Banner day

Raise it hard

On the veritable pinnacle of the franchise's existence -- the day the world championship banner was raised in the American Airlines Center -- when all was right with the world, the Dallas Mavericks got a very harsh dose of reality.

It ain't easy being king.

In the opening of the NBA season with a Finals rematch, the Dallas Mavericks looked old and slow losing to Lebron and Co., 105-94. And it wasn't even that close. The Mavericks took the final quarter 29-8 to get to within 11 points. Otherwise, it was a blowout.

What this should remind all of us is that Lebron James (37/10/6) and Dwayne Wade (26/8/6) did not win a title last season. That doesn't mean they are not very good.

Sadly, this post isn't about last season. That's in the past and it's thankfully hanging from the rafters. This is about this season.

Finally we got a glimpse at what Rick Carlisle is going to try to pass off as a starting five: Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood.

And, as you can see from the score, it didn't go very well. Haywood -- wait for it! -- had zero points, three rebounds, four fouls and two turnovers. In 13 minutes. As many shots the Mavericks were missing, you'd think he'd get two or three offensive rebounds alone. Then again, he sucks.

Vince Carter wasn't much better. He filled it up with five points, two rebounds and three assists. He also committed three fouls and two turnovers. In essence, terrible.

Dirk Nowitzki wasn't much better (5-16) from the field) as the entire bench was cleared (Dom Jones and Roddy Beaubois at the apparent end) and it was just a disaster.

For 2011-12, at least. Just look at that banner.

Intrigue

I wish I watched the game with this fan

I watched the Dallas Cowboys get their asses beat 20-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday with two pretty hardcore fans.

You would have thought the Cowboys were not only 14-0 but were in fact winning by 30 points and were probably just going to force the NFL to forfeit the playoffs and just award the world championship to the Cowboys.

None of this is reality. It's one of the billion reasons why the Cowboys will not be good as long as Jerry Jones is making significant decisions within the organization: It's a disillusioned fanbase propping up a disillusioned owner and general manager, all of whom are insanely quick to point blame or criticize others.

The Cowboys are a plain 8-7, they will play for their season in a week in New Jersey and they had their asses beat by Philadelphia twice this season. The Eagles, clearly, are underachieving based on their talent. They are also probably better than the Dallas Cowboys.

The Eagles are a letdown. The Cowboys just aren't very good.

My cohorts in game watching kept going on and on about how the Cowboys are just banged up and the number of "Dream Team" references was off the charts. Meanwhile, the Cowboys couldn't keep Stephen McGee upright.

Don't worry, fans, the Cowboys are just a move away. Just one move.

If they can only get some coaches in here. While we're at it, let's get the Rangers some goddamned pitching.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Grades:

Quarterback -- D-
We debated as to whether or not Tony Romo would have kept playing had the Giants lost earlier in the day and the division were up for grabs. I'd go with "YES!" The Cowboys were not just playing for the division. They were playing to keep the Eagles out. A pair of Giant losses and beating the Cowboys tomorrow and the Eagles take the division. I realize that McGee was under durress all day, but he also missed a lot of throws. Playing on the road ... err. Sorry.

Running Back -- D-
Felix Jones lasted one more series than Romo. Battling bad hammies all week, Jones was benched early as soon as the final for the Giants-Jets came down. I'd like to reiterate what I said on Friday: Blowing the game intentionally was a dumb move. If the Cowboys are the Green Bay Packers or New England Patriots, momentum and all that might not mean much. Those are proven teams, teams with skins on the wall. All this team has is Wade Phillips, Terrell Owens, Jessica Simpson the Special Teams Draft.

Wide Receiver -- F
Those dudes were out there the entire freaking game, which is sorta funny when you consider that who's more valuable next week against the Giants: Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant or Felix Jones? A lot of catches and yards came with the game out of hand.

Tight End -- D
It feels like at least Martellus Bennett's had a relatively productive year, probably the best in his four years in the NFL. No. Not really. Just 16 catches (third most), 139 yards (carere low) and zero touchdowns (tied for career low ... of zero). I forget he had a pretty nice rookie year with four touchdowns. Not another in three seasons.

Offensive Line -- F
Jason Babin drinks your milkshake.

Defensive Line -- C+
Good enough to win, for sure. Could've used more, always.

Linebackers -- C-
Oh look! It's DeMarcus Ware collecting another two meaningless sacks in a blowout loss. If you took Ware's dozen meaningless sacks and exchanged them for two or three meaningful sacks, then the Cowboys probably have 10 wins. Sorry. You don't approach the NFL sack record and complain about being triple teamed per your inability to be consistently game changing.

Secondary -- F
I read somewhere that the Cowboys' secondary took turns getting burned. A lot of Frank Walker. A lot. Kinda get the feeling he needs to go away.

Special Teams -- B
An "A" for effort for Mat McBriar. It probably hurt his foot like shit to have to punt nine times. Dwayne Harris needs to get his hands on the football. You can't tell me he's worse or just as good as Kevin Ogletree or that long-named asshole from Texas Tech.

Coaching -- C
With Jerry Jones barking in Jason Garrett's ear, you get the feeling that this was out of his hands. The Giants had won and this was a "meaningless" game and Romo and Jones needed to be extricated from the game. The defense was not good. It was, however, 75 percent better than the offense.

Cowboys-Eagles: A Christmas spectacular

Merry fuckin' Christmas

Let the playoffs begin.

Effectively, the Cowboys begin their playoff run tomorrow against the Philadelphia Eagles at JerryWorld.

A Giants loss in their noon game and a Cowboys win clinches the division. A Giants win tomorrow and the Cowboys-Eagles game turns essentially into an exhibition.

Or does it ...

The Eagles have a very outside shot at winning the division. Should the Eagles win tomorrow and in week 17, they'd be 8-8. If the Cowboys lose the next two, they are 8-8. If the Giants lose tomorrow and win (against the Cowboys) in week 17, they'd be 8-8.

The Giants are screwed (tied Eagles in head-to-head) due to their divisional record. And the Cowboys would be screwed having lost both games to the Eagles. Either way, the Eagles are 3-1 in the division and, if they win the next two weeks, would be 5-1 in the NFC East.

Either way, the Eagles want no one to get nine wins and the Cowboys, clearly, have the best shot at getting there. Beating the Cowboys means a lot.

That's why I hate all this loser talk of just half-assing it if the Giants wind up beating the Jets early. The Cowboys need to quit pretending they've won 10 Super Bowls in the past 12 seasons. There's no room for purposely losing a game because you can. They need to hammer that stake into the hearts of the Eagles tomorrow. If they're smart, and I'm not certain of that.

Five things:

LeSean McCoy
Absolutely killed the Cowboys earlier this season. The dude is a stud no matter who he's up against. Hands will be full.

DeMarcus Ware
Someone needs a big game. A really big game. No doubt teams are trying to slow him down. Why wouldn't you? But when have teams not tried to slow him down? He's had to deal with it his entire career. He simply needs to get out of his funk.

Michael Vick
It's almost like he toys with the Cowboys, like a cat batting around a little helpless mouse. He makes the Cowboys look significantly less athletic than they probably already are.

Home-Field Advantage
The week after the Dallas Cowboys were dethroned as "America's Team" (by far the most pretentious title ever), they get a home game against not only a hated rival in a frosty playoff-type game the day before Christmas. If there were ever an opportunity for 100K to make a boozy presence, it's tomorrow.

Cowboys O-Line
Unsurprisingly good, the Eagles defensive line has completely taken teams out of their gameplans. Anyone that knows Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin knew this would happen. Those are some salty characters, and Babin, especially, tends to have the Cowboys' number. The Cowboys O-line needs to go ahead and grow up a little. Doug Free and the interior of the line need to step up big time and give Romo the time he needs. Simply put, if possible.

Prediction
Philadelphia Eagles 33, Dallas Cowboys 21
I picked the Eagles at the beginning of the week and I haven't heard a single item, stat or story that has changed my mind even though I think the Cowboys can be better and they have as much to play for.

