Player To Be Named In June

Monday, May 8, 2006

Posted by Monte Walker at 01:29 AM

Many first time (sports fanatic) dads probably go through this. I found out my wife was expecting on October 16, 2005. They gave us a due date of June 22, 2006 and I immediately traced back 9 months. Lets just say the second Crosstown Showdown will much more memorable than the first for me. Since then, we found out that it was a boy right after Christmas and I was on cloud nine! His first name will be Mahlon (May-lun). It’s the same name as my great-great grandfather who moved to Van Alstyne, Texas from Walkerstown, Missouri in 1890. His middle name will be Cody (his mother’s maiden name) and all is great. Now comes the fun part! I have painted his room (my former man-room) baby blue. The walls are topped with baseball borders and Each of the four Ranger’s ballcaps at each ceiling corner. I have ordered all six of the Texas Rangers official logo patches to make a blanket for him...and he has more clothes than I do...most of which have some reference to baseball. He has a Michael Young bobble-head, a baseball easter basket (for next year), a Rangers bat & ball, and tons of other stuff referring to the great game. My thoughts are: a. He’s going to really enjoy baseball with me. b. He’s going to hate it! Let’s hope for A.

Welcome Back To Ron Poe Stadium!

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Posted by Monte Walker at 6:45 PM

I am extremely excited about what’s taking place in McKinney over the past three years that I’ve been involved with the sports programs here. In my first year of being the play-by-play voice of McKinney ISD football, I had the chance to interview Coach Poe before the McKinney Lions/Dallas Hillcrest playoff games (at the beautiful Tom Kimbrough Stadium) and I could tell that he still loved looking over his shoulder and seeing what the Lions were doing. I asked him what he would tell the players before going on the field and he answered with extreme "coach talk" and I could almost hear his teeth grinding in the answer. With all of that said, I think it’s a tremendous thing that Coach Todd McVey, Keith Garringer, Tom Crowe and whoever else may have been involved with these decisions to honor Coach Poe. Thanks also to everyone who has welcomed me to McKinneySports.net. This is a tremendous company with a vision that is so far ahead of any I have seen.