PlummMeanGreen

Has he signed yet?

Nailed it, Rob. 👍👍 Honestly, we are all going to miss that man (& MG fan). Continued prayers for Kathy & Family. ••• I’d bet Don & Al Miller (ArlingtonMeanGreen) are talking MG football even now. (Yes, Al snuck under the radar with his passing, too, nearly 2 years ago). ••• Last time I saw both those guys was at the Mean Joe Greene statue unveiling ceremony.

SUMG told me a few days that Jim Hampton’s autobiography is a “can’t put it on the nightstand” gem. He also said how Hampton talked fellow UNT student & fraternity brother Pat Boone into buying his first pair of what would become his signature white buckskin shoes. Many vignettes about student life at UNT, too. I think I now want to read that book. The link below includes a critique of Hampton’s book. https://www.lonestarliterary.com/content/lone-star-review-what-and-give-show-business

Very nice words, Harry. “Huff” hadn’t been on GMG for weeks & I started asking if anyone had heard from him. One of the best MG fans I ever met since meeting Kathy & him in about 1973. Don told many of us some funny stories about his growing up in west Texas. His dad was a Texas Tech alum. He & his daddy were at the first game ever at Fouts Field. In fact, I think his dad was a referee at that game. Don will be missed by so many of us nestors. He & Kathy were 2 of the best Mean Green fans UNT was lucky to have. 🙏🏻Prayers for Kathy & Family. •••

😆 Read their other off the radar polls. Those people are on meth. Honestly, they are.

This from one ‘recruitinator🧐 Enoch Jackson is a quick, powerful interior defender who best fits a four-man front. Jackson shows impressive get-off at the snap. He plays with great leverage consistency that allows him to maximize his strength and power. The strength in his lower body is obvious as Jackson can steer offensive linemen into the gap or simply push them back into the pocket." ❇️🦅❇️

I concur.🙄 😱 Booger Kennedy’s somersault tackle of the QB then grabbing the football mid-air to finish his somersault (in Murfreesboro) was one for the ages. ❇️🦅❇️

This above. 👍 The Time Zone issue I believe could be worked out. Like it or not, UTSA would have to be considered. San Antonio is a destination city for tourists, fans & history buffs as in their Spanish missions tour. A la New Orleans Sugar Bowl & their 2’nd bowl the NO’s Bowl, you have SA with their Alamo Bowl & I think they could easily have a 2’nd bowl like the Big Easy’s New Orleans Bowl. UNT being 25 minutes from DFW Airport & 20 minutes from Alliance (along with its TMS & surrounding hotels) are positives for UNT. The top shelf venues of the Mean Green Village are also a plus—more than I think we may realize. A new Men’s varsity baseball stadium & a new Super Pit 2.0 near “the Hill” are merely icing on the cake. One ancient writing said “a nation without dreams will perish.” Well, that will never be a problem for us of the Mean Green Nation because we have no shortage of dreams. ❇️🦅❇️

NTSN, it’s really not what UH did the last 4 years, but (IMHO) what they did from 1960 to 1970 which was go from zero in 1960 to a Southwest Conference invite in 1970. They also played some decent basketball those 10 years, too. ♦️UH’s entry into the SWC would end that league’s longtime adage of “SWC basketball is what you do between Spring & Fall football.” Eddie Sutton knew what they would have to do at Arkansas now that UH would be in the league. Well, Eddie came through while others In the SWC took awhile longer but they would all be forced to soon follow. (They had no choice). Since so many schools have to depend on their (sometimes) distant past for future conference consideration (with UH not really being part of that group); anyhow, that still remains part of our favorite school’s problem as far as a future conference upgrade is concerned. We have to have at least a decade of winning & bowl successes before we can project ourselves for a better conference while “Potential” is an overused word that we need to lose in our MG vocabulary. ❇️🦅❇️

Be careful, Jim, you might be called a NegNed.😬 Heck! I might call you one!🙃😆 (Hope Denton has worked out for y’all as I expect it has). GMG!

