mspurlin's Blog

I love watching the NFL.  Not only is it the most entertaining sport to watch the athletes play, but it never ceases to amuse me with new hilarious moments, like the current hand-wringing over Adam "pacman" Jones getting into a scuffle with his bodyguard at a Dallas hotel.

So Adam got into with his bodyguard and his bodyguard beat him down (don't kid yourself, that is what happened).

My question is so what.  Isn't that what the bodyguard is supposed to be doing?  I mean Jerry Jones hired this guy to make sure that Adam Jones doesn't get into trouble.  Adam was acting up and the bodyguard ended that by beating him down.

I think this guy deserves a raise.  He did his job properly.  Nobody was arrested, nobody was hurt.

But now the NFL's chief hypocrite Roger Goddell is talking about how he is "disappointed" to hear about Adam's "troubles".

Adam Jones is the personal whipping boy for Goddell, the guy he wants to make believe that he is trying to kick out of the league.

I mean it is ok for the players to be compeltely violent and damn near kill each other every Saturday, but the public is supposed to want these people to be church missionaries all other times of the day.

Please, as a Cowboy fan i LOVE that Adam Jones wants to fight. That kind of attitude is what makes successful football players. 

And aren't there more important things for Goddell to be concerning himself with?

Like the fact that one of the most talented wide receivers in the league TRIED TO SHOOT SOMEBODY?

No, he won't touch Marvin Harrison.  He is allowed to get away with ATTEMPTED MURDER, but Adam is going to get in trouble because somebody kicked his BLEEP.

If you lose the fight, you should be let off the hook.  Good for him showing the fighting spirit though.

I am referring to the Dallas Cowboys who will not make the NFL playoffs this year.  It pains me to say it, but they will struggle to be .500 this year. 

And as any of you know, I am not a Cowboy Hater.  I am the biggest Cowboy homer you will ever meet.  And even I have to acknowledge that this team is simply not very good this year. 

Let us take a look at the cold hard facts of their problems.  And unlike the uneducated fans out there that like to oversimplify things, neither T.O. nor Tony Romo are the problem.  They are the two best things going for the Cowboys, but some of the only things.

FACT: The Cowboys Cannot Run the Football

Do not be fooled by the mirage that was running over the highly overrated Green Bay Packers.  Other than that, they cannot run the football.  Not against good teams.   If it is third and short, the Cowboys are passing.  Period.  They cannot pick up 2 yards on third and 2. 

Is there a solution?  perhaps benching Marion Barber and subsituting him for somebody that has speed?  maybe.  But doubtful.  Either Jason Garret does not like to call running plays or he does not believe they will be successful.

Bottom line, if you cannot run the ball win you have to, you cannot win in the NFL.

FACT: The NFC East is the Best Division in Football, and ALL the Other Teams Are Better Than the Cowboys

If not for a fluke fumble vs. the Eagles, the Cowboys would have lost that game.  The eagles are the better team.  The Redskins showed they are the better team.  The Giants have shown they should not be forgotten as Super Bowl Champs. 

Face it, there is no way the Cowboys win another game in their division all year.  If they finish last, they cannot make the playoffs.  The two wild cards will go to the second and third place teams, if they make it. 

FACT: The Defense Cannot Stop Teams on Third Down

The Cowboys have shown time and time again that they cannot get teams off the field.  Jason Campbell threw all over the field on third down today against the Cowboys.  Good teams do not do that.

FACT: If the Offense Cannot Bail them Out, the Cowboys D Cannot Survive

They only won against Phily because the Offense overwhelmed the other team.  So if the offense is slowed, then they are toast.

So let's look at the schedule.

They are 3-1 now.  Let's go week by week

Next up is Cincy at home - terrible, the Cowboys probably win.

4-1

at Arizona - good little team with a potent offense, i say this is a loss.

4-2

At St Louis, worst team in NFL, easy win.

5-2

Tampa Bay - good team, probably will beat the Cowboys

5-3

At New York - Clearly a loss

5-4

Bye - tough, but I say Cowboys take BYE

At Washington - Loss

5-5

San Fran comes to town - Probably a win, just for the sake of a win

6-5

Seattle - were a playoff team, struggling this year but still better than the Cowboys

6-6

At Pittsburg - easy one to call, loss

6-7

NY Football Giants - Loss

6-8

Baltimore - loss, that defense shuts down the Cowboys

6-9

Phily - eagles will take their revenge

6-10

That is not the record of a Playoff team.  But that is the record of your 2008 Dallas Cowboys.

this team may be competitive in each game, but not overall. 

6-10

I sure hope I am wrong but I cannot see any reason why I am.  I don't see how anybody else can disagree with me on this.

Oh boy, it MUST be getting close to college football season.  Those chuckleheads in the SEC are already starting to talk about how great they think they are, how much better they are than the rest of the country, blah blah blah.

