Baseball Desperately Needs Another Griffey

I just saw where Seattle hired Ken Griffey Jr to be a part of the organization much like Nolan Ryan signed a contract with the Rangers after retirement.  I'm sure it's more of a public services contract where he's involved in the Seattle community and will work with their players in their organization.  My ballcap's off to Seattle.  They recognize the importance of not only one of the greatest players of all-time, but also the desperate need and impact he plays on African-American ballplayers in this country.  Sadly, there's not many black ballplayers left in baseball.  Less than 10% of all Major League Rosters make up of African-Americans. After all that was done 64 years ago when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and gave hope to all young black athletes that they would be able to compete just like anyone else, the popularity of the game has diminished in the black communities (and white communities for that matter).

Baseball is not an easy game to play on an impromptu basis like the other sports.  There are a lot of empty lots and fields in most urban areas of the U.S. with high black populations. If you have a group of friends and a football, game on.  Same with a park, with a hoop. You have a few friends and a basketball, game on.  Baseball, however, requires gloves, bats, and balls to be played properly—with enough players to cover at least half a field. It's not as easy to put together a baseball game.

But the serious blow to the black baseball player has been America's change itself.  No longer are Americans able to take a 2 and 1/2 hour train ride through the Rockies and be captivated by it's beauty and simple relaxation that it brings.  Americans would rather be taken on a 2 and 1/2 minute thrill ride at a theme park and be on their merry way.  

Sports such as football and basketball have marched ahead of baseball in popularity in today's America.  In today's society, we have to be entertained with immediacy.  Our bloodthirsty appetite must be fed by either football, hockey or even wrestling.  And our minds have to have many points scored in order for us to feel satisfied that our money and time were well spent.  Sadly, 3-1 is just not acceptable to most Americans.

Television changed it all.  Before television, baseball was king.  Baseball was perfect for radio and newspaper with it's statistics beaming from boxscores.  The edge-of-your-seat thrill one would get with the anticipation of a radio broadcaster that one can only get when his or her imagination has to work for itself instead of seeing it with their own eyes through a tube.  

Some have said that the 1958 NFL Championship Game of the Baltimore Colts  vs the New York Giants signaled the beginning of football dominance through television.  Football is MUCH more entertaining on TV than baseball with its scoring and constant movement.  TV and football is the perfect combination and its no wonder why the NFL is the most popular and will remain that way until TVs go away.  

Basketball, however, is the lethal weapon to the black baseball player.  Thanks to Michael Jordan, a lot of what would have been today's greatest baseball players never even picked up a glove long enough to see.  They immediately latched on to "His Airness".  Michael Jordan is the black Babe Ruth.  There is no disputing that.  He has done so much for his sport and helped pave the way for many athletes to live out their dreams.  But he helped put baseball on the ropes with a bloody lip and a concussion (there's a bloodthirsty analogy for you that seek that stuff).  

I long for the great black baseball player.  My hope is that the black Babe Ruth of baseball is on his way.  Barry Bonds would have been that, but that's not going to workout so well.  Had Ken Griffey Jr. not come along at the same time as Michael Jordan, maybe things would be different.  I got news last week that Ken Griffey Jr's son Ken Griffey III (Trey) was visiting Texas A&M about being a wide receiver.  I have to admit, it felt like a kick to the stomach.

But right now, maybe, just maybe somewhere in the streets of Chicago, or Detroit, or Sheman, TX there is a little boy who is going to be the next Jackie Robinson or Ernie Banks or Bob Gibson or Hank Aaron or Willie Mays or Ken Griffey Jr.

Closer or Starter for Feliz? This is my take

WIth all of the talk about Neftali Feliz about where should he be on the Rangers staff... Closer?  or Starter?  Well, for starters (weak), this is my take.  

Here's the deal.  The kid is 22 years old (will turn 23 in May) and has a lightning bolt for an arm.  His radar readings on his fastball are always in the upper 90 mph range and they went over the 100 mph mark on some questionable radar guns last year.

Argument for closer:  

1.Those who want him as the closer want a sure thing (or what they perceive to be a sure thing).  Feliz had 40 saves last year, which was the most since Francisco Cordero had 49 in 2004.  

2.  They also say there is no one in the bullpen currently who can be a closer.

My argument against those scenarios.  

1.  The statistic "save" is the most over-rated thing in baseball next to the batting average.  Only 27 of Feliz' 70 games last year did he enter the game with a one-run lead or in a tie game.  Of those 27, he blew tie or lead 4 times.  Therefore, he recorded 23 (in-effect saves).  Managers will give closers the ball when up by 3 and only needing 3 outs many many many many many times just to boost their statistics.  It's ludicrous.  The one-inning save as we know it didn't really even exist before Lee Smith in 1982.  The game was played for 100 years or so before we thought it was time to trick it up with over-thinking managers and rock music and wild hair and beards for crazy fireballers.  It's a sexy part of the game, that's for sure...but just not needed.    

