The Season that NEVER WAS!

With the 2015 season coming into the final quarter, the Season that NEVER WAS- is such a disappointment that is seen, not only on the faces of the players, but also the fans and in some cases, the owners of the Dallas Cowboys!

Let us take into consideration the situation that has brought us to this point!

A year ago, this Dallas Cowboy Football Team was a play away from going to the NFC Championship game with the Seattle Seahawks, in which they won on the road in their stadium! The Cowboys also has a chance to not only go to the Championship Game but keeping their winning streak of road victories in tact! HOWEVER! that was not the case, we all remember the catch that never was with Dez Bryant, and the end of that season, even though the Cowboys did a fantastic job of taking the NFC East!

NOW Fast forward to the 2015 season and the start of the year, the Cowboys seem to be on target to get into the NFC East Championship, until they go up against the Eagles, and the season seemed to crumbled at that moment, and the sound of that was the same as the broken bones that were in Tony Romo's shoulder.  That crackling sound of a collar bone and shoulder, and little bitty breaks along the way. SEVEN WEEKS later and the warrior comes back on to the field and take on the Miami Dolphins and win going away!

But wait!!!!! The team has a short week and has to return to action in under 7 days and take on the undefeated Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton as their quarterback!

On a Thanksgiving Thursday in Arlington, Texas, at AT&T Stadium, the warrior was not crisp, he was not accurate, he was not even CLOSE to what the team or the fans were expecting. Throwing an interception that was returned for a Touchdown on the third play of the game, and then threw another pick-six later in the game, and yet another one, just for good measure. The NUMBER ONE THING to concentrate on in football is BALL CONTROL, and lets face it-- that didn't happen!

Now, late in the game, the young warrior is sacked, falls on his left shoulder, and some that were on the field, said they could hear it snap, almost like a gun going off!

And with that injury, the SEASON THAT NEVER WAS, is now complete, the warrior is on the sidelines once again, gone for the season, the possibility to win out, or even another game are slim and nill, and SLIM just left town!

I am a realist, just like so many of you are, and the facts are, at the beginning of the season this team was a good 12-4 maybe 11-5 team, after the third week when Romo was out, the whole season took on a nasty turn and it spiraled out of control!

I cannot understand the mentality of what is going on in the locker room or who's fault it is to point a finger to, but the facts are.... do you blame Jerry Jones? Jason Garrett? Matt Cassell? Dez Bryant? Greg Hardy? I mean there are enough suspects to fill an entire game of CLUE! It was Col. Mustard in the Library, with the Candle Stick!

Too many factions in this one, too many conspiracies to make sense!

The Cowboys season is done, no SUPER BOWL trip for this bunch even though every year we hear the same thing over and over again, that this team is ready to make a run, well HELL, every team is set to make a run, even the Cleveland Browns are set to make a run!

And before you start, the idea of "JOHNNY FOOTBALL" coming to Big D, and wearing a star, is not a good idea, though Mr. Jones might make a play for him, now that the love affair with the Browns and Manziel seems to be over, but to bring him here, with the baggage that he has, and there is not a person in charge that can control him, case in point is Greg Hardy, and the observe way that Mr. Jones believes that he can give this player a second chance and all.

The ONE person that had control of this team after Mr. Jones purchased it in 1989 from Bum Bright, was Jimmy Johnson, and he is quite content setting on the Sunday Morning FOX Pregame set!

Jimmy Johnson was a master of getting everything out of every player doing the same thing! However, his time went when Mr. Jones fired off his now, infamous line, "I could get 500 guys to coach this team"... and with that Mr. Johnson picked up his toys and got his check and left and moved to Miami, to be the coach of the Dolphins, only to last a couple of years there, and left!

Lets face it, the last coach to have a long term contract with the team was Tom Landry, his first contract was a 10 year deal starting in 1960, and we all know how that turned out, for 29 years he was the head coach of the Cowboys, the ONLY coach the Cowboys ever had, until that faithful day in February when Mr. Jones and Mr. Bright agreed on a number and the Cowboys were now in the hands of Arkansas Oilman! The rest, they say is history!

The Epilogue to all of this, is the fact that the Cowboys season for 2015 for the most part is in the History Book, could be a 3-13 team, could be 4-12 maybe, but the fact is they will have to set their sights on the NFL Draft of 2016, and see if there is a quality Quarterback in the mix, coming out of College, and give them the reigns of this team, and make it theirs , just like they did with a young Troy Aikman, or even before that, a young Don Meredith out of SMU!

All in all, this WAS the SEASON that NEVER WAS!

Just a thought! 

Backing the Blue!

The THIN BLUE LINE!

Sounds like the title of a movie, or just a slogan that has been used for many different reasons!

However, the phrase is so true today-- it is a very THIN Blue Line that people probably never see, they never noticed it, and some might even think that it exist because of a wrong doing by some police officer in their life!

That being said, I have had the privilege of working shoulder to shoulder with police officers, and have had the sad duty of being on the scene when an officer had gone down in the line of duty, and having to record the scene for evidence.

I know what it is like for the departments chaplain has to walk up to the house of the now, new widow, and inform her that her husband is not coming home, he was lost in the line of duty. The horrific look on their face, the sound of wailing that begins, and the sound of ultimate pain!

