Over time, there are people that come into our lives, and leave an impression upon us.
They could be celebrities that we have met, sports figures, politicians, or just friends, no matter, they all leave some sort of an impression upon us.
I have been fortunate to work in an industry that allows me to meet some of the Greats, the Not So Greats, and the ones that should've been or could've been the greats!
In this particular time, there are two people, to which I wish to talk about!
ONE is a good friend of mine, he has come to the rescue of me recently, and helped me out when I was a little bit down, with out work, and without means to fix a problem that, for the most part, is my lively hood!
There are those who say that they believe in the Christian way of life, and me being Jewish, and studied Comparison Religion while in College, I get it sometimes, and understand it, but to see it in action, to watch someone who has that ability to do just that for someone, and do it more often for those who need it It's more than just paying it forward, it's living the creed of what this means.
Cedric Bailey, there is a person who through his radio broadcast, and his ministry, its the reason why we call him the Deacon! Because he has lived it, breathed it, acts upon it! That is my definition of a Christian.
I truly appreciate his friendship, his leadership, and the opportunity to join his broadcast to do a weekly talk show on his air. IT allows us to work together, and join forces to create something special with YOU the audience!
The second person I wish to take a bit of time and say THANK YOU to, is Channel 8's very own George Riba!
Here's a guy after 37 years at one station and over 40 years in this business starting out at Channel 11, is saying good bye to the business, and retiring, and closing this chapter of his life!
I cannot say enough good things about George, we have crossed paths on many occasions, be it Ranger games, Cowboys games, Mavericks, Stars, Texas Motor Speedway, Cotton Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl, Byron Nelson, Colonial-- and the list can go on forever from here.
Every time we see each other, its been a handshake and good to see you again-- now a few years ago, we discovered that we were a little closer than just casual friends,
It seems that George married an old high school classmate of mine, and we had (have) mutual friends over the years. We discovered this during a Byron Nelson Tournament one spring, and as George and I were talking about these mutual friends, he turns to me and says " well if you know all these people, then you know my wife"... to which I said I might, he then told me about Maggie, and yes I knew here quite well.
Maggie walks into the Media Room at the Nelson and George introduces us, but she had know idea that Dave Michaels was the same David that she went to school with! Lo and behold, it was a great surprise to the both of us, and George and I relationship is more than just a hand shake from time to time, its now a hug and "how you're doing?" and..."Be sure to say HI to Maggie for me"... type of thing.
ON February 20th, 2015, George Riba closed out his day with a farewell to his co-workers, and his friends, but not totally-- I am sure that George will do something, be it through voice work, or other means, but he is not gone-- not off the sports scene totally at least.
I am sure I will see him around-- and I am sure that we will still give one another the "man hug" and I will continue to tell him to be sure to tell Maggie HI for me... but the one thing I am certain we will both miss, is his interviews with former Skyline Basketball Coach and long time friend (to both of us) J.D. Mayo... he is class, and so is George!
To both George Riba and Cedric Bailey, from me, thank you for your time, for your ability to bring stories to us, and for helping others! YOU are both blessings!
Its Just a Thought!
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
The Off Season Blues (Football Style)
Well its that time again.
Yes we call it the off season. Football is over-- the Super Bowl is in the history books, the players that were long done before the February 1st spectacular ever took place, are not making head lines!
These are young men, who, once the season comes to an end, have time on their hands, money in their pockets, and trouble on their mind. Well maybe they didn't THINK that trouble was on their mind, but low and behold, guess it followed THEM none the less!
Lets start with Joseph Randle,the running back from the Dallas Cowboys. He is in Wichita Kansas, and its there that young Randle, is arrested and booked for possession of-- wait for it-- YES, WEED! For heaven's sake! OH and he's not the only one... there's another Defensive Tackle from the Green Bay Packers-- Letroy Guion, is busted not with just marijuana- but weapons AND $190,000.00 DOLLARS IN CASH on him.
Oh the off season is now upon us, and we read where Johnny Manziel has been placed in rehab, that he has done this on this own, to better himself. He was making headlines before January was out about partying and being drunk, and out of hand, and such.
We have seen this time and time again, we can roll the names off like a roll call, and yes it will include some famous players from "America's Team" back in the 90's.
