Smitty

Give me a monster pass-rushing DE. Changes the whole game. Look at every team in the NFL scrambling to find pass rushers. If you can get your pass rush from the line without blitzing, life is very difficult for an offense.

Now that's funny.

You probably are giving me too much credit. But in this case, he's setting a new standard for stupidity.

What are they smoking in Waco?

From the Dallas Morning News today: Cuban is still on Nellie's case Mavs owner shows he won't let anything go as he sues Nelson 12:12 PM CDT on Saturday, June 30, 2007 By Kevin Sherrington For all you fans wanting to know what the heck's going on with the locals while the Warriors get better and the Trail Blazers get better and the Sonics get better and the Mavs get Nick Fazekas, here's your answer: Mark Cuban has gone nuts. The official word Friday is that he's in the hospital for "hip replacement surgery," which is the new euphemism for "institutionalized." How else do you explain it? Sure, we've seen Mad Mark do some silly things in the name of the Mavs. He's warred with the commissioner, warred with the refs, warred with the media, even warred with San Antonio about the toxicity of its River Walk. But this complaint tops them all: He's suing Don Nelson on grounds that he beat his old team with insider information, and he wants Golden State to cease and desist, herewith. Frankly, part of me wishes him good luck. Maybe he knows something the rest of us don't. Wouldn't be the first time. Cuban has made billions doing things no one else thought practical. As has been written in this space before, I'm loath to take on someone not only far smarter than me, but a guy who never sleeps, either. Still, until we get some kind of response other than a no comment – apparently, you can still e-mail while wearing a straitjacket – we'll have to take this at face value. A Nellie-Cuban culture primer: Once upon a time, two great minds got together to resurrect a basketball franchise. And for a couple of years, anyway, life was great. But Cuban eventually tired of Nellie's work ethic. Nellie, in turn, resented Cuban's interference. The simmering feud came to a boil when Cuban allowed Nellie's favorite player, Steve Nash, to walk in free agency. For all intents and purposes, Cuban thought Nellie cashed in. And that's how this became a case soon to be handled by Judge Judy. On the surface, it looks like it's all about money. Nellie says the Mavs owe him $6.5 million from the days when Ross Perot Jr. owned the club, and he wants it. Or a settlement. Cuban says Nellie violated a non-compete clause in his contract by taking the deal to coach the Warriors. An arbitrator will decide who's right this fall. But you don't need a law degree to know who's wrong. Since when did money ever matter to Cuban? He's thrown it around with impunity since he bought the team. He's spent more on luxury hotels and plush towels and private jets than he ever owed Nellie. Money isn't the issue. Ego, is what it is. Cuban had every right to question Nellie's work ethic. Nellie sat out part of a season to fix his golf swing, for instance. And then Nellie quit to become a consultant, and that should have been the end of a good marriage gone bad. But it didn't end. Cuban won't let it. Next thing you know, you've got both sides alleging breach of contract. And now, to help his case, Cuban contends that the Warriors beat the Mavs because of Nellie's inside knowledge, violating terms of his non-compete clause. If Cuban's point holds up in court, no coach who's fired from here on out will ever get another job in his or her sport again. For that matter, how much did Nellie need to know? The Warriors' hold on the Mavs predated Nellie's arrival. The problem the last couple of years has been the matchup. All any team needs to handle the Warriors is a low-post presence and a point guard. The Mavs have neither. Utah has both, which is how Golden State got bounced from the playoffs after its historic upset. "Mark has always claimed that Don was always looking for excuses to lose," said John O'Connor, Nellie's lawyer. "It seems like somebody else is making excuses here." Best guess: Cuban doesn't really think Nellie beat them, no matter what it looks like. He simply can't let anything go. Bad enough when the league's best regular-season team gets booted from the playoffs by the eighth seed. Mad Mark won't let a bad ending die peacefully. He wants to drag it out, create a circus, exact his revenge, no matter what the cost. And money is the least of it.

I'm sure it did. But if that was the over-riding reason, wouldn't he have committed to North Texas in the first place? It sounds like the main conflict was playing QB vs. playing for UT. I'm sure playing for his dad played a role, but if UT had recruited him as a QB, would this change have happened?

Agreed. I dont't know if this increases the chances of Vizza being the starter this year, but I would think it decreases the chances of Vizza being red-shirted. It also sets up perfectly to move Riley in as starter his junior year - or sooner if he demonstrates that he's better than Vizza. But Vizza will get his chance to show what he can do, and he's got a big head-start on Riley at NT. This is also the mark of a big-time program in the making: the big-time programs keep recruiting a position even when they already have a stud at that same position, even when they already have a stud at that position in the same recruiting class. Look at the constant QB battles at Texas the past several years, or the un-ending flow of great QBs at USC or Florida. They're not just recruiting to fill holes next year, they're recruiting to build that class two or three years down the road. If things work out as hoped, North Texas could be set at QB for the next six years. You add another stud QB recruit in the next couple of years, and you just keep extending the line of heir-apparents. In Riley's case, you've got to believe that he's been stewing just a little bit that UT wanted him as an athlete and not a QB. He's one of the best QBs in the state, but UT wants him to play DB or return kicks? That couldn't sit well, and over time it must have eaten away at that life-long desire to play for the 'Horns. It sounds like it his desire to play QB in college overcame his desire to play for Texas. What a day for North Texas. WOW.

