Thirty-Two Franchises: Dallas Cowboys

Have participated in the NFL since the 1960 season.

All-Time Record:  569-423-6 (.574)

Super Bowl Record:  5-3 (VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX) (1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995)

Here are the three eras of Cowboy football:

1960-1988:  Tom Landry Era:  250-162-6 (.607) (Two Super Bowl Championships)

1989-1993:  Jimmy Johnson Era:  44-36-0 (.550) (Two Super Bowl Championships)

1994-2025:  Jerry Jones Era:  275-225-0 (.550) (One Super Bowl Championship)

The Cowboys have not played for the NFC title since the 1995 Season.

Top Passer:  Tony Romo (34,183 yds)

Top Rusher:  Emmitt Smith (17,162 yds)

Top Receiver:  Jason Witten (12,977 yds)

Top Coach:  Tom Landry (250 wins)

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  Emmitt Smith (AV of 162)

Emmitt Smith has the highest AV of any running back.

Thirty-Two Franchises: Kansas City Chiefs

Began in the AFL in 1960; joined the NFL for the 1970 Season.

All-Time Record:  547-441-12 (.553)

1960-1962:  Dallas Texans:  25-17-0 (.595)

1963-2025:  Kansas City Chiefs:  522-424-12 (.552)

The Chiefs have the best all-time record of any former AFL team.

As we get toward the top of this list, the number of successful franchises that began in the 1960's is really striking.  There are eight MLB franchises that started in the 1960's.  Only one of them has an all-time record above .500:

Astros:  .503

Angels:  .495

Brewers:  .489

Mets:  .484

Nationals:  .482

Royals:  .477

Rangers:  .476

Padres:  .468

The NFL has 14 franchises that started in the 1960's, and seven of them have all-time winning records.  It's a tribute to the NFL that it was so successful at integrating these teams into the rest of the league.

Super Bowl Record:  4-3 (IV, LIV, LVII, LVIII) (1969, 2019, 2022, 2023)

Top Passer:  Patrick Mahomes (32,352 yds) (Mahomes is 89-23 in the regular season, and 17-4 in the playoffs)

Top Rusher:  Jamaal Charles (7,260 yds)

Top Receiver:  Travis Kelce (12,151 yds)

Top Coach:  Andy Reid (143 wins)

Reid is the Top Coach for both the Chiefs and the Eagles.  No other coach is the leader for two different franchises.  Reid's all-time record as a coach is 273-146-1.  Here are the top 10 coaches in total wins:

1.  Don Shula:  328

2.  George Halas:  318

3.  Bill Belichick:  302

4.  Andy Reid;  273

5.  Tom Landry:  250

6.  Curly Lambeau:  226

7.  Paul Brown:  213

8.  Marty Schottenheimer:  200

9.  Chuck Noll:  193

10.  Dan Reeves:  190

Here are the top coaches by winning percentage (10 season minimum):

1.  John Madden:  .759

2.  Vince Lombardi:  .738

3.  George Allen:  .712

4.  Ray Flaherty:  .684

5.  George Halas:  .682

6.  Don Shula:  .677

7.  Paul Brown:  .672

8.  Tony Dungy:  .668

9.  Andy Reid:  .651

10.  George Seifert:  .648

Among coaches with at least 15 seasons in the NFL, Reid is number four in winning percentage, trailing only Halas, Shula, and Brown.

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  Will Shields (AV of 157)

Mahomes has an AV of 123 in 112 games.

Thirty-Two Franchises: Tennessee Titans

Began in the AFL in 1960; joined the NFL for the 1970 Season.

All-Time Record:  479-515-6 (.482)

1960-1996:  Houston Oilers:  251-291-6 (.463)

1997-1998:  Tennessee Oilers:  16-16-0 (.500)

1999-2025:  Tennessee Titans:  212-208-0 (.505)

Super Bowl Record:  0-1

Top Passer:  Warren Moon (33,685 yds)

Top Rusher:  Eddie George (10,009 yds)

Top Receiver:  Ernest Givins (7,935 yds)

Top Coach:  Jeff Fisher (142 wins)

Fisher's record with this franchise was 142-120-0 in the regular season, and 5-6 in the playoffs.

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  Bruce Matthews (AV of 215).

