A case for Josh Rupe

Godspeed

Last week, the Kansas City Royals gave pitcher Josh Rupe a minor-league deal, thus ending his tenure with the Texas Rangers.

It got minor mentions among the various Rangers blogs. Evan Grant gave it a minor blurb in The Dallas Morning News.

In the grand scheme of things, Rupe probably means very little to my baseball heart. However, those of us that enjoyed the sophomoric, high jinksy atmosphere of the Rangers bullpen the last three years that included C.J. Wilson, Kam Loe, Wes Littleton and Rupe, were fun. Just a bunch of pranksters that seemed to love to play baseball more than anything else. It was refreshing.

Howver, this is little denying that Rupe was a disappointment. Now, at 27, Rupe will have the opportunity to get his health back and try to make the Royals bullpen or rotation.

Rupe was taken in the 1999 draft by the Chicago White Sox and traded to the Rangers as part of the Carl Everett trade of 2003.

Rupe worked himself up the Rangers farm system. Unfortunately, his body didn't hold up. He missed a vast, vast majority of the 2006 and 2007 injuries.

And this is where Rupe lost it and the Rangers probably helped him along the way.

In 2006-07, Rupe pitched a total of 88 innings, only 29 of which in the Majors.

In 2008, he pitched 89 innings -- all in the Majors -- going into 46 games.

Don't get me wrong: I love the idea of pushing pitchers and making them work through innings and learning how to get outs when maybe you ain't got the arm.

However, 89 innings in the Majors coming off injuries that took him out for most of two seasons seems over the top and ridiculous. The thing is, Rupe pitched pretty well in 2008 until he slipped late once the entire team started to slip ... and the workload being placed on Rupe probably took its toll.

Good luck to Rupe. I have a feeling the Rangers probably hurt him more than they helped him. He's probably not one to complain, but I can't help but think he was a decent talent unrealized.

Making heads and even tails of the NFC East

Bitter foes

I never, ever thought we'd be sitting amidst the wake of the week 12 viewing the NFC East as we do today.

To me, it's inexplicable that teams are playing the way they're playing and, mostly, losing the games they're losing.

I mean, we'd like to the think the Dallas Cowboys are clearly the best team in the division, but consider their losses and their ineptnitude in nearly losing to the Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs and it's clear that they could very well finish 9-7 (more on that later).

Dallas Cowboys -- 8-3
December looms. However, they couldn't be in a sweeter spot to weather what may come and the Giants and Eagles have helped tremendously in crapping their pants recently.

Philadelphia Eagles -- 7-4
On Nov. 16, they were on the ropes. Two straight losses to the Cowboys Chargers and staring right at 5-4 and possibly falling out of the division race altogether. Like many things, things change quickly. In a 16-game schedule (this is why the NFL is genius ... by fortune), two straight wins puts you back in any and all races. It's a grueling season that takes its toll on the best teams. Eagles got two limping teams (Falcons, Giants) coming up. Like the Cowboys, the Eagles have sucked and still won.

New York Giants -- 6-5
Do not sleep on the Giants! I promise. They're a game out of the wild card and two games out of the division with a game against both Philly and Dallas. Plus, they have the head-to-head advantage over Atlanta. They've got three division games against three very shakey opponents, two of which at home. Three of remaining five at home. And a final week game at Minnesota against a Vikings team that will bench everyone. Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre might not make it to the stadium.

Washington Redskins -- 3-8
Not that bad. I know that Jim Zorn is all but gone and it's a team that just can't get healthy or get a bit of luck. But they've lost five games by six points or less including the last two by four total points. They're a little luck away from being 6-5, coach be damned. It's a good defense and they're a healthy Clinton Portis, a new quarterback and two receivers away from being really good. Maybe that's asking too much. However, this is a dangerous team.

A pup among the big dogs

No way Dirk could've done any worse on Williams today

The upstart Dallas Mavericks went toe to toe with one of the NBA's apparent big dogs -- the Cleveland Cavaliers -- and came up about three feet short.

Behind Mo Williams' seven three pointers, the Cavs won 111-95 putting both teams at 12-5.

Hotshot Lebron James labored a little to get his 25, but he was in the passing mood totaling 12 assists.

After about Williams' four three pointers, if I were coach, I would've maybe tried the younger, quicker, longer Roddy Beaubois instead of the ancient Jason Kidd, the shoot-first Jason Terry or the completely inept J.J. Barea.

But I'm not the coach. I watch from the sidelines and TV sets and make judgements. I'm sure there's a damn-good reason why Beaubois only got nine minutes in a 16-point blowout.

Furthermore, the lack of depth on this team is showing. I know that they're missing Josh Howard and Erick Dampier, but the walking wounded look beaten. They garnered a mere 24 rebounds. Outside of Dirk Nowitzki and Terry, there's little there offensively. If Kidd's shot ain't going, he's worthless. Drew Gooden was ineffective. Shawn Marion simply isn't the player we maybe we thought (semi-electric) we were getting.

Mustangs go bowling

Me and Landry Jones

Well, it was a fun college football season. Actually, it kinda sucked. The Big XII sucked and big teams like Oklahoma and USC found themselves on hard times. And there weren't any teams of real interest (apologies to Cincinnati, Boise State) to come up and make noise.

Anyway, we've got the championship games next week and then the 200 bowls start sometime in mid-December.

Otherwise, our eyes are on this week:

SMU 26, Tulane 21
Friends, since 1984, before many college fans were born, the SMU Mustangs will be in a bowl game. I think it's a moment for local pride. This is a program that was dragged through the wringer and completely emasculated in front of the nation only 20 years later to make it all the way back. Credit must be given for SMU boosters for collecting the cash to get June Jones and for June Jones for plugging Kyle Padron in. He's the biggest difference.

TCU 51, New Mexico 10
TCU allowed just 10 New Mexico rushing yards. Simply an unforgettable season for the Frogs.

Oklahoma 27, Oklahoma State 0
Wow. What an ass whipping! The numbers are mind blowing: four OSU first downs; 0-14 on third-down conversions; 14 OSU punts; 109 total OSU yards. Where has this OU team been all season?

Missouri 41, Kansas 39
The Jayhawks went out with all guns blazing. Dez Briscoe with a career day. Todd Reesing with 500 yards passing. However, their season mercifully ended with tons of promise unfulfilled. The AD there must look long and hard at the leadership there and make a move. Mizzou at eight wins after losing a ton of talent to the NFL must be feeling pretty good.

Texas Tech 20, Baylor 13
Tech fans must be looking at those Houston and Texas A&M losses and scratching their heads. If those go the other way, they wind up with 10 wins and second in the Big XII South. Frankly, it's a miracle Mike Leach got as much as they did out of this team. He's a good coach.

Nebraska 28, Colorado 20
It's beyond me why the Huskers can't get 200 yards rushing per game.

Arkansas State 30, North Texas 26
The season ends mercifully for the Mean Green.

SFA 44, Eastern Washington 33
First playoff win for the Jacks since 1994. Axe 'em.

During this holiday season

I'm thankful for Dirk Nowitzki.

The greatest Dallas Maverick of all time.

The narrowest of margins

Catch and chase

Any thoughts of the Texas Longhorns going into College Station tonight and making mincemeat of the Texas A&M Aggies were squashed relatively early.

As it was, it was a slobberknocker of the highest order in which the Aggies probably gave their best showing of the season and if the were capable of even a modicum of defense or if they played the perfect of all perfect games in program history, they might have won.

Unfortunately, they did neither and lost, 49-39. Texas remains undefeated and eyes the Big XII Championship game and A&M heads back licking its wounds, probably feeling kinda good about themselves.

Jerrod Johnson is simply a phenomenal athlete. He damn near won that game for the Aggies. Except that he ran into an even bigger juggernaut, Colt McCoy. Johnson's a swell, raw Big XII quarterback. McCoy is world class. McCoy, right now, is on a different plain. If there were ever an opportunity for a guy to grasp control of the Heisman vote, he's doing it right now. The last two weeks have been all McCoy and I think a premier performance with the college football gaze upon him will go miles toward him winning the award.

However, the Aggies needed a perfect game. Maybe a stop or two. How about kick coverage? I'd hate to begrudge a team a couple of turnovers, but when you're playing the third best team in the nation and you're probably the 100th best team in the nation, you simply cannot turn the ball over (unless your causing another five turnovers).

I'll give the Aggies all the credit in the world: Every college football fan was watching and they had a horny, drunk crowd in their pocket and they put up a fight above all fights. Still, that fight was not enough and that's probably the case for another year or so, depending on the true trajectory of the program.

