if only it were christmas year round...

my future wife

practice vs playoffs

the nba is faaaaannnntastic

Pacers

Clippers

Lakers

and some more Laker girls

Magic

some picks from a reputable handicapper

NCAA Football (149-119)
• Texas A&M +4 vs California
• Rutgers -7.5 vs Kansas State.

NBA Selections (84-53)
• Dallas -2.5 vs Phoenix
• Denver -7 vs Seattle

NCAA Hoops (65-50)
• Boston College -19.5 vs Duquesne
• Drexel -7.5 vs George Mason
• Oklahoma -7.5 vs SMU
• Oregon -27 vs Portland
• Seton Hall -1.5 vs Oral Roberts
• Air Force -7.5 vs George Washington

erin andrews... sideline reporter and quite a looker

ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews will be popping up on your TV screen this week covering several bowl games, including the Holiday Bowl featuring Cal and Texas A&M. The 5-foot-10 former model was a member of the Florida Dazzlers dance team while attending college in Gainesville and her goal is to end up on Monday Night Football. Read more about Erin here.

ho ho ho...

simply the best... southlake carroll

Southlake Carroll wins third straight Texas state title with 43-29 win over Austin Westlake

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Three second-half touchdown passes by Southlake Carroll quarterback Riley Dodge gave the Dragons a 43-29 come-from-behind victory over Austin Westlake in the Class 5A Division I state championship on Saturday night.

The Dragons (16-0) won their 48th straight, their third straight state title and their fourth in the past five years. It was the final game for Carroll head coach Todd Dodge, the winning quarterback's father.

The elder Dodge, who has accepted the head coaching job at North Texas, finished with a 98-11 record after seven seasons in Southlake. The Dragons went 79-1 the past five years.

It was the seventh state title for the Carroll program, which ties a Texas high school record. Brownwood, Plano and Celina also have won seven titles.

Westlake (12-3) was trying for its second state title.

Riley Dodge had a pair of TD passes to Blake Tomlin of 30 and 33 yards and a 29-yarder to Anthony Ford that put the Dragons ahead 36-29 with 7:39 left in the game.

Dragons running back Tre' Newton added three rushing touchdowns. His 3-yard TD run with 3:37 to go gave Carroll the 43-29 lead.

Westlake had a 12-0 second quarter lead and was ahead 15-7 at halftime.

The Dragons tied the game with an 85-yard drive to start the second half. Tomlin caught a 30-yard TD pass from Dodge, and Dodge completed a pass to Chris Brainard for the 2-point conversion 1:59 into the second half.

Westlake went three-and-out on the next drive and Carroll gained possession on the Chaps' 49 after the punt.

Dodge and Tomlin connected again just two plays later on a 33-yard TD pass, and the Dragons had their first lead, 22-15.

In those two drives, the Dragons gained 134 yards compared to the 124 they had in the first half.

But Westlake came back out and tied it on the next drive. It took 18 plays, 80 yards and 8:12 before Bron Hager scored on a 5-yard run.

On the next play from scrimmage, Carroll regained the lead on a 74-yard TD run by Newton. He broke several tackles along the way before finally making it to the end zone where he was congratulated by his father, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton. The Dragons had a 29-22 lead with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.

Westlake answered again on the next drive to force a tie for the third time in the game. Nick Foles completed three straight passes — including a 43-yarder to Andy Spears that put the ball on the 1 — before Hager scored on the next play with 9:20 left in the game.

Westlake jumped to a 12-0 lead when Foles drilled an 18-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Shaffer with 5:08 before halftime. It came on a third-and-5, which made the Chaparrals 5-of-8 on third-down conversions.

But the Chaps were unsuccessful on a 2-point conversion after the TD.

Westlake opened the scoring with a pair of field goals by Justin Tucker from 24 and 32 yards.

Carroll got its first score on a 6-yard run by Newton 48 seconds before halftime.

But Tucker got another shot at a field goal when the Chaps ran off seven plays and used all three of their timeouts to move the ball to the Carroll 24 with five seconds remaining.

Tucker nailed the field goal from 41 yards, and Westlake went to the locker room with a 15-7 lead.

tre' newton, southlake's badass junior running back

Great article on Southlake Carroll's Tre' Newton. Southlake plays Austin Westlake in the Alamodome on Saturday for the 5A Div II state championship.

Southlake Carroll's man of the month - By Todd Wills / The Dallas Morning News

SOUTHLAKE – Tre' Newton's teammates at Southlake Carroll have taken to calling him "Mr. December."

The numbers show Newton's knack for increased production in the postseason, particularly as Carroll gets closer to the championship game.

