Happy St. Patrick's Day

And what a grand day it is. The Aggies have made the NCAA, Tiger proves once again he's the best golfer ever, and the Rockets continue their improbable win streak.

All fine reasons for a bit of the Guiness.

I bet she doesn't have a Che t-shirt

Elsa Murano will become Texas A&M's new president in January. It's an amazing and inspiring story of a woman who as a girl with her family, fled Castro's Cuba in 1961 and later came to the United States at the age of 14 not knowing any English. Murano pursued microbiology, food science and technology studies earning a masters and doctorate degrees. In 2001 she was appointed undersecretary for food safety at the Department of Agriculture and is now poised to fill the chief executive slot of a major university.

Dr. Murano is profiled in the Houston Chronicle here, the Dallas Morning News here, the Austin American Statesman here.

Success like this doesn't happen often.

The Aggies pulled out a 38-30 upset over the 13th ranked Texas Longhorns Friday.


Perhaps more surprising is the basketball Aggies improving to 6-0 with a 70-47 win over Ohio State and capturing the NIT Season Tip-Off title that same day. This is a program with no pedigree to speak of in the Big 12 and the Southwest Conference before that. A program that was best known for the witticisms of former coach and SWC legend Shelby Metcalf. The coach who once told (as the legend goes) a player with 4 F's and a D that he was focusing too much on one subject.


But under Billy Gillispie and now under Mark Turgeon the Aggie hoopsters remain a Big 12 and national contender.


Oh, and by the way, so long Fran.