Is the Dallas-Fort Worth area the sports capital of the world?

Is the DFW area the sports capital of the not only the US, but the world? Consider the following. The Dallas Mavericks own the longest current sellout streak of any major sport, hitting the 500 mark against Miami last Tuesday. The Dallas Cowboys have led the NFL in attendance every year since 2009. The Texas Rangers finished in the top five in MLB attendance the past two seasons, despite Josh Hamilton's assertion it is not a baseball town.

Throw in Texas Motor Speedway, which is one of the largest racing venues in the nation and routinely attracts crowds of more than 150,000, and you can see why such a claim can be made. The Dallas Stars? Hey, hockey is a cold climate sport, but attendance hasn't been bad, all things considered.

AT&T Stadium has hosted the NBA All-Star game in 2010, the NFL Super Bowl in 2011, and will host the NCAA basketball final four this year, as well as being the site of the first National Bowl College Championship game in the College Football Playoff era in 2015. In addition, the Stadium has also found a home with the Texas high school football UIL state championships.

Throw in the warm climate, central location and large local population, and it is clear the DFW Metroplex is one of the hottest locations in the world for premier sporting events.

Running Back Has Huge Game, But Team Loses

Class 4A Frisco running back Carlos Harris had a huge night on Friday as he carried 36 times for 446 yards with seven touchdowns, including six touchdown runs of 40 yards or more.

With Harris piling up the yardage, Frisco moved up and down the field, ending the night with 680 yards of offense and scoring 62 points. Only one problem; while Frisco piled up the yardage and points, their opponent was doing the same as Lucas Lovejoy scored 64 points to hand Frisco their first loss of the season. The win was Lovejoy's first of the season and the teams ended the night with a combined 1,186 yards of offense.

Indiana Receiver Breaks National High School Record

South Bend (Ind.) Washington receiver Gehrig Dieter set the national receiving record on Friday night with 447 yards and four touchdowns in a 63-10 victory over Elkhart Central to break the record previously held by Rose Bud, Arkansas receiver J.D. Felice, who had 421 yards in a game in 2008.

In the first three weeks of the season Dieter has gone over 300 yards in each game and could well be on his way to breaking a season record for yardage. He broke the Indiana state record with 373 yards receiving in the season opener. Three weeks into the season, Dieter hasn't had a game with fewer than 300 yards.

Blake Jumonville of Richardson Pearce holds the Texas state record with 386 yards against Carrollton Newman Smith in 2009.

Video of Indiana Receiver Gehrig Dieter

Saturday Morning Blitz

Friday night action was highlighted by the top two team in Class 2A going down and Class 1A Canadian losing to an out of state opponent. In Class 5A, Euless Trinity showed off their new Nike Pro Combat uniforms in a 34-17 win over Abilene, while Txprepsfootball.com class top ten 5A teams DeSoto (#4) and Denton Guyer (#6) play Monday at Cowboys Stadium in the Kirk Herbstreit Classic.

In Class 4A, Kerrville Tivy QB Parks McNeil is filling the shoes of the departed Johnny Manziel nicely as he accounted for over 400 yards of offense and seven TDs in a 48-7 route of a San Antonio Madison team that gave Cibilo Steele a test last week. Also in class 4A, Aledo running back Johnathan Gray continues his assault on the record books as he is only two scores away from Traylon Shead’s career mark of 146 touchdowns. The Bearcats face #1 Lake Travis next week in Aledo, and speaking of Lake Travis, QB Baker Mayfield has stepped in for the injured Colin Lagasse and the Cavaliers haven’t missed a beat.

In class 3A, #1 Tyler Chapel Hill won a wild one over class 4A Whitehouse Thursday night (59-49) and defending champ Carthage went down to Lindale, 33-21.

In 2A action, #1 Daingerfield and #2 Tatum both lost big to class 3A opponents Atlanta and Gilmer respectively by scores of 37-6 and 34-0, while Idalou beat Littlefield 27-6 in a battle of top ten teams.

In class 1A football, #1 Canadian lost 24-18 to Meade, Kansas. Meade is one of the top 2A teams in Kansas, but the Wildcats mauled them 36-6 last season.

Herbstreit Classic Preview

Here's a little information on the out of state teams scheduled to play in the Herbstreit Classic at Cowboys Stadium on Labor Day.

Cocoa High, Florida just had their 38 game win streak snapped by Colerain, Ohio last week.
Cocoa High, Florida

The Douglass Trojans are the defending Oklahoma 4A state champs.
OKC Douglass Trojans

Edna Karr is ranked #1 among large schools in Louisiana.
Edna Karr, Louisiana

Cowboys Stadium: Arlington, TX
Monday: Sep. 05, 2011 10:00am CT FSN
Edna Karr vs. Arlington Bowie
Monday: Sep. 05, 2011 1:15pm CT FSN
Cocoa vs. Skyline
Monday: Sep. 05, 2011 4:30pm CT FSN
Frederick A. Douglass vs. DeSoto
Monday: Sep. 05, 2011 7:45pm CT FSN
Cedar Hill vs. Denton Guyer

The Heat is On!

I attended the Garland-Denton Guyer (albeit briefly) and the Highland Park-Everman games on Saturday and it was a case of survival as the games kicked off at 4-4:30 with temperatures in the 107 degree range. Saw players cramping up all over the field and Garland-Denton Guyer even cut the quarters back to 10 minutes. Can we get a petition going that no game will be played before Labor Day? Remember fall will be here on September 23rd.