Newton has rushed for more than 100 yards in five of his six December games in the last two seasons. All but one of the junior tailback's 100-yard games in the playoffs have come in December.

He'll have one more 2006 game in December – Saturday's Class 5A Division I championship against Austin Westlake.

Carroll coach Todd Dodge relies more on Newton as the weather turns colder. Newton has 30 or more carries in three of his 29 high school games. All of them have come in December.

"That's why we call him Mr. December around the fieldhouse," quarterback Riley Dodge said. "He really steps up for the team."

Newton seems to run with his shoulder pads a little lower in the playoffs, which helps him gain the tough yards. He is more elusive, and he has a nose for the end zone.

Newton has 30 career rushing touchdowns. Half of the TDs have come in the postseason, including nine in December.

"I just know that in the playoffs, if you lose you have to go home," Newton said. "That makes you play harder."

Newton had four 100-yard games before last year's state quarterfinal game against Plano last December, but he said that was his coming-of-age game. Plano played a cover-four zone to take away Carroll's vaunted passing game, putting the burden on Newton.

"If we were going to lose, we were going to let a sophomore beat us," said Lake Highlands coach Scott Smith, who was Plano's defensive coordinator last year.

Newton had 31 carries, more than double his career high. He had 143 yards and two second-half touchdowns and controlled the game in the fourth quarter as Carroll won, 37-27.

"That was the first game where Coach Dodge really put the ball in my hands," Newton said. "He let me do my thing."

Two weeks later, Newton rushed for 171 yards on 19 carries in a 34-20 victory over Katy in the state championship game.

It has been more of the same this December.

Newton was held under 100 yards in Carroll's first two playoff games – including a season-low 46 yards on 11 carries in Carroll's dramatic, 22-21 area-round victory over Euless Trinity. Back then, the calendar was still stuck in November.

Flip to Dec. 2, and Newton came alive for 198 yards and matched his career high with 31 carries in a 42-6 thrashing of Odessa Permian.

He had his best game in high school the next week against Colleyville Heritage with quarterback Riley Dodge still recovering from an ankle injury. Newton had career bests with 296 yards and 41 carries. He scored two touchdowns.

"Riley was a little banged-up, so I needed to come through," Newton said. "The offensive line did a great job as always."

Last week, in a 38-0 victory over Allen, Newton rushed for 130 yards and 16 carries. He also was a factor in the passing game as Carroll used a shovel pass it had put in the playbook that week. Newton had three receptions for 54 yards.

Newton said he is more experienced as a runner and a leader this season. That too has helped him earn his nickname.

"Tre' has carried us a little bit," Riley Dodge said. "That's the player we always knew he was."

DECEMBERS TO REMEMBER
Southlake Carroll junior tailback Tre' Newton has gone more than 100 yards in five of his six December playoff games. The rundown:
2005
Date	Opponent	Att.	Yds.	TD
Dec. 3	Plano	31	143	2
Dec. 10	Lufkin	12	85	2
Dec. 17	Katy	19	171	0
2006
Date	Opponent	Att.	Yds.	TD
Dec. 2	Odessa Permian	31	198	2
Dec. 9	Coll. Heritage	41	296	2
Dec. 16	Allen	16	130	1

damon impersonates mcconaughey on letterman

Sports related... no, very funny... yes.

breaking down southlake carroll vs allen

Some interesting comments on the DMN high school blog had me doing some research. The Allen faithful have claimed "Allen played the tougher schedule" and "Allen beat the team that beat Lufkin which makes them better than Lufkin" hmm... well lets break it down. Allen only played 4 teams with winning records during the regular season going 3-1 and only beating an injury plagued Berker by more than 5 points. Their first two playoff opponents had a combined 11-12 record and the great Round Rock team that beat Lufkin... well they lost 3 games in a very week District 14-5A, the upset of Lufkin was obviously a fluke and a big break for Allen. And Spring Westfield would have lost to Plano East if not for East injuries, particularly the loss of their QB before halftime. Allen’s SOS rank – 97, Southlake’s SOS - 41. Playoff games: Lewisville/Trinity/Permian/Colleyville Heritage compared to Rowlett/Mesquite/Round Rock/Spring Westfield... if I'm picking my playoff teams, I go with that second group every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Allen doesn't win this game, hopefully distractions don't cause Carroll to lose it, they ARE the best team in the state.

Southlake Carroll Allen
PPG 46.1 PPG Rank 1 PPG 37.0 PPG Rank 18
PAPG 11.4 PAPG Rank 6 PAPG 21.1 PAPG Rank 88
Margin 34.7 Margin Rank 1 Margin 15.9 Margin Rank 21
SOS Rank 41 SOS Rank 97

dodge leaving southlake carroll for north texas

It was bound to happen eventially, though I thought he'd stay one more year through Riley's senior year but Coach Dodge is moving to the college ranks. The DMN article and AP report are below.

