Keegan Bradley leads by one stroke heading into the final round of the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship
Photo by Steve Wade Rattle & Hum Sports

Keegan Bradley leads by one stroke heading into Sunday’s final round of the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship

By Tommy Smith

Rattle and Hum Sports’ continuing coverage of the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship from the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Las Colinas. Keegan Bradley looks to become the first wire to wire winner of the Byron Nelson since Tom Watson in 1980. We also touch on the passing of the legendary Ken Venturi.

Click the link below to listen in:

Third round coverage of the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship 5-18-13

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Sports and entertainment news in Dallas

Within hours after announcing the signing of defensive end Anthony Hargrove, the Dallas Cowboys revealed they had reached an agreement with offensive tackle Doug Free on a restructured contract in which Free accepted pay cuts for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

The Cowboys went to Free more than a month ago asking the starting right tackle to take a pay cut. Free was relatively silent on the issue. The prevailing wisdom was that Free wouldn’t accept the pay cut and the Cowboys would be forced to make a decision as to whether to make Free a June 1 roster cut or keep him for 2013 and live with his large cap figure.

Free’s new base salary for 2013 will be $3.5 million, down from $7 million in his original contract. It also reduces his 2013 cap figure from $10 million to approximately $6.5 million. Free’s 2013 base salary is also guaranteed, even if he’s released.

In 2014 Free’s base salary was reduced from $8 million to $3.5 million, a savings of approximately $4.5 million. The base salary is guaranteed, but only if Free is still on the Cowboys roster five days after the 2014 league year begins, which is in March.

The Cowboys save $8 million in cap space the next two years in the deal. If the Cowboys had designated Free as a June 1 roster cut, they would have saved $10 million over the next two years.

The restructured deal likely ends any pursuit of a veteran offensive tackle. Free will now complete with Jermey Parnell for the starting right tackle position. Free committed 13 penalties last season, more than any other NFL player, according to The Football Database. He and Parnell shared time at right tackle during the season’s final month.

Hargrove’s signing preceded the news of Free’s new deal. Hargrove, a journeyman defensive end, signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys. At 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, he could be a backup at either defensive end position. He has also played inside at tackle.

Hargrove’s history is checkered. He has 19.5 career sacks. But he’s played for six different teams, twice earned suspensions for substance abuse and was sucked into the Saints’ “Bountygate” scandal, resulting in an eight-game suspension that was eventually overturned. He hasn’t played a game since 2011 and hasn’t started a game since 2009.

But by stepping foot on the Valley Ranch campus, he already has more experience in a NFL 4-3 defense than any other Cowboys backup. He also played in the Cover 2 system in St. Louis.

To accommodate the Hargrove signing, the Cowboys released offensive lineman D.J. Hall, whom they had signed last week after rookie camp. The Cowboys also released Texas A&M cornerback Dustin Harris to sign Langston cornerback Malik James, who tried out with the team on Friday.

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Big 12 Insider

There has been some notable events impacting the Big 12 this past week. So we thought that it would be a good time to provide our assessment.

TCU suspends DE Devonte Fields for the first two games: Obviously, this is about as bad a deal that TCU could have envisioned before its season even begins. You have arguably the conference’s top defensive player — and perhaps best overall player — make whatever careless decision it was to warrant head coach Gary Patterson’s wrath. The Horned Frogs will miss him in the national game Aug. 31 against LSU at Cowboys Stadium and then a cream puff against SE Louisiana. TCU has been under enough negative scrutiny for its off the field actions with the drug bust in February 2012, quarterback Casey Pachall’s DUI and subsequent departure later in the fall and now this from someone who graced every freshman postseason All-American team. This program didn’t need another offseason headache. Maybe the lesson of this move is that a light goes off for Fields to “get it.” Pachall was a perfect example of how poor choices can result in repercussions. Now, Fields learns the hard way.

No. 1 BB recruit Andrew Wiggins picks Kansas: The Big 12 men’s basketball season just got stronger with the surprise announcement from Wiggins on Tuesday that he committed to and then signed with the Jayhawks. A 6-8 forward from Huntington Prep in Virginia and Canada native, he opted for KU over the likes of North Carolina, Florida State and Kentucky. Florida State appeared to be the favorite. But couple this with Marcus Smart returning to Oklahoma State and Isaiah Austin and Corey Jefferson returning to Baylor, and all of a sudden, the conference has the makings of being a real force in 2013-14. The drawback is at Texas where Sheldon McClellan and Julien Lewis, two of the Longhorns top players, are transferring elsewhere. It doesn’t look good for that program and it may be even worse for head coach Rick Barnes.

Texas baseball fails to make the Big 12 tournament: Maybe we saw this coming from 2012 when the Longhorns weren’t selected for the NCAA tournament. But it’s still stunning to see this once-proud program sit at the bottom of the Big 12 standings going into the final weekend of the regular season and not qualify for the tournament next week at Oklahoma City. I think it tells you how bad it is for coach Augie Garrido. The Longhorns featured a great pitching staff, which had one of the top ERAs in all of college baseball. However, this offense was so punchless, it was pretty much embarrassing. Garrido says he’s not ending his career like this and wants to restore the program to its rightful place. We’ll see if he really earns that opportunity.

