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That is what I was trying to say - that the font looks terrible on the helmets. I don't mind it in the end zone or on paper - but it does NOT look good on a helmet. I can't think of a helmet that looks worse in college football.

The new helmets look absolutely terrible. They look terrible in the paper as well as on TV. This is the result of a politician trying to play Athletic Director.

First of all, I have worked for a paper before and all sorts of things are said at the writing level. We all know that their are two boards (soon to be a third from from I hear) and one is this board and the other is the bitter board. The article that Ethan wrote was making fun of the ESPN article more then us... he was pointing out that we have fans just like any other program - and even have two message boards with fans that they have nicknames for at the paper. Not every school has active fan sites - go to the FAU board, there are about 3 fans keeping that float. Denver doesn't have a board at all, and other places like UNO and FIU have boards but no posters/fans that use it. I think what Ethan was trying to say is that the article points out that our fans have no opinions at all - and at the DRC they disagree - we have two boards, some with idiots, some with bitter fans, and they simply didn't mention that we have some "normal" fans as well. Before you jump all over the DRC for this, think about the countless posts that have been made about the DRC not covering a story, or investigating an incident, or calling our beat writer "Ditto" instead of his real name Vito, because he writes on things that we all seem to have heard about on GMG before it comes out in the paper. Yes, they are taking a shot back at us - but this is just one shot, that really doesn't make up for the countless times that we have talked bad about the DRC. Just my 2 cents.

Here's one article that complains about their attendance for last night but mentions the Florida game in 2007. So it is not a mistake, they will be playing UF in 2007... (borrowed from the Mean and Green board): Those unavoidable, necessary first steps. The way to neatly bypass them or speed them along has not been invented. In life, they are an infant's first wobbly, lurching, almost comical forward movement. In college football, it is what you saw Thursday night from Florida Atlantic University, which is past the crawling stage now but not ready -- despite ambitions -- to claim a purposeful stride just yet. ''Learning to play football at the level we're playing,'' is how coach Howard Schnellenberger described the lesson. This was the biggest game in FAU's five-season history. Its first home game in NCAA Division I-A. Against a major opponent, Oklahoma State. And with national television (ESPN2) delivering the craved-for attention. The Owls' coming-out party, this was. ''An opportunity to see where we are in this higher echelon,'' Schnellenberger, always mindful of symbolism, had framed the context. ``This will go a long way in the introduction of our football program to the nation.'' If so, hope first impressions are forgiving. Do you punish a baby because his first steps lack grace? Stillwater's Cowboys, not that good by Big 12 standards, handled FAU 23-3 at Dolphins Stadium, before a crowd almost as modest as the home result: 16,421. WHO PAID? The students and others who showed were admirably enthusiastic, whapping plastic bats and chanting ''F-A-U!'' and working against odds to create ambience from a void of tradition, or even habit. The crowd, though it seemed smaller than announced, was an FAU record. One wondered -- since students got in free along with members of the military, police and fire departments -- the number of actual paying spectators in the house. No matter, though. Again: First steps. No finish line, no goal, has ever been reached without them. FAU continues to benefit from the durable caché of Schnellenberger, who delivered the University of Miami's first national title in 1983 and two decades later unretired to birth a football program from nothing at a college in Boca Raton. The Owls enjoy an edge over rival Florida International in their hell-bent race for the big time, beyond the fact FAU leads the series 3-0, head-to-head. Part of it is the Schnellenberger factor. Some of it is that FIU is closer to the literal and figurative shadow of mighty UM, one that seems inescapable. FAU is positioned then, long-term, to be the interloper that finally elbows into the mix with UM, Florida and Florida State when the conversation turns to major-college football in the state. It has been CanesGatorsNoles, just them, forever. Schnellenberger can see coming a day when his Owls are at least in the conversation, if not on the echelon. None of those students in Thursday's crowd will still be students when it happens, presuming FAU has weeded out the latter-day Bluto Blutarskis who will be matriculating as 10th-year seniors. The day is coming, though. Division I-A was the first major step, especially in South Florida, a market Schnellenberger knows keenly. Small-college football works elsewhere, on quaint campuses under turning leaves. But not here. South Florida is a proven graveyard of second-tier sports teams like the WNBA, minor-league hockey, MLS soccer and indoor football. Where Dolphins and Hurricanes play, you don't sell many tickets when Colgate and Troy come to town. FAU gives itself a chance to at least have a chance with a Division I-A schedule. Kansas, OSU, Minnesota and Louisville are among 2005 opponents; South Carolina and Clemson are added next year. A milestone comes in '07 when FAU plays Florida -- a first infiltration of the state's Big Three. A year after that, by which time FAU hopes to have its own on-campus stadium, the Owls add Michigan State. The crowds will get bigger as the schedule does. It is the belief at the foundation of everything. It is a belief running on faith at the moment. Thursday's gate was a letdown, ''record'' or not. FAU had heavily advertised the game. They had Schnellenberger bobbleheads, and Lee Greenwood at halftime. They promoted the game intensely on all six campuses, yet drew only about 6,000 students. ''Very disappointing,'' athletic director Craig Angelos admitted. ``I thought Oklahoma State on a Thursday night would be a bigger event.'' Excuses? Everywhere. Always. The Patriots and Raiders were on TV in the NFL season opener Thursday night. So were the playoff-chasing Marlins. Still. TIME TO CARE FAU students and alumni need to catch up to the ambition their football program has shown. Schnellenberger has not miscalculated much along his program's path to major-college status -- except maybe the most important thing of all. Do enough fans passionately care? It is the one question with a stubborn echo as FAU football moves forward, a step at a time.

