Just A Few Thoughts

It's been a while, so I am going on a stream of consciousness.

-I am frustrated with the world that we live in these days. Does it bother anyone that there are people out there that will shoot you for cutting them off? Does is bother you that someone shoots the "finger" at you when they make the driving mistake?

People are so hot headed these days that they can't even stop for a second to contain their emotions.

Why is that? I will tell you. It seems that a good chunk of our society stops developing emotionally at the age of 5. If things don't go there way, they pitch a fit like a 5 year old. Problem is, these emotional 5 year olds have guns and are driving cars and motorcycles.

How about we all GROW UP! Grown ups know how to walk away from a difficult situation. Grown ups know that it's smart to just let the guy that cut us off drive away from us. Grown ups know that people make mistakes on the road on occasion, and the grown ups in the room let it go. Grown ups are not looking to fight someone around every corner.

On to more pleasant topics.

-Cooper is about to hire Todd Moebes to be the next head football coach. Moebes has never been a head coach, but he told me on Monday that he is ready for the job because he worked for coaches like Mike Spradlin and Katy's Gary Joseph. I am anxious to see how Moebes handles not only the head coaching duties but the job of athletic coordinator.

There are many examples of hiring from within not working. However, we have 2 great examples of it working right here in Abilene.

Hugh Sandifer was already the basketball coach at Wylie when he was hired to be the head football coach. I would say that 1 state title and 2 state runner-ups make that a good hire.

Steve Warren was an assistant at Abilene High when he was hired to lead the Eagles. 12 straight appearances in the playoffs, 6 district titles and a state championship are good enough for me to call that a success.

Coach Moebes takes over a program that is in much better shape than either Warren or Sandifer took over. He is set up for success, and I hope he has a great deal of success.

-ACU's Edmond Gates really impressed at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Sunday. He tied for the fastest 40 yard dash time for wide receivers. Add to that, Gates was 2nd in the broad jump and 5th in the vertical jump. I still question his pass route running ability, and most scouting reports say he can't get off the line of scrimmage if pressured, but he is going to get drafted. F-Y-I, when asked which bird was the fastest, Gates knew that it was the Perigrine Falcon, so he's got that going for him.

-The Wylie girls are back in the State Tournament, and Peyton Little is leading the way. Little, who verbally committed to play for the University of Texas, is easily the best girls basketball player to come through this part of the state since Lynn Corn led Wylie to the state championship in 1990. For the 2nd year in a row, Little has taken the Lady Bulldogs on her back and carried them to Austin. Here's the crazy part. Little is just a Junior, and this Wylie team has just 1 senior. You can look for another trip to Austin in 2012.

Welcome Home

Coming home.

For me, coming home means I am back at the house after working a 10 hour shift at the television station.(It might be longer during the football season) It is nice to be home, but I was there just 10 hours earlier. I was there earlier in the day, and I will be there tomorrow.

On Friday, I had the opportunity to welcome home 1 of my best friends from fighting in our War on Terror in Southwest Asia. Andy has been gone from his house, his wife, and his family for 6 months. In that 6 month period, his son started high school, his oldest daughter is 6 months closer to starting school, and his youngest started walking.

Coming home for Andy and the rest of the 9th Bomb Squadron is a BIG DEAL.

The scene in the hangar as we waited for Andy and the rest of the deployed 9th was electric. The husbands and wives were almost beside themselves, and the kids couldn't wait to see dad or mom, again. Folks like Conni and me were excited about seeing our friend coming home safely.

The cheers went up when the door opened on the plane at Dyess Air Force Base. Families were calling out the names of their loved ones. Hugs, kisses, and tears of joy were in abundance.

This is the 2nd time I have welcomed my friend Andy back from the war, and it is just as special as the 1st time. For the 2nd time, I am glad he is back with his family, and for the 2nd time, I am glad to have my friend home safe and sound.

WELCOME HOME to the 9th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base. May your spotlights shine bright and your bombs always hit their target.

My 1st Christmas Gift Of 2010

Christmas came early for me on Tuesday morning. I went by AHS head coach Steve Warren's office that morning to catch up and just talk about things, and he told me he didn't get the Angelo State job.

