rcade

. I thought that ad had to be a gag. They showed it on the scoreboard?

Me too. Louisiana-Monroe has a chance to end up 6-5, 6-1 in conference, and that's the best record possible in the Belt. I'd like to see them go for that reason. As far as the other Belt schools go, the programs I respect most as an opponent are Troy and Arkansas State. Troy's the biggest threat to go USF on us and Arkansas State always played UNT tough. If they clear up their NCAA problems, I'd like to see the Belt get FAMU. They draw 20,000 to each home game and 70,000 to games they play in Atlanta and Orlando, and the number of Rattlers plates you see throughout North Florida are impressive.

The Sun Belt's a lot closer geographically than the WAC, and it doesn't put our road games in the Mountain or Pacific time zones. This USC-Fresno State game's a great example of how this is a negative for an eastern team -- it began at 10:15 p.m. on the East Coast! Here in Florida, I missed Reggie Bush's unbelievable accumulation of 500 all-purpose yards because I passed out trying to watch. Joining the WAC would have hurt North Texas. I'm exhibiting some regional bias here because of where I live, but I still think our road to success in I-A football goes through the southeast. One of the Sun Belt's strengths -- one of its only strengths at the moment -- is the clustering of teams from Texas to Florida. Losing New Mexico State and Idaho was a good thing for the conference (though I miss having New Mexico State around because they're the closest thing UNT had to a rivalry team, after all the conferences we shared in common.)

Good to have Erric back in Fouts again. This web page states that he returned to UNT to get his degree after retiring from the NFL and works as a fitness and personal trainer. He's one of the stars of the team from my years at UNT as a student. It's strange that a running back who never got 1,000 at North Texas managed the feat in the NFL.

I don't know what Dickey's contract status is, but I'm in favor of giving him an extension through the 2008 season. He's the second-best coach in the history of our football program. You can't fire the guy because of one off year, as bad as it has been this season.

Do you have a few hours each afternoon to hold a Diet Coke?

Until I read this, I didn't realize that North Texas was Snyder's first win at K State. They beat a Corky Nelson team in 1989 that was expected to compete for the I-AA championship and was the favorite in the game. K State hadn't won a game in three years before they beat us. They were so happy fans tore down the goalposts.

I could see them hiring Dickey after grooming him for a few years as a coordinator. Does he have any buddies among the hopefuls to replace Snyder?

Some of those professionals suck. How are allowed to point this out, under your theory that we should politely defer to the authority and expertise of all pros?

North Texas has the 116th ranked offense in Division I. There are 117 teams in Division I. If he's some kind of football genius, as you appear to believe, why isn't any of that evident on the field?

SilverEagle isn't the only one in the car. What Flanagan did reflects on the entire program and everyone who cares about UNT football climbing out of the hole it fell into in the early '80s. I agree with you that this conflict has been resolved, but the claim that it only affected one fan is bogus.

It's enough for me. Flanagan made a mistake and said some childish things in the heat of the moment. He didn't throw a punch or get physical in any other way (though pushing past fans was pretty out of line). He promptly apologized, which was the right thing to do, but something a lot of people would not have done. People forget that Flanagan's one of the younger OCs in college football. It shouldn't give him a free pass to harrass fans, but I'd grant the guy one huge error in judgment since he did the right thing afterward.

Sorry to hear that happen to you, Rick. What kind of security staff is UNT hiring, that they would call the cops on one of the team's most recognizeable fans? What next -- are they going to prosecute Scrappy for disorderly conduct?

Do I understand correctly that Flanagan has to pass the fans in and out of the press box? I'm in Florida and follow the team on TV. There's no excuse for Flanagan's behavior. Charging back into the stands and threatening to kick the fan's ass was just as inflammatory as the guy throwing the beer who ignited the Pacers/Pistons riot. It's ironic that Ramon would go ballistic on fans during a game when his offense can't be blamed for the loss. They scored 28 and Meager threw his best pass of the year in that touchdown to Johnny Quinn.

I've never seen another coach assign a designated drinkholder either. I know it's a minor nit, and I'm definitely making too much of it because it's funny, but if he can't think of anything better for that assistant to do during games than hold his soda, he should set him free.

