks.

“I know Cedric and I don’t think he was drunk,” Cartwright said.

The arrival of LCRA police perturbed Benson because of the frequency of the checks on his 30-foot boat, Cartwright said.

When Benson’s boat passed the safety inspection, Cartwright said she and her fiance were surprised the officer then required a sobriety test for Benson.

“We were all like, ‘Why?’ ” she said.

After an officer led Benson to the LCRA boat for the test, the second officer left behind on Benson’s boat assured a nervous Jackie Benson that her son would be fine, Cartwright recalled.

A few minutes later, Cartwright said she heard Benson begin to scream after the officer pepper-sprayed him in the eye. By the time Benson was in handcuffs, he was screaming, “Please stop, Mom, make them please stop.”

Cartwright disputed that Benson was resisting arrest.

Panicked, Cartwright called her father, Jeff, to give him a description of the physical way she saw her friend being treated and told him to call 911.

Unaware the friend in question was Benson, Jeff Cartwright called 911 and told the dispatcher that police “were beating up a black kid on Lake Travis.”

The biggest thing that stands out from her statement is that she had been out on the lake with Benson six times this year and every single time they have been stopped for “random safety inspections.” Doesn’t seem so random anymore does it? If that is true, there’s something clearly wrong here.

Ex-Longhorn running back Cedric Benson was arrested over the weekend on Lake Travis for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. According to police, Saturday night he failed a sobriety test and resisted arrest strongly enough that officers had to use pepper spray and drag him ashore.

Benson’s side of the story is very different and according to his lawyer he is going to fight the charges. He claims he was not drunk, did not resist arrest, and was pepper sprayed unnecessarily:

“They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down,” Benson told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m thinking, I passed all the tests, did everything right. Then the officer told me we needed to go to land to take more tests. I politely asked him why we needed to go to land to take more tests when I took every test. Then he sprayed me with mace, on his boat.

“I’m not handcuffed. I’m not under arrest. I’m not threatening him. I’m not pushing him. I’m not touching him. And he sprays me right in my eye.”

Cedric believes he not only passed the sobriety test but was also cooperative with the police when his boat was stopped for a “random safety inspection.” That sure sounds like a possible BWB (boating while black) issue.

Not a good situation and even worse timing for Cedric as he was already going to spend training camp fighting for his starting gig in Chicago. These are pretty serious charges and a conviction could possibly even mean jail time. The Austin Police Department doesn’t exactly have the best track record and things here don’t seem exactly right, so hopefully Ced is innocent and things are cleared up as quickly as possible.

Note: Some people (including notoriously incorrect blowhard Colin Cowherd) have commented on Cedric’s mugshot as evidence he was drunk. I imagine being pepper sprayed in the face might have something to do with his bloodshot eyes in the photo.

Safety Drew Kelson and linebacker Robert Killebrew have been invited to the Chicago Bears’ rookie camp for a try-out. They will join 26 other unsigned players, 12 draftees, and 10 rookie free agents at the Bears’ rookie minicamp this weekend and will have three practices to try to get someone’s attention.

A try-out is not the same as signing a rookie free agent deal, there will definitely be a huge uphill battle in front of them to make the team. Their best hope may be that in this limited opportunity they can impress enough to make the Bears’ coaching staff believe they could make an important contribution on special teams. Even if they don’t make the Bears’ roster it is important they show up well and generate a little buzz around their name, hopefully resulting in a try-out with another team.

The NBA announced on Thursday that former Longhorn Kevin Durant was the winner of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2007-08 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year. He’s the first Longhorn to ever win the award.

Durant received 90 out of 125 first-place votes finishing comfortably ahead of Atlanta’s Al Horford and Houston’s Luis Scola. Somehow five sportswriters didn’t even put Durant in their top two. Kevin average 20.3 points (7.6 points more than any other rookie), 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in his rookie season.

Congratulations Kevin!

Source

The new game is only a few months away but you can win NCAA Football 08 from Bevo Sports today! One of the best football games of the last few years and a must play for the obsessive compulsive college football fan. Like recruiting? You can spend hours in the game calling the top players in the nation and telling them what Texas has to offer.

Okay, really I just forgot to eBay this 6 months ago which means its now not worth it. But if you’re interested in the game it still sells for $40 at retail so getting for free isn’t so bad! Simply fill out our contact form and mention you want the game and I’ll select a winner at random at the end of next week.

I am giving away the Xbox 360 version of the game so please make sure you’re capable of playing it before entering. Keep visiting Bevo Sports, we’ll be giving away more stuff (including NCAA 09 in July) to lucky readers throughout the year!

Five Longhorns were selected this weekend in the 2008 NFL Draft this weekend but several eligible players went unselected. Players like Marcus Griffin might have been disappointed Sunday, but being signed as a free agent by the best team who made the best offer is often a better situation than being a 6th or 7th round pick. Last year Selvin Young sign with perfect team (Denver) and ended up rushing for 729 yards on the season.

On Monday four players were quickly snatched up by NFL teams. Griffin and wide receiver Nate Jones were both signed by the Minnesota Vikings. If those two can earn a roster spot they’ll join Cedric Griffin and Brian Robison and definitely make the Vikings a team for Texas fans to keep an eye on.

Defensive tackle Derek Lokey signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, one of several teams that he had to choose from. “Evaluating it all, Kansas City was the best option for me and I jumped on it. I’m really excited about the opportunity. They were one of the teams that showed a lot of interest in me throughout the process,” Lokey said. Lokey well join Derrick Johnson and fellow rookie Jamaal Charles in KC.

Brandon Foster agreed to a deal with the Indianapolis Colts. If any team can look past Foster’s height it would be the Colts, starting Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders is only 5-foot-8. Foster is the only cornerback the Colts are bringing in.

On Tuesday receiver Billy Pittman became the fifth Horn to sign a free agent deal when he agreed to terms with the San Diego Chargers.

Big Texas right hander Kenn Kasparek tossed nine hitless innings today against the Texas State. Kasparek struck out nine as the Longhorns beat the Bobcats 11 - 0.

Kasparek’s no-no is the 20th is Texas history, the last one was throw by Adrian Alaniz over the Oklahoma Sooners in April 2005. I saw Beau Hale’s no hitter over Sam Houston State in person on February 11, 2000. It was a special experience being there in person, so hopefully there was a full house at Disch-Falk Field to see Kasparek’s performance today.

Image courtesy of joanna.org.

It’s been way too long since we’ve posted a Rose Bowl video, so check out one of the best I’ve seen below:

Makes me want to go watch my Rose Bowl DVD for the tenth time. This video tries to highlight the game itself and not just the Horns, but it still turns out to be much more of a Longhorn video. Not that that’s a bad thing. I could watch the last three minutes of this thing over and over again. The only thing it is missing is the audio from Craig Way’s call of the 4th and 5 play to win it.

Thanks go to jbHorn over on Orangebloods for the link.