Gameday

- Hate that it's on Thursday, and sick of all the hype, but it is gameday. By the way, take Green Bay +7 and Over 51.

- Scouts, Inc.

Which team will establish the running game?
Both offenses would love to control the clock on the ground and keep the opposing offense on the sidelines, but they go about it very differently. The Cowboys are massive up front and pound opposing defenses into submission throughout the course of the game with two very good running backs. Marion Barber and Julius Jones combined for 167 rushing yards on 32 carries against the Jets on Thanksgiving. On the other hand, Green Bay controls the clock with a short precise passing game and now a developing zone-rushing attack with Ryan Grant carrying the ball. Grant is still battling an ankle injury, but looked great Thursday when he was called on to finish off the Lions in the fourth quarter. He runs behind a smaller, more athletic line that is very technically sound. Jones is the most elusive of these three runners and Barber is the most physical, but Grant is a big, strong runner who is quick to get downhill and deliver a blow to opposing tacklers. The defensive fronts that both rushing attacks will be facing are very athletic, but not particularly massive. Both the Cowboys' and Packers' defensive lines have good depth and do a nice job of rotating players in to stay fresh, while the linebackers are loaded with playmakers on both squads. Like just about everything else in this great matchup, choosing a winner in this facet of the game is very difficult, but we give the slight edge to Dallas due to it having two quality runners and a powerful offensive line. The Cowboys controlled the football for nearly 38 minutes against New York while Green Bay held it for under 26 minutes in Detroit.

Will the Packers be able to get to Tony Romo?
Romo is very difficult to sack for numerous reasons. He is a very good athlete who can avoid the rush while keeping his eyes downfield to scan for open receivers. He uses his light feet to set up passing plays and isn't looking to run. He also has a very good pocket presence and quick release, getting rid of the ball on time and with great confidence in his throw. Dallas' pass protection is top notch as well and the Cowboys offensive line features several very good pass blockers. However, Dallas did allow the Jets' sub-standard pass rush to put Romo on the ground three times. LDE Aaron Kampman had two of the Packers' four sacks against Detroit and is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. His matchup against RT Marc Colombo might be the Packers' best one-on-one matchup in this any area of this game. A former washout first round pick, Colombo has resurrected his career in Dallas but he is overmatched against Kampman. Kampman is quick off the ball and simply relentless. His technique and hand usage is exceptional and he has the ability to bend his knees, get his pads down and drive through opposing right tackles. Colombo can play too high and demonstrates noticeable stiffness. The Cowboys will have to roll their protection schemes in Kampman's direction, but he isn't the only Packer who is capable of getting to and disrupting Romo. On throwing downs, Green Bay usually moves RDE Cullen Jenkins inside and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila replaces him on the edge. Both are excellent pass rushers in their own right.

In what should be a close game, which QB steps up and wins the game in the clutch?
Wow. This is a tough one. Brett Favre's track record is impeccable, but Romo is 16-5 as the Cowboys' starting quarterback. Neither quarterback ever flinches in the face of pressure and their teammates have all the faith in the world in their respective signal caller for very good reason. Favre's and Romo's pure passing numbers are exceptional and it has become clear that these are the best two quarterbacks that the NFC has to offer. Both offenses seem to get better as the game goes along and these quarterbacks are a major reason why. They thrive in the clutch. If this game turns into a back and forth battle between both offenses, we give a very slight advantage to Favre as he has been performing his heroics much longer than Romo. However, the best bet if that scenario comes into play would be to bet on the man who has the ball last. It is that even.

