Golf season is here. The PGA Tour makes two stops in Dallas/Fort Worth in May with the Dean & Deluca Invitational May 26th-29th and the AT&T Byron Nelson May 19th-22nd.I'm thrilled to be moderating the PGA Tour's Executive Women's Day panels at both tournaments against this year.
I am constantly asked what to wear to a golf tournament. When it comes to dressing for these events, consider style and comfort. You will be walking a few miles in the sun. To that end, you need wear comfortable shoes and lots of sunscreen. Those are key factors to enjoying a day on the course.
Comfort does not mean you have to sacrifice your style. You can go dressy or super-casual and still look great by using the two looks you see here as inspiration.
You will usually be the only woman in the majority of your work photos!
As graduation approaches, I am doing my tour of college and high school campuses speaking to sports broadcasting, sports management or sports marketing classes about careers in the sports industry. I love visiting with young professionals and hearing their questions.
With graduation only a few months away, this is the time of year my inbox fills with requests from students (and parents of students) who want help, insight and guidance on landing a job or internship in sports media.
Truth be told, it's one of the most exciting, challenging and downright fun career paths anyone can choose. You're covering games. You're interviewing All-Stars. You're traveling around the country, many times the world, to attend sporting events. You're doing things stuck-in-their-cubicle 9-to-5ers only wish they could do. Indoor sky diving with the Dallas Cowboys? Flying on a billionaire's private jet to watch his favorite football team play? Touring NBA players' mansions? Done. Done. And done. It's the coolest of cool jobs.
But it's not all jets, games and glam. A career in sports media requires more than just a passion for your favorite team, reading ESPN and trolling Twitter. It's work. Hard work. It also takes a fair amount of resilience because you will make mistakes, you will get criticized and you will get scooped on a story.
I have learned a lot during my sports media career which started in 1994 as a media services intern with the Houston Rockets and included stops in Guam, Knoxville, my hometown, Dallas and most recently Los Angeles. From truths about myself and the nature of individuals considered icons to the rhythms of a season and how to pose a question after a terrible loss, sports media is very much a business about people and relationships. To that end, there are certain things you should consider if you want a career in this industry.
Here are 14 things you need to know if you want a career in sports media:
Do you have a trip planned to Surprise, AZ for Rangers Spring Training? Wondering about the Rangers schedule? How to meet players? Where to stay, eat and play?
A ton of Super Bowl ads are already on YouTube. You can watch 10 of them in the box above, including the Victoria's Secret one. You're welcome, gentlemen.
Are you going to a Super Bowl watching party? Here are the 25 rules for Super Bowl parties. My Super Bowl XLIX Plans & Prediction. Share Yours!
I'll be watching the game at home. We're leaving for Beaver Creek on Monday to attend the Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail.We won't be cooking anything special. Our menu will likely be a takeout salad or Tex-Mex.
I believe this will be a phenomenal matchup and think the Seahawks will become the first team to win back to back Super Bowl titles since the Patriots did in 2004 and 2005. I like Seattle's edge. Given how closely matched up these teams are, I am going with the one that has the better defense. Good defenses usually beat good offenses. I can hear my old coach now:
Defense wins championships. Seahawks win 24-21.
What are your Super Bowl plans? What's your prediction? Please share in the comments section.
It might be hip to be "all in" in the NFL but former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was a trendsetter when it comes to poker analogies in the NFL.
The Wall Street Journal notes that the Ravens, Raiders and Seahawks are "all in", an unofficial slogan to signify that every member of the team and coaching staff is completely committed to winning.
The article cites NFL executives who trace the genesis "of the cliché to the New York Giants, who used it in their late 2011 playoff run which ended with a Super Bowl title. Within a year, the Jacksonville Jaguars had adopted it as a marketing slogan."
It goes back further than that.
Anyone who covered the Cowboys when Bill Parcells coached the team knows that in 2006 the head coach had players wearing t-shirts with the phrase "Who's All In?" featuring a set of hands pushing a pile of pokers chips on the chest. Blasts from the past like Terrell Owens, Mike Vanderjagt and Drew Bledsoe all sported the catchy T's.
Of course, these were the pre-Twitter & Instagram days so, natch, there's not a pic of the t-shirts to be found.
Anyone who has met or talked to Robert Newhouse for more than a minute has a story about the man whose halfback option pass to Golden Richards resulted in a touchdown in Super Bowl XII. It helped the Cowboys beat the Broncos 27-10 for their second Lombardi Trophy.
