Tough road to hoe

Krys Barch takes exception

The Dallas Stars certainly have their work cut out for them.

Right when the boat has begun to take on water, all hands are not on deck.

Do you think I can shoehorn in another analogy or idiom?

The Stars did managed a 3-1 road win against Colorado last night without Brenden Morrow, Alex Goligoski, goalkeep Kari Lehtonen and Adam Burish.

The Stars somehow wound up with a 6-6-1 November record despite five losses in a row mid-month (and three shutouts). This is why that hot start meant so much: It would literally only go downhill from there.

Now the Stars will really be tested. The depth they built up in the off-season will need to show up. It did last night with Mike Ryder and Eric Nystrom notching the three goals. The lack of guys to pick up the slack have killed the Stars the past two seasons. We are learning right now what the depths of this roster can do.

Also, the special teams will need to keep their head above water. The penalty kill has remained steadily ordinary, but the power play's slipped quite a bit. It doesn't help having Goligoski and Lehtonen hurt in these areas.

All is not lost. Keep the faith. The Stars have the Senators and Islanders at the American Airlines Center Thursday and Saturday. Both bad Eastern Conferences and both very winnable in spite of everything.

10 NBA free agents that interest me

Rock me, Thaddeus

Quick: Name the last marquee free agent acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks.

It's tough. Dirk, Roddy and Dom were drafted. Kidd, Terry, Marion, Chandler, Rudy and Butler were traded for. J.J. Barea was a undrafted free agent.

You might say Brendan Haywood, but he was acquired via trade and then re-signed in free agency.

The last notable free agent acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks, the team with Playstations in every locker: Erick Dampier. At the time, he was the cream of the free agent crop. The Mavericks spent big and got him.

Is this weird to anyone else, that the Mavericks seemingly are not very good at signing free agents? And it's not like they're not trying. They were reportedly in on Chris Bosh and Lebron James. Rarely is there a talent outside the power forward position in which the Mavericks are not in on during free agency. Yet, they haven't gotten one without beating Damp's head over with cash.

I definitely think its weird and it's one of 1,000 reasons why I think the front office is pretty screwed up with they way they've handled player development, the draft and free agency. Meaning, they won a title despite their front office. Moreso, they won the title with guys they locked down in seemingly very expensive, long contracts.

Maybe that was their plan all along. What the fuck do I know.

I do know that these are guys that I find interesting on the free agent market for the Mavericks.

Grant Hill
Seems like he's been linked to the Mavs for a while. If nothing else, you won't have to wonder if he'll fit in or cause any trouble. He probably wants to win a title more than anything. He got healthy in Phoenix (maybe more of an attribute to the Suns' training staff) and gave you the numbers of a formerly great pro now in his twilight years (39 years old) of double-digit scoring and a handful of rebounds and assists.

Thaddeus Young
He's a 23-year-old swingman, who's languished in the cesspool known as Philadelphia for the last several years. Most think he'll re-sign with the 76ers and that may be the case. He's athletic and long and, maybe most importantly, young. However, as the Mavericks now sit, getting young may not be in the cards. That will be a problem for another day.

Tayshaun Prince
It's hard to believe he's just 31 years old. Seems like a ancient veteran on the NBA circuit. He's put together a consistent eight years as you'll find in the league. His numbers have rarely waivered and he's been bit by the injury bug just once (2009-10). He, too, has been rumored to the Mavericks a number of times through the years and would fill a similar role as Hill. A good choice as a guy that could help you win this year or two years from now and probably wouldn't take away from the team chemistry and has been the mountain top before.

Shane Battier
The ultimate team player. Forgoes points and sterling statistics for rebounding, setting picks, grabbing loose balls, playing several positions and leading the clubhouse. He does a little bit of a lot of things. Another guy young enough to help you win in the next three years.

Michael Redd
The ultimate gamble. Has torn his MCL and ACL in his left knee TWICE. The good news is that he'll be cheap and won't require a ton of commitment. Why the hell not?

Jason Richardson
I don't like Richardson. I think he's all offense and all about his stat line. I don't think you win with Richardson. However, he brings you size to the two-guard, which the Mavericks haven't had since Michael Finley and maybe he gets wrapped up in the Mavericks mojo. In Dallas, he'd be a sixth fiddle, which might humble him a bit. If he's hungry enough, he's an asset.

Chuck Hayes
I stick Hayes and Battier in the same mold: Guys that do all the dirty work, guys that grease the gears to make sure everything runs smoothly. Heck, you know he's tough if he's played center for the Houston Rockets the last five years. Hayes is a bit of a luxury. He's a post presence without the height and he could create some interesting match-ups on the floor. He'd be a bench player for sure, at least for the Mavericks.

T.J. Ford
Do you think Jason Kidd is gone after this season? If so, do you think Dirk Nowitzki has another three years of prime play in him? Health is a gigantic issue with Ford. Meaning, he's never had it for very long after coming out of Texas. He's only 28 and at worst he's a decent back-up to Kidd this year. If he doesn't work out, I can't imagine him getting more than two years on a deal.

Arron Afflalo
A sort of guard hybrid, who's played both one and two in his career. He's young and attitudinal and would probably require more of a commitment. I honestly see him getting overpaid by the Warriors or Grizzlies.

Anthony Parker
If you add Parker to your bench, you are probably going to like what you get. There's a lot to like here. At 36 and from a small college (Bradley), he's a hungry guy (we would think). He's never required a ton of spotlight and he's been a pretty good shooter and defender for the bulk of his career. At 6-6, he can fill in at the two or three. In pinch, he can start.

Let the spending begin

The Mavericks could use a sharp-dressed man at the end of their bench

The NBA owners and players have come to an agreement. As it turns out, maybe playing is pretty important. At least it's more interesting than court battles and press conferences with David Stern, Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher.

Games start Dec. 25. Free agency starts Dec. 9. Fasten your seat belts.

This little labor hiccup helps a number of teams including the Dallas Mavericks. They just played the most games probably for all them in one season while winning a world championship. None of them are young and the eldest (Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki) logged the most miles.

They will have received a two-month extra vacation in addition to missing however many workouts and practices along the way. Much like the NFL, we are bound to witness long-standing NBA teams, with a strain of stability and consistency do well this season as there will be no team to rebuild and insert a ton of new players into a system. The more intact a team is, the better they will be, in theory.

The bulk of the Dallas Mavericks are coming back. Some maybe a bit healthier including Roddy Beaubois and Dom Jones. No telling what those two have in the tank.

Draftwise, the Mavericks, as we will remember, have zero rookies coming into camp and instead will welcome the Spaniard Rudy Fernandez.

Per the new collective bargaining agreement, several points affect the Mavericks, for better or for worse:

1. Per the agreement, each team gets an amnesty provision, meaning they can waive any player without having that money hit their payroll. More than likely, the Mavericks, I would only hope, would use this on Brendan Haywood. Just finished his first year of his long contract and is due $34.6 million over the next four seasons including $18.7 million the final two seasons.

2. Also, for now, the soft salary cap and luxury tax threshold will stay the same at $58 million and $70 million, respectively. Also, for now, teams over the luxury cap will still have to pay $1 for every $1 they are over the luxury tax line. However, that will go up to $1.50 in three years and eventually up to $3.25. Also, teams over the luxury tax line four out of five years get an extra dollar added to the tax. This will certainly affect how Mark Cuban spends many. Maybe.

No matter what happens, the Dallas Mavericks are still world champions. Can't quit typing that.

Here are the Mavericks' free agents to be.