2.  Before Francisco Cordero saved 49 games for the Rangers in 2004, he was a setup man in '03 to Ugith Urbina until the trade deadline of that year.  Francisco became the closer and saved 15 games and was handed the job with no previous experience as a polished proven closer.  Also, 

Injury Means LEAVE THE GAME IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!

I admire the warrior-types that will play with pain for the sake of the team.  We all want that mentality as champions.  We all want that dedication from our teammates that they will go the extra mile.  But, hey, there comes a time when it's just not smart to continue to play.  

This is my short story:

I tore meniscus in my right knee in a varsity football game my sophomore year in high school at age 15. It was the very first defensive play of the game.  I was told I just had a "sprain."  On film, it didn't look "Theisman-like" at all.  As a matter of fact, my knee didn't even stay planted on the ground.  But I guess for a split fraction of a second, my cleats caught just long enough to tear the meniscus.  I played most of the 1st half even though I could barely walk because I didn't want to let the team down...especially Coach Fryar who instructed us to not get hurt because we had already lost our starting linebacker Jon Norwood (hence, the reason I was playing linebacker as a sophomore).  I somehow played the next week with a brace and even scored two TD's as a slot receiver. Well, it's been over 24 years, and four surgeries on just that one particular knee and this is the year that it got completely replaced.  I probably should have left the game in hindsight. Since then, due to compensating for that first injury, I tore my left ACL  in a high school basketball game 16-months later. I tore my right ACL in a pickup basketball game when I was 23. I tore my left Achilles running five years ago at 34 and now my right one feels exactly like the left one did before it snapped. I've had four surgeries on the initial right knee meniscus injury including a Microfracture Surgery at 25 that left me now with the only option of knee replacement coming this year at the age of 39. All of those injuries were the result of the first one (and ankle injuries due to over-compensation). I turned both of my ankles numerous times in HS (including twice on turf in playoff football games that caused me to miss the start of basketball both sophomore and junior years). Anyway, when I tore my Achilles in '08, I had x-rays and MRI's on both of my ankles and was told that both had been fractured at some point in my life.

All of those injuries that were never properly corrected led to other injuries due to over-compensation. That's what I was told at my last Dr visit when they discovered the ankle fractures.

And I hope no one thinks I'm blaming anyone or complaining about these injuries. I chose to participate and chose to try and play through injury. Heck, I begged Coach McQueen to let me play baseball just two months after ACL surgery and thankfully he said no way! I even made him watch me run in order to prove my health (or lack thereof apparently). I was playing football just six months after my ACL surgery. I still ran a 6.9 in the 60-yard dash (however barefoot and on grass) my senior year in baseball. I even ran a 7.4 at the Cleveland Indians scouting combine 4 months after ACL surgery.


In the late 80's, early 90's, we obviously didn't take x-rays of injuries as they do now. But now that the technology is better and faster and more accurate, it's critical to take the necessary precautions.

Therefore, in my humble opinion, I hope every kid that has an injury will treat that with the highest priority even though our mentality is to play with pain. In the end, it's just not worth it.

I say, if you're injured. PLEASE LEAVE THE GAME!!! It's not worth being perceived a warrior even though it's the mentality we as athletes are trained to have (not that I'm an athlete anymore). 

Here are some pics of some of my surg

2010 - The year for:

2010 will always be one of those special years that I look back on.  What will I remember most?

I'll remember that it was a year to thank God for unanswered prayers.

It was a year for:

Burying relationships for good with big players in my life; rededicating my life to Christ on Easter Sunday; Fairview Park with Mahlon; Thomas the Train; Iphones; Chuck E Cheese; swim lessons; John Deere Gator truck races; baseball gloves; peanuts; cracker jacks;  Rangers magic #100; slip n slide; "Can I have a jelly bar"; back home; Thomas the Train birthday cake; Hurrican Harbor; Six Flags; Cowboys Stadium 100 yard TD by Mahlon; Ballpark Pressbox with Chuck Morgan; fireworks at Munson Stadium and Paulie's; Elmo party at cousins; rally caps; walk-off home runs; screaming "Nelson Cruuuuuuuz!"; Sunday morning breakfast wtih Mamaw & Papaw at Cracker Barrel or IHOP or Whataburger; church every Sunday; no more broadcasting; pre-K; grilling pork chops and chicken every night; throwing ground-balls in the driveway; hopscotch; "Take me out to the ballgame!"; the dot race; Howe All-School Reunion; racing on the beach at Galveston; making ballpark sand-castles; fantasy football drama; Facebook posts; Bulldog Black Fridays; magic # at 1; Bumble Bee Transformer for Halloween; Victory Light; Rangers pumpkins; claw; antler; WORLD FREAKING SERIES!!!!!; apple juice; Howe Bulldogs in playoffs; 1,000 trains in the living room; 10,000 legos in the living room; Mario shirts; "Can I watch Thomas on your phone?"; Candyland; Santa Claus caught on tape; Mahlon winking at me and saying, "I Love You Daddy!"