I knew he wanted the job in San Angelo, so I kept calm, but I was absolutely giddy. Coach Warren is a real treat to work with, and I didn't want him to leave. For the media, he is easy to work with on a daily basis during the season. For fans, he is putting a winner on the field each and every season, and for the players, he is helping them become better players and people.

Professionally, the Rams may have blown it by not hiring Coach Warren. I know at least 2 people whose opinions I value, that he would have been a great choice for the school. Steve is a great salesman, and that is part of the job in college football. You have to sell your program to the kids you are recruiting, and it's hard to sell the Concho Valley. Coach Warren could have done it. He is not a man that is stuck in his ways. The Eagles offense changed from the Wing-T to a Spread to pass offense to a Spread to run offense.

Personally, the Rams may have blown it because they had a guy wanting the job who loves Angelo State, and a guy that would do anything to help turn his alma matter into a winner, again.

I am glad Steve is staying with us in Abilene. Merry Christmas to me, and Merry Christmas to all of the Abilene High fans.

The Football Trip II(a.k.a. The Tuba Principle)

My dad and I continued our trip around the metroplex on Saturday. We were in search of high school football, and we found 2 more games.

Southlake Carroll and Denton Guyer played in the 1st game we went to see. Most you know that Guyer and Carroll are the teams that knocked Cooper and Abilene High out of the playoffs in the 3rd round. I wanted to see who would win between the 2. I thought Guyer was better, and I was right. The wind was blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour through out the game, and the team with the wind in the 4th was going to win. Guyer had the wind and won by 10. By the way, I still haven't met anyone that had anything good to say about Guyer head coach and former Merkel Badger John Walsh.

Dad and I shared a press box suite with the scouts for Longview and Mesquite Horn. I learned 3 things.
1)Scouts work hard during the course of a game, at least the Longview scouts do. They were constantly talking to each other about the formations and the personel in those formations.

2)The Tuba Principle: The team with the most tubas will win the game. That stat is a part of every scouting report the Longview scouts do, and they say it's about 80 percent accurate. It didn't work in the Guyer/Carroll game, but it did work in the Tatum/Cameron Yoe game later that night. Cameron 2 tubas to 1 over Tatum. Yoe won, 28-14. On Friday night, it worked, again. Mart won the tuba battle 4 to nothing, and won the game 58-7. I promise I will be paying attention to that little detail until the day I die.

3)Our press box suite was next to the Southlake Carroll assistants, and it is a kick to watch the assistant coaches in the press box. I mean those guys put on a show like no other. Counters in the coaches' box have to be reenforced somehow. The Carroll assistants put that counter through a workout. The were pounding on that thing at least 2 times per series. They shout up there like someone on the playing field can hear them. I know that they are connected to other coaches, but these guys were shouting at the top of their lungs like what they were saying was somehow going to magically get to the ears of the player they were yelling at in the middle of the field.

The final game of the trip was played in Ennis. As I mentioned earlier, Cameron Yoe beat Tatum in a very good Class 2A Div. I quarterfinal game. The game was good, but the food in the press box was worthy of note. We had stew and chicken soup, sandwiches, and cookies. Everything was homemade, and everything was good. I don't think I have ever been in a press box that had homemade food. It was a real treat and the ladies that made the food were huge football fans and a delight to be around. Our visit to Ennis was a great way to end the trip this year. Good football and good people make the trip even better.

So here's a recap...

-Mart was a lot better than Muenster, and I think it helps defend my belief that there are too many teams in the Class 2A and A playoffs now that they are divided up into divisions.
-Assistant coaches in the press box are a HOOT to watch.
-Scouts really do work.
-THE TEAM WITH THE MOST TUBAS WINS THE GAME. The theory was 2-1 on the trip.

The Football Trip

For those of you just entering my life, the 1st weekend in December is the weekend for my annual football trip with my dad. We find football games in the metroplex and sit in the stands or the press box and watch. Watching football isn't something I get to do very often so it's a real treat for me.