Tyson Chandler
29 - Center
On most lists, he's top three as far as free agents. He's not yet in his 30s, had, arguably, his best year as a professional, showed he's healthy and made $12.6 million. He'll get a raise. Some think the Mavericks are a logical spot. Some think the salary cap rules will preclude the Mavericks from going there to avoid the potentially huge luxury tax in a couple of years. The good news is that there are some big contracts coming off the books this season and next (Terry, Kidd), Haywood's cash will likely come off the books and the Mavs are still at $63 million as a team (currently). I firmly believe they will make a serious play at keeping Chandler if for no other reason, since Steve Nash, Cuban's had a hard time letting go.

Caron Butler
31 - Small Forward
If you want him, Butler will come cheap. He played in just 29 games last season. I've never liked him as a Maverick and I don't know if you waste a roster spot and salary when you just acquired Fernandez and potentially others on the free agent market who are healthier and just as good.

Joe John Barea
27 - Point Guard
This is a good litmus test for the Dallas Mavericks. I think the Mavericks can move forward without Barea. I think some dumb team will overpay to have him start. I don't think Barea's the foundation for a second term of greatness. Still, Cuban likes having his buddies around and Barea's a fan favorite, for whatever reason. At some point, the Mavericks will need to replace Jason Kidd, and it won't be Barea doing it.

DeShawn Stevenson
30 - Shooting Guard
If I'm the Mavericks, I get something worked out. I like him because he's attitudinal, has zero problem coming off the bench and can be a hot hand in a desperate five-minute stretch of a game. He's cheap and you can't breed or coach the moxy and swagger.

Brian Cardinal
34 - Power Forward
What happened in the playoffs was the Mavericks taking Cardinal and wringing him out like a old, dirty wash rag. For less than a million, you can do a trillion times worse. Maybe he likes being around.

Peja Stojakovic
34 - Power Forward
This dude is D-U-N, done. I personally don't think he has a place on this team. Then again, the Mavericks aren't trying to fit in two or three rookies on the roster. There's space here and Stojakovic will not be expensive in the least. If you can fill out the bottom half of your roster spending $4 million on Cardinal, Stevenson and Stojakovic, you won't be getting younger, but you'll have length, shooters and bodies.

Dallas Cowboys all up in censorship

Free Melissa Kellerman's Twitter!

Jason Witten took the time Thursday to undercut a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, one Melissa Kellerman, during the Thanksgiving football extravaganza.

It was slightly horrifying because you've seen worse injuries happen on smaller collisions considering Witten's thigh probably weighs more than the little tart.

Kellerman took to Twitter afterward joking about the incident.

The Dallas Cowboys don't like people talking about the Dallas Cowboys. Even the employees.

The Cowboys made Kellerman shut down her Twitter account. No explanation was given. The Tweets were harmless outside of indicating that Witten is not as tough as he looks, which is clearly a joke because name another corn-fed tight end who runs with the ball without a helmet.

WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH!

This sort of thing drives me crazy. The Dallas Cowboys and Mavericks are prime reflections of a sports franchise run by a massive ego, who thinks he can control every message.

When, in reality, fans relate to and enjoy a free flow of information. Shit. The Cowboys should instead get Kellerman out in front. Have her on morning talk shows, opening car dealerships and talking to elementary schools. Instead, they're trying to shut her up for zero reason. All, so we assume, because they can.

WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH!

Taking care of business

Out of reach

I wanted to wait until Monday -- when the rest of the league had played -- to evaluate the Dallas Cowboys' 20-19 Thanksgiving Day win over the Miami Dolphins.

As they say, no one's going to evaluate at the end of the year how you got your wins. All that matters is that you got them. Plenty of teams in the NFL would kill to have the Cowboys' trashy wins.

Fact is, the Cowboys have had a good first half in six weeks and they've had two pretty awful games the last two. Still, they've done what they've needed to do: They swept November to go up 7-4 and first place in the NFC East. This includes one game against Arizona next week.

It's basically played perfectly, in the big picture. In the small picture, it's sucked. The Cowboys have played down to the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins in consecutive weeks, getting hit in the mouth over and over.

Or we can can look at it as the Redskins perpetually playing the Cowboys tough. And it's a Redskins team that went into Seattle and got a win. The Dolphins are a lot more feisty than you might think. Maybe these were just two hard-fought wins and we should be happy for them.

The best news is that the Eagles lost their seventh game of the season to the New England Patriots yesterday virtually killing their playoff chances. With the wild card and bubble teams hovering near seven wins, it will take 10 wins to get into the playoffs. The Eagles are done. Not that it makes that week 16 game any easier. It's just one less team the Cowboys need to leap to get into the post-season.

Tonight, the Giants (who've got a 0 point differential on the season) get the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys could be looking at a one-game lead heading into the December stretch run.

Happy we could exorcise the ghost of Leon Lett. Happy holidays, Big Cat.

Grades:

Quarterback -- C
Boy, it started out like a disaster. We can still fall back on the "Tony Romo is still better than QB XYZ" argument and that the Cowboys won, but there is not a throw that Romo will not give to the other team. He's sucked, essentially, for two weeks against so-so teams, at best. It's December now. Time to take that leap.

Running Back -- B
I was borderline floored to find out DeMarco Murray eked out 87 yards on the ground. Seems like he was stymied with every attempt. I was further astonished to find that Felix Jones didn't record a carry. When was the last time a Cowboys team had one ball carrier for entire game? I can't even imagine Emmitt Smith getting all the attempts. This team desperately needs Tony Fiammetta back.

Wide Receiver -- D
It's shocking the Dallas Cowboys won if you consider they lost the turnover and time of possession battle, they could barely run the ball and they had two pass catchers on the field, and that includes a tight end. Receivers had 10 catches for 114 yards Thursday, and seven and 79 came from Laurent Robinson, who was almost on the Texans' practice squad eight weeks ago. Dez Bryant has mammoth tools, but it's clear that A) Tony Romo doesn't trust him; and B) he ain't getting open. The Cowboys are playing with one wide receiver and still winning. And that won receiver is Laurent Robinson. Freakin' amazing.

Tight End -- C+
Jason Witten goes dormant for long stretches these days. Then in the second half he'll burst onto the scene like he was never gone. I assume it's coverages and opponents taking away Romo's safety blanket.

Offensive Line -- B-
If you can win games with Tony Romo, then you can win games with this offensive line. They are far, far from perfect, but you can do a heck of a lot worse. A vast majority of the time, Romo has the room and opportunity to make an accurate throw. Is he forced out of the pocket sometimes? Yes. Who isn't? Improvement in run blocking will go a long way. They will only get better. You can win the NFC East with that front five.

Defensive Line -- B+
I feel they've put together two strong games in a row. I notice Jay Ratliff, Kenyon Coleman (underrated free agent?) and Sean Lissemore. They've been blown off the ball for whole games this year, but not recently.

Linebackers -- A
Two sacks, a fumble recovery, speed and solid, solid tackling. DeMarcus Ware is not a holy terror as he can be, but that's OK. At worst this crew is solid. Caused a lot of havoc against the Dolphins.

Secondary -- C
Brandon Marshall is good against better teams. That touchdown catch was just remarkable. They got Alan Balled a couple of times. The Dolphins were able to go down the field with relative easy, most coming off the pass and most going down the middle of the field. The Redskins did the same thing the week before with inferior (compared to the Dolphins) talent. Typically a guy like Davone Bess makes catches between the hash marks and gets pounded. Against the Cowboys, guys get comfy in the middle of the field without fear of getting decleated. A huge hole of late.

Special Teams -- B+
Bottomline: Dan Bailey. Nails. Love Felix Jones returning kicks. AOA and Dez Bryant with a pair of nice punt returns. Coverage was a little iffy.

