Uwe Blog

Lee Stevens, champagne, the streak is alive

2012-02-12T10:47:00.002-06:00

Someone's celebratin'

The streak is intact. The Texas Rangers haven't gone to an arbitration hearing with a player since 2000 when GM Jon Daniels was pounding Natty Lites at Cornell and Elvis Andrus was on his Sit 'n' Spin.

The streak will go to 13. The Rangers hammered out a one-year, $9.4 million deal with Mike Napoli finishing off their arb-eligible guys after buying out the rest of Nelson Cruz's and Elvis Andrus' arbitration years this week.

By all accounts, the door is still open for the Rangers and Napoli to iron out a long-term deal even during Spring Training, which starts in two business weeks.

Meanwhile, Stevens can't believe he actual left some sort of legacy.

The trouble with bigs

2012-02-11T13:51:00.005-06:00

Troubles amid the interior

Yesterday, I had a co-worker tell me that Brendan Haywood hasn't been that "bad" as of "late."

Ha. How many big men in the NBA have to eat the Mavericks up for it to be pretty clear that celebrating the guy getting five rebounds is nothing. That any seven-footer in the NBA should be able to scrounge up five rebounds. Most guards with the mindset can get 10.

Haywood is not the only problem inside. He's just the biggest, most expensive problem. He's also a problem that everyone tries to sugarcoat. This strategy was fine when we had to work with Erick Dampier, Raef LaFrentz, Shawn Bradley and Lorenzen Wright. However, coming off the season when you had the best center in franchise history, it's tough to stomach what's happening.

The Mavs were pounded on the boards last night and Michael Beasley and Kevin Love had their way much like Serge Ibaka, Roy Hibbert and Andy Varejao have in the last several weeks. The Mavs were fortunate last night. Dirk Nowitzki's as hot as they come and it proved true winning 104-97.

Granted, hoping Haywood and Ian Mahinmi start to figure things out is secondary to getting Nowitzki back on track. Possibly figuring out a consistent second scorer would be good. Maybe even one of those crazy third scorers.

Still, the Mavericks rode consistent, disciplined and steadfast interior defense all the way to a world championship. It's never too early to start.

Gettin' paid: Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz

2012-02-09T12:32:00.004-06:00

Tiny E: Bankin'

Lee Stevens is somewhere with his thumb pushing up on the cork of a champagne bottle.

The Texas Rangers have apparently avoided arbitration with Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz. This leaves Mike Napoli as their only arb-eligible guys and he's set to go to court Feb. 15. If Napoli is handled, it will leave Stevens as the last arbitration case the Rangers have handled in 12 years.

Andrus got an incredibly worth-every-penny deal of three years and $14.4 million. Less than $5 million per year to keep one of the most well-rounded, smart and young shortstops in baseball? Sign me up. The three years will also wipe out his arbitration-eligible years.

Now we can count down to the time that he's a New York Yankee. I kid. Sort of. By the time Andrus' deal is done, Jurickson Profar will be 21 years old. Delish.

Cruz's deal is not quite done. It's a reported two-year deal, which, like Andrus, will take care of him until he hits free agency. UPDATE: It's for two years and $16 million and was verified on Facebook.

Surprise! A 1980s ballplayer did cocaine all the time

2012-02-09T09:57:00.003-06:00

Oil Can ... Oil Can!!

I can't tell you how excited my father and I were when the Texas Rangers traded for pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd.

It's just sad to know that my child will never know the magic of athletes having awesome nicknames. Especially bad athletes.

Oil Can is making news today. What's the best way to sell a book? Say crazy shit. He has a book coming out in June and he's coming out today detailing his cocaine binges while a member of the Boston Red Sox.

This is not surprising. Burying the lead is that Oil Can said his career was cut short (he left the game at 31) due to racism.

He said that he was a "proud black man" without fear of speaking his mind and that turned off the network of bigotry controlling Major League Baseball.

What Oil Can is missing is that Major League owners and general managers are bigots ... against shitty pitchers in spite of the color of their skin or nationality. And that pitching with blood clots in your arm ain't cool.

Boyd posted a 4.04 career ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Not to say that he had nothing. In 1985-86, he won 31 games for the Red Sox with an 3.74 ERA. This is the notable time that he admits he was high on coke for two-thirds of his games.

His career quickly fell off, signed with the Montreal Expos and posted a sweet 10-win, 2.93 ERA season in 1990 -- at the age of 30 -- before waning in 1991 and bottoming out in Texas. No matter what Boyd's attitude or personality, teams will take on "proud black men" to win games.

Ineffective, soft-tossing and injury-prone "proud black men" are a different animal.

Sex tape

2012-02-09T07:52:00.003-06:00

A fine mess

It goes from bad to worse.

There is an apparent seven-second sex tape of Josh Hamilton giving it to some piece of tail at Sherlock's in Dallas, the night of his infamous relapse into alcoholism two week ago. There are also allegedly photos.

The folks with this video/photos are trying to sell them to a Dallas-Fort Worth TV station for $41,000. One station's already apparently turned their nose and didn't even look at the tape.

What I never quite understood is why people were overreacting to Hamilton's alcoholic transgression. Yes, it was bad. It hurts his value on the free-agent market. It shows how truly weak he and every other addict is when left to their own devices. Personally, it's a huge setback for the guy.

However, everyone reacted like his legs fell off and he couldn't swing a baseball bat. Like he was going on the 60-day disabled list.

I think I understand it a bit more. Hamilton isn't just a baseball player. He's a Christian. This has as much to do with his very publicly professed faith as it does with his batting average.

But it also has everything to do with his batting average. I guess if Hamilton worked at Home Depot and I introduced you to him and noted that he was a recovering drug and alcohol addict, you probably wouldn't pay him too much mind nor would you care in the least if he had some beers and banged some chick in a bar bathroom.

We initially care because he's a famous athlete. On the other hand, if this were Terrell Owens or Sean Avery (addict or no), we'd be repulsed.

Thing is, this isn't an average guy. This isn't a villain like Owens or Avery. It's Hamilton. He was second. He's the big Christian that all the church kids loved because he's an athlete that bucked the trend, sort of, in being public about his faith. It never bothered me personally. If I were his adviser, I would have told him to tone it down. No one is that strong. Even Jesus, the Messiah, the deliverer of all souls, the Son of God, was not above temptation.

Neither is Hamilton. Now, when he slips, it's not a pockmark just on the Texas Rangers, but on faith and Christianity and that's not fair to either Hamilton, the church or other believers. It's said that faith should be kept separate from government. It should also be kept separate from sports. You should root or love a player because he's on your team, he does great or good things on the sporting field and he maintains a certain countenance that you like and can relate to.

Hamilton's appeal should never have been connected to religion. I love Ian Kinsler, Dirk Nowitzki, Herschel Walker, Scott Fletcher, Mark Aguirre and Shane Churla regardless of their faith or lack thereof. Now, we don't see Hamilton as a flawed guy that might have cheated on his wife for a cheap night of revelry and debauchery. Most see him as a flawed Christian. A hypocrite. Religion begets emotion. Emotion begets irrationality.

The New York Giants are pretty good

2012-02-07T10:25:00.004-06:00

Pretty good in spite of the trophy

Several years ago, I would engage in some healthy debates about who was the best quarterback: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

I have nothing against either, but I was always a Peyton Manning guy. Brady is super good. He's accurate, a clear leader and someone I'd kill to have on my team. However, the argument to me was who was the best QUARTERBACK. Meaning, I've seen Manning make throws that blew my mind. I've never felt the same way about Brady's throws, which I find more economical and pragmatic. I've never been awed with Brady like I have with Manning.

The argument or debate always curtailed into a discussion of winning. Brady had three Super Bowl wins and Manning -- at the time -- had none.

To me, this was a moot point. It wasn't about the quarterback as it was about the team: The Patriots in the early- to mid-2000s had clearly superior squads, more so than the Indianapolis Colts. This shouldn't devalue Brady or overvalue Manning, although I do think the latter did more with less.

Today, Eli Manning has two Super Bowl wins. Both over Brady's Patriots.

Do I consider Eli the better quarterback? I don't think so. I think Brady is much better. However, in the past five years, the "lesser" quarterback (Eli, for the record, is really good, if not great) has won.

Why?

Because he played for the better team. And there lies the inherent fallacy in declaring guys Hall of Fame worthy or whatever. Brady, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Bart Starr and Joe Montana were great quarterbacks, who played for otherworldly teams.

What if the Baltimore Ravens with Trent Dilfer -- the poster boy for "bus driver" -- had sneaked in and won another Super Bowl. Is he a Hall of Fame quarterback?

No. That's a ridiculous statement. Titles are a ridiculous indicator when you really think about it. Over the weekend, the Hall of Fame voters whittled down candidates excluding Charles Haley and Bill Parcells in lieu of Willie Roaf and Cortez Kennedy.

The former two are great and Hall-worthy. They also won a crapload of titles. The latter two are equally as great and equally as worthy. Yet, they didn't win a thing.

Players are great because they are great. If they happen to land on a good team, more power to them. No matter what, Dan Marino and Peyton Manning are pretty good. And so are Tom Brady and Eli Manning. That's a concept we need to comes to terms with as we wrestle with our hyperbole.

Super Bowl thoughts:

1. Can we quell the "Wes Welker is a Hall of Fame receiver" talk? I like the guy and all. Why every sports commentator needs to get on their knees and suck the guy off is a complete mystery. He's an excellent slot receiver on the game's most prolific offense probably in its history. Yet, he still doesn't have the numbers because he was slotted as a marginal guy. If he survives another five seasons, then we'll talk.

2. I think the Patriots, Bill Belichick and Brady are terrific and deserving of all the praise in the world. Still, you have to look at their drafts (poor, at best) and their poo-pooing the sheets in the last two Super Bowl appearances as just stinkers. Cold hard facts.

3. The Super Bowl proved that a good defense can stifle a good offense. The Giants won another title by completely dominating or holding their own (San Fran was pretty salty up front) in the trenches. A good offensive/defensive linemen are worth any number of cornerbacks or receivers.

4. Does it floor anyone else that the Patriots actually played in the Super Bowl with zero run game, no legit stretch-the-field deep threats, almost no pass rush or secondary?

5. Any Dallas fans still picking Tony Romo over Eli Manning? Cowboys fans need to recognize just how far behind the curve they are.

6. Tom Coughlin second Super Bowl win weeks after it was rumored that the team had "quit" on him and he was about to be fired could set a standard in the NFL. Teams are quick to dump a coach they deem bad. Had the Giants done that, no way they make or win the Super Bowl and no one was touting their chances six weeks ago. Still, will this example force teams to slow down the firing line in order to let things play out. Maybe things aren't as bad as they appear.

7. If nothing else, the Super Bowl outcome shut up the dumb rationale behind taking the Patriots. Playing for the owner's dead wife, a motivated Tom Brady, revenge and the Giants "lucking out" in making the Super Bowl could not have mattered in the least.

8. Some Brazilian supermodel expresses the same opinion of about five million NFL fans in private and somehow she's to blame? She's right. Pass catchers need to catch passes.

A Super Bowl preview

2012-02-05T13:04:00.004-06:00

Play on

In a number hours, we'll see the TV commercials that we'd already seen online and we'll have a new world champion in professional football.

Legacies will cemented or made. A play here or there on either team and you're looking at history for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Or, Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning could be paving their way to the Hall of Fame. It really doesn't get any more complicated than that.

Thoughts:

A Motivated Tom Brady ...
...might not be enough. Brady's great. However, just because he "wants" to win doesn't mean he's going to. If Jason Pierre Paul wants to make Brady chopped liver, then Brady is going to take a punishment and he will not be effective. Don't feed me the line that Brady's "motivated" to avenge that last Super Bowl.

Gronk/Hernandez
Impossible to stop. Can they be slowed down? And if you want a hint for the prop bet of who catches the first touchdown: Deion Branch.

The New York Giants Are Lucky
Bull. Shit. Yes, the Giants probably are lucky. That's a shitty reason to think the Patriots are going to win, however. Mostly because the Patriots are just as lucky to get there. A "dropped" touchdown pass and a missed field goal are the only things standing between the Patriots watching this thing at home.

Up Front
Tell me, who's better at the offensive and defensive lines? The gut and obvious answer is the New York Giants.

A Receiver Will Cover Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham And Victor Cruz
Let that one sink in.

The Giants Secondary Is Not That Good
Let that one sink in.

Tom Brady Is Probably The Best Quarterback On The Field
Maybe. Remember, Eli Manning was not good in 2008 and the Giants still won. You telling me that Brady wasn't motivated then? Manning's play is such a huge X-factor.

Move along, nothing to see here

2012-02-04T22:18:00.003-06:00

These aren't the droids you're looking for

The Mark Cuban Media Spin Machine doesn't want you to panic. The Mark Cuban Media Spin Machine wants you to know that everything is fine.

The Mark Cuban Media Spin Machine will dig up some statistics to show you how nothing is wrong.

The Mark Cuban Media Spin Machine wants you to disregard the 91-88 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.

Don't worry. Cuban himself, once he quits filming dumb TV shows and hosting parties at the Super Bowl, will dredge up some sort of excuse (refs, lighting, injuries, aliens, flatulence). And, hey, losing to Indiana and Oklahoma City is no big deal. They're good. Cleveland ... well, not so much. The Mavs are the Cavs' ninth victim of the season.

In all truth, three straight losses isn't the end of the world. It's still a long season to go and you don't have to be John Hollinger to know that the Mavericks are not OK and they're not terrible.

On the other hand, it's clear that there's a not a lot to like. Kyrie Irving ate the the Mavericks' lunch, just another athletic young guard that can take advantage of deficiencies in the Mavs' backcourt.

The Mavericks' transition defense -- the Mark Cuban Media Spin Machine has plenty of stats supporting the Mavericks' ability to defend -- is terrible and lightweight.

This plays hand in hand with the Mavs' constant death on the boards. The Cavs outrebounded the Mavs. The offensive rebound discrepancy was ridiculous: 17-4, Cavaliers. For the third straight game, an opposing post player (Serge Ibaka, Roy Hibbert, Andy Varajeo) absolutely abused the Mavericks in the paint and it's not always points. It's rebounds, blocks and presence. Something the Mavericks had with Tyson Chandler a year ago.

Anyway, the Mavs didn't shot poorly (47 percent). Still, the Cavs were able to get into the open floor with the Mavericks' reeling on their heels. Easy baskets. Ballgame.

These are fundamental issues. Issues that have lingered all season and 20+ games in there's nothing to show for improvement. The Mavs are perpetually off-balance. Lamar Odom and Dirk Nowitzki are out of shape or unhappy, or both. Jason Kidd's hurt and he stinks when healthy. It seems like a team on its heels all the time. It's a team playing to what the other team is doing -- win or lose.

Things are not OK.

The slip

2012-02-03T09:14:00.005-06:00

It happens

Never has a drink shaken a teeming metropolis to its core.

You would have thought Josh Hamilton fell to his death from atop the Empire State Building the way local TV were reporting his apparent relapse into debauchery and drink this week at a Sherlock's in Dallas.

The reporting, to say the least, was and is sketchy. Early reports were that Ian Kinsler and Hamilton were pounding drink after drink.

Immediately, my wife and I questioned the main details of the early reports. No way Kinsler was out boozing it up with Hamilton. Granted, I don't know Kinsler and most people don't. But he's a family guy, someone that's never gotten into a lick of hot water and a team leader. The implication that Kinsler was an accessory to Hamilton's "binge" or "relapse" was pretty irresponsible, I thought.

Outside of battling the array of details, there's no real story here. This is not a surprise. Anyone that knows anything about addiction knows that addicts are addicted. Hamilton's screw up before. He screwed up this week. He's going to screw up some more in his life.

I guess the question is about the Texas Rangers and the quandary surrounding whatever extension they might sign Hamilton to. Clearly, Hamilton's skeletons in the closet existed before the incident this week. It's not like overnight the Rangers are scared off.

Still, it provokes the media and public to chime in and rattle their pitchforks and lanterns as they attempt to cage the monster. By all accounts, Hamilton's relapsed twice in the time he's been a Texas Ranger. The bigger issue -- by a mile -- is his health. Do you sign a guy that misses 50 games a year to a long-term contract? Alcohol and drugs, probably, are the least of the Rangers' worries.

As it is, everything is OK. Hamilton's not going to miss the season (unless there's a billion other things going on in private). He's not dead. He's just a dumb human being. Who can hit. And play centerfield.

Spin cycle

2012-02-02T09:47:00.002-06:00

Roddy, meet Westbrook

Got to give Mark Cuban and his Dallas Mavericks Media Spin Machine credit: I thought after losing at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder 95-86 that they would go with the "Lamar Odom and Brendan Haywood were out!" and "Dirk Nowitzki isn't right!" route in defending the loss.