It sure is a good thing that those SEC teams have the ability to play overrated Ohio State in the national title game every year.  otherwise they would risk being exposed for the pretenders they were.

So here comes Urban Meyer, talking up his quarterback Tim Tebow, who despite his Heisman trophy has yet to prove he could lead the Gators to anything close to where his predecessor Chris Leak did. 

Well Urban Meyer thinks pretty highly of his qb, telling the Miami Herald that Tebow is "the greatest player of our era."

I am willing to debate things, but i guess Meyer is referring to the era that started on January 5, 2006 because that is the date the Vince Young no longer played college football.  Or maybe "greatest in our era" is a consolation prize because Vince Young was THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

Either way, I think that Urban Meyer ought clarify.  If he doesn't, then he needs to watch this video, I am sure it will change his mind.

In recent years the Athletic dominance of the United States has slipped a bit.  We no longer send a baseball team to the Olympics.  And we lost our most dominant sport after that American Hater Tim Duncan helped throw the basketball competition in Athens.

(On a side note, does anybody else think it is fishy that Duncan led the team that lost to the team that won, which was lead by his own teammate Manu Ginobli.  If ever there was proof that Duncan was a Benidict Arnold Treasonous Mother F-ER, this is it.)

Personally I blame this on the Soviet Union.  Once they went under, we didn't have a true sports enemy.  If Al Queda doesn't field an olympic team, who is Rocky Balboa supposed to fight in the movies to get us pumped up?

But It is the fourth of July, which means the hot dog eating contest is going on up on the east coast.  If ever there is a sport that we should dominate, it is this one.  Almost every American is too fat, from eating too much.

Only for the past decade, the sport has been dominated by Takeru Kobayashi, the Michael Jordan of competitive eating.  Kobayashi is of course, from Japan.  So the signature eating competition of the most American food there is,the hot dog, wasn't even won by an American.  Oh how far we have fallen in the world of sports!

Now I can admire Kobayashi's dedication, he is truly a warrior of eating.  He trains like an athlete. But he is dominating OUR sport and he truly doesn't respect  America. 

I mean, after all these years, he still doesn't even know English.  I mean, if Sammy Sosa can learn it, then Kobayashi can at least give it a chance.


So thank goodness joey chestnut came along and restored some of the American Glory.  Cuz if there is a sport that rewards overconsumption and gluttony, America better damn well be number one at it.

So three cheers for one of the great American sports heroes left, Joey Chestnut.

Ok so i don't much care for soccer.  It just seems boring to me.  But I am aware the the European championship or whatever you call is going on right now.

In fact, I was at a bar on Sunday with friends and we did not realize that the whole place was going to be filled with soccer fans who were screaming and cheering for a real barn burner of a game that ended in a scoreless tie. 

Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think about the sport because that is not what i am wanting to talk about.  I want to talk about how stupid the organizers are.  they don't know geography.

Why?  Because Russia was invited to play in the EUROPEAN championship.  Russia is not in EUROPE!  It is in ASIA!  Have these people in Europe ever seen an F'N globe?

I don't understand it.  Oh and Turkey is in this thing as well.  I guess you can make a case for Turkey being in Europe, but then you could also make a case for it not being there.  It isn't even in the European Union.

What's next, are they going to let Egypt play in the Euro Championship?  Hell why not let Canada's soccer team go over there since you apparently have interest in respecting geographic boundaries.

Russia?  Really? At least it is good to know that America is not the only place on Earth with really stupid people in it.

Now I know I have gone on record with friends and many other people in saying that I no longer watch the NBA.  I used to be a Mavericks fan, but once they got screwed in the finals, and Dirk became the German word for "choke artist" I stopped caring.

Not that it doesn't affect me in minor ways.  There has never been a more annoying group of fans than San Antonio Spurs fans, and I have to work with many of them.  I was glad when the Spurs were eliminated so I didn't have to hear anything about them.  But I am completely indifferent to who wins the games and will not watch.

However, while i still will not watch NBA games, I do sincerely hope that the Lakers destroy the Boston Celtics.  There is nothing in the world I hate more than Boston sports teams, and their fans.  NOTHING.

There is no way that city deserves to have another title to celebrate.

NOT AFTER THE PATRIOTS DISHONORED THE LEAGUE AND AMERICA WITH THEIR CHEATING COACH

And certainly not after the way the fans of the Boston Red Sox have behaved over the past decade.  Those people annoy the hell out of me and I root against the Red Sox every time they play because I like to see their fans sad.

Firstly, they assume that nobody can dislike the Red Sox just because they don't like the Yankees and a lot of other people don't like the Yankees.  Sorry, that is just crazy.  Just because one person does not like your rival does not mean he likes you.  The Soviets were our allies during World War II because we could agree the Nazis were our mutual enemy.  But that didn't stop us from having a Cold War for the better part of 5 decades with the Soviets afterwards.