Big 12-SEC basketball challenge: These conference matchups are spawned to create some interest in the non-conference season. This one will be in early December. These types of events all started with the Big 10-ACC challenge 15 years ago. The Big 12 and the then Pac 10 (now Pac 12) had a four-year run between 2007-2010, but there wasn’t the energy for it because of the inconsistent television package to help promote it. With ESPN getting involved, that should help. As a whole, the SEC hasn’t been a great conference for hoops in the last couple of years. Of course, Kentucky won the national title two years ago but then crashed hard last year by not making it to the NCAA tournament and then getting knocked out in the first round of the NIT. Florida has been solid with three consecutive Elite 8 appearances. But after that, it gets pretty thin. The featured matchups will be Kentucky vs. Baylor at Cowboys Stadium and Kansas at Florida. But Texas playing Vanderbilt and TCU facing Alabama just doesn’t have that buzz.

Lott Impact Trophy features Big 12: Texas defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, TCU defensive back Jason Verrett, Baylor safety Ahmad Dixon and linebacker Bryce Hager, Oklahoma State defensive lineman Calvin Barnett, Oklahoma cornerback Aaron Colvin and Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman are on the first watch list. All of these guys should make impact for their respective defenses this fall. Barnett is going to be an anchor up front for the Cowboys who should be the preseason favorite. Jeffcoat has something to prove after a torn pectoral muscle sidelined him most of 2012. Baylor’s defense will be better. By moving Dixon to safety, that’s a better fit for him. Hager will be an all conference preseason selection. Verrett had six interceptions for the Horned Frogs and guided a young secondary. Zimmerman is a great leader as is Colvin. With all that said, you hope that the conference will play better defense this fall.

Don’t forget the Big 12 Baseball tournament next week. The NCAA tournament selection will be on Memorial Day, May 27.

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Las Colinas, TX

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The 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship

Coverage of day one and two and a weekend preview of the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship

By Tommy Smith

Rattle and Hum Sports coverage of the HP Byron Nelson Championship from the TPC Four Seasons in Las Colinas. Keegan Bradley shoots 60 on Thursday. Jordan Spieth makes the cut again and looks to get into contention. Guan Tianlang is a 14-year-old eighth grader that looks like a veteran despite missing the cut. Plus our players to watch this weekend.

Click the link below to listen:

Rounds one and two of the HP Byron Nelson 5-17-13

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Keegan Bradley leads by three after two rounds of the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship
Photo by Rattle & Hum Sports

Afternoon tee times lead to higher scores at the HP Byron Nelson Championship

By Tommy Smith

Turn around is fair play at the 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship. The TPC Four Seasons has been vulnerable to low scores in the morning, while firmer greens and stiffer winds have led to higher scores in the afternoons.

Thursday morning, Keegan Bradley took advantage of the calm, humid conditions to break the course record while posting a remarkable 60. Like the field, Bradley found playing the afternoon flight more difficult as he posted a one under 69 to take a three-shot lead into the weekend. “The wind was definitely more difficult, it was blowing, it was gusting.” said Bradley. “Anything under par I think from here on out is a pretty good score out here.”

Tom Gillis converted on his early tee time Friday and posted the low round of the day with a 63. Gillis is tied for second at -8 for the tournament along with Sang-Moon Bae. “It was benign this morning, not much wind.” said Gillis. “The greens were soft and we played at such a good pace, you could get into a flow.”

Jesuit’s Jordan Spieth made the cut for the third time in three starts at the HP Byron Nelson. Spieth shot a two-under 68 Friday and is tied for 30th at three under. When asked about his good round Spieth said, “It was solid. A lot better ball striking. I think I only missed a couple of greens, so I improved on that aspect and hit a lot of great putts and made a few…”

Though he increased his lead Friday, Bradley did admit to feeling different than he did while posting his course record Thursday. “I am happy with shooting 69; didn’t feel comfortable today, just was a different feeling going off.” Like Thursday, Bradley made bogey on number one and 18. “The first hole his probably the easiest hole out here.” said Bradley. “I don’t know why I keep making bogey on that hole.”

Saturday’s third round of the HP Byron Nelson could be more of the same leading to a charge from the back of the field early. That bodes well for Spieth, who looks forward to having a number of supporters in the gallery. “It is going to be nice to get a larger following than what we have already had, which is great and it will help cheer me on I think.”

Television coverage of Saturday’s third round begins at 11:30 a.m. on the Golf Channel and will move to CBS at 2:00 p.m.

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PHOTO GALLERY – HP Byron Nelson Championship – Part I

Las Colinas, TX

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By Kevin Lonnquist

Big 12 Conference insider Kevin Lonnquist and Bryan Houston talk about the 2- game suspension of TCU DE Devonte Fields, the Big 12 players nominated for the Lott Award, Texas’ failure to make the Big 12 baseball tournament,  the general slump of the Texas athletic program,  what SMU Coach Larry Brown might do if offered the Nets NBA job.

Click the link below to listen in:

Kevin Lonnquist 5-17-2013

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