We remember how Michael Irvin's name got tossed around for being around drugs and women, we remember, how Mark Tuinei was found dead in his car after he overdosed on Black Tar Heroin, we remember how Terrell Owens was in trouble because he couldn't fulfill court orders, or Dez Bryant being hounded for not paying jewelry bills that he owed.
What about players from other NFL Clubs that find themselves in trouble, Pack Man Jones to be the first, or Plaxico Burriss of the Giants (firing a gun into his own leg at a club) or Tank Johnson getting into trouble, these are just a thumbnail sketch of players that have too much time on their hands and too much money in their pockets, and not enough sense to know how to handle it.
I have heard the excuses before, but the truth is, EACH NFL team should have someone in charge of the room (the locker room that is) and put into place a class, a seminar, a scheme, of some kind to keep these guys out of the headlines of their local newspapers or TV Stations and especially off of ESPN and FOX1.
Talk about losing some leverage when it comes to negotiations with your contracts when the time comes, talk about losing a position with the team when the legal matters get cleared up,
Hell even Nate Newton the great Dallas Cowboys Offensive Lineman was busted with a VAN full of marijuana and was sentenced to prison in Texas, REALLY! Now I will admit, he learned a lesson well, and he served his time and is making up for lost time to make things right, but that's NATE, he works his butt off to do that.
Not everyone is a Nate Newton, not everyone can come clean-- Ricky Williams, Heisman Trophy Winner in '98, played in the NFL, but was busted on numerous occasions for pot, is trying to make it back with the Longhorn Network, but that jury is still out!
Its not just in NFL circles, its happens in other sports, maybe not as frequently, maybe not the "Super Stars" or the the ones that have a TEAM with that spot light on them, but it happens.
The league, the teams, the players associations, have to have a way to govern this, otherwise we will continue to read in the headlines about players and how they are in trouble once the off season starts.
Its just February folks, training camp is not until July, its a long off season!
Just a thought
Yes we call it the off season. Football is over-- the Super Bowl is in the history books, the players that were long done before the February 1st spectacular ever took place, are not making head lines!
These are young men, who, once the season comes to an end, have time on their hands, money in their pockets, and trouble on their mind. Well maybe they didn't THINK that trouble was on their mind, but low and behold, guess it followed THEM none the less!
Lets start with Joseph Randle,the running back from the Dallas Cowboys. He is in Wichita Kansas, and its there that young Randle, is arrested and booked for possession of-- wait for it-- YES, WEED! For heaven's sake! OH and he's not the only one... there's another Defensive Tackle from the Green Bay Packers-- Letroy Guion, is busted not with just marijuana- but weapons AND $190,000.00 DOLLARS IN CASH on him.
Oh the off season is now upon us, and we read where Johnny Manziel has been placed in rehab, that he has done this on this own, to better himself. He was making headlines before January was out about partying and being drunk, and out of hand, and such.
We have seen this time and time again, we can roll the names off like a roll call, and yes it will include some famous players from "America's Team" back in the 90's.
We remember how Michael Irvin's name got tossed around for being around drugs and women, we remember, how Mark Tuinei was found dead in his car after he overdosed on Black Tar Heroin, we remember how Terrell Owens was in trouble because he couldn't fulfill court orders, or Dez Bryant being hounded for not paying jewelry bills that he owed.
What about players from other NFL Clubs that find themselves in trouble, Pack Man Jones to be the first, or Plaxico Burriss of the Giants (firing a gun into his own leg at a club) or Tank Johnson getting into trouble, these are just a thumbnail sketch of players that have too much time on their hands and too much money in their pockets, and not enough sense to know how to handle it.
I have heard the excuses before, but the truth is, EACH NFL team should have someone in charge of the room (the locker room that is) and put into place a class, a seminar, a scheme, of some kind to keep these guys out of the headlines of their local newspapers or TV Stations and especially off of ESPN and FOX1.
Talk about losing some leverage when it comes to negotiations with your contracts when the time comes, talk about losing a position with the team when the legal matters get cleared up,
Hell even Nate Newton the great Dallas Cowboys Offensive Lineman was busted with a VAN full of marijuana and was sentenced to prison in Texas, REALLY! Now I will admit, he learned a lesson well, and he served his time and is making up for lost time to make things right, but that's NATE, he works his butt off to do that.