Yep, 2010...  my, oh my...  You'll be missed!!!!!

Howe's Treasured RecoVery

Isn't if funny how one little florescent light can symbolize something and bring such great feelings to one community?  The victory light in Howe is merely just a florescent light bulb hidden beneath a panel tied to just a simple breaker box in the old rickety press box of Bulldog Stadium.  It didn't cost that much to install, and it doesn't cost that much to maintain.  But the smiles that it creates as the August sun turns to the cold November rains is priceless.

The victory light was introduced to Howe in the fall of 1977 by Howe's new head coach James "Blackie" Wade.  The original light was eight simple light bulbs up and one at the bottom (seventeen in all) pieced together to form a V.  It was simple, much like our little town.  But it was extremely bright, much like our little town.


The tradition of the victory light is to turn it on immediately after the Howe Bulldogs varsity football team wins a football game on Friday night.  The light stays on all week until the Freshman/J.V. games start the following Thursday.  It's a simple tradition.  In a good year, the light burns for seven weeks.  In a great year, such as 2010, it burns for nine.

When I was a little kid, I grew up near the elementary school and the victory light served as my internet.  I couldn't ride my bike to Whitewright and see the Dogs play on Friday night, but I could sure ride my bike across town to see if that light was on Saturday morning or not.  Fortunately, back then it was on a lot.  The victory light was in it's most used stage from 1984-1991.  During that seven year period, the light was on a total of 64 times.  Howe was 62-28-3 (and of the three ties, two were playoff advances).

I became a Howe Bulldogs fan about 1984.  I remember Randy Geer and his amazing speed and superb long TD runs.  But in 1985, everything changed.  Howe went to the Regional finals and were led by a short running back with a rocket on his back named Stephen Ogle.  I rode my bike across town and saw that victory light on Saturday morning 9 times that year.  This 6th grader would never be the same.  Winning programs feed the younger kids that are watching and becoming fans.  It was then, that the game changed.  My classmates and the classes ahead of us had the bar set for us.  We knew how much excitement the town shared during that 1985 run.  We wanted the same thing and we didn't just want to be good.  We wanted to be great.

Thankfully, I was able to be a part of that great seven year ride.  I was able to play in 7 playoff games (more than anyone in school history apart from my teammate Jon Norwood who also played in 7).   I was a part of the 1989 District, Bi-District, Area Champions, 1990 Bi-District, Area Champions, and 1991 District Champions.

When we beat Bells by 5 points in the last game of the season to become District Champions in 1991, no one thought about the victory light being turned on for the last time.  The light had taken 15 seasons of wear and tear and needed to be replaced.  Instead of replacing the V, Howe chose to replace it with a boxed panel with the picture of the Bulldog logo inside it.  The tradition was lost.  The light in the panel would stay on even after losses.  It was a bit sad to drive by and see something that used to be such a community bonding mechanism mishandled.  The original V that was in place for 15 seasons was lit up 98 times for Howe to see and be proud of (6.5 wins per year).  Without the V, Howe played as if it didn't exist either.  They went 16 years without the V and during that time, Howe won 66 games (4.13 wins per year).

After noticeable wear and tear of 16 years, the panel with the Bulldog logo had become old and decrepit.  It was about to fall down.  It was needing to be replaced as the panel itself had a crack in it and was broken.  I kept a keen eye on it hoping that it would eventually just fall down and we could reinstall the victory light in our town.  And when I got word it was coming down, I made a phone call to the superintendent Kevin Wilson.

I stated my case to have a V on the back of the press box and I remember him asking me, "a V ?  Why a V? Why not an H?"  I went on to tell him the significance to what the V stood for around Howe for many years as a symbol of community pride, a symbol that people actually care about.  I told him of my friends that shared the same sentiments as I did that the great tradition had been lost.  I even offered to pay for it.

I thank Mr. Wilson a great deal for having an open mind and seeing that through.  It was remarkable to be able to have that V put back in place.  I was there taking pictures when it was being installed.  I felt like I had just ridden my bike from all away cross town to see if it were on.  It was just cool to see.

