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Stop fretting. Get up, have a couple bloody marys to clear the NYE cobwebs. Go to the game. Have fun at the game. Get home safely. Rinse, wash, hopefully repeat next year. I'm generally not a very positive guy. People call me a cynic, a curmudgeon, unpleasant to be around. But I love that we're playing in Dallas on a day when I don't have to work. Any other bowl, even the BCS national championship, there would be no way I could attend.

Ya...but for his childhood sweetheart, so it's tough to hold a grudge. Rather than being mature about it though, we went out, got good and drunk alone at some Milwaukee dive bar, spent the night flirting with some rather attractive suitors only to get one whiskey past charming, strike out with all the pretty talent and end up going home with some fat chick at last call...who in the morning professed her deep love and suicidal abandonment issue...making us feel too guilty to tell her it was a drunken mistake and that we never want to see her again, so we said we too really felt something meaningful and we've been stuck in an un-happy relationship watching Lifetime movies while talking about cats and cake ever since. She might even have pretty friends...but since we're constantly stuck inside her messy, 2-room studio we'll never find out unless we leave her. I'm also pretty sure she's purposely trying to get pregnant...just to keep us around.

So you haven't listened in almost 20 years and cannot say if his opinions have changed at all and are calling him misinformed?

"I don't like that Green Texas flag THEY fly, when did that get started?" "I just think it's a spare program when you have to solely rely on one player that played 30 years ago and name your team after him to get any recognition..." Should I go on? Rick

Is TWC breaking news Tony Benford will finally be fired!? #UNT #FireBenford pic.twitter.com/xSo4YjmvQQ — L.D. Stacy III (@DJmcLD) December 17, 2013

It's not though...again that was not all OSU fans. I couldn't believe when RV said it. There were a lot of Cowboys fans, but it wasn't more than 40% of the crowd.

Well, the main difference that you seem to be ignoring is that not EVERY North Texas alum has a daily radio forum in which to convey your occasional disdain and/or indifference to your alma mater.

1) Build Apogee 2) Hire an actual coach 3) ??? 4) Profit!

Wrote my first ever sports article. Check it out. Ill take any honest feedback. Hope i gave the school some good press! http://www.indallas.com/sports/going-bowling-in-the-heart-of-dallas/

2 new episodes for HoD Bowl Pre-Bowl game/season recap Dec 26 bowl game jan 9

Hold grudges much? Over the years it has seemed to me that those that disparage Craig on here do so because he doesn't tout UNT like he does OU combined with the fact they don't like the ticket because they don't talk sports every segment. Craig grew up in Oklahoma and was a sports freak. He knew he wanted to be in media and knew North Texas was his best avenue. For him it was a means to an end. I can't fault the guy for that. Nor can I fault him for still having his affinity for OU. He grew up watching one of the most dominant college programs ever and it made a forever lasting impression. Over the last few years he has never talked badly about NT and recounts fondly his time at NT and the RTVF program. Because he doesn't drink the green kool-aid like Georgio or any of us doesn't mean he should get ripped. Just my .02 And side note, as someone that spent 6 years in sports radio every segment about sports gets BORING!!!!!! There are only so many times you can breakdown the secondary of the Seattle Seahawks. UGH. I remember if I spent even half a segment not talking sports I would get nasty emails berating me for not talking sports every single second. What a beating.

Those quotes above came out of his mouth on the radio when I was last listening, which was around 1994-95, and I have refuse to listen ever since. And they were said at a very critical time when North Texas was doing it's damndest to finance a required stadium seating capacity increase in order to make the push to get out of 1-AA Hell. Next to the latest stadium student fee proposal to build Apogee, this was possibly the most important time for NT alumni to come together for a common bond, yet all that prick that so many seem inclined on stroking around here could say was a bunch of sarcastic, misinformed shit about his own school. Rick

Fixed it for you.

Let's use it to hire a promotions dept for the holiday season.

What does it matter? He's coming to games, right? Might be best to stop harping on the Junior tree and instead look at the greater alumni forest. We have bigger problems than an OU t-shirt fan who happens to come to Apogee here and there. By the way, I've still yet to hear Junior say anything blatantly negative about his Alma Mater... just indifference. And that, unfortunately, is better than most.

