The Fake Lonnie Finch

These articles just underscore what many of us already knew when Todd Dodge was hired - the spread offense isn't new or innovative anymore. The only place it was new was on our campus. Defensive coaches at the collegiate level had already seen it for decades. Therefore, he and his band of high school sideline strollers weren't going to be showing guys like Bob Stoops, Les Miles, Howard Schnellenberger, etc. - anything they hadn't seen before...over and over and over again, year after year after year. Heck, even the new guy at FIU had it figured, beating us in his first year to end the school's 26 game losing streak, then flying out here to pound the crap out of us last year in front of friends, family, and neighbors. Thankfully, we've started to pay attention to what really matters - defense. That side of the ball is what will save or stew Todd Dodge, not his tired old spread offense that he dragged out of high school and put other high school coaches in charge of. If his bacon is to be saved it'll be done by Deloach and Nelson. His bacon, I say! The defense will save it!

Almost 2/3rds say yes. At least now I know why many of our fanbase doesn't make any sense when they talk football.

I may be the only one to miss the Eagle. My 3-year old son loved it. Everytime he saw me on the computer, he'd say, "Dada, let's listen to the Eagle!" So, I'd end up hitting F5 a million times, so he could hear the screech over and over again. Little things, little people.

That's not really Sun Belt talk. It's more like a Troy/FAU lovefest, with a little Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State thrown in to round it out.

I agree with the majority of what you said, stebo. And, you know very well that I'm not one to cut the athletic department any slack. The problem was, has, and always will be money. And, although the athletic department isn't perfect, you really are out there fishing these days. There is far too much uncertainty to get people to commit to even as little as $1,000 a year for five years. That's always the booger about marketing for any organization - how to get money from someone else's pocket to ours. It's just a tough row to hoe right now. That being said, I fully appreciate Mr. Goldfield's decision. Your post gave a little more insight. We own a business and expect certain things from our vendors and partners when we pony up cash to them. And, Mr. Goldfield made his money in an industry that is constantly changing. Anyone standing still for longer than two weeks in the telecom industry is going to be run over by their competitors fairly quickly. I just hope - and here I am, a North Texas alumnus, having to hope rather than expect something will happen - this thing gets done. People think posters like me are negative because we say, "I'll believe the new stadium is getting done when my butt is sitting in it watching the first kickoff." But, that's apparently the way it's got to be around these here parts. Screw it all anyway. I'm more eager to see the results of Gandy coaching the special teams and Nelson coaching the D-Line anyway. They could play in a Safeway parking lot for all me and Matt Simon care. As long as we're not getting blown out by 30+ by FIU, I'll be happier in 2009 no matter what the stadium progress is. Besides, it's not like I can un-graduate from UNT.

Look, you know I'm not going to be a cheerleader for the ineptitude that has plagued our athletic department for decades. But, these days, you seriously have to consider that the money just isn't there. If Tom Hicks can't get a loan, money is tight. To use my favorite phrase, this stadium thing isn't developing in a vacuum. The economy is in the crapper and it's taking a bite out of everyone's dollars - and not just their play money. Business budgets are being hit. Just on our client list, in the first quarter alone, we've had a long-time develop lose a $30 million property in McKinney to foreclosure, a doctor with three DFW locations forced into bankruptcy, and we're seeing a drop in work comp renewal premiums - which means payrolls are down. We used to insure a guy here in Dallas who bought A-Rod's house when he left. He's lost a considerable amount of his net worth over the past year. It's nice that we're finally seeing some progress as far as the stadium goes. The problem is we're trying to do this thing in a very bad economy. People just don't have alot of money to throw around these days. Sure, you could say we waited too long to begin; and, I somewhat agree with that. But, still...it is what it is. We've posted many reports lately of colleges cutting things related to their athletic departments. It seems to me that Mr. Goldfield would have taken a longer view of things, given the current state of the economy.

I saw that this morning, too, and was pretty amazed. If they're starting to annoy their own legions, it will be a really short run for them. I can't remember any president ever saying less about anything he proposes to do. Of course, this is no different than when he was campaigning. For some reason, I guess the press thought he really had some plans behind all of the hot air. They were wrong.

Hornfans.com is funny. They take every generic football quote - and most other quotes from any other walk of life - and attribute it to Darrell Royal. We should do the same thing here at the top of our board: "The only thing we have to fear is, fear itself." - Todd Dodge

Another nominee for Post of the Decade here. Science, especially where "global warming" is concerned, is now more political than scientific. It galls me to think those SOBs in DC are going to try to force me to buy $10 light bulbs all in the name of some unproven theory (and because Philips has thrown their lot in with the government).

Amen to all of that. Perry again in 2010 - it even rhymes. And, I hope Chris Bell does run and get his butt whipped again. There's nothing like watching a plaintiffs' attorney get throttled in public.

Why is everyone surprised by this? It's exactly the same thing Bill Clinton did...vehemently claim he wouldn't riase taxes while campaigning in 1992, then saying it was necessary in 1993. Give Obama credit, though. He's at least being coy about screwing the middle class. Clinton has a press conference before he was even inaugurated saying he'd have to raise taxes. Finally, these two are Democrats. What else do you expect them to do? It's all they know how to do. When there is a problem, it's never that the government is too big, it's that there isn't enough coming in from the taxpaying Americans. It has been the modus operendi of the Democratic Party for decades.