A Raider feast

Anthony Spencer for hire

In the Tony Romo era, the Dallas Cowboys have been dominant on Thanksgiving Day.

Now, I do admit their competition is rather paltry. But considering the Dallas Cowboys of the past three years haven't been world beaters, the fact that they whip the ass of every Thanksgiving opponent is a decent enough trend. Especially for Romo.

Since 2006 have beat the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders by a combined 130-29.

In those games, Romo stats: 83-120, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions.

This trend contined today as they killed the Raiders 24-7 to got to 8-3 on the season and in prime position in the NFC East.

Grades:

Quarterback -- A-
Picking nits, but he was still a little inaccurate at times. The pass to Jason Witten while scrambling and absolutely threading the needle for a big game was about as good as it gets. His typical Thanksgiving self.

Running Back -- A
If they wanted, they could've had 200 or 300 rushing yards. The Cowboys simply gashed the third-worst run defense. Felix Jones looked like he got that extra spring in his step.

Wide Receiver -- B
How do you give a "B" when a guy catches seven for 129 yards? When the other receivers catch two balls for 15 yards (all Roy Williams). Williams wasn't good and studio analyst Shannon Sharpe pointed out in front of God and everybody how short his arms get between the hash marks. Miles Austin was great.

Tight End -- A
In my prediction, I questioned Jason Witten's health considering he moved like a drunk zombie on the field. He got a bit of his swagger back with some big gains.

Offensive Line -- B-
Phil Simms, during the broadcast, was running down the offensive line. Yeah, Romo had to escape but every quarterback in the league escapes a handful of times every game. The obligatory penalties dragged them down. Run offense was stellar.

Defense Line -- B
The Raiders weren't awful running the ball. Had they had the lead at any point, it might look differently. As it was, they couldn't afford to put too much in their run game. I'll give the D-line some credit, they made some plays and were generally obnoxious.

Linebackers -- A+
A member of the linebacking corps is in on every play. It could end 20 behind or in front of the line of scrimmage, but DeMarcus Ware, Keith Brooking, Anthony Spencer and Bradie James are always in the neighborhood. Spencer continued his emergence with his first two sacks of the year.

Secondary -- B-
Umm, Alan Ball needs to be a back-up from now on. He can't cover..

Special Teams -- A
Based solely on Pat Watkins' steer-wrestling tackle on that punt return in the fourth quarter.

Coaching -- B
Enjoy while it lasts. The ass-kicking part of their schedule is coming.

Talking turkey

Umm

I love Thanksgiving. By far, it is my favorite holiday.

There are many reasons for this. I could name them all, but I'm just gonna cut to the chase: Watching football all day doesn't hurt.

I started thinking about holidays that have associated themselves with sports or sporting events. Thanksgiving has Detroit Lion and Dallas Cowboy football. Father's Day has the U.S. Open. Christmas may have a shitty college bowl game or some NBA. The Fourth of July and baseball go together.

But I don't know if any sport and holiday go together quite as well as Thanksgiving and football.

I know in Dallas it means a lot for Cowboys fans. In the NFL, you spend six days anguishing about your team, win or lose. Just waiting for that next game to see where the ride is going to take you.

For fans of the Cowboys (and the Lions, I guess), it's like getting a sneak peak. You get to open a gift a little bit earlier than other fans. It's a priviledge for the priviledged.

In their never-ending desire to make Thanksgiving a "homecoming" (as college, high school programs schedule easy wins for homecoming) game, the Cowboys always schedule a patsy for the affair. This season it's the Oakland Raiders.

Five things:

A Fight
That's exactly what the Raiders will give the Cowboys. They've upset Cincinnati and Philadelphia already and the Cowboys have never beaten the Raiders in Dallas/Arlington/Irving. The Raiders are understandably bad, but they're not quitting ... yet.

D-Fence
The Raiders defense ain't great, but they've dumbed down games enough to make them close at the end in order to make a play. This happened both against Cincinnati and Philadelphia. The Raiders are reasonable against the pass, but they are the third-worst run defense in the league. I'd like to pretend that I could predict the gameplan of Jason Garrett, but I can't. He might run it 40 times. He might pass it 70. We shall see.

Witten
He's iffy for today. Witten's been a mysery guest for the Cowboys this season. Granted, he leads the team in receptions, but for this squad that ain't saying much. Most remarkably, Witten has only one touchdown, is averaging just 3.5 yards after the catch (down from previous years) and the number of third downs he's converting is down. Part of it is defenses ganging up on him. Part of it is Romo going to Witten on first down. But if you watch Witten, he doesn't look right. Not that Witten was going to compete in sprint championships, but he looks old and slow. Maybe he's hurt. Either way, he looks far more like a statue this year over previous campaigns.

Return Game
Greg Ellis returns to Dallas after he whined himself out of a job with a decent team. At least Roy and Tank Williams latched onto a good team. All we were told the last decade was how wonderful Ellis was ... until he railed about his contract and the Cowboys drafting Anthony Spencer (who's been playing well coming up against one of the worst offensive teams in the league) and generally not getting on their knees to give Ellis a blow job every other minute. Ellis was a douche. Good riddance. Bruce Gradkowski will play, too. If we all remember, he tossed two interceptions and no touchdowns in his only start against Dallas, Thanksgiving Day 2006. Romo threw five touchdowns on 22 of 29 passing and 306 yards.

Ashes of American Flags
Jerry Jones finally broke down and bought his new stadium an American flag replacing the graphic of an American flag on the big screen as was the custom so far this season. The devil's in the details.

Predictions
Cowboys 35, Raiders 12
The Cowboys always play well on Thanksgiving, at least the last five or so years. I dug and dug and couldn't find a single positive note for the Raiders offense. Not a one. They average 10 points a game and even assuming the Cowboys offense sputters some more, they're still likely to defeat the Raiders.

Visions of Leon Lett

Classic. I don't think one Dallas Cowboys game (more or less Thanksgiving Day game) sticks out more in my memory. Thoughts:

1. Especially memorable because of the extremely early sleet/ice Dallas-Fort Worth got that Thanksgiving. Used to love it. For Texans, it's our snow even if it's really not snow at all. It was a great day with or without football.

2. Can't believe how far in-game graphics/info has evolved since the mid-1990s. I couldn't imagine watching a game like that again.

3. Not cool watching Bill Bates get burned by ... Keith Byars. Yipes.

4. I can remember like it was yesterday. Watching the block and then the camera cutting to an exuberant, sideline patrolling Jerry Jones and Troy Aikman's quarterback mullet getting a hug. And then the announcers freaking out.

Rebound

Shawn Marion rejects you

The night after getting rolled by a dysfunctional, young, short-handed, coach-less Golden State Warrior team that went with the six-man rotation, they go down to Houston and run the Rockets out of their own gym by 31.

The big difference: Others not named "Dirk Nowitzki" showed up.

Jason Terry had 27, Tim Thomas had 23 and Shawn Marion had 12 to help win 130-99.

It helps also shooting 65 percent from the floor. And totaling 33 assists as a team.

And the night after Monta Ellis absolutely shredded Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea, the Mavs all chipped in to hold Aaron Brooks to 3-7 from the field.

Professional sports is a marathon, not a sprint. The Mavs aren't going to win 60 games and losses will come. At home against a clearly inferior Golden State team? Yeah, you get the feeling tha the ghosts of the 2007 playoffs still linger. Or, the Mavs will perpetually have trouble with quicker, younger guards as the team's presently constructed.

Notes:
1. Do not be fooled by Tim Thomas. It's a mirage.

2. Tuesday marked free throw attempts No. 3 and 4 for Jason Kidd. I was kinda hoping he'd go all 82 with two attempts.

3. Even though they're my sworn enemies, I like bits and pieces of the Houston Rockets. Starting with Carl Landry.

4. Mavs are 2-0 against Houston.

College football cornucopia

I love the holidays.

Creates excuses to watch entirely too much football and eat dressing.

Another week as we either wait for the gigantic atom bomb that would be an upset of any of the top teams or watch those same top teams trod on to the bowl season. It's either going to rock our worlds or be incredibly boring. There's no in between.

To the games:

TCU (11-0, 7-0) vs. New Mexico (1-10, 1-6)
I'd hate to call this a foregone conclusion. A fine local game, the last one for the Frogs this season.

Texas (11-0, 7-0) vs. Texas A&M (6-5, 3-4)
One thing: The Longhorns had better not sleepwalk Thanksgiving night. It would behoove them to bring the same game they've had the last three weeks. Control this game from the onset or else they will get a fight for their lives. College Station. At night.

SMU (6-5, 5-2) vs. Tulane (3-8, 1-6)
SMU against the worst team in their conference. Last home game. I hope the local crowd gives June Jones and Co. their due.