(Actually, it's not a bad loss no matter what. The Thunder are a good team. It's OK.)

Instead, they went the "The officiating is terrible!" route.

Sad. So 2006. Leave it to the man with the 20-year-old dance moves and 40-year-old special ed haircut to use a six-year-old excuse in defense of a loss.

Cuban failed to mention a couple of points (unless they went unprinted). How about the Mavericks getting crushed on the boards by 11? The Mavs shooting 35 percent? Mavs going 4-19 from behind the three-point arc? The pathetic defense against Russell Westbrook, who not only ate their lunch, but made them go back into the kitchen, fix another lunch and ate that too. That the Mavs' starting five went 17-51 from the field. Dirk Nowitzki isn't right. That the only good Mavs were (and in this order) Jason Terry, Brandan Wright and Shawn Marion.

The Mavericks losing out on a couple of calls (which they might not actually have lost out on and doesn't account for any calls that the Thunder failed to get) was not the reason they lost the game.

A little effort on the boards, a little defense on Westbrook and someone hitting a shot and the Mavs win.

By the way, when writing a story about officiating, don't include the free-throw differential. The officials' jobs are not to make sure everyone gets the same amount of free throws. They're job is to make the right calls as much as possible and as consistently as possible.

As for Cuban, we shouldn't expect any less grace or class especially after his coach kicked a ball into the stands (whether it was intentional or not, why even do it?) and hit a kid.

Nice.

Why I hate The Ticket and the Dallas Cowboys

2012-02-01T19:15:00.004-06:00

A day late, a dollar short.

Listening to The Hardline yesterday, The Ticket's afternoon drive-time talk show. Naturally, they are broadcasting from Indianapolis, where the Super Bowl is being hosted.

Just as naturally, they get NFL Network's Rich Eisen to come on the air and talk. I would bet that The Hardline gets a lot of criticism for not having more guests. But if you've actually listened to them conduct an interview -- outside of someone they wanted to talk to, which means there's a minimum of 15 minutes of ass kissing -- it's terrible. The disinterest is free flowing. Devin Harris had the right idea.

Anyway, Eisen comes on and the trio bring up what a good year Dallas-Fort Worth has had for sports: Dallas Mavericks championship and two World Series appearances. Eisen then quips that the only exception (sorry, Stars!) is the Dallas Cowboys. Eisen makes a pretty mundane, yet astute, point that there is something amiss with the Cowboys: Some unobvious entity that they lack that's holding them back just enough.

And then Corby Davidson, co-host of said Hardline, drops the C-bomb.

Not that C-bomb. This C-bomb:

CURSE.

He states that the Cowboys are "cursed" and this goes from an ice storm last Super Bowl week to the last several years of Cowboys football.

Fuck. That. Shit.

OK. Let's give Davidson the benefit of the doubt and he wasn't calling the on-the-field team "cursed." If he did mean that, he completely missed the point.

I sincerely think that Davidson thinks the Cowboys are "cursed." What a dimwitted tit.

The Cowboys, in 50 years, have been to eight Super Bowls, winning five, a ton of winning seasons, two iconic coaches, two iconic quarterbacks, an assload of Hall of Famers and basically a lifetime of awesome times.

And this loudmouth ass has the goddamned nerve to call them cursed. This is exactly why people hate Davidson, and this is exactly why people hate the Cowboys. Now I want them to have 15 years of losing seasons.

The Cowboys are the opposite of cursed. They are overly blessed. And this 50 years of success has diluted the fanbase so much that the assholes legitimately think there's some supernatural powers playing against them.

Yeah, because Quincy Carter was affected by a curse. Robert Brewster was being tortured via voodoo doll.

None of the Cowboys' struggles are due to a fucked up roster and the worst general manager in football. No. They're cursed.

(You might say, "Hey asshole, you don't like it, you don't have to listen." Trust me, the dial is getting switched more and more.)

One year ago

2012-02-01T09:21:00.004-06:00

Appetite for destruction

It's fantastical to think that a year ago, Dallas-Fort Worth was on lockdown: Emotionally and actually.

It is quite remarkable reading articles and posts from a year ago when Dallas-Fort Worth hosted the Super Bowl and how much we fucked shit up. It was so bad -- some of the circumstances outside the power realm of organizers, naturally -- that it's impressive. It's like rehearsing a dance recital for two years and on opening night you fall flat on your face and the curtain closes.

There is no real word if the "curtain" has closed on Dallas-Fort Worth ever hosting another Super Bowl. A lot happening between now and then including this weekend, next year in New Orleans, the year after in New York and so on and so forth. By all accounts, Miami, San Diego, Los Angeles and Tempe is never out of the mix. Tempe, for one, appears to be a favorite not only because of the weather but because it's a nice stadium.

And, by all accounts, Indianapolis is knocking out of the park. The weather is good, the temperatures are mild and the city is a ideal for hosting the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Super Bowl (media, teams, fans, events).

Yes, Dallas-Fort Worth royally screwed itself. And I really don't want to hear about acts of God and all that. Let's quit pretending that this area's never seen ice, sleet and snow. Also, let's quit fooling ourselves into thinking that the possibility of snow/sleet/ice was unbelievable. I mean, there'd already been some talk because extra precautions were taken. Which would be fine if the normal population of Dallas-Fort Worth were in town. Unfortunately, you had media, teams, NFL folks and fans attempting to slay the icy thoroughfares such as I-30.

Dallas-Fort Worth already goes into shock and paralysis when the least amount of ice or show hits. Add several thousand people that have to get around and inadequate preparation and it's a recipe for disaster. Quit blaming God, folks.

But there was more. Remember the rash of car thefts of NFL security people where "sensitive" materials were absconded with?

There was the falling ice hurting fans. There was the seat debacle (solely at the feet of Jerry Jones ... and to be honest with you no one's skated -- pardon the pun -- more on this subject), which was probably the biggest fiasco from last year's Super Bowl and if Dallas-Fort Worth never sees another Super Bowl, it's because of this.

Add in a pretty forgettable game (I don't remember a thing ... then again, I was wasted) and Christina Aguilera screwed up the national anthem and you have a full-fledged good ol' fashioned clusterfuck.

A year later folks are rationalizing it as poor luck. God screwed us weatherwise. "Can't help that. Look out nice it is now! Perfect weather."

Then there's money. "Of course the NFL will come back. They make too much money off having it in Dallas and selling all those tickets."

Tell me the last time a city that hosted a disastrous Super Bowl week ever got a game back. The NFL doesn't rake in money off tickets or hot dogs. It's all about sponsorships and ads. They can sell those just as easily in Phoenix or Los Angeles as they can in Dallas. And there's already a built-in trust with those cities: If shit hits the fan, they can clean it up.

I hope Dallas-Fort Worth gets another Super Bowl. I also hope those in charge have their shit together. I also hope the owner strives to create a good experience; not make headlines.

Gettin' paid: Ron Washington

2012-01-30T15:44:00.004-06:00

Gotta pay for those sunflower seeds and Kools

Going to World Series buys you a little job security.

The Texas Rangers -- as expected -- was extended for another two years. His current deal expired after 2012. He's signed on through 2014.

Whether this is a comment on Washington or the Texas Rangers as an organization, the Rangers might be locking up their all-time greatest manager, statistically and realistically.

Averaging 77 wins a season through 2012 and 2013, Ron Washington will be the all-time winning Texas Rangers manager (he's 154 behind Bobby Valentine) and with 79 wins in 2012, he'll overtake Johnny Oates, who is considered the organization's greatest manager. For any manager that's coached more than 500 games, Wash has the best winning percentage of any Rangers skipper.

Realistically, Wash has already overtaken Oates or Valentine. Two division titles in five years, two 90-win seasons, three winning seasons and two pennants. Again, maybe it's a comment on the Rangers as a crummy organization or the talent, but Washington's the best the Rangers have had, even if he never managed another game.

For further reading, check out Michael Mooney's tremendous feature on Washington from last spring in D Magazine.

Roddy, unleashed

2012-01-30T11:31:00.003-06:00

On the runway

The prolonged NBA lockout and subsequent 66-game season is maybe helping out the Dallas Mavericks more than we realize.

With the hectic schedule and bombardment of games, Rick Carlisle can no longer ignore the ass-end of his bench. Prolonged absences from Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd (out at least another week) and Delonte West is forcing Carlisle to go young ... a lot.

And its fun, win or lose, as far as I'm concerned. I enjoy seeing Brandan Wright, Dom Jones and Roddy Beaubois, who's been getting the starting nod and starting minutes.

It took nearly losing the season and then panicking into a shortened season for the Mavericks to finally take on a youth movement. I'm sure it's driving Carlisle crazy.

Beaubois -- Dallas' only real young, legit talent -- has started the last two games and is averaging about 18 per in 36 minutes. This doesn't take into account the shitload of blocks he gets, rebounds and assists. And there's nothing accounting for the pure energy he brings. He's an X-factor many teams can't handle.

What's better and more exciting is actually winning games. The Mavericks are leading the Southwest Division after yesterday's ridiculously confusing 101-100 win over San Antonio, which was piggy-backed off a win against Utah at home Friday.

Generally, the Mavericks have been ridiculous. At times, ridiculously good and balanced. Other times they win, but look terrible. Then they look terrible.

Frankly, the Mavs had zero reason to beat San Antone. They had the second-string Spurs mount a huge combat at the American Airlines Center and had that jumped come off Daniel Green's fingers a nanosecond earlier, the Mavs lose a tough one at home and -- no doubt -- there'd be questions with very little answers.

Honestly, it felt that Greg Popovich was chalking that game to the loss column. If they came back with the bench players, fine. If not, he wasn't going to push his aging starters in a seemingly lost game on the road. It's no different than sitting Nowitzki or Kidd. No one's winning 60 games this year and the Western Conference has a soft underbelly this season. Not nearly as strong as in previous years. The Spurs and Mavs can both cruise and still compete in the playoffs.

As for now, let's still the youth -- terrible and consistent as they are -- play.

Mark Cuban clears up this 'off-season' and 'conditioning' issue that none of us could possibly understand

2012-01-27T13:23:00.006-06:00

Just tell us the truth

Hey, Mark Cuban's a billionaire. Surely he understands complicated issues like conditioning and the off-season more than the rest of the population.

A week or so ago, Rick Carlisle said that he was sitting Dirk Nowitzki so he could get in shape. Nowitzki was then asked and he said it was to rest his knee.

Whatever, really.

Cuban, who is so fucking awesome (just ask him), went on the Ben & Skin Show this morning and "clarified" the Nowitzki conditioning issue.

“His knee hurts because he didn’t have the time to prepare. When you don’t have the time to prepare, you’re not conditioned to play the way you’re accustomed to. So it’s not like he was a fat slob. It’s like anything else. The older you get, the more prepared you have [to be], particularly when you’re Dirk, when you have a very definitive process you go through every summer. When you can’t do that, you’re not going to be in position to play your best basketball.”

So. Nowitzki knee hurts so he took some time off. For some odd reason, Carlisle called it "conditioning."

Both Nowitzki and Cuban go public in stating that it wasn't because Nowitzki's out of shape (which is completely different from you and I being out of shape ... we mean basketball shape) but because of the knee, which isn't healthy ... because he's out of shape.

Bottomline: Nowitzki won a championship, had the weight of expectations and 30 years of relative failure lifted off his shoulders and he wanted to party a little.

We don't blame him in the least. Why the owner has to be such a condescending prick is the problem.

To me, all of this goes back to Cuban's assertion that he can control the media and that the media, actually, is not important. That he can make and break the news. Considering not a single negative thing has been printed about his basketball franchise over the past 12 months (deservedly or not) is proof that he's sort of right. Notice that Ben & Skin weren't exactly grilling Cuban on Nowitzki considering Cuban pays at least part of Skin's paycheck.

Mavericks fans were treated like shit in the way the team handled the Roddy Beaubois injury ordeal last season. This small blip is the same thing. Ownership doesn't think you are very smart and they sort of talk as if this were fact.

Terrell Owens is broke

2012-01-26T11:51:00.003-06:00

Hitting Monster.com

Terrell Owens made about $120 million playing professional football.

According to the former Dallas Cowboy, a lot of that cash -- and whatever he made in endorsements -- is gone.

That's why Owens seems desperate to play in the NFL again. Or why he's playing in a semi-pro league in Allen. He needs money.

Lots of athletes blow through their cash. I think Antoine Walker was a pretty crazy case of hangers-on and family bleeding him dry.

Truth is, professional athletes are typically dumb. Meaning, they wouldn't know an IRA or stock if it bit them in the ass. Inflation and interest rates are rocket science. Consider most don't finish college and if they did they weren't getting accounting degrees. Many -- especially in hockey and baseball -- never even go to college. Their idea of money management is having cash and buying something and maybe -- just maybe -- putting some left over in a bank.

Many never had real jobs. It's not a surprise that many guys blow through their cash. Frankly, we could never imagine spending all of $120 million in a lifetime. Owens, honestly, probably never thought he'd run through that much cash either.

That's why he needed help. Owens is claiming that certain "trusted" firms and individuals made a series of catastrophic investment mistakes. These financial advisers were recommended by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Frankly, this could happen to you or me. I have a guy that I trust with my investments and although I wouldn't consider my portfolio risky or high-yield or anything, there's still the chance that I could lose out.

Owens lost out. A lot. Former NBA star Vin Baker's in the same boat. He, too, claims that trusted financial advisers took care of his cash ... meaning, they lost it hand over foot.

I've always felt Owens got a pretty raw deal in Dallas. He was great for the Cowboys. As we might be learning -- although no one would ever admit it -- maybe Owens wasn't such a big problem as we might have thought he was. Remember, it was still Tony Romo throwing the ball, still Jason Garrett calling the plays and we ran the head coach out of town on a rail. And we know who the general manager is.

Fact is, Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb were never the same once he left.

Owens has Hall-of-Fame numbers and I think it'd be crazy if he weren't inducted -- despite his attitude issues -- when his year comes up. Still, you might think he doesn't deserve another shot to play. You might think he's an asshole. You might think he doesn't deserve a spot next to Lynn Swann, Jerry Rice and Raymond Berry. That is fine.

But I think it's incredibly wrong to think he deserves this, losing his money. He earned that money and it's a shame that he's going through this ordeal.

Yes, he had baby mamas. Four of them. However, I never felt Owens was a guy that went on the town, purchased bottle service, bought Ferraris or spent lavishly because he could. He actually seems like a pretty conservative guy, relatively speaking. No way, without a little help, should he have blown through that money.

Shut it down

2012-01-26T11:43:00.001-06:00

Ring true

2012-01-26T11:05:00.004-06:00

The agitator ... trade him!

Guessing game.

Who's taking more shit in the media this morning: Dirk Nowitzki or Lamar Odom?

The former's put his entire heart and soul into the Dallas Mavericks, which culminated in a title last season and that blowhard Randy Galloway decides to take aim and fire. No, there's no excuse for Nowitzki being out of shape. But the Mavericks have bigger issues than resting their star for four games.

How about getting your doors blown off at home when you receive your championship rings by the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-90?

Compared to how much Nowitzki's cared and given, Lamar Odom's just about walked to center court, dropped his shorts, taken a dump, flipped 20,000 fans off and felt up your sister.

But Dirk's the problem. Right.

Odom's bound-to-be-short tenure with the Mavericks culminated in the biggest of turds: 2-14 FGs - 2 free throw attempts - 4 rebounds - 5 of his shots blocked.

He's shooting 33 percent now and his rebound and point averages are sliced in half from a year ago.

I'm tired of his bullshit and the Mavericks should be too if Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle had a set of balls between them. Odom should simply be in street clothes are anchoring the end of the bench. You can't tell me that Brandan Wright, Yi Jianlian or Ian Mahinmi -- guys that WANT to be out there -- aren't better options. Shit, if we need to increase Brendan Haywood's minutes, so be it.

Of course, Odom's in a bad place. I mean, car accidents and relatives dying ... and your favorite team trading you off in a salary dump.

Boo. Fucking. Hoo.

This isn't about the accident or the relative passing away. This is all about getting his lil' feelings hurt by those nasty-wasty Wakers. Jesus Christ. Cry me a river.

He's worse than an ineffective player. He's a cancer. He brings everything down. The European stiffs that Nelson and Cuban would have used those draft picks to take would have been far more useful than Odom and his pity party.

The Dallas Stars, at break

2012-01-25T15:20:00.003-06:00

Nystrom: Dealin'

The Dallas Stars ended the not-so first half of their season with a 1-0 win over division mate Anaheim last night.