Not everyone is a Nate Newton, not everyone can come clean-- Ricky Williams, Heisman Trophy Winner in '98, played in the NFL, but was busted on numerous occasions for pot, is trying to make it back with the Longhorn Network, but that jury is still out!
Its not just in NFL circles, its happens in other sports, maybe not as frequently, maybe not the "Super Stars" or the the ones that have a TEAM with that spot light on them, but it happens.
The league, the teams, the players associations, have to have a way to govern this, otherwise we will continue to read in the headlines about players and how they are in trouble once the off season starts.
Its just February folks, training camp is not until July, its a long off season!
Just a thought
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Another Friend Gone Way too Soon!
It's one of those times, when we once again sit here at the computer to say good-bye to someone who was very close to us.This was a woman who I met, back in 1999, when I moved to Deep East Texas, Lufkin, Texas to be precise! And it was there, that this woman, came into my life as I did hers.
Shari Horton Meyer Ratliff (I know, lots of names, but two of those names are because she was married twice), was a woman who I came in contact with shortly after I arrived in Lufkin, and worked on a couple of projects of hers. One was Red Ribbon Week, which is a week dedicated to bring Drug and Alcohol awareness to the forefront of Teenagers, the other was Shattered Dreams, again talking about the dangers of drinking and driving during Prom week.
During my time in Lufkin, I grew very fond of this woman, she and I would get together, and keep each other company, we both were going through divorces, and I was trying to start a new relationship with someone in Dallas.
Shari kept me on the straight and narrow, even though romantically it could have complicated things so much. We would talk sports, and movies, and religion, and business, while trying to keep things light and laugh a lot.
I was there when her mother passed away in January of 2000, I was there to hold her hand-- there to wipe the tears from her eyes-- I was there to make sure that she was not alone during that time.
She was there when I had to put my cocker spaniel to sleep, she held my hand-- she wiped my tears from my eyes.. and she was there to let me know that I wasn't alone!
Shari discovered her soul mate, a man that was in the United States Air Force, he was a Captain at the time, and made it to the rank of Major. Her two children took to the Major quickly and it was soon a family again!
Shari and her husband moved to North Texas, and while in Ft. Worth she was diagnosed with Cancer.. the two year fight and battles were on-- she picked the color Orange to be her battle cry--she did everything in her power to defeat this! To survive! TO BE THERE FOR HER CHILDREN!
She saw her eldest son Cliff, married-- but her daughter-- Cheyenne, she will be without her mother on the day she is wed, when that day comes. Shari will miss holding her first grand child, she will miss the triumphs and the pitfalls of her day to day life.
I can say that she is no longer in pain, she is no longer suffering, she is at peace, and another Angel is watching over us.
I will miss my friend, I will miss her laughter, I will miss her smile, and most of all-- I will miss her HUGS!
We ended each email, each message with FIVE letters-- I W A L Y... truly Shari--I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU! And I will hope that you will continue to keep a watchful eye over us.
Be at peace my darlin Shari-- and be the blessing you have always been!
I will ALWAYS LOVE YOU!
Just a thought!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Dallas/ Ft. Worth Radio!
Well I’m about to open up a can of worms and make a lot of
people really on edge with this blog!
The truth needs to be spilled as to the goings on in our
fair metroplex, and what the corporate suits think of YOU, the patron, the listener,
the person who is going to LISTEN to the advertiser on their station!
THEY DON”T CARE! PERIOD!
They really don’t… from the Station Manager, to the Sales
Manager, the Program Director, the only person that might care are the on-air
personalities, and that’s just pushing it!
These people don’t give a rat’s ass, if you listen or not,
as long as MR ADVERTISER buys a schedule and the Account Executive can sell
them a bunch of crunched numbers that anyone can manipulate and make work for
them, to promote and sell their shows!
This goes for talk shows, or music stations!
Lets put it more on my level! Sports Talk Radio, in this
market sucks!
There is a revolving door going on over at CBS Owned 105.3FM
the FAN—and their AM sister station KRLD 1080, a station that has a legacy in
this market, is nowhere to be found on the ratings sheets, unless there is
severe weather, or really breaking news. WBAP AM and FM have more of a chance
of beating 1080, but that is a toss up.
Let me give you some insight about how this business really
works.
