Good stuff ahead for the Rangers?

One of our favorite Dallas sports bloggers, the great Richie Whitt, keeper of the Soon-To-Be-Great Sportatorium over at the Observer (and the links list over there on the left), posits that there is a whole lot to look forward to in Rangers baseball, both in the short and longer terms.

Why, you ask?

Because, retorts RW, new Rangers’ owner Chuck Greenberg reminds him a heck of a lot of a certain other casually dressed Pittsburghian (Pittsburgher?) who took over a moribund Dallas sports franchise and turned it into a winner seemingly overnight.

Yep, Richie sees a lot of Mark Cuban in this guy.

This is, perhaps, too lofty a dream for long-suffering Ranger fans. Its too much for me to buy into sight-unseen. But, you know, what if…?

Stay sportsy, my friends

Oh so much to talk about here in Sportsville. I have been neglectful. But no more. Onward!


Rangers

Our formerly-red-shoed Rangers have done the near-impossible this season. They have kept us entertained past the start of the regular NFL season. This has never, to my thinking, happened before.

So much to be excited about regarding this team! Young pitchers who throw hard as hell, and who seem to know how to pitch as well. Young position players who can play their positions, hit reasonably well, run the bases (some blazingly fast). A nice mix of veterans to provide some wisdom.

And, at the head of it all, the Old-Skool Brother, Ron Washington.

Can it be? It's late Sept and I really should be back in school. Er, no. Not what I meant. It's late Sept and and we are still waxing rhapsodic about the Texas Rangers? We are. This has been the most entertaining baseball season I have experienced since the Red Sox of 1986.

Thank you, Nolan Ryan, Jon Daniels, and the rest. If Big Dumb Tom can sell the team to someone with some dough, next year may be even better.


University of Texas football

I've got the same feeling I had at the start of the season in 2005. Remember, I didn't start to get totally on board until after the Ohio State game that year. This year's schedule holds no similar out-of-conference test, so it will be Oct 17th's annual showdown with Oklahoma before I start to mention the "C" word (not THAT "C" word, you pervert) around here. But the cards seem to be falling into the right places, don't they?

By the way, did you see McCoy complete that pass to Shipley aboard a boat going 45 mph on the telecast this past weekend? Whoever thought that little stunt up needs to be keelhauled. Have you ever tried to stand in a small boat at speed? It ain't easy, and I thought it would not have taken much to knock Shipley right over the side. Maybe he was strapped in or something, but, man, I cringed!

At any rate, this season is off to a good start. That's all I'm saying right now.


Cowboys

Um, oh dear. Uh-oh? Maybe? I dunno.

I missed the opener against Tampa Bay, but it seems like it was a good one. However, I think we're seeing Tampa Bay is one of the worst teams in the league.

The Giants are clearly one of the best, and the Cowboys did seem to have the upper hand throughout the game. But...

But what's up with this Wade Phillips defense? There has been minimal pressure, even when they bring six guys. What happened to the swarming, scary-ass defense we saw at times down the stretch last year? Were Greg Ellis and Kevin Burnett really that important? I will certainly go on record as saying Kevin Burnett is a MUCH more attractive option than Bobby Carpenter. How is that guy still on this team?

The Cowboy defense looked a lot like it did in the doldrums of the Pear-Shaped Football Genius' tenure - unable to make a stop, unable to make tackles, and unable to get off the field when it really matters.

But what's up with Romo? Did he just have a one-game brain fart? Or his inconsistency becoming a consistent? It's feast or famine with this guy - he doesn't have many so-so games. And history is beginning to suggest the bigger the stage, the more likely he's going to toss out a clunker. When do we call it a trend?

The running game looks to be, potentially, something serious. Barber is hurt already, which isn't good. But it seems mild, and I thought the Cowboys could have had 300 yards plus if they had just kept running it.

The new kickoff guy seems to have worked out. The last time a Cowboy reached the end zone off a tee, he was holding a 1-iron, so it was good to see a few kickoffs get into the neighborhood. Still, a punter and two kickers? Wouldn't you really rather have another left tackle on the roster?

And let's talk for just a moment about the colossal, shiny Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, shall we? I absolutely LOVE The Ticket's nickname for it: The Death Star. I hope it sticks. It's perfect. In a world turning more Idiocracy by the minute, the Death Star only speeds us on our way to a Costco world. Sure, its a showplace. Sure, its going to get TONS of positive press. But do we really need 100,000 people crammed into a stadium to watch a football game on the world's largest TV screen? Personally, I am embarrassed by the place. It's too much for me. And it's in Arlington.

