ADLER

I think they should have stayed with the Indians theme and just changed the mascot to Pakastanis.

So true; we got destroyed 84-60 at ASU, lost 74-71 at home, but were able to rebound 83-75 to win the tournament. I think we are all aware of what's possible, especially after watching the last game between these two teams.

He will still have to sit out a year but he will still have 3 years of eligibility left starting with the 2009 season. Donte does have the potential to be an outstanding football player; great speed and a solid tackler.

Here, I've got all the details. It keeps all the bureaucrats in their comfort zone. It's just too bad because it's actually the major surgery of a heart implant that is needed. North Texas: Almost A Commitment To An Almost Mediocre Reputation!

From what I have seen of Warren he is pretty damn fast. Maybe that has changed with some of the additional weigh, but he was quite elusive back when he played quarterback and had the ability to sprint past defenders. Knowledge of the linebacker position may be a challenge but he has had a year to learn the position.

Former LSU, UK stars remember history of series * By JASON RUSSELL * Advocate sportswriter * Published: Feb 17, 2008 Maybe it wasn’t as big a game as it used to be. Maybe the rivalry didn’t quite live up to those classic games back in the 1980s. But for one day at least, the LSU-Kentucky basketball game was the biggest game in town. Heck, even “Big” was in attendance. Former Tigers center and current Phoenix Suns standout Shaquille O’Neal — who is affectionately called “Big” by his entourage — was among the former LSU and Kentucky players in attendance Saturday as 9,870 watched the Tigers fall to the Wildcats, 67-63. O’Neal, recently traded to Phoenix from Miami and nursing a hip injury, enjoyed playing to the crowd when introduced in the second half Saturday. “This was the creation of my game and my NBA career and I just wanted to get that feeling one more time,” he said. Then O’Neal put his two cents in on LSU’s search for a new coach. “They’re struggling but … Johnny Jones for head coach,” he said with a grin. While the final score did not go in LSU’s favor, those in the crowd who were part of the series history remembered what a few called “the good ol’ days.” “You still get that little tickle in your stomach” when you come back, former LSU guard Derrick Taylor said. “No matter how old you get, no matter what happens, you still get that tickle. “Those were good ol’ days, you never forget them. It was like a reunion today. We just didn’t get the win.” Taylor couldn’t hide his emotions when talking about being at an LSU basketball game. “It was good to see because when I come home, it’s always special for me,” Taylor said. “And it being the Kentucky game makes it even more special.” O’Neal wasn’t the only big man from the series history taking in the atmosphere of the game. Former Kentucky and NBA center Kenny “Sky” Walker also sat courtside reminiscing of days gone by. “It was a frantic pace when we came down here,” Walker said. “This, in my opinion, was the toughest place to play because all the students used to line up about two hours before the game and it was just a wild atmosphere, but in a good way. I always enjoyed playing here.” Former Tigers star Ricky Blanton said the excitement level wasn’t quite up to par with what he remembers. “It’s an exciting time, although the quality and the atmosphere is not the same that we’re used to,” Blanton said. “It was a good game. The excitement was definitely there.” The dip in quality of play from both teams did weigh heavily on all of the former players minds, though. “Hopefully the infrastructure is in place at Kentucky with the new coach to get to where they want to go and I think here at LSU, the (coaching) change will allow the progress to move a little quicker,” Blanton said. And despite LSU’s lack of success in the win column, Taylor said he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. “I’m glad to see the young guys rallying behind (interim coach) Butch (Pierre),” Taylor said, “because they could easily give up. I’m really proud of the way the team played today.” Pierre said he was grateful for those former Tigers who were at the game. “I want to thank the former players who came to the game today,” he said. “It means a lot to me and our players that those guys who are so important to the history of our program were here (Saturday).” Current LSU player Garrett Temple, in whose home O’Neal often stayed while O’Neal was at LSU, gave a little in-game shout-out to Shaq. “I gave him a little wink after I made some free throws,” Temple said. Also in attendance Saturday was former LSU coach Dale Brown and former LSU player Tyrus Thomas. Save a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.comSave a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.com Email a link to this articleEmail a link to this article Printer-friendly version of this articlePrinter-friendly version of this article View a list of the most popular articles on our siteView a list of the most popular articles on our site

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT NORTH TEXAS NEEDS TO DO!

He was probably referring to North Texas as the university of Texans, you know the school in Denton that has more Texans enrolled than any other college. UT-Austin and A&M both have larger enrollments but they both also have significantly larger populations of out-of-state students and international students.

