Ready for Sunday

Kickoff is inching closer, as the TCU Horned Frogs are less than three days away from the season opener at Baylor. Bears coach Guy Morriss has not exactly kept quiet, unfortunate for a TCU alum. No name-calling here. I'll wait for the game.

Coach Gary Patterson will do the same. His weekly radio show tonight was characteristically free of bulletin-board zingers. The only fans he fired up were the Frog faithful. Two days, 16 hours and 33 minutes till kickoff. Go Frogs!

Hope for the Cats

The Fort Worth Cats face elimination in their American Association playoff series after a 4-2 loss to the Shreveport Sports on Thursday. The Cats have a not-so-secret weapon that could propel them to a series victory (assuming a Game 4 win). First base coach Wayne Terwilliger, who guided the Cats to the 2005 Central Baseball League title as manager, has decades of baseball experience from which the Cats can draw as they look to defeat their division rivals and advance to the championship series.

What a surprise!

John Mark Karr is not the man they wanted after all. But who can honestly say they are surprised? Certainly no one who has paid attention since Karr confessed, was arrested and dined in luxury on the way from Thailand to Los Angeles. Authorities announced Monday that Karr's DNA did not match what was at the crime scene. Maybe Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy really believed Karr was at the scene when JonBenet Ramsey was killed in 1996. Most people can look at Karr's odd behavior since becoming a media wart and conclude better investigation was necessary before flying Karr in to face charges in JonBenet's murder. If only Lacy had gotten the message before she made a fool of herself and her office.

Go Frogs!!

With the official kickoff of college football less than a week away, it's hard to think about any other sport, especially here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, rich with alumni of some of the biggest college football powers: Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, Nebraska .... and TCU. That's right. Sure, Texas is the defending champion, Coach Fran will have the Aggies ready to play down in College Station, and OU is always a strong contender, even without its starting quarterback from last year. But don't forget the team that shocked the Sooners last September.

The TCU Horned Frogs travel to Waco on Sept. 3 for a matchup against yet another Big 12 team, the Baylor Bears. Coached by TCU alum Guy Morriss, the Bears have a new offense built to mimic Texas Tech's pass-happy attack. But Gary Patterson's defense is ready for the challenge. If the Frogs survive the Bears and take care of Tech on Sept. 15 (in front of a sellout crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium) they will be on their way to another stellar season. This time, the Bowl Championship Series seams less of a pipe dream. Go Frogs!!

Yes, I'm a newlywed

The wife and me on our wedding day - May 6, 2006. Hard to believe it's been almost 4 months!

Go Frogs!

On our honeymoon in Lake Tahoe, CA. (Self-portrait by Bethany)

The mtn.

The problems with the fledgling Mountain West Conference TV network, the mtn., only appear to be getting worse. League Commissioner Craig Thompson promised fans of the nine-team conference they would have access to their favorite team's games by Sept. 1. As of today, only Colorado, New Mexico and Utah receive the regional network. Considering who's left out -- San Diego, Las Vegas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area -- that's a pretty small region. (Wyoming has also been denied the ability to see the mtn.) True, five of the MWC's nine teams are in the three-state region, but those of us in the other markets have been given a rude slap in the face.

We have no reason to believe the concept of a network devoted to a league most people will never see has even a minute chance of succeeding. When the Mountain West left ESPN for CSTV, we were told it was a student-athlete-friendly decision. No more games on Monday and Tuesday, or Wednesday and Friday, for that matter. ESPN was demanding too much, we were told. And the conference had a great idea in a network deviated to college sports (CSTV). The problem with the notion that the move was good for the athletes is this: College football players want to be on TV.

And without access to CSTV or the mtn., football fans can't watch MWC games. The issue is more acute for fans of other teams who just want to see TCU or another top league team play. They won't be able to most of the time. And worse, they probably won't even know the network exists.

The MWC's defection from ESPN was hailed as a ground-breaking opportunity to build a network from the ground up. CSTV represented the future, we were told. One problem: ESPN has also tried the college-only concept. And noone can watch ESPN U, either. If any network is going to make this concept work, it will be the most popular sports network in the world. But even it is having trouble gaining traction. The mtn. Is not dead, but the MWC brain trust needs to reevaluate its priorities.

The John Mark Karr Saga

John Mark Karr, the suspect in the mysterious murder of JonBenet Ramsey nearly a decade ago, is to be transported to Colorado after waiving extradition from Los Angeles. Usually, in cases such as this one, as evidence begins stacking up, it paints a pretty clear picture of the suspect's involvement in the crime.

