Dojo closed

The Butler

The Dallas Mavericks are sending rookie Dominique Jones to their developmental league team in Frisco.

This means one thing: He can't play.

That's probably harsh. Who knows? Maybe he goes to Frisco and the switch is flipped and he turns into a contributor. That is, however, unlikely. More often than not, players are sent to the developmental league because they can't crack the top nine on their own team and therefore "need minutes" in order to "improve." Rarely does a player that is sent to a developmental league and then come back and play.

If Jones can't outplay J.J. Barea, then there's little hope. Another bust.

I found it humorous that Rick Carlisle said that coach Nancy Lieberman will "kick his ass." Which basically translates to: "I didn't know how to motivate him. Maybe someone else does."

****
In the "good news" section of the Mavericks' daily report, they beat the Houston Rockets last night 101-91. Not that beating the Rockets is any great feat. They stink. Badly. Nonetheless, no one played more than 30 minutes, it's six straight wins and the supporting cast showed up.

Caron Butler had his best game of the season with some efficient shooting. I think something's wrong with him. He might be injured. Or he might be going into the Caron Butler funk that we were warned about when he came from Washington.

However, I'd be remiss if I didn't revel in a Rockets loss. I hate the Houston Rockets. Hate them, hate them, hate them. No matter how much I like Luis Scola, I can't love him because he's a Rocket. Any Rockets loss is a good Rockets loss, and the trend of them being extremely awful is pleasing.

Seriously? Chase Budinger? Charlie Hayes? Brad Miller? I expect more out of the hated Rockets.

Rangers rumors, news and good Monday night stuff

AP

The Texas Rangers are denying talking with Andy Pettitte, despite a story that states otherwise. I've always thought Pettitte would be a good fit here and still probably would. However, that probably means that Cliff Lee isn't here.

****
Speaking of, the Rangers are heavily rumored to be the ideal spot for Zack Greinke, whose trade from the Kansas City Royals seems like a foregone conclusion. The Rangers will have the pay out of the nose in young, good prospects. The key component is Engel Beltre, the 21-year-old centerfielder in Frisco, had in the Eric Gagne deal from Boston. Again, if Greinke is in Arlington next season, it means that Lee is in pinstripes. Not an awful plan B, but one I'd rather avoid.

****
The Rangers got themselves a catcher. They signed 32-year-old Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year, $6.2 million deal. Torrealba is OK. Good defensively and OK enough at the plate. He hit .291 in 2009 in limited time in San Diego. His career high in games is 113 and that was in 2007. I see him playing at least that many in Texas splitting time with Matt Treanor or Taylor Teagarden. The best stat on Torrealba is that he had a 3.14 pitcher's ERA last season, the lowest since 2003. Give him arms and he can make them shine.

****
Finally, Frank Francisco is expected to accept arbitration and return to the Rangers. I thought he was gone. We've kind of seen what he has. Then again, how valuable would he have been in three or four of those playoff games? When he's on, he's on. Unhittable. He lost his closer's job in April to Neftali Feliz. Feliz seems bound to the starting rotation. It's thought Alexi Ogando could close, set-up or even start. Therefore, Francisco is pretty important. There's also thought that the Rangers could go after a free agent closer, like Rafael Soriano.

TCU, on the move

I know, I used this the other day, but I like it

The TCU Horned Frogs are moving to the Big East starting in the 2012-13 season.

All sports are moving over, but there is one reason this is happening: College football.

With the Big East, TCU, should they win the conference, would get an automatic bowl bid and strengthen their claim to the national championship should things fall into place.

The Big East ain't bad. It's a conference TCU should be able to go into and do very well in. However, it's no group of patsies. In the past five years, South Florida, Rutgers, Louisville, West Virginia, Pitt and Cincinnati have all been a part of the BCS hullabaloo all making major noise.

This season, they're not very good. To the point that Syracuse was tops in the conference like two weeks ago.

Tim Cowlishaw had a column today stating that the move has only college football in mind disregarding the other sports.

No shit. Thanks for that, Tim.

Of course, it's about college football because college football makes you millions. Softball and lacrosse, not so much.

His argument is that it'll stick the good TCU men's basketball program into the pack with Louisville, West Virginia, Syracuse and Pitt.

God forbid TCU quits being the little baby university to the other big schools. God forbid their basketball team should quit playing against state and directional schools and take a step up.

Who knows, maybe TCU basketball will get ... better.

With that said, if TCU had went undefeated in the Big East, does that put them above Oregon in the BCS? Probably not. West Virginia's the only ranked school. Still, no way that TCU was going to jump Oregon and Auburn playing New Mexico and the other chumps in their conference.

The Big XII would've been better, but TCU's making the right move here.

A&M gets hosed

Me and Landry Jones

Sunday evening, I doubt the Texas A&M Aggies thought they were going to be named the Big XII South champions.

Oklahoma had beat Oklahoma State Saturday forcing a three-way tie in the Big XII South with the tie breaker going to the team with the highest BCS ranking. OU got the nod with a No. 9 ranking. Oklahoma State's No. 14 and Texas A&M is ranked No. 19.

A&M got screwed, I think.

In college football with the currently bowl/ranking system, we are led to believe that teams tend to rise up after an early loss and dip after late losses. Essentially, a team with a week No. 1 loss has a better shot at getting into the top five than teams with a loss in the conference championship game.

A&M's last loss was Oct. 16. OSU's last loss was Oct. 23 and then again last week. OU last lost Nov. 6.

To the Texas A&M Aggies.

So, how are the Aggies a full 10 spots behind OU and OSU's just five spots behind OU?

I suspect it's the three overall losses, the third coming to Arkansas, a potential BCS team. However, both are 6-2, A&M has better wins than OSU and it's not like OU tore through their opponents. Just feel like A&M got a raw deal.

Games:

Oklahoma 47, Oklahoma State 41
I was stunned that Oklahoma won this game. OSU showed that it's still the younger stepbrother to the big guns in the Big XII. Until further notice, nobody's knocking OU off the pedastal.

TCU 66, New Mexico 17
Beating the shit out of New Mexico is nice, but TCU's dreams were busted when Auburn came back against Alabama. With Boise State's loss, TCU will get the BCS nod, but it's not enough.

Kansas State 49, North Texas 41
Lil' North Texas gave K-State it's best 1-2 punch. Then K-State countered with their 1-2 and upper cut and the Mean Green couldn't quite handle it. The teams combined for 671 rushing yards and Lance Dunbar must be a the No. 1 option in Denton next season.

Texas Tech 35, Houston 20
Tommy Tuberville got the Raiders to 7-5 in his first year. Not great. Not awful. Need a few headline wins, however. No way Houston was winning in Lubbock at night.

Missouri 35, Kansas 7
Mizzou gets to 10 wins and if not for that loss to Nebraska they'd be top 5 in the national.

Take aim at the rich kids

Chandler: Looks like he's having fun, Manu Ginobili's bald spot not so much

In November, the Dallas Mavericks have beat Denver, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and San Antonio -- some of the big dogs of the Western Conference.

In the past week, they've waxed the Thunder and Spurs, the latter coming tonight, 103-94.

They're lucky. Because the Mavericks have played like shit as of late.

Dirk Nowitzki absolutely carried them against Detroit. Tyson Chandler showed up against Oklahoma City. Then both Chandler and Shawn Marion showed signs of life against San Antonio.

Basically, it's Nowitzki and Chandler from night to night and those two hope that someone else contributes significantly because Nos. 3-9 on this team are aaawwwwwfffffffuuullllllll.

The win in San Antonio put the Mavericks at 6-1 on the road.

Notes:
1. Brendan Haywood was suspended for a game for an unspecified team policy thing. Maybe mouthing off at a coach (Rick Carlisle? They're relationship ain't the best.) or whatever. Our $54 million-man isn't overpaid at all. No way. He's averaging 3.7 points and five rebounds per game.

2. My other fav J.J. Barea is shooting 34 percent on the year. I hope he gets more minutes.

3. I plug Shawn Marion into that awful set of players backing Dirk Nowitzki up, but he's been OK this season. Shooting 50 percent from the field and average about 10 points, six rebounds a game. For a seventh man off the bench, that's not bad.

