British Open Steals the Weekend

First and foremost, GOLF MAJORS ARE SO GREAT! WOW! It never disappoints. The drama, the tension, the theatre, it is all right there waiting for you on Sunday at a major. Who needed Tiger yesterday?

Secondly, Did Sergio choke 3 times in 1 day? How many times did he need to have the tournament in the palm of his hand? Tough being him today, as he can surely chew on 0-36 for a while now…

Padraig Harrington seizes the moment, despite horrendous 18th …

As García made his way down the 17th fairway, Harrington was walking down the rough line at No. 18, his golf ball twice rinsed in brown water and his British Open chances turning dark.

“If Sergio parred the last and I did lose, I think I would have struggled to come back out and be a competitive golfer,” Harrington said. “It meant that much to me. If I had just thrown away the Open, if it turned out like that, it would have been incredibly hard to take.”

When García missed an 8-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole that would have given him the claret jug, Harrington responded with vigor in outdueling García in a four-hole playoff to claim the British Open for his first major championship.

After Harrington rolled in a 3-foot putt for bogey in the playoff to finish one
stroke better than García, he raised the flag of Ireland as the gallery serenaded its first European major champion since Paul Lawrie won the British Open here eight years ago. The 35-year-old Harrington also became the first Irish winner of the claret jug since Fred Daly won in 1947. Harrington, who shot 67, and García, who shot 73, finished at seven-under-par 277.

García, who began the day with a three-shot lead, was inconsolable afterward. His best chance at a major had slipped away in a maze of missed putts. “I don’t know how I manage to do these things,” said García, now 0 for 36 in majors. “It seems to me like every time I get in this kind of position I have no room for error.”

As it did eight years ago, Carnoustie’s 499-yard par-4 18th hole played a central role in the theater. In 1999, Jean Van de Velde made a triple-bogey 7 there by hitting into the murky Barry Burn and losing in a playoff.

On Sunday in regulation, Harrington made a double-bogey 6 there by hitting his tee shot with a driver and his third shot with an iron into the burn. From in front of the burn, he hit his fifth shot — a spinning pitch — that stopped 4 feet from the cup and rolled in the putt to fall one stroke behind García.

Harrington’s best hope was that García had to play the 18th, too.

“To try to win a tournament on that hole, there’s just trouble everywhere,”
Harrington said. “I knew Sergio; it was going to be a tough hole for him to make par.”

García found the fairway with an iron, but he had to wait several minutes before he could hit his next shot as Paul McGinley and Chris DiMarco finished on the green. After the group was finished, a course worker slowly raked a bunker to the right of the green, where McGinley had been.

“It’s not fun standing there when you know you’re hitting the ball well and you know what you have to do,” the 27-year-old García said. “You’re hitting a 3-iron, and you know you need to make par. It’s not very easy.”

García pulled his 3-iron into a bunker short and left of the green. He blasted out to 8 feet and read the putt from each side. With the claret jug in his grasp, García tapped his ball and watched it rim out of the left side of the cup.

García spoke as if external forces had conspired to keep the ball out.

“You know what’s the saddest thing about it?” he said. “It’s not the first time. So, I don’t know, I’m playing against a lot of guys out there, more than the field.”

With García’s miss, he joined Harrington for a playoff that began on the first tee and concluded with 16, 17 and 18. The sun, absent for most of the championship, broke through just in time and began casting long shadows across the course.

Sergio just can’t keep it on the road …

Halfway down the ninth fairway, a dark-haired young woman stood against the ropes as Sergio García went by, tears welling up in her brown eyes. "Vamos!" she shouted, in a voice hoarse with feeling. This was García's sister, Mar, and she feared that she had just witnessed her brother's hopes of his first major championship crumbling in the mini-crisis of three bogeys in the preceding four holes.

It would get better for the García family, and then much, much worse. Two hours later Sergio was one 10ft putt away from the title and from finally fulfilling the destiny so many had predicted for him since he erupted on the scene eight years ago as a teenaged prodigy. One 10ft putt on the 18th green, with a slight break from left to right. It would have brought him home in a total of 72 for the day, eight under par for the tournament and one stroke ahead of Padraig Harrington. Harrington, too, had held the championship in his hand before seeming to throw it away with two shots into the water on the last hole. So now García, having lifted his third shot out of a greenside bunker, stood over the par putt. Applying the gentlest of touches, he watched the ball turn in towards the left edge of the hole before catching the lip and curling away. Head hanging in disappointment, now he was heading for a play-off with a man who was cuddling his infant son and smiling at the world as he breathed the sweet air of reprieve.

And therein, perhaps, lay the crucial difference between the two men as they fought it out over the extra holes. Relaxed and prepared to embrace his good fortune, Harrington made a swift strike that cut García off at the knees. To recover from a sudden two-shot deficit, after he had already struggled to get himself back within touching distance of victory, was asking too much. There would be further dramas to come as they completed the four-hole shoot-out, but the short putt that gave victory to the Irishman will have observers asking yet again what it is that prevents García from closing out a major tournament.

In other news, Here is a Must Read from Bill Simmons about the Donaghy scandal ….

That should have been a movie. Now, it allegedly looks to have happened in real life. If true, it's the rarest of sports scandals, a shocker that shocked absolutely nobody but might end up becoming more significant than anyone imagines. After the most damaging NBA season in three decades, after a series of deep-rooted problems -- almost entirely self-inflicted -- that already had everyone concerned about the league's immediate future, we reached the tipping point with Tim Donaghy.

Guilty or innocent, we will never watch an NBA game the same way. He's going to hang over everything -- every referee, every shaky outcome, every bad call -- in ways the average fan doesn't fully realize yet. Maybe they'll throw Donaghy in jail, maybe they won't, but he'll linger over every court like a black cloud. You'll hear his name more than you think. You and your buddies will make "that guy looks like he's pulling a Donaghy!" jokes every time a referee is making calls against your favorite team. Hecklers will gleefully play the Donaghy card after every bad call against the home team. For honest referees still working games, it doesn't matter what happens from this point on -- their collective integrity will always be questioned, their collective track record won't matter, and that will be that.

So that's one problem. The second problem is more complex. When news of the scandal broke on Friday, as J.A. Adande pointed out in his column that day, every diehard NBA fan had the same reaction. They weren't thinking, "I can't believe it!" or "Oh my God, how could this happen?" They were thinking, "Which one was it?" This was like finding out that your grandfather who smoked three packs a day for 50 years just came down with lung cancer. It was sad but inevitable. It was only a matter of time. These guys never made enough money (as we learned from the airplane ticket scandal) and struggled at their jobs consistently enough that there was no way to tell the difference between blowing a call and intentionally blowing a call.

More than any other professional league, an NBA referee can directly affect the outcome of every game. We've seen it happen time and time again, only we always assumed that the refs in question were working for the best interests of the league, that they were following orders like Luca Brasi (even if there was no definitive proof) -- like the guys who worked Game 6 of the Kings-Lakers series in 2002, or Game 7 of the Suns-Sonics series in 1993, or the infamous Hubert Davis Game in 1994. After Dwyane Wade and Miami received some Vince McMahon-level assistance in Games 3 and 4 of the 2006 Finals, I wrote an angry column about the "officiating crisis" (my words) that prompted Mavs owner Mark Cuban (tired of being fined) to post the link on his blog along with the sentence, "I never have to say a word again." After Dallas squandered that series, Cuban was so traumatized by the officiating that he nearly sold the Mavericks before family and friends talked him out of it.

For anyone who loves the NBA, the officiating has always been the proverbial "elephant in the room." No league has endured more jokes along the lines of "I'm not sure where the NBA ends and the WWE begins." Whether it's because of bad luck, poor training, measly pay or the thanklessness of the profession itself -- maybe it's all of those things -- the NBA employs a handful of good referees and an astonishing number of bad ones. In the playoffs, there never seems to be enough quality officials to go around. If that wasn't bad enough, the league displayed a nasty "habit" (note: I'm using quotation marks because you could never prove anything more than a series of coincidences) of assigning better referees if they needed road teams to prevail (like a marquee team trailing 2-1 and playing Game 4 on the road) and weaker referees if they needed home teams to prevail (because weak referees are more likely to have their calls prejudiced by a raucous home crowd). This "habit" was miraculously cured this past spring, one year after the fallout of the 2006 Finals, when the officiating assignments became noticeably more haphazard and we ended up with just one Game 7 in four rounds. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe not.

3 Questions about this mess ….

1. How big is this scandal?

The New York Daily News reported Sunday that federal authorities believe Donaghy will cooperate with investigators and possibly name other officials or players involved in the scandal. Stern has already come out publicly and said that Donaghy was the one and only referee under suspicion of affecting the outcome of games he officiated, but if the opposite is true and even more referees are involved, Stern's credibility will take another enormous hit. The Daily News said Donaghy has hired former federal prosecutor John Lauro, who specializes in representing whistleblowers, as his defense attorney.

