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Football: NFL

Superbowl XLV Is Coming, Start Driving Now

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The New Cowboy Stadium: Home to Sunday Night Lights in 2011

The National Football League has just confirmed (Related) that Superbowl XLV , to be held in 2011, will be held at the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington .

While football fans may be jubilant, the timing of this decision may only complicate the current debate in the Lege about toll roads . The cities of Arlington , Dallas , and Fort Worth have led the charge for charging for road use and may use this as even greater evidence the program needs to be implemented now. Anti-tollsters will probably rebuff them, arguing that one game shouldn't be allowed to settle the future of Texas transport.

So will the lucky few that get tickets for the game have to factor in extra pennies for toll fees?

Richard Whittaker (Related) Richard Whittaker , Tue May 22, 3:50pm

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The Year in Sports, as Pitched to the Head of a Hollywood Studio

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Larry the Cable Guy plays Roger Clemens

I have a few friends that are trying pretty hard to make it as screenwriters . Every one of them has taken a crack at writing about those golden days of college when everything we did was just simply hilarious. Oh how we killed ourselves on a daily basis. Animal House ? Rank amateurs. I know a couple of them are pretty close to finishing their 300-page opuses dealing with all five years of life as a perpetually confused college student before the Internet and cell phones. At some point though, after the sun comes up on their post-Oscar after party, they are going to be in dire need of a new idea that will green light another call from the Academy.

They need to look no further than the 2007 Sports Season. I cant remember a season that has had more drama, twists, and turns then the past five months . Here are a couple of story lines they can borrow:

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John Hunt (Related) John Hunt , Mon May 14, 2:04pm

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Ricky Again Positive for Pot

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They're high

The Associated Press reports that 1998 Heisman Trophy-winning Longhorn football running-back phenom Ricky Williams last month tested positive for pot , a setback likely to put on hold his anticipated reinstatement to the NFL.

Williams has said that pot eases his social anxiety disorder without the side effects of prescription meds, like Paxil and in 2004 retired his gig with the Miami Dolphins after failing his third drug test. He went back to his native California and studied Indian medicine before returning to the Dolphins in 2005. But Williams was ultimately suspended for the entire 2006 season, after racking up a fourth NFL drug- policy violation. Williams headed north to Toronto, to play ball in the Canadian Football League, then south to California to study and teach yoga.

Jordan Smith (Related) Jordan Smith , Fri May 11, 3:15pm

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Patriots Taste the Moss-Flavored Kool-Aid

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My mom made the best Kool-Aid ever. There was nothing like running up the path at my uncles cottage on Collins Pond in Maine to a delicious pitcher of that sugary fruit punch. All the kids in my neighborhood used to make me ask her to make it like I was the only one at the party who was 21. My refusal would mean certain ostracizing.

Kool-Aid would eventually come to freak me out though, and not in that awesome, way-too-much-sugar, no-time-to-pee kind of way. It freaked me out when I opened Time magazine and saw those perspective-changing pictures of the Jim Jones massacre. The insidious cauldron from which they all drank their brand of Kool-Aid under the watchful eye of their leader was prominently featured among the many corpses. It still gives me the willies.

The Boston sports media has always referred to anything New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichek and VP of player personnel Scott Pioli do that might be construed as a bad idea as drinking the Kool-Aid." An obvious reference to blindly following anything they do as a good idea regardless of every voice in your head screaming No like a 45 on 33. Our first sip came at the expense of our first overall pick Drew Bledsoe , who was unceremoniously shelved for Tom Brady , an unproven backup who would lead us to three Super Bowl championships and at the very least a time share in the playoffs.

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John Hunt (Related) John Hunt , Sat May 5, 11:26pm

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Le Draft 2007

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DeMeco Ryans last year's bargain pick for the Texans

Photo by Bill Baptist courtesy of the Houston Texans

My first draft was in 1994 when I was a freshman slumming in a dorm flat.
This was the first year of my life with the magical and wondrous cable television, and its ever-so-amusing ESPN. That year, my Colts were debating on which player to add with the second-overall pick in the first round; a sumo wrestling defensive tackle from Ohio State named Big Daddy Dan Wilkinson , or the lightning-fast lad from San Diego State called Marshall Faulk .

The year 1995 was much more interesting. This was the first year I watched college ball seeking the sweet players and the gems in the rough. From that year on le Draft," as I call it, has become the centerpiece of spring, and the doorway to summer. With the draft, we build our teams the way a child builds a banana split, or a fifth-year Longhorn student constructs a costume for Eeyores Birthday Party in the park: We watch our teams mix-and-match ingredients to bring their fans joy come the fall season.

As I sit in my boxers covered in crimson crickets, here are my notes and observations from the 2007 NFL Draft

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Sun Apr 29, 5:27pm

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Thank You, Central Time Zone: A Preview of the 2007 NFL Draft

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It's time to work on that mock draft kids

I moved to Texas from the East Coast for a multitude of reasons. I dont like to wear pants (this is cut-off country). I like my food to stand on the tongue and howl at the moon Texan-style, and I need to have the draft an hour earlier in the day than I did in Harlem. Thats right Central Time Zone, you had me at 11am.