Over the last several months, this country, has laid to rest TOO MANY men and women in that wear uniforms of police departments, and law enforcement agencies. Killed in the line of duty, and at times, at home off duty!

Killed because of a senseless call to arms against the police because someone believes that their tactics are wrong, even comparing them to Gestopo tactics of World War II.

Don't even get me started on that! Not EVEN close boys and girls!

The phrase #BLACKLIVESMATTERS has been strewn across social media, and that the "Battle Cry" has risen, that now we see #BLUELIVESMATTERS or #WOMENLIVESMATTER-- I'm here to tell you all-- #LIFEMATTERS period, doesn't matter what color skin you are, doesn't matter what you wear, doesn't matter what cultural you come from, it DOESN'T MATTER-- YOUR LIFE MATTERS!

Armed confrontation with a police officer might result in death, that's a warning that bumper stickers used to say in the 80's in the Dallas area. It wasn't right, it wasn't meant as a joke, I assure you, it was however there, and it was causing some uneasy feelings in the community.

At the time... Police Chief Billy Prince didn't see any harm in that little slogan on the cars or in the community, however when officers were being shot down in the middle of the street on Commerce by a homeless man who took a gun away from the officer who had been on the force for three years, it was too much-- the homeless person took that gun, and shot point blank into the head of three year veteran officer John Glenn Chase, I knew him-- I did his rookie photo for his ID card! THAT MADE IT PERSONAL!

Since then, there have been others who have lost their lives in the heat of the battle, and were killed, the last one was in 2011... four years so far without a lost of a life in the Dallas Police Department in the line of duty!

Facts are simple, these men and women put on a uniform every day, they put on a badge over their heart, and they are sworn as peace officers to protect and to serve the community.

WE call them when we are in trouble, and yes there are times, when we feel that they stop us for what we consider a minor infraction of the law (Speeding mainly) and have to go through the ritual of being embarrassed on the side of the street, or in our neighborhood where they stopped us, and be told to take care of this with in 21 days yaddy yaddy yeadda! Truth is.. its THEIR JOB! Don't hold it against them for doing it... and it doesn't hurt to say thank you to them or even thank them for their service! Amazing what a little kindness would do for their attitude and YOURS!

We are all in this together, we all live in our communities, and we must, no matter where you live, protect those who protect us! Like one person said to an officer getting gas one  day "Got your back officer"-- we all have to watch their backs-- because lord knows they are watching ours!

Just a thought! 

Here We Are Once Again!

It seems every year, we go through this ritual of "First Day of School!" And we all see the photos, and here the news stories, and we are riveted by the scenes around elementary and high schools of students feet being photographed or videoed for the TV news, and such, and hearing the sobbing mom's and the doting dad's saying how proud they are of their little one heading off to school!

Alright, lets drop back 40-50 years ago, and NO one and I mean NO ONE cared about the first day of school, other than the Teachers, and the parents that had to drop of their kids before they went to work, because during the summer we still had schedules.

I don't know about you guys, but for myself and my sibling, we were involved with Summer activities at the local elementary school, or later at a YMCA day camp near Bachman lake in North Dallas.

Memories come rushing back to me, as I remember the summer months of Camp Kiwanis, where we could go swimming, or canoeing, or even Dinosaur Bone digging along the spillway (yes there was one found and brought to the Dallas Museum of Natural History to be verified), we had camp councilors that would bring their guitars and sing "Big Blue Frog"  (if you don't know it look it up on You Tube by Peter, Paul, and Mary-- their album 1700), that made the Dallas Morning News, and my sister sitting right next to the longhaired councilor, who wasn't a hippie because he actually wore socks! (Swear that was one of the kids response when they were asked about his "hippie looks")

I remember being at that camp with a school mate of mine who played baseball and had to be excused from certain activities so he could play that night, or the time I was jumped on by four other campers to beat me up, and some came to my aid!

Going across Denton Dr, to the Marines Recruiting compound (Now a Dart Barn) where we could shoot .22 rifles and learn how to take care of a weapon-- and also how to "DROP AND GIVE ME 20!!!!"... (hey Vietnam was still going on, and military life was staring us in the face)

THEN after three months of that, it was time to go back to school! No fanfare, no trumpets blaring our return, just our neighbors walking the familiar walk to the elementary and seeing the flag raised, and our morning pledge of allegiance, and the morning announcements!

Some of us couldn't wait for our lunch break, and our social gathering in those days was meeting someone at the "Black Top" after lunch and hang out!

Music was a big part of elementary life, either singing in the choir or playing an instrument, for me it was the Violin, later the Drums, and when I got to high school it was being the Half Time Announcer for the band and drill team.

School-- first day-- last day-- it was the same, we got up, got to school, got educated, and left with accomplishment.

TODAY! Social media-- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, you name it, SnapChat, people are on it! Sending their pictures of their younin's on there, to make all of us see how they were dressed for this first day of school, and how hard it is to let go for some of them starting High School, or their Senior Year of high school!

I have a good and dear friend who will send her youngest-- her baby off to College at the end of the month, and in doing so, that is a huge emotion to do that. Three hours southeast of Dallas, in a town where there's not much to do, other than go to College, and go to the Football Games, the Basketball Games or other events, and pledge a Sorority, and maybe get a job at the local sports bar, and basically watch the traffic lights flash yellow at nine o'clock!

