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Texas Christian University announced yesterday
the Fort Worth school would be joining the Big East
Conference in July of 2012. TCU's football team is
currently posting its second great season, having gone
unbeaten in eleven outings. The Horned Frogs are
currently in the Mountain West Conference and
obviously the cream of the crop there. As the number
three team in the national standings, TCU is headed for
a major Bowl Game appearance. Fort Worth is the national
headquarters of the Big 12 Conference, and that would look
to be the natural fit. Even with the defection of Nebraska and
Colorado from the Big 12, TCU would have regional rivalries
with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor, all of them
former members of the old Southwest Conference. TCU will
be able to hold their heads up high in football in the Big East,
but when basketball season rolls around it could be a horse of
a different color. The schools in the Big East that TCU will play
looks like the winner's bracket of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The Big East has a membership that includes:
Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Seton Hall,
St. John's, Villanova, Georgetown, and DePaul. Connecticut
is also a member of the Big East, but also the location of
ESPN, the cable sports complex. That assures the Frogs of
some national exposure and that is probably the ultimate reason
for the move. TCU will join the Big East in July of 2012.
The day has arrived... It's finally Thanksgiving Day
and my wife has been working on this day since
Monday. We have twenty folks (maybe more)
coming to our house for the Thanksgiving meal.
Momma has prepared two turkeys, one ham, and
enough dressing to feed a platoon of the 101st Airborne
Division.
I hope Thanksgiving will be as good for you as it will
for the Stone Family. I joke and complain, BUT all of
us are PRIVILEGED enough to live in this great land.
May the Lord bless and keep you all the days of your life!
Underdog
Maybe it's just me, but I have gone all day without
the TV or Radio mentioning that it is the 47th anniversary
of the assassination of John Kennedy. It is a large bookmark
in my life as I was one of those that stood in line along
Commerce Street and waved at the 35th President of the
United States as he drove past in the motorcade that day
in 1963. Leon Nay and I had cut classes at Arlington
State College in order to see the young President. We were
standing in front of the old Sanger Brothers Department
Store as they drove past. Jack looked a lot younger in
person than he did on TV,...Jackie was all smiles in her
pink suit and matching pillbox hat. Texas Governor
John Connally and his wife, Nellie, were in the same car
with the Kennedy's and both were beaming to the crowd.
Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was two cars back in a
car with Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas. The motorcade
made it's way past us so Leon and I were headed back home
when we got the news on the car radio. We were both
dumbfounded.... Ironically, I am currently reading a book
by Jim Marrs entitled 'Crossfire'. It deals with the JFK death
and has quite a few people to blame. The list is long but
just a few would include the Cubans, the CIA, the mafia,
the secret service, the military industrial complex, LBJ, and
also the communist party. If you really want to cloud your
mind over the happenings that day I recommend you reading
it. The movie by Oliver Stone on JFK's death was based on
this book. I don't believe a lot of the of the claims, but there
is no doubt someone was at the grassy knoll, and the theory
of a single bullet going through the President, striking Connally
through the shoulder, then his wrist, and then his knee....and
then still being in pristine condition........Well, that is a little
hard to believe...But the American public sure swallowed it!!
Just watched a TV interview with Ray Lewis, the
All-Pro linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens.. and he
is right on the money. The game of football has descended
to crap in the National Football League. Lewis said
the NFL is based on a long history of players that
fought through pain to play the game. He even went
so far as to mention Ray Nitschke of Green Bay and
Dick Butkus of Chicago as players honored for their
physical defensive play. Lewis told the interviewer
he does not play a position where he throws the ball,..
nor catches the ball,..nor runs with the ball. His position
is primarily one that hits the player with the ball and
tries to separate him from the ball. The interviewer was
also told that all players have pads around their mid-sections,
shoulder pads, helmets, and face masks. Is that not enough
protection to play the game? Lewis relayed the story where
a pass came over the middle to a wide receiver and he hit
the receiver just after he caught the ball. The player and ball
were separated and another member of the Ravens recovered
the ball. When Lewis got to the sidelines, teammates and
coaches pounded him with celebration for such a great hit.
Three days later he received a letter from NFL Commission
Roger Goodell informing him of an impending fine for the
hit. Come'on Man!! I can see the need for the helmet to helmet
rule because of the number of concussions, but the physical
play of the game is starting to suffer. Quoting the great
philosophical Dale Earnhardt,.."If you got lace on your panties,
you're playing the wrong sport."
