Baby Arm!

You do not have to have a parking pass to park in the Blue lots. $10 is the charge, several of my friends parked in the blue lot. You just have to get there early enough. I was there at 1:00 and the blue lot was half full. By 3:00pm it was packed.

I had 4 people come to the game, one a UNT alumnus who hadn't been to a game in years. When he met up with me in the Mean Green Village the first thing he said to me was "When the heck did North Texas football become so popular?"

Which was my point. Almost at every series it seemed like we were facing 1st and 15, 1st & 20 etc.. This weak o-line and frosh QB have a tough enough time trying to make 10 yards before 4th down.

I normally chalk up any running up the score accusations as sour grapes and I don't think Tulsa ran up the score here. However, I do have to wonder going for it on 4 & 1 when you're up by 38 pts. It's not like their defense wasn't shutting us down every series so I'd like to hear an explanation from the Tulsa coaches on what their motivation was there. The other TD's....can't ask the kids not to play. If we have a problem with them scoring we should do a better job stopping them.

Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line. Our young and inexperienced offensive line was exposed tonight. How many series started out with a holding penalty, giving up a sack, or some other penalty. It seemed like almost every one We kept putting ourselves in a hole where we would need 15 to 20 yards to get a first down. We don't have the firepower to keep making up for those mistakes. We had a first and goal from the one called back to become a 1st and 20. Meager and Phillips had NO time and were under pressure as soon as they dropped back. Although this sounds ridiculous with as many points we gave up, the defense wasn't playing that bad. But you can't have your offense keep going 3 & out series after series after series without you defense wearing out. That's exactly what happened. As the game went on and one, we kept going 3 & out and the defense had to go back to the field without much of a rest and Tulsa scores. and btw, I had 4 guests with me for some this was their first UNT game. They LOVED the tailgaing, LOVED the game day experience, but at a point during the game one turned to me and asked, "Whats with the play calling. You're down 19, its 3rd & 8 and you run a draw play?" Welcome to Dickey ball, my friend, Welcome to Dickey ball.

What hasn't been mentioned is not only is it a home opener but it's also Family Weekend. Our Parent's Day/Family weekend crowds are usually one of your bigger crowds of the year.

How about this. FREE BBQ before the game courtesy of the GreenBackers! Hows that for promotion, But wait there more....Attend the game for recieve 3 hrs of entertainment viewing a Division I college football game! With that offer you we'll throw in not one, but TWO national rushing champions!!! How much would you expect to pay for this tremendous value? $29.95?? ..... $19.95????.... $9.95????.... How about FREE!! That's right. For the incredibly low amount of $0.00 UNT students can get BBQ Brisket, 3 hrs of division 1 college football and BOTH back to back NCAA rushing champions for absolutely nothing!! Call now while supplies last.

Ok Pre-emptive bitching is ok. But I can see the post game posts now....'How dare the security guards not allow us in with this. We had to leave it at the gate or walk ALL the way back to our car" Next thing you know we'll have people start bitching about ushers not allowing them to sit anywhere they want and forcing them to sit where they are ticketed....

Bring you tortilas if you must. But since they are on the prohibited items list I don't want to see a post bitching about the security guards not letting people take them in. Won't matter that its a posted policy. SOMEONE will get bent out of shape because they were stopped from bringing them in. Haven't we seen this before with umbrellas, flagpoles, etc?

I came accross the Bob Stoops coaches show Sunday night, normally I'd just keep going but since we are playing Tulsa next week I wanted to check them out. Now I'm no coach and highlights on a coaches show isn't the same as breaking down film but I noticed a couple of things. It looks like Tulsa's run defense is primarily out of the 3-4 with the down linemen slanting towards the strong side and linebacker stunting to fill the gaps. Seems like they were doing this on everyplay almost daring OU to beat them with a RS-freshman at QB. Sound familar? If this continues next week and they add a couple pages to Meager's playbook to open up some more play action passes, Screens to the flat and a few down field throws....than we may catch the guys sleeping. Also if they continue slanting like that blocking down and running towards the weakside might prove productive or if we can get some effective lead blocking or pulling linemen to take out those stunting LB's....who knows. Whats all this mean.??? I dunno I expect well still see a limited playbook for the QB, don't make mistakes. Run Ball control offense and rely on the defense to keep it close. Prediction....UNT 20 Tulsa 17

I got a nice response from Ethan Szatmary... I probably make too much of this and it's a closed issue in my book, Moving on.... Let's talk about Tulsa!

