Anchoring KTRH Monday and Tuesday Night

Been monitoring the electricity situation (or lack thereof) and slowly but surely Houston is coming back online. We have been hosting family members at the Garfield Hilton since our power has been on since Sunday afternoon. Air conditioning, cold beer and Cowboys on MNF - doesn't get much better.

Sadly I have to leave home around halftime and head up to the Galleria area. Our program director at KTRH asked to me fill in from 10p-midnight tonight and Tuesday to help anchor more post-Ike coverage. Taking one for the team I made sure the TV was working in the studio so I can keep an eye on Tony Romo and company.

Log on and listen live and give me a call in studio to alk about your Ike experience, local and national government response or even to vent.

I'm hoping to dodge all the cops on the Southwest Freeway since I'll be breaking curfew.

AT&T Calling Dallas New Home

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So wrote Charles Dickens but AT&T honcho Randall Stephenson has authored the updated version of "A Tale of Two Cities."

The San Antonio-based telecom giant will no longer carry that city's name on press release datelines nor house its top executives. Its corporate headquarters are moving north on I-35 to Dallas in a transition that will begin in a few weeks and be complete by year's end.

It's interesting to read and watch the news coming out of each city regarding this big change. As imagined, San Antonio seems to have been knocked a huge punch to the gut both economically and in esteem. It's nice to have worldwide corporations based in your town. AT&T has been a generous community partner since Southwestern Bell moved there in 1992. The Spurs play in AT&T Center.

That leaves San Antonio with only a few major company headquarters...USAA, H-E-B and Valero, to name the only ones I can quickly think of.

The last thing Dallas needs is another massive company to call the city its home. But downtown Big D is booming with tenants and AT&T will be added to the list.

According to the AT&T press release (still dated from San Antonio) one of the main reasons the company is relocating to Dallas is:

With customers and operations in all 50 U.S. states and 160 countries, air travel to and from Dallas will be more convenient, time efficient and cost effective. The DFW airport is the 3 rd largest in the U.S. and one of the top 6 in the world, offering daily nonstop service to 35 international and 133 U.S. destinations. Additionally, Dallas enjoys a second major airport; Love Field – the 50 th largest U.S. airport offers more than 160 nonstop flights daily.

Being headquartered near leading air transportation facilities is critical to global companies like AT&T as the airline industry continues to consolidate and reduce hubs and flights amid higher fuel prices and industry economic pressures.

Hmmm...IAH, Hobby. Where the hell was Houston during this relo visit? Did we not offer enough tax incentives for AT&T to scoot a bit east down I-10? Bellaire houses a giant AT&T facility on the West Loop South and many more offices around town. Office space is cheap here also plus this is where the Pappas restaurants are headquartered. That's not enough?

Mark my words as you'll read it here first...AT&T will grab (and pay for) the naming rights to the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.

Romo Is No Mo'

A day of ups-and-downs. I finished the Aramco Houston Half Marathon with a personal best time of 1:48. For an aging guy I am satisfied with an 8:17 pace for the 13.1 miles. So I was pumped the rest of the day until...

...ugh. The Cowboys game. I knew the Giants + 7.5 points looked good early in the week. I could have made a mint had I taken the Giants on the money line. Alas, my plans to spend my birthday in Glendale, Arizona, watching the Cowboys in the Super Bowl are gone. Party at my house instead.

Hope everyone enjoyed our live broadcast on Saturday from the Roger Clemens Institute Marathon Expo. Yes, that was the title sponsor. Everyone received a syringe and a vial of Lidocaine. And wouldn't you know it, all 21,000 runners finished in world-record time.

Thanks to Aramco Services Company for letting us set up shop in their booth at the Expo. We will return to normal in-studio programming next Saturday.

Cancelled Bills

That headline could have easily have been "Folk Lore" or "The Cowboys Still Own The Buffalo Bills." It's been exactly 24 hours since the Monday Night Football game ended and my heartbeat just finally went back to its normal resting pace.