Where are you seeing this? I see a QB who might be the team's starter next year, though I'd expect Dickey to recruit some challengers because he can't be confident that Meager's the guy to hang the program on.

Without buying into the farcical notion there was "nothing negative" about a 56-3 loss, I was glad that Meager led a few sustained drives and Jamario was able to find some running room for one of the first times this year. We're going to need that to beat La-La next week after they just knocked off Troy in overtime. Meager still throws an ugly duck most of the time, but he is getting better, and I feel like we're getting closer to the point that he's a serviceable quarterback. I do wish we had someone like that LSU backup in there, who the LSU TV announcers said had been recruited by UNT. Our pass defense is disappointing. The D line didn't get pushed around in spite of being much smaller than the O line for LSU, so I put the 56 points largely on our defensive backfield. (Some of those TDs were unstoppable -- LSU has a nice receiving corps and some excellent passers.) It's tough to be too critical of UNT when they play a team like LSU, but you'd like them to at least be good enough to put a first-half scare into them. Bottom line: I hate money games. Every time UNT plays the sacrifical lamb it sets the program back.

So what? Fans here are expressing their honest opinions of the program. The players, coaches and parents should recognize that tough scrutiny and some harsh or even unfair criticism comes with the territory. The players are getting scholarships and TV exposure and the experience of playing Division I football because we care. The more people who care, the more UNT is like a big-time program. The real "damage" we could inflict isn't criticism. It's apathy. If all a player wanted was to play college football, without the scrutiny, there are a large number of JUCO and Division II or below programs out there. I'll bet that most of the players are at UNT because they wanted the experience of playing Division I, or they harbor aspirations of making the pros like Brad Kassell. Part of that experience is hearing the cheers -- and catching some hell -- from fans. I wouldn't feel obligated to criticize a player to his face as bluntly as I do on GoMeanGreen. It would be hypocritical to be supportive in person and critical on the board, but ripping someone face-to-face is a lot harsher than ripping them in print.

Sorry about the selective quoting. If you agree with me, that changes everything. :-). Regarding your comments about the facilities, I think the biggest thing North Texas could do to ensure its future is to have athletic facilities worthy of comparison to the major schools. It reminds me of how Mark Cuban turned the Dallas Mavericks into a franchise that NBA free agents were willing to come to -- he improved the locker rooms, improved player seating on planes, and fed visiting players better than they get fed at their home court. This stuff seems dumb, but within a couple years the Mavs were no longer the dregs of the league.

Yes. It's better to be in a bowl game at 6-5 than to be home at 6-5 or 5-6, no matter how little respect the New Orleans Bowl and Sun Belt get in Division I. These bowl games and conference wins put North Texas on the map. People know who we are, and that's the first step towards becoming a respected mid-major like Marshall or (kills me to say this) South Florida. If prep players in DFW think of North Texas as a place where they've got a strong chance at a bowl game, that's a good thing.

For crying out loud! These are Division I college football players. If any of them can't handle a little criticism from fans on an Internet message board, they're not going to do well on the football field anyway with 350-pound monsters with rage issues on the other side of the line. I hate it when people play this card. Boo freaking hoo. Fans who care enough about the Mean Green to be depressed all week because of a loss are a good thing.

I'm glad a Texas school is contending for the national championship. I wish it was a Texas school a little further to the North, of course, but I think there's benefit to having a champ in state again. Florida shouldn't be a stronger football state than Texas.

Wasn't it a Diet Pepsi guy last year? I know it's a minor thing, but I crack up whenever I see the drinkholder on the sidelines. Poor bastard.

Touchdown North Texas -- 34-yard trick play pass thrown by Cobbs to Quinn! Hank called it the best pass all year. 30-14.

North Texas is still climbing, although the map hasn't been redrawn yet. One thing this map shows me is why Texas isn't producing the kinds of I-A powerhouses that Florida does. Our loyalties are divided over a lot more schools. Here in Florida, it's all UF, FSU, and Miami. And each group has a distinct geographic region with less overlap.