Aggieland's 'Idol' Hopeful

Much to the chagrin of all the Castro-nauts out there, Jason Castro '09 was eliminated Wednesday night on America's favorite reality show, American Idol.

Castro, the junior construction science major from Rockwall, finished an astonishing 4th out of the nearly 100,000 people that auditioned. His dreadlocks, good looks and dreamy lyrics helped him rise from obscurity to his place today, as a national celebrity.

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, Castro and the other three finalists were mobbed by fans outside of their hotel.

Regarding the scene at the hotel, Castro said "It was crazy, They were all just screaming their heads off. It was fun."

After his elimination, Castro asked two of his friends to take two large suitcases back to Texas for him. The contents of those cases...Fan mail. He had already shipped 2 other large trunks home.

He shot the Tambourine man... <--his quote from his facebook

During Castro's Tuesday night's performance, he butchered the words to Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan. Rising concerns that he was trying to be eliminated or that he purposely screwed up.

"I definitely did not do that on purpose," Castro said via conference call "I couldn't believe I forgot such a popular line, something that's, like, written on your soul. Somehow, it slipped my mind."

"I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley, his first performance of the night was not well received by the `Idol' judges. Simon Cowell said it was "atrocious."

When asked about his undoing and his elimination Castro cited his inexperience.

"I think what it came down to was just my inexperience. Once we doubled up on songs, I wasn't able to focus." Castro said. "My mind was just split, and I just couldn't deliver either/or."

12th Man for Castro

Over the last several weeks, several organizations came together to throw Idol watching parties in the MSC Flagroom. People whooped every time he flashed up on the screen.

Castro, a member of the Aggie Men's Club, was honored by all the support he received from his Aggie brethren.

Castro said, "All the support was tremendous. I'm honored they all wanted me to do so well. I am anxious to get back and see everyone. I just don't know when that will be."

iTunes sensation

After two of his performances, Castro not only popularized himself with fans, but he also re-birthed forgotten or underrated songs.

This first sensation was after his performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." The song made popular by Jeff Buckley, shot up the charts and became the #1 most downloaded song on iTunes following Castro's performance.

Jason Castro - Hallelujah

Jason Castro - Over the Rainbow

The second time our favorite dreadhead made iTunes a ton of money was after his performance of "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland. There was a version of this song, which was performed with a ukulele by a large Hawaiian man, who Castro called Brotha Iz. iTunes went nuts after this melodic tune hit the air, again becoming the #1 downloaded song of the week.

We here at 12MC are proud of our Aggie friend for doing as well as he did. Great job, Jason!

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SPRING GAME - The Aggies hit the field Saturday night for the annual Maroon and White game. This will be a great opportunity to see the team with a couple months under the Sherminator. We will get our first look at the pro-style offense the Ag's will run in 2008. There are some position changes that I am looking forward to checking out including - (1)J-train as a fullback, (2)Billy Chavis as a LB and maybe a TE, (3)Von Miller as a LB (can't wait to see him in action), and (4)Jordan Peterson moving to safety. CLICK HERE for a speech by Coach Sherman and a list of the day's activities.

BASEBALL TAKES ON BAYLOR - The Aggie baseball team looks to continue its Big 12 dominance against the Bears this weekend. The series opens Friday night at Olsen, then moves to thriving dumphole of Waco for a game on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The Aggies have swept their past THREE Big 12 opponents and currently sit alone in first place atop the conference.

SOFTBALL TAKES ON KANSAS - The Lady Ag's are currently ranked 4th in the nation and sit in 1st place in the Big 12. The host KU for two games at the Aggie Softball Complex. Sidenote - it is really amazing how good our Women's sports program has become.....if only the Men could follow suit.

NBA PLAYOFFS BEGIN - I don't know who you root for, but you should be excited for this year's NBA Playoffs. The Western Conference matchups are all a toss up (well maybe not LA vs. Denver), and every series should be entertaining. Games begin on Saturday with my beloved Mavs playing New Orleans. My own prediction....Mavs take the series in 7. To make this Aggie related - both Acie Law IV (Atlanta Hawks) and Antoine Wright (THE Dallas Mavericks) will be in the playoffs...here's to hoping Acie can get it going in his rookie year.

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Every now and again, someone above any allegiances comes around and everyone takes notice of their greatness no matter who they normally root for. Today, Brett Favre said goodbye to the NFL, its fans, and the Green Bay Packers. After 17 record setting season, #4 is hanging up the cleats. There may be more talented QB's. QB's may one day break all of his records. But there was never a QB that epitomized the game of football better.

In honor of his remarkable career enjoy this incredible 2 minute video clip dedicated to one of the NFL's finest.

Feel free to leave your favorite memory of Brett Favre in the comments section.

