The reason why the Dallas Cowboys practice facility collapsed

I am more than a bit close to this story since I was one of the people inside the Dallas Cowboys practice facility that collapsed in the spring of 2009. How none of us was killed that day is baffling. 

According to this report by AP writer Danny Robbins, the company that built and designed this piece of garbage knew it might fall. 

No blank. It was not a facility. It was a tent.

When Mother Nature wants to, it can make anything fall, especially a giant bed sheet wrapped over a metal frame.

In this story Robbins writes: "The documents reveal that Summit knew the facility was prone to buckling and planned to provide the Cowboys, who had complained about the building's structural integrity, with engineering calculations that would hide the defect."

I have been critical of the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones' "no comment" stance attitude towards this subject, which I have always understood from a legal aspect, but at least this shows they were aware there could be a problem.

The thing was nothing more than junk with a giant star logo on the exterior. Before I ran like hell out of the exit I clearly recall one corner of the structure being lifted up from the ground while the top buckled and caved towards us as the door we were running through collapsed.

So, Summitt Structures LLC, you were right - it was indeed prone to buckling. 

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UPDATE: Report says Dwight Howard wants the Dallas Mavericks in 2013

UPDATE: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports! is reporting something that should thrill the blank out of Dallas Mavericks fans. Dwight Howard is pushing Orlando for a deal to LA or Brooklyn, or it's the Mavs next summer.

Wojnarowski sent out this Tweet on Wednesday night: "If (Dwight) Howard gets to free agency in '13 without having been traded to Nets or Lakers, Dallas is overwhelming favorite to sign him, sources say."

He added this report this morning that says D12 is threatening to go to the Mavs if a deal isn't worked out to the Nets or Lakers.

Wojnarowski has had a bang up summer breaking NBA news, and he is one of the more connected national writers. 

Now, anything that Howard says should be taken with a block of salt. He could want to play in Greece tomorrow.

Landing Dwight Howard in the summer of 2013 would make this summer of spare parts in 2012 worth the disappointment. Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban has loved Howard for years, primarily because he is arguably the best big man in the game.

A lot can and will happen between now and July 1 of 2013, and I still don't think Howard is going to land with the Mavericks. The Magic can't let him get to the open market and lose him for nothing, and the Mavs don't have enough to offer in return to create an enticing deal.

The Nets or Lakers still seem like the obvious choice, which means D12 will be dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Add Kansas coach Charlie Weis to the list of coaches I don't believe

DALLAS - Full disclosure: University of Kansas grad, class of ... not that long ago. Feels like yesterday. Great to watch my basketball team flirt with not only NCAA violations, but a title run every so often.
Disgusting to watch my college football team destroyed by the likes of NW North Dakota State every year.

When Kansas hired Fort Worth's own Turner Gill to replace Mark Mangino a few years ago my reaction was, "Uhh ... well, OK. Maybe." And I never, ever liked Mangino even when he led the team to the Orange Bowl win. The man was a bully.

After watching Gill's KU team get destroyed at Baylor in his first season my reaction was, "Don't let him get on the plane."

Now that Gill was fired after just two seasons of some of the most disorganized, inept football the program has ever seen, which says just so much, Kansas made a splashy hire by landing former Notre Dame head coach and long time NFL assistant Charlie Weis.

My reaction was, "He must have been desperate to be a head coach again." His stint in South Bend was ugly, and I am not sure if any other BCS school would have hired him to be a head coach other than one like a Kansas.

So I asked him this on Tuesday at the Big 12 media day.

The Big Mac Blog: When you took the job, one of the lines that I had heard was: 'Oh, geez, he must have been desperate to be head coach again to take that job.' Were you desperate to be a head coach again and do you think that assessment's decidedly unfair?
Charlie Weis: I was offered other jobs for a lot more money, just so you know that.

The Big Mac Blog: Which ones?
Charlie Weis: It's not important.  What's important is why did I take this job.  And let's look at it from my perspective.  You're coming into a team that was 3‑10 two years ago and 2‑10 last year.  Not so long ago, it's 2007 and 2008, and they're playing in the Orange Bowl and the Insight Bowl and winning.

