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Dallas Cowboys get new schedule and new players

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Schedule

The Cowboys start the 2012 season on the road against the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Ironies for both teams play their season opener on a Wednesday. Last time an NFL game occurred on a Wednesday, September 22, 1948 when Los Angeles Rams defeated Detroit Lions 44-7.

However their home opener occurs September 23 against Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then Week 4 comes, the Cowboys’ only Monday night appearance is against the Chicago Bears on October 1st. Week 5 is their bye week just like last year’s schedule.

Dallas Cowboys

After the bye week, the Cowboys brutal schedule on the road with four out of the next five games away from Cowboys Stadium during parts of October and November. Cowboys play road games against Baltimore (October 14th) and Carolina (October 21st). First two games for month of November: NBC Sunday Night matchup against Atlanta Falcons (November 4th) and division-rival Philadelphia (November 11th). Sprinkled into those road games is lone home game against the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants (October 28th).

Starting Week 11, Cowboys play five out of their next six games at home. This includes three consecutive games at Cowboys Stadium with two of them against division rivals (Thanksgiving Day vs. Washington Redskins and December 2nd vs. Philadelphia Eagles on NBC Sunday Night). Only road game sprinkled in this stretch against Cincinnati Bengals on December 9th. Home games against Pittsburgh Steelers (December 16th) and New Orleans Saints (December 23rd) finishing off the stretch. Regular season finale matches up with division-rival Washington Redskins on the road for December 30th.

Draft

Cowboys selected defensive players in their first four overall picks. This includes trading their 14th and 45th overall pick to St. Louis Rams for 6th overall pick to acquire Morris Claiborne from LSU. Many scouts considered him the best defensive player throughout the draft. Claiborne won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back with six interceptions in 2011. By trading their 45th overall, the Cowboys without 2nd round pick.

However in the 3rd Round, they selected Defensive End Tyrone Crawford from Boise State who registered 13.5 sacks during his last two seasons. Cowboys used their 4th round picks both on defense with Kyle Wilber from Wake Forest and Matt Johnson from Eastern Washington. Johnson had 17 interceptions during his collegiate career. Wilber played DE and OLB during his time at Wake Forest and should provide flexibility for the Cowboys defense.

Their first offensive player selection came in the 5th round drafting Danny Coale. Coale’s flourished in his senior season with 60 receptions and over 900 yards receiving. For 6th round, Cowboys selected Flower Mound native James Hanna from University of Oklahoma. Hanna’s had 45 receptions with nine of them for touchdowns in his last two seasons at OU. In their 7th round pick, Cowboys selected Caleb McSurdy from Montana. McSurdy awarded Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year with over 130 tackles last year.

2012 Schedule

9/5/12 @ New York Giants (NBC WEDNESDAY NIGHT)
9/16/12 @Seattle Seahawks
9/23/12 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (HOME OPENER)
10/1/12 vs. Chicago Bears (ESPN MONDAY NIGHT)
Bye Week (Week 5)
10/14/12 @ Baltimore Ravens
10/21/12 @ Carolina Panthers
10/28/12 vs. New York Giants
11/4/12 @ Atlanta Falcons (NBC SUNDAY NIGHT)
11/11/12 @ Philadelphia Eagles
11/18/12 vs. Cleveland Browns
11/22/12 vs. Washington Redskins (THANKSGIVING DAY)
12/2/12 vs. Philadelphia Eagles (NBC SUNDAY NIGHT)
12/9/12 @ Cincinnati Bengals
12/16/12 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
12/23/12 vs. New Orleans Saints
12/30/12 @ Washington Redskins

2012 Dallas Cowboys NFL Draft Picks

1st Round-6th Pick Overall Morris Claiborne LSU
3rd Round-81st Pick Overall Tyrone Crawford Boise State
4th Round- 113th Pick Overall Kyle Wilber Wake Forest
4th Round-135th Pick Overall Matt Johnson Eastern Washington
5th Round-152nd Pick Overall Danny Coale Virginia Tech
6th Round- 186th Pick Overall James Hanna Oklahoma
7th Round- 222nd Pick Overall Caleb McSurdy Montana