The Western Conference

Jimmer!

Two days. Let's do it.

San Antonio Spurs -- 53-13
Guess who won 61 games and had the best record in the Western Conference a year ago? Guess who is best suited to make another run and probably will thrive in the shortened season? Guess who won a title the last time the NBA had an abbreviated season?

Oklahoma City Thunder -- 51-15
Hungry. All back together. A year wiser. This is going to be a very good basketball team if Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant can play together. They could very well dominant. If they want. And that's a big, huge "if."

Los Angeles Lakers -- 46-20
I'm not buying the "Kobe's going to crack" theory. If anything, he might get uber-focused and put this thing on his back, kinda where's it's been for seven years. Made a lot of savvy, cheap moves in the off-season that should shore up their depth. None of them made headlines. Who is this team?

Dallas Mavericks -- 45-21
Turns out they made a lot of moves. The roster is almost turned over. I think they are content with cruising and playing on the road in the playoffs. At this point, it doesn't matter to them. A quietly focused team with a number of key guys in contract years.

Los Angeles Clippers -- 43-23
I'm in. Extremely deep at guard. Very thin in the frontcourt and I don't know if they want Blake Griffin playing 40 minutes a game. I guess the idea is to be up by 20 by the time the fourth quarter rolls around.

Portland Trailblazers -- 41-25
First season without the local hero Brandon Roy. What a bummer. Also a year probably without Greg Oden. I think they'll be OK, nonetheless. LaMarcus Aldridge is a pretty salty customer.

Memphis Grizzlies -- 39-27
If the Clippers rise, someone's got to drop. Last season felt like a lot of things went totally right. Which is fine, but you can't depend on every season. What am I saying? I have them being 12 games over .500 and getting into the playoffs. Screw me.

Denver Nuggets -- 33-33
Only because I don't know who starts on this team. I assume it's Ty Lawson-Arron Affalo-Dan Gallinari-Al Harrington-Nene. Don't certainly hold that to me. Potentially a very deep team, especially if you consider that half of the team is half of the 2010 New York Knicks and a fourth of the 2010 Dallas Mavericks and and eighth of some Chinese team.

Houston Rockets -- 30-36
I should keep up because I accidentally drafted Chase Budinger in my fantasy league. Accidentally being the key word, although, fantasy-wise, he's not terrible. Finally moving on from Yao Ming and the league taking Pau Gasol away from them (they're top eight with him). Will we finally get to see Patrick Patterson and how many times will I mix up Patterson and the Arizona Cardinals corner Patrick Peterson. It's already happened.

Utah Jazz -- 27-39
Prediction: Gordon Hayward will get better and Alec Burks will turn into something. Just wait. And just in case you were wondering where Josh Howard wound up.

Phoenix Suns -- 24-42
A hodgepodge of formerly great veterans (who still have a little in the tank), role players and youngsters. Would not be shocked if they won 10-12 more games than I predict.

Golden State Warriors -- 21-45
No doubt there's a ton of talent here. And if they wanted to completely take over a draft, they have two or three pieces that would fetch any number of picks. I don't know how they all fit together on this team of scorers. I especially don't understand how Kwame Brown is any kind of stabilizing force on a team full of kids.

Sacramento Kings -- 21-45
You can't tell me you're not enthused by Jimmer Fredette and Isaiah Thomas. You just can't. One killer college team.

New Orleans Hornets -- 19-47
Did Eric Gordon just look at Emeka Okafor and think "What did I do to deserve this?"

Minnesota Timberwolves -- 16-50
At least they have a lot of point guards. Can't have too many, I guess. I predict they simply outscore 16 opponents along the way.

Rangers holiday notes or I hope my season tickets were delivered in time for Christmas

Yorvit Torrealba had in bad for an ump in the Venezuelan league. As bad as this looks, there's a 4,000 percent chance that something 10,000 times worse happened in Venezuela at that moment. The good news: The Rangers have the Internet.

****
The Oakland Athletics traded Gio Gonzalez making sure they'll be bad for the next six years.

****
Where first-round picks go to die. Both Eric Hurley and Kasey Kiker were released by the Rangers this week. Two years ago, this would have been a gigantic story and there'd be a shitload of uproar. In 2011, it's a back-page story that doesn't mean a hill of beans.

Hurley, 26, was once the Rangers' best prospect (certainly their best pitching prospect) before certain trades were made and drafts drafted. He was snapped up by the Angels. He missed all of 2009 and 2010 and even a part of 2011. He simply languished not only with injury but with the very real probability that'd never work his way into the Rangers' equation at pitching.

Kiker, 24, was the first pick of the Rangers in 2006, a Jon Daniels draft (not a total waste, Chris Davis, Craig Gentry and Derek Holland were taken later). There is little doubt that this is a huge disappointment.

Kiker progressed through Low-A and High-A ball within the span of three years. At 21, he was in Frisco in 2009. Then the wheels flew off. More importantly, his command. Injuries killed a lot of his opportunities. Once he got on the mound, it was apparent he'd lost the ability to truly pitch. Always with the ability to pile up strikeouts, his walk per nine innings went from 2.7, 4.7, 10.4 and 10.5 in four seasons.

The Rangers also cut Oklahoma alum Andrew Doyle. In three seasons, he made it to High-A ball in 2011. Thanks to getting popped for steroids twice, he pitched just 114 innings in the Rangers system.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Horned Frogs

The bowl season started about three weeks ago with a bunch if innocuous teams playing in innocuous bowl games.

Eight of the 10 Big XII teams made bowls in addition to two of the three local teams. These are their stories.

Poinsettia Bowl
TCU 31, Louisiana Tech 24
Classic case of a team that had higher bowl aspirations that plays down in the bowl they actually get into. TCU is better than Louisiana Tech and the Frogs had to score 14 in the fourth quarter to eke out the win. Frogs cap off a 10-win season along with the bowl win. Under Gary Patterson, the Frogs have gone to bowls in 11 of 12 years. They've won seven of those bowls. The Frogs have won the Poinsettia three times.

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Stanford
The question is whether Andrew Luck can keep up with the Pokes' offense. The other question is whether either team will be terribly rusty after two months off.

Cotton Bowl
Kansas State vs. Arkansas
A pretty good little game. Arkansas has two losses. It so happens those two losses came against the top two teams in the nation, LSU and Alabama. Arkansas could very well be the third best team in the nation.

BBVA Compass Bowl
SMU vs. Pittsburgh
A nice little test for the Mustangs have a newsy several days including moving to the Big East and the June Jones drama with Arizona State.

Independence Bowl
Missouri vs. North Carolina
I don't think the Tigers are very good despite wins against ranked Texas and Texas A&M (which might not be as good as the polls say). The Tigers move to the SEC next year and the only real hope I would have them beating the Tar Heels is that North Carolina isn't that good and they were even worse (1-5) on the road. This is a veritable home game for the Tigers.

Insight Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Iowa
Oklahoma should win, but watch out for the trap game for the team that underperformed all year. The Sooners might beat the Hawkeyes nonetheless.

Holiday Bowl
Texas vs. California
California is terrible and hasn't beat a single team of note all season. The Longhorns are 8-4 in bowl games under Mack Brown including four of five BCS games, the one loss coming in the national championship against Alabama. Texas brings a rebuilding project with one of the saltier defenses in the nation.

Alamo Bowl
Baylor vs. Washington
Didn't fully realize that Baylor went 7-0 in conference. Robert Griffin III is pretty, pretty good. I doubt he's going to get un-good in front of a home crowd.

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Texas A&M vs. Northwestern
Yuck. Happy effin' New Year.

Pinstripe Bowl
Iowa State vs. Rutgers
The Cyclones will probably get beat by the superior Rutgers team. Still, that shouldn't take away from a 6-6 record in the nation's toughest conference. The Cyclones have been to seven bowls since 2000.

Predictions: The Eastern Conference

Phantom of Rip

NBA basketball is upon. Let us bow to the collective bargaining agreement.

