Nita's Blog

Pick the Right Pooch! He or she will be with the First Family longer than the Veep. Pepper, pictured here, is 13 years old in people years.

I repeatedly heard that the most important decision of a presidential candidate is that of a running mate.

I won't argue that.

The second most important decision for the First Family-elect has to be picking the right dog. Prez Elect Obama mentioned Shih Tzu on his family's short list on Thursday, I think.

I endorse that proposal. Pictured above is my adored Shih Tzu with her Texas hair cut and her puppy cut. You realize that ST's can grow their hair to drag the floor.

Despite having the ability to grow a lot of hair, she doesn't shed. Perfect for anyone with alergies or asthma.

My Princess Pu Yi, named after an emperor of China, is called Pepper most days. She prefers that.

Back to my endorsement: My little darling is 13 years old.. has no outward health problems ... behaves beautifully almost every day. She plays or goes walking when I want. And she doesn't try to eat the electrician, Joe.

She's in the 13- 15 lb. range so she flies her in travel bag in the cabin of the airplane.

Really, the only time she is hard to handle is when I'm cooking rice. She loves the smell. She's anticipating eating rice, herself.

So, Obama family, if you're seeking intell on breeds from dog owners, consider everything I've written.

 

 

Felix Jones (pictured at top) and Adam Jones may both be spectators this week for the Cowboys in St. Louis. Felix is battling a hamstring injury while Adam's widely-reported suspension will be the reason he's not playing. 

In the off-seaon, the two were regarded as more than quality players who added to the Cowboys' depth. But the two soon became part of the core of the team.

This week the team will put Roy Williams on the field on offense.  That would be Roy Eugene Williams, newly-acquired from the Detroit Lions. He's in his fifth NFL season, (one as  pro Bowler) with 28 tds and 3,600 yards to start the season.

Thinking how strange this week has been- the Cowboys go from having no one named Roy Williams in the game for the last three games to having two. The original Roy Williams (the 7th-year safety, 5 Pro Bowls) could play in St. Louis, too. We're calling him the Original Roy in the sports office.

So the team could go from the Jones and Jones impact to an offensive and defensive resurgance inspired by the Williams connection.

I asked special teams captain Keith Davis (who slipped away for pre-season with Parcells and Sparano in Miami) how weird things are just 6 games in. He replied:

"So far, it has been. To be this early in the season and be going through all the things we've gone through, tt's a little different." 

Still, Dallas is 4-2. They'll play a one-win St. Louis team. The Rams' only win came against the Washington Redskins, the first team to beat the Cowboys.

Strange. Your thoughts?  

Read below about the teamwork Terrell Owens showed against Green Bay. 

Hey, going forward, let’s throw out a discussion on the "Teamwork" Play of the Game for each Cowboys game.

For Week 2, had I thought of it, I would have said Felix Jones’ kick return td which was aided by early blocks by Justin Rogers and Pat McQuisten? Well, those guys made it happen at the point of contact versus the Eagles’ cover team.

(Leonard Davis' blocking downfield on one of the Barber runs was spectacular to me, too.)

True togetherness.

I had talked to the coaches in the preseason about getting the superstars to work together. Jason Garrett told me that's what made his Super Bowl teams winners. Great players making everyone else even better. So, read on about my most recent  Teamwork Play of the Game.

In Week 3 Terrell Owens made two blocks that sealed the touchdown by our man Felix on his 60-yard td run. TO interrupted the intentions of two would-be tacklers inside the 10.

Teamwork right there guys in the win over Green Bay. That’s My Fave for the week. Yours?

Tony Romo is not just T.O.'s qb as Owens tearfully told us after the playoff loss. Romo is Jerry's guy, too. Will Romo become the first DC qb in history to win at Lambeau?

Pair of spotlight games in week 3 of the NFL. Of course, the Cowboys- Packers will play in the headliner for most of us. It’s SUNDAY NIGHT, so the rest of the league gets another chance to see this Super Bowl-bound team for the second straight week.

The other game I want to see is the Monday night event with Norv Turner’s San Diego Chargers. We all know they are winless, but not totally at fault for being in that situation.

Well, Favre, now that he’s not going to be the qb against Dallas at Lambeau, will surface with his 1-1 NY Jets against San Diego.

Norv can’t catch a break, it seems. Won't even get into the injuries to L.T. and Merriman.

The man who was almost Cowboys coach (when Phillips got the nod in ‘07) could have a short life out west.

We’ll see late Monday night. Your thoughts?

Adam Jones in an agility drill at Cowboys training camp.

 How shocking was the Cowboys preseason loss in San Diego?

Very shocking, right?

No, not really. At halftime, Jerry even talked about the turnovers that put them team in a hole. The 'Boys never recovered.

We had some positives, Wade Phillips declared. But a Super Bowl-bound team has to have the basics accomplished. Read: no turnovers.

"We will get better," Jones said.

