David Murphy's groin: Mild

Hands off, boys. That's mild.

Just thought you might like to know.

Dez Bryant buys dinner, self-righteous assholes scamper out of the woodworks

To avoid controversy, Dez Bryant should consider a nice drinking and driving conviction

Two months ago, the biggest deal was made about Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant refusing to carry the shoulder pads of veteran receiver Roy Williams.

You'd think the kid assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He didn't and it took several weeks for the story to die down while the likes of Donte Stallworth still has a job despite the fact that he killed another human being while stoned.

Fast forward to Monday. Dez Bryant agrees to take the Cowboys offense out to dinner to Pappas Brothers Steakhouse. Williams invites the defense. The bill is $54,000 and change. Expensive bottles of wine are taken home.

Funny story, right? A rich rookie gets his due and has to buy 50 meaty, hungry young men insane amounts of steak, vegetables and liquor. Nope. Not funny. This is some serious shit.

Ex-coach Herm Edwards blasted the story because in this current economy, it puts the fans out of touch with NFL players.

Yes. That was said over the public airwaves. Edwards gets paid money to do this shit while thousands are at home jobless.

Guess what!? Professional athletes are out of touch with the regular Joe American! Now, I'd like to give ol' Edwards the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he criticized the five-year, $11.8 million contract -- with $8.3 million guaranteed -- that Bryant got without catching an NFL pass.

Nope. He didn't. Maybe he criticized the insane money that Jake Long or Sam Bradford got? Nope. Nothing. Edwards is clearly as out of touch with context and history as he is with fans.

Dan Wetzel at Yahoo! Sports condemned the spending because he says that this amount of money being spent could harm labor negotiations for players. Because NFL players aren't overpaid. Except for the underpaid Bryant.

Meanwhile. Braylon Edwards is drinking and driving.

Walk-off strikeout? Sure. Why not.

Feliz and be happy

If a baseball game can have a walk-off scenario, the Texas Rangers have seen them all.

They've won games via a hit by pitch, walk, home run, single, double, passed ball and wild pitch.

To cap off a comeback today, Mitch Moreland scored from first after Nellie Cruz struck out on a wild pitch. Attempting to get Cruz out at first base to end the game, whoever Seattle's running out at catcher threw the ball into right field.

Running the entire time, Moreland scored the winning run. 6-5. Win No. 88.

It's been a weird season. It's been a weirder five days. Since clinching the division, the Rangers have run out the spares in order to give the regulars some time off before the playoffs. We've gotten starts from Rich Harden and Scooter Feldman and relief appearances from Tommy Hunter and Derek Holland.

No problem. Jeff Francoeur is hitting everything in sight. We had the first-ever Bengie Mollina-Matt Treanor combo platter in the line-up. Molina's responded a little with four hits in his last two games.

And we also got an inning from Mark Lowe, the reliever got in the Cliff Lee-Justin Smoak deal. He'd been on the 60-day DL following surgery on his back (yikes!). He was good. Allowed a hit and struck out two. He apparently has an outside shot at the playoff roster.

Note:
1. Mike Young is 17 hits from 200. Doubtful he'll get there.

2. Julio Borbon's got 15 hits in last nine games.

3. Dave Murphy with a bad groin? Not good.

4. Josh Hamilton on way back? Good.

5. Frank Francisco out in for first round? Not good.

6. Justin Smoak in series: 5-11 with three home runs. The kid's going to be good. In time.

7. Derek Holland: 3 IP - 3 hits - 1 run - 5 Ks. Nice.

8. Neftali Feliz hasn't allowed a run in more than a month. In same timeframe: 17 Ks, 2 BBs. He's been unhittable.

The NFC Power Rankings

The White album

It's a quarter into the season and we're amid a boring Dallas Cowboys bye week, so I thought of no better idea than to rank the National Football Conference.

16. Carolina Panthers -- 0-3
And the Jimmy Clausen era begins. A good quarterback means everything. It makes everyone else on offense more useful. Everyone looks better from the receivers, running backs and offensive line. Throw in a laundry list of injuries and you've got a very bad team, including the worst offensive team in the conference.

15. San Francisco 49ers -- 0-3
All you need to do is watch the games to know they they are really bad. Second-worst offense. Worst defense. Often, it's not about how far down you fall, but where you fell from. Many, including me, had the 49ers winning the division. They may not get four the entire season. The biggest issue is that it appears its all internal. Are the players really going all out for this coaching staff? The offensive coordinator's already gone. He might not be the last. It's a team in disarray beyond lackluster execution.

14. Detroit Lions -- 0-3
One dumb call away from at least 1-2. Issue isn't entirely Matt Stafford's injury. The defense -- which they've drafted over and over again to replenish -- is one of two teams to allow, on average, more than 400 yards a game, including 148 on the ground and 265 passing. Still, lost first two games by combined eight points.

13. Arizona Cardinals -- 2-1
Yes, they're 2-1. But those two wins were against St. Louis and Oakland, who missed three field goals, one to win the game. Were clocked by 36 points against Atlanta. Bottom third in offense and defense. Missing Karlos Dansby and Kurt Warner.

12. St. Louis Rams -- 1-2
Two losses came by a total of six points. And who leads the NFC in turnovers? Rams with 10 (including seven fumbles). Got Detroit and Seattle coming up and then Carolina and Tampa Bay to follow. Prediction: Three wins in next five.

11. New York Giants -- 1-2
Remember playing the Giants thinking you might get socked in the mouth through your TV? Now, the Giants give up 28 points a game, including about 150 on the ground. It's a bizarro universe. Meanwhile, Eli Manning's throwing left-handed jump balls at the goalline. Says a lot about a team.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 2-1
Is it fair putting a team above .500 near others who aren't? Probably not. But if you beat Carolina and Cleveland and then lose by 25 at home to an opponents' fourth-string quarterback, (Pittsburgh) you get bumped.

9. Dallas Cowboys -- 1-2
The Cowboys, being of local interest, are an interesting subject in criticizing an NFL team. If Alex Barron doesn't hold, the Cowboys maybe are 2-1 and everyone's preaching a different tune. There's just something off about this team and it's hard to criticize because there's a logical argument both ways. It's it personnel? Coaching? That dynamic that makes a good team a great team? I guess if I could figure it out, coaches and management could.

8. Washington Redskins -- 1-2
Most disappointing has been their defense, which is allowing like 423 yards of passing per game. I'm also afraid that they're prone to blowing games against bad teams (see: St. Louis). This was an issue the last two years.

7. Minnesota Vikings -- 1-2
They get the edge because they've played better opponents (New Orleans, Miami) and they're defense is still really, really good.

6. Seattle Seahawks -- 2-1
Like the Bucs, the Seahawks are an unexpected 2-1. The difference is that Seattle beat two predicted division winners (San Diego, San Francisco). How they lost to Denver by 17 actually seems like a mystery. They're playing like an above-average team without above-average talent. Their defense has eight turnovers while allowing just 67 yards rushing.

5. Philadelphia Eagles -- 2-1
To all you grandstanding, self-righteous assholes that condemned Michael Vick for killing some dogs: You are gigantic pricks. You crucified the guy as if he were Hitler or Stalin and considered him trash. Now that he's "acting" the right way and throwing touchdowns, you don't seem to upset. Well, you are fatheaded douchebags. I, on the other hand, criticize Vick for being a limited quarterback and I suspect once teams get tape on the guy, opponents will catch up to him. Also, not playing Jacksonville may even things up.

4. Chicago Bears -- 3-0
Given time, Jay Cutler's a good quarterback. Who knew? I would bet that passer ratings would go through the roof if they all had 10 seconds to throw the ball, but I'm no expert. I also think they're getting lucky. That's not a bad thing, but after 12 weeks if they're 8-4, I think we'll have a much better read on them.

3. New Orleans Saints -- 2-1
Offensively, they'll never quite fall off as long as Drew Brees is upright. Defensively, they've hit a wall because the turnovers that defined their championship season a year ago aren't as abundant. Sans turnovers, the offense doesn't have those nice short fields to play with.

2. Green Bay Packers -- 2-1
A really great team. You'd be hard pressed to find a better second-best team in professional sports. The Monday night game disturbs me. The turnovers, stalled drives and penalties. Yikes. Penalties alone lost them the game.

1. Atlanta Falcons -- 2-1
All around the best team. A top 10 defense that gets turnovers and is, so far, allowing nothing. An offense with a good, young offensive line, one of the best tight end-quarterback-receiver-running back options in the league. They're young, hungry and deep.