Cowboys Off-Season Moves and Additions

Additions:

CB Brandon Carr (5-Years, 50.1 Million, with 26.5 million guaranteed)
QB Kyle Orton (3-year deal)
G Nate Livings (5 years, 18.75 million including 3.5 million signing bonus)
FB Lawrence Vickers (2-year deal)
S Brodney Pool (1-year deal)
LB Dan Connor (2 years, 6.75 million including 2.7 million signing bonus)
G Mackenzy Bernadeau (4 years, 11 million)

Elsewhere:

LB Brady James (Free Agency-Acquired by Houston Texans)
TE Martellus Bennett (Free Agency-Giants: 1-year deal)
WR Laurent Robinson (Free Agency-Jaguars: 5 years, 32.5 million)
FB Tony Fiammetta (Released) (Acquired by New England Patriots)
G Kyle Kosier (released)
QB John Kitna (retired)
CB Terence Newman (released) (Acquired by Cincinnati Bengals)
K David Buehler (released)

Filed Under: Cowboys, Daniel Durany, Lead Story Tagged With: , ,

DeMarco Murray joins the 250 Club

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

During the 2011 NFL Draft, Dallas Cowboys selected DeMarco Murray in the third round from University of Oklahoma. In the first five games of this season, Murray played sparingly behind Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.  With both running backs suffering injuries Murray finally made every bit of opportunity count last week. The Cowboys desperately needed his contribution for their running game. Murray flourished in his first opportunity with 25 carries and rushing for Cowboys franchise record 253 yards against winless St. Louis Rams in the 34-7 victory.

The majority of Murray’s yards include his first carry untouched for a 91-yard touchdown, second longest run in Cowboys history behind Tony Dorsett’s 99-yarder against Minnesota Vikings in January 1983.  Also early fourth quarter, Murray’s 43-yard carry put him over the 200-yard mark and third running back in Cowboys history to rush for over 200 yards. The two previous Cowboys to rush for over 200 yards are Dorsett (1977) and Emmitt Smith (1993) whom both achieved against Philadelphia Eagles.

How significant is Murray’s feat of 253 yards rushing compared to other NFL backs achieving 250-yards rushing? Murray becomes the 10th NFL running back and 3nd rookie overall to achieve this feat. Adrian Peterson holds NFL Rushing Record for yards in a game with 296 yards against the San Diego Chargers in November 2007. Like Murray, Peterson achieved his feat during his rookie season and played at the University of Oklahoma.Cowboys Star Logo

Besides Peterson and Murray, six other running backs accomplished the feat of over 250 yards rushing since 2000 NFL Season. Most recently Jamaal Charles and Jerome Harrison accomplished the feat during December 2009 regular season. Jamal Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Corey Dillon, & Mike Anderson are the four other running backs to accomplish the feat of 250 yards in a game since 2000.  Prior to those running backs, Walter Payton held the record for one game with 277 rushing yards for over 20 years.  O.J. Simpson is the only player in NFL History to achieve this feat twice.

Dallas’ next game was Sunday night against division rival, Philadelphia. If Murray were to somehow accumulate over 200 yards rushing, he would become the fourth NFL running back ever to achieve consecutive games rushing for over 200 yards. Only O.J. Simpson (1973 and 1976), Earl Campbell (1980), and Ricky Williams (2002) are the previous running backs to achieve consecutive 200-yard rushing games.  Overall, 24 running backs previously accumulated over 200 yards rushing on multiple occasions during the regular season.

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DFW Duel Preview: Horned Frogs vs. Mustangs

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Saturday, October 1st game will be 91st matchup of the SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs.  TCU leads the all-time 44-39-7 including winning the last four matchups.

The first time these two teams played was in 1915 when the Horned Frogs blew out the Mustangs 43-0.  Since then, the only years the Frogs and Mustangs haven’t played each other were in 1925, 1987, 1988, & 2006.  During two of those seasons, 1987 & 1988, the Mustang football team was hit with the death penalty. An investigation  by the NCAA found that a school booster club paid 13 players for a total of $61,000.

