Big Mac Bites: TCU can only pray Jamie Dixon isn’t Pat Sullivan or this could get ugly

TCU’s chancellor says all that matters is that Jamie Dixon is its basketball coach, but anyone with a memory of his school should fear the ghost of Pat Sullivan.

Dixon is no longer a candidate for the head coaching position at UCLA, because ... he didn’t want the job. UCLA didn’t want him. Or TCU would not budge from the reported $8 million buyout necessary to allow Dixon from out of his contract.

Whatever the specifics, for more than 72 hours this week, Dixon was the name for UCLA. No one with the school, or Dixon, did a thing to refute that until they did.

Sources said Dixon never wanted to leave TCU. Sources also indicate Dixon did want the UCLA job. Sources said Dixon never negotiated his buyout.

He may not have, his agent, however ... . Remember, Alabama football coach Nick Saban said he never talked to, or wanted, the Texas job. He never mentioned what his agent did, and all of that flub resulted in a fat raise for Coach.

Both TCU and Dixon were justified in doing what they did. For the sake of TCU, it can only hope this goes better than the last time a prominent coach seriously flirted with another school.

If Jamie Dixon is Pat Sullivan 2.0, what happened this week at TCU is a disaster to end a perfectly messy season where multiple players transferred, one player was essentially fired, an assistant coach was fired for being linked to the college basketball FBI scandal, the team missed the NCAA tournament, and in the NIT semifinals the offense scored 44 points.

And now this.

In the early ‘90s, Sullivan was the TCU football coach with an SEC past. After coaching TCU to the Independence Bowl in 1994, Sullivan was offered the LSU job. He wanted it. He said yes.

But TCU and LSU could not come to terms on a buyout settlement, so Sullivan had to stay. He later admitted the whole scenario affected him in recruiting, and he was fired after the 1997 season.

Between the remainder of previous UCLA coach Steve Alford’s contract, and Dixon’s buyout, UCLA was going to have to pay $18 million for the right to negotiate and sign the TCU coach. That’s essentially a posting fee. Any athletic director would balk at that.

No coach is going to pay that money out of his own pocket.

And TCU, and every other smaller school, must put in buyouts to prevent their brand from becoming the minor leagues for Texas, Florida, Michigan, UCLA, Ohio State, etc.

If Dixon sincerely wanted the UCLA job, this is a problem. Only he knows. Considering his ties to the area, the history of that basketball program and its potential, it would make sense if he did want UCLA.

TCU should not want to keep a head coach simply over a buyout figure; if he wanted to go, a middle ground should have been found. If his heart is not in this, or he will forever be disappointed at missing out on UCLA, it will be exposed.

Dixon is a much better salesman, and a better orator, than Sullivan. Dixon will have an easier time convincing the world he never wanted UCLA.

And, because it’s basketball in Texas, fewer people will notice. Or care. Jamie Dixon is the head coach at TCU, and all it can do is hope that he’s not another Pat Sullivan.

That and Seven Other Things That You Must Know In Order to Survive the Week.

1. A good Roger Staubach story

Back in 2008, I wrote a book titled, “Texas Stadium: America’s Home Field.” Without ever having met me, Roger Staubach was kind enough to provide the foreword for the book. It’s hard to describe what that gesture meant, or means. Roger did it because he’s just a nice man.

About eight weeks ago, I was going through some old boxes, and I found a big envelope with Staubach’s address on it. Oh ... no. It was the copy of the book with the thank you note for Staubach. I never mailed it.

On Monday, I hand-delivered the copy and the note.

“Oh ... I remember this,” he said. “How many did you sell? Thirty or 40?”

Captain Comeback has jokes. It was closer to 50, thank you.

I was/am beyond embarrassed I never mailed the note, but so relieved to say thank you to his face and express my deep gratitude. My dear late grandmother, Frances, adored Roger and this would have impressed her so.

I was able to give him his copy, while forgetting to bring a copy of my own for him to sign.

“So, where are my royalty checks?” Staubach asked me.

I told him he will get his when I get mine.

2. Gallo is Greek for “Ball Four”

Watching Joseph Gallo draw two walks against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night felt like seeing Haley’s Comet twice in the same hour.

“I’ve always had a good eye,” Gallo told me. “I’m not a free hacker; it’s a misconception because I strike out a lot.”

People do think he is a free hacker because the numbers support that conception. In his first four seasons, he struck out 479 times. That figure does not paint the image of Rod Carew.

