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BY: [@MattMackowiak]([link removed])

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**FRIDAY** || 1/24/25

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**Good Friday morning.**
_Thank you for being a paid subscriber._

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_“If something of importance is known in Texas, Matt knows it. With a decline in the number of credible news organizations, the Must Read Texas morning email is indispensable for anyone that wants to continue to be informed.” – Former U.S. Senator __**Phil Gramm**__ (R-TX)_

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* **TOP NEWS**

“**Many UT applicants got deferrals in early action process,**” Houston Chronicle's **Samantha Ketterer **— “**Skye Ross**’ parents and siblings met her at the pizzeria, ready to cheer her on at work while she opened her admissions letter from the University of Texas at Austin.

She had waited her whole life for this moment, though the real waiting began in October when she met an “early-action” submissions deadline promising results on Jan. 15. The day now here, the UT-loving family crowded around Ross at a high top table, and she opened the email to something she didn't know was possible.

The university told her it would give her its answer in a month – alongside the students who applied by the “regular decision” deadline in December.

“It felt like a denial,” mother **Tiffani Ross** said. “It’s very confusing when kids pull that up. When they applied early they should have a decision early, that’s the whole point.”

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Only 5,000 students got acceptances by Jan. 15, out of the record [91,000]([link removed]) prospective freshmen who applied to UT-Austin for the fall 2025 semester, according to a leaked email from the admissions office. The admitted students represented only 25 to 30% of the expected number of offers, and no one in the overall pool received denials.

Most of the 5,000 current admits applied early action, and the other early action applicants who didn't get an offer yet were deferred. While the number of applicants was unprecedented, the first round of decisions confounded many students, parents and college admissions consultants. UT declined to clarify the breakdown of early and regular applicants, but the deferrals now mean that up to 86,000 letters will go out en masse on the regular decision date. Some decisions might be released earlier for smaller majors or automatic admits applying to specific majors, per the leaked email.

“This is the first year that UT offered an Early Action application window, and the review of Early Action applications is unfolding as planned,” **Miguel Wasielewski**, interim senior vice president for strategic enrollment management, said in a statement.

"The first wave of Early Action decisions was issued January 15 with one of four possible outcomes – admitted, deferred, denied or an alternative pathway," he said. "All Early Action applicants that were not accepted or declined by January 15 remain under review and will receive a decision on their application by February 15.”

Skye Ross' and several other applicant's families didn’t find the earliest communications so clear cut, they said. Some were familiar with deferral processes that require sending in more information before receiving acceptances, but this didn’t seem to be the case.

“Thank you for meeting our Early Action deadline,” the initial admissions status notification said. “The Office of Admissions is thoroughly reviewing your application for your selected major and we need some additional time. No further action is needed on your part. You can expect to receive your admission decision February 15.”

Overnight, many parents said, their children’s admissions status was updated to “deferred.” Some were angry at what they viewed as a lack of transparency, and the leaked email confirming that only 5,000 people heard back – with an unknown number from regular decision – only worsened their irritation toward UT. Wasielewski acknowledged in a statement that "some confusion" occurred because the word "deferred" was not used, prompting the university to clarify students' statuses later in the day.

"It has definitely dimmed the shine that UT-Austin had," said **Sarah Hubbell**, of Katy, whose son received a deferral. "They say, love the school that loves you back."

The flagship introduced a slew of changes to its admissions process last year, coming off a season that garnered them a high of 73,000 applicants for fall 2024. Many high school students' GPAs were too close together, making it difficult to differentiate students and determine who was best suited for limited seats, Wasielewski said at the time. The admissions office reinstated test requirements, reintroduced a waitlist, provided more flexibility in the required essay and added a prompt for students to highlight an activity of their choice.

The school also announced a new early action deadline, ditching the use of a former "priority" deadline that encouraged students to apply early but left them unsure whether they would be benefited doing so. UT officials said the nonbinding early action deadline would not provide students an advantage in the review process but would give "a guaranteed decision communicated to applicants by Jan. 15."" [Houston Chronicle]([link removed]) ($)

“**Seven San Antonio Police officers shot in Stone Oak identified,**” San Antonio Express-News' **Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson **— “The seven San Antonio Police Department officers who were shot by a military veteran have been identified.

