Uwe Blog

The life and times of Delonte West

2012-02-29T15:15:00.002-06:00

Crazy ... or crazy efficient?

In December, who would you have voted for craziest off-season acquisition for the Dallas Mavericks:

Lamar Odom or Delonte West?

At first glance, West. On second thought, Odom.

Still, that doesn't make West's life any less crazy. The bipolar stuff we know. The getting caught with guns and shit in a guitar case we know. Messing around with Lebron James' mom we know. Being pretty effective and still bouncing around with four teams in seven years we know. Working at a furniture store in the off-season, amid labor woes we know.

West pulled the curtain back a little more this week admitting that upon joining the Mavericks he was temporary homeless and he's flat broke.

Granted, it makes sense. The Mavericks can't provide housing for players under the new collective bargaining agreement so West was left to his own devices. That included sleeping in the Mavericks' locker room or in his truck in the players' parking garage.

He's also apparently run through $14 million in earnings that doesn't include any sort of endorsements or whatever extra cash he's garnered.

You might say this sounds absolutely insane and question it. It's a double-edged sword: Yes, question the bipolar athlete per legitimacy or realize that crazy-ass people do crazy-ass things.

West says that after arriving in the early morning hours he would forgo a hotel or other lodging and just bunk down at the American Airlines Center because there was practice the next day. Crazy or absolutely efficient ... it's a thin line.

I don't know why teams don't have lodging at the arena. I guess it's an insurance thing or whatever. Still, if you can provide a sanctuary for these guys, why not?

For the money, West is perfectly blunt:

"I’ve watched contracts go out the window, endorsements disappear, court fees, lawyer fees, divorce fees. You watch the saving account just shoop … shoop … shoop … shoop — slowly disappear."

West has earned $14 million. But his highest annual contract was for $4 million with Cleveland. Typically, he's around $1 million per year. This year he's at the league veteran minimum. Women are expensive. Divorced women are more so. Throw in mansions, cars, the life and any other debt and you'll find yourself just like Allen Iverson, Terrell Owens and Antoine Walker.

If those guys can lose $150 million, why can't West lose $14 million?

Still, he might be a little more sane than Lamar Odom.

This thing with Lamar Odom

2012-02-28T09:16:00.005-06:00

More baggage than LAX

The saga continues with Lamar Odom.

By far the worst trade acquisition in recent Dallas-Fort Worth history is not going to join the Dallas Mavericks tonight in their second-half opener with New Jersey.

As you might remember, he missed the Los Angeles Lakers game last week reportedly to fly to Los Angeles to see to his ailing father, as if he were on his deathbed. OK.

Then TMZ catches up with the father in Los Angeles, who, despite looking like he's 102 years old, only had a stomach virus. Clearly not life-threatening.

Rumors swirled the last 24 hours that a buyout was imminent -- the Mavericks were cutting bait. Not so much. Of course, Mark Cuban and Co. wants you to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. As if we were all illiterate. (Maybe he's right.)

It's as if Odom's daring the Mavericks to cut him and the Mavericks, maybe rightfully so, are budging out of principle and if this goes on long enough maybe the Mavericks might have some right to get out of paying him altogether. Why should the Mavericks buy out Odom when it's clear all he is doing is throwing a series of temper tantrums because the wittle bitty Wakers didn't want him anymore?

Although I support the Mavericks, if this is the case, it should be noted that the Mavericks have shown their ass twice this season in the media. The first, clearly, happened when Dirk Nowitzki was sat down for a handful of games because he was out of shape ... or his knee hurt ... or his knee hurt so he couldn't get in shape. Either way, owner-player-coach were all talking out of their asses and contradicting each other.

Here we have a clearly insubordinate player doing whatever he wants in order to prove some kind of goddamn point. Again, I'd sit his ass on the end of the bench. Give us Ian Mahinmi or give us death.

Why not?

2012-02-27T08:31:00.005-06:00

Pad save. And a beauty.

The Dallas Stars' resurrection project continued Sunday in somewhat spectacular fashion.

Heck, let's go ahead and call it straight-up spectacular fashion. It was a borderline miracle if you want to know the truth.

Accoring to Bob "Sports" Sturm's Twitter Tweet Sunday morning: "Canucks have 183-3-12 record when leading after 2 periods since 2006."

Make that 183-3-13. The Stars rallied from a 2-0 hole after Mike Ribeiro tipped in Alex Goligoski's slap shot/pass with less than a minute left in the third quarter (Steve Ott with the gigantic face-off win in Vancouver's zone). Then Loui Eriksson capped it off with the overtime winner. 3-2.

The Stars have won four straight and are just three points out of the Pacific Division lead and the three-seed (Phoenix sits at 73 points and are 9-0-1 in last 10). The Stars are now 8-5-2 in February.

Incidentally, the recent winning and the surge up the ranks in the West might have some effect on how Joe Nieuwendyk looks at today's trade deadline. It ends at 2 p.m. in Dallas.

Honestly, there's not a ton of chatter about the Stars. Granted, Nieuwendyk is not looking to cut payroll. It's not a fire sale, but I'm sure he's looking to improve the team now and for the next three years. Steve Ott has probably been the most talked about trade chip. Clearly, the Stars look to be more in a buying mood than selling.

Sitting still might look just as good.

For the record, the Stars announced 18,000 in the American Airlines Center, which is great if the Stars aren't cooking the books. Maybe Dallas-Fort Worth is buying in. Winning does that.