Yep thats life at Stephen F. Austin State University! And in doing that, my friend will become an empty nester, and hopefully she will be able to do things that she has not been able, since being injured on the job a year ago!

But in any case.. FIRST DAY of school is done, and over with, and my memories, are a bit skewed, in as much as I just remember being kicked out of the house at 7:30 so I could walk fifteen minutes to the school, walk through the doors, and see my homeroom teacher, and seeing old friends!

Welcome BACK STUDENTS! it only 1 day out of 180 that you will be in school, and lets not forget, the Winter Break (used to be called Christmas Break at one time) Spring Break (used to be called Easter Break) and then SUMMER VACATION (now known as 2 months and a few days of laying around the house bugging the hell out of parents -- I'm bored-- there's nothing to do).. GET A FRIGGIN JOB!

I laugh, because that was the EXACT words my parents said to me when I told them that I was bored! And I did! made all the difference in the world!

So lets get through this first week, there will be pep assemblies, football games on Friday nights, and after the games the gathering at the local hamburger joints (in our day it was KIP'S BIG BOY) today its more like What-A-Burger or other fast food joints! Miss Kip's! Forest Lane and Marsh! or the one on Northwest Highway at Hillcrest! There were others, but those are the ones in my memory banks!

Hell for a real good time-- My parents would load us up in the car and take us down to House of Gong on Northwest Hwy and Marsh Lane (north of Love Field).

I digress! Its the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!  And in just nine short months it will be the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! and then GRADUATION! (even from kindergarten to first grade and from middle school to high school, then from High School to College- and then from College to Bankruptcy- because of your student loans!) just sayin!

It's just a thought! 

THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME 2015

Once every year, the Football Gods gather in Canton, Ohio, these are the ones that sit , not on top of Mount Olympus, no, these are the ones that sit in back rooms and gather and vote on the ones that should be inducted in the Pro-Football Hall of Fame, and from the perspective that I have seen—I will tell you that that they got it right!

Jerome Bettis,  “THE BUS” from Notre Dame, goes into the hall, he was a great running back, that just bruised everyone that got in his way, and won a Super Bowl for his efforts as well with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and with THE BUS going in from the Fightin Irish, so did another member of the Golden Dome’s…

Dallas’ very own, Tim Brown.. .and here’s a little tidbit information, Brown is the FIRST Dallas Independent School member to enter into the Hallowed Halls of the Hall of Fame.. a Heisman Trophy winner out of Notre Dame, and a Cotton Bowl Classic participant, then made his way to the Silver and Black of the Oakland Raiders, a punt return specialist, and a wide receiver that made defenders look silly once he got his hands on the ball and good move. Brown is the answer to a great trivia question… only ONE public High School in the Nation has produced TWO Heisman Trophy Winners, can you name the school? ANSWER: WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL, Dallas, Texas.. the other winner was TCU’s Davey O’Brien, and then a trophy was named after him in his honor for the best College Quarterback in the Country.

Another Dallas connection went into the Hall of Fame, #94 in your program #1 in your heart.. .Charles Haley. The big defensive lineman that helped Dallas to win THREE Super Bowls in the 90’s and before that, he took TWO with the San Francisco 49ers! HE is the ONLY NFL player to have FIVE SUPER BOWL RINGS and yet took forever to get into the Hall of Fame.

Aikman, Irvin, Smith, Sanders, Allen, they all went into the Hall of Fame before a FIVE TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION was allowed in, I am not saying that this is in justice, it’s a bit mind boggling. I mean Haley deserves his place in the Hall, no doubt, but I would have liked to have seen it happen before 2015, he has been eligible since 2004, and it took another 11 years to get there!

Junior Seau, the San Diego Charger linebacker, who tragically took his life after all the head injuries, and brought attention to the concussion issues with the NFL and NCAA and even into High Schools, was inducted in this class of 2015, and there was a bit of controversy to it as well, as the NFL was NOT going to allow his daughter to induct him into the Hall with a speech. Thank GOODNESS someone woke up and reversed that, and allowed a very well spoke, very gracious young lady to stand at the podium and speak about her Father, with not just love, but with the passion that JUNIOR played with when he was between the hash marks. It was fitting, it was well spoken, and Sydney was eloquent, and complimentary to the right people with the Chargers, the NFL, and especially her Grand Parents. The first Samoan to be inducted to the Hall and as she said.. most likely not the last.

The Pro-Football Hall of Fame is not just about the NFL, its about PRO FOOTBALL as a whole, though the majority of the members did play for NFL teams there were those who’s career were involved in the Canadian Football League the Arena Football League, and leagues that were before and even during the infancy of the NFL.

Canton, Ohio, a small town, with a big place in the NFL and the beginnings of Pro Football.

With the Class of 2015 secured in their place, this Hall is just a bit more class! Congratulations to the newest members of the Hall, and from my perspective, its great to see a Woodrow Wilson Wildcat enter, and another notch for the city of Dallas! Well done!

Just a thought.

IT is JUST A THOUGHT!

And so it goes with that line that I have been using to end my journals and my blogs for more than 2 decades.

It is more than just a thought, it is a process of thinking through our minds, and our thoughts to come up with either a story, or an editorial on life, or whatever it seems.

In this particular case, it is something that must be said publicly, or it will be something that will be buried, and swept under a rug and never thought about, and it could prevent others from falling into the same trap.