That last bit did sound a bit good-old-days-ish, didn't it? Maybe a bit curmudgeonly? Well, too bad. Look at the title bar of this blog, you ninny.

And now that I have managed to disparage both Jerry Jones and my readership, I bid you a fond farewell.

Aloha, Spicolli.

A day full of hope

April again, and a new baseball season is upon us. There are differences between April 2009 and Aprils of the recent past. I think there's reason to hope for a reasonably entertaining and satisfying season.

I can say this on April 5. Will I be saying the same thing on June 5?

So, what is different? Some minor stuff, and one critical, critical element. Allow me to elaborate.

I like this infield. A lot. The addition of ultra-prospect Elvis Andrus at SS, accompanied by Mike Young's move to 3B, and what should be a settled arrangement at 1B, solidifies things defensively. None of these guys are Tinker, Evers, or Chance, but, if the hype is to be believed, Andrus has a chance to star in his own poem and the whole bunch ought to improve over last year's butcher shop. The law of averages nearly ensures steadier fielding after last year's anti-clinic, right?

Offensively, the infield should be set for a pretty good, if not spectacular year. Young, Kinsler, Davis, and Saltalamacchia ought to produce some hits.

The outfield is OK, I think. I don't know that Andruw Jones has much left, but Rudy seems to think he's got plenty. I am still not sure if Rudy Jaramillio is Batting Cage Jesus or the most overrated dude to ever apply pine tar - if he's so great, how come this team hasn't hit with men in scoring position since the Clinton Administration? Either way, he seems to get some respect around the league, and if he says take a look at Jones, we probably ought to wait until at least early May before we run him out of town.

The biggest change, the biggest difference between today and the last 5 or 6 Opening Days is the state of the pitching staff. No, Walter Johnson and Cy Young have not returned from beyond the grave to don Ranger blue and red. We can look forward to mostly the same guys who have spared us to death over recent campaigns. However, for a change, we did not see a catastrophic injury in spring training. Shockingly, the Rangers start the season with the entire staff on the active roster.

This is a near-miracle. I mean, really. Not Parting of the Red Sea (how timely, yeah?), but pretty amazing.

Does this mean Millwood, Padilla, McCarthy, et al are going to throw strikes? No, that remains to be seen. But the fact they're available at the start of the season is beyond encouraging.

All in all, despite the 50-degree chill in the air (and the freeze warning for tonight - alas for my newly-planted snapdragons!), I would like to be fighting traffic on Collins today in an effort to catch me some Opening Day festivities!

Gay-Rod did 'roids with the Rangers?

I am shocked, shocked!, to hear Alex "Gay-Rod" Rodriguez apparently tested positive for steroid use back in 2003 when he was with the Rangers.

It sounds like the late 90's/early 00's Ranger clubhouse was the world's busiest pharmacy. Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, and, of course, Canseco, and God-knows who else, were all apparently juicing like crazy, so it's not exactly the biggest surprise ever that Gay-Rod was following suit.

There's no way we're ever going to get a clear understanding of who was juicing and who wasn't in those days. It's sad to say, but every record and statistic for the ten-year period 1995-2005 needs to be questioned. And yet the American fan (and I include myself in this category) looks forward to spring training with optimism and enthusiasm.

It's enough to turn one into a cynic.

Atlanta has soured on Tex

In today's Atlanta Journal Constitution Braves blog, David O'Brien is contemplating what it would take to send Mark (Big Tex) Teixeira packing. His views sound just like all of ours this time last year.

O'Brien has figured out that Tex, while a stat-producer of massive proportions, is not a clutch guy, does not even resemble a team leader, and is all-business/no-passion.

Hell, Dave, any Rangers' fan could have told you all that just as soon as the ink was dry on last year's trade.

We've given Doogie some major grief for failed trades (Soriano for Wilkerson/Sledge/Galarraga, Young/Gonzales for Eaton/Otsuka - makes my head hurt just thinking about 'em), but we have failed to give credit for last year's absolute fleecing of the Braves. Miserable Mark and Ron Mahay for Saltalamacchia, Harrison, Andrus, and Feliz will go down as the most one-sided trade seen in these parts since the Herschel Walker deal.

In the meanwhile, Braves fans are ready to get Tex out of town. The question is who's going to give up talent to rent his services for 3 months. Not the Rangers, and that's all I care about.

Josh Hamilton: The Amazing Story

Yet more accolades, much deserved, for Josh Hamilton and his performance in last night's Home Run Derby.