Messing around

2012-02-25T10:12:00.004-06:00

Loui, Loui

At death's door a week ago, there is new life with the Dallas Stars.

Dismissed by the likes of me and many others, they've won three straight -- two on the road in Montreal and Chicago -- and have vaulted themselves into eighth place in the Western Conference. Better yet, they've been able to catch up a little to the Blackhawks and bury Minnesota a bit more.

The key? Opponents are 1-10 on the power play (19 of 21 penalties killed in last six) and the Stars only gave Chicago one opportunity with the extra man. Goaltending seems refreshed and play in front of the net is crisper. There's the introduction of Ryan Garbutt, the bulldog ball of energy that's flying around making hits.

The offense has picked up a little. Veterans like Vern Fiddler, Radek Dvorak and Eric Nystrom have stepped up and ended extensive point droughts. All four lines are producing, one way or the other.

Maybe there was a wake up call when the Stars traded Nick Grossman, a young, good defenseman for draft picks. Maybe the guys know that Joe Nieuwendyk isn't playing around. As it stands, the Stars might mess around and make a lunge for the playoffs.

For the record, the Stars should still be looking to make deals for the future. Now is not the time to get disillusioned into thinking you can compete in the playoffs. The Stars could catch Phoenix and Chicago. Consider sixth in the West a treat, mark Jamie Benn and Brenden Morrow's returns as mid-season pick-ups and move onward and upward.

Backing down from Josh Hamilton

2012-02-24T22:51:00.003-06:00

Maybe those three girls are owed something

In 2008, I wrote that the Texas Rangers should extend Josh Hamilton. This was in the middle of his remarkable campaign of 190 hits, 130 RBI and 32 home runs.

Yes, he was still playing for pennies (relatively speaking) and wouldn't hit arbitration until 2010. It's not that I thought Hamilton would just leave. I didn't want a six-year deal or anything Why not just essentially buy out the rest of his years before free agency and possibly get a discount the final two years and provide him with a bit of good faith that the Rangers would have his back?

I don't think that is completely out of the realm of reason.

Hamilton will play his this season as a Texas Ranger. It could be his last. I might not care.

He met with the media today and started the proceedings by reading a scripture from the Bible. Then he had some very real, very eye-opening statements, most notably this:

"I love Texas. I love my fans. I love fans of the Rangers. I love the organization. I love my teammates. I love everything about it. But I'm not going to sit here and say that I owe the Rangers. I don't feel like I owe the Rangers."

Most potential free agents would be right. Prince Fielder didn't how the Milwaukee Brewers anything. Fielder ain't Hamilton.

Fielder didn't get tossed around the Rule 5 draft. He wasn't essentially given up on by his second team in exchange for one other good prospect (in this case, Edinson Volquez). The Texas Rangers put down a foundation to coddle and comfort Hamilton. They just didn't hope and pray that Hamilton didn't go on a crack-cocaine, they set it up to where Hamilton would need to jump through hoops of fire to relapse.

When he went on a binge in Spring Training several years ago, it was addressed with support and confirmation. When he was at least partly responsible for a man dying at the Ballpark last season, the Rangers gave nothing but support. As Hamilton battled injuries, the team and fans always anticipated his return as we praised his play on the field.

And when he relapsed again a month ago, the Rangers addressed their support clearly.

But Hamilton doesn't think he owes the Rangers a thing. He owes the Rangers a lot.

I'm no idiot. I never expected the Rangers get a "hometown" discount, which happens so rarely that it hardly deserves a term, with Hamilton. He probably has one long-term contract in his career. This is it. This contract will get him into his mid- to late-30s and it will make him and his children and his children's children beyond rich.

Without a doubt, Hamilton's done some of the most phenomenal things on the ball field that I have ever seen. His athleticism is unparalleled. I've never been sold on him long term. After these comments today, after he fell off the wagon again, make me care less all the more.

I'm not fully prepared to judge Hamilton on religious level here, but his comments today, even after reading the Bible, seem about as disingenuous and un-Christlike as you can possibly get. Play the media if you will in order to hold the Rangers' feet to the fire, but don't preach. Don't drag out of the Bible and throw Jesus' name into every other sentence.

I wish Josh the best and apparently know one considers this more of a business than him. Then he will understand our amount of relief when he leaves in the off-season.

Mark Cuban's 'priorities'

2012-02-23T20:03:00.003-06:00

"Priority number one is to win a championship. If there's something that takes up cap room, but puts us over the top, I'm in. We're going to be opportunistic. If it's something good, we'll take advantage of it."

Mark Cuban, the owner and -- let's face it -- general manager of the Dallas Mavericks said that recently.

"Priority number one is to win a championship."

BULL. SHIT.

Outside of Jerry Jones, there's not a guy for full of shit in this town. No one looks between their legs and thinks their shit smells more like roses than Cuban. No one is milking a championship like Cuban.

"Priority number one," Mark, is not winning a championship. No, if that were the priority, or the first priority, then Tyson Chandler is not a New York Knick. Fact.

The priority, as it was nailed into our brain the entire "off-season," was to cut costs in order to ramp up for this coming off-season when Deron Williams and Dwight Howard could be free agents. You couldn't tie up money today for the possibility of driving this franchise into its next stage, post-Dirk.

Chandler was not in the plans for 2013. It's a dumb move. With the NBA in total flux, right now was the time to strike with Dirk, Kidd, Jet and the gang and make another run. Let 2013 take care of itself. Maybe spend a little more effort on the draft. Do something.

