Nelson is Back At It

Nellie wants to coach again. Well, it is a free country. But, I am just curious. If Bill Parcells or even Buck Showalter pulled Nelson’s routine: Not run his own practices, openly pout about losing a player that management decided against, leave the team with weeks to go before the playoffs (claiming he was exhausted), and then take another job as soon as his free money from Mark Cuban stopped rolling in, would the media give them the free pass?

I am amazed and impressed that Nelson conducted himself in the ways that he did at the end, and almost no member of the media thinks anything of it. Parcells would be burned at the stake if he tried that!

Nellie is remembered by Gil Lebreton …

As head coach, he turned a league laughingstock into a 60-win contender. There was method in Nellie's madness, as it turned out. Yet, it was his method that drove old-school NBA types to shake their heads at him.

In a way, it was a surprise to hear Tuesday that Nellie is going to be coaching in the NBA again. On the other hand, the job pays more than sitting under the banyan tree on Maui, and nobody ever accused Nellie of not liking money.

Cuban honored Nelson's contract and paid him $5 million last season -- just to watch, inconspicuously. Nellie's annual consultant salary was about to be reduced to $200,000. Sure, he began telling people, he'd entertain the notion of coaching again.
The shock, if anything, is that it's Golden State that wants him. Nelson's first term on the Warriors' bench ended with owner Chris Cohan firing him, then suing him when he went to the Knicks.

The Nelsons, however, reportedly are close friends of Golden State general manager Chris Mullin. Nellie was the last head coach to be successful there. Nelson and his wife, Joy, were actually married on the court where the Warriors play. And Joy has grandkids who live in the Bay Area.

What goes around comes around, especially if you offer to pay it $5 million or $6 million a year.

To a part of the NBA, Don Nelson has been an unconventional coach whose defensive philosophy borders on afterthought. Don't forget that he once announced that Bradley was the missing piece in the team's playoff puzzle.

Richie Whitt has his own theory …which makes sense for sure…

So now we know exactly how much Don Nelson disliked Mark Cuban. After quitting the Mavericks and saying he was just tired of the travel and ready to settle down with his wife on a beach, the former Dallas coach is apparently ready to return to the grind of the NBA as the Golden State Warriors’ coach. The crappy Warriors haven’t been to the playoffs since 1994, when Nelson was their coach.

Nellie, 66, ought to be perfectly content. He’s got a house in Maui. A new bar in Dallas. And he’s flitting around with the rich and famous like George Clooney at the Oscars, Owen Wilson at King’s X and Willie Nelson at the biodiesel ranch. But the truth is, Nellie loathed Cuban more than he loved basketball.

Perhaps the real story of training camp: Mark Colombo = Cowboys Right Tackle …

In 2002, the Chicago Bears made the former Boston College player the 29th pick overall. He was supposed to be their answer at left tackle (sound familiar), but a gruesome knee injury derailed his career.

Colombo was set up in pass protection when a safety for the St. Louis Rams rolled onto the back of his leg. When the trainers arrived, Colombo's left kneecap was on the wrong side of his knee.

"They popped it back in there on the field," said Colombo with a sadistic grin. "And I can remember that being a great feeling."

After surgery, doctors told him he would be out for six months.

Turns out they were being a bit optimistic.

His femoral nerve had been damaged, which limited his ability to build strength in his quadriceps. (If you're like me and have never located your quadriceps, it's somewhere above the knee).

"I did everything they asked me to do thinking I would be back the next year," Colombo said. "But six months turned into two years."

The Bears thought Colombo might retire, but he said he never considered that option.
He began the 2004 season on the physically unable to perform list and wasn't activated until Week 9. His first extended action at offensive tackle came against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

He started the final two games of that season and was the Bears' third tackle heading into the 2005 season. Colombo was attending a charity event the night after the team's first game when he received a phone call from head coach Lovie Smith.
He'd been cut.

Smith replaced Colombo with a player he'd coached in St. Louis named John St. Clair.
"I don't remember saying anything," Colombo said. "I was just shocked. After all I'd been through, to have it end that way, was pretty bad."

