Thanks to Fox Sports Net, I was able to see one of the great high school football performances in recent memory.  As I watched William Cole slash through the Cypress Falls defense, it brought back memories of Vince Young at Houston Madison and Reggie McNeal at Lufkin.  But on this day at the San Antonio Alamodome, Cole led Cedar Hill to a 5A Division II State Championship and an undefeated season with a 51-17 victory over Cypress Falls.  Cole started the scoring with a 63-yard TD run and he seemed to barely break a sweat the rest of the day, as he racked up over 200 rushing yards. What has been lost with the genius of William Cole is the performance of the Cedar Hill defense in their march through the playoffs.  This was evident after an electric 75-yard touchdown run by Cole that put the Longhorns up 24-7.  On Cypress Falls' next offensive play, receiver Jack Freeman caught a bomb that looked like a sure touchdown.  But Josh Thomas stayed with the play, and brought Freeman down with a 69-yard reception at the two-yard line.  The Cedar Hill defense stiffened, holding Cy Falls to a field goal.  Cedar Hill never looked back after the ...

According to the Dallas Morning News, the George W. Bush Presidential Library will likely be awarded to Southern Methodist University in Dallas.  According to DMN, the Bush selection committee is in negotiations with the folks over on the hilltop about the particulars. I felt that SMU had the best shot throughout the process.  With all due respect to the University of Dallas, it always seemed that a higher profile institution would be the spot, and that left Baylor and SMU.  Baylor is centrally located, and near the Bush Ranch in Crawford, but again Dallas vs. Waco also seemed to be a no-brainer.  SMU is the alma matter of First Lady Laura Bush. With the University of Texas and Texas A&M University housing the Johnson and Bush 41 libraries respectively, SMU will give Texas 3 presidential libraries.  Texas is the only state to have more than one of these facilities (the Ford Library and Museum housed in separate cities doesn't count). I think this is a win for Dallas, though it won't be received with all the fanfare of Arlington's announcement of Jerry World last week. The economic impact for the city is real, as the library will be a popular tourist destination ...

On Thursday, Ellis Davis Field House in Dallas will host the PrimeTime Tour, featuring 5 top-notch high school basketball games.  Damon Sayles of the Dallas Morning News has a story in today's Sports Day on Virginia's Oak Hill Academy. Oak Hill will be playing in the showcase at Davis. Oak Hill has long been known as a basketball powerhouse, counting current Dallas Mavs Jerry Stackhouse and DeSegana Diop as alumni.  Carmello Anthony also played for Oak Hill. The hoops action starts at 2:15 p.m. with a contest between Port Arthur Memorial and Highland Park.  Other games include: Plano vs. Kimball, 3:35 pm God's Academy vs. Woodrow Wilson, 5:45 p.m. Oak Hill Academy vs. San Antonio Cornerstone, 7:15 p.m. Duncanville vs. South Oak Cliff, 8:45 p.m. Ellis Davis Field House is just south I-20 at the Polk exit. 

By now, fans of the Steve Harvey Morning Show have found them at their new home on 105.7 KRNB.  The show has made a few subtle changes, including the addition of "Nephew Tommy" a.k.a. Thomas Miles.  In the interview that follows, Tommy tells a great story about touring with the late great Luther Vandross, as well as what it's like working with Steve Harvey everyday. DSB: The first time I saw your work was the Kappa Komedy Jam on the campus of Texas A&M University circa 1993.  What has the journey been like that has brought you from there to the Steve Harvey Morning Show? NT:  I went on the road and started doing stage plays after Texas A&M. This really helped me croon my craft. I toured with stage play for 10 years. During that same 10 years I started doing stand-up comedy in the summer time while the plays were in hiatus. I found out I could really do this with very little effort. I learned how to act like a comedian. I'm an ACTOR, and once I got the rhythm of a stand-up comedian there was no stopping me. And then in 97-98, I got the call to open up for Luther ...

On Saturday, the Dallas Branch of the NAACP will be electing a new leader.  Community activist and University of North Texas graduate Casey Thomas seeks to become the groups next president.  Mr. Thomas represents a new generation of young African-American leaders that have emerged in Dallas over the last year.  He talked with Dallas South Blog about his candidacy. DSB:  Casey, why did you decide to run for President of the Dallas Chapter of the NAACP?  CT: Thank you Shawn for this opportunity. I chose to run for President for the Dallas branch of the NAACP because there is a need for change. Dallas is at a point of transition like it has never gone through before. There was a complete change in county leadership with the Democrats taking over the county, and with the election of Craig Watkins as the first African-American District Attorney in the history of Dallas County. With the passing of the recent bond package, there will be tremendous development that will take place in the southern sector of the city within the next few years. Also, we will be electing a new mayor and at least four and a possible five new city council representatives in predominately African American and Hispanic districts within the next six ...

