Opinion & Commentary

Straws in the wind: 1) Rick Perry, toll czar of Texas, still pushing private highways; 2) DART a dismal failure; 3) North Texas Tollway Authority still run by the good old boys. This could all be good. You know where we need to wind up with all this? A toll…

With the Big 12 seemingly back together since the Pac 12 didn’t want ’em, SMU is back in play as a potential member in the wake of Texas A&M’s expected departure. But before the Mustangs play with the big boys, they need to beat the little ones. They have a…

Dear Mexican: I am a half-breed, as they say (Mexican father, Anglo mother), and recently I’ve been reading a lot about the drug violence in Mexico. I’ve become increasingly disturbed by the way in which we Americans are directly contributing to this war by supplying the demand for drugs while…

Texas schools earn a couple of mentions in Taylor Branch’s explosive article “The Shame of College Sports” in the current Atlantic Monthly. Branch, the Pulitzer Prize-wining civil rights movement historian, piles shame upon shame in calling for an end to the ludicrous fraud of amateur athletics in America’s colleges and…

Within Deep Ellum’s metal scene, Jerry Rutherford is everybody’s friend. It seems like he’s at all the shows, always up to do a shot and let out that rallying, supportive cry-of-the-rocker that barely edges up above the volume of whichever hard rock act is blaring not far in front of…

How long has it been since we heard rain on the roof like Sunday night’s downpour — blowing, battering, crashing off the eaves? I stared out the kitchen window and wondered where the water went after it left my driveway. Maybe I always wonder that. Sunday night on the 10…

The old Rick Perry — back before he discovered the Tea Party — would have swept into Dallas on a white horse shootin’ his Ruger and kickin’ up dust to defend the embattled Medrano family, accused of faking a family member’s voter residency in a justice of the peace election…

OK, I do understand that we’re all primed now to string up the entire Medrano family for a massive vote fraud conspiracy bordering on terrorism, communism and cannibalism. All I want to do is toss out a couple modest words of caution. The Dallas Morning News has a lead editorial…

[jump] *Kudos to Fox Sports Southwest and Rangers fans for raising $156,375 during Tuesday night’s online auction to benefit the Shannon Stone Memorial Fund. Biggest-drawing item: 18-seat luxury suite at Cowboys Stadium for Oct. 2 Lions-Cowboys. Winning bid: $28,500. *Why do people use toothpicks when there is an invention called…

Ben Eine, the international street-art star and former graffiti fugitive, was out on Fort Worth Avenue this afternoon painting a mammoth graffiti-style mural based on his tag — EYN — on the side of a building. Listen: This is huge.Earlier this year Eine was given a big wall to paint…

Okay, so the Cowboys were better than I expected in last week’s NFL opener. But don’t be fooled, the San Francisco 49ers weren’t as good as it seems. Seems strange to be sniffing around an Under point-total play in a game between teams that scored a combined 57 in Week…

Dear Mexican: I live in upstate New York (that’s any part of the state north of the city, for you West Coasters), and while we have a relatively small Mexican population, we have a large number of Puerto Ricans, especially in the community where I live. Here’s my question: A…

Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans , where we meet some of the people behind the local music scene — those who aren’t necessarily members of local bands, but more the people who make the scene move. Although we normally only see Nico Martini in his trademark short-bill painters’ cap, he…

: *When Jerry Jones admits his team has to “walk before we can run,” that’s code for “rebuilding.” 8-8. *The Jets may well kill the Cowboys Sunday, but aren’t we glad Dallas isn’t opening up against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ four-receiver sets? With Terence Newman hurt the Cowboys’ fourth cornerback…

Sunday night at MetLife Stadium the New York Jets will hand out American flags to every fan, and an ass-whipping to America’s Team. Remember the part about not betting with your heart, but your head? This is a primo example. I want the Cowboys to win their NFL regular-season opener. Just don’t…

Dear Mexican: I’m a young white dude who drives to work every day, and on my daily commute, I get off the freeway and drive through the streets. Every single day between the hours of 5 a.m. and 12 p.m., there are AT LEAST 100 Mexican men out there waiting…

I’ve been on Rick Perry Watch for several weeks, working on a feature story about him. I think I’m going to be able to break the news that he’s serious about running for president. Just kidding. I’ll try to do better than that. But, man, everybody in American journalism is…

We’ve all played Beer Pong. But tonight at Duke’s Original Roadhouse in Addison the rewards — not to mention the balls — will be much bigger than forcing your buddy to chug a warm cup o’ keg brew. At 9 p.m. will commence the culmination of a 12-week Big Balls tournament hosted by 105.3…

Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans , where we meet some of the people behind the local music scene — those who aren’t necessarily members of local bands, but more the people who make the scene move. Dale Brock got his start in the music business in Wichita Falls, where lived…

I was waiting for Dallas’s new mayor, Mike Rawlings, to tell us what he has decided about building a new expressway out between the flood control levees along the Trinity River — where it floods — but instead today he has told us how he feels about SMU football. And…