Overall (contrary to what most in North Texas believe), Houston isn't that bad of a place. However, there is one drawback: the Dallas Cowboys aren't here.
The Cowboys' first preseason game is tonight. The Cowboys are popular throughout Texas, including Houston. However, the Cowboy game is not on TV in the Houston area tonight. It seems that Jerry Jones and Bob McNair have an agreement: Cowboy games won't be on radio or preseason TV in Houston, and likewise for Texans games in Dallas.
This doesn't apply to regular season games (property of CBS and Fox), as the Cowboys will be on TV every week in Houston, as long as their games are not played at the same time as a Texans home game. This will happen a couple of times this year. This is one of the results of the NFL's archaic TV policy: Fox cannot show a game at the same time that a home game in the home team's market is shown on CBS, even if said game is a sellout. So, if the Cowboys play at 12:00, and the Texans play the early game at home, the Cowboy game cannot be shown.
Last year, as the Texans were redefining the word suck, and the Cowboys were competitive, the Cowboys were drawing bigger TV ratings in Houston than the Texans. Obviously, that would change if the Texans improved on the field.
Why am I writing this? I'm in the state of Texas, and can't watch the Cowboys tonight. That's too bad.
I'll be able to watch the next Cowboy preseason game. It's on ESPN Monday Night Football, next Monday against the Saints, live from Shreveport.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
The Fun of Preseason Football
I got a chance to watch a little bit of tonight's preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. I tuned in after the starters had already gone to the sidelines, but CBS showed Tom Brady on the bench every time they had a chance. I think they would have hired him as a sideline reporter if they could have gotten away with it. Back to the title of the post: A lot of the fun of watching preseason games is watching guys try to live their dream and make an NFL team.
I was particularly interested in watching Patrick Cobbs. Patrick lived around the corner from my parents when he was in high school, and is, to my knowledge, the first and only graduate of Tecumseh High School to sign an NFL contract. He went undrafted, but the Patriots signed him as a free agent, after he finished his college career as the all-time leading rusher for the Mean Green of North Texas. Well, I'm sitting there watching the game, and, on his first play from scrimmage, he catches a 3-yard screen pass, and turns it into a 57 yard touchdown pass. Awesome!
I don't know if he'll make the Patriots' roster, but I hope other teams are watching. It would be really cool to have someone from Tecumseh in the NFL.
I was particularly interested in watching Patrick Cobbs. Patrick lived around the corner from my parents when he was in high school, and is, to my knowledge, the first and only graduate of Tecumseh High School to sign an NFL contract. He went undrafted, but the Patriots signed him as a free agent, after he finished his college career as the all-time leading rusher for the Mean Green of North Texas. Well, I'm sitting there watching the game, and, on his first play from scrimmage, he catches a 3-yard screen pass, and turns it into a 57 yard touchdown pass. Awesome!
I don't know if he'll make the Patriots' roster, but I hope other teams are watching. It would be really cool to have someone from Tecumseh in the NFL.
Monday, August 07, 2006
The QB Situation at OU
I guess I should comment on last week's dismissal of QB Rhett Bomar and OL J.D. Quinn from this year's Sooner team, for accepting illegal overpayments for work done as employees of Big Red Sports & Imports, a car dealership in Norman.
I don't have a whole lot to say on the matter. When I first heard it on the radio, I simply thought: "I'm sure glad Bob Stoops is our coach". Coach Stoops did what he had to do in this situation. The program has come too far and has become too clean to accept this kind of behavior.
I have confidence in Paul Thompson to lead the Sooners to a championship season this year.
I don't have a whole lot to say on the matter. When I first heard it on the radio, I simply thought: "I'm sure glad Bob Stoops is our coach". Coach Stoops did what he had to do in this situation. The program has come too far and has become too clean to accept this kind of behavior.
I have confidence in Paul Thompson to lead the Sooners to a championship season this year.
You Know You're Getting Old..
...when someone your age is getting inducted into a Hall of Fame.
I had to keep myself from feeling old on Saturday. I watched as Troy Aikman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Troy and I were born a week apart, but I graduated from high school a year later, as he started school in California, where the cutoff date was later than the one in Oklahoma, where I started school.