Coaching -- C+
Wade Phillips loses that game. Romo would've had another four interceptions. There's a calmness to things when they aren't always going right. A crapload more good than bad. It's week 12 so there needs to be a lot more good than bad at this point, if you're worth a damn. It should be noted that the Cowboys lose to a better quarterback on Thursday.

Finding value in the last weeks of college football

Jayhawked

There's not a lot to look forward to outside of some bad bowl games.

Iowa State vs. Oklahoma
As much as I don't see Oklahoma losing a second game in Norman in one season, do not sleep on the Cyclones. They've beaten two ranked teams already (Tech, Oklahoma State), Oklahoma's eaten up with injuries and no doubt they're looking a little ahead to Okie State.

Missouri vs. Kansas
Quick. Tell me how many games Missouri's won? If you picked six, you were right. As I fully expect them to beat Kansas by four touchdowns, you never, ever know what you'll get from the Tigers -- outside of a DUI from the coach -- from week to week.

Texas Tech vs. Baylor
What it is, take the over. Baylor might run up 70 points on the Red Raiders. The Red Raiders might run up 90 on the Bears.

Rice vs. SMU
There are easy games and then there are games against Rice.

The love you make

At least one kicker's elbow deep in pussy

Texas and Texas A&M certainly did not disappoint in probably their last match-up for a long while.

Yes, Texas won, 27-25 on a last-second field goal bringing them to seven wins in a perfectly awful season. The truth is that they beat an Aggie team that was pre-season top 10 at Kyle Field in a game that the Aggies kill to win.

The Aggies lost to a team with 12 total first downs, 237 total yards, 4-17 on third-down conversions and scored touchdowns on two offensive possessions.

And, frankly, it wasn't even as good as that. The Longhorns' offense isn't horrible. It's atrociously awful. A terror. The Longhorns had like four first downs in the third quarter. They had around 20 rushing yards and their quarterbacks were awful. The big difference is that last touchdown drive where they were able to put some things together.

The Aggies are a different team. I don't know when the switch was flipped, but there is something inherently wrong with this program. I'd point to the coaching, but they've rolled in Dennis Franchione and, now, Mike Sherman and nothing's changed except ... well, pre-season rankings.

Talk to anyone. No one thought A&M was going to win that game. No one thought Texas could score, but they certainly thought A&M was not going to win, no matter what.

I just need someone to explain to me why the Aggies stink. Should they lose to Oklahoma, that is somewhat expected because Oklahoma is typically good. Maybe Oklahoma State is in the talks. A&M was probably going to lose this season, there's no argument there.

I just don't understand why A&M can't whip a bad team or a mediocre. I realize they've had injuries, but the Aggies should be able to beat a Texas team that totals 237 yards.

With the rivalry out the window at least for the near future, I think everyone needs to start putting the Aggies in perspective. They are not good just because they beat Texas every blue moon. Good teams -- like LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma -- go into every week hating who they play and looking to drive up the score. Even against worthy opponents, teams like that think they are just as good as their opponent. That they have as much opportunity to win as the next person.

A&M does not have anything resembling that sort of attitude. Again, everyone assumed they were going to lose to Texas. Sherman's done nothing there.

Dallas-Miami

I'm still recovering from the Buffalo cheerleader; thank goodness for South Beach

I remember like it was yesterday.

Living in Texas as far as I can remember, we didn't get snow. We got ice.

Inches and inches of ice and sleet. It would just accumulate overnight and for about three days, everyone was trapped. Attempting to drive was insane if not impossible. I could go outside and almost skate in my sneakers. It was a rink. It was the only time my toy hockey stick and plastic puck made any sense.

What made this storm odd was that it was in November. Most sleet/ice storms came in January and February. We almost always missed several days of school.

November was weird. It was early. It was Thanksgiving Day. No problem. The family was at the house and the Dallas Cowboys would play the Miami Dolphins at 3:15 p.m., just after lunch. All, everything was right with the world. It was 1993.

I hate the Cowboys now. In 1993, I fucking loved them. It was that old crew of Troy, Emmitt, Michael, Jimmy, Daryl, Alvin, Jimmie, Ken, Kevin, Mark, Erik, Nate and Leon.

Yes. Leon.

As it turns out, the hole in the roof, there so God could watch his favorite team, also allowed all the ice and snow to envelope the old Texas Stadium making the playing conditions unseasonably awful. The Cowboys, still, led 14-13 with 15 seconds left in the game. The Dolphins (who were 8-2 at the time) lined up for a 41-yard field goal in the ice. It was blocked.

What blew me away about this play wasn't that Leon Lett made a singularly dumb play. Not like the ball was rolling by its lonesome and Lett was the only Cowboy in reach. As the ball slid along the ice, there were at least two Cowboys standing around it, their arms perpendicular to their bodies, seemingly instructing everyone and each other to not touch the ball.

That's when bit Leon Lett slid through, touched the ball and the Dolphins recovered. Kick the field goal. 16-14. The Dolphins would not win another game that season. The Cowboys and dumb ol' Leon Lett would win the Super Bowl.

It's like I can see the replay in my brain.

Five things as the Dolphins roll back through on Thanksgiving Day:

Momentum
Both teams are riding three-game win streaks into the holidays. Unfortunately for Miami, those wins were preceded by seven losses whereas the Cowboys have fiddled around .500. The Cowboys are in a much better place and are winning in ways that are expected of a team with this talent. The Dolphins, or so we think, are playing a little over their heads. Maybe their laying it down for Tony Sporano, the former Cowboys assistant, who quickly landed on the hot seat to start the season. Having seen the Dolphins a couple of times, they play really hard. The game before this three-game stretch, they took it to the New York Giants. This is a team that will fight anyone. Just need to wonder if they have enough to win a game they shouldn't. Fun fact: The opponents that the Dolphins have held to 20 points in last three games are 12-12 overall.

Tony Romo
The Miami Dolphins have proven they can stop the run. They allow just 98 yards on the ground per game. Their pass defense isn't great. They allow 251 yards passing a game and have just six interceptions although they have a decent pass rush. It might not matter either way. Tony Romo's a sick 18-2 in November for his career. Most notably, he is nails on Thanksgiving Day games: 4-0 - 1,141 yards - 12 touchdowns - 2 INTs. The Cowboys might find themselves throw the ball a lot because it's fun to run the score up in front of the world and if the Dolphins have their way DeMarco Murray's touching the ball very little. The Thanksgiving magic -- meaning, no turnovers -- needs to continue for Romo.

The Salvation Army Kettle
I can hardly wait for that gigantic thing to be rolled out during halftime.

Reggie Bush
I wouldn't go out on a limb and say the Dolphins finally found a way to use Reggie Bush. From game to game, his numbers and impact may vary from OK to not very good. Nonetheless, they are able to get him the ball in situations where he can make things happen. He has 700 total yards and five total touchdowns. Not rewriting the record book or anything, but he's useful and the only real dynamic scoring threat considering the potential payoff and the amount of work it takes to get him the ball.

Old Friends
It's good to see folks that you haven't heard from in a long time. Especially around the holidays. Count the former Cowboys, current Dolphins: Anthony Fasano, Matt Moore, Kevin Burnett, Marc Columbo, Igor Olshansky and Nate Jones. This doesn't take into account Sporano and Jeff Ireland. No wonder this team sucks.

Prediction
Dallas Cowboys 38, Miami Dolphins 16
The annual home Thanksgiving game. It's like homecoming: The Cowboys schedule a bad AFC team and kick their ass. In the Romo era, they've all been blowouts. Romo is cooking. The Cowboys are cooking. They stick in first place in the NFC East for at least four days. Good turkey times.

The death of that meaningless Texas-Texas A&M game

The Wrecking Crew: When college football meant something, like taped fingers

Tomorrow night is the death rattle of a "rivalry" that maybe five percent of the United States cares about.