For me, the NFL draft is better than Christmas . For one thing, I dont believe in God and cant understand why people make a big stink out of a dead dudes birthday via a jolly fat guy breaking and entering into a person's apartment. Also, Jesus was born on only one day, the draft gives birth for two. Take that, Savior!

This draft has only one player Calvin Johnson in the cant miss league. That is something for me to write, as I have never scouted a player, not even Peyton Manning , thought to be 100% Death Proof. After Johnson, we have five nice looking lads, about 10 guys I would like to have play for the Colts, and then around 200 players that could be drafted in the late first round to late fifth round depending on a team's hopes, dreams, and desires. This means almost every single team will be looking to trade down to collect picks and save money (the higher the draft selection, the more a squad pays the kid). Personally, I think we shall have one of the most drama-packed drafts in recent history with rumors, slander, sex, drugs, character issues, and jobs on the line.

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Thu Apr 26, 11:27am

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NFL Analysis: Haunted Is the (AFC) West

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Al Davis reads up on black holes

Class, in the past two weeks we said goodbye to some of my more beloved players. Drew Bledsoe retired, and now surefire Hall of Fame cat Will Shields . How many offensive linemen have had their own Boston Market commercial with MSNBCs Keith Olbermann ? Just Shields. Class and brilliance, Slick Willie might be the best guard in the history of this fine game, and he will be missed. Watching him flatten defensive-line folk was art in motion. He had the grace of a swan and the power of a bulldozer. All too often we forget that offensive linemen make this game move. They are the bass players of our rock band, the scoop of vanilla in the middle of our banana split, they are the kind African-American guy on American Idol , you know, whats-his-name. Not the chick that married Emilio Estevez . Not the rude English dude. That other guy who keeps Idol from being the Gong Show 2.0. Offensive linemen may not get the ink, but without them the flashy kids have nothing to stand on. Without guys like Will Shields, Terrell Owens is just a Gong Show act waiting for the government check on the first and the 15th. Thank you, Will. Now, onto Shields' former team.

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Thu Apr 19, 12:25pm

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NFL Analysis 101: The Gangs of Fear and Evil

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The New England Patriots fill the role of Evil

Well, class, this week we say so long and thanks for all the fish to an old friend, and when I say old friend, I mean a person I have never met before. You see my goodly student, Drew Bledsoe retired this week after 14 seasons under center in the greatest show on Earth. Drew came out of Washington state in 1993 to be the first player I ever scouted. Drew is no Hall of Fame dude but was solid and never embarrassed his franchise with off-the-field tomfoolery, and that speaks volumes in this day and age. This week, to honor Bledsoe we will examine two of his old teams. Let us begin

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Mon Apr 16, 2:10pm

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NFL Analysis 101: Messiahs, Little Women, and Birth Control

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Vince Young in the role of Paul Muad'Dib

Its been a shockingly quiet week since our last class. Until this was said: "I have made horrible decisions about who I am with or who I am going places with. Two of my friends who had never driven a Bentley, I let them drive my Bentley one night just because. Not just to show them the upside, but I never had anyone do that for me. It's always the little things that get me in trouble." Pacman Jones to Deion Sanders on the NFL Network.

Golly. People were shot in Vegas as this ghost-chasin cat dropped money from the ceiling of a go-go hole, and he thinks letting a buddy drive his Bentley is bad. I expect league Commissioner Roger Goodell to slap an eight-game suspension on Jones for his off-field shenanigans [editor's note: Pacman was suspended for the season]. This is significant because, next to Peyton Manning , Jones is the most important player in the AFC South. Writing of the South, let us get to it.

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Wed Apr 11, 12:54pm

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NFL Analysis 101: 100 Years of Epicurean, Hedonistic Hound Dogs

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The first rule of the 46 Defense? No one talks about the 46 Defense.

My initial intention was to kick of the AFC portion of our class with an assessment of the AFC South, featuring my Super Bowl-winning Colts, my editor's Houston Texans, and former Longhorn Vince Young and his Tennessee Titans. However, the rumor mill is twirling on all three of these teams on trades, free-agent snatchery, and the big if of le Titans' Pac-Man "Make It Rain" Jones playing this season. Thus, I'm gonna give those teams a few days to find direction before I drop a decisive literary comparison on them.

Now, the AFC is vastly superior to its little-brother conference. Personally, the top team in the NFC (Chicago) would still drop a game to the seventh- or even the eighth-best team in the American Conference on neutral turf.