Scouts' Edge

Choosing the Scouts, Inc. Advantage was a difficult chore. How do you choose between Romo and Favre? We chose Favre just based on his pedigree, but both quarterbacks are playing at an extremely high level and are clearly the top two signal callers in the NFC. The winner of this game is likely to have home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and neither team wants to play in the other's building for the right to advance to the Super Bowl, which is the likely scenario. Both teams have impressive winning streaks and are getting better as the season goes along. This has all the makings of being an exceptional football game that could easily go either way, but we are giving the nod to the Cowboys because the Packers sustained a few potentially substantial injuries and the game is being played in Dallas. Still, do not be surprised if Green Bay spreads the field and attacks the Cowboys successfully much the same way as the Patriots did when they handed Dallas its only loss. Expect these powerhouses to meet again with the honor of advancing to Super Bowl XLII on the line.


Prediction: Cowboys 27, Packers 24




- Mavericks get another ho-hum victory against a weak opponent.



Dallas Mavericks hold off Minnesota

02:29 AM CST on Thursday, November 29, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

The Dallas Mavericks played half a game Wednesday night.

They will get credit for a whole win, even if it wasn't a thing of beauty.

To break their three-game losing streak, they followed a proven formula. They tweaked the starting lineup. They made sure they got off to a rare, rapid start. They played with passion – for a while.

Mostly, they were facing the Minnesota Timberwolves, who dragged a 2-10 record into American Airlines Center.

Even then, it was a struggle.

Reverting to the starting lineup that served them so well during the last few regular seasons – if not in the playoffs – the Mavericks rolled up a nice first-half lead, stretched it to 20, then held on for a 109-103 victory.

"We got the win," Jason Terry said. "It was an ugly one. But we got it. That's what matters."

At this point, he's right. But the second half was clear evidence that the problems the Mavericks have will not be magically erased with a lineup change. Terry started in the backcourt with Devin Harris, and Erick Dampier, free from any minutes restrictions on his rebuilt right shoulder, was in at center.

Avery Johnson emphasized that this is not the end of Terry's sixth-man role. It's merely a temporary change.

"That first half kind of looked like old times," Johnson said. "Jet and Devin were pushing the ball, but we left it in the locker room in the third quarter."

And Terry's future remains as a sixth man. At least, that's the game plan.

"We want to get back to it," Johnson said. "But in the short term, none of our other solutions worked. So we had to go back with our normal five. We still think to win a championship you've got to be bigger at the two spot, especially against some of the teams we have to beat. But over the next 10 days or two weeks, we've just got to go back to our familiar lineup."

During that time, Eddie Jones, Devean George and Trenton Hassell will get time to improve their conditioning and get healthy.

And Terry and Harris will start.

"Hopefully we won't have to use it the rest of the season, because then we'll get back in the same situation we were in last season," Johnson said, referencing a fatigued team in the playoffs. "That's why it's important for Eddie Jones and Devean George to get in top-notch condition."

Johnson was adamant earlier in the day that the Mavericks are not good enough right now to take any team for granted, so they focused just long enough to keep the Timberwolves under wraps. Coming off a win Monday in New Orleans, the Wolves looked in the first half like they'd reached their quota for the week.

The Mavericks raced up by 15 in the second quarter and were up by 20 midway through the third quarter.

That's when they hit the wall. But the youthful Wolves didn't have enough artillery to make up the difference, although they got as close as 86-83 in the fourth quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki, who had 27 points and 11 rebounds, scored eight of his points in the final 5:41, and Harris, who hit nine of 10 shots for the night, converted two late buckets to protect the lead.

Harris and Terry were on the court together most of the night. And familiarity finally bred a victory.

"It gives us more options, not taking anything away from guys that were starting before this change," Josh Howard said. "But these guys have been starting together for the past three years. I guess guys are comfortable."

Dampier – like Terry, in the starting lineup for the first time this season – had 10 rebounds to go with eight points. Sent to the bench was DeSagana Diop, whom Johnson said may be "thinking too much" at this point in the season. Diop played less than 10 minutes and only one minute after halftime.



- Stars start hot, lose 2 goal lead, and end 6 game winning streak.



Devils take down Dallas Stars, 4-2

11:59 PM CST on Wednesday, November 28, 2007
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Dallas Stars' winning streak ground to a halt at six games Wednesday night when the New Jersey Devils found a way to grind out a 4-2 win at the Prudential Center.

