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Black Friday?

It is if you’re a Raider player, coach or fan. Vegas is back in the black at 6-5 after outlasting the Cowboys in a game that produced 86 attempted passes and almost as many spiraling penalty flags.

The Raiders are back in the hunt in the AFC West.
And the Cowboys are out of the running for the top seed in the NFC.

Yeah, it was that significant.

Interesting new man-to-man coverage technique apparently being taught in the Dallas secondary. “Grab the dude by the jersey as he starts to blow by you and hope the official doesn’t see it.”  Anthony Brown maybe needs to work on the “subtle” part. FOUR PI penalties.  And it should have been six.  He got away with two more.

I hear the Cowboys are now calling this coverage “Cover Five,” because you close five digits around the receiver’s collar or jersey tail.

With Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb unavailable, Dallas ran the ball a total of 20 times. What am I missing? Yeah, I know, the Cowboys were fighting from behind all day, but that’s just poor game planning. Especially since they were having frequent trouble protecting Dak.

Once again, Big D stands for Big Dumb. And that’s disturbing, because I really thought this season would be different.

One more thing. Had it not been for Tony Pollard’s astounding 100-yard kickoff return TD, that game would have turned into a blowout.

The faces of Bills fans are no longer the same color as their team’s blue jerseys. They can start breathing again, at least for a week. That was better, Buffalo.

It’s 6:19 a.m. on Friday morning and Matt Nagy’s office key still fits the lock.

Here’s my game plan for Friday. Get my work done. Get my workout done. Then watch college football until my retinas bleed. Last look at the Longhorns for almost nine months.

It’s the Friday after Thanksgiving. Salutes and respect to all high school football teams who are still playing The Great Game. Playing football after Thanksgiving was always a big goal for me as a player and coach. There were few things more beautiful.

My boys and I had a very nice time 50 years ago tonight.  A good time was had by all. A week later?  Not so much. (lol)

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Paul's Bio

I clearly have the attention span of your median fruit fly.Look! Airplane!

Sorry. I’m back.

It’s both a curse and a blessing. I’ve never bought this stuff about, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But I do think that a wide range of life experiences helps us grow as people, and helps us better relate to other people. I’ve been fortunate. And I am beyond grateful.

I show up on time. I go like hell. I’m a good listener. I hold myself accountable. I own my mistakes. And I have a natural and an insatiable curiosity. I’m never afraid to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t. But then I try to find out.

The flip side is I’m a lousy ballroom dancer and my clothes sometimes fit me funny.

Stuff matters to me. I care. But while I take that stuff seriously, I try hard to never take myself seriously. As a result, I have sometimes been told, “Paul, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious and when you’re just having some fun. Which is it? Serious or fun?”

My answer is “yes.” But I think that is a legitimate criticism. I promise I’m going to work on that.

This has been the quickest and strangest half-century I’ve ever experienced. During that period, I’ve been afforded amazing opportunities in news and sports journalism across all platforms. I have taught wonderful students at the high school and collegiate level. Always, I learned more from them than they did from me. I’ve been a high school administrator. I spent ten seasons as a high school varsity football coach. I’ve been an advertising executive. I’ve hosted nationally syndicated television entertainment shows. In maybe the biggest honor I ever received, I was selected by NASA to be “Chet The Astronaut” for the “Land The Shuttle” simulator at Space Center Houston. (All I can say there, is “Do as I say, not as I do.” I put that thing in the Everglades more often than not.) Most recently, I just wrapped up a decade as a television news director, during which time our teams distinguished themselves in holding the powerful accountable, achieving both critical and ratings success.

What does all that mean? It means I am profoundly grateful. It also means I’m ready for “next.” So here we are. Radically Rational. It’s an idea I woke up with in 2017. I scribbled “Radically Rational” on a piece of notebook paper and used a magnet to stick it on our refrigerator. I saw it every day, and it just would not leave me alone.

I am second in charge at Radically Rational, LLC. My wife, Jo (also known as BB), is the president. Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to sleep my way to the top of this organization.

I hope you will learn that I’m loyal as a Labrador. But I will admit that this doggie can bite every now and then. My promise to you? I will show up on time. I will go like hell. I will listen to you earnestly and attentively. I will hold myself accountable. I will never be the least bit hesitant to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t.

But then I’ll try to find out. Let’s do it.