Archive for October, 2010

Some quick thoughts on the biggest games this weekend:

* Munday at Windthorst — I’ve told Bill Green I’m not picking against the Trojans again this year after going against them in the Seymour and Archer City games. But that’s not the only reason I like the Trojans in this one.

I think Windthorst has too many peices on offense to worry about. They have four guys with about 200 receiving yards, they don’t have a dominant guy in the backfield, either. And they have a bigger front.

Windthorst throws the ball better than Munday. If the Moguls win, it’s because they break off some big plays, make no turnovers and keep Windthorst from hitting those 4 or 5 25-yard completions they seem to get every week. I think the Trojans win this one, and if they jump out to an early lead like against Seymour and Archer City, then it may not be close.

* Graham at Burkburnett — Part of me thinks this game will be close because both had down-to-the-wire meetings against Iowa Park. The Bulldogs have obviously gotten a lot better since early this season.

But part of me knows that if there’s an area to be exploited in Graham’s defense, it’s in the secondary. Look at their two losses — Brownwood and Bridgeport both had big passing games. IP didn’t run on them at all, but Lee Clubb had his best passing game of the season. Burkburnett, obviously, is a much better running team, and the Steers have been tremendous at stopping the run. So I say Graham wins by double digits.

* Bowie at Iowa Park — I still am not sure how good the Jackrabbits are. Graham crushed them and they blew a 20-point lead to Vernon before coming back and winning. But I’m not sure how good the Hawks are, either. Still, I’ll go with IP to win this game and tak a playoff spot.

* Albany at Seymour — People thought the Lions might be exposed once their QB went down for the year, but they continue to plug away. I didn’t think Stamford was a good matchup for the Panthers (defensively, I mean. Obviously scoring 49 points says the offense was a ood matchup), but I think Seymour’s passing game will put up some points against the Lions. This one could be close, and a Seymour upset wouldn’t shock me. But I’ll stick with Albany in a close one.

It is homecoming week at my university, so I want to share with you a column I wrote a this time last year.

——————

The young daughter of a friend once asked me what was my favorite college football team.

There was a look of surprise on her face when I answered: “Midwestern State.”

She expected me to say Texas or Oklahoma or Texas Tech or some other big-time Division I team.

“MSU is my alma mater,” I told her.

And I said it with pride.

That little piece of paper I got from Midwestern 33 years ago means as much to me as a Harvard or Yale diploma means to those Ivy Leaguers.

This is homecoming week, and I plan to come home.

For me, that’s enjoying something like this the way normal people get to do.

The bonfire. The fish fry. The golf tournament. The football game.

I love MSU.

I was the first person in my family to earn a college degree.

My son followed me by also earning a diploma from Midwestern.

In case you haven’t lived here long or just haven’t been paying attention, we have a great university here in Wichita Falls.

It has already been recognized as being the best education bargain in the United States.

MSU graduates are also as qualified or sometimes more qualified for jobs than graduates of the bigger name schools.

I have worked for this newspaper since 1972 and have seen a lot of employees come and go.

You quickly learn that just having a degree from Texas or USC or Oklahoma or A&M does not automatically make you a star in this business. I have seen plenty of journalism grads from these big schools fall flat on their face in this profession.

Roy Allen , my journalism professor at MSU, taught me how to do things right.

I left his tutilage fully trained for my dream job.

Thanks, Mr. Allen.

I had a lot of other great teachers at Midwestern – Tom Hoffman, Harry Brown and Joseph Satin gave me a solid foundation in English; Harry Hewitt made history fun; and David Martin taught me how to appreciate government and democratic values.

Just being in the presence of Jim Hoggard should make anyone a better writer. He is pure genius.

MSU also gave me the opportunity to become personal friends with men like Dr. D.L. Ligon and Gerald Stockton and Lou Rodriguez.

I was privileged to cover the student-oriented campaign to properly get the coliseum named after Doc Ligon. I saw the gleam in his eyes when it finally got done.

I was sports editor for the Wichitan – the school newspaper – when Stockton was hired to be the head basketball coach.

Stockton could have coached UCLA or North Carolina or Duke or anywhere else, but it was MSU who gave him the opportunity, and Dr. G rebuilt a top-notch basketball program.

