Tony Award

Tony Romo is a warrior. 

Let those five words soak in. 

It wasn’t too long ago that the Cowboys fan base didn’t agree.  In fact, it was two weeks ago.

In a world that measures your success against Aikman and Staubach, Tony Romo has had a rough go with the fans.  It started in January of 2007 when he bobbled a snap on a field goal that would have won the Cowboys a playoff game in Seattle.  Never mind that this guy had taken over mid-season for an anemic Drew Bledsoe.  Never mind that he had come out of nowhere to lead that team to the postseason.  He bobbled the snap.  He was the goat. 

The next year he threw for over 4200 yards, took the Cowboys to a 13-3 record, but they lost in their first playoff game to the Giants.  The story?  Tony Romo went to Cabo during the team’s bye week .   He took a two-hour flight somewhere to relax?  How COULD he?  Never mind that he didn’t miss a single day of practice.  Never mind that many of his teammates also left town.  He dared to go someplace tropical… and with Jessica Simpson!  Off with his head!

After that playoff loss, Tony didn’t do himself any favors with his postgame remarks.  “If something in sports is the worst thing that ever happens to you, you’ve lived a pretty good life.”  Gentlemen, start your engines.  Romo was now saddled with the reputation that he didn’t care enough - that he didn’t want to win badly enough.   Tony hadn’t yet learned a very important Dallas lesson: for many of his fans a Cowboys loss IS the worst thing that’s ever happened.

From there it snowballed.  Every single move Tony made was under the microscope.  The guy is a scratch golfer who kept those competitive juices flowing in the offseason by trying to qualify for the U.S. Open.  Nope.  That just means he’s not concentrating on football.  Strike 3.  He’s out.  When he got hurt last year and the season was in the toilet, they made a coaching change.  It just so happened that Jon Kitna was quarterbacking when this new breath of life came into the team.  People actually suggested that Kitna should replace Romo this season.

Then when Tony made a couple of bad mistakes in a tough opening loss to the Jets this year, the whispers started again.  Romo isn’t a winner… and more ridiculous – Romo’s not even a good quarterback – not in the top half of the league.  Tony took week one’s loss hard.  There were reports that he sat in the locker room with his head down for too long.  Apparently now he cares TOO much. 

Then last week with two broken ribs and a punctured lung, Tony Romo came back into the game and led his team to victory.  The national media made a darling of Tony and for good reason.  But I think last night may have been even more impressive.  Quarterbacks don’t win or lose games by themselves… but they certainly have the most impact.  Last night, Romo came as close as you can to winning by himself. 

Still hurting with his ribs, he took a team decimated by injury and inexperience and simply WILLED them down the field.  The Redskins blitzed mercilessly.  They threw everyone in Washington at him.  I swear I saw a tobacco lobbyist in the backfield at one point.  Tony was hit… he was harassed… and he had very little help.  He was breaking the huddle and explaining to his receivers where to line up.  Why?  Because they were clearly clueless.  It was as if Romo was the only one who had been issued a playbook.  He had a center who three different times snapped the ball to an unsuspecting Romo after being fooled by the defense.  Facing 3^rd and 21, Tony literally pointed and yelled DURING the play, telling Dez Bryant where to go and throwing it there to set up the winning field goal.  Tony Romo won that game because Tony Romo flat out refused to lose.

Romo says all the right things.  “Criticism comes with playing this position.”  Unfortunately for Tony, he plays in Dallas. 

Everyone loves him today after that performance.  So much so that it’s easy to forget the way they’ve treated him the past 5 years.  But one bad interception at the wrong time and the rumbling will start anew. 

He’s a great golfer, so he golfs in his free time.  You would, too.  He dates fabulously famous and beautiful women.  You would, too.  And at the end of the day, he’s easily one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL and there is an argument that he’s top 5.  He wants to win as much or more than anyone on that field and to insinuate otherwise is pure folly.  Cowboys fans are lucky to have him.  Too bad that it will take a championship for this spoiled franchise to realize it.

Maybe later... but definitely NOT Sooner

The Big 12 appears to have life after all. 