UNT to hire SL Carroll's Dodge - Dallas Morning News

DENTON – Southlake Carroll head coach Todd Dodge has agreed to terms on a contract with North Texas and will be announced as the Mean Green's new head coach during a 7 p.m. press conference today, sources close to the situation said Tuesday morning.

Dodge is one of the most successful high school coaches in the state and the nation.

Carroll has advanced to either the Class 5A Division I or Division II title game in each of the last four seasons and will face Allen on Saturday at Texas Stadium for the right to play for this season's Division I state title.

The Dragons won state titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

The former Texas quarterback was named the Schutt Sports National High School Coach of the Year for the 2004 season.

Dodge was UNT's offensive coordinator from 1992 to '93 under Dennis Parker before returning to the high school ranks.

Dodge will replace former UNT head coach Darrell Dickey, who was fired in the middle of his ninth season at the school on Nov. 8.

Dickey led the Mean Green to the Sun Belt Conference title and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl in each season from 2001 to '04 before suffering two down seasons. UNT went 2-9 last year and finished 3-9 this season.

The UNT board of regents will meet at 2 p.m. today to delegate the authority to enter into a contract with Dodge to university president Gretchen Bataille and athletic director Rick Villarreal. The board must approve contracts with a base salary that exceeds $500,000 for the term of the contract.

Dodge's deal with UNT will exceed that total.

The board's approval will be a formality before Dodge's hiring becomes official.

Dodge's son Riley is a junior quarterback at Southlake Carroll and one of the top players in the area.

--------------------

North Texas hires Dodge from Carroll High - from the Associated Press

DENTON, Texas -- Todd Dodge was hired as coach at North Texas on Tuesday, making the rare jump from high school to Division I-A after an unprecedented run of success at Southlake Carroll.

Dodge, a former Texas quarterback, has coached Carroll to a 77-1 record in Texas' highest classification. The Dragons have won 46 consecutive games and are two wins from their third straight state title and fourth in five years. They have a 50-game regular-season winning streak and are the only school to win a state title in their first year in Class 5A.

"I'm representing Texas high school coaches," Dodge said in a news conference in front of about 150 North Texas boosters and fans. "It's not very often that a guy like me gets an opportunity like this."

Dodge was the offensive coordinator at UNT in 1992-93 before returning to high schools to start his head coaching career. Last year, he interviewed with Bill Parcells for an opening on the Dallas Cowboys staff, and he turned down an invitation to interview for the opening at Rice.

"All those were flattering," said Dodge, who admitted he thought the call from Parcells was a joke being played on him by a fellow coach. "Last year about this time Rice called and showed interest in me. It was one of those deals that didn't fit my family at the time."

Dodge replaces Darrell Dickey, who was fired midway through a 3-9 season that left him with a 42-64 record over nine years.

Dodge was hired for his first stint at North Texas by Dennis Parker, who was a successful high school football coach who made the leap to collegiate coaching with the Mean Green.

"The goals and standards that coach Todd Dodge have established for his football program are exemplary as evidenced by his record of successes and national reputation," athletic director Rick Villarreal said. "He has a passion for the Mean Green and we are confident that he is the coach to elevate North Texas' football program."

Under Dickey, the Mean Green went to the New Orleans Bowl as Sun Belt Conference champion four straight times from 2001-04 and featured a pair of running backs -- Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas -- who led the nation in rushing. But a second straight losing season was marked by dwindling attendance, bottoming out at 9,806 in the finale.

North Texas averaged almost 16,000 fans per game, or about 30,000 fewer than the crowd for Carroll's 22-21 victory against Euless Trinity in a playoff thriller at Texas Stadium last month. The 46,339 fans for that game are thought to be the second most for a high school game in Texas.

The Dragons have been generating that kind of buzz for a several years with their four-receiver, no-huddle spread offense, also known as "Dodge Ball."

But Dodge is confident that the excitement he created in the high school ranks can be brought to North Texas because of the wealth of recruiting talent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"I think this will be a team the metroplex will embrace," Dodge said. "I want this to be a team people will be excited to come out and watch play."

If the hiring of a high school coach to run a Division I program raises questions, it won't be the first time Dodge's credentials were scrutinized.

He had a losing record as a head coach when he started at Carroll, which won a state-record 72 straight regular-season games in smaller classifications from 1986-94. Dodge lost his first three games, but he's 96-8 since.