The officers were [shot and wounded Wednesday night]([link removed]) as they responded to reports of an active shooter at a Stone Oak apartment complex.

Six of the seven injured officers had been treated and released from hospitals by Thursday afternoon.

Their years of service on the department range from 7-3 years.

Police were dispatched to the Sonterra Heights apartments, a 332-unit complex in the 1800 block of Stone Oak Parkway near Cornerstone Church, in response to reports that a suicidal armed individual was firing his weapon. The man shot and wounded the first officers on the scene and continued firing as more officers responded, police said.

The suspect, identified as **Brandon Scott Poulos**, 46, a Navy veteran, then barricaded himself in the apartment for several hours and was later found dead. Police Chief **William McManus** said authorities did not know whether Poulos killed himself or was shot dead by SWAT officers.

The officers who were wounded are:

• SAPD Officer **Jesus Hilario-Marquez**, 5 years of service
• SAPD Officer **Kyle Rainey**, 5 years of service
• SAPD Officer **Dean Rosetta**, 4 years of service
• SAPD Officer **Jacob Barcena**, 7 years of service
• SAPD Officer **Ryan O’Hara**, 3 years of service
• SAPD Officer **William Perez**, 5 years of service
• SAPD Officer **Jorge Ramos**, 4 years of service

The officers have been placed on administrative duty while SAPD's Shooting Team and Internal Affairs Unit conduct separate inquiries. Their findings will be forwarded to the Bexar County District Attorney’s office for an independent review." [SAEN]([link removed]) ($)

“**Man accused of shooting 7 SAPD officers in Stone Oak threatened to commit suicide in Comal County call the previous night,**” KENS 5's **Luke Whitney **— “**Brandon Poulos**, the man accused of [shooting 7 San Antonio police officers during a standoff in Stone Oak]([link removed]) on Wednesday night, allegedly made a similar suicide threat call in Comal County just the night before.

At about 11:25 p.m. Tuesday, the Comal County Sheriff's Office received a call in which Poulos allegedly threatened to kill himself. He reportedly told authorities to record the call, saying his mom was trying to stop him from hurting himself.

Moments later, CCSO said they received a call from Poulos' worried mother saying he had just been released from jail in Bexar County and was very intoxicated, armed and threatening to kill himself.

Over the span of 30 calls with Poulos, he allegedly kept telling CCSO that he did not want to get law enforcement involved, saying, "I will shoot police if they approach me."

Officials say two trained hostage negotiators joined in to assist dispatchers attempting to deescalate the situation.

Just after 3 a.m. Wednesday, CCSO said all communication with Poulos had stopped, prompting them to utilize drone technology by 3:22 a.m. to safely assess the scene.

During that time, Poulos never tried to leave the home, and no further threats or shots were being reported, but officials maintained a presence in the area as a precaution, CCSO said.

Further investigation revealed that Poulos had an active protective order against him. Officials obtained an arrest warrant for allegedly violating that order on Wednesday afternoon.

Poulos' wife asked deputies to accompany her as she returned home, and there was no sign of Poulos when they arrived at the residence.

By that evening, San Antonio police officers were responding to a "suicide in progress" call in the Stone Oak area, resulting in seven SAPD officers being struck by bullets that were allegedly fired by Poulos. In the early hours of Thursday morning, Poulos was found dead by a SWAT team after hours of negotiations." [KENS 5]([link removed])

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* **#TXLEGE**

“**Conservatives clinch longtime goal of booting Democrats from leadership ranks in Texas House,**” Texas Tribune's** James Barragán **— “The Texas House on Thursday voted to ban members of the minority party from leading committees, achieving a major goal for conservative Republicans – and upending a tradition of power sharing that had been in place since the 1970s.