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Today two brave souls usher in a new era of The 12th Manchild. These two trail blazers strive to push 12thMC to the highest levels of cheap entertainment, and no, we aren't talking about the Silk Stocking, though that would be quite a feat. When the opportunity presented itself for two normal A&M fans to take over what appears to be a sleeping giant, we knew we couldn't say no.

But before we go any further we want to offer a huge thanks to Brad for taking 12thMC this far and allowing us this chance to take over. So without any further adieu, here are your newest editors of 12thMC:

Plunk and I each enjoyed the benefits of great jobs while at A&M that scored us behind-the-scenes access to several Aggie sporting events. Plunk worked regularly for FSN when they broadcast our home games. Have you ever gotten pissed off at FSN for messing up the score at the bottom of the screen? That was Plunk. And just as you were screaming at the TV, Plunk was hearing a string of expletives, as well, from the producer. I worked in the Sports Information Office for all five years of my time in College Station and enjoyed a birds-eye view for every home football game in the press box. These jobs allowed us the chance to see a completely different side of A&M sports, and though they do not give you any extra reason to come read our opinions, I thought it was worth noting (if not for credibility at least to introduce you to Plunk's tendency to choke under pressure).

So, what is our commitment to 12thMC?  Simple. We strive to provide a controlled and cautious optimism towards Aggie sports no matter how hard that may be. We will never get caught up in the whole sky is falling, jump off the bandwagon, our season is worthless b/c of one bad game trash. And no, we won't come on here and preach how we are destined to win the Big 12 because we are 4-0 at the start of October. We just want to provide our opinions and thoughts towards what is happening with the Maroon & White (and maybe a clever "that's what she said" joke every now and again).

From the bleachers of Kyle, to the hardwood at Reed and G Rollie, the magic at Olsen, and the crowded sidelines at the Aggie Soccer Complex, we love everything A&M and encourage you to join us here at The 12th Manchild whether you share that same passion or not.

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November 23, 2007 will go down in Aggie lore as "Good Friday". A day of triumph, hope, and new beginnings.

1. AGS BTHO t.u. 38-30

In front of an all-time record 88,253 crowd, the once vaunted Aggie offense returned from months in cryostasis. Stephen McGee reconnected with his HS roots, throwing for a career high 362 yds, 100 of which came in the first quarter. The defense line played with their hair on fire, coming up with big 3rd down stops, and sacking Colt McCoy and forcing turnovers. Goodson showcased his electrifying ability to turn any play into 6 pts, in doing so, making everybody's 2008 Heisman watch list.

Most significantly, in his final game as the head coach at Texas A&M, Coach Fran gave us his Opus Magnum. The staunchly conservative tactician called for gadget after gadget and most shockingly, a succesful fake field goal. All of which were in the 1st HALF!! The fake field goal run by TJ Sanders set the crowd on fire. As the wildly popular senior 3rd-string QB crossed the goal-line, the euphoric cheering and pandemonium was of a level that had been missing from Kyle Field for far too long.

In his farewell to the 12th Man, Coach Fran gave us 2 things. With his 2nd straight victory of Texas, he restored the rivalry to it's glory days. Most importantly, he made Kyle Field fun again.

2. Fran Fired

Having reached an agreement on the term's of Fran's buyout earlier in the week, Bill Byrne stuck with his mantra of waiting until the end of the regular season to make his coaching evaluations.

He waited approximately 60 minutes.

In a press conference that had all the feeling of an execution by firing-squad, Fran read from a prepared statement, was thanked by Bill Byrne, and was ushered off into the shameful period of Aggie history where he will remain.

3. Aggie Basketball wins NIT Tip-Off

Headed into the 2007-08 season, many (including myself) expected the Ags to struggle through a series of growing pains as the team adjusted to the Turgeon system of Aggie Basketball. The Ags annihilated Ohio State 70-47 on national tv to take the NIT crown and put that nonsense to rest.

While the 6-0 Aggies still have a ways to go before we can properly evaluate their conference/post-season play potential, the 12 players contributing to the 75 ppg and the 36.9 opposing FG% bodes well for Coach Turge and the Ags.

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I have about 7 unfinished Big XII previews sitting in front of me, and all I feel like doing is watching more 30 Rock clips.

Sam McGuffie, after narrowing his list of schools down to Texas A&M and Michigan, announced his commitment to Michigan on Houston-area tv last night. The move comes as no surprise to Aggies following his recruitment, and it frees up Fran and the coaching staff to focus all of their recruiting attention on Desto RB Cyrus Gray

There are certain experiences in life which we tend to hold more dear than others: first college football game, first kiss, first time we were caught stalking an ex, etc. Here at The 12th Manchild, we've had another first. From Pitchfork:

Looks like I've just about conquered the known universe..