So they are going to put internet streaming cameras in the Super Pit? That is BAD ASS! I have wondered why this isn't being done already for awhile now. Even a choppy game on the computer is better then no video at all. I like the premium stuff, when basketball season rolls around then I will probably buy a subscription. Sorry to see that Harry and LoRo are gonna have a little competition as far as the Mean Green Report goes, hopefully they will not cut off access to our good friends that run this site in order to make their coverage "exclusive".

I find this VERY hard to believe. Florida traditionally (read: ALWAYS) plays two relatively light non-conference opponents the first two weeks of the season, followed by their SEC slate, and finish with FSU. The only time I have seen them alter from this since I became associated (1993) was to add Miami. ←

Personally, I would choose Tulsa, La Tech, and SMU over Minnesota anyday for a home and home series. But if we are going to play BCS teams for a paycheck, then we might as well get them to come to Denton and play in our home stadium in exchange (along with the guarantee for the trip there)... We might have to take less for the "payday" game; but we can adjust. Would we sell out for Minnesota? I doubt it. Would we sell Fouts out for Michigan State - likely. Would we sell Fouts out for Okie State? Abso-f'ing-lutely.

I just logged into the Owl's board to see how they were feeling about their loss to OSU and I found a post on their future scheduling. I tell you what, Schnelly isn't stupid, he makes the BCS schools play at their house FIRST. Who knows when (if ever) Air Force will give us our return game to Denton... and there have been more games like that over the years. Now we did get SMU to come to Denton first, as well as Tulsa... and I doubt that La Tech will pull out of the game, lol.. they can't afford the plne travel anywhere else. Last I heard they were gonna have players caravan to Denton to save money, hehehehe.. but I wish that we could get a few home and home BCS games. FAU is pulling it off somehow... maybe it is because Schnelly has some friends in the football world, maybe it is because everyone thinks that they will be an easy win, maybe it is that everyone wants to get a piece of that Football Recruiting pie... I am not sure... but the fact is, they have three home and home series with high caliber BCS teams (Okie State, Michigan State, and Minnesota) over the next five years - and they got each team to come to Florida first. Okie State is a 2 for 1 deal, but they got an ESPN game out of it - that alone is worth the extra trip to Stillwater. Pretty impressive stuff from our Sun Belt newbie: 2006 Sep 2, at S. Carolina Sep 9, at Clemson Sep 16, at Oklahoma State Sep 23, at Kansas State Sep 30, at Louisiana-Monroe* Oct 14, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE* Oct 28, ARKANSAS STATE* Nov 4, at Middle Tennessee* Nov 11, TROY* Nov 18, at North Texas* Nov 25, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL* 2007 Sep 8, at Oklahoma State Sep 15, MINNESOTA Sep 22, at Kentucky Nov 17, at Florida 2008 Sep 13, at Michigan State Sep 20, at Minnesota 2010 Sep 11, MICHIGAN STATE 2011 Sep 3, at Florida Sep 10, at Michigan State