We started with a Class A Div. I game between Mart and Muenster. It's the 1st time we've watched a Class A game on the trip, but since my dad grew up playing 6-man football for Klondike, we were looking forward to seeing the game. Turns out, Mart was a lot better than Muenster, and they beat them 58 to 7.

The real story of the night happened on the way to the hotel. That's when we started listening to the game between Euless Trinity and Coppell. It was a real back and forth game that came down to the final play of the game. Coppell led Trinity by 5 with 3 seconds to go in the game. Trinity was at the 3 yard line. It was a real nail-biter. The final play, Trinity lines up... and then the radio broadcast went silent. No kidding. Nothing. They lost the signal. The game was gone. Commercials started playing and dad and I sat there and waited. Nothing on the game. NOTHING! Unbelievable. We got out of the car with nothing.

Turns out Trinity scored to win the game 41-40. They move on, Coppell goes home.

That's the way it goes in the playoffs. 1 game down. 2 to go.

We Are Going To Miss You Coach

The Jimmie Keeling era is over at Hardin-Simmons University, and what an era it was. Coach Keeling led the Cowboys to 10 conference championships and 20 playoff games. He won 172 games and lost just 53. The Cowboys program went from nonexistent in 1989, to a national power by the end of the 1994 season.

The school picked the right guy to lead the Cowboys program, if the were looking for a guy who could take a group of football players and make them a team, but that's not all they got.

Keeling was a great example for the players. You have no idea how many players I have come across after their playing days were over who said, "Coach Keeling was like a father to me." Former Cowboy quarterback Justin Feaster said, "For the last 5 years, Coach Keeling has been the most influential person in my life. I have the utmost respect for Coach Keeling and everything he stands for."

When we asked him to talk about 1 of his stars, he always started with, "First of all, he's a really good kid." He loved having good football players, but he expected his guys to be "good kids", first.

Jimmie Keeling was more than a football coach. He was a life coach. Coach Keeling shaped players for his entire career. He showed the men on his team how to live with his example, and then helped them become productive members of society.

He was also a trainer of coaches. Countless former players and graduate assistants are coaching right now in the high school or college ranks because Coach Keeling gave them a shot on his staff.

Jimmie Keeling won over 500 games as a head coach in high school and college, but that was not his greatest area of impact. He made the people around him better people, and that's why HSU is going to miss Coach Keeling.

That's why I am going to miss Coach Keeling.

The Rangers And The Little Southwest Conference

I know it's really football season, but I have to talk a little about the Rangers. Some of us never thought it would happen. The Texas Rangers have won 2 games in a series for the 1st time in franchise history. Big bats and great pitching have led the Rangers to the brink of a berth in the American League Championship Series. Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson got the job done on the hill, and the offense scored 11 runs in 2 games. Game 3 is Saturday. Let's hope they can put the Rays away on Saturday and move on to the ALCS.

Now to high school football. It is time. The Little Southwest Conference opens play today. What a treat for everyone in West Texas. The last 2 years were a little more empty without the Abilene, Midland, and Odessa schools getting together every Friday night to decide the District Championship. Great traditions, great stadiums and passionate fans. Both Steve Warren and Mike Spradlin said this week that if you don't come to play on any Friday night in this district, you will probably go home with a loss in the books.

The top matchup of the week looks to be between undefeated Cooper and undefeated Midland Lee. I am looking forward to seeing how the Cougars will do in a game against tougher competition for the 1st time since the 2nd week of the season.

Abilene High opens district against Odessa High. The Broncos are a running football team, and if history tells us anything, it tells us that if you bring a one dimensional team up against the Eagles, you will lose.

It is great to have the old district back together, again.

That's not the only great district in the Big Country. District 5-3A looks like it's going to be a dogfight this year. Well, at least a dog and cat fight. The Brownwood Lions are most likely the favorite as the top ranked team in the state in Class 3A, but Snyder, Wylie, Sweetwater, and Big Spring will be right there on their heels. It's a good district and it will be fun to see which 3 teams come out and head to the playoffs.

Now let's sit back and enjoy the fun. The fight for the high school football playoffs is here.