Thank goodness ...

[Dooby]

wait until we (hopefully) beat Arkansas St, Texas St. and Whatsamater U.---then Dallas will really love us!!!!! Be careful of those who propose ideas that continue to make SMU athletics irrelevant to the average fan.

You are right. Losing to OSU by 30 will generate a lot more positive coverage.

[Stallion]

when it comes to Texas recruiting playing Tech, OSU, Baylor, Texas A&M, TCU, Arkansas et al is infinitelybetter than winning 50 games against Arkansas St., Texas St and Whatsamater U. Why? because it means SMU is still playing Division 1A football instead of Ivy League caliber football. Solve the competitiveness problem -don't put makeup on a sow's [deleted] just to make the stinking pig look better.

[Dooby]

The "competitiveness" problem? What is that? Is that a fancy way of saying SMU loses more often than not?

1. You yourself have said you had no problem with scheduling soft this year and next.

2. I have asked on more than one occasion what needs to be done. I don't recall receiving a response.

It seems to me that most of the things your gripe about on this (and the former) board have been remedied. Granted, we need to see what the school of Ed. and Human Dev't. does for anything, but what else is there to do? We recruited 2 juco QB's a year ago. This year we recruited a handful of Juco position players. We even have a couple of grey-shirts, I believe. Honestly, if you tell me what to [deleted] about, I might join you.

3. I have asked, albeit obnoxiously, what am I personally supposed to do? I don't recall receiving a response.

Do you want me to boycott the Spring Game? I won't do that, because I really have to get out of the house and I don't play golf or fish. Should I give more or less money?

Please enlighten me, or else I can only conclude that SMU will get better if I can just act surly enough.

Edit: When did Ark. State drop out of Div. 1-A? People seem to enjoy playing fast and loose on this subject and it ticks me off.

[PK]

For what it is worth, here is Texas Tech's first three games this fall:

Sat 09/10/2005 Florida International Jones SBC Stadium 6:00 PM
Sat 09/17/2005 Sam Houston State Jones SBC Stadium 6:00 PM
Sat 09/24/2005 Indiana State Jones SBC Stadium 6:00 PM

Are you as impressed as I am (no offense MrMustang1965)?

[Stallion]

it would be great to be as naive as you and the rest of your buddies. Signing JUCOs doesn't mean SMU is on an even playing field. Let me say this for the 100,000 thousand time. SMU is not recruiting the same JUCOs as the rest of the schools we play. SMU is still admiting high school players under stricter guidelines than their competitors-ex. SMU averages retaken grades/scores rather than simply accepting a passing score. I still see quality Division 1A transfers pouring into our competitor's programs and very few to ours. Who the hell knows what's going on with the curiculm? My acceptance of the "changes in the admission policies are coming soon" excuse ran out about 10 years ago. I ain't giving ANY CREDIT to changes that should have been implement a decade ago especially when were told 4 years ago that SMU had made a COMMITMENT.

[Dooby]

it would be great to be as naive as you and the rest of your buddies.

Edit: Insult deleted.

Signing JUCOs doesn't mean SMU is on an even playing field. Let me say this for the 100,000 thousand time. SMU is not recruiting the same JUCOs as the rest of the schools we play.

And this has to do with the curriculum. Jucos tend to take classes like phys ed and kineseology that SMU doesn't offer. So when they transfer, we can't get them enrolled and on scholarship. How does SMU not violate NCAA rules by giving JuCo's credit for classes SMU doesn't offer? It can't. That is the problem, right?

Hmmmm....I said, "Granted, we need to see what the School of Ed. and Human Dev't. does for anything, but what else is there to do? "

Wow. Maybe I do understand this problem.

Nevertheless, Bennett and his staff deserve some credit for working within the current system to make the team better as opposed to Cavan who appeared to just throw his hands up and not even try.

SMU is still admiting high school players under stricter guidelines than their competitors-ex. SMU averages retaken grades/scores rather than simply accepting a passing score.

Eureka. An actual identifiable gripe. Wow. I would like to join Stallion in calling for an end to this practice. See? Was that so hard?

Who the hell knows what's going on with the curiculm? My acceptance of the "changes in the admission policies are coming soon" excuse ran out about 10 years ago.