In the middle of that Round 1 barrage, I found myself cheering, laughing, describing the sheer awesomeness of what I was witnessing to my wife, just overwhelmed with the joy of it. THIS is what sports are supposed to be about.

Thank you, Josh, for one of the great experiences of my life. And if that sounds hokey to you, too bad. It was something you'll never see again. Stop, for moment, and recognize greatness in front of you.

The greatest story in sports gets better

Josh Hamilton, the greatest story in sports today, and maybe the greatest story in the history of sports (I'm looking for a better one), just added to his growing legend by crushing 28 home runs in the Home Run Derby.

I'm usually not much of a fan of the Home Run Derby, but tuned in to see our local boy hit a few. I found myself laughing out loud as his total continued to climb.

I hope, I really hope, this guy can keep his head screwed on straight. It's so rare that we have good stories come out of pro sports, and this is one which can be the kind of story you tell your grand kids.

What fun. How great for Hamilton. How lucky for us to be able to see it unfold in front of us.

Max Ramirez is one tough dude

I'm not about to start live-blogging Ranger games, but I do have to stop down and make mention of the double play just turned by the Rangers to end the Angels half of the 8th.

After Bill-Buckner-ing a slow roller to first, young Chris Davis redeemed himself by throwing an absolute screamer home to C Max Ramirez. Ramirez stood his ground, got BELTED by the runner, but held on to the ball for the out. Lying stunned on the ground, Ramirez obviously heard P Dustin Nippert hollering "Third!". Ramirez rose to his knees and threw a perfect strike down to third to get the man trying to take the extra base.

The Rangers are likely going to lose tonight, which sucks. However, this is what we're looking for this year - head's up, hard nosed plays by promising young players.

Good job, Max!

Sportsville update: Way up and way down

The news from Sportsville today is more bad than good. However, the good is so good that I think it outweighs the more abundant, but less surprising, bad.

On the bad side of the ledger, we have the little Mavericks and the inconsequential Rangers, both of whom lost last night.


The Rangers, dropping ever further from the realm of the relevant, lost to Kansas City (Kansas City!) 9-5. This puts them at 9-18 for the season thus far, the worst record in baseball. Oh, and they also lost another starter (Jason Jennings) to injury.

Can we just forfeit the rest of the season now?

For my part, I will not venture into the confines of the Ballpark (unless Ed invites us to join his fam in the suite again; I'll make an exception for that) for the duration. I may even swear off games on TV, except I don't know what else I'll do on a random mid-July Tuesday night.

God, they are terrible.


The little Mavs completed their third giant choke in as many years, losing Game 5 to New Orleans 99-94 and dropping the first-round series three games to one. It is clear to everyone that drastic changes are necessary. The really bad news is the Mavs total lack of options, mostly as a result of giving up half the roster and two of the next three first-round draft picks in the (now-obviously failed) J. Kidd trade.

It's always hard to say what Cuban will do, but the vote here is trade anyone and everyone who can bring any sort of future return. Blow the thing up completely, get some expiring contracts (or, better yet, draft picks), suck for a couple of years, and start over. This includes Dirk.

And there is no way Avery is back.

Thinking back to the halcyon days of June 2006, didn't we all think the Mavs were a dynasty in the making? Didn't we all think, "So what if they choked against Miami? They'll be back!"? I sure did.

What a disappointment.

We like to finish on a positive here at CIT, so let's move to the most positive of all, the biggest, most pleasant surprise of all: your Dallas Stars.


A 2-1 OT win over San Jose last night gives the Stars a death-grip on the second-round series with a 3-0 lead. Our boys withstood the expected San Jose everything-but-the-kitchen-sink onslaught in the first two periods and emerged down only 1-0, due primarily to Marty Turco's continued larceny (thanks, Razor) in goal.

Once the third period started, the Stars took over the game. Zubov's seeing-eye liner from the point on a power play tied it, and unlikely hero Matty Norstrom scored on a weird and wonderful mis-directed pass four and a half minutes into OT to win it. Brendan Morrow continued to play like a man possessed, hitting everything in teal, and Mike Ribeiro found more hockey wizardry in his bag - is he the greatest 170 lb player in this generation?

A sweep is now possible, and, while I expect the Sharks to win Game 4, I don't discount the chance of confetti raining down from the rafters of the AAC tonight either.

The bad news is the Stars are all we've got this summer. The good news is they are earning the respect and attention in all the right ways.

Go Stars!

Happy day in Sportsville

The DFW Metroplex of Love awakens this morning, some of us earlier than others, to the best sports news its seen in some time.