He – like his predecessor Dennis Vinzant – was color blind.

They gave black kids a chance to play when many of the bigger schools in the south refused to change.

MSU grew to new heights under the amazing 20-year presidency of Rodriguez.

I always kidded Lou by introducing him to my friends as “the best president Midwestern has ever had.” But I wasn’t kidding.

Everything about my alma mater (except maybe the parking) improved under Lou.

In my humble sports opinion, the best thing he did was bring back football in 1988.

The decision to drop football in 1956 stunted the school’s growth, but Rodriguez brought new students and new enthusiasm to the campus by bringing it back.

Today, MSU has a strong administration with guys like Jesse Rogers and Howard Farrell.

In my job, I mainly deal with MSU sports, and the athletic department has never been better.

The coaches in every sport win, and they win doing things the right way.

But that’s how they live their lives.

They are all good people.

If I sound like I’m recruiting you or your kids to Midwestern, that’s OK.

To me, it’a an easy sell.

The campus is beautiful. The facilities are terrific. The teams are winners. The education is first class. The price is right.

It really is my university. Make it yours.

We’ve got two weeks left in the regular season, and by my count, two area teams can safely call themselves playoff squads — Seymour and Munday.

But don’t let that last sentence fool you. There are a lot of others who are right on the cusp of getting in. We’re talking 99.9 percent chance they make it. So here are our area district scenarios and how I think it’ll play out. Also, I exluded 2-A Div. I and all Six-Man districts because all of those began last week.

Here we go:

DISTRICT 4-4A

IN: Denton Ryan

OUT: The Colony, although WFHS is close too

PRACTICALLY IN: Rider

Win and they are in: Lake Dallas, Little Elm

How I see it playing out: Lake Dallas-Little Elm is the big district game this week. I’ll go with the Falcons, and Rider wins this week to 100 percent get in (the only reason they aren’t in now is the Raiders could still get in a 3-way tie with Denton and WFHS at 3-3, not that I think that is feasible). So the last spot comes down to Little Elm or Denton. If Denton beats The Colony in the last week, then it’ll take the last playoff spot (assuming Little Elm also loses to Denton Ryan). If The Colony wins, then Little Elm is tied with The Colony at 2-4 and wins the head-to-head. Obviously, WFHS could still get to 2-4, but I don’t think the Coyotes will beat Rider or Ryan.

DISTRICT 6-3A

IN: No one, although Graham is really, really close

OUT: Hirschi, and while Vernon isn’t yet, they have about a 1 percent chance

Win and they are in: Graham, Iowa Park

How I see it playing out: There hasn’t been an upset in 6-3A yet, althought some games have been really, really close. So I’ll give Graham and IP wins this week over Burkburnett and Bowie. If that happens, Graham wins district and next week’s Burkburnett-Bowie game will decide the last playoff spot. Right now, there are still some crazy tiebreak scenarios. The likliest is a three-way tie at 3-2 between Burk, IP and Bowie. For that to happen, the Jackrabbits would need to win this week.

DISTRICT 3-2A DIV. II

IN: None, but Holliday is almost in

OUT:  Maybe there is still a way for Nocona to get in — I haven’t done that much math. But the Indians are 0-8 right now, so I think it’s safe to say they are out.

Win and they are in: Holliday, Jacksboro

How I see it playing out: I expect the district’s three playoff spots to be taken this week by Holliday, Jacksboro and Henrietta. Then Holliday and Jacksboro will play next week with district title implications. Henrietta need to win and have Jacksboro win to get in, only because Alvord could force a tiebreaker if they ended the season with a win against the Bearcats. City View’s chances are pretty slim, too. The Mustangs (assuming they don’t beat Holliday on Friday) could get in a three-way tiebreaker at 2-3 with Jacksboro and Alvord for the last spot, but they are only a +1 in that scenario. The only thing that would make this district race interesting going into the last week is if Alvord knocks off Jacksboro, which is possible. Then there would be two playoff spots on the line next week.

DISTRICT 4-A DIV. I

IN: Seymour

OUT: None

Win and they are in: Albany (and Stamford gets in on its bye if Haskell beats Olney)

How I see it playing out: Albany will win district. Even if Stamford doesn’t get in this week, the Bulldogs will beat Olney in the season finale to take second. There are some tiebreaker possibilities at with three teams at 2-2 for two spots, but they won’t be needed.