Miami Heat -- 51-15
The Heat will have a lot of things going for it. Although "success" is defined differently for the team that has rewritten the way NBA teams are put together. First and foremost, no matter what you think of them, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh are really good professional basketball players. Add to the fact that they probably won't have the bumpy start that sullied last season and the fact that the band is back together, there will not be a period of adjustment. They added the ultimate team player in Shane Battier, who can only make them better. This is a team that won 58 games and went to the NBA Finals. Maybe it wasn't successful, but there are 28 teams that would take it, easy.

Chicago Bulls -- 49-17
Another team that will benefit for keeping the status quo while adding a savvy veteran, Rip Hamilton. Still, seems like this team is ill put together, which doesn't make sense, per se. It's a feeling. I think the big problem is Carlos Boozer. Seems like a born loser -- a guy that's perpetually overpaid, although he's not always terrible. You always feel you could do worse. Then at the end of the season you feel like you could do better.

Orlando Magic -- 45-21
Up in the air. Trade Dwight Howard and this is a lottery team. Keep him and they win 75 percent of their games and get a top four seed in the East.

New York Knicks -- 42-24
Anyone who has seen Tyson Chandler play knows he's a difference maker. Honestly, they need to trade Amare Stoudemire for some useful parts to put around Carmelo Anthony. What they have will compete nonetheless. Mike D'Antoni isn't winning a championship anyway. This is Phil Jackson's team in a year.

Indiana Pacers -- 40-26
My rising team in the East. A playoff team with a superstar (Danny Granger), good young point (Darren Collison), bangers (Jeff Foster, Tyler Hansbrough), a decent center (Roy Hibbert) and two noted off-season pick-ups (George Hill, David West).

Boston Celtics -- 39-27
The Celts have effectively lost Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and Jeff Green in the span of nine months. A lot of blows to the frontcourt despite adding Brandon Bass and Chris Wilcox. I don't think age will be the issue as much as size and quality depth.

Atlanta Hawks -- 37-29
If you were wondering where Jerry Stackhouse and Tracy McGrady wound up.

Milwaukee Bucks -- 30-36
Any time a team is depending on Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut to be healthy, that's a bad sign. Do you really want Stephen Jackson hanging out with Brandon Jennings? At what point does Jackson notice that Mike Dunleavy is making $10 million a year and freak out?

New Jersey Nets -- 27-41
They'd better get good real quick or the Russian Mark Cuban might ship them to a gulag. Deron Williams playing for a contract.

Washington Wizards -- 26-40
Got to give them credit: They're athletic. Given their top eight guys and Toronto's or Cleveland's, give me the Wiz. John Wall makes a jump.

Detroit Pistons -- 24-42
Terrible team with ill-spent money. Interesting youth in Austin Daye, Greg Monroe and rookie Brandon Knight. I predict upheaval with the head coach and general manager before things are done.

Philadelphia 76ers -- 24-42
My disappointment pick for the East. Think Evan Turner's a bust and Elton Brand had a ridiculously good year to get the 76ers to .500.

Charlotte Bobcats -- 21-45
Guess the salary: Matt Carroll ($4.5 million), Eddie Najera ($2.8 million), Tyrus Thomas ($6.6 million), Corey Maggette ($9.6 million), DeSagana Diop ($6.4 million), Boris Diaw ($9 million). If everyone is overpaid, then is anyone overpaid?

Toronto Raptors -- 20-46
I think they should be able to outscore opponents. At least 20 times. Is Amir Johnson getting better or is he perpetually having a career year.

Cleveland Cavaliers -- 17-49
Watching Kyrie Irving will be interesting. At least. Got that going for you. Certainly. I mean, he's no John Wall. A fanbase should never have to hope for Omri Casspi to break out.

Keys to the Season: Chemistry

Does this look like a burdened man?

There is a common thread among all the championship-quality professional sports teams in the history of Dallas-Fort Worth: Chemistry.

Granted, there is a legitimate argument that winning breeds chemistry. Winning teams have nothing to complain about so naturally chemistry is never an issue.

I guess that could be true. However, just by using the eye test, who had more chemistry: The 2010 Texas Rangers or the 1996 Texas Rangers?

Who had more: The 1992 Dallas Cowboys or the 2008 Dallas Cowboys?

How about any of the past 10 Dallas Mavericks squads and the one that won the world championship six months ago?

With Tyson Chandler, you are not missing just the 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. You are missing his attitude, his edge and his presence in the locker room. It's not just a presence, but a shadow. Someone you would need to answer to if you were late for practice or made a mistake in the game or in practice.

With Joe John Barea, you are missing more his on-court hustle and can-do attitude. He's the guy that everyone knows is just lucky to have made this far, a comedic presence and a reminder of what effort and hard work can take a person.

Even a guy like Peja Stojakovic, who was largely useless in his half season as a Dallas Maverick, was a guy that you didn't want shaking his head at you because you fucked up.

All of this is quite a bit of assumption. Maybe the current Mavericks thought Peja, Joe John and Tyson were all dicks (this is highly, highly unlikely). Truth is, Peja was washed up and Joe John and Chandler chased the money. Still, there's no one on this current Mavericks roster that works harder and is more thankful for what he's achieved than Joe John.

Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood, Brandon Wright or Brian Cardinal evoke that certain amount of edge and fear quite like Chandler did.

In fact, you might look at this way: Despite the championship, there are still some Mavericks that I wouldn't consider guys deserving of the ultimate respect, like Jason Terry. I like Terry and all, and I appreciate his shooting touch in the playoff run in June; however, I've never considered Terry a guy that can glare at a teammate for missing a defensive assignment, considering Terry's missed about 2,000 defensive assignments in his career. I've never considered Terry a guy that was constantly improving his game in order to stay in the league.

I'm picking on Terry, but he's the primest examples of just how unaccountable guys were before last season. I would be remiss not to include Dirk Nowitzki in this discussion. He is a superstar and you'd have to be blind and deaf not to have noticed his incalculable influence and contributions to this franchise and Dallas sports in general. However, I don't think he carries a room like Chandler.

The Mavericks, on the bright side, have some notable individuals that I think play a role in the chemistry of this team, which will need to maintain last season's vigor to make another run at a title.

Shawn Marion
A tough veteran that has defied every odd in become a steady NBA professional despite the most unorthodox and plain ugly shot in the history of the game. Still, he does a little of everything. Plays steady defense, rebounds, scrambles after loose balls, hits his free throws and can fill up a box score probably like none other on the team. He is not a bit player. In my estimation, he was the third or fourth best Maverick in 2010-11. There were games -- on both sides of the court -- where he would put forth extended frames of dominance, where you couldn't go 45 seconds without saying his name. He's a guy you wouldn't want to let down.

Jason Kidd
Walking back to the bench after a timeout, had I fucked up at some point, I would not want to see Kidd. No one, including Dirk, has more skins on the wall or understands the game quite like Kidd. He's smart enough to keep his head well above water in this league and I doubt there will be a day when we say, "Oh Jason Kidd is washed up." He'll be retired before that point, but even if he plays another two seasons, he'll be better than most point guards in the league.

Lamar Odom
I think he's the lynchpin here. He's your new Tyson Chandler if there will ever be one. He's a guy playing for a lot right now: At 32, he's entering into a contract year not unlike Chandler a year ago. Like Barea, he's worked his entire career to get better. If you look at his stats, he's had a steady career. However, in 2002, did you ever think of Odom as a really good all-around player and a Sixth Man of the Year? He's a vastly better rebounder and passer than he was as a Los Angeles Clipper. His game has moved from the outside in as he's relied on his ability around the basket and in the post to score instead of launching three pointers. He's a savvy veteran with edge and enough clout in the league that you wouldn't want to necessarily get him angry.

Key to the Season: Brendan Haywood

What a bunch of boobs

I have a feeling that the same people that wanted the Dallas Mavericks to splurge on Tyson Chandler this off-season are the same dopes who wanted them to splurge on Brendan Haywood the off-season before.

