Email Author John Gonzalez

2004 Stories by John Gonzalez

• Unfavorite Son

  published December 23, 2004

  The shot looks so smooth as the ball leaves Devin Harris' hands that you just know it's going in. And it does, ripping through the net without... More >>

• Eddie Who?

  published December 16, 2004

  Julius Jones is everywhere now. For much of the season, he was injured and forgotten, another disappointing what-if question in a season full of... More >>

• Icing's for Cake

  published December 9, 2004

  My friends are slow. It's a sad fact, but it's also indisputable. They're not "show up late because they can't get ready" slow. More like "the... More >>

• Anonymous Whine

  published December 2, 2004

  Roy Williams is a punk. Or maybe Torrin Tucker is. Or maybe it's some other Dallas Cowboy. I'm not entirely sure, but I do know this for certain:... More >>

• Touchy

  published November 18, 2004

  The questions, or rather the warnings, began trickling in when word got around that Bill Parcells was going to become head coach of the Dallas... More >>

• Democracy Inaction

  published November 11, 2004

  It is 7 p.m. on November 2, and the polls have just closed in Texas, but there is already calamity. CNN and NBC and the rest are busy telling us... More >>

• New Kids on the Block

  published October 28, 2004

  Near the top of the key, Michael Finley dribbles and talks, demanding with words and deed that someone--anyone--guard him. It's the second... More >>

• Sad Sacks

  published October 21, 2004

  As Tony Dixon walked into the locker room, taking care to avoid the knot of reporters who were gathered near one entrance, he passed by defensive... More >>

• Team Player

  published October 14, 2004

  Sarah Melton fell in love with basketball because she had to--there was no other choice. When you grow up in... More >>

• Crystal Balls

  published October 14, 2004

  I'm not sure who or what Bill Parcells was talking about that led him to make the "fool's errand" comment. I was a bit distracted at the time... More >>

• Time Warp

  published October 7, 2004

  The day the Mavs introduced their newest players--all five of them--was strange and unsettling. I wasn't sure what to make of any of it. They came... More >>

• Rocketman

  published September 30, 2004

  Our team leader just informed us that we're one minute from zero gravity, so get ready. That means we're one minute from complete... More >>

• Not Dead--Yet

  published September 23, 2004

  The panic set in sometime last week and descended on Dallas. Nearly everyone, fans and players both, looked as though they'd given up. Which made... More >>

• Cheer Up

  published September 16, 2004

  It was grim in Arlington last week. On one front, the can-do city continued talking about bringing the Cowboys to town for a few hundred million.... More >>

• Tough Love

  published September 2, 2004

  It's hard to figure who's in a worse spot--the rookies Bill Parcells likes, or those he doesn't. The rookies who aren't his type of guys, you can... More >>

• Old News

  published August 26, 2004

  OXNARD, CALIFORNIA--Off to the left, not more than a few feet away, a bird is perched high in a tree. It's obscured by the foliage, but everyone... More >>

• The Summer of Wrong

  published August 19, 2004

  It's August now--a traditionally disastrous stretch for the Dallas Observer sports desk. By this time, the Rangers are usually out of it,... More >>

• Goodbye, Godboy

  published August 12, 2004

  News comes slowly on vacation, and, even if it does finally reach you, your brain has a way of not believing it. For the last week or so, I was at... More >>

• Fog of War

  published July 29, 2004

  A few months ago, just as John Kerry began to dominate the Democratic presidential primary races, John O'Neill lay in bed at Houston's Methodist... More >>

• Bull Riding

  published July 22, 2004

  It's hard to decide which legend is bigger--Greg Noll or the famous wave he battled like some Hemingway character decked out in striped board... More >>

• Dynamite Dave

  published July 1, 2004

  When David Williams walks into a little pizza joint near SMU's campus, it's nearly two in the afternoon. He looks college-kid smooth--worn jeans... More >>

• Rejected

  published June 24, 2004

  We weren't a confident bunch before Saturday's game began. It was hot out, and the Dallas-Fort Worth sports media don't usually do hot. We like... More >>

• Dear Hunter

  published June 17, 2004

  When the phone rang, it was early morning, and Pete Hunter didn't react at first. The sun hadn't come up, and the sleep crust hadn't fully formed... More >>

• Backup Plan

  published June 10, 2004

  When Jerry Jones walked into the news conference flanked by Vinny Testaverde and Stephen Jones, I knew I'd been duped--along with the rest of the... More >>

• First-String Divas

  published June 3, 2004

  There have been some strange stories in this space--stories that stretched (and often completely ignored) the traditional definition of sports... More >>