SilverEagle

Ohmygod! you said that name!

Okay, in light of recent headlines about gas prices going up to $3.00 again. I just thought that I'd mention that, even if you book a ride by yourself on Amtrak to Austin and back, the cost to you will be $46.00 ROUND TRIP I wouldn't be surprised if they raise their fares in the near future.

Utah......or as they affectionately refer to it up there ....."UU" "UU" is in Salt Lake City Utah State is in Logan Utah.

Size 2X please.

As one of the people that posted a comment on his article points out, he's completely ignoring the NFL and NBA. They both have long seasons (longer than the colleges), and then they have a play-off. I'm constantly amazed at who gets paid to write for publications these days.

You hire a consultant to analyze the Hayden Fry-type personality and do a profile. You only interview coaches that have noticably turned smaller programs around, and who have energized the fan base in the process. And if it were me. During the interview, I'd ask the applicant to get up and pretent that he is at a local event in Denton (Lions club etc) and give me an extemporaneous speech extolling the virtues of North Texas, and telling me why people should come to North Texas sporting events. I would then ask him to pretent that he was at a new conference event on the North Texas campus and then pose a series of questions to him, that some disgruntled students and/or fans might throw at him. And finally. I would make sure that there were ABSOLUTELY NO OLD NESTERS AND/OR *FACULTY COMMITTEE INVOLVED IN THE HIRING PROCESS. * this is in reference to the Dennis Parker hiring debaucle

This is the latest response from Amtrak. My question had to do with people making reservations on thier own, or as a group using a special code for the event. We will need specific travel dates to start so the space can be requested, then when the space is confirmed we will call you with the pricing information and about two weeks after you will need to make a 10 percent deposit. We won't need any names at this time but a complete passenger name list will be needed before you make your final payment, which will be explained on the confirmation letter that we will send you. If your group makes their own reservations individually, we will have no control over it and they will not be considered a group, all passengers need to be traveling together under the same reservation and itinerary to be a group. Thank you Amtrak group Department. Ok, does anyone (or any group) want to get involved in this?

They (UCLA) must have really paid DeLoach a lot more money, because the cost of living (especially the housing) in California is significantly higher than the North Texas area. I don't know about the cost of living in Central Florida.

I agree. Until we correct the underlying problems here, programs with more money and more support will always come along and hire the latest version of Hayden Fry. However, the way to mitigate that is to keep replacing him with the new and "up-and-coming" version of Hayden Fry.

but I say as long as we don't get whipped like we did last year to mid major OOC teams that DD is doing an alright job. I can accept a loss for what it is, and if you are that sore and bitter of a loser you probably shouldn't be watching or playing sports. And I will again jump into the shadows while the same 4 or 5 bitter old people respond to this post to tell me that I am a DD apologist and I love losing and am very happy to be mediocre. Well, when you make statements like the one in the first paragraph, then even the most casual observer would come to the conclusion that you're inviting comments about loving losing and being happy to be mediocre. I'm not one of the "bitter" people that is calling for DD to be fired. I want him to succeed, and therefore my University will succeed. But telling him that as long as North Texas doesn't get whipped quite as bad as last year then we're satisfied is not the way for a program to succeed. Graduating during the Hayden Fry era, I guess that I just got spoiled. Hayden showed up and told us that we were NOT LOSERS, and that as long as he was head coach, his teams would always show up to win. I've never heard that message from DD. What I keep hearing (and I really do hope that I'm wrong) is the "use against the world" message that he seems to convey to his team to try and keep them motivated. What I want is for Coach Dickey to either get more "adjustable" in preparing for games.........and during the games as well. Or hire someone who has that ability. I also want him to get a new upbeat line of bull$hit to convey to the fans. Just one time (after the usual coaching niceities of complimenting his opponent and their program) I'd like to hear him clearly say that it's his intention to go down to Austin (or go up to Norman...or where ever) and beat the Longhorns, Sooners, Hurricanes....etc. So what if they put it up on their bulletin boards? Could our beatings be any worse than last year?

It's all our fault. We're too critical of the coaching staff and/or we just don't understand them.

Med, I appreciate that you took the time to talk with Coach Dickey and get some clarification about some things, but I'm not totally convinced. First of all, I totally agree with the concept that "we are here to yell for the green and white" . I have always done that. But I also believe that we should hold accountable the adults who are managing the fortunes (or lack thereof) of OUR team/school. Especially when those adults can quickly move on to another location and another job. Now, I find it hard to believe that (according to Coach Dickey) many of the players on the team lack the emotional maturity to handle critical statements on this board, yet they have the emotional maturity (and intelligence) to understand the subtleties of his true message . A message that seemed to have escaped the understanding of all of the grown, mature adults who were hearing the same words. At least three of the aforementioned adults (myself included) must have an above average understanding of language and it's subtleties, in order to be effective in their jobs. Is Coach Dickey speaking in some sort of code that somehow escapes us? Have we all just imagined the "seige mentality" comments from the last four (or more) years? Because if that's the case. And assuming that he would rather not have "true fans" angry with him. Then maybe Coach Dickey ought to work on a new speech. As to the "four conference championships years and four bowl games". We had to get special dispensation to go to the first bowl game because we had a losing record. And of the four bowl games, we've only won one of them. We still have an abysmal OCC record. I'll continue to support MY North Texas Mean Green in any way that I can. But I will not give up my right to stand up and yell (when the occasion calls for it) "we're getting out-coached".