On August 29, 2008 Howe defeated Blue Ridge 49-14 and were set to turn on the victory light for the first time since that 1991 game vs. Bells.  In true fashion, Howe chose two legendary former players to flip the switch.  L.B. Kirby was a player on the 1942 District Champions that had to play without a head coach due to war time.  Mac Davis also played in the 1940's and has had numerous family members be standout football players for Howe over the years including son and grandson.  Coach Steve Simmons guided all fans back behind the stands and have a celebratory countdown to flipping that switch.  In a small Texas town's version of the ball dropping at Time's Square, after a 10 to 1 countdown, the two gentlemen flipped that switch and a giant roar came from the crowd and the team.

At homecoming this year of 2010, being the president of the Howe Ex-Students Association, I was allowed to flip the switch in that old breaker box if Howe won.  It was a great feeling for me to in a sense of coming full circle with that old V.  I put many blood, sweat and tears on that field just to light that thing after a win on Friday night.  And 16 years later, I was still putting sweat in to get that V back up there and get it turned on again.

I've been so proud of watching these 2010 Howe Bulldogs turn that light on.  Their deep playoff run galvanized this community like it hadn't been in quite some time.  It's a very special thing.  And somewhere, I guarantee you, a 6th grader will never be the same.

Twenty Years Ago Tonight, We Shocked Them All!

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years.  That night, I didn't even know what 20 years was.  I was only 16 years, 6 months and 2 days old.  But that night may characterize and symbolize my entire attitude on life.  Just tell me that something's too big to achieve.  Just tell me that there's someone better.  Just tell me that there's no hope.  Just tell me that the fat lady is warming up.  Just tell me that.  I dare you...

Twenty years ago  tonight, me and my teammates gave north Texas a dose of "Know Howe."  We pulled off something only a small circle within the decrepit confines of the Bulldog Stadium Field House thought could.  That night we overcame being 17 point underdogs and knocked the 8th ranked District Champion Celina Bobcats out of the playoffs in the first round.  We believed, and we achieved, together, undivided, as one.

We had lost Howe's most successful head coach in Howe history in Jim Fryar who left for a similar position in Jacksboro.  We had a second-year head coach in Joey McQueen.  I was a slot receiver the previous year as a sophomore on a team chalked with more talent than anyone could imagine.  We shattered every passing record Howe had seen.  We finally lost in the regional championship and carried our District, Bi-District and Area championship trophies with us to the football banquet.  All of that was gone.

Our new head coach wanted to symbolically get a head start to the 1990 season.  So we started at midnight of the first day eligible to practice 2-a-days.  Coach McQueen was at Howe two years prior for one year before taking a head coaching position at Bells.  I knew Coach McQueen pretty well since he ran the offense on JV my freshman year and I was the starting fullback and carried the ball 20+ times per game.  He knew what I could do running the football so when Coach Fryar left, I wanted Coach McQueen.  I even called him at Bells and tried to lure him back to Howe.  My teammate Jon Norwood who was at Bells High for some academic contest even left a letter on his desk from what I recall trying to lure him back.  And when I heard he was going to come back, it was a tremendous feeling.  It was nearly the same feeling I had when the Rangers signed Nolan Ryan.  However, I had no idea that the Coach McQueen we were getting was totally different than the one we had two years prior.

Coach McQueen demanded us to be gentlemen.  He demanded us to say Yes Sir and No Sir.  He demanded us to do things the "right way."  Everything changed when Coach McQueen showed up.  We ran sprints before and after every practice.  Coach McQueen laid out the ground rules that we would be running 25 40's after every practice.  It was exhausting.  It was what we thought, cruel and unusual punishment.  Even our offensive scheme changed to what I likened to going from a Corvette to at Corsica.  I had been a starter in the high-flying runnin'-shoot the year before.  It truly was one of the first if not the first spread offenses in high school.  We were electric.  Now we're going to a wing-T.  Uughh.

We had a steep learning curve with our new roles and new coach and we didn't execute very well at first.  We had lost 3 of the first four games to Leonard, arch rival Van Alstyne, and Pilot Point.  But our defense was really good.  It kept us in every game.

Things shifted in week 6 that rocked our season.  We lost at Aubrey 14-7 in a game we had no business losing.  Before that game, in practice that week, I had gone to Coach McQueen and stated my case to get more carries.  I wanted to carry the load just as I did on J.V. my freshman year and we had success.  So Coach McQueen gave me that opportunity in Aubrey and I was to get the majority of the carries.  In the first quarter, I got just that...and I fumbled twice and didn't hustle on another play and was ripped at the film session on Saturday morning.  We had major changes coming, and I was sick to my stomach.