Depth Chart: Point Guard

Rowdy Roddy

Dallas Mavericks basketball is here!

Yeah, the Mavs have a tough road with relevent baseball and football being played.

It also doesn't help that nobody has any confidence in this team. Nobody cares. I mean, we care. We care in the same way we care about our children. You love them. But do you hug them as if it were the last time you were ever going hug them? No. You kind of take them for granted and, after some time, it all starts to blur and here you are 10 years of playoff appearances and 50-win seasons.

We still love them, but we're not thinking they'll be gone in a week.

To get ready for the start of the NBA season, we look at the Mavericks' training camp depth chart, starting with the point guards.

Jason Kidd
More than 16 years ago, the Mavericks spent the second overall pick on Jason Kidd out of California. Tony Dumas was taken 15 picks later and Deon Thomas in the second round. Those other two aren't doing as well as Kidd. Sixteen years later and he's no more or less important to this organization. As big of superstar as Dirk Nowitzki is, Kidd is probably way less replaceable than our big German. We can find rebounds and points somewhere in this line-up. You can't find what Kidd does. I hate paying him $8 million and I hate giving up on young, good point guards (like Kidd 13 years ago), but he's here, I'm here and we're stuck here together.

Roddy Beaubois
He's apparently bootless, but unable to shoot thanks to that hurt ankle. All of this according to Gina Miller on Twitter. It's hard to believe that last season was his first. It's also hard to believe that he wasn't getting 45 minutes and averaging 40 points a game in France before he made the jump to the States. I mean, who was on that French team?

J.J. Barea
Ugh. Not another season of ill-advised shots, minute after minute of mediocre play broken up with brief moments of circus shots and the worst defense being played in any NBA backcourt! I can't take it. The Mavericks will fail longterm as long as Barea is getting significant minutes in a significant number of games.

Dee Brown
No, not that Dee Brown. Instead, it's the smallish, spunky point out of Illinois. Brown played in 49 games three years ago in Utah before floundering in Washington and Phoenix the last two seasons. He's short, he can't shoot nor can he distribute the ball. Probably some athletic body to put some pressure on Barea and relief for Beaubois as he recovers.

TV on the Rangers

Banner day

The Texas Rangers lost yesterday after unveiling their division champ banner.

However, the biggest news has nothing to do with the team, but how a majority of fans enjoy this team: On the TV.

FOX and the Rangers have apparently come to some unsubstantiated 20-year agreement worth $1.6 billion. That totals to about $80 million a year. Although it wouldn't go into effect until 2014, the Rangers will get a $80 million signing bonus, which, I think, is what Sam Bradford got from the St. Louis Rams.

Why does this matter? Why do you think the New York Yankees get to spend so much money? It's because they own their own network and all that advertising cash goes into their pockets for first basemen and catchers.

That $80 million a year will go into starting pitchers, shortstops, cotton candy vendors and scoreboard lightbulbs.

Again, it's not a done deal. But it's a hell of a rumor. Something that should pump some confidence (and cash) into this organization. Help us buy some Cliff Lee.

Cowboys bring it

Making it look easy

The Dallas Cowboys (and all the individuals involved) take a lot of shit from a lot of people. Not of the least of which comes from me.

I think it's personal. For example, Jason Garrett and Wade Phillips rub me the wrong way. They just do. For a team that I would love to see lose, you'd think I'd enjoy the two guys helping run this team into the ground year after year. I don't. They're socially-retarded turds.

With that said, they and everyone else involved deserves some credit. I didn't have them within crotch-sniffing distance of the Houston Texans and, yet, they roll out (by a million miles) their best overall performance of the past eight months with a 24-13 win yesterday.

The Cowboys did almost everything right -- from playcalling, effort, execution, luck and opportunity. They capitalized and everyone deserves some of the kudos. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the Cowboys were the 2-1 team and the Texans were 1-2.

1-2. I think that puts the last two weeks into perspective. It makes 0-2 look like a gigantic hole. Despite the win and the good vibes, there's still a long way to go. On the other hand, 0-3 would've looked like K2 -- insurmountable.

What's helping even more is that the rest of the NFC East isn't doing anything. Everyone's 1-2 except for the Philadelphia Eagles who are 2-1 with a ticking timebomb at quarterback.

Grades:
Quarterback -- A
Tony Romo is not the problem. He's never been the problem. However, he's not the solution. He's not Peyton Manning, a guy you can depend on to put the team on his back and carry it for a quarter. He's really good, but not great. I could count the bad decisions on two or three fingers. Yesterday's performance will win you 90 percent of all games.

Running Backs -- A
Again, there's been a ton of bitching about the running game, but never did I think it was on the running backs. Running the ball is about repitition. If you have Leonard Davis banging on you a dozen times a game, it's no big deal. But do it 30 times and it takes its toll. A running game in the NFL has its periods of success and lulls. You don't get six yards on every carry. You get one yard on one carry and maybe a dozen the next. The last three games, I felt the running game was there to be had and it was abandoned up until this game. They stuck with it. Marion Barber's ran hard all season. Felix Jones simply needs more touches.

Wide Receivers -- B+
There goes Miles Austin's 2,500-yard season. Caution: Roy Williams had a "career" "break-out" game against Tampa Bay to start the season last year. Then he disappeared. Catch of the day: Sam Hurd's third-down catch. Huge.

Tight Ends -- B
Martellus Bennett has a weird lumbing athleticism. He's athletic, but there's a strict limitation to it. Some times you see it and other times he looks stiff. Like he's Kevin Durant in a ton of armor. Of course, compared to Jason Witten, he looks like Miles Austin.

Offensive Line -- B
Yikes. Another Kyle Kosier injury. I know who the Cowboys will draft next spring. I think Montrae Holland is capable of filling that spot. Not ideal, but capable.

Defensive Line -- D
Arian Foster could've run all day. The 4th-and-19 play was a disaster. They got zero pressure on the quarterback. Where's Stephen Bowen and Jay Ratliff? They've all been pushed around all season.

Linebackers -- B
Keith Brooking is a liability in pass coverage. Ahem, which brings us to Bobby Carpenter 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0. Where are Brandon Williams, Jason Williams and Sean Lee? Lee, especially, was supposed to come in immediately and be the third-down back. Now we have to depend on Brooking to play every down? Ridiculous. Bust-watch. DeMarcus Ware is a man's man.

Secondary -- B
An area of concern coming into the game. Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones are three guys that can make you look silly. However, the Cowboys secondary kept them in front of them. Allowed them some catches, but never did you feel they were taking over. By the way, how man interceptions has Mike Jenkins got in his career on overthrown balls? It feels like about 90 percent are like that. Danny McCray with the interception.

Special Teams -- B
Hate to rain on the David Buehler parade, but he has no touchbacks this season. What's more important: That 10-15 yards every opponent's possession or a roster spot? Surely we don't need seven defensive backs.

Coaching -- A
There are times that playcalling looks as natural as walking to Jason Garrett. Other times, he looks like a 12-year-old kid playing Madden '11. When he's on, he's on. The mix of plays keeping the defense off balance looks genius. Of course, it can also look maddening and disoriented. Wade Phillips needed that win more than anyone. He goes into the bye looking good and he doesn't look like a jackass in front of the media.

Holiday Bowl, meet the Longhorns; or the Mean Green get a win

Sadness

The rest of the Big XII held their end of the bargain. One of the giants didn't and another two others made it pretty hard for themselves against relatively easy opponents.

UCLA 34, Texas 12
Oh no. I think we found the real UT here. One that isn't bound for a very good season. Just down a little this season. That's all. But still, UCLA? Come on! Buck up! Even UCLA probably isn't entirely proud of this win. They threw eight total passes. But it was the running game that allowed them to hang on to the ball allowing the Longhorns just four second-half possessions. The Bruins dumbed it down and it worked.

Nebraska 17, South Dakota State 3
Ugly, ugly, ugly. Not extoling much confidence in the Cornhusker faithful. They were awful in about every part of the game and if they weren't playing South Dakota State, they probably lose.

Oklahoma 31, Cincinnati 29
The Sooners are gonig to lose. It may not be this week or the next. But they're going to lose. You don't go undefeated allowing 500 yards a game against inferior opponents. What works on Utah State and Cincinnati won't work on Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Still, they've played a nice non-conference sked. What doesn't kill them now may make them stronger.

Baylor 30, Rice 13
Robert Griffin completed 20-28 for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Ten different Owls made catches, if anybody cares.

