Leaders Make The Difference

When choosing a new leader, you really don't ever know what you are really going to get.  Tuesday, the majority of the nation selected a new leader of the free world.  The funny thing with leaders are that while you think you know what you are going to get you may not really know. No, I am not talking about what you will get with Obama as President but what may happen when you hire the wrong coach.

Whom is this coach that you speak of?  The coach that, at half time of what was turning into a blow out, couldn't decide if he wanted to pull the 40 year old bag of dust he had throwing interceptions under center.  The same coach that dubbed himself "Mr. Fix-It" for a defense that still cannot cover receivers of get true pressure on the quarterback.  That coach is Wade Philips. 

Big Wade is just a few losses away from being the worst coach in Cowboys history.  Dave Campo was bad, but he was bad because he had no talent on the field, not because he could not motivate a team with insane amounts of talent.  I am officially jumping on the fire Wade bandwagon!!! 

Wade has no control of this team.  He has yet to demonstrate that he can fire up the troops when the going gets tough.  It makes you wonder what pictures he had of Jerry that he threatened to use if he didn’t get hired.  Really though, this is as much Jerry's fault as anyone.  Parcells left outside the fray and Jerry had to get back in the mix. What better of a person to have coaching your team than a good ‘ole country boy like Wade. We should have known better though, each place that Wade has coached has been a carbon copy of what we have seen here in Dallas. Great first year, mediocre second year, bad third year, fired. Though this year, that three year steak will be broken when he is fired at the end of the year. See what happens when you choose the wrong leader?

By the way, give T.O. credit. If I were him, I would have shot up the place by now!!

Fearless weekend predictions:

aTm 28, OU 789.235—The Ags two game winning streak comes to a close. I am so glad though that they actually did not adhere to my not winning another game prediction.

tech rejects 48 Okie Lite 49—those morons are too spent mentally to put it together. tech will still continue to never really win at anything.

LSU 28 Bama 27

Coming soon, dedicated posts to why the Mavs are beyond mediocre.

 

Here is appropriate song to characterize the Cowboy's season so far:

 

I pay to complain.....

No one has ever accused me of being an optimists.  I am just not wired that way.  I am a planner always looking to play out worst case scenarios and developing plans to deal with them.  It's just what I do. 

Two weeks ago, aTm vs. K-State.  # minutes into the game it is 7-0.  I have been known to be vocal at football games and made my displeasure known with a simple phrase, "This team sucks."   A woman who has shared season tickets in out area over the last several years turns to a couple behind her and asks, "why does he even come to the games?"  Of course, my gut tells me to go down there and tell her in no uncertain terms why I come.  A few years ago, I would have.  My wisdom and the woman who seems to follow me everywhere I go told me to check myself.  SO I did, continued to watch the game and called it like I saw it.  NO incident, but another loss

Fast forward to last weekend.  tech scores a meaningless touchdown at the end of the game to "run up the score."  We Aggies are mad.  Especially the little lady that sits two rows in front of me.  She, her son and husband begin to attack a couple dressed in tech gear sitting on the row in front of them.  They of course cheer, when the touchdown is scored and this lovely family goes as far as to have grandpa flip off the tech couple with grandchild in lap.  Classy.  It is the first time in my life I felt bad for someone from tech.  Believe me, I am not getting soft.  As soon as we start winning again, I will be all up in everyone's business telling them about it.  I have endured too much for too long not to do that.  But, the lady, the lazy, I did have something to tell her. 

Why do I come to the games.  Because I love me team.  You vote with your wallet and my wallet tells me that I love me some Aggie.  Money for season tickets, gas, lodging, food, beer, scotch, scotch, scotch, and 12 seasons of this tells me that I can pretty much say as I please about this program. I pay for it and I have earned it.

Calling it like it is does not constitute as a lack of support, but a statement of fact.   Just becasue I am not happy with watching a Division 1 college football tem play like the Central High School freshman D team does not mean I don't love Aggie football.  It just is what it is.  So lady, just remember that the next time you want to question me about my loyalty to a team I want to remind you that the pot should never call the kettle black.  Besides, it has been a good three seasons since I have visibly flipped someone off anyway so SCOREBOARD GRANDMA!!!!!!

 

TO the weekend predictions:

aTm 31 ISU 24

Cowboys 20 Bucs 17--If the Cowboys lose this one, season over!!!

sips 45 okie lite 44.  okie lite blows a 44 point 4th quarter lead thanks to Mike Gundy being a man and 41!!!

P.S. Thanks Tampa Bay for ruining the World Series for me!!!!!!!

Football Weekend Observations

Hello from sunny Florida where the lone ranger of The Malt has to call home this week. Good football weekend. Thought I would put out a couple of HSO's before it's time to call it a night.