We shall start with the AFC North

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Wed Apr 4, 12:16pm

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'NFL Analysis 101': Scary Times for Salty Powers

Bold yet nerve-racking, the Atlanta Falcons are not done with trading. Shipping a backup QB to Houston for two second-round selections (one this year, one next) and the swapping of the 10th to the eight pick in the draft, Atlanta got far too little for the Matt Schaub , a Nordic god with a lightning bolt for a passing arm. Atlanta will make a push to the top of the draft in an attempt to obtain homegrown marvel Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech. If Detroit signs defunct Houston QB David Carr , the Lions may take the bait of the Black Birds and make a trade all too ironic for the English language.

Now, we continue our studies onto the NFC West, a murder of squads that have boats of potential to make a mark on the ever-weakening NFC.

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Wed Mar 28, 1:59pm

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Texans Release David Carr

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Mark March 23, 2007, as a historic date in the history of the Houston Texans franchise. Unable to get anything in exchange for David Carr , the Houston Texans announced today that they'd released him. They also released running back Domanick Williams (formerly Domanick Davis). Carr and Williams are the all-time franchise leaders at their respective positions. Due to a knee injury, Williams sat out the entire last season. The Texans' busy day didn't end there with the announcement that 2006-07 stand-outs RB Ron Dayne and FB Vonta Leach will be back next year.

After giving up an '07 second-rounder and an '08 second-rounder for new starting QB Matt Schaub , there was some hope that the Texans would be able to get something – anything – in return for Carr. Apparently his ridiculously costly contract was too much of a hurdle to get over, and the Texans decided to just move on. Whatever. I'm past questioning the decisions of the Texans front office. Hopefully Schaub will fulfill his potential, Ahman Green will stay healthy, and Mario Williams will become a Julius Peppers -style game-breaking defensive end. Weirder things have happened.

Mark Fagan (Related) Mark Fagan , Fri Mar 23, 3:32pm

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New-Look Texans Anoint Matt Schaub QB No. 1

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Take a good look, it's the last time you'll ever see Carr in a Texans' uniform

Photo courtesy of the Houston Texans

The David Carr era is officially over. It's hard to hate a guy of upstanding character like Carr, but he's been given more than enough time to prove he's a winner, failed at that, and now it's time for a change. That change comes in the form of three-year NFLer Matt Schaub whom the Texans acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons and signed to six-year deal once again rolling the dice on a multi-year deal for a QB who has yet to prove himself in the NFL. Schaub has started three NFL games to date. But with Jake Plummer retiring and Jeff Garcia signing with the Bucs, as soon as Schaub was available the Texans moved in. The Texans obviously felt Schaub was worth it and went back on their previous stance of not trading their much-needed draft picks. They swapped first-round positions in the upcoming draft giving the Falcons their eighth pick and dropping to Atlanta's No. 10 spot. Not a huge deal, but, they also traded a No. 2 pick in the '07 draft and a No. 2 in 2008. They painted themselves in a corner by signing Carr to a three-year deal last year, thereby passing on Vince Young . Oh yeah, they also snubbed USC phenom Reggie Bush . Hopefully a healthy Mario Williams will help the Texans' front office save a little face on this questionable move. Can't accuse the Texans of pandering to their fan base. Sage Rosenfels and Bradlee Van Pelt will back up Schaub next season with Rosenfels most likely being Houston's No. 2.

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Mark Fagan (Related) Mark Fagan , Thu Mar 22, 1:15pm

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'NFL Analysis 101': Fiendish Fish, Frolicking Amphibians, and the Fancy Lads of Fitzgerald

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Jerry Jones plays the part of Ahab

What the New England Patriots are doing this offseason is astonishing. After dropping a sizable lead to the Colts in the AFC title game, and Tom Brady admittedly lacking confidence in his receivers, the Pats have broken from past ideologies of catching affordable, blue-collar free agents. Instead, the Pats have scrambled to build a team. For the first time in the Billy B administration the Chowders are showing signs of both desperation and erosion. With regards to teams on the rise, watch for both Green Bay and Tennessee to make noise in the coming days, as they have waited for this free-agent market to tranquilize. These two squads are aiming to add discounted role players, like former Colts CB Nick Harper .

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Mon Mar 19, 10:40am

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'NFL Analysis 101': The Last of the Southern Belles

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Where Vick meets Faulkner

Good day, my pupils. We need to dive right into the heart of our subject. Since last we met, much has happened all across the NFL, but no team has made a splash like Detroit, and the cold waves can be felt from coast to coast. By trading defensive end James Hall to St. Louis, then scoring DE Dwayne White in free agency, the Lions have altered the landscape of the draft and the entire NFL offseason. The kings of this jungle now have options at the No. 2 overall pick, and are likely to trade down. St. Louis, formerly hungry for DE aid is no longer obligated to draft in such a manner. This forces all other teams dreaming of DL relief to wake up and activate new strategies.

But this is what novelists call foreshadowing and we have more rosters to read of before the draft. Today, we have the newly formed NFC South , which brags the explosive Saints, and three other teams that owe a refund to season-ticket holders for the sad performance of the 2006-07 season. Let us indulge in Southern Comfort, shall we?

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Timothy Braun (Related) Timothy Braun , Fri Mar 9, 1:02pm