Also, there has never been, nor will there ever be again, a bigger group of bandwagon fans in the history of all organized sports.  there are people who CLAIM to be red sox fans who have no connection to the team, the region, or whatever.  And most importantly, these people were not fans before they started to get good in the 21st century. 

(note, this is contrasted with a team like the Cowboys, since they are America's Team, all people living in America can truly call themselves fans)

Like my buddy John, who grew up in San Antonio, always claimed to be a red sox fans because he did not like the band wagon jumpers who were yankee fans. 

So now we get the Celtics and people are starting to come out and say let's go root for them because we don't like the Lakers.

I happen to really admire the lakers. 

1. ALL their fans are fairweather fans.  That is great because they only come out when the lakers are in the conference finals.  I don't have to sit at work and hear that the lakers got screwed from a foul call not being called (like you spurs fans, looking at you Los)

And when the season is over, the fans go away.  Not to be heard until the next NBA Finals.

2. Kobe doesn't care if you don't like him.  He knows most people hate him, he knows people boo him, and he owns a tv.  he knows he is widely blamed for running Shaq out of town, as well as publicly throwing his teammates under the bus.

But he doesn't seem to care.  he doesn't go around trying to get people to like him.  he is an arrogant, selfish player that is just nice enough to get his teammates to help him to the NBA finals.  He is a villain makes no effort to hide that.

How refreshing is that? Too often in sports these days there are no bad guys.  The only time there are bad guys are when they do something illegal (michael vick) or when they become the center of large amounts of media attention (like T.O. is hated so very much despite never failing a drug test, being arrested, or doing anything except running his mouth in front of the camera)

But here is Kobe, the Darth Vader of the NBA.  A villain that know people don't like him and doesn't care.  He isn't whiny like somebody such as A-Rod because the fans don't like him.  Screw it, he just wants to win.  Well good for him, embracing what he is.  He is one of the few truly honest players left. 

Besides, how can you not root for a guy      WHO CAN JUMP OVER A SPEEDING ASHTON MARTIN?

I'd like to see KG do THAT.

So good luck to the Lakers.  I hope they crush the spirits of each and every person who roots for the celtics, and I hope they are sad about it all year long. 

Let me start off by saying that I am 26 years old and have never in my lifetime seen a more dastardly, deceitful, no-good villain than Bill Bilacheat.  Nobody has done more to ruin his reputation and defile his sport in my lifetime than that dirty cheating son-of-a-BLEEP.

Not Pete Rose (who gambled against his own team.)

Not Roget Clemens (who has done everything short of sacrificing babies to Satan, though they are still investigating him.)

Not Michael Vick.  Not that NBA ref who gambled on games. Not Barry Bonds.

Nobody.

Bill Bilacheat is the worst, the worst of all time.  And Roger Goddell is simply getting up on television and lying for him.  Covering for him.  Trying to rehabilitate his image.

Adam “Pacman” Jones gets suspended indefinitely, at least a year, maybe more, for getting arrested and causing a black eye for the league.  Yet nothing has tarnished the game’s integrity more than the cheating of the Cheatatriots and nobody in the league bats an eye.  Lets take away a draft pick, but leave the Cheatatriots with their top ten pick acquired through a trade.  Let’s not suspend Bill Bilacheat, let’s just take some of his money, as if he needs it now that he has his tainted titles.

Nope, Roger Goebbels, err, Goddell, chief propaganda minister for the Cheatatriots, has been doing his best to minimize reaction to the worst cheating scandal since the white sox threw the World Series. 

The Matt Walsh Interview & press conference today is the latest example of Liar Liar Pants on Fire Goddell trying to help out his buddy Bill Bilacheat.  He announces that there is nothing new as a result of his meeting with Matt Walsh.  There was no tape of the Rams practice before the super bowl.

However, on ESPN at 12:20 p.m. or so, reporter Sal Palantonio reports that he spoke with an NFL lawyer who was present during the meeting.  The lawyer informed him that Matt Walsh had actually BEEN AT THE RAMS PRACTICE IN QUESTION AND PASSED ALONG NOTES TO A CHEATATRIOTS COACH!!

So what if there was no video tape, THE CHEATATRIOTS WERE STILL BLEEP CHEATING!!! THEY WERE WATCHING WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CLOSED PRACTICE AND TAKING NOTES!!!

I don’t get it! They have no regard for the rules and people think that this is ok???

Oh and all the media want to let them off the hook, talking about how this is THE END of spygate.

BULL BLEEP it is.  It may be the end of the INVESTIGATION of Spygate, but not the end.

Was the Mitchell report the end of steroids in baseball? No.