We also had our first sell-out at Fouts field when we were 1-AA. Actually we had two sell-outs when we were 1-AA. Besides coaching, one could argue that we had better promotions during that time.

For those who live in East Texas and who might want to participate in this event, here is the schedule from Texarkana to Ft Worth for the Texas Eagle. Texarkana, departs station at 7:18am Marshall, departs station at 9:35am Longview, departs station at 10:20am Mineola, departs station at 11:10am Dallas, departs station at 1:40pm Fort Worth, departs station at 4:00pm And for those between DFW and Austin Arrives at Cleburne at 4:42 PM The rest of the stations are McGregor, Temple, and Taylor. Here is the link to describe the accommodations. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServe...554402&ssid=138

Most recent reply from Amtrak Mr. Covert, There is no deadline on when you need to request the space by but keep in mind that everything is subject to availability and for groups, the space is much limited since the revenue managers only approve a certain percentage per train. Alcohol as well as food service are available on this train from our dinning and lounge car.

Could someone please post the name of a Hotel/Motel where they are planning to stay for the Texas game this fall? The names of previous Hotels/Motels will do. For clarification. I only need the names of Hotels/Motels that provide courtesy van service. I also need their addresses. The street name will do. Thanks

Silva and Mitchell are replacing Tom Lazo and Chuck Beatty, whose terms expired last year Well, there goes one "Athletics friendly" regent.

Here is the latest response from Amtrak Mr. Covert, This particular train holds 74 seats per car. You would need at least 20 people to be considered a group. We will need specific dates of travel to request the space and get a price. Is your group wanting to leave on September 1st and return on the 3rd. Do you have at least 20 people traveling now. Please provide us with this information so the space can be requested as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that the exclusive occupancy of the car will take longer for approval. The closing of the station on the weekends does not interfere with passenger travel, the train will make its regular stops as scheduled. None of the nearby hotels offer pick up-drop off to and from the station. You will need to contact them directly to make special arrangements. Thank you for choosing Amtrak and we look forward to assisting you with your travel needs. Please provide us with a contact telephone number with your reply. Amtrak Group Department. Most of the Hotels/Motels (the larger ones) offer van service to and from the airport, so I'm assuming that they offer the same service to people arriving via Amtrak. If someone has already booked a room at a Hotel in Austin, could you contact the Hotel (e-mail would be fine) and ask them if they could pick a guest up at the Amtrak station? Also, I'm asking about the availability of food and alcohol beverages on the train.

My Grandfather was a "Coppersmith" with the T&P railroad. The family lived in Marshall before the T&P moved it's "yard" operation to Texarkana. He told me that one time the T&P ran a "special" train from Marshall to Texarkana for one of the big rivalry football games between the two towns. He said that the train was completely full. Did you take either of those trains (Wichita or Baylor)? If so, how was the experience.......spirit wise.

Yes, going Amtrak won't be an option for people who want to go and come back on the same day. In the past there have been many fans who went down on Friday and didn't come back until Sunday. As to the station being closed, I will e-mail their customer service and ask about that situation. The Station is located at 250 N. Lamar, which makes it walking distance from 6th street. People staying in the 6th street area can walk to the station....and to their Hotels if they are staying on 6th......or close by. All of the Hotels and most of the Motels have a shuttle/van service that can take you to the station......and pick you up from there as well.

Here is Amtrak's response. Dear William Covert, Thank you for contacting us. There are many variables involved in quoting group fares and approving group travel. Amtrak Group rates are available for parties of 20 or more passengers traveling together. For information, please visit: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServe...am2Copy&ssid=66 You can e-mail our Group Sales department at GroupSales@Amtrak.com. Or, contact our group desk by phone at 1-800-872-1477 for specific information for your group. Hours of operation are 9 am to 9 pm (ET), Monday through Friday. We look forward to assisting you. Sincerely, Yola Amtrak Customer Service Assuming that enough people are interested, this sounds like something that the Dallas/Tarrant County Exes might want to coordinate.

Then don't participate. And BTW, Amtrak estimates that it's a 4:20 ride. MapQuest estimates (under ideal circumstances) that the drive from downtown Ft Worth to 6th St. in Austin is three hours. Even if Amtrak takes longer than 4:20, it's better than driving on I-35 during the Labor day week-end. I've sent an e-mail to Amtrak asking the questions that UNTBill posed. BTW(2) this particular train route is called the "Texas Eagle".

I believe that they have a "special promotions" section on their web-site.

Out of curiosity, I went to the Amtrak site to see if it would be possible to take the train to and from Austin this year. Well, for those living in the DFW area (and several points between DFW and Austin) it is. As of today, you can take the train down and back for $46. A train ride to Austin and back with rowdy North Texas fans might be fun. Assuming that you're interested, check the schedule for yourself. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServe...Amtrak/HomePage