Over the last several months, I've seen Coach DKR eating a late lunch at Serrano's on Mopac/290. (it’s close to my office and food, so, I eat there regularly) He was walking on his own, (slowly and deliberately, but on his own). Having experienced my mother's death as a result of early-onset Alzheimer's (she was 57 when my sisters and I had to make the very hard/real decision to move her out of our childhood home and into an assisted living center), I’m guessing no one would be able to influence Coach Royal’s wife/family into doing anything that would be detrimental to his health/well-being. Having said that, I would not be surprised, if that will be one of Coach DKR’s last public appearances. (based on his age and likelihood of the disease’s rapid deterioration characteristic).
The people around him who know him very well love him to no end. They would not do anything to hurt him, embarrass him or use him like a cheap prop in front of a store. No way, no how. To them he is not a figurehead, he is a father, a grand father, a husband and a friend. They don't see him the way we do, he's on another level with them. DeLoss knows him in ways you don't. He knows him on a deep personal level, a very close friend. I am sorry for anybody who has lost or endures a loved one falling to the clutches of this awful condition. But your experience is just that, yours. Keeping in mind that his family would not ever parade him out there to benefit us over his well-being, I hope he is able to do this. It could mean a lot for him. I trust the people who actually know.
I have not seen it posted anywhere or on Mack's site - what network is televising this game? I hope it is not LHN or I will have to drive across town to see it.
As long as that takes you can just drive down here. But bring me food or we will be Kung Fu fighting.
Upon further review, I stand corrected, to a degree. If Mrs. Royal comes out and says without a doubt that she thinks this is something she wants DKR to participate in, that's fine for the two of them. But there have to be conditions, example, no interviews of Coach, etc. I still don't think it will do much for him, but if Mrs. Royal gives the okay, I guess she fully understands he won't remember it five minutes later. But what about the grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, if there are any. Won't they artificially get their hopes up that this will somehow bring their Grandfather and Great-grandfather back to the way he was? I didn't see my Grandfather too many times in his advanced Alzheimer's condition, and let me tell you, it was not pretty. That man was NOT the grandfather I knew.
"Won't they artificially get their hopes up that this will somehow bring their Grandfather and Great-grandfather back to the way he was?" What an odd caveat. You're protecting the relatives from the heartache that he won't recover from Alzheimer's? Did you ever think that maybe if they already know he wouldn't recover, that they wouldn't mind seeing 100K people cheer for him on the field? This post has derailed. First Taps implying I'm a ***** for not wanting a day game, then the Alzheimer's stuff. Jesus.
If we're getting two on LHN, we'd have to assume that either this one or New Mexico would be the nonconference one. UNM is already a 7 p.m. kickoff according to the team site. Here's what we're competing with during Week One: Northwestern State vs. Tech Marshall vs. WVU Tulsa vs. ISU South Dakota State vs. KU Missouri State vs. KSU Savannah State vs. OK St OU at UTEP Let's pretend for a moment that Marshall/WVU is actually a real rivalry and they get the 1st tier on ESPN/ABC. Is there any chance that Tulsa/ISU or OU/UTEP gets the 2nd tier above our game? Wyoming was a semi-decent bowl team. If we're pushing for this one on LHN in addition to UNM, the ire is going to be deafening.
I'd like an update please. I KNOW that someone out there knows something to verify Mack's 7 PM statement.
If Marshall/WVU is 2nd tier, then is OU/UTEP the 1st? I think the fact that the UNM time is already set makes that one the shoe-in for LHN. And the fact that Wyoming is a far better team than New Mexico.
I meant to mention in the previous post that OU/UTEP is on FSN at 9:30pm and Hawaii/USC is listed as FOX at 6:30pm which I take as being a national telecast. The link is to one of if not the best schedule site. I just don't see the Wyoming game on ABC/ESPN. Edit- looking a little closer there's no game listed for ESPN2 that night so I suppose it could be there. I'd rather see it than the New Mexico game for sure. The Link
Mack in today's presser: "Longhorn Network will carry the first two games live of the season." I get the network on FiOS, but Jesus Christ... if Texas has to make a "good effort" to acquire games for the 3rd tier, then ESPN and the marketing company need to make a "good effort" to get this **** picked up already.
I can give them the benefit of the doubt on the New Mexico game, but Wyoming was a bowl team last year, and the networks jump to carry plenty of worse games.
There's no way that the game should have been passed up by all the networks and fallen to the LHN unless some party(ies) manipulated the selection priority in order to put it on LHN.
It's kind of obvious that we're the ones who manipulated it, not the networks. It wouldn't benefit any network to "lose out" on our first game of the season. I'm hoping (vainly) that this means they won't pick up a conference game this year like they did for KU last year. It would have to be ISU on LHN, right? Not a chance they do WVU, BU, or TCU considering the amount of TVs that would be watching in Texas alone.
After WY & NM, for them, the obvious choice for a 3rd LHN game is also very likely a conference game - ISU. The other networks would yawn about showing that game AND there are probably a bunch of other better & more meaningful games on 11/10 they would rather carry - so by default LHN gets / picks ISU.
I've been lurking.... lol Anyways, please please please be a 7pm kickoff!!! If it's any sooner than this pastey white chic is gonna get burned!! LOL
Since they already announced it's LHN, they could play the damn thing at 11 pm if they wanted to. But it'll be 7:00 to accommodate those who go to bed at a normal hour.