1977

Here are my updated NFL77 power rankings going into Week 2 action:

1. Steelers 244

2. Patriots 235

3. Cowboys 231

4. Colts 225

5. Bears 222

6. Raiders 221

7. Broncos 217

8. Rams 214

9. Vikings 208

T10. 49ers 204

T10. Bengals 204

12. Dolphins 187

13. Chargers 186

14. Browns 175

15. Washington 173

T16. Chiefs 170

T16. Oilers 170

18. Giants 166

19. Cardinals 163

20. Lions 155

21. Packers 148

22. Eagles 143

23. Saints 133

24. Bills 128

25. Falcons 126

26. Jets 116

27. Seahawks 115

28. Buccaneers 99 

I've been pretending all week that I've been traveling from Atlanta, where I watched the Falcons shock the Rams last Sunday, to Dallas, to see the 1-0 Giants at the 1-0 Cowboys this ...

I really hope I get checked in before 7.

2024 College Football Preview: Classic Southwest Conference

Here are the CBS rankings for the Classic Southwest Conference (top twenty teams in bold):

4.  Texas

20.  Texas A & M

28.  So. Methodist

41.  Texas Christian

42.  Texas Tech

54.  Arkansas

61.  Baylor

82.  Houston

93.  Rice

Texas will travel to Arkansas on November 16, and will travel to Texas A & M on November 30.  The Texas/Texas A & M game will be the first meeting of the Longhorns and the Aggies since 2011.

Texas A & M and Arkansas will play their annual matchup in JerryWorld on September 28.

Southern Methodist and Texas Christian will meet on September 21.

Houston and Rice will play each other on September 14.

XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 10)

Paris 2024 features 329 events, and medals had been awarded in 162 of them through Sunday. So, we’re pretty much halfway home:

1. United States 19 gold, 26 silver, 26 bronze (71 total)
2. China 19, 15, 11 (45)
3. France 12, 14, 18 (44)
4. Australia 12, 11, 8 (31)
5. Great Britain 10, 12, 15 (37)
6. South Korea 10, 7, 7 (24)
7. Japan 9, 5, 10 (24)
8. Italy 7, 10, 5 (22)
9. Netherlands 6, 5, 4 (15)
10. Germany 5, 5, 2 (12)
11. Canada 5, 4, 8 (17)
12. Hungary 3, 3, 2 (8)
13. Romania 3, 3, 1 (7)
14. Ireland 3, 0, 3 (6)
15. New Zealand 2, 4, 1 (7)
16. Sweden 2, 3, 2 (7)
17. Ukraine 2, 1, 3 (6)
18. Croatia 2, 1, 1 (4)
19. Belgium 2, 0, 3 (5)
20. Hong Kong 2, 0, 2 (4)
T21. Azerbaijan 2, 0, 0 (2)
T21. Philippines 2, 0, 0 (2)
T21. Serbia 2, 0, 0, 2)
24. Brazil 1, 4, 5 (10)
T25. Israel 1, 4, 1 (6)
T25. Individual Neutral Athletes 1, 3, 0 (4)
26. Spain 1, 2, 5 (8)
27. Georgia 1, 2, 1 (4)
28. Switzerland 1, 1, 4 (6)
T29. Kazakhstan 1, 1, 2 (4)
T29. South Africa 1, 1, 2 (4)
T31. Taiwan 1, 0, 2 (3)
T31. Uzbekistan 1, 0, 2 (3)
T33. Czech Republic 1, 0, 1 (2)
T33. Guatemala 1, 0, 1 (2)
T35. Algeria 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Argentina 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Chile 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Dominica 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Ecuador 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Norway 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Saint Lucia 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Slovenia 1, 0, 0 (1)
T35. Uganda 1, 0, 0 (1)
T44. Jamaica 0, 2, 1 (3)
T44. Mexico 0, 2, 1 (3)
T44. North Korea 0, 2, 1 (3)
47. Greece 0, 1, 4 (5)
48. Poland 0, 1, 3 (4)
T49. Kosovo 0, 1, 1 (2)
T49. Turkey 0, 1, 1 (2)
T51. Armenia 0, 1, 0 (1)
T51. Denmark 0, 1, 0 (1)
T51. Ethiopia 0, 1, 0 (1)
T51. Fiji 0, 1, 0 (1)
T51. Mongolia 0, 1, 0 (1)
T51. Tunisia 0, 1, 0 (1)
T57. India 0, 0, 3 (3)
T57. Tajikistan 0, 0, 3 (3)
T59. Dominican Republic 0, 0, 2 (2)
T59. Moldova 0, 0, 2 (2)
T61. Austria 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Cape Verde 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Cuba 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Egypt 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Grenada 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Indonesia 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Lithuania 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Malaysia 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Portugal 0, 0, 1 (1)
T61. Slovakia 0, 0, 1 (1)

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Summer Games, Athens 1896

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day -2-Day 8)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 9)

College World Series Final: Game Two

Texas A & M beat Tennessee 9 to 5 in three hours and 50 minutes last night, but now the Aggies and the Vols are already back at it for Game Two.  Today the Aggies are the home team:  white uniforms with maroon pinstripes, the word "Aggies" in maroon script on the jersey, and maroon numerals.  UT has black hats (with orange logo), black shirts with VOLS in orange block print and orange numerals, and gray pants.  The Aggies look great, and I just don't like these Tennessee uniforms.

