The Fake Lonnie Finch

"This offense won't go anywhere – and, by extension, UNT won't go anywhere – until it can find greater explosiveness in the passing game. Some of this fault lies on the back of quarterback play; more blame can be shared with an underwhelming and pedestrian receiver corps, one that put together only three receptions of 50 or more yards in 2012." Gee, I wonder where this point has been made before? "UNT has some major problems along the defensive line...Without Abbe, the Mean Green will be quick inside with Ryan Boutwell, Alexander Lincoln and Austin Orr but not nearly strong enough to win the battle at the point of attack. That is an absolutely enormous concern. As is the pass rush...Depth woes led UNT to transition backup linebacker Chad Polk down to the position (DE)." Also sounds familiar. Look...lather yourselves up all you want about the QB, but unless another playmaker or two emerge in the passing game and the defensive line can play, the season will be in the crapper quicker that you can say, "Well, there goes another season down the crapper." While the rest of you are fapping to the Derek Thompson/Brock Berglund debate, the success of the team will, in reality, hinge on the play of those lining up with Brelan Chancellor and alongside Aaron Bellezin and Brandon McCoy. [Fake Billy Tubbs Voice]Rock me.[/Fake Billy Tubbs Voice]

"This team will be far better if … the D-line shows a pulse. North Texas has a decent array of talent on the back seven, but who’ll know it if the linemen are unable to assert themselves? This group was thoroughly ineffective in 2012, a key reason why the D ranked 87th nationally in sacks, while allowing just under five yards a carry. If the Mean Green is going to have a chance of surviving in the face of better offenses, progress will have to start up front." That's about the size of it.

Once the Big Five do their own thing, it won't matter whether we are in the C-USA or MWC - we'll both be left out. That's why I'm saying now just do what makes sense geographically. For us, that means staying where we are. Banowsky will eventually reform the entire Sun Belt into the C-USA. Rice stayed behind. La Tech is there. UTSA, incredibly, has moved up as well. That gives us plenty of regional closeness. Sun Belt will survive with spare parts such as New Mexico State and inviting up FCS schools like Texas State and, soon enough, Abilene Christian. ACU will play New Mexico State this year, in what is a preview of the future of the Sun Belt. ACU also has already scheduled a 2015 game with Fresno State: http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/04/fresno-state-abilene-christian-2015-football-schedule/ ACU and Tarleton are also playing a game in Frisco this season. "Ha ha ha, playing in a little soccer stadium. Bwahahahaha." Okay. I keep telling people, there are many rich ACU alumni out there and the younger ones are putting it all in for this athletic drive to bigger and better. ACU has already played at JerryWorld twice. Even though BIlly Sol Estes is dead, there are still plenty of rich church of Christers out there that will drive this thing. Ever hear of Trammel Crow? One of his partners that got the thing off the ground in the 70s is an ACU grad, Tom Teague, who is still doing commercial real estate in Texas and across the country. Tom played football there in the late 60s/early 70s. Ever eat at a Taco Bueno or an old Casa Bonita or Crystals? It was founded by ACU grad Bill Waugh, who later sold it and started the Burger Street franchises. Former pro wrestler John "Bradshaw" Layfield turned investment guru played football at ACU and had family on the board of ACU for years. I'll say it again...still sleeping on UTSA and Texas State? We will wake up with Abilene Christian all up in our recruiting grill before we know it. C-USA or MWC, it soon won't make a difference. But, we've got to win to hold off upstart programs in our own state. Seems many of us are too busy laughing at them to understand that they are seriously putting the money where their mouths are for it.

Chewbacca.

The only school with balls enough to threaten a lawsuit was Utah - and, they were invited to the Pac-12...where they now suck.

We already knew Banowsky was asleep and not worried. How else do you trade out one entire conference for another?

He didn't have to lie in 1984. All he had to do was let Walter Mondale be Walter Mondale...which Walter Mondale did to the tune of a 49-1 asswhipping. Still, the most amazing presidential of my lifetime. Almost every state in the union throwing their support behind one guy. The one state Mondale did win, Minnesota, his home state, he barely won: 49.72% to 49.54% / 1,036.364 to 1,032,603...a ridiculously thin 3,761 vote margin with over 2 million voters. Reagan was THE MAN.

Agree with Silver 197%. If you go to a big school, you get a ton of pageantry - a real show - before kickoff. It's usually 10-15 minutes of band, videos, National Anthem, and Alma Mater to the hilt. It really gets the crowd into the game. It's they type of thing that had 0-12 South Carolina selling out games. You're talking about hosting and throwing an event as opposed to just saying, "Hey, there's a football game here at 3:00 p.m. on Staurday, please, please, please take pity on us and come out." I know coaches visit each other over the summer and pick each other's brains for ideas. Our band directors need to do the same. Drive down to UT. A&M, and LSU, drive up to OU, Nebraska, Arkansas...see and learn how it is done. What is baffling is how, after playing many of these schools on the road from time to time, our band directors and athletic department personnel don't see it themselves and want to act on it. I mean, the light bulb doesn't come on for anyone while the other team's band is marching around and tens of thousands of fans and going nutso in unison? At those schools, the beginning of the game is not the kickoff; the beginning of the game is the band entering and firing up the crowd.