He was a part of Cowboys history. But for many of us, he was so much more. He was a man we were lucky enough to call a friend.
From revisiting the fields at Cal Lutheran College and reminiscing about Cowboys training camp in the 1970's to simply chatting with him in the hallways of Valley Ranch, House (as we all called him) was always willing to answer questions or offer a kind word.
Not Wanting To Let Down Coach Landry
Hearing him describe Cowboys training camp at Cal Lutheran College remains a highlight of my professional career. For a story for Cowboys TV in the early 2000's, I along with House, the late John Chang and Chris Behm visited CLC to get his impression of the Cowboys training camp home two decades later.
We walked the path House and his teammates took day after day from the dorms to the practice fields. He admitted that the path seemed longer and hotter during those training camp days in the 1970's than it actually was. We toured the exact dorm he shared with teammates. We saw the desk where he studied his playbook.
He described the pain his body felt during camp as he tried to get back in shape for the season. It was the soreness so many of us feel after pushing ourselves. He wouldn't let that pain stop him. He didn't want to be the player who let down Coach Landry by being a step slow in practice. He reiterated that "not disappointing Coach Landry concept" a number of times during our tour of CLC.
I am not sure that matters to many players today.
One Last Visit
The last time I saw Robert Newhouse was about two years ago. He suffered a stroke in 2010. He was not the strong man with those powerful running back's thighs we all grew to love. He didn't have the strength to be that man, yet he was true to who he was: kind, warm and generous.
Understanding this could be one of our final visits, I selfishly reminded him of some of the sillier experiences we've had: a random dinner with John and Chris at El Pollo Loco, coffee with a certain Pro Football Hall of Famer at the Beverly Hills Hotel along with countless Valley Ranch visits dominated by me pestering him about aspects of the game. He has helped me understand more about the NFL than I ever deserved to know.
It's so easy to romanticize those Cowboys players of the 1970's. I have had the good fortune of meeting most of them. They're all great guys. Robert Newhouse, though, was perhaps one of the best: a genuine man who cared. A person who made an impression. An impression that lasts a lifetime.
Doing a Rangers pre-game show with Mark McLemore & Blue Man Group
With the weather warming up, if you're heading to a game at Globe Life Park or any baseball stadium sometime soon, there's a good chance you'll leave drenched. And I'm not talking Emily Jones drenched. I mean drenched in sweat from the heat.
If you're a fellow sports girl, that doesn't mean your makeup has to melt and fade as the temperatures approach triple digits.
I have spent 12-hour days in August heat in Arlington and had to go on TV at the END of the work day. Despite sweating my ass off, my makeup was still somewhat fresh. Yours can be, too, by incorporating a few simple tricks.
You should be wearing primer on most occasions. It's an outstanding way to help your makeup last. I don't go full-face-makeup without three primers I refer to as my secret weapons:
This is the biggest thing. In the oppressive summer heat, less is more. Don't wear a ton of heavy products. Use a BB cream instead of foundation and perhaps a nice lip gloss instead of thick lipstick.
Also, don't wear eyeliner on your lower lid. It is guaranteed to run and give you raccoon face. If you need eyeliner, use a gel liner like MAC's Fluidline or Lancome's Long Wear Gel Liner.
In fact, go a step further and forgo mascara on the lower lash line, too. I went on TV all the time without eyeliner and mascara on the lower lash line. It's fine, no one will notice.
Also, don't reapply powder with a sponge. Instead use a retractable brush with a hint of translucent powder (I love MAC Blot Powder) and simply run that over your face when your feeling oily. Even better, use blotting paper. A number of TV personalities, both male and female, use these to control oil and shine.
Gourmet food, football and raising money for a good cause are three of my favorite things. So why don't you join me at the 10th annual Taste of the NFL: The Ultimate Tailgate Party THIS Sunday night at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine.
Tracy Kornet, former Cowboy Preston Pearson and me at the 2012 party
The event has raised more than $1.34 million dollars to help hungry North Texas children during its run.
As always, there is a tempting array of delicious food and signature cocktails designed by DFW's best chefs and bartenders. There will also be some phenomenal silent and live auction items you can bid on to help support NTFB.
There will be a great mix of former Cowboys players, as well as a few current faces you'll recognize. Abacus executive chef and proprietor Kent Rathbun is the culinary all-star who helps make this event a touchdown year after year. I'll be emceeing along with JACK-FM's JT.
For more information on Sunday's party and ticket information, click here.