It doesn't work like that. Mark Cuban is sort of right on that. Of course, he's the guy that gave Haywood that ridiculous contract, which certainly didn't help them in re-signing Chandler. It's a vicious cycle and it's a good reason not to buy Cuban's rhetoric of "fiscal responsibility" after handing Haywood a contract that you would probably amnesty if you had another center.

Right now, you don't. So Haywood's your guy.

I hope you didn't get used to Chandler's athletic ability, on-court personality and edge. Because Haywood is the complete opposite. He rode 8.1 points, 7.4 rebounds per game and 56 percent shooting (good for a guard, poor for a guy shooting two feet from the basket) into a ridiculous contract.

Last season, he averaged 4.4 rebounds, 5.2 rebounds per game and he shot 36 percent (THIRTY SIX PERCENT) from the free throw line, which is bad enough, but worse when you consider he shoots a career 60 percent from the charity stripe. It's like he was trying to miss.

Haywood is the only current Maverick that is signed for the 2014-15 season. And the 2015-16 season. Again, Mark Cuban is preaching financial stewardship amid this turd in the punch bowl.

Again, he's here. I assure you the Mavericks are looking at other centers, if not to start to at least back up Haywood (unless we're very confident of Ian Mahinmi, who at least puts up 50 percent more effort than Haywood). I'm sure Jeff Foster (nevermind) and Samuel Dalembert are on their radar.

Bottomline, Haywood needs to finally work for that contract. I guarantee you he's going to give me four strokes and five heart attacks this season. What kills me is the body language. That dude looks like he'd rather be getting a root canal than playing professional basketball. His blank visage after fucking up time after time makes me think he could give a shit. And he might. He might not.

Here's what I expect, if he's going to bring zero fire or passion: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 60 percent shooting. Period. Nothing else should be tolerated. I'm telling you, the Mavericks complete inability (it's like magic) to address the center position and, moreso, address it poorly, is going to kill this season.

Unless they have a Dwight Howard trick up their sleeve. Or a James Donaldson.

Yu

Yu Darvish: Doesn't hurt that he looks like a South Korean soap star

The Texas Rangers are funny.

A week ago, they didn't have a pot to piss more or less the cash to go out and bid on Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish.

Last night, it was announced the Rangers had won the bid at $51.7 million, which buys them 30 days to hammer out a contract, which should run another $50-60 million.

Unless you hate baseball, you know Yu Darvish. He's 25 and he's absolutely commanded Japanese baseball posting a 1.44 ERA, an 18-6 record and 276 strikeouts. He's known for his control (36 walks, 232 innings) and his repertoire (an alleged seven pitches ... including the legendary gyro ball that C.J. Wilson claimed he could throw).

He's 6-5 and 220 pounds. Unlike Daisuke Matuzaka and Ichiro Suzuki, the Rangers are potentially getting Darvish at a pretty young age, although he's just as accomplished and Major League ready.

If everything works out, Darvish will go into the rotation, which, I would only assume, pushes Alexi Ogando to the bullpen, which is all alright to me.

Granted, it's not my money and I'm only hesistant because I saw what Chan Ho Park and Alex Rodriguez did to this team's ability to spend money. Then again, I trust GM Jon Daniels wholeheartedly. If he thinks it's worth it, then Darvish is worth it. Although, you should also realize that Ichiro is really the only Japanese import to have any sustained success in the Majors.

Nonetheless, I'm very excited about the opportunity to watch Darvish attempt the jump.

A Giant gift under the tree

Felix the scat

The New York Giants beating the Dallas Cowboys a week ago was no surprise to me because ... well, I thought the Giants were simply a better team.

I don't know what to think anymore.

I'm pretty sure of this: I wouldn't bet on either team. They could lose to the worst team in the world and beat the best on any given Sunday and if you have any clue as to how the NFC East is going to shake out the next two weeks, then you could win a lot of cash in Las Vegas.

A day after the Cowboys whipped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-15 Saturday night, the Giants made the nation a shit sandwich in getting whipped themselves by the Washington Redskins, 23-10.

And I don't think either game was as close as the score.

For the Cowboys, everything is in their hands. You beat the Eagles, you beat the Giants and you are in the playoffs. If there's a better motivation in professional sports, I'd like to see it. Otherwise, it will be fascinating to see the Cowboys play. They need 100 percent more effort than the first time they played the Eagles. They will need to beat the Giants despite the one-game edge.

Certainly, Saturday night was a fine showing. Outside of Mat McBriar's punting (which has been atrocious ... if he can't help due to injury, why is he not on IR?), there was very little to hate. No matter what kind of effort the Bucs provided, the Cowboys got up early and Tampa Bay is simply unable to claw back. The Cowboys were balanced. They beat the shit out of a bad team and that's what you expect.

Remember, in August, this game -- against a team coming off a 10-win campaign a year before -- was not considered a "win" when prognosticating.

The big issue, I think, is the gaggle of teams now in contention in the NFC. The Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions are at nine wins, but are not certain of the wild card. Each have tough match-ups the final two weeks. At 7-7, you have the Giants, the Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, the latter two playing inspired football of late.

At 6-8, the Philadelphia Eagles continue to linger like a bad fart, although their only way into the playoffs is by sweeping the Cowboys and Redskins plus the Cowboys losing to the New York Giants, all of which is entirely possible. Some might think it's probable. I wouldn't argue that. The Eagles would be 5-1 in the division and with two division losses already, the Giants would be out.

As it stands, the Cowboys are on top. For now.

Grades:

Quarterback -- A
Tony Romo is squarely on pace to smash his personal and franchise records for yardage, attempts, touchdowns and interceptions. Most impressively, he's also on pace to set a new completion percentage standard. He's sitting at 66 percent and his career high came last season when he played just six games. Still, to put a wet blanket on everything, Romo's having a career year and the Cowboys are inching along at 8-6.

Running Back -- A
Sammie Morris! There is little wrong with an athlete playing a boy's game like a boy. That guy was jacked and thrilled to be out there. Love him. Felix Jones ran really hard. Probably should've had a touchdown and about 30 more yards had he cut to the left on that long run. That dude has the worst field vision for any starting running back in the league.

Wide Receiver -- B+
No pass catcher had more than five touches. There were no egregious drops (although Miles Austin is due for one per game) and the top three (Miles, Laurent Robinson, Dez Bryant) each caught a touchdowns.

Tight End -- B+
If you're calling Martellus Bennett's name several times a game, things are going well. Should be interesting to see, with Romo maybe gaining confidence in the guy, how he'll be used in the next two games when opponents will be all over Jason Witten.

Offensive Line -- B-
To tell you the truth, I didn't notice them. Which is probably good. Loved the isolation shots with Tyron Smith. The dumb guy on the TV is right: He'll be at left tackle in a year.

Defensive Line -- A
Again, you're living right if Marcus Spears is making not one, but two substantial plays in a game. Geez Louise. What got into that guy. They were not just substantial plays, but they were possibly game-changing. I believe his commotion in the backfield stymied an early Tampa drive and then his disruption of a forward pass killed a late drive as the Bucs attempted a comeback.

Linebacker -- A
It was hard not to notice the linebackers. Bradie James recovered a fumble caused by Anthony Spencer. DeMarcus Ware and Keith Brooking had sacks. You'd have to be blind.

Secondary -- A
I was disappointed to see that Frank Walker failed to commit a drive-charging penalty. In fact, the Cowboys committed two penalties for 15 yards. Although, I think Terence Newman made up for it by "attempting" to tackle opponents. In fact, he led the team in "attempted" tackles with 20.

Special Teams -- B
If McBriar is hurt, he doesn't need to play. Failed twice to nail the Bucs deep. Probably the 12th time this season.

Coaching -- B+
Whatever was broke the last two weeks was mended for this week. Bad teams can make anyone look good. Let's see how these coaches react in a playoff atmosphere.

Cowboys-Buccaneers

Bucs

If the Dallas Cowboys have ever gotten lucky, it was this week.

Typically, we would have been drowned under the criticism of them losing two straight and blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead against the New York Giants, with just about everything on the line.

Instead, we found ourselves talking about the Dallas Mavericks.