The news this week is that the PAC-12 will not be expanding and so at least for now the “Big 4” of the Big 12 are staying put.  Oklahoma started this latest storyline, expected to take Oklahoma State and leave for the PAC-12 and essentially force Texas to split off or bow down, bringing Tech along for the ride.  OU - finally after all this time - flexing their muscle and saying, “We don’t follow Texas anymore.  Texas can follow us.”

But a funny thing happened.  Texas refused to tear up their $300 million Longhorn Network deal.  No, Texas decided that if that’s how it would have to be, then they would pass.  “Good luck, Oklahoma.  We’ll miss playing you, but we understand you have to go if you have to go.”

Then a downright HYSTERICAL thing happened.  The PAC-12 rejected OU.  As it turns out, the PAC-12 didn’t want the Oklahoma schools without Texas.  That’s gotta’ sting a little.

The reason I’m taking delight here isn’t that I want to prove Texas dominance over OU.  A 59-41-5 record against them does that.  It’s because they crowed about it.  If Oklahoma had quietly gone to the PAC-12 and inquired and it hadn’t worked out, I’d feel legitimately bad for them.  But that’s not how it went down.

Three weeks ago when OU President David Boren said “There is no school in the Big 12 more active than we are right now” and “I don’t think OU is going to be a wallflower when all is said and done” he was declaring independence from Texas.  He threw out veiled threats like “"I think we remain a very influential member of the conference. I'll just put it that way.”  When Bob Stoops then said that the Texas-OU game wasn’t necessary the gauntlet had been thrown.  He apparenlty wasn't going to be a wallflower, either.  The Sooners forgot one thing, though… they weren’t invited.

Texas hasn’t done this.  Texas has a concrete offer from the ACC to come be the flagship football program of their conference and keep the Longhorn Network as it is.  You don’t hear the Longhorns shouting it from the rooftops.  Texas has never publicly talked about leaving the Big 12 and for the most part have kept quiet while everyone else blames them and says they should share the LHN wealth.  Well, thanks to a failed Sooner power play, DeLoss Dodds can be clear.  "I don't think our network is in play," Texas' athletic director said Wednesday. "Our network is our network. Anybody can do one.”  You know WHY anyone can do one?  Because the Big 12 schools VOTED to let anyone do one.  Get over it and find a way to make it work for you.  There’s a lot of TV money out there, people.  Quit whining and start working.

So now it appears that Oklahoma’s chest-puffing days are behind them.  Maybe it’s temporary.  Maybe a time comes when the rivalries get torn apart and the teams go their separate ways.  OU overestimated their pull.  That’s forgivable.  Doing it in public isn’t.  Say what you will about the Horns, but Texas isn’t running up the score.

The Sooners were the so-so girl that the PAC-12 was talking to in order to get to the hot chick.  That invitation “back to their place” just didn’t hold up for OU when the prom queen wasn’t interested.

You know who that makes you at this dance, David Boren?  A wallflower.

9.11.11

I spent the bulk of the day yesterday in the car.

I traveled from Austin to Houston to visit my Mom and then from Houston back to Dallas later that night.  It had just gotten dark as I passed through Fairfield, Texas.  Right on the other side of that town, lights were flashing on the overpass.  It was one of those county roads you see constantly as you drive through Texas.  FM 833.  A throwback to the America that required special roads to get folks from Farm to Market.  There was a firetruck on the bridge above the highway - it's lights blazing.  Beside it, two police cars - also running their lights.  I started to make that tense "I hope everyone's ok" face when it became clear that something different was happening here.

There were a dozen or so people, some of them in uniform (be it firefighters or police officers or sheriff's deputies) emergency personnell standing alongside plain-clothesed citizens and children - there, above the highway, in the dark of night... there on a small Texas road in the middle of Interstate 45 - they were hooting and hollering and waving American flags.

It would have been a remarkable display on any day, but on September 11th it was jaw-dropping - not just that these people were waving flags and celebrating their country, but that they found a way to share it with strangers driving by.

