A nod to the past, but eyes on the future for Star-Telegram sports coverage
Thirty years ago, my life revolved around high school football, the Dallas Cowboys and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In the fall of 1995, I played my senior season at Castleberry High School, the Cowboys were on their way to a third Super Bowl title in four years, and I began almost every morning by reading the Star-Telegram sports section.
If I could go back and talk to that teenager, I’d tell him to savor that Super Bowl — because you might not see one again. And if I told him he would one day be the sports editor of the Star-Telegram, he would think it was really cool.
And you know what? It is. (My first day on the job was Aug. 4.)
But enough nostalgia. Let’s talk about the future. (OK, go ahead and finish that Cowboys Netflix docuseries about the good ol’ days first.)
I’m proud and excited to be back in Fort Worth, leading this sports department as it provides news and insight on the Cowboys, TCU, high school sports and more.
Sports news that’s important to you
Enough words have been spilled about the changing ways that people consume news. If you’re reading this, it’s much more likely that it’s on your phone or computer than on newsprint. And that’s just fine with me. Whatever works for you works for us.
What hasn’t changed is the news. Readers want to be informed about their favorite teams and leagues. Sometimes that’s pure information, sometimes it’s expert analysis, and sometimes it’s a great story that makes you laugh or cry.
That’s our aim at the Star-Telegram. We are your eyes and ears at sporting events, telling you what you didn’t notice from the TV broadcast and reporting what the players and coaches said after the game.
We can take the time to gather and contextualize information, like Charles Baggarly’s report on high school football head coaches’ salaries that is online now and in Sunday’s print paper. Do they earn every penny? I suppose your perspective depends on how you like to spend your fall Friday nights.
We can make you smile, like Mac Engel’s recent column, in which he compared not acknowledging our surprisingly mild summer to not talking about a potential no-hitter. Or make you wince, like Mac’s debate about the Cowboys’ worst recent first-round draft pick.
Nick Harris knows the Cowboys’ roster front to back, and if TCU is practicing, Steven Johnson is probably there. Lawrence Dow darts all over the Metroplex as a jack-of-all-trades, and Darren Lauber helps Charles manage the firehose of high school sports stories, results and stats.
That’s our sports team, and it’s a good one. If you’re not already a Star-Telegram subscriber, please consider it. You get all of our great news, business, food and entertainment reporting included, too.
Coming from Star-Telegram sports this year
We’re expecting a hectic year, starting now through the spring.
Forget the Super Bowl. Forget unseating the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. Will the Cowboys get the Micah Parsons deal done and get back in the mix for a playoff berth?
Will the TCU football team take the next step and compete for a Big 12 championship again, or will that College Football Playoff berth and run to the national championship game seem more like an extreme outlier for coach Sonny Dykes than a standard the program can regularly aspire to?
Will Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns weather sky-high expectations and affirm their preseason No. 1 ranking with a championship? Will Texas A&M, Texas Tech and SMU satisfy their fan bases?
Will Southlake Carroll break through and win its first state championship with Riley Dodge as head coach? Will North Crowley find a way to repeat despite losing some key players?
Will the Texas Rangers finally remember how to hit baseballs and mount a last-ditch playoff charge?
Will Cooper Flagg spur Mavericks fans to cheer again and let up on the front office for the Luka Doncic trade? (We can probably answer that one already.)
Will the TCU men’s basketball team get back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence? Will transfer Olivia Miles help keep the TCU women in the national conversation after last year’s magical run to the Elite Eight?
Are there stories you’d like to read more of? Less of? Send me an email at jbarnes@star-telegram.com. I want to know what matters most to you.
There are so many exciting stories ahead. We hope you’re along for the ride.