Nebraska (8-3, 5-2) vs. Colorado (3-8, 2-5)
Cornhuskers should roll here. They'll get nine wins, lose in the Big XII Championship game and go to the Holiday Bowl.

Oklahoma State (9-2, 6-1) vs. Oklahoma (6-5, 4-3)
Saturday could bring us something we haven't seen in 15 years: A six-loss OU team. Seems unbelievable, Sam Bradford or no.

Missouri (7-4, 3-4) vs. Kansas (5-6, 1-6)
Forget how Mark Mangino treated his former players -- this current teams has completely quit on him. I mean, they should be good enough to win half these games they're losing and they simply are putting forth any effort worthy of note. Something happened in and around the loss to Colorado and they've never rebounded.

Texas Tech (7-4, 4-3) vs. Baylor (4-7, 1-6)
What I don't get about OU and their disappointing season is that Tech has maintained some form of respectibility after having the NFL destroy their team from last year. OU still has that defense and enough firepower on offense. I guess Tech had a little more favorable sked.

UNT (2-9, 1-6) vs. Arkansas State (2-8, 1-5)
Last shot for Todd Dodge. Last stand?

SFA (9-2, 6-1) vs. Eastern Washington (8-3, 6-2)
SFA finds itself going up against a worthy non-conference foe to end this really nice season.

Q&A: Joe Wieland

The product of ineptitude is not always negative.

In my ranking of the top prospects in the Texas Rangers organization, I called Joe Wieland a lefty. He's a righty. And his father was quick to let me know of my mistake.

Thusly, I was able to contact Joe himself and ask him some questions. Being a screw-up has its perks.

Wieland was the fourth-round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 2008 amateur draft. The 19-year-old Reno native went 5-1 in 2008 in Arizona and then put forth a solid effort in Hickory (Low-A) in 2009.

He graciously took time to answer some questions.

Did you consider college or was going pro always the top choice?
All the way up until the draft, going to San Diego State was my top choice, but my parents, agent and I had a round and dollar amount set and if I were to be drafted within that slot, I was going to sign. A couple days before the draft, I was told kind of where I was going to go so it helped ease the stress knowing that there was a good shot I was going to start my pro career soon.

What is your impression of your 2009 season in Hickory? What you anticipated?
I thought it was a good year. I would have liked to have done better statistically and to have been a little more consistent, but I finished the year on a high note. It was a good year to see where I was at, and what I needed to improve on. You know, I really had no idea what to expect. I hadn't been in that type of environment before. It was definitely different, but a lot of fun.

What pitches do you have? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
I throw a four-seam and two-seam fastball, spike curveball and a circle change. My strengths are getting ahead of guys and throwing strikes. I have good command and don't walk many people. My biggest weakness is facing hitters the third time around. At times, I will get in a groove and go after guys with my fastball, but that third time around they start cheating it, and I get caught making the adjustment too late.

What have you been working on the last two years to address any weaknesses?
During extended (Spring Training), I worked on my change up because there was a big gap in consistency between my curve and change. I would have some bullpens where I would only throw change ups and because of that, I really made big strides in developing a quality pitch.

Are you playing any winter ball? How were the fall instructionals?
I'm not playing any winter ball. Instructs were great. They were better than lat year because I had an idea of what was going to happen. I learned a lot from the classroom sessions we had and from listening to Mark Conner (former pitching coach) talk about the game. And adding competitions and fun games into the schedule this year made it a lot of fun.

Are the minors as unglamorous as depicted? Long bus rides? Small stadiums?
They aren't as bad as movies make it. There were a few really nice stadiums that we played in and the bus rides weren't that bad. We had a really nice sleeper bus that made the road trips OK and, for the most part, all the hotels were really nice. We actually got to stay in suites when we played in Bowling Green. We had a full kitchen with plates, pots and pans, cups, silverware and a stove.

What are the top three artists on your iPod?
Lecrae, Tech N9ne, Rise Against

When reading scouts and coaches about professional pitchers, they say that many already have the stuff, but most need to "learn how to pitch" -- location, changing speeds, trusting your stuff, keeping hitters off balance, et al. How have you progressed in this regard? Are these type of things harder to learn than it sounds?
Trial and error is the best and quickest way to learn. In high school I could get away with a mistake down the middle. Now, that mistake is hit 400 feet. You learn quickly what you can and can't do. They are easy to learn if you are open to it. I ran into a problem this year. I used to throw a two-seam fastball in an 0-2 count where I was just trying to get the hitter to chase. I had no intent on throwing it for a strike. The only problem was that the hitter could see it the second I broke my hands. In high school, I had lots of success with it, but my pitching coach, Brad Holman, told me that I will never get hitters out at the higher levels because hitters can see it the whole way. I didn't want to change it because I had had success with it before, but I realized that its not about getting hitters out in Low A, but about getting hitters out in the big leagues and that it's better to learn and make the adjustment now.

Ranger president Nolan Ryan took his higher level prospects/MLB pitchers to task in terms of conditioning, being in shape, pitching longer. Has this attitude trickled to the lower levels of the farm system?
Everything of his has. Our entire throwing program, workout plan, and most importantly, our core and conditioning program. The intensity and energy level of everything has been elevated. It really has helped everyone in all aspects of the game.

Do prospects like yourself have contact with MLB personnel like scouts, GM Jon Daniels, Ryan or anyone else?
Yes, we are in contact with guys in the (front) office. I personally have had a few one-on-one talks with Nolan Ryan and he has watched a few of my outings and live BPs in spring training. I've learned so much from just listening to what Mr. Ryan has to say.

The Richards group

You wouldn't like Brenden Morrow when he's angry

Someone in the Dallas Morning News Sunday (Heika? Sefko? Hell, it'd take like three seconds to find out but it's not that important) wrote one of those brief opinion pieces about how as Brad Richards goes, so do the Dallas Stars.

'Tis true. I've talked about the Stars' Fab Five (Ribeiro, Eriksson, Morrow, Richards, Neal) that must carry this team offensively. But I think Richards is by far the most important of the group. The guy is a point machine. He's got six in the last two games and 28 in 20 games.

He's a good goal scorer, but he's best setting up teammates at the net, putting pucks perfectly on the blade and putting others in the very best position to succeed. He's as close to Jason Kidd as you get in terms of some kind of comparison. If Kidd doesn't have, the Mavs are probably not winning. If Richards isn't winning battles, moving the puck and staying on the ice, then the Stars are in a tight spot.

The Stars won 2-0 tonight in a sweet win over a bad Carolina team. Richards had a goal and a assist. The Fab Five totaled four total points.

Notes:
1. Jamie Benn disappeared there for a while with just two assists in the last nine games.

2. Stars got 2-8 on the power play.

3. Stars penalty kill blanks the Hurricanes on four tries.

4. Marty Turco notches his second shut out of the season. He had three in 74 starts last season.

5. Stars are a good 11-6-6. With 28 points, they're smack in the middle of the cluster in the Western Conference. They're a hair out of fourth and a hair out of 10th. It's good to keep pace now instead of catching up in February.

NFC Power Rankings, Vol. II

Grrr

View the NFC Power Rankings, Vol. 1. Or keep reading.

Things are really shaking out now.

New Orleans Saints
Since we last checked in, the Saints have rolled off three division wins, escaping the Panthers and Rams along the way. It hasn't always been perfect, but it's been effective. But you have to think they need to lose a game. And that they're not as good as they look. Just a gut feeling.

Minnesota Vikings
The Vikes got to feel good about things. However, isn't it pretty apparent that they need to go ahead and sign Brett Favre for at least next season. As soon as the franchise goes back to Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels, they'll revert back to a solid 9-7 team. As much as Adrian Peterson helps Favre, we all need to remember that even with Peterson and trash at quarterback, they were ordinary.

Arizona Cardinals
They're 5-0 on the road including wins at Seattle, New York (Giants), Jacksonville, St. Louis and Chicago. If they can somehow find a way to beat the bad teams remaining on their schedule (Detroit, 49ers, Rams, Packers), they'll be at 11 wins and the division (if they already don't have it).

Dallas Cowboys
By default. I can't put the Eagles or Giants here. They are a work in progress.

Philadelphia Eagles
Andy Reid and Co. need to stop messing around, sit Brian Westbrook for three weeks and give LeSean McCoy 25 carries a game. His success leads to success for Donovan McNabb, Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson.

New York Giants
The Giants needed that win against Atlanta yesterday. Because they have a hell schedule the rest of the way starting at Denver Thursday night. The Cowboys game (in New Jersey) will be huge.