Stoops, speaking about anything other than defense, is suspect...and, he's starting to lose credibility there. As to the five conferences, I saw that I somewhat agree. The idea that you have to be perfect to win a championship is stupid. It's half or more of what has caused problems in getting a real national champion at the I-A/BCS or whatever you want to call it level, This has led to the scheduling of FCS's. It's why some of the members of those five conferences are going to seven and eight home game schedules. Everything is out of whack. The new playoff is a joke. If no one will really challenge on antitrust grounds, and everybody is just going to accept certain conferences controlling who will be included in a national title picture, then just get to the end game. Let there be five conferences of the biggest. My guess is, once that is decided, there will be some minor shuffling. Then, let the remaining 50-60 schools form conferences that makes sense regionally. I hate to say this, but it's just the way it is now: We have to accept that the ship began sailing after OU and Georgia won their court case and Notre Dame saw the light of it and signed their own TV contract. Then, the major conferences hijacked the bowl with their Bowl Alliance, then BCS, and soon to be College Football Playoff. We have to face the fact the we are not one of the chosen. When the ship began sailing, we were wasting time in I-AA. As the facilities arms race heated up in the 1990s, we stayed asleep, adding some high school bleachers to get to the NCAAs then 30,000 seat rule to jump back in to I-A. We have a beautiful new stadium. Great. We can fill it the way Montana fills theirs. We've had so many bad/indifferent leaders at NTSU/UNT. Their apathy hurt as much as joining conferences with commissioners who had no foresight. The Five Conference Who Rule will be: SEC Big Ten PAC 12 ACC Big 12 That will leave everyone else to fend for themselves. Yes, that means even you, SMU and Houston. You, too, will be in the same boat with us - the unchosen and slow to act. If this Five Conference thing really does happen, I so no reason why the remainders don't fall into line regionally and live with it. Have a playoff and get on with it. The charade must end. It will end painfully for dozens and dozens of programs. But, end it must, nonetheless.

Have a mini-Texas/OU game the weekend before with UNT/Tulsa. No. You know, I used to think along those lines as well, having a game at the old Cotton Bowl. But, these truth is, with Apogee now here, we need to feed what we have at our own place.

Yes. Agree. Long term with Houston. Have relatives down there, some of whom attended Cougar High.

He's not wrong. Remember, the AD said the head coach was meeting the goal of keeping the boys out of trouble and in class. That's the bar set at NMSU. Look, I love NMSU. I've been out there twice. The reality of it is this: they play in the equivalent of what would be a high school stadium here. As far as athletics, its bread and butter has been men's basketball. I really do love the campus. It is one of the schools I've taken one of our nephews to visit (the kid's dad split when my wife sister was pregnant with him, so I'm helping him with getting into college). The campus is nice. It's quiet and as unassuming as you can get. I like the old rivalry we had with NMSU. While in law school, I had a classmate who had graduated from NMSU and we jawed back and forth every time they met during those seasons (2000-2002). As I recall, NMSU had a pretty good QB back then. We won every game, but to my recollection, they were all tight, within a touchdown every time. They are tied with SMU for second as the team we've played the most, 33 times (SWT/Texas State has played us most, 39 times). I really hate that NMSU has become what it has become in football. In four full seasons, DeWayne Walker has led them to a 10-40 record. Two of those wins versus Prairie View and Cal State-Sacto. Last season, UTSA thumped them 35-14 at Las Cruces, and Texas State crushed them 66-28 in San Marcos. That is how far they have fallen. They had two winning seasons under Tony Samuel - 1999 and 2002 - and were competitive in the Belt. In 20 years, they've had only those two winning seasons under Samuel. Over the past 40 seasons, they've had four winning seasons - 1978, 1992, plus the two Samuel delivered. There was a flicker of hope under Samuel. Hiring Hal Mumme was a ridiculous publicity stunt. And, they've already thrown up the white flag and set the bar at off the field classroom performance under DeWayne Walker. We can deride their new president all we want; but, he's telling the truth here. NMSU isn't even trying to be competitive in football, so why stay at the most competitive level?

We know this family, have insured them for years, both his parents and his grandparents. It's a good family. Hard workers. His grandfather, who played college basketball, worked damn near until he died at the age of 81. Didn't need to, but just believed in hard work. You couldn't find a more honest and hardworking man than this kid's granddad, I can assure you. My dad and I have been watching highlight videos of David for a few months. He's impressive. It'd be great if we could suit up for the Mean Green one day. My fear is that he'll soon have many offers from schools perceived to be farther up the food chain than UNT.