You guys have followed this part much closer than I. If we do not win the West will we necessarily have a HOME first round game? Is there any chance that we would have to play an AWAY game before the Mobile part of tournament starts?

funny The owner of the shop is an North Texas alum named Steve Levine, he's an OK guy for being an old Lamda Chi. He buys sportswear overstocks and closeouts and sells them at a deep discount price. In addition to all the college and pro team shirts jackets and hats, he buys a lot of championship events and bowl clothing. Make sure to ask for North Texas merchandise if you go in. He buys more of what people ask for and can get volume orders made for a very low price.

If we do host that first round game, I would love to see North Texas honor the 1988 Champions team on their 20th anniversary of the feat.

True, it's far from being the fault of only the current leadership, but it is their responsibility to correct it. They are not performing their duty to the university if they ignore THE PROBLEM as others before them have done.

The endowment is directly a result of people in positions of power in the university not allowing North Texas to become something that people are proud to be associated with. It's their fault, and it's their responsibility to fix it.

It's a colorized version of a black and white photo. I believe the replicas are fairly accurate although they have a vee neck and the pictured jersey looks more like a crew neck. Oh, and don't go looking on ebay for the card, I just bought it.

This is also on Ebay for only $.99 Pretty cool

Silver, it's pretty well spelled out in the VIP forum. (and for you non-VIP's, think bunny and the pillow)

Thanks Superfrog. I don't think Dodge will be hearing any ringing endorsements of LoJo from Patterson. Sad, the kid had every opportunity to succeed both athletically and academically and has wasted it. I hope he's truly innocent and is able to get his life in order but it also sounds like he may have initiated his own downward spiral.

The lack of a stadium is just a symptom of a bigger problem. Fix that problem and the facilities issues will easily be fixed.

Are you sure that she doesn't already have one?

I posted the information, not because I want him on our team or don't want him on our team, only because a highly sought player that North Texas had once sought was potentially available again. Was he a participant in a crime, I don't know, the victim didn't indicate he was involved, there wasn't any DNA evidence revealed that would indicate that he was involved, the only witness involved seems to be a rapist that drugged a girl and then tried to implicate other athletes. He's obviously guilty of having some seedy friends but I think he's already paid very dearly for that poor judgement. Should North Texas offer the kid? That should be between Todd Dodge and Gary Patterson. I'm sure that Patterson knows more details about the situation than the press is able to release. I doubt that returning to TCU is an option. If Patterson says Jones is a good kid that got railroaded by unscrupulous friends and deserves a chance to get his life back, or if Jones is trouble waiting to happen again and should be avoided, those would be the recommendations that I would put faith in. Like the other readers of this message board, I don't know details of what happened that night. I will trust Coach Dodge's and Coach Patterson's judgement and be happy with whatever they decide.

Defensive tackle McKinney (TX) Ht: 6-foot-4 Wt: 294 lbs Forty: 4.97 secs Bench max: 310 pounds Squat max: 480 pounds Vertical: 30 inches Class: 2005 (High School) Rivals.com Rating: 5.7 (About) Position Ranking: 25 Rivals.com Defensive tackles 2005 (25) Postseason Texas Top 100 2005 (29) DMN Area Top 100 for 2005 (11) The Latest: Lorenzo Jones makes it a true done deal — 2/2/2005 At one time Lorenzo Jones was considered a lock to be going to the University of Nebraska, but then the Rivals.com three-star rated defensive tackle from McKinney, Texas decided to take more official visits.

Assault charge dropped against former TCU athlete Star-Telegram FORT WORTH -- The Tarrant County district attorney's office has dropped a sexual-assault charge against former TCU football player Lorenzo Jones, KXAS/Channel 5 reported Friday. No further details were available Friday night. Jones was one of three Texas Christian University athletes accused of raping an unconscious 18-year-old woman in October 2006. Virgil Allen Taylor, a former TCU basketball player, was indicted in January on a charge of aggravated sexual assault by threat, which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison. Shannon Monroe Behling, also a former TCU basketball player, was indicted in October on a charge of aggravated sexual assault by threat and remains free on bail pending trial. The case involves a woman who reported that Taylor lured her to his dorm room, where she was given a drink that caused her to pass out. She told police that she awoke briefly to find Taylor having sex with her. Taylor later talked implicated Behling and Jones, police have said. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News debdennis@dallasnews.com FORT WORTH – A former Texas Christian University football player who spent 11 months in jail before a sexual assault charge against him was dismissed says he is not bitter and wants to get on with his life. Lorenzo Labell Jones, 21, was released Monday after prosecutors said in court documents that they did not have enough evidence to pursue charges against him. Lorenzo Labell Jones An 18-year-old student told investigators that Mr. Jones and two former TCU basketball players raped her in a dorm room in October 2006 while she was unconscious. The woman said she passed out after she was given a sports drink laced with an unknown substance. Mr. Jones was never indicted. "I wanted to clear my name," Mr. Jones said. "I spent a year in jail, incarcerated for something I did not do." Prosecutors are not commenting on Mr. Jones' release because charges against Virgil Allen Taylor, 21, and Shannon Monroe Behling, 20, are pending. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Behling were indicted last year. No trial dates have been set. The woman who says she was assaulted could not be reached for comment. The Dallas Morning News does not typically name the victims of sexual assault. Mr. Jones, who now lives in Dallas, said he felt abandoned, but some of his friends and his family stood by him. "At first, when it happened, people just pointed their fingers at me," Mr. Jones said. "I'm a good guy. I'm blessed to be out. Blessed to get another chance." He hopes to resume his football and college career. "I want to be a high school football coach," said Mr. Jones, who was standout at McKinney High School. Mr. Jones, a backup defensive tackle, was one of the Horned Frogs' top recruits in 2005. He was ranked No. 11 in SportsDay's Area Top 100 recruits and was the District 9-4A defensive player of the year in 2004. Mr. Jones' attorney, Marcus Norman, said there was an assumption of Mr. Jones' guilt because of the seriousness of the charges. Despite the allegation, Mr. Jones is still a good prospect. "He was a highly recruited defensive lineman," Mr. Norman said. "He chose TCU and unfortunately he got caught up in this incident and was removed from the university. "He's thankful that the DA's investigation turned out the way it did," Mr. Norman said. "They based the case on evidence and not on what someone said." WFAA-TV contributed to this report.