Green Bay Packers
Don't look now, but the Packers have won two straight to get to 6-4 with Detroit on Thanksgiving. They battle. Of course, they had 19 guys on the injured list and have lost crucial defenders Aaron Kampman and Al Harris for the year. They will be interesting to watch.

Atlanta Falcons
Tough time for the Dirty Birds. To start the season, they had the Patriots, Panthers (twice), Cowboys, Giants, Saints and Miami. It doesn't get too much easier. If they beat who they should, they get to nine wins. Probably not enough for the playoffs.

Carolina Panthers
The Miami game was a must-win. If they take that, they're 5-5 and in the mix. At 4-6 with six games left and needing to make up two games, they're in a deep, deep hole.

San Francisco 49ers
Just barely better than the teams below. They've lost five of six. And I don't see them getting better. Might make a small run late.

Detroit Lions
That's right. Not the worst in the league. The Lions will be good before the following teams will. I am a Lions fan for the next six weeks.

Chicago Bears
They've lost five of six and the one win is against Cleveland. Blame Jay Cutler all you want, but this team lost its identity when they ran away from the running game. Without that, they're toast.

St. Louis Rams
Playing better. Steven Jackson is simply a beast. The Rams need to trade him in the off-season and just gut some team's draft (Colts, Chargers, Chiefs?).

Washington Redskins
Awful. They will lose a lot the rest of the way. However, they will not go silently. That defense is solid and will make teams work. I'd hate to the be Cowboys in December going into Washington needing a win.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I like Josh Freeman. He might be a better Jason Campbell. Might. Otherwise, I hate this team. I have the Bucs in general.

Seattle Seahawks
Quietly, the Seahawks are firming up their place as one of the worst teams in the league. They are 3-7. They've lost six games by at least 10 points. They've lost three by at least 20 points. Watching Matt Hasselbeck mishandle a snap and hand-off this weekend, a friend and I wondered if the quarterback thought those kind of plays were done once high school ended.

Roy Williams or how the Detroit Lions pantsed Jerry Jones

Another drop for Roy ... and Jerry Jones

As Brandon Pettigrew -- Oklahoma State great -- hauled in Matthew Stafford's -- Highland Park great -- game-tying (eventually, winning) touchdown yesterday in a thrilling (best game of the day) win, I thought of Roy Williams.

I thought of many other things. Like football. Beer. Jerry Jones. Trades. Matt Millen. The Detroit Lions as a franchise. Trades. Roy Williams. Breasts. Roy Williams. In that order.

Then breasts.

Roy Williams is either turning into or has become GM/owner Jerry Jones' biggest mistake.

I personally feel that he's already there. After a zero-catch game yesterday heaped onto a year's worth of drops, excuses, "just happy to be here" quotes, disappearing acts and everything in between, Williams is a complete bust.

But how did this happen?

It's important to note several things:

1. Roy Williams was a disaster in Detroit in terms of being on board with the organization. He was miserable and he wasn't shy in expressing his thoughts. He poisoned the water and the Lions had to be desperate to get rid of the guy for morale and because he was getting paid a shitload of money when they didn't have a quarterback.

2. The Detroit Lions have been one of the ill-run franchises in American sports history the last five years. Matt Millen personally sunk one of the great teams in a city that can't handle too many bungles. On Sept. 24 of last year, the Lions fired Millen. About three weeks later, whoever was running the team took Jerry Jones behind the woodshed and absolutely pounded the shit out of him practically stealing a first-, third- and sixth round 2009 draft pick for Williams.

3. The Lions turned those three picks into Pettigrew, linebacker Derrick Williams and TCU running back Aaron Brown. Had the Cowboys had that first rounder, they could've had Percy Harvin (!!), Clay Matthews or Hakeem Nicks.

4. A little over a year earlier, the New England Patriots landed Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick from the Oakland Raiders. Note: If the Lions are the worst franchise in the NFL, the Raiders are a close second. The Raiders are so awful that them getting hosed by Bill Belichick and the Patriots is not a surprise. Therefore, Jerry Jones is on the same par as Al Davis and Co. because he got screwed royally on the Williams trade by the worst-run franchise in the league.

5. It's stupefying.

6. After Jones made the Williams trade, he promptly extended the receiver (with no evidence of him being any good) to a five-year, $45 million contract extension with $20 million up front.

7. !!!

There's a lot here to digest.

For one, the Lions screwed one of the "savviest" wannabe general managers.

Then Jones compounded the problem (which he saw as a strong message that Williams as the future ... and that Terrell Owens was out) by extended him.

Now, Williams is probably the sixth target on the offense. And he's paid more than any of them. Miles Austin, Pat Crayton, Jason Witten, Felix Jones and Marion Barber are all more viable options for Tony Romo.

This is perceived to be a knock on Williams. In actuality, there are other issues. I mean, Williams is an issue. He's the polar opposite of Owens who cared only for his personal stats, although he still loved to win. He wanted to win by him scoring three touchdowns and gaining 200 yards.

Williams cares nothing for stats and just about winning. It's an OK attitude on paper. But it sucks when you win 7-6 and you have no catches. Williams is paid too much and cost entirely too much in a trade to just surf on good vibes.

Then there's Tony Romo. The guy has been inaccurate all year. Lately, he's missed Williams a lot and left the guy in most treacherous lurches in the secondary with high throws and leading him into safeties and cornerbacks.

But the real issue here is Mr. Jerry Jones. I don't begrudge Williams wanting A) to be traded from a bad team to a contending team or B) from wanting to get paid a ton of money.

Jones is the issue. Jones makes the trade and offers the extension.

By far the most maddening aspect of this vicious cycle is that nothing will ever, ever change as long as Jones, largely, has his faculties about him and is deemed of sound mind to run the Cowboys.

It isn't changing. It may not change in my father's lifetime. Isn't that disgusting? The Cowboys are a few ticks away from becoming the Raiders and even for Cowboys haters there is nothing amusing about that.

Oh, well actually, it's kinda amusing.

The shortest of hairs on their chinny-chin-chins

Jonesin'

There will be multiple ways of looking at the Dallas Cowboys 7-6 win over the Washington Redskins today.

1. Wins are tough to come by in the NFL. It ain't easy. A one-point win is as good as a 28-point win.

2. In the NFL, you need luck as much as you need skill. The fact that the Redskins missed two field goals and countless other opportunities is not important. Every team needs the ball to roll their way during a good season.

3. See, the Cowboys can win any number of ways. They don't need to blow a team out. They've shown they can bring their "D" game and still win.

4. Hey, the Cowboys were a fluke Marion Barber and a missed Nick Folk field goal from handily whipping the Redskins.

5. The Cowboys were merely playing the game that was at hand. And they won.

6. The Cowboys stunk.

As a Cowboys un-apologist, I'm going with No. 6.

The grades:

Quarterback -- D
Tony Romo's been superbly inaccurate all season dating to the Tampa game. He overthrew, underthrew receivers all day. Balls were being batted around. If I were Roy Williams, I'd probably drop some passes too if I were hung out to dry as much as Romo's leaving him every game.

Running Back -- B+
Hmm. Running the ball works. Who knew? In the end, Mr. Garrett, that's all we're really asking for. Twenty carries for our No. 1 back to get some momentum. At that point, you can throw all you want.

Wide Receiver -- D+
Disappeared for almost four quarters. Did resurrect their week with a spirited two minutes which concluded with Pat Crayton catching another Romo scramble touchdown pass.

Tight End -- A-
It was the Marty B show all day. He and Jason Witten were the passing game for most of the afternoon. Pass protection looked good.

Offensive Line -- A
It took about three-quarters of the game for me to realize that the Cowboys had a replacement at right tackle. I didn't honestly acknowledge the O-line all game because I didn't really have any need to. Romo was sacked once and the run game had space and then some. Didn't see Doug Free get burned once.

Defensive Line -- C
Rock Cartwright -- filling in for recently-injured Ladell Betts -- had some success. Nothing crazy. Then again, the leader in tackles for the line was Igor Olshansky with three, behind four linebackers and a corner. I didn't hear Jay Ratliff's name all day. Again, Stephen Bowen with the game-ending tipped ball. The guy makes a big play every game.

Linebackers -- A
Anthony Spencer has been the best defenseman for the Cowboys the last three weeks. Yes, there are no sacks, but he made about four big plays today including the clinching interception (all to forgive the broken coverage on Cartwright's big catch). Brooking, Bradie James and DeMarcus Ware were everywhere.

Secondary -- B
Got burned some Sunday. Solid, though. Kept the pesky Santana Moss at bay.

Special Teams -- C-
Bleh. Nick Folk missed another (manageable) field goal for the second-straight game. Mat McBriar should be in the Pro Bowl.

