Auburn's choice means Frog fans can rest easy

I had a bad feeling Gary Patterson would leave TCU for Auburn. I don't know why. He's mentioned for nearly every opening these days and has not left yet, despite some very enticing offers. I seem to remember something about a $2 million offer to coach Minnesota. And there was his alma mater, K-State, which has been in the market for a new coach twice in recent years. Neither was able to lure Patterson away from Fort Worth. But this time, I thought things would be different, that he would finally act on that urge to leave for a school that was at least in a conference that made it possible to win a national title.

But then word leaked that Auburn will hire Gene Chizik from Iowa State. Yes, that's the same Gene Chizik who piloted the Cyclones to 2-10 in 2008. And the Same Gene Chizik who won three games in his first year at Iowa State.

Of course, he was a great defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas, but the man has won five games in two years. It seems odd that Auburn replaced a guy who won five games this year with a guy who won five games in two years. But maybe the Tigers see something in Chizik.

There were better coaches available. But count me among those happy with the hire. It means, at least for now, TCU will not be added to the list of schools looking for new head coaches.

Winner of Poinsettia looks good for 2009

The Poinsettia Bowl is being ranked as one of the top bowls of the 2008 season. The Dec. 23 match-up between undefeated Boise State and 10-2 TCU certainly should draw a wide audience. Both offenses are explosive, and TCU has the nation's No. 2 defense. And while both teams will be looking to win the bowl championship, the bigger prize is the high preseason ranking the winner figures to have. As college football is currently structured, non-BCS schools that start the season outside the top 25 have a nearly impossible road to the BCS. TCU was an exception this year because of its tough schedule. The Frogs beat one top 10 team (BYU) and lost to two others (BCS participants Oklahoma and Utah) on the road. Net year's schedule doesn't figure to be as favorable for a BCS run, unless coach Gary Patterson is able to add a top 10 team late. Translation: The Frogs will have an easier time reaching their first BCS game with a win in San Diego in two weeks.

Dalton the key to a Frog victory

The Frogs face a tough challenge on the road tomorrow against UNLV. They have been great at home this year, but have struggled on the road. Let's ignore the OU game because they were not supposed to win. The Colorado State game was less than inspiring. They had to hold on at the end to win, 13-7. But it's also unfair to use that game to judge their ability to win on the road. Why? Andy Dalton was out of the lineup against the Rams. And while Marcus Jackson is a good backup, Dalton has established himself as a big-game quarterback who could do some special things at TCU. He'll be ready for the Rebels.

So much for the short lines

The line at our polling place stretched out the door and into the parking lot this afternoon. Today was the last day for Texans to vote early, and plenty of Denton County residents were waiting patiently to cast their ballots at our nearby public library. Many of them had undoubtedly heard of the long lines, but they had still come out to vote today.

I guess they thought the lines this afternoon would be shorter than those on Election Day. Maybe they looked at the Carrollton Web site and saw the banner at the top of the page encouraging registered voters to vote early so they could "avoid the long lines" Tuesday. Something tells me the folks who designed that banner would like to change the wording a bit, especially when the early voting totals are released. Records are likely to be shattered across the region -- and probably throughout the state.

Despite the long line this afternoon, the polling place was operated smoothly. Election officials did an outstanding job keeping the line moving. It took only about a half-hour for me to reach the voting booth. One election worker told me that at the beginning of early voting two weeks ago, it was taking about 90 minutes to get through the line.

Needless to say, I was glad I waited to cast my ballot.

No more advice, please

All this debate advice for Gov. Sarah Palin strikes me as similar to the unsolicited tips given a slumping golfer by his buddies. Many of the columnists and analysts offering pointers are probably well-intentioned, but she would be better off not listening to anyone.

Swing away, Gov. Palin.

Third-place spot a fair one for TCU

The media picked the football Frogs to finish third in the Mountain West Conference, behind BYU and Utah, respectively. It's difficult to argue with this order. The Frogs may be better than Utah, but until someone in the MWC discovers how to beat BYU, it will be difficult not to reserve the top spot for the Cougars in the preseson poll.

Breaking news in a different way

The media's embracing of blogs and other social media has revolutionized the way they get information to customers. No longer must readers of newspapers wait for the morning edition -- or even the next post on the Web. They can get their news from constantly updated blogs, which also allow these same readers to influence the coverage. Consider one way the Des Moines Register is covering the devastating Midwest floods.

Indeed, breaking news blogs will help make newspapers relevant again.

Wild animals make vacation more special

Another amazing part about our trip to the Canadian Rockies was the selection of animals we saw. And many of them, including the black bears, were close enough for us to get good pictures. The grizzlies were a bit far to capture without a powerful lens, but they looked close enough through my binoculars.

A new favorite

My wife and I just returned from a week's vacation in Alberta, Canada, where we visited Edmonton -- the provincial capital -- and the Canadian Rockies. I've always been a fan of the mountains. And the Rocky Mountains have been my clear favorite. But I had only seen what Colorado had to offer, not the Canadian portion of the fabulous range.

