Craig James for Senate 2012

[Michael_ Gee]

James is a conservative Republican in a conservative Republican state. OK, that makes sense. But it's also a state full of people who love football and watch a lot of it on TV. And I have yet to meet a football fan from anywhere who didn't loathe James with a white-hot passion. So I don't fancy his chances.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Bump...

The truth is starting to trickle out James' mouth ...

Former ESPN college football analyst Craig James, jumping into the fray of Texas' Senate race Thursday, said he accepted "an insignificant amount" of gifts from Southern Methodist University supporters when he was a star running back at the Dallas school three decades ago.
Asked at a news conference whether he'd taken money or valuables from boosters, James said, "It was an insignificant amount that I had when I was at SMU. It was wrong. And I was 18, 19 years old."
James declined to specify what gifts he accepted and how much money, or from whom.
"It was insignificant. It was never," he said, halting in mid-sentence. "I said in my book that if someone came up and shook my hand and there were a $20 bill in it, I didn't have the maturity at that time to turn it away."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/smu-mustangs/20120112-craig-james-admits-taking-insignificant-gifts-from-boosters-while-playing-at-smu1.ece

 

[Michael_ Gee]

By "insignificant" I assume he means "Way less than Eric got."

 

[Football_Bat]

****, Eric had to take a pay cut when he went to the NFL.

 

[Football_Bat]

By the way, Craig plays the Palin card in his first debate last night.

http://www.lostlettermen.com/1-13-2012-craig-james-republican-debate/

 

[LongTimeListener]

"Who is the current secretary of defense" qualifies as a stumper? That reporter should be embarrassed. It almost sounds like a plant intended to make James look good and THE MEDIA!!!!!!!!! look bad.

Unless it was one of those ESPN docudrama "press conferences."

 

[Starman]

By the way, Craig plays the Palin card in his first debate last night.

He did her before or after Glen Rice?

 

[DanOregon]

I wonder if the Mike Leach thing comes into play in the campaign, or if he will even be competitive enough in the campaign for it to be brought up.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

By "insignificant" I assume he means "Way less than Eric got."

Hit that one right on the screws.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Texas has an interesting mix of wacky politicians.

Certainly had a nifty little run of drunk governors, recently.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Update:

James allegedly called TT coaches during games, while he was in ESPN booth working the games, lobbying for his son to play.

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/espns-james-called-tech-coaches-during-games-29962

And there's this (though it is written by a guy whos works for a Democratic candidate) ...

James has 2 percent support in West Texas in the race for senate.

http://www.thepostgame.com/commentary/201201/craig-james-most-hated-man-west-texas

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

As someone's who in the middle of Texas, I expected to hear a little more about Craig James.

I saw one commercial so far during a Fox news Republican Nomination Circus Debate #1,563

ONE! Am I supposed to vote for you because of your SMU history? And your cowboy hat in the ads?

GTFO with that noise...or lack thereof

 

[Greenhorn]

The Post Game article stated that James was less popular in West Texas than the President. That IS unpopular.

 

[Starman]

Update:

James allegedly called TT coaches during games, while he was in ESPN booth working the games, lobbying for his son to play.

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/espns-james-called-tech-coaches-during-games-29962

WTF, unless James's son was a ******* Heisman candidate (and of course, he wasn't), if I was Leach, I would have booted him straight off the team.

 

[Dick Whitman]

"Who is the current secretary of defense" qualifies as a stumper? That reporter should be embarrassed. It almost sounds like a plant intended to make James look good and THE MEDIA!!!!!!!!! look bad.

Unless it was one of those ESPN docudrama "press conferences."

I hate to say it, but James is kind of right here. It's one thing when someone's idiocy comes out organically - Palin with the softball newspaper question or Rick Perry not being able to name three agencies or Herman Cain talking about "Uzbeky-beky-beky-beky-stan" and making fun of an important country.

But firing pop quizzes at candidates, just hoping they will botch them so that we can all have a headline, seems silly to me.

 

[LongTimeListener]

"Who is the current secretary of defense" qualifies as a stumper? That reporter should be embarrassed. It almost sounds like a plant intended to make James look good and THE MEDIA!!!!!!!!! look bad.

Unless it was one of those ESPN docudrama "press conferences."

I hate to say it, but James is kind of right here. It's one thing when someone's idiocy comes out organically - Palin with the softball newspaper question or Rick Perry not being able to name three agencies or Herman Cain talking about "Uzbeky-beky-beky-beky-stan" and making fun of an important country.

But firing pop quizzes at candidates, just hoping they will botch them so that we can all have a headline, seems silly to me.

That's true. But if you're going to do it, ask who the HUD secretary is, or the minority whip, or something like that. The Secretary of Defense? Not only is it inflammatory to ask, it does nothing to indicate the depth of James' knowledge even if he does get it right.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Update:

James allegedly called TT coaches during games, while he was in ESPN booth working the games, lobbying for his son to play.

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/espns-james-called-tech-coaches-during-games-29962

WTF, unless James's son was a ******* Heisman candidate (and of course, he wasn't), if I was Leach, I would have booted him straight off the team.

Punish the son because the dad is a prick? That's just not how coaches do it.

 

[Starman]

Update:

James allegedly called TT coaches during games, while he was in ESPN booth working the games, lobbying for his son to play.

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/espns-james-called-tech-coaches-during-games-29962

WTF, unless James's son was a ******* Heisman candidate (and of course, he wasn't), if I was Leach, I would have booted him straight off the team.

Punish the son because the dad is a prick? That's just not how coaches do it.

Nope, get a ****ing pain-in-the-ass father out of your hair at the cost of getting rid of an insignificant player (and in the process opening up a scholarship for somebody who can actually play. Win-win).

And that's how a lot of coaches DO do it. The vast vast majority, in fact.


And it's not even really punishing the kid: it's kicking him off a team where he's really not good enough to play and sending him off to some other mid-major or Div. 2 school where he might be able to get on the field. Big daddy gotrocks Craig is rich anyway, he can pay to send him somewhere else if he can't scrounge up a scholie. The kid won't be out a nickel in any case.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

"Who is the current secretary of defense" qualifies as a stumper? That reporter should be embarrassed. It almost sounds like a plant intended to make James look good and THE MEDIA!!!!!!!!! look bad.

Unless it was one of those ESPN docudrama "press conferences."

I hate to say it, but James is kind of right here. It's one thing when someone's idiocy comes out organically - Palin with the softball newspaper question or Rick Perry not being able to name three agencies or Herman Cain talking about "Uzbeky-beky-beky-beky-stan" and making fun of an important country.

But firing pop quizzes at candidates, just hoping they will botch them so that we can all have a headline, seems silly to me.

He'll collapse under his own pretentious weight. Talk about all hat and no cattle.

 

[DanOregon]

It's funny, I agree with thought that knowing names of various department heads or heads of state is overrated. But I do think any politician should know what a gallon of milk costs, what a gallon of gas costs, the fed budget total, the national debt and the current unemployment rate in his state.
Too often the only numbers these people know are their fundraising totals, their Dem/Rep ratio in their district and their golf handicap.