Preseason basketball is here and it seems that at least one local establishment is decidedly unsatisfied with all the negative attention that Josh Howard has recieved as of late. SMU-area haunt Milo Butterfingers had this to say about the Wake Forest product, who at this point seems a far ethical cry from his fellow Demon Deacon alums Tim Duncan and Chris Paul. Not only does the bar hang this signed jersey upside-down, but they make sure as many people see it as possible by putting directly next to the front entrance. We’ll keep an eye on the status of this–maybe Josh can play his way back from the Land Down Under if he can put together some solid play after the first quarter with any kind of consistency.

P.S. Note the Barry Sanders Oklahoma State(?!) jersey that the bar also proudly displays–right-side up.

He grew up a 100 mile drive down I-30 in a small town called Mount Vernon and played his way to number one recruit status. He turned down Bear Bryant in favor of Dallas’ SMU, where he founded the university’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. He finished third in Heisman voting in 1958. Then he went on to become the only kid from a Dallas high school or college to come start for America’s Team. They slapped his name up on that Ring of Honor in 1976. That’s Twenty-Two years ago for those keeping score.

So can anyone tell me why the ample brain trust that is the SMU Hall of Fame Committee has just now decided to retire Meredith’s hallowed number 17? It’s been a long time coming, but you’d think that someone would have noticed considering that SMU and the Cowboys shared the same field as tenants of the Cotton Bowl. The committee consists mainly of members of the Letterman’s Club, but unfortunately I couldn’t find any info on this organization on SMU’s interwebs. My guess is that they don’t want to be reached, considering the tardiness of this decision and the fact that they are the same people behind this.

With the announcement last week that the SMU football team would be sporting “new” uniforms, I felt the need to bring up the Mustangs’ schizophrenic handling of the color blue.  Now I’m not old enough to remember, but I can’t recall ever seeing the SMU athletic teams wearing anything but royal before the mid to late 1990s. But navy was the preferred hue of blue that the football team adopted in 2003. And there seems to be no explanation for this at all. For a school with as rich an atheltic heritage in the city of Dallas as SMU, it is a sad tale how much apathy has surrounded its programs since the NCAA dropped the Death Penalty on them in 1987.

Look at the school’s official colors and you’ll see that they are “Harvard Red and Yale Blue.” WHY?  That automatically dooms the Mustangs to aspire to be a copy of another school, AT BEST!  I’m sure schools with such strong ties to their colors as the University of Texas look at SMU and just laugh.  Who can tell me where the non-official usage of navy came from?

Its not just the football team, either.  In recent years the soccer teams, basketball teams, and even the cheerleaders have been seen clad in navy. Let’s hope with the introduction of these new football duds, which hearken back to the Pony Express days of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, we are now seeing the abandonment of navy, which is not even a sanctioned school color.  Oh, and by the way, with the new June Jones-era unis the school has introduced are in a shade called “SMU Blue.”

Looks like hoops are back in royal now, though.

Why oh why SMU do you play fast and loose with your colors?  What other sports team, at any level, does this?  Southern Methodist University — pick one color and stick with it. Please.  Maybe you’ll see that people care about your teams when they think that you actually do.

What do you think? Please tell me what you think in the comments.

Thanks to hombre de steel for the vintage banner photos.

From the Dallas Morning News. SMU’s record-setting junior quarterback Justin Willis has been suspended from spring practice and his name has been removed from the roster on the school’s official website.  Safety Bryce Hudman has also been suspended – both for violations related to academics and missing team functions.

Do you know how hard it is to find pics of Jon Koncak where he is not merely a background participant or getting completely schooled? Here he is able to save some kind of face by standing next to Luc Longley.

Six years and $13 million dollars. Those were the terms that the Atlanta Hawks agreed to in 1989 when they signed 7’0″ center Jon Koncak to a backup role. The figure may not sound like much by today’s terms, but Koncak contract is largely responsible for that fact as it threw the NBA salary scale completely out of whack. Consider this: Koncak’s signing meant that the Hawks were paying him a salary on par at the time with guys named Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson. For a straight scrub. Imagine how the Kevin Willises of the world lit up with joy when they learned that NBA GMs could be swayed by the precedent that had been set. Pro basketball has never been the same.

The legacy of “Jon Contract” lives on to this day — sports broadcasters still use his surname to refer to terrible “Koncaks” that bonehead franchises unwittingly offer to non-star talent.

With that history lesson out of the way, it’s time to get to some news. I don’t know how I missed this, but Koncak’s (and my) alma mater, Southern Methodist University, announced on Friday that they will be enshrining his number later this month. I can think of very few things that signal how much that the athletics department at SMU is struggling than the fact that we are actually planning to honor this schmo.  I just wrote this story and I still can’t believe it. We’re counting more and more on June Jones to rescue this sinking ship.

Let’s hope that this deal gets done and that this horrible distraction will go away.  Furthermore, I’m looking forward to see how Jones’ advanced offensive tactics will be suited for talented SMU quarterback Justin Willis.  Good luck Mustangs!

***UPDATE***

SMU will sign June Jones as their head coach.  ESPN article here. Forbes.com article.

 R.I.P. O.G. P.M.

An update has been made to the charming neighborhood fixture the Parkit Market, an unfortunate announcement for the business that has been named “Best Mom & Pop Store” by the Dallas Observer. In what is surely an attempt to drive more business into the already overcrowded parking lot, the store has introduced a new facade to better accentuate the signage. As a fan of the uniqueness of the signature red tile, it’s pretty tough to take considering that the facade has covered what tile you could see as you drive by. Remnants of the original design remain on the store’s lower front panels as the red tile can still be seen there. The red and white striped awning that identifies the store as th same one on the beer koozie in my kitchen has been preserved, but looks a little silly when juxtaposed against this sterile new facade. It looks so much more like a suburban strip mall now — I urge us all to pay our homage. More photos of the recent construction can be viewed here.

As the annual holiday hangover begins to subside it brings with it the yearly retrospective of our beloved SMU Mustangs’ football season, sadly a post-Thanksgiving trail of tears in its own right. So this year’s new “Pony ?” campaign ended on a resounding low as the 1-11 record was sealed on the road at Memphis after a 5-hour triple overtime heartbreaker. As a matter of fact, five of the Ponies’ losses were decided in the final 45 seconds or overtime with THREE OT defeats. Thankfully, we can say goodbye to head coach Phil Bennett, whose six years at the helm drew to a close on Friday night. An 18-52 record given the weak schedules SMU play? Are you fucking kidding me?

But Phil Bennett is leaving us and his ineptitude is not something to be focused on at this point. We can only hope for a similar departure for this year’s Peruna, whose performance may just have outshined the gridders’ in the way of crappiness. Of the three games that I have been to this year, there was not one instance that I can recall the mascot wandering more than 10 feet from the student section/cheeleader corp. Is there some sort of rule at Gerald J. Ford stadium that I don’t know about that keeps our hallowed steed from roaming free about his home ground? The spark in SMU athletics needs to come from somewhere and I want to put my vote in for a livelier, more fan-friendly character.

Dear SMU,

Please fill the aforementioned available positions with somebody with balls. We will surely finish the season in ESPN’s Bottom 10 Rankings, which is just embarassing considering that it’s been 20 years since the NCAA blessed us with the Death Penalty. The hangover must end. Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

N.