However, that's not what happened. We were told by Mark Cuban that the new salary cap and luxury tax rules would force the Mavericks to take a different route in how they built a team and that in order to be competitive IN THE FUTURE, there would be cuts TODAY.

The PRIORITY was not today. It was the FUTURE.

OK, Cuban. You want us to buy into this thing, Williams, Howard, whatever and bite down hard when Chandler goes away? Fine. Fine. Fine. Take your chances this season. Take a bigger chance in free agency. Let's roll. We got our ring.

However, do not treat people like fucking idiots because you're an entitled asshole that thinks ... err ... assumes the sun fucking rises and sets around your white asshole.

What a dick.

The story of the Highland Park basketball player getting drunk

2012-02-23T15:11:00.002-06:00

David Allen did what quite a few 18-year-old high school kids do Feb. 18.

He got drunk.

The circumstances are a bit different. Allen got drunk, decided to drive (sans driver's license) and wrecked into a parked car.

What's more, Allen is the star player for the Highland Park Scots' boys basketball team. He was suspended for the rest of the year. Which happens to be the rest of the playoff run for the team.

I first heard about the story Tuesday night when CBS 11 did a puff piece about how he attended his team's game, apologized for his foolishness and all that jazz.

It should be noted that Highland Park is rich and white. And maybe entitled.

To his credit, he's accepted his punishment. Still, media is falling all over itself to not necessarily defend Allen or anything. Instead, they're diverting the story quite a bit. CBS 11 did a story about how stand up the kid is despite the fact that he's a total turd for betraying his team during the most crucial point in the season.

D Magazine brought up a good point: Is there a difference between printing the name of an 18-year-old high school student and an 18-year-old kid not in school? Also, is the only reason it's a story due to the fact that he's the star player on the basketball team?

It's a good point. It still takes away from the point, which is that an underage kid got drunk, drove and crashed his car, putting anyone in the area in danger.

Even if we never knew he was arrested, Allen would still be suspended (we hope) and there would have been a story out about how Allen is out because of "detrimental behavior" or whatever. Thing is, the media covers Highland Park and other schools during the season. There's feature stories and box scores published. Allen's story about getting drunk and arrested was not released because he's the star player but because he's 18, and an adult in the eyes of the law.

Like, had Allen drank, drove and killed a family of four. That probably would have been published too.

Texas Rangers Spring Training

2012-02-23T11:31:00.004-06:00

To the dogs

Spring Training for the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers began yesterday with pitchers and catchers arriving.

Things are tingling. As Mike Rhyner said yesterday, the grind starts. The Spring Training games, the 162 and, hopefully, a long journey into the fall. It all starts with Neal Cotts, Joe Beimel, Conor Jackson and Sean Green.

Most Spring Training rosters can be divided up pretty cleanly into five categories.

For Sures
The usual suspects.
Mike Adams
Yu Darvish
Scott Feldman
Neftali Feliz
Matt Harrison
Derek Holland
Colby Lewis
Mark Lowe
Joe Nathan
Alexi Ogando
Yoshi Tateyama
Koji Uehara
Mike Napoli
Yorvit Torrealba
Elvis Andrus
Adrian Beltre
Ian Kinsler
Mitch Moreland
Nelson Cruz
Craig Gentry
Josh Hamilton
David Murphy
Mike Young

Getting A Taste
Prospects with definite promise Very unlikely to make 40-man or 25-man. But worth a look.
Mike Olt
Tommy Mendonca
Robbie Ross
Roman Mendez
Justin Miller
Wilmer Font
Matt West
Neil Ramirez
Engel Beltre

Kicking The Tires
Veterans with "substantial" Major League experience looking for a gig.
Kelvin De La Cruz
Luis Martinez
Brandon Snyder
Neal Cotts
Joe Beimel
Sean Green
Greg Reynolds
Mitch Stetter
Chris Robinson
Alberto Gonzalez
Brad Hawpe
Conor Jackson
Luis Hernandez

Lurking
Youngish prospects with limited or no Major League experience. Just on the bubble of 25-man. Probably an injury away. Typically these guys have promise.
Jacob Brigham
Miguel De Los Santos
Cody Eppley
Mark Hamburger
Michael Kirkman
Martin Perez
Julio Borbon
Leonys Martin
Tanner Scheppers
Fabio Castillo

Triple A Fodder
No offense. Youngish guys, mostly free agents, with limited Major League experience hoping to latch on to a club. Typically these guys' ceilings are limited.
Yangervis Solarte
Greg Miclat
Ben Snyder
Kyle Hudson

Give up

2012-02-23T10:40:00.004-06:00

Bump

On paper, it looked like the Dallas Mavericks really took it to the Los Angeles Lakers last night.

In reality, it was the Lakers playing poorly ... but not as poorly as the Mavericks. The Lakers won 96-91 sending Dallas into the All-Stars break on a loss.

No big deal really. The Mavericks' effort was buoyed only by 17 Laker turnovers and 13 missed free throws. Those were the only reason the Mavs were in the game.

The Lakers shot 46 percent from the field. The Mavericks attempted 16 free throws at home because they attempted 32 three-pointers.

And it wasn't like they were going on. Vince Carter was the "hottest" shooter hitting three of his seven attempts.

It was a lackluster effort. I'm sure those tired, old bodies are aching for a couple of days off to rest the backs and knees. And that's OK I guess.

Still, it was the Lakers at home and they mailed it in. It was the Knicks at the Garden in front of the entire nation. Maybe the Mavericks don't care about these microscope games. The Knicks and Lakers needed those games more than the Mavericks and I guess that's enough to hang your hat on.