It took a second to realize what was going on... and then, of course, the moment was gone.  I felt as if I should have honked my horn or waved out the window.  I was still thinking about it 6 or 7 miles down the road when I approached Ranch Road 246 in Streetman, Texas, and there they were again.  Another group with a fire truck, an ambulance, a police cruiser - officers and responders... husbands, wives and children.  This time I laid on the horn and saw arms shoot up in the air as I zoomed by.

In all, this scene played out in front of me 6 or 7 times in a half-hour span.  It never got old.

I'm sure the terrorists had quite a celebration on that day in 2001.  The breadth of the destruction they caused had to have wildly exceeded even their loftiest hopes.  But boy I'll bet our resilience was also vastly underrated.

I saw and heard all sorts of inspiring tributes yesterday.  September 11th will clearly never be forgotten.  But sometimes it's the simplest things that resonate the most.  Thanks to all the good folks along I-45 between Fairfield and Corsicana.  I was so busy yesterday that I really didn't get to soak it in and pay fair tribute... at least not until Exit 206.

Green With Envy

The plot thickens.

The Aggies want out.  Hell, the Aggies ARE out… mostly.  But now the A&M move to the SEC is being blocked by potential legal action.  The theory being that the Aggies departure is the first domino that leads to a mass exodus – and some of the lower-profile schools will be left out in the cold.  It’s not a bad theory at all.  Schools like Iowa State and Kansas State were counting on the Aggies to keep to their word and honor the agreement they made with the rest of the Big 12.  Millions of dollars and national relevance hang in the balance.

But the leader of this lawsuit crew… the school that is actually the fly in the ointment here… is Baylor.  And while I DO think that the argument is valid… and I DO think that the Aggies are setting off a series of events that will cripple some of these schools, I am forced to address the Baylor Bears for some of the most incredible hypocrisy I’ve ever witnessed.

If you go to Baylor’s website today, there is a propaganda festival happening – one worthy of a political campaign.  Baylor talks about how important football is to the fabric of the state of Texas.  They invoke the Dallas Cowboys into this argument and tug at our heartstrings with talk of the Friday Night Lights of the high school game.  Now, apparently, that Texas football tradition is being threatened.  Directly from their site:

• Will Texans stand by and watch hundred-year-old rivalries be cast aside as the state's largest universities align themselves with other states across the country?
• Will Texans sit and watch as Texas' flagship universities pledge their loyalties to other states?
• Will Texans stand by as our most promising student athletes are lured out of Texas by new rivals?
• Will Texans watch as our most precious resources—the great minds of the next generation—are exported to new conference institutions?

This is coming from Baylor?  Let me tell you a little story.

In 1994 the Southwest Conference was in trouble.  Arkansas had already left and there were only 8 teams remaining.  The Big 8 was interested in merging with some of the bigger-name schools and, just like now, there were several schools that looked like they’d be left holding the bag.  Baylor lobbied.   They fought, clawed, and schemed.  When the dust settled, the Bears had won.  They were going with Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M to a new conference.  So who got stuck with the short end of the stick?  TCU.  Houston.  SMU.  Rice.  4 TEXAS SCHOOLS! 

Look again at their 4 big points from the website:

1)      Baylor stood by and watched rivalries be cast aside.  Texas and TCU started playing in 1897 and have faced off 82 times.  Baylor didn’t care. 

2)      Baylor sat and watched as Texas’ flagship universities pledged their loyalties to other states.  The Longhorns and Aggies went from playing 7 conference games a year versus in-state teams to 3.  Waco wasn’t indignant.

3)      Baylor stood by as our most promising student athletes were lured out of Texas.  You think Blaine Gabbert goes to Missouri if they’re not affiliated with the Texas schools?  Baylor was just happy that they were going.

4)      You get the idea.  Baylor watched.  Baylor PARTICIPATED.

If Baylor cared about the fabric of our state, they wouldn’t have stabbed four Texas universities in the back 17 years ago.  Hey, Texas did it, too.  I’m not saying we were better.  I’m saying we aren’t using revisionist history here.

