Week 12: Cowboys 34, Jets 3 (10-1)

Another Week, another performance where very little went wrong, as the Cowboys celebrated Thanksgiving with a win. 9-1 becomes 10-1, and now the stage is set for the game that lies ahead.

The Jets are not a very good team. In fact, the Cowboys have now completed their run through the AFC East, and in a year where that division could produce the first undefeated team since 1972 AND the first winless team since 1976 it is easy to see why. The Jets, Dolphins, and Bills are awful. So, to suggest the Patriots are 6-0 before the season starts is a fair statement. Perhaps the fact that the Dolphins are so bad that they can lose to the Jets and Bills all 4 times is more of a shock. Regardless, in 2007, I am tired of hearing about the big, bad AFC, and then the corresponding theory that the NFC is sad. The AFC has many dogs in it. We have seen them up close. The Jets are not winning games in the NFC either.

Are the Patriots the best team in the league? Surely. Are the Colts great? Absolutely. But after that, don’t you have to question of a Steelers team that loses to Denver and the Jets and the Cardinals? And what about the Chargers who have lost at Minnesota and Green Bay? Sorry. Dallas is as good as anyone other than the Patriots, and the Packers likely belong in the Top 5, too. So, let’s stop with the idea that some of my colleagues have thrown out there that the 5th best team in the AFC could win the NFC. Don’t think so.

The following are my notes and observations from an easy win at Texas Stadium.

• It wasn’t much, but when we saw snow at the stadium yesterday, we couldn’t help but consider the Miami “Leon Lett” game of Thanksgiving 1993. The snow yesterday was certainly far more minimal, but I don’t care who you are and where you are from: There is something special about being at a football game and seeing snow. It is just about as good as it gets.

• Good to see the Boys run the football again with some effectiveness. 174 yards on the ground almost totally matched the 180 total yards of the Jets. That is something you don’t see in the NFL very often. Also, Dallas owned a 15 minute advantage in time of possession. Seriously, the offenses that the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins have surely are 3 of the worst offenses the Cowboys have played in years.

• I think we all saw something great on the Terrence Newman interception return for a touchdown – Tnew has got his wheels back, eh?

• I really don’t think Nick Folk is kicking the ball very well on kickoffs anymore. This puts a ton of pressure on the coverage teams to always make the first tackle. That in turn will put more pressure on the defense when they take the field around the 40 or 50. It all starts with Folk. And they need to see the reemergence of his thunder foot that was there in San Antonio.

• It could all be a coincidence, or part of the gameplan against the Jets, but we sure didn’t see much of the shotgun yesterday, eh? The Gurode crazy snaps of Sunday may have scared off Jason Garrett for now.

• I have never thought a whole lot of Miles Austin at Wide Receiver. I just thought his hands were not very impressive in the pre-season, and really am more interested in Isaiah Stanback as the project at the position, but Austin really showed me some nice speed burst during his two completions. Perhaps he is developing into something.

• I guess Julius Jones won the battle of the brothers by almost mere default. Without any sort of fear of Kellen Clemens, the Cowboys made Thomas Jones earn every single inch yesterday.

• Thursday’s laugh out loud moment was of course the extra soft high 5 that Tony Romo offered Wade Phillips after the touchdown down the seam to Jason Witten. We certainly aren’t going to injure anyone’s soft hands with that. I really enjoy Romo’s humor, and the fact that it seems like he can play an NFL game and think of goofing around all at the same time.

• Chris Canty is really emerging as a player. His Joey Galloway celebration flex works, too.

• Did you know the Cowboys had not won consecutive Thanksgiving games since 1997? I guess times have been tough around here. But is there any doubt that the Cowboys are ready to end the playoff drought? I feel it is only a matter of time.

• I didn’t realize this until I read it at NFL.com, but since the start of 2006, there has been no touchdown combination that has scored more than Romo to Owens. Keep in mind that Romo did not get the job until the 7th game in 2006, and consider what that says. Wow. 23 times they have hooked up already. And there is more on the way.

• I think the Cowboys let a good safety and special teams player get away when Abram Elam left. The Jets look like they are ok at that spot now with him.

• When you win 34-3, it is nit-picking to point out that Romo should have had a few more Touchdowns. On the Interception, Owens was open. And he also underthrew an open Witten on another play. Both were scores normally. That is right, I am saying the Cowboys won 34-3 and did not play very well at times. They could have and should have had 50 yesterday.

• Initial thoughts on Green Bay week? The Packers had a lot of important pieces get hurt yesterday. How many can play will largely affect their firepower. Driver, Woodsen, KGB, and Tauscher all left the game with something health-related. Also, Brett Favre knows that Texas Stadium is one of the very few places he has never won. It is clearly his house of pain as no other stadium has seen his years crash and burn like Texas Stadium in 1993, 1994, and 1995. He is 0-8 all time here, and that alone should give anyone pause before picking Green Bay to win (considering his all-time winning percentage, 0-8 is beyond a coincidence). But, does the Dallas defense have a way to match up against the 5 WR set the Packers have? Newman on Driver? Fine. Henry on Jennings? Ok. Reeves has Jones? Who then covers Koren Robinson and Ruvell Martin? Roy or another safety? Meanwhile, How does Tony Romo respond to playing against Brett? You have to understand of all of the mind bending situations he has been in, the prospect of dueling against his hero in a game of this magnitude should be really cool. Even cooler is the idea that I believe regardless of the result, these two teams shall meet again. Thursday will only serve to determine where that 2nd meeting is likely played. This is going to be fun.

Happy Thanksgiving to You

I believe that this will most likely have to pass as the Wednesday and Thursday Blog, as I don’t anticipate rushing to blog on Thanksgiving…

Mavs put on a great show to catch and beat Raptors …

The lost-and-found did a booming business Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.
Found: Dirk Nowitzki's shooting touch, some sticky defense by the Mavericks and Trenton Hassell.

Lost: A 24-point lead by the Toronto Raptors – again – and any misperception that the Mavericks' best player is somebody other than Nowitzki.

The Mavericks wiped out a 49-25 second-quarter deficit – second-biggest in franchise history to a 25-point comeback against Denver in 1994 – and completed a 4-0 home stand with a 105-99 victory over the Raptors.

Nowitzki was saying just a day earlier that he hadn't found his shooting touch yet this season. Avery Johnson got an up-close look at Nowitzki heating up as the MVP hit four 3-pointers to close out the third quarter and put the Mavericks in control. He finished with 32 points, his first 30-point game of the season.

"I was standing right there next to two of them," Johnson said of the third-quarter darts that Nowitzki was flinging. "The way he was playing in that third quarter, he wasn't really thinking about it, he was just having a lot of fun. ... And he was letting it fly."

Nowitzki had hit only 6-of-17 3-pointers for the season. He was 4-of-6 against the Raptors.

"Dirk was awesome tonight," said Devin Harris, who kept the Mavericks afloat in the second quarter and finished with 19 points. "We were waiting for that shot to come around. And it came around when we needed it most."

Nowitzki's play capped a remarkable comeback. The Mavericks looked completely uninterested in the first half. And it's not the first time this has happened against Toronto.

They fell behind by 24 against the Raptors two seasons back and came back to win in overtime.

"Yeah, I've seen it before," said Lincoln-ex Chris Bosh, who had 31 points and 12 rebounds. "They don't quit."

So, it is the Jets in town for the holiday, and when you play a 2-8 team, and they are already out of the mix in the AFC, and you cannot find much insight on Jets Football.

Instead, it is the story that is sweeping Jets world of fans trying to get women to flash …

At halftime of the Jets’ home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, several hundred men lined one of Giants Stadium’s two pedestrian ramps at Gate D. Three deep in some areas, they whistled and jumped up and down. Then they began an obscenity-laced chant, demanding that the few women in the gathering expose their breasts.

When one woman appeared to be on the verge of obliging, the hooting and hollering intensified. But then she walked away, and plastic beer bottles and spit went flying. Boos swept through the crowd of unsatisfied men.

Marco Hoffner, an 18-year-old from Lacey Township, N.J., was expecting to see more. Not from the Jets — they pulled off a big upset over the Steelers. He wanted more from the alternative halftime show that, according to many fans, has been a staple at Jets home games for years.

“Very disappointed, because we’re used to seeing a lot,” Hoffner said.

The mood of previous Gate D crowds — captured on video clips posted on YouTube — sometimes bordered on hostile, not unlike the spirit of infamously aggressive European soccer hooligans. One clip online shows a woman being groped by a man standing next to her.

Sunday’s scene played out for about 20 minutes, and at least one woman granted the men’s request, setting off a roar as if the former star running back Curtis Martin had just scored a touchdown. Martin was actually nearby, being honored on the field in the official halftime show, which had a far less intense audience.

Throughout halftime, about 10 security guards in yellow jackets stood near the bottom of the circular, multilevel ramp, located beyond the stadium’s concourse of concession stands and restrooms. One of the guards was smoking a cigarette; many fans do the same during halftime on the giant ramps, which are located at each corner of the stadium. Another guard later said they were not permitted to do anything about the chants at Gate D because of free speech laws. Yet when a reporter tried to interview two security guards after halftime, he was detained in a holding room, threatened with arrest and asked to hand over his tape recorder.

Cowboys 31, Jets 14. Sorry, but I don’t see this being any better a game than the Bucs and Boys last year.

Kellen Clemens has Jets fans optimistic …

As the seconds tick away in the fourth quarter and the Jets try to whittle another deficit, Kellen Clemens transforms from promising first-year starter into a green-and-white-clad Captain Comeback.

In each of Clemens’s three turns at starting quarterback, the Jets fell behind, but in each of those games, Clemens positioned the offense to win or tie. The results were a loss, a loss in overtime and a victory in overtime.

“He always had that confidence about him,” receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. “It all
comes from that confidence. Everyone calls it swagger. All those drives, they start there — confidence, swagger, whatever you want to call it.”

Clemens’s overall statistics fall somewhere between pedestrian and putrid. In five games, Clemens has completed 66 of 132 passes for 750 yards, 3 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a 59.2 quarterback rating.

Those statistics fail to account for the intangibles, those things teammates cannot quantify and struggle to explain. Confidence, swagger or whatever you want to call it.

The Jets saw them in Week 2, when Clemens started for an injured Chad Pennington. They saw them during the last two games, after Coach Eric Mangini pulled the plug on Pennington as the starter and switched to Clemens for the remainder of the season.
In those starts, Clemens and the offense started comebacks: in the final drive of the fourth quarter in the overtime games, and in the final two drives in Week 2 against Baltimore. Those seven drives resulted in one touchdown, three field goals, an interception and two punts.

“It was a positive against Baltimore, it’s been a positive in all these different two-minute drives,” Mangini said. “You like the way he responds, and you like the energy he has when he takes the field, regardless of what the situation is.”

Something happens to Clemens and the offense late in the fourth quarter. They forget about the interceptions and long stretches of offensive ineptitude, and they drive downfield to keep things interesting, if nothing else.

On the seven drives, Clemens completed 18 of 35 passes for 288 yards, an average of 16 yards for each completion. The Jets also converted 8 of 14 first downs on those drives: six passing, one on a Clemens scramble and one by penalty. That 57.1 percent conversion rate would rank first in the N.F.L. if the Jets were always so consistent.

Since I don’t know much about Kellen Clemens, I thought we should consider a youtube search:

Merrill Hoge made the point that Clemens was the 2nd best QB in the 2006 draft behind Cutler, but in front of Leinart and Vince Young



Clemens switch in a song



Jets fan explains Pennington versus Clemens



Laveranues not going to play? ….

Coles unlikely

Laveranues Coles, who suffered a sprained left ankle Sunday, dressed for practice yesterday but hardly participated during the 30 minutes the media is allowed to observe. Officially, the Jets listed his participation as "limited" on their practice report, but it seems likely that after playing in 107 straight games, Coles will miss his second game in the last three. On Sunday, with Coles sidelined for most of the game, Jerricho Cotchery had only one catch, ending his streak of 15 games with at least four receptions.



Cowboys do some talkin'

At 9-1, it's certainly the Cowboys' prerogative to throw some verbal jabs at the 2-8 Jets before their meeting tomorrow. In a conference call with the New York media yesterday, Terrell Owens was asked about Jets rookie CB Darrelle Revis. "I don't know who that is," he said, admitting he doesn't pay attention to who covers him. "That's not a slight on him or whoever he is." Dallas RB Julius Jones, younger brother of Jets RB Thomas Jones, was asked if it would be ideal for Thomas to run for 100 yards but have the Cowboys still win. "Yeah," he said, "but I don't know if that's going to happen because I don't know if he can get 100 yards on our defense."

Poor, poor Eagles …

Just three seasons after being separated by just three points in Super Bowl XXXIX, the gap between the Patriots and Eagles has widened to historic proportions: Philly is a 23½-point underdog.

That is the largest point spread for an NFL game that does not involve an expansion team, according to odds-making experts in Las Vegas.

On Dec. 5, 1976, the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 24-point underdogs to the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers covered easily, winning 42-0.

"Nowadays, you don't see too many spreads over 16 or 17 points," said Sean Van Patten, an oddsmaker at Sports Consultants in Las Vegas. "That's because most teams take their starters out in the fourth quarter of a lopsided game. The Patriots don't. I call this phenomenon The [Bill] Belichick Factor."

By continuing to pour it on the fourth quarter, Belichick is throwing Vegas out of whack. And making bookies run for cover.

It all started Sunday night after Belichick walked across the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium to shake hands with Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron, an awkward moment captured on national TV after the Patriots annihilated the Bills 56-10.

"The line for the Patriots-Eagles game was immediately set at 17 points -- and the big bettors, the sports syndicate guys, jumped on it, bet it hard," said Brandon Lang, whose life was depicted by Matthew McConaughey in the movie "Two for the Money" and is regarded as the nation's leading sports handicapper.

According to bookies and oddsmakers, all the big money took the Patriots and gave the points. Why? Because Belichick has been running up the score.

"So the spread jumped all the way to 22 in a matter of minutes," said Lang.

"You add the fact that Donovan McNabb is injured and you have the perfect storm," said a bookie in South Philadelphia who asked not to be identified.

Tonight, Stars roll out Mike Smith again ….

The Dallas Stars don't have a goalie controversy.

Backup Mike Smith expects to make his third straight start tonight against Anaheim.

Starter Marty Turco expects to be the backup. This will mark the first time this season that Turco has sat consecutive games without being injured.

To have controversy, there must be disagreement. And the goalies agree – Smith will start.

"No, Mike's going to play," Turco said when asked if he would start. "It's not tough because we're playing well and winning hockey games. You just want to be a part of it."

Turco has allowed 14 goals in his last three starts, which were losses. Smith has surrendered one goal in victories over Colorado and Los Angeles.

"Were good friends on and off the ice, and we're going to push each other if we're both playing well," Smith said. "I'm sure Marty's going to get back in there and play really well."

Although both have been told that Smith will start tonight, coach Dave Tippett said he would wait for today to make the announcement.

"They were both very good in practice," Tippett said. "This is no different than last year; Smitty had a stretch where he played a few games, and he played very well. Turc had some good practices, and at the end of the day, both of them played very well. We need that from that position."

This will not make you thankful… $50k to be a Cowboys fan? …

Not knowing the total price structure makes it impossible to compare the average cost of a Cowboys ticket to those elsewhere.

But the $50,000 seat option apparently is the most expensive such option ever charged for the rights to a single seat.

The Cowboys will use the seat options to help pay for their $675 million share of the stadium.

Seat options, also known as personal seat licenses, became a popular way to fund new stadiums in the 1990s. But the idea evolved from the approach the Cowboys took in the late 1960s with the use of "seat option bonds" to build the $35 million Texas Stadium.

Under the bond system, fans paid $250 per seat for the right to buy season tickets in that spot. At the end of the 40 years, bondholders redeemed the bonds for $300.
Today, about one-third of the 32 NFL teams have some form of seat options.

The Houston Texans, an expansion franchise, sold about 41,000 seat licenses at an average cost of about $1,800. In 2002 the Chicago Bears offered 28,000 seat licenses at a cost of up to $10,000 to help rebuild Soldier Field.

The licenses are transferable and can rise in value. A pair of Bears seat licenses is on sale on eBay for $40,000. Cowboys officials are likewise touting their seat options as a good investment, and pointed to reports about Carolina Panthers fans whose options have increased fourfold in value.

But they can also backfire. The Oakland Raiders' seat licenses topped out at $16,000, but the team had to rescind the program in 2005 after losing seasons left them struggling to sell single-game seats next to season ticket holders who'd paid thousands.

Meet Kimbo Slice …



The Wire is coming

Tuesday Blogging

Romo’s ride 1 year after it began …

Entering his second Thanksgiving Day game as the starter, Romo leads the NFC with 27 touchdown passes and is just two off tying White's Cowboys season team record set 24 years ago. He is the NFC's highest rated passer (105.6) and has thrown for 2,848 yards, second in the conference to Green Bay's Brett Favre.

"He's been great in practice, and it's really carried over to the games," backup quarterback Brad Johnson said. "With this many weapons, it takes the group. It takes the quarterback. It takes the line. You have everybody. That's what happens in practice. It's fun watching what happens on Wednesday and Thursday, let alone what happens on Sunday."

Including last year's Thanksgiving Day win, Romo has thrown 38 touchdown passes with 21 interceptions for 4,401 yards in the last 16 regular-season games. During that span, he has six games with at least three touchdown passes, including four in Sunday's win against Washington, and seven 300-yard passing games.

Since the Cowboys' only loss to New England, he has thrown 12 touchdown passes, tying him with White for the second-best four-game stretch by a Cowboys' quarterback. Don Meredith had 14 touchdown passes in the first four games – all wins – in 1966.

"Tony's seeing things well," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "The best thing he is doing is when the opportunity is there to make a big play or a small play he's been able to make it. He made a lot of big third down throws [Sunday] and obviously the big plays for touchdowns. There's not been a lot of, 'Aahh, we had it, but we just missed it.' "

Coach Wade Phillips did not watch last year's Thanksgiving game as San Diego's defensive coordinator and did not know much about Romo before coming to Dallas. What has impressed Phillips the most is not Romo's quick release or improvisation, but how he has handled the spotlight.

"I think it's very hard being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys," Phillips said. "They've run through several of them since the great ones, and there's a lot of pressure on them."

New England's Tom Brady and Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, two of the NFL's best quarterbacks, know that pressure, too. They have been the most valuable player in a Super Bowl. They have set records or are on pace to set records.
Part of their greatness is their consistency.

"I can't speak for everybody on the team, but I wouldn't trade him for those guys," tight end Jason Witten said. "He's still got a lot to prove in that aspect, but the way he makes those plays consistently, he's well on his way to being great."
That could not have been said entering last year's Thanksgiving Day game.

Albert Breer breaks down the tape of the Redskins game …

Feature on Eli Manning that is gold …

Eli Manning is much better than Dave Brown, not nearly as good as Phil Simms and so far about the same as Kerry Collins.

So, where does that leave the Giants?

It's clear after 48 regular-season starts and two more in the playoffs that Manning is not a top-five elite quarterback, which is what the Giants thought they were buying when they gave up all those draft picks to the Chargers, who wanted Philip Rivers anyway.

Manning's mediocre performance in last weeks crucial game against the Cowboys, in which he was outplayed by Tony Romo, who was not even drafted, has served notice to the Giants: This may be the best he's got. Where he ranks in the NFL has become a hot topic.

In the last few days I polled three general managers and a vice-president of player personnel and asked them to list their top quarterbacks in order and stop when they got to Manning. The list is not a lifetime achievement award and not based on potential. It's simply who are the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now.

Just one member of the panel had Manning in his top 10. All had Pittsburgh's Ben
Roethlisberger in the top five. The Giants would have taken Big Ben if they couldn't complete the trade for Manning,

GM No. 1: had Manning 12th behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Brett Favre, Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb, Matt Hasselbeck, Jeff Garcia, Drew Brees and Marc Bulger.

GM No. 2: had Manning 13th behind Brady, P. Manning, Palmer, Romo, Roethlisberger, Favre, Brees, Rivers, Bulger, Hasselbeck, McNabb and David Garrard.

GM No. 3: had Manning 12th behind Brady, P. Manning, Favre, Palmer, Roethlisberger,
Romo, Derek Anderson, Brees, Hasselbeck, Bulger and Garrard.

The personnel director had Manning 10th behind Brady, P. Manning, Favre, Roethlisberger, Palmer, Brees, Romo, Garcia and Bulger.

The Giants thought they were getting a star. What they've got is a complementary player dependent on all the pieces fitting neatly around him. He doesn't have great instincts and is not very creative.

Still, he's better than about two-thirds of the starting quarterbacks - which says a lot about the lack of quality at the position - and unless the Giants collapse, Manning will be 3-for-3 taking the Giants to the playoffs as the full-time starter.
If Collins, Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer can be Super Bowl quarterbacks, eventually so can Manning. But he's a second-level quarterback who is too inconsistent for a player with his experience.

Speaking of QB’s – Vick checks into the Big House …

In an apparent attempt to speed his return to football, Michael Vick began serving time in prison yesterday, more than three weeks before he is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges.

Vick, the star quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, turned himself in to United States marshals and was brought to the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Va.
Vick is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson on Dec. 10 in Richmond, and by beginning his jail time, he will be credited with time served. According to the sentencing guidelines, Vick faces from a year to 18 months in prison.

Hudson ordered the marshals to take Vick into custody because he “has indicated his desire to voluntarily enter custody prior to his sentencing hearing,” according to a court document.

On Aug. 27, Vick pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges stemming from a dogfighting kennel being run from a property he owned in Surry, Va.

N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely and has said he will not make a decision on Vick’s future with the league until all legal proceedings are concluded.

Billy Martin, one of Vick’s lawyers, said yesterday in a written statement that Vick had accepted responsibility from the beginning.

“His self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance,” Martin said. “Michael wants to again apologize to everyone who has been hurt in this matter, and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time.”

Who is the Sportsman of the Year? How about Mike Bacsik? …

The moment called for perspective, but Hank Aaron was not there to give it. The moment called for grace, but Bud Selig was not around to offer it. The moment called for humility, but Barry Bonds was not willing to provide it.

And so, the moment that threatened to damage baseball forever had to be saved by a little-known pitcher for the Washington Nationals named Mike Bacsik. Yes, the man who gave up home run No. 756 is also the man who made it just a little bit tolerable.
As Bacsik stood on the mound at AT&T Park on Aug. 7 -- the historic home-run ball leaving a vapor trail over his head -- he had three options. He could slink away like Selig. He could pout like Bonds. Or he could give baseball the levity it really needed.

"Well," Bacsik said, "If I didn't give up this home run, nobody would ever remember me." Then he did what Bonds never could. He laughed at himself.

Just like that, the new home-run king was upstaged by a journeyman. While Bonds was the usual portrait of self-congratulation -- pounding his chest, pointing to the sky, wearing a T-shirt with his own image -- Bacsik was pure self-deprecation.
"I always dreamed about this as a kid," Bacsik said. "But when I dreamed of it, I thought I would be the one hitting the home run."

Whether or not Bonds's home-run totals are steroid-enhanced, Bacsik's joy was genuine. He talked wishfully about someday appearing at baseball card shows with Al Downing, the former Dodgers' pitcher who gave up No. 715 to Aaron.

"I'm really excited," Bacsik said. "I'm part of history now."

Bacsik became the best ambassador that baseball could have sent to AT&T Park. After the home run, he tipped his cap to Bonds. And after he was removed from the game, he went to the Giants' clubhouse to congratulate Bonds in person. Also inside were Willie McCovey and Willie Mays. "I did not belong in that room," Bacsik said.

To the contrary, baseball needed him in that room, in that stadium, on that night. For all sorts of reasons, Bonds is not the ideal home-run king. But Bacsik was the ideal foil. He turned a point of humiliation into a point of pride, and turned himself from a No. 5 starter into the Sportsman of the Year.

When his duty was done, he left the ballpark, met up with a childhood friend, and hit the bars in San Francisco. And he drank for free.

The Nextel Cup has a winner, and it is Jimmie Johnson winning his 2nd in a row. He was great, and well deserving.

Johnson during the chase had these finishes:
6-14-3-2-14-1-1-1-1-7

Jeff Gordon Had these ten finishes
2-11-5-1-1-3-7-7-10-4

As a Gordon homer, I was curious if the format change has cost Gordon any titles? apparently, it cost him the title in 2004 and now in 2007 …

Gordon won his titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001 through season-long points battles against the field. Johnson’s victories have come via the 10-race playoff at the end of each season, a switch Nascar made in 2004 to add excitement to the fall portion of the schedule, when racing battles the N.F.L. and other professional and college sports for fan interest and television ratings.

If the drivers were still competing under the old system, Gordon would be the one celebrating the championship this season. He had a 312-point lead over the second-place driver, Tony Stewart, after the 26th and final race of the regular season. It was a 410-point advantage over Johnson. But all that was wiped out when the points were reset at the start of the playoff.

The same thing happened to Gordon in 2004, when he led the points through the first 26 races but was outrun by Kurt Busch and Johnson in the Chase.

Had the system not changed, Gordon would probably be closing in on his sixth title — one short of the career record shared by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

“I don’t think anything is unfair when you know going into it what it is,” Gordon said recently when asked if the points system was unfair. “The points are whatever Nascar decides to make it, and we’re going to race the championship however they do it.

“The one issue that I’ve got is that there’s no way you can write history and compare history if it constantly changes, and there’s no way that you can compare a champion back before the Chase to once the Chase started, and there’s no way you can compare a driver in the Chase if they’re changing constantly. I think it’s very hard to really create new history for the sport when they change it like that.”

Among those agreeing with Gordon is Stewart, who is the only driver who can claim he is a champion of both eras. Stewart, a two-time Cup winner, earned his first title under the old system in 2002. His second championship came in 2005, in the second year of the Chase.

“How you race for 36 weeks is different than how you race for a 26-race stretch and then a 10-week stretch,” Stewart said. “Yeah, it is different. It is comparing apples to oranges. But you still take the same gratification both ways and knowing that this is, whatever the format was, we were able to conquer it and beat it.”

Flying Mangino T-Shirts …


Shawn Merriman – Jacked up by Maurice Jones Drew




Knoxie almost breaks his melon

Week 11: Cowboys 28, Redskins 23 (9-1)

He is a bad man.


On March 14, 2006, I wrote my feelings about the Dallas Cowboys looking at signing Terrell Owens …

I raised a firestorm of controversy yesterday when I stated my claim that I would give strong consideration to signing T.O. when he becomes available today. Many, many emails filled the box, and honestly, the majority 60-70% were wanting me to be drug tested. But, I do think that under the right circumstances he can work. Here they are:

1) – Bill Parcells is your coach. He will be in charge, and T.O. can either deal with that or be released.

2) – His contract is constructed with behavior clauses, so that he can be released at the first sign of trouble.

3) – His contract is short term.

With these three stipulations, I think it might be worth the trouble. And make no mistake, he can still be considerable trouble, but I think he might be on his very best behavior as he tries to regain his ability to make a living. Like Keyshawn Johnson, I expect that at least for 2006 and maybe even 2007, you will see Owens as the biggest angel he can be.

But, most think I am out of my mind. One NFL Personnel guy who heard the show yesterday has advised me to “put my crack pipe down”. He also indicated that if this happens it is 100% Jerry Jones and 0% Bill Parcells. That would concern me greatly, of course.

He is still about as talented a WR as there is in this league, and the Cowboys still struggle to score points. I am not saying Owens is your only option, but this offense must get a playmaker and I would think that given the circumstances, he should be considered strongly.

Of course, the theme of many emails is that no Cowboys fan would endorse a move to acquire the man who once desecrated the Star. Maybe not, but touchdowns heal many hurt feelings. Time will tell…

Some may be wondering what that has to do with Cowboys 28, Redskins 23, but I think most of you know. This team is the best team in the NFC in large part because they have Terrell Owens and nobody else does. Green Bay is 9-1, and they have a franchise QB, too. But they don’t have a Wide Receiver for who there is no answer. The Cowboys do. Like it or not, he is what makes you better.

As I was looking at my blog entry from 19 months ago, I got a giggle out of this comment from a reader:

If TO gets signed by Dallas, I will no longer root for the Cowboys for as long as Jerry Jones owns the team. Period. TO is an infected sore of a human being and the Cowboys can win without him. Go sign another receiver, ANY other receiver than TO. This will blow up in the Cowboys face so badly, it's just a question of when. I'll even sign this thing so somebody can hold me accountable to what I said.

Signed,
Jonathan Brashear

I wonder if Jonathan is still reading this blog…and if he has held true to his pledge as the Cowboys roll to 9-1…

The following are notes from another Cowboys NFC East win:

• The Redskins deserve plenty of credit for hanging in there yesterday. Jason Campbell is a guy who I have really liked in 2007, and I think although he doesn’t have the “wow” factor of our young Jedi Knight, he does seem to have a bright future leading the Redskins. He throws a pretty decent ball, and if they could ever get him a 6’4 wide receiver to lead the way, he will be a very nice threat. 348 yards is not a good number for the Cowboys to surrender.

• When Washington’s starting Right tackle Todd Wade (who himself is a backup) left the game, I expected the Cowboys pass rush to really cause trouble for Campbell. The fact is, aside from DeMarcus Ware the pass rush was largely disappointing. This is where a lot of us like to turn the secondary into a piñata. You must remember the idea of “Pressure-Pick, Cover-Sack”. The opposite of that is “No Pressure-Campbell throws for 350”. After a real good week of rushing Eli, the Redskins did a fine job of protecting.

• Speaking of Ware, in the long line of guys to get a raise from Jerry Jones, is there one who is more set up than Ware? 24.5 sacks in 28 games? Try signing that in the open market. Ware is all that anyone could have dreamed he would be.

• I don’t really want to dive back into the Roy Williams fun bag today. Once again, the opposing Tight End was isolated a fair amount against him and had a huge day. But I do want to make this point: One thing that does not endear his work to my sensibilities is that when he is on the scene of a big pass play, he is quick to throw his arms up in disbelief that his teammate would screw up so badly. I believe this is a result of ridicule, and now his defense mechanism is to instantly claim his innocence to the world whenever someone catches a ball around him. But it looks Bush League. It looks like a guy who is ready to show up a mate in the name of passing the buck. I want my leader to lead, and part of that is not always making sure he is blameless rather than remembering the object of the game is to stop the defense. Not to protect your own hide. On the Cooley touchdown, he was once again trying to light up Bradie James after the play. James wasn’t hearing it and was yelling right back. According to a source, it was more Roy than Bradie, if you weren’t sure who screwed up on that Cover 2 Touchdown.

• Is the Cowboys running game ok? Just curious.

• Those Final 4 minutes took forever. The game looked like it was over on Owens Touchdown, but it wasn’t. Then, it looked like it was over on the Newman interception, but it wasn’t. It was only over when Owens broke up the Hail Mary. But, if the Cowboys could have converted one first down in the final 2 drives, it isn’t that complicated. But, the first drive was collapsed when Leonard Davis was abused by Phillip Daniels for a sack (on the play Flozell Adams got hurt), and on the last offensive drive, the Cowboys ran 3 times and punted it right back.

• Andre Gurode might have lost his trip to Honolulu yesterday. I love his season, but those snaps are drive killers, and at some point, those become game killers, or worse yet, season killers.

• Shawn Springs is having a tough season. His dad is in a coma, and he travels back and forth to Dallas every week. I think most people were hoping he would have had a solid game yesterday, but he was pretty much on the scene for all 4 Owens Touchdowns. That Redskins secondary is very, very good when healthy. They obviously are not healthy.

• Those two teams were really hitting each-other yesterday. Man, what a physical game. You have to believe it will be tough to get your bodies working again on Thursday.

• Romo is just flat out money again. 4 more Touchdown passes, putting him at 27 for the season. He is great at making the big play at the big moment. It helps to have Owens, but those throws were all right on the spot.

• Isn’t it interesting to note that the only two other times the Cowboy have started 9-1, they have lost in the first playoff game? I have no idea how that happens, but I suppose it tells you that there is no reason to believe that anything is in the bag yet.

• Happy Wade Phillips didn’t break his hand on that hi-5. That can be dangerous, Coach.

• So here comes the 2-8 New York Jets coming off a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thomas Jones on Thanksgiving reminds me of 2004, when the Jones brothers squared off and a guy named Drew Henson got the start. Wow. Time flies when you are having fun. And 9-1 is surely fun.

Devin Figures Out the NBA

Does beating the Spurs ever not feel good? Is it pathetic? Sure. Is it sad? Absolutely. I don’t care. I love beating those guys.

I think Devin is finally ready for this challenge.

The blog is going to be a bit short today, so let’s get to the meat.


Mavs beat down Spurs with defense …

There were no champagne corks popping in the Dallas Mavericks' locker room. No amount of confetti drizzled from the sky inside the American Airlines Center.

After the Mavericks easily dispatched of the rival Spurs on Thursday night, and by a resounding score of 105-92, there was hardly any celebration at all.

If you ask Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse, there was good reason for that. The Spurs aren't the
Mavericks' rivals.

"We don't have all this reverence of the San Antonio Spurs that everybody else has," Stackhouse said. "They're a good team, and we respect them. But at the end of the day, every time we step on floor, we feel we should win the game."

Josh Howard scored 23 points and Devin Harris poured in 14 of his 18 in the fourth quarter as the Mavs used a raucous first half to pound the NBA champs before a sellout crowd of 20,468.

A turnover-fueled 11-0 run in the second quarter helped the Mavericks open up a 19-point lead. The Spurs never drew nearer than 10 after that.

Tim Duncan had 24 points for the Spurs, and Manu Ginobili neared a triple-double with 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

That wasn't enough to keep the Spurs (7-2) from falling to 0-2 against in-state foes, a daunting mark given their next game: tonight at home against Houston at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs were undone in the first half by an unlikely enemy — turnovers. The best in the NBA at taking care of the ball, the Spurs had nine turnovers in the first half, eight of which came off Dallas steals. The Mavericks turned them into 17 points and sent the Spurs into halftime with their largest deficit of the season, 59-40.

"They played more aggressive than us," Ginobili said. "We didn't take care of the ball. Every time there was a help, they took it out of our hands. Against a great team, that's unforgivable."

The Mavericks (6-2) relied heavily on an amped-up defensive effort to smother the Spurs, much to the delight of coach Avery Johnson.

In addition to the turnovers, Dallas bothered the Spurs into missing 29 of their 43 field goals during the first half. The Mavs were especially hard on the Spurs' starting backcourt of Tony Parker and Michael Finley, which finished with a combined seven points and one field goal — all of which came from Parker.

How did Golden State effect the Spurs-Mavs? …read on…

Stephen Jackson said he talked to a few Spurs last summer, and Jackson said they thanked him for his help. Jackson's Golden State, after all, had eliminated the Mavericks.

"They know they have problems with Dallas," Jackson told reporters recently.
The Spurs know. They know the Mavericks can put size on Tim Duncan and speed on Tony Parker. They know, as it was both in 2006 and Thursday, the Mavericks also can shoot a little.

They know, too, the franchise with the best chance to stop a repeat isn't Houston or Phoenix or Boston.

It's the only one that has beaten them in the playoffs over the last three years.
---

Jackson said Manu Ginobili was among the Spurs who thanked him last summer, and Ginobili denies saying exactly that. "I just told him I enjoyed watching the series," Ginobili said.

Popovich repeated that. Asked Thursday night if he gave a sigh of relief after the Mavericks lost, Popovich said, "I don't remember thinking that way."

Popovich was busy at the time. The Denver first-round series was sticky and, besides, the Spurs were in no place to worry about the third round. They had Phoenix next.

Still, nearly everyone in San Antonio and Phoenix saw Golden State's upset for what it was — an opening. A 67-win team was gone.

Popovich still calls the Mavericks "arguably the best team in the league," but they are more than that to San Antonio. They are built to match up with the Spurs.

They play defense, and they have size. And whereas Golden State had athletes who could take advantage of what Nowitzki can't do, the Spurs don't.

Thursday reaffirmed that, as well as something else.

If they haven't already, they should thank Jackson.

Devin Harris is coming on strong …

Apparently, Devin Harris has been the Tony Parker starter kit for long enough.
Playing against the MVP of the NBA Finals, Harris dominated. Either that or it was one of the slickest rope-a-dopes you'll ever see.

Parker and the San Antonio Spurs didn't seem particularly eager to unveil any sort of "A" game Thursday night. The Mavericks may have had something to do with that.

Undeniable was the strong first quarter that Harris had, leading the Mavericks to a big early lead. They then saw the point guard throw down a virtually perfect fourth quarter to cap a 105-92 lashing of the Spurs, who came in with the Western Conference's best record but looked very much like the same slow starters they have traditionally been.

Even with the arena looking like an oversized bowl of lime sherbet because of the team's "Green Out" promotion at American Airlines Center, the Mavs couldn't have suspected that this night was going to be such a sweet treat. Or that the defending NBA champions would be left green with envy.

But that's the way it worked out. The Spurs had nothing but praise for Harris, who had 18 points and five assists, but more importantly helped pester Parker into 1-for-11 shooting. Parker was 1-for-6 in the first quarter, when the Mavs rolled to a 33-18 lead.

"He's shown a lot more confidence," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's not worried about making mistakes. He's taking the open jumpers that are given to him and attacking the rim. He's always been a good defender, but I think he's shown a lot more confidence offensively."

It's exactly what Avery Johnson and his staff have wanted to see for the last two seasons. Harris had four points and four assists in the telltale opening quarter. The lead never dipped under double figures in the second half, largely because Harris was 6-for-6 and had 14 points and a steal in the fourth quarter.

On to the Cowboys, where 3 of the last 4 opponents have looked like they would be a handful for the Boys. Only the Patriots proved to be. Now, they have 2 games against teams that don’t appear to have the weapons to matchup. Answer me this, how does Washington score 28 on Sunday? I don’t see it.

Cowboys 31, Redskins 17

No WR’s healthy for Campbell …

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell. At a time when the coaching staff has shown signs of opening up the game plan offensively, the Redskins are running out of wide receivers.

Top receiver Santana Moss has been sidelined recently because of a bruised heel; James Thrash has a high-ankle sprain; Antwaan Randle El has remained in the lineup despite a hamstring injury; and Brandon Lloyd broke his collarbone in practice this week, ending his season. It's difficult to play a wide-open style on offense without healthy wide receivers, Campbell said, and the Redskins' unit is in bad shape.

"How do you think it makes me feel as a quarterback?" Campbell said after practice at Redskins Park yesterday. "Right when we start to do some different things as far as a passing standpoint goes, all your guys are getting hurt. It's like a bug going around. And to have them going out with one of the biggest games of the year coming up, and we're already short-handed, it makes it tough."

As the Redskins (5-4) complete preparations today to face the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys (8-1) on Sunday in Irving, Tex., the state of the receiving corps is high on Coach Joe Gibbs's list of concerns. Gibbs and Al Saunders, associate head coach-offense, expanded the use of the no-huddle offense in last week's 33-25 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and Campbell and the wide receivers were productive in the up-tempo scheme.

Randle El is on track to play Sunday. Keenan McCardell had a touchdown reception
while playing a bigger role against the Eagles, and the little-used Reche Caldwell could become more involved in the game plan. The Redskins also signed wide receiver Jimmy Farris after Lloyd was injured.

But with so many questions about the health of the unit, are the Redskins capable of playing a fast-paced style against the Cowboys?

"We have confidence in all our guys, and there are definitely things we feel like we're capable of as an offense, passing or running the ball," Campbell said. "No matter who's in there, we feel like we can be successful as long as we execute and follow the game plan. But you'd rather have all your guys, especially when you're playing an exceptional team like Dallas. If you don't have everybody, it's like you're fighting an uphill battle."

Moss bruised his heel in a 23-20 victory in overtime over the New York Jets on Nov. 4. After sitting out the entire week of practice before the game against Philadelphia and the first two practices this week, Moss plans to "do a little something" today, he said. But
Moss, also inactive for an Oct. 7 game against Detroit because of a groin injury, cautioned that he still wasn't sure about his status for the upcoming game.

Moss said he would try to practice today and then determine whether he will be able to play in the game.

Big Matchup, Small Audience …

When the National Football League released its television schedule before the start of the 2007 season, no one looked at the Nov. 29 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys on the NFL Network as some kind of clash of the titans.

Everyone circled New England at Indianapolis Nov. 4 on CBS-TV. No one circled Packers at Cowboys.

Green Bay was not expected to be an elite NFC team this season. But at 8-1 that's exactly what they are. The game has come to circle itself.

Packers at Cowboys easily becomes the biggest game in the short history of the NFL Network.

That might be good news for the NFL Network but it's not good news for NFL fans, since most of them don't have access to the NFL Network, which this season carries a package of eight games, the same number as last season, when it started carrying game telecasts.

The NFL Network kicks off its schedule on Thanksgiving night with Indianapolis at Atlanta. The Cowboys appear again on the NFL Network on Saturday Dec. 22, when they play at Carolina. The network will conclude its schedule Dec. 29 when the New England Patriots visit the New York Giants.

So the NFL now has this glorious Dallas-Green Bay marquee game, between national teams with rich and winning traditions, a game you would want to broadcast around the solar system, and it's going to be partly hidden under a bushel basket since many of the major cable providers in the country do not carry the NFL Network.

Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth will call one Packers game this season and it happens to be a colossus, although not on the level of Patriots-Colts, which featured two undefeated teams.

The game could be one for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

"You just try to picture the Green Bay Packers having to go to Dallas to play in the NFC Championship Game," Collinsworth said. "In my mind, that's still a little bit of a stretch. But if the Cowboys have to come back into Lambeau Field to knock off Green Bay, that's a little bit of a stretch for me, too. So, big game."

Barry Bonds indicted …

The number 762, which today looks very much like the final number, is an asterisk unto itself.

Barry Bonds hit what may very well be the final home run of his career on Sept. 5 against Ubaldo Jimenez, a young man who was born just two years before Bonds hit his first home run. Seven-hundred-sixty-two has the authenticy of a curbside Rolex, the honor of Ben Johnson's 9.79. There is nothing commissioner Bud Selig needs to do. Doubt and disgrace are lined up to be its perpetual companions.

The number 732 is what counts. Officially, the case number is 3:07-CR-00732-WHA, the United States of America vs. Barry Lamar Bonds. You tell me the team that would dare sign a 43-year-old designated hitter who is under indictment by the federal government, which officially has called him out as a liar and a cheat of criminal proportions. Given Bonds' instinct to resist, and given the delusional world in which he has created for himself, you would expect he is prepared for a lengthy and costly legal fight, a fight that would seem to subsume whatever playing days he might have had left. It could be years before he goes all Marion Jones on us, like Pete Rose gone clean, if the day ever does come at all.

Think about it: the all-time home run leader is forced into exile by a federal felony indictment. Doesn't exactly have the ring of a Mastercard commercial with tinkling piano music, now does it? And you can bet nobody in the Major League Baseball offices is too broken up over it. They will root hard for Alex Rodriguez to get to 763 quickly.

On days like this I go back to what Gary Sheffield once told me he told Bonds the one winter they shared a house, workouts and, apparently, some wonder cream. "Barry," Sheffield said he told Bonds one particular day when he was fed up with Bonds' attitude, "you treat people like [garbage] enough, it's going to come back to haunt you. People will look for reasons to get you."

LA Times Column on Bonds is solid …

Sure, everyone suspected Bonds took steroids. Absolutely, everyone wrote that Bonds probably took steroids.

Heck, Commissioner Bud Selig was so sure Bonds was going to be indicted for lying about steroids, he refused to publicly applaud him during his chase of Hank Aaron's home run record last summer.

Everyone -- except perhaps the exceptionally deluded San Francisco Giants fans -- saw this indictment coming.

But we had no idea how it would feel once it arrived.

It feels slimy. It feels sick.

To hear Thursday that even the federal government is now so certain he took steroids, it is betting its 95% conviction rate on it?

It feels like the back of Barry Bonds' neck looks.

It is grotesque and surreal.

Not one of the bloated Bonds 762 homers connected like this one.

This would be like the recent Michael Vick federal indictment, but only if Vick were Joe Montana, and only if the dogs were discovered to have thrown most of his touchdown passes.

This would be like the recent NBA referee scandal, but only if an official actually spent a decade fixing every game involving Michael Jordan.

Dang, the phony really was a phony.

His 73 homers in 2001? Liar.

His .812 slugging percentage in 2004? Liar.

His 351 homers after 1998, when he allegedly began using steroids out of jealousy for Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa? Big fat liar.

Some folks say Bonds should be exonerated because, at the time of his alleged use, steroids were not outlawed in baseball. Bad argument. They were illegal without a prescription.

Other folks say that this is only a charge, not a conviction, so Bonds should be given the benefit of the doubt. That benefit has been foolishly extended for four years.

Time's up. Game over. On federal indictments, the government swings and misses even less than Bonds did.

You'll notice, we write about Bonds' career in the past tense. That is because, as a baseball player and future Hall of Famer, he is now officially finished.

As a surly, aging slugger, he was going to have trouble finding work this year even without the indictment. The legal questions will turn him positively radioactive. He's done.

He was also going to have trouble entering the Hall of Fame simply because of the same whispers that have kept out Mark McGwire. Now, there is probably no way he will even be eligible.

The moment he is convicted in this case -- convicted of anything involving lying about steroids -- Selig will undoubtedly ban him from baseball for life.

And, I just can’t take Tech tomorrow night:

Oklahoma 38, Texas Tech 34

Roenick and Hatcher’s moment. Those were the days…





Back to the Future – Biff is on the show today

Boo Spurs.

These are the days in the sports calendar that make your head spin. So many different teams and so many different sports combine to bring you a link-o-riffic blog.

The Spurs are In, time to remember how much they suck …

The good news for Nowitzki, as well as Garnett and Nash and others still chasing the dream, is they still have time. Nowitzki is solidly in the middle of his career and is a couple of years younger than Duncan.

"They're still winners, and they're still future Hall of Famers," veteran Juwan Howard said. "That's not a knock on a career. We have a championship-caliber team, but if you want to win it, you have to go through San Antonio."

Which brings us to tonight's contest. The Mavericks are aware that no championship can be won or lost tonight. But they also know they must treat every meeting with San Antonio like it's a benchmark game.

Until they win a title, the Mavericks won't be able to consider themselves on the Spurs' level. And Barkley said he believes the Mavericks may have missed their opportunity.

"I honestly thought the Mavericks had broken through when they beat the Spurs in Game 7 a couple years ago," Barkley said, referring to the year Dallas beat San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals and lost to Miami in the NBA Finals. "I thought they'd crossed over.

"But it's harder to stay there. When you don't win it all, you obviously weren't good enough. So you got to make changes. And they haven't made any changes of significance. You saw their flaws in the Golden State series last year. They match up well with the Spurs, but not with other teams."

Jason Terry off the bench? Manu has been doing this for years …

Through eight games this season, Ginobili is averaging 19.9 points off the bench as the centerpiece of the NBA's most potent reserve unit, supplying the Spurs with a nightly dose of instant offense.

It's the same role Ginobili filled during the Spurs' NBA title runs of 2005 and 2007. It has worked so well, in fact, that it has inspired a copycat 275 miles to the north.

For proof, look no further than the home bench at the American Airlines Center tonight, when the Spurs face the Dallas Mavericks. Avery Johnson has his own Manu Ginobili.

His name is Jason Terry.

After starting 558 games in his career, Terry has shifted into the role of sixth man this season, for precisely the same reasons Ginobili made the move.

Terry provides Dallas with just-add-water offense, helps create matchup problems with other teams' second units and helps set Johnson's rotation as such so that he never has to do without a prime scorer — even when Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard are resting.

So far, Terry has taken to his new role like a salmon to swimming — averaging a team-leading 22.3 points per game, which includes a 31-point night against Houston earlier this month.

Like Ginobili, Terry has already been his team's leading scorer four times. Like Terry, Ginobili already has a 30-point game under his belt.

"I'm very comfortable in this role," Terry said. "I'm going to go out there and give us what we need, a good punch off the bench every night."

As a result, tonight's game between Southwest Division rivals won't only feature firepower in the starting lineup. Each team has a not-so-secret weapon poised to explode off the bench.

The Spurs and Mavericks boast the two most productive benches in the NBA. The Spurs are getting 44.5 points a night out of their reserves; the Mavs 42.3.

Most of the credit goes to Ginobili and Terry, All-Star caliber players willing to submit themselves to the role of super-sub.

It is a job that comes at the expense of the ego.

By agreeing to life as a reserve, for instance, Ginobili has severely hindered his chances of ever making another All-Star team.

He knows it. He doesn't care.

To football, are you curious who the most coveted unrestricted free agents are this winter? here is Pro Football Weekly’s bit ….

Not all free agents are created equal. In the cutthroat world of the NFL, some are looked on as franchise cornerstones, while others are merely footnotes on a transactions page. From athletic marvels to legal deviants to consummate professionals, no two players offer an identical package. As voted on by the PFW editors, here are the 10 most intriguing free agents-to-be, all of whom bear following as the season progresses.

1. WR Randy Moss, New England Patriots
New England won’t shell out top dollar for Moss, but he may decide to remain with the Pats, regardless.

2. SS Bob Sanders, Indianapolis Colts
Look no further than a healthy Sanders as the biggest reason for the Colts’
defensive turnaround.

3. DT Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee Titans
Vilified in 2006 for cleating Andre Gurode’s face, Haynesworth is now abusing O-linemen the right way.

4. CB Asante Samuel , New England Patriots
Immune to being franchised again, Samuel will have a hoard of suitors longing for his signature.

5. LB Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears
Equally abusive to ballcarriers and automobiles, Briggs has been better than teammate Brian Urlacher in ’07.

6. RB Michael Turner, San Diego Chargers
LaDainian Tomlinson’s understudy is too explosive to remain a No. 2 option in San Diego.

7. OG Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh Steelers
Faneca didn’t get the extension he was seeking in Pittsburgh, so it’s nearly certain he’s gone in 2008.

8. TE Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts
The versatile Clark is a better bet to receive a long-term deal in Indy than teammate Bob Sanders.

9. LB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens
Despite sagging sack numbers, Suggs is on pace to set a career high in tackles.

10. CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders
Rarely tested by opposing quarterbacks, Asomugha has yet to nab an interception after eight picks in ’06.

And the same publication looks at the Cowboys issues …

Dallas

Potential UFAs: OT Flozell Adams, WR Patrick Crayton, S Keith Davis, S Ken Hamlin, RB Julius Jones*, CB Nathan Jones, CB Jacques Reeves.

Potential RFAs: RB Marion Barber, OG Joe Berger, DE Chris Canty, LS L.P. Ladouceur, DT Jay Ratliff, RB Tyson Thompson.

Analysis: By getting QB Tony Romo’s six-year, $67.5 million contract extension — patterned after Rams QB Marc Bulger’s deal — done now, the team takes the higher salary-cap hit this year and can turn its attention to other players: Marion Barber, Patrick Crayton and Chris Canty. Barber is due for a raise, especially if Julius Jones is not re-signed. Placing the first-and-third-round tender on him would cost the team $2.56 million next year and buy more time to work out a longer-term deal in the 4-5-year range. Team officials won’t say it, but they view Barber as the future at the position. Crayton has been pretty good, though a bit inconsistent, replacing Terry Glenn as the No. 2 wideout. If the emerging Crayton and his agent demand a signing bonus in the range of Drew Bennett, the top No. 2 WR signing last year, he could price himself out of Dallas, even with very little in terms of proven depth behind him. Canty has been better than your average fourth-round pick and will command a raise. He might be third on their priority list, though. That is, unless the team is thinking of redoing the contract of OLB DeMarcus Ware. With the recent signings of Bills DE Aaron Schobel (seven years, $50.5 million), Saints DE Charles Grant (seven years, $63 million) and Colts DE Dwight Freeney (six years, $72 million, $30 million in bonuses) — all 4-3 pass rushers in the same mold as Ware, a linebacker in the 3-4 defense — it might be wise to get Ware a new deal in the offseason when the price is still manageable and the cap space (potentially as much as $20 million under in ’08) is fairly ample. The early guess is that the team will let OLT Flozell Adams walk. There has been talk that Leonard Davis eventually will make his way over to left tackle.

20c4afe.html> Is Big Len OK? …

The Cowboys received a scare Wednesday when right guard Leonard Davis went down in practice with a left ankle sprain.

Davis, who received the highest signing bonus in team history at $16 million in the off-season, got tangled up with some players before hitting the turf. He did walk off the field under his own power.

"We don't know the extent of it," coach Wade Phillips said. "He did walk off, but we are going to have the doctors check him and go through that process."

Davis has received praise from Phillips, assistant head coach Tony Sparano and owner/general manager Jerry Jones for his play this season.

But if Davis cannot play, the team will be forced to turn to Cory Procter at right guard. Procter has been with the Cowboys since November 2005 and hasn't played in a regular-season game.

"He's worked hard, and he's ready to play," Phillips said of Procter. "Like a lot of our guys, you think, 'Well, gosh, if they're not playing, they're not really working to get ready.' He works to get ready. He's real contentious about that."

Davis last missed a regular-season game on the final week of the 2005 season, when he was with Arizona. Davis had a knee injury.

The Redskins limp in to Dallas …

As the Redskins (5-4) prepare to play the Cowboys (8-1) on Sunday in Dallas, they will adjust the secondary again because of injuries, including one to Taylor, their anchor in deep coverage in the base cover-2 defense. Springs, considered Washington's best defender in man-to-man overage, has played well while his father has been hospitalized for weeks in Dallas, and the unit will lean heavily on him in an effort to curb the Cowboys' fast-paced passing attack. The secondary faltered late in the game as the Redskins squandered another second-half lead in losing to Philadelphia last Sunday, and it must rebound quickly against another NFC East rival.

"In this league, last week was a challenge, this week will be a challenge and the next week is always going to be a challenge," safety Pierson Prioleau said. "Obviously, we didn't finish the game like we wanted to, and it always hurts to lose a player like Sean, but we're just going to have to have other people step up this week. It's our job. It's what we do."

Their work became more difficult when Taylor, who leads the Redskins with five interceptions, sprained his right knee late in the third quarter of a 33-25 loss to the Eagles on Sunday at FedEx Field. Without Taylor, the secondary struggled down the stretch, contributing to the Redskins' third loss this season -- and 13th since 2004 -- in a game in which they had led at halftime. An MRI exam Monday confirmed Taylor has a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament, and the Redskins expect him to be sidelined at least two to three weeks.

Although the Redskins are confident about their depth in the secondary, Coach Joe Gibbs acknowledged that the hard-hitting Taylor is "an unusual player," adding that opponents are reluctant to take shots downfield because of Taylor's presence deep in zone defenses. In 2006, the Redskins were last in the NFL in yards allowed per pass attempt, giving up an average of 6.91 yards. Springs missed seven games because of injuries and Prioleau hurt his knee on the opening kickoff of the first game against Minnesota and was sidelined the remainder of the season.

With Taylor playing a more disciplined style this season, Springs and Prioleau back in form, the return of Smoot, who re-signed with Washington after two seasons in Minnesota, and the addition of rookie safety LaRon Landry, the Redskins are tied for fourth this season at 6.1.

Last season, the Redskins gave up a league-worst 55 passes of 20 yards or more.
Washington has given up 22 passes of more than 20 yards this season, ranking 10th.
"Obviously, we've been so used to Sean being back there, and he got off to a great start this year with a bunch of picks," Gibbs said. "And to be quite truthful, I think most football teams, when they see him back there, they pretty much rule that out. Even New England, they kind of took the approach, 'We aren't going back there.' Guys are going to have to step up and play well in his place until he gets back."

But the secondary was stretched thin even before Taylor was injured.

Rogers tore his right anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in a 52-7 loss to the Patriots on Oct. 28. He underwent season-ending surgery last week. Smoot has played at less than full health all season (he has been inactive three games) because of hamstring problems, and Springs's family situation has been a concern for the whole team. Ron Springs, a former Cowboys running back, has been in a coma since having surgery to remove a cyst from his elbow Oct. 13.

In February, Ron Springs underwent a kidney transplant, receiving a kidney from Everson Walls, a teammate of his with the Cowboys and a close friend. Ron Springs has had diabetes for 16 years, requiring dialysis three times a week, and awaited a transplant for several years. He rejected his son's offer to be tested for a possible transplant match. As Ron Springs struggled to become healthy enough for a transplant, potential matches with other family members failed to materialize, prompting Walls to volunteer to help his friend, who uses a wheelchair because of the amputation of a foot.

With Gibbs's permission, Springs left the team to be with his family in Dallas the week of an Oct. 21 game against Arizona. He returned and played well in a 21-19 victory at FedEx Field. "Football is my sanctuary," Springs said after the Jets game Nov. 4. "When I'm out on the field, I just focus on the game and what I have to do to help my team. Football . . . that's just fun for me."

Springs has been excused from team activities Monday and Tuesday of every week since his father slipped into a coma. He has traveled to Dallas in support of his family and returned in time to practice. His teammates say he has inspired them with his display of inner strength and commitment to the team.

I highly recommend www.andrewsstarspage.com for all of your Stars needs. Here, he has assembled many views From Some National Hockey Scribes on the Stars events …

Scott Burnside, ESPN.com

Hull is clearly ill-qualified for this role given his lack of experience as a talent evaluator and there remains a significant question about whether he's got the work ethic to learn on the job.

When Hull was doing "analysis" last season for NBC, the knock on him from those in the business was he didn't do the work. He showed up, sprayed off a few bon mots and railed about this and that for a few minutes and went home. That's not analysis. Analysis is studying trends, watching tape and talking to players, not just your hockey buddies on the golf course.

Before that, Hull embarrassed himself by showing up to Coyotes training camp wildly out of shape and played just five post-lockout games for his buddy Wayne Gretzky before pulling the pin on his Hall of Fame career.

We recently had a chance to talk to folks like Blues front-office men Larry Pleau and John Davidson and Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford about the transition of Hall of Famers Al MacInnis and Ron Francis to their new front-office jobs in St. Louis and Carolina, respectively. The common thread was that both players were working their buns off.

It's frankly hard to imagine Hull patrolling dark, damp arenas with bad coffee in the hinterland looking for the next Stars' scoring star or blue-chip defenseman. But he'd better, because that's what this team needs. The Stars' cupboard is bare and it's going to take time and a boatload of hard work.

Wonder if the "Ambassador of Fun" is up to it.
Darren Dreger, TSN.ca

Doug Armstrong has a lot of friends around the world of hockey, so there was a moment of disbelief when the Dallas Star announced Armstrong's firing on Tuesday.

That moment was fleeting as many of his friends are also management colleagues who have either experienced a similar fate, or understand few NHL general managers have sound job security.

However, replacing Armstrong with a managing tandem that includes Brett Hull is a tough sell for this group, who also believe Les Jackson represents short term insurance and will act as "buffer" while Hull learns on the job.

"It's only a matter of time before Jackson is pushed aside," is how one manager reads the situation.

Hull's appointment didn't come completely out of left field. His name was quick to surface as word broke of Armstrong's demise. According to sources, Stars owner Tom Hicks has bought into the celebrity appeal that Hull, who helped Dallas to a Stanley Cup in 1999, will bring to the organization.

The question some league executives are asking: "What else will he bring?"

His credentials as a player don't over-shadow a resume that offers little to support his rapid advancement from a hockey commentator, to special advisor to now, co-general manager.
Eric Duhatschek, Globe and Mail

Hull broke in with Calgary in 1986; his first agent was none other than Brian Burke, now the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks. The idea that Hull and Burke will be on the phone together, talking trade at some point in the season, is too delicious for words. They'll both need to keep trading-deadline diaries for USA Today, expletives and all.

Burke would be the first to remind you, never sell Hull short. After all, Hull wasn't supposed to amount to much as a player. A sixth-round choice in 1984 as a 20-year-old, in his third year of eligibility for the draft, Hull eventually forged a Hall Of Fame career and finished with 741 goals, the third-highest total in NHL history.

So you never know. The same people prepared to overlook Hull as a player might want to remember his unlikely successes now that he's co-interim GM. It might work out and it might not. About the only thing you can say for sure: With Hull involved,
it's guaranteed to be interesting.

EJ Hradek, ESPN

Stars owner Tom Hicks' decision to fire GM Doug Armstrong wasn't a harsh reaction to the club's third-period meltdown in Los Angeles on Saturday night (they blew a 4-0 lead with just over seven minutes left in regulation time en route to an OT loss). And it wasn't a move based solely on the club's herky-jerky 7-7-3 start.

After all, it wasn't too long ago that Hicks extended Armstrong's contract through the 2010-11 season.

No, this decision wasn't a rash move by an impatient owner. Rather, Hicks decided to act after he verified two simple facts over the past several weeks.

First, Hicks learned that several key members of the organization, including players and staff, didn't appreciate Armstrong's management style. Apparently, it was creating a negative vibe around the club.

The owner also found out that those who didn't have a "style" issue with Armstrong had lost confidence in his ability to do the job. Armstrong's decision to trade a first-round pick to the Coyotes for rental winger Ladislav Nagy last February went a long way toward pushing some staffers to that conclusion.

In the end, when Hicks began seeking answers from within the organization, he found that Armstrong didn't have many allies. In any business, that's usually not a good thing.

So, with the Stars in the midst of a long, slow decline in their own market (great regular seasons followed by dismal playoff performances don't excite fans), Hicks decided to do something. He must have figured Armstrong's departure would invigorate the disgruntled parties within his group. Maybe he'll be right.

I am pretty fired up to see what happens when The Sooners play the Red Raiders in Lubbock… I sense it could be awfully tight…Tech is due for a tip-top effort…

Oklahoma has played in more Big 12 championship games than any other team. The third-ranked Sooners look to add to their total as they try to clinch the Big 12 South title for the sixth time in eight years when they visit Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Sooners (9-1, 5-1) have a one-game advantage over second-place Texas in the South Division, but they own the tiebreaker over the Longhorns because of their 28-21 win in the Red River Rivalry game on Oct. 6. Oklahoma needs one win in its last two regular-season games to guarantee at least a tie with Texas and therefore, another shot at the conference championship.

Oklahoma, which has won a record four Big 12 titles in its five championship game appearances, extended its conference win streak to five games with a 52-21 win over Baylor last Saturday. The Sooners moved up one spot in the AP poll, matching their highest ranking of the season.

---

Since suffering their only loss Sept. 29 at Colorado, the Sooners have outscored opponents 180-94 during their win streak.

The streak has helped the Sooners move into the fourth spot in the BCS rankings, and with only one undefeated team from a BCS conference remaining, the door is open for a one-loss team to sneak into the national championship game. Oklahoma's potential matchup with undefeated No. 4 Kansas in the Big 12 title game would then have major BCS implications.

"I realize we're in a good position. Is it the best position? No," coach Bob Stoops said. "But with two or three games to go, the bottom line is all I can do anything about is getting prepared to be as good as we can be against Tech.

"That's what I've said to the players. All this talk and all this banter about, what does it do? The bottom line is Tech is all that matters to us - winning at Tech, and if we do we're a step closer."

The Red Raiders (7-4, 3-4) have an entirely different set of distractions as they try to put a controversial week behind them and finish their regular season on a high note.

Last Saturday, coach Mike Leach criticized the officiating crew after two Texas Tech touchdowns were disallowed in the third quarter of the Red Raiders' 59-43 loss to then-No. 15 Texas in Austin.

The fallout from Leach's comments overshadowed another strong game from Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, who completed 36 of 48 passes for 466 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He leads the Football Bowl Subdivision with 421 completions, 4,878 yards and 43 TDs.

Harrell has guided a Texas Tech offense that leads the FBS with 542.8 yards per game and ranks sixth with 42.5 points per game. The defense, however, has given up 43.7 points per game in three losses in the Red Raiders' last four games.

Texas Tech has lost six of its last seven meetings with Oklahoma to fall to 3-11 all-time against the Sooners. The Red Raiders, though, won the teams' last matchup in Lubbock 23-21 on Nov. 19, 2005.

This is insane: ESPN has decided the Celtics are worthy of all-time greatness comparisons ….



Crotch grabbing controversy hits Green Bay …



The Wookie Back-Pack …awesomeness….

The Sooner Band Rocking the Thriller Dance



Classic: Go Raiders

Armstrong Axed; Hull Hired?

With the lead story in yesterday’s blog being the chaos in Stars land, it certainly comes as little surprise that the Stars have made a significant move, firing their GM Doug Armstrong. You almost never see an in-season GM change, and you also wonder what sort of impact that will have on the team in the immediate future.

If you ask me, the inactivity in the last two summers is not about Doug Armstrong playing golf as opposed to courting free agents, it is the fact that the ownership group has stopped being aggressive to invest large contracts to impact players. Instead, a steady diet of 1-year deals to Lindros, Barnaby, Fedourek, and Winchester did not save a sinking ship. What a shock. Did Army deserve his fate? Given his drafts and the Turco deal, I suppose. But until this owner demonstrates a real commitment to winning in the post-Arod era, both his hockey and baseball teams will continue to barely exist above the irrelevant line.

Then, you hear that the job is being handed to Les Jackson and Brett Hull. One has helped over-see all of the drafts that put this team in the bad spot it is today, and the other is the “Ambassador of Fun”.

This may work, I wouldn’t bet on it, but I suppose we have no other choice but to hope. But, wow, is it going to get ripped in the meantime by the NHL media. Co-General Managers? Why not Co-Coaches? Crazy.

Next thing you know, they will tell us Kenny Rogers is their off-season target in Rangers land.

Another Tom Hicks Sports Production.

Lebreton’s take …

Lousy drafting. An aging roster. Ineffective free-agent signings. First-round playoff failures.

And, amidst the growing number of empty seats at American Airlines Center, the general feeling that the NHL parade was passing the Stars by.

So, owner Tom Hicks went with the whisk broom and the handshake Tuesday, rather than the thunder and the bulldozer.

He fired general manager Doug Armstrong and said, "I think our players will respond to a change."

That's it?

Same coach? Same goaltender? Same guy who hired Armstrong?

Add to that the announcement that Brett Hull was being transferred from the golf course to the interim co-general manager's office, and it was an odd day at Stars Inc.

Would somebody please explain it to me?

I'm wondering what, exactly, does an "interim co-general manager" do? Make trades? Harvest the locker room gossip? Draft the next Sidney Crosby?

Why, after three straight quick playoff exits and after this season's disappointing start, fire the general manager and not head coach Dave Tippett?

"Because that's not the way I work," owner Hicks answered. "I'm a chain of command guy."

Hicks might have wanted to fire Tippett, in other words, but he couldn't get anyone in the room to second the motion.

I'm only kidding. I think.
---
The new co-GMs like Tippett. The players like Tippett. The head coach, the excuse says, can only coach what the general manager gives him.

That's been true, though, every season that Tippett has been here. And he still hasn't figured out how to get out of the first round of the playoffs.

Fans are frustrated. Empty seats are cropping up. The casual fan doesn't identify with this team. No Hull, no Joe Nieuwendyk, no Jamie Langenbrunner. Where did all the Finns and Swedes come from?

Thus, Doug Armstrong, loyal employee for 17 years, departed with a handshake Tuesday afternoon.

The job, frankly, called for a bulldozer.

Cowlishaw …

The Stars are a poorly constructed hockey team. And even at that, they don't play up to their skill level. A 7-7-3 record is embarrassing, given the nature of the sport's overtime rules. In the NHL, if you're .500, you are below average.

The Stars are a dull team that has continued to lose its audience in recent years. You can see sellout attendance totals in the box scores (some nights), but go to a game and look around at the empty seats, especially in the suites.

The Mavericks are the hot indoor ticket. Stars fans, despite all those cute billboards, have been left out in the cold by the team's management.

Armstrong's first move as GM delivered a Stanley Cup.

To New Jersey.

It was hard to figure out trading Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner for Jason Arnott and Randy McKay back then. It remains so now.

He basically closed his tenure with a desperate and failed plan for postseason success. That brought Mattias Norstrom to town for more than $4 million this season.

It brought Ladislav Nagy to town for a few weeks and, if you blinked, you missed his contribution.

For that, Armstrong squandered this year's No. 1 pick and next year's.

Ouch.

Staff writer Mike Heika ranks Doug Armstrong's moves:

Best
•Sept. 30, 2006: Mike Ribeiro from Montreal for Janne Niinimaa

•Dec. 12, 2005: Niklas Hagman from Florida for a seventh-round draft pick

•March 9, 2006: Willie Mitchell and a second-round draft pick from Minnesota for Martin Skoula and Shawn Belle

Worst

•March 19, 2002: Jason Arnott, Randy McKay and a first-round draft pick from New Jersey for Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner

•Feb. 12, 2007: Ladislav Nagy from Phoenix for Mathias Tjarnqvist and a first-round draft pick

•July 22, 2003: Teppo Numminen and second-round draft pick from Phoenix for Darryl Sydor (who went to Columbus in a three-way trade)

To football, Rick Gosselin sums up the league these days …

I spent 13 seasons covering the Kansas City Chiefs from 1977 to '89 and witnessed just one playoff game – a blowout loss to the New York Jets.

It was a remarkable run of ineptness by the Chiefs. I saw so much bad football. But there was one positive. Bad teams aren't attractive to the television networks, so the Chiefs were rarely scheduled any prime-time games. That meant I was covering a game with a noon (CT) starting time just about every Sunday – so I was always home for Sunday dinner.

I bring all this up because for the first time this season, the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts play a noon home game Sunday, ironically, against the Chiefs.
NFL teams become national television regulars for one of three reasons – either they have a franchise quarterback, play a dominating style of football or call a major media market home.

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers owned that trifecta in the 1990s, and the New England Patriots are the network darling this decade for those same reasons. The Indianapolis Colts have two of the three, lacking only the market size.

Indianapolis has Peyton Manning, New England has Tom Brady and both franchises have claimed Lombardi Trophies this decade. The TV networks can schedule the Colts and Patriots national television dates in the spring with full confidence that the two AFC powers will deliver a quality show come the fall.

Indianapolis was scheduled five games in prime time this season and four others in that choice late-Sunday afternoon time slot that also affords national television coverage.

Buffalo rookie running back Marshawn Lynch appears to be ready for prime time, but the Bills aren't – at least in the eyes of the TV networks.

The Colts opened the season at home against New Orleans on a Thursday night, then played three consecutive late-afternoon doubleheader games at the RCA Dome against Denver, Tampa Bay and New England. Indianapolis was scheduled only seven noon starts in 16 games this season.

The Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars have none of the three key elements that make them attractive to the networks. That's why the NFL scheduled the Bills for 14 noon starts and the Jaguars 13 this season.

The more noon starts your team plays, the less regard it is held in the eyes of both the TV networks and the league. Thirteen years covering the Chiefs taught me that.
Now, let's take a spin around the league. The way I figure it, there are five elite teams (New England, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Green Bay) and five doormats (Miami, St. Louis, Atlanta, Oakland and San Francisco). That leaves 22 teams that are about the same. All have .500 talent. Some will stay healthy and finish in the 9-7 range. Some will suffer injuries and finish in the 7-9 range.

There's not much difference between the team I place 12 each week in my rankings and the team I place 22. It's called parity.

More evidence that the Cowboys are the top dog …

You might not call them "America's Team," your friends might not call them "America's Team" and maybe not a single person you know would call them "America's Team," but make no mistake, the Dallas Cowboys are clearly "America's Team."


How do we know this? Follow the money.

According to a Harris Poll last month, the Cowboys are No. 1 among adults who follow professional football. (The Colts, Steelers, Packers and Bears follow).

And you thought the Patriots were America's Team? What have they done lately, besides win three Super Bowls in the last six years and go undefeated so far this season? (Yes, the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl since 1996).

But this "America's Team" thing, it's all about the ka-ching.

The NFL Shop, which is the NFL's online merchandise store, lists the Cowboys first in memorabilia sales, ahead of the Bears and the Steelers.

The No. 9 jersey of Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo is the top-selling jersey this year.

If you don't believe the cash register, maybe you'll believe your eyeballs. When you take the five most-watched regular season games on television in the last 20 years, the Cowboys played in four of them.

JJT wants to know about Flozell’s future …

At the end of the season, Jerry Jones will have to make one of the most difficult decisions he’s had in years: Pay Flozell Adams or let him go.

At the start of the season, the answer — based on the organization’s actions — seemed clear.

The Cowboys, who have had no contract discussions with Adams’ representative, appeared inclined to let him leave through free agency and let Pat McQuistan, James Marten and Doug Free battle for the job, with Leonard Davis available as a fallback plan.

Adams, though, has played so well over the last few weeks that Dallas needed to rethink things. Based on Jerry Jones’ comments the other day that Adams is in line for a third contract, it seems as though the Cowboys have already made their decision.

Yes, Adams will you drive you crazy with false starts from time to time, but when he’s motivated he remains an excellent player. He’s not Seattle’s Walter Jones or St. Louis’ Orlando Pace, when Pace is healthy, but he’s on the next level.

Quality left tackles are hard to find. There’s no more disconcerting feeling than having a hole at left tackle, which makes your quarterback skittish at all times. With Adams, there’s a comfort level none of those other players would give Romo or the owner.

The problem, of course, is that Adams will be 33 at the start of next season. How much money and how long of a deal is he going to get? You don’t want him to be an albatross on your salary cap five years down the road, when his skills have declined.

Maybe the parties can put together a deal like Terrell Owens’. That would allow Adams to take a shorter deal because he would get larger base salaries instead of simply trying to make the contract cap friendly.

The Mavericks use a big 3rd Quarter to defeat the anonymous 76ers …

There was an MVP sighting Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.
Like the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki had been playing lukewarm basketball in the season's first two weeks. Then came the second half against Philadelphia, when the Mavericks and their leader clicked on all cylinders, proving they haven't forgotten how that looks and feels.

They started the second half with a 41-20 binge and pulled away for a 99-84 victory over the 76ers. Nowitzki, with plenty of help from Devin Harris, Jason Terry and Josh Howard, put his stamp on the second half as the Mavericks overcame a seven-point halftime deficit.

"He did what he was supposed to do," coach Avery Johnson said. "Boy, he was amazing. Like I've been saying all along, Dirk's a stud. He draws a lot of attention, and the more we can get him to make those passes, and the more we can finish ..."

He didn't have to finish the sentence. The way the Sixers wilted under Nowitzki's onslaught spoke volumes. Nowitzki finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a career high-tying eight assists. When the Sixers crowded him on the perimeter, Nowitzki lowered his head and powered to the rim. When the defense drifted to other Mavericks, he sank some mid- range shots and basically looked like a superstar is supposed to look.

It hasn't been that way most of the season. Through the first six games, Nowitzki
was shooting 43.8 percent and just 27.8 percent from 3-point range.

"This team is so good, we don't have to force shots," Nowitzki said. "If somebody's double-teamed, we can always move it. Everytime we take a bad shot, it's a lost possession for us.

High School team tries to put up the rare shutout Season …

The Smith Center Redmen ran their winning streak to 52 games Friday night with a 56-0 victory over previously unbeaten Oakley in a Kansas state high school playoff game.
The Redmen, who are seeking their fourth consecutive Class 2-1A title and seventh in the last 25 years, recorded their 11th shutout of the season against the Plainsmen.
“This is really one of those top of the mountain seasons,” Smith Center’s athletic director, Greg Hobelmann, said. “We have a strong senior class.”

Smith Center has outscored its opponents, 760-0, and is on pace to become just the fourth team nationally to have 13 shutouts in a season, according to the National Federation of High School Associations.

The Redmen have a long way to reach the national record of 52 straight shutouts — by Bedford County Training in Shelbyville, Tenn., from 1942 to 1949.

Here is the Smith Center schedule and scores …

If you can handle naughty language, The Eli Manning blog is very amusing …

The Rangers target Kenny Rogers?????…

The Rangers have expressed interest in bringing back pitcher Kenny Rogers, and have also begun their all-out pursuit of free-agent center fielder Torii Hunter.

Rogers is a free agent who was with the Detroit Tigers from 2006-07 but has spent 12 of his 19 years in the Major Leagues with the Rangers over three different tours. He began his career with the Rangers and pitched for them from 1989-95 and again in 2000-2002 and 2004-05.

He won 32 games for the Rangers from 2004-05 and was an All-Star both years, but the club declined to re-sign him after the 2005 season. He was suspended for 20 games for an altercation with television cameramen before a game on June 29, 2005. The suspension was later reduced to 13 games on appeal but ultimately led to a split between the club and player.

Apparently, the split may not be irreparable. Rogers still lives in the North Texas area and has pitched more games for the Rangers than anybody in club history. He is second in club history with 133 wins and 2,308 innings pitched.

"We'd be open to it under the right circumstances," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "Obviously, finances would be a part of it. But I'd only want it to be a positive homecoming."

The Rangers' major priorities this offseason are center field, relief pitching and possibly a corner outfielder or first baseman. But Daniels said the Rangers could look at improving a starting rotation that right now consists of Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Kason Gabbard, Edinson Volquez and Brandon McCarthy.

"We're looking only at specific guys," Daniels said. "It's not a blanket search."
Rogers, who turned 43 on Saturday, was 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA for the Tigers in 2006 and was selected to the American League All-Star team for the fourth time in his career. But he was limited to 11 starts for the Tigers in 2007 because of surgery to remove a blood clot in his left shoulder. He also had elbow inflammation and finished the season 3-4 with a 4.43 ERA.

Today, scheduled to appear on the show is the great Jeremy Roenick. I have always loved the way he plays hockey. I am likely biased given that he was a young lad in Chicago when I was living nearby, and my top 10 Non-Stanley Cup hockey memories are almost all at Chicago Stadium in the early 1990’s.

Anyway, he is the perfect prototype for the players I love watching. Skill and heart and fight and guts. Love the way he played. Some dude named David Amber rates the top 10 American Born Players ….And since he puts Chris Chelios #5, his list is idiotic.

IF Chelios is not #1, then at the very worst he should be #2. Sorry. It isn’t even close. He is still great at 45. Look at the Cups. Look at the Norris Trophies. Look at the 1st team NHL awards. Look at the NCAA titles. Look at the Olympics. He is the alpha male of American Hockey.

5. Chris Chelios

Born: Jan. 25, 1962 in Chicago

Three years before Sidney Crosby was born, Chris Chelios broke into the NHL. With an NCAA championship at Wisconsin already under his belt, Chelios captured an NHL title with Montreal in 1986. The defenseman is the only player from that 1986 team still in the NHL. It's that unique combination of longevity and greatness that puts Chelios on our list.

Chelios, 45, is the oldest active player in the NHL and the third-oldest to ever play in the league. A self-described fitness freak, Chelios routinely rides a stationary bike for 45 minutes, in a sauna. The 11-time All-Star could play until he's 50 (don't be surprised if he does). The three-time Norris Trophy winner has barely slowed down. Sixteen seasons after winning his first Cup, he led the league in plus/minus and won his second Stanley Cup in 2002 with Detroit.

On the international stage, no one has led his country as often as Chelios. He is a four-time Olympian and was captain of three of those teams. He also played in three Canada Cups and two World Cups.

4. Joe Mullen

Born: Feb. 26, 1957 in New York, N.Y.

No other player on this list defied the odds like Joe Mullen. Born and raised in Manhattan's notorious "Hell's Kitchen," Mullen started skating at age 10. With a father who worked at Madison Square Garden, Mullen was exposed to the game and developed a passion for it. Despite not being heavily recruited to play college hockey, Mullen was awarded a partial scholarship to Boston College, where he quickly emerged as a star.

Every other player on this list was drafted to play professional hockey, and six of them were top-10 overall picks. Mullen, meanwhile, was barely a footnote to pro scouts and GMs and he had to claw his way to the NHL. Undrafted at age 22, he signed a free-agent deal with St. Louis. Two years later, after scoring 25 goals in 45 games, he was in the NHL to stay. Mullen was a key part of some great teams in St. Louis, Calgary and Pittsburgh, and he never missed the playoffs. Mullen's Hall of Fame numbers include 17 NHL seasons, three Stanley Cups and two Lady Byng Trophies, and he was the first American-born player to score 500 goals and collect 1,000 points. If hockey had a "Rudy," his name would be Joe Mullen.


3. Brian Leetch

Born: March 3, 1968 in Corpus Christi, Texas

Brian Leetch was destined to be a star athlete; the only question was in which sport. As a sophomore, Leetch led his Connecticut high school baseball team to a state championship. Baseball scouts were drooling at his 90 mph fastball. Fortunately for the New York Rangers, Leetch choose to follow a career in his true love -- hockey.

After being drafted ninth overall by the Rangers, the defenseman immediately lived up to the hype and drew comparisons to Bobby Orr when he captured the Calder Trophy after a 23-goal season. The awards kept coming because the two-time Norris Trophy winner established himself as one of the game's best defenseman and helped the Rangers end their 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994. That team featured Mark Messier and Richter, but it was Leetch who had a team-best 34 points in 23 playoff games and picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

The nine-time All-Star, who captained the Rangers from 1997-2000, finished his career with five 20-goal seasons and 1,028 points.

2. Mike Modano

Born: June 7, 1970 in Livonia, Mich.

For nearly two decades, Mike Modano has been the heart and soul of Stars hockey. Just three years after being selected first overall by last-place Minnesota at age 17, Modano helped the North Stars reach the Stanley Cup finals. During that playoff run, Modano showed he was destined to be the next great American-born hockey player, tallying 20 points in the postseason. Throughout the 1990s, Modano proved to be one of the game's most gifted offensive players, recording at least 75 points in seven of those 10 seasons. Despite taking incredible abuse on the ice, Modano has been extremely durable, playing at least 75 games in 14 different seasons.

What has been most impressive about Modano is his ability to reinvent his game, never showing complacency, always looking to improve. Despite all of his natural goal-scoring talent, the six-time All-Star developed into one of the NHL's premiere two-way players, an offensive force with the puck and a solid defender without. It was that team-first attitude that helped Modano finally win a Cup in 1999.

1. Pat LaFontaine

Born: Feb. 22, 1965 in St. Louis

There has never been an American-born player as talented as Pat LaFontaine. If it weren't for a head injury that forced LaFontaine to retire at age 33, he could have recorded 600 goals and more than 1,300 points. Consider this: In his only season playing major junior hockey in the Quebec League, he recorded 104 goals and 234 points in just 70 games. That season, he outscored Mario Lemieux and shattered league records set by NHL stars like Mike Bossy and Guy Lafleur.

His prolific scoring continued in the NHL; LaFontaine averaged 48 goals per season from 1987-1993. No other American player has ever had as dominant a stretch as that. Mullen averaged 37 goals per season during his best six-year stretch and Modano topped 38 goals in a season only once. Not blessed with great size, LaFontaine compensated with incredible strength, quickness and playmaking ability. He was the 15th fastest player to reach 1,000 career points (847 games); Roenick (961) and Modano (965) needed at least 100 more games to hit that milestone.

A five-time All-Star and member of the 1996 American World Cup championship team,
LaFontaine holds the single-season record for points by an American (with 148). Known for his gentlemanly play, LaFontaine was smart and fearless as well as courageous, winning the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1995 after returning from a serious knee injury. A series of concussions would prematurely end LaFontaine's career, robbing the game of one its all-time greats.

Roenick 500 (craziest milestone goal ever scored?)



Worst Officiating Job Ever?