Another Bush in town

Hairy Bush

The Texas Rangers made another move to strengthen their depth at pitcher by signing the 31-year-old Dave Bush for $1 million. If not in the Majors by April, he can be released.

Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux is confident in the move. Of course, he coach Bush in Milwaukee for the bulk of his career. What ails Bush is something that Maddux thinks he can fix.

Granted, Bush had his moments. In 2008, he pitched 185 innings and compiled a 4.18 ERA and a .234 BAA. Between 2006-08, he had at least 185 innings in each season. Clearly these were his peak years.

In 2009, he missed a significant amount of time due to a "tired arm." He came back in 2010 with 174 innings and a 4.54 ERA.

It's a good date: He's cheap and there's no strings attached. Maddux knows him, he's young enough to regroup and maybe get one good contract.

He's not the Rangers prototype. They've gone to great lengths in getting tall, strong, hard-throwing right handers. Bush is not that. He's 6-2 and a more of a finesse pitcher. He's averaged way less than a strikeout per inning. He's allowed a lot of home runs and walks.

As Evan Grant points out, Bush's flyball-groundball ratio has gone from heavy on groundballs to flyballs in the recent years. None of this sounds all that great.

Still, it's an arm and competition. He'll vie for the fifth starter's position and work as a veteran insurance for Brandon Webb, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis Neftali Feliz or anyone else not working out.

For that No. 5 starter's position, it's him, Derek Holland, Michael Kirkman and Eric Hurley in the hunt.

Super Bowl update, Monday edition

It's not cold ... it's your imagination

It's about to get cold as shit! Come back in five years, NFL! Pleeeeeaaassssssseeeeee!

*****
Another bad sign: The Ticket's Dunham & Miller show disintegrated live from media row this morning for about seven minutes. Seriously. Dallas is awesome!

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Disjointed and forced newspaper column of the day: From Kevin Sherrington, who is attempting to communicate something. I just don't know what.

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Bill Clinton is not coming to the Super Bowl.

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The absolute worst media member in Dallas-Fort Worth is Steve Blow. Whilst the schools and city are in utter turmoil, he writes a column about the whole "North Texas" distinction that is allegedly plaguing the Super Bowl.

Guess what? No one cares. You couldn't say "Dallas" or "Fort Worth" because that's not where the game is. Jerry Jones wanted to build that stadium in any other city and Dallas had every opportunity to get it in their city limits. They shit the bed. Arlington pounced on it. Let's move along.

****
I hate to disappoint everyone, but no one 35 years or younger care about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thusly, a good majority of Dallas Cowboys fans care that the Steelers could win a Super Bowl in Dallas. It doesn't matter. People my age don't remember those Steelers-Cowboys Super Bowls. Terry Bradshaw is the bald guy on the pre-game show on FOX.

What the Cowboys should know is that 30-year-old Cowboys fans care a lot that the Steelers seem to win and win a lot. All their draft picks work. Their ownership is stable. Their GM is virtually unknown and he is nothing but gold.

NFL Predictions, Phase II

Keep the player, trash the uniform

I don't make predictions and run away from them as soon as they go bad. I, instead, face up to my frailties and hope to use these disappointments to become a better unpaid, slightly dorky sports blogger.

Accountability!

Predicted Record
Actual Record

NFC West
San Francisco 49ers -- 11-5 -- 6-10
I nearly did something as remarkable is picking this division perfectly. I almost did the total opposite. Had I swapped the bottom two, I would have picked the last-place team first and vice versa. You heard it here: The 49ers are a decent coach and decent quarterback from winning this division every year.

Arizona Cardinals -- 8-8 -- 5-11
I don't know why I undervalued Kurt Warner's departure.

Seattle Seahawks -- 6-10 -- 7-9
They were worse than bad. They were boring.

St. Louis Rams -- 4-12 -- 7-9
It was not always pretty and it was done with a ton of injuries and a bunch of no-names, but they won. Won in a bad division. If this division ever wakes up, the Rams could be leading the charge or left behind.

NFC South
New Orleans Saints -- 13-3 -- 11-5
The 2009-10 Saints got lucky for 19 weeks. No doubt they were good. But even better, they were lucky. They got huge turnovers in huge games and it paid dividends. Those turnovers didn't come around, they played from behind and Drew Brees was not nearly as effective.

Atlanta Falcons -- 9-7 -- 13-3
Still need defense. Still need an edge.

Carolina Panthers -- 8-8 -- 2-14
Like Cardinals, I somehow forgot who the quarterback was. The quarterback is a baseline for predicting. Start there and go down the line.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 4-12 -- 10-6
"Is there a professional coach that looks more out of place and overwhelmed than Raheem Morris?" Well. I'm an idiot.

NFC North
Green Bay Packers -- 11-5 -- 10-6
"I think Aaron Rodgers is in 'fuck you' mode." Nailed it. That dude was on a mission all season. He carried that ragamuffin band all year.

Minnesota Vikings -- 9-7 -- 6-10
I kind of think Brett Favre's histrionics completely threw them off. Not having Sydney Rice killed them, too.

Chicago Bears -- 6-10 -- 11-5
It's no mistake that the Bears won as Matt Forte got fed the ball all year. It helps staying healthy on defense, too.

Detroit Lions -- 4-12 -- 6-10
An extremely fascinating team. Deserves seven wins. If they stay healthy, I think they get eight.

NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles -- 10-6 -- 10-6
I got it right. Just with the wrong quarterback.

Washington Redskins -- 10-6 -- 6-10
D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R.

Dallas Cowboys -- 9-7 -- 6-10
I thought they were ordinary. For half a season, they were plain bad.

New York Giants -- 6-10 -- 10-6
I will never underestimate Tom Coughlin or his teams again.

Four things that'll sink the Super Bowl

The shitty of ... city of Dallas

The thing with Jerry Jones getting that gigantic stadium built wasn't about getting the 2011 Super Bowl.

It was about getting the 2011, 2016 and 2021 Super Bowls. It was about Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington being in the regular Super Bowl city rotation.

New Orleans. Miami. San Diego. Tampa.

Dallas.

With that said, Dallas-Fort Worth and all the cities in between, on top and in bottom (and ... that's what she said) need to absolutely nail this Super Bowl. (and ...)

This next week will be a mix of a house showing, meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time, interviewing a counselor for potential adoption and preparing to meet with Child Protective Services.

For the record, I said last week I didn't feel the Super Bowl is real. I feel this way because there was almost zero infrastructure changes made. Aside from some new, expanded or changed roadways around the Cowboys Stadium, there's been little changes to our infrastructure. And I think a lot of our infrastructure is flawed for welcoming thousands of outsiders for a week.

Here are four things Jones, Roger Staubach and others do not want to happen.

Bad Weather
Last year, it fucking snowed during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The NFL loves warm, comfortable weather -- dome or no. Indianapolis will not get a second Super Bowl. Neither will New York/New Jersey. Rotation cities are warm-weather cities. Dallas needs mid-60s or low-70s, no precipitation or "Texas" weather ("Don't like the weather in Texas? Just wait 15 minutes!) (The forecast has us at high-50s.)

Dallas vs. Fort Worth
I attended a girls' high school basketball tournament in Parker County. I organizers I was from Dallas. The dude said, "You know you're west of 360. That's Fort Worth territory." Literally. Note: Fort Worth is in Tarrant County and Hwy. 360 is a slab of asphalt that allegedly means something.

I saw Dallas Cowboys great Walt Garrison taking a dump on Dallas on TV the other day. I've lived in this area for a long, long time (like, 26 years) and I never truly realized the alleged anonmosity between these cities. Actually, I htink it's like Texas vs. Texas A&M. A&M (Fort Worth) really cares a lot. Texas (Dallas) doesn't care. Dallas appreciates and likes to contrast itself from Fort Worth. Meanwhile, Fort Worth goes out of its way to trash Dallas' traffic, crime, attitude and fast-paced lifestyle. Nevermind Fort Worth's traffic and ... um ... crime. Just hope the bickering and bullshit doesn't bleed over to our visitors who just want to know where to get some barbecue.