Missouri 51, Miami (Ohio) 13
Are we missing something on the Tigers? They're 4-0 and probably going to be 5-0 next week. They're now 23 in the USA Today poll. They've beat OK opponents. They'll get their tests, but they're a team to watch. They run the ball, their quarterback is good and they've allowed just six touchdowns in 16 quarters.

Kansas 42, New Mexico State 16
The bully Jayhawks picking on NMS like that. If I were a gambling man, I wouldn't place a plug nickel on Kansas. They're ridiculous. Getting beat one week and then taking an equally inferior opponent to the woodshed the next.

Kansas State 17, UCF 13
UCF had 252 rushing yards to keep it close. Still, K-States good enough to beat a team that can't throw the ball. UCF did miss two field goals.

SFA 71, Lamar 3
Men vs. boys. The SFA defense gets four turnovers and five sacks.

Iowa State 27, Northern Iowa 0
The Cyclones returned two interceptions for touchdowns. There's never been a more lackluster 27-0 win in college football history.

UNT 21, Florida Atlantic 17
Mean Green! Riley Dodge harkening back to his Southlake Carroll days. Slinging that ball around. In all seriousness, a really super win for UNT. Florida Atlantic's a better team and UNT's knocked on the door several times. Good for them.

Still isn't old yet

Cowboy-Texan

Texans cheerleaders: D-

Unless you are a hardcore fan of the Dallas Cowboys, who is not rooting for a loss on Sunday afternoon?

For one, it'd send the fandom nuts. The media would have something to write about with the Texas Rangers' in idle mode until the playoffs. And it would ramp up the smugness factor with Wade Phillips during press conferences.

What if the Cowboys did lose dropping them to 0-3? Is Phillips still the head coach? Does Jerry Jones fire him mid-season like that? It's not something Jones does. Then again, the Cowboys were supposed to be playing in February. We'll see.

Each week, I pinpoint five things that will be important in this game. This week, I'm going the entire way without discussing the Texans' offense. It's there. It's powerful. It'll rock your world. Cowboys better have an answer for it. Not going to discuss it.

Five things:

Running The Ball, Or Not
Tony Romo says they need to run the ball. I don't think Jason Garrett wants to. On the road where the crowd will be an issue, it might be good sense to run the ball more than you normally would to help take the spectators out of the equation. Then again, fuck it, just sling it around.

The Crowd
In August when the Cowboys lost a pre-season game in Houston, the crowd reacted as if they'd just won the Super Bowl. I don't think the Texan fans were being naive, I just think they hate the Cowboys, and, to a lesser degree, Dallas-Fort Worth in general. I don't blame them. I hate Houston. So we're even. Cowboys had better not get behind because they'll be facing a loud and drunk fandom.

Desperation vs. Hunger
I've heard all week that hte Dallas Cowboys have to win this game and that "desperation" that we assume they have will propel them in this game. Look at the other side of the coin. Who's hungrier than Houston? They beat their archrival Indianapolis Colts in the season opener and beat a good Washington team in Washington last week. They've heard all the hype and they know their window is open only so long. The Dallas Cowboys can be desperate all they want, but if the Texans are hungrier, it might not matter.

Playmaking
A long touchdown catch by Miles Austin. A sack and strip by DeMarcus Ware. An interception from Terence Newman. A punt return by Dez Bryant. One of those Tony Romo plays we all know and love. No, the Cowboys don't need one or two of these. They need three or four. If not all of them. Name me a definitive "play" made by these Cowboys this year. Austin's had some really nice plays and two great games, but he hasn't made a "play." Bryant's punt return is about it.

Jason Garrett's Head
He's done it before; don't think he won't do it again. Two years ago we all bitched about Terrell Owens not getting the ball. The next game, against Washington, Romo obnoxiously kept targeting a covered Owens. The Cowboys lost. Garrett's not a guy that takes responsibility. He doesn't go to the media taking blame for a bad offensive game. Or about 10 straight games of poor offense like this team's had dating back to last year. He doesn't feel beholden to the fans or media, which is fine as long as you win.

Prediction
Houston Texans 38, Dallas Cowboys 17
Hey, David Buehler goes 1-1 on field goals! Let the insanity begin!

X

Party hard

At about 6:28 CST, it got a little dusty in my house. I think it's safe to say that I wasn't alone.

With a 4-3 win Saturday, the Texas Rangers officially clinched the American League West division, punching their proverbial ticket to the post-season for the first time in 11 years.

It wasn't pandemonium. They were in Oakland and the 8,000 fans that actually attended barely cared about the home team, more or less the visiting team.

But for the 50 or so guys on the field wearing their road grays, it was probably the happiest moment of their professional careers.

Others were probably more excited than others. What Michael Kirkman's gone through the past decade and what Michael Young's gone through can't be compared. But if you don't think this thing doesn't affect the youngsters like Kirkman, you're crazy.

That feeling gets in your blood. It pulses through veins and infects every part of you. Suddenly, nothing else matters.

I feel good for Ron Washington. A guy that may or may not know how to run a baseball game. A guy that doesn't have the best control of the English language. A guy that probably should've been fired a year ago. And here he is. A manager of a division-winning baseball team. He can't do the rest of that stuff, but he gets all of his guys to play balls out.

I feel good for Jon Daniels. A kid when he was hired, no one believed in him and year after year fans grew tired of his poor trades. Plus, he wanted to "build up the farm system." That's pussy talk. Five years later and those draft picks and trades paid full dividends. Who was on the field when the final out was made? Nellie Cruz, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Julio Borbon, Jeff Francoeur, Chris Davis. All part of Daniels-made trades, drafts or free agent pick-ups.

I feel good for everyone. I feel good all over.

Watching Washington hug every player and coach as if he were coaching a little league team. Young standing there and getting a hug from every player from Ian Kinsler to Alexi Ogando, a guy Young didn't know existed six months ago.

I feel so good that I'm not even that mad at Tom Hicks. OK. He was an asshole that ran this franchise in to the ground. Then again, he hired Washington, Daniels and Nolan Ryan. I'm too happy to hate.

All is right with the world.

Antlers. Claw.

2

Laying it down

The magic number is two. The Texas Rangers could end the day as a playoff team thanks to last night's 10-3 win over the Oakland Athletics.

If Jon Daniels' idea behind winning the division was the reasoning behind the moves he made this season, then it worked, at least for one night.

Jorge Cantu, Jeff Francoeur, Bengie Molina and Vlad Guerrero combined for nine hits and seven RBI in the win.

Francoeur's been very interesting. He's been an integral part part of two dramatic wins (the hit-by-pitch and passed ball) and he's hitting .379 in 29 at-bats as a Ranger. He finally hit his first home run and he's struck out just twice since his acquisition.

It's a matter of time for these guys. Francoeur and Cantu are going to get their hits. Cantu, especially, has had a hard time of it since the trade. Both guys aren't awesome players, but they're guys you plug into your line-up and expect production. They'll hit again, just a matter of time.

Notes:
1. Vlad Guerrero: .303 - 26 doubles - 28 home runs - 111 RBI. Worth it.

2. Mike Young needs 23 hits for 200.

3. Clay Rapada does not look 6-5. He hasn't allowed a hit to a lefty yet.

4. Kinda felt Tommy Hunter was pulled too early. Hunter's allowed 20 home runs this season. But none of those have come in his last 16.1 innings.

SMU fights the good fight, TCU wins

I like my margaritas with a splash of Padron

SMU had TCU. Even if it was the briefest of moments and even if it didn't matter in the end, SMU threw a couple of jabs and TCU staggered.

In the end, TCU was too big, fast, mean and experienced in a 41-24 win at Ford Stadium in Dallas tonight.

It might look like a 17-point win, but it wasn't. Ask TCU. They'll tell you this was brawl from the beginning. SMU was up 17-14 in the third quarter and down just 21-17 later in the same frame.

SMU's best shot probably came in the first. SMU forced TCU to punt and scored. Again, they forced a TCU punt. At home, it was time to pounce.

However, SMU ran into an ongoing problem: third downs. The Mustangs converted just 2-13 third-down conversions. The Ponies were lucky to be even close.

At the end of the season, this 41-24 game will look like another handy TCU win, but we all know better. We know that SMU gave TCU everything they could stand.

The Mustangs have nothing to hang their head about. They played their asses off. It's a much bigger loss for them than it is a win for TCU.

Iron Skillet

Party!

All apologies to the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, every high school and college football team in the area, but the game of the week is at Ford Field later tonight.