Notes:
1. I would not mind another week off for Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion. Marion looks battered at times and he admitted as such. The Mavericks need to find an option in guarding the small guards. That can't fall on Marion at this point. It makes it even crazier that the Mavericks didn't throw a one-year deal at DeShawn Stevenson.

2. Yi Jianlian has lapped Ian Mahinmi on the depth chart? What did Mahinmi do, sleep with Rick Carlisle's daughter? Geesh.

3. Hmmm. Lamar Odom is out with "family" issues as his former team comes rolling in? Probably coincidence, but it's super easy to throw the "family" thing out there and watch the media scatter in fear.

4. Did Carlisle still defend Odom even after he didn't play?

5. That was Pau Gasol and Andy Bynum eating Brendan Haywood and Dirk Nowitzki's lunches, puking it back up, inviting their mothers over and eating a whole different set of lunches. But Haywood's awesome. He clogs up the lane!

Trading Shawn Marion

2012-02-22T08:31:00.003-06:00

You can't close The Matrix, you can only trade him to make cap room for someone better

The Dallas Mavericks have a very tough three weeks to figure things out.

Right now, they're 21-12 and I still think -- despite their clear deficiencies -- that when you list the contenders in the NBA that the Mavericks are still in the conversation. Considering, that's pretty good.

And despite everything, the Mavericks are in an advantageous position in the off-season. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry are coming off the books. Lamar Odom and Vince Carter have non-guaranteed money. That leaves three significant contracts -- Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood, Shawn Marion -- on the books for 2012-13 and a amnesty clause in their pocket.

With all the savings, that's about $40 million coming off the books next season (assuming they will amnesty Haywood -- which seems crazy since he's so fucking AWESOME!), which will be used to lure Dwight Howard and Deron Williams in free agency.

I think Williams is a legit possibility. I think Howard is more of a pipe dream. Getting both seems wildly insane.

The odd duck, seemingly, is Shawn Marion. The veteran forward is due $8.3 million and $9 million the next. If you've read this blog for any amount of time with any eye for detail, you know I've championed Marion for the last two seasons. He was the third-best Maverick in the championship run and he's been the best Maverick this season. If you were handing out an MVP trophy today, it'd go to Marion.

He's opportunistically offensive and his defense is out of this world. Something -- maybe from Kidd, Dirk -- infected the guy and he's given his career a second life. It's seem unconscionable trading him. Yet, it could very well happen.

If Marion were traded, free agency hit, Haywood was jettisoned and Odom and Carter were not brought back, that would leave Nowitzki ($20 million) and Roddy Beaubois and Dom Jones ($3.4 million combined) as the only Mavericks under contract next season (Brandan Wright has a team option for $947K, which I assume they'll pick up).

OK. You want Howard and Williams and trading Marion is the way to make that happen, it feels like fait accompli that all of this is going to go down. However, the minute you trade Marion you are giving up on the 2011-12 season, for whatever that means.

If you trade Marion, you know that Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and everyone else knows that this team presently constructed can not probably win a championship. As much as I agree, why not show a little effort? This is probably Kidd's last season -- at least with the Mavs -- and who knows what happens to Terry (I think the Mavs would re-sign him). This may be their last hurrah and management is merely willing and ready to flush it down the toilet for a shot at the big stars.

The problem I have with this is that A) no one preaches the "we are a family, these are my guys" more than Cuban; and B) superstars didn't win this team a world championship. Yes, Dirk is a superstar, but he's also a guy that's been ridiculed for being soft for most of his career. He's become a star almost despite himself and expectations. However, the rest of the bunch are a bunch of castaways and guys on their way out. All good, all professional and all know how to win. But none of them were given much of a shot by the rest of the league. Then they went out and shocked the world and beat the evil triumvirate in Miami.

If the Mavs make these moves (some have them shipping Marion out for Michael Beasley) and wind up getting Howard and Williams along with Dirk, how is this any different from Miami in 2010?

It's a business, I guess.

If you've wondered what makes Lamar Odom care about something

2012-02-20T13:26:00.001-06:00

Let the right one Lin

2012-02-20T10:42:00.003-06:00

Lin

Jeremy Lin simply carved up the Dallas Mavericks helping the New York Knicks win 104-97.

Not to take away from the story here, but young, athletic point guards giving the Mavericks fits isn't new news. Shit. That's the buried lead here.

Fact is, for the most part, eight Knicks outplayed nine Mavericks. The Knicks wanted it more. It was pretty clear, even when the Knicks were choking down a third-quarter lead. Hey, Dirk Nowitzki will do that to you. He'll do it some more and he's done it against better teams.

However, when you're on top, folks are gonna gun for you. It's what has been sort of disappointing about the Mavericks starting from the brief off-season: It doesn't seem like defending the title is very important. Lamar Odom could give a shit. Dirk Nowitzki, let's be honest, mailed in his off-season and came in out of shape. Mark Cuban's too wrapped up in making a splash in a couple of months with Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

No one cares about 2012. And that's sad.

The Mavericks were beat in front of a national audience, a huge TV pull mostly thanks to Lin, and although they're not the lead in most stories, locally we know the Mavericks were show up yesterday morning.

At different times, J.R. Smith, Landry Fields, Lin, Steve Novak and Tyson Chandler all gave the Mavericks fits and trouble. Chandler showed everything that we are missing: Toughness, quick feet, edge. Everything that Brendan Haywood is not.

