I spent the weekend covering high school, college and pro football, but the weekend was wonderful because I spent time with our daughter Jennifer and my wife Cindy in Plano...oh yea, and Jennifer's dog, Oreo...an incredibly smart and lovable Border Collie.
The only thing missing was Craig, our son, who stayed back in Tyler to get his final weekend of R&R with the team he covers, Whitehouse, having a bye week. I'm hoping he'll come in for a BU game, perhaps Kansas to get a feel for a conference game and tailgate. If not, I'll run back to Tyler for a day or two this weekend or next.
Jennifer is a Tech grad and she wasn't too thrilled with the loss to Texas on Saturday night. First thing she said following the loss, "Great, now all my UT friends will be hammering me on Facebook this week." Oh well...
Our broadcast on Friday between China Spring and McGregor went well, but we're still not able to get the best audio for the broadcast. China Spring's stadium, Cougar Stadium doesn't have any access to a phone line and it's not the best setup for us. I sure hope that changes sometime soon. The campus is very nice, so is the stadium, but the distance between their buildings and the stadium don't allow the phone company to get a line from A-Z. We're using a couple of technical options, but still not what I want.
China Spring will get their best test of the season this Friday at #1 Brownwood.
I've already sent a request for all the broadcast information we need to their head coach Bob Shipley.
I drove to Fort Worth to watch Baylor @ TCU at Amon Carter Stadium on Saturday.
Major disappointment.
You could tell from the opening snap it was going to be a long afternoon for the Bears defense, TCU QB Andy Dalton was precise and riddled the BU secondary. It was almost as if Dalton knew Baylor's CB's would be playing off their receivers and it was easy pass and catch for most of the night. TCU also has a nice running game with Wesley and Tucker and they just did basically what they wanted on offense.
TCU is well-known for their aggressive defense, and Saturday didn't change anything.
BU QB Robert Griffin III missed some opportunities but he was running for his life from the first snap.
Tough loss for the Bears who like their fan base were expecting much more---so this could be Art Briles' toughest coaching week of the season. Coming off the disappointing showing and a road trip to a dangerous Rice team in Houston.
Speaking of the Bears, Lovie Smith's Bears haven't been very good for the past three seasons---following their trip to the Super Bowl.
But, Lovie, who I'm proud to say is a great friend of mine, changed his coaching staff, brought in offensive genius Mike Martz, and another former head coach, Mike Tice, and another one in Rod Marinelli.
Think about that---Smith, Martz, Tice and Marinelli all on the same staff.
I'm not sure if the Bears can sustain their 2-0 start and especially their new-found offense, but they've made me a believer. Turnover-prone QB Jay Cutler looks like Kurt Warner through two weeks.
Bears defense, which has been crushed with injuries in recent years is healthy with Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Charles Tillman running around making plays left and right.
Lovie Smith was a guest on our show last Thursday...he's as complete a true gentleman that you can find...along with my father.
Cowboys are 0-2 and 0-2 in the NFL usually means no playoff team. It's happened before, but I believe there was a stat of 18-teams starting 0-2 in the past twenty years and making the post-season.
Cowboys last started 0-2 in 2001, they finished 5-11. If this Cowboys team finishes 5-11 or worse than 9-7 or 10-6, there will be a lot of heads rolling by Christmas.
And, yes---I do remember the 1993 Cowboys starting 0-2 during an Emmitt Smith holdout. He came back, Cowboys got on a roll and won Super Bowl XXVIII. But, as much as some people keep talking about the talent of this years team, it doesn't compare to '93, but not many do.
As I've said on the Monday following a Cowboys loss, "we don't deserve to get a paycheck today," it will be like taking candy from a baby...Cowboys loss, 0-2 start, and BU coming off their disastrous loss in Fort Worth.
Butch Henry will be out on Monday at a funeral, Paul Catalina and I will co-host the show.
My advice to him, "let 'em vent..." and we will starting at 3:00pm on Monday.
Let's have a great week.
David Smoak
smoaky@1660espn.com
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