Twenty years ago, I ran into a young man at a place in
Arlington, called Fatso’s Burgers and Blues, where a radio show was being
produced on Tuesday Nights for 17 weeks, called Cowboys Live, starring Cowboys
Star Running Back Emmitt Smith, and Channel 11 sportscaster Timm Mathews! The radio station was KGBS AM1190, and one of
their mainstays on the station was a man named Morton Downey Jr.
Now this young man that was working at Fatso’s comes up to
me, and asked me if he could get a job working at the station, and I told him
to arrive at 5AM the next day, and he did, and was an intern for a mere 2 weeks
before they put him on payroll to be the associate producer for the Gerry Oher
show, then later the Tony Hill Show (yes the same Tony Hill that caught a Touch
Down pass from Roger Staubach against the Washington Redskins)… in any case,
this young man works for the station for a year or so, before he jumps ship and
joins a start up station on 1310 AM frequency, their calls become KTCK the
TICKET!
This young man works for one of the shows called the
Hardline as their producer, and he later leaves and goes to work for KCMO, a
legend station in Kansas City.
He returns as the program director of KTCK the TICKET and
joins the ranks as the PD that secures a Marconi Award, the tops in the
business, and when someone calls him up to congratulate him, or ask him if
there is an opening for a job, or just to say HELLO!, and you he doesn’t return
any of the calls, one starts to wonder, what sort of EGO does this young man.
Short memory, and a large ego will do it to you every time!
Jeff Catlin, when someone opens the door to you and allows you into our hallow
fraternity, and you don’t give the time of day to the person who allowed to
walk through that door, you show me that you have no integrity, nor honor!
I could have sworn I taught you better than that, but like a
parent who’s child has turn their back on them, I guess I feel that same pain
in my heart, because, all you had to do is return the call, or say “sorry my
friend, but I just don’t have anything available right now.”…. you would think
just that gesture alone would be suffice, but I guess not!
So now the revolving door at 105.3 THE FAN, has caused some
un-ease among some of the mainstays of the station!
Lets see, first, Jasmine was let go from the morning show,
and what is on the air is very questionable, I like RJ Choppy and all, but they
teamed him with someone who he has no idea anything about this market, and they
don’t know each other. I mean what makes the TICKET work, is the fact that
every talk show host are friends with each other, they know how they breathe,
they know how they think, and they know what buttons to push to get the best
out of the other!
The FAN, they throw people together for no reason other
than—oh this might work, look at Shawn and RJ Choppy, or Mark and Slatter in
the mid-day, at least Greg and Richie Witt had some history before they were
thrown together on the air, but personally I never like Richie on the air, I
believe he was a great writer, but as a talk show host, he lacked the punch you
need for the afternoon drive and especially for five hours on the air.
Gavin Dawson and Chris Arnold in the evenings are good, but
then again, I know Chris Arnold and he can work with just about anybody, I know
how good he is—its not just that he is professional but also he can fit with
anyone on the air!
YOU CAN”T THROW talk show teams together in the fourth
largest market in the country, this is not the 125th market—this is
FRIGGIN NUMBER FOUR!
That means New York, L.A., and Chicago are only bigger!
REALLY!
Corporate America, and especially Radio, will tell you that
they know best, really—you went to college and got a degree and all, but the
fact is—YOU know NOTHING about marketing, because what made local radio work,
was the fact that there was a connection with the listener to the station but
once the cluster of stations started—that went away.
.
In the mid to late 70’s, a station in Dallas/Ft. Worth
created such a sensation that they were the number one station in the metroplex
in most day parts for over 10 years! TEN FRIGGEN YEARS!
KVIL 103.7FM with Ron Chapman and the promotions department,
made it exciting to listen to local station with their give a ways, and their
prizes like cars for the rest of your life, and money and trips.. bumper
sticker promotions for cash, and other fun and games!
They had a jingle that asked “Whatever happened to radio?”
Damn good question!
Someone needs to take back the airwaves and concern themselves
to the business of the listener because you are loosing them to IPODS, Iphones,
and Ipads…. Along with CD’s and other devices that we listen to for our
entertainment!
You want to win them back, you have to convince your
advertisers to jump a bit and get into the deep end and start contest that will
involve them and your listeners, the best interaction with your station and the
listener is give them something worth while to listen to, and win something for
doing it!
WHAT A CONCEPT!