So far both teams are off to carbon copy starts, 3-1, loosing in their season openers on the road against a Big XII team and both coming off 42-point victories this past weekend.

Since being routed by 32 points to Texas A&M, SMU has outscored their last three opponents 110-24 including last week’s shutout against Memphis Tigers.  Key players contributing during the Mustangs’ early season success are Zack Line with 11 rushing touchdowns (ranks 2nd NCAA Division I) and averaging 5.9 yards per rush and three 100-yard rushing games, and, a surprising contribution from QB J.J. McDermott including career high of 357 passing yards against Memphis last week.   Receiving those passes are Cole Beasley and Darius Johnson, both ranked top 20 in receptions.

Unlike SMU being routed in their season opener, TCU was down by 24 in the second half against Baylor and actually took the lead before losing 50-48 in the final seconds.  Since then the Frogs have three consecutive victories against Air Force, University of Louisiana Monroe, and Portland State.  The biggest surprise in the early season might be the production of their offense, especially since the Frogs started the season with complete overhaul at offensive line and new quarterback. Already, through four games, the Frogs average 44 points per game and executing close to 52% on 3rd Down Conversions.

Wide Receiver Josh Boyce is relied upon consistently with 25 receptions for 400 yards (16 yards per reception) and serves as a security blanket for new QB Casey Pachall.  Pachall’s touchdown-to-interception is 5-to-1 ratio.

The running back tandem of Waymon James and Matthew Tucker continue to make an impact in the running game for the Frogs.  James is the team’s leading rusher including rushing 8.0 yards per carry.  Tucker leads the team with five rushing touchdowns.

With Jeremy Kerley now playing for the New York Jets, Greg McCoy is returning kicks at superb level.  In the season opener against Baylor, McCoy had 229 return yards.  Then following halftime in their home opener against Louisiana Monroe, McCoy returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.

Some key factors to look for in this DFW Duel

Turnovers, Big Plays especially in Passing Game, and Establishment in the Running Game.

Turnover Ratio

SMU is -8 compared to TCU (even)

Passing Game

Will the SMU Passing Game against put up big numbers against the TCU Secondary? TCU has struggled at times this year on pass defense especially against Baylor, while SMU relies on throwing the football for their offensive explosion.

Running Game

Finally, which team can first establish the running game?  The team which is able to establish the running game should dictate the outcome for their team.  SMU Zack Line vs. TCU running back tandem.

 

Filed Under: College, Daniel Durany, Lead Story, SMU, TCU

Breaking down LSU vs. Oregon

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Oregon fans

Will the Oregon fans come to Arlington? photo source: Flickr/davesmith1983

By Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Did you know winner in each of the last five national championship games represents a team from the Southeastern Conference?   If you take the last eight championship games, an SEC team represents the winner in six of those games.   Louisiana State University represents two of six championship games won from the conference.  One of the elite college football teams who would love to break the SEC’s winning streak is the Oregon Ducks.  They are coming off a tough and painful 22-19 loss against Auburn in last year’s national championship game in Glendale, AZ.

This year the Ducks start their season against another SEC team. This upcoming Saturday, September 3rd at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Oregon takes on LSU.   Both of these teams start the season ranked Top 5 in the country. However both teams’ primary concern isn’t where they start, but finishing as the top team in nation by the start of the next calendar year.

What’s contrasting is how both teams philosophy reaching as the top team in the nation?  Oregon relies on their fast, up-tempo style on both sides of the ball though especially on offense to wear down opposing teams throughout the game. On the other hand, the Tigers rely on their defense to impose their will on opposing offenses.

This will be an epic matchup of which team first imposes their will on the other team.  LSU finished in the Top 20 in multitude of defensive categories such as Total Defense, Passes Intercepted, Sacks, Scoring Defense, Turnovers Forced, and Opponents Percentage Converting 3rd Downs into 1st Downs. Junior Cornerback, Morris Claiborne (five interceptions), and Senior Linebacker Ryan Baker (87 tackles including seven sacks) are the main contributors returning for the LSU Defense.