It's the biggest SMU-TCU match-up since the 1980s, before SMU was deemed irrelevent by the NCAA's Death Penalty.

TCU is the No. 4 ranked team in the nation. SMU is a program on the way up with the hiring of June Jones as head coach.

SMU is not as good as TCU. TCU should win. But as good as the Horned Frogs are, they can not sleep on the Mustangs tonight. The Mustangs will beat you if you give them the opportunity.

This is big for both teams. TCU has a national championship on the brain. They need to be perfect. SMU could use a big win. They're 2-1 this season and will probably wind up with seven or eight wins no matter what happens tonight.

But if SMU winds up winning this thing, the buzz surrounding this once great program will be deafening. This helps put SMU on the map.

Dallas-Fort Worth -- a metropolis full of college football fans whose loyalty lies in Lubbock, College Station, Norman or Austin -- has relevent college football almost every week. Tonight, is its Mardi Gras. I hope everyone's paying attention.

Claw, antler

$31 ... for that I could buy a beer at the Ballpark

It's easy to say that the only reason the Texas Ranger are filling seats is because they're winning. It's a gigantic reason. But not the only.

It should be stated that the Rangers are incredibly likable. They've been likable for about the past three years. There hasn't been a ton of ego. Nothing flashy. They work hard and try to fly in the face of organizations like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and California Angels.

Also, a vast majority of these guys are homegrown products. With the exception of Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, Cliff Lee and a handful of others, all these guys cut their teeth in Frisco and Oklahoma City before arriving in Arlington.

The charm, this season, spilt over in the form of claws and antlers.

Essentially, if a player makes a great play, he looks to the dugout and provides a claw. If he makes a play where speed is a determining factor in its success, the player puts his thumb up to the side of his head, with his fingers splayed signifying antlers.

At first, it was a clubhouse thing that you'd catch on TV. Later it came out that Esteban German came up with it in Oklahoma City and it spread.

With the success of the team, the franchise finally decided to market the claw-antler phenomenom in the form of a T-shirt.

Unfortunately, that T-shirt costs $31.

Considering all of the fan-friendly measures the new owners have enacted (lower parking, food and merchandise prices), you'd think they'd be able to put together a product aimed at unifying a very fractured fanbase that is ... well, priced fan friendly.

I don't pay $31 for any piece of clothing. I sure as hell ain't paying $31 for a T-shirt where the Nike logo is the only reason I'm paying more than $15.

Leave the claw and antler to the players. They're the only ones that can afford the shirt.

Mapping a college weekend

Bear market

Awful games of local interest this week. The only decent one is Texas-UCLA. Let's face it, by Friday night, we'll be all out of college games to really like.

Conference play can not get here fast enough.

UCLA (1-2, 0-1) vs. Texas (3-0, 1-0)
Texas will be UCLA's third ranked opponent in four games. If form holds, they'll face another four ranked opponents before the end of the season. Hopefully they won't knock out Garrett Gilbert and his back-up like they did against Houston.

Oklahoma (3-0) vs. Cincinnati (1-2)
Cincy ain't what they used to be. It should be noted that OU allows 407 yards a game and has two close wins against Utah State and Air Force. Cincy's no real opponent, but it'll be interesting to see how OU pans out over the season.

Baylor (2-1) vs. Rice (1-2)
A big set of weeks for Baylor. They've got five straight weeks where they need to make hay against very beatable opponents. Rice is the start.

South Dakota State (0-2, 0-1) vs. Nebraska (3-0)
The Cornhuskers win by 50.

Miami (Ohio) (2-1, 1-0)vs. Missouri (3-0)
When does conference start?

University of Central Florida (2-1) vs. Kansas State (1-0, 3-0)
The Wildcats really need to be challenged. See if they can get 260 yards rushing against an actual opponent of some substance.

New Mexico State (0-2) vs. Kansas (1-2)
I'd like to see which Kansas team shows up. But I think they should be able to handle the Aggies.

Northern Iowa (1-1, 1-0) vs. Iowa State (1-2, 0-1)
How can Northern Iowa really take the field after getting axed by SFA last week?

Lamar University (2-1) vs. SFA (2-1)
Maybe the Jacks can serve retribution for Lamar beating McNeese State. The Southland Conference has got to stick together.

North Texas (0-3) vs. Florida Atlantic (1-1)
Doesn't it seem like there's an inordinate amount of Florida schools? UNT isn't good. Florida Atlantic ain't great.

Wade Phillips is an insufferable turd

Hamburgers with Wade Phillips as the meat

Dallas Cowboys fans, I don't know how you do it.

For the past four years, you've had a head coach that has made excuses, skirted questions, undermined the media and treated the fanbase like third graders.

Wade Phillips is an asshole.

And, no, I wouldn't want to have a beer with him. I don't think he's a good guy, who simply gets defensive at the drop of a hat.

If it walks like a turd and smells like a turd, it's a turd.

He's a coach's kid. He's a former jock, who probably bowed up to sassy geeks in high school and never really had to lift a finger to get anything.

OK. I'm being presumptuous and mean. I'm describing a stereotype. But a well-founded stereotype.

Phillips came on on the offensive this afternoon in his press conference attacking a Gerry Fraley story from yesterday that reported that David Buehler missed four of five field goals in practice.

It's ridiculous for any media member or non-coach to judge a playing practicing because Buehler kicks "hundreds" of balls a week and missing four in a day is no big deal.

Also, us regular folks don't have the "expertise" to truly judge field goals. Only so-called experts like Phillips and Joe DeCamillis can comment on whether or not an oblong piece of stitched-together leather is successfully kicked between two metal poles.

Sounds tough. Maybe Phillips can teach a class at the local community college.

Several details, Phillips never called Buehler out by his name. Called him "the kicker." Very Bill Parcells-like.

After Phillips went on his idiotic rant, another reporter asked about Buehler's workout today, Thursday. Phillips completely skirted the question repeating that Buehler kicked "hundreds" of footballs a week and he watches film of his kicks to improve. Buehler, more than likely, missed eight of 10. It also leaves Buehler 85 kicks short of his 100.

Can't wait until the Cowboys are 0-3.

4

The Colby Lewis nappy hat

I've largely ignored the Texas Rangers for about a week on this blog mainly because I really feel they've taken the foot off the gas pedal and if they're not taking things 100 percent seriously, why should I comment on David Murphy's on-base percentage?

The Rangers beat the California Angels, 2-1, in 12 innings to avoid the sweep and paired with an Oakland loss, the magic number is down to four. Essentially, two wins this weekend in Oakland will do it.

The other reason I'm not paying the Rangers too much mind is that they're not playing poorly. This may be credit to their pitching. Or it may be due to other teams not necessarily caring, wishing the season were over.

It's funny, when the Rangers are 20 games back, the season can't end soon enough. The same thing if they're eight games up. It can't end soon enough.

Over the past six, Rangers pitchers have allowed two or less runs in five. C.J. Wilson was great last night. Colby Lewis was really good the night before. Tommy Hunter and Cliff Lee had good starts against Seattle.

If those four are rounding into some kind of form that resembles winning pitching in October, then losing four of six in September won't matter.

Notes:
1. Doesn't it seem like there's been an inordinate amount of winning runs scored in Rangers games via the passed ball or wild pitch this season?

2. In his past 15.1 innings (since Aug. 11 ... the date of his last blown save), Neftali Feliz has allowed five hits, no runs and three walks. Dominant.

3. C.J. Wilson's allowed nine home runs in 194 innings. No. 9 came last night when Mike Napoli tied the game.

It's good to be the boss

I drink your milkshake

The Texas Rangers made a couple of moves in their farm system last week.

The team is no longer in Oklahoma City after they signed a four-year deal with the Round Rock Express, down Austin way. The Express will be the team's new Triple A affiliate.

The Rangers were in Oklahoma City for 28 years.

The Rangers also signed a four-year deal with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans as their High-A affiliate moving the franchise across the nation from Bakersfield, Calif.

Why is this significant? Rangers team president and co-owner Nolan Ryan is a co-owner of the Express.

The Rangers principal owner, Chuck Greenberg, is a co-owner of the Pelicans.

It's good to be the boss.

With the move from Bakersfield, the Rangers have only one West Coast affiliate, the Spokane Indians in addition to the Rookie League team in Arizona.

Why the Cowboys stink and why other teams are good

High five

The Dallas Cowboys are 0-2.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs 2-0.