I'm for this and have been for years. Part of the problem in American politics is that in our "co-equal" form of government, no one is term-limited except the President. Therefore, during a second term, the entire Congress - both his party and the opposing party - can simply ignore a president. That's why the second terms of Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II were so chaotic. No one in either party had to pay even the slightest deferrence to them anymore. Further, it has led to a president's second term being nothing more than a series of grandstanding act by the clowns in both parties who think they are going to run during the next presidential election. To me, all branches or none should be term limited. If the Judicial and Legislative Branches aren't term limited, then neither should the Executive Branch. So, either repeal the 22nd Amendment, or add one that term limits everyone. My long-time term limit plan: 12 years for everyone who is elected- 6 House terms, 2 Senate terms, and 3 Presidential terms 24 years for everyone appointed- Federal judges, Supreme Court Justices

The offensive game planners on the staff aren't smart enough to get Cam 1200.

Hello? Insurance companies are in business to make money. Stick with any insurer long enough and they will raise your rates, even if you've had no claims. This goes for health and P&C. The only difference is that the driving factors in the health industry are causing rates there to go higher, faster. And, the main reason is plain - medical professionals cannot turn down patients. If someone shows up at the hospital for treatment, they've got to be treated, insurance or not. It all costs something, so the cost is shifted, ultimately, to policy holder. There is no such scheme on the P&C side. If someone's house is damaged and they aren't carrying insurance, or aren't carrying enough, no one else is forced to bear the burden of the claim. If a home or business is damaged in a storm, robbed, catches fire, etc. there is a finite number the insurer will be on the hook for. But, on the property side, they are only on the hook for the one insured. My health insurance is about to expire, so I'm currently in the marketplace. Assurant proposed to raise my rate to $494 per month over last year's $356 per month premium. I've declined and told them to cancel. Why? Because I have quotes sitting on my desk for identical (actually, better) coverage from Blue Cross ($284) and Humana ($334). [We take $5,000 to $10,000 deductibles everytime we go out. So, we pay out of pocket for most visits, which are very few, if any per year. We have health insurance as a security blanket in case we are hospitalized - and that's the way it should be. Another big reason health care costs are out of control is that people go to the doctor every time they so much as get a sniffle.] It's not rocket science, folks. The market does work. The problem with nationalized health care is that in the future, I'd have to pay my premium plus a tax to account for the uninsured - the majority of which simply will not budget conservatively enough to buy some plan. My sympathy is very low for people who pay over $120 a month for their cable/dish television/internet/phone set ups, eat out more than three times a month, and throw away money on alcohol every weekend but say they can't afford health insurance. I'm convinced that 25% of the uninsured are simply illegal aliens and another 50% is jugheads who refuse to live and budget responsibly. The thought of picking up those two groups really bothers me. If you think its more important to regularly go out for lunch and dinner, swill beer with your friends every weekend, and have every channel known to man at your disposal, I should not be directly responsible for helping you get health insurance. You've made your choice about what is important to you in life. If you are hospitalized and your costs are later passed on to me, that's fine. The market bears that. But, until that happens, you shouldn't get a free or cheaper ride off the rest of us who plan ahead and act responsibly for ourselves and our families. You can PM me if you want to talk insurance. Our firm is 80% commercial P&C, but we've got two agents who can do life and health. It's the same companies with just about every agent anyway. My suggestion to everyone is to shop everything, if not every year, every two years. The market has been very soft (premiums decreasing) for a good four years now. Even if you've got no beef with your current agent, make him or her shop your stuff. If they won't, get another agent to do it. There's no need to just sit back and take increases year in and year out. There are way too many insurers in Texas. It's very competitive for the insurance consumer here.

Finally. I can't tell you what a pain it was to sit through Employment Law and have to read case after case defending "disparate impact." Thank W. for having Alito and Roberts on the bench instead of some snake in the grass like Souter or Stevens, two Republican appointees who can't think their way through a Word Find game on a McDonalds Happy Meal box.

Dude, you're preaching to the choir. I've said all along he's too small. I didn't think a redshirt year would magically make him 6 foot 2 and 220 pounds. But, any size beyond the 160 or so he arrived with is better. This is the only FBS school in America that would have given him a shot at QB...and that's because his dad is the coach. Mack Brown would have done what the other 118 coaches would have done with him - redshirted him, then moved him to slot, corner, or safety. The only bonus to having Riley at QB is that his dad is finally seeing the light about using a tight end in the offense so every team on our schedule isn't blizting us on virtually every down like the past two seasons.

He needs to talk to Mike Nelson and ignore his high school coach.

Especially with a smaller player like Riley who had already had his collarbone broken in his final high school game. He should have been redshirted all along, concussion or not, to gain more size.

http://www.newsok.com/ou-defensive-end-bum...article/3380795 http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footb...us_jonte00.html Another Oklahoma player is transferring - this one a defensive end from Muskogee, same hometown as current Mean Green defensive lineman Charlie Brown. He's already redshirted, and has three more years. He'd have to sit a year here, but would have two left afterward.

You misread the article. OU only gets $50 mil. No way they could afford Dodge.

Whew. Thank goodness Oklahoma is getting some much needed help. Now maybe they can hire a football coach to make them competitive again.

Mark Sanford would pony up enough cash for a plane ticket to Argentina. She looks to have the curvy hips and "two magnificent parts" he so craves. No word yet on how gentle her kisses are or whether or not she sports a good tan line: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sc_governor_e_mails

No. It's legitimate. Some people really do run short of useful material in the crapper. But, not squirrels. They do anything and go anywhere they want...and they don't even bother wiping.

Again, we should be oversigning for the same reasons Troy and others do so. As Lone Watie believed, you should always be looking to gain an edge over your opponent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPFP_XazE5U

http://www.marketingshift.com/2009/6/mid-m...ports-teams.cfm