It was a longtime coming, but if you watched the
Dallas Cowboys game with Detroit today you were
a witness to a special honor. Canton, Ohio's
latest entry was on hand to receive his Hall of Fame
ring. Jerry Jones, who also introduced Emmitt Smith at the
Hall of Fame ceremonies, handled today's activities
with the ring. You might find some teardrops on this
posting as Emmitt was my all-time favorite Cowboy..
but I was not alone in admiration of number 22.
Smith is the National Football League's all-time leading
rusher (runner) with 18,355 yards...the NFL's all-time
leading touchdown producer with 164... Ran for over
1,000 yards in a season eleven straight years... Led the
NFL in rushing 4 times.. Was the NFL's Most Valuable
Player in 1993...Was the NFL's Rookie of the Year in
1990..& was MVP of Super Bowl XXXVIII (28). Smith was
named to the Hall of Fame in 2010 and joins nine other
former Cowboys in the Canton Shrine. They are: Bob
Lilly, Rayfield Wright, Bob Hayes, Mel Renfro, Roger
Staubach, Randy White, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman,
and Michael Irvin. Smith is also active in helping young
people in his home state of Florida and also a spokesman
for the President's Council on Physical Fitness... And you
thought I only liked him for his ability to run with a football!!
The Mustangs of SMU won their football
game with Marshall University yesterday
31-17. Marshall has never won a game in
the state of Texas in seven outings. The win by SMU keeps
them in the chase for a possible bowl bid.
Mustang quarterback Kyle Padron passed for
two touchdowns and ran for another as the SMU
defense held Marshall to just 50 yards rushing. SMU
running back Zach Line carred the ball 30
times for 202 yards and one touchdown. The
Mustangs are now 6-5 on the season, but 5-2 in
Conference USA. They can clinch a spot in the
conference championship game with a win over
East Carolina on Friday. Go Ponies !!
(Photos courtesy of the Dallas Morning News)
Sunday nights game might have been the
last straw. The Dallas Cowboys fell to the Green
Bay Packers 45-7 in front of a nationwide
audience. The entire nation watched as Jerry
Jones' team fell to a record of one win and seven
losses in 2010....and the game was not as close
as the score might indicate. The Packers had
over twice as much total offense and ran off almost
twice as many offensive plays than did Dallas. The
mere 39 rushing yards by Dallas might have been
the most disappointing of all. This from a backfield
of running backs Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and
Tashard Choice. Don't think the Cowboys dismal
season can be blamed on the loss of quarterback Tony
Romo... Dallas had lost five games when he was injured
and lost for the season. Romo might not be the super savior
of this franchise that most thought when he came along
in 2004 as an undrafted free agent. Romo just happen
to be the best of the lot at the time (Drew Bledsoe, Vinny
Testaverde, Quincy Carter, and Chad Hutchinson). Owner
and General Manager Jerry Jones is on the hotseat to
correct the destiny of America's Team and admitted to being
embarrassed over last nights game. After the latest
setback he told reporters that wholesale changes would be
coming for players and coaches. The Cowboys lack of
offense can first and foremost be laid at the feet of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. At one time Garrett was thought to be the head coach in waiting, but that is probably not going to happen now. The Cowboys offensive shows no spark of life, running or passing the ball. Fans are already calling for the firing of Head Coach Wade Phillips, and the
veteran coach may not make it to Veterans' Day of this
week before losing his job.
As you can see by the time stamp,..I wrote this story this morning,.. but this afternoon Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
followed through on his threat. He fired Head Coach Wade
Phillips and replaced him on an interim basis with offensive
coordinator Jason Garrett. This following a game where the
Cowboys showed 39 yards rushing the ball.. It must get better
than that. Hopefully the 'interim title' will last only for the
2010 season and Dallas will have a real coach hired for the
2011 season. Current Monday Night Football analyst and former Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden would be a good choice, or maybe former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill
Cowher. Either would be a good choice for Dallas.
I am posting this notice to give you a little
advance notice on one of the area's biggest
motorcycle runs. The 'Toys For Tots' bike
run will be December 4th and begin from
Texoma Harley-Davidson in Sherman. The
dealership is located at exit 64 of U.S. Highway
75 in Sherman. Bikers will begin forming up at
9am and the first bike away will be at 11:30am.
