When Brown Went Down, the Pain Was Felt in Texas

DALLAS â€”  Texas A&M; defensive end Zerick Rollins remembers the pickup basketball games with Reggie Brown as much as he does playing football with him.

“He used to bring his younger brother over from Austin to play with us,� Rollins said Monday. “I guess his brother was about 13 the last time I saw him. Reggie would tell him, ‘This is the game for you, basketball. You can get hurt playing football.’ �

Brown, a Detroit Lion linebacker, suffered a spinal injury Dec. 21 in a game against the New York Jets that ended his career and could have ended his life if not for the emergency care he received on the field.

In a poignant scene that spoke volumes about the bond among athletes in a violent game, players from both teams knelt on their respective sidelines in prayer while waiting for the ambulance. Some wept.

But no players anywhere were more concerned than those at Texas A&M.;

Almost half the players who will meet UCLA on Thursday in the Cotton Bowl were Brown’s teammates two years ago, when he was an all-conference linebacker on his way to becoming the Lions’ first-round draft choice.

Nearly all of the current Aggies knew him.

During the off-season after his rookie year in 1996, just as he did in the summers while playing for Texas A&M;, Brown made regular visits to the weight room in College Station.

“He was a pro, making all this money,� linebacker Dat Nguyen said. “But there he was, wearing the same sweat pants as the rest of us.�

NCAA grinches Monday denied the Aggies’ request to wear No. 59 decals on their helmets during Thursday’s game. They are considering a less-formal tribute, such as writing Brown’s number on their socks.

Texas A&M; Coach R.C. Slocum, who has spoken to the Lion strength coach daily and passed on updates to his team, will travel to Detroit on Friday to see Brown.

“Reggie is the hardest worker I’ve ever known,� Rollins said. “Whether it was lifting weights or watching films, he was always doing more than everybody else.

“If anybody can make it back from this, he’ll make it. He’s going to make it.�

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Don’t invite Slocum and UCLA Coach Bob Toledo to the same barbecue. . . .

But they presumably will be on their best behavior when they appear at a news conference together today. . . .

Both have responded with polite answers when asked this week about Slocum’s dismissal of Toledo as Aggie offensive coordinator after a third consecutive Cotton Bowl loss in 1994. . . .

Toledo, however, doesn’t appreciate it one bit more now than he did then. . . .

Slocum tries to deflate the issue with humor. . . .

“We could meet at midfield and arm wrestle,� he said. “Or maybe we could go three rounds. That would sell some tickets in a hurry.� . . .

Cotton Bowl officials would like something to motivate ticket buyers. . . .

Responding to an announcement that the Bruins had sold fewer than 2,000 from their allotment, Dallas Morning News columnist Cathy Harasta wrote, “Their portable fan base would fit on a moped.� . . .

For Aggie fans this year, you wouldn’t need much more than one of their tractors. . . .

They’ve bought fewer than 7,000 tickets. . . .

Although he’s from Wichita Falls, Texas, Skip Hicks wasn’t heavily recruited by Texas A&M; or most of the other major college teams in the vicinity. . . .

He wanted to go to Oklahoma State, but their coaches suddenly cooled on him. . . .

The No. 1 Texas high school running back in most recruiters’ eyes that year was Dallas Kimball’s Delon Washington, who chose USC. . . .

Remember that on Feb. 4, the first day colleges can sign high school football recruits. . . .

You hear a lot about local high school running backs such as Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Justin Fargas, Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Mike McNair, Tustin’s DeShaun Foster and Pasadena Muir’s Sultan McCullough. . . .

But no one can guarantee their success at the next level. . . .

No high school recruit should have the pressure placed on him that was on Ron Powlus when ABC’s Beano Cook predicted the quarterback would win two Heismans at Notre Dame. . . .

Powlus would have been satisfied with one Independence Bowl win.

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While wondering what’s humanitarian about playing a bowl game in Boise, I was thinking: Larry Smith is still going to have to show me, Paul Hackett will be on campus sooner than he would like, I haven’t changed my mind about Denver and Green Bay in the Super Bowl.