Coaching -- C
Wade Phillips is going to pelt us over the head this week with the top five excuses as noted above. And that's fine. It is a win and in five weeks we may not think twice about this game. It's not like this team played poorly. The offense simply can't put things together. The defense is right there. This will be an interesting team to watch the next five weeks.

Winding down the college football season

Mike Leach has his Raiders at seven wins with a blowout over OU

Everything went to plan for our teams.

TCU and Clemson won making that earlier win (in Clemson!) look even better although Cincinnati did cut the gap between the two teams in the BCS (for not reason).

Otherwise, everyone look focused and ready for post-season play. I'm pumped.

TCU 45, Wyoming 10
TCU allowed 179 total yards. On the road. Shit.

Texas Tech 41, Oklahoma 13
Tech winning ain't such a surprise. Tech blowing the socks off OU and racking up 548 yards against a seemingly good to great defense is completely off the map. OU is not very good.

Texas 51, Kansas 20
The game was over before halftime. Texas just sliced through the Jayhawks like butter. There's little difference between the second-tier Big XII teams (say, Kansas) and the cellar dwellers (Texas A&M, Baylor). Colt McCoy thrust himself back into the Heisman talk with 396 yards and four touchdowns. Oh yeah, and an unbeaten team.

Nebraska 17, Kansas State 3
Cornhuskers farted themselves to eight wins. Bo Pelini has a good team. Just need to clear out those cobwebs they encountered around mid-season for the future. A date with Texas in the Big XII title game.

Texas A&M 38, Baylor 3
Nothing like getting back on the bike like Baylor at home. Somehow, the Ags put together almost 400 yards rushing. Seems almost impossible.

Marshall 34, SMU 31
Kyle Padron gets sacked at least five times a game. As, pumped as we all are about the Mustangs this game -- and the 250 yards of rushing they allowed -- proves just how far they are from being a nine-win, top 25 team nationally.

Missouri 34, Iowa State 24
Danario Alexander is shooting up the NFL Draft receiver list. Season numbesr up to 1,400 yards and 90+ catches.

Army 17, UNT 13
UNT outplayed Army. However, it comes down to the five turnovers (three Riley Dodge interceptions, two fumbles) that proved to be the downfall for the Mean Green.

Circle the wagons

Umm

I'm surprised. Dallas Cowboys nation held up pretty well this week. I thought after that embarrassing defeat in Green Bay last week.

Maybe Cowboys fans are grabbing a hold of their emotions and realizing that 6-3 in the NFL is pretty good. And that Washington and Oakland await.

NFL is popular for a billion different reasons.

One of the reasons, I think, is because everything is so compartmentalized during the season. It's also why fantasy football is so popular.

You have a full week to get pumped up about a game. You've got the football weekend. Then the day or day and a half of getting over losing your fantasy game or your favorite team winning/losing. It happens 17 times a year. It takes up four months, but it doesn't take up a ton of time. There isn't a ton to keep up with, but, yet, it's deep.

The NFL is popular.

Five things:

Beware the Redskins Defense
They're good. They're ninth in points allowed, fifth in yards, 24 in rushing, first in passing. They've got 24 sacks and 11 forced fumbles. They're young, athletic and scary. Especially against a banged up offensive line, an anemic running game and a quarterback that'll turn it over every once in a while.

Beware Pace of Game
We see this in the NBA more than any other sport: One team is controlling the tempo and pace of the game. It's not like every NBA team couldn't run or stop down for a half-court possession. But some teams are better at it or used to it. Sometimes it's all about imposing your will on the opposing team. The fact is, the Cowboys could not play at the pace that the Packers were and that the penalties, timeouts and reviews were causing. It was an ugly game even outside of the poor play by the teams. The Cowboys need everything going fast and smooth. If it gets ugly, the Redskins get a big leg up.

Beware Ladell Betts
A back-up that probably most NFL fans have considered a really solid guy. Betts had his way last week against a Denver Bronco defense that is just two yards below Dallas in rush defense. The last thing the Cowboys want are the Redskins hanging onto the ball for 30+ minutes for the game.

Beware a Pissy Offensive Coordinator
The Cowboys and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett seems like a guy who gets pissy at fans and media questioning his genius ... or playcalling. Last week, the Cowboys simply gave up on the run. There are no other arguments about it. Will Garrett come out with a chip on his shoulder and run it 40 times to the detriment of his team. Or will he play the game that's in front of him? Remember last season: Terrell Owens cried about not getting the ball and against the Redskins they forced it his direction all game and lost.

Beware Injuries
Ken Hamlin and Marc Columbo are out. Alan Ball and Doug Free are in. Marion Barber and Felix Jones ain't looked right almost all season. David Beuhler's got a hurt pinkie toe. There are various aches and pains. If UT great Brian Orakpo is in Tony Romo's jock all day, it could prove disastrous for the Cowboys.

Prediction
Cowboys 20, Redskins 16
Too close for comfort. Redskins dumb it down, ugly it up, but to no avail.

Big XII updates its list of coaching issues

McCoy, hopefully Mark Mangino won't eat him

In Colorado, they hate Dan Hawkins, who was brought in to turn the program around, showed signs of progress, but nothing concrete, got a contract extension and has sucked it up this season. Apparently, the school would love to buy him out, but the price tag is $3.4 million. Donors had to pony up $3 million to get rid of Gary Barnett. And the donors don't have the cash to get Hawkins out.

In Oklahoma, they're already dealing with Bob Stoops leaving Norman rumors. With Charlie Weis on the outs at Notre Dame, Stoops is rumored to go there. It'd be stupid to, but if coaches were smart they'd be curing cancer or splitting atoms. Frankly, Stoops looks bored at OU. If he's not motivated, how does he motivate a bunch of kids.

Finally, in Kansas, it came out that head coach Mark Mangino is not only fat, but he's a fat bastard. Former players (courageous!) came forward claiming Mangino was verbally abusive and had physical contact with players. Ho-hum. I doubt Mangino is exactly putting the fear of God into his players. He's 800 pounds. If someone who was as fat as Mangino manhandled me, I might be oddly irritated or amused.

I don't consider Mangino's actions, from what I've read, all that bad. I've heard worse from coaches and I never actually played football. Just judging from press box incidents and sideline skirmishes. It happens.

Considering this incident and what happened in Michigan where players were ratting out Rich Rodriguez, I think it's entirely possible that other hands are at play to besmirch these coaches' images in an effort to get ride of them.

To the games:

Oklahoma State 31, Colorado 28
Sans Zac Robinson, the Cowboys got down 21-10 in the third quarter. They quickly erased that deficiet. Back-up Alex Cate went 0-11 before getting yanked. Thankfully, Brandon Weeden was much better. Good new for Longhorn fans who want OSU and other UT victims to win and win some more.

Oklahoma (6-4, 4-2) vs. Texas Tech (6-4, 3-3)
Game that sunk the Red Raiders last season. In most brutal fashion. Guaranteed the Raiders smell blood. In Lubbock, their defense flying around. A banged up OU.

Kansas (5-5, 1-5) vs. Texas (10-0, 6-0)
Seven weeks ago, this was a terrifying game for the Longhorns. Even if it was in Austin, the Jayhwaks have been a tough out the last three years and then ... ZAP! Jayhawks should lose by seven touchdowns.

TCU (10-0, 6-0) vs. Wyoming (5-5, 3-3)
In a three-game stretch against Air Force, BYU and Utah, Wyoming was beat 84-10, including two shut outs. They've been shut out three times and scored 10 points twice. They are 3-2 at home.

SMU (6-4, 5-1) vs. Marshall (5-5, 3-3)
The Mustangs must focus. The division is within their reach. Just stay the course. Marshall is dangerous and SMU is kinda new to this winning thing.

Kansas State (6-5, 4-3) vs. Nebraska (7-3, 4-2)
Actually, the biggest game of the weekend in the Big XII. K-State needs it to possibly advance to the Big XII Championship game against Texas

Baylor (4-6, 1-5) vs. Texas A&M (5-5, 2-4)
The Aggies might reach 600 yards and win by five touchdowns. Might.

Iowa State (6-5, 3-4) vs. Missouri (6-4, 2-4)
I would say Iowa State doesn't stand a chance allowing 400 yards a game, but, then again, it's Mizzou. Who knows which teams shows up. I guess, at home, we think the good one.

Army (4-6) vs. UNT (2-8, 1-6)
No doubt Army's the worst 4-6 team in college football. They've allowed nine more touchdowns than they've scored. And they've beaten nobody. We'll see how bad UNT is this weekend.