We were built on defense, so we didn't have to make changes on that side of the ball.  We were good and we we knew we were good.  It was the offense that we had to change.  The coaches made those changes and I was moved to tight-end.  Domingo Rivera was our new fullback and the move that punched our ticket to the playoffs was the one that moved Michael Bailey into the lead running back role.  Michael Bailey was a microcosm of our entire team.  He was about 5'5, 155 pounds and he never quit.  He never took a play off.  He never stopped until the whistle had blown.  Coach McQueen once said in a team meeting, "Michael Bailey can cut on a dime, spin on a nickle, and twist on a penny."  At Van Alstyne early in the year, the P.A. announcer didn't have a jersey number that matched up on the roster for Bailey, so when Bailey would run, the announcer would say, "He has moves like Elvis so we'll just call him Elvis."  From that point on, for about another quarter, people around town could hear, "Elvis on the carry."  When Bailey got tackled, he would pop up on his feet from laying on his back.  And the harder he was hit, the faster he popped up to his feet.  It was almost as if he was telling the defense, "I'll always be here no matter how hard you hit me."  His heart was an inspiration to all of us.    And it kind of gave us the same mentality.  We weren't going to take a play off, we weren't going to stop until the whistle blew, and we would never quit.  Michael Bailey as our lead Dawg gave this team mouth-to-mouth. I am so thankful that I fumbled twice in Aubrey and was a big reason we lost that game.  Because it was the last time we'd lose that season until we were three games away from the state championship.

In order to secure a spot in the playoffs, we had to outright beat a very talented Bells team in the last game of the season at Bulldog Stadium.  Coach McQueen had come to us from Bells in which he took them to the regional finals the year before by virtue of tying everyone winning via penetrations or first downs.

We quickly found ourselves down 11-0 at the half.  Three big plays won the game for us (outside of our shutdown defense).  Joey McMillion caught a 64-yard TD from Wade Carson in the 3rd quarter.  Then in the 4th quarter,  Carson threw a tight-end throwback that I was able to catch and take it deep into their side of the field for 47 yards to their 29.  The very next play, Michael Ross scored.  That come from behind 12-11 win propelled us into the playoffs.


11/17/1990


That's where we get to 20 years ago tonight.  Our motto all year had been "Bulldog Magic."  It seemed a little quirky at first, but it became a staple before it was all said and done. We felt after coming from behind so often, that we had a little of that magic.  Since we were runners up in the district to Pilot Point, we had to take on the district champion Celina Bobcats and their head coach G.A. Moore in the first round.  The year before, on our ultra-talented team, we manhandled them in their own backyard in route to our very own district championship.  But most of our guys from that team were now in college and most of their guys were still playing.  Celina, as I mentioned earlier were ranked 8th in state.  They were better than we were.  Everyone said so.  Even they would tell you so.  As a matter of fact, it was pointed out to us by our head coach that he heard Celina had already printed some t-shirts that read Bi-District Champions.  Assistant coach Steve Simmons showed up at the pep rally with a white shirt that read in orange type, "Celina Bobcats - 1990 Bi-District Champs."  We saw that shirt and destroyed it.  Each player wore a strip of that shirt on our uniform that night.  I had mine tied to my belt at the hip pad dangling down.

We were the home team so we got to wear our black uniforms, but I remember my teammates complaining that our black pants were too short at the knee and it might be better on us to wear our new white pants that Coach McQueen introduced (he was a fan of the Odessa Permian look and wanted us to be all black and white like them and eliminate the gray/silver look).  No matter what we were wearing, we knew we were in for the fight of our lives.  On our way down to John Clark Stadium, we were given a letter by then Superintendent Pete Simmons.  It was an intense encouragement letter written by a guy who was once head football coach and not by a guy who was just the current Superintendent.  It was extremely motivational and it gave us an extra edge.  The fans showing up to the send-off was incredible.  The mom's had painted the streets and the police were giving us an escort to the city limits.

Once we got to John Clark Stadium, we entered the dressing room as we always did....very quietly...very business-like.  And as soon as the game started, we found ourselves in a hole again early.  This was the theme of our team.  We were behind with a 2-4 record at one time and came back to save our season.  We were down 11-0 to Bells and we came back to save our season.  And here we find ourselves down 14-0 going into halftime.  But, when you have an attitude like we did...when we got knocked down, we popped back on our feet from our back like our little running back.  We didn't know how to quit.  We didn't know what it felt like to give in.  We didn't have one standout player, but we had a ton of players that played together and we all played as one.  Desire beats talent everytime.  And we had desire.

Coach Steve Simmons once again found himself in the middle of a 'Dawg Pack" in the halftime locker room.  Very rarely do you get a movie-like halftime speech.  Those things just don't happen in football like most people would like to believe.  But this night, it happened.  Coach Simmons came from around a corner with a balloon in his hand and was screaming and then he screamed something loudly and popped that balloon at the exact moment and the whole place went nuts.  We not only had a pulse, but we had momentum.  What Coach Simmons did was burst all of the air from Celina when he popped that balloon.  We challenged ourselves and we stepped forward.