I understand.  I do.  Baylor is desperate.  The way this thing appears to be headed, a private school without a big media market is in a lot of trouble.  They signed a deal with the rest of the Big 12 just last year and the bait and switch the Aggies are pulling is really going to stick it to some of these lower-profile teams.  But my friends in green and gold have GOT to change their argument. 

Because the Aggies aren’t doing anything to Baylor that Baylor didn’t do to SMU… and Houston… and TCU… and Rice.

365 Dog Days

It was a year ago today that my wife and I walked into a canine rescue shelter called “A Different Breed.”  And boy is that ever what we brought home.

For the past twelve months Augie has been 10 pounds of frustration, disasters, anger, destruction… and hair.  Oh so much hair.

Some Augie facts by the numbers:

2 – times he’s had “kennel cough”
11 – internet articles I’ve read on the topic of “separation anxiety”
4 - times he managed to escape from a locked crate
3 – rooms in the house in which he has defecated
21 – average number of jumps per hour
4 – sets of full-length wooden blinds pulled off the wall and destroyed
1– hole in the door I’ve punched in with my fist
2 – tables we’ve found him standing on and licking
7 – boards on my fence that have been replaced
3 - times early on that there were SERIOUS discussions of taking him back
6 – chew toys shredded beyond recognition
2 – times that chew toy shreds have been knowingly ingested
8 – pounds of lotion he’s licked off of my wife’s arms and legs
237 – conniption fits thrown when encountering other dogs on a walk
0 – times he has avoided being directly under foot
9 – average number of minutes it takes for him to pee if I’d REALLY rather be inside

He has destroyed a shoe, peed ON a fireman, escaped down the block (TWICE), protest peed out the side of a cage, clawed through a door, and spread feces all over his crate and himself... he's had a busy year.

Every piece of clothing I own has at least one of his hairs on it.

But here’s the thing: Augie has become the sweetest little guy ever.  There were some growing pains in the early going for sure, but now - he makes us laugh all day every day.  We have little private songs about him (which he dances to) and we could write a dictionary of new terms and phrases we have coined.  His "running & wrestling" matches have become a thing of legend and when he lies down and rests his chin on you, good luck not melting.  He’s a best friend when one of us is alone in the house and the happiest little greeter when we come home from work.

So as it turns out he’s also 10 pounds of love, friendship, dedication, comedy… and hair.  Still a lot of hair.  Happy “birthday” Augie.

Conference Call

The Longhorn Network is on the air and the Aggies are on their way out.  The times, they are a-changin’.

It seems lately, though, that it has become popular opinion that Texas is running everyone out of the Big 12 – that the Longhorn arrogance has reached critical mass and the A&M departure is just the latest (and not the last) of the reaction.  Texas has been demonized as the bully and the Aggies heralded as the little guy who finally stood up to tyranny. 

As Longhorn fans, we have collectively kept quiet.  We’ve sheepishly hung our heads and shrugged our shoulders – nearly apologetic when the topic of the Longhorn Network pops up… and so the shouting continues:  “Texas has ruined the conference.”  And again, we say nothing.

Well, no more.

First of all, let’s all remember that there would BE no conference without Texas.   Our bags were packed.  We were headed for the PAC-10 and we were taking Oklahoma, OSU and Tech with us.  A&M was splitting off and going to the SEC.  It was practically a done deal.  Texas would get a nice chunk of big conference TV money AND they would still have been able to have their own network.  So what happened?  The Big 12 and its other members begged us not to go.  They offered us a bigger piece of the pie if we stayed.  Texas put a roof over the heads of Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State and Baylor.  Did they get a sweet deal in the process?  Sure.  This is America.  The biggest contributions get the biggest compensation.  But guess what – each one of those schools is also getting more money this year than they did last.  EVERYONE got more money.  Texas just got… more more. 

And now I’m hearing grumbling from Oklahoma – from a column in yesterday’s Tulsa World:

“OU, like those who still want to make the Big 12 work, is reportedly fed up with Texas seeing how far it can push the others around with tactics like the Longhorn Network.”  The columnist suggests that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State may be next to look for greener pastures.

