Thursday, April 16, 2020

Pedro Castro signs NLI to play basketball for HBU

Photo courtesy of
Blinn College Athletic Department
Media Relations
Used with permission
By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 16, 2020) HBU head basketball Ron Cottrell has announced that Pedro Castro (shown right) has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Huskies beginning in the 2020-2021 season. Castro, who played his high school ball at Brewer High School in Fort Worth, played the past season at Blinn College. The 6-6 guard played in 33 games for the Buccaneers, averaging 10.8,  6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Prior to playing at Blinn, Castro saw action during his freshman year art The University of Texas at Arlington where he appeared in 33 games. Cottrell, in a prepared press release, stated;


"Pedro Castro is a long wing player who can play multiple positions for us. Pedro started his career at UT Arlington where he played considerable minutes as a redshirt freshman on a team that finished second in the Sun Belt. And, he had a stellar season at Blinn this past year where he received all-region honors. Pedro uses his length and high basketball IQ to shoot the three-pointer at a high percentage and to rebound over smaller guards and wings. Because of Pedro's previous experience at the NCAA D-I and highly respected east Texas junior college level, we expect Pedro to make an immediate impact on the court for us. We are more than excited to have him join us at HBU."


Calgary's first Stanley Cup still shrouded in controversy

Used with permission. Copyright Sergei Scurfield
By Lou Roesch
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 16, 2020) It's been 31 years since the Calgary Flames hoisted the Stanley Cup trophy for the first and even now their Game 7 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks remains shrouded in controversy.

Hockey is a sport where the rivalries are as thick as blood. You are born into them and you will die a fan of your favorite team, there are no bandwagon jumpers in hockey especially north of the border. The rivalry between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames reached incendiary proportions on April 15, 1989 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Conn Smythe semifinals.

Many will remember the name Joel Otto. Ironically enough, it was this native US born player that would fuel the fires in Canada hockey history. Undrafted out of college, the imposing center got a start with the Calgary Flames and made the most of it. At 6'4", 220lb, Otto was an imposing figure in front of the net. In Game 7, Vancouver had upset on their mind especially when Doug Lidster tied the game at 3 with 7:12 left in regulation. Was Calgary going to miss another opportunity to win a Cup. The Canucks who had finished six games under .500 during the regular season were in position to knock of Calgary, the regular season points leader at 117.

With less then a minute left in the first overtime, Calgary went on the attack. A deflected puck landed on the stick of right winger Jim Peplinski in the midst of a Calgary line change. The Flames captain sent the puck netward where Otto was tied up in front of Canucks goalie Kirk McLean. The shot hit off Otto and caromed into the back of the net propelling Calgary to what would become their first Stanley Cup title. 


Used with permission. Copyright Sergei Scurfield
From the moment, it crossed the crease, Canucks fans have been screaming foul.
  
"I remember looking down, watching it bank off my skate," said Otto in last year's 30-year remembrance for SportsNet. "And I don’t remember if I saw it go in or if I heard the roar."

To this day, Canucks assistant coach Mike Murphy argues to whoever will listen that it was an illegal goal and the officials missed it.

"To this day, I still feel the puck was kicked in. If it was today’s hockey, there would’ve been goalie interference, it would have been a kicked puck, but back then that didn’t happen."

Former referee and Hockey Hall of Famer Bill McCreary who officiated nearly 300 NHL playoff games remembered it this way.

"Had we had video review, I think we would have disallowed the winning goal. I think [Otto] directed the puck in the net with his skate. But the goal was allowed. I probably wish I had a better angle on the play, a better sight line. I just didn’t react well enough at the time and made the call. Of course, you don’t reverse them in those days, so it’s probably one I wished I could do over."

Cliff Fletcher architect and general manager of the Flames may have put it best after a 30 rest.

"I thought it was a good goal. Didn’t we win?"

Case closed.






Wednesday, April 15, 2020

St. Edwards Hilltoppers to drop six sports

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com 
By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

AUSTIN, TEXAS (April 15, 2020) In what could be a prefix of things to come from other colleges and universities, St. Edward's University has announced in a prepared press release that the university will be dropping six sports from their athletic department due to financial and budgetary concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sports that will be terminated at the end of the current spring semester include men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, and men's soccer. Cheer will be dropped from the athletic department and resigned as a club in the RecWell department.