Traffic
I have a long commute. I drive a lot in and around the Metroplex. Traffic has been pretty good as of late. However, this is without the thousands of rental cars that will come with the media, fans, visitors, corporate jackwagons, NFL folk and team people this weekend. Dallas-Fort Worth has no real public transportation so these people will no choice but to get on the roads. And none of them will know alternate routes or the various other highways available for traffic. Good luck if you're on 360, I-35, I-20 and I-30.

People Get Bored
Fort Worth is fine. It has a downtown. I wouldn't get out of downtown becuase you might get stabbed in the face. However, the Stockyards, Sundance Square and the bulk of downtown Fort Worth will provide visitors plenty of shit to do.

Dallas and Arlington? Yikes. The thing with Dallas is that it has more actual areas for strip clubs, bars and restaurants, but you can't find them unless you know where they're at. There's Greenville, Knox-Henderson, Uptown, Northwest Highway and the like should be popular places to frequent. Explain that to the guy from Chicago, Seattle, Norfolk and Miami. It might become too much and they get bored and restless. Journalists need their strip clubs and alcohol.

Why can't the Dallas Mavericks blow anyone out?

High percentage

Reason No. 800 the Dallas Mavericks are light years from winning a championship: They can't blow anyone out.

It's about showing your utter superiority over bad or mediocre teams. It's about giving guys a rest in the third and fourth quarters.

The Mavericks haven't done it in three years. I can't remember the last 15- or 20-point win the Mavericks had.

The Mavs had a 25-point lead, shot 50 percent, had 25 free throws and just nine turnovers and somehow the Houston Rockets were down by one with a minute left. Yes, the Mavericks won 111-106, but it was embarassing watching Houston chip away at that lead.

The big reason is that the Mavs don't have a ton of guys that play great defense. Two, they play zone and teams can figure out how to beat a zone. Three, the bench has ZERO defensive presence. Basically, if J.J. Barea, Jason Terry, Brendan Haywood, Ian Mahinmi and Brian Cardinal played a lick of good defense (I don't mean effort, I mean being a good defender), they'd be able to hold these teams down.

And it's not getting better. Peja Stojakovic and Sasha Pavlovic aren't exactly lock-down defenders. In fact, I wouldn't call them defenders at all. As both are considered to be high rotation guys, it's not going to get better.

Speaking of, Barea put together his two best games of the year adding 19 last night to the 25 he notched against the Clippers.

Suddenly, the Barea supporters are crawling out of the woodworks. They'd been mysteriously missing the previous three months when Barea was shooting 30 percent and sucking ass. Welcome, Barea supporters. You've been missed.

NFL Predictions, Phase I

Cassel made of sand

The NFL season is almost done and over with. With everything but the big finale finished, we can look back at my amazing predictions.

Amazing accountability!

Predicted Record
Actual Record

AFC East
New York Jets -- 11-5 -- 11-5
Nailed this one almost exactly as I thought. Good enough to beat bad teams and ugly enough to steal a couple along the way. Rex Ryan is a gaping asshole, but he gets those 50 guys to play their ass off for him and that's commendable. Also, note the Jets gave a fifth round draft pick for Santonio Holmes. Jerry Jones can't do that.

New England Patriots -- 10-6 -- 14-2
Somehow won 14 games with zero vertical threat and somehow come out with a billion draft picks.

Miami Dolphins -- 10-6 -- 7-9
Bill Parcells leaves and the thing falls apart.

Buffalo Bills -- 3-13 -- 4-12
Every season, there's a bad NFL team that plays it tough every week. That was the 2010 Buffalo Bills.

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens -- 12-4 -- 12-4
Loved the Ravens then. Still do. I don't think too much of Joe Flacco. I think you win 12 games a year and a playoff game.

Cincinnati Bengals -- 11-5 -- 4-12
As soon as the Bengals pull their head out of the ass, ship off the troublemakers and make Jordan Shipley the keystone to that offense, they'll be fine. Don't you feel like Carson Palmer should be a guy on a good team where he doesn't do anything and we say, "Carson Palmer just doesn't makes mistakes and keeps his team in the game." It's as if he deserves a better fate.

Pittsburgh Steelers -- 8-8 -- 12-4
I'm an idiot.

Cleveland Browns -- 3-13 -- 5-11
Trade of the year: Brady Quinn for Peyton Hillis.

AFC South
Indianapolis Colts -- 12-4 -- 10-6
Whoever scouts defensive players for the Colts needs to be fired.

Tennessee Titans -- 10-6 -- 6-10
Chris Johnson was misused in most games. Granted they played from behind, but there's no one else I'd rather give the ball to than him down by two touchdowns.

Houston Texans -- 8-8 -- 6-10
The Texans didn't even have the common courtesy of going 8-8. Who are we supposed to overhype next season? Also wound up 6-10 with the best receiver and running back in the league.

Jacksonville Jaguars -- 6-10 -- 10-6
We might all be underestimating David Garrard and Jack Del Rio.

AFC West
San Diego Chargers -- 11-5 -- 9-7
If you could explain why Norv Turner's Chargers sucked in September and October, then you'd be a rich man. It's eerie how this happens every season. How is he not fired?

Oakland Raiders -- 8-8 -- 8-8
If the Raiders luck into a good receiver and a better quarterback, they're in the playoffs, easily.

Denver Broncos -- 7-9 -- 4-12
The Broncos are in ruins. They gave up on Josh McDaniels entirely too early, are marrying themselves to the cult of Tim Tebow and threw in the towel on Kyle Orton too soon.

Kansas City Chiefs -- 5-11 -- 10-6
Everything was better: O-line, D-line, quarterback, running game. Get better up front and you add two or three wins to your record.

Troy Aikman gets blasted, coddled

And he loves French fries

It's been a whirlwind week for former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman.

Yesterday, we all got word that Troy and his wife of 10 years, Rhonda, are splitting up.

When I heard about this, I immediately thought about all the games, commercials and radio interviews I've heard Aikman give over the past year. As he's making jokes and talking about inane things like football, his home life was in shambles. Or something was disintegrating personally. It's an odd feeling for someone that is privy to a lot of Troy Aikman in a given year.

What's odder is that D Magazine just ran a cover feature on Aikman and it does not mention the break-up. Granted, feature stories are far in advance of publication, but updates are always shoe-horned in.

What also threw me off was the way the local media has tackled the subject.

The Dallas Morning News barely mentioned it. The Dallas Observer has stayed away completely. And the dudes at The Ticket gave it the "well, I don't see how this is news, but ..." treatment during morning and afternoon drive. Then they proceeded to bitch about how it's nobody's business.

I don't disagree. I do think it's nobody's business. However, to my knowledge as to how it's being reported, no journalist was digging through divorce filings and found Troy Aikman's name.

Aikman either offered up an interview or, probably, a statement. If he makes it public, then it goes public.

Also, I wonder how media would reacted or have reacted to other personal issues.

When Dirk Nowitzki had a drifter sleeping in his bed, wasn't that super-personal on par with Aikman's divorce? Yes, it was a criminal issue. But it was still a relationship-oriented thing that is no more interesting than Aikman not getting along with his wife.

How about drug issues or arrests? Or the Sean Salisbury brouhaha and multiple firings? Frankly, none of these instances should necessarily be any of our business. Then again, we don't hold Aikman in the same regard as Salisbury or, I guess to a certain point, Nowitzki.

Fact is, local media is coddling Aikman because he's a good guy and because they know him. Know him certainly more than Nowitzki and he appears to be a better guy than Michael Irvin or Quincy Carter.

That's the thing with Aikman: He seems like a super sweet guy. The D Magazine feature is basically a 2,500 blow job on how great of a person he is. Fact of the matter is that Aikman probably is a super swell guy. His post-career announcing gig has done wonders for his image. His personality is shining, his endorsements are booming and that's why I consider him one of the all-time top 5 Dallas Cowboys: He's on par with Roger Staubach as being the eternal face of the franchise.

However, that doesn't or shouldn't preclude him from the same scrutiny that local media gives other athletes.