Everyone won last night. I have no idea when that last happened. I wouldn't even venture a guess.


The ridiculous Rangers found a little something, coming back from a 5-0 deficit against Minnesota to win 6-5 in 10 innings. Never mind that Hank Blalock hurt himself again (I'm sorry, but how the hell do these guys get hurt so often playing this game? Maybe I'm an idiot, but it sure seems like, if you keep yourself fit and flexible, you should never get hurt playing BASEBALL!). Never mind that the "brain" trust of Ryan, Daniels, and Hicks (stop laughing!) met earlier in the day to discuss this team's complete failure thus far and left the meeting with nothing new. Never mind the total absence of any semblance of hope for this year or the near-term future. Never mind all that. The Rangers frickin' won. 'Nuff said.


The little Mavericks were, for one night at least, not so little. Avery's wife must have hit him with a frying pan to get him to realize what everyone else in town saw about 90 seconds into Game 1 - Jason Terry was in the starting lineup in front of ancient, creaky Jerry Stackhouse, and was actually able to slow down Chris Paul. Other defensive responsibilities were shifted as well, and the Mavs throttled the Hornets 97-87. It was the kind of convincing win that makes you think this may yet be a series.

I just wonder why Josh Howard chose yesterday to make his poorly-timed, but not-especially-surprising, statement about his dope smoking. He's just one of many weed-smokers in the NBA (and on Planet Earth, for that matter), and who really gives a crap or is even slightly surprised? But I don't know why we need to be discussing this in the midst of the playoffs. And it's not like his stellar play gives him all kinds of latitude to be making nutty statements like this. Howard needs to shut up and work on his move to the basket.


And out in San Jose, the Stars won Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series with the Sharks 3-2 in OT. The Stars had no business winning this game. San Jose really was the superior team. However, the Stars did enough on offense to make Marty Turco's super-human effort worthwhile. Make no mistake, Turco stole this game for his team. And, boy, does it feel good to write that last sentence! There is a long, long way to go, and I'm trying not to get too wild and crazy here, but the way is open this year for Turco to silence every critic he's ever had.

Fellow sports, let's enjoy this rarest of confluences all day today. I expect to see nothing but smiles and nods today. I expect everyone to hold doors for each other, yield the right of way when they should, and pick up stray trash on the street. Let's make it a great day to be fans in Sportsville!

Rangers: It's happening again

Your Texas Rangers are headed for the cellar again. Today's debacle was as ugly an 8-3 loss (to the Red Sox, who completed the four-game sweep) as you'll ever see, with another pitching and fielding implosion occurring in the 4th inning.

This team has shown an absolutely life-force-draining ineptitude in the field, at the plate with runners in scoring position, and in the bullpen. The only race which appears to hold any interest for the rest of this season appears to be which number will be the largest: wins, errors, or bullpen ERA.

I wanted to be a Jon Daniels fan. I wanted to be a Ron Washington fan. I tried. Really. I can't do it. Both of these guys need to be fired right now. You can replace them, on an interim basis, with Abbott and Costello, Harold and Kumar, or biscuits and gravy. I don't care. It's obvious this season is gone (in April, for God's sake). Get me someone to blow this thing to itty-bitty pieces and rebuild from the farm up.

I hate being a baseball fan.

Tantalizing Rangers trade rumor

The great Evan Grant writes in today's Inside the Rangers newsletter that a trade may be brewing between the Rangers and the Dodgers.

According to Round Mound of Rangers Beat Writer, the Rangers would send Texeira and either Gagne or Otsuka, and would receive, in return, 1B James Loney, RHP Chad Billingsley, and highly-touted prospect LHP Clayton Kershaw (a Highland Park Scot, no less).

So, let's see: For a top-notch starting position player with a year and a bit until free agency (and the Baseball Antichrist for an agent) and a top reliever, the Rangers would get a very young starting position player with a TON of upside, a very young starting (probably) pitcher with a TON of upside, and a stud LHP prospect who's a local.

Grant is pretty sure a deal along these lines is well along. I certainly hope he's right, and the Rangers are able to see it through.

Stay tuned...

And you thought the Rangers' season was over

Tim McMahon explains the Rangers chances of making the playoffs. Yes, there is still a chance.

Tim goes on to provide an entirely appropriate clip from Dumb and Dumber to illustrate the point.

I have been remiss in posting about the Rangers' completely failed season. I'll work up some good bile on that and get back to you.

Time for a BIG Rangers trade (we hope)

The Texas Rangers' season is over, and has been since about May 5th. Amidst this disaster (wait, that should probably be DISASTER, in bold and italics, to convey the depth of abysmalosity we're witnessing), the Rangers have some serious chips in the deadline trading game. Let's see if they can cash in.