In the press release, Associate Vice President for Athletics Debbie Taylor stated, 


"As we make this difficult transition, I know that all of our coaches and staff members have our student-athletes as a top priority and will work closely with them to support their needs."

It also stated that all scholarship-eligible student-athletes impacted by this reduction will have their athletic scholarships honored for the duration of their undergraduate enrollment at the university. In addition, all athletes wishing to transfer and compete at another institution will be given their full and immediate release. 

With the reductions, the Hilltoppers will field four men's and six women's programs and one co-ed sport. The remaining men's sports include baseball, basketball, track and field, and cross country. Women's sports that will still be contested include basketball, volleyball, softball, track and field, cross country and soccer. The lone co-ed sport remaining will be esports.

Monday, April 13, 2020

NFL and NFLPA agree on voluntary off season program for 2020

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis,
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved
By Chris Price
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK (April 13, 2020) The NFL and NFLPA have reached agreement on a voluntary off season program for 2020, starting next Monday, April 20, 2020. The program can begin on that date, with no on-field work until all 32 club facilities can reopen.


Club facilities will only open in accordance with NFL procedures and all federal, state and local regulations. If one or more teams must remain closed for any length of time, all teams must remain also remained closed during that period.


Each team gets three consecutive weeks of work plus an extra voluntary veteran mini camps for new coaches. The training cycle cannot last past May 15.


If team facilities do not reopen during the off season workout program, teams may conduct a mandatory mini camp for returning players on a virtual basis. The teams have a four-four limit during the session, such as two hours of classroom time and two hours of training time.


Teams may provide players workout equipment and monitoring devices provided the cost for each player does not exceed $1,500.








Sunday, April 12, 2020

Sugar Land Skeeters sign RHP Michael Nix as coach/player


By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS (April 12, 2020) Right-hander pitcher Michael Nix has been signed as the pitching coach by the Sugar Land Skeeters. He will also occupy a spot on their active roster. Nix, who previously played for the Skeeters during their first six years of play.

After the 2017 season, Nix saw action with the Lamigo Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He was signed to his first professional contract in 2005 by the Atlanta Braves after playing his college ball for the Auburn Tigers. After playing in the Braves’ minor league system, also played in the minor league systems for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and Colorado Rockies. In addition, he saw action in the Mexican League, along with the Puerto Rican and Mexican Pacific Winter League.

The Skeeters are currently monitoring the current COVID-19 pandemic and will make announcements regarding Opening Day and special events for 2020 once that information is available.

Friday, April 10, 2020

XFL halts day-to-day operations

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis,
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved


STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT (April 10, 2020) The XFL, the spring football league created by Vince Jim McMahon has announced it is suspending day-to-day operations and has laid off most of their employees. The announcement came at a time when most sports leagues in the United States are in a shut down mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league, which was a reboot of the original XFL from 2001, had completed half of its 2020 season when play was terminated. The Houston Roughnecks, who posted a 5-0 record when play was suspended, was the only undefeated team in the league. The league consisted of eight teams.

Thursday, April 09, 2020

No. 1 Texas softball’s Elish named Softball America National Player of the Year

Texas Athletic Department Photo
Used with permission


AUSTIN, TEXAS (April 9, 2020) Texas softball senior pitcher/utility player Miranda Elish (shown right) was named the 2020 Softball America Shortened Season National Player of the Year, while both Elish (first team) and junior second baseman Janae Jefferson (second team) were honored as 2020 Softball America Shortened Season All-Americans.

The duo helped guide the Longhorns to a 24-3 mark and final rankings of No. 1 in the Softball America and No. 3 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls. Along the way, Texas tied for the third-best 27-game start in school history, while leading the nation in team batting average (.376) and total doubles (62). The Burnt Orange & White also ranked in the NCAA Division I national top 10 in doubles-per-game (2nd – 2.30), on-base percentage (3rd - .450), solo shutouts (4th – 10), slugging percentage (5th – .597), won/loss percentage (6th – .889) and scoring (8th – 7.37). UT rallied for eight come-from-behind wins, went 5-1 against ranked teams (including beating the top two teams in the nation in consecutive games – No. 1 UCLA & No. 2 Washington) and scored more runs over the first 27 games (199) than any squad in program history.