It is 86 degrees and clear in Omaha, and we have a huge crowd on what could be the last day of the CWS.  We'll be watching this one on ABC.

College World Series Final

Tonight, Tennessee and Texas A & M begin the last championship of the 2023-24 season, as they will play best two out of three for the NCAA Baseball Championship.  The game starts at 6:30 PM Central.

Great Music Videos: 'Home Sweet Home' by Mötley Crüe

I'm glad Matthew prompted for "Great Music Videos" and not necessarily our favorites, because I do think this video (from the "Videos That Are About the Band, Following Them on Tour, Seeing Them Traveling and Doing Sound Checks" category) deserves special notice.

Look, I'm no Mötley Crüe guy. Most all of these acts always turned me off, and I don't even have nostalgic interest in any of them beyond a few Van Halen, KISS and AC/DC moments. But I do feel respect must be paid for the fact, when MTV came up with the bright idea of a request-line program in February 1986, that Mötley Crüe fans mobilized to dominate the voting for 90 straight days, and they (apparently) didn't even have to get their Russian friends involved to cheat.

Dial MTV finally had to create the "Crue Rule," in order to break the "Home Sweet Home" spell. I, for one, was thankful. But I have no question, if MTV rolled back out their 1-800 number for a reboot this year, that the Classes of 1986 from high schools around this great nation would turn out in tremendous numbers to give the "Baby Sharks," "Sweet Child O' Mines," "Gangnam Styles," "Hey Ya!s" and "I Would Always Love Yous" all they ever wanted and more.

NFL23 Update: Hail to the Chiefs (Again)!

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs! When I searched "Kansas City Chiefs" on Google a second ago, fireworks flew across the screen of my laptop.

And deservedly so! For my money, not I of the previous LVII Super Bowls was any more entertaining than last night's event featuring the Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, Harrison Butker, Chris Jones and the rest of the victor Chiefs; the worthy San Francisco 49ers; Taylor Swift and (hopefully) her future in-laws; Jim Nantz and Tony Romo; Andra Day, Post Malone and Reba McEntire; Dan Marino; Usher and Alicia Keys, and the rest. Starting at about 5 Central, I watched with my family virtually every second of CBS's remaining five hours of TV coverage from Las Vegas, and, my gosh, I felt so thankful to have gotten to experience the thing.

Furthermore, the Chiefs have now won two Super Bowls in a row, played in four since 2019 (winning three) and now are now 4-2 in all-time Super Bowl appearances. All time, that's the sixth-most Super Bowl appearances and fifth-most victories (along with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants) for Kansas City, which also won more AFL championships (three) than any other team. What a franchise!

Did you know that the Chiefs' defense from 1966 through 1971 was apparently nicknamed "The Redwood Forest?" I did not. In fact, I don't think I exactly knew that the Chiefs' offense from 2018 through 2021 was apparently nicknamed "The Legion of Doom." I remember hearing Nantz and others say "The Legion of Doom" when I happened to be watching football games off mute during that time period, but I guess I always figured they were just making something up out of thin air to promote some comic-book movie that was out at the time and never paid much attention. Anyway, I learned both of these notes this morning from the Chiefs' Wikipedia page, which I intend to read over the next several days as I think back over my favorite memories from my very fun Sunday night.

Of course, at my typical HP pace, that will likely take me right through to kickoff of the Miami Dolphins' victory in Super Bowl LIX (Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans). Hail to the Chiefs, and comments flow!

1976

Here are Verne Lundquist and Byron Nelson to get us ready for the Byron Nelson Golf Classic at Preston Trail Golf Club, which starts Thursday, May 6, 1976, in Dallas.

This tournament probably won't merit any too much flow in the comments, but I couldn't let those two clips get by without commemoration here. 

Rest In Peace, Kenneth Starr

One time, at the height of the President Clinton/Monica Lewinsky story, I met a liberal in Washington who was a teacher, and one of her students was one of Kenneth Starr’s children. 

The teacher was so angry about that whole investigation, thought it was an unnecessary witch hunt and pretty much lined up with all of the loud left apologists at the time. What really got her goat, though, was that she said Kenneth Starr was the absolute model parent—present for everything he should be present for, dialed in, eager to contribute money or effort to whatever the school was doing, etc. She laughed to me (also a liberal) at herself about how much she really wanted him to be a jerk. 