Thanks to our little "Elvis", we churned all the way down the field in the 3rd quarter.  Bailey carried the ball and put us on his shoulders.  We had a first and goal at the 9 yard line, which ironically turned into a 4th and goal do-or-die situation.  Our quarterback Wade Carson had heavy pressure and literally just heaved the ball up in the air as he was being thrown to the ground.  The ball in the air hung for what seemed like forever.  Then out of the sky came Damion Horton on what looked like a Dennis Rodman post-up reboundand  and came down for the touchdown.  I kicked the extra point and now it's 14-7 Celina.  We are back.

We go to the 4th quarter and we realize that we are dominating them.  They had only 4 first downs the entire 1st half and none so far in the 2nd half.  Our defense was led by coordinator Billy Hill who we believed so much in.  We knew that if we listened to him, we'd give our offense a chance to win the game.  And we held them to punt after punt after punt.  Michael Bailey took over again as he cut and cut and flipped and churned for every last inch he could muster.  Late in the game, Carson connected with Shawn Stephenson and Micahel Ross scampered around and made a great cut himself and scored the tying TD.  Everyone of us went crazy.  Everyone except me.  I had to kick the extra point to actually tie the game.  We were on the net side of John Clark Stadium and before the game I was easily kicking them over the net and into the parking lot.  I just wanted to do the same thing here.  And in "this" particular game, I did just that. And we were tied 14-14.

In those final moments of the game, much chaos occurred.  Coach McQueen and Coach Hill were explaining the rules to us in this situation because there were no overtime in high school football at the time.  We had never been in a tie game, muchless one in the playoffs that had so much riding on it.  We understood that we were tied in penetrations (getting to the opponents 20 yard line) and we were ahead on first downs (the next tie-breaker).  We had a large lead in first downs thanks to our defense that held Celina to 14 total yards of offense in the 2nd half and one first down.  I remember our defensive captain and fellow linebacker Jon Norwood screaming out as we're lining up, "THEY DON'T GET TO OUR 20!"  And they didn't.  We took over possession and by virtue of the stats, we were going to be Bi-District Champions!.  All we had to do was run out the clock.


This is where what was to be a joyous post-game celebration turned a bit grim.  We rotated plays in and out with our wingbacks Shawn Stephenson and James Fulenchek.  We had just taken a knee and only needed to run one more play to win.  Everyone in the stadium knew what was coming. We were going to take a knee right?  Well, that was the plan....   Coach McQueen told Shawn Stephenson the play of, "Tell Wade to drop back and take a knee."  I guess with all of the excitement and commotion and loudness of the crowd, Shawn heard, "Tell Wade to drop back and throw it deep."  When Shawn said that in our huddle, Wade made him repeat it.  And he looked at me and said, "be ready."  I ran a short flag pattern and Wade hit me in stride and I nearly scored on it.  We definitely caught Celina off-guard...because it looked horrible to the eyes of Celina I'm sure.  We had taken a knee the play before and then come out and try and score?  Yeah, that could be perceived as bad sportsmanship.  That's where the post-game went south.  Coach McQueen showed extreme displeasure for Wade and even though he told Coach about Shawn's interpretation, Coach McQueen was furious...which made everyone a little sour.

But in the end, we had done something no one in North Texas thought we could do.  We overcame the odds and started the 8th ranked football team in the state's basketball program just a little earlier than they anticipated.  And they had some shirts to throw away.

That night put the reinforcement stamp on my life of positive thinking and never say die.  Never quit and when people tell you something can't be achieved, try me.

Of course we were down 10-3 to Olney the next week in the Area Championship and had to come from behind in the 4th quarter with an 80-yard drive in which Michael Bailey carried us on his shoulders.  Of course it came down to a do-or-die extra point to tie the game, in which I missed.  But as fate would always have our backs that year, Olney jumped off-sides and I got another crack at the extra point and barely squeeked it through.  Of course we finished the game with a tie 10-10.  Of course we also tied in penetrations.  And of course we led on first downs thanks to our amazing defense.  It's called Bulldog Magic.

We went on to play in the Regional Championship game which was the same place I was a year before with the ultra-talented world beaters that were the 1989 Howe Bulldogs.  Here we were...our little old practice-squad, scaled down version of that team.  We were in the same place.

We lost Shawn Stephenson and Chris Hartwell to season-ending injuries the week before and when we played Mart for the regional championship, we were just too banged up.  We even lost our quarterback Wade Carson to a torn ACL early in the game.  The headlines in the paper were "Mart Beats Howe on Points."