"It wasn't like it was 20 years ago now.  Okay.  It was a short time frame ago that that football program was playing in bowl games and winning. 

"So you say, okay, they were there, they're here, what happened?  How did they get from here to here and then how do you get back up?  And to be honest with you, I think it's a very challenging situation.  And it's one that, as I talked over with my wife and my son, we thought would be a very good challenge for us as a family but also very rewarding if it paid dividends."

For the sake of my alma mater's football program, I sincerely hope this hire works. Weis is right in that KU is just three hours away from two teams that have figured out how to win - Kansas State and Missouri. Why Kansas can't finish with seven or eight wins is more than a little frustrating.

It still comes down to players. Mangino was able to win because he rolled the dice on a ton of kids and got more than a little lucky with Todd Reesing as his quarterback; I am convinced Mangino never knew what he had in Reesing until he plugged him in because he didn't like any of his other quarterbacks.

I do believe Weis can coach, and that he has been humbled, but once he runs out of Notre Dame transfers, like Dayne Crist, it will come down to whom he can convince to come to a basketball school to play football.

 

 

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Quote of the day

Doug MacRay: No matter how much you change, you still have to pay the price for the things you've done. So I got a long road. But I know I'll see you again - this side or the other. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Video: Dez Bryant press conference challenges Baywatch Nights for Biggest Wastes of Time

DALLAS - All the Dallas Cowboys & Dez Bryant did today was to delay the inevitable barrage of questions that are sure to come his way when both he and the team arrive in Oxnard, Calif. for training camp this weekend.

Today's dog and pony show at the law offices of Mr. Royce West in Dallas was a self-serving waste of time. They would have been better off to just send out the statement and a picture of Dez & his mom hugging.

From a legal standpoint, I can understand Royce West not allowing his clients to field questions from the media. As for Royce's decision to release the statement before he walked into the room where all he did was read the exact same statement and then leave is a bit baffling.

No questions for Dez or Royce means we don't know if Dez is going to be suspended by the NFL and Police Commissioner Goodell.

What was the point? To look good on camera? Done and done.

In case you are interested, here is the video (apologies if the quality is not exactly Warner Bros.):

 

If you can't watch the link, here is the transcript of the statement by Mr. West:

"Mr. Bryant and his mother, Angela, are appearing here today because they feel it is important to address recent reports that Mr. Bryant committed family violence against his mother. Although Dez would like to speak to this matter, on the advice of counsel, he will not make any statements at this time.

"Did a family disagreement occur? Yes. Did Dez Bryant commit family violence against his mother? No.

"They are here together today to show they do love and support each other, just as much as they did before the incident a week ago. But like all families, the Bryants have disagreements.

"Mr. Bryant and his family understand the serious nature of family violence. They believe when all of the facts are reviewed, Mr. Bryant will be cleared of any allegations of family violence.

"Angela Bryant does not want charges filed against her son. Ms. Bryant has had an opportunity to speak with other people who witnessed the incident and has field an Affidavit of Non Prosecution with the DeSoto Police Department. She recognizes that under the law, filing an affidavit may not impact the legal outcome of her complaint. She asks that her affidavit be taken into considering in deciding whether it is in the best interest of her family for this to continue in the legal system or allow them to resolve the issue as a family.

"Dez and his mother believe this is a family matter that can be worked through couseling.

"They ask that there not be a rush to judgement concerning their family. They also ask for your continued prayers and support for their family as they work through this matter."

 

.... So that clears all of that up.

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The University of Texas still doesn't have a quarterback

DALLAS - Mack Brown brought in a group of cheerleaders from various Big 12 schools for his meet and greet with the media. Mack collected 10 cheerleaders and put them to his right to act as a nice diversion, but a pack of cute coeds can't divert the reality that St. Mack still doesn't have a real quarterback.

Despite all its resources, cash, TV network and every other advantage known to God, the head coach of the University of Texas "amateur" football team still doesn't have a quarterback.

After a 2011 season of four QBs and a 2012 spring of two quarterbacks, he doesn't have one.