Last year, Oregon ranked #1 scoring offense at 47 points per game, and total offense at 530.7 yards per game.  The Ducks exploded for 60 points in three games and had a blazing streak of three consecutive games scoring over 50 points last year.  A major contribution to the scoring explosion comes from their running game averaging over 285 yards a game.

The majority of those yards contributed from Heisman candidate, Junior RB LaMichael James.  This year, Ducks return three starters from their offensive line to help James pave the way for possible 2,000 yard rushing season.  In each of his two seasons, James has rushed over 1500 yards.  James has already accomplished 18 100-yard rushing and three 200-yard rushing games in his career at Oregon.   If opposing defenses start getting too attached to LaMichael James, expect Junior QB Darron Thomas to pick them apart.  Thomas threw for nearly 3,000 yards including a career-high 363 yards in the national championship game.Oregon vs. LSU

Here are several keys for LSU to win on Saturday. Their offense absolutely needs to take some load off of their defense by running and protecting the football against Oregon’s defense who is fearless taking chances to create turnovers.  While on defense they need to generate some turnovers because LSU won’t be full strength on offense.  The Tigers have key players  QB Jordan Jefferson and WR Russell Shepard suspended indefinitely.

There are a couple keys for Oregon to win on Saturday and it all boils down to their offense starting off the game fast and furious.  The Duck offense starts with juniors RB LaMichael James and QB Darron Thomas being able to wear down the Tiger defense. Defensively Oregon needs to put LSU’s offense on their toes generating turnovers and sacks.  Last year the Ducks forced 37 turnovers and recorded 33 sacks.

Filed Under: College, Daniel Durany, Lead Story Tagged With: , ,

SMU Mustangs look to improve on back to back bowl seasons

August 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
SMU Mustangs

Flickr: Schlüsselbein2007

By Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

SMU is coming off bowl appearances the last two seasons; winning and losing one each.  Those are the Mustangs first two bowl appearance since Death Penalty occurred in the last 1980’s.  The Mustangs finished 7-7 overall, but 6-2 in Conference USA last year.   However SMU expects better results including a Conference USA championship to occur this upcoming year.  For the Mustangs to expect better results, they need to beat opponents in the Top 25.  Last year, the Mustangs lost miserably in their two games against Top 25 teams including 41-24 loss to neighborhood rival, TCU.  The Mustangs record against Top 25 teams is 1-31-1.

For the Mustangs, they have great opportunity in their season opener against #8 Texas A&M, Sunday evening of September 4th.   Six days later is their home opener against conference opponent, University of Texas-El Paso.   Then for October, the Mustangs have an opportunity to exorcise their demons from their losses to Top 25 opponents last year.  First opportunity and for DFW bragging rights is on the road against TCU on October 1st.   Two weeks later, Mustangs host last year’s champs in Conference USA, University of Central Florida.  If the Mustangs start off strong, then the month of November presents a home-friendly schedule against Tulane, Navy, and Rice.

What favors the Mustangs to do better this upcoming year is number of returning starters from the offensive side of the football. Their offense starts with Southlake native, QB Kyle Padron who threw 31 touchdowns and over 3,500 yards while completing nearly 60% of his passes (302-508).  Padron main targets at the receiver position, Cole Beasley and Darius Johnson each recorded over 75 receptions.  If opposing defenses force SMU’s passing game out of sync, the Mustangs presents a running game to keep defenses honest.  Running Back Zack Line bulldozed his way for nearly 1,500 yards with ten touchdowns last year.  Line recorded seven 100-yard rushing games including 202 rushing yards against Marshall.SMU Logo

The Mustangs Defense is a 3-4 alignment.  Linebackers usually become the focal point on the 3-4 team defenses’ alignment.  The Mustangs have an excellent linebacker and First-Team All Conference USA Ja’Gared Davis, junior from Crockett, TX.   Davis recorded nine sacks and 16 tackles for loss last year.  His two main highlights were touchdown returns of 77 yards from blocked field goal against Rice and fumble recovery of 33 yards.   If Davis isn’t tackling anyone, then linebacker Taylor Reed is usually the main guy to finish up the play.  Last year, Reed finished with 145 tackles (101 solo and 44 assisted) including a game against Navy recording 20 tackles (12 solo and 8 assisted).  They also have from their front seven, Senior Defensive Tackle Marquis Frazier recording 51 tackles and 2.5 sacks last year.

