So, um, hi. (waves frantically).

 

My name is Greg Tepper. You may remember me from such films as “Dallas Morning News sports intern 2007” and “that guy who always wrote about the halftime shows.” That’s me. I’m like that guy who’s in every movie, but nobody knows his name. You know the guy I’m talking about? The guy with the hair? Yeah, I’m like him.

 

Anyways, I’m re-emerging in the Belosphere after finishing my degree at the University of Missouri (read: tricking my college into thinking I’m smart). I’m now an assistant editor with NeighborsGo (your community superawesomesite!) working out of the West Zone with an added emphasis of HS Gametime. It’s pretty cool.

 

And now that I’m here, you’re not getting rid of me. I’m going to be all over the Belo blogosphere (five times fast) like white on rice. Whether it’s my HS Gametime blog, or the Go Blog, or the DMN high school blog, or right here on the Game On blog, I’m going to be a blogging machine.

 

So without further ado, let’s get this party started with some random sports thoughts. Go ahead and click on the "Read More" thing. It won't hurt you.

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The Dallas Stars are belatedly kicking off their preseason with an open house for fans from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the American Airlines Center.

Here’s what you really need to know:
1. Everyone who shows up gets two free tickets to a preseason game.
2. The good guys will practice from 10 a.m. to noon.
3. You can skate from noon to 2 p.m. (so bring your Tacks).
4. Parking costs … abso-freakin-lutely nothing!

More details are available on the Stars Web site.

 

 

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I knew it was coming for quite some time.

Every November as Black Monday approaches I read the articles about how "Phil Fulmer will be gone from Tennessee."

While browsing ESPN, I came across something that stung - a story about Fulmer's time being up - no shock, but the article came in September.

The lackluster start of the Vols has hurt and I think the part of the story that hurt the most was that I had to come to grips with the fact that Tennessee is slipping into SEC mediocrity. The world of South Carolinas and Ole Misses, Kentuckys and my brother's alma mater, Vanderbilt.

Sure, Rocky Top will pull out the periodic wins in the coming years, but no longer will they always be guaranteed to be a contender for the SEC Championship or a weightier bowl game. 

It hurts seeing what I was raised on every Autumn go downhill. I learned to swear from my parents watching the Vols. I watched Peyton Manning and Jason Whitten dominate the NCAA. I've seen more Colquitts punt a football and more Colquitt punts than I can care to count.

The Vols are sinking to mediocrity. It's time to come to grips with that. Perhaps, I'll don my autographed Phil Fulmer Vols helmet when they play Georgia on Oct. 11 and think about being an obnoxious fan in wet orange slovenly singing the words HAIL ROCKY TOP!.

On a different note, I'm amazed that my two big college teams, TCU and Tennessee, both have Homecoming games against Wyoming. The Cowboys really get the raw deal.

 

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**To address my nay-sayers earlier this week, I have nothing against the American League per se, but there is something suspect when Brady Anderson hits 50 home runs in a season. That is all.**

Last week was a bit of a let down for me in college football. A not-so-fun September tradition continued as my Volunteers lost to the Florida Gators for the fourth straight year. They tanked and deserved another notch in the "L" column, but then again, I figure I can whine and throw a hissy fit similarly to how UT fans have a tantrum when they lose to Kansas State... wait, it happened twice in a row, I'll say it again - lose to Kansas State. 

At least Tennessee-Florida has parity, K-State is a typical .500 team in the Big 12.

Meanwhile, onto this weekend's big match up. The Crown Jewel before the Red River Shootout. A Texas team versus big OU. That's right No. 23/24 TCU vs. No. 2 OU.

TCU with it's not-so-new-but vastly-improved secondary will have it's work cut out against a passing offense that is averaging 237 yards per game behind Sam Bradford and Joey Hazle. To be honest Sam Bradford doesn't sound like a good southwestern football name. It sounds like some Ivy League or maybe U-Conn name, not an OU stud.

Just to see OU lose would make me happy, not just because TCU is my alma mater, not just because the Big 12 is about as entertaining to me as stubbing my toe on a yard gnome, but because I love to see giants fall.

Seattle beating the Yankees in 1995. The Devil Rays clinching a playoff berth, Appalachian state beating Michigan. Some awesome upsets really make for a great weekend and something entertaining when the BCS powerhouses lumber to New Years.

TCU beats OU, I will celebrate like I did in 2005, sans the jumping in Frog Fountain (Sorry Chancellor Boschini).

-Marcus Out-

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Baseball is my main sport by trade. I played for about 15 years and caught for 12 of them.

1994 was the dawn of the central division and the first year the Wild Card race was going to be implemented, however, a strike-shortened season nixed that before the Expos could continue being the No. 1 team in baseball. 

Since 2004 the Wildcard races have become more and more of a bizzare time on the sports calendars. September means NFL and college football are in full swing and then the other 5 nights a week we are watching 7 teams battle for the last two playoff spots in the Major Leagues. 

