catman12

I was only about 10 years old, but I was at Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to watch the Mavs beat the "Showtime" Lakers. Watching the Mavs beat Magic, Kareem, Worthy and company was something I will never forget. Reunion was probably as loud as it had ever been and it was really a spectacular game to watch.

There are a lot of great broadcasters going today, but that Bill Raftery is the biggest beating ever. He calls EVERY single play like it was the greatest play ever. I can understand invoking a little passion in your voice when someone gets dunked on or if a guy hits a really tough shot, but not every damn play. I don't want a boring commentator that doesn't get into the game, but with him it seems so forced. Does anyone else notice this? I find myself flipping away from his games because he annoys the heck out of me.

I think the most important thing that could happen is breaking ground on a new stadium. We've had a lot of the other achievements (rushing champs, beating other piss-poor Texas teams, winning the SBC and NO Bowl, etc.). One bad season and those achievements are in the back of our minds. A new stadium would improve recruiting, alumnae support, fan experience, and program attitude now and in the years to come. A close second would have to be joining CUSA. However, if we join CUSA and go 3-8 the next 4 seasons, how great will that be? A new stadium is the key to moving our program to the next level. That needs to happen ASAP! I look forward to going to UNT games and being able to sit within 100 yards of the action and feel like I'm part of the game. That will be great!

As for the poll related to how much they made...TOO DAMN MUCH!

I agree with bigdaddy, they were SHIT! Maybe I'm too young, or too sober to fully appreciate that performance, but in my mind that was awful. I can't imagine anyone actually saying that was an entertaining show, unless you enjoyed laughing at those clowns the whole time. I did enjoy the shots of the drummer, man that guy needs to be in a nursing home! If you really think that was entertaining, you are WAY TOO DRUNK or most likely so HIGH YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE STRAIGHT? The Super Bowl halftime show has already lost a lot of it's prestige. Half the people I watched the game with didn't even care to watch the damn thing. I can't say they missed anything at all!!

I've been one of the few on this board that has given Coach Dickey some credit for our past success. That being said, in my opinion, this coming season should determine where our program goes in the coming years. If we have another disappointing season like the last, I think we should search for other coaching options. I think Dickey has been wonderful for our program and I think he has done a fabulous job. But we all do want bigger and better things for our program. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss the importance of this coming football season. In my opinion, we are at a critical point in our football program's history and next season will go a long way in determining which direction we are headed. I would like to hear some other thoughts.

I'm sure Rhyner only says North Texas State because it gets under the skin of JubJub and every other loyal NT supporter. I don't know why this bothers NT people so much. Who gives a damn what Mike Rhyner calls North Texas. If all NT followers had that philosophy, he would probably stop! Besides, the only people that listen to the show probably realize he does it to get a rise out of people. I can understand getting upset when ESPN announcers refer to us as North Texas State on a national broadcast. That is a little different!

Anyone that doesn't realize the greatness of "The Ticket" is missing out! I listen to these guys all day and they are awesome. ESPN Radio can't even come close to touching the greatness of THE TICKET. This shouldn't even be a discussion.

I don't pay much attention to UNT's recruiting efforts, but I'm sure some of you do. Does anyone know if UNT was making a serious push for Karrington Bush. The Sherman paper said he chose Texas State over North Texas, Houston, and TCU. I am a Whitewright boy and I sure would have liked to see Bush come to North Texas. There were some posts at the beginning of the high school season and I said Bush would be a player to watch. I really didn't think he would get enough attention at a 2A school, but I guess he did. I saw a few of his games...he has break away speed and is a very strong running back. A severe ankle sprain kept him out of Whitewright's last two games. He played in their bi-district game, but was only about 60% if that. We'll see how he does at the next level. http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/200...ts/sports01.txt

I couldn't agree more that coaches earn every nickle they are paid. They work so many more hours than the average teacher that it isn't even funny. Add on top of the hours they work the expectations of success from the community, school board, booster clubs, etc. and they surely earn every nickle. My father was a small school head coach/AD for many years and I can tell you that his salary was typically only slightly higher than most teachers at the school. The coaches mentioned in the article are a small minorty of the coaches that are being compensated a great deal more than the average teacher. It is my opinion that some of the coaches mentioned in the article are underpaid at $80,000/year. I realize that many would not agree with that, and I can understand your point as well. But to compare Todd Dodge's duties and expectations to the average freshman pre-algebra teacher just isn't fair.

