Tag Archives: Texas Sports

Great Reading for Cowboys Haters

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Tony Spagnola writes about the sometimes tortured  and heartbreaking history of the Dallas (Arlington) Cowboys franchise attempting to argue that but for a few bounces of the ovoid ball, the Cowboys could be the greatest team in NFL history.   This is absolute must-reading for all haters of the Evil North Texas Football Empire.

They are remembered for such plays as The Hail Mary and Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard run. For Tom Landry and Tex Schramm and Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones. For Staubach and Aikman and Lilly and White, and of course for Emmitt becoming the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.

But funny, this occurred to me, oh, sometime after the Vikings’ seemingly cleansed the memory of the Hail Mary from that 1975 season with their Minneapolis Miracle to break the New Orleans Saints hearts three weeks ago:

These Cowboys, for all their greatness over all these years, sure can make a claim for simultaneously being known as The Heartbreak Kids. No, seriously. Do you realize the penance the Cowboys have paid over the years, the close call and seemingly cruel and unusual punishment at the end of games that has prevented them from becoming the greatest franchise in NFL history?

And Red’s personal favorite –

Remember 2006, Bill Parcells’ final season as head coach. Seattle. NFC Wild Card Game. Tony Romo’s first season to start. Cowboys trail 21-20, 3:10 remaining. Romo drives the Cowboys 70 yards to the Seattle 8. Only 1:53 left. Romo hits Witten at the 1, first down, right?

Oh, wait, there is a booth video review of the spot. And somehow referee Walt Anderson, after looking at video that was not shooting straight down the 1-yard line, announces he’s re-spotting the ball “at the 1½-yard line,” fourth down and one with 1:19 left.

Seriously.

And you know the rest of that story, Romo dropping the snap on what was going to be Martin Gramatica’s game-winning 19-yard field-goal attempt, and then is pulled down running for his life at the 2 by Seattle’s Justin Babineaux. Ball game. Season. End of Bill’s coaching career,

Today in Texas History – February 8

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From the Annals of Professional Football – In 1963, Lamar Hunt moved the Dallas Texans to Kansas City and renamed the team the Chiefs.  Hunt owned the AFL’s Dallas franchise which began playing , owner of the American Football League franchise in Dallas, TX, moved the operation to Kansas City. The new team was named the Chiefs.  It started operations in 1960, the first AFL season and the same year as the Dallas Cowboys. The team immediately faced serious competition from a new franchise in the older more established league.  The Texans had a strong home-state identity with quarterback Cotton Davidson (Baylor), fullback Jack Spikes (TCU), and running back Abner Haynes (North Texas State). Haynes, was named the league’s Player of the Year after leading the AFL with 875 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns. The Texans were an offense-centric, high scoring team, but three closes losses kept them from challenging for the division title.  They finished the 1960 season in second place in the West with an 8-6 record.  The Texans averaged 24,500 for their home games at the Cotton Bowl, the highest average in the league. Hunt is considered to be the founding father of the AFL and one of the main reasons the league was able to survive until it merged with NFL in the Super Bowl era.

Hunt’s team is not to be confused with the 1952 incarnation of the Dallas Texans.  That was an NFL team which was a transplanted version of the New York Yanks.  The team lasted only one season in Dallas and was the last NFL franchise to fold up shop when owner Giles Miller sold the ailing franchise back to the league.

Red desperately wants a Dallas Texans t-shirt with that logo.

Today in Texas History – January 25

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Membership & Donations

From the Annals of the 6-10 Split – in 2010, the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame had its grand opening.  Located in Arlington, the IBMHOF provides a “journey back to where bowling began.” It is described as an “interactive museum brimming with one-of-a-kind bowling artifacts, a unique bowling experience and a cutting-edge glimpse at the far-flung future of this global pastime.”   Red thinks this is a must see for his next trip to Arlington.

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 15

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Well, Sports Fans –  now it’s getting exciting.  With only the Eagles and Stealers having clinched divisional titles – all the other playoff spots are up for grabs among a select few teams.  And even the Eagles and Stealers have to worry about home field advantage.  Somehow the 10-3 Patriots have not yet clinched even a Wildcard slot – so anything can happen – but it won’t.

With only 3 more weeks left, Red himself has clinched at least a season tie.  For Week 14 Red was 3-3 which totals up to 51-33 for the year and unless Red’s math is totally off he is 18 to the good and could go 0-6 for 3 weeks and still come out even.  Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.  And Red has not taken his usual bye week this season.  That may yet happen as well over the holidays.

Answer to Last Week’s Trivia:  Walter Payton and his fellow student at Jackson State, Mary Jones, came in second place in the 1973 Soul Train National Championship Dance Off.

This Week’s Trivia: When was the first Christmas Day NFL game played?

Your Merry Pick of the Week:  Stealers over Patriots.  Not a surprise to anyone that this is your NFL GAME OF THE WEEK.  As noted, Stealers have clinched the AFC North and the Pats are yet to punch their ticket.  Stealers want home field in what would seem to be an almost inevitable preview of the AFC title game (although the Jaguars may have something to say about that).  Stealers know that the road through Foxboro ends in the trash heap of broken dreams. They pull out all stops to win this one.  Red likes the over even at a hefty 53.5 – unless the weather turns bad, then duck and cover.  Pittsburgh 29 New England 28. 