****
One group not giving Aikman any leeway is Slate. The online publication called Aikman irresponsible for his, I guess, silent treatment on concussions.

Aikman, as is well documented, retired fairly early due to back problems and multiple concussions, 10 for sure, maybe a dozen or more.

Slate notes that Aikman is awkwardly quiet when concussions become something of a discussion point during his FOX NFL broadcasts and that he should take a more hardline stance (or any stance) on concussions considering they are a part of his career.

I like Slate and they probably have a point here. My problem is that they didn't quote or talk to Aikman for this piece. I am almost pretty sure he would've given an interview. If what's in the story is any indication, they did not go that route.

In the story, they quote Aikman from another story where he stated that he doesn't want to become a "poster boy" for concussions. I logical question to Aikman, then, would be why and why he says nothing or very little about concussions.

I have heard him talk concussions. Most notably, he stated that he would be careful about letting his son play football.

I do think Aikman purposefully doesn't talk about concussions. It may be because he isn't a doctor. Also, concussions are different. Some guys are out weeks. Some come back to play again in six days. I would bet good money some fight through them, still.

But there's a reason. And it would've been a good question for Slate to ask Aikman.

The Blake Griffin show

Griffin-dor

The Dallas Mavericks are using two tactics in staying afloat in the Western Conference:

Brilliant third quarters and free throws.

The Mavericks allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to shoot 55 percent for the game (including 10 of 20 from three-point range), but it was a 27-16 third-quarter edge and hitting 28-30 free throws that helped to get the 112-105 home win.

The story, of course, is Blake Griffin. The rookie phenom is simply taking over the game. I hope everyone's taking note. We haven't seen a singular guy catapult his team and his league in the stratosphere like this since Lebron James.

I would imagine the introduction of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1980s did the same. Sidney Crosby in hockey comes to mind. A guy like Stephen Strasburg for the Nationals in baseball also comes to mind.

However, they don't do (except for probably Crosby) what Griffin does. He doesn't make the Clippers simply better. They're playoff-caliber with him. But he also makes the other team better. I thought Tyson Chandler was great last night going for 21 points. All the while, he was attempting to keep Griffin in check. It didn't go so well. Griffin used his full arsenal. From the Duncan-like 15 footer to the high-flying dunks and the sneaky low-post moves.

There's little doubt that the dude is amazing and fantastic to watch. Then again, his team lost.

By far, the most noteworthy Clippers-Mavericks game of all time.

Notes:
1. I love that Brendan Haywood did a mildly decent job "containing" Griffin for 20 minutes in one game and everyone's rethinking that behemoth contract.

2. You will win most games when you get 63 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and three turnovers from your Nos. 6, 7 and 8 guys.

3. Things wouldn't be nearly so bad if Dirk Nowitzki was right. He's not right. Yet.

4. Jason Kidd went 0-4 from the field. Thankfully, he shot it just four times. He's shooting 34 percent.

Rangers made trade

That's Napoli between the T and the A

Needing depth at first base, catcher and designated hitter, the Texas Rangers addressed all three.

They sent reliever Frank Francisco (who is more than likely going to go to arbitration) and cash to the Toronto Blue Jays for Mike Napoli.

Napoli, of course, was only with Toronto for several days. He was part of the booty had from the California Angels for Vernon Wells' bloated contract.

Napoli is just 29 years old, and he won't be 30 until Oct. 31. He, too, is going to arbitration.

He's a mixed bag. He had his worst hitting season last year with a .238 average. Still, he boosted 24 doubles and 26 home runs while striking out 137 times.

Still, in 2008 and 2009, he hit .272 and .273 with decent power numbers from the catching position. He is what he is. At best, he hits .270 hits 25 doubles and 25 home runs and strikes out 120 times.

And he has a creepy beard.

Otherwise, it's a great move. It first tells us that the Rangers are extremely comfortable with Alexii Ogando, Arthur Rhodes, Darren O'Day and Darren Oliver in the late innings.

I think it also means Neftali Feliz is the closer.

Furthermore, with Michael Young as your DH/utility man, Napoli can share time at first base, catcher and DH. Two kind of super-utility men. Tons of flexibility and an added right handed bat that could help maximize his talent considering he's had injury issues previously.

It provides added pop to the line-up without spending a ton of money to some overpaid, wash-up former slugger.

Not an awful move.

The Jay Cutler thing

This is what fans and media saw for two hours the other day

I watched the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers NFC Conference Championship game with the sound off for more than three quarters.

I actually missed Jay Cutler getting hurt and him being pulled. Therefore, I came into the game A) not realizing that Cutler was "hurt"; and B) not able to easily figure out why he wasn't in the game to begin with.

Watching him on the sideline, looking at his stats, I thought he was pulled for being ineffective. He was on the sideline, with his pads on (or so it looked ... he was wearing a coat) and he was looking disgusted. If not disinterested.

I thought he was pulled for basically all of the third and fourth quarter.

Then I found out he was injured and I quickly realized, "Oh no. He's not going to last in Chicago." I automatically knew that fans and media would scrutinize him to death, possibly not allowing him to ever to really recover emotionally.

I, too, questioned his ... not his toughness ... but his motivation.

There's little doubt that Cutler is tough because he plays quarterback in the NFL behind one of the worst lines in the NFL. He played in the SEC. He's tough.

But is he motivated? Frankly, that's been a question hovering over Cutler his entire career.

Since, we've learned that Cutler has a partially torn MCL, that he went to dinner Sunday night and that he climbed stairs to get there.

Here's the real problem: Teams do not fully understand the TV and Internet media generation. These days, we have cameras everywhere. Somewhere, someone is catching Mark Sanchez put a booger on Mark Brunell's jacket or Lindsay Lohan stumble drunk out of a club. It's unavoidable.

Bill Simmons, the ESPN columnist, has noted for years that NFL teams should hire "Madden coordinators" -- 20 somethings that have played thousands of hours of Madden and know how to manage a clock, call timeouts, challenge plays and go for a two-point conversion.

I think teams need to hire Quality PR Control Coordinators.

If I were the Chicago Bears Quality PR Controll Coordinator, I would have done several things:

1. Go into locker room and assess the situation. Determine whether Cutler was returning.

2a. Upon learning he wasn't, I would have Cutler put into a very noticable walking boot, hand him crutches or put a fake cast on his leg.

or

2b. Or I walk Cutler out before the second half, have him trying to run around or throwing a ball and grimacing painfully. Make sure the cameras catch it or get a Flip camera and film it myself. Once this happens, I go back into the lockerroom and give him crutches and a walking boot or brace.

3. I'd instruct Cutler to exaggerate the limp.

4. I tell Cutler and a trainer to have an exaggerated argument, presumably about being held out. I tell said trainer to track down Pam Oliver and "leak" that Cutler wanted to go back into the game but the training staff wouldn't allow it.

5. I hand him a headset and clipboard. I tell him to slap asses, high five. Put your arms around a guy and talk to him. Take Caleb Hanie aside and talk to him. I don't care about what. Maybe how True Grit was your favorite film of the year. Who cares? Act interested. Act demonstrative.

You might say that I'm being ridiculous. I'm not. This is why companies hire public relations professionals. This is why the Bears hire public relations professionals.

Teams think these people are useful in getting media out to an event or helping control the press when some player beats up a girlfriend or is caught with weed at the airport.

No. These people should be on the sidelines controlling perception. Not reality.

You can have a website, a Facebook page and a Twitter feed, but you may not know just how others (fans, media) use it as a window into what is real.

If the Bears had hired me, Cutler would be a hero.

Dallas Cowboys talent evaluation sucks

Walden pond

The 2008 NFL Draft would forever change the fortunes of the Dallas Cowboys. Right now, it serves as the moment the franchise started dying, gearing up for another rebuild.

For other teams, it was a time of rebirth. It's actually almost singlehandedly turned some teams around in a matter of a few years.

With the 22nd pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys chose running back Felix Jones out of the University of Arkansas.

With the 23rd pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers chose running back Rashard Mendenhall from the University of Illinois.

With the 24th pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans chose running back Chris Johnson from East Carolina State University.