Should we never talk about steroids again when we mention Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens?  They have career records and accomplishments that on the surface make them certain Hall of Famers.  However, when it comes time to vote the discussion will center largely on whether these men took performance enhancing drugs and the damage that does to their reputation.  Steroids will never be a dead issue when judging what they did.

The same is true for Spygate.  It will never be a dead issue.  These tapes were an integral part of the Cheatatriots game planning.  There are several angles, indicating more than one person was hired to film them.  They are edited to make it easier for coaches to determine what the signals meant.  They spent time and money and energy on this and we are supposed to believe Bill Bilacheat did not care or use the information?

Bill Bilacheat used to be looked at as one of the most successful coaches of all time.  His success in the salary cap era was unprecedented. Nobody came close to duplicating the success he had.  Course now, it is clear how he got an advantage over the other teams, and why he was able to establish a dynasty nobody else could. 

HE WAS BLEEP CHEATING!!

So Spygate will never go away, no matter how many times the pro Bilacheat media tries to brush it under the rug.  Cheating, Videotaping, Lying, these are words that will be connected to Bilacheat as long as people remember who he is.

Just like Pete Rose and Gambling.
Barry Bonds and Steroids.
Nixon and Watergate. 

Bilicheck and Cheating.

 

There are very few people that are talking about how the media has largely decided to ignore the cheating scandal.

Thankfully for us, the world has Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the comedic geniuses behind Southpark.

Not only have they created the funniest television show of their generation, worthy of being compared to the great tv shows of all time (like M.A.S.H., All in the Family, I love Lucy, etc.)...

But they have more courage to say things people don't like.  Like the fact that Bill Bilacheat is a dirty no good liar.

WATCH FOR YOURSELF (some material could be found objectionable, click at your own risk)

Not me, that for sure!  If you ever met me, I would probably be the biggest college football fan you would ever meet in your life, specifically the Longhorns.  And I don’t care if ANY of the Longhorn players ever get a college degree.  I watch football to see my team win, not because I think the people are academically successful.

Now the NCAA just came out with its Academic Progress Rate which is its current arbitrary way of determining who is a good school.  Now I have to give the NCAA credit for at least reforming this method.  The old method that they used to publish simply calculated how many players graduated from the institution over a 6 year period.

So if a player came to college and left early to go the NFL, it counted against the school’s “graduation rate”.  Or if a player transferred and went to another school it would count against the school, even if that player graduated somewhere else.  Or if a player died, it counts against the school.  That is why the University of Texas was penalized for the death of player Cole Pittman. 

So good for them for reforming them.  But let’s not hand out too many pats on the back for the NCAA.  This is only the latest form of ridiculous hypocrisy from the largest group of hypocrites in the entire nation.

I just don’t think it is the school’s responsibility to make sure people graduate. Should the school provide resources to help a student in trouble? Yes. Should a school be monitored to make sure they aren’t hindering the athlete’s ability to graduate, by forcing him to take certain classes that allow him to practice more.  Absolutely.

But should a school be punished if a kid goes to college and decides he just does not want to graduate?  Heck no.  These people are adults. If they don’t want to do the work to graduate, isn’t that their fault and not the school’s?

And why do we want to look at student athletes different than regular students?  My sister entered the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2002.  At the time, she was part of the largest freshman class in the history of UT.  My parents went to a parent orientation session where an admissions counselor told all the parents not worry, because that will be much smaller by the time these students were seniors.  At the time, UT had a 75% graduation rate.  

The university was actually encouraging kids to drop out so that the class size was more manageable.  So student athletes have to overcome institutional roadblocks and are expected to graduate no matter what.  Why is that?

It is not that hard to get a college degree if you do a minimal amount of work.  You can find an easy major and C your way to graduation no problem.  So some people just don’t want to take advantage of that.   Shouldn’t that be their choice?

And what is the problem if they leave early and go to a professional league?  More power to them, they may never need a college degree. 

I am not against getting a college degree.  I have two of them, one of which is a master’s. I think having a college degree offers you a great advantage.  However, I am not an elitist and I do not believe it is the only way to achieve happiness or success.

Bill Gates does not have a college degree.  Does anybody think he is not living up to his potential?  Neither do tons of other billionaires. 

I just think that some people should be taking responsibility for their own life.  If somebody remains academically eligible for a few years, but decides to leave college without a degree, that should be his choice.  I think it is a waste to lose an opportunity to get a free degree, but shouldn’t that be his choice?

 It certainly doesn’t matter to me on Saturday. As long as they are playing by the rules while in school, who really cares if they get a piece of paper with their name on it?  Not me, it is their decision to whatever they want with their life. 

See, the NCAA is trying to come down hard on some schools, especially smaller schools and take away their scholarships from schools like UT-Arlington, just so they can pretend college athletics are about education.  The NCAA does not get tens of BILLIONS, with a B, dollars from tv networks because these players are students.