There are must wins. Then there are must wins. Then there are MUST WINS. I feel, moving forward, that that was a MUST WIN. The Stars had lost five straight and are now 4-6-1 in January.

Eerily, this season is looking a lot like last season. The hot start. The gradual decline as injuries mounted and the depth of the cash-strapped organization was truly tested.

Except, things are a little different.

Depth
As the injured reserve got crowded a year ago, more pressure was put on young players and existing veterans to make plays that simply weren't there. Being a team unable to lure quality free agents and depending on trades and developing youngsters on the fly, the team was unable to keep things up. They simply wore down. GM Joe Nieuwendyk went into the off-season with the same problems and the same budget. Letting Brad Richards walk opened up a lot of existing cash. He picked up Mike Ryder, Vern Fiddler, Radek Dvorak and Sheldon Souray all in free agency and took a flyer on Eric Nystrom in an early-season trade.

Those fivesome have combined for 44 points and 58 assists, led by Ryder with 32 points alone. Watching them, I think all of them have paid deep dividends for the Stars. None of them are lighting things up. Fiddler and Dvorak are serviceable forwards. Souray's helped solidify a leaky blue line. Ryder's been a top-of-the-line scorer. Nystrom's simply gravy.

Cash
What killed the Stars a year ago was the inability to make a mid-season trade to add talent. As noted above, there wasn't enough depth in the pool to maintain their early season form ... and they probably weren't as good as their early season form to begin with. Most teams would simply go out and pick themselves up a guy. Unfortunately, the NHL was running things and adding payroll was not in the cards. This season, Tom Gaglardi's purchased the team and is promising a payroll increase. We shall see Nieuwendyk's ability to incubate a good trade.

Trends, however, are creepy between 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Month	2010-11	2011-12
October	6-4-1	8-3
November	8-4-1	6-6-1
December	8-5-3	7-6
January	8-2-1	4-6-1
	30-15-6	25-21-1

Creepy might not be the word. The seasons are different in a lot of ways, but that doesn't make me feel better about the rest of 2011-12.

For one, the 2010-11 Stars maintained a good pace all the way through January. They were first in the Pacific for much of the season and looked prime.

Then injuries and the wear and tear of the season happened. The Stars wound up going 3-8-1 after the All-Star break in February and 5-4-5 in March. All the while, the Western Conference were just getting better.

The Stars are not in the place they were a year ago. They're worse, as far as the standings go. As I stated above, the Stars are actually in a much more advantageous place. They have guys at the rudder steering this ship. There is money to infuse. And they're not completely out of things. A nice little win streak instead of a lousy woeful post-break losing streak would go a long way.

Gettin' Paid: Alex Goligoski

2012-01-24T11:45:00.003-06:00

Gotta have cash to make it rain

Another chit has fallen in re-building the Dallas Stars.

Alex Goligoski -- the former Pittsburgh Penguin, who the Stars traded some useful pieces for last season -- was signed to a four-year, $18.4 million extension. It gives him a little security and a mild pay bump (from $2.75 million to $4.6 million).

Goligoski is 26 years old. This deal will take him to 30 years old and, hopefully, during that time he'll turn into one of the best puck-handling, offensive-minded defensemen in the league. He's already pretty good, but I think it's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Interestingly, the Stars are in a place of advantage. With Goligoski nailed down at a conservative four years, the Stars really just have two other guys under contract "long term": Loui Eriksson and Trevor Daley. Surely, Jamie Benn's payday is coming soon.

Bigger picture: The Stars don't have anyone on the payroll, just 14 guys currently under contract for next season and just six for 2013-14.

Combine that with new ownership, the Stars shouldn't be hurting for cash -- or quality free agents -- for much longer. The slate is almost clean.

Tuesday morning Rangers

2012-01-24T11:04:00.004-06:00

Tiny E needs to get paid

Koji Uehara apparently doesn't want to be in Texas any longer. He's openly stated he'd like to return to the Baltimore Orioles. He must be desperate. Rumors early in the winter were that Boston and Baltimore. Now, the Rangers and Blue Jays are in talks for the reliever. Honestly, I'd like to see Uehara back. I think he's good and I don't know what happened late last season when he became ... bad. Also, I don't think it hurts having another face in the clubhouse to help Yu Darvish roll in.

****
Still, more talk about extending Josh Hamilton. It ain't going to happen until Prince Fielder finds a home. Even then, I think the Rangers are smart enough to be reasonable if they decide to keep Hamilton.

****
The Rangers haven't gone to arbitration with a player since Lee Stevens, if my memory serves me right. Arbitration hearings are now set for Elvis Andrus, Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz. Things will get expensive.

****
On Prince, things are just kind of swireling. The Rangers are in the works and Jon Heyman calls them a non-favorite. He also adds that Fielder and the Rangers like each other. Question is: Does Fielder like winning a lot of games? If he does, he knows where to go. Not Washington, Baltimore or Florida.

Shawn Marion: The Mavericks' savior

2012-01-24T09:59:00.003-06:00

Matrix-y

All of last season, I felt that Shawn Marion was the most underrated Dallas Maverick.

At this point in this abbreviated season, he's just rated. Meaning, now everyone's noticing just what Marion brings to the table. All at the age of 33. When everyone thought he was pretty washed up.

Last night was vintage Matrix scoring 29 beating the Phoenix Suns 93-87. With Lamar Odom pouting, Dirk Nowitzki trying to catch his breath, Jason Kidd crapping the sheets, Jason Terry remaining inconsistent and the team in general trying to find a rotation, Marion's been really good, or, at least, really consistent. He's not going to score 29 a night, but he buoys the ship when needed. It's nothing spectacular. It's just good.

Ironically, or not, Marion's shooting percentage is at its lowest in three seasons as a Maverick, still at a respectable 46 percent. The reason is probably he's shooting three times as many three pointers. It's not such a bad thing. He's hitting them at a 42 percent clip. At his peak with the Suns a decade ago, he was attempting 4.5 three-pointers a game. He's averaging 1.1 per game this season.

Marion will never go back to his full Matrix days. But as long as he maintains his current efficiency and effectiveness on both sides of the ball, mind you, the Mavericks will be relevant this season.

Notes:
1. Jason Kidd is shooting 26 percent. He's got 24 steals and 19 field goals. It's to the point that he needs to quit shooting. And the Mavericks will not be the same team if he's not a threat to shoot.

2. Typically, minutes for Ian Mahinmi would have raised eyebrows. Now you can't imagine him not on the floor. He's going from eight minutes a game to 20 (28 last night) and shooting 64 percent. Biggest boost are his ability to get to the free-throw line and make them.

3. The Mavs are 2-6 against winning teams. Are 9-1 against losing teams.

4. Why would the Mavericks label Dirk Nowitzki's hiatus as being out of shape when they would get all the credit in the world for just resting him four games?

5. Yes, Brendan Haywood had his career high with 10 points last night. Ten points.

Championship weekend

2012-01-21T22:27:00.003-06:00

A telltale sign that the NFL is successful: As much as we love the season, it always gets better and better with every week.

In three weeks, a new Super Bowl champion will be crowned. In 24 hours, we'll have the candidates narrowed down to two. For 19 weeks, it's been fun. Tomorrow is the greatest.

The reason we'll have a new champion is because the Green Bay Packers lost last week. Furthermore, the New Orleans Saints, considered the second-best team, lost too. We are left with several interesting games. A rematch in the NFC which seems as old as time. A potential classic Super Bowl rematch.

All I think we can all agree on is the Baltimore Ravens winning would be a bummer.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
Remember 2009? The Ravens were 9-7 wild card team going to Boston to play the division-winning New England Patriots, who were 8-0 at home. No one gave the Ravens a shot in hell. Then, it all fell apart. Ray Rice took the first play from scrimmage 83 yards for a touchdown. The Ravens jumped to a 24-0 lead thanks to turnovers and won 33-14. Joe Flacco threw for 34 yards. Now, I'm not attempting to insinuate that the same things will happen. I'm just saying that shit happens sometimes. Do not write off the Ravens here. That'd be a mistake. Also note that playoff teams that score 40 one week are 3-19 the next week. Patriots are too much and the Ravens defense is old. Watch out for Ray Rice and Torrey Smith on the outside. Can't turn in a clunker like against Houston and beat the Patriots.

New England Patriots 28, Baltimore Ravens 24

New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers
Giants-49ers in the playoffs is like a warm blanket. On a wintery day, it's good just to wrap up for a couple of hours and bask in the warmth. Going back to Leonard Marshall nearly beheading Joe Montana. The botched field goal in 2003. Just full of NFL Playoff memories. I will say this, if you want to see a game played between the two most complete teams in the league, this is it. It's not the Super Bowl and the winner is no sure-fire bet against New England/Baltimore. From top to bottom, though, the 49ers and Giants are fantastic. Both of their strengths are up front: Their offensive and defensive lines are breathtaking. The 49ers have the advantage in the secondary; the Giants have the advantage in quarterback and a gigantic edge in pass catchers.

Where does this fall out? Do the 49ers have enough bodies to cover all of those Giants receivers? Is Eli Manning simply playing out of his mind right now? Did Alex Smith simply career last week? Will the nasty conditions at Candlestic

Publish Post

k matter? Simply put, I have no clue and as much as I think the 49ers hold an edge, it'd be silly to bet against the Giants. The NFL's in a good place right now.

I just think to last week. The 49ers beat a lesser Saints defense with some crazy fourth-quarter wizardry a week ago. The Saints also found they could move the ball a little against a salty San Fran defense, which was fortunate to get so many turnovers. Don't know if that mojo works another week.

New York Giants 33, San Francisco 49ers 31

Hey everyone! Mac Engel's fucking abrasive!

2012-01-20T12:45:00.004-06:00

Bless his heart, indeed

"good lord but you are dumb. bless your heart."

That was a comment from Mac Engel's column on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's webpage. Titled "The Rangers better sell a lot of T-shirts to make up for the 6 yr deal for Yu," it is by far the worst piece of sports journalism in Dallas-Fort Worth over the past ... let's say five years. In a town with Jean-Jacques Taylor, Tim McMahon and Tim Cowlishaw, that's saying something.

To be honest, I've never given Engel much thought. Frankly, he's better known as "Jenn Floyd's husband." "Innocuous" is a pretty good adjective for him. "Bland" is another.

With his wife's departure to FOX Sports, Mac is stepping up to the big boy table. Yes. Mac Engel is abrasive and in your face.

It's also very desperate. In fact, he sounds mildly retarded.

In an earlier column, he said the Texas Rangers should never, ever deal with Scott Boras because he's just such a shyster and ... well, a sports agent. Nevermind that Boras represents a lot of good players. And that the Rangers deal with Boras all of the time, including the Adrian Beltre, Ryan Spilborghs, Prince Fielder and Kevin Millwood.

Also, forget that never dealing with Boras would put you squarely behind the eight ball in free agency and the MLB Draft, where the Rangers have made their name.

In the Yu Darvish column, Engel got so into being abrasive and over the top that he forgot that merchandise sales goes to Major League Baseball, not the Texas Rangers (Engel apparently teaches journalism at TCU ... his first lesson: Ignore fact checking. It's gay).

He concludes by stating that the Darvish deal is risky and not one that he would have made. He writes:

From a baseball standpoint, this deal only works if the Rangers win the World Series and he is a contributing member to the cause. Yu has to be a celebrity ace that this team currently lacks.

Umm. What? That's the most idiotic way to look at free agency. In theory, is every major contract given to a professional athlete only worth it if the franchise wins a title?

He might have a fucking point here. Or not. If Engel is right here, then 99 percent of all contracts are complete wastes of time. Miami should have never gotten Lebron James. Cleveland should have never had tried to keep him.

On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks are genius at giving Brendan Haywood $55 million. The Baltimore Ravens' addition of Trent Dilfer was clearly the best of all time. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers utterly failed by adding Adrian Beltre.

So, the lesson here is either to not spend in free agency or to spend in free agency and win a title. Mac Engel should be a general manager.

Instead, he's an abrasive journalist! Get this guy on TV!

Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/mac-engel/2012/01/the-rangers-better-sell-a-lot-of-t-shirts-to-make-up-for-the-6-yr-deal-for-yu.html#storylink=cpy

The move not made

2012-01-20T09:21:00.004-06:00

The kid and Kidd

A sub-subplot to last night's 94-91 Dallas Mavericks win over the Utah Jazz was Al Jefferson.

It was Tweeted about twice -- Skin Wade and Bob Sturm -- about how two summers ago, the summer before the championship, the Dallas Mavericks were hot on Al Jefferson.

David Kahn and the Minnesota Timberwolves were attempting to unload the then 25-year-old power forward for pennies on the dollar. Mostly because Jefferson, although good, had flatlined a little and was due about $42 million over the next three seasons. He was an expensive player on a team that needed a facelift and had Kevin Love sitting on the bench.

After several weeks of the rumor mill churning and talks mounting, the Wolves made a move. They traded Jefferson to the Utah Jazz for two first-rounders and Kosta Koufos early July 13.

It should also be noted that the Mavericks had just thrown six years and $55 million at Brendan Haywood five days earlier. Already, they were looking to get younger and more athletic at center. Yes. It's odd.

Having missed out on their No. 1 target -- again, another missed opportunity by Mavericks management -- the Mavericks took door No. 2. It was Tyson Chandler. On July 13, 2010.

Maybe the Mavericks still win a title with Jefferson at center. Probably not. Jefferson, I think, is more of power forward. I also don't think he has the impact defensively that Chandler had in the title run. Jefferson's a fine player, no doubt. Just don't think he has the same impact.

While the Mavs smarted at missing out on Jefferson, they settled on the injury-prone Chandler hoping to get a good contract-year effort. We know what happened.

The question I have is this: Did the Mavericks completely luck out on Chandler? It blew my mind at the time -- and still does -- that they'd break the bank for Haywood only to turn around and seek out another center -- a starting center -- a week later. I sort of felt that the Chandler trade was just a Hail Mary: They had Erick Dampier's contract chip in their back pocket and they had to use it. Jefferson fell through. Chandler was the only viable option left. The Mavericks probably thought that Chandler would come off the bench and Haywood would start.

Further proof, I think, that the Mavericks won a title despite themselves.

****
As much shit as I heaped on the Mavericks for their loss to the Clippers two days ago, I think last night's win in Utah was pretty impressive.

For one, Utah's not a bad team and the Mavericks were on the road playing back to back. It wasn't always pretty. There were some pretty horrific defensive gaffes and some insane turnovers, especially late. Dirk Nowitzki's still in a bad place (shooting two less free throws per game, shooting just 45 percent from the field and his rebounds continue to drop), Jason Terry's funk continues and Jason Kidd couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Enter: The Matrix. Shawn Marion is a guy I've lauded since last season. He's sneakily consistent. He fills up the box score, is the best consistent rebounder and can hit a shot. He scored 22 last night and was the saving grace as everyone else suffered in shooting purgatory.

Also, he's their best one-on-one defender (not saying a heck of a whole lot) and typically takes on everyone from Lebron James to Kobe Bryant. He's no spring chicken. He's about to be 34. Still, he brings it every game. Might not be 22 points a night or The Matrix of the Phoenix Suns, but I'll take him.

Roddy Beaubois had one of his games. A true game changer, Beaubois can rewrite an ending of any close game. He posted 17 points, two assists, two rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes last night. No matter how goofy he is, Roddy needs minutes. Too explosive not to consider. Especially if we want to give Kidd a few minutes rest.

Pro boner

2012-01-19T13:02:00.004-06:00

I thought these crazy kids would make it

Get these guys a lawyer:

Former Dallas Cowboy and huge Michael "Trabtree" fan Deion Sanders is going through an ugly, ugly divorce from wife, Pilar.

There's already documents coming out stating that Primetime cheated on Pilar numerous times and executed a campaign of abuse -- everything from verbal to emotional. She also wants pre-nup nixed saying she didn't know what she was signing. Yeah. Nice try.

Not that Deion is a prince or anything. Still, you can't go around signing shit and not face consequences. Oh, and these two assholes have a ton of kids.

****
Dez Bryant was involved in a scuffle at a club last week. He wasn't arrested or anything. But I think Cowboys fans are getting crime blueballs. Sagging at NorthPark and not paying your bills is was the 1990s Cowboys' children did in their free time. Dez needs to go ahead and take it up a notch. The Cowboys ain't winning a thing with him anyway.

Fun fact: The scuffle might have involved Lil' Wayne. Bryant's gone public saying he has no beef with Weezy. Whew.

Fun fact: Bryant didn't have a 100-yard game this season. Not surprising because he failed to get open for much of the game.

****
Former Dallas Maverick towel waver and current assistant coach Darrell Armstrong was arrested in California yesterday stemming from a warrant due to not paying his bills in Las Vegas. Apparently, he was passing bad checks. Good way to get your knees capped.

Armstrong made about $27.5 million in his career. Pass the hat!

Poignant moment

2012-01-19T12:33:00.003-06:00

Championship defense, championship screen

There are moments in sports when things become crystal clear.

This morning, ESPN had a version of the above photo on their front page. The difference was an angle and the photographer had a much better close up of Chauncey Billups hitting the game-winning three pointer last night against the Dallas Mavericks and of an anguished Jason Kidd attempting to fight through a Blake Griffin screen.

The Dallas Mavericks have had some ugly moments in their time. This was one of them.

Granted, no one really noticed it. I encourage you to find the highlight and replay it several times. It's a simple play that needed to take less than five seconds. The in-bounds pass goes right to Billups, 35, guarded by Kidd, 38, who sticks with the in-bounds passer a little too long allowing Billups to saunter to his left and hit the relatively uncontested jumper. Nothing but net.

I realize that all the buddies of Mark Cuban that reside in the media are insanely quick to point out the numbers the Mavericks are posting defensively. That's fine and all. Got to keep Cubes happy.

What the Mavericks were last night were outplayed and outmanned by the Los Angeles Clippers. This isn't such a bad thing anymore. Until you realize they were without Chris Paul and they were playing their third game in three days.

The Mavericks should have won that game. They didn't.

Kidd's look on his face says a lot. It shows how old he is. How hurt he is. The pair are not always exclusive. In this case, I think they go hand in hand. Kidd's age has everything to do with how many times he's injured and how he plays through the pain.

You don't need to be an expert to know Kidd isn't right. He's shooting 30 percent from the field. His assists are nearly cut in half. The rebounds are down. His slow feet on defense is even slower.

It wasn't just Kidd. At least Kidd has heart. It was another walk through with Lamar Odom and Brendan Haywood (50 minutes total, 15 rebounds total ... Shawn Marion had 10 rebounds by himself, Griffin had 17). Dirk Nowitzki had another poor shooting night. Jason Terry is off.

Speaking of, what sort of defense was Terry applying in that photo? The matador? The whiff? The limp wrist? Terry's been a poor defender his entire career. He also talks a lot of shit for being so one-dimensional. Still, Blake Griffin is a great basketball player, but I don't think he's good enough to screen two players coming from different directions. He can't against Terry and Kidd. At least he got a shoulder on Kidd. Terry's inability to jump and get a hand in the face is just inexcusable.

Yet, the trod on. We make excuses. We dig up favorable stats and get he Cuban seal of approval. We still relish in that championship trophy. It seems the fire is gone.

Swireling Darvish

2012-01-19T10:29:00.005-06:00

Darvish-y

As anticipated, and with no contentiousness, the Texas Rangers and Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish agreed to a deal before yesterday's 4 p.m. deadline.

It is for six years and $60 million in addition to the $51 million the Rangers forked over to negotiate with the 25-year-old righty.

The point of compromise came with the sixth year. Darvish wanted five. He can get that five-year deal should he reach two performance thresholds, which would allow that sixth year to be a player option.

This all went ... smoothly. There were no media outbursts or leveraging. The two parties had a certain amount of time to come to a deal. Each had certain expectations and, mostly, those expectations were met. Most though the deal would be five or six years. Most thought it'd be in the neighborhood of $10 million per year.

What happened yesterday afternoon will most likely do one of two things: Go down as one of the greatest moments in the franchise or wind up being a colossal bust, but a risk worth taking.

I don't think there's a Rangers fan or baseball lover that doesn't honestly think Darvish could flame out, at least over time. Those same people also think the $111 million invested is worth every penny.

Trust me, this is worth every penny. I fully expect us in six years to look back at Jan. 18 as a red-letter day for the local baseball club.

Darvish has been in the back of every baseball man's mind for about seven years when he was a teenager. Scouts salivated over him then as they do now.

The Rangers are getting him at the prime of his career. Although Hideo Nomo and Daisuke Matsuzaka were similiar in age (26) when they made their MLB debut, neither had the numbers overseas like Darvish.

Neither were built like Darvish. Probably thanks to his Iranian blood, Darvish is 6-5 and about 220 pounds. He throws five different pitches (two-seam, four-seam, slider, cutter, curve) well and allegedly has another two on the shelf.

Darvish is not your typical Japanese import. He could change this franchise, shake it to its very core.

Clearly, Darvish will make the Rangers steady rotation even better. Although consistent, the Rangers' rotation needed another arm. Neftali Feliz is no sure bet as he makes his debut as a starter. Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando are relative rookies with just a year of consistent success.

What it also does it make the bullpen much better. Chances are, Ogando might find himself the odd man out of the rotation and will be sent back to the bullpen. An awesome problem to have, too many good pitchers.

Here is the projected rotation on Opening Day:

Colby Lewis
Matt Harrison
Yu Darvish
Derek Holland
Neftali Feliz

Furthermore, here is your Opening Day bullpen:

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

Those are 12 guys you can win with, certainly. The Texas Rangers are the center of the baseball universe. The Los Angeles Angels made the big splash early. All of the attention, now, has headed back east.

It is good to spend a little money and get some pitching in here.

Grit

2012-01-18T14:14:00.002-06:00

Down, dirty

Got the opportunity to attend the Dallas Stars-Detroit Red Wings game last night. Still say that is one of the best tickets in town.

Hockey, I've determined, is the best major sport to see in person and I think the only sport that's significantly better to watch in person than on TV.

I think football's miserable to watch in person. Basketball and baseball are enjoyable either way, generally.

The key to hockey is stats. You're not keeping up with points, assists, hits, pitch speed, yards, fouls outs or anything. It's the clock and six guys going toe to toe on the ice.

In person, you get to truly appreciate the speed and size of those guys. The Stars wound up losing in a shootout, 3-2, but came away with a point in a game, frankly, that I never gave them a chance in.

They'd played Monday night in St. Louis, lost 1-0, had to come back home and probably got no sleep and had to play a good Detroit team that always has the Stars' number without Mike Ribeiro, Jamie Benn or Kari Lehtonen. And the Red Wings won, basically, thanks to a fluke play with a Detroit pass going off Alex Goligoski's skate and right into the net. But by the end of the second period, it was quite clear the Stars had run out of gas. Sort of coasted to the finish line.

The Stars have something. Injuries could end up biting them in the ass. They could still be a goal scorer away from really competing. The insane competition in the Pacific Division isn't helping. Still, there's a core of guys that play hard. That was a really good point they picked up last night. Nothing to sneeze at. At the end of the season, you look at that point and maybe it's the difference between playoffs and no playoffs.

D-Day

2012-01-18T08:37:00.002-06:00

Oh Yu

By 4 p.m. today, we will know whether or not Yu Darvish is a Texas Ranger and for about how much.

The general consensus the last two weeks has been that Darvish and the team will come to an agreement, the sticking point being years. Darvish wants just five in order to get into free agency sooner. The Rangers want six years, making their $51 million posting fee worth their time.

Evan Grant, of the Dallas Morning News, has been optimistic about the signing from day 1. Furthermore, he Tweeted this morning that the Rangers -- at some point -- will not only sign Darvish but also either Roy Oswalt or Prince Fielder.

It's nice that the Rangers have Major League Baseball by the testicles.

Dallas-Fort Worth media feud and how did media learn about the Prince Fielder meeting?

2012-01-17T09:46:00.003-06:00

Ryan Spilborghs: Uh oh, someone's bringing his lunchpail

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Mac Engel wrote a column.

In it, he states that the Texas Rangers should simply ignore Scott Boras, the agent for free agent Prince Fielder. As columns go, it's not very good. Engel actually points to the fact that Adrian Beltre (a Boras client) was a huge success, although he notes that the Rangers "overpaid" for the third baseman. I guess. But isn't every major free agent "overpaid." I'm sure Engel wants the Rangers to have real owners that will spend money in a top five market.

Well, real owners pay real money for real players. Beltre and Fielder are those type of players.

He also notes that signing Fielder will handcuff the Rangers in extending Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton. Count Engel into the group that is in love with Hamilton. In love with the story and the Christianity and all that shit. Fact is, you want Fielder over Hamilton the next six years. Fact. Pretty, pretty dumb.

A team that is ignoring Boras is not going to win.

One of the more underrated media members in the market, Mike Hindman, called Engel out, via Twitter. Hindman: "Congrats to @MacEngelProf for setting the bar for idiotic #Rangers columns incredibly high."

Stirring the pot, Evant Grant, via Twitter, noted: "@mjhindman Runs in the family."

Grant, of course, is referring to Jen Engel, Mac's wife, former Star-Smellgram blowhard and current columnist for FOX Sports. He's also referring his dislike of Engel, professionally. This came to a head most recently when Engel took some shots at former Texas Ranger Brandon McCarthy during the ALCS. Grant took exception. It was awesome.

Play on.

****
How did the public learn about the clandestine meetings between Fielder and the Texas Rangers?

According to Jon Heyman, the only reason anyone found out was because Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Joel Hanrahan was getting married at the Four Seasons at the same time. Guests of the wedding -- ballplayers, agents -- saw Fielder and the rumors ran rampant. Crazy.

Heyman thinks the Rangers are going after both Yu Darvish and Fielder with the assumption that they will let Josh Hamilton walk.

****
The Rangers are apparently in on Ryan Spilborghs. He's a 32-year-old utility/bench guy. Career: .272/.345/.423. He's spent his entire career in Colorado at all three outfielder spots.

The immense load of talent in the NFL and how a lot of it is not in Dallas

2012-01-14T16:01:00.003-06:00

The San Francisco treat

Again, it takes another week of playoff games to realize just how much talent there is in the NFL and how the Dallas Cowboys have squandered years of drafts and free agency periods chasing special teams players, lackluster defensemen and offensive players that could care less.

Case in point: Martellus Bennett. Physically, you can't find another physical specimen in the NFL. He's gigantic, quick, athletic and a second-round pick.

Yet, he could give a shit about playing professional football.

Furthermore, he couldn't hold the jocks of Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis, Jermichael Finley, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Jake Ballard, Owen Daniels and Ed Dickson.

In fact, none of the teams that played this weekend wouldn't have Bennett and his brand of bullshit. The Dallas Cowboys ... well, he was a second-round pick. Can't just go cutting second-round picks, can you?

Then there's defense. The losing teams -- Denver, Green Bay, Houston and New Orleans -- have defenses with 200 times the heart and effort (and talent) than that of the Cowboys.

Eat your heart out.

Also, it was some of the sloppiest football played in a long while. The ball was on the loose. Winning teams had a significant edge in the turnover ratio: 14:4. Take out the New England-Denver ratio (oddly, 2:1 in favor of the Broncos ... the only battle they won) and the winners had a 13-2 advantage. Not just killed drives, but turnovers that turned directly into points creating massive swings of momentum. This also doesn't take into account the fumbles reversed by replay or near turnovers.

San Francisco 49ers 36, New Orleans Saints 32
Who knew it'd be the 49ers' offense that could save the day? Alex Smith's best game as a professional by a million miles. And it's remarkable how fast the San Fran defense is. Since they played the Cowboys all those weeks ago, they've gone from 55 to 110. Not only are they fast, but they hit incredibly hard and are impossible to block. Turnovers, clearly, were a huge story. The Saints had five and the 49ers just one. The Saints' key turnover was Pierre Thomas' fumble near the 49ers' goalline. Granted, I can't blame him. He was knocked the fuck out. Still, it took seven or three points off the board.

New England Patriots 45, Denver Broncos 10
This was varsity versus peewee. Big brother versus little brother in the backyard. A team that's been there a lot and a team that can't believe they're not at home watching the game on TV.

Baltimore Ravens 20, Houston Texans 13
When will the Ravens get fed up with Joe Flacco? Granted, they won, but they were severely outplayed by the Texans, who just about find a way to win this dumb game. Flacco's terrible. He's proven that in the playoffs, he can't put together a performance worth a damn and the team's punished for it. I can't imagine the Ravens ignore the quarterback position this summer because there's no way the Ravens can last much longer this post-season. The key here, as always, is turnovers. The Texans had four and the Ravens had none. Maybe Flacco was unspectacular, but he hardly hurt the team. Jacoby Jones' fumble clearly was the the game changer. The three other turnovers -- and the half dozen near turnovers -- were just wastes. The Texans probably win with Matt Schaub.

New York Giants 37, Green Bay Packers 20
Turnovers: Packers 4, Giants 1. Ballgame. I didn't have the guts to take the Giants yesterday, but I certainly thought they'd give the Packers all the fight they could handle. Eli Manning outplayed Aaron Rodgers. Of course, for the latter, it didn't help that the Giants' pass rush was relentless. Four sacks and Rodgers led the Packers in rush attempts with seven. Not that Rodgers can't run. But the Packers will not win that way. Giants, again, are the most complete team in the playoffs.

Derek Holland

2012-01-14T16:01:00.002-06:00

It's going to be a long 162 games

I'm sure Skin wanted to talk serious hip-hop here.

Quickly: Weekend NFL playoffs

2012-01-14T15:23:00.004-06:00

Make the leap

New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers
The natural case of a superb offense against an excellent defense. A team that has been at the acme of their sport and another team -- formerly great -- that hasn't seen the post-season in a decade. A team with a decisive defensive front against a team with three of the best offensive linemen in the game. I am going with one team here although I think it is a close game. I think one team has a decided advantage offensively, they have a better (and diversified) running attack and the best quarterback in the game.

New Orleans Saints 24, San Francisco 49ers 16

Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots
Fact is, the Broncos barely beat Pittsburgh at home as the Steelers were without their starting running back, their best defensive back and their quarterback was at 50 percent. It was a nice ride.

New England Patriots 34, Denver Broncos 17

Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens
It's not that I am in love with Joe Flacco here, but the Ravens are at home where they do not lose and it's T.J. Yates against a defense that doesn't take any prisoners. They know how to stop the run and they'll find a way to force Yates to beat them.

Baltimore Ravens 22, Houston Texans 17

New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers
We've spent a week talking ourselves into taking the Giants here and I can't blame anyone for doing it. I think the Giants are honestly one of the more complete teams in the playoffs. I just think the Packers and Aaron Rodgers, at home, are just too much. The Giants will need to get pressure with three or four on Rodgers in order to win this game. Key is Greg Jennings returning from injury. Bottling Jordy Nelson is one thing. Bottling he, Jennings and Jermichael Finley is a completely different thing. It's close ...

Green Bay Packers 27, New York Giants 24

There's a 23,000-point club in the NBA

2012-01-13T23:32:00.005-06:00

23,000 is easy against the Ersan Ilyasovas of the world

I didn't realize that scoring 23,000 points in the NBA was such a big deal, as in, I didn't know it got headline action on ESPN and whatnot.

Dirk Nowitzki scored points 22,998-23,009 (11 points) in a 102-76 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at the American Airlines Center. I'm sure it was magical. Got No. 23,000 on a free throw, I think.

Nowitzki is the 23rd player in the NBA to get 23,000 points. Again, not only is 23,000 a weird number to commemorate, but it's not the grandest of marks. For example, 25,000 points is nice and even. And only 15 NBA players in history have reached that mark. Dirk will get there soon enough. He should pass Elgin Baylor, Adrian Dantley and The Chief, Robert Parish, this season.

By the way, when do we start the Vince Carter watch? He's sitting at 20,61 ... oh wait, let me add tonight's points ... 20,631 points in his career. Maybe 23,000 is a pretty good mark. Vinsanity certainly won't make it.

Speaking of, some smartass with the Associated Press had this to say about tonight's game:

"The 16 points by Carter were well short of his career high of 51."

Thanks, dick.

Dirk, schmirk. The big story is the Mavs dry humping the Bucks for four quarters. Run. Out. The. Building. How bad was it? Nowitzki played 22 minutes and barely any in the second half.

Roddy Beaubois was extremely effective in 24 minutes scoring 15. Brandan Wright got 13 minutes. The dust was even shaken off Yi Jianlian for six minutes.

Jason Kidd missed another game and he's due back tomorrow night. Why rush? They've got the Kings at home tomorrow. Bring him back against the Los Angeles teams next week.

We need more Roddy, Brandan, Yi and Dom. Party!

Anyone interested in Prince Fielder?

2012-01-13T18:56:00.003-06:00

Fielding offers

Once the California Angels began their spending spree signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, I was mildly surprised that the Texas Rangers sat still.

Outside of the usual Yu Darvish rumor (they have until Jan. 18 to iron that deal out), the Rangers seemed relatively content.