Brown said this morning that Case McCoy and David Ash left spring practice "even". If this is true, and I doubt that it is, it's a problem. If it is true, it's a problem.

Brown said he expects one of these guys will establish himself in fall practice, and that he expects one of these guys to clearly win the job. If that doesn't happen, the Horns are screwed. 

It is true that the Longhorns had serious issues at receiver, running back and offensive line in 2011. It's also true that a solid, consistent quarterback can cover his offense's flaws. Neither Ash nor McCoy was able to do that because each has issues of his own.

Ash still looks the guy with the greater upside, and that he will eventually "get it".

If not, no number of cute cheerleaders surrounding Mack Brown will provide an effective diversion.

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Tommy Tuberville is using language that paints himself into a corner

DALLAS - Texas Tech head football coach Tommy Tubberville may not have won a lot of games yet in Lubbock (13-12 in two years), but the man knows how to win interviews. Charm oozes from this man. I suspect it's one of the primary reasons he was hired to replace Mike Leach.

In only his third season with the Red Raiders, TT is using language that is encouraging but a little dangerous. 

"We recruited a lot better in the last two years than I dreamed we ever would," TT said when I asked him if he was feeling pressure in light of last season's 5-7 record and ninth place finish in the Big 12. "When I got there, I had people tell me how you can't recruit, it's hard, it's too far away from everybody, that's the reason you're short now when you go in on defense, you can't get linemen."

TT stressed how much bigger the players are and how much more depth this 2012 team should have. That's great. Hope it works.

But any time a coach starts talking about recruits and recruiting should be a red flag. It can often be used as a delay and stall tactic. "Once we get our recruits in here" ... "They need time" ... etc.

TT's claims about recruiting are almost counter to Mike Leach's assertion that his final year in Lubbock he had the best class of his tenure. Yes, I am sure that was a dig at Tech and TT.

"Just being here a couple of years, everybody said:  You're on the hot seat.  I'd like to coach a few of these guys I recruited," Tuberville said. "So hopefully we can get this thing going a little bit better each year.  We're not there yet.  I'll be the first to tell you but we're much closer than we were three years ago."

TT should at least get another two years, minimum, but any sales pitch on recruiting is going to fall on the deafest of ears if the Red Raiders have another 2011 style collapse.

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TCU QB Casey Pachall updates where Tanner Brock may be headed

DALLAS - Former TCU linebacker Tanner Brock's hope/plan to transfer to UTEP have fallen through.

Brock is the former TCU football player who was arrested for selling marijuana earlier this year and was kicked off the team. He still has some eligibility remaining, and given his ability is an attractive get for another program.

In late April, his former teammate, Tank Carder told a local radio station he thought Brock was headed to UTEP. Brock wanted to, but for various reasons it didn't work out. Brock really didn't want to sit out a full year, but that is a certainty now.

According to his former rommate, TCU QB Casey Pachall, it looks as if Brock will still try to go to another Division I school.

"He was going to go to Sam Houston State. (His brother Logan Brock) is with the Texans now, and Sam Houston was the only team that would let him play this year," Pachall told me. "But he just found out this past week wherever he goes he has to sit out a year. He told me he was going to think about going to another Division I school. He said if I am going to have to wait a year I may as well go D-I."

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Quote of the day

Staff Sargeant William James: Everyone's scared about something, you know? 

 

 

 

 

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Big 12 cheerleader media day picture-palooza

DALLAS - One of the developments of the Google machine that I hate is the proliferation of sports web sites that use pictures of girls to lure readers and generate more web page hits.

Speaking of ...

(left to right)
Haley Hockett, Jr., Texas, Forney, Texas
Dakota Canales, So., TCU, Fort Worth
Stephanie Sandridge, So., TCU, Plano
Jordan Snyder, Sr., Kansas, Wichita (this girl is 4-foot-10)

The second shot:
Alex Macalik, Jr., Oklahoma, Rockwall
Kerstie Moran, Sr., Oklahoma, Flower Mound
Larissa Vlassich, Sr., West Virginia, Pittsburgh (Penn.)
Lindi Simpson, Fr., Oklahoma, Southlake
Kayla Taylor, Fr., Oklahoma, Houston

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