• My Aggies are bad. They will not win another game this year. Though it was refreshing to see Jerrod Johnson throw for over 400 yards with a line that couldn't block a bunch of fifth graders. The offense is actually looking better each time I see them. I expect them to actually put up a few points against tech. They also found a big time possession receiver in Ryan Tannehill. He can catch just about everything. Glad her will be around for three more years. The defense on the other hand is pathetic!!! This must be fixed by the Sherminator or he will not be successful here in Aggieland. That being said, this season is unacceptable and the question looms if Sherm is really the answer. He must begin to coach and get this team to play above its potential. That may not be much, but I expect More from a former NFL coach who has had the experience he can boast.

• When did OK State get good? They knock off Mizzou last night and now are a top 10 team. I still wouldn't run to Vegas to bet my depleted 401k balance on this one. Mr. I'M a Man... is still due to do something stupid before the year is out. Also, it is OK State, they will blow a big lead at some point

• Congrats to the liberal school in Austin for grabbing the number 1 ranking again. Enjoy your week at the top. Your defense still gave up 35 and Mizzou will put up a lot of points to make up for spitting the bit Saturday night.

• I still can't stand Tim Tebow!! But come on LSU, why did you give him an excuse?? That is why most of the time people should keep their mouths shut

• Speaking of keeping your mouth shut, T.O. Owens gets a free pass this week. The comments after the Washington game were a bit overboard, but he is right. When he gets the ball and can make plays, the Cowboys win. Plain and simple. This team is in free fall right now and they have to get it together. The saving grace is that they are not falling apart in December and January as in years past. It still makes me believe that they will get things together and make a run this year. Until the, the O-line must block. Those guys get paid too much and are too good to continue to play as pathetically as they are right now. The defense must defend. Their is too much talent out there to let receivers run free all day. Tony Romo, protect the ball!!! The Jedi makes play, but his carelessness is beginning to be a problem. Wade Philips, coach this team don't caudal this team. Chew their asses out, make them run more, I don't care just make them accountable!!

So good night from the FLA!!! Here is some groovy tunes to bring you home http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY1ahFCYT5k

Fight On....

Every year ESPN tells us how great USC is going to be.  In 2005 they ran segments on SportsCenter about how USC would match up with the best college teams of all time, BEFORE THEY EVEN PLAYED IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!!  OF course they went on to lose to the second rate school in Austin.

Turn the page to 2008.  Unanimous number 1.  We were told that this is quite possibly the greatest defense ever.   Playing lowly Oregon State.  Kapowee!!!!!  Another USC loss.  Will ESPN please stop telling me how great USC is now.  They lost to unranked Oregon State in 06, 41 point dog Stanford in 07 AT HOME, and unranked Oregon State again while they were ranked number 1!!  USC has a good football program, but they are not fielding the best teams of all time.  GIVE IT A REST!!!!!!  I love to see USC lose. 

 

 

On the Aggie front.  The NFL guru cost the team the game at the end of the first half vs. Miami.  3 time outs with 1:45 ish to go.  Didn't go deep, didn't kneel on the ball. Threw some short passes., called a time out, punted and then gave up a big return.  A few plays later Jordan Peterson was again staring in the stands as a receiver runs by him and sits in the end zone because he is so wide open.  Great job Sherm!!!  Is this what we get?  Pathetic. 

 

My prediction this week:  aTm wins in what could be the last Aggie win of the year.  This is the worst aTm football team I have ever seen.

 

Thank God for Romo, T.O and the boys.  They look good.  The real testing ground will be in December and January.  Still makes you feel good to watch Romo have a pedestrian game by his standards and still throw for 260 yards.  Just quit throwing red zone picks Tony!!!!! 

 

Here is a song that describes 2008 Aggie Football:

Here comes the story of the hurricane...

 

 

While trite, it's true......Hurricanes blow.  (Forgive me)  I have always been fascinated with the phenomenon and power of a hurricane.  I still am, but I am really tired of my friends and family getting blown away by hurricanes.  Over the weekend, I served as home base for many refugees from the gulf coast.  It is interesting how you can actually sleep 6 in an 800 square foot apartment.  The sad thing of all this is that everyone was affected by Ike's wrath.  Especially my mom, AGAIN.  For those that don't know, her business and home were beat up pretty badly during Rita in 2005.  Fast forward to 2008.  Ike spares her house, but not her business.  She decided to go back to Beaumont to check it out and oops, the power that she told was restored is back out.  She will be back in DFW tomorrow, but don't go where she is staying, she has a gun an an itchy trigger finger.