More so, I found it odd that the Rangers weren't even in the rumor ballpark for free agent Prince Fielder. Considered one of the top two or three free agents on the market, Fielder is a young (27), beefy slugger. Fits in the middle of any line-up. Drives in runs, gets on base thanks to a ton of walks and plays first base.

Out of nowhere, this afternoon, Twitter blew up: Prince Fielder was in Dallas-Fort Worth meeting with the Rangers. Suddenly, they were not only in the works, but they were considered one of the frontrunners for the Ruebenesque first baseman. According to Buster Olney, the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are also vying for his services.

A baseball executive told Olney that Fielder will want six years (at least) and about $23 million per year. Going to be real honest: I didn't think you'd get Fielder that cheap. I read elsewhere that Fielder would command eight years, something the Rangers are wont to do.

Most believe that the Rangers will not sign Darvish and Fielder. The Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson said Fielder is "Plan B" in case Darvish doesn't sign. One hell of a Plan B. I suspect all of this to be true because it makes sense.

I also think Fielder signing means something else: Josh Hamilton will not get extended. Fielder is a younger and far more healthy (no major issues in six seasons ... although he does play first base and is a fifth of the athlete Hamilton is). Hamilton is probably more valuable. He plays the outfield, steals bases, is a fan favorite and his potential at the plate and on the basepaths is ... dynamic.

Fielder's more of a "what you see is what you get" get. He'll drive in 120, hit .290, draw 100 walks, strike out 130 times and wind up in the top five of MVP voting while playing 160 games. He's also not a former drug addict that needs a handler. His bones aren't made of glass. Jelly, maybe. Not glass.

If Fielder comes, Hamilton is gone.

So, let the rumors fly. Love that the Rangers are into all of this. Something sorely missed in these parts in the lean years.

This week on "Mystery!": Quarterbacks who cheat

2012-01-13T10:49:00.004-06:00

Running the option out of the wishbone

According to the Internet, an NFL quarterback is cheating on his pregnant wife with a female star of the Twilight movies.

It doesn't take long to get to Tony Romo. Infamously, Candice Crawford is barefoot and preggers. Romo has a taste for the Hollywood skirt.

Funny thing (it's really not funny at all), Joe Flacco's wife is also pregnant.

As sorry as this story is -- to be simply guessing -- it shouldn't shock anyone. Guys are assholes and athletes are probably even more so. Let's quite pretending like everyone's a swell guy. Also, quit acting like you're not interested in this story.

As noted the other day, Romo was spotted in Vegas partying with hack pop singers, actors and going to Pitbull concerts ... while lil' Candice is at home getting the baby's room ready. Maybe he had an authorized guy's weekend. Who knows?

I sort of feel that Romo's a bit of a dolt. Still, I couldn't imagine him cheating on his pregnant wife.

As for the girl, I didn't know any girls from the Twilight movies. So I went the the hottest, someone named Ashley Greene (above).

Anyone interested in Roy Oswalt?

2012-01-13T09:46:00.002-06:00

Ol' Roy

If you don't think Nolan Ryan is itching to make Roy Oswalt a Texas Ranger, you're crazy.

If Ryan has wet dreams, it probably includes a cutting horse, a deer blind, snow monkeys and Roy Oswalt.

Oswalt, of course, the salty veteran starter, one of the best of the generation and a current free agent. Reports are that the Rangers "checked in" on Oswalt, one of the free agents taking his merry time in finding a new team.

I loved the verb "checked in." Like GM Jon Daniels is just randomly calling folks in his rolodex. Making sure Oswalt and the family are doing OK, taking their vitamins.

What isn't clear is the Rangers true intentions. Would Oswalt be a legit rotation candidate despite hip (!) and back (!!) problems? He is just insurance just in case Yu Darvish stays in Japan? Is he a patented JD high-reward, low-risk veteran pick ups that flourish's and puts this team over the top?

With or without Darvish, investing $5 million in 20 starts from Oswalt is not such an awful thing. Oswalt is 34 and if he had played with a consistently good organization for his career, he's probably well over 200 wins for his career. Five times he's finished in the top five in Cy Young voting.

Although hip and back problems should scare off most teams, it's not like it's been a chronic thing the last five years. He's pitched 200 innings in most of his seasons and still had 23 starts last year despite injuries.

Plus, I think there's intrinsic value in having Oswalt, much like they had Cliff Lee. With C.J. Wilson bolting for Los Angeles and Neftali Feliz apparently jumping into the rotation with the likes of Darvish, Alexi Ogando, Matt Harrison and Derek Holland, Oswalt would be the clear leader. He'd be an awesome teacher and example for the kids as they continue to grow and mature. Signing Oswalt might have value whether he pitches an inning or not.

Also, Nolan Ryan would have a fishing partner.

It is going to get excruciating

2012-01-13T09:16:00.002-06:00

Don't be afraid to let go

It will never be easy for the Dallas Stars.

Yes, they beat the Los Angeles Kings on the road -- and in a shootout -- 5-4 last night getting their biscuits bailed out by Loui Eriksson (tying power-play goal, shootout winner).

The win puts the Stars still one point out of the playoffs (tied with Los Angeles for ninth) and still a distant third in the Pacific.

You almost feel the long, agonizing death coming on. The hot start mixed with the steady mid-section of the season. Then the injuries add up and everything goes in the crapper.

What's killing the Stars are the silly losses to bad teams. Losing to Anahiem (on the road or no) is pretty inexcusable. Along with losses to Columbus, St. Louis and the Islanders, the Stars compete with just about every team but the losses against bad teams will keep them out of the playoffs.

Furthermore, they'll need to learn to win on the road. They are an OK 11-10-1 on the road. That an a good mark at home (13-7 ... eh) will get you 90+ points and a seat on the couch when the Stanley Cup playoffs start.

The Stars and especially GM Joe Nieuwendyk will need to take a long, hard look at their roster and make some decisions. Granted, the next month is going to play itself out and further evaluation can be made. However, the Stars can't be scared to play for 2012-13. Michael Ryder is having a brilliant season. He's signed for two years, $7 million. A major coup for Nieuwendyk.

It's important, now, for the team to look what what he might bring in the trade market for a potential young scorer or defenseman. Same goes for Sheldon Souray (another great find for Nieuwendyk), Stephane Robidas (signed through 2013-14), Radek Dvorak and others.
Any of those guys go to a true contender and help them win a Cup.

You don't need to gut the team. And you don't have to give anyone away. You have a nucleus in tact (Eriksson, Benn, Lehtonen, Goligoski). The Stars are in a good position to stay still or make an impact move. It's Nieuwendyk's first real test.

Notes:
1. The Stars are 3-1 in shootouts.

2. Eric Nystrom has 13 goals for the Stars. Far beyond his career high.

3. Ryder: 17 goals, 15 assists.

4. The Stars are squarely in the bottom third of the league in power play and penalty kill. Not good.

5. Kari Lehtonen is not exactly redefining the position. Won his 150th game last night. Right at his career averages in GAA (2.54) and save percentage (.917).

A good win, a good 'fuck you' to Lamar Odom

2012-01-12T10:04:00.003-06:00

Crybaby

I've just about had it with Lamar Odom.

I completely understand circumstances in the off-season that might have taken a toll mentally.

However, Odom's interview with Sports Illustrated after last night's 90-85 win in Boston (arguably the Mavericks' best this season) shed some light on what's going on with the guy.

When asked about comments from Rick Carlisle that the effort was better, Odom said:

"'I'm trying to,' Odom said, his voice trailing off."

Out of shape and questionable effort. Awesome.

Odom then addresses a possible chemistry problem:

"When you have relationships with people and there are hard times, you know how to deal with one another. When you don't, it's obvious."

What Odom doesn't understand is that hitting an open jumper or hustling on defense has jackshit to do with dealing with problems on a team. Are you telling me that Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki are sitting there with their thumbs up their asses unable to communicate with Odom as to why he's sucked balls this season? What bullshit.

The big problem isn't the death of the cousin or the vehicular fatality he was a part of in the off-season. It's apparently the Los Angeles Lakers finding it in their cold hearts to deal Odom. He basically got his feelings hurt.

No one told him he might be traded despite being the Lakers' probably second best trade chip (behind Andy Bynum). And how does Odom really need to learn how much of a business this is. Does he need his hand held the entire time?

How does any of these circumstances deal with Odom being out of shape and generally disinterested in playing on this team?

And why aren't there chemistry problems with Delonte West (who is a complete nutcase)?

"It's hard for me to say. I thought my game was equipped to play anywhere and everywhere. I'm not prepared, I guess, to play. I don't know if there is anything more to say."

BARF. This isn't fucking complicated, Lamar. It's basketball. 90 percent of the game is effort. EFFORT. Not X's and O's. If you can't play with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki, then I literally have zero use for you. If Carlisle buried him on the bench until he got his shit straight, I'd have no problem with it. I'd rather see Brandan Wright.

If Odom put half the effort into his game as he does that reality show with his wife, we'd all be happy.

Notes:
1. Ian Mahinmi is producing despite being incredibly raw.

2. The Dallas Mavericks defense is not good. I realize that they are allowed less points the last several games and that opponents' field-goal percentages are down. But you watch the product and it's awful. Transition defense is abysmal. Brendan Haywood -- on a scale of 1-10 -- gives a effort of -2 defensively. Opponents are merely missing open shots and looking tired. It's good for Dallas, in the short-term. Long-term it could be disastrous.

3. Dirk Nowitzki is good.

4. The Boston Celtics looked really old a lot last night.

5. Brandon Bass continues to show that he is useful. He's going to play a long time and make quite a bit of money in this league.

Reserve clause

2012-01-11T08:51:00.003-06:00

So far, my favorite storyline of the Dallas Mavericks' 2011-12 season is the participation of the deep regions of their bench.

The Mavs won again last night, 100-86, and it wasn't even that close, in Detroit. Nothing like four quarters of the Detroit Pistons to make you feel good. That team is terrible.

Thankfully, the blowout in the third quarter resulted in a mass exodus of the bench. The enjoyment for me is twofold: First, Dirk Nowitzki and others get a respite. He played 27 minutes last night. Shawn Marion played 22.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing them less, win or lose. Especially against bad teams. Maybe there's not much difference between 19 minutes and 27. Seems that time would add up.

Also, Jason Kidd, take your time. We don't need you. If the Mavs lose a couple of games without you, things will go on. Take extra time, get 100 percent healthy and come back when you want.

Almost every game Rick Carlisle's going 10 deep on his roster. Last night he was afford the opportunity of going 13 deep with Yi Jianlian getting five minutes and somehow posting a -11, which is borderline impossible. Leave it to the Chinese to break new ground.

Which brings me to Brandan Wright. Are we sure he can't play? Are we sure that he's not at least a bench rotation guy? I don't think he's any more than that, but the Mavericks typically go for size once the sixth and seventh players come off the bench. This includes Lamar Odom and Ian Mahinmi. Granted, Wright isn't small. He looks smaller than he is (6-10, 245 listed). Just saying, I think there's room to fit him in there. More room for him than Brian Cardinal.

Some things will never change

2012-01-11T08:40:00.003-06:00

Shit for brains

Just a reminder, the Dallas Cowboys are not in the NFL playoffs.

Tony Romo knows this better than anyone. Naturally, what is his next move? Maybe hit the range or get something to eat.

No. He goes to Las Vegas, attends a Pitbull show with pop star Ryan Cabrera and Michael Pena (who I had to IMDB ... you'd know him if you saw him). Later, they partied with Pitbull.

Several thoughts here:

1. Pitbull is the worst "musical artist" of all time. I first noticed the guy on the Dr Pepper commercials looking all hard and menacing. His name is Pitbull. Then you hear his music and it's about as gay as you can get without getting screwed in the ass by another guy.

2. Romo is suddenly very Hispanic. He left Jason Witten (do you think Bobby Carpenter was invited and had to say, "Sorry, Tony. I got a game this weekend.") at home. It suddenly got very street up in here.

3. Tony Romo's wife, the guy from Gossip Girl's sister, is very pregnant. Maybe he had permission. Still, a shitty move as that backwards cap is jingling in her belly.

4. Again, it's been less than two weeks since you were playing for your lives. I haven't heard a peep from Mike Vick, Jay Cutler, Rex Grossman, Mark Sanchez (who should've been invited ... maybe he was) or the other 25 quarterbacks currently sitting at home, throwing a football from a tire.

I certainly don't begrudge Romo getting the opportunity to party a little. Still, it looks bad. I'll say this: He goes to Vegas in February and no one cares. Some things will never change. Some people will never learn.

Blow it up

2012-01-10T22:44:00.004-06:00

We can't believe it either

I was a little tickled to read that the Dallas Cowboys were not retaining Dave Campo as their defensive backs coach.

Suddenly it all made a little bit more sense. Like finding a missing piece of the puzzle underneath the coffee table.

This is no indictment on Campo as a coach more than it is of an organization that would somehow keep employing him despite all that's gone on since, say, 1999.

Campo joined the Cowboys with Jimmy Johnson as secondary coach. He worked himself up to defensive coordinator and for three dark years he was the head coach before mercifully being fired. He spent several seasons in Cleveland and Jacksonville before returning in 2008 under Wade Phillips as defensive backs coach.

To put this plainly, Campo started as a dish washer, became an assistant manager, was named manager and was then fired because it was absolute chaos.

Then, two years later, he's back as a dishwasher.

Campo may be a swell secondary coach. If the proof is in the proverbial pudding, he's not that good. Or his players are not that good. In that case, why isn't Campo, Phillips or Rob Ryan telling Jerry Jones not to extend Gerald Sensabaugh and Orlando Scandrick?

It's the principle of the thing. What team in professional sports has a guy work his way up the food chain, get fired after humiliating himself only to hire the same guy back?

I'll tell you: The Dallas fuckin' Cowboys. That's who.

Over the past 13 years, why has Jerry Jones continually felt that Campo was the answer to some sort of question? If the difference between Campo and the next best secondary coach is negligible, why not try something different?

It doesn't make any sense. As we are learning, nothing involving the Dallas Cowboys rarely does.

Campo is not the only change. Noted offensive line coach Hudson Houck retired for the eighth time and was replaced by New York Jets assistant coach and offensive line coach Bill Callahan, also famous for coaching the Oakland Raiders in their Super Bowl and running the Nebraska Cornhuskers into the ground.

Considering Callahan's credentials (for whatever they're worth), you wonder if this a move to address the responsibilities of Jason Garrett as head coach and offensive coordinator.

Replacing Campo is Jerome Henderson, the secondary coach in Cleveland the last three years, two of those under Rob Ryan. He, too, is a former Jets assistant. The Browns ranked second in pass defense this season. Again, for whatever that's worth.

It might not be better. But it's different.

Redemption city

2012-01-10T11:52:00.002-06:00

Yi or Yu: You decide

Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels has made a name for himself. He's known as probably one of the top GMs in Major League Baseball.

Like most good GMs, his success is multi-faceted. He finds success in the draft (in baseball, the draft is a veritable crapshoot), in high-profile free agency (Adrian Beltre), in trades and in finding treasures and redemption players in need of a new start.

The latter doesn't happen a lot any more. Used to, Daniels would give Kenny Lofton a one-year, $5 million deal to play centerfield. At worst, you get a get serviceable to lead off and play center. At best, he flourishes and you can trade him to a contender for meaningful prospects. It's low-risk, high-reward dealing.

I do not think the Dallas Mavericks are a very good team when it comes to personnel. Of course, basketball is a different sport. The talent drop-off in the draft is steeper. The Mavericks continually picking in the upper 20s has simply forgone the draft and swapped most picks or taken European projects that are honing their craft overseas.

The Mavericks are also handicapped with a soft salary cap and luxury tax. As much as Mark Cuban's willing to pay the piper, he does have limits. This handcuffs them in free agency. This forces the team to rely on trades and rookie free agents and there's been success there.

The Mavericks have also seemingly made a concerted effort in becoming a life raft to blue-chip busts.

Case in point: Yi Jianlian, the Chinese import, who is being called up by the Mavericks today after playing a couple of games in the Developmental League.

Jianlian was a free agent up until this weekend. He is 24 years old, 7-0 and the former sixth overall pick of the New Jersey Nets in 2007. It wasn't the strongest of drafts (it was the Oden-Durant year), but the Nets missed out on Joakim Noah, Arron Afflalo, Rodney Stuckey, Carl Landry and a few other NBA players. The Mavericks took Nick Fazekas.

Jianlian averages a decent amount scoring. Too bad he can't shoot (career 40 percent shooter for a big man), can't rebound and can't play defense. He's a bust.

The Mavericks are taking a flyer and I don't mind flyers in the least. Funny thing, the Mavericks, the last four years, have taken a lot of flyers. And not a one has worked out. At leaste for the Mavericks.

