TheTastyGreek

FOOTBALL Mac had a heart attack, just like Dickey once did. But, unlike Dickey, we didn't fire him 3 weeks later. Mac is back at work. Not sure what you have on your Dan McCarney medical bingo card... But if Eye, Stroke, and Heart Attack line up with the free space, you might be one more calamity away from a swell prize! Richard Abbe got busted for drunk driving. It's either no big deal or a really big deal... I can't remember which, just that it's a very clear black or white issue. Anyway, he also apparently peed in the street once upon a time, so he's suspended. Brock didn't do much in spring practice because he was hurt. He's 3rd on the quarterback depth chart right now. One of three things is going to happen: 1) Brock will win the starting job in the fall, and we'll make it to a bowl, because he's practically Johnny Manziel according to one ranking 2 or 3 years ago. 2) Derek Thompson will keep the starting job, and we'll make it to a bowl, because he's a lot better than anyone wants to give him credit for. Grit, grindstone, etc. 3) We're going to suck no matter who plays QB, because we always suck and everyone sucks and suckity suck suck suck terrible doomed everyone cry and hang yourselves. BASKETBALL I hope you didn't have a strong emotional attachment to anyone in the 2012 men's recruiting class, because the only one left is Keith Coleman. Overlander, gone to Arkansas Tech. P.J. Hardwick, gone to Arkansas State. And, considering Spring semester just finished a week ago... It's not inconceivable that Coleman ends up at a lesser Arkansas school to be named later. On the lady side, we had a great freshman player who decided to leave. She went to Butler. Don't worry, though, because Coach Petersen got a totally awesome recruit to replace her. Super great. But no, you can't meet her. She lives in Canada, or something. Yes, she TOTALLY signed a letter of intent! No, you can't know what her name is. Okay, fine! He'll tell you. But not yet. Soon. Not now, though. We may have almost gotten a guy who Kansas thought was going to be pretty great, back when he was an 8th grader. We may not have really been very close to getting him, though. The only thing we know for sure is that he decided to move closer to his DFW home by transferring to a school 1000 miles away in Arizona. It's okay, though, because we got a white guy who will mix the JUCO all american awesomeness of Eric Tramiel with the lunch pail coach-on-the-floor gumption of (insert your favorite former white player's name here). We also got a guy with a swell nickname. "Flash". Try saying it: "FLASH!" Don't you feel better already? Good. Then you're emotionally prepared to hear that we lost out on desperately needed JUCO help to the likes of Texas State and Troy. And we've still got an open scholarship to give, even though signing period is over. If that makes you sad, try saying "Flash!" a few times to shake some endorphins loose. UNT90 hates everything about everything. KRAM hates everyone who hates anything. And he's ABSOLUTELY DONE arguing or discussing it with anyone. He lets everyone know at least once or twice a week. A couple of new forum members with daytime IP addresses that trace back to the UNT campus think we're being way too hard on Benford, and we ought to shut up and quit criticizing him so much. Also, give more money to the program. We finished that basketball practice facility. Despite the mass exodus of transfers in and out in the past year, we put in a standard hinged entrance, and not a revolving door. We also have a fancy new hanging scoreboard in the Super Pit. So now, when you're at a basketball game, looking up to the heavens and cursing whatever deity you worship, asking how the hell this could possibly happen to us... You'll still be able to see whatever's happening in full, high definition color. It's pretty nifty. Seriously. BASEBALL Remember last year when there was rampant speculation and insider rumoring about a big announcement coming soon? Basically, same deal. Happy 2013! OTHER SPORTS Soccer did really good but then the NCAA tournament happened and we didn't do so good and then the season was over. Tennis did really good but then the NCAA tournament happened and we didn't do so good and then the season was over. Golf did really good but then the NCAA tournament happened and we didn't do so good and then the season was over.

Who do we have coming in that was even on the rivals 150? If you're thinking of Wesley... I think he's a topaz that's shining so bright compared to the other unpolished gems, some people have him confused with a diamond. Which is sad, because looking at how Tony Mitchell has been criticized for not putting up 20 and 10 every night... The griping about a talented but developing Wesley could get even uglier. Anyway... It sucks that we have an open slot on our bench right now. But, at least we didn't give it to any kid off the street dumb enough to take it, just to yank it back out from under him if someone better came along in a few months. Better an open seat than a game of musical chairs that screws an 18 year old out of his education.

Like, maybe... BRANDAN WALTON?

Glad we're holding off on an announcement. We should definitely space out all the great basketball news we've been celebrating lately.