It was a lesson in the balance of the NHL for the Stars, and also a wakeup call to just how shaky the tightrope of winning can be in a league that has found parity.

"You can find a way to win or you can find a way to lose," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "And we found a way to lose tonight."

The Stars frittered away a two-goal first period lead in which they received two gifts from shaky Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. They then couldn't cash in late when they were trying to forge the go-ahead goal in a 2-2 game.

Stars center Mike Modano tried to force a pass into the slot on one offensive rush, and that allowed the Devils to mount a counter-attack that resulted in a two-on-one.

Former Stars winger Jamie Langenbrunner threaded a pass across the ice to Dainius Zubrus, and Zubrus flicked a shot over Stars goalie Marty Turco for the game-winning goal at the 10:57 mark of the third period.

"In a tight game, you can't try to force things, and we were trying to force things," Tippett said. "When you force things, you're going to give away too much on the other side."

The Stars have discovered a patient aggression in recent games, and that helped bring about the winning streak that fell one game short of tying the franchise record of seven (set three times, most recently in 1997).

However, they met a team in the Devils that played with more intensity and more poise, running their own winning streak to five games.

The Stars' loss drops them to 13-8-4 (30 points, second place in the West). Wins by St. Louis and Colorado on Wednesday mean there are three teams within three points of second place and eight teams within four points.

"Every night is a tough night and every night seems to change the standings," said forward Stu Barnes, who scored his first goal of the season. "We've been finding ways to win lately, and good teams do that. If you want to be a good team, you have to find a little bounce here or a little bounce there or a blocked shot here or there. You have to make the little plays."

The Stars couldn't get that bounce on a crucial 5-on-3 power play in the second period as Brodeur came up strong and simply wouldn't allow the puck to get past him.

"To me, that was the game," center Mike Ribeiro said. "If we scored there, it would have been a different game."

Instead, the power play now has been held scoreless in two consecutive games.

But the Stars say that along with addressing concerns, they still have to remember the good things they are doing.

"It's just a little bounce, a little sticking with it," said goalie Marty Turco, who fell to 7-5-3 with the loss. "It's creating your bounces and not just expecting them. When you believe and you have a strong group mentality, good things do happen.

"Those are things that are in your control."

The Stars, in the middle of a six-game road trip, play at Pittsburgh on Friday and at Philadelphia on Saturday.

"We have to do what we can to win the next game and go from there," Ribeiro said. "We can't go on a losing streak now. It's really about focusing on the next game.




- I guess the City of Stephenville Cult will have to tear down their University of Houston statue, rip off those Cougar bumper stickers, and cancel the Houston radio contract. Art Briles is going to Waco. Expect 20,000 new season ticket holders.

In all seriousness, this is a great hire for them and Briles. He's back where he belongs, in Central Texas. He knows the area and will be able to recruit to that school about as well anyone could. He's got an offense that he can sell to recruits. He's fine tuned that offense over the years and will be able to implement it fast. He'll get athletes, he'll have a kick ass offense, will get Baylor to a bowl game, and you watch - he'll be at a major school in no time.

In fact, I think he's far and away a better coach than Todd Dodge, another guy who ran a spread offense to perfection in high school, and who is getting a chance at the next level. Briles had just as much success at the Ville, and was an immediate success at the next level, and in a better conference than the Sun Belt. He just isn't a pretty boy Texas-Ex, so no one gets the knee pads out for him like they do for Dodge. Of course, he did all this before ESPN turned into the Coverage whores that they are, so it went unnoticed. He'll have a better college coaching career than Dodge will ever dream about.

Look at what he did in Houston, with bad facilities, a horrible program overall, low support, and in a bad conference.

