Issue date: 6/18/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: File - The Battalion The Battalion staff members recall their favorite moments from the 2007-2008 sports year at A&M. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: File - The Battalion Texas A&M's Donald Sloan drives to the basket against Texas in January 2008 at Reed Arena. The Aggies dominated the Longhorns, 80-63. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: File - The Battalion Texas A&M's Kenny Brown (15) and Jordan Peterson (27) fight to strip the ball from Texas' Jamaal Charles in November 2007 at Kyle Field. The Aggies defeated the Longhorns 38-30. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: File - The Battalion Texas A&M's Josh Carter pulls up for a jumper against Baylor in January 2008 at Reed Arena. Baylor won the game 116-110 in five overtimes. [Click to enlarge]

Lone star thumping

Men's basketball - January 30
Texas A&M 80 - Texas 63

Written by John Kennedy

My favorite moment from this athletic year at Texas A&M was the men's basketball defeat of "t.u." at Reed arena. Texas is always a big opponent, but recently the match up has become arguably the best in the Big 12 South. The head coach of Texas, Rick Barnes, made a statement regarding that Reed arena wasn't that loud and the yells from the students were an outdated practice. He then stated the infamous "watermelon" quote as a means of making fun of our traditional yells. The Aggies thoroughly dominated the Longhorns the entire game and as the final buzzer sounded with the Aggies winning 83-60, the 12th man let Coach Barnes hear the words of his own yell come back to haunt him.

Longest day

Football - September 8, 2007
Texas A&M 47 - Fresno State 45, three overtimes

Written by Kevin Alexander

The A&M football game against Fresno St. was by far my favorite moment of the year for four reasons that I think everyone can appreciate. One: I enjoy a good tragedy complete with fatalistic foreshadowing. Hello A&M football! Two: Because I sat on the alumni side, I had the pleasure of listening to a 400-pound behemoth attempt to predict every play before it happened. I think he was right maybe twice. I'm guessing even Coach Fran did better than that. Three: We won that game - it was one of three wins or something like that. And four: I got a sunburn.

Two-step

Football - November 23, 2007
Texas A&M 38 - Texas 30

Written by Jon Eilts

Any time the Aggies defeat Texas it has a special meaning to us, but this years' football game against "t.u." meant a little more to the seniors. They had yet to see us defeat Texas in Kyle Field. In fact, the last class to see us win against Texas at home was the class of 2003, when they were freshman in 1999 following the bonfire collapse. Also, this win marked the end of the Franchione coaching era when he resigned following the game. Overall it was a good day for Aggie football fans everywhere and hopefully a new beginning to the dominance in Kyle Field.

Triple threat

Softball - June 1
Texas A&M 1 - Florida 0

Written by Jack Molitor

I thought this game would go 16 innings the way Megan Gibson and Stacey Nelson were pitching. I thought Nelson was especially unhittable, which was why I was shocked when she gave up the two-out hit to Macie Morrow in the ninth inning. Shock turned to disbelief in the next at-bat when freshman Kelsey Spittler smashed an 0-2 pitch down the first place line to score the only run of the game and vault the Aggies to the finals. I know A&M lost in the finals, but it was very exciting.

Wee small hours

Men's basketball - January 23
Baylor 116 - Texas A&M 110, five overtimes

Written by Travis Yoesting

It was Bryan Davis' coming out party. It was a Curtis Jerrells free throw-shooting exhibition. It was the longest game in Baylor, A&M and Big 12 history. It was epic. Standing in the student section throughout the game, I could feel the exhaustion of the players who pressed on indefinitely. Time after time teams failed to win the game. Neither could score the winning basket, make the decisive defensive play, or build the lead. Despite the Aggie loss, it was an excellent game to watch; both teams played their hearts out. It was particularly gratifying as it was inexplicably not shown on TV. Knowing that you were one of 12,234 people able to watch the game made the experience all the more meaningful.

Put it all together

All sports - 2007-2008
Texas A&M 10.5 - Texas 8.5

Written by Kenny Ryan

I happen to have some very good friends who follow the burnt orange side of the force - clearly the dark side. Anytime I can tell them that the maroon and white has scored another victory, well, typically an end-zone dance or equally appropriate celebration accompanies it. This past year saw Texas A&M beat the hell out of "t.u." in more sports than any other year in my 21-year-old memory, and I think we all know that deserves a "BOOM-SHAKALAKAH." For that reason my favorite sports memory of this year is when we laid our hands on the Lone Star Showdown trophy and brought that baby home. Oh, and a third straight year of more Big 12 trophies than anyone else is pretty baller too. Gig 'em, Aggies!"

Glimpse of brilliance

Men's basketball - March 22
UCLA 51 - Texas A&M 49

Written by Mike Teague

After underachieving in the regular season, the Aggie basketball team limped into the NCAA tournament with low expectations. In the second round, A&M looked severely overmatched against top-seeded UCLA in nearby Anaheim, Calif. The Bruins were stunned as the Aggies' ball movement and defense gave them their best performance all season. After A&M extended the lead to 10, Kevin Love and UCLA stormed back to take the lead in the final 10 seconds. This set up Donald Sloan getting hacked as he put up the final shot of the game. Although the Aggies were outscored, they shocked the country and lost due to one of the worst no-calls in history.

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