I didn't think the 2010-11 Mavericks had a title run in them. I don't think the 2011-12 squad is any different. I think last year's Mavericks kills this year's Mavericks. I don't think this can be denied nor is it a state secret.

We trudge on hoping things take shape.

****
While we are at it, what are the Mavericks thinking at this point with Lamar Odom?

If we wanted to compartmentalize yesterday's loss and pin it on one guy, it's Odom, right? He was pathetic. He managed a -17 in 19 minutes, which is tough to do. He was somewhere between apathetic and awful. I can take awful. I can't handle uncaring and awful.

At best, he "figures" it out, realizes he's in Dallas for at least three more months and then he can go where he wants.

At worst ... well ... we're there. This is the worst that can happen.

Do you realize you're going to pay him anyway and play him? Do you trade him as an expiring contract? Do you nail him to the end of the bench?

Just an awful situation.

The only thing that makes any sense to me anymore

2012-02-20T08:45:00.003-06:00

Occupy the booger

It's a crazy, mixed-up world out there. Luckily, someone on Facebook is making it clear again.

When I saw this -- "Occupy Valley Ranch" -- I knew I'd found a cause I could really get behind. It's no secret that Jerry Jones has turned the Dallas Cowboys -- one of the most successful, popular franchises in sports -- into a rudderless vanity project for the wildcatting billionaire.

It's turned me into a non-fan and has, no doubt, done the same to thousands of others. It's not that the Cowboys can't find a good enough general manager, who will make wise decisions with personnel and coaching.

The problem is simple: The owner is the general manager and the former isn't firing the latter for anything.

It's quite simply one of the most bizarre arrangements in the history of organized athletics and, yet, the most anyone can say about it is, "That's the way it is. It will never change."

Fuck that. That's retarded.

That's like getting 100 speeding tickets and shrugging your shoulders and saying, "That's the way it is. I can't quit going fast."

Now, you might point out speeding is an individual decision. The Dallas Cowboys are a multi-billionaire dollar organization ran by hundreds involving players making millions and sponsors and ownership making billions.

Let me tell you something fans: The day that there are 20,000 fans in that atrocity of a sporting stadium off I-30 in Arlington on a Sunday afternoon in October is a day Jerry Jones will take to heart.

Problem is, you assholes that complain and bitch are the same assholes feeding the monster. This is not an organization built for the purpose of winning. Yes, I'm 100 percent Jerry Jones wants to win. But he wants to win on his terms. And his terms are retarded and not working.

So, Occupy Valley Ranch if you dare.

Koji Uehara vetoes report that he wants his situation handled

2012-02-19T19:36:00.003-06:00

Scarlett Uehara

Reliever Koji Uehara's been on the trading block for several months. A reported deal with the Oakland Athletics was supposed to go down over the weekend.

It's Sunday night and all is quiet on the AL West front. Uehara had the audacity to go to the media and state that he'd like his situation cleared up soon. So would the Rangers.

That's why they've been trying to trade him for several weeks, but Uehara blocked a trade to Toronto. He apparently has a yen for Baltimore and there's no clear indication that he would accept a deal to Oakland.

Honestly, I think it sort of stinks that the Rangers are giving up on Uehara, who had a very poor final half of the season after coming over from Baltimore. He was a virtual non-entity in the post-season. Still, he's a valuable right hander that can get both righties and lefties out. It's relatively unexplained why Uehara sucked outside of Evan Grant stating that the transition from the trade wasn't very good.

If he wants to go back to Baltimore, you have to assume he never wanted to leave in the first place. Maybe not worth trying to save, which I guess is the general idea.

Random Texas Rangers Baseball Card of the Day

2012-02-18T16:49:00.002-06:00

In honor of the start of Spring Training, I present you Scott Fletcher.

Dirk

2012-02-17T22:02:00.005-06:00

Lamar, Lamar: When you gonna wake up?

Give the Dallas Mavericks credit: At times, they can put on a clinic.

Out of nowhere -- in a quarter they typically tank ... the third -- the Mavs allowed a lowly eight points on the road to the Philadelphia 76ers. The 16-point differential in the quarter give the Mavericks a brilliant comeback, a two-point edge in the game and, eventually, the win, 82-75.

The 76ers scored 24 in the second half. Dirk Nowitzki matched them with 24 of his own in the second half. He notched probably his best game of the year -- despite shooting like shit in the first half -- with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Typically the double-double machine in his career, Nowitzki's rebounding numbers have drastically plummeted the last two season. He has double-digit rebounds in just three games. His season-high was 13 in January against the Spurs.

Otherwise, it was Maverick defense locking down on the road. The 76ers' backcourt went 0-12. The team shot 33 percent. The starting five went 10-39.

The Mavericks have won six straight and are nine games over .500. Still, they're second in the Southwest Division thanks to the Spurs winning nine straight ... very, very quietly.

Notes:
1. You'd think at some point Lamar Odom would realize he's a part of something, at least for this year, and get his head right.

2. Amber Alert: Ian Mahinmi.

3. It's good that Dom Jones can get minutes and produce. He was not great overall. Was able to score a little.

4. The Mavs are 8-6 on the road. Stealing one without three of your top four guards on the road against a good team means something.

RIP, Gary Carter

2012-02-16T22:17:00.002-06:00

Kid

Former New York Mets and Montreal Expos great Gary Carter, 57, died today no thanks to brain cancer.

A stalwart of my youth, I'll always know him as a Met, which ironically was the start of the trail off of his career. From as far back as I can remember, any discussion about catching began and ended with Gary Carter.