2. When was the NBA informed that Donaghy was under investigation by the FBI?

The Denver Post reported Sunday that the answer to that question is January, which, if true, would mean the NBA allowed Donaghy to continue refereeing games, including playoff games, despite knowing he might be crooked. Who in the league office signed off on that?

3. What about all the red flags?

According to data compiled by Stats LLC and reported in the New York Post Donaghy led the NBA in technical fouls called, whistling 177 of them -- 20 more than anyone else. Donaghy also ranked fourth in blowing personal fouls; was third in ordering free-throws, and second for fouling-out players for the 2006-2007 season.

The NBA is meticulous in gathering data on its referees and the calls they make, and if it had a referee calling an inordinate number of technicals, you'd expect they'd speak to Donaghy about it, no?

Also, The Post reported that NBA officials knew that Donaghy was gambling on football and ordered him to stop.

Further, the New York Times reported Sunday that Donaghy refereed in 11 games after Jan. 1, 2007, in which the consensus Las Vegas line moved 2 points or more. The team on which bettors wagered heavily enough to move the line that far won 7 of those 11 games. On Jan. 15, the Philadelphia 76ers were originally favored to beat the Toronto Raptors by a point. Bets came in so heavily on the Raptors that they eventually were favored to win by a point instead. The Raptors won in a blowout, 104-86. Two nights later, so much money was bet on the Phoenix Suns against the Houston Rockets that the consensus Las Vegas line, which opened at the Suns favored by 4 ½ points, moved to 8 by tip-off. The Suns won by 9, 100-91.

I think we could all use more leg tattoos.

In yesterdays, Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, who was the cover story? Who was the feature?
Our Boy, Gabe Kapler …Click on the link and read the whole thing...

What's a former Red Sox cult hero - a married, laid-back, muscular, tattooed Jewish guy from California with a charity for domestic abuse victims - doing in the Carolina hills with a bus full of kids and their baseball gloves?

Dan McGraw has another go at Tom Hicks …

Anyone who is a baseball fan in this part of Texas knows the Rangers stink — and, aside from a few good teams in the late ’90s, have stunk for most of their history. This year’s last-place team is really just part of the pattern. What’s becoming clearer, however, is that it’s not an accidental pattern — but a part of owner Tom Hicks’ business plan.

A perpetually last-place team wouldn’t seem to make much sense in the regular business world, but the business of baseball in Arlington is quite different from the rest of the country, and Hicks has figured this one out.

Consider some basic facts about the Rangers: They are 21st in the league in payroll, and when you crunch the numbers and the odds, payroll has a great deal to do with winning. In the past 11 years, since major-league baseball went to the wild-card play-off format, 65 percent of the teams that made the play-offs were in the top third in payroll. And the numbers don’t lie when you move down the list: A quarter of the play-off teams came from the middle third in payroll terms, and just 10 percent from the cheapest-paying bottom third.

So Hicks is playing the odds here, but doing it from the bottom. Attendance for Rangers games is fairly constant whether they win or lose — about 2 to 2.5 million a year. When you look at it from Hicks’ perspective, it makes little sense to spend more money on better players for odds to win. Because he makes the same regardless.
Keep the payroll low, and you’re assured of a profit. That team also has a slight chance to move up and increase the profit numbers with higher attendance. Increasing the payroll would give the Rangers a better chance of winning, but there’s still a chance that the team could finish lower in the standings. So an increased payroll just risks the profit certainty, a proposition anyone in business would avoid.
Some have called for Hicks to sell the team, but I don’t think he will, at least not for three to five years. That’s because the Rangers are an important part of Hicks’ biggest investment, the Glorypark real estate deal surrounding the ballpark.

When Jerry Jones got Arlington voters to help pay for his new Cowboys stadium, the voters also gave Hicks a big present. Since the baseball stadium was built in 1994, there’s always been a plan to develop the 200 acres around it. But the risk was too great with just the baseball games to bring customers in. With the Cowboys next door, the acreage has become very hot, giving owners a better chance of making huge profits. Hicks is planning a $600 million mixed-use development — residential, entertainment, and offices — on 75 acres. The Arlington City Council recently approved a $135 million tax break for Hicks’ company to help pay for infrastructure.

But Hicks needs the Rangers for more than an anchor to bring people to Glorypark. The team is no rich man’s hobby — it’s his bread and butter. In fact, since they bring him about $11 million a year, you could say the Rangers are his cake and caviar, too. When he controlled the Hicks Muse Tate & Furst investment company, that was where his money came from. But bad investments by Hicks Muse forced Tom into early retirement, and his sports teams are now his basic paycheck providers.

Rob Tejeda cannot throw strikes …

Tejeda has 60 walks in 95 1/3 innings this season, third-most in the American League. That's eight walks behind AL leader Daniel Cabrera of Baltimore, who has pitched 37 more innings than Tejeda.

Tejeda has walked at least three batters in his last 13 starts and has averaged almost a walk per inning in that span.

On Sunday, Tejeda allowed five runs – three of them earned – in five innings. He walked a batter in four of his five innings but managed to pitch out of jams in the first and third. But a walk and an error by third baseman Travis Metcalf hurt Tejeda in the fourth as the Indians scored two runs on a two-out single to take the lead. Tejeda walked Jhonny Peralta with one out in the fifth. Peralta ended up scoring the third and final run of the inning on another two-out single.

"Right now, it's difficult out there," Tejeda said. "I was a little more aggressive, but I keep walking batters so that's what's hurting me right now, the walks. I need to stop that."

Tejeda is 2-7 with an 8.33 ERA and 50 walks (in 58 1/3 innings) in his last 13 outings. The walks have kept Tejeda's pitch count up, preventing him from lasting six innings. He's done that only once in his last 13 starts. The walks have obviously forced Tejeda to pitch with runners on base. He was third in the American League among starters in base runners per nine innings coming into Sunday's game. Vicente Padilla still leads the league in that category.

What bothers Tejeda most is that he hasn't won since June 8, a span of seven starts. In that stretch, the stats don't look any better. He's averaging about 4 1/3 innings per outing and has issued 30 walks.

But Tejeda isn't the only Rangers starter that's walking too many batters these days. Texas starters walked 18 batters in losing three of four to the Indians.

Jamey Newberg writes about the Michael Young trade with Toronto from back in the day …

Bringing the room down with this tragic story: Coach Dies in Texas League …

A minor league baseball coach died after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach's box during a game, police said.

Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh, 35, was hit during the ninth inning Sunday by a foul ball off the bat of Tino Sanchez of the Arkansas Travelers. He was taken to Baptist Medical Center-North Little Rock, where he was pronounced dead.

The Texas League game was suspended after Coolbaugh was struck.

"It's a tragedy for all of baseball," Drillers president Chuck Lamson told the Tulsa World in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site early Monday. "He just joined the staff and was a former Driller player. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."

Travelers spokesman Phil Elson said Coolbaugh was hit on the right side of his head or on the forehead -- "I'm getting conflicting reports," he said -- and fell to the ground immediately.

According to a report on the Drillers' Web site late Sunday, Coolbaugh was knocked unconscious and CPR was administered to him on the field.

Sgt. Terry Kuykendall, spokesman for North Little Rock police, said Coolbaugh was still alive when he was put in an ambulance, but stopped breathing as the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

"They tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m.," Kuykendall said.

Coolbaugh played 44 games in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers over two seasons. The Drillers' Web site said Coolbaugh joined the Tulsa staff on July 3 as a batting coach. He played for the team briefly in 1996.
Tulsa is the Colorado Rockies' Double-A affiliate.

Preseason All Big-12 Team is voted upon …

WR Limas Sweed Texas 6-5 219 Sr
QB Colt McCoy Texas 6-3 205 So.
RB Jamaal Charles Texas 6-1 200 Jr.
RB Mike Goodson Texas A&M 6-0 197 So.

Aggies have tough schedule …Fran speaks bravely in July…

"I'm excited about this season because I'm fired up about these kids, these guys," Franchione said. "They're all mine. It's taken us awhile to get to this point. We really have a group that likes each other and enjoys being around each other. And they're a team.

"We've got some talent, we've got some belief."

But will that be enough when A&M goes to places like Lubbock, Lincoln, Norman and Columbia. Four of A&M's final six games are on the road.

The Aggies haven't won at Oklahoma since 1997. They haven't won at Texas Tech since 1993. And don't forget, A&M has beaten Nebraska only twice since 1955.

In addition to the Big 12 road tests, the Aggies face a Thursday night clash at Miami in September.

"I think people don't know how we can match up with that road schedule, for sure,"
Franchione said.

At least one former coach believes a special season is possible.