SFA (8-2, 5-1) vs. Northwestern State (0-10, 0-6)
I mistakenly noted that last week was the date to determine Chief Caddo's home for the year. I mixed up my directional schools. My bad. A bad alumnus.

Go Get: Javier Vasquez

My friend Skidmark Steve and I had a debate this baseball season per the definition of an ace.

Skidmark said an ace is defined by his stats. An ace has great, top-of-the-league stats. Not unlike Adam Wainwright or Tim Lincecum this season.

I do feel ace's have good stats, but I also have a less definable quality of an ace: An ace goes out every fifth day at least seven innings and 200+ innings a year. He has an "out" pitch. Meaning, with two strikes on a better, he can make that better go away without the ball every hitting the bat. He might have a 3.50 ERA and 14 wins, but he's still an ace.

Our discussion hinged on the credentials of the Atlanta Braves Javier Vasquez, who is apparently on the trading block as the Braves try to shore up their line-up with a big bat.

For the record, if I'm the Rangers, I start my offer with Nelson Cruz for Vasquez.

I like Vasquez. Why is he an ace? He's pitched 200+ innings in nine of 12 professional seasons, including five straight.

He's also got amazing control striking out 238 and walking just 44 last season and notched a career-low 2.87 ERA, although his career ERA is 4.19.

Vasquez has had quite the career. He's had double-digit wins since 2000 and typically makes his 32 starts and wins 11-15 games a year.

The truth is, Vasquez is a bit older (33), but pitches like he's 28 whereas 34-year-old Kevin Millwood pitches like he's 88. He's also a tad expensive. He's due $11 million in 2010, but becomes a free agent after that.

I think Vasquez fits perfectly in Texas. He shoots to the top of the rotation and he's not any more expensive than what Vicente Padilla would've been or was. He makes the Rangers formidable.

Byrd about to take flight, 40-man roster moves

It is reported that the chances of the Texas Rangers re-signing outfielder Marlon Byrd are looking slimmer and slimmer.

As it's noted in the story, they'll miss his right-handed bat more than his prowess in the outfield.

Fact is, he's an aging player who just had his career year right before going after the biggest (and last) contract of his career. No ill will. A fine player, but the Rangers can probably find a pretty cheap and reliable replacement.

****
In other news, today was the deadline to place guys on the 40-man roster in order to protect them during the Rule 5 draft coming up.

They added Frisco Roughrider pitchers Zach Phillips and Michael Kirkman.

Those minor leaguers apparently left off and thus subject to the draft are hard-hittin' Chad Tracy, Fabio Castillo, Beau Jones (throw-in in the Mark Teixeira trade), David Paisano (Brandon McCarthy trade) and walk machine John Whittleman.

Dirk

The man

The Dallas Mavericks begin and end with Dirk Nowitzki.

It's not a secret. I'm not telling you what you don't already know. However, after every season in which they don't win a NBA Championship, the naysayers and critics crop up begging management to trade Nowitzki.

Chances are, Nowitzki will never lead the Mavs to a title. Chances are, we will never see a greater basketball player in this city.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers would like to do a straight-up swap of Lebron James, I'm game. Otherwise, the German is ours. It'd be silly not to appreciate him.

Nowitzki further solidified a legit MVP season with 41 points -- netting 11 of the Mavs' 15 overtime points -- in a 99-94 win over the hated San Antonio Spurs.

Furthermore, it was a game the Mavs didn't necessarily deserved to win. They were outshot, they went 3-17 from three-point range, they were outrebounded, outassisted and out everything elsed.

One factor: The Mavs had five turnovers. The Spurs, 18. Story of the game. Plus some pretty clutch shooting from Nowitzki all without their second- and third-best players (Josh Howard, Shawn Marion), their starting center out with a mystery illness (Erick Dampier) and getting starts from Drew Gooden, Roddy Beaubois and Quinton Ross and 30 minutes from J.J. Barea.

Nowitzki had all of that on his back and he carried through. Brilliant.

Notes:
1. The first good game from Barea last night.

2. It won't last, but the contributions from Gooden are remarkable and timely. With injuries, the Mavs could've slid the last week. They haven't thanks to that double-double machine.

3. Jason Kidd is still special. Doesn't get enough credit for everything he does.

4. Still just two free-throw attempts for Kidd this season. At this point, it's fascinating that he doesn't luck into any more.

5. Roger Mason hates playing the Mavs. The dude went 2-8 last night.

6. Tim Duncan will retire sooner than later. That, friends, will be a sad day for the NBA. He's one of the top 10 basketball players I've ever seen.

7. Spurs at 4-5. Trouble in paradise?

Backing it up

Same Auld song and dance

Once upon a time, there once was a hockey team that never, ever started its back-up goalie against their (everyone's) arch-rival, the Detroit Red Wings.

That team is (was) the Dallas Stars. Up until tonight. Believe it or not, the Stars won 3-1 against Detroit's back-up goalie. Either way, the two points are theirs.

Still, this isn't the same ol' Red Wings. Injuries and a slow start got them down a little.

Any win is good. Any win against Detroit is good. Any win in Detroit is like fucking Haley's comet. We'll take it, back-ups or no.

Notes:
1. Stars stopped all four of Detroit's power plays.

2. They also scored on two of five power plays.

3. Brad Richards' has 22 points in 18 games.

4. Ditto for James Neal.

5. Points in three straight for Mike Modano.

6. Stars are a salty 7-3 on the road.

7. What a difference a decent back-up goalie makes: Alex Auld has played seven games and is 3-2-2.

Insult to injury

Rick Carlisle: Foiling media queries for decades

If you want the tensest 10 minutes in Dallas-Fort Worth radio, look no further than Norm Hitzges weekly interview with Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle on Wednesday mornings.

Carlisle ain't the most personable guy in the world. And Hitzges stammers and meanders through interviews like a virgin awkwardly pawing during foreplay. It's a bad mix.

Today, Hitzges started straightaway with questions about the team's injuries to Josh Howard, Erick Dampier, Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion.

The were simple enough: When are each of them coming back?

In response to Howard -- who's out again with an apparent chronic (Carlisle specifically said it wasn't chronic) bad ankle -- Carlisle said, "Next question."

Don't get me wrong. I realize they don't even want to think about Howard coming back until he's 110 percent and putting any timetable would violate that idea. However, why "next question" when you could just say at Christmas or in January?

Most interesting is the Dampier situation. Five days ago Damp went to the hospital before Sunday's Detroit game with an undisclosed illness.

My first thought: Swine flu.

However, no comment has been made. Hitzges asked anyway (assuming he'd get the stiff arm) and Carlisle admitted that they didn't want to comment but that Damp was going in for more "tests" and that he's in good spirits.

So, what the fuck does Erick Dampier have? Consumption? The clap? Rickets? Scurvy? Montezuma's Revenge?

Just saying. If it's nothing, what does it matter. Say it's "nothing." However, all the secrecy leads me to believe it's somewhat serious if Damp's being rushed to hospital and nobody really knows what's wrong with the guy.

Funnily, Carlisle said that Damp is "symptom free." Symptom free of what? And it's been ruled out he doesn't have swing flu nor did he have a stroke (!!!).

What a weird, weird story.

RIP, Reunion Arena

Yesterday, every memory of the Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Sidekicks, monster truck rallies and motocrosses went up in dust within sight of the Dallas skyline.

Reunion is no more.

Texas Stadium, your time is coming.

June Jones and the redemption of SMU football

The reason for the season

At the age of seven, I didn't know what the death penalty was on any level. Whether it pertained to criminal justice or the NCAA, it was a dark term, but I never fully realized what it meant to the SMU Mustangs football program.

The NCAA gave SMU the death penalty in 1987. Apparently, they were paying their players. What's worse, everyone seemed to know about it and didn't do anything to stop it.

Thusly, the hammer was laid down. No 1987 season. The next season was to be seven road games. However, the program just nixed the entire season. Assistant coaches and scholarships were stripped.

It's been 20 years since SMU football started back up in 1989. I'm sure -- and every other college football program -- has learned a lesson. Play fair or don't get caught.

Since, the Mustangs have won a total of 59 games (about 2.9 per season). They've reached no bowl games and have had just one winning season (1997) and one .500 season (2006).

The Mustangs have had six seasons of one win and one season of no wins.

SMU hasn't been just bad. They've been one of the worst programs in the nation, a laughingstock and a forgotten entity of premium college football in the state of Texas.

At times in the recent past, people have said that SMU football will never be back.

****
The most underreported story in Dallas sports right now is the revival of the SMU football program.

With a win over UTEP last Saturday, SMU notched its sixth win (4-1 in conference) and become eligible for a bowl bid. All with two games to play. Two winnable games.