Back then, the debate boiled down to Mendenhall and Jones. The Cowboys ended that debate by taking Jones. Initially, when Mendenhall was lost for his rookie campaign due to injury, the Jones picked looked awesome.

Two years later, we know better. Mendenhall is head over heels better. In two weeks, we'll see first hand as he'll travel to Arlington to play in the Super Bowl.

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One-hundred and forty-five picks after Jones was taken by the Cowboys, they also chose Erik Walden, a defensive end/linebacker in the 2008 draft.

He'd never play a professional down for the Cowboys. He was cut before the season, as it was imperative they instead take Chris Canty and Greg Ellis for their defensive front seven.

Ellis and Canty would play their final season for the Cowboys. Walden would bounce around to the Chiefs and Dolphins. He wound up with the Green Bay Packers. Due to injuries, he's played more and showed something. He was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week with three sacks and 12 tackles against the Bears in early January.

Walden will in Dallas in a few weeks.

****
Another familiar face coming in a couple of weeks is Flozell Adams.

I've seen a lot of Steelers games this year, especially lately when Adams has played due to injuries to the O-line.

I haven't seen all of the false starts, blown coverages and linebackers flying past him on run plays. In fact, he's been good. Effective.

I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't play over Leonard Davis and Marc Columbo.

And don't give me the whole financial bullshit behind cutting Adams. Jerry Jones pays a lot of dumb money to dumb players and he appears to have zero problem doing it. Show me how Marc Columbo and Leonard Davis isn't dumber money, and I'll begin to believe you.

Always follow your heart

Looks like someone pleased the Beard Gods

This morning, I gave my feeble thoughts on the Conference Championship games noting that with my predictions I was following my gut feelings on both games.

I had Pittsburgh and Green Bay both winning and covering the line. Both did.

My reasoning was that both teams had A) the superior quarterback; and B) the superior defense. If one team has both in any given contest, you got to go with them.

Green Bay 21, Chicago 14
The Bears probably weren't winning anyway, but they sure as hell weren't winning with the third-string quarterback. I don't know what to say about Jay Cutler. I like him as a quarterback. Unfortunately, he might be the biggest turdburger in professional sports. If it turns out his knee is badly injured, then he has an excuse. But he looked about as interested as being at that game as a pimp at church. And if he was seriously hurt, why don't you have him in the lockerroom getting treatments and stuff? Why was he standing up? I don't know. There is no tomorrow, and they're field general spent it on the sidelines in a big coat.

On the other side, we totally underestimated the Green Bay Packers for the last 19 weeks. Not that they helped things, but that defense is about as good as it gets.

Pittsburgh 24, New York 19
Again, you go with defense and the quarterback. The D absolutely stole the show in the first half. Then, Ben Roethlisberger does it again: Third down with a couple minutes left and you need five yards. He hits Antonio Brown. Game. The J-E-T-S go home. Roethlisberger makes big plays. The Jets didn't. Also, I thought pundits discounted Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers run game too much. I thought they'd get room to run. They did. Mendenhall set up countless third-and-shorts and blistered the time of possession. The final score looks close, but we all know who the better team was.

Two weeks. In Dallas. Pittsburgh and Green Bay. Sounds juicy.

Conference Championship weekend

FIGJAM

I promise you this: I made my Conference Championship predictions in my head last Sunday evening, and I vowed to stick with my gut reaction no matter what I read or listened to over the week.

Here are 10 thoughts:

1. OK, if soggy Soldier Field is going to "slow down" the Green Bay Packers, wouldn't also seemingly "slow down" the Chicago Bears' offense, equalizing everything?

2. The Pittsburgh Steelers have what the New England Patriots don't: A speedy, vertical threat (Mike Wallace), which prevents the New York Jets from "taking something away."

3. Per Jets-Steelers, I've hardly heard the names of Rashard Mendenhall, Shonn Greene and Ladainian Tomlinson during any analysis. Odd.

4. How do you not know James Starks' name by now?

5. The "They Don't Believe In Us" mojo could be strong with the Bears. You'd think they had won a reality show contest to get to the NFC Conference Championship.

6. If Green Bay is an "indoor" team, it's a tough to prove and disaprove. During November-December (cold months, in theory), the Pack went 3-1 outdoors beating Chicago, New York Giants, San Francisco, and losing to New England. They scored 10 against Chicago and 45 and 27 in New York and New England, respectively. During that same stretch, they scored three against Detroit in a dome. If nothing else, they've been inconsistent.

7. I love the theory that certain teams are "hotter" than others. Green Bay's won four straight and New York's won three straight (and four of five). They're considered hot. Chicago's won three of four and eight of 10. Pittsburgh's won three of four and seven of eight.

8. Has there been Conference Championships in which everyone's had some experience in the regular season like this year? The Jets beat the Steelers. But lost to Chicago and Green Bay. Chicago and Green Bay split their series.

9. Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby, Shaun Suisham and Nick Folk. Two kickers don't belong.

10. I've never quite remembered a more even set of Conference Championship games. Even the teams' weaknesses are a bit symmetrical. Like the poor O-lines from Chicago and Pittsburgh. The unproven quarterbacks of Chicago and New York. Four fantastic defenses. Two bad running games (Green Bay, Chicago) and two good running games (New York, Pittsburgh). All four teams northern, old proud fanbases and all four teams play outdoors. Two badass African American coaches and two lumpy white coaches. The similarities in strengths and weaknesses are somewhat eerie.

Predictions
With No. 10 in mind, I find it odd that a team in each game has the superior defense and quarterback. And I am basing my picks on those two teams.

Pittsburgh 20, New York 16
Green Bay 24, Chicago 17

The Super Bowl does not feel real

Jerry Jones is ready

According to the clock on The Dallas Morning News' new website that's been taking up space for the last year, the Super Bowl is 16 days and two hours away.

Seems a decade ago that we learned that JerryWorld was awarded the Super Bowl. Excitement was high. It's waned and now it doesn't feel real.

More importantly, it doesn't feel that anyone's ready. Except this strip club. I've seen signage and other flair around town.

However, didn't we hear about all the great stuff that was going to be built for the Super Bowl, like a light-rail line to Arlington? Hotels, restaurants and shit?

Where's all this awesome stuff?

Instead, we've got some new roads around the Turd on the Turnpike. That's about it.

It seems so unreal and we in Dallas and Fort Worth seem very unprepared.

Rhad-ical

Yesterday, the Texas Rangers made official the poorly-kept secret that John Rhadigan, regional sports media icon, is their new TV voice.

Several thoughts:

1. I think John Rhadigan will do fine. Not because he's been around for 30 years, or because he listened to Ernie Harwell as a kid, or because he knows this team inside and out. It's because he's a professional and he does everything well.

2. Baseball broadcast folks have it tough. And I think it's why so many were anti-Josh Lewin (a sentiment I had no idea was so rampant until he was fired) folks. There's 162 games in the MLB season per team. I'd guess a vast majority of those that watch one game, on average, catch probably 20 total. Remember, there's probably a shitload more that watch five games than those that watch 100. Or 115. So the average person catching a game might listen to Lewin 15 times a season. Or less. So all it takes is a stinker, 10-0 loss or nice Rangers-Royals affair where nothing is happening for the random drive-by fan to catch Lewin dishing pop-culture references.

Point is: Lewin didn't issue three pop-culture references an inning. Probably less than one per game. Baseball broadcasters are in a no-win situation unless you get to stick around for 50 years. Then you're just accepted.

3. I was mildly shocked they went with Rhadigan when I thought they were attempting to go a different direction from Lewin. I kind of put both guys in the same arena: Not the typical "baseball" guy, outsiders (although Rhadigan's been around for 30 years ... he's still from Michigan), guys that cut their teeth on pop culture and both are slightly irreverent. I wouldn't be shocked if Rhadigan (unless instructed not to) didn't throw out his own brand of comedy during a random sixth inning.

