KRAM1

Excellent...you get a +1 from me. Well said.

Should we change the title thread to "Your Last Place Rangers"???? OK, it's a joke....just trying to have some fun after the boys pulled a boner last evening against the Red Sox. Seems they are finding more ways to lose than to win these days...but, the season is young. You have to believe the bats will come around, the injuries will heal and the pitching will be enough! Hang in there Ranger fans, the Fat Lady ain't singing yet!

How very well I personally know how golf courses can be!!!!!! GO LADIES...keep climbing!

Folks...all it took was a brief request to Smitty about adding the year and it was done. You just have to thank him for this, and realize this takes his time away from profitable pursuits to help. I think this year's T-shirt will be a "collectors' item". Again, if you would like a shirt and are not playing just PM me with your size and I'll give you the details regarding how to pay...and through that donate to the scholarship fund. I'll even let you pick whether you want a GREEN or a WHITE T-Shirt. Still could use a player or two or three or four...hurry...time is drawing near for the player draft. GOMEANGREEN.COM BOWL T-SHIRTS ROCK! Thanks again, Smitty! Nicely done, Sir!

I do think they are improving. But, this is certainly disappointing. Hopefully, they can turn it around, but they have dug themselves a pretty deep hole. Let's hope they hit their stride in round two today.

Man, I am so very good at predictions...just check my record! But, i do believe Army and Rice are win-able games for the Mean green and I'll place them in the "win" column right now. I am, however, glad that at this time we are considering only the Rice and Army games for predictions.

Are you sure that Ray David, Sr. was a co-founder of Grandy's? I know he was at one time in the restaurant business, but did not know it was Grandy's. It was my understanding that Grandy's was founded in 1973 by Walter E. Johnson and Rex Sanders. I know the Johnson/Sanders partnership sold Grandy's, perhaps Mr. David was one of the buyers, but I do believe Mr. Johnson and Mr. Sanders actually founded Grandy's. But, I could be mistaken as well as I do know Mr. David was in the restaurant business. Either way, the David's support UNT as does PointBank and have for a good bit of time. They also support many other local community projects. The bank is definitely a great community citizen as are many of the officers and employees of the bank.

What do you think? The DMN seems to think it is a very real possibility. If so, would it be the end of the Roy Williams "experiment"?

I think you mean Ruby's Diner, not Rudy's...Rudy's is the BBQ place on 35, Ruby's Diner is on the square in Denton and is owned by the same guy who owns Beth Marie's. Sorry, I cannot think of his name right now either.

Good to know that you have the answer. Thanks for that. And, coming from one of the most "loved" posters on this board it means that much more to me.

I think the Mavs get "overlooked" a bit due to their post-season record of never having won it and from losing that series to Miami in the finals a couple of seasons ago. But, to say the Mavs are overlooked is being a bit "harsh". Seems to me that this season's coverage by the DMN and the local radio and TV folks has been exceptional. maybe you were referring to the national media, but, I would have to say the Mavs got a pretty decent shake from the local folks...and always seem to get good coverage. You want poor coverage and no respect....try being FC Dallas. I know that it doesn't compare in "scope" to the Cowboys, Mavs or Rangers, but for those who do follow the "beautiful game", the local coverage sucks! If you want to compare, even on a relative basis, the Mavs do quite well. Even the lowly Stars get tremendous coverage compared to FC Dallas. Like the sport or not, FC Dallas is a local professional sports team, and the coverage should be much better from the local folks. Anyway, good luck to the Mavs. This could be the year...it better be the "year" soon or Dirk will be one of the best players ever to grace an NBA floor without ever having won a championship ring. If he thinks this is it for the Mavs will he do what many players do in the twilight of their careers and move to a team that really does have a shot at a championship? Maybe to the team that gets LaBron in the summer "free for all" perhaps? Just wondering what some think. I hope the Mavs can do it this year and win it all, they seem to have the team with the best shot in some years. Go get 'em Mavs.

It looks as if the tea party folks in Nevada are trying to run a "tea party" candidate for the mid-terms. I would have no problem with this if done in the primary, but to do this in the general could all but guarantee a Reid re-election as it would definitely split the conservative vote. You simply have to wonder who is doing any thinking at all in Nevada about this? Makes ABSOLUTLEY NO SENSE, unless the candidate is not really a "tea party" candidate, but rather a "plant" from the George Soros, etc. crowd trying to, in fact, split the vote. I am not big on conspiracy talk and think that this is rather a very stupid move on the part of the Nevada tea party folks. I think it may be as they were talking about this sort of thing some time ago. This has to be the dumbest move they could make...unless, of course, they were trying to guarantee a Reid re-election. Wow...who knows, but this is a mess! Good grief! We'll have to see where this actually goes. Amazing stuff politics, simply amazing.