My mood during football season generally ebbs and flows with the wins and losses of the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys (for those of you who haven't figured it out yet, I'm from Dallas and I graduated from UT). I was in the gutter since Saturday's loss to OU and I was getting ready to flush myself down the toilet with all but 2 seconds left in the Cowboys-Bills game.

As my kids can tell you when I woke them and the neighbors up with uncontrollable screams, the Cowboys pulled off one of the most improbably wins in NFL history. What should have been a game the Cowboys won by at least 40 points (according to my weekly pool guess), they played terrible and should have lost.

That's why I've been so giddy this past day. Haven't felt this pumped about the 'Boys since the Super Bowl runs in the mid-90's.

Immediately following the game winning kick by Nick Folk (who?), I called my dad in Dallas who I knew was watching the game. The last time we talked after a close Cowboys win was Week 2 of the 2003 season when Coach Bill Parcells took the team to play his old NY Giants on Monday night. Billy Cundiff kicked 7 field goals that game including a 25-yarder in OT. We celebrated on the phone for a while after that one.

While on the phone with him last night I kept getting beep-ins from my other friends in Dallas. I think we were still in shock and we kept trying to guess what the headlines in today's Dallas Morning News would be. (The DMN continues to be the best local newspaper in the country with a Sports section second to none). The editors have fun with 2 inch tall headlines following Cowboys games and they are memorable.

Today's paper didn't let me down. Front page: FOLK LORE Sports page: PICK AND GRIN (which perfectly described Tony Romo's 5 interceptions and ear-to-ear smile at the end of the game).

Anyway, I just came down to earth and now await this Sunday's matchup vs. the undefeated Patriots. God forbid the Texans play at the same time and the game is blacked out. Oh wait, the Texans hardly ever play the late game because they aren't good.

And by the way, Kris Brown's game winning field goal last Sunday to beat the Dolphins was fantastic, but it still wasn't the best and most dramatic kick by a pro team from Texas this weekend.

In case you missed it, the Cowboys-Bills game will be replayed on the NFL Network at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Oh, I wonder if The Buffalo News headlines read "Folk You?"

5768, NFL and Early Evening Radio

As pointed out in the previous post's comments, I wonder how I will be writing the year 5767 on my checks? (Thanks, Mr. Crap Man).

Hung around the house today planning on how to conquer the world this new year. Got in an extra helping of ESPN and saw lots of news...

Roger Goodell is STRONG. I think he's doing a helluva job as NFL Commish and really making his power felt. He slapped Bill Beli-Cheat with a $500,000 fine and the Patriots' first or 2nd and 3rd round draft picks next year for taping the Jets' signals. You go, Rog. And don't evah let Michael Vick back you in your league.

Our Dallas Cowboys (or maybe just MY Dallas Cowboys) were just named the world's most valuable sports franchise by Forbes Magazine. Jerry Jones' "little" investment in 1989 is now worth $1.5 billion. And who says the AFC is the better league? 3 of the top 5 most valuable teams are in the NFC EAST. And who says #2...Who says winning is a measure of a good team? Our Houston Texans (Ok, maybe YOUR Houston Texans) are #4 on the most valuable list. Sell now while the gettin's good, Bob.

Typing of football, The 9-5-0 is airing a Texas Tech game this Saturday for some reason. That will push my show back to a late start. Tune in around 6pm for my show this weekend.

Let's See Bob McNair Do This

I was in the wrong Texas city this past weekend to see this in person (didn't the Cowboys used to play pre-season games in San Antonio?)...

My boys up in Dallas alerted me to this video that ran on the Texas Stadium video screens during the Cowboys first pre-season game last Saturday. According to those at the game and some media rants, this actually got the most cheers and applause during the game (though the fans were pumped that the team beat the Super Bowl defending Indy Colts).

For those commercial or pizza aficionados, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones apparently switched his allegiance from Pizza Hut. Back in the Deion Sanders days, Jerry appeared with Neon Deion in a Pizza Hut spot arguing that Deion couldn't have it both way (thin crust and thick crust). Of course Deion was trying to tell Jerry that he should have it both ways - both a $15 and $20 million contract. And of course Deion got it all in the end with a $35 million contract plus all the thick and thin crust pizza he could eat.