Mr. Szatmary, So you and your colleges on the sports staff have dubbed GoMeanGreen.com "the idiot board", I can only assume that is because that is the opinion you and your colleges hold of the posters on that message board. Just wondering why you consider them to be idiots? Is it because they have a passion for the sports teams of their Alma mater rather than adopt an allegiance to some overgrown semi-pro BCS team? Is it because they spend so much time debating, worrying, hoping about the success of the Mean Green? Just what makes these people idiots in your eyes Mr. Szatmary? Now I will be the first to admit that not every posting on that message board could be held up as admirable example of literary discourse. The board may not provide the keen insight into the X's & O's that the DRC sports pages gives. These aren't professional sportswriters after all. It would be hard for them to live up the high standard of sports journalism of you and your brethren. Most of these people never strapped on the pads and played football at any level. Some may find it difficult to discuss the intricacies of the 3-4 defense. There are posters with varying levels of sports knowledge. But that doesn't make any of them idiots. Maybe they do spend too much time discussing what shade of green the uniforms are or what logo will be on the side of the helmets. None of that really make a difference in whether the team will win or lose, but these are fans. It's a fan board. Minute details like that may seem idiotic to the professional media, but for people who have a passion for all things Mean Green...you know FANS. Things like that are important to fans. I guess in your eyes that makes them idiots for caring. Actions speak loader than words. Maybe it's the actions of these GoMeanGreen.com posters that you find so idiotic. Actions like that of FireFightinRick, the screen name of a guy that makes a living going into burning buildings when everybody else is running out of them. A guy that does something that dangerous for a living must be an idiot...right? Rick, along with several volunteers from GM.com spent time and money to host a barbecue for coaches, players, and staff to show appreciation for their efforts. Rick coordinated the event and spent 3 days smoking hundreds of pounds of brisket. Along with other volunteers that provided food for the event, and served and cleaned up after wards. Anybody that does that much work just for a "thank you" must be an idiot...right? How about the actions of the group of Greenbackers that traveled all the way to Middle Tennessee with smoker in tow to tailgate and cheer the Mean Green to their twenty sixth consecutive conference victory? These are people that are also planning on road trips to Manhattan KS, and Ruston LA later in the season too. Anybody that drives that far when gas is hovering around $3.00/gallon must be an idiot....right? Check out the "idiot board" lately. You'll see posting coordinating the efforts and extreme amount of work to host Greenbacker tailgate parties. Tailgate parties that are no small affair. Where literally EVERYONE is invited. The Greenbackers feed the fans, the marching band, opposing fans, players families, students, and yes even the media. Anybody that goes to those kind of lengths of hospitality must be an idiot....right? These "idiots" are also the people that give to the Mean Green Club, buy season tickets, and travel to cheer the Mean Green. These are some of the most genuine, welcoming, and cordial people I have ever met. These are good people and don't' deserve to be called idiots by you and your ilk. Shame on you Mr. Szatmary, SHAME ON YOU