DISTRICT 5-A DIV. I

IN: Muenster, Collinsville

OUT: Petrolia, Chico

Win and they are in: None.

How I see it playing out: Lindsay and Valley View will play the last week for the third playoff spot. If Linday upsets Muenster this week, then I guess there’s a three-way tie scenario at 3-2 if Valley View were to beat the Knights the last week. But if Lindsay can beat 8-0 Muenster, it won’t lose to Valley View the next week.

DISTRICT 8-A DIV. II

IN: Munday

OUT: Electra

Win and they are in: Windthorst

How I see it playing out: Archer City also gets in this week if Windthorst wins, and the Trojans win district by beating Munday. The only way a tiebreaker happens is if Windthorst loses out (no way they lose to Perrin-Whitt; they’ll win by 50 at least) and Munday beats Archer City.

OK, so now we know — Cliff Lee isn’t Superman.

He’s not faster than a speeding bullet.

He’s not more powerful than a locomotive.

And he’s not able to leap buildings in a single bound.

But he can still come back and win Game 5 of this World Series.

So, Rangers fans, don’t fret over one loss.

This team is resilient. It can still come back and win this thing.

Even if they were to lose to the Giants tonight, I still wouldn’t write them off.

The Rangers have fought through adversity all season long.

Their top two starters couldn’t even stay in the rotation.

Their No. 1 catcher couldn’t throw the ball back to the pitcher.

Their manager snorted coke.

The team was bankrupt.

Mark Cuban wanted to buy them.

So one 11-7 loss is not a big deal.

This team won’t give up. Neither should their fans.

I’ll be blogging about the playoff scenarios soon (hopefully tonight) when I’ll be figuring out who is in and who is out. Pretty much figured most of it out. Seems like there aren’t as many crazy likely scenarios like there has been in the past.

But here are my thoughts on the past weekend:

* Still no official upsets in 6-3A, although it seems like every game is close and goes down to the wire. Burkburnett has got to be kicking itself for letting a 20-point lead slip away. Giving up that long TD pass had to change things before the half. A Burk win would have set up a winner-takes-all game this Friday against Graham.

* Not really sure how good are 6-3A teams are. We’ll find out soon because they’ll meet No. 1 Brownwood, Abilene Wylie and probably Snyder in the first round of the playoffs. I think Graham is pretty good, but the Steers are no shoo-in for a long playoff run.

* I’m officially off the City View bandwagon. It’ll be near-impossible for the Mustangs to make the playoffs now. I can’t see them beating Holliday, so the best they could hope for is a three-way tie with Jacksboro and Alvord at 2-3. Even then, they’re a +1 in that point differential, so to finish with the highest total, they need the Bulldogs to beat the Tigers this week by exactly nine points — no more, no less.

I still think City View is a pretty decent team — much better than the past few years. But Henrietta was easily the better group oup front on Friday. I thought the Mustangs needed to beat Jacksboro to get in two weeks ago, and I was right.

* Teams that are in the playoffs officially — Munday and Seymour. Still wish they would have played each other this year.

* Both Munday and Windthorst are killing people. Hope it’s a good game this Friday.

* A little surprised to see Olney hang with Seymour for as long as it did, although I heard WR Reed Mankins came back in that game. Hopefully he finishes out the rest of the season strong.

* Rider-WFHS won’t mean anything, and these two 4-4A games this week for city schools are also bland. But I was surprised to see how close The Colony played Rider.

* Not surprised Clarendon beat Quanah, but I did notice it kept Indians RB Roderick Woodard in check (something like 14 carries, 34 yards off the top of my head).

Tonight, I’m going to watch the Rangers in the World Series. No really, I’m going to watch the Rangers in the World Series.

The Rangers haven’t made it this far — well ever in real life — and their last appearance in the World Series was when I played a strat-o-matic season with one of their better second-place clubs in the 1980s.

My kids, who adore  the Rangers of course, and my wife, who loves her Rangers but hates walks and pickoff moves, and myself will watch the World Series with our favorite team playing in it.

You know the bad part, my kids will think this is normal. They didn’t have to suffer and push the Rangers uphill both ways in the snow. They don’t know about the Sammy Sosa trade or Ron Darling giveaway.  They think of 7-11 as a conveniece store, not the typical Ranger losing score.

