It was a year of bittersweet passings in Texas sports.
The state lost two icons when trailblazing UTEP basketball coach Don Haskins and TCU gridiron great Sammy Baugh died. But their deaths, at the least, permitted us a pause to celebrate their accomplishments.
Baugh was a Texan through and through -- born in Temple, attended TCU and bought a ranch in West Texas that he returned to just as soon as he could. But his retirement to ranching came only after establishing himself as one of the best pro football players in the game's history.
Haskins was so much a Texan that he's forgiven for being born in Oklahoma. He was an old-school coach whose team toiled in anonymity until 1966, when Haskins started five black players and won the NCAA title. That was a first and it was a game-changer, creating previously denied opportunities for African-American players everywhere.
Here's a look at Slingin' Sammy, "The Bear" and some of the other top sports stories in Texas in 2008:
DON HASKINS:
The Bear has always insisted he wasn't trying to make a social statement; he was simply starting his best players -- and they happened to be black. But when Haskins and Texas Western (now UTEP) won the 1966 NCAA championship with an all-black starting five, doors that had always been closed to black athletes began opening. Haskins died in September at age 78 in his beloved El Paso.
SAMMY BAUGH:
Slingin' Sammy Baugh was a cowboy and a quarterback, probably in that order. Perhaps the best all-around player in pro football history, Baugh once led the league in passing, punting and defensive interceptions in the same season. After winning a national title at TCU and two pro championships with the Washington Redskins, Baugh retired to his West Texas ranch. He died in December in Rotan at the age of 94.
BOB KNIGHT:
The Indiana and then Texas Tech coach did everything loud in his memorable career. He coached loud, argued loud, berated loud, lived loud. But he retired quietly, on a weekday in the middle of the season with almost no notice. He won three national titles and more games than any other Division I men's coach. He'll be remembered as a flawed genius.
NASTIA LIUKIN:
It took an amazing effort to steal some of the spotlight from Olympic star Michael Phelps, but Liukin did it. The North Texas gymnast won the coveted all-around gold, helped the U.S. team win silver and picked up three more medals. She was graceful, elegant and -- apparently unlike some of her Chinese rivals -- of age.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL:
It was a season to remember in the Big 12, and not without considerable controversy. Texas beat Oklahoma, Texas Tech knocked off Texas and Oklahoma shellacked Texas Tech. Each team finished with a single loss. How'd it shake out? With Oklahoma playing for a national title, Longhorn fans outraged and the Red Raiders demoted to the Cotton Bowl.
JOSH HAMILTON:
It was a breakthrough season for Hamilton, who returned to a sober life of crushing baseballs after years of addiction to drugs and alcohol that included eight stints in rehab. The crowning moment came on national TV during the All-Star Home Run Derby. With the Yankee Stadium crowd chanting his name, Hamilton hit a record 28 homers in the first round, including 13 in a row and three that traveled at least 500 feet. "I got chills," he said.
HIGH SCHOOL STEROIDS:
It was the nation's largest steroids testing program, and it was supposed to root out the cheats among Texas high school athletes. The good news: After testing more than 10,000 students, the program rooted out just two steroids users. The bad news: The testing cost $6 million -- or about $3 million per cheater.
ROGER CLEMENS-STEROIDS:
The pitcher's trainer outed Clemens to baseball investigators last year as a steroid cheat. Trainer Brian McNamee even claims he has proof because he saved gauze, tissue and needles -- which everyone can agree is just gross. The story got some, ahem, juice in 2008 because of ongoing developments in Clemens' defamation lawsuit against McNamee. Stay tuned.
PACMAN JONES:
Call it the saga of the would-be Cowboys cornerback. He's traded to Dallas but still suspended. He's reinstated. He fights with his bodyguard. Oops, suspended again. Then reinstated. Then injured, maybe for the season. No wait, he's back! That's perhaps too much drama for a player with zero interceptions and a 4.8 punt return average.
TRACK STAR:
Bonnie Richardson was the only athlete from Class 1A Rochelle to qualify for the state track and field meet. So she won the team title by herself. She won the high jump and the 200, took second in the long jump and the 100 and finished third in the discus. Richardson earned 42 team points for Rochelle, enough to edge team runner-up Chilton's 36 points. The UIL says it's the first time they can remember a single athlete winning a girl's team title.
JASON KIDD TRADE:
Kidd's return to Dallas was supposed to energize the Mavericks. Instead, Kidd was outplayed in the playoffs by the new best point guard in the league, New Orleans' Chris Paul. Kidd is still one of the top floor leaders in the world, but his best days appear behind him.
JUNE COMETH:
The ubiquitous billboards in the Dallas area heralded the arrival of new SMU football coach June Jones, fresh off a historic turnaround at Hawaii. The truth, however, was that June Loseth -- a lot, as it turned out. The Mustangs went 1-11, no better than the previous season.
