By Gabe Bock

Notes from Dan Rather interview

* He has tried to keep up with Sam Houston State football as much as possible, and he is very loyal to the school. Head coach Willie Fritz has done such a great job with their football program, and he is excited for Saturday’s contest between the Bearkats and the Aggies.

* Things change all the time, and he welcomes the new digital era of getting the news out to the public. There is so much more information available now, and because of that, he worries about the lowered standard of journalism that has occurred with the new technology.

* One of the things that crossed his mind while thinking about the upcoming game was just how much talent there is in the state of Texas. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Bearkats don’t come out to Kyle Field and play well because they feel they have something to prove. He was briefly on the football team as a freshman at Sam Houston State, and even back then, there were players of high enough caliber to play in the Southwest Conference.

* Johnny Manziel is a great quarterback, and he believes that Manziel deserves the Heisman trophy. He also believes that Coach Sumlin deserves to be Coach of the Year for what he has done at A&M this season. Manziel doesn’t seem to get too high on the highs or too low on the lows, and that coupled with his ability to manage the game makes him a tremendous player. The A&M offensive line deserves a tip of the cap for helping Manziel and keeping guys off of him.

* Journalism is a profession that you really have to have a passion for if you want to be good at. It’s tough to get a job in journalism, and if you aren’t in it 100%, you should probably look at something else. Writing is the fundamental bedrock of the craft, and polishing those skills allow you to find a job easier than most.

* Covering Hurricane Carla, the Kennedy assassination and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960’s are a few of the stories that truly stick in his mind when looking back on his career.