Baron Davis' beard and the existence of God

Take this Baron, our daily beard

I take away from this world the belief God due to any number of phenomena that we encounter on any given day.

My belief in a higher power is fully reinforced every time I see Baron Davis.

His beard is majestic. It makes every problem in this world melt away and makes me feel unbelievable lucky to be an American with the luxury of watching professional basketball on a Saturday night without fear of retribution or scorn.

Furthermore, Davis is supplementing the full, grizzly beard with the four-month growth of hair. It's unruly yet subsisting within a series of rules. It's too short to be an afro, two long to be suitable for a 9-5 job.

It's my little piece of heaven on Earth.

Oh, the Mavs took it to Davis' beard and the Clippers 93-84 sweeping their Los Angeles doubleheader.

Notes:
1. Erick Dampier: Really good. Double-double with no turnovers and three blocks.

2. J.J. Barea makes rookie mistakes. Except he's not a rookie.

3. There's no good reason why the Mavs should ever be outrebounded. They nipped the Clips by two. With the best rebounding point guard, two solid rebounders in Dirk Nowitzki and Dampier and then Shawn Marion, the Mavs should rule the boards.

4. Shawn Marion brings something to the Mavs they've never really had. Question: Last season, Jason Kidd steals the ball and passes up the court to a teammate for an uncontested, easy, breakaway dunk. Who do you trust to actually dunk that ball? Barea and Jason Terry wouldn't. Dirk would. Brandon Bass would (angrily). Damp may or may not catch the ball or be upcourt. Jerry Stackhouse's leg would've broken off. Antoine Wright, probably. My point? The Mavs had three guys that would've dunked the ball and two of those guys didn't play regularly if at all. Marion can dunk whenever. In traffic, on the break, on the alley-oop. He's long, he gets steals, he can shoot a little. He's got a swagger missing from this team since Marquis Daniels left and Josh Howard turned into a poor man's Dell Curry.

5. Chris Kaman needs the Hulk Hogan haircut back.

6. Reason No. 431 why Jason Kidd's a Hall of Famer: He's one of probably a dozen guys in NBA history that can shoot 1-6 and still be invaluable with 10 minutes left in the game.

7. Can't believe the Clips are 0-4. Figure they'd run into some silly team by now.

Dallas Cowboy cheerleader in blackface ... and is that Derek Holland?

Derek Holland?

Deadspin had a Halloween-oriented post tonight showcasing a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who apparently decided to be Lil' Wayne for this "holiday."

Problem is that she used blackface (she being white) ... for her whole body because the grill, dreads, wife beater and ball cap wasn't keeping it real enough. Is it still "blackface" if it's used on the whole body?

Anyway, it's bad enough she did this. Worse off is that she took photos and put them on the Internet. ALWAYS A BAD IDEA!

However, the main photo has the cheerleader along with three others. One of which -- a white guy clearly the square peg in a round hole -- looks a lot like Texas Rangers phenom Derek Holland.

I mean, it looks just like him. Plus, it's not impossible for a guy who plays in the same town to be at a party with hot-ass cheerleaders ... who use blackface.

Anyway, discuss. Discover.

A local delight

Question: Does Mack Brown get enough credit for what he's done?

If you are a fan of our regional favorites and local college football delicacies had a good Saturday.

A day such as this hasn't happened in a really long time. And might not happen for a while. Enjoy it.

Texas 41, Oklahoma State 14
You give UT two touchdowns off interceptions and you ain't winning. Texas wasn't spectacular, but still dominate, which shows just how much better they truly are than the rest of the conference. For all intents and purposes, UT has an easier road to the Big XII title game and then the national championship game.

TCU 41, UNLV 0
Yikes. UNLV totaled just seven first downs and 161 total yards. They punted 11 times. Just dominate.

SMU 27, Tulsa 13
A really nice win for June Jones and the Mustangs. They held Tulsa to about 70 yards below their average and Kyle Padron looked really good. No way in the hell the SMU team of the last 15 years wins this football game.

UNT 68, Western Kentucky 49
Whatever works. Riley Dodge was responsible for four passing touchdowns and three rushing. Daddy needed a win and son got one for him.

Texas A&M 35, Iowa State 10
Extremely efficient day for the Aggies. 32 first downs. 10-13 third-down conversions. No punts. Two penalties. Cyrus Gray had 119 on the ground and Jerrod Johnson did his thing. Since the K-State debacle, A&M's righted the ship some.

Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 30
K-State wasn't beating Oklahoma, but they've proven they can score some points. They've scored 150 points in five Big XII games. This was a 28-23 game going into the fourth quarter. I realize this is a moot season for OU, but Landry Jones is getting great experience and had by far his best game of his collegiate career.

Texas Tech 42, Kansas 21
Kansas simply imploded. The Big XII North was theirs for the taking and they just lost control. Meanwhile, Tech lost about a half dozen of their best players and seem to win a good game every once in a while.

Missouri 36, Colorado 17
The Tigers were up 33-0 before the Buffs knew the game started. No contest.

Nebraska 20, Baylor 10
Booooo-rrriiiiiiiinnnnggg.

Texas State 28, SFA 7
Goddamn Racoons.

What the hell is a Seahawk anyway?

"Scart sculling Bos"

It's a skua or osprey.

A fun Seattle Seahawks fact: In their two losses, they've outscored their opponent 69-0.

In their four losses, they've been outscored 109-51.

Their two wins: Jacksonville and St. Louis.

With that said, five things:

Go On Offensive
The Cowboys cannot come into Sunday and sleepwalk. They cannot come into the game like they did against Kansas City. The Cowboys need to jump on the Seahawk's ass and never let up. Blitz and be aggressive. Go for the jugular on every level. If the Cowboys do what they've done against every opponent this season, they could very well lose, which would send everything into a tailspin.

DeMarcus Ware
He's made up for his lack of impact with two sacks each his last two games. The story of the week's been the fact that not only is Walter Jones' career potentially in peril, but the Seahawks are on left tackle No. 80 for the season. If Ware doesn't collect at least three sacks against the statuesque Matt Hasselbeck, I'd be shocked. Ware does not seem like the guy to get his money and relax. The money should be the biggest reason he has a good day.

Everything In Its Right Place
If the Cowboys lose, the win over Atlanta means diddley because the next two weeks are Philly and Green Bay on the road. The fact is, December is going to suck ass and winning while the gettin's good is tantamount for the Cowboys.

The Day Off
The Cowboys made minor waves when Wade Phillips gave the team a day off following their win, an apparent expectation after a win. There are certain things wrong with this picture: The Cowboys live by different expectations; the Cowboys don't necessarily deserve it; and it creates an even bigger stir if Phillips forces his guys to come in, if it is indeed the norm. Making them come in shows that Phillips is serious about winning no matter what his players think about him. If they lose Sunday, everyone will look at that day off.

Roy Williams
The guy simply needs a good day. Or the heat gets turned up.

Prediction
Cowboys 34, Seahawks 16
If not, man, people are going to freak out. I only wish.

Mavericks 94, Lakers 80

How much Hall of Famery is in this shot?

Well, contrary to popular belief the Dallas Mavericks will not go 0-82.

The Mavs shook the bad mojo that typically surrounds them in Los Angeles and beat the mighty Lakers 94-80.

It's not that the Mavs were awesome. They weren't. No one shot super well and they had 17 turnovers. But they played some really good defense and executed when they needed to and kept their foot on the Lakers' throats for four periods until the final buzzer. In 60 games, we may not even think about this game, but it's definitely something to feel good about.

I did want to note that coach Rick Carlisle used the phrase "ass kicked" in his post-game in reference to the Washington Wizard loss. And Eddie Sefko used it unedited or censored.

I never remember the Dallas Morning News print "ass" before in reference to a team or a player's rear quarters. Maybe they've always had. Or they're just so liberal nowadays.

Notes:
1. Drew Gooden was awful. Going 0-4 before getting hurt. I know we're supposed to be super optimistic about the guy, but the Spurs (and a trillion other teams) let him walk.

2. Want to make a run? Wait out for the Mavs bench. J.J. Barea's a seive and Kris Humphries ain't Brandon Bass.

3. Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 12 free throw attempts a game (granted, it's been two games).

NCAA is dumb, Mike Leach is triple awesome

The NCAA ruled this week that Oklahoma State receiver -- one of the top 10 or so players in college football -- is ineligible the rest of the season following the whole "lying about a pajama party with Deion Sanders" incident.

Mind you, he's not suspended for drinking cocoa with Sanders. He's suspended for lying about it.

Bryant admits the question caught him off guard, he panicked (thinking it was a violation ... why he didn't know or find out seems silly) and lied that he didn't hang with Sanders.