4. I've heard that folks think Lewin and Tom Grieve didn't have chemistry. I couldn't disagree with that more. I really thought they had a good relationship. I thought Grieve did an excellent job, over time, in playing along with Lewin's humor. I think Grieve is a sweet guy and learned quickly it's a lot more fun drudging through 162 games if you learn how to laugh a little bit. Yes, Grieve was left on an island with some references, but he played an excellent foil for Lewin.

5. I do wonder how Rhadigan will handle the strain. Not to downplay his last 15 years, but doing post-game and anchor gigs at Fox Sports Southwest in the friendly confines of a studio do not compare to 162 gruelling games, rain delays, road trips, blowouts, pitching changes and West Coast first pitches.

Blogs, media, penises, Jason Whitlock

If you are fascinated with online media, journalism, ethics, juicy insider sports stuff and penises, then I strongly suggest the new GQ feature by Gabriel Sherman on Deadspin and its editor, A.J. Daulerio.

I like it because:

1. Tons of insider stuff.

2. An insight into the biggest, baddest sports blog on the planet.

3. It legitimizes online/blog reporting and journalism.

4. It sparked a huge Twitter rant from Jason Whitlock about Deadspin and former editor Will Leitch.

It's a great piece.

****
In other media news, a big thumbs up to The Dallas Morning News' website redesign.

A winning attitude

Let the right one in: Lehtonen

It's hard not to be pumped up about the Dallas Stars.

The sons of bitches won again, beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 last night.

You can brag about it all. The special teams. The offensive prowess. The improved defense. The attitude, grit and fire.

Today, let's talk goaltending. Not enough is being made about Kari Lehtonen. Or, should we say, not enough is being made about GM Joe Nieuwendyk.

It was Feb. 10, 2010 when the Stars shipped young defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy to Atlanta for Lehtonen. The big story here wasn't Lehtonen, but instead the eventual divorce from Marty Turco.

Everyone questioned Lehtonen's propencity for being injured. Or his ability. According to Nieuwendyk:

"I just believe he has so much potential if he is healthy, and all the indications that we have are that all of his problems have been taken care of."

Lehtonen couldn't made Nieuwendyk look any smarter. He's having a potentially career year. Already 21-10-5 and a 2.49 GAA (his career low is 2.79). The best goalie in the league not to pitch a shutout.

It helps being on a team with talent. Although the Stars were not a playoff team a year ago, there was too much talent, especially offensively, for this team to be that bad. It was assumed that a new goaltender and a stiffening blue line would turn the thing around.

That assumption was right. You can point to any one thing and argue that it's the key to the Stars' success. I think you start with Lehtonen.

Notes:
1. Stars are 4-0 with Jamie Langenbrunner on the ice.

2. The Stars have won eight straight on the road. They were 6-7-1 away from Dallas before this streak.

3. The Stars are 7-0-1 in January. That's 15 of 16 potential points.

4. Another nice Nieuwendyk find: Adam Burish. An understated cog.

5. Loui Eriksson's 10-game point streak ends. Mike Ribeiro's point streak hits 10.

6. I love Jamie Benn. How can you not?

Peja and panic

Peja

My favorite comment regarding the Dallas Maveicks' pending acquisition of Peja Stojakovic, from Brendan Smith:

"With the signing of Peja, the Mavs are a lock to win the 2004 NBA Finals".

Another Tweet from Jamey Newberg asked how giving away Alex Ajinca was a good move.

In other words, who really thinks this is a good idea?

All of this is panic. Hasty decisions made by the Mavericks' brass in light of their recent woes and loss of Caron Butler.

They think they need to win a championship now.

They're not wrong. However, they're potentially setting this franchise back substantially once Dirk Nowitzki begins to fade or eventually retires.

Stojakovic was placed on waivers by the Toronto Raptors after playing in just two games for them. Stojakovic, himself, has been hampered by injuries. He's played in just eight games all year between Toronto and New Orleans.

In return for Stojakovic, the Mavs would not only send Ajinca, but also a second-round pick and cash.

Do not get me wrong here. Ajinca is probably, at best, an 11th man. Second-round picks hardly pan out, especially if you're the Dallas Mavericks. And cash is cash.

Still, Ajinca is a 22-year-old, 7-0 former first-round pick, who can shoot. Second-round finds are possible.

Basically, the Mavericks are saying, "Fuck it. We've got three prime years of Dirk left. Let's go all in."

Stojakovic is 33 years old. And he looks it. He's 6-10, which is surprising to me as I would have guessed 6-7 or so. His numbers have dropped off the last two years. He hasn't played more than 80 games since 2003-04, perpetually battling injuries.

At one time, he was probably my most feared shooter in the league. I hated playing the Sacramento Kings back in the day because it seemed that Mike Bibby and Peja hit big shot after big shot.

No longer.

I don't know who is writing headlines for The Dallas Morning News anymore, but they had a doozy on Eddie Sefko's column:

Why Peja Stojakovic won’t automatically make Mavs title contenders again.

What planet are people on? Did anyone think the Mavs were legit title contenders before? The perception of this franchise is really no longer the fault of Mark Cuban or Donnie Nelson. It's the fanbase and media.

We've seen this show before. It's the same rodeo that rolls into town. Yes, it's still entertaining. Yet, if you think it's going to end any differently, then I have to strongly question you're ability to separate illusion from reality.

I can name you a half dozen different pockmarks on the Mavericks' roster and scheme. This isn't a team that's beating San Antonio or Los Angeles, with or without Caron Butler. And any inkling that Peja flippin' Stojakovic is the answer is reason enough to institutionalize someone.

I understand the panic. But I don't condone it. It's unnecessary. Stojakovic isn't putting this team anywhere near the edge, more or less putting them over it. There's still a lot of Nowitzki left in the tank and there's time in the next several years to truly go after a title with youth.

Now's not the time to panic. Yet, everyone's piling into the lifeboats.

UT, World Wide Leader become lovers

Yesterday, it was announced that The University of Texas and ESPN have joined unholy forces for the much-anticipated Longhorn TV network.

The deal will net UT $300 million on a 20-year deal.

As expected, there's criticism. Hell. UT could dissolve all of its athletic program and give all money to handicapped students for a free education, and people from Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma or wherever would bitch that UT was being too philanthropic.

UT not starting its own network, if it can get away with it, is like UT intentionally not recruiting the best players just to let Baylor, Kansas State or Colorado catch up.

That's ridiculous. Any program that can have its own network -- or recruit a five-star kid -- should do it.

Why? Because its awesome. For one.

Two, that $300 million will be used to buy some rowing oars, some cleats, football pads, baseballs, eye black, tackling dummies, batting cages, towels and Gatorade.

However, never could you spend $300 million on athletics. The dirty little secret in college sports is that these institutions are very much involved in ... WAIT FOR IT! ... education.

It sounds naive, but it's the truth. Don't get me wrong. I'm not dumb enough to think UT doesn't care about its football program. Nor that K-State doesn't care about basketball or TCU, baseball.
But these colleges and universities are really into education. The amount of money that they pour into research, equipment, updating technology and supplying certain services for an expanding study body is astonishing.

In fact, if you went to the heart of what UT was all about, football is probably No. 1. Research is probably No. 2.

The football team makes up 50-100 members of the student body, which totals 51,000 students. The handful of football players that go into the pros are a pleasant byproduct. However, the other 50,990 students that will enter the workforce, make a ton of cash and then send copious amounts back to their alma mater means even more.

That $300 million will go more into computers, beakers, petri dishes, incredibly expensive biology instruments, books, software and all that bookish shit.

Of course, Mavs beat Lakers

Walking away a loser, for once

You know it's basketball season when The Ticket's drive-time radio shows -- Dunham 'n' Miller and The Hardline -- are talking about the Dallas Mavericks.

It's interesting because it's pretty clear they haven't watched a lot of Mavericks so far, yet, they talk enough jibberish and generic points to overcome their lack of knowledge on what's been happening. It's cute.

Anyway, on cue, the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 109-100. A Dora the Explorer Band-Aid on a gushing jugular wound.

It's better to win than lose. However, it's the next 40-odd games that you have to worry about. Beating the Lakers is always fun. But the Mavericks are in a dark place right now and, frankly, I see no difference -- in terms of who can beat the Mavericks -- between the Lakers or Grizzlies or Bulls or Clippers.