He mentioned before that he actually took UNT to beat the spread against Georgia.

Very cool! That was my tweet, but I didn't have a chance to listen in. Thanks for posting.

I'm sure he has money on the game.

I'm hoping this is just the beginning of a beautiful relationship. As with so many other things, we don't have the behind-the-scenes look at what is going on, but I'm hoping that the HoD will consider UNT the "home town team" and is trying to develop a sort of symbiosis whereby they help us grow our fanbase and, in return, whenever possible they give us the nod for their bowl in hopes of filling as many seats as possible and creating a buzz in the region. I know this sounds way too optimistic for a lot of you but I'm looking at our development as a University, a "brand," and an athletics program, and we've really come pretty far lately and with a couple of decent allies (i.e. CUSA and the HoD bowl committee) we could finally turn the corner and catch back up with those who passed us by (Boise, Cincy, Louisville, etc.). I know it seems to be that our lot in life as North Texans is to embrace disappointment and to expect a meltdown, but let's not always just assume that to be the case. We have some momentum in many areas where previously there was none, and if we can keep that going and get a little help from organizations who see a mutual benefit along the way, we very well may be back on the track that so many of us expected when we registered for classes for the first time at North Texas. Don't ever forget that excitement, that thrill, the possibilities and the unknowns that made you feel as though life had so many great things in store for you when you took that huge step. Even with individual accomplishments, we've all hoped for a better foothold among our peers and though we may at times be jaded, all of that is still within our reach if we continue to hang together and all find ways to contribute.

As usual, NT has tremendous pressure to turn out the troops. Our opponent should have been a better pick as relates to projected attendance from each school. Heart of Dallas has only themselves to blame if attendance is poor...of course, if weather is bad, it could really be terrible.

People need to remember that these are announced attendance numbers, not butts in seats. I would bet the actual attendance was 10k less in each game.

Because she seemingly has no strategy on offense or defense?

The reality is many disinterested alumni don't care to come watch our team. Blaming the opponent is an excuse.

Yes! That's right, the absolute worst athletes I've seen on the hardwood at UNT in 35 years; and, the coaching, who hired this clown. You're right, Rick V. did; who hired Todd Dodge, you're right, Rick V. did; do you see a pattern. The Todd Dodge hiring set us back 9 years in football; can we afford to keep Tony? NO! Pay him off and kick him out the door. And, another thing, I went to the SFA game and my god talk about game day downer; please Rick go see a mavericks game and learn how to put on a game day experience (weather you're winning or not). Music, (no band, they suck) music, loud music,dancing girls and people in the seats; electricity and showmanship! It was worst than a high school game, no, it wasn't even close to the atmosphere of a high school game; that would be substantially better.

Someone sent in a question this morning about UNT football building on their success this year and if we could ever break into relevance in the Dallas market. Basically said McCarney is the right guy for the job and said some things that most of us already know about us being in an uphill battle with the Dallas market because of all the pro sports and even college teams in the area. Thought it was good they are at least talking about us though. No mention about how being in the Heart of Dallas bowl could help us, though.

There will be parking aplenty. If they can accommodate TX-OU while the state fair is going on then just a bowl game alone isn't a problem. The benefit of the parking pass will be where you get to park.

of course that was a slip of the tongue. He couldn't possibly climb a mountain if he were gay.

led by Senior Wide Receiver Brelan Chancellor who lead the country. (should be "led" or "leads" and the physical brand of offense lead the Mean Green (same error here) Overall, great job! See you at the game.

I feel bad for you. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Know what the bible says about not forgiving people?

hmmm. I am confused... didn't several of his players transfer to Texas and Oklahoma State... start and get massive playing time there? Sounds like he had talent... just couldn't coach it. man, that sounds familiar.

Trilli's early teams played the most difficult oc schedules of anyone, so it is hard to compare with Benford's schedule. Trilli's later teams were almost devoid of talent as he couldn't recruit anyone after his dismal start and his good players including the great Chris Davis and Hopkins were injured a lot. I think Trilli had some young very good talent starting out, but his poor coaching combined with Helwig's crazy scheduling doomed him and the team. His last teams who struggled and barely beat a no ship team had little talent and no depth. The current NT team is much more talented but plays about the same.

