Clemens, Samir, and Proposition Joe...

So, anyone want a 7-time Cy Young winner? Tough call, really, as I am sure Houston would want Danks or Diamond. I would hang up the phone when it gets there, but if they wanted C Young (not Cy, but Chris) or Nix, or Adrian Gonzalez, or Ricardo Rodriguez? Let’s talk…

Fraley says do it …

Galloway has his thoughts, too …

Lebreton is hooked on the Satellite radio MLB Package…

George Mikan remembered at 80 …

Heat win big, but lose Wade? …

Samir Patel takes 2nd …

Here is a Samir email:

Rick Renner (yeah, i know) had a funny line, said: Samir Patel is the best speller in the world...to never win a major. Have to admit, that's funny.

random P1

Nike pulls endorsement of Giambi …

Rangers lose again, Cordero saves nothing ….By the way, Torres may be a good guy who tries hard, but he appears to have an arm like my daughter…

Bob,

I was wondering why you kept referring to Proposition Joe all the time until I figured out you were referring to CoCo. That's genius. I knew he reminded me of somebody.

Ah, good times...

Cheers,
r

Proposition Joe from HBO’s The Wire



CoCo Cordero from Arlington’s Texas Rangers

Liverpool drops the European Cup and threw it in Pantera’s pool….

We had Eklund from Eklund's Hockey Rumors blog on yesterday, and if you missed it, Andrew's Stars Page Posted the Audio ...

Summer Time Hockey Fix

This from our friends at Fox Sports Southwest:

ULTIMATE DALLAS STARS COLLECTION SERIES
RELIVES 1999 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIP RUN

Looking to whet the appetite of hockey-starved fans who would be following the Stanley Cup Finals now if not for the NHL lockout, FSN Southwest continues its ULTIMATE DALLAS STARS COLLECTION with a look back at the Stars' memorable 1999 Stanley Cup playoff run.

On most Saturdays in June and July FSN Southwest relives all Stars playoff wins of the 1999 Stanley Cup championship season with one-hour highlight shows devoted to each victory (see telecast schedule below). The programs are grouped in four-hour blocks corresponding with each round.

The series culminates Saturday, July 16 at 6:00 PM CT with the Cup-clinching 2-1 triple-overtime win over Buffalo in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals telecast in its entirety.

Dallas Stars announcers Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh host the one-hour highlight shows and offer commentary and their recollections of the thrilling championship season.

The ULTIMATE DALLAS STARS COLLECTION series premiered on FSN Southwest in December with 10 one-hour shows looking back at memorable regular-season games in Dallas Stars history.

The playoff series is telecast throughout the network's Southwest region, reaching more than 8 million cable and satellite TV homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

FSN Southwest Ultimate Dallas Stars Collection 1999 Stanley Cup Series TV Schedule

Saturday, June 4
Western Conference Quarterfinals: Dallas vs. Edmonton
6:00 p.m. Game 1: Dallas 2, Edmonton 1 -- Guy Carbonneau's wrist shot
between the legs of Tommy Salo at 13:07 of the third period highlights the
Stars' comeback victory.

7:00 p.m. Game 2: Dallas 3, Edmonton 2 -- The Stars connect for two
goals in four minutes of the third period to clinch the victory as Jere
Lehtinen and Jamie Langenbrunner lead the late scoring attack and Ed Belfour
stops 17 of 19 shots.

8:00 p.m. Game 3: Dallas 3, Edmonton 2 -- The Stars score three third
period goals to overcome a 2-0 deficit. Mike Keane, Mike Modano and Joe
Nieuwendyk spark the comeback.

9:00 p.m. Game 4: Dallas 3, Edmonton 2 (3 OT) -- Nieuwendyk's
deflection of a Sergei Zubov slap shot at 17:34 of the third overtime gives
Dallas the series sweep, ending the longest game in Stars history at five
hours and 20 minutes.

Saturday, June 11
Western Conference Semifinals: Dallas vs. St. Louis
3:00 p.m. Game 1: Dallas 3, St. Louis 0 -- Belfour records his fifth
career shutout stopping 23 shots and Pat Verbeek returns to the Dallas
lineup after missing the Edmonton series with a knee injury to score what
proves to be the game-winning goal just 2:25 into the game.

4:00 p.m. Game 2: Dallas 5, St. Louis 4 (OT) -- Nieuwendyk snaps a
wrist shot over Grant Fuhr's shoulder at 8:22 of OT to give the Stars their
sixth straight win in the playoffs.

5:00 p.m. Game 5: Dallas 3, St. Louis 1 -- The Stars take advantage
of Lehtinen's short-handed goal and two power play tallies to beat the Blues
despite being outshot 31-16.

6:00 p.m. Game 6: Dallas 2, St. Louis 1 (OT) -- Modano's goal just
2:21 into OT gives the Stars the series win. Belfour stops 28 of 29 shots.

Saturday, June 25
Western Conference Finals: Dallas vs. Colorado
5:00 p.m. * Game 2: Dallas 4, Colorado 2 -- Nieuwendyk nails his third
game-winning goal of the playoffs at 11:52 of the third period and the Stars
storm Patrick Roy with 45 shots to even the series at 1-1.

6:00 p.m. * Game 3: Dallas 3, Colorado 0 -- Belfour continues his
stellar play in the playoffs, stopping 34 shots for his sixth career shutout
and Nieuwendyk registers his fourth game-winner of the playoffs and adds two
assists.

7:00 p.m. Game 6: Dallas 4, Colorado 1 -- Langenbrunner and Richard
Matvichuk score 14 seconds apart with just under three minutes left to force
a seventh game in the series.

8:00 p.m. Game 7: Dallas 4, Colorado 1 -- Former Avalanche Keane
scores a pair of goals, including the game-winner, to send Dallas to the
Stanley Cup Finals and complete the comeback against Colorado.

* -- telecast only in Northern region markets.

Saturday, July 2
Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas vs. Buffalo
2:30 p.m. Game 2: Dallas 4, Buffalo 2 -- Following a heart-breaking
overtime loss in Game 1, the Stars get goals from Langenbrunner, Craig
Ludwig, Brett Hull and Derian Hatcher to even the series.

3:30 p.m. Game 3: Dallas 2, Buffalo 1 - Nieuwendyk's playoff magic
continues as he scores both Stars goals, tying the NHL record for
game-winning goals in one playoff year with his sixth.

4:30 p.m. Game 5: Dallas 2, Buffalo 0 -- Belfour has another
incredible night, turning back 23 shots for his third shutout of the 1999
playoffs and seventh of his playoff career as the Stars come to within one
victory of the Stanley Cup.

Saturday, July 16
Stanley Cup Finals Game 6: Dallas Brings Home The Cup
6:00 p.m. Game 6: Dallas 2, Buffalo 1 (3 OT) - FSN Southwest telecasts
one of the most memorable events in Dallas sports history in its entirety.
The Stars capture their first Stanley Cup in dramatic fashion as Brett Hull
slides a shot past Dominik Hasek at 14:21 of the third overtime to bring
Lord Stanley to the Lone Star State. Belfour continues his fantastic
goaltending, stopping 53 of 54 Buffalo shots in 114:51 of action.

Dang, They're Good!