More than the physical aspects of a short week, coaches hate the shortened preparation time. They have less time to put in their game plan and practice it. What could be difficult for North Texas opponents next year is getting ready for a coach they've never faced and a system they haven't seen UNT run.

That's the sad thing about all those third-and-long draws the last few years. When you're in a run-first offense, the defense is looking for the draw. But the third-and-long draw will probably work better in the spread offense, with fewer defenders at the line and maybe a linebacker or two replaced by defensive backs.

On third and 12 from the North Texas 28-yard line, Jamario takes a draw up the gut, breaks free, and goes the distance. And far away, in a distant office in Utah, a piercing voice is heard to scream, "See! See! I told you! I knew it would work!"

What other little incidents are you speaking of? What is your source?

Sorry, no frequent-flier points here. But I did get your ticket bumped up to first class, if that helps.

Good question. And one that should be asked, thoroughly investigated, and answered prior to judgment being passed.

Oh. Oh, my. Oh, dear. You...you didn't do...oh, my. "Congratulations, Mr. Quoner, you have won an all-expenses paid, one-way ticket straight to Hell! The baggage containing the smoking ruins of your eternal soul has been checked in. Please step through the flaming door to your left, and we'll be departing shortly. You'll be seated behind a screaming child for the duration of the flight. We hope your enjoy your journey on Purgatory Airlines."

Why should facing pending legal charges automatically discredit someone? Yes, carefully check the circumstances of this incident and his background, and if - AFTER a thorough investigation - you feel he is a bad actor, then absolutely avoid him. But a single arrest shouldn't make him an outcast. In a world with the Duke rape scandal and the Dallas fake drug scandal, where innocent people were being wrongly arrested, charged, and prosecuted, an arrest does not equal guilt. Hell, in the case of the Dallas fake drug scandal, convictions didn't equal guilt.

Any claim of ignorance emanating from the state of Oklahoma should be taken seriously.

Well that eliminates about half the people on this board.

The thing that amazes me the most about this sudden wealth of recruits and commitments is the universities that North Texas is beating for these kids. There are a lot of major football powers who are expressing interest in these players. In years past, we rarely saw North Texas mentioned in such company. And to be beating these schools? It is an absolutely remarkable turnaround. This brief list of schools is pulled from bios and commitment reports as having either offered or recruited players that have committed to or are considering North Texas: Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Colorado State, Iowa State, Tulsa, TCU, Arizona, West Virginia, Baylor, Kansas, Purdue, Utah, Houston, Iowa, Penn, Princeton, UTEP, Yale, Mississippi, Ohio State, SMU, Louisiana Tech, UL Monroe, Air Force, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest Two schools showing up on these lists a lot - and perhaps suffering the most from Todd Dodge's arrival - Tulsa and Oklahoma State. I wonder if those two are going to see their supply of Texas recruits dramatically reduced. UNT's increased recruiting is also a huge reason why SMU, Rice, Houston, and possibly Tulsa will fight North Texas joining Conference USA.

Maybe Nguyen and Coakley's days were numbered, but how about Lofa Tatupu? He was all of 6-0, 225 at USC and is tearing it up for the Seahawks at 6-0, 238. Mike Singletary? 6-0, 230. Jack Ham? 6-1, 225. Sam Mills? 5-9. Zach Thomas? 5-11, 228. Even Ray Lewis is just 6-1, 250. A seventeen-year-old can easily an inch or two in the next two to three years, and can easily add twenty or thirty pounds, which puts him right in with these greats. Don't get wrapped up in this combine mindset that overlooks what a player does on the field and instead focuses on his height and weight. There are also hundreds and thousands of 6-4, 250 types that don't make it. Don't recruit numbers - recruit players.

Don't get caught up in numbers. Numbers would have rejected guys like: Sam Mills: 5-9, 225 Ray Lewis: 6-1, 250 Lofa Tatupu: 6-0, 238 Mike Singletary: 6-0, 230 Jack Ham: 6-1, 225

Where does getting the death penalty rank?

While we try to decipher what sixteen months means, it might help to look to our local rivals. According to Wikipedia, Ownby Stadium was demolished in October, 1998, and Ford opened September, 2000. That's roughly twenty-three months. Even without a demolishing phase, sixteen months might be tight to build a 30,000-50,000 seat stadium (Wikipedia says Ford seats 45,000). Perhaps, however, RV meant that construction will begin in sixteen months. If so, that would put the start date in October, 2008. Looking to the SMU timeframe, the new stadium would be ready for the 2010 football season. How's that for off-season speculation?

Utah State's coach is listed as 3.5 - a very warm seat. That would be brutal for DD to get fired here, land at Utah State, then go out with the staff if that head coach gets fired in 2007. I wonder if Phil Bennett at 3 is perhaps low. Bowl game or else this year for SMU?

Because those conferences have some history, but the Sun Belt has none. Every Top-25 caliber team views a game against the Sun Belt as an automatic win because we've given them no reason to think differently. I've said it before but it needs repeating: the only way to change the image of North Texas and the Sun Belt is to find some big shots and crack their freakin' skulls. Then repeat. Respect is earned, not given, and it is earned on the scoreboard and no where else.

I'm referring to the fact that they've ranked him next to last among all these coaches. All these coaches are better than Dodge? Based on what? Expectations? Bias against a former high-school coach? Or an actual evaluation of his performance. Oops, can't do that, there is no performance to judge yet!