They think the Rangers are great. That having a star like Josh Hamilton is normal. And getting past the Yankees is no big deal, not with an ace or two on your side.

Well, I guess what they don’t know what hurt them just yet.

Here’s how I voted this week in the AP texas high school poll. Got a favorite team I should be considering?

Class 5A
1st Place: Euless Trinity High School  
2nd Place: Katy High School  
3rd Place: Allen High School  
4th Place: Round Rock Stony Point High School  
5th Place: Coppell High School  
6th Place: The Woodlands High School  
7th Place: Klein Collins High School  
8th Place: DeSoto High School  
9th Place: Katy Cinco Ranch High School  
10th Place: Abilene High School
CLASS 4A
 
1st Place: Aledo High School  
2nd Place: Brenham High School  
3rd Place: Lake Travis High School (Austin)  
4th Place: Denton Ryan High School  
5th Place: Cedar Park High School  
6th Place: Hewitt Midway High School  
7th Place: Kerrville Tivy High School  
8th Place: Tyler John Tyler High School  
9th Place: Highland Park (Dallas)  
10th Place: El Campo High School

CLASS 3A
1st Place: Brownwood High School  
2nd Place: Wimberley High School  
3rd Place: Argyle High School  
4th Place: Kirbyville High School  
5th Place: Celina High School  
6th Place: Sealy High School  
7th Place: Lucas Lovejoy High School  
8th Place: Monahans High School  
9th Place: Lubbock Estacado High School  
10th Place: Sinton High School
CLASS 2A
1st Place: Refugio High School  
2nd Place: Godley High School  
3rd Place: Daingerfield High School  
4th Place: Cameron Yoe High School  
5th Place: Lexington High School  
6th Place: Tatum High School  
7th Place: Muleshoe High School  
8th Place: New London West Rusk High School  
9th Place: Rogers High School  
10th Place: Lone Oak High School
CLASS A
1st Place: Canadian High School  
2nd Place: Springlake-Earth High School  
3rd Place: Albany High School  
4th Place: Ganado High School  
5th Place: Falls City High School  
6th Place: Windthorst High School  
7th Place: Goldthwaite High School  
8th Place: Iraan High School  
9th Place: Mart High School  
10th Place: New Deal High School

I did something this weekend that I hadn’t done in years.

No, not that. Get your dirty mind out of the gutter.

I ate on August Pie.

In fact, I ate four of them.

I grew up eating August Pies. They made them over on the north side of town, on Broadway Street.

Nobody other than your grandma has ever made a better fried pie.

But I always thought August Pies started right here in Hooterville Falls.

August Moeller came up with the recipe 72 years ago and the business reportedly has been around since 1952.

But Lubbock claims to the home of August Pies.

Does anybody know for sure?

There were two people who were perfect this week in “Sack Zach.”

One was myself — I decided to go against a couple picks I made in the paper (Henrietta was one of them — thought it was a tossup game) and I had a 15-for-15 week.

But AreaFootballFan was the other, and he beat me in the tiebreaker — which was the points scored in the Windthorst game.

And he also jumps into the lead in the overall standings. Right now, it’s very close as three people are seperated by one game. So every close game from here on out is big. Here are the overall standings:

1) AreaFootballFan — 107

2t. Rcc — 106

2t. Me — 106

4. Keystoner — 104

5. OldWildcat — 102

Rider had to hang on, but made big defensive plays when it had to. Read more in Saturday’s TRN.

Rider did a great job in two-minute drill to get a Connor Nutt field goal and go up 17-13 at halftime. The Raiders coughed up the ball twice in the third, but the defense rose to the occasion both times and Deron Royster’s second TD made it 24-13 as we play late in the third quarter.

Gage Sharp is having quite a game. He has caught two touchdowns and took a hit on a punt that gave The Colony an extra possession. His last catch, a 28-yarder on a slant route that Rider always has trouble covering, cut the lead to 14-13 early in the second quarter.

The start was delayed 30 minutes, but both offenses came out sharp in their first few plays. The Colony made first mistake with a fumble inside its own 20. Blake Brom recovered for Rider, leading to a 1-yard TD by Deron Royster.