No, not the Harbaugh brothers. Texas-Texas A&M.

Texas A&M is leaving for the SEC next season and the Thanksgiving battle tomorrow night will more than likely be one of the last at least for a number of years.

While the drama built around A&M's possible departure, all we heard is how it would hurt Texas (the state, not the school) football and how that game means something to a ton of people.

The reality is that game doesn't really mean much to anybody. Alumni (or "former students" like Rick Perry) care. At least some alumni care. How many went to Texas, ended up with a business degree and left?

Then again, how many fans of the Aggies or Longhorns circle the date of that game? When was the last time that game meant a whole lot to either program.

The teams arrive tomorrow night a collective 12-9 and 7-8 in conference. A&M, frankly, hasn't been relevant since 1998 and not consistently relevant since the early 1990s. To be perfectly honest, this game lost a ton of credence after the 1999 Aggie bonfire killed those kids. It's almost the one loss of life where the GAME seemed more important.

Over the past decade, Texas has had some fantastic years. However, the A&M game was always an afterthought. The Texas-Oklahoma game is so important to both schools and to the college landscape (despite the consistently lopsided scores) that by the time late November rolls around everything is pretty well spoken for.

I just hope that all Aggies and Longhorns realize just how UNIMPORTANT this game is to everyone else in the world. SEC fans probably scoff every year. Pick a team and from year to year they probably beat Texas and A&M by three touchdowns.

An American League disappointment

Baseball

Unlike those shitty sports blogs that you probably read, I make myself accountable for all the dumb stuff that I type.

Before the MLB season, I made predictions.

Here's evidence of my failure.

Prediction
Actual

AL East
Boston Red Sox -- 96-66 -- 90-72
I said that health would be a major roadblock for the Red Sox if there was going to be one. By the home stretch, the BoSox looked tired and hurt. A number of guys hit a wall and they simply had nothing left. The only team in the country that wound up 18 games over .500 and won 90 games and considered it a gigantic disappointment.

New York Yankees -- 90-72 -- 97-65
Unfair. If you told me you were going to start Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon for a bulk of the season and that they were going to be halfway useful, I would've gone a bit higher. Bullpen seemed dramatically better. Curtis Granderson had an MVP year. Ivan Nova broke out. Aside from getting bounced in the ALDS, not a bad season. For a team knocked out in the ALDS. First round.

Tampa Bay Rays -- 84-78 -- 91-71
To my credit, it took a historic meltdown and a dramatic run by the Rays to get to 91 wins. This is probably an 84-win team that willed itself to 91 wins and the playoffs. Rays did what they did without their best pitcher (David Price) and best hitter (Evan Longoria) giving them very much at all due to ineffectiveness or injury. Either way, it wasn't always pretty but that organization is so well run that it won't matter many times. They'll be good again next year.

Toronto Blue Jays -- 81-81 -- 81-81
Bam! Nailed it. Jose Bautista did it again. However, the story here is instead Ricky Romero, who had an incredibly sneaky great season: 15 wins, 2.92 ERA, 225 IP. Still, a team that is not going thanks to the teams above.

Baltimore Orioles -- 70-92 -- 69-93
Poor Orioles. Started the year out so well and then the bottom fell out. What I don't get is that they signed a lot of veterans (Vlad Guerrero, Derrek Lee, Kevin Gregg, J.J. Hardy) in the off-season and wound up trading just one (Lee) and extended Hardy. Did send two useful pieces -- Koji Uehara, Mike Gonzalez -- to the Rangers. No wonder they can't find a guy to general manage.

AL Central
Minnesota Twins -- 97-65 -- 63-99
Ouch. Hurts to miss that one. Twins were without Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau for a ton of games and neither were able to be effective. At a certain point, especially with Morneau, you have to consider whether or not they are able to go out and be a part of this club. Fielder an inferior team for most of the year.

Chicago White Sox -- 85-77 -- 79-83
Ozzie Guillen is a manager. He is a manager that somehow got his team to play hard and contend. I don't get it and on the surface it seems he agitated more than anything. Then you see him take an inferior team to the limits for 162 games.

Detroit Tigers -- 80-82 -- 95-67
"I don't know if they're any good." On second thought, they're pretty good. Again, in my defense, I had zero idea that Justin Verlander was going to win the Cy Young and the MVP. Deserves both, I think. Definitely in the discussion and that's enough for me. Really good year.

Cleveland Indians -- 72-90 -- 80-82
Was the story of the first half in MLB, and it surprised no one when they fell off the map in the second half. A team with no depth with guys that probably played above their heads for a couple of months. Still, good to see the Indians make a little noise. A good Indians team is good for baseball.

Kansas City Royals -- 66-96 -- 71-91
Clearly, no the best team in the league. However, they were one of the most interesting. It was exciting to see Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Danny Duffy get significant times in the Majors. It should be noted that they got career years from Bruce Chen, Jeff Franceour, Alex Gordon and Melky Cabrera and still won just 71 games. Bright spots: The bullpen. Greg Holland and Aaron Crow look like superior arms in the back end of the 'pen.

AL West
Texas Rangers -- 92-70 -- 96-66
Rangers are a really good team. It wasn't just hard work and "doing things the right way." They're just good and far more balanced than any team in this division.

Oakland Athletics -- 88-74 -- 74-88
Just a bad team. The starters were not effective and the offense is light years away. People like to trash "Moneyball" when the Athletics fail and that's unfair to a certain point. Sometimes, no matter what, those draft picks don't work out and that's a vital cog in the "Moneyball" experience.

California Angels -- 81-81 -- 86-76
I thought the Angels would finish third because the Athletics would have the superior pitching. Instead, the Angels had the better rotation. Scoring was a big issue and I don't know how they are going to fix it. I don't think they have enough in the minors to make up for all the cash being dumped in the toilet in the Majors.

Seattle Mariners -- 59-103 -- 67-95
"By the end of the season, the Mariners will field the best Triple A team in Major League Baseball." Enough said.

The weekend the Big XII lost its mojo and Chief Caddo stays at home

The great Griffin

Well, Boomer.

SFA 33, Northwestern State 0
The Lumberjacks finish the season with five straight wins, including an absolute trouncing to keep Chief Caddo in Nacogdoches. Axe 'em.

Baylor 45, Oklahoma 38
The Big XII, right now, is interesting because there's not one fanbase that can point and laugh at another team or fanbase. It's a culture of suck. A culture of disappointment. Two days after Oklahoma State shit the sheets against Iowa State, Oklahoma couldn't stop Robert Griffin III and the Bears in Waco. Landry Jones had the most hollow 447 yards passing in the history of organized football. And I think the injuries and issues on defense finally caught up with the Sooners and with that their BCS hopes went down the toilet.

TCU 34, Colorado State 10
TCU is nine points from another undefeated season and a sure-fire BCS bid. Casey Pachall has put together a stellar season in that Andy Dalton kind of way: 68 percent completion percentage, 24 touchdowns, eight interceptions. And he's a sophomore.

Kansas State 17, Texas 13
You must really love Texas or K-State football to watch this game. K-State uglied it up, Texas has no choice and we saw Case McCoy inserted into the quarterback position again. I hope everyone took the Wildcats to cover.

Missouri 31, Texas Tech 17
Key of the game: Tech allowing Mizzou to drive into field-goal position in about 20 seconds to finish the second half. Mizzou hits the field goal, closes to within 17-10. Tigers with 318 yards rushing.

Texas A&M 61, Kansas 7
What a year from Ryan Swope. 78 catches. 1,069 yards. 11 touchdowns. Texas A&M fans, look at this domination and look back at your year. This is what you were supposed to do the entire season. Beyond disappointing.