Despite the Chiefs being a sweetheart pick to start the season, these circumstances were completely off the radar. Nobody had the Bucs at 2-0 and nobody had the Cowboys at 0-2.

Why are seemingly bad teams winning and why are seemingly good teams losing?

Opponents
Granted, the Bucs and Chiefs did draw the Cleveland Browns each. However, the Bucs pounded the Carolina Panthers and the Chiefs took it to the San Diego Chargers. Each had an easy win and a challenging win. This may come more down to perception of teams more than anything. We think the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins were not good three weeks ago. Maybe those teams are actually good and maybe the Bucs and Chiefs are good. Maybe the Cowboys simply aren't that good. By week 16, we'll know.

Yards
This is not even close. The Chiefs are 30th in the league in yards. Tampa Bay, 24th. The Dallas Cowboys can't get enough yards. Despite this ...

Points
Shockingly, the Chiefs and Bucs are tied for 17th in the league for points per game while Dallas is near the bottom. It's shocking that a team that gains so many yards can score so little and vice versa. Only if ...

Third-Down Conversions
Really no consistent factors. Tampa converts 41.9 percent of their third downs. KC, 23 percent. But the Dallas Cowboys convert third downs at a 42 percent rate. In theory, KC and Tampa (given their lack of yards and relative abundance of points) should have a high third-down rate and the Cowboys not. But it doesn't work that way.

Age
As of May, the Buccaneers and Chiefs had the third and eighth youngest team in the league, respectively, at 26.6 and 26.8 years of age. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are an ancient 27.7 years old, the seventh oldest in the league.

Turnovers
It's not all about preventing turnovers. It's about getting more than you let go. The Chiefs are a +1 and the Bucs are a +4 in this young season. The Cowboys are a -4. If you want a predictor for winning NFL games, look no further.

Penalties
The Dallas Cowboys have collected 18 penalties in two games. The Chiefshave committed just seven penalties, good for 31st in the league for the least. The Bucs have the 21st least penalties in the league with just 10.

Essentially, and I hate to simplify NFL games like this, but if you want to know why the Cowboys are 0-2 and the Chiefs and Bucs -- two seemingly bad teams -- are 2-0, it's because the latter two are younger, create more turnovers and committ way less penalties.

Food for thought.

The real culprit in the utter disaster known as the Dallas Cowboys

The man with the plan

Loving the nightly newscast promos regarding the Dallas Cowboys. The sad piano music. The downcast writing. The slow-motion game clips of frustrated players, coaches and owners.

Seriously, I hate to evoke Sept. 11 or Dec. 7, but you'd think some great tragedy had befallen the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

It's a football team. Let's put things in perspective.

People are bummed though, and I understand that.

The blame game has been popular of late. Is it the coaches? The players? Was it a lazy pre-season or is this team simply not as talented as we believe?

Is it just a tiny roadblock?

One person that simply hasn't gotten enough blame (if at all) is owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

Yes, he writes the checks and he's written many for a lot of money the last five years to place a very talented team on the field. He's spent a lot of money on a highly-regarded coaching staff.

As an owner, we have no problem with Jones.

As a general manager ... listen, we know the drill here. I don't think anyone likes the fact that the owner is the GM, especially because its Jones, a person who is not really a "football" guy. Granted, he's improved, but if he weren't the owner, he would've been fired 18 years ago.

Jones the GM isn't going anywhere. No way to change it, so why try?

However, we can criticize because I think he's a huge reason the Cowboys are in the mess that they're in, staring down 0-3 before an early bye.

Name the top three areas of poor play.

Kicker. Offensive line. Safety.

The significance of these areas. Those three spots were areas of need six months ago as free agency and the NFL Draft were looming.

We knew the team needed to address these areas. Jones knew. Wade Phillips knew. The man on the moon knew. Everyone knew and, yet, nobody really did anything about it.

David Buehler was transitioned to placekicker. Alan Ball was promoted despite limited experience to starting safety. And outside of releasing left tackle Flozell Adams taking a shot on former first-round pick Alex Barron and some late-round picks, the offensive line was untouched.

Frankly, nothing was done to address the areas. At least, nothing drastic. Now that they're 0-2, panic is starting to set in and soon drastic things will need to happen.

Honestly, nothing "drastic" needed to happen. I think we would've been pleased with a little veteran competition for Buehler and Ball in Training Camp. If those guy outperformed the acquired talent, then so be it.

Then there was the draft. I think we'd all agree despite all the needs, the availability of Dez Bryant in the first round was a no-brainer. You go get a playmaker like him.

The rest of the draft? There was a lot of good offensive linemen that dropped into the second and third rounds. Meanwhile, the Cowboys took Sean Lee in the second round. Question: Have you heard Sean Lee's name mentioned so far this season? Linebacker is probably the deepest position on the Cowboys roster and instead of taking a higher-ranked O-lineman in the draft, they took another inside linebacker. Forget that Jason and Brandon Williams were taken the year before.

When a team loses, you can't just blame one guy. It takes a team to fully fall apart like the Cowboys are on the verge of doing. However, the general manager should not skate. Even if he does sign the paychecks.

Relavant SMU football: It's fantastic!

Geek

In its final year as presently constructed, the Big XII are making a steady case that they are the best in the nation, in terms of conferences.

Frankly, Nebraska looks like a national title contender. Oklahoma and Texas aren't bad. Others are simply better. It's good football times.

SMU 35, Washington State 21
SMU looks like a normal football team. They beat bad college football teams like regular programs! It's a nuance of a team that is taken for granted.

TCU 45, Baylor 10
This might turn out to be a very good win for the Horned Frogs. I think the Bears are going to win several more games this year and wind up bowl eligible. Meanwhile, Andy Dalton is really good. Posted a 217.5 quarterback ranking. Frankly, I didn' think it went that high. He had no interceptions, no sacks and just two incomplete passes.

Texas 24, Texas Tech 14
Far from the crispest of games for Texas, but you don't roll into Lubbock at night and run away with things. In December, the level of winning won't mean much.

Oklahoma 27, Air Force 24
Air Force are a missed field goal from tying this thing. They gave the Sooners a run for their money rushing for 351 yards. Just too much Oklahoma.

Nebraska 56, Washington 21
Wow. What's the biggest, baddest stat: Jake Locker going 4-20; the Cornhuskers having three 100-yard rushers; Taylor Martinez accounting for 287 yards; the Cornhuskers adding an awesome offensive attack to that already great defense ? The Jake Locker one kind of boggles the mind since he'll be the No. 1 draft pick.

Oklahoma 65, Tulsa 21
Ass whipping. OSU receiver Justin Blackmon has 174 yards and three touchdowns. Dez, who?

Texas A&M 27, Florida International 21
The Aggies should've won by two touchdowns from start to finish. They didn't. But winning with three touchdowns in the final quarter despite four interceptions isn't the worst way to win. The Aggies are going to need that explosive quarter

Kansas State 27, Iowa State 20
I thought K-State's Daniel Thomas would go for at least 200 yards. He went for 181. The Wildcats are 3-0 with the very real chance of a 5-1 start.

Missouri 27, San Diego State 24
In the age of these spread offenses, doesn't it seem like more and more teams are running the ball? San Diego State's Ronnie Hillman went for 228. Then again, Mizzou's Blaine Gabbert threw for 351 in the win. Mizzou's 3-0.

Southern Miss 31, Kansas 16
Turner Gill's Jayhawks are as schizophrenic as I am white.

Colorado 31, Hawaii 13
If the Buffs can rush for 222 and keep the pressure off Tyler Hansen, they might eke out some wins. Allowing just seven rushing yards helps too. Of course, it was Hawaii. They haven't run the ball since June Jones got there.

SFA 22, Northern Iowa 20
You can't stop Jeremy Moses, you can only help to contain him.

Army 24, North Texas 0
Season 2, UNT quarterbacks 0. I could probably walk on right now and make the team.

Great headline, why mess it up: "Dallas Stars goalie doesn't wear his Chuck Norris mask, it wears him"

I loved "Sidekicks"

Kari Lehtonen, the Dallas Stars goaltender, is exactly 116 percent cooler today than he was last Monday.

Lehtonen's goalie mask was unveiled to have images of legendary martial artist and star of screen and TV Chuck Norris.

Brilliant!

Lehtonen's had a series of interesting masks including a Heath Ledger-era Joke mask and a Clint Eastwood-inspired helmet. I would've gone with Cesar Romero, but I don't play professional hockey.

Tom Hicks still thinks he can ruin more sports franchises

Little ball of hate

If you had to rank the most hated men or women in the world, Tom Hicks is top 15 right?

