Smitty

34-17, late fourth quarter. Way to go, Troy!

With all the talk of a t-shirt for Dodgeball, I thought of a design that combines the game dodgeball with football and one of the UNT spirit marks, the talon. This is just a starting point, but see what you think:

The reason I doubt you'll see that is because UNT has established its "spirit marks" and is using those whenever possible. They're very big on branding the university, and on being consistent with their new trademarked logos and fonts. The interlocked NT is not one of the spirit marks. The marks are the new "diving" Eagle and Eagle head, and NORTH TEXAS, MEAN GREEN, and UNT in the new font. They plan on using those well into the future. The new shade of green is also part of that trademarked branding. My guess is UNT will use the same NORTH TEXAS on the side of the helmet as last year, but with the new shade of green. Either that or the new eagle on a kelly green helmet. I have absolutely no inside information on that, I've just read that they're trying to be consistent with branding North Texas.

That helmet will always been associated with one of my fondest sports moments ever: UNT 24, Cincinnati 19.

That's a barbeque left out in the snow.

Everyone needs to go easy on that knee-jerk koolaid. I know, I know, it is the drink of choice of college boosters everywhere. It's premature to condemn Dodge for something he has not yet done and for which the only supporting evidence is the rumors on this board. Hollering for him to get to recruiting is also pointless, because until December 24, UNT is appropriately not his first priority. And let's wait a little while before crowning him the best coach in UNT history. It's a little early for either scathing criticism or victory parades through the streets when the man has not put in his first day in the office.

Or is he just figuring to avoid a position battle with the coach's son in two years? If that's the case, that's smart on his part. I hasten to add that I have no knowledge or reason to believe that Riley Dodge will come to UNT. But if I were Snead, that's something I would think about. Probably better to find someplace where the head coach's son will not be competing for your job.

"No unis" would bring a dramatically new meaning to "Dodge Ball." And how much would you have to pay a quarterback to have him put his hands under the center?

That's a big reason I don't play fantasy football anymore. I found I was caring more about who was scoring than the games themselves.

Notice that Randy Butler's name doesn't appear anywhere in the Star Telegram's chronology, it only shows up in the list of "other candidates." Had he been a serious candidate, I think he would have been more prominantly mentioned. It sounds like Butler and Nix were not serious candidates. But it does sound like they were seriously interested in the job. From this story, Harbaugh, Jay Norvell, and Jimbo Fisher were the other serious candidates, and if Dodge had turned the job down, that's where RV might have turned next.

That's what jumped out at me, too. Dead end, huh? Worthless job, huh? When we were all feeling at our lowest in years about this program, one-freakin'-hundred coaches were interested in this job. You want validation for UNT football? Well it doesn't need validation. It is alive and well, thank you very much.

If UNT were truly beneath TCU's and SMU's notice, they probably wouldn't be noticing us. But they are noticing. No matter how you look at it , that 78-1 mark has got to scare you. It's tough enough for TCU and SMU to compete without UNT becoming a much stronger force in DFW and Texas recruiting. Allow me to interpret. The trash coming the Ponies and Frogs translates to: "Oh, $h!t."

Patrick is listed on ESPN as "did not play" today for the Dolphins. It looks like he was in the previous two games on special teams. And would somebody please explain Miami beating New England 21-0 one week, then getting beat by Buffalo 21-0 the very next week? Holding out hope that Patrick will get his first NFL carry next Christmas night when Miami is on Monday Night Football at home against the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. Put him in, Saban, he's ready to play!

From MUTS website: "It will mark the first bowl game of the I-A era for Middle Tennessee and the first overall since going to the Grantland Rice Bowl back in 1964." That, in essence, is the same circumstances as our first trip to New Orleans, when we brought a good crowd. First bowl game for my school - you couldn't keep me away from that. But they can't get anyone to go? I know New Orleans is a more desirable destination than Detroit, but that's pitiful. I really feel sorry to the Middle Tennesse players. They deserve better than that. And that kind of attendance will really hurt this conference. A bowl is going to think twice before asking a second Sun Belt team to dance if their fans don't travel.