Well, greenjoe, I watched the game at SUMG & his faithful dog’s Argyle living room. Doggie barked at me a few times when she thought I’d gotten out of hand, especially when they pulled “the Play” out of the hat & our other touchdowns. A HS buddy of mine from Alvin & me (plus my date one Cele Fick😳of Friendswood & her best friend) all 4 went to to see John, Paul George & Ringo arrive at Houston’s International Airport. They had their concert at the old Sam Houston Coliseum in downtown H-town. There were 10,000 screaming teens at the airport to give the Fab5 a big ol’ Texas howdy. We did not see the concert—couldn’t get tickets. ❇️🦅❇️

If Seth wins 5 games in 2021 that will give him the 2022 season in which his offense will continue to shine & Def. Coordinator Phil Bennett will have had 1 year to insert his “Baylor style” slobber’knockin’ defense. Littrell has too many allies with UNT powers to be fired in 2021. Now if his whole team catches the next world pandemic & wins only 2 or 3 games, then that could create a job opening. 🦅 After reading GMG last year until the present, it seems most (except the usual NegNeds) want Littrell to be successful In 2021, so count me in that group. ••• We need at least a 6-7 year coach in Denton who leaves town well above .500.

IMO, the G5 will regularly be producers of conference One Hit Wonders & I see the Sun Belt as just that. Sure there will be a G5 conference with a nice 2 or 3 year run, but then they’ll go back to their former place. The Covid football season of 2020 never had a legit Top 25 poll. Look at how many P5 poll “regulars” didn’t play a full season allowing the SBC some rare openings? I would say the same thing had CUSA had a similar run. ❇️🦅❇️