The run will take us through Sherman and Denison
and it usually ends up at an eatery that will quench
your thirst & hunger. Two years ago we had a
turnout of over one thousand bikes to set the record.
This will mark the 16th year that Sherman/Denison
has hosted this event and it has become one of the
largest in the area. Make your plans now and be a
part of the fun and festivities.. See ya there....
When I say congratulations, don't think I am
being sarcastic. The Denison Yellow Jackets went
to the semi-finals of the high school playoffs last
year, but they lost 19 players off that team to
graduation. Everyone knew it would be a rebuilding
and learning season in 2010, but hardly anyone was
ready for the way this season began. Denison lost
their first eight games of the year. Some of the games
were more than a loss, they got creamed. Years of
winning over other teams meant this year opponents
got their payback. While down, but not out, other teams
got the chance to really trash the Jackets and took the
opportunity. Sherman won back the Battle Ax for the
first time in four years, and they are the district champs.
Congrats to the Bearcats and good luck, BUT this posting
deals with the Jackets. A lot was made of a newspaper story
that said 'no Denison team has ever gone through a season
without winning a single game.' We are talking about a
school that has been playing football since 1900. The 2010
edition of the Jackets proved they have what it takes by
winning their last two (2) games of the season. Denison
defeated Greenville last week, and last night won over
Mount Pleasant to close out the season at 2-8. It will not go
down as a banner year, but remember that all winning has
to end sometime,...just ask the New York Yankees or the
Dallas Cowboys!! So the opponents that were victorious this year better enjoy that win...because Denison will be back.....
We went to an awards assembly this morning
at Houston Elementary School in Denison. The
youngest granddaughter was up for a few awards
for this six-weeks. The vivacious young blonde
got an award for: (1) perfect attendance (2) reading
(3) Dog Patch (outstanding work in class) (4) Top
Dog Award (most outstanding student) (5) Top
Performance in Physical Education. All of this at
the ripe old age of seven and coming at the
scholarly level of second grade. She is bright beyond
her short years....and also beautiful to look at also.
... You might have noticed,...her grandfather is quite
attached to her !!
It came to an end last night....the fairy-tale
season of the Texas Rangers ended as the
team and fans had to watch the San Francisco
Giants celebrate the Championship on the
Ranger's home field. The final score of 3-1 in
game five gave the Giants the series 4 games
to one. There is an old catch phrase in baseball
that 'good pitching will always defeat good hitting'
and it was evident in this Series. The Giants had
better pitching than the Rangers, hands down!
Two games saw the Rangers fail to score, and
this after leading
the league in scoring in 2010, and putting up over
40 runs in eliminating the Tampa Rays and New York
Yankees in the American League playoffs. Unfortunitely
for Ranger fans, the team had to face Tim Lincecum
in games one and five. He was brilliant in both outings!
Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner of the Giants also
showed up the Rangers in their victorious games.
For the Giants, it is their first World Series Championship
since 1954 and they were located in New York at that time.
In the late 1950's the Giants followed the lead of the Dodgers
in moving to the West Coast. The Texas Rangers will have
to settle for the American League Championship in 2010, but
they did create quite a stir in North Texas. The following of new fans will be something to see in 2011.
Last year we staged the first edition of
'Spooks & Spokes' and Saturday it was round
two of the Halloween fun at Texoma Harley-
Davidson. Momma and I usually go all-out
for Halloween and Saturday was no different.
We had a lot of fun dressing up when our children
were growing up and 'trick or treating' with them.
Saturday the crowd was slow in developing, but
by noon the customers started to gather. T-Bones
Restaurant of Denison was on hand to feed the mob
some delicious fajitas, chips, and salsa. Mad House
Tattoos was there applying ink, plus a new vendor
that was hawking a solution to bring your wheels back
to a 'like new' condition. The Texoma Regional Blood
Center had their mobile collection center on hand to
accept donations. Tracy was present and accounted
for to give complimentary messages, and of course,
my wife was sewing patches on jackets & vests. It was
a fun time and Momma won first place in the pumpkin
carving contest.. As a couple, we also won third place
in the costume contest!!