Houston 37, SMU 7
The bright side: It was just 13-0 at halftime. The Mustang defense played tough. SMU just has zero balance without Zach Line at running back. Houston's just too hot to handle anyway.

Western Kentucky 31, North Texas
Western Kentucky was just more balanced and they won the turnover battle (+2) and that was that for the Mean Green's season or post-season hopes.

Fuck you, Tom Hicks

Turd

I feel like I'm finally out from under a bad relationship.

Tom Hicks is now history. With Tom Gaglardi purchasing the Dallas Stars the other day, Hicks is a liner note, smudge on the page of Dallas sports.

He did a little good. When I mean "little" and "good" I mean there were certain good things that happened to have happened while he was owner of the Stars and Texas Rangers. It's like putting me in charge of a space shuttle mission to Jupiter and successfully stocking enough Tang on board.

Otherwise, the fucking ship crashed. Dallas sports collapsed under and around Hicks. If he weren't such a turdburger, I might feel a little sorry for him. Then you realize how faulty the foundation was to his organization. Using other people's money to buy shit -- really expensive shit, like sports franchises -- and then you realize that you don't make money in the middle of a season off sales of hot dogs and T-shirts you cut back.

Hicks' self-proclaimed idea of running a sports teams hinged on the idea that if fans showed up, he'd spend money on the product.

Unfortunately, Hicks must have missed that day in economics class. The market doesn't determine the market. The consumer determines the market -- prices, product, overhead and all that shit.

Plus, add into the mix the Dallas-Fort Worth sports consumer. This is not a "die-hard" sports town. Ninety percent of all Dallas-Fort Worth "fans" will invest themselves whole heartedly ... if you are winning. It's a frustrating fact. But it's a fact.

Hicks, therefore, was doomed to failure in this market. Unfortunately, he's also running Liverpool Football Club into the ground and there are few more invested fans than English Premier League football.

No matter, Hicks royally fucked Dallas-Fort Worth for 16 years. What good happened during his tenure was total accident due to his inability or simply not wanting to spend any money (see: Jon Daniels, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ron Washington). The futility of the Texas Rangers and the downward spiral of the Stars is totally on him.

What's worse? He doesn't care. He could have given a flying asshole about the fan and consumer. He blamed you and us. It is your fault that you didn't go to the Ballpark to watch a 70-win Rangers team in 100-degree temperatures and drinking $9 beer.

With that, so long Tom Hicks. You were an irritating asshole. We dislike you.

Splish splash

Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?

I think the most surprising fact to come out of the Texas Rangers signing closer Joe Nathan is that he's 37 years old. He's been in the league 12 years.

That's remarkable. Feels like he should be 30 or 31 starting his eight year.

Yes, the Rangers took baseball news and blogs by the nuts today signing Nathan to a two-year deal for $7 million each and a $9 million option for 2014.

A gigantic, franchise-shifting move.

If you were unsure of the Rangers' plans for the rotation and bullpen, they are a hell of a lot clear now.

Neftali Feliz is going to be in the rotation. Nathan will be the closer. Mike Adams will be the set-up man. Even if Nathan's arm falls off (he missed all of 2010 due to Tommy John surgery), Adams is the closer and the set-up situation will need to work itself out.

I do think that the Rangers are considering, seriously, moving Alexi Ogando to the bullpen full time, but that's for another day.

As for Nathan, he's just a big badass: 6-4, 225, all-time saves leader for the Twins, throws strikes, allows a bare minimum of runs, baserunners, walks, hits and home runs. Over the past decade, he's been the second or third best closer in the game.

I don't think the money is too bad. It's basically a bet that Nathan can go another two seasons with a carrot on the stick for a third. Either way, they are aiming to bolster the starting rotation now, make two more runs at a title with Nathan and figure it out in 2014.

As for Feliz, I think this was a foregone conclusion. The Rangers want him in the rotation. His two pitches are really good. Two pitches got Ogando 13 wins and an All-Star game. If Feliz works his curveball a bit more in the off-season, a valid third pitch would be devastating.

As of this moment:

Rotation
Colby Lewis
Neftali Feliz
Matt Harrison
Derek Holland
Alexi Ogando

Bullpen
Joe Nathan
Mike Adams
Koji Uehara
Mark Lowe
Yoshi Tateyama
Scott Feldman

Dallas Stars get bought

Hopefully he spends more on defensemen than he does coffee

Amidst a terrible spell on the ice where they can't quit shitting their pants, the best news ever came across the Dallas Stars' wire.

They have an owner. And, no, it's not creditors, the NHL, Tom Hicks or Chuck Greenberg. Or even Mark Cuban.

Tom Gaglardi, the Vancouver-based businessman, bought the Stars in foreclosure (the $1 bin of sports franchises) after Hicks failed to pay his VISA and MasterCard bills in addition to a number of payments on those Zamboni machines. The franchise also took a hit on all those Sean Avery jerseys they ordered.

Also, it should be noted, Jim Lites is back as team president. I didn't even know he left. The details are sketchy (see: From Wikipedia) but they date back to Doug Armstrong's firing and Lites being "reassigned" to the Hicks Sports Marketing Group, where he oversaw the marketing for the Stars, Texas Rangers, Liverpool Football Club and Mesquite Championship Rodeo (where finances were so bad they didn't have money for bucking bulls) until they were all sold.

Yes, another thing we can blame Hicks for.

Gaglardi, according to every report ever, is here to spend money and win, and it will need to be in that order. The Stars have been run on the tightest budget imaginable as marquee free agents have either come and gone or not come at all. Despite being in contention, the Stars lack the ability make in-season trades due to the tight finances. What Joe Nieuwendyk's done with some Elmer's glue and shoestrings is borderline amazing.

With a little cash infusion, maybe it'll get real different, real soon.

The narrowest of margins

Alan Balls

The Dallas Cowboys faced defeat square in the face. Maybe it was luck. Maybe the Cowboys are just a little better. Maybe the Washington Redskins are 3-7 for a damn good reason.

Nonetheless, the Cowboys eked out a 27-24 win in Washington yesterday, a pivotal game as it is a division and conference win and with the New York Giants stinking it up against Philadelphia (no one's playing uglier games than the NFC East), the Cowboys are in a tie for the division lead.

I think it will take the division to get into the playoffs for the Cowboys. They will need to fend off the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and, maybe, the Philadelphia Eagles for the wild card, and currently the Cowboys are without head-to-head tiebreakers against two of those teams.

The entire game, Kenny Albert and Daryl "Moose" Johnston kept commenting on every Washington turnover, mistake and penalty, and saying that it was "just one of those seasons when nothing goes right." Maybe. Or maybe the Redskins just suck.

Dallas-Fort Worth -- and every city for that matter -- has teams that have "just one of those seasons when nothing goes right." Isn't that code for "shitty team?" The Redskins are a shitty team, and it's a little mystery why. You can blame the owner Dan Snyder. But that defense is good. They swarmed the Cowboys and Tony Romo. They have very little offensively, but some team was going to get stuck with Rex Grossman at quarterback eventually. Why not the Redskins.

Maybe what Washington has in Snyder is not unlike what Dallas has in Jerry Jones: A meddling owner that seems to fuck shit up. The difference is that Jones -- the blindest of blind squirrels -- finds a ton of nuts. Seems like Snyder just finds nuts.

****
The Dallas Cowboys have played 10 games with Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator. When is the last time you said to yourself or others, "Man, the Cowboys' defense has really adjusted to what the opponent is doing to them"?

I haven't said it once and I thought it was going to get the Cowboys beat. After the Redskins scored on the short field in the second quarter, Grossman turned into Slingin' Sammy Baugh and all of a sudden the Cowboys had to contend on defense and it didn't seem like they could. After halftime, it was more of the same.