Insight to the opinion on the Denton Record-Chronicle's sports staff regarding this board.... Ethan B. Szatmary / They've Got To Be Kiddin' ESPN mag makes UNT look more lean than Mean 09:40 AM CDT on Sunday, September 11, 2005 Ethan B. Szatmary Oh to have been a fly on the wall when University of North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal sat down to read the Sept. 12 issue of ESPN: The Magazine. Like anyone who backs the Mean Green, Villarreal must have been excited about the prospects of the national magazine writing a feature story on North Texas’ back-to-back NCAA rushing champions, Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas. While the article “Lean and Mean” by Eric Adelson suggested that Villarreal may be responsible for UNT’s dominance of the Sun Belt Conference in football, it also begins by describing Fouts Field, the Mean Green’s 53-year-old stadium, as “decrepit.” Even mentioned the players call Fouts “the Tin Can.” Adelson isn’t exactly helping UNT’s recruiting right there, is he? And, he didn’t get around to mentioning the new athletic complex until much further into his story and didn’t bother contrasting its opulence to Fouts Field. He just said it was almost one quarter the size of LSU’s training complex. Adelson even started talking smack about Denton sports fans. “You can’t pity a place where public expectations are as low as attendance,” Adelson wrote. “See, down in Denton, no boosters bitch about a boring running game.” Did Adelson bother to get on the Mean Green fan message boards that we here at the Denton Record-Chronicle call the “Idiot Board” and the “Bitter Board” — not because they’re kind and understanding fans? Anyone who’s ever sat in the alumni section at Fouts Field has heard the “Throw the ball!” pleas of fans too short-sighted to understand the simplistic genius of Darrell Dickey’s rushing attack. “No overbearing alums call for the coach’s head after a blowout loss to Oklahoma,” Adelson continues. Nope, but I can remember Dickey’s front lawn filling up with “for sale” signs when the Mean Green lost to Utah State back in 2000. The Mean Green love the pub, but maybe ESPN should have waited a couple of weeks and had Adelson do some research. Hey, attend a game or two, maybe. Tailgate, go to Fry Street, talk to some fans. ... ETHAN B. SZATMARY can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is eszatmary@dentonrc.com.

It's no secret that MUTS was going to stack the box against the run, and I'll think you'll continue to see it the rest of the year too. Then same thing is happening at OU. We have a red shirt freshman at QB, D-coordinators are going stack it against the run and force us to beat them with an inexperienced QB. Dickey and Flanagan are limiting our offense so not to overwhelm the Meager, Don't ask him to do to much or even to win the game. Just work with the limited offense, don't make mistakes, and hope the defense can come through for us. If defenses are going to stack against the run, you need to create some room with play action passes and downfield throws. As the game wore on and Meager was getting more comfortable you saw Flanigan opening things up a bit more, it's no coincidence that this is when you saw JMO and COBBS start to get some more room to run. The fact Meager had no major breakdowns or mistakes is going to go a long way to building his poise and confidence. You gotta remember the coaches have to learn to trust the QB too, As the season progreses you are gonna see more of this gameplan. Each week they add a little more to the offense as Meager gains poise and experience So expect more of the same against Tulsa, They will stack the box against the run. Some will call Dickey/Flanigan's offense boring, one-dimensional, and predictable. But with a team as young as ours they are just doing what they can with the hand they've been delt.

Whats the plan tailgate-wise for next weekend's home opener for Tulsa?

Guess Charlie Weiss' first coaching victory at Nortre Dame has lost some of it's luster now.

Looking at FAU reminds me of our return to Div 1A. In our first few seasons of D1 ball we scheduled Missouri, Kansas, Oregon St, Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, Louisvile, Arizona St, Texas A&M, Army, Vanderbilt, Texas Tech. I think FAU getting OSU and Minnesotat to play them at Joe Robbie/Pro Player is akin to us getting games against Kansas, Army, Texas Tech, A&M at Texas Stadium in those years.

