Packers defeat Cowboys on 01/15/2017

Dear Cowboys friends and fans,

I must apologize and take responsibility for causing the Cowboys' loss to the Packers today.

No, it wasn't the seemingly blatant favoritism towards the Packers by the refs: their bad-calls/no-calls, no-calls/bad-calls.

It was me!

Frustrated, I stopped watching at halftime with Cowboys 10 Packers 21.

Sometime later while surfing the web, I saw an update showing the game score tied at 31. So, I turned the game back on with 53 seconds left and well, you know how it ended.

Yeah, I have that kind of power. The Force is strong in my family although I'm the only one who has it.

So anyway, again, it was me and not the officiating.

In the news 02/25/2011

Article headline from the Dallas News states:

Cowboys running back Marion Barber donates $500,000 worth of computers to Dallas ISD high schools

Click here for article while it lasts.

I read this article and I give props to Marion Barber for giving back to a few schools in the Dallas ISD.

I think all high-paid athletes should give back. They are making millions and with all these budget cuts and the down economy every amount, especially $500k, helps.

It's also the right thing to do when it's these communities that are helping to pay their salaries. These children's parents are probably fan(atics) that pay top dollar to attend the football games and frivolous events with their family and friends. They should be acknowledged and rewarded in some way.

Anyway, big high five to Marion, for his donation could not have come at a better time with the anticipated education budget cuts. Oh yeah and it says that Marion approached the principal of one of the schools to see what he can do.

BIG HIGH FIVE TO BARBER!

What's wrong with the NHL?

The actual words that piqued my interest were

"Is the NHL Disappearing? What's Wrong with Professional Hockey?"

This from an article here that I saw on Yahoo!. I didn't read the entire article. I really just scanned the first paragraph or two.

It made me remember that there was an NHL All-Star game last weekend. Did any of you know that? Do any of you really care? I don't recall a lot of advertising and marketing done to promote it. In fact, the only reason why I found out about it was because I was flicking through the sport channels looking for a Stars game and saw the ticker at the bottom of the screen on ESPN2 mentioning something about the skills competition for the All-Star game. I was like, "What? We've already reached the NHL All-Star game?" I was shocked not to have seen more marketing at least on the sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, Versus, Fox Sports Southwest or even on the Dallas Stars website.

So, I caught the rerun of some of the skills competition. I made a mental note to make sure I tuned in for the actual game. I watched the anthems: Canadian then American. The Canadian Tenors sung the Canadian anthem. They sounded pretty good and they sounded official like people in Canada knew and like them as performers. They announced who was going to sing the American anthem and my first thought was, "What in the FUCK has happened to the NHL!?" I shit you not. I was disturbed, disgusted and disappointed in who they got to sing for one of the manliest of sports' all-star game.

It was mother fucking Clay Aiken! That's right. Clay...mother fucking...Aiken!

Gary Bettman, that's what is fucking wrong with professional hockey! Only an ass-wipe, clueless commissioner would book Clay Aiken to sing at the manliest of man sports. As an NHL fan and enthusiast, I am ashamed at your lack of direction and support.

Anyway, I watched the 1st period of the game and was bored. There wasn't a lot of excitement in the game. I mean the NHL All-Star game like the NBA All-Star game is where the skilled players shine with their nifty moves and amazing shots. This is where we should see the spinning-360 backhand score, the pass-pass-pass-shot-while-the-goalie-flops score or the between-the-legs-shot-with-the-puck-in-the-top-corner score. I didn't see any of this in the 1st period so I found it hard to find a reason to return and watch the rest of the game.

So, yes. There was an NHL All-Star game last weekend. It was competing with the NFL Pro Bowl game which was on the same day and I'm sure near the same broadcast time.

I don't watch football and yet I knew when the Pro Bowl game was and when the Super Bowl would be.

I'm a hockey fan, not die-hard or hard-core but very in to it. I didn't know about the NHL All-Star game until the very last moment and then was disappointed when viewing it.

This is what's wrong with professional hockey. There was a time in Dallas of all places that you couldn't walk down the street without people talking about the Dallas Stars just as much if not more than the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Mavericks or the Texas Rangers. In fact, the Texas Rangers were always in a negative context and the butt of many jokes. Somewhere, they all turned it around especially the Ranges recently.

Hopefully hockey can do the same.