Rider made the second mistake with a turnover of its own and the Cougars scored on a great catch by Gage Sharp in the end zone on fourth down from the 15. Rider could have backed TC up, but probably made the wise call to force a fourth down. It just didn’t work because Sharp made a great catch surrounded by three defenders.

Rider came right back, recovering an onside kick and using the short field to go up 14-6 after one quarter.

Three weeks to go, and it seems kinda anti-climatic these days around the area.

I just don’t see a whole ton of fun district races left. 6-3A could get interesting, but if Bowie beats Hirschi and Iowa Park beats Burkburnett this week, then Bowie-Burkburnett is the only interesting game left.

And 3-2A Div. II still could be fun, although Holliday looks like it’ll win it pretty easily. If City View beats Henrietta Friday, then it’ll turn into a mess. But if not, it looks like Holliday, Henrietta and Jacksboro in that order.

As far as 4A is concerned, Rider is in and WFHS is out (not officially, but both will happen very soon). Our playoff spots in Class A districts are pretty much determined just because of the disparity in teams. I have no faith in an Electra, Haskell or Perrin-Whitt throwing in an upset. Oh, how I miss the days of 9-A.

And our 6-Man districts haven’t even started yet. It’s always kinda fun to look at the big school/small school breakdowns in other nearby districts, but you can’t do that anymore in 2A and A. So that’s a little bit of a bummer.

But I’m still interested in seeing how these next three weeks play out. So let’s look at this week’s biggest games:

* The Colony at Rider — Raiders roll in this one by 17 or more. The Colony has been shut out the last two weeks (remember when they scored more than 50 against the Coyotes), and they’ll have a hard time finding the end zone again.

* WFHS at Lake Dallas — The Falcons are on a roll, while the Coyotes are coming off a 1-2 stretch against the worst three teams in their district. Lake Dallas by a lot.

* Iowa Park at Burkburnett — This could be closer than I orginally thought. The Bulldogs are on a roll, and they have won the last five they’ve played in this matchup. Still, I like IP in a tight one.

* Hirschi at Bowie — Jackrabbits should win, although it could be pretty close.

* Vernon at Graham — Remember when this game was a must-see. Well, it’s not amymore and the Steers should have a field day.

* Henrietta at City View — I’ll go with the Mustangs, who must win this one to make the playoffs. Maybe it’s me being sentimental for a team with not much playoff success. And City View will have to throw some to keep the Bearcats from clogging the box. The Bearcats could very well make me look foolish and win by 20, but I’ll side with the home team.

* Alvord at Holliday — Eagles by a lot. Not sure how Holliday stacks up in the playoffs, but it’s this district’s best team by a good margin.

* Jacksboro vs. Nocona — Gotta go with the Tigers, although if form holds true, Nocona will set a season high in points scored.

* Quanah at Clarendon — A chance for the Indians to really make a statement. Quanah has played some pretty big games this year, and lost the most important. I’ll side with Clarendon in what should be the best two district teams facing off.

* Petrolia vs. Lindsay — Looking like the Pirates’ only district win will come against Chico.

* Seymour vs. Olney — Still remember how great of a game this was last year. And still have the scar from jumping over the Panther Stadium fence. But Seymour wins this one in a rout.

* Windthorst vs. Electra — Trojans by how many they want.

* Munday vs. Perrin-Whitt — Moguls by however many they want.

“The postseason is not supposed to be easy.”

Those were the words of Ian Kinsler following the Rangers’ 7-2 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday.

But did we really need him to remind us of that?

These are the New York Yankees.

They have won 27 World Series.

That is 27 more than the Rangers.

But the joy I saw on the faces of Rangers fans on Wednesday seemed to turn to gloom today.

It was just one loss. Get over it.

The Rangers will get over it. You can bet on that. They have shown great resiliency all year.

Look at it this way. Now they get to win their first American League pennant in front of the fans who have suffered with them for almost four decades.

There is going to be a party in Arlington this weekend.

And the Yankees aren’t invited.

FYI: A friend sent me this e-mail on Wednesday.

NUMBERS FOR THE DAY:

Yankees Payroll: $206,333,389  an average of $8,253,336 per player

Rangers Payroll:   $55,250,545 an average of  $1,905,191 per player

Four Yankees — A-Rod, Sabathia, Jeter and Teixeira — earn a combined $100,510.714.