Nope, they want to come down hard on these athletes because they want to keep up the farce that these people are amateur athletes.  They don’t want to have to pay them for the BILLIONS that people make off them. 

(and save your comments bloggers, I think that these athletes should make some money for their athletic performance.  When they make video game characters based on these athletes, I think some sort of small royalty or stipend is not that much to ask, especially since these kids cannot hold jobs while in school most of the time.  Nothing anybody says will change my mind on this)

So good job NCAA , stand on your soapbox and talk about education, as if your organization has anything to do with education and not athletics and money.  But just know, I have no interest whatsoever in whether any athletes graduate.  As long as they are academically eligible, I am fine.  If they don’t want their diploma, then let them get the heck out of there when they are done. 

...It is not going to help your team get any better at all!  You have squandered all the time that your team has to win a title.  You will never have another shot at it.  And you are the worst owner of a professional sports team in the state of Texas, and i sincerely mean that cuz i am right.

Let us take a look at the mess you have made of the Little Mavericks.

To start with, you were not some sort of great turn around artist.  Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki were all on the team when you got to Dallas.  Don Nelson and his son Donnie already had assembled that talent.  That was the core of the team that helped initially launch the team into prominence. 

But you cam on and everyone gave you credit because you showed up just as the team started to gel.  Nice luck there.  You always received too much credit for that.

But you eventually ran off Don Nelson, perhaps one of the most successful coaches in franchise history, because you have an abrasive personality.  more on that later.

Then as the team matured, several players were changed.  Now some people will blame you for not resigning Steve Nash.  But I won't.  The team was better without Steve Nash, and the Suns certainly have done well with him despite having a better supporting cast than he ever had in Dallas.  MVPs aside, he will not ever be a championship level point guard.

But then you decide to help engineer the ruination of the current team by sticking with overpriced veterans like Eric Dampier (signed through 2011, also finished with ZERO points and ZERO rebounds in last night's loss. The starting CENTER had ZERO points and ZERO rebounds!)

And you traded away your most valuable assets for an aging point guard who was done playing at an elite level two or three years ago. 

This current team, second highest payroll in the league and second oldest as well, will not be better next year.  There is nobody that can be traded that will bring in any help.  They are finished with their run.

But do you know, Mr. Cuban, what the one thing you did that most ruined the franchise?  You bitched and moaned about the refs and made excuses for your team.  This directly led to their losses against the Heat in the finals.

Game 5 of the 2006 was the biggest scam job that i have ever seen associated with professional sports.  D Wade was not fouled at the end of the game, and should not have had a  chance to hit game winning free throws.  period, we agree on that.

But the Mavs could not recovers because you have created a culture of excuses that follow the team everywhere you go.  You run out on the court, you yell at refs, you blog about how inept and corrupt the ref system is, and then you wonder why the team you own is full of excuses all the time.  Instead of trying to overcome the bad officiating, they embrace it,as well as the fans, as some sort of conspiracy theory against the Mavs.  Excuses aren't just tolerated for your team, they are given to them by you yourself.

That is the main reason they did not beat the Heat, they could not overcome adversity.

Now you have fired Avery Johnson, the coach with the highest winning percentage in NBA history in his first 250 games.

But you did not fire him for on court performance so much as y ou fired him because you could not get along with him. 

Again, a coach leaves because he could not get along with the owner who thought things should be run differently. 

Jerry Jones gets crucified for being a difficult owner, a meddling owner.  Too bad he hasn't fooled the fans into thinking NFL refs are out to get the Cowboys and that is why they haven't won more superbowls. 

No you get a free pass because you are more personable and Jerry Jones has a salesman's look to him.  Even though he has done more with his team than you ever will. 

So go ahead and saddle another coach with your bloated payroll full of washed up veterans and ill fitting parts.  Then fire him too.  Trade Dirk if you want, he is the only player left with any trade value. 

Hell, you might as well coach the team yourself, since you apparently believe only you know how much everyone should play. 

As a former mavs fan, I can promise you one thing though, I will never root for the team again as long as you own them.  I hope you get fed up and sell them.  go buy a baseball team.  That is the one sport where an idiot billionare with a ton of money can simply spend his way to a title.  Sounds like a perfect fit.

I don't watch the NBA anymore hardly at all. I used to be a Mavs fan, but after David Stern stole the title from them and Dirk became a huge [insert word that rhymes with cushy], I gave up.

So I turn on the tv and see the Spurs and Suns tonigh for their game. The Spurs were winning, quite easily I might add. Yet still, Timmy the retard Duncan and his no good european and south american frriend were screaming and complaining on every play.

EVERY play Duncan doesn't score a basket, he turns to the ref and asks for a foul. They complain about fouls all the time. And i thought Mark Cuban was a whiny BLEEP.