Curly headed and smiling, he looked like a long-lost uncle.

See ya at the crossroads, Kid.

The dismantling begins

2012-02-16T20:04:00.003-06:00

Stay hard, Nick

A day after the Dallas Stars fell significantly short in Detroit and it was pretty obvious to most that the nail had been hammered into the coffin, the Dallas Stars' unloading has begun.

The Stars shipped defenseman Nick Grossman to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second-round 2012 draft pick and a third-rounder in 2013. Knowing next to nothing about the value of NHL draft picks, I defer to Defending Big D's Brandon Worley, who surmises that it's a good booty for the 27-year-old blue liner.

Honestly, sounds a lot like the 2007 amateur draft for the Texas Rangers when they acquired two first rounders and three supplemental first rounders in what was considered a really nice draft in A) restocking the minors and B) acquiring big-league talent.

As for Grossman, he was an unrestricted free agent after the season and was unlikely to return to the Stars. At 6-4 and about 230, you'd think he would have been a unholy terror on the ice. Instead, he was more of a gentle giant. Almost the opposite of Derian Hatcher. Nonetheless, he was good -- probably the Stars' better defensemen.

He made his debut in 2007 the same year as Mark Fistric and Matt Niskanen -- the core of new, young talent on the blue line that helped the Stars into an unpredicted Western Conference Finals. None of that talent has necessarily panned out. Niskanen flopped around and was sent to Pittsburgh last year. Grossman played well, rarely made mistakes and turned into a really good penalty-killer, but he can't handle the puck and he's not throwing his body around. I've always like Grossman. But he never blew my skirt up.

Anyway, the Stars have showed their hand a little. Expect more moves and watch out for the talent in the minors that might finally get some ice time.

The unsecret: Deron Williams and the Dallas Mavericks

2012-02-16T10:22:00.004-06:00

It's on the Internet, so it must be true

An actual footnote from Bill Simmons' NBA All-Star column last week should have perked every ear in the League and Dallas-Fort Worth:

"We're all supposed to pretend this might not happen even though it's a bigger summer lock than Michael Phelps winning a gold medal. I haven't talked to one person 'In the Know' who isn't 100 percent convinced that Dallas is getting him. But let's all keep pretending this isn't true."

Yes. Bill Simmons is saying that Deron Williams is coming to the Dallas Mavericks.

Clearly, no details on if Williams is talking off the record or if Mark Cuban is doing the same. Someone's talking and Simmons' statement is so cryptic and "wink-wink" that it seems pretty legitimate (and the fact that it appears that he's pretty tied in with NBA folks, media and management).

This was the plan. Clear out Tyson Chandler, get Jason Kidd and Jason Terry off the books, and load up for another two- or three-year run with Dirk Nowitzki.

The debate stands now as to whether Nowitzki needs a point guard or a defensive center. Chandler clearly made a huge impact without significant points, something Williams provides. A defensive bookend in the frontcourt with Nowitzki seems the best option and that could include an expensive option like Dwight Howard or maybe Cuban and Donnie Nelson have a cheaper option in mind.

Is Williams worth it? I think he's a swell player. I also think he's a lead dog on a bad team or a pack runner on a good team. On the Mavericks, the game would still run through Dirk with Williams being a secondary option. I'm not in love with Williams. He's really good. I don't know if he's good enough to win a championship, even with Dirk.

Also, this brings up another point: Will the Mavericks bring back Jason Terry? Unless he completely falls off this season, he's good for a two- or three-year contract, right? He's a useful bench guy, instant offense and a part of what the Mavericks built here. Will they let him walk? As the world turns.

Mark Cuban pays $40K to get an infinite amount of respect

2012-02-16T09:00:00.004-06:00

As I sit in my mom's basement and rattle off half-cocked opinions about meaningless sports, I'd like to think I give folks a relatively fair shake.

I explain myself. I extol virtue and condemn malfeasance on equal footing. I think.

I'm no fan of Mark Cuban. He's a self-promoting, grandstanding, crybaby egoist. I love that he bought my favorite basketball team. I don't necessarily like the way he carries himself publicly.

Then he does this: He bails out Dallas' only decent tradition.

The annual Greenville Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade -- ironically it's one of the city's most popular and well-done events despite Dallas not being overtly Irish ... but instead incredibly alcoholic -- was in peril. Escalating costs had placed the Greenville Avenue Area Business Association in a bad spot: They could no longer afford to do the parade, which is a huge boon for that area in addition to being one of the two or three things that make Dallas a cool city.

They were $40,000 short. Swoops in Cuban. He's pledged to put up the remaining cash needed for this year's parade.

The cynic in me would say that Cuban was again scrapping for headlines. However, I don't feel that way. I just feel like Cuban's giving back to the city that's supported him and his basketball franchise and the people that have filled the American Airlines Center, bought Marquis Daniels jerseys and crowded into downtown Dallas last summer has the Mavericks were paraded through downtown.

To my knowledge, this isn't a tax write-off. He also gave another $25,000 to the Dallas ISD scholarship fund, which usually benefits from the parade's profits. This is just Cuban being a sweet, sweet guy -- giving back to the city and the people that love and support him.

That's admirable to me. Cuban is media and publicity savvy to a fault. It's part of the reason he drives some nuts. Yes, it's a public relations move. But no one cares. Because at the heart, it's just Cuban doing this city a solid. He's a citizen, who happens to own a basketball franchise.