All four, on any given night, could dispatch with the Mavericks easily in this current funk of all funks.

Why did the Mavericks win? Finally, someone not named "Dirk" showed up and helped carry the offensive load.

I would daresay the last four months have been the worst in Jason Kidd's career. He showed up last night with a nice 8-12 and 21 points. Shawn Marion and Jason Terry chipped in 22 apiece off the bench.

This is why I don't think Caron Butler's season-ending injury would necessarily sink the Mavericks. There are guys currently employed by the Mavericks that can allegedly score. Unfortunately, you compounded absences from Butler, Dirk and Tyson Chandler with the worst month of basketball in the careers of Jason Terry and Kidd.

Otherwise, we should temper things following beating the Lakers. It's a Lakers team that has breezed through this season. It's also a Lakers team with Kobe Bryant who is either A) keeping things steady as he slowly gears up for another Finals run; or B) he's really hurt.

Bryant got his 21 points, but he took 18 shots to get it. A trade-off every team in the league is willing to make.

The Lakers are like Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life. When the stock market was crashing, he was begging folks to not freak out. Ride it out. It'll turn around. Mr. Potter later in the film acknowledges that he and George Bailey were the only ones to not freak out.

The Lakers have enough bumps in the road for outsiders to think they're not championship-worthy. They never freak out and things turn around.

The Mavericks have to take on this George Bailey persona. If for no other reason, it's the only thing they can really do right now.

ESPN makes up Dez Bryant trade rumors

ESPN recommends trading Josh Hamilton too

ESPNDallas.com -- or, as I like to call it, Dallas Morning News East -- put themselves into the media spotlight after they decided to make a bunch of shit up.

The Big Lead dives headfirst into the hubbub that was the Dez Bryant trade rumors.

Apparently, Brian Broaddus went on the Ben & Skin Show (by the way, I love their charactitures because Skin has hair now and Ben is not longer fat) the other day and floated the "thought" that the Dallas Cowboys might consider trading their star receiver stud.

Then ESPNDallas.com -- notably Calvin Watkins and Tim McMahon -- took the reins and wrote ad nauseum about Bryant's availability via trade through various unnamed sources.

Then, Ben & Skin get McMahon and Watkins in to discuss the deal.

Frankly, it's irresponsible on ESPNDallas' part. I realize they're not longer in the print edition and everything's so free and easy on the Internet. However, I don't think the writers there have forgotten certain journalistic ethics that still remain pertinent to the web. Then again, Watkins has made his name with "unnamed" sources, so I shouldn't be shocked.

Two, it's retarded. The Cowboys aren't trading Bryant. Why should they? Because it was his fault the offensive line detriorated, Tony Romo was driven into the ground and the secondary blew up? No.

Also, how many times have all those blowhards railed on Jerry Jones for missing out on Randy Moss, why would you miss out again on a star receiver, a known product. Someone you know can change the face of your team.

I don't know what came over those guys. I doubt Dallas Stars talk is getting a ton of ratings. Then again, ESPN probably isn't getting a lot of ratings in Dallas-Fort Worth anyway.

Maybe they can make some more stuff up. Report on it.

Tony Romo's temperature

Tony Homo

I listened to the morning-drive monsters George Dunham and Craig Miller discuss the status of Tony Romo in terms of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

As expected, Dunham played the role of the Dallas Cowboys apologist claiming Romo still is a top 10 quarterback. And, as expected, Miller was a lot more square prospectively putting Romo as just the 15th best quarterback (he had seven better and Romo in a group of eight).

It really got me thinking. Mostly in the vein that every playoffs there seems to be three or four quarterbacks that pass Romo up on the list.

This year, in my book, it's been Mark Sanchez, Aaron Rodgers (if he hadn't already), possibly Jay Cutler and Joe Flacco.

Quarterbacks fit into these categories, generally:

Those That Suck

Those That Are Young

Those That Are Good

Those That Just Win

Those That Just Win And Are Great

Romo fits into the "Those That Are Good" category. Mainly because he doesn't win. He's had one "monster" season and three good seasons.

However, winning is the true benchmark. One playoff win. That's it.

Is this unfair? Maybe. But Peyton Manning's been dragged through the mud for a decade becuase he put up Hall of Fame numbers, but never won the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl!

A game he's actually won and Romo's barely won a playoff game and still doesn't get judged equally.

This year, we had Flacco win another road playoff game. We had Aaron Rodgers shoot up the charts. Mark Sanchez won another two playoff games. And Jay Cutler has played well to get an underwhelming Chicago team to the NFC Championship game.

Bottomline: Romo's not done much to get his team to win.

It doesn't help that he's in his early 30s. It also doesn't help that he's not putting up insane numbers.

Philip Rivers, for example, has had limited playoff success. Yet, he's put up three INSANE seasons and two good seasons.

Chances are, within the next several years, guys like Sam Bradford will make a leap as will some other quarterbacks.

Time is ticking for Romo. His window is closing quick. He's not getting any better. I suspect he'll have three more years to prove something. What if it doesn't happen? What if the Cowboys have to rebuild the dyke a little? When do Cowboys fans start to get antsy? When will we discover that Romo was just sort of mediocre?

Baseball contract stuff

From near perfection to DFA

Former Rangers great, sexpot and BaD Radio curse victim Gabe Kapler is a Los Angeles Dodger. Seventh team in his career.

****
Meanwhile, arbitration junk is happening.

The Rangers avoided arbitration with C.J. Wilson and Nellie Cruz. Wilson will get a respectable $7 million and Cruz will get an insanely low $3.65 million.

Furthermore, the Rangers are attempting to avoid arbitration with Josh Hamilton, Darren O'Day and Frank Francisco.

Frank Francisco
Wants: $4.8 million
Offered: $4.1 million

Darren O'Day
Wants: $1.4 million
Offered: $1.2 million

Josh Hamilton
Wants: $12 million
Offered: $10.3 million

All three are very close. It's thought that all three will come to some middle ground with the franchise before it goes to formal arbitration. Good times.

****
Finally, the Detroit Tigers designated Armando Galarraga for assignment. Surely the Rangers are looking to recoop him into the fold.

Dallas Stars make a run

The Cowboys and Mavericks would kill for this effort

The Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 yesterday at the American Airlines Center.

Numbers that intrigue me:

1,000
Games played by Jamie Langenbrunner. Something like 37 American-born players to do this? Crazy.

1
Goal for Langenbrunner since his return. Luckily, it was the game-winner last night on the power play.

3-0
Since Langenbrunner's return. Remember, he didn't play against the Rangers Jan. 7, the day of the trade.

8th
Ranked power play from the Dallas Stars.

6-0-1
Stars' record in January.

4
Straight home wins. Stars are now 15-6-4 at the American Airlines Center.

12
Points from Brad Richards in seven January games.

10
Game point streak from Loui Eriksson.

7
Power-play goals from Eriksson. Tying a career high.

115
Goals allowed by the Los Angeles Kings. Third least in Western Conference. Last in Pacific Division by 12 points.

Jason Kidd sucks

No help

The Dallas Mavericks have run into their worst stretch in a fucking decade and I'd like to go ahead and pin it to one player.

Jason Kidd.

Or, I guess I should blame Donnie Nelson or Mark Cuban or whoever makes personnel decisions for the Dallas Mavericks.

I thought the Mavs would rue the day they traded for Jason Kidd. Mainly because Kidd wasn't helping them win a championship NO MATTER WHAT. And they were having to deal Devin Harris. I like Harris, but I understand that he has holes in his game and I see where people may not like him.

However, he was young, good defensively, goes to the basketball and, right now, he has 100 times more trade value with the awful New Jersey Nets than Kidd does for a "good" Mavericks.

What if Harris were here? He'd be the starting point guard on a good Western Conference team. If you decided to trade him, if you thought you needed a new direction, you could possibly turn him and a Caron Butler contract into a marquee, superstar-type player.

Instead, you have an untradeable Kidd.

