Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork. Peyton Manning Jersey .com) - The Red River Rivalry had become one-sided in recent years and Texas needed to reverse its fortunes against Oklahoma. The Longhorns did so in a big way Saturday with a convincing 36-20 victory over the 12th-ranked Sooners in the annual grudge match at the Cotton Bowl. With three straight losses against Oklahoma, speculation had grown rampant that Mack Brown needed a win to potentially save his job at Texas. He got touchdowns from the offense, defense and special teams in the lopsided victory, giving Texas its first win against OU since a 16-13 triumph in 2009. "Im proud of our guys," Brown said. "Its the way the Red River Rivalry should be. Its two football teams that fought hard." Case McCoy completed 13-of-21 passes for 190 yards with a pair of long touchdowns and one interception for the Longhorns (4-2, 3-0 Big 12), who have won three in a row -- all in conference play. Johnathan Gray ran for 123 yards and Malcolm Brown added 120, as the Longhorns racked up 255 yards on the ground and 445 yards overall. Chris Whaley returned an interception 31 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in the first quarter and an 85-yard punt return by Daje Johnson helped stem any momentum Oklahoma might have had early in the third. Blake Bell struggled mightily in his first start against the Longhorns, throwing for just 133 yards on 12-of-26 passing with a pair of interceptions. Damien Williams ran for a touchdown for Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1), which had a 10- game conference winning streak stopped. "I still believe in our football team and a lot of potential," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. "Weve just got to get some things ironed out." The teams traded field goals on the games first two possessions, as Anthony Fera drilled a 31-yard kick for Texas and Oklahomas Michael Hunnicutt countered with 34-yarder. The Sooners nearly had a touchdown on their opening drive, but a wide open Brennan Clay was unable to haul in Bells third-down pass in the end zone. A trade of turnovers then gave Texas the lead for good. The Longhorns were marching toward a potential score when Joe Bergeron fumbled at the Oklahoma 20, but Bell was pressured in the pocket just three plays later and was picked off by Whaley. The 300-pounder lineman rumbled 31 yards to the end zone for a 10-3 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter. Texas forced a punt and again moved the ball against the Oklahoma defense as a 38-yard run by Gray and an 11-yard scamper by Brown set up a first down at the OU 31. The Sooner defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs when McCoys pass on 4th-and-2 fell incomplete inside the 20. The Longhorns, though, were undeterred and continued the offensive dominance with their next possession. On 3rd-and-11, McCoy found a streaking Marcus Johnson in stride down the right sideline for a 59-yard score to make it 17-3 with 8:46 remaining in the half Texas then added a 50-yard field goal by Fera with 3:22 left, but a 73-yard kickoff return by Oklahomas Roy Finch led to five straight rushes for a touchdown. Damien Williams capped the quick 27-yard series with a 3-yard run, but there was still just over a minute left on the clock and Texas had enough time to drive far enough for a 43-yard field goal from Fera to give the Longhorns a 23-10 cushion at the break. Oklahoma started the second half with a 37-yard Hunnicutt field goal and Texas finally had to punt after its first series of the third quarter, but the Longhorns didnt let the Sooners gain any momentum. They quickly forced another punt and the special teams added to the advantage when Daje Johnson escaped two Sooners and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, leaving Texas with a 29-13 margin. Duke Thomas picked off a Bell pass soon after and the Longhorns converted the turnover into another touchdown, as McCoy threw a perfect pass to Mike Davis for a 38-yard score to make it 36-13 late in the third. Geneo Grissom gave Oklahoma a little life with just over 10 minutes to play when the lineman intercepted McCoy and ran 54 yards untouched for a score. The Sooners then drove inside the Texas 10 with their next possession, but went only backward from there as a sack on 4th-and-13 sealed the contest. "They made big plays in the game and we didnt have hardly any big plays, offensively," Stoops added. "They covered us and at times they beat us in protection. They did a better job defending." Oklahoma mustered just 263 total yards and went 2-of-13 on third down. Game Notes Texas was 13-of-20 on third down ... An unranked Texas team beat a ranked Oklahoma squad for the first time since 1992 ...The Longhorns improved to 60-43-5 in the all-time series ... Oklahoma hadnt allowed a punt return for a touchdown since Colorados Jeremy Bloom on Dec. 7, 2002 ... The Sooners picked up their second interception return for a touchdown this season, as Corey Nelson was the first two weeks ago at Notre Dame ... Texas has next week off before a visit to TCU, while Oklahoma visits Kansas next Saturday. Klay Thompson Jersey .Mihajlovic was sent off minutes from the end of Thursdays 2-0 win over Brescia and has been punished for using a disrespectful expression toward the fourth official and throwing the contents of a bottle of water at him, thus assuming an intimidating attitude. Michael Jordan Jersey Chicago White Sox . The 6-foot-10 centre who won an NBA title with the Miami Heat was voted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, adding that honour to becoming a board member at his alma mater.MALMO, SWEDEN – Bringing Griffin Reinhart to