So tell me, any of you out there that are spurs, why if the Spurs are such a good team why do they have to complain like little girls? They are the BLEEP champions, why can't they act like it? Why can't they act like they can overcome any bad fouls with their play? (which by the way they normally can.)

Can anybody answer this? I think it is because they have sleazy foreigners on their team, but that is just my theory.

Anyway, the lasting image of Tim Duncan will be him yelling indignantly at the refs, not anything that he actually accomplished.

7 Things I Know About the Longhorns

I attended the Orange and White game Saturday on a gloomy overcast day.  The weather was a perfect metaphor for how the Longhorns played.  Yea, it wasn’t raining, but the sun sure wasn’t shining. While there were some high points, mostly fans and presumably coaches are left with more questions than ever about what kind of team this will be. 

That being said, I was able to make several important observations from the game.  I was able to learn several important things about this team and can tell you 7 things I KNOW about them so far. 

1. The offense will struggle early this year. 

There are no stand-out playmakers on this team right now.  Longhorn fans are going to see a very slow, struggling team in the early games this fall, similar to what we saw last year.  (struggling in wins against Arkansas State, early against TCU).

And for all his problems and inconsistency last year, (and every year) at least Jamaal Charles was a homerun threat.  There appears to be no homerun threat on offense right now, so hopefully one will emerge soon.  The closest thing to a playmaker is Jordan Shipley, who had a decent day.  But he needs to seriously step up to become a big time receiving threat.  Decent is not a

2. John Chiles is not ready to be the backup quarterback.  

Last year Chiles came in off the bench and made some electrifying runs and excited Longhorn fans with his feet.   His passes were off, but he was a true freshman and very raw.  With time people hoped his passes would get better.

Well, he has had time and his passes are no better.  He was overthrowing receivers, under throwing receivers, and making ill-advised passes into tight coverage.  When he was trying to throw on the run, there wasn’t any hint of accuracy, and he was always on the run.

That being said, he did elude the pass rush very well.  Nobody ever came close to touching him behind the line of scrimmage.  The one time I noticed the defense blitzing, Chiles quickly got outside for a about a seven yard gain.  He also had several big runs including one of about 40 yards in the “second half” that helped spur a touchdown drive and open up running room for Fozzy Whittaker (more on him in the point number 5).

The problem is Chiles runs TOO WELL.  On every possession it appeared as if he was thinking RUN RUN RUN, and not looking to pass.  After watching him pass, I can see why.

Now this is fine if we are going to use Chiles as part of a two quarterback attack, and he comes in to get some running plays going.  Occasionally heave a pass.  But if Colt is hurt, and he is the back up, the team will have to struggle to win. Which brings me to….

3. Sherrod Harris needs to be the TRUE backup quarterback.

The only quarterback on the field that had a great day out there was Harris.  He passed accurately and eluded blitzes well.  He threw on the run, moved the ball, and generally played great. 

He does not appear to have the break away speed that Chiles has, and won’t be the next coming of Vince Young.  But he is elusive and can throw on the run.  He plays like Donavan McNabb does.  Not the most feared runner, but runs well enough that you have to respect him, and that consequently makes the passing game better.

Harris was injured last year and slid down the depth chart behind Chiles.  That needs to stop.  He needs to be the backup.  I am all fine for bringing Chiles in when we want to attack with the running game.  But Harris is the only other quarterback behind Colt that can actually guide this offense.  And quite frankly he could be a longhorn starter sooner than you think because…

4. Colt McCoy needs to elevate his game.

Colt had a stellar freshman campaign that would have been better had he not been injured.  He regressed slightly in his sophomore year, but a lot of the blame on that was thrown at the injured feet of the offensive linemen.  Or injuries such as the one to Limas Sweed. 

However, he needs to elevate his game.  He needs to be the playmaker, especially given the lack of experience everywhere else on the team (wide receiver, tight end, running back).

If the Longhorns want to compete for anything other than the Holiday Bowl, then Colt has be a playmaker.  If he is unable to regain his freshman year form, then I think it may be time to examine what a true double threat QB can do, like Harris.

5. The starting running back needs to be Whittaker. 

I saw lots of Whittaker and Vondrell McGee today.  The obvious pairing should be Whittaker as the primary running back, the workhorse back that takes up the majority of the carries.  He got better as the game went on, and pushed the defense around. 

McGee just does not have the ability to be as physical in between the tackles, but he sure can fly around the edges.  That is why he needs to be used often as a change of pace back.  I would give Whittaker 20-25 carries a game but make sure McGee touched the ball at least ten times either as a runner or a passer. 

6.  The defense will be better against the pass.

Just in case you thought I was neglecting the defense, here is my biggest observation.  I realize that the Longhorns aren’t exactly flush with experienced game breakers in the passing game, but the Longhorn secondary was still making plays.  There were no really big passing plays, and the receivers were not ever open.  Deon Beasley made at least two pass breakups that I was able to observer (one of which was negated by what I thought was a bogus pass interference call.). 