At first I kind of squirmed at this idea - but it seems like it would be a nice gesture to get their minds off of their worries for an afternoon. If we could coordinate with a high school (Denton or Ryan) - then we could bring them in for the game and recognize them at halftime. I think a standing ovation would ensue and it would give some true American survivors a chance to get their minds off of the terrible position that they have been forced into. I would not want to count this towards attendance as they would not be paid admissions - please do not think that this is an attempt to help our attendance stats... just to simply provide a little entertainment to some folks that probably could use it right now. I know that the Greenbackers would be willing to step up to the plate and host the guests at our tailgate and feed them all with some great Texas BBQ.

That's right, it was Arkansas, not Bama. But they gave us like $225K or something. And we put Troy in their place at the end of the year (which we lost by the way)...

We got a buyout from Bama in 2001 and that was after an act of war. I don't know if there is one in this contract (or if there was one in the last one) but I imagine that if we agree to play them in the future, they will pay us something for cancelling this year's game just out of common courtesy. Bama did it, I don't see a reason for LSU to not replicate the same courtesy.

FIU got beat by K-State today, but not nearly as bad as I thought they would... They lost 35-21 in Manhatten. The question is - are we 14 points better then FIU? I think that we are. I wasn't too sure about that game before today - there was kind of a question mark as to how far K-State had fallen in the last few years.. but after looking at the box score for the FIU game, I think we have a legitimate shot at them. It was 13-7 (K-State) at the half and most of the scoring took place in the 3rd quarter... so we are not talking about "mop up" points by FIU, they actually didn't score in the 4th at all. Good news for our one "money game"...

I hope that North Texas steps up and offers these student athletes dorm space and enrollment in Denton. They will feel right at home since they are the Green Wave and we are the Mean Green. I know that I will be cheering on the Green from both teams this year. Go Green Wave - Go Mean Green!

The feds have finally started to push for the Ethanol/gas mixture through subsidies. I saw a nice piece on it on the news a few nights ago - owners of cars that can handle the fuel are saving some serious money in the heartland of America... the 80/20 mix is going for about $2.10 a gallon right now and the corn farmers are loving every moment of it... (most cars made in the last 20 years can handle it - basically all fuel injected vehicles). The biggest arguement up to this point is that it takes more energy to produce the ethanol fuel then fuel that is produced. The only reason why is that it takes a petroleum fueled refinery to produce the 80/20 mix - thus burning one tank of gas to make another... But with the Federal Subsidies it is becoming a viable experiment at least. I think that the future of our energy problems will be solved by this mixture. It will take a few things to line up in the future with an alcohol based fuel to be viable. First, we have to keep up the subsidies long enough to have a few refineries switch over to the fuel so that they are not burning one to produce another. For now it is a nice way to experiment; but in the future we need to make the process a little more environmentally friendly. Speaking of environmentally friendly, the 80/20 mix burns much cleaner then normal petroleum (the mix is 80% traditional fuel, 20% alcohol distilled from either corn or grain). If we can get the "mix" down, then we can start to inch it towards a 50/50 fix. That coupled with more hybrid vehicles and more efficient engines will help with a lot of our energy prices (at least for automobile fuel). We may still be spending the $2.00 bucks a gallon for gas in the end, but we will not be as dependant on foreign oil sources if we can cut our need in HALF by using a mix with alcohol... We will also be able to create a new source of income for our nation's farmers/economy. Finally, this gas price hike already has me determined to never buy a vehicle that gets less then 30 MPH the next time I need to buy a car/truck. I don't think I am alone in that regard... so we will e buring less fuel as a nation, which will help the environment and push the Hybrid movement forward on a National scale. Basically, what I have come to believe is that we will never go back to $1.00/gallon gas - it just isn't gonna happen. We have to figure out ways to burn cleaner, with less foreign dependence, and on all scales (auto fuel is just the tip of the iceberg - my home electricity bill has probably gone up 20% this year as well) - we will have to tackle those other fronts later on, for now we need to tackle auto fuel prices, kind of as a big experiment. When you can save $.50 cents a gallon by trying the "other" fuel - then you are likely to give it a chance even if it does mean that it could screw up your fuel injector sooner. Nobody really knows for sure if the fuel will do any damage to cars/trucks - there has not been enough study on it yet. So the folks in the MidWest will be the Guinea Pigs and if it works out then I expect to see a new pump on a few street corners in Texas soon. Hey, anyone have some extra money to invest? How about we open up a Mean Green Fuel Shop? It will be Mean because it will anhilate high gas prices & it will be GREEN because it comes frmo Mother Earth and is more environmentally friendly, not to mention the GREEN our customers would be able to keep in their wallets after it costs them $30 bucks to fill up rather than $40. All that I need is a couple million bucks, any takers?

