Pasadena Memorial coach John Snelson, photo on left, accept the Class 5A Sportsmanship first-place award at a January luncheon with player Daniel Talavera. At right, Magnolia coach Andy Sexton accepts the first place award for Class 4A. Second in Class 5A was Dickinson and third was Memorial. In 4A, New Caney was second and Northbrook was third. The voting was done by area referees, who called the football games.

Brad McCoy, photo on right, was well-accepted by the audience with the speech he gave the Sportsmanship Luncheon. McCoy, who works for the Flippen Group in College Station -- which provides motivatonal speakers -- is the father of Colt McCoy, the former Texas Longhorns and current quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. The crowd enjoyed the event.

The Touchdown Club and HISD held the third annual Greater Houston Senior Football Showcase, with the assistance of the NFL's Houston Texans. Approximately 500 senior high school football players and assistant coaches representing about 40 colleges attended the Feb. 19th combine at the Methodist Training Center, also known as the Texans' Practice Bubble at Reliant Stadium.
Football coaches evaluating the prospects were from Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. About $11 million was offered in the previous two Senior Showcases. About $18 million was offered to just over 190 kids in 2011. About $30 million has been offered to Senior Showcase participants in the event's first three years.

UH's Kevin Sumlin, left, answers media questions about the sixth year of eligibility for QB Case Keenum during UH Day at the JW Marriott. At right, Sumlin talks about the intricacies of being a noseguard in the new 3-4 defensive alignment UH will use. To his right is Becky Hyatt, TD Club treasurer. But the best line of the day came from men's basketball coach James Dickey. When asked if he was recruiting a 7-footer, Dickey said that he was waiting for the Yellow Cab to pull up at Hofheinz. When Hakeem Olajuwon arrived from Nigeria, UH coaches had him take a cab to Hofheinz before they realized he was actually the 6-foot-10 player he said he was.

Okla. State's Mike Gundy, left, with emcee Barry Warner, made a solid presentation to the crowd about the Cowboys and following NCAA rules. Warner is from SportsRadio 610 and hosts the evening show on the station. At right, Gundy listens to Joe Prince sing the National Anthem. Joe is 92, and still has the same voice that he made famous in Houston in the 1950s.

LSU's Les Miles, right, wows the crowd with his takes on college football and the LSU Tigers. At left is singer Darrell Luckett, who brought the crowd to life with his rendition of the National Anthem. Next to him at the head table are, from left, former Madison High School coach Ray Seals, LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri, and TD Club Board member Matt Malatesta, who is an LSU grad.

Baylor's Art Briles, at right, talked about expectations after a 7-6 season and a bowl game at Baylor for the first time in 16 years. Baylor played Illinois in the Texas Bowl in Houston last year. At left, emcee Craig Roberts works his magic on the crowd, with Milby football coach Phil Camp, right, and Briles, left, and Don Trull, far left, waiting their turns to speak. Trull is a former All-America quarterback at Baylor and a member of the TD Club's Board of Directors. Enthusiasm for Baylor football was raised last year, as home average crowd at Floyd Casey Stadium was 40,043. The Bears' seven wins last year were the most since 1995.

University of Alabama's Nick Saban, shown at left, discussed the Crimson Tide's chances for this year's Southeastern Conference chase, as well as that some publications have placed Alabama in the national championship game for this year. Saban also talked about the problems associated with the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa in May and how the football team has worked to be a force in overcoming tragedy in the state of Alabama.

The Touchdowner Dinner was special, as honoree Chris Gilbert is a member of the Touchdown Club Board of Directors and drew 590 people. Speakers at the gala, clockwise at left. were Corby Robertson, Fred Akers, Jerry LeVias, and Chris Gilbert. Corby was Chris' roomate at UT and played on the football team with Chris. Fred was Chris' running backs coach at UT, before going on to be head coach at Wyoming, Texas and Purdue. Jerry was an All-America at SMU and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, and played against Chris in the defunct Southwest Conference. Chris, the first NCAA running back to have 1,000 yards rushing three seasons in a row (1966-67-68), also is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. At right is Memorial's Boomer White, one of the 30 high school preseason players of the year honored at the event, with Chris on Boomer's right side and Houston Chronicle sportswriter Richard Justice on the left. Justice emceed the event.

Chris Gilbert, left, and Jerry LeVias share a moment after the event with the Touchdowner plaque. LeVias was the Touchdown Club's Touchdowner in 2007. At right are previous Touchdowner winners who attended this year's event. They are former University of Houston pioneering football coach Bill Yeoman, second from left, who won the Touchdowner in 1987; his wife A.J., Eddie Joseph, third from right, who won the Touchdowner in 2000, and was executive director of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association; and Kenny Houston, second from right, who won the Touchdowner in 2010, and is in the NFL Hall of Fame after stellar careers with the Prairie View A&M Panthers, Houston Oilers and the Washington Redskins.