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So a month after Kevin Weinberg left his job as Big XII commissioner for the Titanic Big Ten Network, the Big XII has just now hired a search firm. Now I don't ink million dollar deals over breakfast or anything like that..but shouldn't this process be going at a slightly quicker pace. Sure it's the offseason right now, but at this rate, the Big XII will basically be dead in the water and without leadership for atleast all of Q3.

Be sure to head on over to Stiles Points today and check out his latest installment of College Football at its Best, highlighting Texas A&M and featuring an interview with yours truly. Questions range from The 12th Man and Bonfire, to the greatest games I've witnessed. I tried to represent A&M to the rest of the country as best I could , hope yall approve. excerpt:

Apparently Acie Law is wreckin shop in Utah this summer.

welp, that's all that's really going on. not a whole lot of news. In more personal news, I recently acquired a set of these:

those combined with an excessive amount of espresso this morning have me in a synth-rock induced haze. This is what's on repeat, and pretty much what I'm seeing as I walk around campus...

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BREAKING NEWS: The AP is reporting that Texas A&M has signed a contract with Adidas. In other news, the solar system is heliocentric, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and we landed on the moon.

In case you haven't already seen the photos of the new uniforms:

Our personal favorite aspect of the new uniforms:

Class Councils revealed the 2007 Maroon Out shirt last week

I'm a big fan of the T-Star and I like the 12th Man image on the back.

This year's official Maroon Out game: 11.23 The Lone Star Showdown

Shirts are $5, get yours here.

Someone has posted a badass video featuring Mike Goodson and Jorvorskie Lane highlights. Although YouTube has degraded the video quality, but the soundtrack alone makes it worth the watch ("Brush Your Bittersweet Shoulders Off" a Jay-Z vs. the Verve mashup). That, and the trail of bodies and jocks that these two left on the field.
After watching this video, it's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that these guys are merely two weapons in our massive offensive arsenal.

Oh we're not done with videos, here's Ag9496's 3rd video this offseason "Remember the Name". Again, this guy's source of footage is incredibly deep and there are great rarely seen angles. Only drawback: Fort Minor..
Remember_The_Name.wmv

And finally..

Major props and congratulations are in order for Peter Bean of BON. The cover is so sexy and glossy that I'm almost tempted to read the blasphemy that is surely contained within. A quick glance at the contributing authors reads like a who's who of CFB's most influential bloggers as well as the Texas beat writers for the Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle.

Peter's The Eyes of Texas 2007 is a monumental, groundbreaking glimpse into the future of sports media. A future where the traditional perceptions and boundaries between bloggers, MSM, and recruitniks are broken down for the sake of quality sports information and analysis.

Take note Rachel Cohen, Brent Zwerneman, Billy Liucci, and fellow Aggie bloggers, Peter and the Longhorns have set the bar very high.

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welp, the rain is subsiding and the temperature is rising, leaving us in the middle of another hot Texas summer. Instead of watching the grass grow, I figured I'd drive by campus and check out how some of our new athletic facilities are coming along.

McFerrin Athletic Center

Looks like this project is on schedule to be completed by the start of Football workouts in August. The 2nd "Barn" (these buildings will undoubtedly be referred to as barns) has been covered with the coated fabric, a "Building Champions" logo has been painted on the south barn, and it appears that all that is left is the construction and installation of the various offices and locker rooms within.

Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball


It appears that the new basketball facilities have faced some heinous construction delays, most likely having to do with the month long deluge the Brazos valley suffered. Apparently this area has notoriously unstable soil (this delayed the construction of the Indoor facilities last year), and is mot liley delaying the construction of the foundation. As is evident from the photo, there is vary little construction, mostly drilling holes (which were subsequently flooded) and laying a small amount of rebar. It will be a shock if this facility is ready in time for conference play, much less the start of the season.

Yet there have been some very nice additions to Reed arena in the past couple months. Reed no longer features the ugly orange barrels and barricades directing traffic and segregating certain lots, they've been replaced with some very nice looking swinging gates.

I'll be sure keep yall posted on any other construction updates I come across.

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I'm back in College Station and ready to get back to regularly scheduled posting. What I missed while at home and traveling:

Acie Law became the highest-drafted Aggie in program history. As predicted in many mock drafts, the Atlanta Hawks took Acie with the 11th pick in the NBA Draft, passing over the much-hyped Mike Conley, Jr. with their 3rd pick and taking Florida forward, Al Horford.

In other NBA/Aggie Basketball news, the Houston Rockets have picked up AK for their summer leage team. The summer league will give Kavaliauskas more time and exposure to NBA and European scouts. Best of luck to AK this summer, he's this close to realizing a life-long dream of playing professional basketball.