Michael Young is the  highest paid player on the Rangers roster with a salary of $13,174,974.

I say “on the Rangers roster” because this team is still paying A-Rod $24, 892,006.

When it comes to the Texas Rangers, I have a split personality.

When I am in the press box in Arlington covering games, I always maintain my journalistic integrity.

Although I know some of you laugh when I say it, this is work, not play.

The  opinions that I write in my sports column are unbiased.

If the Rangers suck, I tell you they suck. That’s how I had to write last Friday night when they blew a 5-0 lead and lost 6-5 to the Yankees.

And when they are good — like they have been these last three games of the ALCS — I praise them for it.

But when I watch these games from my living room, I am a completely different person.

I clap and cheer just like you do.

I  boo the Yankees just like you do.

I have fun being a fan.

But if this series returns to the Ballpark for a Game 6 on Friday, I will change hats.

The Rangers cap stays home. I put on my journalist “cap” and do my job.

But until then —- GO RANGERS.

We’ve got only three more weeks to go until the regular season comes to a close.

If there’s one aspect that pops out the most this season, I really think it’s gotta be the lack of really good defenses in the area.

I was casually talking with an assistant coach about this the other day, and he made a good point. Especially at the 2A and A levels, aren’t most of the talented skill players (and we have some really good offenses in the area) playing defense, too?

WFHS can’t stop anybody, and Burkburnett was giving up a ton of points until district started. Jacksboro and Seymour can score with the best of them, but they played 56-49 and 49-42 ball games on Friday. Yikes.

Some teams that have pretty good defenses include Graham, Holliday (as of late — read my 2A/A roundup for more info), Archer City and Windthorst. But most are struggling on that side of the ball.

Here are some thoughts from last weekend:

* First, continue to pray for Adam Smith, the Archer City kid who suffered a stroke. People wanting to can keep up with his progress at carepages.com. There’s going to be a long recovery process, but Adam is slowly getting better. They don’t think swelling in the brain has worsened, so he never had to have surgery. He’s got a couple important tests coming up the next couple days, and it’s a miracle he is still alive.

* I’m not at all surprised Archer City came out and played the way it did against Windthorst. Such an emotional week. The Wildcats will have time to regroup with a bye this week, and I’m sure they need it.

* Graham-Iowa Park was closer than I anticipated last week, but about what I expected before district. Just goes to show you that making snap judgements is ill-advised.

* 6-3A is tighter than I thought, but with Vernon and Hirschi both losing a couple close games, they’re pretty much out of the district running with a loss this weekend. So Bowie-Burkburnett for third is looking true just like I thought.

* Tough loss for City View. I had a feeling it’d be that type of shootout-type game. It’s pretty much a must-win for the Mustangs this Friday against Henrietta.

* What has happened to Electra? I thought they’d be better this year, but now that it’s lost to Perrin-Whitt, it looks like a last-place finish in 8-A Div. II. This team started out 2-0 and then lost a real close game to 2A Alvord. What happened since then?

* Munday-Windthorst looks like a fun game left on the schedule. I’ve told Coach Green that I won’t pick against his team for the rest of the season.

* Looked like Bowie-Vernon was wild, too. The Jackrabbits go up 20-0 in the first, only to fall behind 22-20. Bowie then pulled out a 28-22 victory.



Thanks to my friend Ann Work, my good named got dragged into this stupid argument over when Rider should celebrate its 50th anniversary.

First off, let me say that I don’t give a rat’s you-know-what about this non-issue.

Where I graduated from high school has nothing to do with this.

Rider has the right to do whatever it wants to do. If the school wants to begin its 50th anniversary celebration during its 50th year of existence and celebrate all the up to that day next year when it turns 50, go right ahead. I have no problem with it.

But Hirschi is going to be in the same situation next year. Hirschi opened in 1962. So it can celebrate its 50th year of existence in the next school year when Rider is celebrating its 50th anniversary and confuse everybody. Or Hirschi can wait until the fall of 2012.

The United States celebrated its bicentennial in 1976 — exactly 200 years after our nation was born.

A baby’s first birthday is celebrated one year after he or she is born.

Rider wants to do it a bit differently. Fine with me.