Where do you live/family: Frisco, wife, 2 kids Degree/Year attended/graduated UNT: 1995, BA English Favorite NT Memory: Drinking beer and pulling wool in any bar you can name around Fry Street from 1990-95 (Flying Tomato, Rick's, O'Tays, Riprocks's, etc.) Favorite NT Sports Memory: Beating Indiana in 2011 and going on the field afterwards with my childrens

Shocking. A president lying after a f*ck up by he and his appointees cause loss of life. That has never been done before. Obama is no different than the rest - he lies to get elected, doesn't know what to do about anything, and lies about all of it. Our last four presidents have sucked big time. And, when you look at both fields shaping up for 2016, it looks like nothing but more suck ahead.

Yet another confirmation from a live human that Berglund probably isn't going to Manziel us this season. KA-POW! It's tough to oust a solid, experienced, tough, loyal quarterback like Derek Thompson. It takes a lot of hard work. Perhaps Berglund can vault McNulty for the #2 spot.

Adman, We may be hearing the same thing and interpreting it differently. Kind of like the Obama supporter who was on TV after he was elected saying she wasn't going to have to pay her bills anymore. That was as much a fantasy as Berglund overtaking Thompson and becoming Johnny Football North. Black people still have to pay their bills even with though Obama is president, and Berglund still has to perform well enough to beat out the quick, intelligent, experience, talented Thompson. McNulty has his supporters, too. Don't leave him out like so many Green Party and Libertarian candidates in an election debate. Mark, I like to take my wife and kids with me so they can experience North Texas. The kids around the neighborhood wear the stuff of their parents' alma mater. I don't want my family to be ashamed of UNT because we having been sucking; I want them to see who is responsible and get excited about it. Also, unlike Mark Sanford, I won't run off on my wife and family for a sultry, tall, Argentine news reporterette because I've already got a Mexican mujer who speaks roughly the same language. If that makes any sense.

I think probably the best news of all is that Mac makes it sound like Derek Thompson has the job and its his to lose. This will not sit well with the people who fantasize about Berglund being Johnny Manziel based on recuiting rankings four years ago. I also want to say this, we bitch and complain a lot amongst ourselves. It's stupid. We waste energy and the same people show up at things. UNT football - and, maybe, UNT, athletics should be like a Jesus to us, and we should, therefore, be spreading its gospel. Otherwise, it's just the same people showing up trying to decide amongst themselves what's the pecking order amongst those who show up. I've tried to get a former player I know involved. I've tried to get former roommates involed. So far, I've gotten one former roommate to games. So basically...Derek Thompson... UNT football and athletics...Jesus...gospel...spread the word.

Lots of "they never quit" out of RV and Benford last night. Both played up the win over Arkansas State. I'm admittedly not a huge follower of basketball. I'm short and white and was raised in a suburb filled with mainly short and white people. So, basketball wasn't so much on the radar in the neighborhoods where we roamed as children. However, I feel like I know this much: If the bar is set at beating Arkansas State, then the bar is pretty low. RV also confused me by saying Benford is a good job despite the circumstances. I guess that meant injuries. But, again, with me not following basketball as closely as football, wasn't this supposed to have been the deepest, most experienced, most talented bunch we'd seen in years?

True. I seem to have forgotten all that success we had in the shootouts during the Dodge Era. Age must be getting to me. I also forget about all the shootouts the SEC schools have won during the last six or seven national title affairs. No one spreads it around on offense and puts defense on the backburner like the SEC schools.

It wasn't as racist or sexist as it was stupid. This is what rap generation folk call humor?

Klein could run. And, football is a team game. K-State's defense was Top 20 agains the rush and Top 25 in point conceded. If your defense is doing its job, the offense is under much less pressure. Derek is great. You love him.

I like Derek Thompson. But, it's not a question of him getting it done. It's a question of the team around him nutting up and getting it done with him. On paper, he's got more talent at receiver this year. We'll see soon enough. But, paper doesn't play the games. The defensive line must overachieve, and more playmakers must emerge at receiver. Don't be gay.

Stupid, but, understandable once I saw the word "libertarian" attached to it. If anyone overreacts more than Republicans and Democrats, it's Libertarians. It would be best for society if the Libertarians would follow through on their threats to go build an Ayn Rand-society on an island somewhere. You'd think with all the wealth they claim to be able to amass, they'd put it altogether and go buy an island and leave. Go on, libertarians, pool your money, buy an island, and leave. Take your guns, your drugs, your 138% trust in free market capitalism free from any restraint.

You guys are looking at this all wrong. Look around the country at other programs - lots of arrest in the offseason = good won/loss records. We need a grade and/or drug scandals and we'll be TCU-level before we know it.