Your Ho Ho Ho Pick of the Week: Raiders over Cowboys.  Two teams that desperately need a win.  That usually favors the home team.  If the Raiders had the balls to make the Cowboys wear blue I would go whole hog for them, but unfortunately Red does not have such inside information.  Young D. Carr needs to have the kind of game he showed two years ago and it would be nice if the Beast (Red’s biggest fantasy bust this season who wasn’t actually carried off the field in a basket) would churn out a couple of decent games to end his career.  Maybe just maybe.  Red likes the Raiders getting 3 points.   Oakland 24 Arlington 20.

Your Let it Snow Pick of the Week: Rams over Seahawks. Or in this case, Let it Drizzle, Let it Drizzle, Let it Drizzle.  Red missed the likely snow game of the season last week in Orchard Park – and everyone knows how much Red loves a good blizzard game.  Unfortunately there appears to be no prospects for a repeat this week.  So Red will have to go with the next best thing – which aint very good at all.  Red still likes Rams despite some signs of crackage.  Meanwhile,  up north giant chasms are opening on the Seahawks side of the ball.  Perhaps Pete the Cheat can will his team through a critical last season divisional match up.  Red thinks Pete’s deal with Satan is running on fumes at this point.   This isn’t quite winner take all in the NFC West, but it’s pretty damn close.  As will be the score – so Red wisely takes a pass on this one.   Los Angeles 24 Seattle 20.  

Your Bowlful of Jelly Pick of the Week:  Panthers over Packers.  Red somehow keeps forgetting that the Panthers are what is known as a “Pretty Damn Good Football Team.”  Panthers have been relatively lucky on the injury front.  The same cannot be said for the Packers – but if A-Rodg is really back this week, then anything can happen.  Red still likes the Panthers to cover 3 at home.  Carolina 24 Green Bay 20.

Your Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer Pick of the Week: Eagles over Giants.  Eagles certainly feel like they got sideswiped by an ungulate this week what all with likely All-Pro Carson Wentz getting bounced for the season.  The redoubtable Nick Foles is back in town and perhaps he can recapture the magic of 2014 when he was damn near unstoppable as a third stringer coming in to save the season.  More likely he is Tom Savage on steroids – meaning average enough to carry the Eagles into a competitive chance at winning one playoff game.  Fortunately, he gets to work out the kinks against the hapless Giants.  Look for this one to be close and the Giants probably cover 7.5 spread if you can get that.  Philadelphia 24 New Jersey 20.

Your Bundle of Sticks and Lump of Coal Pick of the Week:  Cards over OTNAs.  It’s actually hard to find a true Shit Bowl contender this week as almost every other game includes at least one team with a playoff shot – however remote.  So Red will dispense with his usual warning to stay away from the string of Christmas lights and mistletoe lest ye be tempted to string yourself up or mix up a deadly eggnog and mistletoe cocktail in the third quarter of this crude crap contest.  Red thinks the over at 41.5 might be worth a look if you are truly desperate for some Christmas cash.   Arizona 24, Landover, MD 20

Today in Texas History December 8

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From the Annals of Intercollegiate Athletics –  In 1914, the Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was formed at a meeting at the Rice Hotel in Houston.  The name was changed to the Southwest Conference in 1925 and it existed as a major college conference until its dissolution in 1996.   The inaugural members were Arkansas, Rice, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma A&M, Southwestern, Texas A&M and Texas. Southwestern was a member for only one year and the Oklahoma schools were gone in less than a decade.  Major additions were SMU in 1918, TCU in 1923, Texas Tech in 1956 and Houston in 1972.  With the inception of the Cotton Bowl Classic at Fair Park in Dallas, the SWC Champion was the host team and the CBC featured several games that determined the then “Mythical” National Champion.

The death came quickly with Arkansas leaving in 1991 and Texas, A&M, Tech and Baylor breaking off to join the schools of the Big 8 in forming the Big 12 (now featuring 10 schools).

Red has always blamed the break up of the SWC on the scandalous Pony Express program at SMU largely orchestrated by former Poor Idiot Governor Bill Clements – a notorious scuzzbag of a businessman. After getting a death penalty sanction from the NCAA in 1987, SMU hung around the neck of the SWC like a dead chicken.  Red believes that if the conference had had the juevos to kick out the Mustangs and attempt to get a good replacement (like LSU or Oklahoma) the conference would be alive and well today.  Red suspects the specter of Clements kept that from happening.  Thanks for nothing Bill!

Red always thought that the SWC logo made it look like Texas had wings.

SI Names Jose Altuve and J.J. Watt as Co-Sportspersons of 2017

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Sports Illustrated has name two Houston legends – Jose Altuve and J.J. Watt as its Co-Sportspersons of the Year for 2017.  They were bestowed the award for entirely different reasons.