I'll never forget 20 years ago night when we gave everyone a little "KNOW HOWE."  We were a story of a group of guys that didn't accept losing.  We had a lot of individuals with heart and it spread like a cancer.  We were accountable to each other.  Coach McQueen told us everyday that he loved us.  I can still hear him as plain as day saying, "I love each and everyone one of you."  We thought that it was a little strange for him to tell us that everyday, but tomorrow, I sit 36 years, 6 months, and 2 days old...I tell my son everyday that I love him.

Thank GOD for 1990 and that team and those guys.  Thank GOD for the heart of Michael Bailey who symbolized our character by flipping up when knocked down.  Thank GOD for Coach McQueen who made us do things we didn't want to do in order for us to achieve things we wanted to achieve.


Radio: Howe vs. Celina 11/17/1990 on KMKT-FM
Video: 1990 Howe Bulldog Highlights Part 4

Death Star Could Be Just That

My what a week at Valley Ranch.  We all knew it was coming.  Everyone except Jerry could stomach what was inevitable.  He had to admit he was wrong.  When he hired Wade Phillips as his head coach back before the 2007 season, he made the statement, "I have to get this right."  It worked perfectly for about 16 games in 2007 and has been just full of disappointments since.  


First of all, Wade Phillips is a very likable guy. I would love for my son to go fishing with him or learn techniques in football from him.  I personally think he's a great defensive coordinator in the NFL. That said, great coordinators don't often have the persona to be a great head coach.  


"Military leaders aren't made. They are born. To be a good leader, you have to have something in your character to cause people to follow you. " - Jimmy Johnson.  


In other words, some people just don't have the qualities.  They possess the knowledge and work ethic...but they don't have "it."  That "it" is the ability to command the room.  That "it" is the ability to make people feel just a little uneasy.  Wade Phillips has an entirely different approach to that style of coaching.  He's the kind of guy that wants to treat each individual like a grown man and hopes that doing so will earn their respect.  That's all great until something happens and they don't respect you.  Then you're lost without a team to fight for you.


Jimmy Johnson - "The problem with the Cowboys is you're not really sure who the leader is — and therein lies the problem. Their players haven't answered to the head coach, and I think that's a problem."


Barry Switzer - "Everybody can get the mental and the physical down, but it's the emotional part," he said. "That's why coaches know they've got to go if that arrow is pointed down. And it was pointed down for Wade, big time. He knew he had to go."


Not to be a Wade basher, but if I were a player and hearing from him the same that I heard in press-conferences, I would not feel like I had to be accountable for anything.  Each press conference was the same rhetoric with excuse after excuse and thin-skinned past resume-touting and fuzzy stats to try and overshadow a loss.  Never once did I hear that something was unacceptable.  Never, until it was too late.


I really like Wade Phillips, but I don't like Wade Phillips' style of coaching.  It's just not for me.  I'm a guy that likes a clean crisp no grey area kind of football coach.  I want someone that will make me fear to watch the game film in hopes that he doesn't call me out on something.  I'm a fan of a coach that will not accept tardiness, laziness, or anything that can cause a team to not focus on the main goal.  I'm a fan of a coach that will make me do things that I don't want to do in order to achieve something I want to achieve.  That's what great football coaches do.  They aren't your best friend.  They aren't someone you would feel comfortable asking to take your kids fishing...not while playing for them anyway.  


It's much different than business.  Business leaders thrive every day with Wade's style.  But football is much much different.  Jerry Jones thrived as a shrewd businessman.  In business, you can cut corners and be called smart.  If you cut enough corners and still produce the goods, you're a genius and a lot of times filthy rich.  In football, you can't cut corners. If you do, you'll lose.  Every time.  This is why Jerry Jones has not been successful as a hands-on owner since he took over the franchise in 1989.  He will bring on ultra-talented athletes with extreme character flaws and thinks that it won't affect the team.  He's stated publicly that he doesn't believe in team chemistry.  He believes that winning cures all chemistry problems.  But first thing's first Jerry...you have to become a winner...and people with bad character don't tend to make great winners.


When Jones bought the team and named Jimmy Johnson the head coach, he also might as well have labeled him the General Manager as well because Jimmy was the football guy.  Early on, when anyone addressed the two and a football question came up, Jerry would always defer to Jimmy to answer any football question.  All of that changed when success came.  A lot of the success was credited to the Herschel Walker trade midway through the 1989 season.  And when most people credited Jimmy for that trade, Jones went nuts. He couldn't take it.  He made the famous drunken statement, "Any one of 500 coaches could coach this team to a Super Bowl."  That was it.  Jimmy was out.  And for good reason.  Jerry was then left to prove he could do it by himself without Jimmy and eventually hired Barry Switzer.