Spurs advance, Suns golf …

Duncan and Parker lead the way …


-------------------------------

I have added a bunch of links to some of my favorite blogs on the right hand side of this page. Check them out at your leisure (or don’t). Also, please don’t ask me to add your personal blog to my links. I want to keep it to blogs I actually read regularly. I would likely put your link up just to stop you from bothering me, and then, the readers of this site would be misled into thinking that I think your blog is really good, when, in reality, I am just trying to get you to leave me alone. No offense intended. All of those blogs on my list are updated constantly with good opinionated stuff. Except for Meredith. She updates when she darn well pleases, but she is my friend and co-worker, and puts up with my crap so she gets the friend exemption.

-------------------------------

In other news…I have decided to start watching the reruns of Lost . Enough of you have promised me this is good, so here I go. The Pilot was last night, and will now run Wednesdays at 9 on ABC…

-------------------------------

Links:

Drese pitches great, fields poorly, Rangers streak ends …

Ken Hill in Little League fracas …

Galloway on Kenny Rogers …

Remember me? Doug Davis gets Milwaukee a win …

49ers being wacky …

Jamal Lewis about to be released from prison …

On a typical day, Lewis wakes up before dawn and starts work in the prison tool shop at 6 a.m. ET. After his shift, which consists primarily of distributing and hauling equipment, he diligently exercises his tender right ankle, which forced him to miss two games last season and was surgically repaired in January.
Then, according to Simon, Lewis hits the weights "like a maniac."
"He's in such great physical shape, it's been very impressive," Simon said. "He actually looks younger."
Before the lights go out, Lewis usually reads a book.

Sports Guy answers Email …

Q: Are you a Bradley guy or a Muresan guy?
– Chris, Norristown, Pa.

SG: I'm a Bradley guy, if only because he was once Shaq's answer to the question, "Shaq, who's the one player you could score 100 points against in a single game?" Nobody in the history of mankind has been dunked on more than him – it's like the opposing players are sitting in the locker room before games saying, "All right, everyone throw in $500, first guy to dunk on Bradley gets the pot."

Today is the final round of the national spelling bee. Follow our official speller, Samir Patel all day as he finally tries to get the monkey off his back…

NY Times on the Rangers …

-----------------------------

There is no question that the Mike Hindman topic from yesterday got people fired up one way or the other. The topic of Tom Hicks’ commitment to winning is one that quickly polarizes those that love baseball.

I wanted to show you the discussion that Mike and I had via email yesterday. I deleted the interaction we had that did not have to do with the baseball discussion due to irrelevance, but otherwise I believe it is just more of the discussion that you might enjoy.

This from Mike, as a follow up to my comments on yesterday’s blog, 9:29 am yesterday:

Bob:

The team is obviously not without holes. I don't believe I said that it was. I said that the free agent market THIS YEAR probably could not have fixed the holes (or maybe even worse, created other holes). And I said that the holes the club actually has are different than the ones that they appeared to have this winter. Anyway, which team is free of holes? And tell me which team used the free agent market this past winter to patch all of them over?

Your "apples to oranges" point is well taken, but I think it's pretty safe to say that Eric Milton---one of the most severe flyball pitchers in baseball who habitually gives up dingers in large quantities--would have been even worse in this ballpark.

By the way, are you sure that you've considered all of the factors in the math on whether or not the Rangers are making money? And what about the MLB debt-ratio rules? Have you factored them into your analysis? Do you know if the Rangers are in compliance with the MLB's capital structure rules? Do you know what penalties, if any, they face if they aren't? Do you know when they have to be in compliance or when the sanctions start to kick in? I don't, but I do know that there are other factors besides those you typically cite in your analysis of whether or not the team is making money.

Regards,
Mike Hindman

My Response at 10:45 am:

Mike-

As for Milton, I did not care specifically about him. Although, over the last 2 or so years, there have been many players that the Rangers should have been in on in my humble opinion when they were made available by their given teams: Colon and Freddy Garcia pop to mind as inning eating horses, whereas Millwood or Clement come to mind as smaller investment options. And finally a guy like Wade Miller jumps off the page. Nothing is cheap, but when you suggest you would not spend $8 million on a pitcher, I think that is too myopic. I say a payroll below $70 million is embarrassing for a team with these resources. If they choose to spend $15 million difference on two players or four, it doesn't matter as much to me.

As for the specifics of their book keeping, all I know is they follow similar regulations as their competition. But to allow them to pocket the profits of these huge broadcast contracts because they lost money in 2002 is idiocy. They can win. The players are busting their butts to do so, it would be nice if ownership would join them.

Further, your discussions of not wanting to part with prized prospects who are sure to be superstars remind me of Ruben Mateo, Carlos Pena, and all of the others who were destined for stardom. Prospects should not be confused with Superstars.

Bob

Mike’s next volley at 11:01 am:

Mateo and Pena? OK, let's play that game....

The Red Sox gave up minor leaguer Jeff Bagwell for nearly worthless setup guy Larry Anderson;

The Indians surrendered budding young star Brian Giles for garden variety lefty reliever Ricardo Rincon;

The Orioles gave up Curt Schilling, Pete Harnisch and Steve Finley to Houston for an over the hill Glenn Davis;

The Mariners sent kids Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek to Boston for setup "stallion" Heatcliff Slocumb;

The Rangers sent Sammy Sosa, Wilson Alvarez and Scotty Fletcher to the White Sox for Harold Baines;

The Expos sent a young Randy Johnson to the Mariners for nearly broken down Mark Langston;

The Yankees sent young Jay Buhner to the Mariners for the incredibly anonymous Kenny Phelps;

The Tigers traded young John Smoltz to the Braves for ancient Doyle Alexander;

The Phillies gave up Ryne Sandburg to get spare middle infielder Ivan DeJesus.......

And didn't say that you don't do it. My point is that you need to realize that the reason a deal might NOT get made will almost certainly have everything to do with the decision to not eviscerate the farm system and nothing to do with payroll concerns. And my secondary point was that there are serious long-term consequences to playing that game on a regular basis.

Do it? You bet. But you better not do it unless you are pretty damn certain that the guy you get puts you over the top.

And, finally, my response at 12:37 pm. Yes, I should likely be thinking about the show at 12:37…

So I give you the two biggest names in the Rangers Minor League System over the course of 1999-2002, and you respond with all of the moments in baseball history where a prospect trade was bad?

I think we can both agree that occasionally, Terrell Davis falls to the 6th round of the draft. That should not mean that the best way to get talent is to trade all of your picks to the 6th round, right? Nor should we aspire to finding Almanzar-types on the scrap heap. Occasionally, one must pay for what they want. If that means $8 million for a 200-inning starter, then so be it.

I dare say for all of your examples, they still rate about 25% or lower with regards to all trades for prospects. Like I said, all of the Rangers can't miss guys from 1995-until Teixeira did miss- That is why Danks or Diamond or others should not be enshrined to Cooperstown just yet-

Anyway, good debating sports-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

Hope you enjoyed that. Mike is a worthy debater…

Here is a P1 response to Mike from yesterday that I thought was interesting:

Hey Bob,

I read Mike Hindman's rant against those critical of Tom Hicks' spending, or lack thereof. As you know, Mike's primary tactic in dismissing the criticism of the Rangers' extremely low payroll (for a
top 5 market), was selectively listing possible free agent acquisitions this off-season and showing how poor they're doing with their current teams. As you point out, assuming they would perform
the same with the Rangers is apples and oranges. But what Mike chose to leave out were all the possible free agent signings (of pitchers, starters and relievers) that HAVE worked out just fine for their new teams.