The push to ban Democrats from leading House committees was a rallying cry for conservative activists who saw power sharing with the minority party as a betrayal of Republican voters. They said continuing to give leadership positions to Democrats stalled conservative legislation that they and the Republican Party of Texas supported.

Now, neither chamber of the Texas Legislature will have members of the minority party leading a committee for the first time since 1969, according to the Legislative Reference Library.

“This represents a sea change from where this Legislature has been,” said Rep. **Harold Dutton**, a Houston Democrat who is the third longest-serving lawmaker in the chamber, first elected in 1984.

Allowing Democrats to continue leading legislative committees was a major sticking point in the race for House speaker. Democrats sided with Speaker **Dustin Burrows**, a Lubbock Republican, because the other candidate in the race, Mansfield Republican **David Cook**, had pledged to block them out of leadership positions. Burrows had not weighed in on the question saying he would leave the decision to the chambers’ 150 members – a sign Democrats saw as an openness to continuing the House’s long-standing tradition of power-sharing.

The vote for the rules change was approved by a vote of 116-23** **with 61 Republicans and 55 Democrats voting in favor.

In a major twist, some of the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers opposed taking up debate on the rules change. Rep. **Tony Tinderholt**, a Republican hardliner from Arlington, said the move appeared to “cram rules through” without room for discussion and gave Democrats more power. Tinderholt unsuccessfully asked his colleagues to postpone debate on the rules until Monday.

In a news conference after the vote, Democrats seemed resigned to the fact that they would lose their ability to chair committees but said they had maintained a seat at the table in the House. Rep. **Gene Wu**, a Houston lawmaker who leads the House Democratic Caucus, mocked hardliners, like Tinderholt, who voted against the change.

"The people who were yelling the most about banning Democrat chairs voted against banning Democrat chairs," he said. "What I think you saw here today is the House united and working on on a set of rules that while it has hurt Democrats and reduced our power, but at least gives us some ability to interact in the process and have our constituents' needs met."

Under the new rules, House committees will be led by a member of the majority party and the vice chairs will be members of the minority party. That would strip Democrats of key leadership positions but give them a modicum of power-sharing in the chamber.

Conservative activists and politicians said that left the door open for Democrats to continue to pull the strings under new subcommittees created under this year’s rules. Unlike in past years, where the leaders of committees appointed subcommittees, this year’s rules allow the speaker to appoint the leaders and members of the standing subcommittees.

Key committees like public health, where abortion legislation could be discussed, and Ways and Means, where property taxes will be taken up, will have subcommittees.

The House will have fewer permanent committees than last session, with lawmakers abolishing and condensing its previous 34 standing committees to 30. Lawmakers created an entirely new committee on “Delivery of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, in a nod to the new federal group run by tech billionaire **Elon Musk**. That committee will focus on eliminating inefficiencies in state services as well as overseeing open government matters and the regulation of the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence.

Legislators did away with eight committees: Business and Industry, County Affairs, Defense And Veterans’ Affairs, Homeland Security and Public Safety, International Relations and Economic Development, Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, Resolutions Calendars and Urban Affairs. But they rolled many of the duties of those committees into three new committees named Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs’; Intergovernmental Affairs; and Trade, Workforce and Economic Development." [Texas Tribune]([link removed])

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* **STATE GOVERNMENT**

“**Gov. Greg Abbott asks federal government for $11B to cover Operation Lone Star,**” Austin American-Statesman's** John C. Moritz **— “Gov. **Greg Abbott **is formally asking Congress to foot the bill for his border initiative Operation Lone Star, sending a letter Thursday to the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate asking that Texas be reimbursed more than $11 billion for what it has spent on border security since 2021.

And the governor laid the blame for Texas having to make those expenditures at the feet of Democratic former President** Joe Biden**.

“President Biden’s policies left Texas and the rest of America defenseless against an unprecedented infiltration of violent criminals, known terrorists, and other hostile foreign actors, like the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua,” the three-term Republican governor said in his letter to Congress' four top leaders.