Critically, the Dallas Cowboys have dodged a bullet. All could be swept under the rug for a week against Tampa Bay in a Saturday night affair, which is probably the greatest thing ever. I honestly don't mind the games being played any night of the week. A game Thursday, a game Saturday, games all day Sunday and then Monday night.

If nothing else, I like the Thursday and Saturday games more than the Monday night game. It'd almost be nice to have the NFL week done by midnight Sunday.

Five things:

Must Win
My theory is that "must win" games should not be determined on consequences and timing, but by the opponent. In most sports, if a team beats the worse teams 80-90 percent of the time, there's little reason to think that they wouldn't reach the post-season. The Bucs are pretty ordinary and I think it's safe to say that the Cowboys are the better team. Will they play like it? That's the eternal question, isn't it? Looking back at the 2011-12 season, we will circle the Arizona and Philadelphia games and possibly this one if it's not pulled out.

Center
Phil Costa, I think, is not going to play and that mean a big ol' snootful of Kevin "Killer" Kowalski. I've never seen a football team with as much center drama as the Cowboys of the past decade. Remember, Andre Gurode was prone to early snaps, late snaps, false starts and all kinds of shenanigans. The rollercoaster ride this season, sans Gurode, has been no different if not a bit worse because Gurode was the superior blocker. To a certain point, the Cowboys coaches might be pleased to see Costa sit on the sideline for a week.

Under Pressure
In this blogger's humble opinion, the singular most disappointing aspect of the Cowboys' season is the relative lack of pressure from the defense at the line of scrimmage. I don't think it's a wild opinion to think the Cowboys' front eight have been handled at the line the last four games. Generally, during the season, they've been mild factors, at best, from game to game. I know that DeMarcus Ware has 15 sacks, but how many of them have been important sacks. Used to, when the team was driving for a tying or game-winning score, Ware would always pop up to make a huge sack to kill the momentum of a drive. That hasn't been the case this season. It's a huge reason these teams (Giants, Lions, Jets) have been able to mount these fourth-quarter drives. It's worth noting that the Bucs have allowed 24 sacks, some of the fewest in the NFC.

Turnovers
If this is a "must win" in that the Cowboys should win, then the Cowboys should win the turnover battle. The Cowboys are among the best (+5) and the Bucs (-10) among the worst in the NFC.

Tony Romo
Fun fact: Were we aware that Tony Romo is on pace for about 4,500 yards, 65 percent completions, 35 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Some numbers could set franchise records and others could set personal marks. In short, we could be watching a historically great season for a quarterback. All the while having a decent running game for most of the season.

Prediction
Dallas Cowboys 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19
If the Cowboys lose this, with Philly and New York looming, this city will explode. People could get fired. Seriously.

Keepin' it real: Sam Hurd

Play on, playa

In the history of keepin' it real, probably no other athlete in history is keepin' it real quite like Sam Hurd.

Hurd was busted by the Feds in an attempt to set up a drug dealership (I'm pretty sure Stringer Bell never called it a "dealership") by buying 1,000 pounds of pot and 20 kilos of coke a week.

A week.

Hurd was not small timing it.

He was apparently identified as a "potential drug dealer" over the summer and was interviewed by Homeland Security after $88,000 of cash was found in a car of his in Dallas. He claimed he just took the cash out of the bank and it was his. Bank documents did not corroborate.

However, by the time he signed on as a Chicago Bear (three years, $5.15 million, $1.35 million guaranteed) July 29 after the lockout, Hurd was already a relatively big-time drug dealer moving about four kilos of coke per week (about nine pounds ... which is surprisingly a lot). And he was looking to move an extra 10 pounds of coke in addition to a half ton of weed. Again, in a week.

Some of the details are sketchy. Again, the Feds were onto him in July and then there's the talk of the Mexican cell phones and the American's inability to track them. These seem like the details of a dumb criminal. Granted, he was caught. Then again, no telling how long Hurd's been dealing. Certainly he was in Dallas when he started. The narc he was nabbed by was from "north Texas."

According to most reports, details of some of Hurd's customers include laundry list of NFL players and it will not be just nickel bags of pot. This is big time loads of coke and who knows what other things going on. If there are 50 players on a list somewhere, at least 20 are current or former Dallas Cowboys.

My bets are on this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy and this guy. For starters. And there's a few that I am legitimately scared might come and beat the shit out of me.

Per most stories, Hurd's teammates are surprised by the news. Whether that's legit -- how would you not know that your teammate's a drug dealer? -- is up in the air.

Still, I thought Hurd was a hard-working kid that didn't have the talent of other players but did some things (see: special teams) well enough to have at least a career that set him up for life. I just assumed on most nights his nose was in the playbook, seeking that edge.

I do wonder how much the lockout played into Hurd's career path. I think it all started before the lockout. However, did it ramp up once the labor issues came to a head? Did he get involved, found he was relatively well insulated and could make more money?

Or was he just keepin' it real?

Fisticuffs: Jay Ratliff vs. Calvin Watkins

Let's all take a step back

Advantage, Jay Ratliff.

The Dallas Cowboys nose tackle and the ESPN Dallas writer Calvin Watkins got into an apparent shouting match this afternoon at Valley Ranch. If you haven't heard Ty Walker on The Ticket, there were "motherfuckers" bandied about. Watkins did not back down from a man that would, no doubt, kill him with a single swing of his meaty paw.

Watkins apparently was shouting that Ratliff had been "talking a lot of shit."

The initial thought was that Watkins -- a long-time Cowboys beat reporter, who has probably a decent relationship with every Cowboy -- wrote something that Ratliff didn't enjoy, like this. I mean, Watkins plays things pretty close to the vest and doesn't editorialize much if at all.

According to Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the spat was brought about after Watkins started asking about Sam Hurd (more on that later). Ratliff told Watkins to "walk away" and the reporter kept pressing. Martellus Bennett, apparently rising up to make a play in between games, separated the pair.

Read Engel's article and you catch a little glimpse into what sort of animal Ratliff is. DeMarcus Ware's comments are telling. My initial reaction is to blame Ratliff for being a hothead moron that should just say "no comment."

Then again, Watkins needs to practice a little self-preservation. Chances are, Watkins is well aware of Ratliff's ability to turn it on and off. Once he saw the quotes were not going to come from Ratliff, he should have moved on or waited a day.

Live, Calvin, live!

Best news ever: Rangers throw back

Good enough for Fergie, good enough for me

This season is the 40th anniversary of the Texas Rangers.

With that, the franchise has announced that it will schedule four "throwback jersey" days this season. The team will don jerseys from the 1990s, 1980s and -- and most notably -- the 1970s.

Let me tell you something: There hasn't been a more underrated look in Dallas-Fort Worth sports than the Texas Rangers in the 1970s. Granted, I wouldn't want the look now. And it was also a time of horrendous baseball.

Now that the Rangers are back-to-back World Series participants, it's OK to drag out the old designs.

For one, I've always thought the baby blue look has look good in sports from the Milwaukee Brewers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Oilers.

The white jersey is my favorite. It's so clean and cool looking. The only time they've rivaled that look was this season when they wore the white jerseys with the red caps -- and extremely sharp look. And this may make me look like a dork, but I love the font, the block print. The hats from this era are also cool.

The Rangers, oddly, have never really promoted their old looks. Up until two years ago, you couldn't find a 1970s-era cap. You still can't really find a fitted 1980s-era cap. The only "throwback" jerseys I've seen are baby blue T-shirt jersey of Jim Sundberg and a 1980s Nolan Ryan T-shirt jersey.

It will be good to see these, maybe, out in the stores. Very excited.

The crazy Dallas Mavericks

Lamar Odom: Handsy

I've wanted to post something about the Dallas Mavericks. Every time I start, they do something else. Changes the game.

First and foremost, J.J. Barea, Caron Butler and Tyson Chandler are all gone. We are told, over and over again, by the owner that the Mavericks are gearing up for financial "flexibility" under the mean ol' collective bargaining agreement that the owners essentially pushed upon the players.