The Rangers signed Pedro Astacio to be in their rotation, a low-risk incentive based deal for a pitcher coming off injuries and strugg-a-ling years. He is currently 2-5 (and that is on a
first-place team with a solid offense) with a 5.57 ERA.

They could have signed the following starting pitchers (who switched teams this offseason), listed with the team they signed with and their current stats:

Paul Byrd, LAA: 4-4 (4.15 ERA)
Matt Clement, BOS: 6-0 (3.06 ERA)
Shawn Estes, ARI: 4-3 (3.79 ERA)
Orlando Hernandez, CWS: 5-1 (3.91 ERA)
Jon Leiber, PHI: 6-4 (4.41 ERA)
Esteban Loaiza, WAS: 1-4 (3.61 ERA)
Derek Lowe, LAD: 4-4 (3.11 ERA)
Pedro Martinez, NYM: 5-1 (2.79 ERA)
Wade Miller, BOS: 2-1 (4.85 ERA)
Kevin Milwood, CLE: 1-4 (3.20 ERA)
Carl Pavano, NYY: 4-3 (4.18 ERA)
Aaron Sele, SEA: 4-4 (4.24 ERA)
Woody Williams, SD: 2-2 (4.84 ERA)

There are some high-priced guys there, but also some bargains (i.e. Kevin Milwood, whom I know more than 1 Ticket-host was hoping the Rangers would sign). But considering the Rangers are in a top-5 market and DO have "financial flexibility" even the high-priced quality pitchers shouldn't be off-limits.

Mike then goes on to discuss possible signings of relief pitchers. He says the "choices were pretty limited" and then lists Steve Kline and Billy Koch as the only two options, closing with "Nothing there. Obviously." Not so fast Mike. What about these twelve relievers who
switched clubs in the off-season?

Ricky Bottalico, MIL: 0-0 (3.20 ERA), 20 G, 19.2 IP
Chris Hammond, SD: 5-0 (1.73 ERA), 19 G, 26.0 IP
Dustin Hermanson, CWS: 0-0 (0.00 ERA), 19 G, 21 IP
Roberto Hernandez, NYM: 2-2 (2.66 ERA), 25 G, 23.2 IP
Todd Jones, FLA: 0-1 (1.48 ERA), 22 G, 24.1 IP
Matt Mantei, BOS: 1-0 (2.12 ERA), 21 G, 17.0 IP
Kent Mercker, CIN: 1-1 (2.31 ERA), 27 G, 23.1 IP
Mike Myers, BOS: 1-1 (1.93 ERA), 17 G, 9.1 IP
Dennys Reyes, SD: 3-0 (3.46 ERA), 22 G, 26.0 IP
Rudy Seanez, SD: 3-0 (3.00 ERA), 23 G, 24.0 IP
Rick White, PIT: 2-2 (2.92 ERA), 21 G, 24.2 IP
Jay Witasick, COL: 0-2 (3.06 ERA), 15 G, 17.2 IP

I'm sure the Rangers could use help from any number of these guys right about now, with Fransisco and Almanzar out for the year.

Obviously, Mike's rant was extremely dishonest. He selectively chose free agent signings that turned out bad and ignored those which have worked out (50 games into the season, which again, isn't enough to fully judge).

regards,

Jon G. in Cleburne

I don’t think I would use the term “extremely dishonest”. But, your point of selective reasoning is well taken. We all do it to make our points…

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this stuff, and check out Mike’s fine work everyday over at the Newberg Report.

Baseball Talk and Stuff...

From the “you can’t write fiction this funny” department: Juan is activated, hurt again …

Juan Gonzalez, sidelined all season because of strained right hamstring, was activated by the Cleveland Indians from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. Hours later, he reaggravated the injury while running out a grounder in the first inning -- his first major league at-bat since May 21, 2004.

Batting cleanup and assigned to play right field, Gonzalez hit a bouncer to third base -- and pulled up lame about halfway down the first-base line. Television replays showed him wince as he slowed to a jog.

Rangers win 9th straight …

• The starters have won all nine decisions during the streak, compiling an ERA of 2.18. They've averaged nearly seven innings per start; Rogers allowed a run in seven innings Tuesday.

• The offense has hit .328 and averaged eight runs per game. Tuesday, five of the eight runs scored after two outs.

Rogers secures Pitcher of the Month ….I assume….

FWST Soccer Insider …

Robby Gordon backs off Danica …

Not that I was interested, but in case you were, here are Pictures of Danica …

Mickey says “what about RT?” …

So what about right tackle?

Reminds me too much of right cornerback last year - a lot of guys, but no guy.
Bill was posed the very same question on Sunday following the fourth of five mini-camp practices out here at The Ranch. After all, right tackle and probably safety are the only two unsettled positions as the Cowboys head into June, just less than two months away from the start of training camp.

His response?

"I think we'll have a good competition there," Parcells said.

Good?

Good as in close or good as in the competitors are playing so well that choosing a starter will be difficult?

After watching five practices, that is hard to say.

Eva in bed with trophy …

The NBA premieres a TV ad that got an assist from TNT analyst Doug Collins. In it, Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria is in bed with, and kissing, the NBA championship trophy as she wears San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker's jersey. Collins' role: In a shot of Longoria at a Spurs game this season, he said she dated Parker — outing their romance.

Sam Smith on Larry Brown’s dealings …

Perhaps, by now you are familiar with the Newberg Report (Newbergreport.com ). On that site, you can find Mike Hindman’s minor league recaps, which I generally check out. Well, today, Mike wanted to address our segments from yesterday about Hicks and the incredible shrinking payroll. As you will read, he appears to be completely opposed to our views, but anyway, check it out:

In the midst of a nine-game Rangers winning streak, I got to hear yet another round of money talk from the local sports media yesterday that I just don’t follow. What generated yesterday’s belly-aching session were some ill-advised comments from Rangers president Jeff Cogen who, like his boss, doesn’t appear to understand that talking publicly about payroll and attendance issues is a losing proposition in that it only invites more attacks on their credibility.

A few months after Tom Hicks indicated that team payroll would be tied to attendance--(saying "if our revenue grows in the off-season, our payroll will grow with it" which, quite honestly, sounded a quite a bitt like a threat)--Cogen told the DMN’s Evan Grant this week that he was disappointed in ticket sales this year, noting that the Rangers haven’t seen the "bandwagon" reaction that might be expected for a winning club.

The Ticket’s Bob Sturm and Dan McDowell, appropriating patented Randy Galloway "arguments" (or rants, depending on how persnickity you are about what constitutes an argument) and speaking for all of us I guess, enlightened Cogan by explaining that the reason the fans aren’t supporting the streaking Rangers in overwhelming numbers is that we are all exceedingly disappointed in the fact that Tom Hicks failed to throw a lot of money around this offseason.

Frankly, I don’t know if that is true or not, and that’s not my point here. I’ll get to my point in a minute. But, but my guess is that it is not true. I would say that most fans probably care a whole lot less about how much money the club spends than they do about how well it performs on the field (especially in a front-running market like D / FW), but I could certainly be wrong about that.

Let me think about it for a minute....

"Son, I’m so proud that you graduated near the top of your class and earned that scholarship to college. As a reward, I got us two tickets to the Rangers game tonight. Just you and me. And we’re going to take in many more games this summer before you go away to school."

"Hell no, Dad. I don’t want to have anything to do with the Rangers until Tom Hicks spends more money on the Rangers than Drayton McLain spends on those damn Astros!!"