After Biden ousted President **Donald Trump **from the White House in 2020 and began rolling back many of his predecessor's hard-line immigration policies, Abbott has asked the state Legislature for, and received, $11.1 billion to flood Texas' border with Mexico with thousands of National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to help stem the flow of undocumented people and illegal drugs into the U.S.

According to preliminary budget drafts the Texas House and Senate have put forth for the two-year cycle that begins Sept. 1, lawmakers have earmarked $6.5 billion for Abbott's border initiative.

Abbott said that the results of the Nov. 5 election that returned Trump to the White House for a second term this week makes clear that most Americans want a more aggressive approach to border security.

"As you begin the important work of the new Congress, one thing is clear: the American people have given you an unprecedented mandate to solve the ongoing crisis at our southern border," Abbott said in his letters to House Speaker **Mike Johnson**, R-La.; House Minority Leader **Hakeem Jeffries**, D- N.Y.; Senate Majority Leader **John Thune**, R-S.D.; and Senate Minority Leader **Charles Schumer,** D-N.Y.

Included in Abbott's letter is a breakdown of the state's expenses for Operation Lone Star. Among the line items are $4.75 billion for the construction of segments of a state-built border wall and other barriers; grants to counties and cities for their border-related expenses; processing criminal trespass arrests; and costs for migrant relocations.

Abbott is also seeking $3.62 billion to defray costs for the National Guard deployment and $2.25 billion for the cost of keeping DPS troopers at the border.

Even as Abbott is seeking federal reimbursement, at least one lawmaker is asking for a formal accounting of what the state has spent for border operations." [AAS]([link removed]) ($)

“**Texas updates rules for oil field waste for 1st time in 40 years,**” San Antonio Express-News's** Sara DiNatale **— “For the first time in more than 40 years, energy companies in Texas soon will have [new rules for managing]([link removed]) oil field waste.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the industry, adopted the new regulations after more than two years of discussion and public hearings. The rules govern the disposal of waste from oil and gas operations — including rock and other material pulled from the ground during drilling, drilling mud and brine — and waste from other operations such as geothermal and carbon sequestration.

“I’m certainly aware that this was no easy lift,” Commissioner **Jim Wright** said at a December meeting before the three-member body unanimously approved the changes. “It’s been 40 years since the commission last made significant updates to this rule. And while there have been attempts in the past, they were ultimately unsuccessful.”

The vote came after a public comment period that drew hundreds of comments, with some waste management executives and landowners expressing concerns the proposed rules were not as robust as informal rules the agency had floated earlier in the process. Regulators first released draft rules in October 2023.

The new regulations that go into effect July 1 updates requirements on the design, construction, operation, monitoring and closure of waste management units and improves the commission’s ability to track and collect data on oil field waste transported across the state. The changes also codify informal guidance that agency experts have developed over several decades to give operators and the public certainty on how regulations of waste management facilities will be carried out. The agency also has extended the regulations to cover energy-related operations that weren’t in widespread use when the current rules were formulated decades ago, such as fracking.

Among the changes, companies will have to register the location of earthen waste pits known as reserve pits that contain toxic drilling waste.

But companies holding leases to drill on private property still will be able to bury such waste near the surface — without notifying the landowner. In addition, they will not have to line the pit to prevent groundwater contamination in most cases. Landowners had unsuccessfully sought to add both provisions." [SAEN]([link removed]) ($)

“**Texas one of 15 states to reach $7.4 billion opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma,**” Austin American-Statesman's **Nicole Villalpando **— “Texas and 14 other states have secured a $7.4 billion settlement from the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, for their roles in creating the opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma was the manufacturer of OxyContin.

From 1999 to 2022, [almost 727,000 people in the United States died from an opioid overdose, ]([link removed])according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The settlement still needs to be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which is handling the reorganization of Purdue Pharma.

“For years, I have aggressively worked to hold Purdue Pharma and other corporations accountable for their roles in creating and exacerbating the deadly opioid crisis that harmed so many Americans,” Texas Attorney General **Ken Paxton** said. “While nothing can restore the damage done, this settlement will provide Texans valuable resources to help prevent more opioid abuse."