Bradie James said: "We have to talk about, as a defensive unit, not to let quick scores happen. it's kind of tough to see what we have on the defensive side of the ball."

Adam Jones said all along, in his second preseason game, he will judge how close he is to being an impact player again.

That's what the entire team has to be thinking. 

We'll have to wait til next Saturday to see, but what's your take?

 

      Funny to me that Quincy Carter has become "a Bill Parcells guy."

     Quincy had a try out with Miami, where Parcells landed as the personnel guy after his unsuccessful run in Dallas.

     Parcells' coach, Tony Sparano, confirmed the team had a "look-see" with Quincy on Thursday.

    Of course, I'm glad for that opportunity.

     But here's what's funny. My friends and co-workers have heard my definition of Parcells guy too many times. It is "a guy who once played for Parcells and who is over 30."

    Jason Ferguson is there in Miami to get a shot; Terry Glenn could be in the mix. I'll spare you the list of Parcells guys who came through Dallas.

     That's Quincy now.

     Best of luck to you, Q, if you're reading this. I look forward to talking with you soon-- football or not.

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     Hey bloggers-- Hope you've been reading the q and a I'm doing with Leonard Davis from training camp. It's called Nita's N-Side FOXNARD on the sports home page.

     Leonard asked me what are the readers saying?
     Told him I'd bounce the question out to you.
     Got any messages for Leonard? Any questions?
     I bet he'll answer the most interesting ones.

     Good luck...

Many yards for Wie to go to compete with the Mick, pictured here at the Byron '07. (Photo by Nita)

     A recent blog starting my thinking about teenagers whose financial futures interfered with their more immediate goals of making a team and/or living up to the competition in their given sports.

     Refer to the Michelle Wie blog to catch up to the discussion Scotty ignited.

     Let’s see whether Wie will ever qualify in a PGA event. Let’s see whether she will ever win an LPGA event—while other young golfers are zooming by her. They’re not matching her endorsement money which could become a problem for her sponsors.

     I’m pondering Scotty’s reference to a “modicum” of jealousy on my part.

I’m turning this question to him..  can I, as a journalist earning a full-time paycheck for 20 years, make a comment about a failing female athlete without being jealous? ?

     I called out Wie (in a previous blog) as one of the teenagers in the money-grab mode, instead of the “win something” mode. Had I mentioned Harold Minor’s failure to match the “Baby Jordan” label, would that have been my jealousy?

     Come on…

     Another easy-to-understand example of a teenager in the money-grab mode is Maurice Clarett.

     How concerned was he about breaking into the NFL early from Ohio State and breaking the bank with some team that he dropped the ball on everything else?

     A fatal mistake for the career of a running back.

     (His saga was so long he probably reached twenty during the debacle.) 

     The Wie family, whoever is running career-related issues, and Clarett’s mom, who stood beside him at the press conference to announce the lawsuit against the NFL, don’t have a clue of how to do it right.

     Consider the evidence, my just my words.

     Teenagers and their sports money will soon go separate ways.

     Did Clarett ever get paid by the way?

     Join in, please. And I bet Scotty has more to say.

 

 

 

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Ok, what’s the deal with Michelle Wie? She’s recently recognized as no. 5 on Forbes the list of top-earning female athletes to the tune of $12 M annually.
She won’t be there long, I believe. Just last week, she was disqualified from the LPGA’s event. I haven’t seen her impact on the golf course. 
Nike, which foots a large chunk of her endorsement purse, probably won’t hang on too much longer if her results don’t match the potential. 
No. 5? Pardon me for being surprised. No. 1 on the women’s money list is former Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova ($26 M). 
Serena and Venus Williams are 2 and 3, with $16 M and $13 M.
Fourth is retired tennis champ Justine Henin, over $12 M.The 18-year-old Wie even outearned Annika Sorenstam, who has 72 LPGA wins including 10 majors.
Amazing that endorsement dollars don’t necessarily follow performance. Wie has made only 2 pro cuts in two years of trying and both of those were last year.  
Her competition for Nike and other big money sports sponsors could be Ji Young Oh, who won last week in a play-off, rookie from China Shanshan Feng, and even emerging player Yani Tseng.  
Lorena Ochoa could overtake Wie on the money list first because Ochoa made this year’s top ten. 
The craziest thing of all: Wie will try to qualify for yet another men’s event- the Legends Reno-Tahoe next week. She’s not even up to the challenge of playing her own gender except in the money game.

     I can’t say enough about the exhilarating competition in the Tour de France. What’s that famous phrase about the “thrill” and the “agony” all in one?
     Tuesday’s stage 16 showed the height of success and an unbelievable low of John-Lee Augustyn, a South African cyclist.
     The 21-year-old in his maiden Tour de France conquered the highest climb of the race, beating everyone to the top of the 9,300 ft. Bonette-Restefond peak.
     The announcers had just announced that the he was literally on top of the world—on top of the highest paved road in all of Europe.
     At about the time Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin explained the danger of the descent in Jausiers, Augustyn showed the live tv audiences worldwide.
     I was awake and watching and not believing my eyes.
     He skidded off the road on a right-hand turn. Something more experienced riders handled quite well.
     Augustyn and his bike parted ways as they flew over the low barrier. Luckily, he stopped himself about 60-feet from the road's edge. A spectator had to help him up to the road where the stood and watched the other racers go by.