On her way to national player of the year honors, Elish led the Big 12 Conference and ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in wins (11) while posting a 1.25 ERA, 11 complete games, four shutouts and 96 strikeouts over 84.0 innings of work while limiting the opposition to a miniscule .158 average. At the plate, the Crown Point, Ind., native also hit at a .370 clip over 23 contests with seven doubles, four HR’s and 19 RBIs to go with a 1.200 OPS. Among her individual highlights in 2020 were earning NFCA National Player of the Week honors (Feb. 11), after batting .818 with four HR’s and a remarkable 17 RBIs during the six-game Texas Classic, as well as tossing her second career perfect game by retiring all 21 batters she faced in a 7-0 win over New Mexico (March 8).

Jefferson continued her remarkable career in the Burnt Orange & White by leading the Big 12 in batting average (.554 – 3rd in NCAA Division I), hits (41 – 4th in NCAA) and on-base percentage (.607 – 3rd in NCAA) while posting eight extra-base hits, 13 walks and stealing 10 bases. The Humble, Texas, native currently owns the best career batting average in school history at .425, well ahead of Lexy Bennett’s (2009-12) second-ranked .385 mark. During the abbreviated 2020 campaign, Jefferson led the squad with 13 multi-hit games, including five three-hit efforts, and ended the season on a 17-game streak of reaching base safely. She also earned the final Big 12 Conference Player of the Week accolade on March 10 after hitting .750 with a 1.714 OPS during UT’s 4-0 run through the Longhorn Invitational.

Wednesday, April 08, 2020

German soccer league Bundesliga to resume play

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 8, 2020) Bundesliga, the German professional soccer league, is planning to resume their season in early May with no fans in attendance at the games. Chief Executive Officer of the league, Christian Seifert, stated to the New York Times that play is ready to get back underway in both of Germany's top two tiers, Bundesliga and Bundesliga2
The idea is to play in all of the leagues 36 stadiums with no fans in attendance at games until 2021. The cost to the clubs not playing in front of fans would be close to $110 million US dollars. It is expected that approximately 240 people would be needed for each match, including players, coaching staff, medical staff, match officials and production staff. There has been no mention if media would be allowed access to the matches. 

ESPN has the multi-platform broadcast rights to the German Bundesliga in the United State until 2026. The broacaster will cover every game live on its streaming service ESPN+, while its TV networks will telecast select Bundesliga games every season.


Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Al Kaline: The Real Tiger

By Lou Roesch
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved
(Video courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum via YouTube)

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 7, 2020) The greatest Tiger of them all passed away in Detroit, Michigan less then a day ago and no, I am not talking about Tony The Tiger. A man as revered in Detroit as Stan Musial was in St. Louis. Ballplayers of the same ilk and the same generation lived a life to emulate.

Could you get a better eulogy from an organization whose success was synonymous with your face as the Detroit Tigers remembered Mr. Tiger.

 "One of the most distinguished and decorated players in the history of baseball, 'Mr. Tiger' was one of the greatest to ever wear the Olde English 'D',' " the Tigers said in a statement Monday. "The Hall of Famer has been a pillar of our organization for 67 years."

You can name on one hand just about the only players so revered by a city, an organization and a sport. Names like Kaline, Musial, Clemente, Brooks Robinson, and maybe Jolt'in Joe DiMaggio but not many more.

Al Kaline came to the Tigers the week after graduating from high school never spending a day in the minor leagues. For 22 seasons, he displayed the epitome of grace and professionalism on and off the field. His batting prowess second only to Ty Cobb. His games played and homers hit second to no one in Detroit.

Although a perennial star, fans may be surprised to hear that Al Kaline won just one batting title in his illustrious career. He finished second three times despite hitting over .300 none times and finishing with a career .297 average. In 1955, he won his only batting title becoming the youngest ever to achieve such a feat at 20 years 280 days. Sixty-five years later, the record still stands. He never won a home run title despite hitting 399 dingers or an RBI crown or an MVP trophy yet he was a first ballot Hall of Fame selectee garnering 88% of the vote.