The NCAA found out about the lie and now they don't have one of their marquee players to showcase this week in the sport's biggest game because lying is just something the seemingly puritanical NCAA does not stand by for.

Instead, the NCAA rules over a large arena of cheating, paying players, "fifth" or "sixth" years of eligibility, boosters running amok, coaches using everything to get a player, punching dudes out on the field and everything in between, but lying. Woe unto the one who lies. Bastards.

SFA (6-1, 3-0) vs. Texas State (4-3, 2-1)
The Lumberjacks get to visit San Marcos and do some Christmas shopping at the outlets and then tend to dispensing the Raccoons of Texas State. I'm not one to overlook any team. The Univesrity-Formerly-Known-as-Southwest Texas State's a little scary. They can score. Winning, however, tends to be their major hang-up. The rolled up 50 against Northwestern State and 48 on Angelo State. Unfortunately, SFA's allowed just 12 touchdowns all season. Game of the week as far as I'm concerned. The best Texas State team is a defeated Texas State team.

Texas (7-0, 3-0) vs. Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-0)
Don't get me wrong here. Texas is fully capable of losing this team on the road at nasty Stillwater. However, OSU's without their two best offensive players against one of the best defenses in the nation a week after going into Columbia and making Mizzou look like a JV team. This week proves just how focus the Longhorns are and maybe paves the way for their date with Florida-Alabama in the big game.

TCU (7-0, 3-0) vs. UNLV (3-5, 1-3)
UNLV isn't very good. TCU is very good. Especially at home. TCU must still keep its focus and make sure it doesn't overlook anyone. Better teams has been undone by worse teams.

Kansas (5-2, 1-2) vs. Texas Tech (5-3, 2-2)
Good game. However, I think Tech rolls. Kansas has wet the bed the last four weeks and Tech probably got its ass whipped in practice all week. And Mike Leach ran off the fat, little girlfriends.

Iowa State (5-3, 2-2) vs. Texas A&M (4-3, 1-2)
A&M's at least beat Tech. Iowa State's beat no one including a Nebraska team that no one can figure out.

Oklahoma (4-3, 2-1) vs. Kansas State (5-3, 3-1)
Did you imagine those teams would have their respective records at this point in the season. I would suspect OU would do to K-State was Texas Tech did, but if you want me to somehow make a science out of Big XII football, good luck. Anybody can beat anybody.

Nebraska (4-3, 1-2) vs. Baylor (3-4, 0-3)
I have no fucking clue who wins this game. And that makes angels cry.

Missouri (4-3, 0-3) vs. Colorado (2-5, 1-2)
Thankfully, Colorado is not ranked and Mizzou's lost three straight games, all to ranked teams.

SMU (3-4, 2-1) vs. Tulsa (4-3, 2-1)
Tulsa's a team that can come up and bite a good team in the ass and still lose a ding-dong game to a bad team. That's part of SMU's hope. A win on the road says a lot about the direction of the Mustang's program. SMU rolls out its back-up this week.

Western Kentucky (0-7, 0-3) vs. North Texas (1-6, 0-4)
Todd Dodge needs a win. A loss here against Western Kentucky could doom him. UNT, actually, has gotten some bad luck and that might save Dodge for a year. Three losses were of four points or less, all thanks to some defensive breakdowns late. Seems to me it's a young, rebuilding team that doesn't know how to win those types of games. Statistically, they've played up to their opponents. For Dodge's sake, it needs to show up on the scoreboard. By the way, I thought Western Kentucky was an independent. How does that work? Can teams just break from the conferences and be independent. I see how it helps Notre Dame since they're popular and can have a gigantic TV deal. But what does it do for Western Kentucky. Anyway, welcome to the Sun Belt, suckers.

Fab five

Goaltenders always look better when their team is the one scoring

During a season, when does a team become who they really are?

In baseball, the All-Star break is a pretty good indicator; however, we've seen plenty of second-half runs and falls.

In hockey and basketball, it's a little different. Bad teams are bured in the first 40 games. Good teams usually hold form. Now, there is the frequent leap frog in the middle seeds and there are battles for the eighth seed. I would expect the hockey and basketball standings to shake out pretty well by game No. 40.

I wouldn't, however, expect the Colorado Avalanche to continue winning 90 percent of their games, nor do I expect the Detroit Red Wings to be a .500 team.

However, are the Dallas Stars capable of a 95-point season?

They won, again, last night with a 4-3 overtime (finally!!) victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It gives them points in nine of 11 games and pulls them even at home (4-0-3 on road!).

Why are the Stars a top 5 team in the conference? The Fab Five, of course: Mike Ribeiro, Loui Eriksson, Brenden Morrow, James Neal and Brad Richards.

In my honest humble, uneducated opinion, those five dudes are the ultimate key for the Stars. I've already starting chronicling the connection between wins and those guys putting up huge nights. It's sounds obvious, but it's understated. You can't win football games by just running the ball and you can't win hockey games by just hoping your goaltender stands on his head.

The Stars lack of offensive firepower eventually did in Dave Tippett and Doug Armstrong.

Last night, the Stars survived a late go-ahead goal and overtime by scoring four games, a game they probably lose last year or the year before.

Of those four goals, all of them were scored by one of the Fab Five and they also tallied three assists.

For the season, the Fab Five has scored 27 goals and accrued 35 assists and a +27. It should be noted that the Stars have scored 41 goals. That, friends, is output. And winning hockey.

Keith Brooking and the possibility that he's a crazy motherfucker

Keith Brooking: "Wanna get nuts? Come on! Let's get nuts!"

When the Dallas Cowboys inked inside linebacker Keith Brooking during the off-season, I don't think anyone batted an eye.

In fact, the bigger story was that he was a Wade Phillips guy and it furthered this trend of hiring former Chargers and Falcons to play defense. .

Seven weeks into the Brooking era and I would dare anyone to name someone who's played better than Brooking. He's by far the best guy on defense every week. And if consistency means anything, he's better than any offensive player.

Brooking is just about everything Zach Thomas is not. He's quick, goes sideline to sideline with ease and his instincts are impeccable. Better yet, he's the emotional, out-spoken leader in the huddle and locker room. Nothing against DeMarcus Ware or Terence Newman, but those guys don't have that facet to their game where they can grab a guy by the facemask and scream in their face.

One fact, however, that is becoming blatant is that Brooking might be a crazy motherfucker.

The Falcons game put this idea over the top.

Granted, he was playing his former team and a victory there probably meant more to him than any other player on the team. Still, he's nuts.

Go back and watch the play where Miles Austin catches the ball and inexplicably drops the ball out of bounds. As they show Austin milling around afterwards, Brooking is caught in the shot violently screaming at someone on the field. It could've been a ref, but that's unlikely. Maybe an offensive player, but the Cowboys had just completed a nice gain so I would doubt Brooking would scream at that. That leaves him screaming at a member of the Falcons.

Late on, the Falcons were driving and the Cowboys were up by 14 or so. I believe it was third down and the Falcons just committed a pre-snap penalty. Brooking proceeds to bend his knees and -- with exuberence -- wildly thrust his arms down towards the ground and then directly up vertically. Over and over.

Don't get me wrong. It was a big play. Third down and short became third down and long. It was one of the nails hammered into the Falcons coffin last Sunday. However, Brooking was just going bananas as if the Super Bowl had just been won.

I'd hate for this diatribe to be some criticism of Brooking it's not. He's one of the three or four likable parts of the 2009 Cowboys and I watch every week in hopes of seeing another Brooking moment when he looks like he just did three lines of coke. We need 100 percent more shots of Brooking and 100 percent less shots of Wade Phillips.

The World Series that time forgot

Yeah, there are still games to be played

What's MLB going to do about their post-season schedule?

You've got snow in Colorado, it's taken three weeks to get through two rounds mostly because none of the series went long. Now, it's been four days or a week since the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees played a game. Since, the NBA's started and the NFL and college football are officially grabbing the entire attention of the United States.

When the series starts tonight, everyone will flip by FOX and say, "Oh shit, the World Series started. Is CSI on?"

Why is it the natural inclination for sports leagues to elongate things? It just makes everyone mad. Sometimes I think everyone's an idiot. Or maybe I'm the idiot. Anyway, there's games to be played and poor predictions to be made.

****
I think it's noteworthy that the Phillies have made the World Series for the second straight year. Are we dealing with a burgeoning dynasty? Maybe. Making the playoffs year after year is tough. Teams drop off naturally. Others rise up. Injuries and free agency happen. Still, to guide a team to the World Series two straight years, winning one, is really impressive.

The Yankees have proven that if you spend a shitload of money on the right players, you'll probably win a lot of games. Let's face it, it works. If the Rangers, Angels, White Sox or Tigers sign C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, their seasons probably end up a lot differently.