"It's hard to know what kind of football team you have until the middle of the year," said Gene Stallings, former A&M coach and now a school regent. "If A&M can stay healthy and their quarterback can compete on the level he can compete on, I think they're very capable of having an outstanding year."

Ali and Curtis Conway? …

Boxing champ and Dancing with the Stars finalist Laila Ali wed retired NFL star Curtis Conway in L.A. on Sunday, Ali's rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Among the 200 guests were Laila's parents, Muhammad Ali and Veronica Porsche Anderson, along with her sister Hana Ali, who was a bridesmaid. Conway's twin sons, Kelton and Cameron, 12, were the ringbearers while his daughter Leilani, 8, stepped in as the flowergirl.

For her big day – which Ali planned while competing on Dancing with the Stars this past spring – "I don't want a big poufy dress," Ali told PEOPLE in April. Instead, the bride, 29, opted for a knockout champagne-colored silk charmeuse strapless mermaid gown by Amy Michelson.

"Laila's approach to the wedding was simple but elegant," says wedding coordinator Juliet Ryan. "There were no lions and tigers and bears. It was about the love."

The pair met two years ago when Conway hosted a small get together at his house, which Ali attended with a friend. Conway, 36, then popped the question last Thanksgiving.

"People think she dominates the relationship," Conway told PEOPLE in May, "but she's a sweetie pie."

A few pieces of email:

Bob

Since you were discussing documentaries I thought I would send you a clip
Dallas Diamonds Highlight Film …

This is a short (3 minute or so) highlight compilation of Dallas Diamonds highlights (Women’s football) set to an original rap song.

If you don’t feel it was a complete waste of time, maybe you can give it a little love during a segment The new season is fast approaching and the team is still looking for potential spectators and sponsors

Let me know
Thanks,
Stay BaD!
Mikal, formerly of the real little mavericks (aka UTA), presently of the brothers’ black
----


Sturm,

I know you are out of town right and probably not answering email, but if you do get this email, can you please link me from your blog?

I know you probably get requests like this all the time, but I am desperately in need of readership and my blog is a DFW sports blog with a bunch of other random commentary. I may not have a ton of readers but we have the blog up and running since 2004 so getting a link from your blog would do wonders to my motivation to keep it going.

I have listened to the ticket since it came on the air and your show is definitely the best on the station right now. Please give me motivation to keep my blog going and you won't regret the decision.

Gracias,

Chris Trampe

LINK

Idiots guide to sports …

First Michael Vick, Now this – Bad Week for Dogs.




Taser Fun

Uh-Oh

This piece of breaking news could mean all sorts of things:

FBI uncovers referee game fixing? …

The FBI is reportedly investigating an NBA referee who was allegedly betting on basketball games, including games he worked in the past two seasons.
The New York Post first reported Friday that the year-long investigation is focusing on allegations that the referee bet on games and was making calls that affected the point spread on games. The newspaper reported that according to sources, an arrest of the referee was imminent and that NBA Commissioner David Stern is aware of the investigation.

According to the Post, the referee's name was withheld.

The the head of the referees union said it was aware of the probe, Bloomberg News reported.

"These accusations, if true, are extremely serious and we have been in discussions with the NBA regarding this matter,'' Lamell McMorris, head of the NBA Referees Association, told Bloomberg News. "In light of the fact that this is an ongoing federal criminal investigation, we have nothing further to say at this time."

Bloomberg reported that an NBA spokesman and league executive Stu Jackson, who oversees referees, phone messages seeking comment Friday morning. The Post reported that the FBI declined comment on the investigation.

Teixeira’s last homestand ? …

Privately, Teixeira has been seeking an exit from Arlington for some time. He made it public with his recent criticism of the organization.

There is simply no way he is going to sign with Texas when he becomes a free agent after the 2008 season. But he should have solid market value now because a trading team gets his services for a season and a half.

Plus if that team fails to re-sign him after 2008, they would be eligible to receive two draft picks, so it's reasonable to think that a team would part with a legitimate player and a couple of top prospects for Teixeira.

That has to be priority No. 1.

Although Daniels has been criticized for expecting too much in return, he said before Thursday's game that he has kept some of the more laughable offers he's received from being made public.

"I'm taking the high road," he said.

Getting something for Sosa or Lofton ranks farther down the list than moving Teixeira. There's something kind of fun about seeing Sosa winding down his career with the team that initially signed him.

But if there is a market out there for a guy who's going to drive in more than 100 runs even while having an on-base percentage below .300, Daniels has to tap into that, too.

I'm less enthusiastic about dumping Lofton, even if he doesn't exactly cover center field the way he did in Cleveland a decade ago. He's still getting on base at the top of the order and swiping bases, and I can see him doing that next year, when the team hopes to be competitive again.

The calls I hope Daniels isn't taking are the ones from teams seeking bullpen help.
Otsuka was pretty much eliminated from trade consideration when he was placed on the disabled list Thursday. He has been shut down with a forearm injury and probably won't pitch again until around the deadline.

You don't trade a pitcher of his caliber when his trade value has sunk.

And Gagne also should be a keeper. Once a regular All-Star as a Dodger, Gagne has battled back from injury to be an efficient closer. He has 14 saves, a 1.23 ERA, a .157 opponents' batting average.

Gagne also has quietly expressed a willingness to give the Rangers a home team discount to re-sign here after this season.

Neither of these guys are kids. Gagne is 31, and Otsuka is 35.

But the one "must" for the Rangers if they are ever to return as division champions
is a deep bullpen.

The heat and the Ballpark's characteristics make it virtually impossible for this team ever to have a great rotation. But it can have a great bullpen, and a healthy Gagne and Otsuka can provide exactly that.

What they're doing for a team that is 15 games out of first place doesn't matter so much as what they could do for it in 2008.

Loe returns to Loe standards …Rangers lose…

The Rangers' offense had no problem figuring out Cleveland Cy Young candidate C.C.
Sabathia on Thursday night.

Unfortunately for Texas, the Indians had an even easier time against Rangers right-hander Kameron Loe.

Loe went six innings Thursday -- 3 1/3 more than he lasted in a start against the Los Angeles Angels last week -- but surrendered six earned runs as the Indians pulled away for a 7-5 victory.

Texas' offense battered Sabathia, the big Cleveland left-hander, for nine hits in his six innings and touched him for four runs, but it couldn't muster the knockout blow.

"All you can do is put the ball in play," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "You can't guide them. We put them in play pretty good tonight.

"I thought we attacked Sabathia pretty well, but they kept coming. We could have used some luck tonight."

The Rangers' offense bailed Loe (5-8) out after he gave up a four-run second inning by scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning and another in the fourth to tie the score.

But the fourth inning came to an abrupt end when Kenny Lofton lined a bases-loaded grounder that second baseman Josh Barfield speared to start a double play.

Loe ran into trouble again in the fifth inning, facing eight batters, but the Rangers couldn't answer.

All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore opened the inning by putting a Loe offering into the stands in right-center.

Ryan Garko brought in another run on a fielder's choice grounder to make it 6-4.

Mavericks are saved from themselves; Steve Francis signs with Houston …

Things remain quiet for the Dallas Mavericks during free agency as guard Steve Francis on Thursday decided to return to the Houston Rockets, his agent said.
Agent Jeff Fried said Francis agreed to a short-term deal with the Rockets over the Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat because of his comfort level with the franchise and the city.

"The West just got tougher," Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson said. "We've got two pretty good point guards. We just didn't have the playing time to accommodate him."

Francis played the first five years of his career with the Rockets, including three All-Star seasons. Fried said other teams offered more money, but Francis has considered Houston his home since he entered the NBA in 1999.

Francis, who has averaged 18.4 points during his eight-year career, spent the last three seasons with Orlando and New York. He averaged a career-low 11.3 points per game for the Knicks last season.

He became a free agent after Portland bought out the final two years of his contract for $30 million after acquiring him in a draft-night trade with the Knicks.

MLS All-Stars beat European bully for 3rd straight year …Toja scores…

It's the overall quality of play that figures to make or break this league, as soccer aficionados decide whether to pay attention and top soccer players decide whether they want to forgo established leagues around the world to play at places like Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City.

A crowd of 18,661 saw the MLS boys put on a pretty good show against Celtic FC, which is still working its way into form but is, nevertheless, the two-time defending champs of the Scottish Premier League.

"We've come a long ways in 11 years," said MLS coach Steve Nicol of the New England Revolution. "We've really reached a point where we're ready to take that extra step. I think it's great when players like Juan, David and some of these other guys coming in. It's going to be a great example of the professionalism that Juan shows, all the young guys in the game are going to get better."

In the 36th minute, Angel scored his goal after taking a pass from Dwayne De Rosario, switching feet as goalie Artur Boruc rushed him, then tapping the ball to the back of the net with his left foot.

Later in the first half, a free kick led to a scramble, and Juan Toja – also from Colombia and also joining the MLS from overseas this year – came up with the ball and converted a wide-open look to make it 2-0.