The money will pay for opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs in communities across the United States during the next 15 years, Paxton said. It is not clear how the money will be distributed, including how much Central Texas communities will receive.

Central Health, Austin-Travis County's hospital district that provides health care to anyone in the community making less than 200% of federal poverty level, already plans to use $4.6 million in prior opioid settlement funds this fiscal year. It also plans to use $5 million from a tobacco settlement.

Travis County has received $1.76 million from a previous opioid settlement in the past two years, County Judge Andy Brown said. That money has gone to opioid use reduction programs and provided more peer support specialists in the community." [AAS]([link removed]) ($)

“**Texas State Bar drops lawsuit over Attorney General Ken Paxton's 2020 election challenge,**” Austin American-Statesman's **Bayliss Wagner **— “Texas Attorney General **Ken Paxton** has won by default in a State Bar lawsuit over his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in four swing states, continuing the Republican top lawyer's winning streak in clearing his long-running legal troubles.

The State Bar of Texas' Ethics Commission [sued Paxton in 2022]([link removed]), accusing him of making dishonest claims of election fraud in a 2020 petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The bar's lawyers [dropped the lawsuit]([link removed]) Wednesday, citing [the Texas Supreme Court's decision late last month]([link removed]) to clear Paxton's deputy attorney general in a similar case. In the 7-2 high court's December ruling, the justices reasoned that allowing the state bar to discipline members of the attorney general's office would open the possibility of political retaliation. They also wrote that it would violate the separation of powers in the Texas Constitution.

[The bar's 2022 complaint against Paxton argued]([link removed]) that he should be reprimanded for violating state ethical standards that prohibit lawyers from acting with dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, and it noted he cited unsupported claims as well as allegations of voting fraud that had already been dismissed or rejected by other courts.

Previously, a divided 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas allowed the commission's case against Paxton to continue, ruling that every attorney licensed to practice in Texas — including the attorney general — is subject to the rules of conduct that the State Bar enforces.

Paxton had [asked the Texas Supreme Court]([link removed]) in June to toss the state appeals court's decision, calling the ethics panel's case against him "politically motivated lawfare." His office did not respond to the American-Statesman's request for comment on Thursday's suit dismissal.

Once approved, the State Bar's motion to dismiss will free Paxton from fighting the case. In the past two years, the attorney general [was acquitted]([link removed]) of corruption charges after a bitterly fought impeachment and resolved a nearly decade-old felony securities fraud case against him with [a roughly $270,000 settlement.]([link removed]) A yearslong U.S. Justice Department inquiry into Paxton [might also evaporate soon]([link removed]) after his ally, President Donald Trump, was sworn into office on Monday, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported.

A representative for the State Bar of Texas declined to comment." [AAS]([link removed]) ($)

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* **LOCAL GOVERNMENT**

“**Why is Harris County on the hook for maintaining the Texans' stadium?**” Houston Chronicle's **Dylan McGuinness **— “When Harris County made plans for a new football stadium in the late 1990s, one lasting [memory from the Astrodome]([link removed]) served as a guiding light.

The county owned the building, but it put the Astros in charge of maintaining and upgrading the stadium. In the county’s eyes, the team did not do a good enough job, and the Astrodome — a prized county asset — suffered from poor upkeep.

**Robert Eckels**, then-Harris County’s top elected official, said in 1999 that the Astros would “worry about how to find enough money from the facility to buy a pitcher, and they don't worry as much about the facility."

So county officials took a different approach when they negotiated a lease agreement at NRG Stadium (then Reliant Stadium) with **Bob McNair’s** new football team. A new board, the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., would directly manage the football field and surrounding facilities for the county, putting the government in charge of maintenance — not the Texans.