The Mustangs display a talented team with a potentials to finish in the Top 25 at end of the season. Turnover Ratio (-11), less pass happy (57% of their plays were passing), and steady dose of Zack Line play major factors for the Mustangs reaching the Top 25 this year.

Filed Under: 2011 Previews, College, Daniel Durany, Lead Story, SMU Tagged With: ,

Can the TCU Horned Frogs repeat its Rose Bowl Success?

August 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

The Horned Frogs finished with an undefeated season and became Rose Bowl Champions.  TCU now has played in two consecutive BCS (Bowl Championship Series) games.  This upcoming season is their final year in the Mountain West Conference.  Big East Conference welcomes TCU starting July 2012.  Recently many changes occurred around the Mountain West with Brigham Young University and Utah dismantling from the conference and addition to Boise State joining this year.   The Cougars of BYU became the fourth team in NCAA Division I football joining as independent conference and Utah moves to Pac-12, previously known as Pac-10.  The 12th and final team joining with Utah is the Colorado Buffaloes from the Big XII Conference. With TCU leaving the conference next year, Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno State join the Mountain West Conference.  However, Hawaii joins the Mountain West Conference for only football.

TCU starts their season ranked #15 in the USA Today Polls. The Frogs have several key games throughout their season.  Key Road Games against Baylor in their season opener, September 2nd, against San Diego State Aztecs in October, and the biggest challenge against Boise State on November 12th.  Boise State hasn’t lost a home game since September of 2001.  The last two times Boise State and TCU faced each other occurred in bowl games.TCU logo

Key home games against DFW rival, SMU Mustangs on October 1st.  The Frogs only appearance at Cowboys Stadium occurs Friday, October 28th against the BYU Cougars.  The rest of their conference home games are against University of Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Colorado State.

Offense

Offensively, the Frogs will several new faces including everyone from their offensive line and quarterback. This year’s starting quarterback is Casey Pachall whose sophomore from Brownwood, TX.  Pachall became a Top 30 recruit from the Lone Star State. Last year’s regular season finale against New Mexico became first significant amount of playing time completing 6 for 9 passes for 78 yards and touchdown.

Pachall’s returning starters and main support are at the running back position. Keeping the running game intact signifies major reducing load and pressure off of Pachall. Running game is likely their focal point when TCU has the ball offensively.  The Frogs rely on the three head monster of Ed Wesley, Matthew Tucker, and Waymon James at the running back position.  The three running backs rushed exactly for combined of 2300 yards and 23 touchdowns. Last year, Wesley rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and 6.5 yards per carry with 11 touchdowns.  While Matthew Tucker rushed for another 700 yards with nearly close to five yards per carry.  Waymon James rushed tad over 500 yards.   Both Tucker and James were instrumental with each rushing for over 100 yards when Wesley wasn’t able to play much against San Diego State.  The Frogs rushed for nearly 250 yards/game ranking them 10th NCAA Division I Football.

Defense

Amon G Carter Stadium

Frogs open with a new Amon G. Carter Stadium in 2011--Courtesy of TCU

If the running game isn’t working well in certain games, the Frogs benefit from stout defense finishing #1 in the nation.  With the Frogs running 4-2-5 Defense, their core strength of their defense occurs at the linebacker position of Tank Carder and Tanner Brock.  Carder became the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year and forever known in Fort Worth for his Rose Bowl heroics knocking down the pass for the 2-point conversion. He also had 3.5 tackles for loss and sack in the Rose Bowl game.  Carder’s linebacker partner, Tanner Brock recorded over 100 tackles last year.  Instrumental with nine tackles during the Rose Bowl victory.  Brock finished 1st Team Mountain West Conference and 3rd All-Team All-American as sophomore last year.  In addition to those two linebackers, Frogs rely on cornerback Greg McCoy for leadership in the secondary as well for Special Teams as kick returner for Jeremy Kerley who went into the NFL.  McCoy’s past experience returning kicks including an 81-yard return for touchdown against Wyoming during the 2009 season.