4. Tyson Chandler went to the line 16 times. Eight times against OKC. He's averaging 3.9 attempts per game, his most since 2004-05. Clearly, he wreaks havoc against San Antonio and the Mavericks have figured out how to inject him into the offense.

5. Ian Mahinmi had four rebounds in 14 minutes. Caron Butler had three in 27 minutes. One of those two simply isn't trying.

SMU, champs; A&M, riding high

Horny

Thanksgiving has scattered our college football weekend.

What we know and then what we don't know.

Texas A&M 24, Texas 17
Sucks that A&M finally beat Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech in the same season and, yet, they'll not win the Big XII South. All thanks to that loss to Oklahoma State and I'm pretty sure that if Ryan Tannehill were quarterbacking that game, they would've won. Anyway, Texas is awful.

SMU 45, East Carolina 38
Kyle Padron had one of those games. Almost perfect. No interceptions. Three touchdowns. SMU is missing out on eight- and nine-win seasons because Padron can't do this on a regular basis. Nonetheless, he did it today and it got them into the Conference USA title game next week. Then again, Padron's a sophomore. SMU's got another two years for days like today.

Nebraska 45, Colorado 17
No word is Bo Pelini screamed at any players or if his dipshit brother tackled a cameraman.

Oklahoma (9-2, 5-2) vs. Oklahoma State (10-1, 6-1)
You get the feeling the tides haven't shifted enough for OSU. I'm rooting for the Pokes, but Oklahoma is not going to go quietly in the Big XII South. However, the Cowboys are good and OU is particularly awful on the road and a night game to get the OSU fans lubed up is not going to be pretty.

TCU (11-0, 7-0) vs. New Mexico (1-10, 1-6)
Gary Patterson said he'll be pleased even if his Horned Frogs beat New Mexico by a point. Bullshit. TCU needs to beat the shit out of New Mexico. They need to run up the score and make a statement because they can't afford a one-point win with Boise State nipping at their heels.

Missouri (9-2, 5-2) vs. Kansas (3-8, 1-6)
Mizzou playing for 10 wins and maybe a notch up in the polls and a virtual tie in the Big XII North (although Nebraska has the tiebreaker). Kansas playing to not be Kansas.

Kansas State (6-5, 3-5) vs. North Texas (3-8, 3-5)
The finale for Fouts Field up in Denton as they'll open their new digs next season. K-State's lost four of five and has not looked good.

Houston (5-6, 3-4) vs. Texas Tech (6-5, 3-5)
Winning in Lubbock at night is tough enough. A banged-up Cougars team will find it even tougher. Raiders somehow wind up with seven wins.

Close, but no cigar

Felix

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys should feel a little bit better today than they did yesterday.

Yes, it was a 30-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Cowboys Stadium on Thanksgiving Day.

Yes, the game was in their hands. And, quite literally, it slipped out of their hands. Or, it was ripped away.

A loss is a loss. It was No. 8, which all but theoretically eliminates them from the playoffs. I still don't see an 8-8 making the playoffs especially since the Cowboys are due for at least one more loss this season.

However, if you're a Cowboys fan, you should feel good. Why? Because down 17, the Cowboys fought like a group of cornered badgers to keep the Saints out of the end zone. They battled to establish a balanced attack and to eat away at the lead. Because with the game at its end, the Cowboys had a legit shot.

Afterwards, it wasn't a bunch of rhetoric about ranked defenses and outscoring the opponent in the third quarter. It wasn't about fourth place finishes.

Jason Garrett took blame. He admitted mistakes and remarked that his team would come in Monday morning and look to improve. Roy Williams took blame. He said he cost his team the game. Kicker David Buehler took blame. His kick just a few feet wide left cost the Cowboys at least an overtime session.

No excuses. No hangdog expressions. No pandering to the media or fans. It's damn refreshing.

****
I thought this game had many turning points outside of the gigantic fumble and missed kick.

First Two Possessions
The Cowboys went back to back with the interception and three-and-out to start the game offensively. The first wasn't nearly as bad only because it resulted in just a field goal. The problem is that it gave the defense zero time to recover and it gave the Saints a short field. The three-and-out was killer. It sapped the defense of all its energy and I think that's why Chris Ivory walked into the end zone. Killer possessions. Or lack thereof.

The Next Two Possessions
Down 17-0, the two following possessions resulted in just three points. Not that big of a difference. However, they totaled about 13 minutes and 25 plays. It kept Drew Brees and Co. off the field. The Saints had the ball twice in the second quarter and got a lousy field goal. The Cowboys didn't play themselves back into the game, but they kept it from getting out of hand. Two huge possessions. A ton of heart.

The Fourth Down
In the first of those possessions, the Cowboys took the ball at their own 20 and drove to the 30 of the Saints. Down 17-0, the Cowboys had fourth-and-1 on the Saints' 21 yard line. Jason Garrett goes for it. I didn't blame him. The Cowboys had one choice. Go for seven points. Marion Barber is stuffed going wide (why they continue to run him wide is exacerbating). Saints ball.

The Other Fourth Down
OK, the Cowboys don't score, but they hold the Saints and get the ball back. Still, down 17-0, a touchdown to end the half and you're in the game. Cowboys put together an awesome 14-play drive. At the Saints 11, Jon Kitna hits Jason Witten for eight yards leaving the Cowboys with a fourth-and-1 at the Saints' 3 yard line. Cowboys can get a first down without scoring. They opt for the field goal, to get points on the board. I would've gone for it. I saw no difference in going for it earlier and going for it then. Four points left on the field there.

The Other Other Fourth Down
Down 23-13, the Cowboys have fourth-and-1 again on the Saints' goalline. This time they go for it, Barber over the guard, touchdown.

The Final Minute
As the Cowboys moved the ball (quite well, I might add) in the final minute to hopefully score a touchdown or tie it with a field goal. Buehler wound up missing a 53-yard field goal. The Cowboys had two time outs but were able to move the ball 35 yards by hitting wide open sideline routes. Still with two time outs, they kept doing these poorly executed sideline routes resulting in three straight incompletions. On third-and-10, they went to the right to Dez Bryant on an uncatchable ball. Why didn't the Cowboys go down the middle of the field? Surely the Saints were going to allow them the middle of the field. It would've allowed Buehler maybe an extra eight or 10 yards for his field goal, at least.

****
Grades:

Quarterback -- B
Very poor early. Very good late. Got into a nice groove. Kitna's been very nice as a back-up. I wish Kitna, however, hadn't forgotten going downfield like he did against New York.

Running Back -- C
OK, several things: More Tashard Choice! Less Marion Barber outside the tackles! More Felix Jones outside the tackles!

Wide Receiver -- D
Largely absent, especially Dez Bryant, who got frustrated. This isn't a good sign. Roy Williams was fine. All except that fumble thing.

Tight End -- B+
Jason Witten with 10 catches. In a loss. Martellus Bennett with the best five-yard gain on a fumble.

Offensive Line -- B
I don't remember Jon Kitna getting a ton of pressure. What little there was it was easily evaded.

Defensive Line -- C
After a great game, the D-line kind of dissapeared, despite having one of the potential biggest plays of the game (Jay Ratliff's sack on Brees late).

Linebacker -- C
Keith Brooking on pass coverage is like envisioning myself trying to cover these athletes.

Secondary -- B
An extremely rough first quarter turned into another three quarters of keeping the Saints at bay. It wasn't shutdown defense, but Brees had a tough time completing passes. Gerald Sensabaugh had a gigantic, huge interception. Alan Ball can't play safety.

Special Teams -- B+
Love the 50-yard field goal, the fine coverage and the enormous fumble.

Coaching -- C
Questionable on some of the playcalling and strategy, as noted above.

Thanksgiving treat

Umm ... football

I would like to note that I love Thanksgiving Day football. I love that it's the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys every year. I love it, I love it, I love it.

To the Dallas Cowboys, I really believe that Jason Garrett's secured about 75 percent of his job. I think he needs two of any the four wins: this week against New Orleans, at Indy, at Philly or against Philadelphia.

He gets two of those in addition to the Washington and Arizona games, that gives him six wins and the Cowboys a 7-9 record without their starting quarterback, an offensive line in shambles, zero running game and a secondary with more holes than Swiss cheese.

That'll get you a real job.