I just decided to wait until its 50th birthday — in the fall of 2011 — before doing a bunch of sports history with the Raiders. Then the next year, I will do the same with Hirschi.

Before you start ragging too bad on Rider about this, look at what is going on with the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys are celebrating their 50th anniversary this season. Their media guide cover reads 1960 — 2010.

But if noticed during Sunday’s game, the Vikings are wearing a 50 on their uniforms in celebrating of their 50th season. They came into existence in 1961. So they are doing what Rider is doing.

So if anybody wants to argue about all this nonsense, please leave my good name out of it.

This time — to quote Michael Vick — I don’t have a dog in the fight.

Most of you who know by now that my mama died back in 1963.

What you might not know is that I also lost my second mother that same year.

It was the last season for “Leave it to Beaver.”

June Cleaver was my second mom.

Some say we always want what we don’t have, so maybe that is why I loved June Cleaver.

She was a stay-home mom. My mama was a waitress.

She cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner — and the family gathered around the table for all of them. We only had those kinds of meals on holidays.

She wore earrings and pearls while doing her household chores. My mama wore shorts.

I can look back now and tell you that I would not have traded mamas with Wally and Theodore. But I had a childhood crush on June Cleaver.

Some high-dollar shrinks might tell you that deep down, I was just a horny little boy who wanted to bang her.

Maybe so. She was pretty hot for a woman who was 41 when the TV show debuted in 1957 and 47 when it ended in 1963.

And “Ward, don’t you think you were a little hard on the Beaver last night” has a whole new meaning today than it did back then.

When I picked up the paper Sunday morning and read where actress Barbara Billingsley had died on Saturday, I was sad. When I saw that she was 94 when she died, I was surprised.

Rest in peace, mom.

That noise you hear is me plummeting down the overall “Sack Zach” standings. We’ll get to that in a sec.

First, congrats to both Moguls2007 and Rcc for co-winning “Sack Zach” this week (their tiebreaker point total was the same) by getting 11 of 13 picks right. I think it’s their third win each this season.

I probably had my worst week yet — only 9 of 13. The Bryson pick was a killer, and I obviously was way off on AC-Windthorst.

So here is your season standings:

1. Rcc — 93

2. AreaFootballFan — 92

3t. Me — 91

3t. Keystoner — 91

5. OldWildcat — 88

While I was interviewing Windthorst coach Bill Green on Friday night, getting my notes together to write a blowout football game story, the Texas Rangers were blowing a playoff game.

In Texas-sized fashion Ron Washington’s club gave up a 5-0 lead and lost 6-5. They entered the eighth inning  up 5-1 and left it down 6-5.

So I didn’t see it live, but I lived it later, watching the highlight shows and reading several commentaries and anlysis of the game. I’ve seen every play from the eighth inning now.

And I was so disappointed. The Rangers lost a playoff game  so surely the Yankees hit a key three-run homer off Neftali Feliz. Maybe they had four straight hits off Alexi Ogando

Poor Feliz, maybe he’ll bounce back. He’s got electric stuff, but if Alex Rodriguez or Robinson Cano got good wood on his 98 mph heater then let’s tip our hats to the Yankees.

But then I saw the highlights, again and again. I read the columns, most of which won’t take the lovable Washington to task. The Rangers carried a four-run lead into the eighth inning and somehow managed to lose the game without their best two relievers even throwing a pitch.

That should make Nolan Ryan want to throw up. It made me want to and I had a wonderful Ronnie’s Burger on Friday night.

If the roles are reversed and the Yankees haven’t used their closer in about a week and there’s a 4-run lead getting away in the 8th inning, I can guarantee you the Rangers don’t win without getting the winning hit off Mariano Rivera.

Feliz looks like he’s about half of Rivera’s age so surely he can go 4, 5 or even 6 outs in such a big game. And if he can only go 3, can’t he get the Rangers out of the 8th inning jam and then let one of the gasoline gang try the 9th.

To forfeit that lead without using your ace when you’re that close to the finish line is inexcusable. There will be jokes about the Ranger bullpen, but OliverOdayRapHolland should have never happened.

I’d much rather have seen a grand slam off Feliz. You don’t use your 9th, 10th and 11th pitchers in the ALCS and definitely not when you have a lead.