A solid color with a single stripe down the middle, like Penn State. Solid green with a white stripe. It'd be up to the coach if he wants to do the little Eagle stickers like Ohio State's buckeyes for making big plays. With that kelly green, I think that would look sharp. I don't know if anyone else uses a solid green helmet. I know about these helmets from schools whose colors include green: Oregon - gold "O" on green helmet Michigan State - white "S" on green helmet Baylor - BU on gold helmet Marshall - "M" on white helmet Alabama-Birmingham - dragon on gold helmet South Florida - bulls logo on gold helmet Colorado State - gold ram horns on green helmet Tulane - T on green helmet Ohio - Ohio on white helmet There's got to be more.

Just a thought, but what about a solid green helmet? No logo or name, like Ohio State and Notre Dame. And Southlake, I guess. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it might work with Mean Green. Sort of like Alabama, but without the numbers on helmets. With our switching from one logo to another and one font to another, the only consistent thing has been "Mean Green." Well, maybe we should just go with that.

What about an all black uniform...oh, never mind.

Well said, drex.

I don't understand the comparison between Snead and Bomar. I have the same misgivings as you about Bomar - substantiated accounts of his behavior suggest there is something not right about that young man. But have you read anything concrete about Snead being a slacker? From what I've read, Snead was working with the first team after the K-State game, then was told UT would start McCoy against the Aggies, despite the fact that McCoy was not 100 percent. That would tell me that UT had committed to McCoy. Yes, it does. If Snead comes here, he will have to sit for a year while someone else puts in a claim for the starting job. Then Snead will have to earn the job in 2008. All I'm saying is we should not judge a kid from two hundred miles away when there's little to substantiate those judgments. Snead wants to play, and isn't satisfied with being No. 2 at a No. 1 school. To me, that's a mark in his favor.

Complete agreement. A quarterback like that for three years in Dodge's system? Oh yes.

Amen! I don't understand any of the negativity towards this kid. I've read nothing that says Snead doesn't work hard. But he's accused of not working hard because he decided he didn't want to be a four-year backup? UT has chosen Colt McCoy, and a career backup is what Snead was staring at. Even when McCoy was not completely healthy before the A&M game, UT went with him over Snead. I would have moved, too. And what chance have we missed? None! He's coming for a visit! If we had missed out on him, why would he waste his time by coming here? I give Coach Dodge a fighting chance to recruit this kid, who would know that the starting job is almost certainly his after he sits for a year. I've read that his shot at the NFL is better at UT. Well, being a starter at UNT is better than sitting the bench in Austin. You think a kid can't get to the NFL from here? Brad Kassell, Cody Spencer, Brian Waters, Adrian Awasom, and Patrick Cobbs can tell you differently. And you think NFL QBs only come from the mega-conferences? Ask Tony Romo if Eastern Illinois was a bastion of big-time football. It is time to shake off the pessimism of the past few years. Will Snead come to UNT? I don't know. But I guarantee he won't come if we don't ask him. And he is definitely worth asking.

Now their main site, www.athlonsports.com, simply says "Coming Soon." Very odd.

Thank goodness this contest isn't close, because Athlon's site is down on the afternoon of the last day of the contest. Can anyone else get on their site?

What's depressing is seeing that list the Dallas Morning News publishes of the Top 100 Area Recruits, and seeing so few considering UNT for the past few years. The last time I saw it, UNT was not mentioned at all. Not being in the National Top 100, that I understand. But we ought to occassionally be in the State Top 100, and we should be liberally sprinkled throughout the Area list. SMU, TCU, Houston, Rice, UTEP, even Stephen F. Austin and West Texas State get mentioned more often than UNT. That, I am confident, is about to change.

To be honest, I'd be satisfied with everybody showing up in ANY shade of green.