Surely there are some Nazis left over. Probably some terrorists, democrats and abortion doctors.

Between fans of the Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, Liverpool's football club and fans of sports in general, Hicks has his strong cadre of dissenters. If I were Hicks, I wouldn't step foot in England.

We've managed to kick him out of Arlington, he'll soon be out of Dallas, but fans of Liverpool FC are screwed.

Hicks -- despite losing his ass in everything he touches -- is trying to strengthen his hold on Liverpool FC by taking over full control of the organization.

He'd sell, but he's not getting the offers he wants. So, he's taking a bigger bite of the pie. Unfortunately, for him, no one wants to lend him the money. I wonder why?

Hicks is in over his head in England. Soccer there isn't like hockey and baseball in Dallas-Fort Worth. It's apples and prostitutes.

Uh-oh: 0-2

Tackling their issues

Thoughts as the collective football fandom in Dallas-Fort Worth gnashes their teeth and edge closer to the edge after the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Chicago Bears 27-20 today. Don't jump. Fourteen games left.

Panic!
It's delicious. All these Dallas Cowboys sycophants just assumed the division was theirs. The Super Bowl? Certainly not out of the question. And in two weeks, given the eyeball test, the Cowboys blew two of their easiest games of the year (one at home) and things couldn't be worse. Mainly because it's not like things are getting better and we're probably finding a lot more wrong with things.

Finger Pointing!
Jason Witten jawing at a trainer on the sideline just showed how much urgency and frustration there is on this team. On the other hand, there's Dez Bryant. I don't know why he left the game after the punt return, but he's just sitting over on the bench receiving no medical attention while Witten -- his head scrambled -- is fighting his ass off to get back on the field.

Hot Seat!
Take you place Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett.

Epidemic!
The offense's obvious woes and the defense's blatant inability to create turnovers has been going on for more than two years. It's no longer just a blip on the radar. No longer just something they can turn on and off. And both issues exacerbates the other. Two of Chicago's scoring drives started in Dallas territory due to turnovers. The Cowboys offense moves the ball. But they have to go 80 yards to do any thing. It's a vicious cycle.

Grades:

Quarterback -- D
Just a bit off all day. Some throws were as perfectly thrown. Others were a bit off, enough for the receiver not to get to it. I think about that screen pass to Tashard Choice that landed at his feet and would've been a walk-in touchdown. The interceptions weren't his fault, but better thrown balls don't get picked. Plus, the Cowboys offense scored one touchdown. He's the general, he gets the blame. Play between the 40s pads stats, but doesn't win games. On the other hand, Romo threw the ball 51 times in a three-point game.

Running Backs -- C
The Cowboys ran the ball 20 times. 20 times! Are you kidding me? News flash: The Cowboys ain't winning shit until they dedicate themselves to the run game. And don't give me that "the run game just wasn't there" bullshit because it was there. For the second straight week, Marion Barber showed a little force in the first quarter and Jason Garrett went and abandoned it and threw the ball every play. Ridiculous! The running game is there! It exists. A team's running game is all about repetition, the grind and flow. You can't run the ball, get two yards and expect to run eight plays later and get 12 yards. You've got to get into a relationship with a running game instead of a series of one-play stands. By the way, love Chris Gronkowski. Why is Felix Jones touching the ball eight times a game?

Wide Receivers -- B
Miles Austin is on pace for 160 catches and 2,220 yards. I thought Roy Williams was OK except for the gigantic fumble. Then again, I thought the rapport between Romo and the receivers was inconsistent. Dez Bryant caught just two passes. Despite Austin's 10 catches, never was he taken over. In fact, I was mildly surprised he had the numbers that he did. There are no big plays being made here and I felt Romo had time to make throws.

Tight Ends -- D
Eh. I mean, they were great. But games aren't won with tight ends. They're a luxury. It's hard for me to fathom the importance of Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett when the running game is so obviously ignored.

Offensive Line -- B
Never did I think that Romo was excessively under pressure or getting hit. Never did I think that the Cowboys were unable to run the ball. You can win games with that offensive line against that defense.

Defensive Line -- C
Teams are not going to be able to run the ball, generally, on the Cowboys. However, that's just half the issue. Jay Ratliff hasn't been a factor. Igor Olshansky had a ridiculous roughing the passer penalty. It's good, but not great. The Cowboys need great.

Linebackers -- B
Overall, the Dallas Cowboys have the best linebackers in the game. From coverage to run stopping to pressure on the quarterback, they do it all really, really well. Again, they need to turn the switch from good to great. Playmaking needs to happen. If not, good luck with 8-8.

Secondary -- D
There's a distinct reason why Mike Hamlin sits on the bench. His coverage on Matt Forte's touchdown was simply bad from the time the ball was snapped until Forte spiked it in the endzone. Why is it that Cowboys assume that an unknown receiving corps can't outdo the Cowboys secondary? For the second straight week, the Cowboys were beaten by "unknowns." Folks needs to realize that anyone can beat the Cowboys on any given day.

Special Teams -- F
Ah. The kicker. While Nick Folk's knocking them through for the New York Jets, the Cowboys are royally screwed with a cocky placekicker who can't hit within 40 yards. Too bad another bad kick overshadowed a return touchdown by Bryant.

Coaching -- F
This team isn't ready to compete and this falls at the feet of the coaches. Why don't they run the ball? Why did they call off the dogs and not blitz after the first quarter? Why are fumbles and penalties still tolerated? Why are Felix Jones and Dez Bryant collecting dust? What's this coaching staff doing?

My yearlong playoff year

Pony up

A third week of college football. There's a reason I'm not a huge fan of hte playoff system in college football. I love the intrigue of the long season. I love the way a season plays out for a team where every match-up is huge. Teams like Boise State and TCU are playing for their lives. They can't take games off.

It's the same for every team. Every week is a playoff game for these programs.

Texas (2-0) vs. Texas Tech (2-0)
Ahh, Lubbock. The site of the Longhorns' debacle two years ago, all thanks to Michael Crabtree and the Longhorns' inability to cover. They were bound for the national championship game until that night. One of the craziest games I've ever watched. A lot has changed. All those guys are gone. Mike Leach is gone. It's a night game. Beware Longhorns.

Baylor (2-0) vs. TCU (2-0)
Has an unbeaten Bears team ever gone into Fort Worth to face an unbeaten TCU squad? I would doubt, but stranger things have happened. A big game for TCU. They don't have a great schedule with BYU being kind of down. Utah's currently their only ranked opponent outside of an Oregon STate team, who may or may not be any good long term. If Baylor wants to make a statement, they could. It'll be an uphill battle.

Washington State (1-1) vs. SMU (1-1)
Huge games for the Mustangs. At home and a BCS team in town. Washington State got whipped by Oklahoma State in week 1 so it skews their stats some. Beating Montana State simply doesn't count. Mustangs have got to win this game. Just have to.

Oklahoma (2-0) vs. Air Force (2-0)
Air Force has had a really great start to the season. They've averaged 546 yards per game while giving up 310. They average 423 rushing yards per game. Granted, one game was against Northwestern State, but the other is a down BYU. Oklahoma has to bring the game they had against Florida State and not Utah State. Air Force can win this.

Kansas State (2-0) vs. Iowa State (1-1)
The Wildcats will probably wind up winning nine or so games thanks to some gimme cupcakes along the way. This week should be no different. I think Daniel Thomas goes for 200+ yards.

Tulsa (1-1) vs. Oklahoma State (2-0)
Tulsa, per usual, scores a shitload of points. But they also allow a bunch of points. The Cowboys should have little problem with this game. Take the over.

North Texas (0-2) vs. Army (1-1)
When will Todd Dodge be fired? Mid-season or post-season?

Texas A&M (2-0) vs. Florida International (0-1)
The Aggies have scored exactly 48 points in their first two games. Can they continue this outrageous pace?

Nebraska (2-0) vs. Washington (1-1)
Is it possible for the Cornhuskers to allow 10 or less touchdowns in a season? They've allowed three in two games and their only good to great team left on the schedule is Texas. The Cornhuskers are really good. They should whip the Huskies.

Kansas (1-1) vs. Southern Miss (1-1)
I'm officially rooting for Turner Gill. I want him to succeed. If you can predict which Jayhawk team will show up, let me know.

Hawaii (1-1) vs. Colorado (1-1)
I think Colorado sucks a lot. So here's a cool article on Hawaii's quarterback.