About 25 years later, county-commissioned reports suggest the new approach [has not been]([link removed]) any more effective. The county [never devoted]([link removed]) an adequate revenue source toward maintaining NRG Park, and it has not managed to turn its control of NRG's off-season calendar into a cash-generating machine that could cover the recurring costs.

As officials from Harris County, the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo work to iron out a new lease contract at NRG Park, there is at least one thing they all agree on: The current operating framework isn’t working.

The Texans and Rodeo do not have to contribute significantly toward maintenance costs, and the county does not have enough money to meet its maintenance obligations. The NRG campus now needs [about $2 billion in capital repairs]([link removed]) over the next 30 years, according to a recent facility assessment, which found the stadium is "at or slightly below average" condition for facilities of its age. Since the county is on the hook in the contract, taxpayers will have to pitch in to close that gap, though the county is forbidden from using property taxes at NRG Stadium.

The lack of maintenance has frustrated the Texans and the Rodeo, who have seen their home facilities fall into relative disrepair. But at the same time, neither organization has had to fork over considerable money to fix the buildings.

The Texans, [worth an estimated $6.1 billion]([link removed]) according to Forbes, also may have one of the best rent structures in the NFL: They pay roughly $4 million a year to the county in rent, but they often get all of it back in tax rebates.

In seven of the last eight years, the Texans have made more on the rebates than they paid in rent, according to data from financial audits. That means the government essentially paid the team to play at NRG Stadium in those years. The lone exception was 2020.

“If you’re a renter, and you’re renting an apartment from a landlord, that’s a pretty sweet deal,” said **Geoffrey Propheter**, a professor of public affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver who specializes in stadium financing. He added: “It’s not that common for the team to have zero skin in the repair game.”

The Texans said they are committed to exploring all potential solutions and are "excited and optimistic about the future."

“Since NRG Stadium was built over 20 years ago, with part of its construction made possible through various funding sources facilitated by our presence, we have abided by the terms of our lease as a tenant and provided capital to support the construction and on-going needs of the building," **Omar Majzoub**, the Texans' communications director, said in a statement.

The Rodeo, a charity organization with $309 million in net assets, pays $1.5 million in rent and also does not cover maintenance costs.

“As a nonprofit that commits millions to Texas youth each year and the only tenant that uses all three functioning buildings at NRG Park, we look forward to a new agreement that ensures NRG Park maintains world-class standards and our ability to continue our commitment to the community," said **Chris Boleman**, the Rodeo’s president and CEO." [Houston Chronicle]([link removed]) ($)

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* **NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE**

> TX TRIB: "**Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe confirmed as CIA director**" _[TX TRIB]([link removed])_
_ _> TX TRIB: "**State lawmakers ask education agency for guidance on how Texas schools can respond to Trump’s immigration plans**" _[TX TRIB]([link removed])_
_ _> TX TRIB: "**Brooke Rollins says she'll shield farmers from impacts of Trump's tariffs in ag secretary nomination hearing**" _[TX TRIB]([link removed])_
_ _> AP: "**Texas bar association drops lawsuit against AG Ken Paxton over 2020 election challenge**" _[AP]([link removed])_
_ _> AP: "**US active duty troops beginning to arrive in Texas and San Diego to support border security**" _[AP]([link removed])_
_ _> AP: "**Supreme Court allows small business registration rule to take effect, aimed at money laundering**" _[AP]([link removed])_
_ _> TX TRIB: "**In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, a push for residents to lose weight and curb diabetes**" _[TX TRIB]([link removed])_
_ _> DMN: "**Texas House bans Democrats as legislative committee chairs**" _[DMN]([link removed])_
_ _> DMN: "**Just how cold did Texas get during recent winter blast? Alligators froze in solid ice**" _[DMN]([link removed])_
_ _> TX TRIB: "**Data centers are booming in Texas. What does that mean for the grid?**" _[TX TRIB]([link removed])_
_ _> AP: "**Asylum-seekers pushed to new extremes in Mexico after Trump’s border crackdown begins**" _[AP]([link removed])_
_ _> FWST: "**Would splitting Keller ISD into 2 school districts hurt home values? It’s complicated.**" _[FWST]([link removed])_
_ _> HOU CHRON: "**Where are homeowners getting dropped by insurers? Texas doesn’t know.**" _[HOU CHRON]([link removed])_
_ _> HOU CHRON: "**New 4,000-home community coming to Waller County as population soars**" _[HOU CHRON]([link removed])_
_ _> DMN: "**Buc-ee’s accuses Dallas gas station of copying beaver in lawsuit**" _[DMN]([link removed])_
_ _> DMN: "**Dallas OKs $200,000 to continue legal fight over logo with clothing company**" _[DMN]([link removed])_
_ _> FWST: "**74-year-old rideshare driver killed when passenger runs him over, Arizona police say**" _[FWST]([link removed])_
_ _> DMN: "**Semiconductor firm announces $30 million D-FW relocation, expansion**" _[DMN]([link removed])_