Kaline played in just one world series largely in part because of the Yankees dynasty that won 10 pennants in his first 12 seasons. In 1968, just a year after missing the American League World Series berth, Kaline and the Tigers stunned the Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals adding the title of baseball champion to Number 6's resume. Mr. Tiger, who batted .379, with 11 hits and eight RBI delivered the biggest one of all in the home seventh of Game 5. With the bases loaded, his one out two run single turned a one run deficit into a one run lead and Detroit never trailed again winning Games 5, 6, and 7.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Kaline collected hit number 3,000 cracking an opposite field double off Dave McNally and the Orioles in late September. Ten days later at Tiger Stadium, he would take his final at bat against the same Orioles going 0 for 2 before being lifted for a pinch hitter name Ben Oglivie. 

The ten-time Gold Glove winner and the first recipient of the Roberto Clement Humanitarian Award retired as an active player from baseball in 1974 but he would continue to don the uniform and serve his Tigers. Number 6 gone but not forgotten.

Flickr Photo Credit: Tom Hagerty  20110227-214_Kaline 

Monday, April 06, 2020

Tramon Mark wins 2020 Guy V. Lewis Award


By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 6, 2020) Dickinson High School senior Tramon Mark was recently honored by the Greater Houston Basketball Committee as the winner of the 2020 Guy V. Lewis Award as the top basketball player in the greater Houston area.

The senior point guard was selected from a group of ten finalists in the ninth year of the award. Mark scored a school record 1,055 points during his senior season with a season-high 57 points in addition to two consecutive 40-point efforts in the regional tournament. He led the Dickinson Gators to the UIL (Texas) 6A state tournament; their first appearance in 65 years.

The other nine finalists, in alphabetical order were LJ Cryer (Morton Ranch HS), Ja’Vier Francis (Westbury Christian), Bryce Griggs (Hightower), PJ Haggerty (Crosby), Justin Hill (Fort Bend Travis), Jordan Ivy-Curry (LaMarque) Rubin Jones (Yates), Jahari Long (Episcopal), and Ramon Walker (Shadow Creek).

On November 19, 2019, Mark signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Houston.

Sunday, April 05, 2020

HBU's Valdez-Crader named to Southland Academic All-Conference team

Photo courtesy of
HBU Media Relations 
By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 5, 2020) Houston Baptist University basketball player Megan Valdez-Crader has been named to the Southland Academic All-Conference team for 2019-2020.

Valdez-Crader, who played her prep ball at Johnson High School in San Antonio, Texas, is a senior business major and posted a 3.84 grade point average to be named to the academic team. She saw action in 25 games for the Huskies, scoring 278 points and averaging 11.12 points per game. In addition, she led the conference with 16 free throws in one game versus Northwestern State on January 5, 2020.



Saturday, April 04, 2020

Horse Racing is still being contested in USA during pandemic shutdown.

Photo by Jeff Griffith, via unsplash.com
By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (April 4, 2020) With the lack of sports being played or opportunistic for fans to observe said sports, many people are feeling a loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, all is not lost. There are a few events that are being contested around the United States, without fans in attendance. Horse racing is continuing at selected race tracks in the United States with on-line gambling allowed.

Tampa Bay Downs (Tampa, Florida) has eight races scheduled for today (Saturday, April 4), while Remington Park (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is also racing today, with two races on tap. Los Alamitos Race Course  (Los Alamitos, California) eight races scheduled, beginning at 8 p.m. Gulfstream Park (Hallandale Beach, Florida) has a schedule of six races for today,

In addition, the Randox Health Grand National Handicap Chase (Grade 3) is being held today at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool England.

All of these races can be followed at their respective websites or at horseracing24.com.


UPDATED as of April 4, 2020, 1:42 p.m. CDT: The Randox Health Grand National Handicap Chase (Grade 3) has been cancelled for today

TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL COACHES ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2020 HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES AND AWARD WINNERS

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS (April 4, 2020) The 2020 Hall of Honor Inductees have been unanimously approved by the THSCA Board of Directors.  The inductees will be honored at the THSCA Hall of Honor Banquet sponsored by Balfour, in San Antonio on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center at 7:00 pm.  The banquet is held in conjunction with the annual THSCA Coaching School and Convention which will take place July 19-21, 2020 in San Antonio. Tickets to the luncheon are $55 each and can be purchased by downloading the ticket form from the THSCA website (www.thsca.com) and sending in with payment.  Hall of Honor Inductees are:

Bob Alpert compiled an impressive record of 42-8 in his six years as Athletic Director and Head Coach at Duncanville.  In his first year, Bob led the team to the first undefeated regular season in the school’s history. His 1997 team advanced to the State Semi-Finals and in 1998 won it all by capturing the 5A Division I State Championship.