Altuve had one of the most magical seasons imaginable winning the American League batting title, MVP and Silver Slugger awards.  Oh, and yeah – winning the World Series for the first time in Astros history after the city was devastated by Hurricane Harvey.  Altuve carried the team at times during the post-season recording a record 17 hits, 6 home runs and batting .472 at Minute Maid.  Other than Mike Trout he is probably the best baseball player alive right now.  And by all signs a credit to his community for charitable works and tremendous attitude.

Watt on the other hand, had a miserable 2017 on the field.  He played in 4 games with zero sacks and was lost for the season early in the Chiefs game .  All of this coming after losing most of the 2016 season to injury as well.  Whether he ever returns to the greatness he showed during his first 5 years in the league is questionable at this point.  But in the face of Harvey, Watt determined to raise some money for relief.  He set his goal at $200,000 and ended up raising $37 million and it appears that almost all of that money has gone or will go to actual relief efforts.

So two Houston athletes get well-deserved kudos from SI.

Charlie Pallilo is Back

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KGOW – AM 1560 announced that Radio Sports God Charlie Pallilo will be returning to the airwaves just in time for football season.  Pallilo’s new show will debut on Monday August 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  While that is not a coveted time spot, it will be good to have the knowledgeable and largely congenial host back.  Sweet justice would have had him facing off with fathead Josh Innes in morning drive time, but Red guesses Charlie doesn’t want to get up that early.

CP had been on Houston radio more or less continually since 1989 until his abrupt firing in October when he was replaced by the bumbling know-nothing Innes – a move which initially sank KBME AM 790’s ratings.  The station has been boosted of late by the success of the Astros.

Gow Media reports that Pallilo will contribute to its CultureMap website and its SportsMap site scheduled to launch this year and will at some point contribute in some fashion to the company’s SB Nation Radio Network.

KGOW has been off Red’s radio listening radar since it ditched The Steve Czaban Show.  That show had some issues, but was worth listening to if only for the occasional appearance of Evil Jack.  Red simply cannot stomach smarmy radio fascist Dan Patrick.

But Red digresses.  Congratulation are in order to Charlie for finding another radio home in Houston and to fans who will once again be treated to the finest sports talk radio show host this city has ever know.

Saints Showing Interest in Johnny Football?

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NBC Sports is reporting that New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is possibly interested in signing disgraced former Texas A&M and Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel as a backup to Drew Brees.

In New Orleans, Manziel would have no chance of earning a starting job, but he could earn a spot as a backup to Brees, where he’d learn from a veteran quarterback and perhaps get himself ready to be a starter some day.

Still, talking to Manziel and actually signing him are two very different things. If the Saints were convinced that Manziel was ready to put his personal problems behind him and contribute to a team, they could have signed him already, and they haven’t done so.

Johnny Football, New Orleans, Bourbon Street, Drive-Through Liquor Stores, Bars open until 4 a.m.   –  What could possibly go wrong?

KBME – Are You Missing Charlie Pallilo Yet?

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The Houston Chronicle Reports that since Charlie Pallilo was fired, his replacement radio gasbag, Josh  Innes, has stunk it up ratings-wise.  Since Innes’ debut on October 10, KBME AM-790  has lost almost two-thirds of Pallilo’s audience from late September, falling to a 0.9 percent share of men 25-54 from 3-7 p.m.  For the few of you actually listening to Innes’ show, the station has moved him to 2-6 p.m.   Out of purely prurient interest, Red has tuned in on occasion – only to quickly change channels when JI introduces something like his “That Bitch is Crazy” segment.  Red will tune into Fox & Friends if he wants to get his daily does of utterly infantile nonsense.

Meanwhile, despite continuing to look, there have been no confirmed Charlie Pallilo sightings.  Let Red know if you hear otherwise.

Today in Texas History – January 18

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From the Annals of the NFL –  The Pittsburgh Stealers beat the Irving Cowboys 21-17 in Superb Owl X at the Orange Bowl in Miami.  The Stealers scored 21 the hard way with 2 TD’s, 1 PAT, 1 Safety and 2 Field Goals.  The margin of victory might have been greater if not for Stealers’ kicker Roy Gerela being injured tackling Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson when the Cowboys ran a trick play reverse on the opening kickoff.  Gerela suffered bruised ribs and missed two short field goals and an extra point. Stealers quarterback Terry Bradshaw (who had been much maligned during the regular season) was an efficient 9-19 for 209 yards and 2 TDs, but it was the Stealers defense that won the day.   Cowboys’ quarterback Roger Staubach had one of his worst games throwing up 3 interceptions and getting sacked 7 times.   Still, down 21-10 in the 4th quarter, the Cowboys mounted a comeback driving 80 yards in 5 plays topped off with a 34 yard touchdown pass to tight end Percy Howard.  Remarkably, it was the only reception of Howard’s NFL career.  After failing to recover the onside kick, the Cowboys defense held and the offense came on with 1:22 needing a touchdown to win.  It was not to be as Staubach threw up his third interception in the end zone as time ran out.