Tops of the trade-'em-now list is Mark Texeira, the power-hitting first baseman who will enter the final year of club control in 2008 and is a disciple of the Baseball Antichrist. There is essentially no way the Rangers will re-sign Texeira, so it's of paramount importance they get something for him now.

Also on the list of viable trade bait: Eric Gagne, who has shown he's got a little something left; Sammy Sosa, who also has shown he has a little something left; Aki Otsuka, who has been the most reliable pitcher in the organization for the past two years; and perhaps a few others. I'd trade Mike Young, the newly re-signed "face of the franchise" - I know, I know; he's a great guy, he's home-grown, he's part Mexican, and he can hit. But, if you can get some legit pitching prospects, welp, see ya, Mikey!

This season has been so bad, I don't think there's anyone on this team who's untouchable. Unfortunately, there are way too many players here that no one will take. But that's another story.

All this is a lead in to a column in the New York Post today which calls Jon Daniels "the most gunshy GM in baseball".

Well, if you had engineered some of the worst trades in Ranger history (hell, maybe in baseball history), like the Chris Young and Adrian Gonzales for Otsuka and the-long-gone-and-forgotten Adam Eaton trade, and the Alfonso Soriano for Brad Wilkerson trade, and the Kevin Mench and Coco Cordero for long-gone-and-forgotten Carlos Lee trade, and the John Danks for Brandon McCarthy trade, wouldn't you be a little gunshy too?

I sense very bad things for our little Rangers for some time to come.

A taste of the Rangers' future

The Rangers are playing, and, after one game, losing, a series against the ridiculous Devil Rays at Disney's BaseballLand (or somesuch) this week. Check out the Tampa papers this week and you'll see no one cares.

The Devil Rays have been awful for years, have never lived up to pre-season expectations, and play in a poorly-located, substandard stadium which has been compared (unfavorably) to everything from an oil-storage facility to a urinal. As a result, they routinely draw 10,000 or fewer in attendance.

While the Ballpark is certainly not substandard, the remainder of the description above (everything between "awful for years" and "poorly-located") definitely applies to our hometown heroes. In the midst of yet another failed campaign peppered with unfulfilled promise and crushed dreams, are we far from the days of comments like, "The Rangers still play here?"

It ain’t easy being a Dallas sports fan

OK, I’m finally over my Maverick-induced depression. A little time, a little Prozac, and a lot of cheap wine, and I’m finally ready to address the plight of the Dallas sports fan.

First off, this generalization: Man, we take a LOT of crap.

What did we do to deserve this?

Let’s start with the lowly Rangers. A bad team with no history when they arrived in town in the early 70s (for those of you who didn’t know or had forgotten, the Rangers started life as the Washington Senators and were actually the second go-around for a franchise with that name; the first Senators are now the Twins), the Rangers have given us precious few baseball memories in their 35+ years in Arlington.

Oh, sure, we had those playoff appearances in the late 90s, but the mighty Yankees smashed the life out of the team before the fans even had a chance to get excited.

Other than that, what have we got? Nolan Ryan’s 6th and 7th no-hitters, Ryan’s 5,000th K, Kenny Rogers’ perfecto, and…

Oh, yeah. What am I thinking? We’ve also got that homer off Jose Canseco’s melon in Boston. We’ve got Frankie Francisco’s chair-toss in Oakland. We’ve got Billy Martin rants, Eddie Chiles getting mad, and Bobby V’s restaurant. We’ve got Canseco’s (him again?) pitching appearance, FAILED trades (Eaton and Otsuka for Chris Young and Adrian Gonzales? Wanna do that one over? Or, for that matter, Sundberg for Yost?), idiot free-agent moves (did someone say Pudge Rodriguez was going to break down in 2003?), and BAD BAD BAD signings (Gay-Rod, Mike Henneman, Chan friggin’ Ho friggin’ Park).

We’ve got all that, and more. What am I complaining about?

This year, our hopes are pinned on Kevin Millwood (currently on DL), Eric Gagne (just off the DL and a reclamation project of the highest order), Brandon McCarthy, Mike Young (who seems to have forgotten how to swing a bat), Mark Texeira (TRADE HIM NOW), and assorted other spares. Not to mention passed-over-many-times-in-Oakland Ron Washington, the new, chatty skip.

It’s going to be the longest of long summers. This team, to quote someone who knows a lot more about baseball than me, SUCKS.