And this gets "negative" points, while a comment like "the Rangers suck again" goes unmolested...sometimes the gods are not aligned properly, and sometimes folks are crazy!

If we know for certain which number this would be, we just may be able to add that. I have had several folks give me differing numbers of years, so I would be hesitant to add the number unless 100% certain. But, good idea...let us know what you find out. I need to look, but I did not think last year's shirt had the number of years played on it...but, my memory is not 100% on that...so, I'll take a look.

Is it too early to "call the season" for the Rangers?????? OK, getting swept by the Yankees is nothing new and the Rangers are not the only team to be treated to such a series in the last few seasons, but, I mean...even for a casual observer, the Rangers looked helpless against the Yankees. Just when I was thinking I'd pay a little closer attention to baseball my Cardinals have to play a 6+ hour game and the Rangers get swept by the Yankees. Pitching, pitching, pitching...man, it is always the same song for the Rangers. And now it seems to be no hitting and sloppy fielding to go along with the "no" pitching thing. I'm thinking that combination won't get you very far in the "bigs". Maybe the next Ranger game will get rained out and they can have a victory party! OK, in all seriousness, I think the Rangers have the players (and, yes, that includes pitching) to "right this sinking ship" before too much damage is done. But, I think a few changes may be in store if that is to happen...maybe starting with the manager. Was that "drug thing" a bit more of a distraction than everyone thought?

I'll give this a + ! I'm liking this "personal responsibility" thing. Too bad it doesn't go for lots of other areas in our current society as well.

Good stuff. There are many businesses run by UNT alumni in Denton, the DFW area and across the state and nation. In addition there are many athletes, musicians, etc. of a fairly high-profile nature that are UNT grads and alums. Often, they simply need a "reason" to re-connect to their university. For some reason, many alums simply lose touch with the university and never seem to reconnect. That is a situation that is too bad for both the alum and the university and the reasons are many with both sides having a part to play. All too often, the alum just seems to "fade away" having gotton too busy with "life" to give it much thought. They just need a reason to re-connect. If you listen to Jordon Case, that was his situation before RV reconnected with him and provided that "reason" and "opportunity" to reconnect. Often it is just a matter of asking and providing an invitation to "come home". I could go on forever regarding the alums I have contacted and discussed "coming home" with over the last few years. However, I do not have the same "status" as an RV, Coach Dodge, Coach Jones, Lee Jackson, etc., etc. The UNT Alumni Association has been working to make inroads into this area as well and has seen some success in the last few years. If you are a member of the Alumni Association you will see many businesses references on their website and in various groups on the site...job opportunities as well. If you are not a member of the Alumni Association, I would urge you to consider joining. The cost is very small, and you would be helping to solve the very issue we are considering in this post. Good stuff...GO MEAN GREEN!

Thought you might like to see the T-Shirt logo for this year's GMG.com Bowl. We owe a big "THANK YOU" to none other than GM.com's SMITTY for working up this great logo for us. Is this great, or what? You might be interested to know that I had drawn up a logo for the shirts and sent it to Smitty to help with getting it on a format the t-shirts folks could use. He took one look at what I had done and immediately went to work crafting this completely original logo. I might add he never once told me that my design looked like a bunch of 1st graders got loose with a box of crayons! Thanks, Smitty...another great job. Thanks for helping make this year's GMG.com Bowl a success. Very much appreciated. If you cannot play and would like one of the t-shirts, just PM me...cost is $25.00 per and proceeds will go to the Andrew Smith Scholarship fund. If you simply would like to make a contribution to the scholarship or to help defray costs of this year's event, any size donation is greatly welcomed and appreciated. You can PM me for instructions as to how to get the donation or shirt order to me. This is a shirt the "cool-kids" in school want to wear! Thanks, Smitty! GREAT job...as always.

I'll give you a +1 for even knowing that Wigan Athletic is even in the EPL...much less that it exisyts at all. +1 to you...you must be a "closet" soccer fan. I may "out" you if you aren't careful.

