Cheap Seats

Ponder's Boxell leaves Lions for college gig

2009-04-17T20:10:10Z

It is official. Ponder head coach Doug Boxell has left the Lions to coach at the University of the Ozarks, according to Josh Peppas, the university's sports information director. The University of the Ozarks is located in Clarksville, Arkansas and is a Division III school. Peppas said Boxell signed the contract yesterday after interviewing for the job on Monday. This is a nice promotion for Boxell. Not a lot of coaches jump from the 2A high school basketball level to the college ranks. Boxell was at Ponder for 13 years and led it to back-to-back state championships in 2008 and 2009. I am still waiting to get a call back from Mr. Boxell. I'll have more on this as soon as I hear from the coach.

Video: NHRA drag racing

2008-10-08T04:55:42Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams profiles NHRA drag racer Peggy Llewellyn and her day at the Texas Motorplex on Sept. 21. NHRA drag racer Peggy Llewellyn

Video: Texas Motor Speedway & Charity

2008-10-01T05:07:20Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams chronicles two instances of how Texas Motor Speedway helps out in the community. Texas Motor Speedway & Habitat for Humanity Texas Motor Speedway & Laps for Charity

Let's talk racing: Texans, Richmond, Chicago

2008-09-05T21:12:11Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams and copy editor Matt Crider have a two-part racing podcast. In part one, Texans in racing is discussed, including Bobby Labonte's chances at Richmond. Texas Racing Report In part two, Williams and Crider discuss news in NASCAR and IndyCar, including whether David Ragan or Clint Bowyer could make the Chase. Motor Sports

Let's talk racing: Bristol, Sonoma

2008-08-22T18:54:58Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams and copy editor Matt Crider have a two-part racing podcast. In part one, Texans in racing is discussed, including Brad Coleman's debut in the Sprint Cup. Texas Racing Report In part two, Williams and Crider discuss news in NASCAR and IndyCar, including the debate whether the Chase for the Championship is now just between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Motor Sports

Let's talk baseball

2008-08-22T05:58:57Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams talks Rangers and MLB baseball with staff writers Adam Boedeker and Jeff Andrews. Subjects include Matt Harrison and the Tampa Bay Rays. 0821 Baseball podcast

Let's talk baseball: Rangers (before 19-17 loss)

2008-08-13T05:16:21Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams and staff writers Adam Boedeker and Jeff Andrews talk Rangers baseball, the Adam Dunn trade and the Tampa Bay Rays on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 12th. 0812 Baseball podcast

Smashing Americans

2008-08-11T18:21:28Z

What happened in the men's 4x100 freestyle relay yesterday at the Water Cube in Beijing was probably the greatest moment this Olympic Games will see, and we're only three days in. This race had all the makings for a classic. The French team, which was the favorite and has the 100-meter freestyle world-record holder (each swimmer swims 100 meters), Alain Bernard. Yes, his name's Alain. But that's beside the point. Bernard was quoted as saying the French team was coming to Beijing to "smash the Americans." The NBC announcers even said they'd broken down the race hundreds of times in their heads and saw no way the Americans could win and keep Michael Phelps' hopes of eight gold medals in a single Games alive.]]> Phelps led off the race and had the U.S. in second place when he gave way to the second and third legs. As anchor Jason Lezak took the pool, the veteran of three Olympics was in bad shape. Bernard had a full body-length lead after 350 meters. Lezak began creeping back into contention but it still appeared he wouldn't have a shot at catching the French. Then, it happened, sending Phelps and his teammates into a primal celebration that had to have been so much sweeter standing right next to their French rivals. As the NBC folks said last night... "Who's talking now?"

Let's go racing: Watkins Glen, Kentucky

2008-08-09T04:17:15Z

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams and copy editor Matt Crider discuss NASCAR and IndyCar. Issues include the upcoming Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen and the IndyCar race at Kentucky. 0808 Motor Sports podcast Also, take a look at Trevor Williams' latest column and read about his experience at driving at the Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Oklahoma . Click here

Principal Goodell wants to send fans to ISS

2008-08-05T20:30:32Z

a conduct policy for fans at NFL stadiums. Punishment for not representing NFL fans in a manner become of the beacon of integrity that is the NFL is not only ejection from the game, but banishment from the stadium. ]]> Such behavior includes, but surely is not limited to: -- Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures. So cursing or flipping the bird now constitutes banishment from NFL games. -- Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel. You better move swiftly down the escalator, or else. -- Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team. Something tells me attendance at Eagles games is going to be zero by the time Week 6 rolls around. For the most part, I like Goodell. I think he's doing a good job, but this behavior conduct kick he's on is ridiculous. This is frankly insulting to me and if you actually try to implement this policy, there's going to be hell to pay. Something tells me this is just something they can fall back on in the event that a fan is being out of control and they want to eject him. If it's not, there is virtually no way to fairly enforce any of this, if it's even league. Are there going to be behavior police running around the stadium listening for dirty words? Which specific words are banned? Is there an appeals process? (Yeah right. Per the NFL standard, any appeal will go directly to the person who originally made the charge.)