Why do I blame Kidd? He has absolutely sucked. This is fine when Butler, Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler are your best three players on the floor. But when they go out, Kidd has to step up his game. Instead:

33.5% -- FG
32.1% -- Three-Point
0.9 -- Free Throws Per Game

His shot isn't going. And he's not doing anything to get points on the board. Bottomline is that Kidd had to step up the last three weeks with the injuries happening and he didn't mostly because he can't.

In yesterday's humiliating loss to the Detroit Pistons, 103-89, Kidd went 0-7 from the field. All seven attempts were three pointers.

Furthermore, Detroit's point guard Rodney Stuckey barely broke a sweat in getting 20 points (just eight shot attempts!). This goes towards Kidd's defense.

Kidd's not getting any bad press. He mostly won't. He's a Hall of Famer and all that jazz.

Granted, the blame doesn't solely lay on his shoulders. Brendan Haywood sucks too.

In position: First Base

A pint of McGuiness

Every year over the past three or four, I've gone through the entire Texas Rangers' franchise, position by position in order to gauge the organizational depth. This has especially been important as prospects have progressed and made it to the Majors. It also helps to discover what prospects might prove valuable in trades.

Previous: Catcher.

Much like the catcher's position, first base was a spot the brass with the Texas Rangers probably thought they had figured out.

Between Justin Smoak, Chris Davis, Mitch Moreland or any other number of guys, the Rangers probably thought they had someone that would field the position for the next decade.

Or, maybe not. Smoak's in Seattle. Davis' head ain't right. And I don't know what to think of Moreland.

As for everyone else:

Mitch Moreland
25 - Texas Rangers
I think Moreland has something. What? I don't know. I feel this way because of one stat: BB/K ratio. Through his three years in the minors he had a 159-223 BB/K ratio. Last season in the Majors, he 25-36 BB/K ratio. Now, if he can learn to hit lefties, we'll be in business.

Chris Davis
24 - Texas Rangers
I wouldn't give up on Chris Davis. Why? Two words: Nelson Cruz. It wasn't that long ago that Cruz was reaching his mid- to late-20s and he have proven all he could in the minors. Yet, he couldn't hit in the Majors. He was actually placed on waivers, yet, he made it through and he eventually figured it out. Davis is just 24 years old, and he'll be 25 by the time the season starts. It's not too late for the guy.

Christopher McGuiness
22 - Frisco RoughRiders
McGuiness was one of the players had in the Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade last season with the Boston Red Sox. He'd never shown much power although he did hit 19 homers last season including seven in Bakersfield. He's on the Frisco roster, so I'll assume he'll start the season there. A Citadel grad, he's risen through the ranks quickly with almost a 1:1 K/BB ratio.

Michael Ortiz
21 -- Hickory Crawdads
Entering his fourth season in the Rangers organization, Ortiz hit just .223 last season along with 15 doubles. Probably a lot more upside than his comrades in Hickory. However, extremely likely to get jumped by rising, mature talent elsewhere.

Jared Bolden
23 -- Hickory Crawdads
Twenty-three now, 24 by the time the season begins. He made a switch last season to first base. But his bat (or lack thereof) hasn't warranted much time if any at any position.

Ed Koncel
22 -- Hickory Crawdads
Koncel is a former shortstop, who made a brief blip on the radar last season when he had 24 extra-base hits before the All-Star break. In his final 76 at-bats, he had two extra-base hits and eight hits total. He went 0-16 in the month of July.

Andrew Clark
23 - Spokane Indians
A 2010 draftee, he showed something hitting .295 along with 41 RBI and a 46-47 K/BB ratio.

Clark Murphy
21 - Spokane Indians
Extremely young the Rangers took out of high school two years ago. Despite logging just 144 at-bats, his walk rate went through the roof as he got 31 free passes. His previous high was 28 in more than 300 at-bats.

Jhonny Gomez
21 - Spokane Indians
The Venezuelan made his stateside debut in 2010 and hit .369 in Arizona before a brief bump to Spokane.

Andres Frias
20 -- Dominican Summer League
Hit .250 this season in the Dominican and just .202 in 2009.

Christefer Obispo
18 -- Dominican Summer League
Had 10 extra-base hits in his inaugural year of professional baseball.

The son of Buddy in for the son of Bum

Son of a gun

Rob Ryan -- the brother of Rex, son of Buddy -- is the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.

Frankly, I could give a shit. A new defensive coordinator isn't fixing what's wrong.

Still, I took time to evaluate the reactions from the local media, and this is what I surmised:

Rob Ryan is a good hire. Why?

1. Because he might be eccentric and loud like his brother and father.

2. Because of his brother and father.

3. Because it was more Jason Garrett's decision (we assume!) than Jerry Jones'.

That's it. There was no talk about how Ryan took bad Raiders or Browns teams and coached them up, at least getting their defense so good that they could compete.

No talk of Ryan's understanding of the 3-4 defense or his schemes, blitz patterns, ability to relate to the players or anything that might actually impact what happens on the field. The field being where football, a game, is played.

I don't think this is a good sign. Wade Phillips came in with skins on the wall. He was a noted defensive coach and the proof was in the pudding: He'd take rotten defenses and make them great.

Ryan's made no one great, or even good. Even his brother, who talks insane amount of shit, can say he's been a defensive "whiz." Rob can say nothing of the sort.

Anyway, come next September, he'll have no excuses.

The era of winning

My Forte is blogging

A popular debate amongst NFL circles is what ingredients are required in winning.

Many call it the Era of the Quarterback. This is popularized by the emergence of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan and other quarterbacks that tend to "carry" their teams. Or, it may be more defined by all the bad teams that have bad quarterbacks.

Others contend that championship teams begin and end with a show-stopping defense and devastating running game.

The fact is this: You simply have to be good at everything.

Per the quarterback argument, people look at the likes of Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson winning Super Bowls. Many call them "bus drivers." It's tough to argue this point. They weren't very good. On the other hand, they weren't awful or even "bad" in the strictest of senses. What they were asked to do, they did pretty well. They didn't turn the ball over and made a throw when they needed it.

Otherwise, those Buccaneers and Ravens teams were good at defense, special teams, well-coached, had a good run game and were just good.

We learned a lot about championship teams this weekend. You need to be good at everything. It's not the Era of the Quarterback nor can you depend on a run game and defense. You need good coaches, a motivated team, fantastic lines, good secondarys, receivers that can catch a ball, a quarterback that can get it there, a running back that can get a yard, special teams that win games for you and players that don't make as many mistakes as the opponent.

We learned, most importantly, that if it is the Era of the Quarterback, at least half of this weekend's quarterbacks were not included.

Everything.

Pittsburgh 31, Baltimore 24
A coming-out party for Joe Flacco? Hardly. More like a go-back-inside party. Flacco could get nothing going, and if he did get a pass to his receivers, they more than likely dropped them. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. The Steelers scored 17 unanswered strictly off Baltimore turnovers in the second half. Mistakes are magnified in the playoffs because good teams make you pay. I think Flacco's peaked. Maybe he has another gear. However, I don't think he's going to get to a level to where he beats the Pittsburgh defense as it's presently constituted. Then again, how different is this game if T.J. Housdaqlkdjfaosid;fkh and Anquan Boldin can catch a ball?

Green Bay 48, Atlanta 21
Remember the Era of the Quarterback? You might assume that this explains Aaron Rodgers. Granted. Rodgers is really good and he has to be considered as a top five quarterback in the league. However, it's not completely why the Packers dominated in Atlanta. That defense is so underrated. So athletic, hungry and quick. They swarm before you have an opportunity to breath. Then there's Matt Ryan. The kid is good. However, the Falcons have a number of issues defensively. They've got no one to cover, no pass rush and if they are paying linebackers, they might want their money back. The Falcons will not win until they fix that defense. Did we learn a little bit about Ryan, however?

Speaking of fixing, hasn't this playoffs been a case of the disappearing wide receiver? In two weeks, we've had quiet if not non-existant days from Reggie Wayne, Roddy White, Anquan Boldin, Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Dwayne Bowe, DeSean Jackson and others. White, in particular, has been persona non grata the last four weeks or so. Trust me, he was on my fantasy team and killed me.