Many new faces on this year’s team, but expectations to succeed and demand for excellence aren’t new for the Frogs.  Expect the Frogs to finish in the Top 20 and maybe higher.  A possible third consecutive year as Mountain West Conference Champions looms mainly on November 12th game against the Boise State Broncos.

Filed Under: 2011 Previews, Daniel Durany, Fall 2011, Lead Story, TCU Tagged With: , , ,

Arlington Bulldogs 2011 Preview

February 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Daniel Durany–The Arlington Bulldogs will be playing in the Texas United Football League.  TUFL is made of 32 teams in six divisions.  The breakdown of each division is two divisions will have six teams each and four divisions will have five teams.

Bulldogs Logo

Arlington Bulldogs

Arlington will be playing in the Western Division of the TUFL which consists of five other teams: Breckenridge Mustangs, Abilene Gladiators, Fort Worth Avengers, DFW Xpress, and Weatherford Bullets.

Their team owner is Kimpell Richardson and her husband, James Richardson is the team’s General Manager & Head Coach.

James Richardson has over ten years of coaching experience at various levels.  Richardson has played three years of minor league football at various positions such as Running Back, Defensive Back, Free Safety, & Linebacker.

Key leaders to ignite the Bulldogs this upcoming season are Tight End Jon McNutt and Defensive Back Devin Mitchell.

Their home games will be played at Josey Ranch Sports Complex in Carrollton.  For further information on direction to the sports complex, they can be reached at 972.242.9822.

Arlington’s schedule consists of ten regular season games playing two times against each opponent from the Western Division. Their two bye weeks are on April 23 & May 7th.

Their first game of the season is on February 26 on the road against the Breckenridge Mustangs.  Then their first two home games of the season will be on March 5 against the Abilene Gladiators and March 12th against the Fort Worth Avengers.

March 19 & March 26 will be road games against the Weatherford Bullets & DFW Xpress.

For the second half of the regular season, the Bulldogs will have home games against Breckenridge & Weatherford in the month of April and the final regular season game is against DFW Xpress on May 14th.  The Bulldogs will have road games on April 9 and 16 against Abilene and Fort Worth.

For further contact information, please reach Coach James at 817-468-2411 or coachjames@arlingtonbulldogs.org if interested in football tryouts or Ms. LaRhonda Jackson at 214-298-5001 or ladybulldogs@arlingtonbulldogs.org for dancing tryouts.  You can also check them out on YouTube typing in Arlington Bulldogs.

Author: Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel is a graduate of TCU and talented writer and statistician. Sports is his passion, and he is a stat guru. He is constantly researching stats to provide trivia and insights to his friends. When he is not writing about sports, he gives speeches on autism.

Filed Under: 2011 Spring Previews, Arlington Bulldogs, Daniel Durany, Lead Story, TUFL Tagged With: , ,

Top seven facts about the Cowboys for the DFW fan

February 21, 2011 By 1 Comment
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

On fact everybody knows, the Cheerleaders are hot!

By Daniel Durany–During the Dallas Cowboys 50 years as an NFL franchise, they have accomplished remarkable feats that the typical fan from Dallas-Fort Worth never knew about.  Here is a list of top seven feats that fans from DFW might have not known about the Dallas Cowboys.

1.  First NFL Victory

The Cowboys first NFL victory didn’t come until their second season in existence.  In their first season, the Cowboys lost every game except for one tie against the New York Giants.  Their victory came against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 17, 1961. The Cowboys scored 10 points in the final 56 seconds to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24.