There is stability with the Mustangs now. They've found themselves a good-looking quarterback (Kyle Padron), a stable of wide receivers and a team philosophy that doesn't quit or hang their head.

Most importantly, there's June Jones. The saying about quarterbacks and head coaches in football is that they get too much glory when they win and too much criticism when they lose.

Jones was hired by SMU -- thanks to a group of boosters ponying up (zing!) the money to lure him away from a preemo job at Hawaii -- in January 2008. On the surface, a lot changed about the attitude of SMU football. The school started marketing Jones and the team, the "Pony Up" tagline and generally started to be more visible.

OK, forget the 1-11 season in his inaugural year. He had inherited a 1-11 team from Phil Bennett. It's Jones' MO. He takes a bad team (say, Hawaii) and within two years has them winning and within five years going to bowls and, maybe, within seven or nine years playing in a BCS bowl.

While the Mustangs were rolling through a who's who list of coaches like Tom Rossley, Forrest Gregg, Mike Cavan and Bennett, Jones was at the peak of football coaching. He'd served in some coaching capacity with the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers (22-46 as NFL head coach).

By all accounts, he was a good offensive mind, but not a guy who could lead a team. He jumped out of the NFL in 1999 and went to Hawaii where he made a name as a guy who'll build a program through offense.

****
SMU is a good football team. They're 6-4, but sit atop their Conference USA West division with a 5-1 conference record, their lone loss coming against ranked Houston, a team they're narrowly ahead of.

It matters little, but SMU lost by a hair to Washington State and then in overtime to Navy. Those two games go the other way and they've got two really nice wins to put in their scrapbook. With games at Marshall and Tulane upcoming (two very bad teams), eight wins and a piece of the Conference USA pie is very much in the books.

What about next year? What are expectations?

If you consider Jones' history with Hawaii and SMU's apparent upswing, to see them ranked (yes, ranked!) next season is not out of the question. Their conference is remarkably bad so getting six wins is not out of the question. Making hay out of conference is the key.

Mark my words: SMU football is back. Back from the dead. And next year they'll do the impossible and force the nation and area to take notice

Going Greinke

Zack Greinke: Keeping it together

Consider Zack Greinke for a moment.

Three years ago, he was a guy on the brink.

Today, he's at the apex of pitching in professional baseball. He joins the ranks of Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Warren Spahn, Fergie Jenkins and Jim Palmer.

He was awarded the American League Cy Young Award.

The truth is, probably up to 90 percent of the United States has never seen Greinke pitch. I'd probably guess up to 80 percent of baseball hadn't seen Greinke pitch.

The guy pitches for the sad Kansas City Royals. They don't get national games. Most Royals fans don't watch their games.

However, his story is nonetheless amazing. Greinke's pitching isn't. I mean, he's a fantastic pitcher. No, he didn't have the wins, but his dominance was unparalleled. The point is, he's always been a great pitcher. Given his arm, he's a brilliant hurler.

It's what's between the ears -- or lacking between the ears -- that makes Greinke important and his story extraordinary.

Three years ago, Greinke was virtually absent. He walked away from the Royals with the distinct possibility that'd he never play the game again.

Turns out, he has a social disorder. Seems to not dig being around people.

Read Joe Posanski's story from Sports Illustrated linked to above. He's a kind of baseball idiot savant. Part Rain Man. Part Christy Mathewson.

If you think about it, the fact that he's able to go out on a mound with 40,000 watching is remarkable. Or that he travels with 50 other guys and stays in hotels and shares a clubhouse with a bunch of dudes that seem totally different from him.

Greinke's a square peg. But he's better than 99 percent of all the round pegs and every team would give up the farm to have their own square peg.

He's an extraordinary story and we'd be all remiss to let it pass by without comment.

Mavericks Depth Chart: Center

Damp, not moist

As much as we'd like to pretend that James Singleton, Drew Gooden and Kris Humphries fill theneed, the Dallas Mavericks have one center. He is Erick Dampier.

Even me, a Damp defender, can no longer take up for the guy and pretend like he's living up to some standard of center paying no mind to the fact that true, good centers are incredibly hard to find or that, from night to night, Damp really isn't that bad.

Those statements, however, are true.

Damp isn't nearly as bad as we make him out to be. And considering Damp's competition in the league, he's at the very least in the middle of the league for centers.

However, the fact remains, Damp's still not very good.

Now, I don't blame Damp for this. The Mavericks signed the guy to that ridiculous contract. I don't blame athletes for taking the money. I blame the owners and personnel guys for agreeing to give the guy the money.

I also place blame on the organization for be completely unable to evaluate talent at the center position.

Think about it: The best center in franchise history is James Donaldson. And it's not even really close.

The current regime is responsible for Damp, Shawn Bradley, Pavel Podkolzin, Ryan Hollins, DeSagana Diop, D.J. Mbenga, Kevin Willis, Jamaal Magloire, Calvin Booth, among others.

Say what you will about Dampier, but he's Bill Russell compared to those jokers.

Furthermore, the Mavs have summarily passed on and missed out on Tyson Chandler, Emeka Okafor, Antonio McDyess, Marcus Camby, Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, Pau Gasol and whoever else.

The problem isn't Dampier. It's a cycle of ineptitude in the front office of this franchise in terms of evaluating talent at the five position.

Power Forward
Small Forward
Shooting Guard
Point Guard

'Sheeeeeeeeett'

The day Elvis Andrus got hosed

What's not to love?

Oakland A's reliever Andrew Bailey was named the American League Rookie of the Year yesterday.

Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus finished second (somewhat distant, 88-65). He should've finished first.

Don't get me wrong: I'm a bias motherfucker.

But even the dumbest individual can look at the numbers and the season and realize Andrus should've been given the honor.

Andrus led American League rookies in hits, triples, total bases, stolen bases and runs.

Bailey led just about every rookie American League reliever in every statistic because he's really the only rookie reliever/closer in the American league. He had 26 saves. The next best was two saves. Of course, he led every rookie closer in every stat because he was the only rookie closer.

OK, let's look at the depth of impact.

Andrus helped the Rangers with the bat and the glove. Think about it: Every half of the inning Andrus could've had some impact on the game. And it's not like Andrus is playing first base. He was shortstop. A Gold-Glove-quality shortstop.

Whereas Bailey helped the Athletics only on the mound. For one inning, two max.

Furthermore, Bailey pitched back to back every blue moon and most likely three or four times a week. Andrus played 145 games and logged 480 at-bats. Almost everyday Andrus was on the field. Bailey's on the field as long as the A's offense gave him a two-run lead.

However, I think the difference here is total, non-statistical impact.

The A's went from 75 wins in 2008 to ... 75 wins in 2009. With Bailey, the A's were no better and they wound up in fourth place in the division and were never ever really in the division or wild card race.

The Rangers, however, went from 79 wins in 2008 to ... 87 wins in 2009 and were playing meaningful baseball in September.

There's a lot of reasons why they were better. Andrus' bat and speed was a part of that. But so was the pitching. But who helped make the pitching better? Andrus' insane defense.

I don't know exactly how many runs Andrus saved by spearing a line drive or spinning and making an insane throw, but, needless to say, his impact was real and good. He was a difference maker. Maybe the stats weren't all there. Maybe stolen bases and good defense doesn't sell tickets or look sexy. But without a doubt Andrus was far-more deserving of the Rookie of the Year. Why he almost placed third is clearly the biggest mystery in Major League Baseball in 2009.

Better to be lucky than good

Brandon Jennings, keepin' it realz

The headline of last night's Dallas Mavericks-Milwaukee Bucks 115-112 overtime thrilla in Wisconsin is Dirk Nowitzki's lucky-ass, fall-away shot to win it all.

The real story are the Mavs giving up an 18-point lead in the second half to a inferior Bucks team that pretty much burned the Mavericks on the perimeter hitting 14 three-pointers on the night.

It's not something the Mavs have been guilty of (giving up big leads against bad teams), but it's an excellent way to get in a rut and force your stars to play more than 40 minutes a night when they should be resting after 32.

What's worse is that the Mavs' are getting thin with Josh Howard and Erick Dampier ailing nad Shawn Marion joining their ranks with a bum sprained ankle.

The Mavs escaped the road going 3-1, and that'll be fine for now. But it's something to watch as this team melds and continues through the season.

Notes:

1. I knock Jason Kidd for not getting to the free-throw line (I mean, he's got two attempts in 11 games), but there's little denying the guy still has it at age 78. The guy was a terror last night and has been better than 70 percent of all point guards for most of the season.