The middle of the field was wide open (Grossman continually missed on most sideline routes) and it gave them big chunks of yardage relatively wide open. It seems -- clutch the pearls! -- that Grossman was picking on Terence Newman, who appeared to be 10 yards off Jabar Gaffney, who I would not consider a speed threat.

On offense, the Redskins are a team of cast-offs, former arena league guys, waiver-wire all stars and Roy Helu (who barely touches the ball). They ate the Cowboys' lunch. Worse is that the Cowboys defense was unable to adjust (jam receivers at the line, something) as the game went along.

Not saying it's a "thing." Just an observation from this lowly blogger.

Grades:

Quarterback -- B+
I thought Tony Romo was really good. Not great. I didn't think a lot of those hurries and sacks were solely on the offensive line. Maybe coverage, but that ball sat in Romo's hands a long time. Also, he was erratic early in the game particularly trying to get the ball to Laurent Robinson. Granted, Robinson's pretty new, but he's been around long enough to be in the right place, something he's done right. I think Romo was just missing him. Several of those throws get picked off in most games. Still, Romo's putting up stellar November numbers. All this is doing is setting Romo's failure in December, which will be a kick in the balls for everyone.

Running Back -- C+
How do I know when Felix Jones is in the game instead of DeMarco Murray? More often than note, Jones will miss a hole or cut-up and go down about 10 yards before he should. The most physical game for Murray and I thought he stood his own. He was getting popped. There was far less space to run and still the Cowboys were able to scratch out some yards and keep the Redskins honest.

Wide Receiver -- D
Where, physically, does Dez Bryant go from the first drive of the game to the last? Is he on the sideline? Locker room? Chilis? He's the biggest disappearing act since Josh Howard, and it's not remotely funny. Robinson and Romo had their issues all day. Two gigantic catches from Kevin Ogletree and Jesse Holley. Gravy.

Tight End -- A+
Any time you get three uneventful catches from Martellus Bennett, it is a good game. Biggest play by a tight end in the game: Not Bennett's one-handed catch or Witten's big touchdown run. How about Witten hustling to get his fumble back? It put the Cowboys at their 41-yard-line and it not only kept the Redskins (up 17-10) from having a short field. Graham Gano would miss a 49-yard field goal the next possession.

Offensive Line -- C
At times, they were brilliant. Other times they looked overwhelmed. It felt the Redskins constantly blitzed. Considering they were playing on the road against an aggressive defense, I thought they held up well. Barely good. No where close to great.

Defensive Line -- B
Better than they've been in the past. Jay Ratliff, Marcus Spears and Jason Hatcher all made plays of note. The Redskins had zero room to run. Grossman seemed to be always throwing the ball before he wanted. A ton of pressure up the middle.

DeMarcus Ware -- F
OK, I typically judge all the linebackers here, but I want to cast the spotlight on Ware because, on the whole, he's been persona non grata for the last four games. He'll make a sack early in the game and disappear, not unlike Bryant. Yes, maybe they are double teaming him and that stinks. However, shouldn't that open things up elsewhere on the field. For the first time in a long time, the linebackers had a pretty mundane game.

Secondary -- D
Rough day. Terence Newman was not good. Orlando Scandrick had a bad penalty that kept a Washington drive alive and an awful tackle attempt. Although, they also caused the two Washington turnovers and almost had another on the Grossman fumble (which was really, really must closer than the announcers would lead you to believe).

Specials Teams -- F-
What went right, outside of Dan Bailey, who had his first iffy field goal of the year? Two bad punts from "Drop Foot" Mat McBriar, AWFUL kick coverage, penalties. And could there be a guy in the NFL with less energy than Akwasi Owusu-Ansah? It's almost like the Cowboys are intentionally trying to screw up the return game with that guy. He has zero spark. Zero speed. He almost completely screwed a punt return faking a catch and it nearly hitting him. He has no value whatsoever.

Coaching -- D
I go back to my rant above: It seems the defense is incapable or unwilling to adjust to the opponent, which is scary. I felt Jason Garrett got too far away from the run game too early. Still, give credit for having the fortitude to win that dumb game. The Dallas Cowboys of the past four years lose that game.

Cowboys-Redskins

That's just ridiculous

It was more than a year ago and it altered the expectations and trajectory of the Dallas Cowboys for the next 12 months. It resulted in a number of players' destinies being changed, a coaching change and who knows what other kind of effects.

It was not in November. I believe it was the season-opener a year ago. But it was at the site of today's Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins tilt.

It started with a better Cowboys team playing down to a worse Redskins team. It had Tony Romo attempting to complete a pass to Tashard Choice at the end of the half, which was stripped and run in for a Washington touchdown.

It ended with Tony Romo hitting Roy Williams for a game-winning, last-second touchdown only to get nixed by a holding penalty on fill-in right tackle, Alex Barron.

Note: Three of those names are not longer on the Cowboys' roster. At least one is on the Redskins' current roster. The head coach is in Houston now.

No other game sticks out to me like that one. It was a gut-punch loss that the Cowboys were unable to overcome. They'd lose seven of their first eight. We all know how that went.

Here we are 14 months later and things are looking differently. The Cowboys -- now in week 10 -- have weathered a few storms (a lockout, a puzzle-piece offensive line, major injuries to top offensive weapons, implementation of a new defense, a less-than-stellar defensive roster that's overperformed) and find themselves 5-4 with every opportunity to get to eight wins in a hurry.

The Redskins, on the other hand, are fucking terrible. And always will be for a long time.

Five things:

Road Woes
The Cowboys are 5-8 the last two years on the road, including a 1-3 mark this season, which includes losses to Philadelphia, New England, Detroit and the Jets. Three of those were really, really tough losses. There's nothing like facing Rex Grossman to reverse the road issues, but remember that the Redskins and Cowboys always play each other tight no matter the fortunes or site of either franchise. The Cowboys narrowly beat Washington this year 18-16 at Cowboys Stadium.

DeMarco Murray
Everyone's current favorite Dallas Cowboy. And deservedly so. He gets a noted back-up back this week with Felix Jones suiting up and playing. It'll be an interesting mix and you wonder if the old adage of "less of Felix Jones is more of Felix Jones" is true. For what its worth, Jones had 115 yards rushing against Washington the first game this year.

Fullback
The Cowboys are without fullback Tony Fiammetta. This is only a story because he is injured. As Murray's stock has risen, media members are quick to point out Fiammetta's role in the suddenly vaunted run game now that he's out for a week. As a full timer, this will be Murray's first week without a fullback, so it'll be fun to see how he does.

Blitzkrieg
For the first time all year, I felt the Cowboys implemented the blitz with pretty good marks a week ago against Ryan Fitzpatrick. As ordinary as Grossman actually is, he was not awful against the Cowboys earlier this season and he damn near beat them on the road if it wasn't for Dan Bailey. Needless to say, whether you hate or love the Cowboys, seeing Rex Grossman get pounded into the turf may be the best thing ever.

Winning Stretch
When's the last time the Cowboys have won three straight? The Cowboys are in the middle of their soft stretch of the schedule and they're 2-0 so far. And they're pounding teams. These wins are convincing. Are the Cowboys focused? Are they being well-coached? We're not just going to find out if the Cowboys go up 6-4 this week; we're going to see just how well-coached they are.

Prediction
Dallas Cowboys 33, Washington Redskins 13
Grossman gets a No. 94 implanted on this back. Cowboys continue to look good and everyone's so impressed going into the Thanksgiving week. Murray gets 135 yards, at least.

Oops

How?

It's Friday night and college football's already been turned on its head.

Try this out: Iowa State 37, Oklahoma State 31.