I remember sitting at the bar at that moment thinking how fortunate I was to live in the United States of America—and, in particular, for a little while, Washington, D.C.

Rest in peace, Kenneth Starr, who was born in 1946 in Vernon, Texas.

The Game That Really Matters

There are a number of college football games getting attention this weekend, but we connoisseurs know that the real game of the day is in Waco, Texas, where Baylor is defending the Unofficial College Football Championship (also known as the College Football Belt) against Albany.  So far, Baylor leads 42-7 with 11:48 left in the third quarter.  So it appears that Baylor will retain the UCFC.

NBA Update

The Celtics and Heat are tied at two games apiece, and the Mavs last night pulled to within 3-1 of the Warriors.

World Series: Game Four

So far, they have played 18 innings of this World Series in Atlanta, and the Astros have only scored two runs.  That's not going to get it done.  Atlanta followed up its 2-0 win on Friday with a 3-2 win last night.  After all these years, the Braves have suddenly won a whole string of close games in these playoffs, and they can wrap up the whole thing tonight.

7:08 P.M. Central:  Houston at Atlanta (FOX) (Atlanta leads 3-1)

World Series: Game One

The record books show that Atlanta finished this season with a record of 88-73, one of the worst records ever for a team that won the National League.  But the record books are misleading.  Here's what happened.  On August 1, the Braves lost 2-1 to Milwaukee in their 107th game of the year.  At that point, the Braves had a record of 52-55, and were in third place in the NL East -- five games behind the first-place Mets.  Also, their best player -- Ronald Acuna, Jr. -- was out for the year.  But the Braves had recently made some big changes -- they decided to buy just as other teams were giving up.  Atlanta picked up Joc Pederson from the Cubs.  They picked up Jorge Soler from the Royals.  They picked up Eddie Rosario from the Indians.  And they got Adam Duvall from the Marlins.  None of those guys played for Atlanta for most of the season.  But last night Soler batted first, Rosario batted fifth, Duvall batted sixth, and Pederson batted eighth.  In effect, the Braves had not merely replaced Acuna -- they had given themselves a whole new outfield.

And this version of the Braves is much better than the version that went 52-55 over the first four months of the season.  From August 2 until the end of the season, the Braves had a record of 36-18.  They won 12 of their last 14 games.  Then, after losing their first playoff game against Milwaukee, they won seven of their next nine to whip the Brewers and Dodgers.  They are currently a very dangerous, red-hot team.

Interestingly, the Cardinals almost pulled off this same trick.  At the trade deadline, St. Louis picked up two veteran left-handed pitchers:  Jon Lester and J.A. Happ.  These moves didn't get much attention at the time -- largely because the Cardinals were 53-52 and 9 1/2 games out of first place on August 1.  But Lester went 4-1 for St. Louis, while Happ went 5-2.  The Cardinals went 37-20 down the stretch, including a 17-game winning streak.  They were too far behind Milwaukee to win the division, but they ran away with the second wild card -- and barely lost the Wild Card game to the Dodgers.  Atlanta lost its first playoff game as well, but since the Braves were a division winner, they had a chance to recover -- and they did.  St. Louis didn't get that chance -- if they had, the NL playoffs might have been very different.

So Houston didn't face a rag-tag 88-game winner last night; the Astros were up against a buzz saw that had just seen off the Dodgers in only six games.  And Atlanta jumped all over Houston, taking an early 5-0 lead and cruising to a 6-2 victory.  Atlanta got one piece of really bad news -- the Braves lost starting pitcher Charlie Morton, who went 14-6 this year and has been their busiest pitcher.  You need to get through a lot of innings with Houston, and without Morton the Braves could run out of pitching.

On the other hand, the Astros could run out of games if they don't win tonight.  The Dodgers will tell you how hard it is to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Atlanta.

Tonight's game:

7:08 P.M. Central:  Atlanta at Houston (FOX) (Atlanta leads 1-0).

Houston v. Atlanta

Both the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves are products of the 1960s, when the South finally started to regain full status within the Union.  The Astros began life as the Houston Colt .45's, when they joined the National League as an expansion club for the 1962 season.  Three years later, in 1965, they moved into the Astrodome and became the Astros.  The next year, Atlanta joined the majors when the Milwaukee Braves moved to town.  The first matchup between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves took place on April 29, 1966 in Atlanta, with the Braves winning 4-3.