Well, there is a precedent... 9/11. We had a game with Bama that year (I think it was Bama) and they couldn't accomodate the game on another date so they paid us half (about $250K) and we picked up the Troy game in exchange (they were not in the Belt yet and gave us a 2-1 contract in order to get another home game that year)... which we lost, thus sending us to the bowl with a 5-6 record. I remember thinking that we had made a mistake by not just taking the check and calling it a season with 10 games... but at the time, we thought we would beat Troy. So since is was LSU that postponed the game, I think that they are still contractually obligated to pay us - even if we cannot re-schedule the game. Just like Bama had to in 2001. But we will probably take a lower amount from them as a gesture of good faith and sportsmanship. From a football standpoint, we had no business scheduling this game in the first place. Many of our fans (including myself) were refusing to make the trip because our last experience in Death Valley was so bad... there is a reason for my refusal to return to Baton Rouge - and while I feel terrible for the citizens of Louisiana due to Katrina, I do not feel bad about this game getting canceled/postposed - not one bit. I would rather have our QB's get broken in against the 0-1 MUTS (the MUTS will be 0-1 after losing their opener to Bama) in front of about 20k fans then have them try to figure out the speed of a IA game in front of 90K drunk Cajuns. It is said that there is so much noise made Death Valley that is registers on the Richter scale as an earthquake. In the South endzone it gets so loud that it is impossible for opposing QB's to audible or even communicate with their own center to hike the ball. Teams go in there and come out injured, humiliated, and deflated. I wasn't worried about the MUTS game being the 2nd week of the season, just that it was the week after the LSU game. Some of that burden has been lifted today. And my prayers STILL go out to the citizens that were hit by the earthquake, may God be with them through their reconstruction.

I think that they have a second tower for that area. Maybe the programming is exactly the same - but I think that they pump it in to Longview and then re-broadcast it over another tower. The WORD has a great signal but I really don't believe it is strong enough to carry all the all into Longview, is it? So that is like having a second station, kind of. I think that they are able to use the same frequency because it was available, and because the programming does not change or overlap another. But I could be wrong. Anyone know the details on this, I have always been curious as to how the "Word" was re-broadcast through the Longview area - I know that they have a strong towere but I don't think any tower is strong enough to go all the way from Ft Worth to Longview, is it?