Remember: The owners won the lockout battle.

What Mark Cuban doesn't really get is that most people understand the new rules. In the future, the penalty for exceeding the luxury tax line is going to be more. No longer can exceed the limit and pay a measly fine. There are teeth to the rules. Again, that the owners set up.

We understand. Cuban noting that the Mavericks are being financially responsible -- like they always have -- is such utter bullshit that it makes my skin crawl.

Cuban is blaming the new CBA for the Mavericks' cost-cutting measures in an effort to go into next summer with a crapload of cap space to get Dwight Howard, Deron Williams or Chris Paul.

Fact is, Cuban's been free and easy with his cash since he bought the team. We understand fully the penalty behind going over the luxury tax line. We also understood that throwing long-term and expensive contracts at Raef Lafrentz, Shawn Bradley, Jason Terry, Brendan Haywood, DeSagana Diop and Michael Finley (who Cuban was paying to play for San Antonio) were not good ideas.

And look at the money spent on Jason Kidd (picking up the $20 million owed from New Jersey), Antoine Walker, Erick Dampier and untold others.

Cuban talks out of both sides of his mouth. On certain days, he's fiscally responsible. He refused to pony up for Steve Nash and now Chandler. The next minute he's calling Bradley the cornerstone of his franchise.

If you look at it this way, look at the cash Dampier and Lafrentz took from this franchise and look at the franchise's best point guard and center walking away when they wanted to stay.

The Mavericks would have been smart to bring Chandler back and in a lockout-shortened season go for another title or two under Dirk Nowitzki without having to hope to get one of the big three (all of which I think will be under long-term contract with another team by May 2012).

However much I might not stand Cuban and his spin control, I'll be damned if the guy doesn't turn in a pretty nice free agency period. The victims:

Lamar Odom
Shocked (SHOCKED!) that the Lakers essentially gave him away. Shocked. Obviously, we don't know what was said or how Odom was able to escape. He was unhappy at being bandied about in trade talks, especially the Chris Paul deal. Instead of reassuring him or revamping trade deals, the Lakers simply let him go for a protected first-round pick, which the Mavericks would have fucked up anyway. Odom's turned into a tremendous player. He has length and can play the three, four or five. He's a good rebounder and passer. Still, shocked that the Lakers let him go. Plus, he's reasonably compensated and coming off the books after the season. Kudos here.

Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer
I would only assume that the Odom deal -- unrealized, clearly, by most teams when the Mavericks sent their first-round pick in the 2011 draft to Portland -- made this happen. Fernandez and Brewer were shipped to Denver for a 2016 second-round pick. With Odom, Fernandez would have barely seen the court and Shawn Marion is virtually untradeable with his rather silly contract (although I like him on the team). Brewer would have been behind Fernandez. Everyone keeps pointing to game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers as Brewer's shining moment. You don't keep players on the roster for a 10-minutes stretch in a season. He's an athletic body that couldn't shoot. A killer in the NBA. No love lost here.

J.J. Barea
As noted yesterday, he was going to get overpaid by somebody. The fact that it was the Minnesota Timberswolves should tell you something.

Vince Carter
I'm pretty sure that Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle are in "Fuck it. We have a title" mode. There's not a bigger locker room killer than Carter. He's quit on more teams than some players have played on. He's all offense. And let me tell you something: The Mavericks are going to start him at the two-guard and it will be a disaster.

Delonte West
Man, if Carter weren't going to kill your chemistry, West surely would. He's an edgy, marginally talented point guard, who has bipolar disorder and who probably slept with Lebron James' mom (I know we're supposed to think this was bunk ... but doesn't someone come out and call it as such at some point?). The Mavericks will rue the day they signed this guy.

Brian Cardinal
The Custodian is back! Cardinal, for as much as he doesn't do, is more valuable than Carter and West combined.

Bachman-Daley overdrive

Big Dick Bachman

It might be just one of those seasons.

A week after falling asleep against the New York Islanders at home, the Dallas Stars rip off two straight road wins in Los Angeles and then last night, 1-0, at Madison Square Garden against a salty New York Rangers team.

The difference: Richard Bachman.

The rookie goalkeep notched his first NHL start, win and shutout (at MSG, no less) in a span of four days keeping the Stars afloat and injecting a little energy into this thing that's lost a lot of mojo, mostly due to injuries.

I think it's safe to say that Andrew Raycroft won't be getting off the bench any time soon.

But the fact of the matter is, the Stars outworked the Rangers in basically every facet of the game and they played smart on the road against a talented team that can take advantage. The Stars had only 11 penalty minutes and killed off all four power plays. They laid down hits, won face-offs and did all the things expected of a first-place team.

Winning a road game against rival Los Angeles (who have had the Stars' number for five years) and traveling cross country and shutting out the Rangers is a near impossible feat. All from a team that lost to the Islanders ... at home.

Notes:
1. Jamie Benn has notched one point since Nov. 26.

2. Trevor Daley has two goals in last two games. Both are game winners.

3. Loui Eriksson hasn't had a point in December. He has two since Nov. 25.

4. No idea that Mike Ribeiro had 17 assists.

5. Brenden Morrow has four goals and eight assists. In 23 games.

6. Bachman has two wins in three games. Raycroft has two wins in nine games.

Joe John Barea gets his

Joe John is making $19 million ... makes total sense

Remember that lockout that the NBA had? Where the owners were complaining that they were broke and that the contracts were too crazy, particularly to bad players?

Fun times. When was that? Oh yeah. It was a month ago.

Fast forward and the Minnesota Timberwolves are giving Joe John Barea four years and $19 million to be their back-up point guard.

I've been downright mean to Barea. There's little argument that he is extremely limited and extremely overrated. But that's not his fault. That's fans and media over-celebrating players that score and do little else.

There's also no argument that Barea worked harder, tried harder and was willing to do just about anything to make the team. I, of all people, should appreciate that.

I will say this: Give me Barea over Brendan Haywood, Jason Terry and Caron Butler any day of the week.

I honestly don't know what Minnesota is thinking. With Luke Ridnour and Ricky Rubio, I can't see an immediate need for guard help, unless they go extremely small at points in a game. I certainly don't blame Barea. If the money is there, why not take it. No doubt, if he gets minutes, the fans will love him.

Thankfully, he's gone. The Mavericks won a title with the little scamp running around. I guess there's not much more to say, but there was this overwhelming feeling that Barea meant more to T-shirt jersey sales than the on-court outcome. We've run out an owner that had money on his mind. We certainly don't need another.

Stay hard, J.J.

Texas A&M takes the 'search' out of searching for head coach

The Sumlin of all the parts

For the second straight opportunity, the Texas A&M Aggies have taken the work and effort out of looking for a head coach.

Seems like in hiring Mike Sherman and Kevin Sumlin away from Houston were foregone conclusions. I assume it's the reason why Sherman's jobless right now and Sumlin is the new head at Aggieland. Sumlin was going to get hired somewhere. Why not up I-45?

The Aggies unceremoniously hired away Sumlin from Houston where he damn-near led them to an undefeated season in Case Keenum's ninth year of eligibility.

I think this is significant -- even if very little thought went into it -- because Sumlin is African American and he's clearly got a foothold in the Houston high school football market. As the Aggies go into 2012 battling LSU and Alabama for recruits in southeast Texas, Sumlin's rapport and reputation should be valuable.

Sumlin's been a head coach for four season, all at Houston. He's 35-17 overall with three bowl games, including this season. His lone bad season came when Keenum went down to injury and was awarded a 20th year of eligibility. Sumlin was an offensive coordinator in 2001-02 at College Station.

Is it the right move? When have the Aggies ever made a "right" move?

****
North of Texas A&M, in Lawrence, Kansas, the Jayhawks have moved quickly on from the Turner Gill era.

They've hired Charlie Weis -- the vaunted assistant with the New England Patriots and the know-it-all at Notre Dame.

Weis is known for several things: Running the Notre Dame program further into the ground, and not apologizing a lick; having the thumb-stomach procedure not work; and ... that's about it. He's fat.