2.  99 Yard Touchdown Run

If you ask the typical NFL fan, what is the longest run for a touchdown?  Most of them would say Tony Dorsett’s 99 yard run against the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome.  However, what most people don’t know about Dorsett’s touchdown run is being the only 99-yard rushing touchdown ever in NFL History. Besides the only 99 yard rushing touchdown, the Cowboys lined up with only ten players during that historical play.

3.  Three Owners Overall

The Cowboys franchise started in 1960 with Clint Murchison, Jr. became their first owner ever.  He owned the team for 24 years until the spring of 1984.    Then, Harvey Roberts “Bum” Bright with 11 limited partners owned the Cowboys & brought the team for $86 million.  However, Bright owned the team for only five seasons due to losing money in his banking, real estate, & oil companies. In February of 1989, Jerry Jones brought the team for $140 million.  Today, the Cowboys current value is over $1.5 billion dollars ranking them first in the NFL.

4.  Drafting Carl Lewis & Pat Riley

Nine-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Lewis was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 12th round, 208th overall pick during 1984 NFL Draft.  Lewis was drafted as a wide receiver even though never played college football.

Basketball legend Pat Riley wasn’t just in the NBA, but also in the NFL too.  Riley was drafted in the 11th round as wide receiver during 1967 NFL Draft.

jay_lilly03

Bob Lilly is one of 12 Hall of Famers for the Cowboys

5.  Rivalry against Washington Redskins

The Cowboys and the Redskins have faced each other 100 times during the regular season.  The Cowboys are 60-38-2 against the Redskins.  A few NFL fans would say this is the all-time best rivalry in football.  One of the reasons why this rivalry tends to be the best in NFL History is that records go out the window.

During the 1989 Cowboys’ 1-15 season, their lone victory came against the Washington Redskins.  The victory against the Redskins was Jerry Jones’ first victory as the owner.  When the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1995, the Redskins handed them two of their four losses that year.  From 1997-2004, the Cowboys were 15-1 against the Washington Redskins including winning ten straight during the streak.

6.  20 Consecutive Winning Seasons

From 1966-1985, the Cowboys had 20 consecutive winning seasons.  During the streak, the Cowboys were in the playoffs 18 times, winning 13 divisional championships, 16 seasons winning 10 + games & two Super Bowl championships.

They Cowboys won over 100 games during decade of the 1970’s.  During the decade, they won at least 10 games in every season except 1974.

7.  Twelve Hall of Famers

Twelve people in the Cowboys franchise have been represented into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  All but two people (Coach Tom Landry & General Manager Tex Schramm) were players for the Dallas Cowboys.  Within the last five years, the Cowboys have had five players be represented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Emmitt Smith (2010), Bob Hayes (2009), Michael Irvin (2007) and Troy Aikman & Rayfield Wright (2006).

Bob Lilly became the first Cowboys player represented into the Hall of Fame in 1981. Four years later was Roger Staubach in 1985.  There were five Cowboys represented in the Hall of Fame during the 1990’s: Tom Landry (1990), Tex Schramm (1991), Tony Dorsett & Randy White (1994), & Mel Renfro (1996).

Photo Credit: Cowboys Cheerleaders by Flickr: UNC – CFC – USFK

Author: Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel is a graduate of TCU and talented writer and statistician. Sports is his passion, and he is a stat guru. He is constantly researching stats to provide trivia and insights to his friends. When he is not writing about sports, he gives speeches on autism.

Filed Under: Cowboys, Daniel Durany, Feature Tagged With: , , , , ,

North Texas Stampede 2011 Preview

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Daniel Durany–The North Texas Stampede has been longest continuous running spring season franchise for minor professional football in Texas. Their franchise has been around since 2001. Patrick Porter has been the Stampede’s owner for nine seasons & played semi-pro football for four seasons. The North Texas Stampede will be playing their home games at Pennington Field located 1501 Central Drive in Bedford, TX 76022.

Stampede

The Stampede are moving

This is the Stampede’s first year in the Minor Professional Football League. They had previously been in Texas United Football League.  The 2010 Stampede were 9-7 and lost 14-6 to eventual league champions, Hunt County Longhorns during 2nd round of the playoffs.