The latest triggerman -- Dodge's son, Riley -- has the Dragons rolling along at 14-0 heading into the Class 5A Division II semifinals Saturday against Allen. He will now have a different coach for his senior season next year, but the family won't have to move. Dodge's new office will be about 20 miles north of his old one, and his decision will raise questions about a possible reunion in college.

Todd Dodge will coach Carroll through its playoff run, and Riley Dodge will remain at Carroll to play his senior season.

Riley Dodge's two predecessors landed at Division I schools, highlighted by Chase Daniel, the Missouri starter who led the Tigers to a 6-0 start and will play in the Brut Sun Bowl in El Paso in a couple weeks. Riley Dodge is projected as one of the state's top quarterback prospects for the 2008 recruiting season, according to Jeremy Crabtree of rivals.com.

"I'm going to continue weighing my options," Riley Dodge said. "There are a couple of schools I've been looking at. But North Texas has to be way up there now."

Dickey was fired just weeks after suffering a heart attack, prompting criticism from a prominent booster who demanded that the school rename a new practice facility after Dickey. UNT officials have said they plan to honor the request.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

zito to rangers? never gonna happen

Many of the DFW media seem to think the Rangers have a good chance at landing Barry Zito... I wonder what they're smoking. Cy Young Award winning pitchers don't come to Arlington to pitch. Actually, true #1 starters don't come to Arlington in general. Kevin Millwood was a nice signing last year and the Rangers paid him to be the #1 guy, but he doesn't have #1 stuff. He performed well and is an above average #2 pitcher, but he's not a staff ace. Vicente Padilla has great potential and a great re-sign by Jon Daniels. But with all the offense that the Rangers have let go so far this off-season (Matthews, Lee, ), Texas needs a true ace on this staff, someone like Zito. The problem is, those pitchers just don't come to Arlington.


Like Rangers, NY teams hold torch for Zito - By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – You knew Barry Zito wouldn't come cheap. You didn't think he'd come easy either, did you? There is no doubt the Rangers are in on Zito. Read the rest here...

help get rid of the bcs

A web site dedicated to getting rid of the BcS in favor of a playoff system. Sign their petition here.

who's gonna score?

Mike Modano left tonight's game a few minutes into the 2nd period with a "lower body injury". Already out tonight were Darryl Sydor, Trevor Daley, Steve Ott, Antti Miettinen, Brenden Morrow and Eric Lindros. So now with Mike out, who's scores for this team? They won tonight 1-0 on a power play goal by Modano in the first (his 495th career goal). The Stars missed out on several chances to bury a second puck in the net but were unable to hit an open net. Marty Turco played a hell of a game tonight, stoning Joe Pavekski and Jonathan Cheechoo late in the game. It's time for some of the young guys like Loui Eriksson, Patrick Stefan and Jussi Jokinen to step up their game.

who's #2

So the Gators jump Michigan in all three polls (though only the USATODAY/Coaches and Harris polls count in the BcS). Just more reason there needs to be a playoff as once again, voters (half of which are coaches) are determining who plays for the National Championship. Isn't that a conflict of interest? How many Big Ten coaches voted Florida ahead of Michigan and vice versa with the SEC? The answer is just one, Ron Zook of Illinois, who by the way, used to coach at Florida. Hmm. And why is Jim Tressel receiving heat for not casting a vote? It's a no win situation for him and should Ohio State really have a say in who they play to begin with? Such a stupid system the BcS is.

There are 32 bowl games this year. Check them all out here.

the fall of troy

Most teams would take a 10-2 season, but not the USC Trojans. USC hadn't lost 2 games in a season since 2002 and had beaten UCLA 7 straight times dating back to 1998. Until today's 13-9 loss to the Bruins, USC had scored at least 20 points in 63 consecutive games. USC was one score away from playing in its fourth straight National Championship Game. The Trojans will play in the Rose Bowl against Michigan if Florida climbs to #2 or against LSU. UCLA will go to the Emerald Bowl to play Florida State.

mccoy's backup to transfer, texas not gator bound

Texas freshman QB Jevan Snead confirmed on Friday that he intends to transfer. He will leave the team immediately, meaning he will not be available for Texas' bowl game. The Dallas Morning News first reported the story on Wednesday.


Gator Bowl undecided on UT

Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said Toyota Gator Bowl officials are undecided about the Longhorns. If Texas does not go to the Gator, the Longhorns will likely land in the Alamo Bowl.

The Gator's indecision has prevented the Big 12 from finalizing the bottom half of its bowl structure. The Cotton Bowl will take the Big 12 runner-up, and the Holiday Bowl has selected Texas A&M.

kobe hangs half a hundred

... all before the end of the 3rd quarter. He was perfect from the field and the line in the 3rd quarter, scoring 30 points. Read it here.