Five things:

Drew Brees
The Saints don't have a run game and Reggie Bush's availability is inconsequential in this regards. The Saints throw the ball, throw it a lot and throw it well. Thanks to Drew Brees. He's torched better teams (completed 77 percent of his passes against Pittsburgh), but he's also throwing more interceptions and the Saints offense isn't nearly as scary as it was a year ago. Still, I don't know if Brees is going to second-guess a throw staring down Alan Ball in the secondary.

Gold Defense
The Saints won a Super Bowl thanks to an opportunistic defense and an explosive offense. The offense is there, kind of, and the defense ... is still there. They're first in points allowed, fourth in yards allowed and second in pass defense. However, they've managed just six interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries. It could be a tough road for the Cowboys defense.

Thanksgiving
The Cowboys are 27-14-1 on Thanksgiving. They've won the last four. Of course, they typically play Special Olympics teams, not the New Orleans Saints.

Dez Bryant
Every week until he bores us. He had like two catches last week and all I could think about was the one where he came back from the ball, ducked under a tackle and muscled for five extra yards. It's Thanksgiving. At home. National spotlight. The stars shine when hte spotlight's on them.

Belief
There are many willing to lay big money on the Minnesota Vikings this week because everyone's convinced they wanted Brad Childress out so badly that that weight lifted will make them a legit threat every week. Kind of getting the same feeling about Wade Phillips and the Cowboys. Winning percentage or no, they wanted him out and the change has flipped some kind of switch. It's not making them playoff contenders, but might make them legit threates every week.

Prediction
Cowboys 27, Saints 26
I like the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. I think the Saints have a lot more winning to do, but losses will come. Garrett's got some mojo working somehow.

Josh Hamilton, a Most Valuable Player

M-V-P

There is a lot to hate about modern sports.

The continued controversy in collegiate sports. The drugs, steroids, violence. The money. The egotistical dimwits that we all think get paid too much to do too little for society.

How it's all gotten out of hand, or so we think.

One thing we shouldn't hate is Josh Hamilton. He was named the 2010 American League Most Valuable Player today.

Chances are, you know or knew someone like Hamilton: Struggled daily with some kind of addiction, where everyday you feel like you're on a precipice with some unseen force keeping you from plummeting to your death.

Hamilton is any number of any of us. He didn't win the MVP award for being a guy that's overcome drug and alcohol abuse. He won it because he is more important to the Texas Rangers than any one player on any other team in the American League.

Hamilton is the Rangers' sixth MVP, and probably the most deserving. Considering at least four of the other five came from suggest or confirmed steroid users and the other came from Jeff Burroughs amidst a cornucopia of bad teams, none was more important than Hamilton.

His season took the Rangers to a place that seem astronomically preposterous to us. The World Series, of course. Hell, the ALDS was enough. The ALCS was too much and the World Series was mind blowing. Hamilton helped do the one thing that Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez or Burroughs couldn't do. He won.

Hamilton's MVP as a little in doubt. He lead the AL in just average, slugging and, consequently, on-base plus slugging. Missing the final month killed him stat-wise because it dragged him down in RBI, homers and hits.

The award, however, is about value and just a little about stats. Hamilton hit an American League-leading .369 with runners in scoring position.

He hit .379 with runners in scoring position and two outs. He played killer outfield, battled injuries and lead a hapless, bankrupt franchise from the cellar to the World Series.

The definition of value.

Victor Martinez a Tiger

The Detroit Tigers have nabbed another free agent on the radars of several MLB teams. The Tigers are officially going for it.

The Tigers apparently signed Victor Martinez for four years and $50 million. He apparent was offered three years adn $36 million or four years and $42 million from the Boston Red Sox. No word yet if the Rangers even offered him a deal or not.

That's a lot of money. He's 31 and will be 35 when the deal ends. All for a guy that's probably better suited for first base or the DH spot.

The Rangers are still without a catcher with Bengie Molina probably retiring and Matt Treanor being Matt Treanor.

Miguel Olivo and A.J. Pierzynski are still available and will be much cheaper.

Wade Phillips, Ring of Honor

Headache

Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, the day after his replacement won his second straight game, went on the radio with former defensive end Bruce Smith and compared himself with Tom Landry.

Naturally.

"You know, we went 34-22, which is pretty good. I went out as the same winning percentage of Tom Landry, so I don’t feel bad about my head-coaching career. I think they’re gonna look at me more as a coordinator, and that’s fine with me. I just wanna coach."

Wade Phillips is the biggest turd in professional sports. No one is more insecure. No one knows his own statistics like the back of his hand is more willing to throw those numbers out like Phillips.

I'm almost at the point that I feel sorry for him. And I would if I didn't fully expect him to get another job elsewhere. That guy was the absolute worst thing to happen to the Dallas Cowboys.

Another brick in the wall

There are names that unfortunately define Dallas-Fort Worth post-season sports.

Dwayne Wade. Baron Davis. Tim Lincecum. Jackie Smith. Martin Brodeur. Stephen Jackson. Tony Romo. Tim Duncan. The New York Yankees. Matt Cain.

Throw in George John.

No, you probably don't know him. I certainly don't. He's a defender on FC Dallas, who lost in the MLS Championship yesterday, 2-1 to Colorado.

A shot deflected off John's thigh in overtime of the game and went into his own goal. Then the Colorado player rolled on the ground for 48 hours as he milked the clock.

Gut wreching. Feel bad for John and FC Dallas even if I don't know or root for them.

We have a new name to fit into the post-season nut kick.

Jason Garrett lovefest

All he does is catch touchdown passes

I haven't rooted for the Dallas Cowboys since 1994, and I will not be starting anytime before they lay me into the ground.

However, I can't help but feeling good for guys like Bryan McCann. The guy was undrafted out of SMU. He was released, went to Baltimore and released again. An uncertain future trying to find a place.

Gets a spot look at returning and has that bogus fumble against Green Bay. Then he gets cornerback looks with injuries to Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman against New York, reads that pass to Hakeem Nicks.

Then he takes that goofy punt back 94 yards this week. He has a place on this team now. He's hired and is not going anywhere for at least another two years. The guy probably didn't know if he'd have a job in two years four weeks ago.

Also, Jason Garrett gets win No. 2. I think he's the coach next season.

Grades:

Quarterback -- A
Accurate. A leader. Scores points. Two straight weeks of nearly flawless play from Jon Kitna.

Running Back -- C
Give Tashard Choice Marion Barber's carries. This just has to happen. Choice is good. Take him out of Siberia. His punishment has been unjust.

Wide Receiver -- B
Cowboys receivers caught seven balls. Three were for touchdowns. The quietest loudest day ever. I thought it unfortunate that the Cowboys didn't go downfield more.

Tight End -- B
Quiet. Witten has his moments though. The offense shouldn't run through Witten, but he should serve as a tool to keep drives going, which is what he's done. His value is at the offensive line, helping those poor schmucks out.

Offensive Line -- C
Speaking of, these guys suck. Doug Free is pretty good. That interior and right side is awful. You've got to address this in the off-season.

Defensive Line -- A+
By a mile, the best game for these guys. Jay Ratliff was especially destructive. Jason Hatcher was a menace. Stephen Bowen showed up big. Seemed to have a bigger presence than the numbers would indicate.

Linebacker -- A
It's awesome seeing Bobby Carpenter on the sideline. It's nicer seeing Sean Lee get a lot of snaps. He was flying around the field and caused that fumble that Hatcher recovered. DeMarcus Ware was much more noticable.

Secondary -- C
I think last week was Orlando Scandrick's best game. This was probably his second best. He's recovered very well. The rest? Eh. Well, they tackled well. They may get exposed the next three weeks.

Special Teams -- C
So-so. There was McCann's punt return that turned around the game. But the Lions pinned them deep three times (great kicks more than it was spotty return) and a fourth was thwarted by McCann's heady play. Lions had that one long return. McCann had that other good return before he was tackled by the kicker.

Coaching -- A
Thought the guys were ready. Playcalling was really good. Battled through the second quarter. The blind bootleg was absolute brilliance and Garrett's shit-eating grin proved that. Nothing wrong here, for this week.

Parity, for what it's worth

Kendall Hunter, poke

Say what you will about "parity" or the idea that in any given season or game, the perceived worst team could win.