The second most lowly team in town is the now-irrelevant Dallas Stars. It’s amazing to me that this franchise, KINGS of the town after winning the Stanley Cup in ’99 and returning to defend (unsuccessfully, but returning nonetheless) in 2000, have dropped so far off the radar. Well, that’s what three straight first-round playoff exits will do for you.

The Stars have kept a nucleus of popular, but under-achieving, players around for YEARS. Mike Modano is cute and skates well (or used to), but his intestinal fortitude is questionable. Dude is the American, ice-skating version of Dirk Nowitzki (more about that in a moment). What’s not to like about Lehtinen, Zubov, Sydor, Morrow, Ott, Robidas, and the rest? They’re all swell guys. But there isn’t a CHAMPION among them. A guy with the killer instinct of Brett Hull, Guy Carbonneau, Mike Keane, Pat Verbeek, or any of the other over-achievers from the Cup team is sorely needed at the Frisco StarsCenter.

And, please, don’t get me started on Marty “The Head Case” Turco. With his strange, cross-eyed stare, Marty is lucky he’s made millions (and will make millions more in the years to come) playing great regular-season hockey. It’s a sad state of affairs when you look back on Ed Belfour as your sanest goalie in the past 10 years.

I’m afraid the best we can hope for in the next few years out of this bunch is for Dave Tippett to regrow his truly awe-inspiring mustache. And Ralphie-n-Razor’s never-tiresome bits.

We’re only halfway home, folks. The real soul-crushing is still ahead of us.

Let’s examine our heroes, the Dallas Cowboys, shall we?

The owners of the longest playoff victory drought in town (yep, you read that right; even the ridiculous Rangers have won a playoff game more recently than the Cowboys, who last won a Wild Card game in Washington in 1996), the Cowboys are well on their way to turning into the Oakland Raiders. A once-dominant team owned by an egomaniac who was in the past a mad genius but has become increasingly erratic and eccentric, the Cowboys, like Al Davis’ Raiders, are quickly fading into NFL obscurity. As coaches come and go, QBs rotate through, each touted as the Savior, and the team grows more faceless and non-descript each year.

Forget about Aikman, Irvin, Smith, Nate Newton, Charles Haley, or Kenny Norton. All the guys with any kind of personality are long gone. Who’s the most interesting dude on this team? Easy – TO Owens, but he’s interesting in a bad way. Who else?

Romo? His girlfriend is a LOT more interesting than he is. And I’m not sold on his ability to be The Man yet, either.

Terry Glenn? The last freckled black man I wanted to listen to was Dennis Johnson, and he’s dead.

Wade Phillips? Wait. Let me cancel my Lunesta prescription.

How am I supposed to get excited about this team? Are they going to be better than last year, when they barely squeaked into the playoffs, only to lose the Wild Card game, again? Well, the Pear Shaped Football Genius is gone, so the condescension and derision (focused on the fans, not the players) ought to be toned down. However, I have no idea why this team would be any better. The draft was underwhelming, free agency was an exercise in paying way too much for very little.

Yippee.

And those little Mavericks. I had retired the “little” last year, but the performance we just witnessed can only be described as “little”. Maybe “gutless”. Or “choke of historic proportions”. Any of those, I guess.

What, in the name of God, went wrong? How does a team handle all comers 67 times in the regular season, only to lose four out of six to the #8 seed? How is this even possible?

How can Dirk Nowitzki get serious MVP consideration, then, in the space of less than two weeks, disappear completely?

How can second-year player Devin Harris be the only guy on this team not scared to go to the rack?

How can big, goofy (but sorta loveable) Don Nelson have his old team’s number so thoroughly? What did he ever do to curry favor with the basketball gods? Or has he been possessed by the ghost of Red Auerbach?

How is it possible that a team coached by Avery Johnson has one guy, one friggin’ guy, who’s still talking when it’s put-up-or-shut-up time? That guy, by the way, is Jerry Stackhouse. The rest of these very little Mavericks ran home to their mommies when it got tough. How did Avery, one of the mentally toughest players ever in the NBA, not vomit his guts out right there on the sideline?

The total give-up we witnessed in that series makes you appreciate guys like Bird, Magic, and Jordan all the more. Guys who had tons of ability, sure, but who also were CHAMPIONS, who refused to lose, who wanted the ball when it came to nut-cuttin’ time, money players, cold-blooded crunch time guys.

There aren’t many of those guys out there. I can’t think of more than a handful going right now. Tiger, of course, leads the list. After that, I guess there’s Tom Brady, Peyton Manning (MAYBE, now that he’s got the monkey off his back – we’ll see), Curt Schilling, Roger Federer, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, and not many more, if any. Beckham in his day, perhaps. I’m reaching now.