Looks like we have the Prison Fan covered, lol. Seriously, this is great news for the MGRN. To have a 3rd FM station broadcasting the games is a big deal, I am surprised that nothing more has been said about this from the department. I wonder if the coverage is only for the LSU game (proximity to the state of LA) or if KAFR is our newest full fledged member of the "Network"... heck, I think we can actually call it a Network without a wink and a smile now... before, it was kind of silly to call one station (plus the student station) as a "network". Forgive me for being Geographically challenged but isn't Spring, TX (in the heart of the station's coverage) an epicenter of pretty good High School football? Where is Longview in relation to this area? (I told you I was geographically challenged, lol)... Maybe this coverage along with the extended coverage from KWRD's second tower will overlap (probably not - just wshful thinking)? I would love to someday drive across Texas (at least down to Houston) and be able to switch channels along the way to just find the next station covering the Mean Green as the other station's signal faded out. On my last road trip to see us play the MUTS, I noticed that they have an extensive radio network - and you can literally just change channels as you drive from one part of the state to the other in order to find the next station picking up the games. It was pointed out to me by Adler that even though the MUTS have about 50 local stations listed in the back of their program that carry their games - all of those stations combined do not reach even half of the amount of homes that our meager two stations could reach. Just an advantage of our location, and the "Word" really does have a great/strong signal, even if KNTU is pretty weak broadcasting to the South towards the Metroplex. The signal actually is pointed more North and the folks in the Gainesville area get pretty good reception from what I understand. BTW, is it a coincidence that Jamario's hometown started getting covered when the WORD opened up its satellite tower out in the Longview area? Perhaps the interest in getting some Mean Green action on the radio helped move them out that way? Heck, maybe it was the other way around - maybe JaMo got to hear some games on the WORD before deciding to come to NT? I really don't know when the WORD expanded up to that area - so it is tough to tell which came first, the chicken or the egg, lol. Maybe JaMo played a big part in the Word choosing to broadcast the games at their fairly new satellite tower... I guess that would be a stretch but they DID have a Jamario Thomas Day and they had like a parade for his homecoming after 04-05 season or something. I remember seeing a picture from a local Longview newspaper clipping that had kids lined up around his old high school waiting to get his autograph. I don't know if this covers that area, but I am pretty sure that the "Word's" satellite station might. Ok, enough of the long winded posting - Here is the MAP of the new/added coverage as provided by Matty and I have included the link in his response to give credit to the website where the picture is hosted, I am going to go our on a limb and say that Mattress Mack lives up in North Houston (most of the nicer homes are in Northern Houston) and should be able to pick up the games on the radio for the first time since 1994... back in 1994, we had a huge radio network (like 17 or 18 stations) and every single game was broadcast on TV locally. The only other team in the country that could claim to have every single game on TV that year was Notre Dame. I think it was 1994, might have been 1995. Our flagship station back then was a fledgling "The Ticket" that most people thought would be out of business within a year. This was before "Sports Talk Radio" had really taken off, at least the style that the Ticket showcases where it is more "Guy Talk" then "Sports Talk" (lol)

Completely agree about drudging up the past scores, if you are thinking about going (or buying season tickets for that matter) I would think that this press release would be a hinderance to that decision. This is a very Sean Johnson-like press release, I hope our SID is not getting sour the way that SJ did towards the end his tenure at NT. Towards the end of his stay (before high tailing it out of town to Las Cruces), SJ was a very bitter man that seemed to always dwell on the negative. On a POSITIVE NOTE - it looks like the MGRN has expanded into the Houston area (most likely to make a certain Mattress Salesman happy, lol) I hope that it is for the whole season and not just the one game due to the opponent. I would have guessed that 88.3 would be the UH college station; but surely they wouldn't broadcast the North Texas game for us unless we have agreed to broadcast their games as some sort of barter arrangement (just a wild guess).. Anyone from this board familiar with 88.3? Does it have a good signal? Also, is it associated with the UH System? What is the normal programming on the station (i.e. sports, music, etc...)?

People, if you pray - start praying now... to whoever/whatever GOD that your pray to. The breaking of the levee is a very bad thing. Let me put it this way, before the levee system erected in the 70's, the river would flood and it would overflow into the streets a LITTLE but mostly into the wetlands, presding the silt and minerals that those areas badly needed for nourishment to plant and animal life. That was when New Orleans was located at Sea Level for the most part. Then they built the levee system and tried to "tame" the river. It had great short term effects. It lowered the city for expansion, it stopped the river from flooding the city after a bad rain, and the tree huggers just had to deal with the lack of silt distributed. But what has happened is over the years - the levees keep getting built up more and more every year. They have been reinforcing them for the most part; but they always add to them as well. Now, the worst case scenario has happened - the levee has broken in several places sending the only drainage pass through the city. The very levees that have protected them from the water all of these year will now keep the water inside of it. If this was just fresh water it wouldn't be a big deal, but this is nasty stuff. God bless the souls of those in New Orleans. Bless Adler's family that decided to fight it out in their house. God bless the people in the Superdome that wait in uncertainty. This whole thing has me scared and choked up. I feel like I am in a movie because it is so surreal; yet this is as real as can be.