Quick thought - I think Briles is the one who invented the QB zone read. Think back to when you first saw it, and where you first saw it. In Oklahoma in the early 2000s. Well, if you would have looked south of Norman in the mid-90s, Briles was kicking the 4A's ass with it. Brandon Stewart, Kendal Briles, Kevin Kolb, Kelan Luker, Jevan Snead, etc. I think it's very possible the roots of the zone read were born in Stephenville. And those colleges coaches caught on after some recruiting trips, or watching film. Have you ever thought about it?



Briles the choice to bring Baylor football back

02:12 AM CST on Thursday, November 29, 2007
By BRIAN DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News
brdavis@dallasnews.com

WACO – It's going to take a special coach to end Baylor's long string of football futility. Dave Roberts and Kevin Steele failed. Guy Morriss made a small dent, but nothing more.

Art Briles turned Houston into a winner in Conference USA. Baylor fans hope he has the magic touch in Waco.

Briles was introduced as the Bears' head coach Wednesday night in the Galloway Executive Suite at Floyd Casey Stadium. If Briles can dazzle on the field like he did during a 30-minute news conference, the Bears may already be on the right track.

"I can do all these things and say all these things, but we need to win football games," Briles said. "Y'all are winning in basketball, and you're outstanding in track and field, and baseball has been to the World Series. We need to win football games.

"That's our mission, that's our goal and that's our job."

Baylor officials are giving Briles a chance to complete the job, too.

Briles agreed to a seven-year contract worth slightly more than $1.2 million per year. If Briles reaches his incentives, the contract could be worth $1.8 million, two high-ranking university sources said. Briles made $900,000 at UH. With incentives, he could have made $1 million.

"When you feel you have a special coach, you want to make a commitment to that coach," Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw said. "And, in turn, he wanted to make a commitment to Baylor."

Briles, who has spent his entire life in Texas, was a wildly successful high school coach in Stephenville, where he won four state titles in 12 years. Briles became an assistant coach at Texas Tech and then took over at Houston.

With a high-flying spread offense, Briles went 18-8 the last two seasons with the Cougars and 34-28 overall. He led the program to the 2006 C-USA championship. This year's team is headed to the Texas Bowl, and will be coached by UH assistant Chris Thurmond.

Briles said he plans on being in his Baylor office Monday, the same day he turns 52.

Briles is known for having strong relationships with Texas high school coaches. With all those Texas ties and his track record, Briles easily earned the blessing of Grant Teaff, the most successful coach in Baylor history.

Teaff believes Briles is the right man for Baylor right now.

"You can't do what he did at Houston without knowing what you're doing," Teaff said. "I'm very happy because he also knows the importance of running the football. Throw it, fine. But brother, if you're going to win, you're going to have to run the football."

The Bears have endured 12 straight losing seasons, the last five under Morriss, who was fired on Nov. 18 after a 3-9 season. The team also has a 12-game losing streak in Big 12 play.

Briles immediately embraced Baylor's culture. He talked about recruiting players who had "strong Christian faith." He thanked Teaff for being a great influence on his coaching career.

"I feel kind of funny with Coach Teaff sitting here and I'm answering questions, and he's the guy with all the knowledge," Briles said. "Coach, if I say something wrong, you let me know. Don't let me get in trouble."

Briles also acknowledged Dave Campbell, the Texas journalism icon best known for his annual Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine – a Texas football bible of sorts.

"Dave, will I get a free magazine now?" Briles said. "I mean, $8.95 is getting a little stiff."

Briles' straight-forward philosophy and down-home charm wowed Baylor officials during Tuesday's interview in the Plano offices of Eastman & Beaudine, the search firm hired by McCaw.

McCaw, senior associate AD Todd Patulski and Bob Beaudine sat and talked with Briles for three hours. Briles went back home to Houston that afternoon without an offer, but a deal was hammered out around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

"After the interview, we always try to gauge each other so we're not all influenced by each other, and we all said home run," Patulski said. "The guy just hit a home run."

Mike Singletary, Baylor's former three-time All-American and the only other coach interviewed, wished "best of luck" to the program.