"Parity" sucks for just the minority -- fans of perennial good teams. We assume. However, "parity" isn't something that typically exists in college football and, yet, it's made the 2010 season 100 times more enjoyable.

Is it "parity" that Auburn and Oregon are undefeated and vying for a national title? Certianly not. Both are pretty good football programs that have been ranked and decent enough for years.

Is it parity that Texas, USC and Florida are all down? Most will tell you "Yes!" and those will be sycophants or fans of those programs. But I refuse to acknowledge that there's a flaw in the system of winning and losing because Texas can't win a game at home.

The fact is, a team not from Texas or Oklahoma will not win the Big XII title this year. Probably. I give Oklahoma a 20 percent chance of winning the conference. Still, how fun has Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Baylor been? Moreso, how great has it been seeing programs like Texas, Florida and USC fall on their ass?

Remember, it wasn't that long ago that OU, UT, USC and others were so-so programs until Bob Stoops, Mack Brown, Pete Carroll and other coaches came in during the 2000s. Thirty years ago, we never thought Florida State or Miami would be fighting for a dumb bowl game.

Parity rules. Thank goodness.

Texas A&M 9, Nebraska 6
Over the past 15 years, the Aggies undeniably would've have lost this game. A ridiculously tight game that Aggie teams have lost over and over again. The best sign is that Ryan Tannehill didn't commit any turnovers allowing Nebraska any undue opportunities with the ball. A fantastic win for the Aggies in front of the entire country after barely getting any televised games over the past six years.

Oklahoma State 48, Kansas 14
The Cowboys set up next week's humdinger against OU. Reel off 38 straight points against the hapless Jayhawks, who are praying for the season to be over.

Missouri 14, Iowa State 0
With the win and a Nebraska loss, Mizzou won the Big XII North. They'll get win No. 10 next week against Kansas. Based on points, Mizzou has the seventh-ranked defense in the nation.

Oklahoma 53, Baylor 24
I guess OU's road woes and Baylor's perfection at home didn't matter. The Bears, as we've learned, were a bit overhyped. Not ready for the big show.

SMU 31, Marshall 17
For the second straight year, SMU is bowl eligible with their sixth win and with a win next week, take the Conference USA title. This wasn't nearly as close as it seems. SMU was up 24-0 by half. Zach Line rushed for 202 yards. Kyle Padron is on the brink of being very good.

Colorado 44, Kansas State 36
The Buffs have won two straight and scored 78 points in that stretch in the post-Hawkins era. Cody Hawkins looks like an All-Conference stud and Rodney Stewart nearly hit 200 yards rushing. An unlikely win against Nebraska next week makes them bowl eligible after starting 0-5 in conference.

Texas 51, Florida Atlantic 17
I doubt the Longhorwns took a trash win against directional Florida school very seriously. But I believe the Longhorns will be better next year. They should take these games and try to get better. Find a year to run the ball. Shore up the defense. Get Garrett Gilbert some confidence.

Texas Tech 64, Weber State 21
Texas Tech should pick on someone their own size.

Lousiana-Monroe 49, UNT 37
UNT's scored 128 points in the last foru games. Lance Dunbar went for another 134. Playing better. A little defense in the fourth quarter wins this one.

SFA 36, Northwestern State 13
Chief Caddo stays in Nacogdoches. The win also gives the Lumberjacks their first outright Southland Conference championship in 20 years.

Cowboys-Lions

Brighter days of Lions football

Tomorrow is a test. Not for the Dallas Cowboys. Frankly, if they don't beat the snot out of the Detroit Lions to get their first home win of the season, then they are farther gone than we realize.

The test is to the fans: Those season-ticket holders who have spent a year's paycheck to seats to the so-called Turd on the Turnpike, but who have also been bitching for eight weeks about how Jerry Jones just needs to go ahead and "fire the GM."

OK, shitheads. Time to put up or shut up. If you go to tomorrow's game and you sincerely believe that Jason Garrett has captured something in this team that is meaningful, then Godspeed.

However, if this things continues the overreaching arch of failure and heat falls back on Jerry Jones as general manager and owner, I don't want to hear about it. You don't get to ignore Jones' GMing when the Cowboys are winning and then complain when they're losing. Jones' general inability to evaluate and sign viable talent in free agency, via trade or the NFL Draft is always there. Sometimes the talent is good enough to overcome the rest of the personnel.

And I don't particularly believe that Jones will never give up the GM spot. Come tomorrow, if there's 40,000 at the Turd and that would send a giant message. It really word. However, that message is only good if it takes place while the cowboys are winning.

So, we shall see where the heart of the Cowboy fan lies.

Five things:

Revenge
It shouldn't, but I think playing your old team carries an extra weight for guys. Jon Kitna and Roy Williams would probably love to bury the Lions despite themselves being on a 2-7 team.

Felix Jones
For as poorly as they've played, the Detroit Lions have a pretty good pass defense. When I say "pretty good," I mean middle of the road. Whereas, they allow 130 yards of rushing per game, near the bottom. For posterity's sake, it might behoove Jason Garrett to get the run game going. The Cowboys offensive line should be able to maul the Lions up front.

Dez Bryant
Because he's special.

Calvin Johnson and Co.
The Lions don't do a lot of things well. One thing they do do well is throw the ball. Near the top of the league in passing. Largely in part to being behind a lot and it doesn't hurt having Calvin Johnson on your team. The guy's a marvel. However, the Lions have five guys with at least 30 catches. Only two of them are wide receivers, the second behind Johnson being Nate Burleson. Meaning, they go to their safety valves with underneath stuff through running backs and tight ends. They do it a lot and they do it well.

The Suh
We finally get to see the professional version of Ndamukong Suh. He's been quite good on a team not getting a ton of attention: Seven sacks and an interception. With that said, note what I said about the Lions run defense ...

Prediction
Dallas Cowboys 24, Detroit Lions 17
I can't imagine the Cowboys losing again at home. It's got to end. I believe in Jason Garrett.

A band of losers

The Chicago Bulls saw no reason to guard anyone else

I've got a bad feeling about these Dallas Mavericks.

It was justified in last night's 88-83 home loss to the Chicago Bulls. A five-point loss doesn't seem that bad. Getting beat 59-34 on the boards, however, is a different story.

Everything that you could consider bad is happening.

Only one (Dirk Nowitzki) is playing well for long stretches (he logged almost 42 minutes and scored 36).

The point guard (Jason Kidd) can not guard anyone. The vaunted draft pick can't get on the floor.

The bench absolutely sucks. The high-priced center free agent (Brendan Haywood is the team's ninth man. And in terms of ninth men, he might be the worst in the league considering his pay grade.

The No. 2 scorer (Caron Butler) hasn't been good in five years, he's in love with his ordinary jump shot and, for all intents and purposes, is sucking ass all year.

J.J. Barea is getting minutes and in those minutes deciding to miss every shot (shooting 37 percent, 14 percent from the three-point line).

In conclusion: This team is a wreck. And the assumption that Roddy Beaubois is going to fix all of this coming off a broken foot in his sophomore year is ridiculous.

This team needs an enema like no other. They might be borderline awful. Probably the worst playoff-caliber team in the NBA. They are far and away the least talented team in Dallas-Fort Worth sports at the moment.

The Mavericks need change beyond just getting people interested, but to get guys in here that can play well consistently and can lead this team to something beyond a first-round ouster in the playoffs.

A November Rangers roster move update

A real Loux point

The Texas Rangers pulled a bold stroke yesterday evening signing the Arizona Diamondbacks' former first-round draft pick, Barret Loux, the Texas A&M great.

Loux was taken as the sixth overall in the 2010 draft, but the Diamondbacks didn't sign him due to apparent major shoulder and elbow issues after failing a physical.

Loux is 21. He's a big guy: 6-5, 220. He was great at Texas A&M. From what I remember of the so-called "scouting reports" he was a polished college pitcher -- a guy with already good control of a mid-90s fastball and a good change up. He could be a fast riser.

But, if his arm falls off, what does it matter? Loux was smart enough to go back to Texas A&M in the interim to finish his degree and he threw on the side to the interest of a few teams.