See above re: curriculum. I don't care about 10 years ago. I care about now. What can I do now? You did not answer that question.

[EastStang]

This year is not a creampuff schedule. We have Baylor (pretty evenly matched with them), TCU, and A&M. Next year 2006, we have an infinitely easier schedule. I think Stallion's view of the 2006 schedule was that he had no problem with it for 1 year, but we shouldn't make a habit out of it because our conference schedule will be easy enough. TCU certainly came close to running the table in CUSA and Louisville did.

[couch 'em]

A REGIONAL newspaper? Since when? They claim to bring the news of "your city" to you. And to continue splitting hairs, merely being a newspaper of any kind would indicate it should cover news. And there isn't a single reason why that news covered shouldn't include the news of the city it claims to cover.

I agree that they should cover more Dallas news. But the reality of the situation is you can get DMN almost up to the border of Austin or Houston and DMN aims to cover more world news and be a major paper. If you want real Dallas news, read the observer. DMN serves Dallas and the surrounding metroplex and beyond.

Huh? SMU gets special treatment? The paper claims (at our games) to "sponsor" SMU athletics. Puh-leeze! I guess I can stomach the stories about the Baylor women's basketball team -- if there's a school that deserves a little good basketball pub, it's BU. But if we get a dozen front-page stories about them again next year .... no thanks. Nice story this year, now get it over with.

Yes, we do get special treatment. How many papers do you SMU sells? If we were the main focus of the sports section instead of UT or A&M everyone would be looking to the StarTelegram for sports news. Get real. DMN could never cover another SMU story again and they wouldn't even feel it in their bottom line. They might actually make more money because we wouldn't be clogging up their paper. The DMN wants to cover NEWS. We are NOT news to the vast, vast majority of people anywhere, including Dallas. I doubt SMU sports is even news to the majority of students.

If the DMN wants to be a "state" or a "regional" paper, fine. But the insistence by DMN higher-ups that it covers Dallas first is a joke. They ought to call it "The Texas Morning News" or "The Southwest Morning News" or even "USAToday Southwest."

Agreed. But you could make that same argument about the New York Times, etc.

On the contrary, you're crazy if you think they're covering college sports objectively. They cover teams that will sell papers, not teams that merit coverage. No, I'm not saying they should abandon the Mavs, Cowboys, or even the Stars and FC Dallas (yes, FC Dallas). But there's no reason things like NASCAR and professional tennis and should get any space in front of the only Div. I-A college in Dallas.

What are you talking about? Teams that sell papers ARE the teams that merit coverage, to the readers of DMN. Are you saying that some Div IV team in Alaska that has an amazing year and all sorts of interesting facts about them should share space with another UT losing to Oklahoma story? That's silly. To the readers of DMN, that Div IV team doesn't merit coverage, because nobody cares about it. In the same way, we don't merit more coverage than we are getting.

NASCAR and Tennis get better coverage than SMU because people actually give a damn about those sports, that is what they want to read about, and that is what will sell papers. You are insane if you think that DMN should cover the Badminton team at some local communty college infront of NASCAR because it's the ONLY Badminton team in Dallas. Face facts. SMU is now insignificant in college football. The average college football fan under 30 probably couldn't tell you what SMU stands for or where it is located. Most students couldn't tell you who play quarterback this year, or who we played in conference, or what conference we are in/were in.

Welcome to 2005.

[SWC2010]

The other thing you apparently forgot is that Coach Bennett has closed practice so who knows if any DMN people were there. They will be there for the Red-Blue game.

Pony, I've been to 2 of the "closed" practices this spring & Calvin Watkins was at both.

Folks, practices are not closed. There are no armed guards (except the ones giving out parking tickets). Half the practices are out on the field with a rod-iron fence separating you from the team. Go on- just stand there & catch all the action you want.

I did notice a "Green-N-Gold" Helicopter hovering over the practices, however, filming every play.

[DallasDiehard]

I agree that they should cover more Dallas news. But the reality of the situation is you can get DMN almost up to the border of Austin or Houston and DMN aims to cover more world news and be a major paper. If you want real Dallas news, read the observer....

You were making sense until you said that! the Observer hasn't printed an actual news story since .... ever.