Super Bowl XLV

In case you didn't know, Super Bowl Ex El Vee or El minus Ex plus Vee or Forty-five or 45 is coming to Dallas—well Arlington which is a suburb of Dallas—to be played in Jerry Jones' dome castle! You can see it in my simple pictures from my point-and-shoot here.

It is about a week away and I've read/heard/seen lots of promotions for things going on in Dallas and Fort Worth every day/night until the day of. I'm sure there will be more the day of.

On the radio this morning, I heard that the Dallas Convention Center is having some big event where "you can meet NFL superstars!" What they failed to mention is that as long as they were former Dallas Cowboys. I don't know if there are more but the names they mentioned were Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, "Moose" Johnston, and Troy Aikman.

Now, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't mind meeting these NFL superstars. As a kid, I watched Dorsett and Pearson. As an early-to-mid-twenties adult, I watched Johnston and Aikman. I've never been a huge football fan. I'm knowledgeable on the sport and watched it with my Dad and friends but who wouldn't want to meet these guys? I'm sure it'll cost an arm and leg but obviously there will be people who can easily pay for it and those that are willing to sell their children to do it.

I guess that's about all I got on that. I just thought it was funny how they say "NFL Superstars" and then followed up with only listing former Cowboys players.

HP Scots vs. Mequite Poteet Pirates football game

Saturday, November 27, 2010 the family and I entered the home of the Dallas Cowboys. This is where the Highland Park Scots (or here) played the Mesquite Poteet Pirates in a 3^rd round high school football playoff game.

First of all, let me say that I really didn't care who won the game. I live closer to HP than I do Mesquite so it would have been nice if the nearer-vicinity team won but I'll live and move on since they didn't.

The main reason we attended was to enter and somewhat experience the Cowboys Stadium for less than $100 for six people to enjoy (I took two neighbor kids and paid for them even though their parents gave them money). The tickets were $12 per person and parking was $10 for spots within the stadium lot. So, $82 to start the process. There are nose-bleed-brain-crushing-from-atmospheric-pressure seats that are near that cost during a regular Cowboys game.

We got to sit in seats just about anywhere near the field. The very lower level had seats from 1 row to 20 rows or so back from the field wall. The next level was the suites and then the seats above the suites. There was no need for any levels higher than that. It would have been cool to take a non-scheduled tour of the upper areas but I got good enough of the experience from my above-the-suites seat. We chose that area so we could still see the GIGANTIC JUMBOTRON! That screen is way, effing huge! At times, we forgot there was a game on the field because we'd be watching the screen like it was TV at home. There's nothing like HD acne when the cameras would pan the band, cheerleaders, and other teenage fans. How embarrassing that could be for some.

I must say that the concessions is a big money maker just like in any sporting venue but Cowboys Stadium takes it to extreme. The wife and I were very thirsty for a soda and some snacks. She wanted popcorn, peanuts and a diet soda. I go to the many concession areas and they didn't have anything else enticing for me to eat...not to mention the price for a burger was like $10 and my thought is I can get a meal for two for that amount at some fast food joint! I found this "cart" selling popcorn. The popcorn was $5.50 for a small (which was actually an adequate size for the two of us) and I got a bag of Skittles for $3.50. Off to find the drinks. I wasn't paying like $8-$10 for a collector's cup—which was made of cheap, thin plastic—so I opted for the 20oz bottle beign held in a rollable ice tub. Luckily, Dr Pepper and Pepsi are sold because we wanted Diet Dr Pepper. I asked the lady vendor for two bottles of Diet Dr Pepper and she said, "That'll be $10." I was like, "Are you shitting me?" She giggled. I paid because I was dying for a carbonated beverage. I walked back to our seats. The popcorn wasn't that great. It had sat inside the popcorn-making cart for too long I guess because it wasn't the freshest or hottest. I ate as much as I could because I wasn't wasting $5.50 and it was in front of me. Suckass food #1! The $5 20oz was good. Hit the spot. I nursed it like a beer at a nudie bar! I also ate the Skittles and they were good. A guy selling peanuts finally came around. I bought a bag for $5. It seems they are in a vacuum pack and are not HOT ROASTED but just roasted. We ate the peanuts, some of them anyway, for the same reason I did the popcorn. Suckass food #2!

I was going to comment about the game but I think I'll leave it to the real writes of the various local newspapers in the area.

