A-Town? I'll Take This Town, and Other Thoughts.

It's interesting how several non-connected incidents occur that lead to a singular process of thought.

Over the previous weekend, Melissa and I were in Austin for a wedding. There were several times over the two days where I became utterly and completely grateful for residing in the Dallas area. Simply stated, Melissa and I are not Austin people. To the extent that we are Dallas people, I guess that's what we are given the alternative.

I don't think having a homeless trannie running for mayor is either enlightening or funny. At least the trannie who ran for city council up here is a well-respected restaurant owner and went all the way with surgery.

Dressing up to go out, to me, means more than tucking in a t-shirt.

Eeyore's birthday party sounds very, I'm not even sure what the word is I'm looking for. I prefer a Fletcher's under the shadow of Big Tex.

The difference in attitude can perhaps be summed up with SMU's new campaign for the football season: We don't tailgate; we boulevard.

Correct, it does not do much to shed the elitist attitude prevalent throughout Dallas. Oh well.

Separately, the Big 12, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its baptism, announced this morning the permanent hire of Dan Beebe as conference commissioner. Beebe has had several years of experience working in the current of the headwaters of the NCAA.

In 1987, Beebe began his professional career investigating irregularities within the football program at Southern Methodist. As a result of his findings, the university received unprecedented and unduplicated punishment - excommunication from Varsity football.

The university has never recovered in the two decades since. What was the nation's premiere football program in the early-to-mid 80's has been reduced to perennial cellar-dwellers in the Conference USA boasting one winning season during the previous twenty.

The program that produced Doak Walker, Don Meredith and Eric Dickerson is know universally known as the School that Got the Death Penalty by students who were not even alive when it happened.

At the time, I didn't realize the full implications of that action. I don't think anybody did, beginning with those who administered the punishment. When the SWC dissolved and merged with the Big 12, I began to get a clearer picture of what could have been.

Imagine SMU, Texas, Oklahoma in the Big 12 South competing for a national championship just about every year. Imagine if Larry Johnson had played at Moody instead of Thomas-Mack.

Better yet, imagine Texas in the Pac-10, A&M in the SEC, and SMU and TCU joining the Big 8.

Imagine SMU with a home-and-home with USC and Florida instead of an intra-regional rivalry with Texas Christian and North Texas.

For those who enjoy and appreciate collegiate athletics, this is a conversation that is simply mind-boggling. Just about every time I see Gerald J. Ford Stadium, I get sad at the permanent high schoolish aura of its setting. But for a myopic and hypocritical NCAA, the Ponies would be playing each Saturday in front of 80,000-plus people on a major television network and would have a few Heisman, Butkis, and Doak Walker awards to show off. Instead, they got the Heimlich, bupkes and doh! awards.