However, the Phillies took a different route. Yeah, they've got a ton of money wrapped up in their roster. But most of their roster are guys they drafted, signed or took in as a nobody. Who was really giving Shane Victorino, Pedro Martinez and Jayson Werth any play? They went out and got the vastly underappreciated Raul Ibanez in the off season and traded for Cliff Lee, which has been worth every stinkin' prospect they gave up. They spend money, but it's their own guys.
Who has the edge here? The line-ups look equally daunting. Starting pitching might draw even. If the Phils get anything out of Pedro in game two, it might fall to them. Or maybe Burnett shows up. Bullpens? Yanks have the edge, but maybe Brad Lidge is figuring stuff out. But I wouldn't necessarily getting the final three outs at Yankee Stadium.

I think the Phils have a decided edge in coaching. Joe Girardi has shown his ass in the first two series. Not that he can't overcome that or the team can't hit 10 homers a game, but in a close game, who's going to screw up their bullpen?

As much as I'd love to see the Phillies win this one ...

Yankees in 6

Oops

You've entered the Matrix

Beaming with pride and hope, the Dallas Mavericks took the floor in front of a optimistic and excited home crowd at the American Airlines Center and absolutely crapped the bed.

Home losses were a rarity for the Mavs last season. Only nine existed. I don't know how many came by double digits or against seeminly docile Eastern opponents, but I would assume many came against tougher Western teams. I could be wrong.

The 102-91 ass kicking says a lot about the Mavs. That they still can't afford to roll out a C game and win against any opponent. That their front court is in absolute shambles. And the backcourt couldn't defend Bob Cousy ... right now.

The latter really killed them Randy Foye and Gilbert Arenas has their way going 18-35 and48 points. Not to mention the 20 Andray Blatche poured in off the bench.

None of the Mavs played well at all. Shawn Marion, Jason Terry and J.J. Barea had their thumbs up their asses defensively. The only decent shooter was Barea ... and I would bet whenever he's your best shooter, the Mavs are 0 and whatever.

The Mavs shot 39 percent and just 4-18 from three-range. Per usual, in 36 minutes, Jason Kidd didn't hit the charity stripe once.

Simply put, the Mavs were out-everythinged tonight and that'll result in a loss 99 percent of the time in the NBA. This team has a lot of holes still and a lot of question marks. It's good to be optimistic. But it's impossible to remain unweary of how ordinary they might look 30-40 times this season.

The big win

Good shot ... but don't get used to it, it's happened before

A lot has been made of the Dallas Cowboys' win over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday.

The win deserves its due. It was against a better conference opponent as the Cowboys dawdled around at 3-2 desperately seeking some sort of balance and consistency. Even the most jaded Cowboys fan/hater can see that they played extremely well Sunday. They should be commended.

However, the Cowboys have been in this very spot before. In fact, it was a year ago, almost to the day.

Here's the poop:

Year	2008	2009
Opponent	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons
Date	Oct. 26	Oct. 25
Cowboy’s Record	4-3	3-2
Opponent’s Record	5-2	4-1
Result	13-9 W	37-21 W
Following Week	L – New York Giants	???
Season Result	9-7, no playoffs	???

The similarities are astonishing. The dates are damn-near the same. The Cowboys were a mere one game over .500 and their opponent that week (a NFC South team) was regarded as one of the top four or five teams in the conference having been three games over .500.

But as you can see, the win over Tampa Bay did not propel the Cowboys toward any real goal. They lost the next week to the New York Giants (thankfully, their opponent this week is Seattle, a far less superior foe) and they wound up 4-4 the rest of the way, losing their final two games.

And no playoffs.

Not saying that a similar thing will happen this season. But through six weeks is there any substantial proof that this team is anything beyond 8-8 or 9-7 behind a handful of other teams.

Dallas Mavericks Depth Chart: Power Forward

Maybe Gooden will add another three teams this season

The Dallas Mavericks do not have a power forward problem.

Speaking of, the Dallas Morning News had a graphic in today's paper comparing Dirk Nowitzki's career numbers versus the franchise leaders. Surprisingly or not, Nowitzki already held a number of the important records including points and rebounds. Greatness.

Dirk Nowitzki
It's hard to believe he's entering his 11th NBA season and he's now an "ancient" 31. I honestly feel he has two more seasons of "prime" play and probably has three or four more seasons of good play after that. I think. He is coming into his first NBA season without playing internationally, which will help with his durability. But when you think about it, the guy's been relatively injury-free (knock on wood) for his career. If he can keep that up, he'll have a much longer shelf life.

Drew Gooden
He may play center, but that don't make him a center. Just 28 and seven seasons in, he's played with six teams. Three of those were last year alone. One of which was San Antonio, which is a pretty good talent evaluator. I'm just saying, a guy that can't find a home with his offensive ability and his size and versatility makes me feel he has issues.

Kris Humphries
I'm always willing to give a 24-year-old former first-round pick a chance, especially as a throw-in to a bigger trade. He's athletic, but still white-guy goofy. You can't take the white out of the goofy, but you can't take the goofy out of the white. Athletic is good, but to play like Brandon Bass, you've got to be kinda pissed off and extremely physical. And pissed off. I don't think Humphries gets pissed unless you scratch his Dave Matthews CD.

Tim Thomas
He's a Dallas Maverick for one reason: three-point shooting. He's a 37 percent shooter from behind the arc. He's never really given a ton of effort offensively or defensively, which is a shame. His heyday was 1999-2003, when he was an everyday player. He too has been with a number of teams (six, including Knicks and Bulls twice), which suggests that he's only as useful as the team's willing to put up with his pockmarks.

Small Forward
Shooting Guard
Point Guard

NFC Power Rankings, Vol. 1

A Brees for the Saints

To kinda get a grasp of what's shakin' in the NFC.

New Orleans Saints
A very balanced team. The defense did a 180 in the off-season. They're winning on the road (3-0) including some salty wins against both New Jersey teams, Philly and roadies against Miami and Buffalo. They're scary. What's also scary? Drew Brees balding. He needs to just shave it all off.

Minnesota Vikings
What's to dislike? They run the ball well, they protect their elderly quarterback, they cover, they tackle, they block and they run over. AP is all that. Favre looks phenomenal when standing up. And Sidney Rice is blossoming.

New York Giants
I think they're good. Worth nothing they're only decent win is against Dallas. Otherwise, they've beat up on some dogs. We shall know more in a week when they visit Philly

Philadelphia Eagles
Ran into the Saints early on and spit the bit against Oakland last week. Still, an extremely formidable team. When they win, they win very convincingly. They've got three or four explosive players. Problem is, DeSean Jackson can't play guard or tackle. If they can forge some pass protection and figure out Brian Westbrook, they'll be as good as we think.

Arizona Cardinals
Won three straight including Giants and Seattle on the road. If they won the next five it would surprise no one. Most importantly, the defense is popping. Those young guys are swarming everywhere. Scary team especially if they can harness some running game and have the division wrapped up by week 12.

Dallas Cowboys
I think they're a second- or third-tier team right with the Falcons, Bears and Packers.

Atlanta Falcons
I don't know if we know much about the Falcons. Some of these wins might turn out to be pretty nice. Right now, they're so-so. And that's the Falcons. One week they're making mincemeat of the 49ers . The next week they look marginal against Dallas. In the next four weeks, they need to turn a corner ... and it won't be easy.

Green Bay Packers
That defense is good. Three points (granted, it's the Browns and Lions) in the last two games. We'll know more about two teams on this list Nov. 15 when they host the Cowboys.

Chicago Bears
I don't get the Bears. The quinessential 8-8 team. Their offense is miserably inconsistent and the defense can be porous. A consistent second half for Matt Forte will go a long way.

San Francisco 49ers
I quietly root for the 49ers. I think Mike Singletary tries to do things the right way. I fear that a meltdown by his team won't bode well for the head coach. If the 49ers had signed Favre -- with Michael Trabtree coming in -- they'd be winning the divisino.

Seattle Seahawks
In their two wins, they've outscored their opponents 69-0. Honestly, the Seahawks need to clean house. I keep Aaron Curry and John Carlson and hit "reset."

Detroit Lions
If their youngsters are healthy, they're competitive. Just saying. No, they're not good or probably not decent, but they have direction. I can't say the same for the teams below.

Carolina Panthers
Blame Jake Delhomme all you want, but he's in a position to fail. The Panthers defense is pretty bad and the offense can't do what it does best (run the ball) when they're down by two touchdowns.With a lead or in a close game, they're dangerous. Otherwise, they're very beatable. Improve the defense and watch Delhomme's effectiveness increase.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They've got some talent. It's just probably in all the wrong places. Why you make that guy a head coach is beyond me.