To see Gallo leading the MLB in walks during the first week of the season is akin to Dirk Nowitzki winning the 2019 NBA slam dunk competition.

“I have always walked a lot and I take pride in that, but now it’s about doing it more consistently and doing it every day,” Gallo said. “It’s about knowing my strike zone and being stubborn in the zone. Anything I can’t drive or do damage with, I lay off of it.”

Joey is learning that in 2019 chicks no longer just dig the long ball but walks.

3 . The end of spring games

TCU coach Gary Patterson canceled the spring game that was scheduled for Saturday, even though he said it was never on the schedule. After practice on Tuesday, it was apparent his team on the sidelines is better than the team that was practicing on the field. TCU’s injury team is quite impressive.

“When you put people in the stands, you turn that adrenaline up,” Patterson said. “Where we’re at, we just have to be smart. We’re down to a walk-on on one side and one scholarship player at the other corner.”

Considering all of the injuries now in football, you wonder how much longer teams will do spring games. Patterson said this is a one-time deal.

The one player who is still out but is scheduled to return for the fall who will make the biggest difference is defensive tackle Ross Blacklock. He missed all of last season after he suffered an Achilles injury during a non-contact drill. After he went down, so did what felt like nearly every other player on the team not named receiver Jalen Reagor.

Blacklock’s return makes that entire defense better.

4. Bird’s former coach compares Luka to GOATs

I chatted with former Celtics coach Bill Fitch a while back about Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic. Fitch, who will deservedly join the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall, coached Larry Bird at the start of his career. Well over 80, Fitch follows basketball regularly.

I asked Fitch if The Luka reminded him of anyone in particular.

“First off, it was a good move to get him. I think they have to surround him with some more talent; he has had to juggle a lot,” Fitch said. “The team is building and they have an owner who will pay the price to build but it will take a while. There are so many teams right now that jump into the title race.

“But you can see a little Bird in him. A little bit here and there. A little (Michael) Jordan. He has a lot of things going for him. He just does depending on what they need.”

5. Ex-Frisco announcer makes history

For all young aspiring sports journalists, look at Melanie Newman. She is the model of how to do it.

Last season, the young sports broadcaster was part of the team who was in the booth to call Frisco Rough Rider games. She now is one half of baseball’s first all-female broadcast booth. Newman is the play-by-play voice of the Salem Red Sox, and her broadcast partner is Suzie Cool.

Every young aspiring broadcaster and journalist should follow what Newman has done; she has never said no.

“If someone is going to offer you an opportunity, I’m not particular about a team or what role,” she said. “People say, ‘You want a job but you don’t want to move to a certain area’ and that strangles you.”

Amen, sister. Be willing to move, and go small before you go big. Don’t be above the job. Newman was calling ax-throwing championships for ESPN before she landed this gig.

“I have lived coast to coast, and it’s always worked out,” she said. “I never thought I would end up as a majority play-by-play role, but I am not going to say no to an opportunity. I’d love a full-time sideline role, but to get this job has generated so much more attention towards me, and women are getting more opportunities and cutting out glass ceilings.”

Keep an eye on her.

6. Mavs insult Dirk

On the first possession of the Mavericks’ game on Friday night, Dirk Nowitzki executed a perfect pick-and-roll and converted it for a ... dunk. Seldom have I been so happy to see a dunk, or a guy hang on the rim.

Dirk’s career is just about over, and watching him on Friday night from the stands was bittersweet. In the second half, Dirk was on the floor with teammates Devin Harris, Maxi Kleber, Daryl Macon, and Ryan Broekhoff.

Dirk has done everything a basketball player could do, and we are all better having Dirk in our sports’ lives, but in that moment I felt sorry for him.

7. A bold prediction for the XFL

The bad jokes have flowed since the first-year Alliance of American Football shut down this week. The stories are not funny. These are lives, jobs, and the primary owner, Tom Dundon, didn’t care about either. The league lasted eight weeks before the owner decided he already got what he wanted, which is a gambling app.

The AAF joins other pro spring football leagues, famously the USFL, that died.

The AAF’s death leaves the XFL to “own” spring football next Feb., when the league will launch with a team in Arlington and seven other cities.

The XFL has WWE czar Vince McMahon’s money, and ego, behind it. When his XFL crashed after one year in 2000, it was the first time Vince truly failed. The league has to be OK with losing money for a long time before it will see a profit. Vince has money to lose, and a giant ego to maintain.

How will the return of the XFL do in the spring of 2020? Give it at least five years.