I consistently lament the fact there aren't enough women's networking groups in DFW. From tackling topics ranging from women hating other women in the workplace (that's a book I could write) to working motherhood, there are certain issues that career-focused women face.
The PGA Tour offers an outstanding initiative that gives like-minded working women a chance to connect with its Executive Women's Day. This two-year old program includes a panel discussion, a behind the scenes tour of the inner workings of a golf tournament and an inspirational keynote address as well as an entire day of networking.
The PGA Tour offers Executive Women's Days at various tournaments and will do so at The Crowne Plaze Invitational at Colonial next Tuesday. I'm excited to moderate the executive panel there for the 2nd straight year.
Are you staring at your closet wondering what to wear to the Nelson this weekend or the Colonial next week? You're not alone. When the PGA Tour visits north Texas, I am flooded with questions about what to wear to the tournaments, particularly when it comes to shoes.
Tennies are Fine, Leave the Hoochie Shoes at Home
If you don't want to wear tennis shoes, which are fine but something some women want to avoid, you still have options. One thing ISN'T one, though: heels.
I see golf tournament newbies teetering in heels after drinking too many margaritas. Their heels sink into the grass and their shoes get ruined.
Again: avoid heels.
Work a Wedge or a Cute Flat
If tennis shoes aren't your game and you still want a bit of a lift, go with a comfortable wedge shoe or a flat with a tiny bit of a platform.
I buy these at the Tory Burch outlet when they go on sale.
A well-made wedge is comfortable yet stylish. I have a closet full of Tory Burch wedge slides I stockpile and wear to Rangers games, golf tournaments, Cowboys training camp, college football games and more.
Browse the selection below of cute flats and wedges for inspiration.
Fair Warning: I don't do cheap footwear. It's bad for your feet and costs you more in the long run.
After taking a week off for the NFL Draft, Mickey Spagnola and I are back for another episode of Mickey & Miller's Cowboys Hour.
Interviewing first round pick Zack Martin
Mickey and I were embedded at Valley Ranch and have all sorts of behind the scenes details of the Dallas Cowboys draft weekend. We'll also share our two cents on the Cowboys draft picks and answer your questions live.
Feel free to submit questions in the comments section or join us for the live broadcast at 2pm (CDT) from the Cowboys TV studio at Valley Ranch. You can also watch this Google+ Hangout in the box below.
If you haven't heard, the PGA Tour now has a purse policy. It's similar to the NFL's in how limiting the size restriction is: 6"x6". Yep. The length and height of a dollar bill (which is a perfect six inches).
So if you're heading to the Nelson this week or the Colonial next weekend, here are some options that will work within those guidelines.
Fair warning: there's not much out there. It's HARD to find items that are functional and stylish. Trust me: I looked.
Some of the bags featured, like the smart Coach L-Zip wristlet and consignment Louis Vuitton pochettes, can only be purchased online. If you order now you can get them by this weekend with rush shipping or in plenty of time for the Colonial.
At least three times a week, I am asked about Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford. To many Cowboys fans, he represents two things: the future of the Cowboys as well as a bittersweet reminder of an injury-plagued defense that was the worst in franchise history in 2013.
Remember, Crawford tore his achilles tendon on the first day of training camp in 2013. Since then he has been rehabbing, watching game film, working out, studying more game film and repeating that cycle almost daily.
Add to it that the Cowboys lost DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher to free agency and he understands that there is an expectation placed upon him.
"Yeah, I definitely feel a lot of pressure. Those are definitely big shoes to fill," he told me. "I'm ready in any situation to get put in the game whenever its needed and whatever position that could be at."
As for what position he expects to play, that's also in question. Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has made it clear he could play end or tackle but Crawford has a preference.
"Preferably, defensive end," he admitted. "But if it's defensive tackle I can get down there and play fast."
Watch the entire interview in which he shares how his rehabbing is coming along and the one question he's sick and tired of getting asked. The answer will shock you.
The Cowboys have 11 picks, two of the first 50 picks in this year's draft with the first three coming as 16, 47 & 78.
Our broadcast location tonight on Cowboys Draft Live
Here's a rundown of some other interesting numbers as it relates to the Cowboys and the NFL Draft:
Dallas has picked in the first round 12 times since 2000.
The Cowboys have made 61 draft-day trades since 1989.
Over the last 53 drafts, the Cowboys have selected a player in the first round at every position except kicker and punter.
The Cowboys have selected 28 defensive players in the first round and 22 offensive players over the years.