San Diego State (2-0) vs. Missouri (2-0)
SDS has played nobody. Mizzou should exact some comeuppance.

SFA (1-1) vs. Northern Iowa (1-0)
Northern Iowa allowed -40 rush yards in their only game of the season, a 16-9 win over North Dakota State. Too bad SFA throws it 60 times a game.

In control

Is the rib bone connected to the Hambone?

The Texas Rangers absolutely cruised to their sixth straight win last night hosting the Detroit Tigers, 11-4.

For the third straight day, the bullpen was relatively untouched as Cliff Lee went eight Sunday, Monday was a day off and only Dustin Nippert and Alexi Ogando were used Tuesday night.

With the division all but a foregone conclusion (the magic number down to 10 ... thanks to Zack "Ol'" Greinke beating the Athletics), rest is the key.

I think this is especially true for Darren Oliver, C.J. Wilson, Darren O'Day, Frank Francisco and Neftali Feliz in the pitching staff. And it also matters, I think, to Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero in the line-up.

Vlad and Oliver's old. Francisco and Hamilton are ailing. Andrus, Wilson, O'Day and Feliz all are being used more than they typically have in the Majors -- innings or games.

Hamilton apparently swung the bat yesterday and felt pain near the end in his ribs. He'll never be right without rest. I have no problem with Hamilton sitting for the two weeks. If nothing else you prevent further damage to his ribs or any other body part. Bring him back late so he can catch up for the playoffs.

We all need a good rest.

Notes:
1. If you dont think Julio Borbon's one of the most important keys for the Rangers post-season, you're crazy. He's the type that wins playoff series. He can get on base a couple of different ways. He steals bases. He goes from first to third or first to home with relative ease. Borbon is a type that opponents don't want to see in the nine hole.

2. Three more walks gives Ian Kinsler 49 this season compared to 50 strikeouts. He has seven walks in his last four games.

3. Dave Murphy has a hit in every September game and 12 straight. He mashed with two doubles (24 on the season) and his 10th home run.

4. Three hits from Mike Young. Really happy to see that guy turn it up a bit as of late.

5. Derek Holland wasn't great, but he wasn't bad either. Three of his four runs were unearned thanks to two errors by Kins and Nellie Cruz. That helped drive up his pitch count to 87 in just over four innings. Still, 57 of those 87 pitches were strikes. I think the errors rattled him a bit.

6. A big 95-mph fastball to get Austin Jackson with the bases loaded and game tied. That's the Dustin Nippert I enjoyed three years ago, when he was one of maybe two Rangers pitchers that had an "out" pitch.

7. I thought the Rangers needed 95 wins to take the division. They might need 85. Sitting at 81, that 95 benchmark still seems good.

How far is too far in criticizing athletes or the nerdy journalists who cover them?

The once and future King

Since Alex Barron's atrocious holding penalty to end the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins game Sunday night, the left tackle has taken his fair share of criticism.

Frankly, he's not very good and there's probably some unemployed player who could do a two percent better job.

I am really surprised he's still employed by the Cowboys. I've seen others get cut for less.

Peter King, a football writer for Sports Illustrated, dogpiled via Twitter and his weekly football column. In a Tweet, he called Barron a "disgrace."

Tom Scocca, someone at Slate, took King to task for the unfair and rather harsh criticism.

There's several points to clear up.

1. Scocca brings up King's salary and intimates that King is thoroughly overpaid for what he actually does. For one, King's salary, I don't think, has any real determination in whether King should criticize (fairly or unfairly) Barron or any other athlete. Are underpaid journalists allowed to criticize? Secondly, in theory, isn't Scocca overpaid for coming in and commenting on the overpaid journalist who is commenting on the overpaid athlete?

2. Scocca states that Barron was "last-minute emergency starter" Sunday night. Not true. It was well known outside of the Cowboys organization that Columbo was out. Even if he was 50-50, Barron practices and trains as if he were starting. I would imagine inside the locker room, everyone, including Barron, knew that Columbo was out. He was not "pressed into service" at the last minute as Scocca indicates.

3. Scocca then notes the other deficiencies on the Cowboys' part in losing the game including the half-ending fumble and the Cowboys general inability to score. True. But that was Barron's third holding penalty and, from what Michael Lombardi's told me, NFL teams score just 17 percent of the time after a holding penalty. Essentially, Barron killed two other drives. At least by 83 percent.

4. Then Scocca oddly criticizes King for bringing up the oft-stated stat that Barron led the universe in penalties. This is a fact. It's not King stating an opinion of Barron's performance. I mean, it's King using a stat and not his eyeballs. This should be applauded.

Bottomline: Scocca doesn't like King. Which is OK because I'm not a fan of King either and there's many more that can't stand him. Attacking King on the same grounds (with misguided facts and harsh commentary) that King was attacking Barron seems more like a personal thing. If Scocca doesn't like reading King talk about his latest trip to Starbucks, then he should stick to Gregg Easterbrook or Bill Simmons.

The other side of the coin falls back to the ol' defense for all athletes: That journalists have never played the game. It's a big reason why former athletes are invited to join broadcasting. If Michael Irvin criticizes Roy Williams, the latter can't state that the former hasn't walked in his shoes.

In reality, bozos like you or me have no business criticizing any athlete because we can't do what they do. Of course, none of us could run Enron, but it doesn't prevent us from casting judgement on the guys that spent its employees' retirement funds on summer homes and boats.

Calling Barron a "disgrace" seems over the top. Calling him a very poor offensive lineman works a little better. If I come to work pantsless, I probably get fired. If I come to work smoking crack, I get fired. If I'm an offensive linemen and I'm unable to block, I probably get fired.

Wrapping our minds around the Kansas Jayhawks and other college football thoughts

Froggy

Week No. 2 is in the books and we're no closer to having any answers than we did three weeks ago.

We think a handful of teams are pretty good, some teams' seasons are essentially over and other teams are simply baffling.

Here's a glimpse into this madness:

Oklahoma 47, Florida State 17
Any thoughts of the Sooners being in a state of flux are out the window. They whipped the Seminole's ass. That was embarrassing. Landry Jones especially looked awesome throwing for 380, no interceptions and four touchdowns. By far this best game in college.

Nebraska 38, Idaho 17
The Cornhuskers can get away with that against the Vandals of Idaho. They racked up 360 yards rushing, but the also had 10 penalties for 123 yards and eight fumbles (three lost). When the Husker defense collects six turnovers of their own, it helps things out.

Kansas 28, Georgia Tech 25
Yes, the same Kansas team that lost 6-3 to North Dakota State the week before hosts No. 15 Georgia Tech and beats them. The Yellowjackets completed just five passes, whilst Joshua Nesbitt threw for 179 and three touchdowns.

TCU 62, Tennessee Tech 7
Dominant defense. Completely efficient offense. But call me when they play someone.

Baylor 34, Buffalo 6
I would imagine that if Baylor played the Buffalo Bills that the NFL team would score at least 13 points. Robert Griffin threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns. Oh, and he ran for two others. He's good.

Texas A&M 48, Louisiana Tech 16
Jerrod Johnson threw for four touchdowns. Christine Michael rushed for 107 yards and the team had 216 yards on the ground while allowing just 61. The Ags did lose four of five fumbles. And it was Louisiana Tech.

Texas 34, Wyoming 7
Classy. Clean. Efficient. No turnovers. Fifty percent third-down percentage. They ran the ball. Threw the ball. Wyoming needs to quit scheduling Texas.

Texas Tech 52, New Mexico 17
The good news: As of right now, the Texas Tech offense hasn't lost a step without Mike Leach. The bad news: For Mike Leach, is he that awesome or can anyone do what he did? I tend to think he's pretty good and that Tommy Tuberville is winning with his toys.

Kansas State 48, Missouri State 24
Rejuvenation of Big XII quarterbacks? Carson Coffman goes 18-26 for 280 and three touchdowns. Daniel Thomas had a disappointing 137 yards rushing. That gives him 185 yards rushing per game.

Oklahoma State 41, Troy 38
Sloppy. Twenty-one penalties. Ten punts. Eleven fumbles (seven lost). Two interceptions (both Oklahoma State). Troy gave the Cowboys a ride.

SMU 28, UAB 7
It's to the point that I am supremely confident that the Mustangs can win just about every game. If the continue to run like they have (247 total Saturday), they'll win a lot more.

Missouri 50, McNeese State 6
Big, bad Mizzou had to go and beat up on a Southland Conference team. Feel good about yourself?