2005 Draft Pick	Player
15	Antoine Wright
18	Gerald Green
28	Ian Mahinmi

Wright was a pretty nice little player for the Mavericks. Acquired in the Jason Kidd-Devin Harris trade, he started 53 games at two-guard for the Mavericks in 2008-09 and shot pretty well and played a little defense. He was included in the 2009 trade that netted the Mavericks Shawn Marion. Green signed in 2009 and showed glimpses of the athlete the Boston Celtics projected him to be. Mahinmi is a relatively new acquisition and is putting up some decent numbers as a back-up center and snappy dresser.

2006 Draft Pick	Player
17	Shawne Williams

Shawne Williams was a big, beefy, long forward taken by Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers out of Memphis. A true redemptive story, the Mavericks traded for Williams sending Eddie Jones and two worthless second-round picks to Indiana despite gun and drug charges in 2007. Williams barely got onto the court as a Mavericks more or less the bench. Mid-season, he was told to simply stay away after undisclosed issues, which I assume stems from getting busted for codeine. Williams was traded, with Kris Humphries, to New Jersey for a case of gum.

Williams, incidentally, has sort of turned things around with the New York Knicks. He had his best year of his career (not saying much) last year as a bench player. Also included from this draft is Ryan Hollins, a UCLA post player, skinny as a rail and just pure energy. He was procured from Charlotte, who drafted him in the second round of the 2006 draft, for another redemptive project, DeSagana Diop. Hollins showed definite signs of life before Minnesota gave him three years and $7 million.

2007 Draft Pick	Player
6	Yi Jianlian
7	Corey Brewer
8	Brandan Wright
17	Sean Williams

Yes, within the last year, the Mavericks have had three of the top 10 players from the 2007 NBA Draft and not a one of them are any good. Wright and Jianlian are with the team now. Brewer was, I think, reluctantly dealt to Denver with Rudy Fernandez (another first-round guy that never played a game with the Mavericks) in the "off-season" (meaning, a week in December). I thought Brewer had potential to stick in a rotation somewhere. His blatant inability to shoot was killer, but I felt he could find ways to score and make up on defense.

Williams is another New Jersey Nets first-round bust. Played quite a bit his rookie year and, like the other Shawne Williams, find himself in hot water after busting up a computer at a cell phone store.

There are other names that would make you cringe as Maverick fans. Kris Humphries (14th pick, 2004) was simply shipped for New Jersey for nothing and he's turned into one of the league's best rebounders.

The pedigree on this year's team alone is somewhat astounding Vince Carter (5th pick, 1998), Brendan Haywood (20th pick, 2001), Lamar Odom (1st pick, 1999) and Delonte West (24th pick, 2004) are all former first-round picks. Only Odom and Haywood are not considered guys seeking redemption of some kind.

There are remarkable similarities in all of these names. Most are still extremely young and all are considered "athletic" and that's not just because they are African American, by any means. These guys are all athletic (except Jianlian). Gerald Green might be most athletic.

Most of these guys also all play one or two positions. All are about 6-5 to 6-11 and can all play that elusive swingman spot that Mavericks have been dying for since the days of Mark Aguirre. Ironically, the Mavericks successfully drafted such a player in Josh Howard and he's currently in his redemptive NBA tour in Utah.

Again, this is no knock on the Mavericks. These are low-risk guys requiring little in return for a trade or commitment via contract. These were all valiant attempts to acquire real talent. Damned if none of them worked out and the ones that did (Humphries, Shawne Williams) were traded away.

Dallas Mavericks meet the president, Mark Cuban is a giant goof

2012-01-10T10:19:00.004-06:00

Goober

The Dallas Mavericks made their championship march to the White House yesterday when President Barack Obama hosted the world champion Dallas Mavericks.

And their owner.

Mark Cuban is the biggest goober in the history of goobers. Which includes Goober. Like the president of the United States, the leader of the free world needs someone overlaughing at all his jokes.

How mortifying for the franchise. Cripes.

A review: Bowl season

2012-01-10T09:31:00.003-06:00

Pokes!

As stated a month ago, two of the local college football teams and eight of the 10 teams currently making up the Big XII (that makes zero sense) made a bowl game. The Big XII went 6-2 and both local teams won.

I realize that getting into a bowl game today isn't such an awesome thing compared to 1985. But I have a number of arguments here: There are a ton of teams that did not play in a bowl game this year and crappy bowls have been around for a long while. I sort of felt that the Sun Bowl or Liberty Bowl were relatively recent games.

Instead, I've been learning just how old these second- and third-tier bowls really are. Maybe there weren't 40 bowl games in 1983, but there still teams probably less deserving of a post-season playing in late-December.

Anyway, a review of those who played:

Oklahoma State 41, Stanford 38
I kept waiting for Stanford to get a stop. One stop would have won the game. As much as I wanted Oklahoma State to get the win here, I didn't really feel they played very well. They couldn't run the ball. Their defense was terrible. If Justin Blackmon decided upon Texas A&M or Baylor when he was being recruited, the Cowboys lose.

Baylor 67, Washington 56
I loved that the talk after this game was how Washington's quarterback "outplayed" Heisman winner Robert Griffin. Meanwhile, Griffin's team beat the shit out of you piling up 777 total yards while completing 72 percent of his passes, totaling 295 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers. Yeah, really outplayed. Extremely good year for the Bears.

SMU 28, Pittsburgh 6
Wow. Surprise of the post-season, I think. SMU hadn't played consistently well all season, they just went through the drama of almost losing June Jones to Arizona State and they were going up against a Big East team, a huge test considering their move. Huge win. June Jones is 2-1 in bowl games at SMU. Big story: Defense. The Mustangs grabbed two turnovers, allowed 205 yards, had seven sacks and held Pitt to 6-17 on third downs. Really, really good post-season for the Ponies.

TCU 31, Louisiana Tech 24
The classic "We-Deserved-Better" game from the Frogs. Went from a possible BCS berth to playing before Christmas against a directional Louisiana school. TCU played down to the competition four three-quarters of the game.

Arkansas 29, Kansas State 16
Arkansas is superior to K-State. I realize their ranking and record might match up, but Arkansas has been really good all season against tougher competition and looked good even losing. K-State needs to ugly up a game and play defense and Arkansas is a little too good for that.

Oklahoma 31, Iowa 14
Landry Jones is coming back. Hasn't the Oklahoma-Jones relationship run its course? Don't they just need to break up. Oklahoma is now 6-6 under Bob Stoops.

Texas A&M 33, Northwestern 22
Where Aggie fans scared when Northwestern got to within one score in the fourth quarter? Never felt that this game should have been as close as it was. Yet, Northwestern was a stop away.

Texas 21, California 10
Texas punted nine times. California had five turnovers. It was the ugliest bowl win in Texas history, it has to be. Proof here that the Big XII is superior to the Pac 10, at least. Mack Brown needs to decide on a quarterback.

Missouri 41, North Carolina 24
The Tigers just dominated the Tar Heels scoring on all of their five first-half possessions. Game. Over. North Carolina had the ball for less than four minutes in the second quarter alone.

Rutgers 27, Iowa State 13
I didn't think the Cyclones were going to win this game and I really don't know why. Other than Rutgers is just better. But we've seen Iowa State beat better teams before.

True wild cards

2012-01-09T13:31:00.003-06:00

Believe, just believe

Watching the NFL playoffs, if you are a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, you can't help but get pissed off.

I mean, most of us have seen two or three Houston Texans games this year. Most of us. Some probably haven't seen the Cincinnati Bengals play at all. Same goes for the Denver Broncos (who weren't televised outside of Colorado until week 14) or Pittsburgh Steelers or Atlanta Falcons.

With that, most people watched these playoff games not knowing that Jonathan Joseph was a free agent cornerback this off-season. If you didn't already, you know the name of Jason Pierre-Paul. DeMaryius Thomas is a real person. That the New York Giants offensive line is as hodgepodge as they come, yet, they could all start for the Dallas Cowboys.

The NFL playoffs are a reminder of just how mismanaged the Dallas Cowboys are and how other teams are able to find a lot of good talent at bargain-basement prices. The Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions all lost this weekend. All four are significantly better than the Dallas Cowboys now and in four years. Eat your heart out, Jerry Jones. The Lions have caught up.

To the games, three of which I picked correctly:

Houston Texans 31, Cincinnati Bengals 10
The Texans said, "We're going to run the ball. Come and stop us." And the Bengals couldn't. If you had to summarize a game, that's it. I think J.J. Watt's amazing interception should also be mentioned. It was not only a ridiculous play that you could never account for, but it broke a 10-10 tie at a time that Houston wasn't exactly taking the ball up and down the field. It also came at the end of the first half. Mid-game, that play is something you can move past quickly. As you head to the locker room, it's all you think about. That was the momentum shift. Without it, the teams go into half 10-10 and who knows how the Bengals shift gameplans. Felt the Bengals, also, gave up on the run entirely too early. Started chucking it early and the Texans could just pin their ears back and rush the Dalton.

New Orleans Saints 45, Detroit Lions 28
The Lions got two gifts from the Saints -- a Marques Colston and Drew Brees fumble -- and failed to capitalize (two punts). Granted, the Brees fumble was unfairly called dead otherwise the Lions probably run it back for a score. Nonetheless, the Saints handed two possessions to the Lions and nothing came from it. That was death. The Saints offense is entirely too good to let preemo opportunities fall by the wayside, especially at home.

New York Giants 24, Atlanta Falcons 2
More and more, the Giants look like legit sleepers for the Super Bowl. They are good on both sides of the ball. If I gambled, I'd gamble on them. As for the Falcons, you feel that they've probably all they can do as constructed. Still think they have a lot of issues on the defensive side of the ball and I don't think that offensive line is as good as the announcers made them out to be. A lot of change on the O-line and guys not working out as expected. Otherwise, the Falcons were unable to convert on short-yardage situations or throw the ball downfield. The intermediate stuff was there all day and the Giants were happy to give it. They were also happy to go mano y mano on the line and they were happy that the suspect secondary was not put to the test at all. Mike Smith might not survive this; however, as Troy Aikman stated, kicking field goals on those short-yardage downs was not going to win them the game. But you expect your O-line to get that for you.

Denver Broncos 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 23
Once Willis McGahee fumbled, I thought the Steelers were going to win. Once they got the ball back late in the fourth, I thought they'd kick the game-winning field goal and lick their wounds before seeing the Patriots. Tim Tebow was exceptional. His intermediate passes were terrible. His long passes were exceptional. If the Broncos beat New England next week, I'm going to church.

Wild card

2012-01-06T13:12:00.002-06:00

Fear the beard

The NFL playoffs start tomorrow. And it will be awesome.

Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants
The Falcons won 10 games this season. The combined record of those teams: 60-100. Only one team (Detroit) is in the playoffs. Only two (Detroit, Tennessee) are winning teams. I don't blame the Falcons for beating teams they should. However, if you're forcing me to pick a team here I have to consider that the Giants have played better, they've beaten better teams and lost to the three best teams in the league (arguably). Falcons could wind up throwing on the Giants. Giants could wind up planting Matt Ryan into the turf. Falcons 4-4 on the road.

Prediction: Giants 24, Falcons 19

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans
I couldn't be any more clueless about a professional sporting event. Texans are probably more talented and better. Then again, they're on their third-string, rookie quarterback. Texans are at home in first playoff game at Reliant. Bengals have the Red Rifle. Texans have an impossible running game. Bengals have a pretty good defense. Houston has a better defense. Give me the home team ... with extreme reservations.

Prediction: Texans 24, Bengals 16

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos
Don't be fooled. I enjoy Tim Tebow as much as the next guy. But this is the Pittsburgh effin' Steelers in the cold months in the playoffs. Denver's defense hasn't been near as good lately. The Steelers are not infalliable. They also deserve a bit more credit than they're getting in his match-up. Broncos?! Geesh.

Prediction: Steelers 27, Broncos 10

Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints
I think the Saints are much more capable of getting a stop. First playoff game for Matt Stafford. I think the Saints are at home. I don't think the Lions offense can be efficient enough to keep up. Lions best bet is running the ball ... a lot. Take a page from the Seattle Seahawks a year ago. It's possible. Not probable.

Prediction: Saints 34, Lions 26

A review: The NFC and predictions made by me

2012-01-06T09:39:00.002-06:00

I am not ashamed that I should never gamble on professional sports. Here's proof. A look at my pre-season NFL predictions, team by team, and my explanations for sucking.

Prediction
Actual

NFC West

St. Louis Rams -- 9-7 -- 2-14
I think the Rams' biggest problem is the offensive line. They can't protect Sam Bradford. Furthermore, I don't think Bradford has pass catchers (outside of the acquired Brandon Lloyd) to get the ball to in the first place. Defenses could simply stack nine in the box and stop Steven Jackson. Didn't help that Bradford's had his share of injuries in his young career. Defense wasn't great, but there were worse defenses that won more than two games.

Arizona Cardinals -- 8-8 -- 8-8
Kevin Kolb wasn't nearly the player I thought he could be this season, mostly due to injury. The Cardinals stay afloat with a ton of young athletes on both sides of the ball, a really pesky, play-making defense and a home-field advantage.

Seattle Seahawks -- 6-10 -- 7-9
I think Seattle and Arizona are a lot alike. In fact, they were hard to pick on a game-to-game basis. Seattle is a pesky team that would score just enough to make it scary, play a lot of opportunistic defense and rely on a home-field advantage probably like no other in the league. I really feel that both teams are close to being legitimately good (not just NFC West good). Marshawn Lynch is an absolute stud.

San Francisco 49ers -- 3-13 -- 13-3
I don't think I was completely wrong about their offense. It's Frank Gore and Vernon Davis and that's about it. The Niners aren't going to put 30 on the board on a regular basis. What I didn't consider is special teams (San Fran being the best in the league) and defense (San Fran maybe haven't the best in the league). And a new coach. Jim Harbaugh, if nothing else, have made them extremely confident. It doesn't take much to get good in the NFL. It takes even less to get good in the NFC West.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons -- 12-4 -- 10-6
I listened to a podcast and a guy said the Falcons were the most consistent team in 20 years. This may or may not pan out on the field. I didn't think they were consistent at all. It was really hard to separate the Falcons team that blew out bad opponents and the other that crapped the sheets against good teams. Gambling on them is impossible, unless you like heart attacks. Bottomline: They should be better and they're not.

New Orleans Saints -- 11-5 -- 13-3
The Saints have entered into the tier of the Indianapolis Colts under Peyton Manning: A team that might have a lot of holes, but they're covered up by an insane offense and a quarterback that's otherworldly. Yes, as Drew Brees goes, so go the Saints. They're a frisky franchise that might never see a dark day again as long as the current situation stays together.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 8-8 -- 4-12
They say the players quit on head coach Raheem Morris. No accounting for that in the middle of a season. How do you go from playing your guts out and getting 10 wins one season and having the bottom drop out the next? I doesn't make any sense. Something happened that's a bit more than a team getting tired of hearing their skipper bark at them in practice. Run defense went from top 10 to 32nd in the league.

Carolina Panthers -- 2-14 -- 6-10
I didn't think Cam Newton was going to be bad. I didn't have a real opinion, one way or the other. I thought he'd be a Daunte Culpepper-type: Big arm, can run, but probably not a guy that spends 15 years as a starter. Never underestimate what a bombastic rookie can do for a franchise. He's not only dragged the Panthers out of the basement, but he's breathed new life into Steve Smith's career. Surprisingly, I thought DeAngelo Williams would have a bigger year. Once they figure out the defense they'll compete.

NFC North

Green Bay Packers -- 12-4 -- 15-1
That offense is ... awe inspiring. And Aaron Rodgers is a clear leader of men. Any malaise stemming from the Super Bowl was not apparent. What was apparent was that they are the best team in the league, one of the better franchises and I always wonder how many times Mike McCarthy was almost fired before the team turned around.

Minnesota Vikings -- 9-7 -- 3-13
I have a problem. I need help. I have an inexplicable confidence in Donovan McNabb. Funny, I didn't think McNabb was near as good as people said when he was the Eagles. Why going to Washington and Minnesota and being run out of town both times instilled confidence is a mystery.

Chicago Bears -- 8-8 -- 8-8
I thought they'd get to mediocrity. I didn't think it'd require Jay Cutler and Matt Forte getting mutilated along the way. A good offensive line away from truly competing. Jay Cutler is a good NFL quarterback. Book it.

Detroit Lions -- 6-10 -- 10-6
"Not buying in. Prove it to me and then I'll take notice. Tired of the 'the Lions are a sleeper!' talk. They might be. They might figure it out. That defense could prove to be pretty good. Matt Stafford could stay healthy. That running game might have some players." I wrote that in August and I stand by it today. There was nothing that was going to get me to buy into the Lions. They hadn't deserved it. They deserve it now. Matt Stafford has the potential to be very good for a long while. As long as Calvin Johnson is alive. And is a Lion.

