“Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte” is a weekly newsletter curated by DMN sports columnist Kevin Sherrington where he hits all of the latest sports topics around North Texas and all major sports.
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Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte
– There’s no playbook for the suicide of a teammate, so I wasn’t sure what to expect in the Cowboys’ first interviews after Marshawn Kneeland’s death. Given the conditions, the five players made available – Dak Prescott, Solomon Thomas, Ryan Flournoy, Osa Odighizuwa and Donovan Ezeiruaku – were thoughtful, eloquent, extraordinary. Speaks to their character. Also to their head coach, whom they cited for his leadership. You may not be sure if Brian Schottenheimer is the right coach for the Cowboys, but he’s the right man.
Mavericks
– Reinforcements have arrived for the Cowboys’ defense. If these guys don’t work out, I say they try the Doomsday bunch.
– Of his misbegotten role as a point guard, Cooper Flagg says, “I don’t know if I was ready.” Hard enough for a rookie to adjust to NBA life without your head coach making it harder.
– Dirk Nowitzki got it right in his “NBA on Prime” analyst’s role when he said Nico Harrison should have been fired last summer. A far better take than what we got from Charles Barkley and Nico’s other pals who defend him on grounds that Patrick Dumont could have vetoed the Luka Doncic trade. Sure he could have, but it was still Nico’s idea. The owner simply backed his GM, as owners usually do. Especially Jerry Jones.
– Anthony Davis is out at least another week, which seems about right. Meanwhile, Luka leads him in availability, 10-5.
– Six former Oklahoma quarterbacks have started in the NFL this season, a list including Kyler Murray (Cardinals), Spencer Rattler (Saints), Baker Mayfield (Bucs), Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Caleb Williams (Bears) and Dillon Gabriel (Browns). Texas is represented by a couple of back-ups in Quinn Ewers (Dolphins) and Sam Ehlinger (Broncos). Even if Arch Manning lives up to his hype, Steve Sarkisian has some catching up to do.
– If the Rangers eventually discover the Globe’s lid is smothering their power, they can always move back across the street.
– North Texas cracked the AP Top 25 this week for the first time since 1959, the birth of Barbie, who beat the Mean Green’s comeback by two years.
– If you’re tired of your family on Thanksgiving weekend, go to Waco for Baylor’s game against Houston. Come for the football; stay for the band. Check out its cool rendition of Steely Dan’s seminal “Reelin’ in the Years.” Good times.
– Story time: One of the benefits of this business, as opposed to the pay, is the company you keep. Some of my favorite people are sportswriters. We may not be the sharpest tools in the box, but we don’t break easily. Which is good, because these are trying times for sportswriters of a certain vintage.
Between the careers of the Houston Chronicle’s Kirk Bohls and yours truly, we’ve haunted press boxes for more than a century, yet neither of us had ever been to a game at Georgia’s Sanford Stadium.
Before leaving Atlanta for the 90-minute drive to Athens, we parked in a garage across the street from a restaurant. When we got back from lunch, Kirk said, “It’s freezing in here.” Turns out I’d left the engine running. For two hours. Fortunately, we were getting great gas mileage, and we were off. Once we’d circumnavigated the Georgia campus several times in search of a garage, we parked and set out for the stadium.
As you may know, rural Georgia is famous for its trees. Beautiful, too, even if they tend to obstruct the view. Not a stadium in sight. Finally I asked a kindly couple if they could point us in the right direction. They did so, and on we went, until the same kindly couple chased us down to tell us we didn’t follow directions well. Once we found the stadium, the game was, as Steve Sarkisian said, pretty good for three quarters. Unfortunately, Georgia insisted on playing four. With five minutes left, we packed up for the long, winding route to the sideline, where it didn’t look any better than it did from the press box. From there we were directed to a room under the stadium, where Sark tried to explain what had gone wrong.
Kirk and I sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the front row, laptops in our laps, pounding out columns on deadline while various Longhorns displayed better moves evading our questions than they had on the field. Finally, the presser over, the cleaning crew moved in. By the time I hit send, the only thing left in the room was the folding chair I’d been sitting in. Found my way back up five flights of stairs and around the concourse to the elevator and the press box, where I located Kirk. We made our way back across the strangely silent campus to the garage, where we learned that, even though we’d parked on level 5, there were just four stops on the elevator.
Stumbled upon the car at last, made it back to Atlanta and was in bed by 3:30 a.m. Up at 8 for the flight home. Pretty eventful 24 hours for a couple of seniors. As odd as it may seem, this is one of the things I’ll miss in my reminiscing stage. I’m thankful for this career and friends like Kirk. Also that kindly couple. No telling where we’d be if they hadn’t stopped us.
More from Sherrington
— Even after embarrassing loss to Georgia, does Texas still have a chance to make the CFP?
— While Mavericks’ long nightmare is far from over, firing Nico Harrison had to be done
— The top Dallas sports moments of 140 years: Doak’s house, America’s Team’s City
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