Washington Redskins
Outside of a total re-working of the front office and ownership situation, they need to stick about 10 sticks of dynamite into that offense and move on. They need changes at quarterback, receiver, O-line and, maybe, running back.

St. Louis Rams
Unlike some other teams at the bottom of this ranking, the Rams are in an unsual set of circumstances. They've got talent. But they probably need to totally restart. Do you trade Steven Jackson and Donnie Avery? This team needs an enema. But the flush doesn't pick and choose what gets caught in the wash. That was a very disturbing analogy. But you know what I mean.

10 things for the 2009-10 Dallas Mavericks

It's shocking what photos NBA players agree to do

The Dallas Mavericks begin their 2009-10 campaign tonight.

I -- among many others -- have them sporting a very respectable season winning at least 40 games and finishing comfortably in the warm innards of the Western Conference playoff scene.

For the first time during the current regime (see: Donnie Nelson), I thought the Mavs should've went into the off-season ready to completely re-do their team. I felt they had the trade pieces to do so and with the economy so down and everyone trying to shed payroll, the Mavs would make a nice partner.

Instead, we unloaded Jerry Stackhouse's corpse and Antoine Wright for Shawn Marion and Kris Humphries (essentially).

Otherwise, it's the same ball of wax. But there's hope. There's the rested, maned Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Kidd with new toys to play with. A motivated, smarter Josh Howard. Major depth in the front court. A new Euro boy toy. Maybe a happy Marion.

Factor in certain downward movements with other West teams and the Mavs look pretty stinking good.

Here's 10 things in no particular order or importance:

The Hair
Nowitzki needs to dedicate himself to the hair. Just buy 82 head bands. He needs to keep it going for the entire season. By May, he'll look like fucking Bigfoot. It'll be the story of the playoffs.

Runnin'
I don't know if the Mavs are necessarily great at anything. However, I don't think they're necessarily a half-court team. Considering their line-up, I think the Mavs would be better off just running. Bring Nellie ball back. Otherwise, why trade for Shawn Marion, re-sign Jason Kidd and draft Roddy Beaubois? I think you get the best out of all three by running, and I think it helps Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Nowitzki and J.J. Barea, if he's in the rotation.

Keep J.J. Barea Out Of The Rotation
For the record.

Minutes For Beaubois
Not only is it the title of my new silent short film, but it's what the Mavs need to give rookie draft pick Beaubois. I hate the pick. However, there's little I could actually do about it and right now, it's not like he's going anywhere. And he shouldn't. The Mavs need to have a little faith and put the guy out there. He's a physical freak: Tall, lean, long arms. Yet, quick and athletic.

The Contract Years
The name of my new comic book. Humphries, Nowitzki and Greg Buckner are playing with player options next season. Howard and Barea have team options after the year. Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden are playing for their next potential contract. They'll either overperform or become trade fodder. Either way, they're interesting names.

On The Road
The Mavs a very, very ordinary 18-23 on the road while making hay at the American Airlines Center (32-9). They simply need to play better away from Dallas. Definitely over .500 if not five to 10 games.

The Division Bell
Yipes. 7-9 within the division? They're lucky they finished in the sixth seed. The Mavs should be pretty competitive against Houston, New Orleans and Memphis and they're always tough against San Antonio.

Bob Ortegal's Punch-Out
Him and Skin are going to have it out.

February
When Dallas media pays attention to the Mavs.

And In The End
Rick Carlisle gets Coach of the Year talk; Nowitzki finishes in top five in MVP race; Mavs get into second round of the playoffs; Jason Kidd notches 10 triple-doubles; Mark Cuban makes a "major" mid-season trade to make another Finals run; Mavs finish second in the division.

Gettin' paid: DeMarcus Ware

A lil' pocket money for baby and momma

Note to self: If I'm ever employed by Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, wait for a nice win to ask for a raise.

That's kinda what DeMarcus Ware did.

Had the Cowboys lost to the Atlanta Falcons yesterday, would there be a press conference today about Ware getting a major pay increase?

Hardly.

Nonetheless, Ware is dirty, filthy rich. Ware has Albert Haynesworth money. He's got Jerry Jones money. He's got iPhone money.

All to the tune of $40 million (!!!!) guaranteed for a new contract that'll keep him in Dallas until 2015 (!!!!).

And, well, he's worth every penny. I guess. It's a lot of money. It's deserved because of his impact on the field and the amount of cash doled out to defensive players of his ilk.

But the Cowboys currently have a ton of money loaded down in a bunch of players, some of which not nearly as deserving of their paycheck than ol' Ware.

Anyway, the Cowboys have their care securely in place. Now, they need to do something.

'Oh. Goodness."

See, Terence Newman ain't all that useless.

Let the Cowboys ride, I guess

Anyone order a big paycheck?

I thought the Dallas Cowboys would get beat pretty bad today.

It didn't take long for me to realize that that wouldn't be the case. The Falcons were too off-center and the Cowboys were a bit too crisp even early to let the Falcons dig in their heels on defense.

If the Falcons were going to be undone, it would be the defense that was undone.

Forty-eight football minutes later and the defense did them in.

Got to give the Cowboys credit. They played well. Both sides of the ball. Special teams. Guys that needed a big game, did. Tony Romo. Pat Crayton. DeMarcus Ware. Keith Brooking. Mike Jenkins.

Then there's Miles Austin.

Grades:
Quarterback -- A
Sharpest game of the year. By far. Sharper than the Tampa Bay game where, if you remember, Romo was pretty so-so to start the game. He looked like he was on the same page with every receiver, hit guys in stride, showed off some vintage Romo on the Crayton touchdown catch. No big mistakes. If not for two or three Roy Williams drops, his day looks even better. What will the black populace of Dallas-Fort Worth have to complain about tomorrow?

Running Back -- C
Just several things that ain't gonna happen. Dirk Nowitzki isn't going to be a shut-down defender. Wade Phillips isn't going to be hard nosed. Josh Hamilton will always love the first pitch. We'll need to get used to this: Jason Garrett will always love the pass. If the game dictates, he'll run. However, this is a pass-first team and if that means those three running backs never get out of the stables, then so be it.

Wide Receiver -- A
Something to keep in mind: In a couple of months, when he's a free agent, is Jerry Jones going to pay Miles Austin big money. Like Jay Ratliff, Terence Newman, Ken Hamlin, Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Roy Williams, Pat Crayton and Leonard Davis?

Tight End -- A
Other than Austin, the only passing attack for the Cowboys went through Jason Witten and Marty B.

Offensive Line -- B
A couple of holding and false start penalties hurt. Still, protection was really good. I'd put one sack on Romo's shoulders.

Defensive Line -- B
I think the most underrated group on this team. Most games they're pretty good. Some games they're really good. All I know is that it took Michael Turner 18 carries to get 50 yards and be a non-factor for most of the game. Plus, they collected two sacks and countless disruptions.

Linebacker -- A
More on Keith Brooking this week. DeMarcus Ware is trying his best to make up for lost time.

Secondary -- B+
The secondary probably would've let Brian Finneran and Marty Booker beat them all day. However, if the defense was going to stop Atlanta, it was going to start with "Rowdy" Roddy White. His longest catch was 12 yards and he had just six. Seemed like those guys were flying every where and Tony Gonzalez looked old and slow.

Special Teams -- A
First off, let's rip out the Terence Newman punt return out of the playbook. OK. Got that out of the way. Terrific game. Punt return for a touchdown. Falcons started nine of their 11 possessions behind or around their own 20. Nice day for Nick Folk. A big reason the Cowboys won.

Coaching -- C+
Eh. Play calling wasn't mind blowing. It was a bit more about exection. No big flubs, which is almost better than brilliant tactical maneuvers. Penalties are worth considering.

Salisbury vs. Deadspin

Several weeks ago when he was either "let go" or "quit" 105.3 The Fan, former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury ranted to sports blog heavyweight Deadspin claiming he was going to sue the blog for publishing lies on the Interweb and that he was going to publish a tell-all book about the World Wide Leader.

No sight of the book. However, the lawsuit is apparently in play.

Salisbury's lawyers filed a defamation lawsuit against Deadspin's parent company, Gawker, for all the lies and the lying liars that lie about him being a total perve at the work place.

I wonder how this will work. Just from our point of view, Deadspin gave Salisbury plenty of time to comment on the allegations that he took photos of his penis and showed them to female co-workers at ESPN. Then he was caught up in sexting at The Fan with a female employee.

Furthermore, in the way things are reported in this day and age with blogs, something is published and if there's an update that is later published. This differs from a newspaper story. For a journalist 10 years ago, you collected all the data and wrote the story. If someone didn't respond, you noted that. Nowadays, you get a big of news and run with it knowing that it'll probably be updated in a minute or 30.

