Lady Badgers stuck in one tough district
Jeremy Heath

Is Christmas really just four days away?

I can remember when December moved slower than road construction. Now it's gone quicker than a hiccup. I must be getting old.

Oh well.

Merry Christmas.

Here's a little of this and a little of that from the mind of this old-man sports reporter.

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Talk about a tough district.

The Lampasas High School girls' basketball team (7-11) is pretty good, but let's put into perspective how tough it could be to grab a playoff spot in District 25-4A on the girls' side.

Marble Falls is 14-1. The Lady Mustangs are ranked No. 1 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll and No. 2 in the Texas Girls Coaches Association poll. Pflugerville Connally, which is coached by LHS football assistant Stephen Hermesmeyer's sister-in-law Angie Hermesmeyer, is 16-5 and ranked 15th in the TABC poll and fifth in the TGCA poll.

Unless either of those two teams were to fall apart or suffer key injuries -- two things no high school sports fan would ever wish on another team -- that basically leaves six teams to fight for one playoff spot.

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On the boys' side, it's more about a tough draw than it is a tough district -- and the district is pretty darn tough.

The Badgers opened 25-4A play last week with a 60-42 loss at Austin Lake Travis. Now they are scheduled to play at defending 4A state semifinalist Connally tonight. Their next district tilt will be at home against Pflugerville Hendrickson on Jan. 2.

Connally and Hendrickson are the class of the district, and Lake Travis might very well have proved with its win over the Badgers that it is the third-best team in 25-4A. If that's the case, LHS opens district play against the top three teams, with two of those games on the road. Theoretically, the Badgers could play great basketball in all three contests and still start 0-3 in district.

Ouch.

LHS head coach Scott Harrelson, however, looks at the situation as a potential positive.

"I think it's good that we are on the road for two of the first three because we know we'll have more confidence the second time around at home," he said.

"But the key will be the attitude of the team after the first three. We could start 0-3 and still be playoff contenders by beating the teams we should beat and then beating one or two of the top teams at any point during the season. It also lets us know right away if we have what it takes."

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As a lifelong Houston Astros fan, I was saddened to see Jeff Bagwell's name appear on former Sen. George Mitchell's recently released report on the use of steroids and human growth hormone in baseball.

Most names on the list were of very little surprise to anyone, especially me. Bagwell, though? That one hurts.

Thank God for Craig Biggio.

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Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams was suspended without pay for one game for violating the rule implemented because of him.

In Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Texas Stadium, Williams tackled Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb from behind by grabbing the back of his shoulder pads and dragging him down. It was Williams' third violation this season of the "horse collar" rule, instituted after then- Eagles receiver Terrell Owens broke his leg on a similar tackle by Williams in 2004.

I was at Sunday's game, and based on the definition of the rule, it was a good call. Here's the problem I have with it: How else is a player supposed to tackle another from behind?

Anyone who has ever played organized football can tell you there's no way -- unless you're an Olympic-caliber sprinter -- to make up enough ground on a player who has a head start to get an arm around him and tackle him without sacrificing several more yards gained.

Don't believe me? Go out in the front yard and try it.

The rule is idiotic.

Luckily for the Cowboys, the way Williams has played this year, they're not going to miss him too badly Saturday at Carolina.

Jeremy Heath is the Dispatch Record's sports editor. His column appears Fridays. He can be

contacted via e-mail at jheath@lampasas.com. hunters