Tell me, how many North Texas games has he been to since he graduated? How many prior to this year?

3) Win

Recruitment doesn't usually work that way. That is, coaches are not primarily charged with recruiting players to their position, they are primarily charged with recruiting players in their assigned geographic area. That said, who is going to be a player's position coach factors in a whole lot when a recruit is deciding where to go.

A little pricey for the party, but hey, I've been waiting for how long for this game and day!

Can't wait for this match up. Had it circled on my calendar since the game was announced.

You can't have your cake and eat it, too, Coogy' Boy. 1,300 tickets is 1,300 tickets, especially for an aspiring SEC program? (yuk! yuk!) You seem to have been very quiet of late, though, and that strange silence since we started winning and looking damn good (and loud) on national TV on a Halloween Night when our attendance was better than your school's attendance on the same night. SEC........really? AND................UNT never had any time as a member of the SWC to have built a fan base tied to local and regional rivalries as UH did, either. After 1 winning season in a decade.....we are on track.to move upward and forward. (Come on now, did yall really need a 40,000 seat stadium to play Rutgers and some of those other AAAAAAC Anonymous schools)? Would UH fans have spent $75 per ticket to go watch (lets say) a Colorado State from the MWC at any HOD Bowl game? The answer to that is no........... I know Coog fans; hell, grew up a Coog fan and didn't stop observing their program when I transferred from Alvin JUCO to UNT, either. In fact, I followed UH when Bo Burris of Brazosport HS (Freeport) and from my home county was the Coog QB before UH could even spell the word......... "B O W L". I know both school's history pretty damn well matter a fact, so you can't slide anything past me on anything that UH does. Get along back to your erector set (still way too many visible steele beams for my good and funky lookin') Apogee Wanna' Be Stadium. Funny you still want to come over here and be a non-stop squatter on Mean Green Land. You UNT haters seem to have an obsession with our school. Wonder what Dr. Phil would have to say about all of your group's compulsive obsession? Or better yet.....Dr. Ruth, perhaps. _____________________________________________ North Texas Mean Green Fans, Students and Alums: A UH Cougar Fan (and others) Says We Won't Have 25,000 At Our Bowl Game? Are We Going To Prove Our UNT-Hater Critics Wrong? Call This # To Buy Your HOD Bowl Tickets: (940) 565-2527 (If you don't...............we won't)!

Anyone know who to contact about a typo? "Spectators may not bring food or beverages into the Cotton Bowl tadium" http://www.meangreensports.com/heartofdallas/tickets.html This is not intended to be some shot at the Athletic Department (although, around here, some may turn it into one somehow) but a genuine question how to notify someone so it can be fixed.

Yes love it and glad they nonchalantly left any UTSA game photo out. That game never happened in my mind:) GMG!!!!!

FYI, the back room at Campizi's has this game as UNT -3 (opened at -5.5)

The only reason I'd keep RV is if he WASN'T the sole person responsible for these terrible hires and some other issues with the department, such as marketing. Now, if it's all indeed let up to him, the he needs to go along with Benford. We need better leadership if that's the case.

Not a pretty picture! A collection of backups on a good team. But then again, it was a down league. With 1 or 2 ships to go, looks like a C+ class to me. Disappointing considering the new conference and coming off the season we had

We need to collectively embrace solutions. Not excuses.

Did it ever occur to you that the reason you have to put so much effort into selling FB tickets is because RV and his marketing "team" have no clue?

Benford looked like a fantastic hire originally. We stole our women's coach from Wake Forest. While he's struggling this year, team was showing promise last year. Facility improvements. Fanbase improvements. Publicity in DFW. Real UNT athletic apparel. McCarney. On our old budget, it's difficult to hire solid coaches, unless you want a revolving door like Arky State which will bite them in the ass soon.

If they make the game day experience more like a Mavs game I don't see us getting season tickets until it changes back to the college atmosphere. When we were still good and exciting the place was electric and there was no reason to try and manufacture atmosphere.

For the love of God folks, the member of my party who is UNEMPLOYED came up with the money to buy through our ticket office. Years from now, when we are left home during bowl season, we will rue the day we were too cheap to show our buying power at a bowl IN DALLAS. We talk about wanting to be "big time" but all I see is "same ol' NT".