There were no easy catches out there for the Longhorns.  The only way the offense was able to move the ball was to run with it.  The first team defense, by the way, did not give up many yards on the ground or in the air.  Granted they were going against what I thought was the lesser equipped running game, but the Colt McCoy offense managed only to get in the endzone following an end around by Shipley. 

7. This team will not win the Big 12

Texas will do a lot better this year than anybody thinks because this team is going to have an easier schedule than people realize.  The supposed big teams on the schedule I believe will turn out to be paper tigers.

Arkansas lost their best players to the NFL and is breaking in a new coach.

Kansas was overrated last year because they didn’t play anybody.  The most difficult team they faced was Missouri, who beat them.  Now they pick up Texas, OU, and Texas Tech, all teams I expect to beat Kansas.

Missouri I don’t believe is a powerhouse either.  OU beat them easily last year twice.  And that was far from OU’s best team in recent years. 

However, this team has too many question marks, too many what ifs for me to believe that they are the ones that are the best team in he conference. 

I could easily see Texas stumbling again against OU or perhaps to some other team people aren’t expecting them to lose to, like Tech.  Ten wins is a likely outcome, with two losses in there (though not to Arkansas or Kansas, I am sure of that).

But IF they are gonna win, it is either because Colt is having a record setting year or Harris is starting in place of him.  Whittaker has to emerge as a big time workhorse back.  It will help that the defense will likely keep them close in many games, and certain DB’s have the ability to make plays themselves.  But until a proven playmaker on offense emerges, they will likely be better than average but not great. 

The very best part of the spring is here, the annual Texas football spring game!!

Finally something to do when the Longhorns aren't embarassing suck BLEEP teams like stanford from the CRAP ten. 

(I guess shooting jump shots wasn't on the SATs you BLEEP!  HA HA!)

Just to get everyone in the mood for the greateness to come i have a little video you might enjoy, unless you are some sort of terrorist or communist that hates football.

 

And let him go to STRIP CLUBS!

Yes that's right, I think Pacman Jones should go to strip clubs, even if he signs for my favorite team The Dallas Cowboys.

It is no secret that I root for America's Team, and often blog about what they should do to improve.  It has been widely speculated that the Cowboys would like to trade for suspended corner Adam Pacman Jones.

As a football fan, this is a great idea.  It gives the Cowboys a much needed boost in the return game (there was no return game last year) and a solid corner to pair with terence newman and anthony henry.

Add to the fact that the Cowboys would likely not have give up much more than a 5th or 6th rounder, and the deal makes sense on paper.

But there are risks.  he was suspended for a reason.  He did have numerous run ins with the law and the NFL is hell bent on a hypocritical crusade to make their league look better by punishing guys like Pacman who at the time had not been convicted of anything, while continuing to let Leonard Little play in the NFL after     HE KILLED SOMEBODY IN A DRUNK DRIVING ACCIDENT!!!

I guess the lesson here is that PETA has a much more effective PR machine that MADD. 

Anyway, i realize Pacman must stay clear of the law, but much of the focus on whether or not he goes to strip clubs.  The idea being tossed about by all the media people up in dallas and on a national level thanks to espn is whether or not he could stay out of strip clubs.

On the surface this may make some sense. His infamous "make it rain" episode in a Las Vegas strip club left one person paralyzed after a gun battle with some of his posse involved. 

However, the idea that Pacman will be ok as long as he doesn't go into a strip club is only making excuses for the man.  It is allowing him to be a child and a victim.

People are telling him he must stay out of strip clubs because he will get into trouble if he goes there. 

But nobody is saying "hey pacman, don't carry $100,000 cash with you or do things that incite a riot or hang out with people that carry handguns into bars"

Basically nobody is saying to Pacman "Hey be an adult and don't do things that will get you into trouble."

I understand that some people out there might have an objection to strip clubs on either a moral basis or one of a philosophical nature cuz they demean women or what have you.  Fine, but that is not the point here.

If Pacman wants to play for my team, i want him to mature to the point that he CAN go to strip clubs.  Millions of men around the country go to strip clubs every year in this country and never get arrested or shot at.  Pacman should be able to as well.

And what if he decides he will never go to strip clubs again?  does that mean that he is out of trouble all together?  I mean, it is not like people don't get into fights at a bar, or any other public venue.  Are going to tell pacman to stay at home and never leave?

He needs to be told how to act now that he is rich and famous and people want to pick on him.  He needs to learn how to avoid fights.  he needs to learn that while carrying a concealed hand gun is legal in Texas, he should not hang out with people who will carry them where they are not supposed to be (bars with alcohol) or by people with easy trigger fingers.