I was going to comment about the Stadium and other stuff there but you'll just have to experience for yourself some day...on the cheap is my recommendation. It's a huge, phenomenal place but I can't see blowing that kind of money more than once a year...if once in a year at all.

Just a quick explanation of the following photos from left to right. (1) View from our parking spot, (2) One side of the big glass sliding doors from the sidewalk around the Stadium, (3) The jumbotron, (4) The upper-level Ford and Dr Pepper "pavilions," (5) Shot of the field from our seats, (6) The upper-level Miller Lite and Pepsi "pavilions."

 

 

 

Rangers choke. Another Dallas-area team of "could have beens"

"Keep your heads up, Rangers." "Thanks for a great season, Rangers."

That's just a couple of the quotes I've read on my friends' Facebook pages who are apparent "fans" of the losers of the World Series.

I'm not a baseball fan, never have been. I've been to about twenty games at The Ballpark in Arlington (which I believe has a new name since I've been). I've been in the nose bleed stands as well as about twenty seats behind 3^rd base. I could give a crap what was happening on the field. I'm just not a fan. I like the venue. The Ballpark is nice. It provides nice views from within the stands as well as on the very top "patio" area of Arlington.

Baseball is slow-paced. It's not like ice hockey, football, basketball or even soccer. It provides absolutely no interest at all for me in strategy or skill. I believe the players are way over paid for the amount of actual work and skill the bring to their "job" (the duration of a game). Pitchers probably earn more of their pan any of the other players but I think they are also probably paid less, most anyway.

A lot of people have the same dislike of tennis when I tell them I'm a fan. I don't understand why. Yes, a ball is hit back and forth of a net. How enjoyable can that be? To appreciate the skill, endurance, and training that a professional tennis player commands to control a little yellow ball with the string bed of a tennis racquet is way more than any baseball player has to do or exerts up to or during a game. It does take some skill to hit a baseball thrown at 98+ MPH with a 3in wide piece of wood but how many of the baseball players actually do this on a consistent basis? Granted it is a testament to the skill of the pitcher but who wants to see a pitcher throw a no-hitter compared to wanting to see more hits and home runs?

Even without all this "excitement," baseball outperforms tennis, golf and other sports for TV ratings. Sometimes even more than football. I just don't get it. Is it because baseball's rules are easier to understand and follow? I just don't know. Maybe it's the inbreeding. :-)

Whatever it may be, I say, "Boo on the Rangers." The proverbial carrot was dangle in front of Rangers fans and it was taken away without making a fight out of it. Seriously, 4 games to 1 is like how playoffs are won in the 1^st round of hockey or basketball.

I'm not completely heartless. I do believe the Rangers performed well for a team that never has been to the World Series. They quickly joined the ranks of the rest of the almosts-but-not-quite teams that have lost. There has to be a loser and it seems the Dallas-area teams are perfect for the role.

So, I bag on all the professional teams in the D/FW area not just the Rangers. As a sports fan, selective sports at most times, I am tired of my hopes being dashed because of the unfulfilling prophecy of the "one that could change our team and take us all the way" never is completed. Even though the Cowboys have won Super Bowls and the Stars a Stanley Cup, they still have disappointed local fans year after year with sub-par performances in the regular season and if lucky enough, post-season. The Mavericks consistently are "almosts" and now the Rangers have joined them.

I'm not a die hard fan, I guess. I'm not into giving my all, my attention, to things that end up wasting my time and patience. So, I guess I'm not a true fan either some might say. I say, "Maybe."

But maybe I'm like that person that has been really hurt in a relationship and is afraid to let themselves invest in caring again. Yeah, that's it. Maybe I'm just a sports romantic.

Nah, I'm just a bitter sports fan that wants his team to win or at least listen to me when I yell at the TV on how things should be done. If they still lose after my advice, then at least they did so following the BEST advice possible. I can't help it that they can perform the advice I've given them.

Again, Boo on the Rangers. Boo on the Cowboys. Boo on the losing streak Stars. And fingers-crossed that the Mavericks will bring it home this season! I won't keep the torch burning for them for too long.

Went to the Cowboys vs Vikings preseason game.

Went to the Cowboys vs Vikings preseason game. Here are some general pics...

Texas Stadium from parking lot view...


Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders




Inside Texas Stadium