Before coming to Duncanville, Alpert was coordinator and head coach at Aldine MacArthur for 13 years, where he compiled a 110-37-4 record, reaching the playoffs ten of those 13 years.  Prior to coming to MacArthur, Alpert headed the football program at Willis. His 21-year combined record as a head coach was 183-60-4.

Alpert began his career at Galena Park North Shore.  He moved to Strake Jesuit, and then spent six years at Huntsville as defensive coordinator helping the Hornets win the State Championship in 1980. 

Coach Alpert has served as chairman of the THSCA All-Star Selection Committee and chairman of the THSCA Football Advisory Committee.  He was also President and Director of the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association and served on the Houston Touchdown Club Selection Committee.

Alpert passed away in 2004 at the age of 59.

Gerald Brence recently announced his retirement as Athletic Director of Plano ISD ending a 39-year career with the district.  He served as an assistant coach under Tom Kimbrough beginning in 1981 and helped lead the Wildcats to two state championships in 1986 and 1987.  He was named head coach in 1992 and served in that capacity for 15 years amassing a 120-70-1 record, eleven playoff appearances and one state championship in 1993.  He hung up his whistle for good to become Plano’s full-time athletic director in 2008 and has served in that capacity until his recently announced retirement in 2019.  He has always worked to improve Texas high school athletics for both male and female sports.

Coach Brence was a member of the THSCA Board of Directors (2004-07) and was a nominee for the Tom Landry Award.  He was named Texas High School Coach of the Year twice (1993 and 2007) and authored a book titled The 70-30 Split.  He was also president of the National Football Foundation Gridiron Club of Dallas.

Joey Florence never had a losing season or missed the playoffs in his 20-year head coaching career.   His first head coaching job in 1994 at 2A Cooper saw his teams make the playoffs all 6 years and he amassed of 53-16 record.  He quickly established Denton Ryan High as a premier football power when he came in 2000. In his first year, he led a team, who had won a one game the previous year, to a 12-3 record and an appearance in the 2000 Class 4A Division I state championship game.

The next two seasons cemented Ryan’s stature at the top as the Raiders posted a 30-1 record en route to winning the 4A state championships in 2001 and 2002, becoming the district’s first athletic program to win back-to-back state championships.  Mr. Florence never stopped winning and led the Raiders to 4A state championship appearances in 2003 and again in 2010.

At Ryan, Mr. Florence became one of only eight active head coaches with 200 or more victories in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, recording his milestone 200th win against Flower Mound Marcus in 2013. His career record is 205-53.

Florence was named athletic director for Denton ISD in January 2014.  As an athletic leader, he has been a guest speaker for numerous conferences, including Nike Coach of the Year Clinic, DFW Coaches Clinic, Texas Tech Spring Clinic and many others. He served on the THSCA Board of Directors from 2006-2009.

Mr. Florence graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989.  He served as an assistant coach at Sulphur Springs and Marcus before becoming one of the youngest head coaches in the state when he was named head coach at Cooper in 1994 at age 28.

Joey McGuire is in his fourth season on the Baylor coaching staff. After spending two seasons as tight ends coach from 2017-18, he was promoted to associate head coach and defensive ends coach for 2019 and will be coaching outside linebackers in 2020.

McGuire came to Baylor after a legendary run as head coach at Cedar Hill High School. He led CHHS to three state championships in 14 seasons, including back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. He took Cedar Hill, a program that hadn't won a playoff game prior to his tenure, to 12 straight playoff appearances.

McGuire's teams amassed a 141-42 record, won state titles in 2006, 2013 and 2014, and made four title appearances (runner-up in 2012), won nine bi-district championships and seven district championships.

McGuire was named the 2013 Texas coach of the year by MaxPreps, Dallas Morning News, SportsDayHS and Chevy Silverado after leading Cedar Hill to the Class 5A state title. He earned Class 5A coach of the year honors in 2013 by the TSWA, Dave Campbell's Texas Football, NFF Dallas Club and the Padilla Poll, and he repeated in the 2014 Padilla Poll. In 2006, he was honored by the Dallas Cowboys as the Coach of the Year.

