SUMG

For the 39th consecutive year, they played the Super Bowl; for the 39th consecutive year, I watched it. There was the usual array of quirky commercials, replay reversals and ex-presidents, and, in the end, the New England Patriots established themselves as the most unlikely dynasty since the Van Patten clan ran roughshod over Hollywood in the mid 1980s. Anyway, I took notes. 1:25 p.m.: If I knew Tim McCarver was going to show up on Super Bowl Sunday, I would've watched Kung Pow: Enter the Fist on FX instead. 1:42: Here's the thing about Terry Bradshaw: In the 17th century, he might have been the village idiot; in the 21st century, he's a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton. 1:57: Frankly, Kelly Clarkson on that pregame stage didn't exactly give me that Beatles-on-the-Ed Sullivan Show feel. 2:33: We get a preview of the upcoming Fox Soccer Channel. Thanks for the warning. 3:59: They just ran a Heineken commercial that scared me more than Apocalypse Now. 4:13: At my MLS Cup party, I remember drinking too much Yoo-hoo. 4:38: Bill Belichick swears by Sun Tzu's treatise The Art of War. Couch Slouch swears by Gallagher's concert film, Gallagher — Melon Crazy. 5:31: If they wait any longer until kickoff, the NHL season might even start. 5:34: We probably could fix Social Security for less money than we spend on the Super Bowl coin toss. 5:38: To be honest, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Terrell Owens playing if he were in a body cast. 5:46: My neighbor says I make too much noise when I'm watching football. Yeah, like she doesn't shout during Iron Chef. 6:16: One of my ex-wives calls in the second quarter. Of the Super Bowl. Needless to say, this is one of the reasons she is one of my ex-wives. 6:17: By the way, the next time I'm married, I'm including the TV Guide subscription in the pre-nup. 6:22: Best I can tell, we are a nation of Taco Bells, Pizza Huts and Subways. I'm not sure this is what the framers of the constitution had in mind. 6:39: If I promise to watch every show Fox promotes, will Fox promise to stop showing me the promos? 6:41: Man, Cris Collinsworth sure can yap it up. 6:41:30: You know, but I discovered a long time ago — you put a nut in front of a squirrel, he eats it; you put a microphone in front of a broadcaster, he talks into it. 6:48: Actually, I thought Freddie Mitchell looked pretty good in warmups. 6:52: If Belichick's a genius, how come he can't wear a headset right? 6:58: Hey, careerbuilder.com — let's see what you can do with my résumé and references. 7:20: When they introduce "Sir" Paul McCartney at halftime, my Super Bowl guests — the Captain and Tennille — openly snicker. 7:46: With 11:26 to go in Super Bowl XIV, Vince Ferragamo threw an incomplete on third-and-8. It remains the only play in Super Bowl history I have missed. 7:54: Sure, Tom Brady has his Super Bowl rings, the actress girlfriend and movie-star looks. I have TiVo. 8:25: Nothing personal against Robert Kraft, but I hate seeing rich people high-five. 8:53: Is it possible the Eagles left their no-huddle offense at the hotel? 9:15: If you look up "uphill" in the dictionary, you'll see a photo of the Eagles on their 4-yard line with 46 seconds left and no timeouts, trailing New England by three. 9:16: Just think — if the Patriots had been around in the 1400s, they might have given the Ming a run for its money. Ask the Slouch Q: Do you believe Phil Jackson will return to coach the Lakers? BENJAMIN FRANK Amsterdam, N.Y. A: I believe Phil Jackson will relocate to Nepal, live in a straw duplex hut and open a holistic hardware store before he returns to coach the Lakers. Q: With the increase in injuries to players hit in the face with penalty markers, do you think it would be a good idea for the NFL to switch from yellow flags to lemon meringue pies? TERRY KANE Ravenna, Ohio A: Pay the man, Shirley. You, too, can enter the $1.25 Ask The Slouch Cash Giveaway. Just e-mail asktheslouch@aol.com and, if your question is used, you win $1.25.

I believe that Hank said tonight, that Isaac only has 27 turnovers for the season. For a point guard, that is 20 games into the season.....that is phenomenal.

Very good. Talon 90 knows his stuff. BTW....I'm not sure how long they dated, but I have been told that our Ms. Slinker did date Randy White, at one time. As a matter of fact, Randy was at one of our women's games one time, was seated right behind me.......and I didn't even know he was there. (until afterwards when a friend told me that Randy White was right behind us). BTW.....I sensed that some of you guessers, were mocking The NT Women's B-Ball Trivia Game. I really do. And all I can say, you'll have to answer at the Pearly Gates for that.....so hopefully that won't be held against you. That's all I'm gonna say about that, mockers. But I will say, Crazy Ray was a better guess than Nate Newton or Rafael Septien. Talon 90......I really didn't plan on giving a gift away. But, if you can arrange for the shipping....I'll send you one of my kidneys. Seriously, since I live out of town.....I would be more than willing to give you a free b-ball ticket to a game that I won't be able to attend. PM me if you want it. (It would probably be to a Thursday night game).

