PORT ARTHUR —     Lamar University’s new defensive coordinator Bill Bradley is expected to be front and center in a book noted sports author Jim Dent (The Junction Boys) is researching about the heated Big 33 football series matching graduated high school stars from Texas and Pennsylvania in Hershey, Pa., in the 1960s. Texas, after losing the inaugural game 12-6 in 1964, primarily because many of its stars were playing in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star game the same week, dominated the next three meetings and that was the end of the series. Bradley, a heralded UT recruit, quarterbacked a Texas team coached by Bobby Layne and Doak Walker to a 26-10 victory in 1965, and Walker reportedly tagged him with a nickname — “Super Bill” — that stuck. Among area players selected for the Big 33 were Bridge City running back Steve Worster, TJ wide receiver Cotton Speyrer, Nederland QB Steve Stuart, PN-G offensive tackle Robert Hall and St. Anthony’s running back Paul Robichau  . . . Nice to see former Lamar State College-Port Arthur basketball coach Matt Cross get a job so quickly, and at a  place (Talladega College) where he was welcomed with such open arms. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a college president sound more excited than Talladega College’s Dr. Billy Hawkins when he talked about being reunited with Cross. No figures were provided on what Cross’ salary will be, but he said it’s more than the $65,000 he received from LSC-PA. In addition, he’ll be provided free housing on campus. Matt’s most pressing issue going forward is an ongoing health problem that plagued him throughout last season.

    For Bum Phillips, the highlight of his return to Southeast Texas for the celebrity golf tournament bearing his name, and benefiting Hughen School, was the time he got to spend with the Hughen kids on Thursday. That evening, at the tournament banquet, he made a brief but impassioned talk about the Hughen Center, the students and how pleased he is to be involved in a fund raiser for them. An additional highlight for Bum was being reunited with 37-year-old former Hughen student Bobby Valencia. Valencia came all the way from San Angelo to be part of this year’s event. Bum and Bobby first meet in 1983, when Valencia was eight. They were part of a memorable photo taken that year by Bart Bragg . . . Among many who were thrilled to meet Bum for the first time was Lamar University basketball coach Pat Knight. Knight said he’d be an admirer of Phillips from afar since he was in the fourth grade in Bloomington, Ind. “I was the only kid in the school with a Houston Oilers jersey,” he said. “Other kids thought it was about Earl Campbell, but it was about Bum. When he became head coach in New Orleans, I got a Saints jersey. Being a coach’s son, I was always fascinated by coaches, and I was really drawn to him. It was exciting for me to finally get to meet him.” . . . As one who has been putting together a sports auction for the Babe Zaharias foundation for years, I’m always intrigued by what folks will pay for certain items. At the Hughen auction Thursday night, I was shocked when an actual seat from Dallas Cowboys Stadium, signed by 2011 Cowboys Ring of Honor inductees Drew Pearson, Charles Haley and Larry Allen, fetched only $300. In the same vein, it was surprising that an autographed jersey from Cowboys star DeMarcus Ware, brought only $300. Meanwhile, a personalized, signed basketball from Bob Knight, sold for $600.

    Did the NFL have an ulterior motive in a 2012 schedule that has the Cowboys playing six of their first nine games on the road, including trips to New York and Seattle the first two weeks?  Conspiracy theorists in Cowboys nation contend it’s commissioner Roger Goodell’s way of punishing Jerry Jones for appealing salary cap sanctions recently leveled on the Cowboys. It’s something that would be hard to prove, but three back-to-back road tests sandwiched around three home games does make you wonder . . . Speaking of difficult schedules, the Houston Texans are right at the top. Few things in the NFL are tougher than playing prime time road games, and the Texans have three of them at the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and New England. They also must play at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, in what will be a supercharged atmosphere, and at Denver in Peyton Manning’s third game. Throw in Green Bay and Baltimore playing in Houston, and it’s enough to short circuit Super Bowl talk. More than ever, the Texans are going to need good luck with injuries . . . It didn’t take Vegas oddsmakers long to swing into action, once NFL schedules were released. Opening day lines have already been posted, although so much can happen between now and the first of September to change a team’s outlook. The Giants are a three-point favorite over the Cowboys, with a 47 over/under. Houston is favored by six at Reliant Stadium against the Dolphins, with a 44.5 over/under. New Orleans, in its first game without head coach Sean Payton, is a whopping 11 over the Redskins at the Superdome.

    Of all the professional athletes who have come out of Southeast Texas, Nederland’s Davy Arnaud has to be one of the most unique. Not only is he the lone area soccer player to have reached the big time of the MLS, he’s fluent in multiple languages as a result of living in London for six years. Traded after 10 great years in Kansas City to the expansion Montreal Impact before the start of the 2012 season, Arnaud became an instant hit with his new fan base by addressing them in French at his first press conference. Montreal, of course, has a large French population. Davy and the  Impact played FC Dallas in Frisco last Saturday, and proud papa David Arnaud was there to root them on . . . Aggieland Outfitters, a College Station-based business, came away red-faced after mistakes on its new T-shirts calling attention to Texas A&M’s move to the Southeastern Conference. The shirts featured an SEC logo over a map showing all the states with SEC teams. Unfortunately, North Carolina, which doesn’t have a team in the conference, was included, while new member Missouri was left off. Sounds like a blow to Aggie geography and a fertile opportunity for a new batch of Aggie jokes . . . One of ESPN analyst Bob Knight’s projects now that basketball season is over is working on a book with Bob Hammel, the retired sports editor of the Bloomington, Ind., Herald-Times. Give him credit for coming up with a creative title — The Power of Negative Thinking.  “I’ve always thought the things we look upon negatively are important,” said Knight. “Like the word ‘no.’ I think the word ‘no’ is the most important word in the English language. I think people learning to say ‘no’ keep themselves out of a lot more trouble than those that don’t.”

    Unless Jerry Jones morphs into wheeler-dealer mode in the first round of Thursday’s NFL draft, which is always a possibility, there’s a growing consensus that the Cowboys will take Alabama safety Mark Barron with their 1st pick — No. 14 overall — in the NFL draft. Latest to link the Cowboys with Barron is Sports Illustrated’s NFL guru Peter King, who is one of the most well informed media types when it comes to NFL stuff. King thinks Jones might even trade up to Kansas City’s No. 11 spot to insure he gets Barron . . . One of the most intriguing draft day stories will be Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Despite a fairly good but hardly great career in his limited time as the Aggies’ QB, Tannehill has turned enough heads in workouts to generate speculation he could go as high as No. 4 to Cleveland. If the Browns opt to stick with Colt McCoy and help their team in another area, it almost seems like a lock that Miami will take Tannehill at No. 8. Former Aggie coach Mike Sherman, of course, is the Dolphins new offensive coordinator. Given the value of No. 1 picks, especially high No. 1s, such a move seems awfully risky based on track record . . . Little fanfare was accorded the Texans recent signing of discarded Dallas Cowboys Bradie James, who will be asked to help fill the void at inside linebacker from the DeMeco Ryans trade. There seemed to be a general feeling that James was over the hill, but Wade Phillips’ interest in signing him makes me think the former LSU great still has something in the tank. This is a guy, after all, who is one of only five players in Cowboys history with over 1,000 tackles. It’s an elite club whose only other members are Randy White, Too Tall Jones, Darren Woodson and Dexter Coakley.

    Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net