Yes, Channel 52 on Direct TV -Dallas area

ESPN sacks Alberts College analyst fired after tiring of 'second-fiddle' role John Walters, SI.com ESPN fired Trev Alberts on Sunday after the college football analyst failed to show up for work at ESPN's studios in Bristol, Conn. "He phoned and said that he wasn't going to show up," Mark Shapiro, ESPN's Vice President of Programming and Production, told SI.com on Tuesday night, "and when he didn't, he was in breach of his contract and we terminated him." Alberts, a former All-American defensive end at Nebraska and member of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, was embarking on his fourth season as part of ESPN's popular College Football Scoreboard and College Football Gameday team. But on Sunday morning, in the midst of college football's first big weekend of the season, Alberts phoned ESPN's coordinating producer of college football, Ed Placey, and voiced his discontent. "He phoned us and told us that he was unhappy with his role on College GameDay," said Shapiro. "He felt that he was playing second fiddle." As the day wore on, according to both Shapiro and Alberts, there were several conversations between Alberts and ESPN senior vice presidents Jed Drake and Norby Williamson. Finally, Alberts announced that he would not be reporting for work that afternoon (ESPN and ESPN2 aired three college football games between 3:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.). Once Alberts failed to appear for his studio show assignment with host Rece Davis and fellow analyst Mark May, he was fired. "They first wanted me to resign," Alberts said on Tuesday night from his Atlanta home. "Then they fired me. I obviously have a serious problem with the word 'breach', but that's something my attorney will work out." Alberts joined ESPN's studio show in 2002 after five years of working in a similar capacity at CNN/SI. Cantankerous, passionate and opinionated, Alberts often feuded with May about issues relating to the sport, but the feud never turned (or even appeared to seem) personal. Davis played the role of genial arbitrator to a tee. "We were just trying to be three guys in a frat house talking football," said Alberts. As far as his discontent and the phone calls to management, Alberts said that both began long before Sunday. "It wasn't just this weekend," he said. "There were conversations for awhile. I fully understood the privilege of the seat I sat in. And it was never about wanting to be part of the GameDay crew. But no matter what business you're in, if you're not respected internally, you're going to have a hard time being respected externally." Alberts declined to elaborate. The GameDay crew, with Chris Fowler as host and sidekicks Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit, has evolved into a wildly popular cult phenomenon. Each Saturday the trio's visit to a college campus is cause for pre-game pandemonium among the tailgating set. Alberts claims that he never aspired to that, nor does he begrudge Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit their widening popularity. "The GameDay guys have earned that," Alberts said. "Mark, Rece and I, we had searched for something we could call ours. All we wanted was something we could take ownership of. We felt like the midnight wrap-up show was ours, but as the season began I could see that we'd be more of a support crew for [Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit]. "Never once did I say, Why aren't I on commercials? Why aren't I making more money? I'm a huge fan of all these people who work at ESPN, including Mark [shapiro]. It's just a matter of not wanting to be marginalized." Shapiro concurred that the ESPN stable may have had a few too many thoroughbreds. "Over the years there's been some discomfort over how to integrate the two teams," he said on Tuesday. "But, it's like a coach who has a lot of good backs and receivers. Everyone has a role to play." Everyone except Alberts. He has been dismissed from the team. Shapiro said that in the short term a replacement will come from in-house, but as for a full-time replacement for Alberts, "essentially, we're open for business."

Ch. 52 Saturday Sept 10th 6pm...... Already have the Tivo set

LSU home game against Arizona St. has been moved to Tempe Ariz. LSU officials say too many campus resources are still being used for Huricane Katrina relief efforts that they are unable to host a football game at this time. I think this will really put some pressure on to get the UNT/LSU reschedule done. I've seen it reported that LSU makes about $3 million for every home game. I don't think they are willing to lose 2 home game dates.

Here's what I want to know, If you are going to use the Superdome as a shelter, than why don't you plan and make the necessary prepreation to use it as a shelter. You can count on a loss of power during a huricane. Why wasn't there a UPS (uninterupted power supply) built for the place. Batteries and Generators with enough diesel fuel for a week. Why wasn't that put into place BEFORE the hurricane? It's also a good bet you going to lose plumbing, The dome is big enough you could fit a couple hundred portable chemical toilets in there somewhere. Put them somewhere out of the way, line the corridors under the stadium, anything is better than the out of order and overflowing toilets they had. And another thing. With a category 5 hurricane bearing down on the city and you are telling everyone to go to the dome, Why dont you have enough food and water stocked for a least a week?

You really think there will be that much action on North Texas to get the line to move?

The Mavericks might have something to say about another NBA team setting up shop in their market. They wouldnt have that problem in OKC

There is NO WAY there that many in actual attnedance, Maybe they are counting the thousands of free tickets the gave to refugees in the Astrodome next door.