And, so, if those aren't true, the bigger question is why the hell Salisbury is being fired from all these places.

Stuck inside Dallas with the St. Louis Blues again

Party

Saturday night was a crazy good sports night. UT-Mizzou. Fla-Southern Miss. A&M-Tech.

Then Dallas Stars-St. Louis Blues. I stuck with the Stars because UT-Mizzou got ugly fast and I hadn't gotten to see a ton of Stars this season.

Sadly, I missed the first two goals. I watched and watched as both teams beat each other into a stalemate. I go to put my kid to bed and 10 minutes later the Stars are up for good. Bummer.

The good thing to come from this game is, of course, the two points on the road. Also, if you just came in and watched this game, you'd think the Stars were really good and the Blues were really bad. From night to night, you want that aura about you.

Also, the Stars continue to get pretty steady offense from their usual suspects. Two goals and three assists from Loui Eriksson, James Neal and Brad Richards.

Marty Turco was really good as well.

What is most distressing is that the Stars went 1-7 on the power play. The good news: The Blues went 0-5.

What in blue blazes is wrong with Nebraska and another 'WTF' week from the Aggies?

BY-Who?

If you need further proof that the Big XII was down and that the Texas A&M Aggies are just goofy ...

TCU 38, BYU 7
TCU went to Provo on a Saturday night and just beat the living daylights out of the 16th-ranked team in the nation. And no one saw it. But it still counts. TCU is so good. Every season they have two major hurdles toward perfection and BYU is always one. Utah awaits. Credit should also be given to quarterback Andy Dalton. He's provided the Frogs with consistent offense, a facet they haven't had every other season.

Texas A&M 52, Texas Tech 30
For the last decade, we told Aggie fans to forget UT and focus on beating Tech for once. It's been a trillion years since they've had a good win. And, well, this one counts. On the road, at night, in Lubbock against another prolific Tech offense.

And what do the Ags do? Oh, just beat them by 22. The same Aggie team that lost to the awful Kansas State by 48 last week rolls in and just pounds the shit out of Tech. By the way, everyone still loving the Ruffin McNeil defense? Try 321 rushing yards allowed.

Iowa State 9, Nebraska 7
When did the Cornhuskers quit? I surmise they were never really the same after that soul-crushing, one-point loss in Virginia Tech where they had it won until late. Next week they screw Louisiana-Lafayette into the ground, but the week after that they struggle against Missouri, and lose two straight at home to Texas Tech and Iowa State without really giving a fight. The Huskers had eight turnovers -- five of which were fumbles. It's biggets meltdown of the college season. By way, by Iowa State standards, the Cyclones are having a pretty nice season.

Oklahoma 35, Kansas 13
Kansas has simply sucked the last four weeks despite being 5-1 before this week. And they weren't going to beat OU (and their defense) playing like that. Todd Reesing may be showing his stripes a little. And I ain't betting on them next week against Tech.

Texas 41, Missouri 7
I think UT is simply a bad match-up at every leve for Mizzou. I also think UT is better than they've played this year. However, it's noteworthy that they've beat Tech, OU and Mizzou already this year. Those are three pretty sweet wins.

Oklahoma State 34, Baylor 7
OSU is still just too talented for most of the country even without their two best players.

Kansas State 20, Colorado 6
How does a team like K-State who lost to Louisiana-Lafayette (the same team Nebraska beat 55-0) end up starting 3-1 in conference and cruising to their fifth win? Granted, their competition is light, but it's competition nonetheless. 7

SFA 42, Sam Houston State 3
The 15-ranked Lumberjacks took to SHS for homecoming. SFA's a really good football team and now 3-0 in conference.

Houston 38, SMU 15
You know those games where a team you kinda root for plays a seemingly better team and you keep some semblance of optimism?But then once the game ends and the better team comes out on top, your inner voice affirms what you kinda thought would happen all along? That's this game. We wanted SMU to win, but they weren't.

Troy 56, UNT 20
UNT almost allowed 700 yards. Tragic.

The falconers

This week has been interesting in hearing media, fans and the Dallas Cowboys talk about the game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Players claim that it's a big game just like all games. The problem with this line of thinking is that how do you explain the losses against Denver and New York. If those were equally important games, how come you gave sub-par efforts?

Some media members are stating that a win against Atlanta puts Dallas right in the playoff race and even prompted one media member to claim that a win would put the Cowboys at 10-6 at the end of the season. Frankly, that was the most ridiculous statement of the year so far. Even if they do win, there are zero guarantees that a 4-2 record translates to 10-6.

Furthermore, the hollow argument that the Cowboys two losses came against good teams (Denver, New York) is silly, too. What type of team loses against better teams and beats worse teams? An 8-8 team. And 8-8 is death.

To the Falcons! Five things:

Pick Your Poison
I've got a gut feeling that the Falcons could just carve up the Cowboys defense. You stop Roddy White? OK, try also stopping Tony Gonzalez. Put eight in the box to stop Michael Turner? Good luck going one on one against White and Gonzalez. If the Cowboys do not get into the 30s, they'll lose.

John Abraham Had Many Sons, And Many Sons Had John Abraham
Abraham has three sacks this season and Flozell Adams, the Cowboys left tackle, has had a notoriously awful time blocker faster, smaller defensive ends. His lack of quickness is exacerbated when he cheats and is called for false starts and holds. Another bad feeling that Tony Romo will be running for his life.

Cowboys Ain't The Only Team Contending
The general idea is that this is only a big game for the Cowboys in overall record and for tie breakers because it's a conference game. However, this is an equally big game for the Falcons. They need it to keep pace in the division and the tie breakers. They're not going to lay down for the Cowboys.

Big Gamedness
When's the last time the Cowboys won a big game? Exactly.

Austin Shitty Limits
The Falcons are good, but not great. Particularly defensively. The idea that the Cowboys will need at least 30 points to win is not impossible. The Falcons can be scored on. Furthermore, their starter cornerback is out for the year. Miles Austin doesn't need 250 yards. But the Cowboys will deal with 100 and a score.

Prediction
Atlanta Falcons 38, Dallas Cowboys 23
I would say this would dishearten Cowboys fans, but event at 3-3 they'll find the silver lining.

Go get: John Lackey

UTA's own

A series chronicling the free agents the Texas Rangers should target this off-season, ownership be damned!

I really like John Lackey. I don't know why. I hate that about sports. How you like or hate a team or player based on some unknown entity. Kinda like how you might judge someone without every knowing them.

Some people just look a certain way.

Lackey has something that a lot of pitchers don't have. His stuff may not be any better and he may not be any smarter, but he has it and others don't. Although he has better stuff, Lackey has it and Kevin Millwood doesn't. The same way Tony Romo from Eastern Illinois has it, but Quincy Carter from Georgia didn't.

If Lackey were signed in a month by the Rangers in walks into the clubhouse as the No. 1 starter, giving them 180+ innings, 180+ strikeouts, a sub-4.00 ERA and between 15-18 wins.

And if 2009 is any indication as to the Rangers' trajectory, he probably gives them enough to make the playoffs.

In 2010 and beyond.

Lackey is not perfect. He struggled a bit in 30 innings at the Ballpark this season although he averaged more than a strikeout per inning. He's also 31 although he has only seven years in the league and that might extend his career a bit more so than when C.C. Sabathia hits 31.

He's also from Abilene and went to The University of Texas at Arlington, minutes from the Ballpark.

Adding Lackey would also increase the Rangers' "dumb-face" quotient tenfold to join Kevin Millwood and Derek Holland.

As always, the team that once threw $215 million at Alex Rodriguez is cash strapped and from all indications unless the team is sold in the next month or so, the Rangers will not be in on Lackey or any other high-level free agent.

It sucks ass. Still, it'd be killer to have the guy. I guarantee more seats would be filled with Lackey than without him.

Just think about the three or four starts he'd get against the rival California Angels. Yum.

Our Landry Jones year

Yes, please

The fun has been taken out of the Big XII.

The Cornhuskers are farting around. Sam Bradford's got dollar bills in his eye. Dez Bryant was caught sleeping over Deion Sanders' house. Robert Griffin's leg fell off. And the Aggies ... well, they're the Aggies.

Let's not lose heart. Landry Jones' mustache might make a come back. It's at least worth watching the games.

Oklahoma (3-3, 1-1) vs. Kansas (5-1, 0-1)
Landry Jones on the road? Yikes. I think OU screws everything up and beats Kansas. The Jayhawks have just been walking the tight rope for four weeks and facing a good defense isn't going to help. They can't beat the bad defenses.

Texas A&M (3-3, 0-2) vs. Texas Tech (5-2, 2-1)
Let's do the math: Texas Tech beat Kansas State by 52. A&M lost to Kansas State by 48. Just a wild guess, Tech wins by 50 and Aggie fans continue to eye UT.

