Monday, July 22, 2013

Clint Stoerner and Dallas Cowboys' Decade of Futility



Clint Stoerner had a lot going for him in the fall of 2001. A rookie free-agent pickup only a year before, this Texas native had been handed the keys to the Dallas offense after Quincy Carter and Anthony Wright went down with injuries, and then accomplished the unthinkable by leading the 1-4 Cowboys to a double-digit win over division rival Arizona.
A week later he even had the Cowboys a 17-point halftime lead on the road against the Giants.
So why didn't Stoerner wind up as the replacement to Troy Aikman?
Find out in Chapter 5 of Decade of Futility.


For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
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Sunday, July 21, 2013

There are Reasons for Dallas Cowboys' Decade of Futility - Anthony Wright is One



Anthony Wright, shown here in a game against Oakland, started six games for the Cowboys after Troy Aikman's career-ending injury in December of 2000. Wright never topped the 200-yard mark in passing, a big reason he left the Cowboys with a 1-5 mark as a starter. His 9-yard performance against the Titans to end the 2000 season will forever be remembered as one of the most uninspiring outings in the history of America's Team.

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Saturday, July 20, 2013

Decade of Futility Answers Questions For Dallas Cowboys Fans


"How could the Team of The '90s follow such a thrilling decade up with one of such infamy?" 

One of the most oft-asked questions in the sporting realm is answered by Ryan Bush in Decade of Futility with a history of the 21st Century Cowboys that goes beyond the cloud of defeat to unearth the many milestones that have resulted in a franchise that has gone from legendary to laughingstock.

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
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For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Decade-of-Futility-ebook/dp/B00DXFGLSE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373808496&sr=1-1&keywords=decade+of+futility

Friday, July 19, 2013

Jerry Jones Talks Super Bowl - An Annual Dallas Cowboys' Tradition



In Thursday's "State of The Cowboys" address, Jerry Jones showed several signs that three consecutive seasons without a playoff berth were taking its toll, admitting that the Cowboys "have got a lot of work to do."
 

Yet, being the cheerleader that he is, he couldn't help but talk about how much better the team is at this juncture than a year ago, and even managed to insert a comment - though tongue-in-cheek it may have seemed - about making a run at the Super Bowl.

This pre-training camp talk about a push to the Super Bowl is a Jones trademark. During the writing of Decade of Futility, I was shocked to learn just how much so. Since the "One Year Away" Cowboys shocked the world in 1992 by destroying Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII by a 52-17 score, Jones has neglected to thrill listeners with Super aspirations a grand total of four times. That's four out of a possible twenty-one opportunities. Truly incredible.


Even more incredible are the circumstances surrounding those times when he deemed it better to be humble, rather than bold. The first occurrence was in the wake of Troy Aikman's retirement in 2001, when all the Cowboys were leaning upon was the unproven right arm of Georgia rookie Quincy Carter. Yes, Jones was magnanimous that day in his respect for the dark hour that his Cowboys found themselves in, foregoing any Super Bowl predictions, prophesying instead for a ho-hum mediocre campaign filled with only - yes, only - ten wins.


The only other times that Jones was silent on any personal visions of impending glory just happened to be during the first three years of Big Bill Parcells' four-year reign of pigskin terror, when Jones was effectively kept under wraps.


Jones talks so boldly because he wants the fans to know that he cares, and that he - in his position as the team's General Manager - has pieced together a roster that everyone will be proud of. He envisions himself as the sharpshooter in a darkened gym that calls his own shot on one three-pointer after another.


More importantly, is the fact that Jones believes these predictions are within the bounds of reason, even when others around him are pleading with him for patience, and temperance. 


The passing years have revealed that Jones is oblivious to any personal prohibitions related to drinking that most seductive of drinks, Cowboy Kool-Aid. The Cowboys have reaped the rewards this millennium of changing head coaches a mind-boggling four times. Five losing seasons, countless melodramas, one measly playoff victory, and a decade (2000-2009) that houses the lowest winning percentage in franchise history. 


And there, impervious to reality, criticism, and countless glaring statistics, stood the Cowboys owner yesterday, handing out a beverage that has enslaved the innocent and gullible for more than a decade. Yes, drinks are always on the house at Valley Ranch, no matter the hour, the venue, or circumstance.

Read more about Jerry Jones and the Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys History in my new book Decade of Futility.

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
https://www.createspace.com/4161551


For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Decade-of-Futility-ebook/dp/B00DXFGLSE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373808496&sr=1-1&keywords=decade+of+futility

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Jerry Jones & Bill Parcells - Just a Part of the Dallas Cowboys' Decade of Futility


Not exactly a match made in Heaven!
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells on working with Jerry Jones for four years:
“He’s a straightforward, honest guy,” Parcells said. “He really is. That’s all I look for. He was very supportive of me as a coach. Now were there things going on that occasionally I didn’t like? Yeah, there were, but that didn’t inhibit me from going to him, talking things out. He’s really great about that.”


So what drove these two apart? Find out in Chapters 15 and 16 of Decade of Futility.

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:
https://www.createspace.com/4161551


For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Decade-of-Futility-ebook/dp/B00DXFGLSE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373808496&sr=1-1&keywords=decade+of+futility

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Will Tony Romo Save the Cowboys From Their Decade of Futility?

2004 Pre-Season game against Raiders
 That Tony Romo has had his share of difficulties in win-or-go-home games has been well documented, but nobody can rightly question the fact that he is a championship-caliber quarterback. Romo is the reason that Jerry Jones and a whole host of expectant Cowboy fans can hold out hope that America's Team can get back to the top of football's steep, and winding, staircase. Yes, Romo often drives coaches crazy with ill-advised impulse decisions, but has also used this same gunslinger mentality to give his team many more victories that otherwise would have been improbable, if not impossible.
What, you ask, is his most important last-minute effort over his ten-year career? Well, only a meaningless preseason contest from the Black Hole in Oakland where Romo's go-for-broke mentality not only won a game, but might very well have saved a franchise with it.


Read the full story in Chapter 13 of Decade of Futility by Ryan Bush.

For a hard-copy of Decade of Futility, click here:

For the Kindle version of Decade of Futility, click 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Decade of Futility by Ryan Bush - Now Available

My book about the Dallas Cowboys is now available as a hard-copy, and is available in Kindle version as well!  The book is called Decade of Futility: How The Leadership of Jerry Jones Transformed America's Team into a 21st Century Debacle, Resulting in The Worst Decade in Dallas Cowboys History.

Detailing the many pitfalls that befell the organization throughout the course of this millennium, Decade of Futility is a must have for anyone enthralled with the world's most captivating NFL franchise.  Rich in history and laced with timeless quotes, Decade of Futility is a true tale of defeat, providing readers with authoritative answers to why the Dallas Cowboys have fallen from football’s highest throne, and can’t pick themselves up.

Click Here for the Amazon Createspace Paperback Version.

Click Here for the Amazon Kindle Version