No, Ms. Jalie. Good guess, though.

Larry Allen? Nate Newton? Geez....those guesses are so bad, that you guys aren't even getting The NT Women's B-Ball Trivia Game parting gifts. Next.........

You're right....it's a big, big game. From what I can tell.....we need desperately to finish, at least in the top 3 in the Western Division of the Belt. Because, if I read that bracket right.....the top 3 in our division, get first round byes in the SBC Tourney. I presume ULL is favored. Haven't checked the paper yet. I think we will win tonight. I'll say: UNT 76 ULL 72 Attendance: 2437 Player of the Game for UNT: I'm gonna go out on a limb.....and say Michael Sturns.

Which Dallas Cowboys great once dated our head coach, Tina Slinker?

It seems of late, that Sturns is really starting to "get it." He's played more under control, of late. At least, it seems that way (from hearing the games on radio).

Yeah, I'd like to see Barnett and Simpson on the court, at the same time, too. My only possible change to your line-up: Ty Thomas has played great lately, while C Wat has slumped. I might insert Ty into the starting line-up just to shake things up. (JJ did start Ty in New Orleans--because Calvin had a bum ankle....and Ty played very well).

One bit of optimism.......when we went to the NCAA tourney in 1988....after 17 games, our record was 5-12. Our team had a players only meeting.......unified......went on a 12 game winning streak, before losing to UNC in the first round of the tournament. This team, has a much talent (IMHO) as that one did. Granted, the SBC may be a tougher league than the SLC was 17 years ago.....but I still think this can put together a good winning streak and make it to the NCAA tourney. We do need to finish in the top 5 spots (not sure how that will determined) in the league during the regular season. For the top 5 spots, will receive byes in the tournament.....and only have to win 3 games to get to The Big Dance, as opposed to winning 4.

A 17-2 run by USA in the first half....cost us the game. We went from being up by 4, to being down by 11. (22-11). At the half, we trailed by 9, 36-27. After that, we scratched and clawed our way back....finally tying it 60-60, with a little over a minute left. Don't get me started on how undisciplined this team is, when we are down by 3. They always have to throw up a three, even if there are several minutes left. (That happened tonight). And down by three, with 29 seconds left.....instead of working for a good three point shot, C Wat throws up one, with two men on him.

Steve, the ceremony was supposed to be on February 12. It's not supposed to be during the tournament. Our athletic department is saying that they can't have a ceremony on February 12, because they're too busy getting ready for the SBC tourney. Also, I don't buy the excuse that they want to do it right. Hey, the two gals last season was three years ago. You get to the point where the whole thing loses a lot of impact when it's 4-5 years after their last game. By the time, the athletic department gets around to having the ceremony, there won't even be any players still on the team, that played with Jalie and Roz.

I've seen parts of American Splendor......on HBO. Giammati is a good actor, that's for sure. He sure played that person, Pikar? (the cartoonist) very well. BTW......your signature ("Tina come get some ham..") is a line from one of my favorite movies of late, Napoleon Dynamite. (I figure you know where it's from; just pointing it out to the rest of the folks). Even though that flick was aimed at the younger crowd, I'm 47 and thought it was great. Quirky movie, but sort of sweet, too. I even just bought the DVD.....

Really good flick. UNT alum Thomas Haden Church is very good in the film.....but, Paul Giammati is to me, even better in the film, than Church is. (Giammati didn't get an Oscar nomination while Church did). Giammati is the son of the short-termed baseball commissioner, A. Bartlett Giammati (who died very shortly after getting the job).

How much time, effort and resources does it take to retire a jersey? Maybe you give the players a framed jersey, and have one hanging in the Pit.....and invite their families up for the ceremony. Doesn't seem that it would be that difficult to do. I'm sorry Jalie, that you and Rosalind aren't being recognized this year. SUMG