Oh there will be those who think that this is torching a bridge, or making waves, but the truth is, its protecting the public, and making those aware of their mistakes, and for others to avoid making them in the future.

In the case of a business owner, and I use that term a bit loosely here, but none the less, a person who has an office, and runs a business, and hires employees to do a job, but in the long process of this, he fails to pay that employee, and tells them that "its a start up business" or "we will have investors taking care of our payroll", or "if you can just be patient, we will take care of you"... YEAH and the sad part of this all, is we fall for it! HOOK- LINE- AND SINKER!

I did this, not once, not twice, but three times, with in recent years.  You would think I would learn by now, but ya know, they're good friends, or they come to you and ASK YOU to work for THEM!

Thats the real kicker, they make the proposal that you work for them, because they "NEED YOUR EXPERTISE" or "You're the PERFECT fit" for the company, or "WHY AREN'T YOU WORKING FOR ME?"

Well if could have looked into a crystal ball, and see that you didn't have funds for payroll, or to keep the doors open, or make the opportunity to make a go at it, and after two months, four months and in one case 7 months, one would think that they would learn from those mistakes!

Not this one! OH NO NO NO! Step right on up, and get slapped in the face again with reality, no one has YOUR best interest in mind!

We keep going to places looking for work, in retail, they offer to pay you, and this is no joke, $8.00 an hour, (which is just truly above minimum wage) for someone that has 30 plus years experience, AND to boot, they want someone that knows the business, but they won't pay for the experience or the knowledge.

Or how about this one, you are over  the age of 50, and they look at you like you are just this side of retirement, but the fact is, that you are still able to get out of bed every day, and come to work, and put in your 8 or so hours, and do the job, but they rather have a younger employee, because they don't have to pay them as much, and they get what they pay for. Someone that they have to train, and teach, and get them experience, instead of getting someone that hits the ground running!

Our society has changed, I remember when working for a company for 20 plus years was the norm, and that companies wanted those in place for a long period of time, we have loyalty to company and company to employee, they took care of their own, we used to go into job interviews and usually after the initial questions and answers about your background and such, the question would be asked "Do you have any questions for us?" to which would come, "What about benefits?", and in the days before all sorts of crap came down, we would be told about health benefits, and insurance, and retirement and vacation qualifications-- NOW... hell, you're lucky if you have ANY BENEFIT other than a PAYCHECK every other week!

There are no benefits offered to employees of small operations, you have to work for large corporations, and even that is suspect, because they don't want to pay those premiums! They don't want that cost!

I have a friend who is a CFO of a company and he just changed their carrier because he could get the cost lowered, but in doing so, the employees deductable went through the roof! $1500.00! Thats right, so unless I am in the ER for a few hours, I have to chew through that deductable-- and lets face it--the purpose of having benefits is to take care of your health so you can stay on the job!

Recently there was a case where I was asked to work for a operation, and they came to me and asked me to be a part of their team. Gave me a title and all, but the fact is, they didn't pay me, oh they gave me a token check in April, and then a smidgen of one in May, but nothing since then. worked through June, and then July up to the middle of the month, when I finally threw up my hands and said enough!

Problem with this is that since last NOVEMBER, I have been out of work, nothing full time, and nothing that can pay the rent or the bills, now this all sounds like me crying in my milk, but the truth is, it's not for lack of trying! Believe me!

So here is the bottom line to those of you that run business, and have a choice to make,... either CLOSE the damn doors, and go work for someone else, or HAVE YOUR OVERHEAD COVERED! Either way, you are a pebble in the water, and the ripple effect that you create when you drop that pebble into the water is what effect everyone around you.

YOU CHOOSE! Bottom line boys and girls, we are not here to be YOUR puppet, we are here to earn a living, and not just a minimum wage living either, if I was 16 or 20 years of age, maybe but not at 55 years of age! This is where we EARN our keep, and should have been earning our keep since we were in our 30's or late 20's.

I have had some terrific jobs, that paid a living wage, and they lasted a couple of years, but one thing  or another happened that ended the job-- sometimes my fault, other times circumstances that I had no control over!

Doesn't matter, those were salad days, and now they are gone!

SO STEP UP and don't be one of those that I have to spread the word about and make you look bad to others, because I can! I have! and I will!

Nothing like having someone talk the truth about you, and it happens to be bad, and then YOUR reputation is sullen but by YOUR actions, not by mine!

YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN A CROOK! and by that, I mean you STOLE my time, my knowledge, and my experience and DIDN"T PAY FOR IT! 

Thats TEFT!

You live with THAT thought!

Because IT'S JUST A THOUGHT! 

History-- RIGHT OR WRONG-- DON'T RE-WRITE IT!

In recent days, and months, we, as a country, have come under some serious controversy, some of it has us wagging our tongues in anger, others has us wagging those same tongues in discussion!

Here is my take on the recent hooha of the Confederate Battle Flag, also known as the "Southern Cross".

We all NOW know what its true meaning was, and the reason why it was a BATTLE FLAG, and not the flag of the Confederate States, and therefore, its representation, and its implication has been distorted through history.

Even more, I have asked some friends of different ethnic backgrounds, of what certain flags mean to them when they see it.