Texas (6-0, 3-0) vs. Missouri (4-2, 0-2)
Texas controls its own destiny. Wins out and its in the big game. It's as simple as that and going to Columbia ain't the easiest way to do it. We'll know soon how focused this team really is.

Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-0) vs. Baylor (3-3, 0-2)
OSU by three touchdowns. Why is the NCAA such dicks? Just reinstate Dez Bryant.

TCU (6-0, 2-0) vs. BYU (6-1, 3-0)
The OU upset notwithstanding, BYU has beaten no one, their one loss coming against Florida State. For the last three seasons, a good TCU team has needed to outdo BYU and Utah. This is their first big conference test. A win here goes a long, long way.

Colorado (2-4, 1-1) vs. Kansas State (4-3, 2-1)
I would not have bet much that by week six that the Buffs and Wildcats would be leading the Big XII North. Is K-State gonna fall into their fifth win?

Iowa State (4-3, 1-2) vs. Nebraska (4-2, 1-1)
Normally I'd take Nebraska at home, but who knows any more. Iowa State has shown it can play a little. Huskers can't sleep this week and expect to win.

SMU (3-3, 2-0) vs. Houston (5-1, 1-1)
SMU seems a little too preoccupied in picking a new mascot rather than playing football. They've lost three of four no matter if those three are Washington State, TCU and Navy. Houston may prove to be an impossible test.

North Texas (1-5, 0-3) vs. Troy (4-2, 3-0)
UNT can't turn the ball over. Pretty simple game plan. Remember six weeks ago when we were all buying into Dodgeball. Five straight losses later and we're wondering when the guy's getting fired.

SFA (5-1, 3-0) v s. Sam Houston State (3-3, 1-1)
Given their testicular fortitude over the past two weeks against their biggest challenges, you'd think SFA is beyond playing down to the Bearkats, but you never know.

Dare we say ... gutty?

Benn there done that

Is it possible for a professional sports team to show their true identity 10 games into their season?

Did we see something out of the Dallas Stars that will translate into productive output over the next 72 games last night?

The Stars spun their wheels for two whole periods last night getting down 2-0 and then 4-1, Anze Kopitar was wheeling and dealing and it looked like "one of those games" on the road in stinkin' October.

Then it clicked. They were outshot in the third period 10-7, but three of those seven shots connected and the Stars sent the game into overtime.

Unfortunately, Michael Handzus ended the game a minute in. But still. There's something to be said for the resolve and grit the Stars have shown over their first 10 games. You've got one stinker, four or five really quality games and a handful of "eh" games. But it works over 82 games.

And it's worth noting that the Stars have four or five big guns that they have been able to depend on for a whole 10 games. Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson and James Neal accounted for six total points last night. This is a component the Stars really haven't had in a long while.

This season, those three along have accounted for 28 total games played, 31 points and a +13.

Throw in Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro and that's a salty core that you can imagine doing something from night to night. It's also worth note that 2007 fifth rounder Jamie Benn has eight points in 10 games. His name is called every night.

Friends, there's reason to be excited about Stars hockey.

First-place Dallas Stars

Francis Wathier pulls no punches

That's right. Three weeks into the season and the Dallas Stars are tied for first in the Pacific Division after a 4-2 win over the hated Anaheim Ducks last night.

That's 11 points in nine games. That also puts them at 3-0-2 on the road. Yowza. Only if they could put together the same effort at home.

Nonetheless, in the past, there are definite trends in the Pacific Division. Typically, teams tend to hold some odd voodoo over each other and no matter how good or bad one team is, they typically always beat that other team. The Stars, for example, couldn't beat the Los Angeles Kings two yeasr ago if their life depended on it and the Kings sucked.

If the Stars can hold court against the Ducks, Kings, Sharks and Coyotes, it'll go a long way toward succeeding this season.

Notes:
1. James Neal has almost halfed his assist total from last season (77 games) in nine games so far.

2. The Stars have sat Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott so far this season. Ott came back for a goal and assist. His being able to play 75 games is so incredibly vital.

3. Stephane Robidas is a +9. Nik Grossman, +11.

4. Good way to win: Anaheim went 0-1 on power play. They can't score if they don't get the chance.

The Western Conference

Griffin-dor

It's not longer if the Western Conference is better than the Eastern Conference.

It's that the Western Conference is just more interesting and competitive. The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic could very well be the three best teams in the NBA (they're not, but it's arguable). However, the Western Conference is from head to toe better and more interesting. Look at the Minnesota. Who doesn't want to see Kevin Love? Johnny Flynn? The Warriors -- maybe the worst team in the league -- are a time bomb waiting to blow. But they have Stephan Curry.

In conclusion: The Eastern Conference can't win.

Los Angeles Lakers -- 64-18
Only a number of things stand in the Lakers way: Injuries; the odometer on Kobe Bryant; Ron Artest's ability to destroy locker rooms; Artest's ability to defend on the perimeter and how much of that burden will fall back on Bryant. Otherwise, there's little to believe they won't duplicate their success.

San Antonio Spurs -- 55-27
After the Spurs lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the playoffs last season, there was a common sentiment that their age had caught with them. Forget that they did win 54 games and tied for second in the conference even with their "aging" line-up and Manu Ginobili's annual injury. They've added Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Keith Bogans and Dejuan Blair. They probably have one or two more years of prime Tim Duncan plus those pieces should put them in position to win some more.

Portland Trailblazers -- 54-28
I don't get the Andre Miller acquisition. Nonetheless, they've got Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez in their second years plus the reliable LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy. Greg Oden simply has to play. It's worth noting they added several somewhat touted rookies like Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham, Victor Claver and Patrick Mills.

Denver Nuggets -- 52-30
Ty Lawson has a pretty good guy to learn under in Chauncey Billups. What is frightening about the Nuggets is the same issue one might have with the Lakers, Mavericks, Suns and Spurs. It's a team with an aging core. Can those guys hang on for 82 games. I suspect they can, but their window is closing, not opening.

New Orleans Hornets -- 52-30
I can not explain the Hornets underachieving last season. I can only imagine the fiscal uncertainty played a part in addition to injuries and a bench that never followed through with the hype. I think Emeka Okafor -- if fully healthy -- will suddenly look a lot better on a decent team as his offense will develop with Chris Paul, which will complement his existing rebounding and defense.

Dallas Mavericks -- 50-32
Dirk's rested. A little deeper. Some swagger with guys like Tim Thomas, Shawn Marion and Quinton Ross. Plus, I think they're about to run balls out for 82 games.

Utah Jazz -- 48-34
Bleh. I get sucked into the Jazz every year. I think Andrei Kirilenko's had it and I think Mehmet Okur is overrated. Carlos Boozer just wants to get paid and they ended up paying Paul Millsap to essentially play the same position.

Houston Rockets -- 47-35
They play better -- with confidence, swagger -- without Yao Ming. Now they've got a full 82 games to do it instead of just half.

Oklahoma Thunder -- 43-39
That's right. Upset pick of the year. I believe in Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. There's another half dozen young guys that could do something including James Harden.

Phoenix Suns -- 41-41
Did you realize that Jason Richardson makes $12 million a year?

Los Angeles Clippers -- 35-47
Could a team with Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton and Blake Griffin be that bad? I say not.

Memphis Grizzlies -- 34-48
Hasheem Thabeet and Sam Young. Worth it? It's new blood on an already extremely young team. Allen Iverson? Bad news.

Minnesota Timberwolves -- 25-57
Al Jefferson and Kevin Love are already hurt. They're paying Ryan Hollins $1 million and they just traded a second-round pick to the Mavs for Nathan Jawai, who was going to be cut anyway. Are we sure Kevin McHale left?

Sacramento Kings -- 20-62
They'll suck. How long until Tyreke Evans shoots someone in the face?

Golden State Warriors -- 18-64
Doesn't Don Nelson hate bringing along youngsters? He's not a guy with patience and that probably hurts some devlepment. Then consider that three guys (Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Acie Law) seem to be the same animal. I don't see them defending anyone.

Eastern Conference

Grilli out

According to his Twitter page, reliever Jason Grilli was released by the Texas Rangers.

I normally wouldn't care so much only because when the Rangers release pitchers, it should be worth a note. However, Grilli was pretty effective out of the bullpen for the Rangers until he was hurt and his numbers went wonky.

However, I think the Rangers are planning on getting increasingly younger and shelving Grilli in lieu of someone out of the minor leagues (Pedro Strop, Warner Madrigal, Guillermo Moscoso, Zach Phillips) to take that spot.

It's worth noting.

Somehow, Pat Crayton feels he has a right to be a loudmouth

Pissed

Dallas Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton is spouting off the media again. Despite his abrasive ways, he has a point.