This is what Jon Daniel do. Low investment for a potential high reward. Not unlike Tanner Scheppers, who fell mightily due to injury issues and is now on the brink of the Majors.

****
The Rangers added outfielder Engel Beltre, starters Miguel De Los Santos and Wilmer Font and reliever Fabio Castillo to the 40-man roster.

Also, they gave minor-league deals to catcher Kevin Cash, infielder Esteban German and outfield Doug Deeds, who is apparently going to town.

Flying coach

Norman trim

The Big XII recently lost a coach -- Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins. However, I don't think it should be truly reflective of the coaches in the conference.

There are the big dogs, Mack Brown and Bob Stoops.

Turner Gill, frankly, has turned water into wine in his first year in Lawrence winning three games with the Jayhawks. Two veterans Mike Sherman and Art Briles have taken two dormant (that's being kind) programs and turned them into ranked winners.

Two names -- Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and Gary Pinkel in Missouri -- has passed the test. They've built up their programs, turned them into top 10 teams, weathered the drafts and turnover and are still top 10 teams.

If there are any big programs looking to make a change at coach, I would bet Gundy and Pinkel will be in the talks.

Nebraska (9-1, 5-1) vs. Texas A&M (7-3, 4-2)
Do you think Nebraska's regretting that loss to Texas at home? Cripes. That looks awful now. And it's basically keeping them out of the national championship after shitting the bed against an awful (absolutely awful!) Texas team. They've since scored 133 points in four games.

Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2) vs. Baylor (7-4, 4-3)
OU is not invincible. Outside of their losses, they barely beat Air Force, Cincinnati and Utah State. Baylor is 4-0 at home.

Oklahoma State (9-1, 1-5) vs. Kansas (3-7, 1-5)
Is enough credit given to Mike Gundy? Seems like -- even with all his players going to the NFL -- he puts out a nine- or 10-win team. Also, it's a borderline miracle that Kansas beat Georgia Tech at the beginning of the year. No matter how ordinary Ga Tech looks.

Missouri (8-2, 4-2) at Iowa State (5-6, 3-4)
Those wins over San Diego State and Texas A&M are looking much better today.

Marshall (4-6, 3-3) vs SMU (5-5, 4-2)
SMU still has a shot at the conference title. I don't know how good or bad SMU is. Hopefully the week off gave them some time for thought.

Kansas State (6-4, 3-4) vs. Colorado (4-6, 1-5)
K-State's has a brilliant running game (200 yards a game), and good enough to beat the underlings of the conference, but can't beat anyone of substance. Bill Snyder needs himself a signature win. Against Colorado isn't it.

Florida Atlantic (4-5, 3-3) vs. Texas (4-6, 2-5)
Texas can't lose their fifth in Austin and fifth in a row overall, can they? Florida Atlantic's a good team to get back in the saddle with. To put them in perspective, they lost to the University of North Texas. They're that bad.

Weber State (6-4, 5-3) vs. Texas Tech (5-5, 3-5)
A team like Tech can't completely sleepwalk through Weber State, a team that'll score some points on you. I doubt there's a team in the nation (including most junior varsity squads) that Tech can't sleepwalk against.

Northwestern State (5-5, 4-2) vs. SFA (8-2, 5-1)
The battle for Chief Caddo!

UNT (3-7, 3-4) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (4-6, 3-3)
Big game for UNT. A shot at .500 in conference play.

And one to grow on

Seems like Jamie Benn's happier

Mike Ribeiro picked a very opportune time to score his first goal. The second was just gravy.

The Dallas Stars scored twice with less than three minutes left in San Jose, including Ribs' first goal of the season, to get the game to overtime. Ribs' second goal of the season three minutes into the extra frame won it, 5-4.

Ribeiro's production over five seasons has been on a steady decline. He's gone from 83 points to 53 points in three seasons and it took him 17 games to score his first goal this year.

Still, maybe this is a sign that he's coming around a bit. If he's scoring goals alongside James Neal, Brad Richards and Brendan Morrow, the Stars will be a tough team to beat.

Since last week's three-game slide, the Stars have run off two straight wins, this one on the road. They are still buried in the competitive and tight Pacific Division, sitting last with 20 points, four behind leader Los Angeles.

Bad things

Unfair

I probably shouldn't freak out about a random November 99-97 Dallas Mavericks loss to the New Orleans Hornets on the road.

But I'm freaking out.

A lot of disconcerting things reared their ugly heads last night and it would all be OK if it were a rookie coach instructing a bunch of rookie players.

But we're beyond all this. The Mavs lost thanks to:

Defense
I love Jason Kidd. I really do. It broke my heart when the Mavericks traded him in the first place. The guy is the starting point guard here. He's all we got, and we win or lose with the guy. Unfortunately, the Dallas Mavericks will never make it any where close to the NBA Finals with him as the starting point guard. Chris Paul the last two games:

34.4 MPG - 17-29 - 4-7 3PT - 30 assists - 5 turnovers - 3 steals - 21 PPG.

That's five turnovers in 68 minutes of play, 2.5 turnovers per 34 minutes. Jason Kidd's inability to guard faster, younger point guards is no mystery. But that doesn't explain the stark reality that in April he's still not going to be able to guard Paul, Tony Parker and Monta Ellis.

Also, the zone doesn't work. Good teams kill the zone. Teams that play solely zone defense is telling you that they can't guard you one-on-one and that they have to run flea flickers on every play to beat you.

J.J. Barea
I used to think you could survive with Barea as your No. 9 guy. However, Barea must have sex-with-clowns photos of Rick Carlisle because there's little reason why Barea's getting crunch-time minutes with the Mavericks. When teams want to, they can stop Barea. I don't know Carlisle's fascination with Barea. He's limited in just about every way and playing him in the third quarter of a blow-out is one thing, but on the road against a good New Orleans team in a one-point game is another. The Mavericks will never sniff the second-round of the playoffs with Barea getting anything more than 10 trash-time minutes twice a week.

Rick Carlisle
Seriously? You've been in the league for 30 years and you in-bound the potential game-winning possession to Dirk Nowitzki a billion miles from the basket forcing him to go one-on-one against David West, a smaller, quicker, blacker defender who has given Dirk fits for five seasons? Who the fuck is coaching this thing?

Free agency talk

Upton in Uptown?

The Detroit Tigers gave Joaquin Benoit a three-year, $16.5 million. He's 33. That's a big payday for a guy coming off years of injury before putting up a brilliant year in Tampa Bay last year. I thought he'd be a good fit for Texas, but I would not have given him that much.

****
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick have the Texas Rangers as one of several teams in on Brandon Webb. I wouldn't mind giving him an incentive-laden deal.

****
Gavin Floyd, anyone? The White Sox are apparently listening for the starter, according to Joel Sherman. He's almost 28. He had 17 wins three seasons ago and has a decent strikeout rate and walks the minimum. One good sign is that he gave up 30 home runs in 2008 and just 14 in 2010.
****
The Arizona Diamondbacks are listening on offers for outfielder Justin Upton. Looks like they're cleaning house. He's a 23-year-old right fielder, who's had pretty good seasons the last two. He hits for power and steals bases. The only interest for the Rangers is a possibly move of Josh Hamilton to first base or even DH. I don't know if Upton can handle centerfield or if he was in right for a reason. Either way, you could do Upton in left and Julio Borbon in center. Looks like you'd have to give up four or five pretty salty prospects to get Upton. May be too rich for my blood.

Stars win and I wish they'd make up their mind

The proverbial Krys Barch fight photo

Things would be easier in sports, as a fan, if teams performed consistently at a certain level.

I have no idea how good or bad the Dallas Stars are. I've seen a couple of games. They look fine. Other games they get run out of the building.

Are they the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals two years ago (with primarily the same cast) or missed the playoffs by a long shot a year ago (with primarily the same cast).

At times, I wish they were either really bad or really good especially in hockey, a game I really don't understand or know how to fully evaluate.

The folks at Yahoo! Sports have them at No. 22 in their power rankings. They're last in the Pacific Division and they've gone 4-6 in their last 10. In their last three, before last night's 2-1 win at home over Anaheim, they'd lost all three being outscored 12-3.

I think this is what they are. A team that will probably get close to 90 points with a winning record and wind up 10th in a deep Western Conference. They're not very good and I tend to think that they are very talented and I don't know where the gap is. The goaltending is not great, but is that a statement on Kari Lehtonen or the defensemen.