You are right, GRN-WHT, about our product. That must improve (& I think it will). Our Mean Green Village top shelf venues are going to do wonders for UNT recruiting as I think most believe they already are. ••• How long did it takes Todd Dodge’s recruits to come to full fruition? Maybe on New Years Day, 2014, from McCarneys 2013 MG team at the HOD Bowl game before the largest number of UNT fans most have ever seen? The (over-stated)🙄 1982 ABC-TV game is for those UNT fans who even as far back as 1982 have said we could never produce good TV ratings no matter which decade. I’ll try not to use that again. Is it time for the G5 to have a pro-active Commissioner? If so, one with a similar philosophy as the author of this linkedin article would be one helluva’ good start. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stop-name-calling-college-football-jeff-pizzino-apr?trk=public_profile_article_view Here is the entire article-Readers Digest Large Letter Edition?🧔🏼 Why the P5 and G5 Branding Must End in College Football December 10, 2020 • 3 Likes • 0 Comments ◆ Jeff Pizzino In the world of corporate communications and marketing, names can make or break an organization/entity and/or product. The same goes for product taglines. Names are typically created from two sources: By the entity itself (or its creative agency, be it public relations, advertising or marketing), or by others (such as by the competition and/or those trying to elevate their cause or market positioning above the entity it's naming). In 1973, the band The Association released a song titled, “Names, Tags, Numbers & Labels.” I can recall singing along to this song when I was young (I still have the single). The first part of the chorus goes like this: Names, tags, numbers, labels Other people teach you what you are You believe them as a rule… College Football Name Calling Since we’re in the midst of the college football season, let’s take a look at the name calling that exists within this sport — from a PR perspective. There are 129 teams in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) of Division 1 in college football. Within the FBS are 10 conferences and seven independents. All 129 teams belong to the same group (subdivision). But that’s where the equality ends. Power 5 and Group of 5 Labeling Somehow the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12 and SEC was gloriously “branded” with the name “Power 5 Conferences.” But the American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt are labeled the “Group of 5 Conferences.” (Of the 7 independents, Notre Dame is the only school that reaps the perks the P5 conferences receives. BYU (go Cougars!!), although regarded by many as a P5-quality program, lives in this hazy P5/G5 limbo. The precise origin of the Power 5 and Group of 5 names is unknown, though the harmful impact is unquestioned. This diminutive, bigoted-sounding term of “Group of 5” makes it sound as if G5 teams are the poor, shoeless peasants working out in the fields. These names are unfair, unwarranted and offensive. Let me explain… P5: Enriched Beyond Belief To have a better understanding of this misdirected, possibly nefarious branding, we first need to “follow the money.” Without question, some of the best college football is played by teams in the so-called P5 conferences — and it will continue to be due to the unfair competitive advantage they and their TV contracts have created. In 2019, the top 5 revenue-producing football programs were (these figures include TV revenue, ticket/concession sales, merchandise and more): 1. Texas: $156.1 million 2. Georgia: $123.1 million 3. Michigan: $122.3 million 4. Notre Dame: $115.5 million 5. Ohio State: $115.1 million In 2019, the 4 teams in the so-called “playoff” each received $6 million and each of the so-called P5 conferences received a $66 million base payout. There are more monies being tossed around, but what I’ve cited is sufficient to make my point. And if you think a G5 team will ever be invited to the 4-team pseudo playoff for the mythical national championship, then you’re dreaming. It’ll be a cold day in Tuscaloosa, Alabama before that ever happens. Here are Your Leftovers, G5ers Contrast that to the total $90 million given to the nearly 60 teams in the 5 so-called Group of 5 conferences in 2019. That means each of these schools received approximately $1.5 million from TV revenues (remember: Texas alone took in $156 million in total revenue!). And to apparently avoid an anti-trust lawsuit, the P5ers guarantee the top-ranked G5 team a spot in one of the New Year’s Six bowl games. Hey, don’t overdo the generosity. College Football is a Rigged System Anyone disagree that this system is rigged? The playing field should be level for all 129 teams in the FBS. But instead, this scheme of money hoarding allows the rich to keep getting richer. That means they can build better-equipped, more attractive facilities; entice more of the top-rated talent; and continue to dominate the majority of G5 teams they play. Can you imagine the NFL designating half of their teams as the “power” teams, paying them 10x or more in just the TV revenue of the others, and then only letting the top 4 teams into a playoff? No, of course not. That would be ridiculous. The P5 Royalty vs. the G5 Peasants Now, with the gross unfairness in revenues clearly laid out, let’s return to the labeling, i.e., the name calling. To preserve the higher “perceived value” of teams in the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12 and SEC, someone created the “Power 5” branding to give them an aura of elitism, superiority and, well, complete and absolute “power.” “We are the real kings and rulers, bow down to us!” they seem to communicate. They’re like the top executives at a corporation with the posh, corner windowed office in the high rise. “And to all the others not part of our exclusive club, we’re going to label you a Group of 5 team. We have the power. You have a, well… a group.” “You will never and can never rise to the fame, fortune and glory we’ve achieved,” say the haughty P5 royalty to the G5 peasants. Abolish the Labels To all those FBS teams not part of this hoity toity club, I say to you: Don’t let others teach you what you are. You don’thave to believe them like a rule. The chorus to “Names, Tags, Numbers & Labels” concludes with: While my name for you is beautiful Your name for me is fool. Don’t let anyone put you down. You’re shouldn’t be the Powerless 5 when you are part of the same FBS family of teams. You deserve the same access to the TV money, the bowls, the playoff, and the recruits. Given a level playing field, you can be (and often are in spite of the obstacles) just as good as any P5 team. Anyone canbeat anyone on any given day. BYU, Boise State, UCF and others have had their share of victories over P5 teams. And let’s remember what’s dubbed one of the biggest upsets in sport’s history: the Sept. 1, 2007 Appalachian State victory over Michigan. In the meantime, I’m throwing a yellow penalty flag for unsportsmanlike conduct on anyone that utters these horrible terms: Power 5/P5 and Group of 5/G5. That includes players, coaches, ESPN, sports writers and fans. Let’s abolish these terms from our vernacular and start treating all FBS teams equally and fairly. Level the playing field! These terms are nothing more than PR spin at its worse. As a PR/communications pro working with words and messaging daily (and as a college football fan), I felt it was time to speak up and expose this “name calling” for what it is. ❇️🦅❇️