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* **EXTRA POINTS**

Last night's Texas sports score:
> NBA: **San Antonio **140, Indiana 110
> NBA: **Dallas **121, Oklahoma City 115
> NCAAM: **Texas State **89, Louisiana 74
> NCAAM: Middle Tennessee State 77, **Sam Houston State** 75
> NCAAM: **Abilene Christian** 67, **Tarleton State** 56
> NCAAM: **UT-Arlington** 65, Seattle 56
> NCAAM: Jacksonville State 73, **UTEP** 66

This weekend's Texas sports schedule:
Fri
> 6:30pm: NHL: Las Vegas at **Dallas** (ESPN)
Sat
> 11am: NBA: Indiana at **San Antonio** (ESPN)
> 11am: NCAAM: **SMU **at NC State (CW)
> 11am: NCAAM: **SMU **at NC State (CW)
> 1:30pm: NCAAM: #13 **Texas A&M **at Texas (ESPN2)
> 1:30pm: NCAAM: Tulane at **Rice** (ESPNU)
> 2pm: NCAAM: **Texas State **at Arkansas State (ESPN+)
> 2:30pm: NCAAM: Western Kentucky at **Sam Houston State** (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: **Prairie View A&M **at Alabama State (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: **UT-Arlington **at **Abilene Christian** (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: **TCU **at UCF (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: Temple at **UTSA** (ESPN+)
> 3:30pm: NCAAM: **Baylor **at Utah (ESPN2)
> 3:30pm: NCAAM: Nicholls at **Texas A&M-Corpus Christi** (ESPN+)
> 4pm: NCAAM: **Texas Southern **at Alabama A&M (SWAC)
> 4:30pm: NBA: Boston at **Dallas** (ABC)
> 4:30pm: NCAAM: McNeese State at **UT-RGV** (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NCAAM: **Houston Christian **at New Orleans (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NCAAM: Northwestern State at **Stephen F. Austin** (ESPN+)
> 5:30pm: NCAAM: #7 **Houston **at #12 Kansas (ESPN)
> 6pm: NHL: **Dallas **St. Louis (ESPN+)
> 6pm: NCAAM: **East Texas A&M **at **Lamar** (ESPN+)
> 6:30pm: NBA: **Houston **at Atlanta
> 8pm: NCAAM: Kennesaw State at **UTEP** (ESPN+)

**DALLAS COWBOYS**: Cowlishaw: "Cowboys now own NFC's longest title game drought. The future only looks more desolate" [DMN]([link removed]) ($)

**DALLAS COWBOYS**: "After some twists and turns, Dallas Cowboys' search for head coach could be nearing an end" [DMN]([link removed]) ($)

**DALLAS MAVERICKS**: "Mavs show mettle in win over Thunder, move to 3-1 vs. OKC on season" [DMN]([link removed]) ($)

**SAN ANTONIO SPURS**: "Wembanyama loses out on bid to become All-Starstarter" [SAEN]([link removed]) ($)

**HOUSTON ASTROS**: "Houston Astros: Negotiations with free agent Alex Bregman resume" [Houston Chronicle]([link removed]) ($)

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