Oh, and before somebody states that I am trying to put everything on today's students, I'm not. This move should have happened several decades ago and unfortunately there is no way to do it retroactively. Long term, it is what is best for the students and what is best for the university. North Texas; A Great University

I am the eternal optimist when the subject is Mean Green sports, but even I am horribly disappointed with how the stadium issue is being handled. I am not bagging on Rick Villarreal because I honestly think that he is trying to do the most with what little the university and the alumni currently provide. But somebody has got to stand up and admit that THE PROBLEM does exist. THE PROBLEM is that North Texas is incorrectly perceived as a second rate school. THE PROBLEM is that in the past 50 something years North Texas has won only a single postseason event (2002 N.O. Bowl). THE PROBLEM is that North Texas alumni are not overly proud to associate themselves with the school. THE PROBLEM is that nobody raises their children aspiring for them to become UNT students. THE PROBLEM is that under funded North Texas athletics have always played on the lowest level of the big schools. THE PROBLEM is when North Texas plays bodybag games every year they get their asses kicked in embarrassing fashion. THE PROBLEM is that big donors aren't anxious to associate with the university. THE PROBLEM is that big donors perceive that they are throwing their good money away on a university that refuses to help itself. THE PROBLEM is that North Texas receives only token media coverage in it's own market. THE PROBLEM is that North Texas is perceived by many students as an educational appliance to be discarded upon graduation. THE PROBLEM is North Texas has a terrible stigma attached to it for all the listed reasons,.....and hundreds more. THE SOLUTION: North Texas needs to make a statement to improve it's stature by pumping huge amounts of funding into athletics. Athletics are the most visible aspect of the university. North Texas needs to do what UTSA and Texas State have decided is necessary; raise the athletic fee to the state maximum, stop living in disgrace and take advantage of it's size. Do NOT build a stadium sufficient for today’s demand, build a stadium comparable to what any other 35,000 undergrad college with successful programs would have. North Texas needs the ability to create first class facilities that will attract good coaches and great recruits. North Texas needs to have an athletic program that will inspire students to want to make an emotional attachment, to become fans, to follow their teams, to wear their university's apparel. Those students will eventually become contributing alumni, not only to athletics, but to every aspect of the university. When the university invests in itself, and the college becomes something that people want to be associated with, alumni donations and corporate sponsorships will start piling up. Some may say "why put this on the students as a student fee?" The answer is simple, the student fee is the only place that it can start. Generating revenue shared amongst 34,000 students can force change at a rapid pace, and in no other reasonable scenario is that possible. A student fee starting today would enable the university to bond a stadium immediately. A student fee would show potential donors that their money wasn't getting pissed away on some fruitless venture. A student fee is what's best for the students of the university; it may be somewhat costly right now but it will continue to pay dividends for the rest of their lives as new generations of students continue by making their own contribution. Maybe raise the fee in increments over a 6 year period until it reaches the maximum. THE PROBLEM is then solved. FOREVER. Let's call it the GREAT UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE. Let’s make North Texas a GREAT UNIVERSITY.

Then, in 1983, Tommy Newman arrived to rescue us from all those 14-16 win seasons. I remember talking to Tommy during his first season, how he had pulled the scholarship offer from some juco kid that Blakely had offered. "We're not going to be wasting scholarships on five foot three kids.". The player was so small that people just called him 'Spud'.