Over the years, there has been great debate as to whether or not UT Tyler should have a football team. It’s East Texas where, like the rest of the state, football is king. Sure it’d be great to have a four-year university football program right here in the Rose Capital of the World, but is it really feasible? There’s a good chance it would pay off down the road, but that’s the problem, it wouldn’t pay off now.

First of all, you’d be asking current students to pay for something that wouldn’t come until well after they graduate, and a lot of those students may not even be football fans which means it would never pay off for them.

Winning takes care of a lot of things but winning doesn’t happen overnight. You need a great players and a solid coaching staff, and time for the coaches to build a winning product.

UT Tyler’s athletic program plays in the American Southwest Conference in Division III, and the Patriots would be leaps and bounds behind the completion.

On top of that, you need a stadium, which would be paid for by our tax dollars. Tyler Junior College, Robert E. Lee High School and John Tyler High School already play at Rose Stadium so adding another team there isn’t a valid option. Not to mention, with colleges where large chunk of students stay on campus, having the stadium on the other side of town just isn’t ideal.Then you have to consider equipment which is anything but cheap.

Again, I’d love to go check out UT Tyler games on Saturday evenings, but I’d be shocked if it ever happened.

It’s so crazy to think that in less than two weeks, it will have been 14 years since the terrible terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Everybody who was old enough to know what was going on will always remember that day in full detail, where they were, who was around, their immediate reactions and what not. In a way, it’s like our generation’s version of the JFK assassination or Pearl Harbor.

Think of just how much changed as a result of that terrible event. Gas prices sky rocketed. You could no longer walk right up to the gate of an airplane when picking someone up or dropping them off for a trip. Also, remember that whole anthrax scare? It was almost as if society was put on hold. On a sports-related matter, the prior to the 9-11, the Super Bowl was always held on the last Sunday of January, but the Sunday after the attacks, no football games were played. Eventually they made up for it by moving those games to the last week of the season and pushed the Super Bowl back to the first Sunday of February, when it’s now played.

If there was a positive that came out of it, for just a brief while, America was united with American pride.

As the Sept. 11, 2015 approaches, let’s not celebrate the day itself, but the thousands of lives lost. I’m sure you remember watching the TV intently as the burnings were building and people leaped to their deaths because they weren’t going to escape the heat. We literally witnessed people’s last moments on earth live. Those lives had stories. They had families. They had souls. They are the what we should be remembering and celebrating.

Week one of high school football is in the books and there are still 10 more regular season weeks to. Many teams hope to stretch it to the limit to play 16 games which would include the state championship.

This year’s state championship has been moved from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys, to RNG Stadium in Houston, home of the Houston Texan.

The Cowboys have an NFL Network game slated for Saturday, Dec. 19 when they play host to the New York Jets, and that Saturday will mark the final day of the state championship matchups. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he tried to get that game rescheduled to Sunday, Dec. 20 but the NFL did not approve. Houston jumped at the opportunity and will host therefore host the 2015 championship games.

Several East Texas teams will hope to make a trip to H-Town when all said and done but until then, they’ll be focused on the season before entering into district play.

High school football teams in Tyler include the Robert E. Lee Red Raiders and John Tyler Lions, both of whom have made multiple trips to the state championship and play their home games at Trinity Mother Francis Rose Stadium.

I don’t know what it is about this company that bugs me so, but this is the second article I’ve written on the, “name a star after someone,” racket and I just can’t leave it alone. It seems like every late summer into the fall there’s an ad surge on the part of “The International Star Registry,” the organization who purports to name stars after the friends and loved ones of customers. And yes I guess I’m assuming that people aren’t trying to name astronomical bodies after themselves. I don’t know why this time of year seems to be a target season for the novelty company. Maybe because the nights are cooling and they expect customers to be gazing up at the night sky with their star charts trying to locate their stars. Or maybe it’s as simple as the fact that gift giving season is approaching and they want to get in on the white elephant gift market early.

I think it’s important to note that the star names are copyrighted by the US patent office, not by a scientific astronomical organization like the International Astronomical Union. So no scientist anywhere will ever… EVER, be using the name registered with the International Star Registry. Incidentally, a cursory search on Bing also brings up yet another star registry site entitled the “Online Star Registry,” whose price comparison is about the same as the cheapest package available with ISR. Both sites offer more or less the same things depending on the package purchased. The companies promise to send star charts and official looking certificates with lots of calligraphy and fancy writing… which is really all that customers are buying since it’s impossible to purchase what you can’t possibly own or possess. They might as well sell the Grand Canyon, or the Pacific Ocean while they’re at it.

This is an article I’ve been dreaming of writing for over ten years. Regular readers may know of my complete distain for the company named Sothern Utilities. A quick search of the name with “Smith County, East Texas” will bring a hail of negative reviews and not a single positive one. SU has successfully united the region at its own behest. The company’s complete dismissiveness of its customer’s concerns combined with its generally unfriendly staff and complete lack of technological competence has made them tired refrain for local citizens.

So why have I so looked forward to writing this piece? Because I can finally say I’m leaving the company thanks to a move to Lindale. Short of some unforeseen circumstance, this will be my last article about my old nemesis. So to any employees of Southern Utilities out there who may be trolling for public opinions, (like that ever happens!), think of this as my exit interview. I will no longer have to contend with their backwards billing system, or their grouchy staff. I will no longer have to pay with cash or check. I will no longer have to deal with a clearly over paid (whatever they’re making) public relations office, such as it is. I’ll no longer have to deal with a water company that completely takes its customers for granted.

Good bye Southern utilities! I’ll always regret the time we had together! I shan’t miss you… not at all. I promise to think of you as little as possible. You’re a terrible, terrible company and I never ever loved you! To those still stuck it the companies clutches, let me offer my deepest condolences. And if I can offer a word of advice: Get out! Get out asap, even if you have to move! You’ll be relieved that you did!