"I do think the Baylor folks got the kind of person they were looking for," Singletary said. "If that's the case, I'm happy for them and I hope it works out for the better."

Baylor players felt good after Briles introduced himself during a team meeting.

"I was already fired up after the team meeting," said safety Jordan Lake, who will be a junior next season. "We want to win now. That's what this team wants, that's what this school wants and the alumni. We just want to win."

ART BRILES
Age: 51 (Dec. 3, 1955)

High school: Rule

Education: Earned bachelor's degree from Texas Tech in 1979 and master's degree from Abilene Christian in 1984

Family: Wife, Jan; two daughters, Jancy and Staley; and one son, Kendal


COACHING EXPERIENCE
1979: Sundown HS, asst. coach

1980-83: Sweetwater HS, asst. coach

1984-85: Hamlin HS, head coach/AD

1986-87: Georgetown HS, head coach/AD

1988-99: Stephenville HS, head coach/AD

2000-02: Texas Tech, running backs coach

2003-07: Univ. of Houston, head coach

Nov. 28, 2007: Named Baylor's 25th head football coach


AT HOUSTON
Year Record Conf. Bowl
2003 7-6 4-4 Hawaii
2004 3-8 3-5 N/A
2005 6-6 4-4 Fort Worth
2006 10-4 7-1 Liberty
2007 8-4 6-2 Texas*




- Doesn't seem to matter what sport it is, Tom Hicks always proves to be an idiot when he gets involved with it. His goal to be this generation's Lamar Hunt is failing miserably, and I love it.



'I don't have any personal problems with Hicks and Gillett'

Andy Hunter at Anfield
Thursday November 29, 2007

Guardian

Belated recoveries were not limited to Liverpool's Champions League campaign last night as Rafael Benítez took his first genuine steps towards repairing relations with the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
A fractious week inside Anfield ended with Benítez savouring the most emotional night of his Liverpool reign as supporters marched in support of the manager before kick-off and his players produced an ultimately impressive victory over Porto.

From a renewed position of strength it would not have been difficult for the Spaniard to reinforce his opposition to the transfer restrictions which had cast serious doubt on his future at the club. Instead, he made his clearest peace offering to the Americans, reluctantly accepting their revised work structure and insisting their relationship has not been irrevocably destroyed by his previous outbursts.

"I want to make it clear that I don't have any personal problems with the owners," said Benítez. "We were talking about some issues but it was nothing personal. I was not angry with them, just surprised. I was surprised with the situation in the end because I was trying to improve my club.

"OK, now I know I may have to wait but it was a strange situation. I was just trying to do my best for my club but I don't have any personal problems with Tom Hicks or George Gillett."

The Liverpool manager had suggested a thawing in the damaging dispute on the eve of the game but that merely extended to not aggravating his American employers any further.

He had previously infuriated the pair, and courted the sack, with two petulant public displays after their instructions to freeze his January transfer plans - an order that Benítez took as a lack of faith in his ability to bring the Premier League title to Anfield.

But last night he continued: "We need to talk in the future and we will see what happens then about transfers. This has never been about my ego, but it is my responsibility. I need to take care of my team, my squad and my club.

"It would be a lot easier for me to stay and do nothing, just pick up my wages at the end of each month but I want to be involved. We all want what is best for the club and I think the owners understand that."

Benítez's conciliatory tone was in marked contrast to his stinging criticism of the Americans following Liverpool's win at Newcastle last Saturday, and his insistence that he wants to remain involved in transfer policy, a requirement now handed over to the chief executive, Rick Parry, may yet prove a problem when the manager meets his employers on December 16.

Foster Gillett, George's son and appointed representative on the Liverpool board, was at Anfield last night to witness a fervent show of support for Benítez and his report home will certainly ease tensions with the co-chairmen. "This is not about me being in a stronger position at the club," added Benítez. "I think I am in the same position as before and we need to talk about the future and our ideas."