California 52, Colorado 7
Ahh. There's the Colorado team we all know and love.

Iowa 35, Iowa State 7
It was like the eighth grade team showed up to play the varsity team. I don't know how good Iowa actually is, but I do know why they don't want to join the Big Ten.

SFA 59, Albany 14
Four Lumberjacks attempted passes. Fifteen others caught passes. Jeremy Moses completed 28 and threw just nine incomplete.

Rice 32, North Texas 31
If the Mean Green weren't beating the Owls, it might be a longer season for Todd Dodge than we first thought. If not for a late field goal and North Texas' total inability to convert a third down, the Eagles might have won.

A comedy of errors

Ain't nothing wrong with that tan line

Look at it this way: The Dallas Cowboys probably made their dumbest set of decisions for the entire year in game No. 1.

Every decision from this point onward will continually look better. In theory.

It'd be hard to one up the decision to throw the ball to end the first half yesterday in their 13-7 loss in Washington.

It was really a once-in-a-season mistake. It included five different individuals and it resulted, ultimately, in the loss of the game. I mean, that poor decision making on a whole different level. That's FEMA-level.

Here's the layers of disaster.

David Buehler
I can't prove it, but it's my opinion that David Buehler's missed field goal in the first quarter directly resulted in the decision to throw a hail mary. Had Buehler hit his gimme field goal, the score is 3-3 going into the half. At that point, the Cowboys might not have been so desperate to put points on the board. On the other hand, it was 3-0. Nothing to freak out about.

Jason Garrett
It all starts with the Princeton alum, Garrett. He's the offensive coordinator and he made the call. It just didn't make sense. Hail marys rarely do make sense. Unless it's win or lose. The idea of a hail mary should've been snuffed right here. It wasn't.

Wade Phillips
The head coach, to his credit, has taken the blame. In the end, it's really his fault. Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson and every good coach in the league squash the hail mary before the huddle. Phillips said the team was taken aback by the Redskins accepting the previous penalty putting a hail mary typically out of range. Somehow, the play was never changed and it ran. Already, three layers of stupidty.

Tony Romo
OK, like it not, the play was called. The aim is to throw the ball deep. If there is an interception, chances are the defender will be tackled immediately and the Cowboys can limp into the locker room to lick their wounds. If nothing is there, you flop on the ground. You take the dive and live to fight another day. As inconceivable that the coaches called the play, it's equally inconceivable that Romo actually made a rather dangerous pass about 50 yards short of his goal. Romo had a 2 percent chance of completing a hail mary. Tashard Choice had a 0 percent chance of scoring.

Tashard Choice
So, the play was called and Romo threw the ball in a check down to Choice. Ideally, Choice makes the catch and goes down. But he's a competitor and 98 percent of all athletes will try to make something happen. I get that. I understand. But at the moment where you are wrapped up, you go down. Once you are wrapped up, you don't stand straight up. You get low and tuck the ball in the protective cushion of your tummy, arms and legs. Choice probably gets stripped with 12 minutes on the clock in the first quarter. You never stand straight up. It's the ideal way to get stripped and DeAngelo Hall was going straight for the ball knowing that Choice was never going to score.

Cowboys lose or does Alex Barron still have a job?

Up for grabs

Mistakes. Mistakes. Mistakes.

Fumbles, missed field goals, dropped passes, penalties, missed blocks, dumb decisions and lack of execution.

Actually, the Dallas Cowboys weren't that bad in their 13-7 loss to the Washington Redskins.

Their defense was great. The offense moved the ball on a consistent basis. Individuals had good games. It seems the Cowboys could almost do what they wanted.

Except win. Thanks to the mistakes. Got to admit, the Cowboys were one fumble away from looking pretty good in their first game.

But the loss exaggerates all of the mistakes and we're left with a buttload of questions. Least of which includes Alex Barron's ability to rent an apartment with Bobby Carpenter where they can stand in the unemployment line together.

I think a big play was the missed field goal by David Buehler. Had he hit the field goal, the game is tied as the first half is ending. Tied, do you think offensive coordinator Jason Garrett calls the pass play or take a knee? I would imagine he takes a knee. That wins the game.

Grades:

Quarterback -- A
Tony Romo made the throws. He made the most important throw. But Alex Barron had to hogtie Brian Orakpo. Romo was really efficient. There wasn't a "No, Tony, No!" moment and there were very few "bad" throws (aside from the long pass that Carlos Rogers should've intercepted to end the game).

Running Back -- C
The Cowboys ran the ball 22 times and threw it 47 times. I realize the Cowboys were playing from behind, but it still felt a bit more lopsided than it needed to be. Marion Barber and Felix Jones looked fantastic. There were holes and it looked like blocks were picked up. Barber, especially, looked rejuvenated. He was bursting through holes and around the ends. Had to be encouraged with the running game. Had to knock them down because without Tashard Choice's fumble, the Cowboys win.

Wide Receiver -- A
Handing Miles Austin that contract extension looks like genius. Ten catches and 146 yards, some of which came at the biggest moments of the game. I love that Cris Collingsworth pointed out Austin's route running because it's a joy to watch. That's why he's so successful. He goes where Romo expects him to be and that's more important than size, hands, speed or your touchdown celebration. Dez Bryant was a pleasant surprise. Many didn't know his impact, but it was huge and he was getting looks in crunch time. Does Roy Williams even exist? Does it matter? He'll be perfectly irrelevant in about a month or so.

Tight End -- B-
I noticed them blocking quite a bit. On Miles Austin's big catch to set up the final drive, Jason Witten dragged about three defenders with him going right as Austin darted up the field wide open. The stats aren't pretty, but the impact was significant.

Offensive Line -- C
In the end, the O-line lost the game. Barron's third (?) holding penalty ended the game. It was blatant. Frankly, all of his mistakes were pretty blatant. I didn't notice Montrae Holland much, which is pretty good. I thought Doug Free was good. Overall, Romo was protected and the running game had room. There was nothing to complain about should Barron not hold Orakpo on that final play. I don't know how Jerry Jones lets Barron back in the locker room. I couldn't imagine it.

Defensive Line -- A
From start to finish, the Redskins had zero room at the line. I noticed Marcus Spears on a number of plays. The Redskins managed just 89 yards on 23 carries. Running the ball was not an option.

Linebackers -- A
How many times did Keith Brooking blitz and never get beyond the line of scrimmage? DeMarcus Ware is a man's man. I haven't read anything on his injury. If it's a concussion, he might be out for a while.

Secondary -- A
Chris Cooley was a non-factor. Santana Moss got loose a couple of times. Frankly, the Redskins were not able to do anything offensively and I think the Dallas defense is a big reason for that. Two nice (if not a little lucky) plays by Mike Jenkins (who the Redskins seemed to avoid as I didn't see him do much at all) on the two post plays in the endzone.

Special Teams -- F
Buehler's missed field goal I think cost the Cowboys the game. Orlando Scandrick's dumb offsides penalty to extend a dead Redskins drive was as idiotic as they come. Mat McBriar was pretty good.

Coaching -- F
The Cowboys weren't ready. Those mistakes aren't nearly as much about the pre-season and practicing. How do you practice not to closeline opponents? Or how to hit a field goal or not drop a ball? Just certain things you expect your guys to do, but they weren't nearly prepared to do it. The Cowboys had 12 penalties on the night. Also, I put the decision to run a play instead of kneeling to end the first half squarely on Jason Garrett. Disastrous start for a few.

Sweep

Get the broom

Did the Dallas Cowboys' play today?

Cliff Lee made that assclown Colin Cowherd look smarter with eight two-hit innings against the New York Yankees today, 4-1, to seal up the series sweep.

The Rangers have won five straight games. It's Lee's first win since Aug. 6, and he had as many walks (3) than he had the last six starts, and it was a walk that ended Lee's day as he walked Derek Jeter to start the ninth. Thus, bringing in Neftali Feliz.

Still, it's the Lee that's going to win quite a bit of games.

Speaking of, five game win streak and the Rangers are at 80 wins and the magic number is 12. This thing's over. It's been over.

The Texas Rangers, again, are not scared.

Notes:
1. Eight-game hit streak for Vlad Guerrero. Sixteen hits in that span.

2. The three seventh-inning runs came with two outs.

3. Thirty stolen bases for Elvis Andrus. Two straight with at least 30 after he grabbed 33 last season.

4. Since the All-Star break, the Rangers are 30-25, 14-15 on the road and are 14-5-3 in their series. The sweep against the Yankees was their first of the second half.