I was over at my g/f's parents' house for lunch today after church and they live our in Cleburne. The Cleburne paper has a small sports section and there was a ver nice write-up on the Mean Green in it. If anyone can find the link, that would be great to share it with others. Basically it was another Cobbs and Jamario story. It is official - this is by far the most press I have EVER seen about the Mean Green for pre-season. When small town papers like the Cleburne one uses valuable space to cover the Mean Green - it is almost more impressive then getting space in the USA Today... (it was a 2 page article out of what is probably a total of 8 pages for the entire sports section). There were no other articles about college teams in the paper that I noticed; mostly just articles about the local area high schools' opening weekend games. I am talking an 8 page sports section (total) that just gave us two pages of their space to extoll the greatness that is Mean Green Football! Again, I wish I could link it online - but I am having trouble finding it. Anyone know if the Cleburne paper has an oline edition? What about other small time papers? Anyone see any articles in their local papers in the last few days that we don't know about? I was absolutely floored to be flipping through their small time paper and stumble across a big ole article on the Mean Green. Uprecedented!

Does he want to go to school on a scholarship? NT has one of the best walk-on programs in the country (a lot of the bigger schools have given away all of their scholarships to kids before they even start their SR year these days)... and Dickey "one-ups" the opportunity by annually awarding a scholarship to a walk-on player that busts his butt for him in practices. Also, it is good to hear that a high school kid might think that North Texas is "too good" for him to get on to. It used to be the opposite; where kids would think that they were too good for us, not vice versa, lol.

It has been a long time since I could proclaim that my high school won their opening game but the Northwest Texans defeated Granbury 48-21 last night! I was shocked - and called an old budy of mine that follows our high school alma mater pretty closely.. he says that there are several Div IA prospects on the team and that I should watch them closely this year as it could be a breakout year for the Texans. There is a kid on the team (I think his name is Claymont) that is really slinging the ball around quite a bit but Northwest runs a "run first" type of offense. I started to think about how cool it would be to have a kid from my old high school playing on the Mean Green. So my question is - do any of your old high schools have players that are currently on the Mean Green roster - and do you guys know of any good prospects from your old high school that might get a look by the Mean Green for a scholarship? I think that FFRick went to Burleson and Steve Warren is a Burleson product. Any more of you have a player like that in which you have a dual interest? Potential recruits?

I guess that UTEP does not deserve a write-up

I think that giving Cobbs some time on special teams will greatly improve his draft chances. Most of the NFL teams want young players that can contribute both at their position as well as special teams right out of college. Up until this point, we really couldn't risk our stud RB's getting slobberknocked around on Special Teams - but now that we have some serious depth at RB, we can afford to let those guys play on special teams- and this will really hep them in their chances of getting drafted or picked up in free agency. Two quick hits: I still think it is wierd that we are playing with white pants - I know that Harry posted that we would stick with black ones for games; but I didn't think that they would be playing their final scrimmage in the white pants if that was true. They have to break in the black pants eventually. And secondly, Fouts sure looks great with the new field. I read that the new schedule shirt has it named as Fouts Stadium... does anyone know if this was a misprint... or are we planning on changing the name this year?

There was a movie filmed in that old Evers Hardware store on the square. Shame that it isn't there anymore (is it?)... anyways, when I was remodelling my bar, I got all of my supplies from them (despite it being a little bit higher then the local Super Handyman Store).. I always liked talking to the owner, very nice guy (and his wife)... The wife was actually the original daughter connected to the Evers Family Tree, the husband that ran the place was married into the family and was not an "Evers".. Anyways, there was a movie filmed there in the 80's or so, can't remember the name of it right now.