Dallas Cowboys Offense scoreless for second preseason game

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Tony Romo and Miles Austin (19) 

For the second time in as many 2010 NFL Preseason games, the Dallas Cowboys go without a touchdown.

The Cowboys have failed to get into the end zone against the Cincinnati Bengals in the Hall of Fame Game Sunday evening, and again against the Oakland Raiders Thursday night. This even as the team's been able to move the ball smartly between the 20s; but once in the red zone, the Cowboys can't pull it together to score.

Why?

Because the Dallas Cowboys passing game is sloppy.

That's not blogged for shock value; it's a fact. The Cowboys, regardless of quarterback, coach their passers such that they throw the short flare passes to the backs out of the backfield well, as well as throws to fade patterns.

But when the quarterback's called to read a defense downfield, where the passer has to look to find the open receiver, that's where the Cowboys fall apart. The quarterbacks, and especially Tony Romo, seem to have tunnel vision.

It's as if they're told to wait for a certain receiver the clear a level of the defense before throwing to that person.

That explains the "happy feet" that Romo exhibits during downfield throws calling for him to survey the middle of the field. That's also why the passes are almost always late, or rushed. That is the reason why the Cowboys don't get into the end zone.

Jason Garrett needs to go short

This blogger has never been a fan of Dallas Cowboys Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett, but was pleased when Garrett exhibited more play design imagination and flexibility in 2009 than ever before.

But variety and cosmetics aside, the basic approach of the Cowboys passing game just isn't sound. The Cowboys must have more timed passes and get out of the habit of "levels" passing. It ends with Tony Romo and Dallas quarterbacks looking as if they've got tunnel vision, when it's all by design.

If the Cowboys don't adjust their passing game, and soon, it's going to be a long year. Their running game might save them, but I doubt it.

Oakland Raiders finally show timed passing game

This blog post was written in the head of this blogger before it was obvious the Oakland Raiders were going to win their first 2010 NFL Preseason game, 17 to 9, against the Dallas Cowboys under the Hue Jackson / Jason Campbell offensive regime. Because, even with dropped and tipped passes, what was most interesting and pleasing about the Oakland Raiders, was the real, timed, precision passing attack.

What was impressive was that from the snap of the football, to the quarterback's footwork, to the quarterback's hitch step, to the throw, to the receiver's routes, the Oakland Raiders quarterbacks are obviously drilled in the classic Bill Walsh fashion, with the objective of getting the ball out of the quarterback's hands and to the receiver as quickly as possible as part of a timed set of movements between passer and catcher.

Yes, Jason Campbell completed 7 of 13 passes. Yes, Darrius Heyward-Bey didn't have a catch. But the passes got out of the quarterback's hands with remarkable quickness, and little wasted movement.

It didn't matter if it was Campbell or Carrie Prejean's husband Kyle Boller at the helm, the passing personality was the same. Once the little things like the kind of pass thrown and how high it's delivered are worked out, the Raiders will be ready for what's going to be a good year.

Jamarcus Russell's not the issue

But the entire difference in the Oakland Raiders offense is that it's the most efficient in the passing game it's been since the John Gruden / Bill Callahan era. It's not that Jamarcus Russell isn't there, because if Russell's head was in the game, as some claim it was not, he too would have been part of this new approach for the Oakland Raiders' offense.

What you will pay attention to is what happens when the ball gets to the receiver; what I'm paying attention to is what happens to cause the ball to get to the receiver; that's the big difference in this 2010 team.

Oakland Raiders fans should be excited for what's to come, because with more practice and a clear offensive game plan (it was preseason) the Raiders' passing game will be so hard to defense, it will be lethal.

Indeed, it already is.

The Wizard of OZ, San Francisco Sunday Event: Help Is On The Way

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For some reason, these events go together: today's the 71st Anniversary of The Wizard of OZ and on Sunday, August 15th, at 7:30 PM PDT at The Herbst Theater in San Francisco, REAF, The Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation holds its 16th annual presentation of "Help Is On The Way" called Help Is On The Way XVI.

Melissa Manchester

It's hard to believe The Wizard of OZ is a full 71 years young.  In fact, it seems timeless.  Music and songs from The Wizard of OZ are etched into my brain, in part because one of my favorite songs to sing at The Alley in Oakland, is If I Only Had A Brain.

 But it is 71 years yound, so it's important to stop
and consider the impact this awesome musical movie has had on American Culture. It has been translated in 40 languages, and been the basis for scores of reinterpretations, including the popular musical, The Wiz.

Which reminds this blogger why the link with Help Is On The Way XVI was made in my pea brain!

Over it history, REAF's Help Is On The Way has featured performers from plays, movies, and musicals like The Wiz.