Nope, still not done with Basketball news. The Aggie Basketball team agreed to a home-and-home with Alabama, starting this year at Reed Arena. The addition of Alabama to the schedule boosts an already solid non-conference schedule that includes hosting the pre-season NIT, @ Arizona, LSU, and the A&M Hosted Shelby Metcalf Classic, which is sure to have some MVC participants this year.

In football news, more watch lists were announced, with more Aggies listed. Aggies currently on Watch Lists:

EDIT: Wallace is also on the Outland Trophy watch list

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This week's roundtable comes from Ryan of TAMABINPO.

1. New uniforms have been unveiled. What are your favorite & least favorite thing about them?
   
   

   My favorite part is definitely the re-incorporation of grey into the uniform, brings back a look reminiscent of the original Wrecking Crew and Kyle with the artificial turf. My least favorite aspect of the new uniforms is the stripes down the side. It's just too much throwback for my taste. While I'll withhold final judgment on the uniforms until I can see them on Mike Goodson as he's flying down the sideline, I think it's fair to say the stripes are going to be uggles.
   
   

2. Do you have plans to make any away games this season? If so, which one(s), why that game....and can I come too?
   
   Last year was my season on the road, drove to every road game. This year, with a larger course load and graduation looming in December, my travel will be much more limited. The only away game I'll be for sure attending this year will be OU. My younger brother will be starting there in the fall and the game looks to be the start of a great family rivalry. Although, if given the right circumstances, I'd love to make the trip up to Lincoln for a game.
   
   
3. Favorite Aggie players past & present -- name'em (and if you have a good story feel free to share it)
   
   Being that both of my parents were from Kansas (KU & K-State), I was never really exposed to Texas Aggie sports until I'd decided to attend A&M in the fall of '02 (* enrolling in fall '03), even then it was difficult to follow a team, what with film and lifting on Saturday mornings after football games and then afternoons taken up by whatever game my brother was playing in that afternoon. Thus, my favorite players are all very recent:
   • Chad Schroeder - The kind of player that never got the national attention he deserved. If you needed someone to make a catch, you go to Chad.
     
     
     
   • Jaxson Appel - a source of strength for the Aggie Defense when it was at its weakest.
     
     
     
   
   
   
4. Pre-season magazines have recently hit the stands. Do you get into them? If so how many do you buy and which is your favorite.
   
   As a blogger and avid college football fan, pre-season magazines are essential. This year I picked up the Big XII editions of Lindy's and Athlon. The magazines serve as a foundation of information that provide me with a starting point when researching and previewing the upcoming season. Then again, pre-season magazines are riddled with errors and outdated info: I looked at Phil Steele's preview of A&M this year, one of the boxes is titled "Texas Tech". Nice work fellas..
   
   
5. How closely do you follow recruiting? Are you:
   a) Recruiting guru: "OMG! Have you seen the 2009 recruiting rankings yet?"
   b) Casual follower: "Awesome! I just read that we inked a 5* tailback!"
   c) Couldn't care less: "just suit'em up and we'll see how we do in the fall."
   
   I fall somewhere between B & C. I do pay the $10/month for Liucci's M&W Report, checking for updates every day, but I'm less interested in the player ratings than I am the battles between schools. The player ratings are more based on "what programs are targeting which players" than an actual evaluation of a player's talent. The recruiting battles between schools are good, some times sobering, indicators of a program's perception and future potential.
   
   
6. What do you think are our most overrated & underrated strengths for this upcoming season?
   
   Overrated: I'm going to upset a lot of people by saying this... Quarterback. Stephen McGee is tough as nails and will find a way to win a football game, unless the way to win is passing deep. I'm not saying he can't throw deep, or he won't throw deep this coming season, it's just been unreliable. His inability to complete simple passes against Tech in '06 cost us the game.
   
   Underrated: Everyone is talking about our offensive line and how experienced it's going to be, but few mention how dominating we'll be on the defensive line. With Red Bryant healthy on the interior and Michael Bennett and Chris Harrington on the ends, this line should be suffocating.
   
   

Don't forget to check Off Tackle and Aggie Sports Blog for their responses as well.

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Kyle over at Dawg Sports thinks the countdown needs is getting a little bit homoerotic and in critical need of some female infusion. I'll take it under advisement..

As Aggieland Outfitter's houston-based PR firm has posted in the diaries section, Aggieland Outfitters and the UT System have settled the dispute over the "Saw 'em Off!" logo. Kalouze, the proprietor of AO, agreed to pay $25K will be able to continue to sell the "Saw'em Off" brand with a modified logo. The new logo:

Aggies9496 released a new video over the weekend, pretty good video, a lot of angles I hadn't seen before. The guy must have some kind of hook up at Fox Sports. Even if you're not an Aggie, the 2:49 (- 1:19 on the embed) mark makes it worth watching.

Posting could be light this week, I'm going to be doing a lot of travelling back and forth between CS and Dallas.

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