the World Junior Hockey Championship, even though he would miss the first three games due to a suspension, was a major gamble. And it almost backfired. Without the big Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman in the lineup, Team Canada stumbled in a shootout loss to the Czech Republic and then trailed Slovakia 3-1 late in the second period of its third roundrobin game. A loss to the Slovaks would have meant Canadas hopes of topping Group A would be dashed and a date with the Russians in the quarter-finals would be looming. But Canada found a way, barely, to beat Slovakia. Reinhart then returned against the United States on New Years Eve, solidifying the blue line and helping Canada beat their North American rivals and secure an easier quarter-final opponent. Reinhart then scored the opening goal – the first time Canada struck first in eight games, including three pre-tournament ones – and added an assist in a 4-1 win over the Swiss. He was named player of the game. Meanwhile, the United States was eliminated by Russia. All the sudden, the decision to bring Reinhart is looking mighty good. "The only people questioning it was everybody on the outside," insisted head coach Brent Sutter. "We didnt have any question on the inside. After assessing where we were throughout the country with our back end, it became very clear to myself, after being told what I was told from the scouts side of it, that we had to take that chance of him not playing in the first three games and having him for perhaps the last four and thats how its going to work out." Reinhart, the son of former NHL defenceman Paul Reinhart, is the whole package. Thats why the New York Islanders made him the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft. And he certainly seems motivated to repay the trust Sutter has shown in him. "All year, it was pretty unpredictable whether they were going to take him," said Sam Reinhart, Griffins younger brother and Canadian teammate. "You know everyone in the locker room is happy they did now and hes probably the happiest guy here, too." Griffin Reinharts return had an immediate impact on defence partner Mathew Dumba, who was forced to carry a large load in the first three games, despite suffering from an energy-sapping virus. (If Dumba had been forced to miss a game, that would have left Canada with just five defenceman, yet another possible pitfall of bringing Reinhart despite the suspension.) Dumbas game was a bit off at times early in the competition, but he has meshed well with Reinhart in the last two outings. "Its huge having Griff here," said Dumba, who played 13 games with the Minnesota Wild this season before being loaned to Hockey Canada. "Hes a veteran player. Hes that calming presence definitely on the back end. I love playing with him. He makes it real simple for me out there. I always know where he iss and vice versa. Colin Kaepernick Jersey. " Reinharts presence has had ripple effects throughout the entire roster. "Hes meant a lot," said forward Curtis Lazar, "and you saw his offensive side today, but also in the D zone, he uses that big body to get the puck out of pressure and makes that first, crisp pass. Were really glad to have him back in the lineup." "Its been huge," said Sam Reinhart. "That experience he brings, the level of play, he just calms everything right from the forwards back to the goalie, just a calming presence on the ice." As for Griffin Reinhart himself, well, he is pretty happy with what hes brought to the table thus far. "Felt better that game," he said, moments after the quarter-final victory, "starting to get my legs under me and the team played well. Just skating, starting to get my hands back, just more comfortable on the ice. Its different practising, situations are different in games. The States game went well and its only getting better." Reinharts calm demeanour on the ice is replicated off it. "Ive known Griff for a quite a while and hes not the loudest guy in the dressing room, but when het gets on the ice, he loves to control the game," said Lazar, Reinharts teammate in the Western Hockey League. "I sort of have the inside track on Griff and hes not going to show much emotion, but its good to have him and hes really happy with the performance hes put out the past couple of games." Was the desire to make an impact eating him up while he waited for a chance to contribute earlier in the tournament? "Oh yeah," Lazar said, "no doubt." Notes: * Charles Hudon (shoulder) and Mathew Dumba (knee/leg) did not take part in the practice; head coach Brent Sutter described the absences as "maintenance days" and said both players are expected to be the lineup on Saturday. * It was Canadas first practice at Malmo Arena, which is much larger than the Malmo Isstadion where the team played its previous five tournament games; "It is what it is," Sutter said. "The game is played on the same sized ice no matter where youre playing." In conversation with Nabil Karim after the quarter-final win on Thursday, Sutter said moving rinks was akin to playing a "road game." The Finns have been based at Malmo Arena all tournament. * Sutter was asked for his take on facing Finland: "I see a hard-working team. I see a team thats very structured. I see a team thats going to play some North American hockey. Theyre a gritty group. Theyre getting some decent goaltending and they got three forwards on their team that are as good as any forwards in this tournament. Theyre going to come and theyre going to come hard and we have to be ready for it." * Here is a link to Canadian players talking about Fridays practice and facing Finland: http://bit.ly/1gwWvc4 ' ' '
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