The Dallas Cowboys blow it again

What part of Cowboys Stadium did he autograph this time?

I'd like to thank the Dallas Cowboys and Tim Tebow for the 2011 NFL season. It's been an entertaining year. Yet, there are three more weeks and playoffs to go. It could get even awesomer.

I watched the Dallas Cowboys screw up another lead -- 12 points, five or so minutes -- to the New Jersey Giants -- 37-34 -- and I felt absolutely sick for Tony Romo.

The level of disgust and "here we go again" despair on his face last night when Dan Bailey's game-tying field goal was blocked was heart breaking. I have no real love for Romo. I don't necessarily hate the guy either. He's the prototypical quarterback: He gets too much credit when they win and too much blame when he loses. Still, he skates a lot.

However, you put up 34 points on the board at home and you expect to win no matter how much you are up.

Rob Ryan, essentially, will be judged on the level of the talent he has on the roster. Remember, this is the same defense outside of Abram Elam and Kenyon Coleman (and, frankly, each of them have been substantial improvements over their predecessors, which includes Alan Ball). It's playing like the defense of 2010. And 1999. And 2004.

For those who think the Cowboys personnel on defense is adequate probably think Ryan stinks. Those who think it's DeMarcus Ware and some dudes think Ryan deserves a better shake.

Ryan blitzes a lot. A LOT. Which is what we expected when he was hired. Still, some of those were ridiculous and it resulted in at least three big plays, including the touchdown to Mario Manningham when you are I at home had a better shot at making the tackle.

Either Ryan's blitz happy or he doesn't think his personnel, straight up, can A) get pressure on the quarterback and/or B) cover. Probably a whole lot of both.

He blitzes with the idea that the quarterback will throw a bad pass. Unfortunately, good quarterbacks/teams discover this and exploit it and Dallas blitzers can't get to the quarterback. Teams are figuring out the Dallas Cowboys and this seems like the same ol' song and dance dating back to Jon Kitna carving the Cowboys up when Bill Parcells was coaching.

What I don't understand is how anyone -- general manager, head coach, coordinator -- would think that a defense where Frank Walker, Terence Newman (back on the shit list), Alan Ball, Keith Brooking and every other spare on the defensive side of the ball could carry this team for four quarters.

Walker, literally, is good for one awful mistake a week. There's not a game that doesn't feature Ball getting burnt. Terence Newman is the most overrated cornerback in the history of the franchise. Either they suck or are completely washed up and the Cowboys spent a year of your life, a year of Romo's career and a year of bloated contracts with the thought that they could possibly get into the NFC playoffs.

The Cowboys are more terrible than their record speaks to. They're terrible at home. They're terrible in December (0-2). You walk from every game -- win or lose -- thinking about the dozen ways they could have lost or areas where they need to improve. You look at every loss and pinpoint the dozen plays and players that giftwrapped the game to the opponent.

Remember, shit runs downhill.

Grades:

Quarterback -- A
Were there passes Romo could have made better? Did that safety hurt? Sure. However, if Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees have the game Romo had, they all win with their respective teams. Zero problem with Romo.

Running Back -- A
The news here is DeMarco Murray going down with a broken ankle. He's out for the year. Felix Jones was good in place; however, the huge fumble deep in Cowboys territory luckily set up just a field goal, the difference in the game, if you'd like to nitpick everything. How do the Cowboys not have three healthy running backs? Are we still keeping four kickers?

Wide Receiver -- A
The questions as to Laurent Robinson upon the return of Miles Austin were answered. The guy seems like the real deal, a certifiable third receiver. How many gigantic catches did he have? And he makes tough catches. Per Dez Bryant, it's pretty clear he has zero rapport with Tony Romo.

Tight End -- C-
Either opponents are taking Jason Witten out of the game, he and Romo are not in sync or he's not getting open. Witten's just a little more than a safety net. He's a viable, play-making part of the offense. He not getting the ball is an issue.

Offensive Line -- D-
I'd cut them slack going against the Giants had they not pulled the same shit against worse teams. Particularly, Phil Costa and Doug Free are having terrifically awful years. Free gets abused every other snap. It's the center that I don't get. Don't you practice? Don't you know when to snap the ball? Don't you snap with a second on the play clock whether Romo wants it or not? Shit for brains. On the other hand, Tyron Smith is a man. Literally. He's 21 now and he's on the track toward super stardom.

Defensive Line -- F
Aside from some plays by Jay Ratliff, this crew was pushed off the line of scrimmage all night. Brandon Jacobs abused them (he tossed some Cowboys defenders like rag dolls). This crew is terrible.

Linebackers -- F
Take out Sean Lee's ridiculous interception and show me a play that the linebackers made. DeMarcus Ware's been quiet -- the softest 15 sacks in league history. He hasn't had an important sack in a year and if he's getting tripled, someone else has one on one.

Secondary -- F-
Good teams, Terence Newman, have players that make that interception and go up 7-0 early. Bad teams let that sure-fire score fall on the ground. No part of this team barks louder with the least amount of bite. Or even scratch.

Special Teams -- B
Blocked kick or no, the special teams are not to fault here. Dan Bailey hit two 49-yard field goals. Coverage was good. A non-entity in this game.

Coaching -- F
Four fourth-quarter penalties. Third double-digit choke job of the year. At least Tony Romo was the one calling the timeouts. Doesn't help that Rob Ryan didn't face the media last night. What a turdburger.

Cowboys-Giants

Home game

Yes, Gerald Sensabaugh got a five-year extension before Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler. Whilst the Dallas Mavericks owner can't shoo away his free agents fast enough, a safety that could barely get a contract in the off-season now has a certain amount of commitment from the Dallas Cowboys.

So it goes.

The Dallas Cowboys face the New York Giants Sunday at Cowboys Stadium. For all the marbles. Honestly, I can't predict this for shit. If you had to place a $1 million bet, would you put it on Eli Manning or Tony Romo? Both teams have shit the bed once or twice. They might both shit the bed. Who knows?

Five points:

Will
Win this game and you drive the division and pave your way to the playoffs. Relatively speaking, you might just go ahead and punch your ticket. The Cowboys don't have a tough schedule coming up. Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, at the very least, are very beatable. With all of this, it's not like the Giants or the Cowboys don't have anything to play for. They have everything to play for. All the motivation is there. Two relatively equal teams. Who wants it more?

Up Front, Center
Watch any New York Giants game and you can see whether they will win or not based on their play on the offensive and defensive lines. This seems relatively obvious. Most teams that block offensively and push off the ball on defense are typically good and typically win. In this NFL, that's not the case all the time. The Cowboys are the ideal example: A team that looks like crap, but still wind up winning. The Giants have made their nut under Tom Coughlin up front. They are almost always tough and gritty on the offensive and defensive lines. Teams that can bust that can find themselves in a position to win.

Victor Cruz
Has turned into the Giants' No. 1 receiver, somehow. Just a dude found on someone's scrap heap and the Giants inserted him and he's delivered. He's good. He's the reason Steve Smith was just let go with no ceremony. He also makes a crapload of plays. First down catches and a huge target in the end zone. The Giants have great pass catchers and I honestly don't know if the Cowboys secondary is good enough to cover them. Of course, I said the same thing in New England. So, screw me.

Tony Fiammetta
Not one Cowboys fan thought they'd be checking the status of a fullback. We are convinced that the Dallas Cowboys' run game dipped because Fiammetta was out and it boomed when he was in. Against a team like the Giants, so big and bad in the front eight, Fiammetta and the entire offensive line will be challenged.

Game Management
Jason Garrett's never been in the spotlight more than he is right now and no one's needed a spotless day quite like the head coach. This is going to be a close game and no doubt there will be something to critique, there will be decisions made. Can the Princeton grad learn something, from his mistakes?

Prediction
New York Giants 27, Dallas Cowboys 20
A tied division and an even tighter playoff situation. Cowboys always have to make things interesting. Or else why would we care? The Giants are motivated. I think they play with an urgency and desire lost on the Cowboys.