I grew up in the South, Texas to be exact, we were under the flag of not only the Confederacy but also other countries, including Spain, France, Mexico, and of course the United States.

When I spoke with my friends, the Battle Flag-- the Southern Cross, the one that everyone says represents Slavery, or Hate... actually I know that the KKK has used that flag as their rallying cry for many years, and that they use it to symbolize that hate. Truth is, its just a piece of cloth, and for what it is worth, I don't get my ire up when I see it, I know its history and its background and I know that to some it gives off that vibe. But unless YOU teach the true meaning of it, the real purpose behind it, then you can defuse this hate, this representation.

Education is paramount! WE TEACH HATE, when a baby is born it knows no fear, it hasn't been taught what to be afraid of, be it the dark or the monsters under the bed at night. Or in some cases that we fear our neighbors. Truth is, FEAR and HATE are both TAUGHT traits, we aren't born with it, we have to be TOLD what to be afraid of, or who to dislike in our lives.

I grew up COLOR BLIND! I didn't, and still don't see a color of skin I see the character of the person. I have always agreed with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, that he had a dream that one day, "Black Children and White Children will grow up together"... and judge one another by their character not by the color of their skin!

Being Jewish, I know when I see a Swatzka, or a German SS uniform, I get a little chill down my spine. I remember being 15 years of age, my dad was a member of an organization that brought to a local mall, a car that was give to, and driven by Eva Braun, and for those of you not familiar with her, that was Adolf Hitler's girlfriend (later wife), he had a customized Mercedes Benz built for her, and it was unique, in that it had 24kt Hubcaps, a German Eagle on the hood, and dual engines, one was Gasoline, the other was Diesel.

I was the only one small enough to get into the driver's seat and steer it into the mall off of the truck. Sitting next to me in the passenger seat, was the SS uniform of the Corporal that was assigned to protect her.  The collector of the this piece of history purchased the car and had it stored in his home in Arizona.

I looked at the uniform, and for a moment, I was intrigued by it, then realized that it represented a time in our history, World History, where men, that thought that they were GODS wanted to eliminate an entire type of people. The JEWS, they were the enemy of the Third Reich, they were going to keep the Thousand Year Reich from ruling the world!

Again, many of those people had friends-- good friends, close friends, neighbors, and yet-- because of what they were taught by their leaders-- it became HATE, and FEAR, and the next thing you know-- SIX MILLION Jews, Prisoners, War Criminals, were exterminated!

Slavery is not just, believe me I know, the slaves that built the Pyramids in Egypt, 400 years of being slaves to Pharaohs to build cities, and monuments, but yet we seem to forget that Slaves have been around for thousands of years.

Flags, emblems, uniforms, call it what you will, we cannot re-write the history, we cannot white wash it to fit our Political Correctness that we have fallen into. The Flag to the left is what angers and incites riots and fights-- the truth is... its not the flag that flew over the state house of the Confederate. This is a battle flag! 

This is the flag that flew-- and by the looks of it, it does not stir up the hate that the one above
does! 

Teach the HISTORY don't re-write it! However, in teaching it, give it the respect that it deserves, its not always good, and its not always evil, and its not always right or wrong-- it is just what it is.. HISTORY!

Flags don't cause hate... PEOPLE CAUSE HATE! and distrust! The first thing is, we have to learn about each other, the culture, the traditions of our culture. Don't think YOU know your own culture, just because someone tells it to you, learn about it, go to it, live it, breathe it! That's YOUR job now!

A Generation is growing up in a society that believes that everything that they see and hear on the internet is true, and we all know (at least in my generation) that's not always the case, I know that there is false history, and I know that if you let the MEDIA drive the direction it wishes to take you in, then you (WE) are nothing more than SHEEP!

Time to wake up and move forward and time to take a stand, and time to TEACH new methods of understanding each other.

GAY, Straight, Black, White, Brown, Yellow, Purple, it does not matter, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddist, it doesn't matter..." we all live on this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all are concerned for our children's future, and we are all mortal! "- John F. Kennedy, Americas University Commencement Speech 1963.

Just a thought

When Do We Wake Up?

It’s a simple question really, when DO we wake up?

This is a case of actually falling for the same routine over and over again, and never getting it right, because at times we are blinded by our own ambition, and in doing so, we fail to see that the light at the end of this tunnel, is actually the TRAIN, and not a metaphor!

I have taken positions with operations, that tell me that they want me to be a part of their operation, and that they like what I bring to the table, and that they would pay me a certain amount to do so!

HOWEVER! (Here comes the shocker boys and girls) there seems to be NO money to pay me, 

EVEN THOUGH! I have lowered my standards to be a part of something I thought was much bigger and better!

What has happened is that they operation, comes across as a multi million dollar business, and it turns out that they can’t even keep their own lights on much less anyone else. They proclaim that they have investors that are being talked to about this situation, and that money is on the way, when in fact that after the first two times they say it, maybe its true, but after the third, fourth, and so on, NOT SO MUCH!

I am in a situation, where I bought into this time and time again, because they come to me and ask me to be a part of their business, their operation, it happened in Radio, and now in Baseball!

When am I going to learn that people want you to work for free and not get a paycheck for your work that you render them!

I am not an intern, nor do I wish to be one at this age, what I would like however, is someone to own up to their shortcomings and tell me straight up front that they can’t afford me, that way I don’t waste their time or mine trying to come up with solutions for their fall out!