2. Fifty-four points and 25 rebounds out of your power forward and center positions had better win you a game.

3. I like Brandon Jennings before. I love his game as a pro.

4. Consider this: J.J. Barea scored 11 points in 26 minutes. His +/- was -15. That's really hard to do.

A weekend cruise

Visions of Roddy

One thing Dirk Nowitzki's crazy season is doing is hiding Roddy Beaubois' ascension up the Dallas Mavericks' rotation.

Once a doubter, I am now a fan. I love the guy's game. He's part Rajon Rondo (tallish, long, athletic, ballsy ... and one of my fav players right now) and part Tony Parker (French, quick, fast).

But unlike Parker and maybe unlike Rondo, the guy can D it up a little. Now, I don't think he's a natural defender and any progress he makes on that part of his game this season will be due to work and practice. Right now, he's using his quickness and athleticism to merely out-quick and out-athlete opponents. A valuable asset, no doubt, but not one you can depend on every night, every season, every possession.

Beaubois loaded up the box line with 14 points, 6-6 FG, 2-2 3-point, four assists, no turnovers and a steal.

When healthy, I know that Josh Howard is your starting shooting guard, but Beaubois has to get 20 minutes a night. I'd take him over J.J. Barea and Quinton Ross (right now) any night.

By the way, the Mavs sweep a weekend road set against Milwaukee and Detroit, both of which teeter on abysmal to just bad from minute to minute.

Notes:
1. Jason Terry's averaging a recent high of 1.7 steals a game. Feels like he gets three a night.

2. Despite his MVP-like start to the season, Nowitzki is shooting just 43 percent from the field. That's about four points below his career average.

3. Nice fill-in game for Drew Gooden.

4. Story of the season: Piston point guards Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey combined for 55 points on 23-36 shooting. No answer for opposing point guards.

5. The Mavs bench went 6-22 from the field.

6. Mavs are now 4-2 on the road. They need to improve by 20 percent on the road in order to get anywhere.

Lambeau trip

Aw shucks

One of my favorite listens -- radio-wise -- is Mark Elfenbein's show on The Ticket every Sunday morning. He's wry and funny. He's also extremely knowledgable about a lot of different sports.

This morning, mere hours before the Dallas Cowboys faced the Green Bay Packers, Elf talked about momentum. Mostly, about how easily it can be obtained, but oh-so difficult to maintain.

In his own way, Elf -- who later predicted a Cowboys victory -- was casting a dark premonition for the hometown Cowboys.

The Cowboys lost 17-7. It wasn't that close. It wasn't really close at all. And it was probably the worst football game I've watched the entire season counting all amateur play at the high school and college level.

I really don't know what to make of this team. When they lose, they don't lose well. It'd be different if this was a 21-20 game or if they had been super sharp against the Giants or Broncos.

Particularly, the offense has been hit or miss. A lot of misses. I was one of many to push accolades on this team for the last two weeks and I'm just as quick to pile on the criticism and blame. The Cowboys had a lot to play for. But as much as I loved Elf's idea of the loss of momentum, I suggest that there's an element nobody really talked about: Desperation.

The Packers were more desperate and they played like it. Did the Cowboys suck? Yes. But were the Packers just as bad? Nope. Their defense played like rabid wolves. They went to win and they pulled it out.

Don't look now, but the Cowboys are amidst the gaggle of teams battling for playoff positioning instead of being comfortably in front of everybody.

Grades:

Quarterback -- F
I know that there were a lot of drops and a lot of pressure, but Tony Romo was not good. At times he was really inaccurate and that causes problems. On his lone interception with the Cowboys ready to score, he misplaced a pass to Jason Witten that was taken advantage of to kill the drive. We'll never know exactly, but that was the game.

Running Back -- F
Norm Hitzges on the post-game show on The Ticket argued that the Cowboys simply didn't have the ball long enough to establish the run. However, that argument only plays in two circumstances: If you fumble and lose every kick-off; if you're scoring long touchdowns on the first play of the drive.

Fact is, the Cowboys went back to pass on four of six first-half possessions. The Cowboys had two first-half first downs. The idea that the Cowboys didn't have the ball wasn't so much the insanely good Green Bay offense (who scored just three points in the first half), but due to the fact that the Cowboys were, every time, playing with second- and third-and-long every time forcing them to throw the ball.

The other fact is that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has zero interest in running the ball. He doesn't like doing it and doesn't want to do it despite this offense's apparent strength at running back and a bruising, big offensive line. It doesn't make sense, but I don't get paid millions to call plays. This team will never run the ball as long as the fate of the game is in question. For better or for worse, we'll need to deal with this fact.

Wide Receiver -- F
What happens in this game if Roy Williams doesn't fumble that ball? The Packers probably don't get that field goal (the switch of field position here was huge) and the Cowboys might have been bound for at least a field goal. It was the play of the game. Where'd Miles Austin go? I thought he was the second coming of Drew Pearson. Or Alexander Wright.

Tight End -- F
A relative non-factor. So if running backs and tight ends are the strength of this team, who the hell is Garrett looking at?

Offensive Line -- F
Beat. Simply beat. Flat footed most of the game against a Packer defense that willed itself to get into Tony Romo's jock. Marc Columbo is out, FYI. Hello, Doug Free.

Defensive Line -- C
Not dominant, but I heard someone say the Cowboys were beat the line of scrimmage on both sides. As much as they underimpressed, this crew also made plays and helped keep their team in the game.

Linebackers -- A
I thought Anthony Spencer was really great. Arguably his best game as a Cowboy. This crew's been solid all year and fantastic at other times. If Spencer can get going, they can only get better.

Secondary -- D
Really inconsistent. If Roy Williams' fumble was the play of the game, Mike Jenkins' penalty on Orlando Scandrick's fumble recovery was No. 2. Huge mistake that turned the tide of the game not unlike Williams' goof. By the way, where's Ken Hamlin gone to?

Special Teams -- C
Knocked mostly due to Nick Folk screwing the pooch on the field goal. Play of the game No. 3. Huge. At 17-10, the Cowboys have some life. Mat McBriar stuck another two inside the 20.

Coaching -- F
Did that look like a team ready to play? Or put in the position to win? Hardly.

Beginning and ending with TCU

Biggest weekend in Metroplex college football in 50 years? Maybe.

Otherwise, the Big XII continues to clutter.

Good news for TCU that might help later ios that Clemson won and made it closer to their conference championship game making their loss to TCU look better (for TCU ... and for Clemson). Furthermore, Air Force and BYU keep winning, making their conference sked even stronger.

When's the last time USC and Oklahoma were so far down on the national rankings?

TCU 55, Utah 28
Leaving no doubt. TCU is a class above any competition they might have and, frankly, if they went toe to toe with Alabama, Texas, Florida, Oregon or whoever, they'd hold their own. None of those teams are impressing. TCU is. Arguably the biggest win in the program's history. Fifteen different Frogs touched the ball either via pass or rush. Nobody wants to see TCU right now.

SMU 35, UTEP 31
Friends, your SMU Mustangs are bowl eligible. Take it in. It hasn't happened in a really long time; however, I'd bet it happens a handful of more times in the coming future with June Jones in control. SMU saw only six third downs.

Texas 47, Baylor 14
I know we're supposed to dismiss this because it's Baylor, but UT played a near-perfect game and whipped their ass.

Oklahoma 65, Texas A&M 10
If you wondered just how far the Aggies were from the top of the Big XII South, well, here's your answer. This was a complete ass whipping. Makes you wonder if A&M will ever make it back to the UT-OU echelon.

Oklahoma State 24, Texas Tech 17
Running the ball can get you everywhere. Two hundred and forty five for the Cowboys, while the Red Raiders completely sputtered, although they played a better Cowboys team well on the road.

Nebraska 31, Kansas 17
Todd Reesing's been awful all season. Inaccurate as hell and they can't run the ball so they end up with the stats, but not the wins. Nebraska, meanwhile, is ruing the day it crapped the bed against Texas Tech and Iowa State. Otherwise, they're a top 15 or 10 team in the nation.

Missouri 38, Kansas State 12
K-State thought they'd bring Kool-Aid to the gin party and everything would work out. Wrong. Field goals ain't winning games from week to week in college football. If anyone can figure Mizzou and K-State out, I'd appreciate a little help.

Iowa State 17, Colorado 10
The lil' Cyclones roll into bowldom thanks to the Buffaloes completely self-destruct. They went 2-14 on third downs. Penalties and turnovers galore.

Florida International 35, UNT 28
The better team didn't win. But they don't have trophies for teams that play the best but don't wind up with more points. I don't see Todd Dodge sticking around to teach these kids how to close a game, which I don't even know if he knows how to win these types of games.