The search for pitching

Go go Gio

The Texas Rangers left the Winter Meetings empty handed.

In fact, they left with less than they went in with. They struck out on Mark Buehrle and C.J. Wilson, which, to be honest with you, aren't very big deals. In the grand scheme of things.

No trades. No free agents. Even no Rule 5 guys. Just a handful of rumors, a lot of pessimism and a lot of denials.

Still, there are three names that interest me quite a bit that A) the Rangers are apparently in on, B) should rock your panties off and C) aren't moved quite yet.

These are those:

Gio Gonzalez
He is a 26-year-old lefty and he is awesome. He is also under control through 2015. The A's are listening on everyone not named Jemile Weeks, allegedly. So teams are inquiring. Rumor has it that the Rangers asked for Andrew Bailey and the A's asked for Martin Perez, Mike Olt and Leury Garcia. The Rangers balked, of course. However, the focus turned to Gonzalez, who would require a much higher price in prospects from the Rangers.

Yu Darvish
The Japanese pitching prospect was posted and teams had four days to lay down cash with the highest bidder getting 30 days of exclusive negotiations. The Rangers have always been part of the Darvish talks at least since they were purchased a year ago and the Rangers have been active in the Jon Daniels era in the Pacific Rim. It's going to take $100 million to even get on the board with Darvish. Add on the mammoth contract he'll require. Evan Grant doesn't think the Rangers are major players here. I would tend to agree. How could I not agree with Grant? Who am I? Nobody, that's who.

Matt Garza
For the second straight winter, the Rangers are in on Matt Garza, now with the Cubs. The two teams had talks with nothing to show for it. I think Garza is terrific and has been for a number years. If anything kills him its run support, which he was unable to get in Tampa or Chicago. He posted a 3.32 ERA last year and went 10-10. He strikes out a batter per inning, good -- not great -- control and he's a top-of-the-rotation guy. He's also only 28. According to the ESPN story, the Cubs asked for Scott Feldman to start and the Rangers nixed it. I find this very hard to believe. If Feldman is what it takes to start talks, there is no reason why the Rangers would not continue to talk.

The band's breaking up

Butler, gone

If everything we read on the Internet is true, the Dallas Mavericks -- those world champions -- will not look the same as they did a year ago.

The big news is a report that Tyson Chandler has nearly agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks. I think it's safe to assume that the Knicks went after Chandler as a means of getting Chris Paul, who's publicly stated he wants to play with his former teammate. The idea being the Knicks swap Amare Stoudemire to New Orleans for Paul.

Another Mavericks free agent -- Caron Butler -- has agree to a three-year, $24 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. According to reports, Butler had four-year deals from San Antonio and New Jersey totaling $21 million and $30 million. He said he wanted to play with Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin. Making $8 million a year probably didn't hurt.

For me, no love lost here. Never liked Butler's game. Ran entirely too hot and cold. Is not a No. 2 option on a team, his defense is not as good as it used to be and he's just a big jump shooter at this point. It's no accident the Mavericks won a championship without him.

That leaves J.J. Barea the only notable free agent left from the 2010-11 team. At this point, I can see them throwing a little cash his way.

Otherwise, the rumor mill around Maverick central is dead quiet. By all accounts, management is prepared to whittle down the payroll and take a huge gamble at getting Deron Williams or Dwight Howard in a year. Huge. Gamble.

So long, C.J.

California, here we come

An hour ago, I thought it unlikely that the Angels would actually be able to afford Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson.

Apparently, I was wrong.

The Angels have signed Wilson to a five-year, $77.5 million contract. That brings their morning bill to $327 million.

Good luck with all that. And good luck with C.J.

Despite being the Rangers' best starter the last two seasons and posting really good numbers and being a homegrown guy, there hasn't been an ounce of outrage or despair when it came to the very real possibility that the Rangers would lose their "ace" in two consecutive off-seasons.

I think Rangers fans understand several things:

1. These guys aren't worth the money. More so, they're not worth tying up your entire payroll to keep them because you don't think you can do any better. I like C.J. Wilson. I've stood behind him as a fantastic pitcher and I was pumped when he was converted into a starter. However, he isn't worth $77.5 million and I wouldn't want the Rangers to tie that kind of money preventing them from making any other, more sensible moves later. You get burned by the big contract four times, you are wont to invite the fifth or sixth.

2. This was decided in October. The Rangers apparently topped out at four years. I am pretty sure the money ($15 million per) was going to be the same, but the Rangers weren't willing to increase the years as the Angels went to five and the Florida Marlins went to six. The Rangers I'm pretty sure would have went to five or six years had Wilson performed well in the latest World Series run. He didn't. With a pretty good cross section (52 innings, 10 starts) Wilson has proven his worth in the post-season, and it isn't pretty: 1-5 - 4.82 ERA - 1.43 WHIP - 29 walks.

The Rangers were not going to invest $77.5 million in a regular season "ace," a relative term when you compare him to Matt Harrison or Derek Holland.

The Angels are making bold moves and you can only commend them for that. I question whether or not they are making smart moves. Or are they just becoming the New York Yankees of the West Coast, throwing more money on top of bad money, erasing "mistakes" and eating contracts? You also kind of get the feeling they are bitter and emotion is not a good characteristic in properly scouting talent. There's a feeling of resentment towards the Rangers after the latter has become the toast of the American League and then getting Adrian Beltre a year ago and Mike Napoli in the turnaround with Toronto.

With Wilson, I do think they are playing with fire. Although he improved a lot, Wilson has a certified control issue and even at his best, his walks are very high for a front-of-the-rotation starter.

He will be without Mike Maddux. Not that the Angels have some bum as the pitching coach, but Wilson's ascension and ability and Maddux' introduction as the pitching coach is probably not an entire coincidence.

Wilson will also be without that Rangers infield and defense. The Angels were awful defensively a year ago and Wilson had a 50 percent groundball rate last season and he led baseball in double plays. The Rangers had a Gold Glove at third base, a potential Gold Glove at second and a future Gold Glove at shortstop. That says nothing to Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba at catcher and the outfield.

I typically don't feel any animosity in players that leave a hometown team, but I would not mind at all if Wilson didn't live up to that contract.

Whoa! Angels sign Pujols

Greatness

I hope Rangers fans appreciated watching Albert Pujols in the World Series because you're about to get a decade's worth of the future Hall of Famer.

The California Angels -- the team whose owner stated publicly they wouldn't be able to add any major free agent -- has signed Pujols to a 10-year deal in the range of $250-260 million.

It's been a whirlwind. For the past week, it's been a reported race between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins. Late yesterday, the Angels swept into the fray and wound up getting the guy.

Pujols is a fantastic player and I don't think I need to delve into his ridiculous statistics to highlight the fact that he could help any team in professional baseball.

HOWEVER, there's a certain amount of frugality -- or, as I should say, responsibility -- as a steward of a professional sports franchise that goes a long way in this world.

The Rangers once signed the greatest player in baseball, Alex Rodriguez, to a 10-year, $252 million deal that rocked the sports landscape. It was way beyond what anyone was willing to give him and it was only trumped by the bigger deal (per year) that the New York Yankees gave him later.

We know what happened to the Rangers with Rodriguez. They never got any better although he put up insane, MVP numbers every year. Soon, the team found it was difficult paying A-Rod in addition to the other 24 guys on the team, especially if you wanted any of those other 24 guys to be any good.

The Angels addressed the biggest hole: Offense. Pujols will help. I don't think it completely fixes it though. There are still a ton of holes in that line-up and there is a shitload of money invested in that team. This will handcuff them for years. Yes, they'll be way more competitive with Pujols, more so than the Rodriguez Rangers. They have good pitching. They were competitive before Pujols.

I just wonder what the Angels will look like in five years. But, for now, no one's feeling higher than a fan of the California Angels.

The worst part is that they might not be done. The Angels reportedly want Pujols and C.J. Wilson, which I find it very difficult to conceive. Expect the Angels to trade Ervin Santana, Mark Trumbo and/or Kendry Morales in the relatively near future.