I've tended to think the blue line was the problem. Isn't there at this point enough there to make a difference.

In the end, the Stars are being bitten by the same bug that killed the Rangers for four years: Tom Hicks. I don't think he's running things any more, but money isn't being spent. Goals aren't being scored. The coach is bitching about lines being on the ice too long.

Things aren't good in the Stars camp.

Seven years and a dollar short

Free agent Cliff Lee allegedly wants, quite literally, a CC Sabathia-like contract of seven years.

You don't give a 32-year-old pitcher a seven-year contract. You just don't.

It would cripple the Texas Rangers and just about every other team rumored in the Lee sweepstakes and I can't imagine them actually giving him those years.

My assumption is that the "seven year" thing is a message to the New York Yankees: "If you want me, come and get me." I think the Yanks could walk in and end Lee's time as a free agent in pretty short order.

Will they? They can, but I also think the Yanks have limits not necessarily in terms of the money, but the principle of the thing. The Yankees could've outbid Tom Hicks on Alex Rodriguez, but they didn't. Not that he wasn't worth it.

But the Yanks allowed the lil' Rangers they day in the sun. Several years later, A-Rod's hitting homers for the Yanks while the Rangers are picking up the tab.

I really can't imagine the Yanks offering the seven years and all of this settling on four or five. If it comes down to the Rangers, I hope they let this all play out and not get suckered into overpaying.

With that said, the Rangers are also one of a number of teams in on Jorge De La Rosa. Again, not an awful idea. Then again, be wary. De La Rosa's rounding into the second-best starter in the free agent market.

The last thing I want the Rangers doing is missing out on Lee and then overspending on De La Rosa to make sure all was for naught.

Broken windows

Baby steps

There is a very popular theory among criminologists that you have probably heard about it.

It's the "Broken Window Theory." It's been written about ad nauseum. If you've heard or read anything concerning Rudy Guiliani's clean-up of New York City, then you are familiar with it.

The crux of the theory is that if you fix the small things (say, a broken window) then it has a domino effect of major crime in a particular neighborhood or area.

In "The Tipping Point," Malcolm Gladwell goes into detail concerning how the officials of the New York City subway system began battling major crimes like assault, rape and muggings by cleaning the subway cars and catching people that jump the turnstile.

If you stop the small infractions, it prevents an escalation of the big infractions.

It's popular. New York City, The Netherlands, Albuequerque and Lowell, Mass. have all instituted some form of the "Broken Windows Theory" and it's had its share of successes.

I think Jason Garrett, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, is a supporter of the "Broken Windows Theory."

Yesterday, a lot was made of Garrett skirting questions regarding Marion Barber being fined for a dress code violation.

Garrett, when he was named the head coach eight days ago, instituted a number of "new" standards for the Cowboys. A dress code on game day. Requiring players to show up to meetings on time or the room's door is locked. Forcing players to practice in pads on Wednesday. Earlier practice times.

What does this have to do with winning football games? Actually, very little. It's not like the Cowboys weren't practicing or watching tape. Getting to Valley Ranch at 8 a.m. rather than 9 a.m. doesn't make you tackle an opponent better or catch the football.

But those were "broken windows." Kind of coming in whenever was a broken window. Playing dominoes or cards in the locker room was a broken window. Looking like a slob on game day was a broken window.

All were "broken windows" that Wade Phillips (along with probably a lot of coaches) ignored, instead setting his focus on the larger issues -- like penalties, dropped passes, blown coverages, bad tackling, turnovers and effort.

Garrett, I think, believes that the coming in late for meetings, sloppy dress, card games and lackadaisical practices translate into penalties, turnovers and blown coverages.

For one week, it's worked. For at least one week, fans and dudes like me are interested. Fans are used to bad teams. There's not a city in the United States that hasn't had some extended amount of poor play. But we tolerate certain teams if they're good people or something we can proud of. At the very least, Garrett wants his team to be something we can all be proud of.

Garrett is fixing the "broken windows." He thinks it'll fix the major issues. I might be crazy enough to work. Will it be enough?

Year in review: Frisco RoughRiders

Lemon

A broad look at the year of each minor league affilliate for the Texas Rangers.

Previous: Spokane Indians, Hickory Crawdads and Bakersfield Blaze.

This time, we consider the Frisco RoughRiders.

The Good
Engel Beltre wound up with a .254 average on the season, but I don't think that tells the story of his 2010. For the first half of the season, Beltre was the hottest hitter in the organization. He finished with a .331 average in Bakersfield before the bump to Frisco, where he kept on his torrid pace before slowing down later in the season. Most impressive is his maturation at the plate. He went from 105 strikeouts in 2008, 82 in 2009 to 58 in 2010. If you had a pinpoint a more exciting prospect, Beltre would be in the talk.

If you can swallow the 120 strikeouts, Joey Butler put up some nice numbers at Frisco. He had 42 extra-base hits and a .277 average playing right field. For what's it's worth, the 120 strikeouts were about a 20-strikeout improvement from the previous year. Willie Mays, he is not.

Renny Osuna seemed to play every position on the field and hit .293 with 21 doubles and a career-high 20 steals.

Beau Jones -- the spare part in the Mark Teixeira trade -- posted a 2.91 ERA and struck out 62 in 52 innings.

Tim Murphy walked 24 and struck out 23 in Bakersfield. Gets a call to Frisco. Walks three and strikes out 23. Go figure.

The Bad
Martin Perez paid the Rangers back for skipping High-A by tanking in Double-A. He put up a 5.96 ERA on the season allowing 12 home runs and 50 walks in 99 innings. The good news is that he picked things up late (if that should tell you about the first part of the season) and still struck out more than a hitter per inning. Injuries also tripped up his 2010.

"Disaster" is what you might use to describe former first-round pick Kasey Kiker. That might undersell the word "disaster." His line: 40 IP - 38 runs - 46 walks - 42 Ks.

The most disappointing aspect of Marcus Lemon's career so far is that he tended to be a high-walk, low-strikeout sort, who could get on and steal bases. Instead, over time, the gap between those two numbers has widened.

John Whittleman is done. Hit .201 in 259 at-bats.

At his best, Richard Bleier is great. At his worst, he's extremely hittable. Allowed 191 hits in 164 innings. Struck out just 82.

Why we care what Wade Phillips thinks is beyond me

Read more for Wade Phillips' thoughts on global politics

I thought it odd Monday morning when I read this headline on the front page of The Dallas Morning News' website:

Fired Cowboys coach reacts: 'It doesn't absolve everything, but it was a win'.

Hold ...

What?!?!?!?

Wade Phillips was at some inane charity bullshit and some dude named Mark Edgar had the opportunity to approach the former head coach and ask him about the Cowboys' win over the New York Giants.

Said Phillips:

"I'm so proud of the guys, and I'm talking about my coaches and all my players."
Oh, man. Thanks for that insight Phillips. And thanks for the News for digging up this very important information from the guy that drove the franchise into the ground.

Some more:

"We needed a win. It doesn't absolve everything, but it was a win. And that's what's great about football."

Again, wait a sec. It eerily sounds like Phillips thinks he's still the head coach of the Cowboys. What's this "we" crap. It doesn' absolve everything. You mean, Wade, that it doesn't erase the previous eight weeks? It doesn't pull the Cowboys up to .500 or make them eighth in the NFC? Oh no!

Read that quote. "We" needed a win. The win does not make up for the other seven losses. "But it was a win." And "that's what's great about football."

You mean, going 1-7 and winning a game and that game not making up for that 1-7 record is "what's great about football."

Wade Phillips is dumber than a bag of hammers. The Dallas Morning News isn't too far behind. And how he kept his job eight weeks into this season is beyond me.

No word on what Chan Ho Park feels about the Rangers World Series or perhaps what Quincy Carter feels about the Giants game.

Tre Newton: Possibly very smart

Tre Newton: Concussed

Tre Newton, the stand-out running back from Southlake Carroll and current dud on the Texas Longhorns, is quitting football.

He was concussed two weeks ago against Kansas State and didn't play against Oklahoma State. Honestly, he wasn't really missed. Newton's been a rather big disappointment at Texas.