It’s obvious the Mavericks have none of these money guys. Stackhouse has the mental make-up, but no longer has the skills. Dirk has the skills, but not the stuff between his ears or in his chest. Devin Harris may yet be one of those guys, but he’s not there yet.

Many here are saying if the Mavs had played anyone but Golden State in the first round, they would have won. That may be, but Golden State exposed this team’s mental weakness. Even if the Mavs had wiped the floor with the Clippers instead, crunch time was going to come against Utah, PHX/SA, or the East champ. It had to happen. And we now know the Mavs would not have had the stones to stand up. This team folded so badly and so quickly that I really question if they were going to beat anyone, Clippers included, this post season. I can make the argument they would not.

When you take this failure and add it to the failure in Miami last year, the finished picture is not pretty. Oh sure, the Mavs rolled through the regular season like a steamroller. Who cares? That only makes it hurt worse, makes the shock more shocking. We sure thought they were good. Were they really?

The answer to that last question is unequivocally YES. They were good. When the pressure is not on, this team rocks. The skill guys have got skill. Avery Johnson is magic on bench. But add some pressure, and the wheels go flying in all directions.

So, what do you do if you’re Mark (Please Shave That Goatee) Cuban? Blow it up? Stand pat?

I think we’re too close to blow it all up. I think you’ve got a cast with few equals assembled here. Dirk has talent coming out his ears, as do Howard, Harris, and Diop. Stackhouse is a tough guy who I want on my team. Dampier is a functional big man and teams well with Diop. Terry… well, that’s the question, or at least one of them.

Isn’t it interesting that the two best point guards going right now, Nash and Kidd, were both Mavericks once upon a time? I have no idea what to make of that, but the irony is hard to escape.

It’s just as clear that you can’t bring this bunch back intact. Many of the supporting cast turned out to be huge disappointments. Weren’t Devean George, Greg Buckner, and Austin Croshere brought here to provide experience, esp playoff experience? Then how come none of them played more than a few minutes in the Golden State series? If they can’t get on the floor when your team is getting humiliated by an 8 seed, it’s time for them to go.

Similarly, Jason Terry has disappeared too many times. When he’s on, he can be a huge difference maker. But, seriously, how hard is it to find a jump-shooting two guard with questionable heart? This team so desperately needs another guy who doesn’t wet his pants at the thought of driving to the rim, another Manu Ginobilli, a guy who can help Harris break a defense, who can drive and dish, or take it all the way himself. Where do we get one of those?

You’re as set as you can expect in the middle. You’re not going to improve on your rotation of Dampier and Diop.

Down low, you need someone who can play down low. Dirk may never excel at the low post, but he can certainly improve. Howard may do well there. But a real, big-butt power forward is a need as well.

And you need a bench that can play some when the pressure is on. I still don’t get this. The bench contributed during the regular season, and many thought the Mavs were the deepest team in the Association. Depth that was nowhere to be seen against GS.

It’s hard to be hopeful about any of the local teams. The Mavs still seem closest to being a power, but this embarrassment makes you question everything. The Cowboys' only good moves in the past 10 years are the new stadium and getting Parcells out of here. The Rangers are going nowhere, and look bad doing so. And with the Stars, Modano’s fiancé is a lot more interesting to watch than the game on the ice.

Well, there’s always UT football. And card tricks.

Daily YouTube: Nolan Ryan's 5,000th K

Since we have no post-season glory to revel in, Ranger fans are left with moments like this to smile about wistfully.

Count the luminaries in this one: Ryan (of course), Ricky Henderson, pre-steroids Rafael Palmerio, Bobby V., Rueben Sierra, and George W. Bush back in the days when the biggest thing he could screw up was the AL West.

Football Friday and other sports-related quick hits

I have been remiss in covering football for you, the loyal CIT reader (all 4 of you, God bless you each and every one). My only excuse is the Cowboys' resurgence drained my life force. Now that they're reeling again, my energy and sarcasm are back in top form.

College Bowls

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

Sorry, no interest this year.

Pros

Pittsburgh (+6) @ Cincinnati - The end of a miserable season for the Steelers. I'm trying to stay on the Bengal bandwagon. I think I'm going to regret this one, but give me the guys in stripes.

Miami (+9) @ Colts - What the HELL is wrong with the Colts all of a sudden? I mean, other than their defense is awful, Dallas Clark has been hurt, and Peyton Manning is the most overrated QB since Phil Simms. The Dolphins have no idea who their QB is right now, and the Colts have GOT to get the wheels back on. Nine points is a lot to lay, but I'll take a deep breath and go with Indianapolis.

