Carmelo Anthony's Curious Love Of The Longhorns

It was a subtle bit of color hidden in an otherwise dry recap of the Denver Nuggets evening, but the opening lead from this AP story has left at least one tipster scratching his head.

With his right hand wrapped tightly in ice, Carmelo Anthony bounded around the locker room, elated over what he had just witnessed on the big screen.

Anthony's beloved Texas Longhorns stormed back in the final seconds to beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, temporarily dulling the pain he was feeling in his hand.

Yes, yes, Carmleo Anthony broke his shooting hand, but what was that last part ... his "beloved Texas Longhorns"? As we all know, Anthony spent his one and only college year at Syracuse. He was born in Brooklyn. He grew up in Baltimore. (His favorite pro football team? The Ravens.) He played prep ball at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. His entire NBA career has been based in Denver. None of those places are within spitting distance of Texas. In fact, his only apparent connection at all with the Longhorns or Austin is when he smoked them for a freshman-record 33 points in the National Semifinal back in 2003. You always hurt the ones you love?

Is there any documented evidence anywhere that Carmelo had any feelings at all for the University of Texas athletic department before last night? It's weird, right? Maybe he thought they were called the Burnt Orangemen?

In a completely unrelated story, Texas won the Fiesta Bowl straight up, but did not cover the spread and both teams missed the over.

Nuggets: Anthony has 'probable' fracture in hand [AP/IHT] The Nuggets can overcome the Melo injury. Here's why... [Denver Stiffs]