Hmmm. Yeah: that’s probably it. I’m wrong. Everyone is completely obsessed with this payroll issue. Randy Galloway IS the voice that speaks for all of the Metroplex.
But let’s put aside the issue of whether or not Tom Hicks "lied" about what he’d do with his "financial flexibility" in the wake of the Great Shortstop Dump and the expiration of the contracts of Rusty Greer and Jeff Zimmerman and whether that has anything to do with attendance.

Let’s get back to my point about the payroll issue in general which is, basically this:

"SO WHAT?"

In spite of the seemingly endless stream of media commentary on the issue of Tom Hicks’ apparently miserly ways, I have yet to hear anyone explain to me how it has hurt this baseball team. And even though no one who has provided me with this information, I've takent it upon myself to look and I still haven't found any. In fact, I have a suspicion that Hicks’ thrifty approach to the free agent market last winter–for whatever reason–could very well prove to be a key to the Rangers winning the AL West.

If the Rangers had made moves this past offseason to shore up what were the perceived shortcomings of the ballclub, you likely would have focused on the rotation first. You could have spent $25.5 million for three years of Eric Milton (as the Ticket’s Greg Williams frequently advocated this winter). Milton is 3-6 with a 7.05 ERA. Or maybe you would have preferred Jaret Wright, who is 2-2 with a 9.15 ERA for the low, low, low price of three years, $21 million. Obviously, you could have done better (e.g. Derek Lowe or Carl Pavano), but they were much more expensive and ultimately, the going rate on starters—no aces in the group, but a decent collection of #2's and #3's--was 3 or 4 years at about $8 million a year. No thanks.
You might have added a big bat at DH. Say, Carlos Delgado for $48 million over 4 years (and yes, I know all about the positional brouhaha). That might have been nice. But then again, if you believed (as I did) that what the Rangers needed more than a big bat was a leadoff hitter who could work counts and put together a high OBP, the acquisition of Delgado would have prevented the Rangers from ever discovering what David Dellucci could do at the top of the order. And do you really believe that the Rangers are sitting on top of the AL West after two months without that development? Maybe you do, but you won’t convince me of that.

Wait a minute, you say, they could have signed Delgado and started Dellucci in a left field platoon with Kevin Mench. Oh really? Delgado’s OPS this year is .977. Mench’s is .967. Do you really think that, in the long run, this club would have been better off with Kevin Mench taking about 20% of the at-bats in left field? Maybe you do, but you won’t convince me of that either.

No matter how convinced you are that Tom Hicks is a "liar" and that the Rangers’ "financial flexibility" should be exercised somehow at every opportunity, even if you must overpay or if the target of spending doesn’t fit your needs, I would think that you would have to admit that last winter it was almost certainly impossible to forecast the one thing that this ballclub really needs to fortify its pennant drive.

Dominant setup relief pitching.

The last four years should have taught Texas Rangers fans that paying big bucks in the off season for available relief pitching isn’t a great idea. Expensive signings like Jay Powell, Todd Van Poppel, and Jeff Nelson haven’t held a candle to cheap pickups and minor leaguers like Ron Mahay, Carlos Almanzar and Frankie Francisco. But nonetheless and as silly as it seems, let’s assume that Hart should have foreseen that he needed to pick up still more proven big-league relief help last winter. The choices were pretty limited. He could have signed Steve Kline (2-2; 5.30 for Baltimore, where he has publicly stated he is miserable) or Billy Koch (released in spring training by Toronto). Nothing there. Obviously.

So yes, I agree that Hicks has not yet exercised his "financial flexibility" (unless you count going out and nailing down Michael Young, Hank Blalock and Chris Young on multi-year deals and you probably shouldn’t). But as often as I am forced to think about it (for those of you who don’t live in the Dallas / Fort Worth media market, that statement won’t make sense; for those who do, you know exactly what I mean), I still can’t come up with a moment when, even in hindsight, doing so would have made this team much better than it is. And as an added bonus, we’ve discovered so much about guys who might not have gotten a shot had the Rangers gone out and spent a bunch of money (e.g. Chris Young, David Dellucci, Kevin Mench).

Looking ahead, I fully expect the Rangers to add a piece or two to the mix, but I doubt very much that payroll will play any part in those moves. What will be decisive will not be money, but–as I suggested in another report recently--prospects. Ultimately, it will be more a decision about how this ballclub is operated in the years to come than about short--term dollars and cents.

Last year, Kansas City G.M. Allard Baird extracted a high-ceiling pitching prospect named Denny Bautista from the Orioles for...36 year old Jason Grimsley. That’s roughly the equivalent of getting Paul Quantrill for Edison Volquez. If Bautista is the price for Grimsley, then you might reasonably argue that the market for Ugie Urbina or Danys Baez is John Danks or Thomas Diamond. And that’s fine. Sometimes, that’s what it takes to win.

But realize that the price for Mike Sweeney might also be John Danks or Thomas Diamond, no matter how much of his salary you are willing to swallow. You still want both if it means that you lose Danks and Diamond?

Maybe you do want both, but then the cupboard begins to look a little empty and suddenly, you are getting close to committing yourself to years of fishing in the free agent market for pieces to patch together a ballclub.

And at that point, you have little choice but to try to squeeze another year out of Ken Caminiti because you don’t have a Hank Blalock ready to go. You have to overpay for Eric Milton because you don’t have a Chris Young. You have to try to plug in a Herb Perry or 50 year old Andres Gallarraga because you don’t have a Jason Botts. You don’t have 1st, 2nd, 3rd round picks because you signed Todd Van Poppel and Jay Powell and CHoP. Maybe you do, but I don’t want that to be the future of my club. I’ve seen it. It’s ugly.

You can’t sign someone to a $50 million dollar contract every year and when you do, you better be right. It better be what you really need. You can’t trade for every player on the market in July and when you do, you better be right. It better be what you really need.

In the long term, I agree with those who argue that it is ridiculous for the owner of the Texas Rangers to treat this like it is a small market club, but I’m not so sure that he is doing so in spite of a few of his admittedly disturbing comments and in spite of the fact that this club’s payroll currently ranks in the bottom third of all payrolls in big league baseball. And I doubt anything that happens this summer will change my mind about that even though I’m constantly battered by a barrage of media luminaries who tell me that I should. I’m pretty sure that decisions to not make a deal will have much, much more to do with John Danks, Thomas Diamond and Edison Volquez than with the dollars in Tom Hicks’ pocket.

I like the way this club is assembled– a lot– and I’m glad that the Rangers didn’t try to fix their perceived weaknesses this past winter so that they have the ammo (both money and prospects) around to address their actual needs as they stampede towards a possible division crown.

I know I’m going to be attacked for appearing to defend the Rangers just as I do any time I say anything remotely positive about the club, but I’m really trying to be objective here. I’ll reserve my judgment on the whole "financial flexibility" issue vis-a-vis Tom Hicks until I see him refuse to make the right baseball move because of money. So far, I haven’t.

I realize it was lengthy, but I did not want to pick and choose what I ran, so as to mislead his debate. I will not pick apart his debate point by point, but allow me just a few things:

1) I may be overly sensitive, but I think it is just a bit condescending to assume we could not arrive at these opinions without “appropriating” them from Galloway. I can assure you Dan has never listened to Galloway, and I check him out periodically, but I am able to construct my own opinions. In this line of work, “appropriating” is a nice way of saying “stealing”, so forgive my sensitivity to that.

2) I really hate the logic that since Player A and Player B were signed by someone else, and since they are having poor seasons, then Player A and Player B would have been poor signings in Texas. Nothing is more apples and oranges. When you suggest that EVERY available free agent that the Rangers passed on could not have helped this club, then you give the appearance that you would bless any and all of their actions. This team has holes, which no one wants to hear when they win 9 straight, but baseball is a long marathon, and holes are generally exposed. There is a reason that contenders generally spend more than $53 million, and those that don’t, generally don’t because they CAN’T. The Rangers fall in neither category in my opinion.

Anyway, I enjoy the debate, as arguing is my career choice. Make you own decisions, gentle reader…



Enjoy the pictures of Grubes …I mean it…

Suns Stay Alive, and Other Stuff

If you are returning from vacation today, make sure you check out some of the baseball research from Saturday's blog entry. Otherwise, enjoy todays links and email:

Bickley claims that the Suns show championship backbone ….You would think it is too late…

Duncan strug-gels at the line …

Riding a run of 25 consecutive makes at the free-throw line, Duncan missed three of his first four attempts in Game 4 and cratered from there. He wound up missing nine of 12 attempts from the line, including an air ball, and looked as tentative as you can look when you're still going for 15 points and 16 boards. The Suns double-teamed Duncan harder than they have until now, with Johnson doing most of the doubling instead of the smaller Nash, and Duncan struggled to answer.

Cogen puzzled that fans aren’t all sheep …

While the club is ahead of last year's attendance pace, president Jeff Cogen still hasn't yet seen the full-scale "bandwagon" effect business-side folks hope follow a successful season and a strong start to the ensuing year.

"Why, I don't know," Cogen said this weekend. "I'm a little puzzled. I am probably my worst critic, but I think we could be doing better."

Well, let’s see, Jeff. Perhaps the fans are annoyed that the payroll was cut again, you guys offered almost no help to your team that finished so close last year, your owner claimed that he would only spend more if the fans earned it by showing up in droves, your owner pocketed all of the money from the stadium naming rights, and I am sure I am forgetting something. You’re right; the fans need to get with the program. Phooey.

Rangers Defense quietly solid …

Peter King MMQB picks Minnesota to the Super Bowl …Guess what, so does Bob’s Blog…

More on Little E’s trials and tribulations …

Sports Guy looks at the Longest Yard ….

Beckham claims he might play in the MLS before retirement …I call BS…

Nike threatens Manchester United …

Nike have warned Manchester United they could pull the plug on their sponsorship deal after the club's poor showing this season. The sportswear manufacturers began a 13-year kit deal with the club in August 2002 worth up to £303m but it is reported a get-out clause will allow the company to decide next year whether to continue that agreement past the 2007-08 season. "Chelsea won the league this year, Arsenal won the FA Cup and Liverpool won the Champions League, so you could argue that Manchester United is only the fourth-best club in England," said Nike's vice-president of sports marketing Ian Todd.

Rules of the Man Hug …

U.S. Military Deaths from All Wars …

And now, let’s clean out some email, shall we?

Hello Bob. I have been a listener for a long time, but have never called or emailed. Due to my work schedule I can’t listen to your whole 3 hours, but I listen as much as I can, so you may have mentioned this on air.

You have mentioned several times that we need to wait the 5 years to see if letting Nash go before we can judge if it was bad. I couldn’t agree more. A good example of this would be Derian Hatcher. Same situation. A fan favorite, up in years. 2 years into a 5 year contract Derian has played 15 regular season games and 12 play-off games. And in those 27 games he has not looked good. If people wait they will realize letting both of these players go was better in the long run. In Hatchers case it is already being proven, but it will take a little longer to see it with Nash.

Thanks for your time,
Aaron Winkler

A very fair point, however, we can hardly hold the labor war against the Hatcher signing. If anything, you could even make the point that Dallas and Detroit had the insurance policy of the lockout to ease concern of signing him. Detroit took the risk, Dallas did not. Hmmm, more Hicks money saving, eh?

As a early 40 something white guy I was a huge fan of "Land of the Lost" in my formative years. (Holly was hot - Will was gay). Did you guys know that Bill Lambeer was a "Sleestak" in season 1? True greatness.

Wikipedia .

Raised in the Chicago suburb of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, Laimbeer attended the University of Notre Dame, and in 1974 he played one of the Sleestak during the first season of the television series Land of the Lost.

No way!

This is from Jim Greene, who does stats for Ralph and Razor, but now took a sports trip to Chicago for the weekend. He files this report:

Bob,

After going on an awesome sports trip to Chicago (Cubs on Friday, US/England on Saturday), I developed a few HSO's during the trip:

1. After the Cowboys are awarded the Super Bowl when the new stadium is completed, Arlington will host the event one time and then never again......

The reason: Mass Transit

Consider This, By the time the New Cowboys Stadium is completed, Arlington will have two major sports stadium, a major theme park, and no mass transit system.

Chicago has Wrigley, US Cellular, Soldier Field, United Center, and the AllState Arena....... and both the CTA rail system and train system....

I understand the concept of mass transit seems foreign to the masses in the Metroplex, but I experienced this going from O'Hare, Going to the Cubs Game, and leaving Soldier Field to come back to O'Hare.....

If Arlington doesn't establish a public transportation system before hosting the Super Bowl, the media and the fans will complain about this.....

And those complaints should force anyone thinking about giving about giving Arlington another big game some second thoughts and reconsider their host cities for hosting huge events........

Also, until the Metroplex figures out that you need reliable and effective mass transit, the major events that are up for bids will not come home unless some serious bribes are given out.....

2. I saw Mark Prior take one on the elbow. It was a gruesome scene that quieted the crowd and left everyone shocked at what just happened.....The injury overshadowed a webjem from Aramis Ramirez which ESPN picked up on.

It also made me consider this:

Why don't pitchers take more hits on the mound? It would make sense to me that if you hit the ball flush on the bat, it should go back to the pitcher and the point where the ball was thrown. When these hits come back to the pitcher, they become targets and have little time and chance
to avoid the ball......

Considering what happened to Prior, I'd say the Cubs are in serious trouble...... I wouldn't expect him back to command their pitching staff until Spring Training.....

3. Wrigley Field needs to be become a national monument......

Once the Cubs leave Wrigley, I would like the State of Illinois and the US Park Service to claim ownership of the friendly confines....

This would accomplish a couple things:

1. It would preserve the "Friendly Confines" for future generations so that they could see the game's heritage and traditions....
2. It would give Baseball Fans another Field of Dreams that would continue to bring fans to the old ballpark well after the last out was recorded....
3. You could have exhibition games, high school, and college games at any time, which would give people more reasons to come out....

I would hate to see Wrigley destroyed..... If Wrigley turns into a parking lot, a part of our nation's history, traditions, and culture will fade into memory......

And that would be a sad day for every baseball fan around the world......

That's it for now,
Jim Greene

And finally, this from Tony, who needs some help:

hello ticket brothers. just wanted to see if you guys could help spread the word around of my friends charity golf tournament. it is for a friend of hers who recently had a brain tumor removed, but they didn't get all of the cancer out and it doesn't look good. his wife is pregnant, so neither can work, and they need all the help they can get. w/insurance, their first bill was over $100,000. i attatched her email which has a link to the website giving the details. if you guys could donate or just spread the word, we would be ever so grateful. thanks for your time and help.

SINCERELY,
P1 TONY

Hi everyone,

I am emailing you to ask for your help. This is something that is very important to me and I want to try and help them as much as I can.

The tournament is for a friend of mine, Jay Hilliard that I grew up with. He is 25 just got married last year, to Jacqueline and they have a baby on the way in early June. Life was looking good for them, until April 9 he suffered a grand mal seizure.

After a 10 hour emergency surgery, doctors told Jay they had removed a Grade II malignant oligodendroglioma tumor, from his right frontal lobe. Jay now faces a difficult and lengthy recovery period, including radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

He has been to several specialists and the outlook is not looking good. They did not get all of the cancer.

Unfortunately as we all know insurance that many companies offer is not great. Jay got his first hospital bill $111,999.87!! That is on a 90 / 10 split! That does not include doctors or anything!

This young couple is facing many hard times ahead. Neither are working right now. Jay is recovering from surgery, going to many specialists and Jacqueline is about to have a baby girl, that they are going to name Jailynn.

If am hoping you or someone you know might be interested in playing in this tournament, donating money, sponsoring a hole, or your company may be interested in donating etc. If you can not do any of the above, I ask for your prayers for them.

Below is the web site. I am on the planning committee for the tournament and have already gotten my dad and several of his clients to contribute money. But we need all the help we can get. Please check out the web site and pass the information on.

jayandjacqueline.com

Thank you for your help,
Erica

Best of luck, Erica…

That's Racin!

600 Miles is the longest race of the season in Nextel Cup Racing. For Jimmie Johnson, who won the Coke 600 for the third straight year, it took 599.9 miles to figure out how to get the lead, and beat Bobby Labonte to the finish line by about 6 feet. What a fun night of racing, which included a record 22 cautions. Not a record for the track in Charlotte, not a record for the year. But rather, a record for the history of the sport. Never has a race involving the top level of stock cars seen so many yellow flags. Nevertheless, despite the ponderous pace, the race left many a incident.

Johnson wins again …

Junior with another major error in judgment which I am sure is not his fault if you ask his legion of fans. Not his fault, just like Las Vegas with Brian Vickers, or the big one in Talladega...

Tony Eury -- Dale Earnhardt Jr's uncle and former crew chief -- was none too pleased with his nephew Sunday night after Earnhardt wrecked teammate Michael Waltrip in the Coca-Cola 600.

"I don't know what his problem is with Michael, but it'll be fixed [Monday] -- I'll guarantee it," an irate Eury said. "He acts like he's friends with [Waltrip], but every time he gets around him on the racetrack he ends up wrecking him."

Above, David Letterman and Danica Patrick after the finish of the Indy 500

Danica takes 4th, some dude wins …seriously, isn’t that how it was covered yesterday? I will admit I only watched because of the chick, but when a guy wins the race, isn’t he the story? Is it really necessary to show Danica’s mom again instead of covering the winner?

Sandomir with his review of the broadcast …

Other Links:

Rangers sweep (sort of) the ChiSox …

Here, find Chan Ho Park’s Career Stats …You will see that in 2005, Park has his lowest ERA as a Ranger, and his 2nd highest win total ALREADY! In fact, his 5 wins equals his win total of 2003 + 2004! Not saying he is that great this year, but he is much better than he was…

Park wins again! …

Park is 5-1 for the first time, and that includes his seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he won at least 13 games five consecutive seasons.

Using Showalter's words, Park "kept grinding." He recovered from a fourth inning that saw him give up the tying home run to A.J. Pierzynski and two more runs against the bottom of the order.

Park was his crispest in the sixth inning, wrapping three ground ball outs around a two-out single. For the day he threw 105 pitches, only 58 for strikes. It was not close to the sharpness he had in seven shutout innings in his last start against Houston.

But even when he isn't sharp, Park knows he is the best pitcher he has been in three-plus seasons in Texas. The Rangers have won eight consecutive games. Park has two of those wins.

"I'm more confident," said Park, whose five wins are one more than he had last season. "I wasn't as confident as my last outing, but I was keeping the ball down. A quality start is good enough for me."

Lebreton on how it is all fitting together …

Adam Morris on Chris Young …





FC Dallas wins in DC …Highlighted by two magnificent plays by Carlos Ruiz. One, resulted in a penalty kick, the other will go down as maybe the finest goal ever scored by a Dallas soccer player. This goal was world class!

Click Here to see Ruiz goal of the year nominee …

Early Entrant to NBA Draft who is doing a bit …

Eklund claims this could be the week for the NHL …

Star Wars wacky shirt …

Mom arrested for hiring stripper for son’s party …

Amazing Card Trick …

1st Place Texas Rangers

Through the Alfonso Soriano HR in the 5th, Rangers have 75 Home Runs. Only the Orioles have more than 60. They have allowed only 32. Only the Marlins and the Nationals have allowed fewer. That differential of 75 HR’s for and 32 against is a +43, which is easily the best in baseball. I have no theories as to why this differential exists. Most of the time, when we look at the Rangers numbers, we blame the weather, the park, and other elements that cannot be controlled. But in this case, it is obvious that you can not do that. The weather is the same. The park is the same. Somehow, the Rangers, at least through nearly 2 months, have managed to murder the ball without allowing their opponents to do the same. What a start to the season.

Young with a gem to beat ChiSox …

In eight innings, which tied his longest outing this season, Young threw an economical 102 pitches. By contrast, he threw 96 and 93 in his last two starts when he lasted five innings each. He is on pace to throw 180 innings, uncharted territory for him, and the Rangers need him to be this good in the heat of August and in a potential playoff chase in September.

This is from the May 10th Blog entry:

Bob’s Blog Exclusive Research Project of the Day: The Rangers had 61 quality starts in 2004, according to Rangers’ PR guru Gregg Elkin. That comes out to about 37.6%. With Chris Young’s start last night (May 9th) that did in fact end up a loss, that was quality start #18 out of 33 games for 54.4%. This projects to 88 quality starts this season. If they get to 88, they may squeeze into the postseason, and they also should nominate Orel Hershiser into the HOF as a pitching coach. That is just amazing if it holds up.

Since that day, the Rangers have run off 8 quality starts of the next 15 games, bringing the season total to 26 of 48 for 54.1%. Again, we are not out of May, but they are still maintaining this pace of nearly 90 quality starts! Also, we should not overlook the fact that no starter has missed a start yet. The same rotation that left Surprise in late March is still going to work every 5th day. Bravo!

Here is the breakdown of the Quality Starts:
Rogers: 10 starts, 9 quality starts (4/6, 4/11, 4/21, 4/27, 5/2, 5/8, 5/14, 5/20, 5/26)
Drese: 10 starts, 4 quality starts (4/5, 4/15, 5/7, 5/24)
Young: 10 starts, 4 quality starts (4/28, 5/3, 5/9, 5/27)
Park: 9 starts, 4 quality starts (4/13, 4/23, 4/29, 5/22)
Astacio: 9 starts, 5 quality starts (4/9, 4/14, 4/19, 5/11, 5/25)

Barry Horn cracks on the Rangers TV broadcast …

To: Rangers TV
Re: You reap what you don't show

Guys:

It wouldn't take Oliver Stone to create suspicions about your failure to show the between-innings Rod Barajas-Ryan Drese dugout fight the other night. Remember, you are the same guys who wouldn't show replays of the Frankie Francisco fiasco in Oakland last season.

You say you didn't know about Barajas-Drese until later in the game, when you learned Kansas City television had shots of the skirmish. You didn't feel it would be professional for Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve to speculate on what had taken place.
Why not dispatch man-in-the-stands Jim Knox to try to find out? Or was he too busy preparing questions for some feature about nacho vendors? Or why not ask the Royals broadcasters for their take?

The count is now 0-2 in tight situations.

Revo on the Rangers big weekend …

Podsednik comes home …



Prior out 6 to 8 weeks at least …

Helling with scary incident …

England versus U.S. today! …I am fired up, but without Beckham, Owen, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Rooney, and others, is it really England?

Owen answers the jealousy question …

Grapevine Blog with a fine college football point …

Now what for Star Wars Nerds? …

Bucks debate #1 pick …I know, they will take the big white guy…

Paris Hilton strikes back …

Interview with Pedro …Hello?

Back from the Legal World

Yesterday, I had a field trip that I will never forget. It was Jury Duty in Criminal Court #3, Denton County, for a misdemeanor theft case (more than $50 and less than $500). It was a really long day, and through the process, I learned a few things:

1) The judicial process is one of the most tedious experiences I have ever been exposed to. Somehow, you can drag anything out for hours. It makes the final 3 minutes of an NBA game look quick.

2) This whole “Jury of your peers” thing seems like a great idea, but after further review, I might have someone who has a grasp of the law (a judge) rather than a group of beaten down citizens who just want to go home sitting in a room deciding your fate.

3) I thought I was really tough on crime. Then, I was asked to lock a guy up and be Mr. Tough Guy or give him another chance at probation. After his elderly mother pled for his freedom, I turned into a bleeding heart. It is really easy to have a tough stance on everything when you don’t have to meet their mother.

Anyway, I don’t really want to do it again. It was like a field trip yesterday for a long time, but then when I realized I was actually there for an important purpose, it was no longer fun. Oh well….Now, for sports:

Links:

Rogers dominates again, Rangers finish sweep of Royals …You know, Kenny is amazing. How is he doing this? It truly is becoming one of the more remarkable stories of 2005.

The Homerism of broadcasting …

Browns want money back from Kellen Knievel Winslow …

Despite the May 1 motorcycle accident that will sideline tight end Kellen Winslow for the 2005 season, and which adds uncertainty to his football future, the Cleveland Browns have no intention of releasing their 2004 first-round draft pick.

The team has decided, however, to seek financial adjustments to Winslow's contract, and that move could come within the next few weeks. Once Winslow misses a mandatory team function, essentially depriving the Browns of his football services, the franchise will be able to enforce the so-called "dangerous activities" stipulations of his contract. Those are clauses that, in very clear language, preclude Winslow from putting his career, and Cleveland's investment in him, in jeopardy.

Just in case you are curious, here is a Bio for Evel Knievel ….

Favre’s house sold in Green Bay …looks like a pretty sweet pad…

Parcellsguys.com ….Check it out, Cowboys Fans…

NBA All-Ugly Team …



Gerrard to stay with Liverpool ….

I was amazed at how much the U.S. Media covered the Liverpool win over AC Milan. I felt it was all over the place, including several minutes on Sportcenter, and ESPN 2 replayed the game Wednesday night, and ESPN Classic replayed it Thursday night. I wonder if World Soccer will ever have a place here in America. It is way too early to tell, but we must remember that World Soccer has really only been on television consistently for about 5 years. During that time, thousands of new fans have been born here in the States. I guess we shall see. But Hockey might find in a few years that there are just as many people interested in watching Manchester United play Arsenal as are interested in the NHL. Here is a column from CNNSI.com: Looking back at the biggest comeback in European Cup history …

Liverpool: Champions once again!

Steven Gerrard with the European Cup







The save that won the Cup



The celebration that ensued

Liverpool beats AC Milan after trailing 3-0 at halftime…

Gone in 50 seconds, back in 6 minutes ...

FOOTBALL. Bloody hell, the printable expletives are utterly inadequate for the task of summing up a night of football mayhem. Bring out the asterisks: it was a night when football brought us the utterly impossible on a night of perfect insanity as Liverpool won the European Cup final on penalties after doing their best to lose it.



Liverpool produced one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football. They created for themselves an utter disaster and somehow rose to find hope, and with it, power and effectiveness and purpose and direction. They turned a lost match around in six impossible minutes: one of those periods of total enchantment that happen in football, but very rarely.

Yet it seemed that they had managed to lose everything in less than a minute. After a season of ever-growing hope and burgeoning expectation, Liverpool looked as if they had lost the lot in a matter of 50 seconds. They conceded a goal more or less before a Liverpool player had touched the ball and were 3-0 down at half-time. It was humiliation.

But before you could say “Football. Bloody hell” they were back in it again. After being made to look like small-timers and second-raters, they came roaring back as if they were the old champions of the Eighties, the Liverpool side that expected to win European Cup finals as a matter of course. They drew level in that period of magic and took the game into extra time, a spooky period played in a mood close to emotional exhaustion.

Gerrard says he is staying! …

The celebrations, however, began ecstatically after Jerzy Dudek saved Andriy Shevchenko's spot-kick in the shoot-out and Gerrard said: 'How can I leave after a night like this and all the nights that I have experienced.

You'll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver
Song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain

Though your dreams
Be tossed and blown.

Walk on
walk on

With hope in your hearts

I And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone.

Walk on
walk on


Some days, you love sports more than others. For me, this is one of those days…

Wednesday Blogging

Obi-Wan Ginobli is a monster. And the Spurs appear to be the class of the league again, despite Nash and Stoudamire doing their thing last night.

Links:

Spurs make all the plays at crunch-time again, lead 2-0 going home ….

Lebreton on the Drese/Barajas disagreement …

Rangers mum on incident …

Roy Williams Rule passed …

Williams' name has come to be associated with the new rule. He seriously injured three players with the technique in 2004:

• Tennessee Titans receiver Tyrone Calico injured both knees in a preseason game at Dallas on Aug. 30, requiring surgery on his left knee. Calico tried to play in one game before going on injured reserve.

• Baltimore Ravens running back Musa Smith went on injured reserve after a Nov. 21 tackle by Williams left him with a compound fracture of his right leg that required surgery.

• Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens' surgically repaired right ankle and fractured leg (fibula) after a Dec. 19 tackle by Williams kept Owens out four games, including two in the postseason.

"Poor ol' Calico about got his head jerked out and his legs broke off," Titans owner Bud Adams said. "The guy who did that, it's not the first time he's done it. I think it's a good rule. It doesn't put it all on [Williams], but they just can't do what they've been doing. Some of these guys are pretty strong, and they can really hurt a guy. It's been demonstrated."

Peter King MMQB , and yes, I realize it is Wednesday…

From the “it is always somebody else’s fault” department: Junior changes crew chiefs again …If anyone was listening to their race radio when the Nextel boys rolled through our fair city, this comes as no surprise. It was obvious that there was plenty of friction between the two. I realize I make people mad when I speak the truth, but I can’t help it. Dale seems like a good guy, but his expectations are insane, and I think it makes him and his mother blame everything from the crew, the crew chief, the car, and the facility, if he doesn’t win enough. They never consider the fact that maybe the competition is better than they admit, and maybe Dale Jr, is not half as good as his daddy…Put it this way, you don’t want to be his crew chief right now.

Sports Guy pounds Dirk …

Denver reader Todd Ruff sums it up best: "After Friday night's Game 6, did Dirk officially become the Peyton Manning of the NBA?"

No question about it. Calling out Jason Terry at the end of regulation in Game 6, followed by the 0-for-5 in overtime ... I mean, the only thing we were missing was Dirk's stomping back to the bench with his chinstrap dangling from his face. What a jerk. And did anyone have less business calling out teammates than Nowitzki, who stunk offensively for a solid month and couldn't guard anyone? Who do you think was responsible for Shawn Marion's 38-16 performance in Game 6?

Today is the Day! Destiny awaits! ESPN 2, 1:30 Gerrard: 'I will lift that trophy' …

"We have to make sure we don't have any regrets at the final whistle, that we have given every drop when that time comes," said Gerrard. "This is the biggest game of our lives, so we have to give everything we have, and to come back with a winner's medal in the biggest club competition around would mean the world to me. But I will lift that trophy. I know I will. We have world-class players and, believe me, they are in the mood to do this.

"It's so important for the future of Liverpool. Imagine how much that would help us in terms of prestige and attracting top-class players, plus the financial impact it would have.

"This is the ultimate. There will be a lot of pressure to perform but you just have to deal with that. The pressure only comes in big games and that's where you want to be, but maybe there is even more on Milan. I hope they under-estimate us because, if they do, they are in for the shock of their lives."

The Liverpool Squad …

The AC Milan Squad …

19 nationalities to be represented today in European Cup Final …

Star Telegram Soccer Insider …

Recommended by a P1, the Star Wars Wikipedia Page answers all of your questions…



And now, some P1 feedback on my Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith review. If you missed it, I basically had the opinion that the movie is solid, but there are still a few things I find annoying.

- No matter how well they do it, watching these new episodes still strikes me like I am watching a Star Wars cover band. I just don’t completely buy it. I also don’t buy that Lucas had this written ahead of the original trilogy. If he did, there would not be so many holes in the script.

- I don’t like Lucas feeling obligated to intertwine every character’s past. I wish I did not know where Boba Fett came from, where Chewbacca lived, and so on. But Lucas does this to a fault. Every character is related somehow, and it all fits perfectly. What is wrong with not knowing the background of the character?

- It also annoys me that the technology now allows him to put 3,000 star ships in a space battle. Back in Star Wars, the Death Star attack involved about 10 X-wings and 10 TIE Fighters and you could follow what was happening. But now, there are so many stinking fighters in the battle that it is complete confusing chaos. All because computers allow for this.

- The Darth Vader – Frankenstein ending is a fine example of unintentional comedy. If you saw it, you need nothing further.

So with those complaints in mind, imagine all of the Star Wars fans emailing me. I received a ton, but here are a few:

Bob’s opinion of Star Wars = Good Ole Day Syndrome
Soccer Shaun

---------------------

Bob, it's a movie......just enjoy it dude. You're taking it too seriously.

---------------------

By the way Bob, why didn’t Obi-Wan remember that there were twins? Why did Yoda have to remind him in Empire Strikes Back?

Mark Morse

--------------------

Dude, you're killing me with this gripe about everyone knowing each other inthe movies. I had my own problems with Sith (the Frankenstein endingcertainly among them), but this isn't one of them.

You can't make a movie about EVERYBODY in the gallaxy! The main characters have to know each other, otherwise you'd end up with an intergalactic Pulp Fiction where everyone goes around and does their own thing and they only cross paths when someone sticks them up in a Cantina.

Actually, come to think of it, that might be pretty good. Nevermind.

Love you.

Aks

--------------------
Bob, gotta go geek on you for a minute and answer a few of the questions you had about Sith. I don't know if you've read any of the books that come after the movies, but a lot of these answers are there. Are they remarkably convenient? You bet. :)

Why is Yoda an ass-kicker in Sith, then only 20 years later barely able to get around? Yoda was already old, but physically fit. When the Emperor blasts him with the Dark Side lightning stuff it ages him considerably, just look at what it did to the Emperor.

Why does Aunt Beru age 40 years in 20 years? Life on Tattoine sucks. It's hot and dry and working on a farm makes an old person out of you fast. Life on a moisture farm just wears out a hot chick.

Why don't the Jedi know that they are about to be betrayed? Very few of the Jedi have the ability to see the future. Yoda is one of them and he senses what is going on and escapes. The Emperor is also using his own powers to conceal his plans.

Why doesn't Darth Vader think to look on Tattoine for his son? Yeah, you got me there, that one's just dumb. Maybe that little bit of good in him keeps him from looking? That's all I got.

So was that geeky enough for you? I'd write more but my mom's calling me, I gotta eat my pop-tarts before I go to work.

Oh yeah, Sith was better than Jedi. No dumb Ewoks in this one.


Joel (BaD radio Day 1 P-1)

------------------------------

Heard your discussion on Star Wars ROTS a few minutes ago, wanted to
chime in on some things:

1. Billions and billions on Coruscant seems out of place compared to the original trilogy. The settings for the original trilogy: Tatooine=desert, Dagobah=swamp, Hoth=ice, Cloud City=small mining colony. Coruscant is like the New York City of the Star Wars Galaxy. But it is the only planet in the movies that featured a large population.

2. Everyone seems to know/be related to everyone else. I, too, have a problem with this. Part of what made Boba Fett cool is he was mysterious. You could say the same for Darth Vader. Explaining everybody's backstory was really not necessary. However, I'm glad to see Chewy and R2 more than the new, stupid characters like Jar Jar Binks and the Nemodians.

3. Lucas is a bigtime liberal. Gives tons of money to the Democratic Party. I don't think this is wrong or right, but there are some political undertones in this movie. As long as it has lightsabers, I don't really care.

4. Massive battle scenes. The original trilogy had the small Rebellion fighting the massive Empire. These were understood to be small skirmishes due to the small numbers in the Rebellion, although the results were huge. The Clone War was exactly that...a war. As seen in ROTS, the war was being fought on several planets. This full-scale war will naturally have more fighters. Is it harder to follow...sure. But the opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan was a bit all over the
place, as well. The element of confusion adds to the realism of the battle experience.

A fellow Star Wars nerd chiming in with my opinion. Oh, tell Dan it's
gay to think everything is gay.

Doug in Coppell
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Bob,

Couldn't agree more. Has George Lucas done a non Star Wars movie since American Graffiti? He's forgot how to write dialogue for human characters. The original movies weren't exactly known for their witty deep dialogue, but there were at least a majority of human characters relating to each other. Now, it's all computer generated action that doesn't have any substance. It seems more is better and even more is even better. Maybe it's a symptom of the video game generation. The 10-20 year old's that saw the original three just can't relate to all this junk.

Definitely a disappointing B-

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Bob, I think your nit picking a little bit on the whole Star Wars thing. I mean come on, it's a sci-fi fantasy movie. I'm a huge Star Wars fan from way back, but if I wanted to, I could probably find instability in the first three films as well. For example, at the very start of episode 4, C3-PO and R2D2 escape in the pod and on to Tatooine to meet Obi-Wan. They get captured by Jawas and sold to...Luke Skywalker. What are the chances? As far as everyone knowing everyone else, you have suspend reality.It's just like on Seinfeld. How is it that everywhere that Jerry goes in a city of 12 million people, he always seems to run into Kenny Bania or Frank Costanza, even though they live accross town. As far as the Frankenstein thing goes, I have no defense for that. Overall, I thought it was a really great movie...of course I like Titanic also, so what do I know. See Ya.

Lance

So there you go. Everyone is a SciFi expert...