Carolina @ New Orleans (+3) - This game means nothing for the Saints, and it's obvious Vegas thinks the entire first team is going to sit. I hate games like this. I guess I'll go with the conventional wisdom and take Carolina. I will change my tune next week, though. I'm on the Saints bandwagon big-time!

Atlanta (+9) @ Philadelphia - The Eagles looked All-World while humiliating the Cowboys last week. They seem to be peaking at the right time. This game does mean something for both teams, but I really liked what I saw from Philly last week. Again, its a huge spread, but give me the boys from the City of Brotherly Shove.

Pats (+3) @ Titans - Another one where the better team has nothing to play for. Is Vince Young proving me wrong? Can he be a great NFL QB? He's got the physical tools, there's no doubt about it. Can he handle it mentally? We shall see. He's been impressive so far. I'm gonna go with Tennessee here, just because I think they've got more to prove.

Detroit (+13) @ Dallas - The Cowboys have failed to show up for two critical home games in the past three weeks. I think this team is doubting itself in a big way. I'm gonna take all those points, and it's not going to surprise me one bit if the Lions win outright.

Comedic Value Game of the Week - Browns (+4) @ Houston - Wow, what a stinker. Find me 15 people on this planet who give a crap about this one, and I'll give you a pick. Ready, set, go...

Sports-Related Quick Hits

Baseball Free Agency Goes Completely Insane

The Rangers lost out on free-agent pitcher Barry Zito yesterday, as the newly-crowned Dumbest Team in Sports, the SF Giants, gave him a $126 million, seven-year contract.

I am SO glad the Rangers got beat out, as they has reportedly offered Zito a six-year deal (for a lot less, but still INSANE numbers).

How many times do we need the object lesson: Long-term contracts for pitchers are complete madness. Let's tick off a few examples: Kevin Brown (a kendo-stick to the shins), Mike Hampton (brass knuckles to the gut), and, the grand-daddy of 'em all, Chan Ho Park (a 2X4 to the gresticles).

At this point, with the way pitchers get hurt and the speed with which they deteriorate (and the deterioration has already started for Zito), I wouldn't sign Walter Johnson or Cy Young himself to a six-year deal.

Well, this will be a boat anchor around the necks of the Giants for years to come. Good luck with all that.

Stars - Most Schizo Team in the NHL?

Your Dallas Stars can't figure out if they're a good team or not yet. Granted, injuries have ravaged this bunch, and even die-hard fans are looking at the roster and going, "Who?" Even with that, though, Marty Turco has been a bit shaky lately. You can have your Modanos, your Morrows, your Lindroses, this is Martin Turco's team and it will only go as far as he takes it. Its too early to panic or even predict, but Stars fans, who are few and far between lately, are getting antsy.

Mavs - Kickin' Ace and Takin' Names

The Mavs are rolling, beating good team after good team, playing exceptionally well, and getting contributions from the guys they really need to contribute. Last night's Dirk buzzer-beater to win by 2 over the Suns was, by all accounts, as good a battle as we've seen between these two new rivals.

I have no idea how Avery Johnson gets these guys psyched up night in and night out. After that epic playoff run last year, the thought of 82 regular season games must seem pretty unattractive to the team. Yet not so - they're playing their rears off every night. God bless em. It's getting to the time of year to really start paying attention.

The Rangers’ mildly warm stove

I don’t have much to say regarding the Rangers’ off season to-date. The losses of Carlos Lee, Adam Eaton, Mark DeRosa, et al have barely made me take notice. Sure, some of the departed made contributions last season, but contributions to what? Last season was a disaster by any measure.

Similarly, the additions of Catalanotto, Gagne, and Lofton leave me somewhat unimpressed. Are we back to zero now? Certainly seems close.

On one hand, the free agent market has gone INSANE this year. On the other hand, what difference does that make? Either you’re in or you’re out.

Sign Zito and I’ll say you’re in. Otherwise, let’s go ahead and pre-order our 3rd Place ribbons, again, and start counting down to the 2007 football season right now.

Buck goes bye-bye

Zowie!! The Rangers announced today they have fired Buck Showalter.

EXCELLENT move! Regardless of what you think of Showalter as a human (and I think pretty highly of him), it was time for someone new. This team has underacheived throughout his tenure.

More about this when we do a baseball wrap up in a few days, but for now I will go on the record as saying this is a good thing.