The possibility of qualifying for the knockout phase of the Champions League with victory over Marseille in France on December 11 will aid Benítez's reconciliation process as much as his post-match words. And the Liverpool manager was also keen to show his appreciation for those supporters who marched in his support before kick-off.

Benítez said: "I think this was the most emotional night I have had here because it is important to get through in the Champions League and because of what has happened in the last few days.

"It was not the most difficult time I have ever experienced, but it was strange. I was just trying to do my job properly and, at the end of the game, I enjoyed it a little bit. I want to say thank you to the supporters."




- Jason Whitlock from the KC Star, always a lightning rod in sports reporting, and especially in relation to black athletes, weighs in on Sean Taylor.



Taylor's death a grim reminder for us all
Jason Whitlock

There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.

Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.
The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.

No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.

Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.

When the traditional, white KKK lynched, terrorized and intimidated black folks at a slower rate than its modern-day dark-skinned replacement, at least we had the good sense to be outraged and in no mood to contemplate rationalizations or be fooled by distractions.

Our new millennium strategy is to pray the Black KKK goes away or ignores us. How's that working?

About as well as the attempt to shift attention away from this uniquely African-American crisis by focusing on an alleged injustice the white media allegedly perpetrated against Sean Taylor.

Within hours of his death, there was a story circulating that members of the black press were complaining that news outlets were disrespecting Taylor's victimhood by reporting on his troubled past

No disrespect to Taylor, but he controlled the way he would be remembered by the way he lived. His immature, undisciplined behavior with his employer, his run-ins with law enforcement, which included allegedly threatening a man with a loaded gun, and the fact a vehicle he owned was once sprayed with bullets are all pertinent details when you've been murdered.

Marcellus Wiley, a former NFL player, made the radio circuit Wednesday, singing the tune that athletes are targets. That was his explanation for the murders of Taylor and Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams and the armed robberies of NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry.

Really?

Let's cut through the bull(manure) and deal with reality. Black men are targets of black men. Period. Go check the coroner's office and talk with a police detective. These bullets aren't checking W-2s.

Rather than whine about white folks' insensitivity or reserve a special place of sorrow for rich athletes, we'd be better served mustering the kind of outrage and courage it took in the 1950s and 1960s to stop the white KKK from hanging black men from trees.

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.

Our self-hatred has been set to music and reinforced by a pervasive culture that promotes a crab-in-barrel mentality.

You're damn straight I blame hip hop for playing a role in the genocide of American black men. When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration.

Of course there are other catalysts, but until we recapture the minds of black youth, convince them that it's not OK to "super man dat ho" and end any and every dispute by "cocking on your bitch," nothing will change.

Does a Soulja Boy want an education?

HBO did a fascinating documentary on Little Rock Central High School, the Arkansas school that required the National Guard so that nine black kids could attend in the 1950s. Fifty years later, the school is one of the nation's best in terms of funding and educational opportunities. It's 60 percent black and located in a poor black community.

Watch the documentary and ask yourself why nine poor kids in the '50s risked their lives to get a good education and a thousand poor black kids today ignore the opportunity that is served to them on a platter.

Blame drugs, blame Ronald Reagan, blame George Bush, blame it on the rain or whatever. There's only one group of people who can change the rotten, anti-education, pro-violence culture our kids have adopted. We have to do it.

According to reports, Sean Taylor had difficulty breaking free from the unsavory characters he associated with during his youth.

The "keepin' it real" mantra of hip hop is in direct defiance to evolution. There's always someone ready to tell you you're selling out if you move away from the immature and dangerous activities you used to do, you're selling out if you speak proper English, embrace education, dress like a grown man, do anything mainstream.

The Black KKK is enforcing the same crippling standards as its parent organization. It wants to keep black men in their place — uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep.

In all likelihood, the Black Klan and its mentality buried Sean Taylor, and any black man or boy reading this could be next.


- Kige analyzes Dancing with the Stars. Has to be a bit now. He can't keep from smirking during these videos.


- College coaching hires....