Green to the Bone

Why can't Vito be as unfailingly positive about UNT football as every member of this board?

69-62. Back from a 21-point deficit. Biggest comeback in UNT history, so they say. GUTS AND GLORY!

The sponsor is Sen. Craig Estes, a Republican from Wichita Falls. Most of his district consists of wide open spaces with cows. but it also includes Denton, which is why he's the one to do this. Sen. Estes is a four-term senator in the majority party. As long as it doesn't get left behind in the rush, there's no reason to worry about this except for concern over holding down college costs. But the decisive vote of the students is a big plus in that regard. Estes, by the way, is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, so everybody on this board watch your language.

How does this work? I assume a player has to get a release from his program before he or his surrogates can start calling other programs. But maybe not. Somebody enlighten me, please.

Just speculating, but this comes just days after Vizza probably watches Tebow & Co. beat the tar out of OU and get unlimited fame and glory. And Vizza is stuck in the dumps. So he'd rather take a shot at winning somewhere, even on a little stage, because from what he's seen on TV, it's more fun than losing. On the other hand, this isn't the pros. I never really thought of college players as being like free agents, shopping around even after inking a deal. Kind of hard to get that notion in my head.

I'd be interested in thoughts as to how GV's departure is, as his statement says, in the best interests of the university. Not saying it isn't. Just saying.

Out of decaf?

GG is correct. There are broker/agents who find young kids and arrange for them to come to the U.S. during high school, and then get them into college ranks. The paper in Dayton, Ohio (I think) published a fascinating series on this a few years ago. The industry came across as fairly sleazy, especially when it came to arranging questionable "exchange student" type deals to get them into the U.S.

HA! Ivy's in the Low-Majors! In your face, Harvard! Princeton -- you've been owned!

Texas Legislature Updated daily. Has a text search, so just search "University of North Texas" or anything else. It's all open to the public. Most committee meetings and floor sessions are webcast in real time; past sessions are available in archives.

Who are they, and says who?

Yes, indeed. In football.

Final: 85-77; Jo Hall with a double-double (18/14). Nice start for Coach Stephens.

It's an opinion piece. That's why it's full of opinions. Opinions, you can take or leave as you choose.

Vizza got plenty of horizontal turf love tonight, that's for sure.

Oh, there were some. The weather was beyond perfect. The band? Very sharp. A Bill Chase number never fails to satisfy. The campus police, to the best of my knowledge, maintained order without compromising anyone's constitutional rights. Fireworks -- who doesn't like fireworks? Consecutive weeks of double-digit offensive scoring. Boomer was especially loud, thanks no doubt to the reverberations off the ample bare aluminum bleachers. The Sloan waterless urinals worked flawlessly, saving on average 40,000 gallons of water per urinal per year. Kettlecorn.

Yes, I think color coordination is what was missing tonight. I kept trying to put my finger on it, but now I think that's it.

I don't know anything about coaching or recruiting or reading offenses or defenses, but I did look askance at the following line in BV's story: "North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal expressed confidence Thursday in the direction of the school’s football program that is stuck in the middle of a historic slide ..." One might think that it would be better to wish for a change in direction when on a historic slide. Unless one were sliding into a huge vat of delicious chocolate pudding.

Amen. Maybe a relationship between a fan and a pro team is a transaction that depends on results. I don't think that's the case with a fan's relationship with his/her school and its team.

As a UGa grad, please let me note that the title of this thread is the cruelest thing I have ever read.

Well, the fifth sousa is kinda old and needs refinishing.

Coaches have got to be feeling pretty lousy. They have to relive this game on film. But as they watch, they have to figure out what to do next. Apart from forfeiting the LSU game, they have to come up with some kind of plan. They have to work up a strategy beyond just saying, let's face it: we suck. I'd be curious about what everyone thinks is doable in the next few weeks, starting with the next practice. Thoughts?

I thought all night that this game was being lost on the line of scrimmage. not in the backfield. Vizza was under unreasonable pressure much of the night. He managed to salvage several key plays despite having big guys in white jerseys all over him. I don't know if it was a matter of Tulsa having the hosses or of our guys missing blocks and reads. But the effect was to limit our passing game -- which still came out with some pretty good stats -- while really reducing the running game. Defensively, the early penalties restocked Tulsa several times when they were 3-and-long. I really attributed that to a lack of discipline. But beyond that, there were a good many Tulsa running plays in which the holes were opened in real life just like they're planned on the blackboard. Our defensive line just got shoved around wherever Tulsa wanted. If our D-line could have pressured their QB, things would not have gotten as out of hand as they did, or at least not as quickly. Again, a line of scrimmage problem. My takeaway message was that this was not a failure at QB by any means. Vizza played well under tough circumstances. He still has some maturing to do, particularly in clock management. But no interceptions -- a huge improvement. Changing QBs isn't what's called for here. People tend to look too much for individuals to save a program; TDodge, Vizza, RDodge and DeLoach have all had people on the board proclaiming them the bringers of light. How quickly the crowd turns. And if Riley helps now as a receiver, OK with me. I want to start doing the things necessary to win now.

This appears in the Google results for the University of Tulsa: "Nationally recognized programs include English, and psychology." The incorrect comma use is theirs. The University of Tulsa: Raising the Okie Bar since 1894.

Nobody on the board is trying to turn this into bad news. This makes me feel a little, um, disoriented.