Monday in Lewisville

Finley will be gone by midnight …

They must decide by midnight today about using the NBA's new luxury-tax amnesty provision and waiving Finley. Or they could trade him for useable assets.

Either way, Finley, 32, will be a former Maverick by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. On the floor, he was a two-time All-Star and a key figure in the Mavericks' rise from the dark days of the 1990s. Off the court, he was a solid citizen who held a charity golf tournament each summer.

I admit it. It bums me out. I hate to see a guy’s run in a city where he played so hard for so long end like this. I guess the Finley critics will rejoice, but I would like to think that he will be considered one of the greatest Mavericks of all-time, and maybe be considered for having his #4 lifted to the rafter someday. This is the right move right now, but I wish it didn’t have to end this way for a guy who was a fine professional.

Rangers circle the drain …

"If somebody came in here and dismantled the clubhouse, I think it would only make matters worse," outfielder David Dellucci said. "Everybody is doing what they can to win.

"This is our job. This is our life. It's not a hobby. We play hard every day, and it's incredibly frustrating to come in the clubhouse after every game knowing you've done all you can and you've still lost."

Pitchers know they suck …

“It's OK if they think that, but I just don't want to hear it come out of their mouths," Brocail said. "We know we're not doing the job. We know they are scoring five and six and seven runs a game and still losing.

"But we're pointing the finger at ourselves. We feel like if we'd just allow a run every other inning – what's that, almost five a game? – we'd win."

Floyd analyzes Saturday Night in Arizona …

Channel 11, 9 a.m., Phil tries to close the deal on the final 4 holes of the PGA Championship. Call in sick. But, this doesn’t happen if you don’t have the leaders tee off at 3 in the afternoon for television …C’mon. Have the leaders tee off at 1:30, and you can have a weather delay and still complete the round, rather than having to come back to an empty course on Monday Morning for a Major!

Even when he doesn’t win, Tiger still impresses …That link is for Marshall…

I visited the new stadium of FC Dallas Saturday night, as they lost to New England 2-1…But the stadium is going to be perfect. I really enjoyed the setting, and just about everything about the place. They still have plenty of construction to complete before it will be totally finished, but it is pretty promising from what I saw Saturday.

Liverpool opens season with frustrating tie at Middlesbrough …

Galloway clobbers Hicks …Financial Flexibility…

Before we go too far on other issues from Cowboys-Cardinals, please allow me a moment to direct you to the blog from last Wednesday, which references other blog entries earlier. Basically, what I am trying to do is explain that despite the fact that I could have written about many other things this summer when it comes to the Cowboys, I have been banging the “RT sucks” drum all along.

After Exhibition Game #1, my reviews of the RT:

Rob Pettiti = D (abused on several occasions on run blocking – they cannot run right with him in the game evidently)
Jacob Rogers = F (played 2 plays, looked horrendous on the first. Left game with injury that may or may not exist)
Torrin Tucker = F (what a clinic of poor blocking/penalties)

Here is what I wrote last week:

Perhaps this is a good time for me to go on record and suggest that I might be the only media member around here who is not buying all of this “Jacob Rogers for RT” baloney. There are real stories early in training camp, and there are stories from camp that when reviewed a few months later are quite humorous that the media believed it when the mighty Tuna floated it out there. But there is every paper, lapping up the information that Jacob Rogers, a guy who could not get on the field for even 1 offensive down last season, is the best option at Right Tackle. OK, sure, he is a lot stronger, and he is a lot smarter, but c’mon.

Now, Rogers has a right shoulder issue, which matches up with his injury history, and also his toughness questions. But we are to believe that Rogers will be ready to go head to head with Jevon Kearse and Michael Strahan this fall? Right. Not buying it. At this point, I should likely admit that they don’t have very good options, and as I wrote before I think Larry Allen might be the best option . But for now, that is not something they will look at, and we can all ponder whether Rogers, Tucker, or Vollers will be the bad player at RT.

Other things:

How come when the QB is liked by the coach, we get to say that the WR’s can’t get open; but when we don’t like the QB, he is not accurate enough and he is missing open receivers?

Andre Gurode is no better at Center than he was at Guard. If they had any depth, I would cut him and Rogers right now.

Kurt Warner looked like Kurt Warner used to look. Perfect example of what happens when you put a QB in a system that makes sense. Warner with 3 WR’s and quick passes show his strengths and hide his weaknesses. Denny Green may not be good in the playoffs, but strategically, he is a fine coach.

Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry both showed some good things.

DeMarcus Ware did not show much to confirm my high hopes, as he was hard to notice.

Never seen a 3rd and 50 before, but I really enjoyed it.

Tony Romo sure looks awfully confident out there.

I think #68, Pepper Johnson, makes this team.

Tyson Thompson looks pretty fast against 3rd team defenders. I want to see more of that.

Here is where I would normally type a paragraph pounding Drew Bledsoe. I just can’t get too carried away yet. I think it will be difficult to survive a season with the combination of that QB and that Offensive Line. But, it is also early August, so let’s all take a deep breath and see what next week holds.