World AIDS day was almost two weeks ago, but at the rate that HIV/AIDS is spreading through the African-American community, we have to address the issue more than once a year.  I recently had an interesting discussion with June Trimble, who works on HIV/AIDS related programs at UT Southwestern here in Dallas.  The information she shared with me was mind boggling, and I thought it would be great if more people could get a feel for the work that's being done.   DSB: June, what are some of the things you do both personally and professionally in regards to HIV/AIDS?   JT:    I’ll start with my work professionally.  I work for a university that is the lead agency for two Ryan White CARE Act Title IV Programs.  What we do is provide funding to several community-based organizations to serve HIV impacted women, infants, children, youth and their affected family members.  We operate as a network of coordinated services to meet the medical and social needs of the target population. Aside from the administrative arm of the project we also offer a Women’s  Enrichment Program for HIV+ women and provide Peer support to HIV + young people 13-24. Personally, I don’t necessarily target HIV/AIDS prevention directly.  I work ...

On Monday, the Foundation for Community Empowerment (FCE) held it's annual Partner's Luncheon at The Women's Museum in Fair Park. The foundation's President and CEO Marcia Page, and founder Don Williams (Chairman Emeritus of Trammell Crow Co.) hosted the gathering of community leaders who work closely with the group. "Miss Community" Dianne Gibson and Casey Thomas served as Mistress and Master of Ceremony for the event.  Elected officials in attendance included Dallas City Councilman Ed Oakley, State Representative Terri Hodge, and State Senator Royce West.  Also in attendance was Jon Edmonds, past President and CEO of FCE. The highlight of the luncheon was the Keynote Address delivered by Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger a.k.a. Father Pfleger of the Faith Community of St. Sabina in Chicago.  Some of you may have seen Father Pfleger featured in Ebony, Time, People, Newsweek, USA Today, or on "Extra". "60 Minutes" or "The Larry King Show."  But if you haven't heard Father Pfleger speak in person, then some of the message is truly lost in translation.                                                                                                I had heard Father Pfleger speak before, so I was ready for what was about to take place. But for most who saw this man step to the podium in his traditional Catholic priest's attire, I'm sure they expected ...

Do you know who Big Tuck is?  I have to admit; I had no idea who Big Tuck was until the last week or so. The Dallas Morning News had an extensive article on the South Dallas rapper by Thor Christensen in Sunday's Guide Live section.  Big Tuck is also the Artist of the Week at Pegasus News.  All the hype is over Tuck's debut solo album scheduled to drop on Tuesday.  This could be the project that puts Dallas on the Hip Hop map.  After I visited Big Tuck's website I realized I'd heard a couple of his songs, including I Know You Want That featuring Chamillionaire and U Can't See Me. I'm probably not in the demo(graphic) for this album, but I might have to buy a CD on Tuesday to support the local talent. When I read through Big Tuck's bio on his website, one thing immediately jumped out at me.  It leads me to this question: What do Big Tuck, Paul Wall, and Master P have in common?  Answer - They all went to College.  Paul Wall and Master P both attended the University of Houston (P later transferred to Merritt Jr. College), while Tuck left Dallas to attend the University of Arkansas -Pine ...

Sunday's running of the White Rock marathon reminded me of my foray into running back in 2004 when I ran The Rock's half marathon.  My training went very well until I came down with a sinus infection 2 weeks before the race.  Even though I lived in Grand Prairie at the time, I did most of my training at Kiest Park.  To this day I don't know if that track is 2.2 miles or 2.8 miles. Anyway on race day it seemed like everything was conspiring against me.  I'd only run in my shoes once, it was way too cold, and I couldn't get my MP3 player to work.  All that added to a poor last week of training had me pretty shaky at the start. But I have some great memories from that chilly December day.  There were the bands playing along the course and people in the neighborhoods who cheered us on.  The creative water stations spread throughout.  The makeshift bathrooms runners used.  I also have a vivid picture in my head of the Kenyan brothers passing me on their 22nd mile while I was on my 9th. Best of all is the fact that I finished the race.  My foot ...

In a game that was billed as a showcase of two superstars, this afternoon's contest between DeSoto and Cedar Hill did not disappoint.  Unfortunately for DeSoto, both stars in this game played for Cedar Hill.    Cedar Hill senior quarterback William Cole was sensational in the Longhorn's 42-21 rout of DeSoto.  Running back Corey Roney put his mark on the game as well, having kicked off Cedar Hill's scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run.  After that the William Cole show began.                 Cole scored on runs of 15, 2, and 4 yards, with a few more big time gains mixed in.  It was 28-0 before the Eagles rallied for their first score 19 seconds prior to the half.  Halfway through the 3rd quarter, Roney broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run that sent many fans (including me) towards the exit.  I caught the 4th quarter on 1390 AM, who had The Ticket's Donovan Lewis doing their sideline reporting. Mansfield ISD Stadium is a great HS football venue, but this game (and William Cole) deserved a bigger stage.  Hopefully Cedar Hill will realize that they are playing big time football now and step up to Texas Stadium, or at least SMU's Ford Stadium.  The kids ...