We can't. They can't sign a binding NLI (letter of intent) with us after today. Anyone who verbals to us after today is a verbal only until they enroll in school. WE can sign documents promising to pay for their education and expenses (I think Kansas State had a big basketball recruit force THEM to commit to HIM instead of vice versa a year or two ago), but they can't sign an NLI. Like Alzee and Kedrick in years past, they wouldn't be officially locked in to North Texas until they enroll and register for classes.

Anyone who can post on this forum can update a wikipedia page.

Back in 2011, Trey Finn's knee blew up in a practice drill three days before the Sun Belt tournament. (Yes, we talkin' bout PRACTICE. Not a game... PRACTICE.) After that derailed things for Arkansas State (they were the top seed from the West that year), I wouldn't be surprised if Brady's policy is to cover everyone in bubble wrap once they clinch the division and lock in seeding for the tournament.

Arizona is a legit Final Four contender next year. Starter or not, I don't blame anyone for taking their shot at a team with that sort of ceiling.

Good for him. I'm glad he managed to keep his career on track He could do some amazing things at Western. In a year or two, he might finally get his shot at a head coaching job. Harper did, and obviously the assistant Forrest is replacing did, too. It's scary to think about Forrest recruiting the Metroplex for a program like that (which didn't really have much trouble pulling talent from here anyway).

Wow...

Joe and I spent 6 hours waiting for him at Main Event. I spent 2 hours of that baked inside a cake, until air started running out. The ice cream all melted, and they said we couldn't hold our bowling lane reservation any longer. Still... Happy birthday, Harry.

What can I say? I'm the child of Howard Beale and Emily Post.

Johnny took over a team that hadn't even seen 10 wins in several years, and immediately went over .500. Benford took over a team that had just played short handed and underachieved to an 18 win record and nearly an NCAA berth, and turned them into a 20 loss team. This wasn't a rebuild. But it did turn into a demolition. It's not even about him not measuring up to a Johnny Jones standard... The really scary thing is what an immediate cratering like our past season likely means for the future. During the tournament, I did the list of 20+ loss teams in 2012 who didn't fire their coach. Only one of them (Robert Morris) made the NCAAs this year, Arizona State made the NIT, and very few of them even finished above .500. Many if not most (can't recall) wound up losing 20+ again this past season. If you're enthusiastic and buying tickets for basketball again, that's great and I hope the season ends with you still smiling, though.

Going on some jeremiad at a function like these seems like standing up at a wedding when the officiant asks whether anyone objects to the marriage. No matter how valid your points or emphatic your opinions might be.. It's not the time or place. People are there to have a good time and get enthusiastic about the program. Tact requires you bite your tongue and just know the divorce is inevitable.

A few times in the past, you jokingly praised me as a potential lawyer in training because of contract/buyout stuff with Dodge and a post I made about the NCAA expelling Penn State outright. You're not a basketball guy, but this shows you've got potential. We spent a decade building a program. In just one year, we've fallen to a point where we're resorting to publicly praising and justifying hope based on an end of season home win in a game (the outcome of which was meaningless to our opponent) against a conference opponent who finished the regular season 18-11. Our roster is a revolving door, our own fans are split over whether we can realistically expect any immediate improvement from a 20 LOSS SEASON. The bar isn't low. It fell off and rolled into a ditch.

Last year, we had 8 or 9 scholarship players available in Hot Springs. I can't remember which, but it was one or the other, because in 2012 and 2011, we had 8 and 9 scholarship guys available, too. And in 2011, the 8 or 9 we had available were seriously compromised by lingering injuries, too. In 2012, injuries and ineligibilities crippled our roster most of the season. We gave a walk on starter minutes, our backup point guard played almost 40 minutes per game for 60% of the season. That adversity led to a very disappointing year. We only won 18 games and came up a minute short of the NCAA tournament. THAT was injuries and lack of depth causing us to underachieve. Last year, we lost 20 games. 20 games. 20 games. 20 games 20 games 20 games 20 games. We lost to a D-2 school in the second game of the season. We got swept, home and away, by ULM. We lost in the first round of the conference tournament (for the first time in 7 years? 8 years?) by 19 points to a coach who, in 3 years, has a grand total of zero other SBC tournament wins. Even at our weakest, we had Alzee available at the 1 or 2, Jordan Williams, Roger and Tony, and our head coach's own recruit running the offense. And we lost 20 games. 20 games! Injuries might explain a .500 finish, with that roster playing 20 games against the Sun Belt. But we lost 20 games. Injuries or slumping might excuse away one OR another of just that condensed list of catastrophes, but not all of them combined in one season. It's not a good job under those or any other circumstances when every passing month just seems to bring a new disgrace. My unhappiness with Benford goes beyond on court performance, so that record and the repeated attempts to justify it aren't really even my biggest issue. And I'm not trying to pee in the cornflakes of anyone trying to be optimistic about our short term prospects for improvement. Whatever helps people rationalize renewing tickets or following the program... Great. Keep hoping for the best under Benford if that optimism can keep you around long enough for a change that could mean actual hope for the future. Realistically, though... We seem to have made the absolute worst kind of bad hire. And no amount of finger crossing and prayer is likely to save us from our grim and seemingly inevitable future. My only flicker of hope is some faint possibility of a change within the next year.

