Smitty

Some of you are making me feel positively ancient wth all this talk of "I've never seen the hook and ladder work" or "never seen the Statue of Liberty work." I've seen both of those work (the best one I remember was the hook and ladder by the Dolphins against San Diego in the playoffs in the early 1980s), but I've rarely seen either executed as well as Boise State did. Especially the lateral, because that requires pin-point timing and its always dangerous when you lateral between players going in opposite directions. Just spectacular. How paranoid did those OU defenders look at the end? They had absolutely no idea where the attack was coming from next. And all through that fourth quarter and OT, I couldn't help thinking, "That could be North Texas someday."

Two other things that stand out in the list: 1. Way to go, Baylor. They have received committments from four of the state's top offensive linemen. That's the kind of class a program can build on for years. 2. What are these kids thinking? SIX of the state's top offensive linemen have committed to Texas. SIX. They only play five at a time, boys. Even if you eventually beat out all the offensive linemen from other classes at UT, one of you is guaranteed to not be a starter. Go to TCU, SMU, North Texas, Texas Tech, and I like your chances to play. But at UT, you'll be lost in the crowd.

Look closer at these lists, and they will tell you a lot about the coach we just hired. Number of players from Southlake listed among the State Top 100: zero. Number of players from Southlake listed among the Area Top 100: zero. I know some of his best players this year were underclassmen, but winning a state championship so decisively with no star seniors says a lot about the coaching, teaching, and leadership skills of Todd Dodge. Will it translate to college? I don't know, but I like UNT's chances. The recruiting will come in time, and he still has a month to make an impact this year.

I would also like to see something of significance in the new village named for Abner Haynes. That's a really good idea. I'd like to see the practice field named for Andrew for reasons that have been stated. But perhaps there is a more important purpose, which ties into the objections expressed. Naming the field honors him but can also serve as a cautionary tale to those who come after. Andrew can remind future players that they are not indestructible, and while they may be young, healthy, great athletes, they are still mortal, and one terrible mistake can cost them so dearly. It's a story with remembering.

ESPN's website shows his stats this year as ten solo tackles, two assists, and one sack. He's played in seven games, including the last four in a row. Congratulations, Andrian! After watching the Cowboys today, Dallas could sure use Awasom.

I love this idea, greenjoe. Very fitting, and a good way for every player and coach who comes through here in the future to remember Andrew. That's brilliant, and thanks for saying something to RV. Is this what you had in mind?

Oh, no. My head is big enough already. Ask my wife. Oh, you mean the helmet...uh...well...you might be right...

Voila!

You know, people say that about me all the time. Try this:

I think we all came up with some good ideas, and some good graphics. Good work, everyone. Listen to us talking about football helmets with so much passion. Why do we do it? Signing day is weeks away, spring practice is months away, the start of next football season is nine months away. So why? Because we care about the Mean Green. No other reason. Go Mean Green.

One more thought on a possible new North Texas helmet. This idea came while watching Houston last night, then looking closely at OU, Kansas, Georgia Tech, and a few others. I've simply placed one letter over the other, so that both letters are clearly visible. This uses the new font, slightly widened, in about the size of the UH, OU, GT, etc., and positioned to miss the chin-strap snaps on the side of the helmet. By the way, I'm adding several of these helmet designs as avatars on Mean Green Graphics. However, when UNT displays its new helmet for 2007, I plan to add that as an avatar and remove all the other designs.

I have my own website and graphic design business, Wordsmith Studios. I'm a writer, designer, and Photoshop junkie.

I've added a wallpaper for all other UNT sports. These are all "Do You Believe" wallpapers. I'll try to add more specific athletes later, but at least now every sport has a wallpaper.

I've prepared five wallpapers for UNT basketball wallpapers. Enjoy! I've also added a wallpaper for all other UNT sports. These are all "Do You Believe" wallpapers. I'll try to add more specific athletes later, but at least now every sport has a wallpaper.

Something like this? To get the talon near the earhole, the eagle has to be very large, otherwise the eagle's head disappears under the facemask.

Very sweet. Makes me want to buy a second monitor. That's something that your co-workers won't miss!

Helmet with Zeke's interlocking NT:

Answers to some questions posed on this thread: Why did I put the old "NT" on a helmet? Because FFR asked me to. He wanted to see what the NT from the NT Exes logo (without the star) would look like on the helmet I created. He was just curious to see it, and I thought everyone else would like to see it as well. So I built an NT in the old logo from scratch and put it on. I was curious, too. What is the new NT font? I don't know. It was created by or for UNT and I've never seen it any place where it can be downloaded. I suspect it does exist in a font and not just as individual images, but I don't have it or anything like it. How do I make some of my attachments so big? I save them in the size I want to display them on this board or on Mean Green Graphics. I create most images in Photoshop at 300 dpi (in case I want to print them) and in a large size. The I can save them for specific purposes at a specific smaller size. It's always easy to reduce an image without loss of resolution, but you can't enlarge easily without loss of resolution. We're all just playing here. If we hit upon an idea that's worth something, maybe someone in authority will take it and run. As far as I know, there is no official interlocked NT. Zeke created one using the N and the T from the the official "NORTH TEXAS," and I think it works really well. Give me a bit and I'll put it on the helmet in a larger size and post it on this thread. But I may have to go to Jake's for dinner first. It's not that I want to go to a good hamburger joint with live music and really really cute waitresses - it's just something that I have to do.

FFR asked to see what a helmet would look like with a clean interlocked NT (similar to the NT Exes logo but without the star). Here's a couple of versions on a kelly green helmet: Reminds me a bit of OU, Nebraska, and A&M, especially the one without the outlines. The size can be adjusted, but it gives you a very basic idea how it would look. If anyone wants this turned into an avatar, let me know and I'll add it.

Since gomeangreen.com is allowing 100x100 pixel avatars, I've made a batch. They can be downloaded from Mean Green Graphics Avatars. The previous 64x64 avatars are still on the site and will remain. Here's a sample: I've also prepared a dual-monitor wallpaper, which is a single image split in two for use on side-by-side monitors. Here's a thumbnail of the full image: The two pieces, available in 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024, can be downloaded from Mean Green Graphics Dual-Monitor Wallpapers.

Thank you to everyone for the compliments. It means a lot coming from dedicated fans like yourselves who care so much about this university. Based on your encouragement, and with Zeke's help to get me the correct email addresses, today I sent an email to Rick Villarreal and Dr. Bataille with large versions of three diving-Eagle designs attached, and offering any help I can provide. Thanks again, Smitty

Where can I get some good photographs?

I tried gray and silver, but it just didn't work very well. At a light silver it becomes dingy, and any darker is too dark. Plus, I think UNT is going to want to stick with their color palette of green and white.

Ask and let's see. With a 1 pixel black outline: