Vicente! Vicente! Vicente!

"This is a simple game. You throw the ball; you hit the ball; you catch the ball!" -- Nuke LaLoosh, to reporter in "The Show".

Rangers newcomers make baseball look easy …

Nevin's homer put the Rangers ahead 4-0 in the first, when the first four batters reached base. Mark Teixeira had an RBI single, and Nevin followed with a drive to left field.

His two-run single with two outs in the fourth made it 6-0 and finished off Wakefield, who took the loss. Hank Blalock greeted Lenny DiNardo with an RBI single.
Brad Wilkerson, the Rangers' new leadoff hitter, was 3-for-5, scored three runs and homered leading off the sixth against DiNardo. Rod Barajas added a two-run homer in the seventh against David Riske.

Wakefield allowed seven runs and seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks. After going 16-12 last season when he pitched exclusively as a starter for the first time since 1996, the knuckleballer became only the third Red Sox to pitch in parts of 12 seasons. The others are Roger Clemens and Bob Stanley, who each pitched 13 seasons in Boston.

Josh Bard had a tough first start for Boston — three passed balls in the 4 2-3 innings catching Wakefield. That matched the number of passed balls he had in 220 innings as Cleveland's backup last season.

Padilla moved up a day into the No. 2 spot to replace Adam Eaton, out up to three months because of a sprained tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand.
Manny Ramirez struck out twice against Padilla. The second was on a 94-mph fastball in the sixth inning, and Padilla threw to only one more batter after that.

Mavs spank Kings …remember when the Kings were really, really good? Good times…

Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points, Josh Howard had 23 and Josh Powell dazzled during a game-breaking stretch of the second quarter, helping the Dallas Mavericks shatter Sacramento's nearly monthlong run of strong defense with a 127-101 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night.

Sacramento, which is trying to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, hadn't allowed more than 98 points its last 13 games – but gave up 63 in the first half. Dallas broke 100 with 54 seconds left in the third quarter and wound up topping its season-high for points by six.

The Mavs also made a season-best 61.3 percent of their shots, including 72.2 percent in the third quarter. Seven Mavs scored in double figures, with reserve center D.J. Mbenga just missing with eight. Powell had a season-high 12.

He’s Back! Quincy signs with Montreal …

Former NFL quarterback Quincy Carter signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL on Tuesday.

Carter, who played for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, signed a one-year contract with an option for 2007. He will be at Alouettes' training camp in May.
"I'm proud to join the Montreal Alouettes," Carter said in a statement. "This is a great opportunity for me to do what I love best, which is to play football."

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Carter had his best season with the Cowboys in 2003, throwing for 3,302 yards and 17 touchdowns. He left Dallas the following season to join the Jets, where he threw for 498 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.

The MLS is at it again: Please welcome “Inter Toronto” …

The first international club in the league, the name Inter Toronto FC (an obvious reference to Inter Milan) seems like an ideal choice for the club. It is just the latest in a recent round of MLS clubs re-branding themselves to sound more European.
Over the last few years teams such as FC Dallas, Red Bull New York, Real Salt Lake, Club Deportivo Chivas USA, and Dynamo Houston have been either added, or renamed from typical North American style nicknames.

Inter Toronto FC is expected to play their first games in April of 2007 at the new Toronto soccer stadium located on the site of the old Exhibition Stadium.

I know I have said it before, but I shall say it again: Stealing the names of European Soccer teams is not the way to go. You cannot grab things that appear European (names, uniforms) to attract fans of the European game, and then Americanize the sport with things that do not exist in Europe! There is no draft (nor SUPERDRAFT) and there is no playoff format to determine a league champion. Either do it the right way, or name every team after an animal like the sports in the US do, and completely ignore the way the beautiful game is run where it is #1. It would seem that someone in MLS would understand that those of us who love the sport overseas love the way they do things. What we don’t love is a completely meaningless regular season, followed by 80% of the league making the playoffs. We also don’t love conferences for a league with only 12 teams. That makes almost no sense. Have 1 league table (the soccer fans know what I am talking about) and decide your champion the European way. Or, the easier way might be to stop with the silly names that confuse the natives (like Football Club Dallas – when football means something quite different in Dallas) who do not follow the sport worldwide anyway.

Incidentally, FC Dallas looked good Saturday and have Real Salt Lake on Saturday at home …Real Salt Lake…Not Fake Salt Lake….

And now, some links that you the reader have sent me:

The Aggie War Hymn played with the traditional musical instrument of Indonesia, the angklung. …Seriously, is this blog the bomb or what?

Kidd Kraddick versus Kevin Federline in a dance contest...



Yanni gets arrested …

Did Shawn Bradley ever get dunked on? Let us count the ways …

The great Gatorade experience …

Pirates attack! …

That concludes the reader contributions for today. You should all be proud of yourselves…

The Weekly Buccigross Hockey Column …It is usually solid. This week is no exception…

"There is no more passionate owner in sports than Bill Wirtz and the Wirtz family. ... This is just going to be a question of getting back on track. They were a little unlucky, and they have acknowledged they made some mistakes."
-- Gary Bettman on the state of the Chicago Blackhawks

Vomit. Die, Bill Wirtz!

Salty ham.com looks at the Shield …

And now, email:

What does Sports Sturm think of this?!?!?

Some people think there are members of the Packers' front office who quietly wouldn't mind if Brett Favre retired and that the future Hall of Fame quarterback wouldn't mind being released so he could sign elsewhere, perhaps even with the Vikings.
-- St. Paul Pioneer Press

I would kill myself if he became the Vikings QB. And, I doubt I am joking…

Hey,

I was typing this during your discussion about the ovary jersey and then you read my mind. I think they need to have Modano wear the old North Stars jersey at least once again before he retires. Whether it is a third jersey or just a one time thing, I think he needs to wear that jersey. Could be against the Wild, but I would love to see that sweater on the ice with the Blackhawks again.

Later,

Paul

Paul, we have got to get this done! I would love it. Check out how great this would be for a 3rd jersey:

Bob, I was listen to the post game show tonight and your discussion about Hockey's popularity in Dallas. I will agree that there is only a minor hockey buzz in the city right now. I think there is one major reason for that, that over-shadows all others. That reason is the negative attitude of the media (BaD radio not included). It's sad to say, but I believe most people are sheep. They believe what they are told to believe and they follow what they are told to follow. The Dallas media and American media in general puts out the message that hockey is not worth paying attention to, that it's a fringe sport. The general public buys into this. The public reads in the DMN that the Stars game only scored a 1.1 in the ratings and the writer says it's because hockey doesn't translate well to TV. The general public reads this and assumes it's the truth. So, given the choice of watching the Mavs or the Stars, the sheep will watch basketball, because they've been told hockey is hard to follow on TV. Plus hockey is some foreign sport that only Canadian's holed up in igloos should care about anyway.

Junior Miller said in the FWST a couple of years ago that the Musers don't talk hockey because none of their listeners call to talk hockey. I wrote him and said hockey fans are not going to call a person who knows less about hockey than they do to ask a question. Why would a hockey fan call and ask him a question about the Stars power play, when they know he hasn't watched a full game yet this year.

If the media gave hockey equal coverage, the interest level would rise to the same level. I really don't understand the negative attitude the media has towards hockey. Even the writers who used to cover hockey, before moving on to other sports, rag on hockey.

Sorry for rambling,
Drew

Here is one on Bob Knight and the poor season in Tech land:

Hey Bob – here’s the rumored “inside scoop” on the reason for Bob Knight’s failed season this year. A relative of mine who lives in Lubbock says that it has been announced that Pat Knight (Bobby’s son) will take the reigns as coach when Bob retires. Apparently, that has been part of the agreement from the beginning and part of the reason Knight took the job in Lubbock (though no one knew it until now). So the scuttlebutt (as 1920s Reporter Guy would say) is that Knight eased off the coaching this year and let Pat do a lot of the work while he made reality tv shows. Bobby expected Pat to coach and win (wins that would go on Bob’s resume) and then retire after this year as the winningest coach in history (he’s close to passing Dean Smith). But Pat’s coaching didn’t go too far and now Bobby is going to have to coach again next year to get his record-beating wins and he’s also going to have to figure out how to make his son a decent coach in the mean time. My prediction: a good TT season next year, a retirement, and a buy-out/firing of Pat within 2 years after that.

Of course, not one iota of this is confirmed. But I thought I would pass along the rumors that I’m hearing from Lubbock.

Ryan

But, I thought they shot the tv show in October…

Sturminator,

Yesterday on the blog you had a post from the NY Times about Mike Wallace on the Tiger interview, which was interesting to hear his perspective. However, I think that the more important point is the actual subject of the article. Does it not make you crazy that ESPN is so hypocritical when it somes to the Barry bonds thing? Much like Greggo, I am infuriated at the sight of Bonds and the thought that he is ruining the greatest tradition in the greatest game we have. To compound this I am driven absolutely nuts by the idea that MLB and the Giants are planning to celebrate this fraud. Next, we have to deal with the largest sports news outlet in the world PAYING HIM TO BE ON THEIR AIR!

Most of the regular media seems to be paying slight attention to him and the steroids, fewer are talking about MLB's support of him, and ESPN's support is being relegated to the media critics in the opinion pages. Here, thanks to Belo, the Dallas Morning News won't write anything about it.

Here's my point. You have the power to let alot of people know about this. I am not trying to get you to start a movement or boycott. But I am encouraging you to book this into your show. You and Dan have always been good about criticizing media when they need it the most, and there is no time like the present.

Please don't neglect this. It deserves the attention that it isn't getting.

P1 Justin

And now, more email on fan loyalty:

Bob,

I'm listening to you talk today about all of the TO 'I don't wanna be a Cowboy fan anymore' talk.

I'm a Yankee fan and I just don't understand that line of thinking. I remember the Stump Merril years, The Ricky Henderson experiment and the A Rod slapping incident. All dificult to deal with, but not enough to throw down my pinstripes.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEING A FAN IF YOU'RE GOING TO BAIL THE FIRST TIME THEY
DO SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE?!?!?!

I hate Jose Conseco. I don't understand why the Yankees ever, ever, EVER had anything to do with him. He's the only ball player I've ever heckled...And it was when he came through town as a Yankee.And it really stings knowing that he was on the roster when they lost won the World Series in 2000.

But that didn't keep me from rooting for the Yankees that year or any other year.

So go A Rod, Go Damon, Go Jeter, Go Unit.

Crazy man...crazy.

Billy The Texas Yankee

---

I'm loyal to the Cowboys….I hate the Cowboy fan that says they have hated the Cowboys or whatever since Landry was "fired". I could care less.

I hate the Cowboy fan that says they hate the team for moving to Arlington. I could care less.

I hate the Cowboy fan that says now that T.O. is a Cowboy, they are out. I could care less.

T.O. standing on the star….could care less. I care about wins and championships. DEFEND THE ENDZONE next time!

Yes, they frustrate me at times with their moves. I couldn't stand the Campo years! But, anyone that knows me, knows I have supported them since 1989. As you know, I have been to every training camp since the 1992/93 season. I even named my kid after Troy. I am already planning to go to the HOF ceremony (thanks Bob for the advice) and plan to go to Oxnard (just to annoy BaD Radio again). Heck, I got a freaking job with the Cowboys (part time). I have basically made them the center of my own tiny, little world. No matter, even moving to Arlington, I support that star.

Love you.
Michael
---

Bob,

I agree with you 100% on your description of a die hard fan. I've been married for 11 years and I have two kids. I am just as big a fan of the Cowboys now as I was as a kid. I love my wife and my kids are everything to me, but my interest in the Cowboys has not changed. While in the military and stationed in Japan, I would get up at 3 a.m. on Monday morning to watch the Cowboys on T.V. These T.O. haters are idiots, I'm sure as soon as he starts scoring TDs and leading them to the playoffs, they will be right back on board.

Keep up the good work, as usual your hot sports opinions are right on.

Later,
Woody in Rowlett

---

Bob and Dan,

I listen to the ticket online everyday and I an a really die heart fan

I tried to call in today and tell you what I did , to prove just how much I love my
dallascowboys. I am a restaurant manager for Chipotle, we cater the food for the
sorry ass redskins every week . 3/26/06 I received my T.O. jersey in the mail .
I put the jersey on just before we arrived at the Redskins park , needless to say
they were not happy with me. my boss called me very very upset . he asked me
not to do it again. BOB & DAN , to all of the so called die heart cowboys fans who
are leaving because of T.O. tell them GOOD RIDDANCE.

SIGNED E. CARL SMITH-DIE HEART FAN
FROM FALLS CHURCH, VA
---

Bob,
Caught your segment on the TO thing and "Die Hard Fans" today.

I wrote a letter to the Editor of the FWST (which of course went unpublished) saying nearly the exact same thing in response to all those letters they published from supposed die hard fans that were done with the Cowboys after the T.O. signing.
That Star incident was so completely overblown it was pathetic. I really fell that it was handled on the field by Cowboys players, not to mention that T.O. served a one game suspension afterward.

If you remember, after the first celebration on the star, Emmitt ran out and "reclaimed" it after his next TD. When T.O. tried it again, George Teague handled it. It was high drama for sure, but that's about it. To hear some people talk about it, you would have thought that T.O. hauled Rowdy out there and cut his head off or something.

There have been so many reasons for the casual fan to jump on another bandwagon during the history of the Cowboys. I would venture to say that a lot of these guys that are jumping ship now had only recently gotten their memorabilia collection back up to snuff after they ditched them after the Landry dismissal.

Bottom line, if these guys are really die hard fans, then they will be back...they will latch onto something that T.O. does this season that in their mind, "makes up" for the star incident, or, they will just quietly skulk back when the winning starts, hoping that nobody will notice.

I know you check the board at scout.com from time to time. Some of these same T.O. haters will start a thread there wondering if Ray Lewis would be a good FA pickup. If you ask me, what he was caught up in is a lot worse than anything T.O. ever did. Oh, and these same T.O. haters would be bitching by the 4th or 5th game of the season if the Cowboys were losing because they had a chance to pick up T.O. and they didn't. This is borne out by the many conversations that have been had concerning Randy Moss.

Keep up the good work and tell Dan to quit being a pansy and pick a team.

Dan
---
Bob, you are normally the voice of reason and sanity on the show. Today, I am not so sure.

I have been a Cowboys fan always. Went to the Thanksgiving day game every year as a kid. Caught a Drew Pearson sweat band one year after the game as he threw it in the stands. Actually WAS at the 1979 Redskins game, 35-34 Cowboys win that December (man was it cold). Blah, Blah, Blah.

Now, I am conflicted with the T.O. signing. Many people are mad about his disrespect of the star. I was as mad as anyone that day, but that was just a guy with talent scoring on you and rubbing your nose in it. Maybe he was a bad sport, but if you can get that talent on your team to rub it in someone else's nose, GO FOR IT!

What bugs me is his disrepect for his current teammates and players. You say a die hard fan will stick with the team through thick and thin. Now I know in this day and age players are always switching teams. But as a fan, I expect my players while on my team (whether for 1 year, 3 years, 7 years or whatever) to stick with their team and teammates through thick and thin.

THAT IS NOT T.O. He has thrown 2 teams under the bus. Calling out quarterbacks, disregarding coaches and owners, turning his back on his teammates. I don't want that player on my team.

I will always be a Cowboys fan, and I ultimately want success for the Cowboys. However, I do not want success for T.O., so I can't root for Cowboys success at the moment. If somebody breaks T.O.'s leg halfway through the season, then GO COWBOYS.

Maybe in your mind that makes me not a die hard fan. But truly, you are nothing but a guy with an opinion, just like me.

Kendall in Willow Park

By the way, love the show. Even though I never listen.
Babyarm.

Good stuff. Keep em coming.