The inaugural Texas Hold 'Em Fundraiser Poker Tournament was a big hit, drawing such local celebrities as University of Houston football coach Kevin Sumlin (far left, in photo on left). The photo on the right shows the final table of 10 players. The winner received a bracelet and trophy. The Club helped the University of Houston Alumni Association with the event, which we hope to continue yearly with the UHAA.

TSU coach Kevin Ramsey, left, holds a plaque commemorating the Tiger's SWAC championship last year. With Ramsey are TSU athletic director Charles McClelland, and TSU president Dr. John M. Rudley (far right). In the photo at right, former Madison coach and PV grad Ray Seals receiveds a Lifetime Achievement Award from the TD Club. With him are PV coach Heishma Northern (far right) and TD Club president Greg Guarino.

Rice football coach David Bailiff and UH football coach Kevin Sumlin address the crowd for the Breakfast about this year's Bayou Bucket game. Also speaking at the breakfast was Rice athletic director Rick Greenspan (left) with the Bayou Bucket Trophy in front of him. At right, a group of UH fans enjoy the moment with their photo in front of the Bayou Bucket.

Cypress Creek's Jonathan Moore was awarded the top scholar-athlete award at this luncheon. He is pictured at left, with his mom, Lorraine Penczak. Second place went to Memorial's Kris Van Norman, and third was Aldine's Zachary Hester. In the photo on the right, part of the head table is shown at the event, where about 350 attended.

Author Jim Dent interviews Elwood Kettler, the quarterback on the 1954 Junction team at Texas A&M. To Dent's right is Jack Pardee, a Junction Boy, who coached with the Houston Gamblers, University of Houston, the Houston Oilers and was an All-Pro linebacker with the "Over-the-Hill Gang" Washington Redskins. Junction Boys who attended were Bob Easley, Dennis Goerhing, Lloyd Hale, Kettler, Dutch Ohlendorf, Pardee, Billy Schroeder, Bennie Sinclair, Marvin Tate, Don Watson and Herb Wolf.

The three who took home the trophies at the awards gala. From left, Bralon Addison of Hightower, offensive player of the year; Kirk Martin of Manvel, coach of the year; and Chris Alexander of Pearland, defensive player of the year. Each beat out nine other finalsists in their respective categories.

Ralph Cooper, center, was named the winner of the Ron Stone Award for media excellence at the banquet. Ron Stone Jr., right, presented by trophy to Ralph. At left is Neal Farmer, TD Club executive director. Ralph has a program at KCOH-AM, is the founder of Ralph Cooper's Stars of the Future middle school basketball tournament, has founded inner-city reading programs at libraries, and has been on Ch. 13's Extra Points sports talk TV show since 1992.

Teammates of the late Freddie Steinmark discuss his tenure on the UT football team. Steinmark had a quick-developing cancer that caused a leg to be amputated between the 1969 game with Arkansas (The Game of the Century) and the 1970 Cotton Bowl Game on Jan. 1, against Notre Dame. The teammates are Bill Atessis, Bill Bradley, Mike Campbell, Tom Campbell, Chris Gilbert, Benny Pace, Bobby Wunsch and Chris Young.

The Junction Boys played under Bear Bryant at Junction, Texas, in extremely hot conditions. The Junction Boys in attendance were Bob Easley, Dennis Goehring, Lloyd Hale, Elwood Kettler, Dutch Ohlendorf, Jack Pardee, Billy Schroeder, Bennie Sinclair, Marvin Tate and Herb Wolf.

Jim Dent sits with UT football players from 1969 and Texas A&M football players from 1954 at a Touchdown Club luncheon. The UT players were on the team with the late Freddie Steinmark, whose story Dent has written in a book that was recently released. The A&M players were glorified in the book, The Junction Boys, which detailed how difficult it was for them with Bear Bryant in hot, summer workouts in Junction, Texas.

David Nuno, center, and Ken Hoffman, right, of 1560-AM The Game, interview Northwestern University head football coach Pat Fitzgerald from Chicago during the High School Awards Dinner. 1560-AM was the media sponsor for the gala and did a live remote from the JW Marriott. John Granato of 1560-AM was the emcee of the dinner.

Cy-Fair coach Ed Pustejovsky was one of the 10 finalists for Greater Houston Coach of the Year. The Bobcats had an undefeated regular season and lost in the playoffs. Handing Ed his plaque is Keith Kilgore, athletic director at Fort Bend ISD and a member of the TD Club's Board of Directors.