 

Let's also give a shout out to the recently rehired J.P.  who rode out the storm.  His first belligerent hurricane party soon turned when Ike's ferocious winds shrilled of pain and horror.  J.P. was quoted "Never again."  before the storm had even left Houston.  The only fortunate thing is that he is stranded in a very nice suburb of Houston and generate power off the tears of homeless people.  Stay hard J.P.!!!!

 

College Station had power restored Sunday night, but alas they are preparing for another hurricane on Saturday. The good guys in maroon somehow came out of New Mexico with a win.  3 good quarters of defense followed by the signature of this group of players.  They somehow found a way to take a good win and turn it around into making your fans feel like a loss. 

 

Now Miami rolls into town and I fear the devastation will move on to the Aggie football team.  They are young, but they are fast and have a defense that made even the great Tim Tebow (can't stand him) look bad.   It could be a long, long day in Aggieland.  Stevie Mc will probably not play.  The Jerrod Johnson era is about to begin, but he will not fair as well as he did against the Lobos.  Look for Miami to blitz as soon as the get off the bus.  They will continue the beating they started last year.  By they way I paid a lot of money to go see that game last year.  I still never got Fran to pay me back for that trip.   I will save my score prediction as is tradition with J.P. and I not to reveal this until kickoff, but I will tell you that it is not going aTm's way.    No matter how the games ends though, J.P. will still be very happy to have a/c at least for the weekend.

 

BTW, Tony Romo was greatness last night.  Thanks God the Cowboys will give me something to get excited about this year!!

del.icio.us Tags: Hurricanes,Aggies,Cowboys,Beer,Beaumont,Tony Romo

Becoming Irrelevant

How does something become irrelevant?  There are probably many ways to answer this question. It happens when you gimmick gets old, your competition catches up with you, when you are resistant to change, or your perception is much higher than what reality reveals to you.

How do people react to you when you are truly irrelevant?  They may poke fun at you for a minute, but it is mostly an act of actually being polite.  Two seconds later, its as if they never knew you existed. When you become irrelevant, people just don't care, unless they just absolutely hated you in the first place.  The casual person either feels sorry for you or they never knew you were there.

Why as this talk?  Because I think I saw something become irrelevant right before my eyes and it started last Saturday night.  Ark. State 18 aTm 14.  Quite possibly the worst loss in Texas A&M football history.  How could this be the worst loss ever?  Didn't you watch 77-0?  I did.  While that loss was embarrassing, it never made me feel the way this loss made me feel this week.   5 years ago right after the 77-0 blowout to OU, my phone rang consistently for an hour.  My whole office was more than happy to post pictures of the scoreboard, send me email of news articles, and harass me well into March of 2004.   It took all of my Aggieness to be strong and endure. 

Fast forward to 2008. Things changed dramatically.  I did receive phone calls.  Two to be exact.  One from J.P. telling me I was right not to attend the game and another from a friend (t.u. fan) who talked about it for a grand total of two minutes.  The rest of our normally rival related talked shifted to talk of the Food Network and how I now like living in an apartment again.  Work was not the same either.  Normally over energetic co workers ready to pounce on any aTm loss seemed subdued.  I got one appropriate dose of ridicule followed by a few people acknowledging the loss with as much enthusiasm as one might have when watching paint dry on a wall. 

Which now confirms in my mind how this is the worst loss in aTm football history.  On August 30th, 2008, a loss to Ark. State on Kyle Field deemed this era of aTm football irrelevant.  Our gimmick got old (3-4, The Wrecking Crew), our competition caught up with us (have you seen recruiting lately?), we were resistant to change (1950 called, it wants its playbook back), and our perception of this program is higher than the rest of the world tells us it is (we think that we are a step away from Texas or OU, when we may be instep with Ok. State and a step ahead of Baylor).

Does that make me insane to continue to buy tickets year after year?  God help us all!!

Ranking the Big 12 Rivalries

ESPN had a nice blog entry about the best rivalries in the Big 12 last week.  I thought I would weigh in on this one.  Even though I am the world's mots disgruntled Aggie, I have no problems with t.u. 0u being the #1 rivalry.  I agree with it. High profile game historically with Big 12 and national title implications most years.  I am ok with it.  I was surprised that aTm-tech was in the mix.  We Aggies do not feel tech is even in our league when it comes to anything. (tech is a rival Ags)  CU-NU is a classic from the Big 8 and aTm-t.u is obviously my favorite.

I would like someone to tell me how Mizzou-Kansas came up in this ranking. I guess one could argue that it is from the fact that this may be talking about not only football, but please raise your hand if you knew that these two schools were rivals before their showdown last November.  If you are raising your hand right now and do not live in Missouri or Kansas you are lying.   I can't wait until Chase Daniel graduates and Mangino the Hut actually eats the entire football team so I won't be whipped by this anymore. 

Now listen to this and go away...