Chicago 35, Seattle 24
Not even that close. I can't believe how many people bought into the Seattle thing. Playing New Orleans at home and playing Chicago on the road is apples and prostitutes. Seattle had no answer for the Bears, who did whatever they wanted. The trash-time points should not distort what happened here. This as a ass kicking. Unfortunately, the Bears will be, once-again, disregarded next week against the Packers.

New York 28, New England 21
I thought the Patriots would win. However, just before kick-off, I got a bad feeling. Not that I care for the Patriots, but their inclusion in next week's games would have made it more interesting. EVERYBODY, thought New England would recreate the 45-3 blowout of a couple of weeks ago. EVERYBODY. And that's scary. Because most of the time, everyone's wrong. It's why Las Vegas works. Because most people are wrong most of the time. Then New York goes in and backs up its talk and wins.

Not to take anything away from the Jets, but what was up with the Patriots' body language? Did it look like the Patriots really wanted to win? Did they look interested? Were they motivated? Where was the urgency and the killer mentality that we hear so much about? Why is it that pundits tell me that Tom Brady has been "focused" the last couple of weeks, but in the last several trips through the playoffs (including a Super Bowl loss), Brady seems unconcerned and unfocused? Why is he yelling at teammates in the regular season and then nonchalant in the playoffs?

The Jets wanted this game 100 percent more. The Patriots were passive. The Jets were not. And the Jets shall play next week.

The case of the mysterious illnesses

O, Roddy where art thou

Last year, Erick Dampier was rushed the hospital mid-season and sat out, as I remember, several weeks of games due to this illness.

It never quite came out what the illness was. Seems like they didn't know what was the matter or they were unwilling to tell anyone.

There's a lot teams and players don't want to talk about. Seems like the local media isn't asking many questions either.

On Jan. 11, Josh Hamilton was admitted into a hospital due to the "early stages" of pneumonia. Initially, it was reported that he'd be out of the hospital within "24 hours."

Five days later, Hamilton was released. Why it took one of Earth's foremost humans in terms of health and fitness to go from a day in the hospital to a week is no addressed.

Then there's Roddy Beaubois.

The Dallas Mavericks' point guard broke his foot in August. We were told it'd be a couple of months and, most likely, he'd miss the first part of the regular season. Mark Cuban downplayed the injury by stating, "He broke a foot, he didn't have it amputated."

Are you sure? It's Jan. 16 and Beaubois seems as likely to play before March as I am.

Beat writer Eddie Sefko addressed the issue in a recent Q&A stating that either the media was "snowed" by the "couple-month prognosis" or there was a huge setback and that no one's "fessed up" about.

In November, DallasBasketball.com reported that Beaubois had the walking boot taken off with an apparent return to basketball activities within a couple of weeks. Again, comments from the useless Donnie Nelson and Cuban sounded as if it were no big deal.

Sports franchises can do what they want. There's no legal obligation to truthfully or forthcomingly report player injuries.

However, isn't there a certain moral obligation. No, the fans don't own the team. We do, on the other hand, buy tickets, T-shirts and watch the games on TV where a big chunk of cash is generated. A CEO wouldn't lie to investors about a company's financials nor would he or she mislead investors as much as the Mavericks have "snowed" the media and fandom regarding Beaubois.

Long division

Nut-Cutler time

Today -- in about an hour hours -- starts the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. I love the wild card weekend. I equally adore the divisional round.

Two days. Four games. The best of the best. Most times. Frankly, the AFC throughout is so stout, interesting and good. It makes me weep.

Despite the boring NFC, there's tons of rooting interest and amazing storylines that run circles around anything else going on.

To the games:

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Why Baltimore Could Win
Because it's a coin flip. This is a three-point game if there ever was one. One play here or there. A lucky bounce here or there. Plus, this is Joe Flacco's third rodeo. It's time for him to crap or get off the pot. What if this is Flacco's coming out party?

Why Pittsburgh Will Win
Because they just do. Because of those two rings on their fingers. Because the rapist Ben Roethlisberger has already had his "coming" out party and it's brought him success and two sexual assuault raps.

Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 21

Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons
Why Green Bay Could Win
Their defense is quick and athletic. Aaron Rodgers is really good. James Starks is a BEAST.

Why Atlanta Will Win
The wild card week does funny things to people. One good win by one team and a week off for another and we conveniently forget that the team with the bye earned that bye. We've forgotten that Atlanta handily won a division with three playoff-caliber teams in it. We've forgotten about Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons can win battles up front. We've also forgotten that the Packers are riddled with injuries and that James Jones is going to drop about four passes in this game.

Atlanta 24, Green Bay 17

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears
Why Seattle Could Win
If they get incredibly lucky and Matt Hasselbeck plays the game of his life for the second straight week.

Why Chicago Will Win
It's do or die time for a number of quarterbacks. I think this week could be a precursor to the fates of Rodgers, Flacco and Jay Cutler. Cutler's ability mirrors that of the fortunes of the Bears. I give the Seahawks credit for jumping up and biting the Saints in the ass. However, they don't have home-field advantage any longer and the difference between the Bears' defense and that of the Saints' is otherworldly. It'll be a whole new game for the Seahawks. Why no one has given the Bears credit is beyond me. You don't have to like them to realize you don't sleepwalk to 10 or more wins.

Chicago 33, Seattle 10

New York Jets vs. New England Patriots
Why New York Could Win
If Shonn Greene and Ladainian Tomlinson find room and turn this into a short, low-scoring game. If the Jets keep the Patriots to less than 23 points, they'll like their chances. Also, Tom Brady will need his worst-ever playoff performance.

Why New England Will Win
You don't tug on Superman's cape. Especially if you yourself have no superpowers. Tom Brady not having his worst-ever playoff game. That young, athletic defense. Those young pass catchers. And because the Jets barely beat a not-very-good, injury-riddled Indianapolis team. This doesn't bode well against a very-good, healthy New England team.

New England 35, New York 24

The Mavericks do not need to freak out

Pushin' 'n' shovin'

I realize the Dallas Mavericks just got their doors blown off by the San Antonio Spurs 101-89 tonight.

I know the Mavericks are without Dirk Nowitzki. And then Caron Butler for the rest of the season.

It looks bleak. But the Dallas Mavericks can not freak out right now. Now is not the time to do anything drastic that will put this franchise five to 10 years back.

The Mavericks have three trade chips: Dirk Nowitzki, Caron Butler's expiring deal and Roddy Beaubois.

One is UNTOUCHABLE. Another should be untouchable. The other ...

If the Mavericks want to get another big fish at the trading deadline they are going to have to trade Nowitzki and Beaubois. Trading one is unthinkable. Mortaging the future and trading Beaubois could or would be one of the dumbest moves of the franchise.

I don't know if Beaubois is going to be any good. He might flame out or remain perpetually injured for the rest of his career.

But you trade your youngsters if you are one player away from a championship. That's the only reason. The Rangers felt they were one player away. So they traded Justin Smoak and Blake Beavan for Cliff Lee.

Do you think the Mavericks are a player away? Even when they were winning and Nowitzki and Butler were healthy, do you really think they were beating the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs in a playoff series?

NO WAY.

How do you suppose Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler have improved? They haven't. Terry's the same player he was a decade ago. Kidd's regressed. Nowitzki's fantastic, but he's not going to become a big defensive presence in his 30s and Caron Butler is who he is.

The Mavericks were depending on Tyson Chandler's impact and Roddy Beaubois returning. Even then, it would be an uphill battle to take down the best of the West.

The Mavericks aren't there. Maybe if they went out and broke the piggy bank and got Carmelo Anthony. Very doubtful if they somehow lassoed Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Devin Harris or Steve Nash.

Now, Butler's a different story. I don't like Butler much and I think the Mavericks can get better and younger. If they can find a team in need of shedding payroll and can get someone that can play, then so be it. However, you're not getting anything earth-changing for Butler's expiring deal and messed up knee.

"Going for it" is not worth it if it means Beaubois. Stay calm. Stay the course.