Comin' correct: TCU and drugs

2012-02-16T08:41:00.003-06:00

The story broke yesterday morning: 17 individuals (now 18), mostly students, were arrested in a drug sting operation at Texas Christian University.

The drugs: Pot, coke, X, fake acid and other narcotics.

The rub: Four of those arrested were TCU football players including stand-out linebacker Tanner Brock.

The other rub: Head football coach Gary Patterson had his team take a drug test on Feb. 1 and according to one source 82 players failed. Brock said to an undercover cop that 60 people would be "screwed" with a drug test.

Here is what we know that the media stories are not telling us (because they shouldn't):

1. There is not a college or university in the nation that you couldn't arrest 17 people for dealing drugs. I'll go ahead and say 99 percent have and equally "bad" issue with drugs if not worse. And I could be wrong about that one percent.

2. TCU and Fort Worth cops are basically OK with making a low-level bust on a bunch of kids.

Hey, we've seen "The Wire." We know how this goes. You can take the easy way out, do some hand-to-hands, make some busts, put the money, guns and drugs on the table and let the media take pictures while you grandstand behind a podium.

That is what TCU and Fort Worth and any other law enforcement agency involved is doing. Grandstanding.

Basically, they busted Bodie, Poot and Wallace -- the corner boys selling a dimebag to some stoners in a parking lot. By all accounts, there's nothing major about the quantity of drugs being pushed here. Not like catching Nate Newton with a truck bed full of weed. This is minor junk: College kids getting high.

Hell, TCU-Fort Worth didn't even get Wee Bey, Stinkum, Savino, Cheese, D'Angelo or any mid-level players. By all accounts, they're not even sniffing the Avon Barksdale, Stringer Bell or The Greek of this operation. You go high enough up and you'll find those guys.

I'm not condoning drug use or distribution or anything. I do think it's overprosecuted and we tend to overreact to drugs. However, a law is a law and those drugs or the way they're doled out is illegal.

However, this is no shining moment for drug law enforcement. TCU hasn't rid themselves of a problem -- just 15 tuition-paying students and four football players. There's going to be 15 others willing to take their place. Stand behind that table where you've piled all the drugs and grandstand. It doesn't matter.

You've essentially re-confirmed what we already all know, assume and lived through. You busted a bunch of kids (ages 19-21), who will either plead down or spend a couple years in jail and parole out in 18 months. You've certainly put a major roadblock in their lives, but by no means are their lives ending.

Poot isn't your problem. Stringer Bell is and the university, city and media are ignoring this.

Blow it up

2012-02-15T19:32:00.005-06:00

Who can't use a spare Ribs?

The tide turned when the Dallas Stars fell to the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 last night (giving the hated Wings their 21st straight home win, an NHL record).

It was poetic, sorta. The Stars are not very good. They've had zero momentum in a month and a half and they're 3-4-1 in February and there's little to think that there's a heck of a whole lot left in the tank.

Seeing it against Los Angeles or Vancouver is one thing. Seeing the talent and skill disparity in Detroit last night is another. The Stars can't hold Detroit's jock. I didn't think the Stars, as much as I love them, were making the playoffs three weeks ago. They sure as hell ain't making it now.

"It's time to sell," I said last night.

I'm no hockey expert in the least. I don't need to be to know how ordinary this team is. Thankfully, Bob Sturm has the same idea. He advocates listening on offers for anyone not named Jamie, Loui, Alex and Kari.

Cleaning house. And I have no problem with this.

The Stars, I think, are dangerously close to falling in love all over again. The first time it was for the guys from the 1990s when they hung on to Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov, Jere Lehtinen and others far too long.

I think the Stars and GM Joe Nieuwendyk must avoid the same trap with the likes of Brenden Morrow, Steve Ott, Stephane Robidas and Mike Ribeiro, especially the former two. Ott and Morrow are fan favorites. They deserve all the praise in the world. But those guys are not pieces the Stars can rely on for 2013, 2014 and 2015.

I think Mike Ryder, Ott, Radek Dvorak, Vern Fiddler, Sheldon Souray, Adam Burish, Eric Nystrom, Ribs, Morrow and Robidas have a lot of trade value -- all salty veterans some of whom (Ryder, Burish) have played for the Stanley Cup the last two years.

On the other hand, you can't give guys away. Nieuwendyk's prowess as a general manager will be tested. He needs to get maximum value on guys. Know when to bite and know when to lay off. Know who will help you and who want.

Get younger and more skilled. Get guys that will create a nucleus, not unlike the Rangers, that will win in two years. Let 2012-13 be gravy. Don't feel like it's the playoffs or bust every season. Let the game come to you.

What if the Dallas Mavericks kept Jeremy Lin

2012-02-13T18:54:00.004-06:00

To all the D-Leaguers I've loved before

Every NBA team passed on Jeremy Lin. Not all of them gave them a shot.

The Dallas Mavericks did. Donnie Nelson was the only general manager to give Lin an invite to the Summer League in 2010 when he wowed crowds and pantsed No. 1 pick John Wall.

The Mavs were one of only a few teams to give Lin a contract offer. Apparently, several teams offered Lin more than the Golden State Warriors' two years with half of his first year's $500K guaranteed. I assume the Mavericks offered him enough to stay.

He liked the guaranteed money and playing in Oakland not far from his hometown of Palo Alto. It was a fine decision for him. He would have been buried on the Mavericks' bench and I doubt he gets more than the 29 games and 10 minutes a game he got in Golden State.

A year later, he's the biggest phenomenon in the NBA and probably professional sports. At least for the moment.