I love my job, don’t get me wrong, and yes in ways, it does beat working for a living, but the fact is, I do work for a living, and I work hard at my craft, just at my age, no Radio Station wishes to hire me, and no Cigar Shop wants to pay me what I am worth after 30 plus years in the business, and over 35 years in the Media, be it with a camera or with a microphone! Either way, it should bring something to the table, I am just frustrated!

I have been through this more than once, and each time there is only one person to blame—and that’s ME, since I am the one that falls for this time and time again!

So here’s the bottom line to anyone reading this, if you can use my services, and you wish to actually pay a rate more than minimum wage, (alright a little bit more—a lot more—you figure it out) please contact me through email, davemichaels@davradioproductions.com or if you are looking to advertise I will be more than glad to talk to you about that as well!

Thank you for your understanding, and your friendship! Its more important than any job out there!

Just a thought! 

A CITY OF CHAMPIONS!

Allen, Texas—The City of Allen is now known as the City of Champions, mainly because for the last three years, not only has the High School won State Championships, but now the Minor League Hockey Team that resides there, has done the same!

The Allen Eagles, High School Power House in football for the state of Texas has claimed three championships in a row, and the last year, moved up in classification as 6-A.

This past October, the CHL (Central Hockey League) folded and seven teams moved over to the well established, older league, known as the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) including, the Allen Americans.

With this move, the schedule was such, that the Americans, and the six other teams, would play the majority of their games against each other, with a smattering of ECHL opponents thrown in now and then, but when it came to the playoffs, that would be a whole different can of worms.

And so it goes, the Americans proceed as a TWO TIME defending CHL champion in this new league, and has to fend off not only their old foes, such as the Tulsa Oilers, or the Missouri Mavericks, but new battles with Ontario Reign.

It was against the REIGN that the Americans had to go through them to get to the finals, and in doing so, showed this NEW LEAGUE, that this CHL “BEER LEAGUE” Team can hold their own against the OLDER ESTABLISHMENT!

AND SO IT BEGAN, the best of seven series that is known in sports as the FINALS, for a Hockey crown, in this particular case, the Kelly Cup!

It was an odd format, mainly because of travel and cost, so it was a 3-3-1 series, and neither team really had the home ice advantage, with visiting teams taking 2 a piece on the other’s ice, and winning one to protect, but it call came down to ONE game on Allen’s home ice, and the stats don’t lie!

Steve Martisen, the head coach and general manager of this Allen Americans team, has never lost a game seven on home ice since he has been coaching, 18 years behind the bench, in different leagues, and now NINE championship rings and banners to his claim!

This game seven started out with intensity, with the Americans scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes, then in the second period, three more times, including with time running out in the period on a power play to go up 5-0. The final period, one more goal to seal the deal, and the South Carolina Stingrays, the NUMBER ONE DEFENSIVE TEAM in the league with a LEAGUE MVP on their team in the nets, get ran off after it was 4-0!

The Stingrays, a former Kelly Cup Champion themselves, thought that they could come into Allen and take care of business, but for the first period, all hey saw were white sweaters beating down their defensive line, and finally getting to the net minder, not once, but twice within 3 minutes of each other.

Once the sixth goal was scored, the celebration in the stands started for real, with chants of “THREE PETE” going up and the countdown at 10 seconds, and then the balloons dropped from the ceiling, it was the party that six thousand fans had been waiting for!

The Americans have proven that this team, is a team of the Decade in Hockey, the only team in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex to have won championships for the last three years, that is considered a professional team.

The Rangers came close, but didn’t pull it off, the Mavericks won in 2011, the Stars last won in 1999, the Cowboys in 1996, FC Dallas hasn’t won a championship but came close, the Frisco Rough Riders won in 2004 the Texas League Championship, but it’s the ALLEN AMERICANS that hoisted the championship cup THREE TIMES in THREE YEARS- and in a City north of Dallas, they lay claim to the CITY OF CHAMPIONS!

Congratulations ALLEN!

Just a thought!                                     

Weighing In On Josh Hamilton

The return of Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers the last week or so, has had its good and its bad!

First the GOOD!

He has hit home runs… hit a pinch hit 2 RBI Double to win a game, he has endear himself to the home crowd of which at one time, he alienated them when he left the Rangers and headed to the west coast, to play for the Angels!

Here’s the scoop, Josh Hamilton is a lightening rod, he just makes fans love him to death or hate his guts, and there is usually no gray matter in between!  He is just that polarizing!

I have watched his heroics in the stadium when he was helping the Rangers win back to back American League Pennants, he could have been the BIG hero in Game Six of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis. Then in 2012 the sluggish way he approached a pop fly in center field against the A’s in Oakland to allow them to win the American League West, and then the boo birds showed up when the Rangers had to play the Orioles for a one game wildcard playoff game.

Alright, now fast forward to the present, where he left the Angels and did so, with leaving them with a sour taste in their mouth, comes back to Arlington, puts on a Ranger uniform, plays on the road, does ok, comes back to the Stadium against the Red Sox for a four game set, and wins two of the three for the team, and the LOVE FEST is back on!

I never disagreed with what he said about the fans in Texas. As his quote, about this not being a “baseball town”.

