Phelps a poor role model

Michael Phelps captivated the world with his performance in last summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.

After winning eight gold medals and setting seven world records, he returned home a hero, with more fame than any of us could possibly imagine.

Sponsorships, a Sports Illustrated cover, a Saturday Night Live hosting opportunity and millions upon millions of adoring fans welcomed him back to our country.

He had everything a 23-year-old could ever want. He could do no wrong.

For a program that at once went 41 seasons without a bowl win, TCU has rebounded nicely to become one of the elite teams in the country.

Once forced to stock a team full of players that the University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University didn't want, the football program has become more than just an afterthought in the world of Texas recruiting.

On Wednesday, 20 players signed National Letters of Intent to play here, including a handful of four-star recruits.

Wednesday night was not a good one for University of Utah star center Luke Nevill.

But it was a great one for guard Carlon Brown.

The Ute sophomore put in 14 points and a career high 12 rebounds as the University of Utah used a strong second half performance to hand the Horned Frogs a stinging 62-54 loss at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Wednesday night, their third straight.

Numbers can only say so much about a person.

With an essay now required for study abroad applications, this new approach gives The Center for International Studies a better look at the level of interest from students rather than just their qualifications. In the past, the only requirement was a grade point average and while it gives some insight into how focused students are on their grades, it doesn't offer their personal perspective on the experiences that lie ahead.

The football program announced major changes in the coaching staff yesterday, including promoting Jarrett Anderson and Justin Fuente to co-offensive coordinators.

Anderson was wide receivers coach the last eight seasons and will now coach the running backs along with being co-offensive coordinator.

Fuente is entering his third year with the Frogs and was the running backs coach before being promoted. Fuente will also coach the quarterbacks, moving from running backs coach.

The student body president vetoed a controversial bill Tuesday that would remove the runoff system from Student Government Association elections. The bill, which passed in the House of Student Representatives with minimal objection, lacked the specificity needed to prevent future Judicial Board hearings during election season, she said.

Kelsie Johnson, SGA president, said the runoff system adds to the legitimacy of the election process because it requires the winner to attain a majority of votes.

Two losses have pushed the Horned Frogs out of the conference lead and into a tie for second place. But the team hopes to get back on track tonight at home against the University of Utah, which is currently tied for first place in the Mountain West Conference.

Poor shooting performances have plagued the Horned Frogs (13-8, 4-3 MWC) in their last two games, each 17-point losses to the University of New Mexico and San Diego State University.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers' 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night, former TCU defensive end Jared Retkofsky became the 13th Horned Frog in school history to become a Super Bowl champion.Retkofsky...

The women's basketball team will wrap up the first half of Mountain West Conference play tonight on the road against the University of Utah.

The Lady Frogs (13-7, 5-2 MWC) are tied for second in the conference with the University of New Mexico and San Diego State University. The team erased a 16-point deficit to beat SDSU at home last week.

The Utes are 14-6 overall but have gotten off to a sizzling 7-0 start in conference play and are winners of their last 10 games.

Before we break our arms patting ourselves on the backs because the plan to have a natural gas well on campus has apparently been avoided, maybe we should read between the lines.

It's true that if Chesapeake Energy's south side plan is approved by the city of Fort Worth, we will no longer have a gas well near the stadium, but the proposed well didn't disappear. In fact, it mysteriously multiplied.

Opposition from the influential TCU community put politicians under pressure and brought lots of unwanted attention to the reality of urban drilling in the city.