Boruc made a pair of point-blank saves in the first half and turned away Eddie Johnson's penalty kick to keep the game from getting further out of hand. Johnson and De Rosario spent much of the night distributing in the Celtic end. MLS finished with 13 shots, eight of them on goal, while Celtic had only five and two.

This marked the third straight year that MLS' best has beaten a team from overseas in its All-Star Game, a point that certainly won't get lost among commissioner Don Garber and the rest of the league brass as they pitch the quality of their product.
The Celtic guys certainly were impressed.

"Excellent. I think they've done their homework," coach Gordon Strachan said.

Beckham out for Saturday, most likely …

Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas insists the club will not take any chances with David Beckham's fitness after the former England skipper admitted he is unlikely to start against Chelsea tomorrow.

Beckham has been in a race against time to make his Galaxy debut in a friendly against Chelsea as he looks to recover from an ankle injury.

The 32-year-old was in Denver, Colorado, last night as a guest of Major League Soccer for the MLS All-Star Game against Celtic where he gave a live interview at Dick's Sporting Goods Park to match broadcasters ESPN Television.

Beckham said: 'I've been having a lot of treatment but at the moment it doesn't look good, I'm afraid. The swelling's still there.

'I'm here for five years, I'm not here just for the game on Saturday. It's great that Chelsea are here with great players and a great manager but it's more important for me personally that my ankle's right.

'Maybe I will play some part towards the end of the game if it's all right but we'll see.'

Now Lalas has moved to insist the club will not take any risk with Beckham's well-being.

He said: 'We are not going to risk it if we believe the amount of time that he does or does not play is going to affect him further on down the line.

'It's a big game, it's an important game, but guess what? There is going to be another one next week and another one the following week.'

In other news, during the pregame show for the MLS All-Star game (yes, I watched that, too) rumors were swirling about a few new internationals joining Beckham in MLS.

The man linked with FC Dallas is the great ball magician Denilson …

Denílson broke the record when Real Betis paid São Paulo €32 million (UK £21.9 million or US $40.5 million) for his services. Denílson had been with São Paulo since 1995. In 1999/2000 he went on a brief loan to Flamengo. After becoming a World Cup winner in 2002, Real Betis sold the Brazilian in 2005 to French club Bordeaux for an undisclosed amount.

Despite a slow start at Bordeaux, Denilson managed to find his form in the second part of the season, but his excessively high wage demands prevented the french club from extending his contract. His contract expired in 2006, and he had been linked with free transfers to Tottenham Hotspur, Vestel Manisaspor and Celtic. Even with UEFA Champions League football next season, Bordeaux struggled to match the winger's wage demands, and he left to sign for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nasr. Current rumours strongly link him with a move to Major League Soccer, with FC Dallas appearing to be the favourites to get his signature, despite some late interest by Argentinian side Newell's Old Boys.

Denilson



Big 12 Football Media Vote says Longhorns …

Oklahoma has quarterback questions, and Texas A&M has a daunting road schedule this fall. So reporters who cover the Big 12 picked Texas to win the South this season in the preseason media poll.

Missouri, led by former Southlake Carroll quarterback Chase Daniel, was picked to win the North division for the first time, according to the league office.

The predictions were unveiled just before all 12 coaches and the media converge in San Antonio for Big 12 media days. The annual event, which kicks off the season, runs Monday through Wednesday at the Wyndham St. Anthony Hotel.

The last time the Longhorns were the preseason favorites was 2005, the year they won the national title. UT has 13 starters back from a squad that finished 10-3 last year and beat Iowa in the Alamo Bowl.

Texas had 16 first-place votes, Oklahoma had seven and A&M received one.

Nebraska has been the preseason North favorite most years since the Big 12 started in 1996. Missouri was picked dead last that year. Now the Tigers are on top after finishing 8-5 last year, which included a loss to Oregon State in the Brut Sun Bowl.

Nike halts the new Vick shoe …

Nike has a new statement out, which I have just received. They are suspending the release of the Vick V shoe, which was scheduled to be in stores on Aug. 23.

Here is the text:

"Nike is concerned by the serious and highly disturbing allegations made against Michael Vick and we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane and abhorrent. We do believe that Michael Vick should be afforded the same due process as any citizen; therefore, we have not terminated our relationship. We have however made the decision to suspend the release of the Zoom Vick V and related marketing communications. Nike will continue to monitor the situation closely and have no further comment at this time."

While I originally thought that Nike could still come out with this shoe quietly, after a day full of news and reaction, I realize that this is the right decision. They have to do this. And I'm sure there won't be one retailer that will be upset with Nike's judgement.

Update: The decision to suspend the launch of Michael Vick's new training shoe was a no-brainer. Sources tell me that, if the shoe never comes out, Nike will lose less than $1.5 million. Assuming Nike sells the shoes to retailers for half of the retail price ($100), that would mean that there are about 30,000 pairs of shoes that were prepared to hit the shelves. Vick's training shoes are made in fewer numbers than the Vick cleats, which are already on the market and will stay on the market.

Kobayashi and his Guns



Millennium Falcon with Legos

Dan Campbell is Awesome...and other stuff

Good Morning. Watching Tiger put up his 69 this morning has put the blog a bit behind schedule. But, please note a few items off the top:

#1 – If you missed Dan Campbell yesterday on the show, I think you missed quite a bit. But, the powers at the Ticket have podcasted a pretty good 7 or 8 minutes Here … I sure wish we could still do a weekly show with him. He is as good as it gets…

#2 - Here is where we are doing our show today …assist for Todd Davis…

If you're in the area, there's a chance to see Rangers pitchers Brandon McCarthy and C.J. Wilson and outfielder Marlon Byrd at the Rangers' Dallas store from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. The store is in the heart of Uptown at 2222 McKinney Avenue. The event goes until 3 p.m. with other baseball-related activities, but the autographs end at 1:30 p.m. The guys have to play that night.

Feature on Eugene Lockhart …

Eugene Lockhart made an interesting return to Texas Stadium on Sunday.

The former Dallas Cowboys linebacker, who was an All Pro in 1989-90 and still holds the team record for most tackles in a season with 222, set up a tent and has been living on the field for more than three days.

Lockhart is spending 24 hours a day in Texas Stadium during his "Laying it on the Line" campaign for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas. He'll be living there until he raises $500,000, which is enough to put 500 children in the BBBS program.

To keep track of his progress, Lockhart started with his tent at one goal line and is moving it 10 yards for every $50,000 donated. He was at midfield Wednesday.
After finishing his NFL career in 1992 with the New England Patriots, Lockhart moved to Dallas where, among other things, he's studied at the Southern Bible Institute.
"God has always been at the center of my life, even though I haven't always made the best decisions," Lockhart said. "I know the way, and I know success comes when you make God a part of your life."

I wanted to do something totally different and have fun. I prayed about what I could do to help, and God gave me a vision. It's not my project. It's God's project. One of the main things I wanted to do with this was bring a great deal of attention to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

Think about this. Remember Columbine? Or Virginia Tech? Imagine those kids. Imagine the bad decisions they made before that, when they were 14 or 15 years old. Imagine that's your child that got shot. Now who's to blame? I think Colin Powell said it best [at the 2000 Republican national convention]: We either build our children, or we build more jails.

What will Roger Goodell do with Mike Vick? ….

The Vick case will be the most significant test yet for the NFL under Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has pledged a crackdown to make players and teams more accountable for off-field transgressions.

The league said in a statement that "all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts." In a separate statement, the Falcons said they "plan to do the right thing for our club as the legal process plays out."

But in at least in one recent instance, the league suspended a player before his case made it through court. Tennessee Titans defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones, suspended in April, had at least 10 run-ins with police in his first year in the league.

Vick and his alleged business partners — Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Va., Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach and Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta — all were ordered Wednesday to appear for a bond hearing and then arraignment July 26. That's the same day the Falcons are scheduled to open training camp.

But reaction to Vick's indictment, and the graphic allegations of how the animals were treated, has been swift and severe — from inside and outside pro football.

"This is going to be a significant blemish on the NFL, no matter what," David Cornwell, a former assistant general counsel for the league, said Wednesday.

The Atlanta-based attorney added that there was nothing the league's new boss "can say or do that's going to make this go away from an image perspective. I just don't believe in degrees of bad — when it's bad it's bad. And this is bad."

Harry Edwards, a longtime NFL consultant and sociology professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, said, "The Atlanta Falcons and the NFL are going to be confronted with a heck of a decision to make as they enter the season. At what point does the message, image and marketability of the game come into play irrespective of any outcome of a trial?

"What happens when you get literally millions of people who say 'Hanging, shooting and electrocuting of dogs? And we're going to cheer for this guy? We're going to buy shoes from this guy?'

"It's not going to be good enough to say, 'I'm going to go out on the field and do my job as a football player and let my attorney handle it.' "

Meanwhile, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and civil rights activist Al Sharpton were teaming up with officials from PETA on a joint letter sent to the Falcons, NFL and Vick's corporate sponsors, urging them to "stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong."

The letter read, in part, "dogfighting is unacceptable. Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain is despicable. Cruelty is just plain wrong."

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said, "anyone capable of forcing dogs to fight to the death should be kept away from all vulnerable forms of life, particularly children and animals."

The indictment identifies Vick as a key player in an operation that dated to 2001, just before his rookie season with the Falcons. Listed are at least 30 fights that Vick or other members of the kennel arranged or participated in, including details such as the names of the dogs and the amount of money — often thousands of dollars — awarded to the owners of the winners of matches that were frequently fought to the death.

No Steve Francis? Too Bad …

Within 48 hours, and possibly sooner, Steve Francis will sign with his next team.
Odds that it's the Mavericks are low.

Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, on Wednesday said the veteran point guard is still considering the Mavs, Houston, Miami and Los Angeles Clippers. Of those four teams, the Heat and Clippers need the most help at that position.

As far as the Mavs taking on the former All-Star who played his first five seasons in Houston, one NBA source said that Francis would likely sign elsewhere.

Francis cleared waivers Wednesday and can officially sign a new deal. Portland bought out the remaining two years of his contract for $30 million last week, so Francis is shopping for the best fit as opposed to the best financial deal.

"The best fit for team success," Fried said. "And where Steve can be a meaningful player."

Mavs coach Avery Johnson has said he plans to give Devin Harris greater
responsibility at point guard, and Jason Terry also plays the position. Also, J.J. Barea, who has played well for the Mavs' summer league team, could have his contract extended for next season.

Pietrus likes Mavs

Golden State restricted free agent Mickael Pietrus has an interest in joining the Mavs, a deal that would likely require a sign-and-trade deal, his agent, Happy Walters, said.

Walters said the Mavs are one of four teams in discussions about the 6-foot-6 swingman, who has spent all four years of his career with the Warriors.

He's seeking the full mid-level exception of $5.36 million, Walters said. Cleveland and Miami are also reportedly interested.

Because Pietrus is a restricted free agent, the Warriors can match any offer. He made $2.5 million last season while averaging 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 26.9 minutes a game.

The Mavs have the mid-level exception, plus a $1.83 biannual exception to use.

In British Open News, Gary Player thinks Golf has Steroid issue …

Gary Player put steroids at the forefront of the British Open on Wednesday, saying golf has its head buried in a bunker if it thinks the sport is clean and he knows of one player using performance-enhancing drugs.

The nine-time major champion urged golf organizations to start random testing.

"It's absolutely essential that we do that," Player said at Carnoustie, where he won the British Open in 1968. "We're dreaming if we think it's not going to come into golf."

Player says it already has.

"Whether it's HGH, whether it's Creatine or whether it's steroids, I know for a fact that some golfers are doing it," he said.

Asked how he knew for certain, he said one golfer told him.

"I took an oath prior to him telling me -- I won't tell you where -- but he told me what he did, and I could see this massive change in him," Player said. "And somebody else told me something, that I also promised I wouldn't tell, that verified others had done it."

The cryptic accusation put the Royal & Ancient Golf Club on the defensive over why it does not have drug testing at the British Open, with chief executive Peter Dawson being asked whether he was concerned that its winner could be using steroids.

"I don't know if Gary Player is right about golfers being on drugs, frankly, so I really can't comment," Dawson said. "One thing I do know is that we're not drug testing here at the Open championship this week, so just how that would be identified, I'm not sure."

Jason Botts is on the DL …

Any possible big league promotion for Oklahoma's Jason Botts has been put on hold for at least a week.

Botts, who turns 27 on July 26, was placed on the seven-day DL with a lacerated finger Wednesday. He suffered the injury when a fly ball glanced off his right ring finger, tearing up the nail and fracturing the tip of the finger.

"The worst news is the doctors said my nail will either grow back kind of deformed or not at all," Botts wrote in a text message. "It kind of ruins my dream of being a hand model."

Botts has had to put the George Costanza-type fantasy on hold because he's been obliterating Pacific Coast League pitching. He had been hitting .361 with a .481 on-base percentage since May 1. In that 71-game span, he had 12 homers and 60 RBIs. He ranks in the top 10 in the PCL in batting average (.319, 10th), on-base percentage (.436, first) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.989, third).

The Rangers would like to bring Botts to the majors as soon as possible, but he is blocked by Sammy Sosa at DH. The Rangers have been trying to deal Sosa but haven't received much interest. If that doesn't pick up as the team gets closer to the July 31 trade deadline, the Rangers could also entertain the possibility of benching Sosa or releasing him.

Stars sign 2006 First Rounder …

Defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy, Dallas' first round pick in 2006, has signed a three-year entry level contract with the Stars. Vishnevskiy, 19, played last season for Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and under the rules of transfer the NHL has with that league, must make the Stars roster this season or return to his junior league team.

Vishnevskiy will be paid his signing bonus, but the three-year contract will not start until he can play at the NHL or AHL level – likely next season.

Vishnevskiy had 14 goals among 51 points in 60 games last season. He also added five goals among 13 points in 18 playoff games.

What NHL Free Agents are left? …

• Eric Lindros (age 34): Once touted as "The Next One," Lindros has had a controversial and concussion-plagued career that is now at a standstill. Who will take a chance on Big E? The Stars tried last offseason. The experiment started off well as the veteran posted 12 points in his first 14 games in Dallas, but lower-body injuries limited him to 49 games. In the two seasons before 2006-07, Lindros didn't reach 40 games in either campaign. Whichever team takes the plunge, it's going to be a gamble.

• Alexei Yashin (33): After the Islanders decided to buy out the remaining four years of the center's 10-year deal, Yashin hit the market. His best season in New York was his first with the club in 2001-02, when he scored 32 goals and had 43 assists in 78 games. Yashin has been nicknamed "Alexei Cashin" by some media types, and the veteran's reps have stated that he won't go for a bargain deal. That might be why he's still on the market.

• Michael Peca (33): And to think just over a year ago Peca was one win from the Stanley Cup. But the center left Edmonton for Toronto for 2006-07 and spent most of the season on the bench after suffering a broken leg in late December. But is Peca on the permanent decline? After seven straight 40-plus point seasons, he had just nine goals and 14 assists in 71 games for the Oilers in 2005-06 (he added 11 points in 24 playoff games).

• Anson Carter (33): Remember when Mr. Carter had that great season in 2005-06 playing on that great line with twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin? Well, the winger left Vancouver last offseason, signing on with … Columbus. That must have been fun. He posted 10 goals and 17 assists in 54 games with the Blue Jackets before being traded to Carolina (for a fifth-round pick in the 2008 draft, no less) just before the trade deadline.

• Chris Simon (35): Despite his good history with Islanders coach Ted Nolan, Simon is still on the market as GM Garth Snow hasn't yet brought the forward back. There's a lot of controversy surrounding Simon, from his alleged racial comments toward Mike Grier to his two-handed whack on the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg this past season.

• Curtis Joseph (40): The goalie wanted another go in Phoenix, but Wayne Gretzky & Co. are going another route. Joseph went 18-31-2 and had a 3.19 goals-against average in 55 games in 2006-07. He still could be a nice backup for needy teams.

• Ed Belfour (42): Belfour posted a strong 27-17-10 record in his one season with the Panthers, but Florida signed Tomas Vokoun in the offseason, all but ending the Eagle's tenure in South Florida. He showed he can still play, but he also showed his propensity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time (he was arrested after an altercation at a bar after the Panthers' season ended).

• Other free agents of note: Dmitry Afanasenkov, Tony Amonte, Denis Arkhipov, Arron Asham, Bryan Berard, Peter Bondra, Patrice Brisebois, Jan Bulis, Nils Ekman, Jeff Friesen, Martin Gelinas, Travis Green, Adam Hall, Mike Johnson, Petr Nedved, Ville Nieminen, Janne Niinimaa, Jeff O'Neill, Ronald Petrovicky, Nolan Pratt, Brent Sopel, Patrik Stefan, Andy Sutton, David Tanabe and Josef Vasicek.

Tonight: The MLS All-Star Game …

Time and place: Thursday, 8 p.m. on ESPN2 at Dick's Sporting Good Park in Commerce City, Colo.

Maybe Major League Soccer should have rented space in the Colorado Rockies' baseball humidor before Thursday's All-Star Game, which pits the MLS All-Stars against legendary Scottish team Celtic.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, accustomed to much soggier conditions at sea level, compared trying to control a ball in the dry, windy conditions at Colorado's mile-high altitude to "playing ping-pong outside in the wind."

"We'd love to give them a good exhibition of how the game is really played," Strachan said of the sold-out crowd expected to attend Dick's Sporting Goods Park, "but it's a bit like asking Tiger Woods to play with these (plastic) golf balls you give to kids for practice."

Whatever the ball's flight, the game will give U.S. fans a glimpse of one of soccer's oldest (Celtic was founded in 1888) and most storied teams, and it will give the MLS All-Stars another chance to prove they can pass a world-class test.
"You don't learn by playing in a wee bubble amongst everybody all the time," All-Star coach Steve Nicol of the New England Revolution said. "You have to kind of get out or get people in. That's what MLS is trying to do."

In last year's game, the MLS All-Stars beat top English club Chelsea 1-0. In 2005, they posted a 4-1 victory vs. Fulham of the English Premier League.

Last Night, I did my police ride-along with some good Dallas cops. On the ride, I was shown the fine golf course that hosted the 1927 PGA Championship. I am sure all of you golf and Oak Cliff enthusiasts know all about Cedar Crest Golf Course, but I didn’t.

But now, I will need to play it …

Since he was on the show yesterday, here is Tony Brackens and his hit on the Texas Tech Kicker




Brackens hits Druckenmiller; Westbrook pounds Va Tech RB



And just to continue the Longhorn theme....

Wednesday Sports Blog

How would you like to have Michael Vick as your franchise QB?

Len Pasquarelli on the indictments coming down yesterday …

Still, whether it was natural arrogance or the misperception he was beyond the reach of the investigation, Vick was blindsided by Tuesday's news, as was his coterie of advisors. Only 10 minutes before the news of the indictments broke, we were on the phone with a Vick confidant who didn't know what was to transpire. "This is going to be a test for Michael, that's for sure," the person acknowledged later in the evening.

But not only for Vick.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank, still out of the country Tuesday, faces a test of loyalty. Vick has been at times like a surrogate son to Blank, who has been often criticized locally for what is perceived as preferential treatment of his quarterback. But there came a point, perhaps when Blank awarded Vick a record $130 million, when the tenor of the relationship changed. Blank is all about image and, more than the dollar sign attached to Vick, it is the stigma his star could
potentially carry that may concern him most.

Goodell certainly faces a litmus test, given the sanctions he has already levied against players such as Tennessee cornerback Pacman Jones, Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Henry and former Chicago defensive tackle Tank Johnson. It should be pointed out, however, that, unlike the players suspended by Goodell to this point, Vick is not a repeat offender in the eyes of the NFL. His actions at times have been offensive, but have never earned him a demerit under Goodell's stewardship. So the Tuesday indictments, in and of themselves, may not be grounds for action by the commissioner.

That said, Goodell will be under intense pressure from many quarters, given the unsavory nature of the charges, to do something. It's hard to fathom that a player who has been a poster boy of sorts for the NFL, certainly the face of professional football in this city, might now be rendered the subject of a mug shot.

But make no mistake, guilty or not, Vick is a marked man in the eyes of many. Already the most polarizing sports personality in the city, sometimes along racial lines, he figures to be a divisive figure and an easy target even at homes games now. The notion of dogfighting stirs repulsive passion even in those who don't carry a PETA or Humane Society membership card around. The electrifying Vick is soon to be zapped by the catcalls of those who have already made up their minds about him.

His arduous offseason issues aside, the 2007 season figured to be a tough test for Vick, who will be playing for a new, more demanding coach and in a new offense in which the standard is a 65 percent completion rate. That's a lot to heap on a guy who has yet to evolve into a complete quarterback, who doesn't handle change well, and who owns a career completion mark of less than 55 percent.

But all of those elements combined don't equal the kind of pressure Vick will now confront under the scrutiny of federal officials and fans who believe the legal authorities unearthed more than just dog carcasses as part of their investigation.
Able to stay above the fight to this point, Vick is suddenly at the center of it, and he will be battling not only for his career but also for his reputation.

John Clayton has more …

The Falcons put all of their hopes for 2007 in the hands of Michael Vick. Despite Tuesday's indictment of Vick in a Virginia dogfighting probe, the Falcons have no choice but to stand by him. The reason: Atlanta traded Vick's possible replacement, Matt Schaub, to Houston. At the time, it seemed to be the wise thing, and an indictment doesn't necessarily make that situation any different.

Owner Arthur Blank hired Bobby Petrino to make Vick a better quarterback. The owner believes Petrino's imaginative college style could be creative enough to make Vick a more accomplished thrower. Vick's dedication in spending extra time working at the team facility this offseason gave Blank hope that his plan was correct.

The problem facing Vick and the Falcons now is the case, which could consume most of the season, and could bring down the team. Blank must presume Vick is innocent and let the legal process take its course. Commissioner Roger Goodell must do the same. Vick must be treated as a first-time offender in the league's new conduct policy, so he must be found guilty or admit guilt before the commissioner can suspend him.
While standing by Vick appears to be the short-term solution, there should be no doubt 2007 is the beginning of the end of the Vick era in Atlanta. Blank is a businessman who espouses high principles. Vick is the face of the franchise and a sports icon in the Southeast. Whether he's guilty or innocent, Vick would have to prove the federal government made a major mistake in indicting him to salvage his reputation throughout the area.

Cases such as these are hard to prove. Nevertheless, whatever evidence is presented against Vick is going to cause permanent damage. Dogfighting is an illegal and disgusting sport. A sports star can't be linked to such activity. Watch how fast sponsors and advertisers bail on Vick now.

From the football side, though, Petrino and Blank must let Vick report to training camp and be the starter for this season. Joey Harrington is the backup. While Harrington did some good things in resurrecting his career in Miami, he is not going to make the Falcons a playoff team, and Blank and Petrino aren't going to accept anything less than a playoff trip.

With the indictment hanging over him, though, Vick can't go into seclusion. He'll be asked questions about the case at every news conference. For now, the 2007 season belongs to Vick. But one gets the feeling it's going to be an ugly ending to an era in Atlanta sports that started with so much promise.

Rangers Win Again …I am not joking. They just keep winning!

The Rangers are climbing out of the cellar on the backs of the Athletics.
After Texas' 11-4 whipping of Oakland on Tuesday night, just 2 1/2 games separate the two teams in the American League West standings going into today’s third and final game of the series at McAfee Coliseum.

Tuesday, the Rangers pounded out 15 hits -- five of them by Michael Young, who also drove in three runs -- and took advantage of eight walks issued by the A's and two Oakland errors.

“We did a lot of everything tonight,” said Mark Teixeira, who reached base five times on four walks and a hit by pitch. “We got some big hits when we needed to. They helped us out, definitely -- they walked too many guys and didn’t make some plays, but we capitalized.”

Young was the most conspicuous member of an offense that seemed to generate base runners at will Tuesday night. He doubled twice, giving him three extra-base hits in two nights after he went a month without one.

“I like to get as many hits as I can obviously, but the fact that it came in a win where everybody really contributed is the most important thing,” Young said.

The Rangers have won 18 of their last 28 games, and the A's have lost nine in a row. Young and Teixeira both said they wouldn't take any special satisfaction in moving into third place.

“I'm pretty sure if you ask the A's, 'How does it feel to be in third?'” Young said, “they're probably not very happy about it. I'm not going to say we're going to take any joy in being in any spot other than first, and I'm pretty sure all four teams in the division feel that way.”

Dumbest premise for a column all day? Try this one:
Chicago Columnist is down on Cuban buying the team because he is a Pirates fan? …And then compares the Pirates-Cubs rivalry to Packers-Bears? Wow. I am embarrassed for him.

Next season, if Cuban really does own this team, Kendall could be one of the few Cubs he could name.

Do you fans still believe Cuban is your man? The same Cuban who on July 15, 2005, said: "It absolutely killed me to sing 'root, root, root for the Cubbies.' I asked the broadcasters if anybody had ever put in the other team."

Of more than 22,000 readers who voted in a Tribune online poll, roughly 75 percent said this is the guy they would like to buy the Cubs next.

A guy whose favorite team is a rival team in the Cubs' own division.

"I am a huge Pirates fan," Cuban told reporters after leaving the TV booth at Wrigley that day. "I'm a Pittsburgh fan."

Len Kasper was one of the Cubs' broadcasters at that game. He can't recall Cuban saying any of this.

"I just remember that he was a great guest," Kasper said before Monday's game at Wrigley.

Ron Santo, as die-hard a Cubs fan as you can find, was asked if he cares if the Cubs are sold to someone who doesn't care about the Cubs.

"No," Santo said. "My feelings on this are very simple. The commissioner, Bud Selig, is the best I've ever seen. He knows how important the Cubbies are. There are going to be quite a few bids on this ballclub, and he'll make the right decision."

Suppose the high bidder is some fellow who doesn't follow the Cubs at all but is interested in them strictly as an investment or a hobby?