Basically he needs to be treated like an adult, not somebody who is a child, or like somebody who has some sort of addiction to strip clubs.  he is a grown man who should be held accountable for his actions no matter where he is.  Quit scapegoating the strip clubs. 

Cuz if you do that, the trouble with Pacman will just follow him wherever he goes. 

That being said, I still think he should be a Cowboy.  If he gets in trouble again, who cares as long as he plays next season.  It is time to bring the Super Bowl trophy back to Dallas.

Wow, good job Big 12, way to go. You have a streaking team like Texas, a team that is knocking on the door of the number one position in the polls, virtually assured of getting a number one seed in the tournament, which would help strengthen the conference’s image.

So what does the conference do? It sends its WORST referees to the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Sand Aggies of Lubbock. I have NEVER in all my years seen a game called so badly in college basketball. Not since Cheatin' D Wade and his cohorts stole the NBA championship from the Mavericks in 2006 have I seen a game this poorly officiated.

So instead of a team riding high into the tournament to help the image of a VERY good basketball conference historically, the Big 12 screws Texas over. Instead of people recognizing this conference as a truly competitive basketball conference, the outside world will largely continue to view it is as a football conference. Now that Texas has “lost” to an inferior opponent, the Big 12 can’t be that great.

So way to go Big 12 officials. Way to help the Sand Aggies look good while they sit in last BLEEP place. Give me a break. Well I hope these cheaters enjoy their “victory” today, I’ll be sure to send them a post card from San Antonio when I go to see the Longhorns compete there.

Anybody out there that even remotely considers themself a Maverick fan should now consider devin George one of their favorite players.  Though he did not intend it, his blockage of the idiotic Jason Kidd trade might save the season and future of the franchise.

Let me first make clear that i believe the Mavericks do need to make some major tweaks to their roster.  I still personally believe that Mark Cuban is foolish for not pursuing Kobe Bryant when he was available for trade.  The bottom line with this team is that they will never win a title with Dirk as their best player.  They should have traded him straight up for kobe, or given the lakers harris and howard and stack or terry. 

But this Kidd trade, i fail to see how it makes them even a remotely better team. 

Right now, the mavericks match up better against the spurs than almost any team in the west.  Not that they are better, but that they have the pose the biggest match up problems.  Why?

Because of Devin Harris.  he is quicker than Tony parker and is one of the few guards that can get by him and into the lane.  he also is the ONLY player on the Mavs that can actually get to the lane and score points. 

They would be giving that up for a point guard who is much more expensive, older, and cannot shoot as well.  Granted, Kidd can create assists that harris cannot.  But you have to ask yourself does creating 5 to ten more points for dirk and josh howard equal the drop in points you get from your point guard?

Jason Kidd has been a historically bad shooter.  He is having his WORST career year in terms of shooting.  THE WORST.

To me, the offense gains are not enough to account for the loss of Harris.

Not to mention that this trade actually makes the mavericks worse against teams like the Lakers, Suns, and yes, the Spurs.

Why? because they are giving up Diop.  now the team would be completely thin at center.  How is the human foul machine Dampier supposed to guard shaq?  Even at a fraction of what Shaq used to be, he could easily get dampier in foul trouble.  Pau Gasol definitely will.  and i shudder to think what would happen when Tim Duncan lines up there.

The Dampier/Diop combo has been one of the secrets to the success of the mavs the past few years.  Nobody talks about it, but combined, they are always good for a double double.  it is like having one center that can acquire 12 fouls.

Now who are they going to put down there agains shaq?  6'8" brandon bass?  Juwan Howard??

No, i just don't see how bringing in a washed up jason Kidd helps.

Oh, and let us not forget this is the same Jason Kidd who single handidly DESTROYED the Dallas mavericks by fighting with Jim Jackson over motherBLEEPing Toni Braxton.

Yes that is right.  the reason he had to be traded from the team to begin with was because he and Jim Jackson got into such a fight over that no talent skank that the team became divided, sank to the bottom of the standings, and the rift would not heal.  so the whole team was traded and they started over.  

And now they want to bring this BLEEP BLEEP BACK??

And give up the key players that are really one of the reasons the mavs are any good.  Oh, and like three draft picks are gone, so no new players till like 2134 or whatever year they stop rebuilding new jersey.

No thank you to that.  Thank goodness Devin George put an end to this madness.  He should get a standing ovation in Dallas, not being booed. 

Mark Cuban is the WORST owner in professional sports.  The worst because people often give him credit for stuff he did not do. 

Dirk, michael finley, steve nash, all those players were here when Cuban bought the team.  He just benefitted from them finally coming together.  Then he fired the coach who brought the team out of the abyss and replaced him with an inexperienced, hard-headed fool who will be out coaching in less than five years. 

It is too bad a smart business man like Jerry Jones couldn't buy the mavericks.  Now THERE is a man who can turn around a franchise.  Then i would start watching the inept mavericks again.