After hearing that, and knowing this part of North Texas as I do, living here my entire life, (alright except for the 2 ½ years that I lived in Lufkin, Texas) this part of the state is very much a Football Town. They live and die with the Dallas Cowboys, and when they are not rooting for them, there’s the Texas Longhorns, the Texas Aggies, the TCU Horn Frogs, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and then you still have SMU Mustangs, and UNT Mean Green Eagles. Whew—wait there’s the high school football.. you are seeing a pattern here.

The Cowboys lead ALL news items in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, whether they are in season or not, they also lead most of the talk stations in the metroplex as well!

Ok.. So that leads us to what DOES make a baseball town. Well I would consider the following baseball towns.. NEW YORK—oh DUH! Then there is St, Louis, I would put Detroit up there, and Cincinnati!

For the most part—even the Houston Astros have to deal with the Texans and to an even stronger point the Houston Rockets of the NBA. Though when the Astrodome was the basically the ONLY game in town, they still had to compete with the University of Houston Cougars and the Rice Owls, so as you can see, there seems to be a pattern here.

The Rangers have always been the step child, even when the Mavericks came to Dallas in 1980, the little baseball team to the west in Arlington, seemed to have to take a back seat.

When the Rangers had the announcement of their 1995 All Star Game, the Cowboys still stole the show with the signing of Charles Haley’s contract, BIG- HUGE—announcement on the sports and news talk stations, stealing thunder.. that’s what Jerry Jones does best.

So for whatever reason, Josh’s assessment that this is not a Baseball Town! Well I can’t argue with it! I agree with him, and the Rangers, for their two years to the big dance, this WAS a baseball town. Delirious with excitement, pretty much wearing Ranger gear, as much during that time as you would see Cowboy’s gear and apparel. The difference though, is that it was only kept to this part of the country, while the Dallas Cowboys are STILL America’s Team.

So with all of this said and done, the Rangers opened up their arms and the clubhouse, and welcomed Josh back into their fold, and into the family, the Crowds (up to 40,000 for two nights in a row) cheered and loudly for his return, so maybe all is forgiven, and maybe Josh can and will keep his sobriety up!

The real bad news is the fact that he has pulled his hamstring and will be out a month or so… so once again! Here  we go again! Another injury to Josh—and another time to wait and see if he returns better than before, was he pushed too soon to return to the Major League club or could he have waited a bit longer to get back into shape?

Its just a thought!  

2015 AT&T Byron Nelson Golf Championship

Well another year, and another spring at Las Colinas, to cover the AT&T Byron Nelson Golf Championship.

The first major change is going to be the title sponsor, instead of the former Hewlitt Packard logo that we have been used to seeing over the last 7 years, its now the familiar blue globe and orange background known as AT&T… Texas born and Texas Raised!

Now they are the title sponsor of this golf tournament, that has some tradition that goes along with the name.

We’re familiar with the type of golf that comes into this area, the names roll off our tongues like a roll call of who’s who of golf royalty!

Lets start with Phil Michelson, or Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, just to name a few, but the list goes on and on.. former Dallas native, Scott Verplank, who won the tournament in 2007, the first year that was without the Patriarch of this tournament Lord Byron Nelson himself.

Though this year, 2015, the changes are subtle, but the golf is the same, only this time there is a young man from Dallas named Jordan Spieth, who just happened to have won the Masters back in April, and finished second at the Colonial in Fort Worth!

He has a following from family and friends, that are on the course, that are cheering his every move, but on a Saturday that where its commonly known as Moving Day on the PGA, we are seeing names on the leader board that we have not seen before.

For example, Steven Bowditch, or Brendon DeJonge just to name a couple of names that were leading the tournament after three rounds!

The tradition of the “Nelson” is still within the confines of the Pavilion along “Champions Way”… the music the sounds, the people watching, but for a change not the place to pick up or be picked up at the Pavilion as in years passed!

It might have more to do with the fashion or lack there of, in the past, there were more opportunity to see women in stilettos heels, and short skirts, however after a week’s worth of rain, there is more rain boots and keeping the fashion to work the elements that might come to the area, than worrying about how good they look!

In a couple of years from now, this tournament moves to Trinity Forest, which is south of the Downtown Dallas area, and out of Las Colinas, the contract runs through 2018, so that’s three more years, but between now and then anything can happen!

The Four Season, which has been the home to this tournament for 31 years, and before that it was held at Bent Tree for a couple, and Las Colinas Country Club, and truly before ANY of those there was Preston Trail, and then before that—before it was named after Byron Nelson, it was the Dallas Open.. and it played at Tennyson Golf Course in East Dallas…. Can you even imagine, if the “Dallas Open” was like the NELSON today—oh my goodness, the parking nightmares, and the logistics would be a joke! But none the less the tournament was played out near White Rock Lake, and now is in Las Colinas, and will soon move to South Dallas. WHEW figure it out if you can!

And so as this 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson Championship goes forward and soon into the history books, we are reminded the reason why all of this took place to start with! The KIDS!

The Salesmanship Club of Dallas is the charity, now its called Momentous and they make sure that children that have had hard times have a second chance, and that they can make something of themselves, even though they have been dealt the hand that they were given!

Camps and schools, and being able to be productive in the community… they give so much back to the community! So we back them, and salute them, and hope that in the end they will accomplish their goal of not letting one child be left behind! EVERYONE Goes forward!