ESPN gets pass on Favre coverage

2008-08-04T22:01:19Z

Usually, the collective inner monologue of sports media conglomerate ESPN goes a little something like this: "Yankees. Red Sox. Yankees. Red Sox. Yankees. New York. Boston. Chicago. Major east-coast media markets. Yankees. Boo-ya. Jessica Simpson. Red Sox. Yankees. Boo-ya. Hockey sucks. Boo-ya. Red Sox." But after all the drama in Green Bay, ESPN's thought processes include only two words: "Brett" and "Favre." Most of the time, something like this would set me off on an ESPN rant of epic proportions. The network walked the party line again by basically shutting down its programming today for excessive and needless coverage based not on journalistic integrity, but mass appeal and ratings. But, sadly, I really can't blame them for this one. This is a huge story. It basically encompasses every adjective recorded in the English language. It's bizarre beyond description. All the criteria for how to determine whether a story is newsworthy that we learn in journalism school are thoroughly met. So, they get a pass - this time.

Georgia's the top Dawg, but may not be BCS title winner

2008-08-01T22:29:35Z

The first USA Today Top 25 coaches poll was released today, a poll that unfortunately goes a long way to determining the national champion. So which team was basically handed the pole position for the BCS title game? Georgia, which finished No. 2 in the nation last year after wasting unworthy Hawaii in its bowl game. Georgia very well may be the best team in the nation, but in the SEC, the Bulldogs will lose two or three games. What it all comes down to is who they lose to, when they lose and how many undefeated teams there are. 1. Win 10 games. If Georgia loses three, it may be too much to overcome. 2. The winner between USC and Ohio State must lose. Outisde of this early showdown of titans, both teams have a pretty clear path to go undefeated. If USC is 12-0, Ohio State is 11-1 and Georgia is 10-2, do the voters move the Bulldogs ahead of one of those two teams? 3. Win one of these two games: at LSU (Oct. 25) or vs. Florida (Nov. 1). Georgia can make it to the title game and lose late, but losing back-to-back may knock the Bulldogs too far down to justify putting them back in the mix.

Sorry, Cows. Bill Parcells is responsible for this team

2008-08-01T05:07:38Z

BristolParty.com's Cow depth chart as a reference. Know how many starters were aquired before Parcell's arrival? That would be three -- Roy Williams, Greg Ellis and Flozell Adams.]]> How many players have been aquired after Parcells since he left? That would be three - Zach Thomas, Ken Hamlin and Leonard Davis, although to be fair, Pacman is not on this depth chart. How many were aquired during Parcell's four-year tenure serving for all you Cow fans? That would be 16. Do you see that number? That includes Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware, Terence Newman, Jason Witten, Terrell Owens and Marion Barber -- basically all your best players. Newsflash Cow fans: Bill Parcells built this precious team you think is going to the Super Bowl. And you hate him? Oh, that's right, "He didn't win a playoff game." I know, Cow fans. It's his fault Romo dropped the ball on the extra point. You're right ...

Rangers: No deals, no advancement

2008-07-31T22:05:08Z

I must say I'm more than a little disappointed that the Texas Rangers didn't pull the trigger on a deal to rid themselves of a spare part in order to gain a prospect at the trade deadline. Hank Blalock, Eddie Guardado, Jamey Wright, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padillia, four catchers, Frank Catalanotto, Milton Bradley -- basically anyone not named Hamilton, Young or Kinsler -- came up in trade talks. No one was delt. All the movers and shakers in the MLB said teams were being very protective of their prospects at the trade deadline, so that makes me want to give Jon Daniels and Co. a pass on this one. But seriously. You couldn't find something you liked in the Marlins system that would have made dealing Gerald Laird worth it? Surely there was something to be done at the deadline. I was hoping that in light of how good the Mark Texeira trade has turned out, the Rangers could trade two or three players, add four or five prospects and watch them grow over the next two or three years along with Hamilton and Kinsler. Maybe that wasn't possible, but Daniels hasn't earned enough stripes for me to give him the benefit of a doubt on this. What do you guys think? Mad, sad or happy?

This summer's ESPN filler less annoying than last year's

2008-07-25T21:13:08Z

For us in the sports media, there's always a lull in July. Basketball is over. NFL training camp is a month away. We struggle for things to talk about other than baseball. And no, we don't talk about the Turning Left World Championships (NASCAR) because they are pointless. For us at the DR-C, that means a lot of feature stories we couldn't cram in during the school year. For ESPN, that means pointless (more so than NASCAR) and over-publicized filler. This year, it's TitleTown USA. Which town is TitleTown USA, New York City or Massillon, Ohio??]]> that man who's having sex with a worn-down piece of leather went head-to-head in a battle royal, throwing down for the title of Now. The conflict was heated. America hit refresh as it braced for the crown of Now. Now was everywhere - ESPN, espn.com, ESPN2, ESPN NEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN U. The title of Most Now was all we as a society cared about, which is, of course, why ESPN seemed to only air things about Now. Who won the title that ESPN actually created a bracket for? Oh, that's right. Nobody knows. Nobody cares. Nobody cared. ESPN, please, find something better than this stuff to play in July.