I do remember that summer in Las Vegas. The reports, the tape and the stats said a lot about the Chinese kid from Harvard -- the undrafted hotshot. He averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals a game. He was big (6-3, 200), athletic and spry. Based on his Harvard education, you would assume he's a smart player and can easily pick up new things.

Lin left for Golden State and the Mavericks started their season with this roster: Dirk, JET, Caron Butler, Kidd, Roddy B, Dom Dom Jones, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Brendan Haywood, Joe John Barea, Ian Mahinmi, The Custodian and Steve Novak.

Steve Novak. He was No. 12. He was the guy that'd be walking the streets if Lin had decided to throw the team that invited him to Vegas a bone.

Chances are, as noted, Rick Carlisle probably doesn't move Lin up much. Being smart, Lin probably would have gotten more chances than a developing and mysterious-injured Roddy B or an underwhelming Jones. Otherwise, Lin would have needed to leap those guys, Barea, Terry and Kidd for guard minutes.

Lin, by all accounts, was a Barea starter kit. An undrafted go-getter. Lin's a lot more. For one, he's smarter. Two, he's a lot bigger. You wouldn't be giving up size and getting just as much effort.

Fast forward to this December, as the NBA thawed from its nuclear winter and Barea found himself in Minnesota. Lin would have automatically moved up the ladder and even Carlisle is smart enough to see the spark in Lin, especially over Jones and with Beaubois remaining inconsistent and Kidd fighting off injuries.

As reticent as Carlisle is in letting youngsters grow, I really feel Lin would have garnered quite a bit of trust over time, not unlike what Barea was able to do. Had Lin stuck around, I think he would have shot up the ladder with Barea's departure and wound up in the rotation at guard and maybe would have not necessitated a move fore Delonte West.

All of this is guesswork, however. Lin did not come to the Mavericks. He took a different path and he is now today a phenomenon that's spanning fandom and the general public. He's otherworldly for the moment. He would have made a great Maverick though.

Free agency: Dallas Cowboys and destiny

2012-02-13T12:07:00.003-06:00

Laurent Robinson Predictions: Patriots, Bucs, Rams, Vikings or Seahawks

The Dallas Cowboys enter the off-season with a hell of a lot of question and not many answers.

They're a weird team. Almost stuck in this purgatory of 8-8. I think the positions they have figured out are really figured out. Like Tony Romo at quarterback is without a doubt the quarterback.

The positions that need addressing really need to be addressed. See: Secondary.

The Dallas Cowboys not only have existing needs, but they have a fair amount of free agents. Nothing blockbuster, I don't think, but guys that did get quite a few snaps. Those guys will need to be replaced one way or the other.

Now, you'd assume that the Cowboys have a plan. Do you really think Jerry Jones has this all coordinated? If the last 20 years is any indication, we all know the answer.

The Dallas Cowboys' unrestricted free agents:

Bradie James
Boy, did his stock drop or what? He's not that old and yet his snaps plummeted and it was clear that he was always a step behind. Hell, maybe he was always not very good and we just couldn't tell the difference. He's too expensive to keep as a part-time inside linebacker.

Keith Brooking
He'll get the good solider send-off. A Wade Phillips guy that was pushed to the side pretty quickly. It's odd how fast his game vanished after that first season. Or maybe he wasn't that great to begin with. Maybe he had the legs for one more quality season. And, yes, the Cowboys will be losing two inside linebackers.

Alan Ball
No way you can bring Ball back after weeks 16 and 17 of the season. He was abused and picked on regularly and with great aplomb in just about any and every scenario imaginable. Granted, he was thrust into a starting role due to injuries. Maybe as a fourth corner he's fantastic. I do think some dumb team will wind up giving him years and cash and I'd let him walk.

Martellus Bennett
Like Ball, Bennett may find someone willing to pay enough money to see if he needs a simple change of scenery. I also think the only reason Marty B has made it this long on the Cowboys is due to his effectiveness in two tight end sets and John Phillips' season-ending injury in 2010. Plus, he was insanely cheap. Otherwise, he's gone already. Some dumb team will give Bennett a payday.

Abram Elam
He'll be back. A Rob Ryan guy, who never over- or underwhelmed anyone. Prediction: He'll fall into the Gerald Sensabaugh (a Dave Campo guy) cycle of always sticking around because he's just effective enough for the price.

Anthony Spencer
Last season the Cowboys went pretty deep into free agency (not that long although it was truncated) watching high-profile defensive linemen fall to other teams before re-signing Marcus Spears and Jason Hatcher. Watch for that here. Maybe the Cowboys kick the tires of a couple of expensive guys before "settling" for Spencer at a lower price.

Mat McBriar
He recently had a cyst taken out of his foot. I don't know if the cyst caused the "drop foot" or if it was a misdiagnosis. Without (pardon the pun) a leg to stand on, I doubt McBriar will have much negotiating power and we know that Jerry Jones loves him a cheap kicker. Maybe a bargain basement steal.

Derrick Dockery/Montrae Holland
I thought both were effective in a back-up, fill-in role and I think both will go to the highest bidder. Cheap enough and they stay with the Cowboys especially considering I think the Cowboys might make some cuts along the front, thinning things out.

Laurent Robinson
How much do you tie into a third receiver? Robinson's about to cash in for a career year. He has no allegiances to the Cowboys, although I'm sure he's thankful for the shot. He'll never be a No. 1 in Dallas, although he could put up numbers equal to that of 2011. The only numbers, however, that I think he cares about come on a check.

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.