You think for one moment that corporate America will do
that—you got live visions of CBS, Culmus, Disney, and others would do this? Not
a chance in Holy Hell!
Because remember—they know more than the old timers—I have
bad news for you 30 something year old PD’s… NO YOU FRIGGIN DON”T! So deal with
the fact that there are some people out there that do know MORE than you do!
And LISTEN TO THEM!
Just a thought!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Teacher..... LEAVE US KIDS ALONE!
My
apologies to those who are Pink Floyd Fans, but the truth is... I think a chord
was struck by an 18 year old High School Sophomore, who "Laid" into
his teacher for NOT teaching!
A
Duncanville High School student named Jeff, who was videoed by a fellow student
when he started his tirade against his teacher for NOT teaching in a manner
that would excite, and entice his fellow students to learn.
This
young man said something that, lord knows, I have been saying for a number of
years! TEACH THE CLASS!
The
State of Texas as a whole along with many other districts across this country,
have dug itself into a major hole, trying to put all of the eggs into one
basket! They call this the STARRS test or TAKS or whatever else you wish to
call it.
Its
based solely on the numbers game! How many can past this test, and in turn, how
much money can the district receive from Federal and State coffers to keep the
schools ratings as exemplary!
REALLLY!
For G-DS SAKES PEOPLE! WAKE UP!
This is
the future that you are talking about, and a future that is on the brink of not
knowing how to write properly, how to use math properly, because we have
machines that do it for us! EXAMPLE: The computer that I am using to write this
piece with, has spell check! I REFUSE TO USE IT! I will work the spelling out
myself before I break down and use that device! HOWEVER! Students have gotten
so use to using spell check or for that matter TEXT SPELL, which is ridiculous!
I KID YOU NOT, when I received a resume' a few years back... the person wrote
in their cover letter "... my last job in radio was GR8!" ...
REALLY?????
this is what we send our children to school to learn?
THROW
AWAY THE DAMN TEST! and start teaching again! Lets face it-- pretty soon
history book will no longer be needed because no one cares to teach the history
of not just our country but the world.!
IF you
graduated in the 1970's or 80's! Think about how the world has changed, just in
boundaries alone! I mean, there is no more USSR, there are changing lines of
every country in the Baltic States every decade or so!
There
was an old saying-- if you don't know where you have been, how do you know
where you are going?!
This
young man stood up for his RIGHTS to be taught by a teacher who says that this
is her PAY CHECK! Damn right its your pay check-- and if you wish to keep
getting one-- I suggest that you start teaching and reminding yourself that the
minds that you have in front of you are there not just because they have to,
but because they need to be taught what it is that YOU know!
Here's
an idea-- instead of spending millions of dollars on athletes who entertain
us-- why don't we have the owners of major sports teams-- give a few million
dollars a year to education and see if we get a better source of teacher in the
classroom and see how many wish to continue the great tradition of teaching
instead of losing qualified educators to outside sectors of industry, because
it pays better!
Damn
right it pays better because we are too concerned about our HEROES earning
enough to keep them happy and in some cases, in trouble with the law!
Our
dropout rate would decrease and our crime might decrease as well! WHAT A
FRIGGEN CONCEPT!
Jeff! I
applaud you, and for those of you who wish to see the video, here is FOX 4 's
report on it! http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/22201163/duncanville-students-teacher-rant-goes-viral#.UYse-G7d44A.facebook
Its one
for the books...
Just a
thought
Monday, April 8, 2013
Trying to Follow in the Footsteps!
Once upon a time ago there once was a man who spoke his
mind, and did it with S-A-T words that most of us had to go and look up in
dictionaries, only problem was, that we didn't know how to SPELL the damn words
that he was using!
We lost Howard Cosell back in 1995 due to a heart attack at
the age of 77... and in that lost was the most prolific sports caster we knew
of our generation.
His voice, his cadence, the way he spoke, was a package that
was often imitated, but never duplicated.
The one constant with Cosell was his ability to just speak
his mind, and not worry about who he was going to offend, or step on toes, be
it the fan or the athlete he was talking about.
Most often though-- he offended the sports fan, because he
"told it like it was"... and never backed off his opinion, be it with
the Muhammad Ali situation in 1968, when he refused induction into the United
States Army for duty in Viet Nam, or if it was seeing a running back make his
way up the gridiron calling him a little monkey!