A two-time district coach of the year honoree (2005 and 2006), he has coached in all but two Under Armour All-American games and was a head coach of the 2013 Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. He served as head coach for the North in the 2014 THSCA All-Star Football game.

McGuire served as an assistant coach at Cedar Hill from 1997-2002.  Prior to that, McGuire began his coaching career at his alma mater, Crowley High School, where he spent two seasons (1995 and 1996) as an assistant. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1995 from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1995.

JOHN PARCHMAN was born and raised in Lubbock County. He attended Lubbock – Roosevelt High School, Cisco JC, Texas Tech, and Sul Ross State University.
Coach Parchman entered the coaching profession in 1972 as an assistant at Atlanta High School. He also served as an assistant at Roosevelt, Dimmitt, Lubbock Coronado and Midland Lee. 

As a head coach he built successful programs at Frenship, Cisco, EP Socorro, Llano and Midland Lee. He experienced success at the very highest levels winning three 5-A State Championships and a USA Today National Championship. 
As a college coach at Cisco College he made the NJCAA playoffs two of three years.

Coach Parchman served on the Board of Directors of the THSCA FROM 1997-2000. He received numerous Coach of the Year awards and was named Fox Sports “Coach that makes a difference”. In 2000 he was USA Today National Coach of the year.

JOE BOB TYLER, considered one of the great Single Wing coaches of all time, left a head coaching job at Burkburnett to serve as an assistant at Wichita Falls High School under then head coach Joe Golding in 1956.   He then went to Rider High School in 1961 when he was hired to be the first head coach of the Raiders new football program.

Tyler led the Raiders to a record of 8-1-1 in just the second season of the program, and in 1965 took them to a 10-1 record and the Raiders first district championship.

He left Wichita Falls in 1969 to take over the reins at Haltom City, a program that had only won 16 games in eight years before his arrival. It took six years, but Tyler turned the Buffaloes into winners with an 8-1-1 record in 1974, a mark they would repeat in 1975.

In 1980, Tyler returned to Wichita Falls as an assistant under Danny Palmer before again becoming the Coyotes head coach in 1981.

1985 and 1986 were the Coyotes’ best years with 10-2 and 11-1-2 records respectively and a state quarterfinals appearance in 1986. 

A lineman in his playing days, Tyler first attended Louisiana's Northeast Junior College in 1942 before joining the United State Army and serving in World War II.  Tyler was taken prisoner in 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge and was held captive for four long months. By the time he and the other prisoners were liberated, the bulky 198-pound Tyler was down to a thin 110 pounds.

Returning home and regaining his health, Tyler returned to school to what had become Northeast Louisiana University (now known as the University of Louisiana-Monroe). In his first season back on the field in 1946, Tyler became the school's first football All-American.

Tyler passed away in 2010 at the age of 86.

Other Award winners include:

2020 Putt Powell Sportswriter of the Year Award
Matt Stepp, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football

2020 Curly Hays Officials Award
Joe Ray, Houston Chapter

2020 Trainer of the Year
Deirdre Scotter, Longview High School

2020 Tom Landry Award
Gary Joseph, Katy High School

2020 Distinguished Service Award
Ronny Flowers, Athletic Supply


Friday, April 03, 2020

CONCACAF suspends Nations League Finals

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

MIAMI, FLORIDA (April 3, 2020) The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has announced their Nations League Finals, scheduled for June 4-7, 2020 will be suspended due to the ongoing health situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

Games were scheduled to be played at BBVA Stadium and NRG Stadium in Houston and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On Thursday, June 4, the United States was scheduled to face Honduras at 7 p.m. CDT at BBVA Stadium in Houston. Later that evening,, Mexico would play Costa Rica at 9 p.m. CDT at NRG Stadium, also is Houston. The third place and final games were scheduled for Sunday, June 7 at AT&T Stadium

CONCACAF stated in a prepared press release, "The event, which includes the Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and USA men’s national teams, will be rescheduled to take place at a later date in venues to be determined. This will be confirmed following further discussions with FIFA regarding the remaining international windows in the football calendar, and will obviously be subject to public health authorities deeming it safe for professional sports events to resume."