He has a total of 180 carries in two seasons totaling a paltry 781 and nine touchdowns.

Newton's had a number of concussions dating back to his high school days, if not before. Newton, of course, is the son of Cowboys great Nate Newton, so there was probably an unspoken pressure to play professionally.

I doubt Tre would've translated to the NFL. He was missing something. But he had at least two years to prove himself and figure it out.

As it stands, if it stands, Tre will be 80 years old and know how to tie his shoe as he gets a fantastic college education at a premier institution.

Smartest move of his life.

Clint Hurdle, gone

Another Hurdle, another obstacle

It took about a billion years for the Texas Rangers to get rid of Rudy Jaramillo despite the job interviews every winter.

It took one year for Clint Hurdle to leave.

GM Jon Daniels will need to address the position of hitting coach for a second straight year after the Pittsburgh Pirates came over and took Hurdle as their manager.

I didn't think much of Hurdle initially and when the Rangers kind of struggled early, I was railing against him.

But things settled. Hurdle was successful. Or, anything but Jaramillo was successful.

Hurdle's offense wasn't mind blowing. He fed into Ron Washington's mantra of getting contact, being patient and making the pitcher throw you a ball you want to hit.

The numbers don't lie:

	Runs	Average	OBP	Slugging
2009	784	.260	.320	.445
2010	787	.276	.338	.419
Change	+3	+16	+18	-26

It's anti-Rudyball. It's getting on base, getting the base hit. Hitting the gaps and stealing bases. Damn the home run.

Hurdle will be missed. Daniels will have a chore in replacing him.

Rangers best starter wins AL ROY as reliever

Feliz is happy

Neftali Feliz was named the American League Rookie of the Year today.

The Rangers have won just two Rookie of the Year awards. The other going to Mike Hargrove in 1974.

Feliz was great. Set a rookie record with 40 saves. Struck out 71 and walked 18. Posted a 2.73 ERA.

The dude's as cool as a motherfucking cucumber. He tosses 100 and doesn't react. He's the anti-Brian Wilson and there's nothing wrong with Brian Wilson. Feliz could give a shit, or so he wants you to think.

My favorite Feliz stat: 22 for 22 on save opportunities on the road. He was actually significantly better on the road allowing a 0.96 BAA on the road and a silly 1.27.

With all that said, Feliz needs to be in the starting rotation next season. I love a good closer and every good team needs one. But they can be found.

Why wasn't Mariano Rivera turned into a starter in the 1990s? Because the Yankees had starters. If they ran out, they'd go buy some more. The Rangers could be thin at front-of-the-rotation starters next season and even five years from now.

Feliz is too special to keep to 69 innings a season.

Welcome to the season, Dallas Cowboys

Tell me this doesn't remind you of another No. 88

Do you think Wade Phillips was sitting on his coach, watching the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants (in New Jersey) 33-20 last night completely, and utterly pissed off?

If I were him, I'd be pissed off.

Either one of two things happened: The Cowboys quit on Phillips or the weeklong set of changes that took place in there workplace affected them in a substantial way.

The Cowboys didn't win yesterday because of pride. The "pride" thing would've come into play about six weeks ago.

Either they quit on Wade or Jason Garrett is Tom effin' Landry.

I don't know how Phillips can honestly sit and watch Mike Jenkins (self admittedly) ease up on tackling an opponent exactly one week ago and then see the same player fly through the backfield to tackle Ahmad Bradshaw and not feel betrayed.

Phillips treated those guys with kid gloves assuming that on Sunday they would reward him with hard play. It worked for a little bit. Then the glaze of comfort and the lack of urgency set in and ate up this team.

It was quite the transformation yesterday. I will admit this. I had zero anticipation for that to happen and I'm only happy it did because it gives us something to talk about.

However, for those who are anti-Jerry Jones, it's not helping and if you dislike Garrett, I think you'll have a hard time getting rid of him after the season. Jones will.

Grades:

Quarterback -- A
Honestly, Jon Kitna hasn't thrown that well since college.

Running Back -- C
Mid-game, the FOX folks brought on Jimmy Johnson from the studio to comment on the game and teams. He stated that he was impressed with how the Cowboys were sticking to the run. I looked at the stats. They had 13 attempts and it was well into the third quarter. Although Felix Jones' 71-yard reception was a huge play, the running game wasn't very good. Trash-time yards from Marion Barber doesn't matter much.

Wide Receiver -- A
We all waited. We all wanted to see the game that Dez Bryant broke out. We've seen one guy like him in a Cowboys' uniform and he was nicknamed "The Playmaker." And he also wears a gold jacket whenever he wants to. Hopefully, Bryant's not snorting coke with a bunch of strippers in three years.

Tight End -- C
It's not that I don't like Jason Witten, but show me all the wins where he's the spotlight of the offense. Name me the successful football team where a tight end was where the offense ran all its plays from. Tight ends that are success at catching balls and scoring are accessories. Nice if you got them, but, in general, they can be found. Ask Bill Belichick or Peyton Manning.

Offensive Line -- A
As the O-line goes so goes Kitna and those receivers. It honestly wasn't until after the game that I realized how ineffective the Giants pass rush was. The O-line stepped up huge.

Defensive Line -- B
Give the Giants credit. They kept running and running and it was going nowhere. The Cowboys won the battles up front and -- lo and behold!!! -- they won the game. Not much pressure on Eli Manning, however.

Linebackers -- B
Again, good on run defense but DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer were no-shows. Spencer, most notably, has been persona non grata all season. Bradie James, arguably, had his best game of the year. Seems like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Secondary -- B
The stats might indicate it was a rough day, but the Giants were playing from behind for three-quarters of the game. They tackled well, forced Manning into some silly passes and also forced him to make some tough passes. Hakeem Nicks ate their lunch a little. But he eats a lot of lunches.

Special Teams -- F
What do you do with David Buehler? Half his appeal was his kick offs and even those wind up on the 1-yard line. If you want to make an example of someone, if someone's head must roll, you can start with him. If you do, someone needs to answer for the 2009 draft.

Coaching -- A
If the thought is that a team takes on the personality of their coach, I can't imagine there being a circumstance that proves this any more. The players said it. Jason Garrett said it. The announcers said it. It's obvious. The way Wade Phillips worked was unsuccessful and any change would be a positive one. The change, it appears, is groundbreaking. Let's see how it holds up.

The great escape

Angry, vengeful

I think I've made it clear over the past three years that I am no fan of a playoff system in college football.

However, I am also no fan of the Bowl Championship Series. This based on my assumption that the NCAA is one of the most crooked sports organizations in the world.

What makes it more crooked is that fact that no one says anything about it. The NCAA is like Al Capone -- everyone knows they're crooked, but the right people are kept happy (see: big schools) and it's going to take something like tax evasion to "get" them. If there's anything to get.

I love college sports. But it's the biggest con job in sports.

BCS is the mysterious gatekeeper of college football. You can't question it because it's a computer. Therefore, it's always right. Or the NCAA can say its right. The media and fans can bitch but the NCAA just says, "Hey! What can we do? It's a computer!"

TCU is still No. 3 in the nation in the BCS, but the AP Top 25 has Boise State jumping TCU. That's insane. Granted, TCU almost lost. Still, they almost lost to a team (San Diego State) with some chops. A good team in a conference with a little bit of say. Boise State beat Idaho.

Until TCU and Boise State play in a big conference, they don't deserve a spot in the national title game. But you don't jump Boise over TCU becuase of Idaho. Seriously.

TCU 40, San Diego State 35
The Frogs simply slipped out the gate. I worried about this game because of the hype surrounding last week's game in Utah. They looked hungover a little, but righted the ship in pretty short order. Even sloppy, they look better than most.

Texas A&M 42, Baylor 30
Super disappointed. I thought Baylor was going to show a little something beating a ranked team. Looked good early. Couldn't get that offense going late. So, if Ryan Tannehill was this much better than Jerrod Johnson, why wasn't he playing in September? They beat Oklahoma State with Tannehill, right? And they probably get even closer to Arkansas. Possible wins just down the drain.

Oklahoma State 33, Texas 16
Justin Blackmon is a man amongst boys. What did we expect here? Texas can't run the ball and their quarterback is not good enough yet to carry the team. They're losing. But losing to good teams. Texas simply isn't that good. They're suddenly not going to get really good.