Now that got him fired.. but the fact is.. he once called
his grandchildren little monkeys and that was a term of endearment.
In any case, that brings us to now!
A radio show, something that has no pictures, other than
what we can let you see with your minds eye, and a show that talks about
sports-- but more importantly a show that tells it like it is. No fluff,
nothing to hold us accountable because we are a flagship station for what ever professional
team we have to talk about.
Seriously, if you are the flagship station of the NFL, NBA,
MLB, or NHL team in your town, and you are paid by that team to air your games,
or better yet you paid them to produce the games, then you are a little careful
of what you say about them.
In our case, we aren't that way, we have no allegiance to a
specific team. WE are a fan of the games, be it football, baseball, hockey, or
basketball.
BUT! IF you suck as a team, or you have made bonehead
mistakes on the field or off the field, or your management does some really
stupid stuff, we are going to call you out, and we will do it with facts and
not just spouting off from the top of our heads without thinking about it.
I have listened to enough sports talk radio, and been a part
of talk radio in the 4th largest radio market in the country, and I have had to
endure the likes of those who think that they are experts in the field of
sports. Funny thing is, most of them never picked up a ball or a bat, or a
stick and played the game outside of high school or pick up games.
Its a different beast when you step between the lines of a
professional field, and think that you know what goes on in the minds of those
who actually played the games.
I for one will always ask those who DID play the games, but
my opinion is more about the business side of the game, or the likely hood that
I know someone who is or was a professional athlete and in that particular
sport and ask them for their response! I am a believer of asking the questions
and getting the answers.
NOW as for standing on a soap box and airing my opinion of
what I THINK needs to happen in sports or with a team, that goes without
saying- thats the same as anyone of you that want to sit around a table and
have a conversation about certain teams or games or whatever!
Questions such as, do you think that Tony Romo deserved the
contract extension or did Elvis Andrus deserve his 120 million dollar contract,
or what about having Brendan Morrow trade to Pittsburgh for youth, do you think
that the Dallas Mavericks will EVER see another championship in their midst or
were they like the New York Jets and be one and done?
Do you think that Bull Durham is the best sports movie ever-
or maybe Raging Bull, what about For the Love of the Game, maybe Remember the
Titans.. .what was YOUR favorite?
Those are the things we are going to talk about and get to
know YOU about more, when we have you text us or "chat" with us while
we are on the air.
Log on to learn more, hear more, and be entertained more, on
Davradio Productions... www.davradioproductions.com and find out what Dave
Michaels has to say!
Its just a thought!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
One of the Most Hated Athletes--- the Winner is: Tony Romo!
Yep
that’s what the headline said on one of those all sports stations! The results
of an online survey!
Dallas
Cowboy Quarterback Tony Romo! Hell, he was ranked up there with the likes of
Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods just to throw some names out there.
And as
the survey said, the likes of Woods and Armstrong, are based on their problems
away from their sport, but Romo… his has more to do with the fact that he is
the quarterback for a team that has won only ONE playoff game since he took
over the full time position of quarterback in 2006.
In 2007,
he was rewarded for taking his team to 13-3, and somehow lost to the eventual
Super Bowl Champions, New York Giants, in the first round of the playoffs… oh
let’s not forget that he bobbled the snap on a field goal against the Seattle
Seahawks in ’06, and that cost them that win.
Still,
Tony Romo, is NOT a bad person, he has not lied to the media, cheated on his
wife, took illegal substances to enhance his performance, he has not committed
ONE fault, say one! He has not WON in the clutch, and for this—he is hated!
I don’t
get it, I really don’t…. I mean in the 1980’s the Cowboy didn’t win a
championship, albeit, that they went to the playoffs, and they continued to win
at a pace that even the likes of the Celtics, the Maple Leafs and the Yankees
only could dream of—they might have some championships in their trophy cases,
but they cannot brag about 20 consecutive winning seasons! The Cowboys CAN!
However,
lets talk about the 1980’s, that was a decade that saw the leaving of Roger
Staubach and the emergence of Danny White, and for what it is worth, he had the
same success as another Dallas Cowboy Quarterback had in the ‘60’s, who’s name
is Don Meredith. He too, could not win the “Big One”… next years champions, but
none the less, he lead the Cowboys out of the rag-tag mess that was the
expansion team and brought them to the front page of newspapers, as he and the
rest of those Cowboys, almost knocked off the Green Bay Packers as the best
team in the NFL.