Rudy, to answer your original question about who is recruiting him and why the hell aren't we... I read an article and Devine says Florida State, Miami-FL, Michigan, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers have contacted him very often and many others have made contact. I guess North Texas doesn't like their chances recruiting Florida kids when Miami and Florida State are in the mix. If a top recruit narrows his list down to Miami-FL and North Texas, I don't like our chances. In the article, Devine mentions he has liked Miami since he was a kid. I'd be shocked if he ends up anywhere other than Miami or Florida State.

Rudy, Assuming you are an average to below average looking guy and tonight is your last chance to get a Hooters girl's number... Do you spend the night working on the 6' tall, BIG breasted, most beautiful blonde Goddess you have ever seen, or do you work on the nice looking, girl next door type that most people don't seem to notice. While everyone would love to get the blonde Goddess, most of us would spend our time working on option #2 because the chances of success would be much higher. Am I wrong about that?? and be honest!! (remember...it's your last night to score)

I bet that was a rather short conversation. My point...Unless you are Oklahoma, Florida State, USC, Texas, etc...you don't necessarily recruit every top player in the country. You know your place in NCAA football and you spend your time and effort recruting efficiently. It would be a waste to spend recruting effort going after players that have no interest in your program. I'm not trying to down North Texas, just saying you must spend recruiting time and money EFFICIENTLY!!

Why didn't we recruit Adrian Peterson?? Because there is no chance he will come to North Texas. I don't think coaches waste their time and effort recruiting players that have never heard nor care where their University is. I know this kid moved to live with Deion Sanders briefly in Prosper and that is close to Denton, but do you really think Deion is trying to sell North Texas football? Something tells me...probably not!

What size school is that he plays for? If that is against 4A or 5A type competition, he will be the greatest running back EVER!!! If it is against 1A type competition, that is still very impressive!

EagleD, See the thread I started...it's on page 2. I was watching the game and started that thread the minute they decided to run the clock out. I thought it was a really bad decision. I bet that coach hasn't slept well yet since making that call.

If he wanted to play conservative with 1:00 left and all 3 timeouts, why not just split 4 WR and have them all go deep to clear out the secondary and try to get that QB in the open field. If he can make a play and pickup 15 or 20 yards, then you would have been in position to make something happen. If he gets sacked or doesn't pick up any yardage, then you can run the clock out. How fun it is to second guess coaches. Isn't this fun!! As much as some of you guys give our coaching staff $hit, you should have fun discussing this bone headed call!

Maybe that's why he played so conservative...he know his QB would give the game away. WOW, what a tough loss!!

Obviously I'm kidding about being fired, but that is ridiculous!

What the hell is he thinking running out the clock with over a minute to play and all 3 timeouts? They may end up winning, but that is STUPID!!

I drove by and saw the student side and it looked like it was totally FULL. I don't mean pretty full, I'm talking people were sitting side by side full. I've been to many North Texas games when the stands appear to be rather full, but there are MANY open seats around you. If that was the Stephenville side, and Highland Park had more fans than that, it must have been really crammed on the alumni side. I haven't seen many North Texas games with that many people in the stands. I was surprised when I drove by to see Fouts that full. As I drove toward the stadium, I figured it would look like an average NT crowd, but I was surprised.

I'm not really referring to the Baylor game when talking about our attendance numbers. I realize the crowd was really good for that game.

I drove by Fouts today during the Stephenville-Highland Park game and Fouts looked pretty packed. The announced attendance was 21,??? on The Dallas Morning News website. Makes me really question what our real attendance numbers are for some of our games if that was only about 21,000. Did anyone go to the game that had a better look at the crowd?

When it comes to supporting your favorite team whether it be high school, college, pro, etc., i'm a believer in "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all". Not that you will never question a call with your buddy in the seat next to you. But I'm not in favor of fans that do nothing but bash the players and coaches that are representing our university. What do you really think will be accomplished as a result of ranting and raving as LOUD AS POSSIBLE about the poor coaching and playcalling? I don't understand how you think these actions will really have a positive impact on the direction of our football program.

I would imagine they wouldn't be making a coaching change if they had won 4 straight conference titles and been to 4 straight bowl games. You think??