Crayton is pissed that he's been benched in lieu of Miles Austin starting this Sunday and he's asking for some coach to let him know what's up.

Basically, Patrick, you suck. For a "hands" guy you drop entirely too many punts and passes. You're slow. You talk a ton of shit despite being pretty ordinary. You have zero moves or the ability to break a freaking tackle. You're benched. You're overly compensated. Deal.

However, this brings up a larger complaint. The fact that no one has apparantly discussed the demotion with Crayton is an issue. It's just ordinary workplace housekeeping that you expect a boss or a boss underling to handle. Unfortunately, the boss (Jerry Jones) just does what he wants, underlings (Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett) can't be bothered with "communicating." It's overrated to begin with.

Thus we have the problem of Jones being in charge, Phillips having zero power and zero input into the offense and Jason Garrett kinda just laying low waiting for Phillips to get the axe.

Sounds like an awesome organization to work for.

A Falcon revival

Michael Turner brings back the Diiiiiirrrrrrttttttyyyyy South

Two measly years ago, the Atlanta Falcons were a disaster.

Their starting quarterback and cornerstone player Michael Vick was busy getting suspended and going to court for killing a bunch of dogs. They didn't have a marquee running back. No matter if you think Vick was the greatest quarterback or not, his receivers were something to be desired.

In all, they sucked. They finished last in the NFC South at 4-12 going 1-7 on the road and 1-5 in the division. They allowed 414 points.

Remember, this is the same year the Dallas Cowboys went 13-3 and were primed, according to fans, to just rule the next five years.

Things change. However, the Falcons' accession to the upper echelon of NFL teams is far more impressive and wrought with valuable lessons than how the Cowboys have bungled the last two and a half years.

Let's observe the Falcon in its natural habitat:

Michael Vick Getting Busted
The biggest moment for the Atlanta Falcons. Let's face it, Vick wasn't getting better and there isn't a coach that can really use him. He can't throw. And he isn't winning a Super Bowl. What seemed as a massive blow for the Falcons, it actually allowed them to start over and hit the bottom before building back up. With Vick getting busted by the Feds, the Falcons aren't contenders this season. In order to move forward, you've got to go back.

Hitting The Top Of The Draft
Twelve of the Falcons' 22 starters were drafted within the last decade. Eight of those starters were taken in the 2007 and 2008 NFL Drafts. One train of thought in the draft is to find the late-round diamonds. However, it's often forgotten that you need to hit on your first and second rounds. Right now, the Falcons start nine first- or second-round draft picks. That's remarkable.

Consider this: Half the Falcons' offensive line (Justin Blalock, Sam Baker), the quarterback (Matt Ryan), starting receivers (Michael Jenkins, Roddy White) and half the defensive line (Jamaal Anderson, Jonathan Babineaux) were first or second rounders. Outstanding.

Dregging The Lake
OK, the Falcons can apparently draft very well; talent that can come in and perform. But you also need to hit on guys that no one believes in. Starting guard Harvey Dahl and right tackle Tyson Clabo were undrafted. Starting defensive tackle Thomas Johnson was also undrafted. Kick returner Eric Weems and punter Michael Koenen were also undrafted.

Smart Shopping
There isn't or hasn't been a really good NFL team that didn't at least dip their toes into the free agent pool. However, tossing iPhone money around for ill-fitting pieces is not the answer.

The Falcons jumped on Michael Turner after showing he can start with the Chargers signing him for six years, $34 million. They gave kicker Jason Elam four years and $9 million. This off-season they got linebacker Mike Peterson for two years and $6.5 million. Not exactly breaking the bank.

Frugal Trading
The Falcons were good last season. They're great this season after pulling the wool over the Chiefs' eyes by sending a second rounder for tight end Tony Gonzalez. They also acquired John Abraham for a second-round pick. Back to the draft, in 2004 they took quarterback Matt Schaub in the third round. After teasing the league with spot starts for Vick, Schaub was shipped to Houston for two second-round picks in 2007 and 2008 (see: Hitting The Top Of The Draft).

In Conclusion
It's pretty remarkable franchise management. Essentially they spent their allowance on a star running back being able to save money by drafting typically expensive offensive linemen and quarterbacks. The Falcons do it right. Eat your heart out, Cowboys fans.

Review: Sugar

There's an entire side of professional baseball that gets pretty much swept under the rug.

Every summer, baseball insiders blog and comment about the dozens of signings by MLB teams of amateurs in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Korea, Puerto Rico, Japan and probably another dozen or so countries that churn out ball players.

They're not subject to the amateur draft that includes just high school and college kids. Interestingly, Ruben Sierra Jr., a 2009 Rangers draftee, was taken out of a Puerto Rican high school.

Football doesn't have this issue as a vast, vast majority of NFL players are American and went to college. Most NBA players went to at least one year of college, but even the foreign players are taken in the draft.

In baseball, you scout these countries, you host clinics, leagues, baseball facilities and pay 15 or 16 year olds sometimes millions of dollars to gain control of their destiny.

It means a potential superstar like Albert Pujols or Ivan Rodriguez for the team.

It means the American dream to the player.

Elvis Andrus made his MLB debut at shortstop for and the Rangers this year at 19.

Andrus, however, is the exception to the rule. Most kids with a couple years of college from middle-of-nowhere Iowa can't handle the pressure of the minor leagues and competing their way to the bigs. The idea of a teenager like Andrus -- or the dozen others in the Rangers and every other teams' systems -- handling that burden seems like its too much.

"Sugar" captures this anxiety and hurdle. It takes little time for directors and writers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (the duo responsible for the fantastic Half Nelson) to endear their audience with fictional Dominican fireballer Miguel "Sugar" Santos.

At 19, he was already under contract by the Kansas City Knights and playing ball in the Dominican like a bunch of school boys looking to waste their day doing something better than working. Santos is already the village and family hero. His younger teammates look up to him. His family -- without saying it -- depend on his making it to the United States and providing a better life for them. This attitude is held by the entire town and neighborhood. He's just not pitching for a contract; he's pitching for a nation.

Finally, Santos is invited to Knights' Spring Training where he performs admirably but like any 19 year old in that situation, he's sent to the Single A affiliate. Thus the writers provide a venue to show just how hard the transition is for these young kids that don't speak English and are not only petrified of failure, but of also not fitting in.

Case in point: All the newbies only order pancakes for breakfast at the restaurant because they can't read the menu.

Santos lives with an elderly couple in Nowheresville, Iowa where he not only tries to learn the American game of baseball without taking all the fun out of it, but he tries to break this bubble of isolation that he finds that the competition and his culture is trapping him in.

Our ancillary characters are a fellow Dominican, who is a veteran minor leaguer coming off an injury that helps Santos adjust. Also included is an American-born college infielder, who is bound to have a much higher and faster trajectory to the Majors than Santos.

Eventually, the veteran is cut, Santos is injured and another young Dominican is brought up to take his place. Of course, he thrives and Santos struggles to come back and is sent to the bullpen where he never regains his confidence. All the while, the American college boy is promoted.

A game he once played with a boy-like enthusiasm is no longer conducted on a stretch of dirt and it is not longer administered under Santos' direction as much as it's played under the organization's instruction.

Alone and desperate, Santos seeks solace in just running away from the game that ultimately let him down when it went from being fun to being a business and true competition.

For every one Andrus, Pujols, Juan Gonzalez and Robert Clemente, there's probably 25 kids that never make it off the island or past Low-A. There's a disconnect that exists and it's hard to bridge because depending on where you play the game, it's a matter of culture of how people feel about it.

Great movie. Perfect for any baseball fan.

The Eastern Conference

Your 2009-10 New York Knicks

The Eastern Conference, despite maybe being the better of the two conferences, underwhelmed during the off-season. They got older. And that's boring.

There are a handful of nice rookies on bad teams, but good rookies rot on bad teams.

I think the key to the conference possibly getting better are prennially injured guys suddenly not getting better. Shouldn't Elton Brand, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter and Gilbert Arenas turn their respective teams into potential playoff contenders to has-beens if they don't work out?

Cleveland Cavaliers -- 65-17
Personnel-wise, they didn't get any worse. Lebron James isn't going to let his team fall off the map any time soon. The guy is already overdue. Add in some depth in the frontcourt (Shaquille O'Neal, Leon Powe) and they should be pretty tough. That added depth also allows them to shop Z. Ilgauskas' expiring contract. A good team could get better.

Orlando Magic -- 61-21
OK, on two conditions: If Jameer Nelson can play 80 games and if Vince Carter has his head on screwed right. The Man Child should help make that happen.