Yes, the Cowboys are not longer undefeated and that will knock them out of BCS contention most likely. Depending on how far they drop (four, five, six, seven?) they can still beat Oklahoma (ranked No. 5) and possibly jump due to strength of schedule. I think they'd need help, most notably a second loss from either or both Alabama and Oregon. One might do it.

As for the Cowboys -- and not to take away from the Cyclones -- they can only blame themselves for this one. What a stinker of a game. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

Five turnovers. Poor special teams (a 49-yard kickoff return, an onsides kick recovered by Iowa State, miss field goal). A defense that let down its guard. Poor quarterbacking and, frankly, shitty playcalling.

In the third quarter, it was a Joseph Randle fumble that led to the Cyclones getting to within seven points.

Over the next four possession, Oklahoma State would run the ball ONCE and included five incompletions and an interception. ONCE. Mostly, all while ahead. They could have cut the game in half and they didn't and they lost the game. Good teams -- national title contenders -- run the ball there come hell or high water and resort to passing the ball second. Instead, the Cowboys slowed down the game enough for Iowa State to come back.

That was such a colossal meltdown. Not unlike what happened to Texas A&M. Except the loss was much, much bigger.

By the way, doesn't it feel like Iowa State knocks off a good team every year. They have six wins two of which against ranked opponents (Okie State, Texas Tech) and another against in-state rival Iowa. They'll go to some shitty bowl and we'll think nothing of it. But they've been OK this season.

To those games not yet played:

Oklahoma vs. Baylor
Baylor's never beat Oklahoma, who has to be smelling blood now that Okie State's out of the picture. Injury bug hits Sooners as all-time leading receiver and sixth-year senior (he's been there FOREVER) Ryan Broyles is out for the year. Baylor's 5-0 at home, but the only win of note is TCU (which is looking better and better). Oklahoma will probably score 60. Can they stop Robert Griffin III from scoring 61?

SFA vs. Northwestern State
The ballyhooed battle for Chief Caddo. Sure he's a antiquated Native American stereotype fought over on a field of turf on his former hunting grounds, but fuck it. Breaking necks, cashing checks.

Kansas State vs. Texas
How is Texas nine-point favs in this game? No one respects K-State and no one wants to bet against Texas at home, I guess. Ridiculous. Gamblers are stupid. Ahem, Collin Klein has 24 rushing touchdowns this season.

TCU vs. Colorado State
TCU's cute. We're talking about a non-BCS team that's going to have a "rebuilding" year in which they win 10 games and finish in the top 15 in the nation. Still, those Baylor and SMU games are fucking haunting them.

SMU vs. Houston
I'm scared for the Ponies. If Cougar High lay 70 down, no one bats an eyelash. Still, we're talking about two marquee wins for the Mustangs if they can find a way to stymie eighth-year senior Case Keenum (he's had a longer college career than JaMarcus Russell had an NFL career). Praying for those fellas on the Hilltop.

Kansas vs. Texas A&M
Another win and A&M's bowl eligible. Shouldn't they just turn down the invite? Christine Michael out for the year. A snootful of DeSoto's own Cyrus Gray for the rest of the year.

Texas Tech vs. Missouri
Not the best of weeks for Big XII sports. First those Okie State coaches dying and then Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel getting pinched for drinking and driving. Will sit out this game. Don't know if either team is very good. Tech's took a dip in the shitter since upsetting Oklahoma and Mizzou's flipped flopped wins against ranked opponents. Mizzou at home should prevail.

North Texas vs. Western Kentucky
Yes, Western Kentucky's 5-1 in conference but they're 5-5 overall. Nothing special and they've beat no one of consequence. North Texas have two more games and both are in Denton. Two more wins and they're bowl eligible, which would probably be the most insane thing ever. North Texas is 3-1 in their new Denton digs this season. The only loss: against Houston. No shame there.

Anyone interested in Mark Buehrle?

Buehrle, in celebration

My finger, squarely on the pulse of rumors circulating the Internet about the Texas Rangers and free agency.

By all accounts, the Texas Rangers are interested in any and all starting pitcher on the market.

This could mean two things: 1) They are sincerely interested in every starting pitcher on the market; or 2) they are attempting to act coy in front of C.J. Wilson.

It's junior high romance: Act all handsy with another person to get your ex to think you're not interested anymore even though you're totally interested still.

Mark Buehrle is one of those guys that seems always on the Rangers' radar once the trade deadline rolls around in July. It's almost a miracle that he's not a Ranger, actually, as much as he's been rumored to be. Among local lore, he's most noted for no hitting the Rangers in 2007 and then throwing a perfect game against Tampa in 2009.

I personally remember him being the guy that talks about retirement at a relatively young age. He's 32 now and I remember at least three years ago him mentioning quitting. He never did and I don't remember any recent rumors.

I think he's perked the ears of the Rangers and its fans because he's been so hard on them throughout his career. He's 12-5 lifetime with a 3.42 ERA. At the Ballpark, he's 5-2 with a 3.86 ERA.

Buehrle doesn't do a lot well. He doesn't throw hard and subsequently gets hit pretty hard. He allowed a lot of hits, runs and home runs. He doesn't strike many out at all -- he's had more than 115 strikeouts once in the last five years. And as much contact as he forces, he has a miserably low groundball-flyout ratio (not even 1:1 for his career).

Still, Buehrle will probably wind up pitching effectively until he's 39 and will sneak into retirement with 230 career wins or something. He locates very well and is smart. He does more with less, to a certain extent.

There are things he does very well. He's extremely durable. He's pitched 200 innings in every season as a full-time starter, 11 seasons and counting. He will get you 200 innings and 13 wins, at least.

He's also proved to be good in the post-season. In the White Sox' World Series run he went 2-0 in three starts with a 12:1 strikeout to walk ratio. He's also a very good fielding pitcher -- a point of weakness for the Rangers -- winning the Gold Glove three times, including this year.

At 32, this is Buerhle's real last chance at a long-term contract. A number of teams are interested and that'll drive the price up. He was making $14 million for the White Sox and I suspect this will stay around there. I can't imagine it competing with C.J. Wilson's potential nine-figure deal, but you never know what desperate teams will do in free agency.

I don't mind Buehrle. I certainly wouldn't overpay to get him. I think the Rangers want some veteran presence in the rotation. If they can get it for a reasonable price, that is. Buehrle would provide that steady hand, not quite an ace but a guy that takes the ball with verve every fifth day.

Replacing Emmitt

Troy Hambrick: Living the "Longest Yard" dream

"Literally?!"

The names Quincy, Chad, Drew, Vinny, Ryan, Randall, Anthony, Clint and, well, Drew are all synonymous with about a decade of futility as the Dallas Cowboys searched for a starting quarterback, a replacement for Troy Aikman.

Those names are borderline legendary. Just as familiar as Roger, Drew (sorry, again) Emmitt, Troy, Mike, Darren, Daryl, Bob, Tony and Randy.

As hard as its been to find a decent starting quarterback (or so we think in Tony Romo), I think it's been equally as difficult finding a replacement in Emmitt Smith.

Unlike Troy's replacement, there's been legitimate guys roll through Dallas that looked like they might have potential to be a nice running back for 10 years. Whereas, most Sundays, the likes of Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe just made us hope they wouldn't throw four interceptions.

With the running backs, we felt there was room to improve. There were glimpses, unlike the quarterbacks.

Still, it's been a tough road. Not that DeMarco Murray is the answer. He could flame like like many of these others. However, I think it's safe to say that he's looked like a different breed of runner. Something I don't remember saying about these guys:

Troy Hambrick
2000-2003
This list is moot. That's because Hambrick was the heir apparent to Smith. In fact, Smith was holding Hambrick back. Or Hambrick was holding Smith back. He was big and plodding fans were in love. He was allowed to walk and spent a marginal year in Arizona, not unlike his predecessor. More than running, he liked selling coke and beating up on women. He was in prison the last I checked.