Here's a video from 2008's pre-event, which includes an auction. But the real story is of the performers and character that are part of Help Is On The Way:



This year Leanne Borghesi, Carol Channing, Davis Gaines, La Toya London, Carole Cook, James Darren, Paula West, Bruce Vilanch, Kimberley Locke, and Melissa Manchester headline the performers as of this writing. And that list expands as we get closer to Sunday.

You can get tickets for Help Is On The Way XVI at 415-273-1620.

Mitrice Richardson found dead near Malibu by Nikky Raney

Mitrice Richardson went missing nearly a year ago. A skull and bones were found near Malibu and are the remains of Mitrice according to officials.

The 25-year-old's father, Michael Richardson, is displeased with the way the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials handled his daughter's case.

Mitrice was arrested a year ago after she was unable to pay $89 for her dinner at a restaurant. She was released September 17, 2010 without a car, purse or cell phone. She later went missing, and speculations on her mental health have been made.

Mitrice's mother Latice Sutton along with Michael have filed separate lawsuits against the Sheriff's Department alleging negligence.

Her father is still fighting for her according to LA Times Blog:

"This book is not close. More chapters need to be written. We are going to hold people accountable.… I will continue to fight for her."

The actions taken when releasing Mitrice seem very questionable - only time will tell what happens next.

Photo courtesy of JasmyneCannick.com

Governor Paterson's aide Dave Johnson turns himself in by Suzannah B. Troy

Governor Paterson's best friend and aide, oops, now ex-aide was forced or should I say voluntarily turned himself in today.   David  Johnson has been accused of spousal abuse by his girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend Sherr-una Booker but that was quiet a while ago.  She called 911 when he allegedly got physical and he fled the scene.  Of course he denies everything but just for good measure Dave Paterson got involved, got his aides involved who did not know they were being used and manipulated by the accidental governor to in a quiet and gentle way encourage her to shut up and make like it never happened.  How I see it  is Dave Paterson being part of the "rich and or connected. politicos, party -- above the law crowd" was able to remain in office even though many of his aides resigned disgusted with his inappropriate behavior and abuse of power.

In my opinion, Dave Patterson is guiltier than sin for ever so gently and politely  intimidating Sherr-una, the  victim of his long time friend in to silence.  Judge Judy Kayne, sell-out, is part of Misogynist NYC which has too many female club members.  I am stunned that Dave's good friend was even arrested and he and Dave have other scandals they have to wiggle out of including Yankee tickets and an alleged forged check by Johnson signing Dave Paterson's name.  Dave Paterson is rumored have a problem with telling the truth and is alleged to have perjured himself over baseball tickets.   The accidental governor is still in office and he does not belong there.  New Yorkers have just set a very low bar for him and understand he is a screw up and talks the talk but his actions including his intimidation of Booker are proof he does not belong in office.  It is New York so he has lots of company.   Dave Paterson is truly handicapped "ethically" and he can't rise above it because he would have to get honest and take responsibility.   Please see "Paterson Report by The New York Commission on Public Integrity".

Paterson really needs to spend the majority of his time with defense attorneys and he has good ones. He is embattled and Albany has still not balanced it's 9.2 billion dollar deficit due April 1 and it is almost Sept.  which could mean an economic crisis something a kin to a terror attack in terms of hurting NY not that the polticos seem to care.  It is like the State and City of NY are one collosal victim of spousal abuse by politicians ineffectual and unable to serve the public's best interest but excellent at serving their own.

Judge Kayne speaks double talk which could be simply translated she did not have the courage, brains and integrity to do her job and hold Patterson accountable.  Please read this link for more on the story and at the bottom is another link for handling or mishandling of spousal abuse cases. Dave is destined for disaster.   Actually the two Daves are both destined for disaster. 

Same-Sex Marriage Stay Lifted, but marriages delayed to next week

The same Federal Judge who declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional eight days ago, just lifted the stay blocking legal same sex marriages from taking place in California.

Judge Vaughn Walker, U.S. District Judge for The Northern District of California in San Francisco, just lifted the stay minutes ago.

But same-sex marriages can't start until August 18th. That's an adjustment of sorts to California Attorney General Jerry Brown's tweet:

JerryBrown2010
Hoping Judge Walker will allow same-sex couples in CA to marry while the Prop 8 case appeal is pending. We should find out before noon.

The problem, it would seem, is that an appeal can be filed during that gap in time before same sex marriages can commence. Why that gap exists is a mystery, other than that Judge Walker's giving opponents time to file an appeal.

So, this thing's not out of the woods.

Stay tuned.

Sports 2.0? Sports Marketing 2.0 Summit SF? No thanks

Sports 2.0? Sports Marketing 2.0 Summit SF? No thanks.

The slow death of traditional media is chasing a whole group of people to the online space, who have no idea what the hell they're doing. This video-blogger refers to sports marketing workers, that particular breed of person who hawks everything from "We're Number One" giant hands, to whatever kind of hat they can stick a logo on. The vast majority of sports marketing workers are totally out to lunch when it comes to New Media, and the Sports 2.0, Sports Marketing 2.0...whatever..is an example.