Troy's paths and mine have come so close together, yet so far apart. I didn't realize it, but I first saw him play when he was in 8th grade, and I was in 7th grade. My school used to play Henryetta, and I played football in 7th grade. Our team stayed for the 8th grade game, as we shared a bus, if I remember correctly. I first remember seeing him play when he was a sophomore, and we went over there to play them in the last district game of the year. I remember him being a freak athletic specimen (especially for what was then class 2A in Oklahoma), and being the best player on the field even then. I followed his career from there, and was in the stands that October 1985 day in Norman, when he tore up his knee in a game between the Sooners and the Miami Hurricanes. Both teams were full of NFL players, and Miami won the game that day, but OU went on to win their remaining games and their sixth national championship.
Troy went on to UCLA and was drafted by the Cowboys in 1989. His first year in Dallas was my first year in Fort Worth. There were 4,000,000 other people in the Metroplex at that time, as well. A few years later, I served on staff at a church in Henryetta. Troy goes back there from time to time to see friends, and we saw him from a distance at a high school basketball game one night. We didn't want to bug him, so we didn't even try to meet him. He and I have a lot of common acquaintances. Troy still speaks well of Henryetta, and they speak well of him. It's an awesome thing: a guy from a small town in Oklahoma winds up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The people in Henryetta should be proud, as they rightfully are.
Troy is obviously wealthier than I am. :-)
Back to the original topic: I'm not old enough to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, am I? Time flies...
I had to keep myself from feeling old on Saturday. I watched as Troy Aikman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Troy and I were born a week apart, but I graduated from high school a year later, as he started school in California, where the cutoff date was later than the one in Oklahoma, where I started school.
Troy's paths and mine have come so close together, yet so far apart. I didn't realize it, but I first saw him play when he was in 8th grade, and I was in 7th grade. My school used to play Henryetta, and I played football in 7th grade. Our team stayed for the 8th grade game, as we shared a bus, if I remember correctly. I first remember seeing him play when he was a sophomore, and we went over there to play them in the last district game of the year. I remember him being a freak athletic specimen (especially for what was then class 2A in Oklahoma), and being the best player on the field even then. I followed his career from there, and was in the stands that October 1985 day in Norman, when he tore up his knee in a game between the Sooners and the Miami Hurricanes. Both teams were full of NFL players, and Miami won the game that day, but OU went on to win their remaining games and their sixth national championship.
Troy went on to UCLA and was drafted by the Cowboys in 1989. His first year in Dallas was my first year in Fort Worth. There were 4,000,000 other people in the Metroplex at that time, as well. A few years later, I served on staff at a church in Henryetta. Troy goes back there from time to time to see friends, and we saw him from a distance at a high school basketball game one night. We didn't want to bug him, so we didn't even try to meet him. He and I have a lot of common acquaintances. Troy still speaks well of Henryetta, and they speak well of him. It's an awesome thing: a guy from a small town in Oklahoma winds up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The people in Henryetta should be proud, as they rightfully are.
Troy is obviously wealthier than I am. :-)
Back to the original topic: I'm not old enough to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, am I? Time flies...
Sunday, August 06, 2006
It's A New Year
It's a great day, because the NFL is back! Tonight is the first pre-season game, the Hall of Fame game from Canton, Ohio. The Oakland Raiders play the Philadelphia Eagles. The first quarter or so will be interesting, until the starters are benched in favor of reserves, draft picks, and free agents trying to make the team. By the end of the game, there will be several guys on the field that'll be working a regular job next week. But, it's awesome that they're trying to make it into the NFL.
Most notable: John Madden makes his opening appearance on his fourth network tonight, as NBC re-enters the NFL business, after a 7-year absence. The newest Hall of Famer began his broadcasting career with CBS, then moved to Fox when the NFC rights moved to that network. He later moved to Monday Night Football on ABC, and has moved to the new NBC Sunday night package.
Most notable: John Madden makes his opening appearance on his fourth network tonight, as NBC re-enters the NFL business, after a 7-year absence. The newest Hall of Famer began his broadcasting career with CBS, then moved to Fox when the NFC rights moved to that network. He later moved to Monday Night Football on ABC, and has moved to the new NBC Sunday night package.
Welcome
Welcome to my sports blog. My blog will primarily comment on the sports I like the most: college and pro football, and college basketball. Occasionally, I may delve into baseball, hockey, or the NBA. There'll be no poker here, as there is way too much poker on TV. Needless to say, there is also too much pool and darts on TV as well.
Teams I like: Oklahoma, the Dallas Cowboys, and whomever plays Texas.
Teams I dislike: At this moment, Texas and Notre Dame.
Thanks for stopping by!
Teams I like: Oklahoma, the Dallas Cowboys, and whomever plays Texas.
Teams I dislike: At this moment, Texas and Notre Dame.
Thanks for stopping by!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