Aveion Cason
2003
If you were privy to the 10-game Cason experiment, you are a hardened Cowboys fan. Dark days.

Adrian Murrell
2003
Guess who used to play for the New York Jets under Bill Parcells? For about three years of his career, he was a salty character. Played sparingly for the Cowboys.

Eric Bickerstaff
2003
Dark. Days. Move on. It gets better.

Richie Anderson
2003-04
Anderson was a Bill Parcells guy through and through. A former Jet, Anderson was inserted as the team's fullback/tailback combo. He blocked, caught the ball, lined up as receiver, drew short yardage duty and even threw a couple of passes. Never meant to be a replacement for Smith as much as an improvement or bridge. Anderson never played another game after the 2004 season.

Eddie George
2004
George had a brilliant career with Tennessee. Came to the Cowboys as a free agent and flamed out. Started just eight games and looked as old as you can get.

ReShard Lee
2004
Why do I remember these names? What's wrong with me!?

Julius Jones
2004-08
Had more than 800 yards in half a season his rookie year with a 4.2 average and everyone was excited, although his initial pick in the second round out of Notre Dame was a bit underwhelming. the next season he missed a handful of games, but still managed nearly 1,000 yards before breaking that barrier the next season. By 2007, the Marion Barber effect was in full swing and Jones saw his productivity drop.

Tyson Thompson
2005-07
I could do a whole different post on the guys that were going to remake the Cowboys' return game. Thompson was one with the option of being a running back once the carries were available. The Irving native had one good year of returning kicks and spent another two years being hurt. At least he was undrafted.

Marion Barber
2005-10
Ran hard, tough. A fourth rounder taken in the 2005 draft, Barber was a warrior. He was brought into the fourth quarter by Bill Parcells with the sole purpose of punishing defenders and milking the clock. For at least one season, this worked out. Then fans and management got the bright idea that he should start. The Cowboys dumped Julius Jones and inserted Barber into the starting line-up and he could never stay healthy and with the injuries, the edge left him a bit. He flamed out last season.

Tashard Choice
2008-11
Has gotten a shot in every season despite being the No. 3 back due to injuries to Barber and Felix Jones. Each time he's shown something. I doubt we'll ever forget that game in Pittsburgh when he grunted for more than 100 yards. A fumble against the Redskins and a request for an autograph and he quickly grew out of favor with coaches and fans.

Felix Jones
2008-Present
Rocked our world with his speed and people got very excited. Again, another rather high draft pick (first round) he was sort of an underwhelming pick due to Darren McFadden, his backfield mate out of Arkansas, was taken first in the draft. Still, Jones impressed with his blazing speed. No one's been impressed with his inability to stay healthy. He's missed 16 games in four seasons including five this year and 10 his rookie year.

Phillip Tanner
Present
Won over the hearts of minds of Cowboydom by running in a pre-season game without his helmet. Despite the playing being called dead once the helmet flew off.

DeMarco Murray
Present
If you makes you feel better, at this pace, Murray will pass most the names on this list for rushing yards as a Cowboy before the season's out. If he hasn't already.

Hard knocks

Gregg

Forrest Gregg, a legend of Texas football, is battling Parkinson's disease, a probable result of 20+ years of getting his head knocked in every week playing football.

The 6-4 lineman from Birthright, Texas (just north of Sulphur Springs) is 78. He went to SMU and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, where he won two Super Bowls (I, II). He also wound up playing in every Packers' game from 1956-71, a streak of 188 games. He was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and the First Team All Pro seven times.

He finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys winning a third Super Bowl (VI). Afterwards, he became a coach compiling a 75-85 NFL record between the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals. His best season was a 12-4 year in 1980 when he took the Bengals to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers. Sam Wyche, later, would feel his pain.

Gregg's other local notable note was his hiring of coach of the SMU Mustangs in 1989 -- a sort of renewing of football at the university who had gotten the "Death Penalty" for NCAA infractions and canceling the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Gregg's teams went 2-9 and 1-10. He was named athletic director his second season and served there until 1994.

Not to start pouring dirt on the casket, but you don't wake up with Parkinson's disease and announce it to the world. Much like Joe Frazier's illness and subsequent death, who knows when news could come down.

Good baseball news

The Baltimore Orioles are making huge changes.

Most importantly, they're bringing their cartoon bird back. Looks insanely cool.

If it was good enough for Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr., it's good enough for Adam Jones, Tommy Hunter and Nick Markakis.

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In local news, Mike Maddux is out of the running for the Chicago Cubs gig. Apparently, it's due to the same reasons as stepping out of the Boston Red Sox gig: Family.

By all accounts, it's about staying close to Dallas-Fort Worth and not due to sickness or anything. Apparently, it's about keeping his kids in the same schools and not uprooting everything for the sake of dredging Lake Michigan for the Chicago Cubs' franchise.

Good for him. Good for us.

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The Houston Astros were purchased by Jim Crane, as we all remember was a huge name in the contention of buying the Texas Rangers.

Part of the sale, however, was agreeing to move the Houston Astros -- who are terrible -- to the American League West in 2013.

The Rangers might win the division for another seven years once this happens.

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Justin Verlander won the American League Cy Young Award. Joe Maddon will win the American League Manager of the Year as long as the Rays are in contention. Kirk Gibson deservedly gets the National League Manager of the Year.

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Matt Treanor was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for $1 million. Could we be happier for a guy leaving?

If C.J. Wilson leaves will anyone be that displeased and doesn't that feel wrong?

We hardly knew ye ... not really ... we knew ye pretty well

Remember a year ago, Rangers fans?

It's been a calendar year since the Cliff Lee ordeal was taking place and all the rumors that were spun surrounding where he and his wife will want to live and play baseball. It was heart-wrenching and caused us to bite our fingernails down to stubs.

Again, this year, we are on the verge of losing this team's best starting pitcher and if there were a complete opposite of the gnashing of teeth from a year ago, it's this.

Utter apathy.

C.J. Wilson is a noted free agent, probably the best on the market. He will probably get six years and $17 million per. That's nine figures for the douchiest ex-reliever in the history of the game.

Everyone from the Washington Nationals to the California Angels have apparent interest and team that seems least interested is the Rangers.

Odd only because fans over the past, oh, 50 years have annually stated, "When is this team going to get some pitching?"

Here they are with pitching and somehow we're OK with the team's "ace" jettisoning for the second straight year.

As of this moment, there are not flare ups. I haven't talked to any fan or media member blasting or railing against the Rangers not signing him. If he's affordable, why not? If not, thanks for the memories.

If you want Wilson gone only because of his attitude or poor post-season numbers, then you are retarded.

Wilson, as a starter:

77 starts - 427 IP - 352 hits - 167 BBs - 376 Ks - 31 wins

.225 BAA - .637 OPSA - 3.14 ERA

That. Is. Salty.

To be honest with you, the Rangers will probably not be able to replace that (easily, anyway) much in the same way they were not going to replace Lee.

The end result is a deterioration of talent. If Wilson is 80 percent of Lee, then what is 80 percent of Wilson? Neftali Feliz? Matt Harrison? Mark Buehrle? John Danks?

Please. If Wilson goes, he will be missed.

However, you can say the same for a number of free agents for a particular team and I wouldn't pay as much as they'll get on the market. The Brewers will miss Prince Fielder. They will not miss him for the $120 million he's about to sign for with some team.

I think Wilson is gone because the Rangers are not going to overpay for the guy and the bidding is going to take his contract to an astronomical amount.

Still, Rangers fans should not fail to bat an eyelash at this development. Wilson was important to this team and any less credit is unfair.