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles -- 11-5 -- 8-8
Funny that everyone teased them for the "Dream Team" thing but most had them winning the division. There's no doubt there is talent here. Why you'd hire your offensive line coach as your new defensive coordinator is a bit perplexing. The Eagles, although good, have always been a franchise that was just a tick off. Probably a good reason they've never won a Super Bowl. There was always something.

New York Giants -- 8-8 -- 9-7
No one was accounting for Victor Cruz. Game-changing player. A season-changing player. He's remarkably good and you didn't need to sign him to a long-term deal, spend a high draft pick on him or anything. He's just a dude floating out there and he's stupendously good.

Dallas Cowboys -- 8-8 -- 8-8
I'd like to think I have a pretty good idea about what makes the Cowboys tick. I don't think I'm alone by any means. Locally, we watch these guys practice, play, give interviews. Just watching them makes us more of an expert than most. This should be no surprise to people. The Cowboys are very ordinary. I pointed to the defense in the pre-season and I wasn't completely off the mark. Coming into the season without an off-season, mini-camps or workouts, the Cowboys were leaning on a relatively new coach on both offense and defense, no run game, a new offensive line and almost zero youth. Frankly, 8-8 is a miracle.

Washington Redskins -- 5-11 -- 5-11
"It's REX GROSSMAN!!!!! Danger! Danger! Alert!" I'm pretty smart.

How are the Dallas Stars doing?

2012-01-06T08:44:00.004-06:00

Putting up a fight: Violence

With the holidays, and the NBA starting up and the Dallas Cowboys crapping the bed, the Dallas Stars have gotten swept under the rug.

Although the hot start has clearly gone away, the Stars are not terrible and sit at a close third in the Pacific Division and a cool ninth in the conference. It's just such a testicle-wrenching dogfight in the division and conference that none of this is going to be easy moving forward.

The Stars won last night, 4-1, against the Nashville Predators, who they always beat.

The Stars are 5-5 in their last 10. The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are a combined 13-2-5 in their last 10, each. And the Phoenix Coyotes are nipping at their heels.

Losing to Detroit is one thing. Losing to Columbus the game before that is another. The Stars need to practice some control against bad teams and start pounding the crap out of them. Otherwise, good luck with 11th in the conference.

Notes:
1. Jamie Benn had a goal and assist. He's having a ridiculously good season with 28 assists already. His career high -- last year -- was 34. He'll eclipse that.

2. Adam Burish -- maybe one of the most unsung Dallas-Fort Worth athletes -- has four goals and six assists this season. He had eight goals and six assists a year ago in 40 more games. And he gets maybe 10 minutes of ice time a game.

3. Kudos to Joe Nieuwendyk on Mike Ryder. The guy's been a huge lift in the post-Brad Richards days. Seventeen goals already and a +9.

4. Since Dec. 15, Benn and linemate Loui Eriksson -- of the most underrated players in the NHL -- have eight goals and 20 assists.

The 2011-12 NBA season: It happens

2012-01-06T08:29:00.003-06:00

Look! Dominique Jones playing basketball!

An unfortunate by-product of the 2011-12 lockout-shortened NBA season, where they attempt to play 16 less games in two less months is a horrific and exhausting schedule.

Four or five games in a week. Constant back-to-backs, some on the road against any number of opponents.

Before the tip, the Dallas Mavericks never had a shot against the hated San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio the night after hosting the rowdy Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Mavs lost to the Spurs, 93-71. It was never a game. More like a root canal. It's going to happen and you can't get angry. Frankly, you take nights like last night with a grain of salt. You sit your starters and hope everyone's healthy at the end of the night.

The starters did get a lot of rest. However, the injury bug's apparently bit Jason Kidd, who has a hurt back. No real word on his status right now.

I honestly don't mind this mindset the NBA's in. The Heat sat Lebron James and Dwayne Wade last night. I know it's no fun for fans -- especially if you are not a Heat fan and wanted to watch the Heat play -- but as Mavericks fan, I want Roddy Beaubois, Brandan Wright and Dom Jones pressed into action, even in trash time.

Typically, they'd never see the light of day. Most games, the Mavericks are either winning or close enough to where the 10th man off the bench isn't getting any minutes.

With the nature of the schedule, and the old bones in the starting line-up, Carlisle has no choice but to fight on with the young guns. Win or lose, success or failure, they're getting the opportunity. At the very least, Beaubois is entertaining. I do have the sinking feeling that it will never happen with the Mavericks, but you never know.

Otherwise, let's marvel at the fact that four of the Mavericks' main starters (outside of Delonte West) scored a total of 14 points. That hasn't happened in 15 years and it'll probably never happen again. Enjoy it.

Finally, a good win

2012-01-05T08:21:00.003-06:00

Mr. 1,000

If the Dallas Mavericks are going to convince me that they are good, they need more nights like last night.

They beat the Phoenix Suns (remember when this was a can't-miss game?) 98-89 at the American Airlines Center and it was the Mavericks of old.

Defense was better. Ball movement 100 times better (30 assists ... Vince Carter and Jason Terry had five each, Dirk Nowitzki had seven ... 19 total offensive boards). Movement, in general, was much better. Rebounding was off-the-charts better (seven Mavericks had at least five). Body language was a 180-degree switch from the first six games.

That's a game you watch and you wonder if the Mavericks, as constructed, are capable of putting that type of game together for the next three months. Then again, Brendan Haywood is still your starting center. And Haywood is still not good, even if he grabs 12 rebounds (by a light year, his best game of the year).

Most importantly, Lamar Odom is finding a role. Still working himself into mid-season shape, he had 15 points and five boards on 50 percent shooting while Kim and Khloe looked on. I do wonder about Odom's presence on this team and how it could eventually alter the starting line-up.

If Odom gets back and Rick "With A P" Carlisle can depend on him and Vince Carter and Roddy Beaubois (that alley-oop from Jason Kidd was ... thrilling) to bring offense off the bench, could Jason Terry be moved into the starting two-guard position? Nothing against Delonte West. Frankly, he's probably been the best new Maverick this season. And I have no true love for Jason Terry, but if you could bring enough firepower to start the game and then have no true dip in production once the bench is put in play, why not? I think Terry, Odom, Beaubois, Carter or whoever should be put atop the priority list for minutes, at least above West.

Anyway, a good win. I'll take it.

A review: The AFC and predictions made by me

2012-01-04T12:46:00.003-06:00

I am not ashamed that I should never gamble on professional sports. Here's proof. A look at my pre-season NFL predictions, team by team, and my explanations for sucking.

Prediction
Actual

AFC South
Tennessee Titans -- 10-6 -- 9-7
I harped on the Titans signing Matt Hasselbeck and I do admit that I think he had a positive effect on this team. Granted, he wasn't healthy for part of the season, but I think they had four games that Vince Young would have lost otherwise. If Chris Johnson has 75 percent of a season that he's capable of, then the Titans probably get to 11 wins. Losses to Jacksonville and Indianapolis killed them.

Houston Texans -- 10-6 -- 10-6
"I have no doubt he'll turn this defense around."I wrote that about Wade Phillips. Damned if he didn't turn them into a top five defense in the NFL. This is a salty team that doesn't get enough credit, probably. They lost Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Mario Williams and Phillips himself for long periods of time this season and they put together a seven-game run amidst all of this that put them completely over the edge. A really good team that came together.

Indianapolis Colts -- 7-9 -- 2-14
And it's not like they weren't trying. Somehow as a fan of Peyton Manning, I completely underestimated him. Now they're about to watch a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback fade into the sunset only to get, potentially, the next once-in-a-lifetime quarterback in Andy Luck. Luck. Horseshoe. Delicious marketing opportunities.

Jacksonville Jaguars -- 3-13 -- 5-11
Bastard fantasy experts. Steered me away from Maurice Jones-Drew in the pre-season saying he had some leg issue that would eventually pop up. Instead, he leads the league in rushing. I thought the Jags were feisty: A bad team that did pretty well at home.

AFC East
New York Jets -- 12-4 -- 8-8
Some hard facts: Rex Ryan is probably not any good if he didn't notice and address the apparent turbulence among his offensive players. Mark Sanchez might not be as good as we think. Then again, having watched him, if he's scrambling he'll have four receivers standing there watching. I think this team is in such chaos that it supercedes coaching or personnel. Much bigger-picture issues at hand.

New England Patriots -- 11-5 -- 13-3
I should never, ever doubt the most well-run franchise in the NFL. Bad secondary? Screw it, let's throw a wide receiver back there. Massive injuries up and down the defense? No problem. Tom Brady will throw for 5,000 yards and carry this thing. A sneaky good run game, Hall of Fame quarterback and the

Buffalo Bills -- 6-10 -- 6-10
I think that Stevie Johnson is a head case and I think Fred Jackson is an absolute hoss. You go into next year building your offense around him. This protects Ryan Fitzpatrick and allows you to develop a little. Although, they could be in Toronto or Quebec by then. Was in serious peril in missing this prediction badly ... until the Bills happened.

Miami Dolphins -- 4-12 -- 6-10
Looked terrible the first quarter of the season and then they turned into probably the best worst team in the NFL. A team that could take any team to the mat on any weekend. Matt Moore has something, they turned Reggie Bush into a real running back and they reminded us that Brandon Marshall is, indeed, still in the league.

AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers -- 13-3 -- 12-4
Such a fun team to watch and they have to be a pretty cool team to root for. Family-run and always so good in making decisions and running a franchise like it should be run. Found Antonio Brown and now they have a vaunted pass offense for the next six years. Losses: Baltimore (x2), San Francisco, Houston.

Baltimore Ravens -- 11-5 -- 12-4
I don't trust them. That doesn't mean that they're not any good. Much more prone to the goofy win than, say, the Steelers or Green Bay Packers, but they've given notice to the Steelers and the league as a whole: They can win a big game. Losses: Tennessee, Seattle, San Diego, Jacksonville. The opposite of Pittsburgh in that every loss came to non-playoff teams and they won every big game on the schedule.

Cleveland Browns -- 7-9 -- 4-12
Everything I thought would be good was not good at all. Peyton Hillis disappeared. Colt McCoy, as it turns out, is not a good professional football player. The defense was not awful, which gives the Browns a little hope (fifth in points, 10th in yards per game).

Cincinnati Bengals -- 2-14 -- 9-7
Tickled that I was completely wrong because I hope for the best for Andy Dalton. Cedric Benson's jail term was not nearly as detrimental as I thought. Granted, the Bengals might be a team that took advantage of an easy schedule to get into the playoffs. Nonetheless, getting there is getting there. And finding a franchise quarterback and receiver in the same draft is absolutely nothing to sneeze at.

AFC West
San Diego Chargers -- 11-5 -- 8-8
I thought they could fart and win the AFC West. Apparently, a fart is worth eight wins, which is what the Chargers did for the last three months. Fart. As much as I think it'd be fun to root for the Steelers, I think the opposite of the Chargers. Seems like you could have found nine or 10 wins in that schedule.

Kansas City Chiefs -- 9-7 -- 7-9
In my defense, the Chiefs get nine wins with Jamaal Charles. I think. They didn't look very good with him, so I could very well be wrong here. No Charles resulted in teams forcing Matt Cassel to attempt to beat you with no pass catchers. He winds up getting injured and the season was only bailed out by some ugly wins along the way.

Oakland Raiders -- 7-9 -- 8-8
Again, you could point to injury (Darren McFadden) as to why the Raiders didn't do a little better. Looked good for the first quarter of the season. I think they found some things out in the passing game. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore turned in actual NFL-level seasons at receiver. If they ever play a little D, they could compete for a long while in this division.

Denver Broncos -- 3-13 -- 8-8
"A franchise in turmoil." Maybe not. I don't know how their defense went from being one of the worst in the league to, at times, one of the best or at least pretty good. Clearly, Tim Tebow had an effect on this team and not just scoring touchdowns. I watched an early game of his, when the Broncos were completely out of it early in the season (I think it was the comeback against Miami that set this mania off), and there was a play where Tebow ran with the ball and lunged for a first down, head first. Five Broncos players came over to help him up: Offensive linemen, receivers, running backs, tight ends. Teammates see that and realize that they have a guy that doesn't care about a contract, money or his career. He was willing to go all out for that one play, that one first down. They fed off that. We all know "it can't work." That doesn't matter. The same people that know "it can't work" also find themselves watching Denver Broncos football every week, waiting for the Jesus magic.

Five good things from the 2011 Dallas Cowboys

2012-01-04T10:49:00.003-06:00

Tyron Smith: Buck up, lil' buddies

It's thought, in sports, that middle of the road is death. If you are 13-3, you are good. If you are 3-13, you are bad.

If you are 8-8, you don't know what you are. You beat the 3-13 teams. You lose to the 13-3 teams.

The Dallas Cowboys are 8-8 and people are pissed. It feels that fans would rather the Cowboys be 3-13 so you can say they stink. Otherwise, you can bitch about Jerry Jones, Tony Romo, Rob Ryan and Terence Newman and at the end of the day they were probably one play away from making the playoffs.

I think this needs a little perspective. I don't agree that middle of the road is death. Sometimes it is, especially teams that are perpetually 8-8 or 81-81 or 41-41. However, most of the time, teams eventually have a good year or a bad year.

Tell the Cleveland Browns, Washington Nationals or Los Angeles Clippers (and their fans) that middle of the road is death. Browns fans would have killed for 8-8.

Cowboys fans are disillusioned because the Cowboys were not just 8-8. They were 8-8 when the division winner was 9-7 and the Cowboys, literally, were a play away from the playoffs. The post-season was RIGHT there and the Cowboys shit the sheets.

Fans have the right to be angry and disappointed. Fans have the right to rail on Jerry Jones as general manager whether or not it's pointless or not. The day the media and fans go quiet about Jones' inability to run this franchise will be the day this team goes dark. It's the day the football dies. It's on fucking life support as is.

Yes, be disappointed. However, don't lose perspective. And always look for the silver lining. There is always a silver lining.

You Figured Out Some Key Positions, Via Draft
It was not a great 2011 draft for the Dallas Cowboys. Only one pick started all 16 games. Three were cut at least once. At best, the other three played part time. Still, you got your future left tackle (Tyron Smith) and starting running back (DeMarco Murray ... seven starts, 897 yards). In the last two years, you've added Smith and Murray, in addition to Sean Lee, Sean Lissemore and Dez Bryant. Granted, you'd want more depth (five of the picks the last two years are no longer on the team ... more will probably not make the team in a year), but those are five guys playing for you and it's thought Murray and Smith are franchise guys. I haven't even mentioned Bill Nagy or David Arkin working out, when healthy.

Technically, They Improved
Amid a work stoppage when the players were unable to workout with the team, practice and with nary a free agency period, working with Wade Phillips' coaching staff and fielding a team that Jones and Phillips ravaged the last four seasons, Jason Garrett took a 6-10 team and made them an 8-8 team. No, I don't think they're significantly better as a team, as players ... but they won two more games. Had they won another they're in the playoffs ... a year after 6-10 ... with the same group of players that we think are pretty ordinary. The Cowboys will have an entire off-season to properly scout and sign free agents, bring in the right mix of coaches, give the offensive line mini-camps to work together and maybe figure out a couple of spots.

Diamonds In The Rough
They might not stick around after this season, but the Cowboys found Laurent Robinson and Tony Fiammetta off the scrap heaps. In addition, Dan Bailey and Kevin Kowalski were rookie free agents. At some point this season, fans were worried to death about Robinson and Fiammetta playing from week to week.

14th Pick
The December swoon got them the 14th pick. You can find a safety or cornerback with the 14th pick. CBS Sports already have the Cowboys taking Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard.

Decision Makers
Granted, the enigma of who was making the calls was burst at the end of the season, but in "Training Camp" big decisions were made. Garrett talks about the process. There was a legitimate movement with the franchise to get younger and slightly rebound. At the beginning of the season, I called it a rebuilding year without them imploding the structure. They cut 3/5 of their offensive line and lived to tell the tale. Gone were old, expensive fatasses Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode and Marc Columbo. For a brief moment, it looked like a tide had shifted. Maybe that lingers a little.

Turnover

2012-01-03T08:35:00.003-06:00

Please, unburden us of Alan Ball

If it's change you want with the Dallas Cowboys, change you'll probably get.

No, the general manager will stay the same. The head coach will return. Chances are, the defensive coordinator is back (I mean, who on Earth gives him a head coaching job?).

The quarterback will be the same, barring injury. Or sudden retirement.