If the Canadian Rockies have an equal, I have not seen it. Part of their Majesty could be attributed to the fact that they were covered with snow after Memorial Day -- as one might expect so far north. Of course, as we flew into Denver on our way back home Saturday, snow was clearly visible on the Colorado mountain tops -- just not as much.

Maybe it was the time of year we were there. Or the cool weather. Whatever it is, there is something that gives the Canadian Rockies an edge over their American counterparts. Our friend Wendy, a proud Canadian, would agree.

This proud American has a new favorite range.

TCU to hire Kent State coach

TCU is expected to hire Kent State's Jim Christian as basketball coach this afternoon. AD Danny Morrison should be commended for bringing in a proven head coach. Christian has won at least 20 games in each of his six seasons at Kent State. And while he will face many challenges at TCU, there is no reason the basketball program cannot be consistently competitive in the Mountain West. The program will not be rebuilt overnight. But with a winning program, the Frogs will be able to recruit at least a few top players from the Metroplex. Together with an experienced coach who has tasted success and can show the players what it looks like, that will win games.

We will never out-recruit Texas and A&M while they are competing for Big 12 -- even national -- championships. But right now, that should not be the standard because we're not competing against those schools. We need to pay attention to the schools in the MWC.

Dougherty era ends

Gil LeBreton said it pretty well in his column this morning. There were a lot of reasons to end the Neil Dougherty era at TCU. In the end, Dougherty's optimism wasn't enough to keep him around. Even his optimism -- this is a man who somehow found optimistic words to describe his team during its six-win season three years ago -- had begun to be overshadowed by frustration. It was evident in his voice after every head-scratching loss. He couldn't figure out why the Frogs were so inconsistent. They had some good moments during Dougherty's tenure. But there simply wasn't enough improvement. Although the team is clearly better than it was in 2005-06, there were too many games this season that left fans wondering if the improvement has really been measurable.

One piece of advice for athletic director Danny Morrison: Bring to Fort Worth someone with head coaching experience. The TCU basketball program has sunk too low to allow another career assistant an opportunity.

The new home office

My wife let me have a wall in the office painted purple (authentic TCU purple). It hasn't helped the men's basketball team turn their season around, but it will increase my productivity. The office is taking shape now that we've officially moved in. (This photo was taken shortly after the room was painted.)

Snow in North Texas

The new house (long before the yard was blanketed with snow).




I'm sitting here in the comfort of my new home office, listening as the frozen precipitation hits the window. The grass is nearly covered with a mixture of wet snow and frozen rain. To those used to the snow, it's not much, but this type of weather tends to shut things down in North Texas. Businesses close early, schools cancel classes, and the traffic becomes even more horrific than normal. Thankfully, I worked from home all day.

After a fairly mild winter, we've had snow twice this month. Earlier this week, we got a slight dusting here is Carrollton, but today, it's been more pronounced. And the snow will probably stick around for a while -- at least through the night. Days like this are fun when winter weather doesn't strike too often.

The rich don't spend?

Someone please explain to me how the wealthy can get away with buying the nicest cars, the most expensive furniture and the biggest mansions without spending a dime. This must be the case. The left is standing firm against extending tax rebates to "rich" Americans -- it's funny how they define rich, isn't it? -- on the grounds that they will save the money. This must mean they have no plans to upgrade to a nicer BMW, buy newer furniture or move into a larger house if given a rebate check.

If they ever get a break from the government, the money must go into a black hole somewhere, never to be invested in the aforementioned luxury goods. I'd like to know what bank is holding onto all that money, wouldn't you?

Bowl was big for QB's development

The Frogs' Texas Bowl win over Houston marked the end of a pretty remarkable season. Although eight wins was shy of the 11 or 12 predicted, head coach Gary Patterson was forced to deal with a potentially devastating issue off the field before the season even started. There's no doubt the drama surrounding star Tommy Blake affected the team's performance. He, of course, missed significant time with a mysterious illness. Early in the season, even when Blake played, Patterson had to watch him closely. He was understandably not as sharp as he could have been.

Add to the Blake-related woes the fact that TCU was led by a redshirt freshman quarterback -- Andy Dalton -- and it's easy to understand how 2007 was far from disappointing. Patterson rallied TCU to consecutive victories at the end of the regular season to lead them to another bowl game The comeback at San Diego State helped shape the Frogs for the future more than many will realize. The extra practices that come with a bowl appearance are always welcome. But the Texas Bowl proved especially beneficial for Dalton, who had a great second half on the way to winning the game MVP. Playing not far from his hometown of Katy, Dalton endured a difficult first half to lead the Frogs to their third straight bowl victory. He'll be expected to persevere from similar difficulties in the future. The good news is, he now has proved he can do it in big-game situations.