To manage the game like it was April 15th instead of October 15th made Washington look stupid. Even if most of the columnists in the Arlington press box wouldn’t call Washington on it.

Anyone letting him use the crutch of how he went with those guys all year long is enabling Wash’s mismanagement.

Why not let Andres Blanco play short and lead off? Is it too late to get Joaquin Arias back in uniform?

This week’s predictions are going to include some saddening news. For those that haven’t heard, Adam Smith, Archer City coach Steve Smith’s oldest son, collapsed at practice Tuesday.

Turns out he had a stroke. He’s at Cook Children’s in Fort Worth right now is critical condition. For those who don’t know Coach Smith, he’s done a really good job coaching at Archer City. But he’s even a better person, and his kids I’m sure follow his lead. So keep the family in your prayers the next few days because what happens in the next 48 hours is critical, I have been told.

Those wishing to show support can do so at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/PrayForAdam.

Switching gears, this week is a pretty big one when it comes to matchups. I very well could be wrong, but to me, the two best teams in 6-3A, 3-2A Div. II and 8-A Div. II are matching up this week.

I’m going out of town on Friday, so I won’t see any of the action. But if I was at a game, it would be Windthorst-Archer City: Here’s what I think of that and some other big games this week:

* Archer City at Windthorst — When I talked to both coaches earlier in the week, they both seemed confident they would come out with the win. There’s no telling how the Wildcats will respond after an emotional week (and probably without their head coach), but it sounds like they’ve done a good job of staying focused.

I have seen each team play once — Windthorst beating Seymour and Archer City losing to Stamford. I thought both played well and I think this game will be close. I think the Trojans are more explosive offensively. I think Archer City might have an edge on defense, and I know Windthorst has an edge in the kicking game. I’m going to side with Archer City. We’ll see if I’m right.

* Graham at Iowa Park — Maybe the Hawks were looking ahead last week. Maybe they aren’t as good as I thought they are. Maybe a couple key injuries (losing J.D. Cuatt really hurt) has dropped them down a peg. I guess we’ll see for sure how good the Hawks are Friday.

The Steers’ offense is coming along (that isn’t a surprise) and the defense is really tough. If the Hawks want to pull off a mini-upset, then they’ll have to have someone else step up offensively besides Lee Clubb. Not sure if that happens, so I’ll go with Graham by 10-14.

* Holliday at Henrietta — Normally, this game would get top billing. If it was last week or next week, it would for sure. But this rivalry game just happens to occur on the same night as these other two matchups. Henrietta picked up a nice win vs. Jacksboro, but the Eagles are really coming on strong. I think they’ll pull it out in a close one.

* City View at Jacksboro — This game may be more intriguing than Holliday-Henrietta. I think there will be a lot of points. I think City View will be able to run for a ton of yards against the Tigers, and I think Jacksboro will be able to connect on a bunch of passes. Call it a hunch (or a slim upset) but I like the Mustangs.

* Seymour at Stamford — I’m going with the Bulldogs in this one, although a Seymour victory wouldn’t surprise me in the very least. It’s just that Windthorst hooked up several times for big gains in the passing game against Seymour, and I think the Bulldogs’ offense is more dynamic. Stamford WR Jesse Ramos may be out, but trust me, when I saw them play Archer City, they have a few other guys who can snag some passes. This could be high-scoring as well.

If they had it to do over again, Teddy Roosevelt probably wouldn’t be up there on Mount Rushmore.

Roosevelt — in my humble opinion — just doesn’t run in the same crowd as Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson.

But when they began construction of this unbelievable South Dakota monument back in 1927, the 26th president of the United States was considered the fourth best choice.

Today, I would bet that the other Roosevelt (FDR) or maybe Martin Luther King Jr. would deserve to be up there more than Teddy.

That, however, is not a subject I want to debate today.

In my next few blogs, I want to play what I call the “Mount Rushmore game” with you.

Today we will deal with sports in the great state of Texas.

If we were going to carve out a Mount Rushmore for Texas sports, what four people would you put up there?

To me, there are three “gotta be there” guys.

Tom Landry.

Nolan Ryan.

Roger Staubach.

But who would be your “Teddy Roosevelt?”

I am now taking nominations. Reply to this blog and let me hear your choices.