In the Cowboys 54-year draft history, the Cowboys have selected offensive linemen more than than any other position, drafting 139 of them. Linebackers and defensive backs are next with 102 and 100 picks, respectively.
The Cowboys have drafted players from 208 different colleges with the University of Tennessee offering the most draft choices with 18. UCLA (16), Arizona State (15) and Florida (14) are next.
Carter addressed why the adjustment to a 4-3 defense was a struggle for him (and more) when I recently shot a story with him and safety Barry Church at Bowl & Barrel in Dallas.
How will this affect you if you're heading to the HP Byron Nelson Championship May 11-18or Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial May 19-25th? Well, the policy is a bit more liberal than the NFL's because it allows opaque diaper bags, something the NFL prohibits.
The PGA Tour's purse restrictions call for tiny bags, though, allowing a bag that is 6"x6" or smaller. Finding a purse 6 inches (roughly the length of a dollar bill) or smaller is tough. I scoured the internet for bags that work.
A Louis Vuitton Mini Pochette works for just about any purse policy. It measures at 5.5" wide and 3.7" tall.
Let me vent:This screams of another policy designed by a mostly male staff that has no clue about real world problems women face when it comes to carrying our crap.
This is Only the Beginning
Expect restrictive bag and purse policies to become to the norm. Leagues and organizations claim that the policy is primarily for security, citing 2013's Boston Marathon bombing as the impetus for tighter restrictions.
One NFL source told me that these policies simply make the security screening process easier. Meaning fans can get into the game quicker because bags are easier to check and security screeners have fewer judgement calls to make.
The source indicated he wouldn't be surprised if the NBA and MLB followed suit.
Shop Purses That Fit Within the PGA Tour's Purse Policy
Have you had the urge to skydive but are too scared to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Then iFly Indoor Skydiving might just be your speed.
I had the chance to experience indoor skydiving with Cowboys players Jeff Heath and Gavin Escobar for a story. Shooting the story at iFly in Frisco was actually Jeff's idea and it was a brilliant one.
Candidly, I had no clue what to expect and I thought I might lose my lunch. Turns out the experience was the most fun four minutes I have had in a long time.
What Exactly is iFly?
The iFly concept delivers true free fall conditions in a huge wind tunnel which is similar to the ones members of military and professional skydivers use for training.
You fly in an enclosed flight chamber which has fans that generate wind speeds in excess of 175 miles per hour and let you experience true weightlessness.
The iFly Dallas Experience
Before you can fly, you have to go through a thorough, yet simple training session. None of it is too complicated. Our instructor was engaging and made sure everyone in our training session, which included a child under 10, understood the hand signals and correct body positioning required for our flights.
It shocked me to learn that people as young as three years old can participate.
Jeff Heath, me and Gavin Escobar in "uniform"
Once we gear up in what I must admit are uniforms that do a body no favors, our "class" entered the wind tunnel seating area. The wind tunnel is quite loud. You really can't hear anyone if you try to talk.
Jeff Heath flying
Each of us received a flying session with our instructor that lasted about 90 seconds to two minutes. During the first session, our instructor guided us the entire time.
After everyone flies once, we go again. Each of us paid for the "high-fly" package which allowed us to fly high up into the tunnel. In the second go-round we were able to fly unassisted, lying horizontal similar to Superman.
Our photographer, Daniel Royas, flying
We weren't able to do any crazy, acrobatic maneuvers that the flight instructors are capable of performing. We were just lucky to remain horizontal and not run into the wall.
What It's Like
In short: it's amazing. I could not stop smiling the entire time while in flight. Both Gavin and Jeff thought it was awesome, too. I never once felt queasy. It's truly that free feeling of flying with a cool wind blowing in your face. Just spectacular.
The instructor indicated we might be sore the next day because we were using back and abdominal muscles we typically don't engage. While the flight is a workout, there was no soreness at all. I felt fine.
The only downside is that the actually flying time is pretty short, roughly less than five minutes. Everyone in my group was a first-timer, so we participated in the First Time Flyer packagewhichincluded the training session and gear rental. There are also Return Flyer and Experienced Flyer packages. You can purchase up to one continuous hour of flying time.
The Cost
Because we were shooting a story, the team at iFly was nice enough to give us a complimentary session. A First Time Flyer family package for five people (the one we had) is $269.95. The same package for a single person is $59.95.
I would do this on my own in a heartbeat. It was the experience of a lifetime that I can't wait to try again.
The Details iFly Indoor Skyding is located at 8380 SH 121 in Frisco. It's right off 121. You can't miss it.
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