Three years later, both Houston and Atlanta were put into the new National League West, along with the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants, and the newly formed San Diego Padres.  For the next 25 years, these six teams were locked in a very intense matchup.  Atlanta and Houston were also-rans for most of that period, but they had their moments.  The Astros won the division in 1980.  Atlanta won it in 1982.  Houston won in 1986.  But it wasn't until the early 1990's that the Braves really broke through, winning pennants in 1991 and 1992.  The last season for the old National League West was 1993, and the last divisional game between the Braves and Astros took place on September 30, 1993 in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  The Astros won 10-8, but could not stop the Braves from winning the division for the third year in a row.

For people my age, that era is how we will always remember the Braves and the Astros -- the TBS years from the late 1970's through the early 1990's when the Braves were on TV almost every night and they played Houston 18 times per year.  There is no telling how many hours I spent with a Braves/Astros game on in the background, as Skip Caray, Ernie Johnson, and Pete Van Wieren helped you get through another long summer with a lot of humor and bad baseball.

But Houston and Atlanta are not very nostalgic cities -- they always want to do better.  And so they embraced MLB's changes.  The Braves dominated the National League in the 1990's, and then Houston moved into a new park downtown (named after Enron!) and built a great team that won the pennant for the first time in 2005.  On their way to the pennant that year, the Astros beat Atlanta three games to one, and the final game (in Houston) went 18 innings before Houston prevailed 7-6.  That's probably the most famous matchup between these two.

It turned out, however, that the National League wasn't big enough for both Houston and Atlanta, so the Astros left the National League after going 55-107 in 2012.  Now they have become the dominant power in the American League, with pennants in 2017, 2019, and 2021.  And so they meet their old foe.  I'll watch the games, but it will be hard to convince myself that this is really the World Series, and not some late August game just there to fill out the schedule.

One more point:  the Braves have three World Series titles, one each for the Boston Braves (1914), the Milwaukee Braves (1957), and the Atlanta Braves (1995).  This year is Atlanta's chance to finally break the tie.

Previous World Series Appearances:

Houston Astros (1-2):  2005, 2017, 2019, 2021

Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (3-6): 1914, 1948, 1957, 1958, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999

MLB Playoffs: Pennant Winners

Our coverage of the MLB playoffs dropped off mainly because the drama simply disappeared.  In the American League, the Red Sox went up two games to one and took and early 2-0 lead in Game Four.  And then they pretty much stopped scoring.  Houston came back to win Game Four 9-2.  Then the Astros won Game Five 9-1.  Then they won Game Six 5-0.  So in the last 26 innings of the ALCS, the Red Sox were outscored 23-1.

The Dodgers had one final moment of glory, beating the Braves 11-2 behind three home runs from Chris Taylor to win the last game of the year at Dodger Stadium.  So the Braves led three games to two as the teams headed to Atlanta.  The Dodgers were hoping to use Max Scherzer in Game Six, but he turned up with a dead arm and could not pitch.  It didn't matter anyway, as the Dodgers couldn't do much on offense.  The Braves jumped out to an early lead and rolled home with a 4-2 victory that gave Atlanta its first National League pennant since 1999.  It is really hard to believe it's been that long.

So the World Series comes down to two teams from the old National League West, the best baseball division that ever was.  Folks on Twittter have suggested that Houston and Atlanta should wear their uniforms from the early 1980's.  I totally agree, and I really wish we could get Skip Caray, Ernie Johnson, and (of course) Pete Van Wieran to call the games.  Those guys were great.

Orange Bowl

 OK, the last bowl game of the year -- at least for me.  Texas A & M v. N. Carolina.  I used to really love the Orange Bowl, but it hasn't been the same since it moved from the original stadium and they stopped having the really wild halftime shows.

Album Reviews: Meghan Trainor and Lisa Loeb

 

 Treat Myself: This is Meghan Trainor's fourth album since she premeired back in 2011. I don't know much about Trainor, I only knew her 2014 hit "All About That Bass." It isn't a bad album but it isn't a good album. It's the kind of pop album where you can find a few songs to like and put on a playlist but there isn't any song on here that is going to get you through the year or stick with you. And it feels like just a collection of songs not a conceptual album of any sort. It's a bit long but all the songs are fairly consistent and so you can put it on in the background and you'll find yourself enjoying it OK.

---

 

A Simple Trick to Happiness:  Lisa Loeb is my age so I have to root for her.  Truth is though I know about as much about Lisa Loeb as I do about Meghan Trainor, even though Loeb's first album came out 25 years ago.  This is her 10th album, her first in 7 years.  It pretty much sounds like her music did 25 years ago, so if you were a big Lisa Loeb fan back in 1995 this album will probably work for you.  As it is I found it to be OK.