Where to begin?

TACTICS like the Longhorn Network?  It’s not like this came as some big surprise.  This was a major part of the discussions on keeping the conference together – it wasn’t snuck in the back door.  The conference bylaws were re-written to allow ANY school to do this.  You want to start the Sooner Network?  Do it.  (In fact, they’re talking about it.)  Just because the Cyclone Network broadcast live from Ames would have zero interest doesn’t mean Texas did something wrong.

I’m standing up.  I’m rejecting this “Texas as evil empire” idea. 

If other schools (who agreed to and even PUSHED the current revenue split) are unhappy now and want to run for the hills, it is THEY being selfish.  And calling for other schools to be “fed up” with the Longhorns so-called superiority and look for other options is irresponsible and FAR worse than anything Texas has done here.  Make no mistake - in College Station it’s all about A&M.  They’re not lifting a finger to help Baylor.  Nobody’s mentioning that the Aggies get more money in the current arrangement than Missouri (which they absolutely do) because right now there’s only one villain.  If the Oklahoma schools start looking for another home it’s not for the greater good, it’s because they’re jealous of the deal that they themselves brokered with the Longhorns just 14 months ago.  I’m not saying the folks in Austin are being philanthropic here, but the simple truth is that without Texas none of the lower-profile schools would even have a home right now.  I don’t hear Kansas State complaining about Texas.  They’re happy to have more money than they’ve ever had and a place in a BCS conference.

You want to see messy?  Keep bad-mouthing the school that pays all the bills.  Maybe then it will be Texas that gets “fed up”… and then where will all those smaller schools be?  Oh, that’s right… nobody but Texas seems to care.

A New Hope

I’ve heard Mack Brown speak literally hundreds of times. I covered the press conference when he was hired by the Longhorns in December of 1997 and for the past 13 seasons I’ve been listening to him. Mostly it’s before or after games - heat of the moment stuff… press conferences and hit-and-run interviews on the field at halftime. I like our coach. He’s decent in front of a microphone – doesn’t get me too fired up, but never says the wrong thing. Granted 90% of the things I hear him say fall into the same categories: complementing the kids on his team, expressing frustration (and usually accepting blame) when things aren’t going well, and game-specific “x’s and o’s” type stuff.

Tonight I got the other 10%.

I was invited to a “meet the coaches” event here in Dallas and packed into a hotel ballroom with 500 or so of my closest burnt orange-clad friends to hear Mack Brown tell us about how things are going in Longhorn Nation.

In many ways it was a pep rally. In some ways it was an infomercial for the Longhorn Sports Network. It was even, at times, a recruiting tool for the Dallas Longhorn Club. Mack said a lot of the things that I’m sure any coach would have said, but here’s the catch: he said it so well that I was mesmerized.

This was the Mack Brown that high school stars must see in their living rooms – the one that has had a top-5 national recruiting class in 6 of the last 7 seasons. This Mack Brown was engaging. This Mack Brown was funny and anecdotal when called for and he was serious and steadfast when required. This Mack Brown was humble and apologetic for the failures of the past while being spirited and excited about the prospects of the future. If this Mack Brown wasn’t our football coach he’d be our Governor.

For about an hour our football coach held court like I’ve never seen before. The crowd was riveted and not in the way you’d get in a concert hall. This wasn’t entertainment – this was a conversation. Mack took questions, provided even and fair answers and was even a little cheeky when the questions were a bit silly. He told stories of times with Darrell Royal, joked that another Christmas at home without a bowl game might cost him his marriage, and managed to express such confidence in his team and his staff that a Sooner living in College Station would believe him.

Mack Brown says that they’re starting over. As far as he’s concerned this is everyone’s first year in Austin – that it’s the first year for new offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin – the first year for senior leaders like Emmanuel Acho and Blake Gideon – and the first year for coach Mack Brown – and I feel like I’m hearing him for the first time, too.

I’m realistic. Words don’t make your team better. You don’t fix a wealth of problems simply by changing the message. But there’s a new spring in the step of the messenger… and that’s a great place to start.