Boston Celtics -- 59-23
Just got older. Which is all they really can do because they are cash strapped. Somehow found a way to get even older with Rasheed Wallace and added one of my favorite non-Mavericks, Marquis Daniels. Could do worse once Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce gets hurt, but benefits from a final-grasp-at-a-big-contract Ray Allen.

Atlanta Hawks -- 54-28
I like the Hawks. Marvin Williams and Al Horford -- when healthy -- are formidable big men. Josh Smith is a freak. Streaky, but a freak. I love the addition of Jeff Teague at point guard out of the draft. Their backcourt is already pretty full anyway, but old and grizzled. And I believe this is a contract year for one Joe Johnson.

Philadelphia 76ers -- 53-29
Another maddening Eastern Conference team. All the talent you need, but it's either injured or ineffective. This is Louis Williams' team with the addition of Jrue Holliday and the departure of dead weight Andre Miller. My prediction is further based on Elton Brand being healthy and playing, say, 70 games. It should be noted that I'm not betting any money and assuming Brand won't have his leg eaten off by an alligator is a foolish wager.

Chicago Bulls -- 49-33
I get burned by one team in every major sport every year. In baseball, it's Cleveland. This year in the NFL, it was the Tennessee Titans. I just don't understand how teams with great talent can't win. I don't think Chicago is any better even though Derrick Rose will be, I just think the rest of their division (Chicago was second in the division at 41-41 last season) will be as bad if not worse.

Miami Heat -- 47-31
Won 43 games playing Dwayne Wade and the Wadettes -- a slew of no-names that could all be working at a Home Depot near you. It's wise to remember that it's almost 2010 and someone (cough - Wade - cough) is gonna want to gte paid.

Toronto Raptors ---42-39
I have Detroit out of the playoffs from last year so someone from the dregs of the conference had to make a jump. Toronto is extremely big (three seven footers, two 6-10 guys). Chris Bosh is looking for a payday. Hedo Turkoglu should solidify the backcourt.

Washington Wizards -- 39-43
A healthy Gilbert Arenas in addition to Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, new addition Randy Foye and others do not allow this team to win just 16 games this season.

Indiana Pacers -- 39-43
I have no real explanation. They won 36 with a D-League roster last season. Have to expect them to at least match that total and then some. Worth noting that Tyler Hansbrough begins his quest to out white Pacers great Rik Smits.

New Jersey Nets -- 34-48
Got a little something with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez (Jaws from the Bond movies). Who knows what Chris Douglas-Roberts has in the tank. Otherwise, it's a bunch of dudes and screw ups. That Russian guy can't bail them out soon enough.

Detroit Pistons -- 32-50
Disliking the Ben Gordon, Chris Wilcox and Charlie Villanueva signings (unless Detroit has a high frequency of the weird hairless disease Villanueva has). A team that's rebuilding but doesn't quite know it yet.

Charlotte Bobcats -- 29-53
The Washington Redskins of the NBA. A total mess of an organization. Gerald Henderson looks interesting.

Milwaukee Bucks -- 25-57
Brandon Jennings should be interesting. Maybe Jack Sikma is available.

New York Knicks -- 18-64
Borderline comical. I would've bet Cat Mobley's $8 million contract that he was out of the league. Doesn't he have heart issues?

"Playoffs?!?"

"Rowdy" Roddy White will show you playoffs

With the week off, sports media members had an entire week to blatantly ignore the Mavericks and Stars and to hold all of those Atlanta Falcon-Dallas Cowboy opinions.

Guess what?! It's the biggest game of the year for the Cowboys.

Win it and they're in the conversation. Loose it and we know exactly how big a pile of crap we've got going.

The point I find most interesting is that people -- a week and a half after almost getting beat in Kansas City -- are finding some unsubstantiated optimism in the Cowboys.

Please, what football team are you watching? Do you think teams luck into the playoffs? This ain't the NBA.

Looking at the standings, it ain't looking good for the hometown Cowboys. Consider that the Vikings, Giants, Saints and Cardinals/49ers are locks for the division, that leaves the following squads (in order) for two wild card spots:

1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Chicago Bears

I realize that hte Cowboys are there, but are they really? Do you consider the Cowboys as good if not better than the Bears. Or even the Eagles, Packers and Falcons? That's insane! I think we all know what those teams do to Kansas City.

This morning we heard the ever-optimistic George Dunham spout off that the Cowboys are in the playoff mix. Ol' reliable Jean-Jacques Taylor had this to say:

"A win over Atlanta means we can finally start to legitimately debate where the Cowboys fit into the NFC as opposed to which receiver they should select in the first round of next April's draft."

He then compares the Cowboys debacle in Kansas City to what the Eagles had against Oakland this weekend. It's apples and prostitutes. If you're trying to tell me the Eagles aren't exponentially better than the Cowboys, then I refuse to believe you've seen the same games as I have.

Let's say the sky falls and the Cowboys beat the Falcons, there is a significant chance they lose three straight. Or if they lose, they could sneak around and beat the Packers or Eagles.

The Cowboys are, at best, an 8-8 team. Guess what 8-8 teams do!? They win games they shouldn't and lose others that they should win.

It makes me sick that the Cowboys can roll out an effort like they did a week or so ago just to have the media simply forget about it and start thinking that they and the Falcons are even in the same league.

I hope the Falcons whip their ass.

A case -- or not -- for Rudy

Whose responsible for Marlon's great contract year: Marlon or Rudy?

Rudy Jaramillo walked away from a one-year contract offer from the Texas Rangers last week.

It took about 24 hours for a member of the media to start with the "I'm not excusing Rudy here" only to go into a spiel about how great the Rangers offense has been over time and how the replacement will probably not be as good.

Then they talk about all the great hitters the Rangers have had including Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Mike Young and Milton Bradley.

In a roundabout way, these types tend to prove the point that a coach looks a lot better with great talent.

Rangers guru Jamey Newberg recently commented coming to the same conclusion that many of us, I think, come to in regards to Jaramillo and hitting/pitching coaches in general.

What makes a great hitter -- the player or the coach? And when those players succeed/fail, who should get the credit/blame?

It's a slippery slope. However, over the last 15 years or so, Jaramillo's taken all the credit and very little of the blame for a team that's not really pitched or hit when it mattered.

Answer me this: Is Mike Maddux that great without Ben Sheets, C.C. Sabathia and that pitching staff in Milwaukee a year ago?

I thought we'd take a minute to look over the team batting averages, on-base percentages and runs over the last 10 seasons for the Rangers.

For the record, the Rangers did not make the playoffs in any of the last 10 seasons and went a collective 776-844 record over that time. Of course, playoff appearances and record matters the most, not MLB batting rankings.

Season	AVG	MLB Rank
2000	.283	5
2001	.275	4
2002	.269	7
2003	.266	14
2004	.266	19
2005	.267	12
2006	.278	6
2007	.263	20
2008	.283	1
2009	.260	16

I think the year that sticks out the most is 2008 when the Rangers got career years out of Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley and others. Despite all the top seven numbers, it's also hard to ignore those yeares they didn't even finish in the top 10, which was half the decade. Good numbers, but not sterling. Considering Jaramillo coached four MVPs and only one batting champ speaks volumes.

Season	Runs	MLB Rank
2000	848	13
2001	890	4
2002	843	5
2003	826	8
2004	860	4
2005	865	3
2006	836	6
2007	816	7
2008	907	1
2009	784	10

Needless to say, the Rangers have hit a lot of home runs in the last decade. However, it's not like there are a ton of home run kings. It's a team effort, 10 or so guys hitting 20 or more and a handful in the 40s and 50s. Despite being in the top 10 in scoring nine out of the last 10 years, they haven't sniffed the playoffs. Some may be bad pitching. Maybe it's the eagerness to beat a team 12-1 but lose the next two by scoring just five.

Season	OBP	MLB Rank
2000	.352	10
2001	.344	6
2002	.338	9
2003	.330	17
2004	.329	20
2005	.354	2
2006	.338	13
2007	.328	22
2008	.354	2
2009	.320	24

If you had to pinpoint one measly stat to define the Rangers of the 2000s, it's on-base percentage. No, you don't need a "Moneyball" approach to win baseball games, but you also can't "wait for the homer" every night. I don't think anyone is asking for the Rangers to forego the home run. It's half of the appeal of their ballpark. Home runs are still important. However, the Rangers have yet to address the glaring issue of on-base percentage. A three-run homer is three times as effective as a solo home run. How many runs have been left off the scoreboard thanks to a hitter swinging at a first pitch, flying out trying to smash a ball to Fort Worth or lining into a double play instead of choking up and moving the runner over? Too much.

However, let's not forget that Jaramillo turned the Rangers down despite being offered a raise. As much distinterest as the Rangers and its fans might have had, Jaramillo had even less interest in returning.