       Still more remarkable, Augustyn dusted himself off. Finally, when the Barlowold team car arrived (behind the field of riders), Augustyn’s race continued.
     He finished 35th, more than 5 minutes after stage winner Cyril Dessell of France.
     Phew! What excitement.
     American Christian Vande Velde  is still contending, 7th place after 16 stages.

The headlines many American audiences are hearing from the Tour de France have to do with doping. A third cyclist was forced out after Stage 12, I guess it was.

Though I’m following the Tour daily and watching the early morning live coverage, I truly don’t remember when this latest disqualification and drug arrest happened.

I’m focused on the quality of the competition and the quality of the two American teams.

As of Friday morning, Team Columbia, with former Lance Armstrong domestique George Hincapie, had all ten riders still in the race.

 

And their leader racer, Mark Cavendish, a Brit, won his fourth stage of the 2008 Tour. He is second in the green jersey for sprinters.

The other team that flies the American flag, Garmin-Chipotle, rides on with 8.

This is significant info because one team has a lone rider left. Barloworld 4 survivors.

 

The real test of quality is the competition for the jerseys.

That’s not the only standout with an American tie. Christian Vandevelde, from Illinois, is third in the yellow jersey competition, 38 second off the pace of Cadel Evans.

Kim Kirchen, Team Columbia, is 7th overall.

No Lance this time but there is suspense about how the Americans might figure into the final ride into Paris.

 

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     What a weekend with the All Williams Wimbledon final at the All England Club in London.

     I couldn’t lose.

     Had Steffi Graf been in the stands, I would’ve had all my past favs from the  women’s side (Billie Jean and Martina were) there to watch the Venus and Serena showdown.

      As you see, I’m a tennis fan from long ago.

    

     And today, there’s no better tennis final than a grand slam featuring the sisters.

     I couldn’t lose regardless which sister raised the silver platter at the end of the day.

     See, I am a younger sister.

     Whenever Serena wins, it’s a victory for those of us with older sisters… for those of us who don’t play follow the leader behind our older sisters.

     When Serena won her two Wimbledon singles titles over Venus it was a victory for the younger set.

     The other side of the whole thing: Venus is my favorite player. She has been since she broke onto the scene ten years ago and Graf retired.

     So, no matter who won, I won, too.

 

     Venus is special to me because when she exudes such joy when she wins. After last year’s win over Marion Bartoli, she bounded around the court and posed for photos with the glee of a little kid on her face.

     Most 28-year-old pro athletes are a bit jaded and their celebrations tend to show it. 

     She’s a ferocious player, a poised player. Contrarily, she exacts a surgical strike when she must.

     In victory she becomes so pleasant again.

     So, this weekend with her win, I won, too.

Your thoughts?

Remember that engaging basketball saga called Hoop Dreams?

 

Well, this year’s version of it is a film called Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot. Just saw it this week at the Angelika… days in advance of the NBA draft.

 

It’s pretty good. It introduced me to, not only the hopefuls for the draft, but also their families and the communities from which they come.

 

 Michael Beasley ( Kansas St) and Jerry Bayless (Az) were two of the featured players. Also UCLA’s Kevin Love. In all 24 elite high school players (chosen in 2006) were featured.

 

I particularly enjoy guard play, so Bayless emerged as my fav from the film.

 

A central character to the film is not a person at all. It’s Rucker Park in NYC. The all-star game is held there—on the outdoors court!

 

So the ambience of the park, its local fans, and its PA announcer contributed to the feel of the film.

 

In this week devoted to future basketball pros, let me know if you see the film.. and tell me what you thought.

Duce Roddick was the man behind the moves. (see below) He choreographed the hot hustle moves to the music of Stayin' Alive. That won us the Top Hat & Tails celebrity dance contest. It's been 5-6 days and it's still a topic for my friends.

Amber from Life as Art photography provided these photos.

This is our opening hip-bump. Funny- it's the view the judges got. I've been running through the steps in my mind because it was such a thrill to dance in front of 600 people.



I believe more photos will trickle in. Many people have asked me for a recap of the night, the excitement, the reward for bringing awareness to Paws in the City.org.



Here's the reaction to the trophy presentation. The last trophy I won was for basketball MVP as an 11-year-old. Duce placed second INTERNATIONALLY earlier this year in rumba, so he has lots of recognition for his dancing.
Below, the celebration kiss.

Thanks to Carlos, Massiel, Eric (above) and Mickey and Massiel (below) at the Paws in the City competition. They cheered heartily as my partner Duce Roddick and I captured the 'Lucy' trophy in the Top Hat & Tails dance contest.