(Story from meangreensports.com): DENTON (1/27/05) - Freshman Erica Howard scored 15-of-her-23 points in the second half, leading the North Texas women’s basketball team to a 63-57 victory against South Alabama after being down by 16 points on Thursday night in the Super Pit. The Mean Green (9-9, 4-2 Sun Belt) snapped a two-game losing streak and improved its record against South Alabama (9-9, 3-3 Sun Belt) to 8-2. The 16-point come-from-behind victory marked the largest comeback in NT history since 1998 when the Mean Green overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat Pacific, 60-55. Howard scored 13 points in NT’s 24-7 run at the start of the second half to erase a 16-point deficit and go ahead, 51-50, with 8:37 left in the game. Howard’s career-high 23 points is the most by a North Texas freshman since Jalie Mitchell scored 32 against SMU in 1998. Junior Erika Bobo scored seven of NT’s next eight points to push the Mean Green’s advantage to six, 59-53, with 2:26 left in the game. The Jaguars were forced to foul, and North Texas made four-of-five free throws to seal the win. Bobo notched her second career double-double with 19 points and a personal-best 11 rebounds. South Alabama held the upper hand in the first half, jumping out to a 39-23 lead after a 21-6 run. The Jaguars shot 53.6 percent in the first period, compared to NT’s 27.3 percent shooting. USA’s shooting cooled in the second half to 26.7 percent, while the Mean Green made 13-of-31 shots from the field to take the win. NT outscored South Alabama in the second half, 38-18. North Texas returns to home to face New Orleans on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 pm in the Super Pit.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (1/27/05) – The North Texas men’s basketball team (10-7, 3-3) shot 55 percent in the second half to overcome a slow start and pull out a 66-60 win over New Orleans (8-11, 3-3) at Lakefront Arena on Thursday in a Sun Belt Conference West Division game. The Mean Green trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and 29-25 at the break, but went on a 6-1run to start the second half and retake the lead for the first time since the 17:39 mark of the first half. Leading 31-30 with 17:59 left in the game, North Texas never looked back. The Mean Green never lost the lead and extended it to 54-46 with 6:35 remaining. UNO cut its deficit to 56-54 with almost four minutes left to play, but NT responded with a 5-0 run over the next minute and didn’t let the Privateers get closer than five points the rest of the way. After shooting 33 percent in the first half, North Texas hit an impressive 55 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half to finish the game at .453. NT also outrebounded UNO 24-15 in the second half and 40-32 for the entire game. North Texas was led by three players scoring in double figures, including junior forward Ty Thomas with a team-high 13 points in his first start of the season. Leonard Hopkins and Jeffrey Simpson both scored 12 points to follow Thomas. Simpson was also a force defensively, blocking six shots for the second time this season and pulling down nine rebounds for the second consecutive game. The Privateers hit 6-of-10 three’s in the first half, leading to its advantage at the intermission period. However, UNO hit just 1-of-10 shots beyond the arc in the second half. NT converted 17 UNO turnovers into 20 points, while UNO scored 11 points off 21 Mean Green turnovers. UNO held its largest lead of the game, 12 points, twice in the first half. Trailing 28-16 with 4:31 remaining before halftime, North Texas went on a 9-1 run to finish the first 20 minutes strong. The Privateers were led by Bo McCalebb with a game-high 25 points, the only UNO player scoring in double digits. North Texas, which is 5-4 away from the Super Pit, remains on the road for its final game this week, playing at South Alabama on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on KWRD 100.7 FM in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

UNT alum, Thomas Haden Church has been nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor) for his role in the movie, Sideways. Church's competition for this award: Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby Alan Alda, The Aviator, Jamie Foxx, Collateral Clive Owen, Closer I doubt that a UNT alum has ever won an acting Oscar....not sure though. I would think Church's biggest competition would be either Freeman or Alda (because the Academy always likes to give awards to older guys; not that those two aren't deserving, btw). Jamie Foxx, I don't think will win this one....because I think he will receive Best Actor for Ray. And I have no idea who Clive is.....must be some British dude.

LOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson, so public each night on "The Tonight Show," was intensely private off screen. But former sidekick Ed McMahon knows why Americans still felt close to him. "When you tuned in, you got what you were looking for," McMahon told The Associated Press on Monday, a day after Carson died at age 79. "Nailing someone in the political world, doing a funny joke ... You were looking for that at the close of the day." "How many women came up to him, giggling, and said, `I go to bed with you every night,'" McMahon recalled. "They thought it was for the first time. It was for the first one-millionth time." There will be no memorial service, which McMahon finds unsurprising. The way Carson left "Tonight," slipping quietly away into retirement, is how he's leaving now. "The final arrangements are: You put on your hat, the door closes, it's over," McMahon said. NBC and "Tonight" host Jay Leno planned a tribute to Carson on Monday's show, with McMahon, who remains active in entertainment, among the guests. McMahon, who introduced Carson with the trademark "Heeeeere's Johnny!" and serving as erstwhile foil for three decades, said he was shocked when his wife, Pam, took the sad call Sunday morning. "I saw the blood leave her face. It was the same look you get when a relative dies," said McMahon, who said Carson was "like a brother to me." The rest of Sunday swung from "tears to laughter," he said. "Every time I saw something (on TV) we did and remembered how good it was and how much better it looks now," McMahon said, he felt proud. He treasures memories of meeting Carson's high standards for "Tonight," the show which became the focus of all Carson's energies and talents from 1962 to 1992. McMahon painted a picture of one such moment: Carson is doing his monologue and it isn't going over with the audience. For the first and only time in the show's history, McMahon says, he walks over to interrupt. "I give him a spin like I'm a coach and say, 'You're better than this. Don't let the audience get to you,'" McMahon said - followed by a slap that parodied a popular commercial. "Thanks, I needed that," Carson replied, in perfect synch with McMahon for the unrehearsed moment. The joy was doing "something that helped the show," which was what mattered to Carson, McMahon said. He seemed fine when they last spoke, a phone call about three weeks ago, McMahon said. "I thought they were treating the emphysema problem with medication. It was a total shock and surprise to me," he said. Emphysema, a respiratory disease, has been linked to smoking. Carson, who had heart bypass surgery in 1999, was a heavy smoker during his "Tonight" days, wielding a cigarette as a prop on air until smoking on TV passed out of favor. Despite the tobacco habit, Carson was "always a health nut, very proud of his body," said McMahon. He got a kick out of doing the Tarzan sketches where he was in a nude-to-the-waist costume that showed off his fit form. He didn't kick cigarettes until after his retirement, and with difficulty. "We'd be out to dinner somewhere and afterward he'd light up. Halfway through he'd crush it out and say, `I gotta stop this,'" McMahon recalled. Carson satisfied his creative urges by writing humor essays for The New Yorker magazine and shooting off occasional jokes to David Letterman for his "Late Show" monologue. He never lost his edge, McMahon said. When he called Carson in October to wish him a happy birthday, the two started bantering like old times. "We could have gone on (television) that night and done a 'Carnac' skit. We were that crisp and hot."

Here's a story on it: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legendary television entertainer Johnny Carson has died of emphysema at age 79, the NBC television network reported on its Web site on Sunday. Carson hosted NBC's popular "The Tonight Show" for nearly 30 years, long dominating late-night television with an estimated 12 million viewers each night. He did his final show on Friday, May 22, 1992, seen by 55 million, and was replaced the next Monday by the current host, Jay Leno. Sidekick Ed McMahon introduced him nightly with the rallying cry of "Heeeeeeere's Johnny!" Carson's blend of humor, music and conversation was the last thing millions of Americans heard before drifting off to sleep. "I am one of the lucky people in the world. I have found something I liked to do, and I have enjoyed every single minute of it," a teary-eyed Carson said as he closed the show for the last time. "I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight." In later years, Carson became something of a recluse in his Malibu, California, home, rarely venturing into the public eye. After a 1999 quadruple bypass heart operation, Carson cut back on his tennis and discontinued his annual treks to Africa, the French Riviera and the Wimbledon tennis tournament. He had battled emphysema for years.

Johnny Carson, the all time greatest late night talk show host, has passed away, at age 79. I can't believe it........in shock. Just last week it was reported that Johnny had been sending Letterman jokes for his monologue. He was the king of talk show hosts .....all others pale in comparison. RIP, Johnny

That is true....that the tournament is what counts. But, if there are 11 teams in the tourney.....there will have to be some byes to make that number work. The only way I can figure it out: 5 teams would get byes 6 would play......leaving three winners....... that 3 + 5 bye teams would equal 8. Those final eight would then be pitted against one another to determine the tourney champ. If that's the case....it is imperative to get a bye....otherwise you're having to play 4 games to win the tourney, instead of just three. One encouraging note from the past: When we went to the NCAA tourney in 1988, we were 5-12 at one point in the season....before going on a 12 game winning streak and getting into The Big Dance. So, even though things look bleak right now....we can turn it around.

Fading fast. Now 2-3, and going on the road.....things aren't looking very good. I guess those wins we were racking up in the first half of the year, were over bigger cupcakes than we realized. Because now that we're into conference.....we haven't really played a good game yet.

That's great news. Justin had that great game against UTPA, and then got hurt....hopefully he'll bounce back strong. One other thing: We have so few guys who are over 6' 6"....that there'll be times when we get some of our big guys in foul trouble, and I worry who we'll have at center, if say Quincy and Simpson were to both foul out. (which has come close to happening). Anyway, with JB in there, that gives us another big guy for depth purposes. BTW......at one point in one of our recent games (maybe NMSU), JJ had both Simpson and Quincy in the lineup at the same time.

We beat FIU the other night, a team which earlier in the season defeated Florida State. Well, just the other night, Florida State knocked off 3rd ranked Wake Forest. Also, we went to Tuscaloosa earlier this season, and lost to Bama by 14. Well, just the other night 17th ranked Mississippi State went to Tuscaloosa and lost to the Crimson Tide by 49 (98-49). Beat UALR and ASU!