What won't remain the same (outside of the song) is half of the 53-man roster. Maybe.

The Cowboys have 21 free agents this off-season. This includes Bradie James, Anthony Spencer, Mat McBriar, Keith Brooking, Martellus Bennett, Abram Elam, Alan Ball and Kevin Ogletree.

Cutting those guys -- Ball, Bennett, Ogletree -- alone improve your football IQ by 100 points. Chances are, I can see McBriar coming back along with Elam (Rob Ryan's boy) and Kevin "Special Teams" Ogletree.

Otherwise, there's no way the Cowboys can bring James, Brooking, Spencer (76 games, 21.5 sacks), Bennett and Ball back. No way. Impossible. Right?

Those 21 expiring deals do not include possible cuts elsewhere, meaning guys still under contract that might (probably should) get cut. The short list is Terence Newman (due $10 million), Jon Kitna (D-U-N, done), Marcus Spears (unlikely ... not impossible), David Buehler (unbelievable he was on the roster) and Phil Costa (unlikely ... but probably not starting at center in 2012).

At the very least, 20 guys currently on the Cowboys' roster will not return. This includes three semi-starting linebackers, two semi-starting cornerbacks and possibly any number of surprises. This time last year, did you think Andre Gurode wasn't returning?

Get ready for the upheaval. It's coming.

The Dallas Mavericks might stink or Lamar Odom being out of shape

2012-01-02T12:11:00.003-06:00

Too many lunch buffets, making out with his wife on the couch

Four games into this abbreviated NBA season, and I think it's OK to create some broad judgements of the Dallas Mavericks.

1. This might be the worst Mavericks team in a decade.

2. They will not make the playoffs with their current starting five.

3. "Management" could not have possibly taken a bigger dump in free agency.

4. Certain individuals are abortions.

What is fact, undeniably, is that Lamar Odom stinks. Or has stunk. I had zero problem with the trade. I have a big problem with 16 percente shooting and 4.8 points per game. I have a problem with being the ninth man on the depth chart.

I also have a problem with being out of shape. Which he admitted he is and apparently no one has a real problem with it. When the Lakers gave him away, everyone was slightly shocked. Maybe they had their reasons. Odom, entering a contract year, decided to start the NBA season out of shape and it's directly affecting the Mavericks. A guy you thought was square in the rotation is not. He's not just useless. He's detrimental to the team.

I do not think the Mavericks are going to win a measly 10 games as I don't think Odom will be awful all season. I do think we are living in a nuclear winter like that title was a bomb that was detonated and it wiped everything out.

Here are some other useless hobos:

Roddy Beaubois
Any young player with a modicum of talent that can't crack this team's top seven has problems. Shooting 33 percent and getting 12 minutes a game.

Vince Carter
No shock here. Shit, he's looking pretty good compared to out-of-shape Odom and that crazy motherfucker Delonte West.

Brendan Haywood
Ha ha. Remember, it was you who wanted to sign him long term because he was the answer at center. Not only is he not, but he's a huge reason Tyson Chandler's in New York City. Averaging five and five. Ian Mahinmi, for the record, is averaging eight points and three rebounds per game.

Jason Kidd
Not awful. Just wanted to point out that he's shooting 36 percent from the field, the same as last year. Two years removed from everyone telling me how he could shoot. He still looks old. Certainly not helping the Mavericks overcome what's ailing them.

The death rattle

2012-01-01T23:15:00.003-06:00

Just lay back, keep still and enjoy it

You should not be disappointed right now. No, if you are shocked, mildly surprised, taken aback or even made to take a second look at the Dallas Cowboys' 31-14 loss to the New York Giants, then you are an idiot.

A football idiot. I called it, if I can toot my own horn real quick. Almost nailed the score. Basically what I thought would happen did happen on every front in every way. It was a gangbang of ineptness.

Now, for the blame game. The Cowboys' season is over. You start at the top. Yes, I know Jerry Jones is not going to fire the general manager. That doesn't mean we shouldn't point out his transgressions. He's not going anywhere, but the bulk of the blame should always go to the top. Shit runs uphill in professional sports.

Then the coaches. I don't get why going to more of a hurry-up, quick-throw offense was such a hurdle. I mean, it's obvious. You have an offensive line that can't block, you start calling plays that gives Tony Romo three seconds to throw the ball. Everyone watching knew what the offense needed to do and it took Jason Garrett a full half to figure it out. Princeton, my ass.

Rob Ryan is a wreck. However, in the back of my head, I'm think it's more personnel than gameplan. The secondary is absolutely horrid. Probably the worst in the league. I can't think of a truly redeemable individual. Orlando Scandrick is the closest. Even he's fallen off mightily this season. Terence Newman is simply awful. He's was getting picked on. Yes, the No. 1 cornerback of the Dallas Cowboys was getting picked on. Somewhere Everson Walls is weeping.

And for the worst of the worse: Alan Ball. No one's having a worse night in the world than Ball. Penalties, flubbing the recovery on the muffed punt, getting torched in the secondary. If it holds any value, Newman was briefly benched for Ball.

Offensively, the offensive line is ... offensive. They're bad and there needs to be major upgrades and I'm not talking Montrae Holland or Derrick Dockery. You take Doug Free and Tyron Smith and start over. Keep whoever for back-up or whatever. Otherwise, it's a wash.

As for Tony Romo, my stance stays the same. He's a really good quarterback. But I think this is as probably good as you're going to get with him. It's not Romo as much as the mindset of the management. Romo's as much of the outcome of ineptitude. What I'm saying, if anyone is pissed, it's Romo. He's no longer the aw-shucks, undrafted kid from directional Illinois university.

Fact is, no one takes it in the nuts from week to week than Romo (deservedly or not) and so when you see the awful offensive line, defense, special teams and coaches like the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys never claimed to be a "Dream Team." Which is good since the "Dream Team" finished second in the division and the Cowboys third, at 7-9. It was a pathetic season and any reason to be optimistic was foolish and dumb.

No playoffs for the Dallas Cowboys. The drought and woe continue as Jerry and Co. head into the war room to get all of this straightened out. FYI, it won't be soon. I hope none of you took third mortgages on your home for season tickets to the trash bin off Hwy. 360.

Grades, for a final time:

Quarterback -- B
Was never in a position to succeed for 30 minutes of the game. Jason Garrett and the coaching staff left him out to dry behind that ship shod line. When the gameplan changed, Romo executed.

Running Back -- D
I noticed Sammy Morris when he ran. I did not notice Felix Jones in the least. If Jones is back next season, he needs to be (of course) a back-up and returning kicks.

Wide Receiver -- C
Yawn. If Laurent Robinson is this team's best receiver, then they need an enema. Miles Austin is getting paid a lot of money (in addition to banging Kim Kardashian) to be an afterthought.

Tight End -- C
Good things happen when you find Jason Witten. For maybe the first time in forever, Witten's become a sort of of a fifth option. And don't give me that "He's helping out on pass protection line." I'm tired of third-rate football analyst talk. Witten is the most viable, consistent pass catcher on the team and he's been a non-factor the last five weeks. And the Cowboys start their fishing trips tomorrow.

Offensive Line -- F
Terrible. No match for the Giants' front four. And, yes, the Giants brought three or four almost every play and wound up getting a lot of pressure on Romo. It doesn't help that he's trying to throw the ball around or above eight defensive backs. Blow. It. Up.

Defensive Line -- F
Three years ago, this was a position of great strength. They used to brag about being able to shuffle guys in on every play that could start on many other teams. Now it's Josh Brent, Sean Lissemore, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher and the great disappearing Jay Ratliff. Pathetic.

Linebackers -- F
If you want to blow up some more stuff, keep on going with Keith Brooking and Bradie James. Literally, is Bradie James even playing anymore? DeMarcus Ware with another one-and-a-half meaningless sacks. Ware and Anthony Spencer with another killer dozen neutral zone infractions.

Secondary -- F
Pathetic and awful. And Terence Newman is getting paid $10 million this season. $10 million to get picked on by other teams. Literally, if you wanted to pin this loss -- this season -- on one player, I start with Newman. Alan Ball is the worst player in Cowboys history. The only missing was a nice Frank Walker holding penalty.

Special Teams -- D
Nothing. No spark. Nothing. Missed a prize opportunity on the muffed punt and that was Alan Balled. The rookie punter (why wasn't Mat McBriar put on injured reserve five weeks ago?) was hit or miss. Dan Bailey with a missed field goal. What in the name of Deion Sanders is wrong with this team's punt return coverage?

Coaching -- F
This team was no match to beat the Giants. What's worse, they were never put in a place to compete until it was far too late. Cowboys coaching adjusts about as well as a satellite dish.

Cowboys-Giants: All the marbles

2012-01-01T03:38:00.003-06:00

All in this man's hands ... or his opponent's hand

For the second time in, oh, four years, the Dallas Cowboys have an opportunity to win their way into the playoffs.

We know exactly how the other time turned out:

44 to fucking 6.

It was on the road to a division rival. Chances are, the NFL scheduled this game expecting the Giants and Cowboys to be battling for a playoff spot -- as a wild card. Instead, the Eagles stunk and it's the Giants and Cowboys, looking both like two pretty mediocre football teams.

Nobody needs motivation tomorrow night. If you truly feel that Tony Romo or Jay Ratliff or Dez Bryant or Eli Manning or Justin Tuck or Hakeem Nicks aren't going to leave EVERYTHING on the field then you are fucking nuts.

It's probably nerves. It's about who is better, who will execute and who is willing to go completely above and totally beyond what is typically required to make a block, get off a block, run that exact route or make that perfect tackle in the open field.

But, mostly, it's about who is better. Neither fanbase is very confident right now. Honestly, neither team should necessarily be here. The Giants have home losses against Seattle, Philly and Washington. They also lost to Washington on the road and were beat on the final drive by Green Bay. All of which give the Giants the division outright.

Do we need to recap the Cowboys' nut kicks? Patriots. Giants. Lions. Jets. Cardinals.

The Giants shouldn't be fighting for the division. Neither should the Cowboys. They both probably stink, to a certain degree, but I think it's pretty clear that the Giants are the better team. The Cowboys have one win against a winning team. The Giants' resume isn't sparkling. It's not awful either. There are good wins there.

Five things:

Eli
Simply put, not unlike one Tony Romo, Eli Manning can completely stink in any one game, for no apparent reason, and the Giants lose. I think Romo is what he is: A really good NFL quarterback. Manning might be greatness. He might be one of the top four or five quarterbacks in the league. Perhaps better. And I don't know if I'd have him for all the tea in China. Not that he's not good. He'd just drive me crazy. Cowboys' fans would have burned him in effigy. I'm sure at times the Giants' fans are ready to do the same to Eli. If the Cowboys somehow luck out and get one of those 9-21-160-1-3 games they should be in pretty, pretty good shape. If Eli looks like Peyton ... well, the Cowboys might be in trouble anyway.

Trenches
There hasn't been a Cowboys-Giants game the past five years not won or lost on the offensive and defensive lines. The Giants have been significantly more successful and you can say without a doubt that their offensive and defensive lines have been better in just about every contest. None of that will change tomorrow.

Tony Romo's Bum Hand
How well can he throw? Will he be able to make every single throw he wants? There's not much of a run game to fall back on. Let me tell you something: If the Cowboys pull this off, Romo and his stinkin' hand jumps up a level on local herodom. He gets at least another week or so of leeway.

Mojo
The Rangers make the World Series. The Stars are halfways decent. The Mavericks win the Finals. It doesn't make any sense and it has zero to do with what happens on the field, but Dallas-Fort Worth is in a really good place right now and it would just get really boring if the Giants win that game tomorrow. Just living on a prayer.

Cowboys Secondary
It's thought that a good rush up front makes the secondary look good. The opposite needs to sort of pop up tomorrow. Manning might suck. It might not matter. If Terence Newman is playing 15 yards off Victor Cruz ... or if Frank Walker gets any amount of time on the field, Manning might be playing toss all night long.

Prediction
New York Giants 34, Dallas Cowboys 17
The Giants are just better. We need to come to this conclusion. If the Giants lose, a lot of things need to go horribly wrong. The Giants are much better defensively. Their offensive line is better. Run game, better. Pass catchers, more consistent. Doors. Blown. Off.

The mystery of Krys Barch and the idea that he might be a hot-headed racist

2012-01-01T03:19:00.003-06:00

Barch, in a fight that probably didn't start with getting called "honky"

I saw the headline "Panthers F Barch Ejected For Racial Slur."

My immediate thought was, "I thought Krys Barch was a Dallas Star."

Sure enough, the Stars traded him (and a sixth-round pick) Dec. 7 to Florida for some dude named Jake Hauswirth (and a fifth-round pick).

Well, screw me. That's what I get for not keeping up with Stars roster moves. I just assumed he was in the minors or hurt, like three-quarters of the rest of the Stars.

I read the story and apparently Barch had a few choice words for the Montreal Canadiens' P.K. Subban, whose parents are of "Jamaican descent." Subban is black, is what media is trying to say. Nobody knows, or is saying, what Barch said. Subban didn't "hear" it or he's not admitting it just waiting for the next fiery rivalry game versus the Panthers of Florida and the Canadiens of Montreal when he could knock Barch's head off.

Barch is kind of a dick. Always a hot-head and quick to throw the gloves. A racist? Maybe or maybe not. He clearly said something because one of the linesmen heard it and ejected him. I assume you can call an opponent just about everything in the book on the ice except for dragging in one's race or ethnicity. Hell, maybe this happens all the time and it's either ignored or never heard by an official. Maybe the official knew that Barch was probably about to have a hockey stick jammed in his ear.

The other surprise stemming from the incident is that Barch is 31 years old. 31!!! I could have sworn he was 25 or 26. No wonder the Stars were willing to let him go for nothing.

Banner day

2011-12-26T09:19:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-25T22:42:00.005-06:00

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

2011-12-23T22:45:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-23T22:00:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-23T21:38:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-22T22:55:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-21T11:02:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-21T08:29:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-20T09:26:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-20T08:20:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-19T08:11:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-17T09:52:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-16T08:37:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-15T21:05:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-14T13:43:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-14T11:08:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-14T08:43:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-13T10:47:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-12T13:12:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-12T12:29:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-09T13:20:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-09T09:34:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-08T16:12:00.004-06:00

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.

2011-12-08T10:46:00.003-06:00

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

2011-12-08T09:36:00.003-06:00

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.

Reversal of fortune

2011-12-08T09:00:00.003-06:00

Jonesy

Out of the depths of the unthinkable ...

June Jones was well on his way toward becoming the new head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Then it all fell apart.

In one of the oddest stories in a long time, the SMU head coach and the university had agreed on a deal, was going to announce the hiring Wednesday and were in the midst of ironing out minor details when the school nixed it all.

Jones is still at SMU, at least, probably, for another season.

According to Arizona State's president, it was taking too long. Another source cited negative response from boosters and fans. I honestly don't know what they've expected as Jones has proved his mettle at Hawaii and now at SMU, where he's led the lowly Mustangs out of the gutter to three bowls in four seasons and a 7-5 2011 record.

Arizona State, meanwhile, has killed deals in bringing in Jones and Houston's Kevin Sumlin, probably the hottest name on the market.

I couldn't imagine SMU football without Jones. It all seems very tenuous still despite him bringing in quality talent and a new attitude of hope. Under Jones, the last three seasons (I'm excluding the 1-11 affair his first year) the Ponies are 22-17, 17-6 in conference with two West Division titles.

What would have been worse is Jones leaving SMU right when they were making a gigantic move to the Big East, which should be announced relatively soon. Keeping Jones, adding Garrett Gilbert in two years and maintain momentum, SMU could be a consistent member of the nation's top 25 teams.

Winter Meeting updates

2011-12-07T12:03:00.002-06:00

Whatta Prince

Tomorrow is the Rule 5 Draft. The Rangers have found Mason Tobin and Warner Madrigal the past couple of years. Josh Hamilton and Alexi Ogando were Rule 5 guys.

****
Mark Buehrle wants four years and has narrowed his list of teams to three. No word if Texas has made the cut. Says he'll make a decision in the next day.

****
C.J. Wilson's agent and Rangers GM Jon Daniels had dinner, held hands, talked about the future, about them. Then they talked about the free agent lefty. Probably. The Angels are allegedly extremely hot on Wilson.

****
The Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks are pushing hard for Oakland's Gio Gonzalez. Would love to see him as a Ranger. Will be good enough to get him out of the division.

****
President/badass Nolan Ryan told media that the Rangers are not in on Prince Fielder. Either they're sticking with Mike Young/Mitch Moreland at first or have other plans. Clearly.

****
The Rangers are talking extension with Josh Hamilton. Biggest decision in Jon Daniels' tenure?