Half a century (& more for others) of following this program will teach one much & one is that North Texas should do like Houston did 60 years ago; that is, quit worrying about Southwest Conference private schools & just start making its own winning history. There really could be a brighter future for Mean Green athletics without any affiliation to schools who have little in common as far as public vs private universities. 🟦⬛️🟩 With that I hope the ‘Stangs & Mean Green will continue to tee it up. It still makes cents for both. GMG🦅

SUMG sent me a DMN SportsPage blurb back in 1982(?) after UNT had just had an “ABC-TV” regional game televised. (Remember those regional games)? That game featured North Texas vs. UL-Monroe of which UNT QB Greg Carter & the Mean Green won. •••The Blurb: Then DMN sportswriter Cathy Harasta penned that particular article & in it she stated how in this SW region the North Texas Mean Green had won the 📺Nielsen TV ratings time slot for 3 hours. It was a big enough deal back then that she wrote about it. 🤔 I can’t ever remember that feat being celebrating, either, because it was for damn sure worth celebrating. Yet 1982? ( I forgot—no Internet). OK, we can all theorize about who & why said school can command a TV market in the North Texas Metroplex, but I’m with GrayEagle when he posted—“300,000 (UNT alums in the Metroplex) counts for something” in any TV ratings discussion. Yes, GrayEagle, I wholeheartedly agree & would say—it do, but wouldn’t it be much more than 300K if you count UNTs other constituencies? I’m an avid reader of the annual Texas Almanac & in 1972 when I transferred from Alvin JUCO to UNT here were the numbers from that annual Lone Star State publication as I recall: 🦅In 1972 Denton County had a 99,000 citizen population & was described by Texas Almanac as “a rural county.” •In 2021 Denton County is now closing in on a population of 1,000,000. (Pretty dramatic most would agree). 🦅In 1972 the city of Denton had about a 39,000 population. •In 2021, the city of Denton is closing in on 150,000 population. •••I like that number because in a sense that means Denton can still maintain its “college town” description & for whatever reason I see that as a good thing. https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/denton-tx-population If Kansas State U. in obscure, sparsely populated Manhattan, Kansas, can overcome 50 years of losing I think UNT (no matter our conference affiliation) can do the same. ❇️🦅❇️

Done........C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E ! ❇️🦅❇️

Just one more to go in Ruston for the sweep! GOMEANGREEN !

🦅 GrayEagle, I remember you speaking of your being acquainted with Jim Hampton at one of our MG Club meetings we had at Ken Murphy’s business in west Dallas. The great Ron Shanklin was at that meeting. _____________ Didn’t know this about Hampton after I scrolled down to see that he had passed. Hampton & fellow UNT alum Pat Boone were on campus just a few years ago at the Murchison Performing Arts Center listening to (I believe it was) the UNT Symphony Orchestra. That story may have come from “The North Texan” quarterly magazine, but not from the link below. (Actually, I may have seen the story of the 2 Hollywoodians campus visit in an NT Dailey). https://northtexan.unt.edu/issues/2021-spring/stories-behind-stories RIP, “Caretaker.”

Amen, bro’! 👍👍

In the Summer of 1972 I was at UNT taking courses when Townes Van Zandt was outside Denton writing many of ours all time country favorites. I remember reading back then that every hotel/motel in the area were packed. 🎶 Van Zandt’s widow was at one of my Senior Karaoke Sing-Along Shows in Weatherford. She was a very nice lady who I enjoyed talking with. 🎶 I DJ a one hour show at area assisted living centers & have for about 6 years (except during the recent China Covid virus year) but...in the spirit of old America they’re all up & running again. ❇️🦅❇️ GMG!

Old American Football League (AFL) fans will remember Wahoo McDaniel & Ernie Ladd who also wrestled.

greenjoe, as a kid growing up down in Brazoria County I still remember seeing posters nailed to telephone posts advertising “Fritz Von Erich at the Brazoria County Fairgrounds, Angleton, Texas.”

Of course, Ex Mean Green linebacker... 🦅❇️🦅 STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN ! Also, Fritz Von Erich & sons toward the top.