Then
comes Craig Morton, who took the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl against the
Baltimore Colts (yes children they were in Baltimore before Indianapolis),
where they lost on a Jim O’Brien field goal to win it. It wasn’t until the
following year that Coach Tom Landry handed the reigns over to the 1963 Heisman
Trophy winner and let him lead the Cowboys right back to the Super Bowl and
defeated the Miami Dolphins.
So when
Captain America retired in 1979, the young man that was the teams punter and
back up quarterback, took over and he steered the Cowboys to THREE NFC
championship games, losing all three of them.
HOWEVER! In doing so, Danny White broke every record held by either Don Meredith, Craig Morton, or Roger Staubach in his career, he set new standards, that is until the end of 1989, when a young man out of UCLA came to town, and took over for the new owners and new coach and led this team back to the promise land for a few winning seasons. Troy Aikman, then took control of the record book, and then he had to retire. In doing so, the Cowboys went through quarterbacks such as Quincy Carter, Drew Bledsoe, just to name two that stood out, then came Tony Romo in a game against the Giants in the middle of the ’06 season, and led the Cowboys back to the playoffs.
HOWEVER! In doing so, Danny White broke every record held by either Don Meredith, Craig Morton, or Roger Staubach in his career, he set new standards, that is until the end of 1989, when a young man out of UCLA came to town, and took over for the new owners and new coach and led this team back to the promise land for a few winning seasons. Troy Aikman, then took control of the record book, and then he had to retire. In doing so, the Cowboys went through quarterbacks such as Quincy Carter, Drew Bledsoe, just to name two that stood out, then came Tony Romo in a game against the Giants in the middle of the ’06 season, and led the Cowboys back to the playoffs.
We know
that story, and now he we are just six years later, and again, we talk about
how he can’t win in the clutch, can’t make it to the playoffs, yet, his
Quarterback Rating is higher than Staubach, White, Aikman, and two of those
three are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Romo
also holds the Cowboys records for quarterbacks, and still, everyone is
“hating” on him.
He is
THIS generations Danny White. (Sorry Danny still love ya man) but the truth is,
you can be the best at the position, but unless you have a running game, a
blocking scheme that works, your butt is going to be on the turf, and you are
going to be looking up at a lot of “Ugly” standing over you!
So
instead of hating on the young man, lets see how in the off season, he can get
some help!
For
instance: A front line that blocks, and can open up holes for a running game to
give the passing game a chance to develop instead of, everybody figuring that
the Cowboys are going to have to pass to stay in the game or get the lead in
the game.
How
about a running game period, I like Felix Jones and I like DeMarco Murray, but
they are not healthy runners, they seem to spend more time on the Injured list
than on the playing field. OH and I know that the former Running Back for the
Giants is now a free agent—hint hint! I
like Bradshaw for what its worth.
Tony
Romo cannot do it all himself, I was disappointed when the Cowboys released
Andre Gurode a couple of years ago, here was a guy that was a FIVE TIME ALL PRO
CENTER, and you just don’t grow them on trees, and I get it about Leonard
Davis, and maybe even Marc Columbo, but you need a guy like “a’ Gurode to
anchor that line and keep them together.
My
opinion is simple, you can hate on winners, like the Yankees (Evil Empire) or
the even teams that became dynasties, like the Steelers, or the 49ers in the
80’s or the Celtics in their hey day, the Bulls, the Lakers, you see where this
is going.
The
Cowboys haven’t been to the SHOW in 17 years, and the last time they were there
was against the aforementioned Steelers.
As fans
we have called for Mr. Jones to remove himself as the General Manager, as fans
we expect more from the Silver and the Blue, but AS fans, we have to place
ourselves in the shoes of those who play the game, and that’s not easy to do.
Tony Romo is hated, and he is on a list that says so, he was the 10th
player on the Forbes list, behind the likes of Michael Vick, Manti Te’o, Alex
Rodriguez, and we already mentioned Lance Armstrong, and Tiger Woods.
One has
to figure that there is better choices out there to hate, but if you are going
to put a Cowboy on the list, why not the most visible there is, the
Quarterback!
Just a
thought!
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