In walks Switzer and they won a Super Bowl in his second year and should have won two straight if it weren't for an awful 1st quarter in the NFC Championship game in his 1st year at San Francisco.  But nonetheless, Jerry had won a Super Bowl without Jimmy and expected everyone to rave about how brilliant he was.  Well, not so much.  Everyone still credited Jimmy for building that team.  Jerry grew more and more frustrated and saw that team dwindle away and grow old right in front of his eyes. The team that was a bunch of thugs with tremendous athletic ability had been hard-nosed coached into champions by Jimmy.  Jimmy also believed in ultra-athletic players even if they had bad character.  Because Jimmy knew that he could mold them into team players. Now, without Jimmy commanding their attention, the thugs were allowed to exist without penalty under Switzer and it cost them several more years of mastering the NFL.  I know...free agency and salary cap also depleted the greatest team known to the NFL, but also a lack of accountability to each other led to their demise.


"Jerry's talking about what we've got to do next year," Switzer recalled. "I looked at him — we'd already had a bottle of wine — and said, 'If we don't beat them tomorrow, the first thing you'd better do is fire my [butt] and hire yourself a new football coach.' It just shocked Jerry that I said that. I was serious. The arrow was pointing down."


Jerry went several years trying to find an answer that would give him the credit if they won and not have to turn over the keys over to someone that could eventually get all of that golden laced credit.  Chan Gailey, Dave Campo ran their course.  But everything changed when the Cowboys went to Houston.  And I mean, it ALL CHANGED.  I remember all Jerry could talk about for a month was how incredible Houston's new Reliant Stadium was and how he wanted that for the Cowboys.  It made him jealous and stir crazy and he had to have it or go broke trying to get it.

The envy of that stadium made him break down and hire Bill Parcells as head coach and turnover a lot of power to him.  If he were going to get the support and backing for a stadium like that, he had to have a winner.  So he made a deal.  And sure enough, by turning over the keys to a football guy for the first time since Jimmy, a new Dallas Cowboys had emerged from the scrap heap.  Parcells' drafting and signings still echo all through Valley Ranch to this day.  He was directly responsible for guys like Romo, Witten, Ware, Barber, Jay Ratliff who are virtually the cornerstones of this franchise still today.  Parcells had "it" and created a model of accountability and it was very successful in the direction it was headed.  I still say, if Romo got the snap down in Seattle, Wade would have never been hired.  But the ball sailed through his hands and Parcells sailed out of Valley Ranch.


But by turning the franchise around and making them competitive, the fanbase now would give Jerry support to build his dream football castle.  And in Arlington, they welcomed him with open arms.  And with the new stadium in the works, Jerry could now go back to running the entire organization again.  And that always spells trouble for Cowboys fans.


Phillips was hired and the accountability went out the window.  Players got lazy.  And here we are.  Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will now be the interim head coach, but if you ask me...he'll be the last head coach Jerry ever hires for two reasons.  1.  Garrett is a fundamental accountability guy that will be successful here.  2.  Jerry has been hinting that his time is running out.  He's said on several occasions now that he doesn't know how much longer he'll be able to be a part of the Cowboys organization.  That can mean health, or that can mean finances.


You see, Jerry's new stadium, as grand as it is, comes with a hefty note payment.  Jerry has been doing all he can to fill it with college games, concerts, boxing events and anything else to try and bring revenue to pay for it.  And when you go 1-7 and no one shows up...you're in trouble.  Possibly BIG trouble.  It was greed and coveting that brought that stadium.  And success stories based on those elements are few and far between.

People say that Jerry will be forced to hire a big named head coach to ensure that people will be enticed enough to come to the games and spend money.  But I think they have just their big-named guy in Jason Garrett.  He's not big-named in 2010...but in 2020, he'll be either heralded as one of Jerry's greatest moves in keeping him or one of Jerry's list of growing blunders in getting rid of him to save the stadium.

Never underestimate the power of Jerry's ego. The only thirst he has greater than winning is being able to tell people he was right and should get credit. He hired Garrett before Wade and if he is successful, he can say his model still works. If he turns it over to Cowher or Gruden, he essentially admits his structure doesn't work. That's why Garrett will be here forever. He'll even rebuild with Garrett if need be. But he will not let his model of structure take the blame.

Now, with that knowledge, we must just hope that Garrett will take advantage of seeing first hand how to succeed and fail as a Jerry head coach under this odd structure of no chain of command (except for all roads lead to Jerry).

It really doesn't matter what Garrett has done as an offensive coordinator. It really doesn't...(BTW, he's been REALLY successful in his first three years here). He's being hired to be the head coach which has little to do with x's and o's football. It has everything to do with a mindset...an accountability manager. That's what his job is now...along with still having to be the OC.

I believe this is going to work and work really really well.  If it doesn't, the star could fall.