The Astros went on a tear winning something like 16 of 20 and are now 11 over .500, the Brewers are crumbling again, the Mets and Phillies are making the NL East something of interest (admittedly, I do still like the Braves, they were the perfect filler between Saved By The Bell and dinner time when I was little). 

Unfortunately, the Rocktober Miracle cannot happen again in 2008. It's not every day a team can win that much in one month and then suck that badly for one week.

Regardless, I will be glued to the television and Internet during the playoffs, so be ready for some sporatic posts in the coming weeks and months.

-Marcus Out- (that guy from Out Loud also does sports)

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Admittedly, I have been born and raised with a different style of football. I never liked UT, I thought their orange was ugly, I was screaming "Roll Tide" when my classmates would be saying "WHOOP" (Crimson Tide > Aggie Maroon), and I will always hate Florida - unless they are playing a Big 12 opponent. We kept Bear Bryant longer than A&M, too for that matter.

The SEC reigns supreme. Big schools, big upsets, good quarterbacks who are actually quarterbacks, Southern belles, National Championships, Rocky Top, The Grove, The Swamp, The Bayou, the list goes on and on.

The Big 12 doesn't have that type of history with it. I think watching Big 12 football is boring, their throwaway games are on par with the ones Mountain West teams play (And I went to a MWC school and I concede that). UT vs. UTEP... UT vs. Sam Houston State... A&M vs. Arkansas State... Texas Tech vs. SMU... Some real quality oppenents. Granted LSU plays UNT this weekend, but that's just one.

Pretty much, I bleed that runny wet yellow/orange, but I will take the checkerboard endzone and the bright orange on my helmet before ever strapping a pair of horns to the grill of my vehicle.

There, my rant is done.
SEC > Big 10 > Pac 10 > ACC > Big 12 > WAC > Big East > MWC > Mid Con > I think you get the idea.

 

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Quick show of hands on this one:

Which sports figure's return from retirement (or brink of retirement) do you favor the most ...

A) Lance Armstrong: He'll be 37 when he returns to Le Tour. Yes, he'll dominate, but why. What's he got ta prove? This will rank as only his second biggest mistake (spltting from Sheryl Crow will be no. 1, or, ahem, the "Favorite Mistake"). Still, his reasons for returning -- to raise cancer awareness and race clean -- are noble.

B) Brett Favre: I lived very near the Sconnie border for two years, and the Favre worshippers and their nasal accents drove me nuts. The only thing worse could prove to be Slick Sal from Jersey talkin' 'bout Brett. Sheesh ...

C) Chris Chelios:The consummate teammate and blueliner can play another 46 years for all I care. Just do it for the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Bluejackets or somesuch bottomfeeding team of irrelevancy. His re-upping with the hated Wings is not a good thing for Dallas Stars fans.

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HSGameTime is a four-page section in Friday's neighborsgo. It's loaded with reader-submitted stories and photos.

Tomorrow neighborsgo kicks off its new Friday editions featuring HSGameTime -- the premier high school sports paper in the Dallas-Fort Worth area!

You'll notice this week is chockful of awesome stories and photos from terrific contributors such as Marcus Maurader dad Paul Lebon, Marcus sports editor Patrick Iversen, Flower Mound Jags supporter Roxanne Ramirez's halftime photos and The Colony cheerleading's Heidi Norris, among others.

If you don't see your team represented, there's only one surefire way to change that: Post your team's, marching band's, cheerleading team, drill team's pics, stories and videos at HSGameTime. It's that simple.

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Neighborsgo is sorta the unofficial home of Big 12-bred journalists — we claim all kinds, if not every school; heck, we've even got plenty of those pesky Sooners. So expect some rivalry smack talk ’round these parts once the games against “directional” schools are over (I’m looking at you, Florida Mid-Northwestern Polytechnical Institute of Agriculture) and conference play begins.

We’ve also got a lotta love for Mountain West Conference schools, like TCU, too. But, I am pretty sure we don’t have anybody claimin’ to be a Texas State University Fightin' Armadillo. I could be wrong about that. …

My allegiance? Let’s just say I’m a typical, sarcastic-yet-hopeful, cautious-and-apathetic dreamer who is hopin’ for another national title. Yes, you guessed it: I am a Longhorn fan. All I know is that my expectations this season are fairly low. The biggest victory so far for UT: “the experts” didn’t rank the Horns absurdly high in the preseason polls this year. This means no precipitous fall if – big IF -- something like Route 66 occurs. Did I mention I neurotically expect the worst and hope for the best?

So, what’s your school? …Which team do you really loathe? … Who you got for the Heisman? I’m thinking it’s a race between Georgia’s Matthew Stafford (former Highland Park Scot) and Missouri’s Chase Daniel (former Southlake Carroll super-superstar).

 

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