All of their home games will be played at 7 PM with their first game on February 26 against Wichita Falls Vipers. They will also have home games on March 12 against the East Texas Wolves, April 9 against the Texas Knights, and two home games in May against the Shreveport Bossier Knights & May 14th against North Dallas Cowboys.  Stampede’s bye weeks are on March 26th & April 23rd.

The Stampede coaching staff assembles five people. Head Coach, Shaun Freeman who played college football at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Freeman coached the Stampede from 2004-2009 before taking a brief stint off last year. In Freeman’s last coaching season (2009), the Stampede finished 9-5 overall.

The Stampede Defensive Coordinator is James Cortez, the Offensive Coordinator is Gilbert Arroyo and the Booth/Instant Replay Coach is Lonnie Mathis. Coach Freeman is still interested in having more volunteers join the team for positions such as videographer, chain crew and water crew.

Their home office is located 952 South Blue Mound Road, Saginaw, TX 76131. For any further information to tryout as a player or dancer, go to www.northtexasstampede.com. You can contact the North Texas Stampede by either emailing them at ntsfootball@live.com or coachfree@northtexasstampede.com or reach them by phone at 817.237.4577.

Author: Daniel Durany

Daniel Durany

Daniel is a graduate of TCU and talented writer and statistician. Sports is his passion, and he is a stat guru. He is constantly researching stats to provide trivia and insights to his friends. When he is not writing about sports, he gives speeches on autism.

Filed Under: 2011 Spring Previews, Daniel Durany, Lead Story, NT Stampede Tagged With: , , , ,

Women’s Football, Yes!

November 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Author: Daniel Durany

There has been a sport that has been growing among females in North Texas. Most guys would probably guess volleyball, basketball, softball or soccer as the sport that has been growing among females, but it is none of those four sports that are mentioned.

Actually most people would think men and only men should play this sport, but women are playing this sport more than ever before known as football.Dallas Desire

There are several women’s football leagues across the United States such as Lingerie Football League, Independent Women’s Football League, and Women’s Football Alliance. Four teams from North Texas out of these three leagues are the Dallas Desire, Lone Star Mustangs, North Texas Knockouts and Dallas Diamonds.

The Dallas Desire is one of ten teams from the Lingerie Football League. This year, the Desire will be playing their home games at the Cotton Bowl Stadium and all of their games will be aired on MTV 2.

Lone Star Mustangs

The Women’s Football Alliance has the Lone Star Mustangs who started their first football season in 2009. In just their second year of existence in the league, Mustangs became league champions finishing with an undefeated record of 10-0. The Mustangs play their home games at Pennington Field in Bedford, TX and co-owned by LynMarie Liberty-Ellington and Mike Ellington. Back in January of 2010, one of the members from the Lone Star Mustangs became very popular instantly when she was on reality TV show, “I want to work for Diddy 2.”

In the Independent Women’s Football League, there will be two teams from North Texas at the start of 2011 football season. The newest team upcoming in the Metroplex is the North Texas Knockouts. The Knockouts team location is in Frisco owned by Lacresia Webster Gay and under her front staff is General Manager, Skye Garrett and Assistant General Manager, Cassidy Hill.

Dallas Diamonds

However, the team mostly familiar to North Texas fans of women’s football is the Dallas Diamonds who started the inaugural season in 2002 while participating in the Women’s Professional League and later moved to IWFL after the 2007 season. This year the Diamonds finished 7-1 during regular season and lost 45-43 to Sacramento Sirens in the conference championship game.

Even though the Diamonds fell short of the championship game, they are still a force to be taken very serious. Since the franchise has been started, the Diamonds have won four championships including three straight years from 2004-2006 in WPL. Their fourth championship occurred in 2008 while in the IWFL.

Filed Under: Dallas Desire, Dallas Diamonds, Daniel Durany, Lead Story, Lone Star Mustangs, North Texas Knockouts Tagged With: , , , ,
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