I've watched and re-watched the 2011 SBC Tournament final vs. UALR so many times, it's a miracle and a triumph of the human spirit that I haven't killed myself in front of the DVD player.

Wow. +Many

They'd been hoping wishing dreaming for a new stadium for a long, long time. The stadium concept had been a non-starter until they had some success under Griffin. Even if it is stadium money, nobody seemed eager to pass that on until after The Robert Griffin Show.

White people be all researching stuff like this. (hums muzack) But black people be all researching stuff like THIS! (makes exaggerated beatbox noises). Leonard Little got a lot of second chances. And Winona Ryder is still a joke. On the other hand... This forum has a history speckled with holocaust denial, anti-miscegenation rants, and uncomfortable racial commentary. So... Who the hell knows?

If I'd done the research, I think we'd all have a few drinks, joke around a little bit (I am a big, goofy guy, after all), and chalk it up to some harmless investigative fun. Sure, there might be fallout and consequences from what I came up with... But I think we'd trust Harry to review things on his own time, and come to a wise, informed decision. Patient and forgiving? Swift and decisive? I don't know. WE don't know. And frankly, it's none of our business. Not for us to worry about. All we'd need to think about was how much we could trust Harry to handle it appropriately, after thorough and reasonable consideration. But, for some reason... You doing this research is more scary and intimidating. I may not know why or how you did this research, but the fact that another police officer might have been involved along with you makes it even more frightening. Frankly, I don't NEED to know why you came up with all this. All I need to know is that I'm terrified, and something must be done to make sure you never, ever have the opportunity to do this sort of investigating ever again. In a situation like this, I don't think it's reasonable to leave things up to Harry. I'm going to go with my totally unbiased gut reaction, and demand that you never, ever be allowed to use the search function on this forum ever again. No second chances. You've proven you can't be responsible with it, and I'll sleep a lot more soundly knowing that you're not going to have the chance to embarrass this forum ever again with your reckless, immature, and irresponsible searching and quoting. A lot of people donate to this forum to keep it running. They are the reason you even have the opportunity to search old posts. Your behavior has hurt and embarrassed not only yourself, but all those generous, upstanding, law-abiding GMG supporters. I'm a reasonable guy... I'm DEFINITELY not saying you ought to have your eyes gouged out and your fingers cut off as a sign to other police officers that they'd better not get frisky and uppity in their searching and quoting. But I don't think there's any room in our civilized community for this sort of reckless, animalistic madness. Frankly, I'm ashamed. Ashamed of you, and ashamed FOR you. I only hope that your behavior hasn't driven any forum members away from our happy community. ...because I have a pretty neat research project coming up soon. I think they're going to love it.

Technically, you can't "stay with" anything else. Rhetorical checkmate, man.

You kids with your hip hop pictures and videos. The only reason to have pictures at all is either to have polaroids commemorating all the carbuerators you've rebuilt, or tasteful images of Ann Margaret to accompany each month on the calendar.

I compared Abbe's drunk driving to Nelson Mandela. And everyone ignored it, because of your pee-pee jokes. You jerks are destroying the internet.

People, he hasn't even finished his 3rd year. It's way too soon to make any decisions about letting him go. Granted, not everything has gone perfectly. And I definitely agree that some of the decisions he's made could be criticized if someone wants to look at things with a negative perspective. But, I think we have to give him at least 4 years before declaring the Abbe experiment a success or failure. 4 arrests? Nelson Mandela was arrested FIVE times. And he spent 27 years in prison. If South Africa had given up on him after 3 years, where would their program be now? If, at the end of Year 4, he hasn't made progress... Then, maybe, we don't bring him back again. But I think it's absurd to think we can pass judgment based on this limited period of time.