In the case of Karr, each new piece of evidence seems to cloud the issue. From his talking about JonBenet in the present tense to suggestions he wasn't even in Colorado when the murder took place, it appears Karr may just be out for publicity.
For the average American, deciphering Karr's comments is impossible. Sane people do not think or talk like he does. Yet, pundits have, since Day One, been trying to figure out why he confessed. Was it to escape the Thai prisons? This was a favorite possibility early on, and has a lot of credence. He was reportedly facing charges for sex crimes there, and in Thailand, sex offenders are treated, shall we say, unkindly. Or so says conventional wisdom.

But to say Karr has enough marbles left to be thinking this clearly is a stretch. He may not have even committed the crime. Those who say he was nowhere near Boulder, Colo. When the crime occurred also may not be remembering quite as well as if the crime had happened 10 moths ago. Ten years is a long time. My suspicion is Karr just wanted the attention, but the district attorney has enough on him to be pursuing him as the suspect. Maybe she'll surprise us.

A cup of coffee

Let's not all be so indignant about the prohibition of liquids and gels on commercial jets. When the rule was instituted recently, most people reacted similarly -- with frustration and bewilderment -- but it's time for a little ingenuity. My wife and I live in Dallas and often fly out of Love Field. One of the first things passengers see as they enter the airport, before even the line of anxious travelers waiting to pass through the metal detectors, is a coffee stand.

It's right by the security check point. Well, despite the presence of a small seating area, the major coffee company that runs the stand is losing business right and left. It has to be. A slight shift in strategy could change this.

My idea, straight from the business plan of Kramerica Industries, is simple. People have to wait in line for extended periods of time, especially following the latest terror scare. So the market for coffee in that part of the airport remains robust. If the ban on liquids remains, a slight modification will be in order.

Instead of selling standard-size cups, the major coffee company in question should consider selling smaller cups. The goal would be a size that allows customers to drink the coffee before reaching the front of the line at the check point. Some might argue there are better ways to increase coffee consumption, but the coffee company (Starbucks) is in no hurry to cede its prime location. Its kiosk is the first thing many people see when entering the airport. A better solution would be to slice the size of the cups in half.

Starbucks -- Seattle's Best, a subsidiary of Big Coffee's most imposing presence, operates the stand -- could continue selling large cups. They would be less plentiful, certainly. But enough people would still want them with the adjacent seating area. What is needed is a change for those potential customers who typically are too busy removing theie shoes to drink up in time.

I can hear Regis calling right now.

Airline security

My wife and I are leaving town this weekend for a big family get-together. Logistics require that we fly, since we'll be traveling to New Orleans from our home in Dallas. This means our first taste of liquids-free flight. Conceptually, I agree with more-stringent rules in the face of last week's foiled plan to blow up U.S.-bound jets. (My wife disagrees. She believes the likelihood of terrorists using liquid explosives to be minute after the idea was exposed.)

I'm not so sure. I do know, however, that the changes made to airline security -- although loosened slightly over the weekend -- don't all make sense. Women can new bring on lipstick (a sensible revision), but most liquids are still prohibited. Consider the ban on beverages such as coffee. Following 9/11, security personnel asked travelers to taste their drinks when passing through security. Now, they are flat-out prohibited from taking it through the metal detectors. Perhaps there's an easier, more convenient solution.
This would be a good time to bring back the taste tests.

Deflecting terror

The thwarting of the plot to kill perhaps thousands aboard 10 U.S.-bound planes today should remind us of the post-9/11 horror that gripped our lives for months after the Twin Towers fell. Unfortunately, too many of us have fallen under the spell of complacency and will not understand the necessary steps taken at airports today. Passengers cannot take liquids on board planes, meaning coffee, bottled water, even hair gel is off limits. (The ban applies only to carry-on luggage.) Who knows how long these rules will be in place. And yes, they are inconvenient to travelers. But as politically charged as the U.S. is, the Bush administration made the only move it could. Had the TSA taken a less-draconian approach, President Bush would have been torn to pieces by the left, which correctly would complain of an inadequate response.

As time passes, and we learn more about the foiled attacks, the appropriateness of the government's action will be made clearer. But let us remember, terrorism simply has been deflected. It will rear its head again on our soil. And we'd better not be dreaming when it does.