"That's what it is when you're talking about a billion dollars," Santo said.

Right you are, Ronnie, but just the same, let's run that Tribune online poll one more time, OK?

This time, word it this way:

Question: "Should the Cubs Be Sold to a Man Who's Not a Cubs Fan?"

Would you want the Bears to be sold to a Wisconsin billionaire who is a rabid Packers fan?

How should/would Cubs fans handle a Bonds record-breaking Home Run ball? …

Here is the decision confronting every roof-dweller, ballhawk and bleacher bum this week: keep a historic home run ball hit by a disliked opposing player, or keep with Wrigley Field tradition and throw it back?

Opinion is divided along the stadium’s back wall. On one side of that wall are the bleacher bums who say they would throw a Bonds home run ball right back in his face. And on the other side are the ballhawks who say they would treasure it for life.
The hawks and the bums make up two different breeds of Cubs fan. The bums are loyal to the team first and the home run balls second. The hawks are just the opposite. They are here for the souvenirs, and if the team wins, it is simply a bonus.

While the bums lounge in the outfield seats, with sunscreen and Budweiser, the hawks camp out on Waveland and Sheffield Avenues, with mitts and transistor radios. They change position based on wind patterns, pitching matchups and hitters’ tendencies.
When the Giants came to town Monday, the ballhawks made out their scouting reports on Bonds. They took into account that he had been stuck on 751 home runs for two weeks and was nursing sore legs, which kept him out of the starting lineup in the first two games of the series.

“I’m playing him to left-center field,” said Dave Davison, one of the lead ballhawks. “He’s been in a slump, so I think he’ll try to go the opposite way a few times.”

Davison said he had caught 109 home run balls, including one from Bonds, and had not thrown any back onto the field. To escape the wrath of the bleacher bums sitting above him, he always carries an extra ball, which he fires back in place of the real one.

“Sometimes they know it’s a fake,” Davison said. “They’ll cuss you out for a few innings. They’ll throw beer at you. But giving away a home run ball is foolish.”
Occasionally, the ballhawks do cross over and actually watch a game inside Wrigley Field. Last season, when the Giants came to town, a noted ballhawk named Wes Wagner scored tickets in the first row of the bleacher boxes in right field.

Wagner did not catch a home run ball from Bonds, but someone in his section did. As the bleacher bum wound up and started to launch the ball back onto the field, Wagner grabbed his throwing arm. “Stop!” Wagner said he yelled. “You can’t do that!”
Wagner pulled another ball out of his pocket and let the bum throw it on the field instead, allowing him to save face in front of his friends. “You’ve always got to have that other ball on you,” Wagner said. “Otherwise, you’ll have a thousand people booing you.”

Of course, to the truly dedicated bleacher bums, throwing back the wrong home run ball is equivalent to treason. Standing at the top row of the left-field bleachers on Monday night, Randy Larson tried to envision catching Bonds’s 752d home run.
“I could not keep that,” Larson said. “I’d throw it right back on the field.”
At the top row of the right-field bleachers, the response was basically the same. “If it was the record home run, 755, it might be different,” Kurt Ahrens said. “But for 752, I’d probably either throw it back or I’d throw it at those Giants fans over there.”

Tomorrow, the Open opens…. Bill Nichols looks at Carnoustie …

Phil Mickelson arrived at Carnoustie Golf Links early enough to get in three practice rounds before playing last week's Scottish Open. He and coach Butch Harmon devised game plans based on three wind directions.

Masters champion Zach Johnson always plays the John Deere Classic the week before the British Open, so he is usually scrambling. He got here in time to play a practice round Tuesday, but his clubs missed the connecting flight at London Heathrow. He used a replacement set until they arrived.

While at home in Florida, Tiger Woods practiced low shots and worked on moving the ball left to right and right to left.

"You're trying to get where your mechanics are very sound and you can maneuver the golf ball either way in any trajectory you want," Woods said.

Americans have won 10 of the last 12 British Opens, including three by Woods, who is going for his third straight.

But the British Open is the most difficult major for them to prepare for. Course conditions are much different and require playing different types of shots than on the PGA Tour.

Also, the rotation of courses doesn't allow much familiarity. For instance, it has been eight years since Carnoustie's last Open.

Brit journalist examines how Beckham and his mates are getting along …

Much has been made of whether the former England captain would settle to life in Los Angeles, though it remains to be seen whether the Galaxy are ready for the Beckhams. The 32-year-old was presented to a wide-eyed dressing room at the Home Depot Center last Friday. Since then an ankle problem sustained in Spain has limited Beckham's ball-work to close-range kickabouts with the other players recovering from injury. "I got to work with him and he's a really down to earth guy," said Kyle Veris. "It's nice to have him as part of the team."

Veris is in his final year as a developmental player with the Galaxy, a rookie who joined the club straight from Ohio State university as the equivalent of a British YTS scholar. Beckham is guaranteed some $6.5m (£3.2m) over his first year in the MLS. Veris, a powerful central defender, has represented the first-team regularly and earns $17,700-a-year (£8,600), $100 less than his new team-mate collects in a single day. Indeed, he has found himself having to seek financial support from his parents as he waits on his pay cheque.

"We accept him for what he is, and it's just an honour to play with the man," said
Veris. "It's all jokes in our locker room. Nobody takes anything too seriously. We want to gel and become like a big group of friends, to have a few barbecues and all just hang out to become a nice group, so the wage thing is not an issue. There's no jealousy. I've been watching him from his young days at Manchester United so, for me, it's just an honour to be in the same team."

"I don't go to my parents as much as I could. It's really more about budgeting, but the [Galaxy] organisation also helps me with paid appearances around the city. Going to my parents is my last resort if I'm stretching it before the next cheque, but this is my last year on a development contract so I'm just trying to keep playing and stay healthy."

"Nobody cares about the money," said Landon Donovan, whose locker is next to Beckham's in a part of the changing room now christened "Rodeo Drive". "When he shows up and plays, and does what we know he can do, nobody will care."

The Galaxy players have been anticipating Beckham's arrival for five months. Now that he is here, they have been surprised by the superstar in person. Veris described him as "very humble". Peter Vagenas apparently felt encouraged enough to stride up to his fellow midfielder and ask: "Who are you again?"

Rodeo Launching



Michael Vick Comedy

Finally Win That Title

Get your Championship Rings from Madden 2008! …Sports By Brooks with more…

EA SPORTS INVENTS YET ANOTHER WAY TO NEVER GET LAID: Videogame maker EA Sports and Jostens today made the inevitable reality today, rolling out rings based on a player's "Madden NFL 08" level of skill.

Sadly, we now know that "rings can be customized to match a player’s advancement through five levels of the game. When a player reaches level three, the ring can be bought through Jostens’ Web site with a code provided within the videogame. Rings will range in price from $149-495."

Here's our question: What does such a Madden 08 ringbearer (who is obviously single) do in a social setting when an attractive young lady queries him about his hard-won jewelry? On second thought, that'll never happen, considering such a person only emerges from his darkened dwelling bi-monthly to freshen up his supply of hand-fattening edibles at the closest (by zip code search) Circle K.

Peter King offers a pre-training camp Power Poll …Last year he had the Cowboys in the Super Bowl, this year, he has the Cowboys behind Detroit…And if he is right about Cleveland, look who has the 1st pick in next year’s draft!

14. Dallas: The Cowboys, post-Parcells, seem like they've just used their Get Out Of Jail Free Card. Bill's structure and rules are gone with let-'em-play Wade Phillips in charge. Be careful what you wish for. The Cowboys are a team on the precipice. They could dominate if Tony Romo is a B-plus quarterback, and they could be .500 if he stumbles. I'm betting it's somewhere between.
---

32. Cleveland: The Browns are beginning to draft their way out of the abyss. But it's a pretty deep abyss.

Tom Osborn looks at the Cowboys now and the Cowboys in 2003 when the Boys first arrived in San Antonio for Camp …

In just seven days, the Dallas Cowboys will open their first training camp in San Antonio since 2003. Back then, it cost $6 to park at the Alamodome, the site of the camp. The fee is now $10, and Express-News Cowboys beat writer Tom Orsborn notes the hike isn't the only change in that span.

The Quarterback

2003: Quincy Carter
2007: Tony Romo

Tom's take: Romo can run and pass. He also doesn't have a drug problem.

The Coach

2003: Bill Parcells
2007: Wade Phillips

Tom's take: Phillips won't be afraid to blitz, throw deep or say Terrell Owens' name.

The Running Backs

2003: Troy Hambrick and Richie Anderson
2007: Julius Jones and Marion Barber

Tom's take: Barber and Jones are expected to be one of the league's top combos after combining for 1,738 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns last season. Anderson and Hambrick were a feeble one-two punch, especially in the red zone.