The Nelson is and will be for many years to come, THE place for CHAMPIONS to GROW!

Just a thought! 

The Great Debate

Let us begin this discussion with the simple question. Should Josh Hamilton return to the Texas Rangers Baseball team?

That’s a loaded questions to start with.

Why? You might ask… well its simple. Josh left this team, and when he did, upon his first return in an Angels uniform, told anyone with a recorder, or pad of paper in hand, that “This is not a baseball town”. OH! Did that just anger the hell out of people? YES IT DID! BUT!!!!!! (Wait for it). HE was not too far off from the fact!

IF you consider that, this part of the North Texas has been constantly barraged by, sports talk stations (that number three in the market) and by TWO newspapers, and FOUR TV stations (and those are just the English speaking ones), they cover the Dallas Cowboys constantly! Of the THREE sports talk station, ONE is the flagship station of the franchise!

But lets not stop there… lets figure that the Cowboys, the Mavericks, and the Stars all have championship rings and trophy’s in their possession! Do the Rangers? NOPE! They were close—twice, 2010 and 2011, but came up short both times.

So here is Josh Hamilton, who lived here, played here, was a part of those two teams that went to the post season and made to the World Series both times, a league MVP, a American League Championship Series MVP, and he listens to the radio, watches TV, reads the Newspapers, and knows exactly what he observes. That this is INDEED, a FOOTBALL TOWN! And its not just the Cowboys, it’s the Mustangs, the Mean Green Eagles, The Horned Frogs, the Longhorns, the Aggies, the Raiders, and so on. Its FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, with high school football, its everything BUT BASEBALL!

I am a born and raised Dallasite, and I have seen how the Cowboys rule the media, and even before there was a Jerry Jones and that circus, the Cowboys still were the lead story most of the time!

Since 1972, the Rangers have called Arlington, Texas home, and with all that the team has done, getting over 3 million though the doors in 2011 and 2012, they haven’t come close to that number since. They haven’t won the division since 2011, they barely made it to the post season in 2012, and did a one game against the Rays to see who would play in the post season. This team isn’t the same team at all!

So that brings us back to this debate about Josh Hamilton. Should the Rangers bring him back into the fold?

Frankly, its really not our decision, its that of Management, that means Jon Daniels and company that wish to bring #32 back to the clubhouse.

Players such as Adrian Beltre, and Elvis Andrus, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, all have said “YES” bring him back, there are those who didn’t play with Hamilton when he was here the first time, like Prince Field, and Leonys Martin who wish to have him back, Michael Young, who is a special assistant to the GM, wants him back. There are those who believe, that this team, this town, would be more of an asset to Hamilton, to make sure that he stays “Healthy”.

Hamilton fell off the wagon, so to speak, when he relaspsed into the world of drug abuse and alcohol. He freely admitted it before spring training. However, he never took a drug test, and therefore, the arbitration that was asked for by the Angels, said that Hamilton did not need, nor warranted a suspension from the league.

With that, the team, in their own mind, wanted to do something to punish Hamilton, and yet they couldn’t suspend him without the Players Association getting involved, so they sat him on the bench and have basically said, that “We don’t want you—WE DON’T NEED YOU—you’re on your own buddy!”

125 Million dollar contract, and of that the still owe something like 83 million to Hamilton. The Rangers came in and said that they would pay 7.5 million of that contract, but the Angels had to pay off the rest!

Hamilton in February filed for divorce from his wife, and with four children involved, you know that can’t be easy on him either, or how about going back into history, when in 2011 on a July night, Josh gets a ball that was hit foul down the left field line, and then tosses it into the stands, there a man with his son, he reaches over to get the ball, and he flips over the railing and falls 14 feet behind the out of town scoreboard. Shannon Stone, a father, a husband, a firefighter from Brownwood, Texas, died. And Josh Hamilton has had to live with that! I am not making excuses for his actions, but I know how hard it is to forgive yourself for something like that!

Josh slipped, he relapsed, he fell off the pedestal, and he is mortal!

The fans most likely will “boo” his at bats, they might even heckle him in the outfield, but the fact that the organization is willing to accept him with open arms and allow him to be a part of this team, and this clubhouse, is speaking volumes, that they are here to take care of him, to watch him, and to protect him!

The GREAT DEBATE! Is his talents enough to help this team?

His bat, his glove, his ability to play left field, can he play full time, and if his bat is once again sound from the left side of the plate, there is a jet stream in Globe Life Park that has his name written all over it!

Can he still hit 30 home runs in a season, 100 RBI’s, and score 80 to 100 runs? If any of those answers are YES, then, then the debate is over! He can wear a Ranger uniform once again, and maybe give a little glimmer of hope to this team, who right now could use a little bit of a prayer, or at best what is left in the Jeff Hamilton tank!

There is only one real answer to all of this! Are YOU willing to forgive Josh Hamilton for his transgressions? Are you willing to forgive those things that he has said in the past, or you willing to look at the future, and see what might be, or what could have been?

I think that this is the time for Josh Hamilton to look himself in the mirror and look those demons in the eye, and start the fight, and live each day and try and forgive himself for the tragedy that happened in July of 2011, and put the other speed bumps in his life behind him.

Josh Hamilton needs the love of the Rangers Family as much as that family needs him!

Its just a thought!