This all started when this blogger happened upon a tweet about a planned San Francisco sports marketing summit called Sports 2.0 by Sports Marketing 2.0.

The San Francisco event seemed interesting enough to cover, because I wanted to see what they were talking about with respect to New Media. After all, it's good to have one's perspectives challenged.

The view this blogger holds of sports marketing and sports marketers is that it and they are trapped by an outdated culture. Sports marketing is not a tech-dominated profession; it's ruled by sales people, many of which have no understanding of the Internet and are so impatient, they don't seem to want to learn what they're doing wrong. That's my experience with most sports marketers. Maybe Sports 2.0 was different.

Ha.

There's a rule in New Media; one I created. It goes like this: online, everyone matters at every time. Thus, if you're trying to sell something and happen to be communicating with a blogger, especially on Twitter, you encourage the blogger to blog something positive about your product, because you know that blog post is going to come up under a search for your product or event.

Right? Well, check this out.

First, i inquired about attending the Sports 2.0 after accidentally learning about the event on Twitter, with this tweet:

This was their response:

sports20 - @zennie62 I think we're covered as far as sports media is concerned. Let me know who wants a credential. Needs to be sizable audience.

8:21 AM Aug 9th via web in reply to zennie62

Me - @sports20 Me. I'm at SFGate.com, Zennie62.com, YouTube.com, and reach an average of over 60,000 people each day.

sports20 - @zennie62 pardon my ignorance. Is your focus on business side of sports? We are a rather narrow niche...need help pre show, not post

10:20 AM Aug 9th via UberTwitter in reply to zennie62

Me - @sports20 Yes. Attended every NFL Draft as press since 2005.

11:38 AM Aug 9th via web in reply to sports20

(I forgot to mention that my Zennie62 blog network has six sports-related blogs, including our NFL Business Blog.)

So I figured that this was all a no-brainer. I wasn't hyped about going to this deal, but it seemed interesting, that is until things got weird:

sports20 @zennie62 just seems like your audience is much broader (not targeted for what we do). Maybe I'm missing the fit? http://myloc.me/an6HJ

My response:

@sports20 Never knew a organization that claimed to be digital marketers to turn away online media; that will make a good blog post.

@sports20 Or to clarify, good luck, but I'm not interested in it after this. But I will blog about it as a "don't do."
August 10, 2010 12:25:33 PM PDT via web in reply to sports20

@sports20 I mean. First you tweet the audience has to be sizable, then when I prove it is, you say "seems audience is broader".. I punt.

So this other guy chimes in, Mike Mahoney, also a sports marketer, more specifically a sports sponsorship sales person, and apparently connected with the event. Out of the blue, Mike Mahoney sends a set of tweets that's telling.

mmahoney13 - Methinks @zennie62 protests too much re: not getting free pass to the @sports20 conference. Someone's trying to make a living. #buyaticket

So. Let me get this straight. This blogger's supposed to pay $250 for some garbage sports summit just because some guy in Indianapolis, Indiana needs the money? Oh, and then I'm supposed to blog and video-blog about it?

No thanks.

Readers of this space know how I've been on a rant against these "panels on pedestals" of people who are presented as if they know more than the people in the audience. In a New Media culture, often the most-informed person's watching the panel either in person, via live stream, or as a video-viewer. Here's my SXSW rant asking why I should attend:



I then followed up with this tweet:

@mmahoney13 Methinks too many "expert" sports marketers just take the patrons money #dontbuyaticket - media should not pay period.

Now, if you're about to respond in the negative, before you do consider that this blog post hit the very keywords that the Sports 2.0 summit is concerned about.

The problem with sports marketers and marketers in general who don't have a digitally-emerced background and practice, is they think they can control their message. Because of this, they miss the number one fact that whatever's written about what they do comes up under the keyword they're involved in.

But what gets me, beyond the lack of knowledge of New Media, is this explosion of conferences on PR, media, and marketing by people who have no demonstrable platform of performance online, yet claim to tell you how to be more effective online.  

It's really disturbing because many people don't know how to evaluate what's presented to them because they know they need to be in the Internet space, and will listen to anyone.  So, that's the climate that allows someone who's New Media expertise is questionable to dare charge $250 per head for a sports marketing "summit."

Moreover, this idea of the expert-on-a-pedestal is not only just ego-stroking but a way to make money off the ill-informed in a bad economy. $250 for a sports marketing summit? That's highway robbery. Pat Coyle, who's formed the Sports 2.0 event, and has the website Sports Marketing, should know better.

One thing this blog post will do is bring attention to his event. It's not the kind of attention he wanted, but then he totally belittled the impact of a blogger.

I didn't think anyone would make that mistake in the year 2010.