My 401K is doing just fine thank you. I am squarely in the middle class and am not bankrupt. I didn't get a Bush stimulus check...but had I, I would have saved it. Hard to believe you really believe this dribble you put out. I tend to think you are just having some fun being the "anti Bush-anti business" poster. I do find it hard to believe that even you believe the stuff you post. I never made any loan to any small business at 17-29% in over 40 years of lending. I wonder where you have been banking or are you just drinking the left-wing kool-aid and believing all that crap you are reading in the NY Times. If you own a small business and have been borrowing at those rates I would be happy to look over your financials and business plan and see if I can't point you in the direction of a better lender. If you have a solid and profitable business going, and a solid credit background, in spite of the rhetoric you seem to believe, there are willing lenders available to you. happy to help.

Now that's funny!

Seems I recall the Mets a few years ago not winning either but having decent crowds and the Rangers are another team not know for winning, but it seems crowd levels have been decent for the last several years. Is that all there is to it? The teams aren't winning? Might be. But, wasn't Cleveland pretty good a couple of years ago? Do the fans fall off that much that quickly in baseball?

I think what some may be missing here is that the efforts at fund raising so far extend only to buyers of Plaza level Seating, Boxes, naming rights, etc., etc. That is, for the "larger donor base". To my knowledge there has been no effort as yet to market to the $1,000 and below donor which would make that list you saw much much larger. I think we all need to "take a deep breath" here and give the dept time to roll out plans for the "general campaign". I would think (for me personally) that the time to roll it out to the general public was some time ago, but I am not in charge of that time table. With what "limited resources" I am told the dept has each time I "question" either seriously or jokingly what PR and marketing is done, it is understandable that primary effort at this time go to the "bigger donors". I will admit that my name was not on that list as my bride and I are still "considering" what we can and will do...BUT, rest assured we WILL be stadium donors. I suspect that many people are in the same boat at this time. I do not believe that the "general population" has been provided any indication of what "giving levels" there might be below the $5,000 per year for 5 years level for Plaza seating and above, etc. Right now I don't know what "level" we will end up with, but we will be donors of as large an amount as we can handle right now given our other obligations and the fact that this will be all "on us"...no way we have the opportunity to fund the donations through a business entity for tax purposes, etc. I wish we did, as it would be nice to get a bit of help from "Uncle" over what an individual contribution will do for you come tax time. However, a donation is a donation whether it comes from AT&T, a local business or an individual and all are needed. We will be adding our names to the list of donors soon enough...just haven't figured it all out as yet...I don't think the athletic dept. has either, but we both will...and that's the good news. Don't get excited as yet. I think we will all be pleased when the full campaign gets rolling. When that will be...don't know, but I am certain it is being handled. Thanks to all who have already been able to make that decision and to help with a donation or a commitment. Can't wait to join you! GO MEAN GREEN!

OK, for all you baseball experts and close followers of the game...what the heck is up in Cleveland with an all-time low attendance record set last Wednesday night of an announced attendance of 10,071 (with probably no more than 5-6,000 actually attending), then followed up by an attendance of about 10,170 or so...then you have all-time low attendance numbers coming out of Camden Yards in Baltimore as well. OUCH! Not good...so, what's up? Did thee fact that the Indians were playing the Rangers have anything to do with it? Is this all about the economy? A bit hard to believe that is the full reason as Cleveland and Baltimore are not along in feeling the economic downturn. But, could it be that the folks who usually went to Indian and Oriole game were in the majority folks hit hardest by the recession? Or, is it something else and something to do with baseball or is it both? Don't know...but, as a couple of the "smaller city" teams, this does not bode well for MLB I would think. Opening week or opening stands and this is what you get for rears in the seats? OUCH...what will happen as the season drags on and on into the late summer if these teams are "out of the races" which they most likely surely will be? I heard this discussion on the Ticket's FM channel this morning on the way to work, but had to leave it before the end of the discussion. So, I have no clue as to what was said concerning reasons...just that it was a VERY bad sign. What do you think? I hate to see this sort of thing, but is it a "sign of the times"? If so, what does MLB do? Move the teams...if they can...

I saw the segment and was pleased that UNT was given the coverage. It was centered on the fact that Riley was no longer the QB. TD and Riley both spoke as did Thompson. All in all it was a positive story and good for UNT. I was a bit interested in why Riley was running around without his pads & helmet. Maybe that was just for that part of practice as he was the focus of the spot. Anyway, it seems to me the UNT received a bit more coverage this spring that in the past. Several of the local stations had segments as I recall or at least mentioned the Mean Green. And that, people, is very good news indeed. Nice to see.