The Star Linebacker

2003: Dexter Coakley
2007: DeMarcus Ware

Tom's take: For a guy who stood only 5-feet-11 and weighed 230 pounds, Coakley more than held his own as a Cowboy. But after recording 11.5 sacks last season, and with the aggressive Phillips calling the shots, the 6-4, 252-pound Ware could be in the running for defensive player of the year.

The Outlook

2003: .500 season
2007: Super Bowl contenders

Tom's take: The 2003 team overachieved by going 10-6 and reaching the playoffs as a wild-card entry. Anything less than a berth in the NFC title game will be a disappointment for this year's squad.

Ken Rosenthal on the Teixeira talks …

Teixeira, 27, is a switch-hitter with power who plays Gold Glove defense and isn't a free agent until after next season.

What exactly is the problem?

Yes, Teixeira could earn $12 million in his final year of arbitration.

Yes, his agent is Scott Boras, ending any possibility of signing him to a contract extension before he reaches free agency.

Powerful deterrents, to be sure. Then again, any team that acquired Teixeira would control him for nearly one-and-a-half seasons.

Picture Texeira in the Angels' lineup, protecting Vladimir Guerrero. Picture him with the Dodgers, supplying badly needed power. Picture him with the Red Sox, who could slide first baseman Kevin Youkilis to third and trade potential free-agent third baseman Mike Lowell.

For other clubs, the addition of Teixeira through '08 would provide an even greater buffer against the expected departures of free-agent sluggers, giving them a solution not only for this season, but also for next.

The Yankees could more easily absorb the loss of third baseman Alex Rodriguez if Teixeira were in place. Ditto for the Braves, who are likely to part with center fielder Andruw Jones, and the Giants, who might bid farewell to left fielder Barry Bonds.

Which is not to suggest that teams should get silly.

The Yankees' need for pitching likely would preclude them from including right-hander Phil Hughes in a deal for Teixeira.

The Red Sox's reluctance to disrupt a first-place club would discourage them from trading Lowell, not to mention Class AAA right-hander Clay Buchholz and/or center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Angels and Dodgers likewise could say "no" to Teixeira — the Angels can use Casey Kotchman at first for the next six seasons, and the Dodgers could do the same with James Loney.

Neither of those players, however, is likely ever to reach the level of Teixeira. If the Angels acquired Teixeira for Kotchman and two high-level prospects, they might win the World Series in one of the next two years. And if Teixeira left as a free agent after '08, they would recoup two high draft picks.

A better solution than giving A-Rod $30 million a year, no?

Of course, the Rangers would prefer to trade Teixeira to a team outside their division, if they trade him at all. Most rival executives continue to doubt that Teixeira will be moved before July 31.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels, coming off a series of questionable deals, will set too high a price, the execs say. What's more, Daniels can wait until the off-season to move Teixeira if the right trade isn't available.

Well, the right trade should be available.

Enough about prospects.

Enough industry paralysis.

Let's see some deals.

Story on the A-Rod contract featuring our favorite owner …

The person who may have the most vested interest in whether or not Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract this offseason has zero control over the outcome.

That person is Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who signed Rodriguez to the 10-year, $252-million contract that dropped jaws around the country in December 2000. The contract was by far the largest in sports history. The Rangers failed to win with Rodriguez, though not for any lack of performance on his part, and traded him to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and minor-leaguer Joaquin Arias in February 2004, with Hicks agreeing to pay $67 million of the remaining amount on the contract.

In New York, fans who have watched the Yankees' offense become less reliable and explosive than in past years wonder what would happen without the gargantuan numbers from Rodriguez. Yankees players and others associated with the team wonder if the club will offer Rodriguez a big enough contract to keep him in pinstripes. And always, there is speculation that one of a laundry list of things - intense media focus, his relationship with Derek Jeter and/or Joe Torre, his desire to play shortstop, etc. - will lead Rodriguez to leave.

No one really knows, except perhaps Rodriguez himself, and he's not talking.

If Rodriguez exercises an opt-out clause in the contract in November, a choice he will not talk about, the contract would become history and Hicks would save about $22 million.

Hicks said Major League Baseball rules prevent him from talking about the opt-out clause. In a phone interview with Newsday on Friday, the Rangers owner said he has no regrets about giving Rodriguez the landmark contract.

"No, never," Hicks said.

Hicks paid a huge sum of money for three years of Rodriguez's services, and the owner has just one regret: "I regret that we didn't win," he said.

Rangers Win, the…….Rangers win …

The Rangers won’t try to explain, downplay or dismiss Jamey Wright’s sudden burst of effectiveness. They will simply savor it. In a 4-1 win over Oakland on Monday, Wright made his second consecutive quality start, holding the woeful A’s to four hits over seven innings.

Oakland, which lost for the eighth consecutive time, is in the midst of a historic scoring drought. The A’s have not scored more than three runs in their last 11 games. The last time the A’s went that long without scoring four at least once was in 1967 when the franchise went a dozen games with three or fewer runs.

The Rangers will disregard that little historical bit of trivia. They hope any potential buyers on the trade market do as well.

“They had some opportunities, and we made pitches when we had to,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “We’re just hoping to continue to play good baseball. We’ve had enough of our own problems; we can’t be worried about what problems other teams are dealing with.”

Likely to make two more starts before the trading deadline, Wright’s recent run of solid pitching might just push him into part of a package deal that could help improve the Rangers' return. Or it could make him attractive after the deadline to a team that has a late injury. Players can still be traded after July 31, but they must first clear waivers.

Wright, 32, has had a history of nice little runs throughout an otherwise pedestrian career. He started the 2006 season with San Francisco in strong fashion but faded badly after his personal catcher, Mike Matheny, got hurt. In one stretch last May, Wright had four consecutive quality starts. It was the last time he’d had as many as two in a row.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, for example, might be a team withinterest in Wright as part of a larger deal. The Dodgers, whose rotation has been decimated by injury, were already on site Monday to watch Mark Teixeira and the back end of the Rangers bullpen (if it was needed). Los Angeles has sent four different scouts to watch the Rangers over the past month, and the Dodgers are the Rangers' most desired trade partner for Teixeira.

With 2 days to the major, the NY Times examines the Claret Jug …

The oldest trophy in major championship golf has lived on Tiger Woods’s mantel, guarded Ben Curtis’s television and reclined in the back seat of Todd Hamilton’s car.
It has held cheap beer, expensive Champagne, and iced tea brewed by Justin Leonard’s mother.

Tom Watson, who won the trophy five times, accidentally smacked it with a backswing decades ago, leaving a tiny blemish on the prize known worldwide as the claret jug.
“He whacked it right on the handle,” said Hamilton, the 2004 British Open champion, who will be among the 156 golfers chasing the silver jug anew starting Thursday at Carnoustie. “You can tell the handle is just a little cockeyed.”

Like Lord Stanley’s Cup and the Masters green jacket, the claret jug has long held a mystical and celebratory quality. Trophies are handed out every week on the PGA Tour, but none are designed with a handle that looks like a bass clef or with insides hollowed out to hold the exact contents of a standard bottle of wine.

Held upside down, the jug delivers a perfect pour.

Ever since it was first awarded in 1873 — replacing a Moroccan leather belt given to previous British Open winners — it has often been considered golf’s most precious prize.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club keeps the original housed in its clubhouse. It has awarded a replica jug to the champion since 1928. Two other replicas are used by the club for exhibitions and tours.

After a player has won the jug, where he keeps it and how he celebrates with it is up to him. Nick Faldo, a three-time winner, said he often kept the jug at his bedside, just so he could reach out in the middle of the night and know it was there.
After Tiger Woods won the Masters in 2001, making him the only player to win four consecutive major professional titles, he added that trophy to the ensemble on the mantel in his living room, joining the jug and the trophies from the United States Open and the P.G.A. Championship he won in 2000. He also took down the jug at times and filled it with various libations.

“Honestly, because of the consumption, I really can’t remember,” Woods said of what he put in it.

Beckham hurt? …

David Beckham was limited to some stretching and kicking drills because of a lingering ankle injury in his first practice Monday since joining the Los Angeles Galaxy.

He is scheduled to make his playing debut Saturday in an exhibition against Chelsea, but Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said the superstar midfielder is day-to-day.

"His ankle is quite swollen," Yallop said. "We're hoping it recovers quickly and he can have some part in the game."

Beckham didn't speak to reporters after practice.

He originally hurt his left ankle playing for England in a European Championship qualifier on June 6 and it flared up again June 17 in his final game with Real Madrid.

Saturday's game, part of the four-team World Series of Football, is sold out and ESPN will televise it live, using 19 cameras to track Beckham.

Madden 2008



Running of the Bulls 2007



Finally, a picture you should not see.



Are you sure you want to see a guy get his leg gored during the Running of the Bulls?




Positive?




Are you sure you are sure?




OK.





You have been warned....