Oklahoma 45, Texas Tech 7
Texas A&M not only beat Tech, but they went and got OU all riled up and they took it out on Tech. Have you seen Landry Jones' year? Twenty-seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

Missouri 38, Kansas State 28
Don't let the score fool you. Mizzou beat K-State pretty hard. It was a 17-point game going into the fourth quarter and except for some trash-time touchdowns, the Wildcats were kind of out of it. Missouri's good, but they're still a level below the top tier teams in the nation.

Nebraska 20, Kansas 3
What a miserable game. Kansas had 15 yards passing.

Colorado 34, Iowa State 14
Hmm. Interim coach leads their lackluster team to a win, their first in the conference. Sounds familiar. Cody Hawkins has the best game of his college career. Without his daddy on the sidelines.

UNT 23, Middle Tennessee 17
If the Mean Green hitch their wagons to getting turnovers and running the ball (Lance Dunbar: 36 carries, 226 yards), they will continue to win. It's the antithesis of "Dodgeball" and it works.

SFA 51, Southeastern Louisiana 14
Don't bring Kool-Aid to the gin party.

Cowboys-Giants

Only thing looking good in silver and blue

It is go-time for Jason Garrett.

Maybe -- just maybe! -- Garrett is the opposite of Wade Phillips. Maybe he's an awful coordinator and a brilliant head coach.

Certainly, I'm impressed so far. His press conferences show little silly antics, jokes or insight as to how his ship will be run.

He's curt, but never outright rude to the media. If he doesn't want to answer a question, he gives you a generic filler quote. Almost a "no comment" without sounding like you're hiding something.

Overall, I do not think the Cowboys are being run the same way they were two weeks ago and this can only be a good thing.

Maybe a little leadership and a kick in the ass is what this team needed. Maybe getting their ass handed to them in Green Bay is something that'll help.

I do not think, however, that Garrett needs to show much to keep his job. Most think Garrett will be dumped almost no matter what for Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden. I disagree. Jerry Jones is a nutjob with a gigantic bout of pride. He wants Garrett to succeed because it'll help secure the status quo in the general manager's office. It'll also confirm that Jones was right about Garrett.

I think Garrett can keep his job with a handful of wins to end the season and eight games of trying hard. Here is week No. 1. See how this team responds.

Five things:

Hakeem Nicks
Since last year, Nicks has become a personal favorite. The dude is a beast, a fucking sculpture. Physically and mentally, he looks like a receiver that is unwilling to be stopped. As in, even if you could and want to stop him, it might not matter. If he wants to catch the ball and score, he will despite your entreaties. Had nine catches, 108 yards and two touchdowns earlier this season against Dallas.

Garrett
Let's see how it's run. How do the other coaches respond? The players? He's still calling the plays, but will that change in anyway. Will he call it differently having insight into the defensive gameplan?

The Stadium
JerryWorld is not longer the newest jewel in the NFL stadium diadem. The new Meadowlands is considered to be almost just as nice, just not as big. Then again, since 40,000 fans will go to JerryWorld in a week, I guess it doesn't matter how big or little the stadium is.

Book on Eli
If he's upright and comfy, he kills you. He killed the Cowboys several weeks ago despite having so-so numbers against them before. Typically, the Cowboys are knocking him down. He's a lesser version of his brother Peyton in that the latter can be shaken and stirred. Eli, more so.

Defensive Line
Jason Hatcher and Marcus Spears are out. That leaves the once-deep Cowboys defensive line awfully thin with a couple of new names coming in and trying to catch on as quick as they can. This is the same defensive line getting gashed the five weeks by any and all running backs. If Brandon Jacobs gets passed and is headed toward Mike Jenkins ... well, we know how that movie ends.

Prediction
Giants 45, Cowboys 7
Blow out. I don't think you can give the Giants enough points at home against a banged up and down and out Cowboys team. There's very little reason to think the Cowboys are within three touchdowns.

At least Texas has this going for it

Since it happened, I hadn't commented on the firing of Dan Hawkins as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. It was probably a long time coming, but the university allowed Hawkins plenty of time to show a certain amount of turnaround for a once-great program.

However, with the move to the PAC-10 next season, Colorado wanted to move on. Hawkins may regret leaving Boise State, a program he helped build up to what it is today.

Instead, he went to the big conference and got his ass beat. In his second year, Hawkins seemed to have the program back in some generally good direction. The Buffs went 6-6 and 4-4 in conference.

It all went downhill. From six wins to five to three. This year, the Buffs are 0-5 in conference, which included allowed a mammoth comeback by a bad Kansas team last week in Boulder.

As a fun side note, this is the second firing of a coach of local interest that had his son playing quarterback for the team (Todd, Riley Dodge at UNT).

Kansas State (6-3, 3-3) vs. Missouri (7-2, 3-2)
With Nebraska all but sown up the Big XII North, Mizzou and K-State have little to really play for outside of pride and winning for winning's sake. I suspect Mizzou will look to take care of business at home and keep the pressure on Nebraska.

San Diego State (7-2, 4-1) vs. TCU (10-0, 6-0)
TCU's allowed 23 points in six games. The offense has scored less than 30 points once (Colorado State, 27-0). Still, the Frogs shouldn't sleep on the Aztecs. They average almost 450 yards per game on offense. Even at home, the Frogs need to be focused following the huge win over Utah.

Iowa State (5-5, 3-3) vs. Colorado (3-6, 0-5)
I suspect the Cyclones to win this game and get to six wins for another bowl appearance. Including last year's seven-win team, Paul Rhodes' tenure at Iowa State has been impressive ... in terms of Iowa State football.

Texas Tech (5-4, 3-4) vs. Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2)
If this game were in Lubbock, I'd sound the alarm. I think Bob Stoops will put a boot in his team's ass following last week's turd in College Station. As much as OU's rebounding, Tech's coming off a huge win at home against Mizzou. Two teams coming off very different weeks.

Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2) vs. Baylor (7-3, 4-2)
Who knew that this would probably be the marquee match-up in Big XII football in mid-November? Baylor is 4-0 at home and they score big on familiar turf. Aggies riding the wave of Ryan Tannehill. The thought of A&M possibly being a top 20 team chills me to my bones.

Kansas (3-6, 1-4) vs. Nebraska (8-1, 4-1)
Nebraska can be susceptible to the let-down game with an easy schedule to end things until the Big XII Championship game. At best, Kansas strives to be "plucky."

Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1) vs. Texas (4-5, 2-4)
When's the last time Texas lost four in a row? When's the last time they lost four in Austin? The answer to these questions on Sunday will be "2010."

UNT (2-7, 2-4) vs. Middle Tennessee (3-5, 2-2)
UNT's scored 68 points in their last two games with Riley Dodge running things. Again, UNT will have a shot at winning their third game. Middle Tennessee allows almost 400 yards of offense per game.

Southeastern Louisiana (2-7 ,1-4) vs. SFA (7-2, 4-1)
The Lumberjacks should cruise here.

Mo' money, mo' problems

Big Vic

The baseball experts at Fox Sports are reporting that GM Jon Daniels has permission to spend big this holiday season.

The team that started 2010 with a $55 million payroll apparently has permission to get up to the $90 million range.

This is partially due to a World Series appearance, increase attendance, new owners and a salty new TV contract with Fox Sports Southwest.

Also, the Rangers only have about $32 million committed to five players as many guys (Josh Hamilton, C.J. Wilson, Nellie Cruz). Tons of leeway.

A lot of this might be a snootful of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.

The Rangers are going after both.

Lee's expected to be had for at least $20 million year.

Martinez is a guy I've avoided these last three weeks because I don't particularly like him. There's little doubt that he can hit.

However, can he work a pitching staff like Bengie Molina? Is he a winner? Frankly, he's been a nice player on a number of so-so teams.

Also, since his Major-League debut, Martinez has played more than 140 games just five times in nine seasons. Injuries are a major issue.

The kicker is price. Again, I have no problem spending someone else's money, but in five years and this team is handicapped with huge contracts, we might as well be owned by Tom Hicks.

The Fox fellows also mention Carl Crawford and Zack Greinke in correlation with Texas.