Colombo had tryouts with several teams before signing with the Cowboys. Bill
Parcells viewed him as more of a long-term project.

Owens returns! Hurray! …life returns to a sense of normalcy…

Terrell Owens returned to practice Tuesday, a day after the star receiver said his strained left hamstring was improving.

Owens, who was unavailable for comment, did not practice Tuesday morning but did participate in the team's afternoon practice. Owens has missed 21 of 33 practices since the start of training camp.

He had not practiced since participating in a morning session two days before the Cowboys' second preseason game against New Orleans.

While it's unlikely Owens will play Thursday against Minnesota, if he can stay on the practice field, it increases the odds that he'll be ready for the opener against Jacksonville on Sept. 10.

The last time Owens practiced, he said he had too many repetitions, which caused him to aggravate the injury. Passing game coordinator and receivers coach Todd Haley is normally responsible for overseeing how many practice repetitions each player receives.

The 2nd Richie Whitt link of the day! Kevin Scott leaves us …My favorite co-worker gets his big chance…go get em, K-Scott…

It’s not quite as big a deal as when Dale Hansen jumped ship, but there’s another on-air change at KTCK-AM (1310, The Ticket). RIP, “The Throwdown.” Kevin Scott, who earned his extremely modest fame and fortune doing sports update “tickers” on “The Hardline” afternoon show and teaming with Rich Phillips on “The Throwdown” fill-in show, is leaving The Ticket for ESPN Radio in Austin. The 34-year-old Scott, at The Ticket since 1997 and a member of the extremely exclusive Max Miller alumni tree, will join Austin’s ESPN-AM (1530), which already has a decided Dallas flava with regular appearances from Dallas Morning News University of Texas beat writer Chip Brown and longtime metroplex radio voice Wally Lynn. Scott will co-host a 3-7 p.m. weekday show in Austin with former Denver Broncos lineman Dan Neal.

Scott ends his Ticket career Friday afternoon and will be on the air at his new gig Saturday at 8 a.m. for the UT pre-game show. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ll miss ‘The Throwdown,’” Scott says sarcastically. “Maybe Rich and I will do some podcasts, allowing it to live on through iTunes.” Somehow, Ticket listeners must trudge on without Scott’s wit, which was on display during last Thursday’s final “Throwdown.” Pondered Scott to morning host George Dunham, “In space, does Uranus contract when it’s cold?”–Richie Whitt

Thanks to Adam Morris, Here is an interesting deal from Cowlishaw …

freddyk: Will Mark Teixiera sign up here for the long term?

Tim Cowlishaw: That's a real good question. The Rangers still control him for a couple more seasons, but he's got to see things getting better to sign a long-term deal here. And I think that would mean among other things a new manager in place. Now let's be fair, Teixeira's price on a long-term deal went down this year. His numbers are not where they should be. But he will still command some hefty dollars and deservedly so.

Channel 5 Snake attack …

And now, a cause that means something to me – explained by Laura:

the event is going to be held on the morning of September 23rd. That night is an FC Dallas soccer game where they are honoring police and fire fighters.

We will have a public stair climb around the stadium steps of Pizza Hut Park. People bring pledges to climb the stairs.

We will have a fire fighter competition where teams of 4 firefighters from around the metroplex will compete on another set of stairs (the ones around the stage) in full gear for time.

We will have a Red Cross Blood drive.

Our money goes to the State Firemen's and Fire Marshall's Assoc of Texas JC Swadley Fund. It supports the families of FF killed in the line of duty by giving grief counseling, college scholarships and bill paying. This fund was started by the will of JC Swadley as Grand Prairie Fire Chief.

What I would like from you guys is just to help me tell people about it. I believe that if I can get the word out, people will want to come. If you guys will talk about it on the air, send people to my website or to a link on yours, encourage them to participate it would be great! If you could also help us get PSAs run on your sister stations that would be great.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. You can also go to our website at www.343memorialclimb.com The creation of that has also been donated by a friend of mine.

Thanks for working on this!
Laura

Today’s Youtube:

U2 does the Godfather…I think.



Hook Mitchell