Cheap Seats

So, the Rangers just had a phenomenal 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium against New York's 10-game winner Mike Mussina. Scott Feldman had a great outing as his lone run allowed was on a solo blast from A-Rod.

So with the win, the Rangers are now 43-41 -- you got it, two games over .500. That marks the first time in manager Ron Washington's tenure in Arlington that his team has been two games over .500. I said it earlier today. This team excites me.

The bullpen (Frank Francisco, Jamey Wright and C.J. Wilson) didn't give up a hit, much less a run.

Well, technically, we're 83 games in to a 162-game season, but now I will give my report card to some Rangers players at what is basically the midpoint through a season, which by most accounts has been one of tremendous overachievement of most expectations.

At 42-41 after last night's great win over Philadelphia, which gave the Rangers yet another series win, things are looking up for the team that was clearly the worst team in baseball after a month of play.

We'll start with the offense...

Demoting Stephen A. Smith from the booth to being the reporter who interviews, or in his case -- yells, at drafted players was one good move by ESPN as far as its NBA draft coverage is concerned.

Minimizing Stephen A. is always a good thing.

But the rest of it was mediocre theatre at best, and not all of it, for once, was ESPN's fault. Know what ruins the NBA draft? The trades. Does it even matter who drafts you anymore in the NBA? Those players have to know they'll be on the move soon.

That's what makes watching the draft so pointless. Why do I want to sit and watch O.J. Mayo take the stage and hold a Minnesota jersey when he gets shipped to Memphis five hours later? Listening to his interview with Stephen A. afterward about the joy of being a Timberwolf? Even more pointless, and not just because all I can hear is yelling.

I had the distinct privilege of catching the Michael Irvin Show on 103.3 FM ESPN today. He was Irvin trumpeting the cause of high school players wanting to go straight to the NBA. Irvin said if they want to work, they should be allowed to work. Anything else was unfair.

Are you kidding me? Free room and board, tuition, food for a year is unfair? God-like treatment by a college campus for a year is unfair? Having to wait one year, 12 months, 365 days, before getting your multi-million dollar signing bonus for playing a game is unfair?

I, for one, am not shedding any tears for Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley because they had to go to school for a year. Do you know how many people would kill for a full ride to college and have tutors swarming you and making sure you pass?

A college scholarship is what most high school athletes are striving for. They don't have a future in professional sports. I guess that perk is beneath some of the budding superstars in the NBA. That's fine, and it may or may not be legal. That's for other people to decide (and judging by the ruling in Maurice Clarett's suit against the NFL, it IS legal.)

But let's not act like there's some huge injustice being done to these players. They have ever opportunity imaginable at their fingertips.

In other NBA news, reports are coming out that the Heat are considering O.J. Mayo at No. 2. First of all, I wouldn't take Mayo at No. 2, 3, 4 ... let's just say I wouldn't take him at all. But I believe this is all smoke and mirrors from Miami. Mayo is suddenly the hot comodity. It works to their advantage to have people think he won't be available later in the draft.

Many count the 2008 NBA regular season among the best in the league's history. The balance of the West, the tight races in the East ... It was suppose to be setting up for a memorable post-season for the NBA.

That didn't exactly happen. Aside from the marquee Finals matchup, the playoffs went without too many big surprises and the quality of play was average at best. You don't have to be an NBA scout to tell that the Finals weren't a thing of beauty.

So I ask ya: was this really a year where the NBA was so loaded that even quality teams like the Mavericks and Suns couldn't compete? Maybe it's just that the usual powers-that-be were sucky, leaving the door open for average teams like the Lakers and the Hornets to rise to the top.

The entire sports world is riveted by that question. How did Big Brown possibly lose Saturday's Belmont? Why was he "not himself," as his trainers and "experts" have said.

I have an answer to that question. It's an answer to this question I've had many times before: Why does my kitten keep peeing on my bed?

Because he's an animal. Because he ever-so-faintly even comprehends that he is suppose to win the race. It's possible he doesn't even understand what winning a race means, or even what a race is. Maybe he saw a shiny thing in the bleachers and got distracted. Maybe his fur itched and his jockey wasn't whipping him in a spot that satisfied the itch.

Are we really asking this question? Why was this horse not himself? Big Brown was suppose to be a lock to win the Belmont. No animal is ever a lock to win anything, because it's an animal.

Also, Big Brown has a cracked hoof. His trainer, after a long heart-to-heart with the horse about the injury and how he felt about it, declared it a non-issue before the race. Maybe you don't have any clue how much pain the animal is in because it's an animal, guy.

As a huge Star Wars fan (what American boy born in the 70s or early 80s isn't?), this photo struck me as, well, pretty awesome.

Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is no longer an under-the-radar type guy. In fact, despite his horrible showing last night -- going 1-for-4 from the plate with a home run in his fourth straight game -- Hamilton is still leading the American League in two of the three Triple Crown categories (batting average, home runs, RBIs).

His average dropped to .329 after last night, three points behind New York's Hideki Matsui. He still leads the league in home runs (17) and all of Major League Baseball in RBIs (67), 17 ahead of his closest AL competitor and 12 more than former Ranger and current Padre Adrian Gonzalez.

ESPN.com has an interesting headline on its front page right now: Babcock rips officiating in Game 5.

Babcock is Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock. Game 5 is that of the Stanley Cup Finals. The calls in question are two goalie interference calls in overtime against the Red Wings, neither of which were the power play Pittsburgh scored on to end the game in triple overtime.

Here's the story. If you can find anything Babcock says in this story that constitutes "ripping" the officiating, let me know. Even funnier is that the story even says he didn't say anything until they pressed him, and he hardly said anything when they did.

Woe is you, ESPN. Yellow journalism, here we come.

Is it just me or is Saturday's Belmont Stakes shaping out to be a potential disaster for the "sport" of horse racing?

We just watched Eight Belles get put down at the Kentucky Derby, the first time a horse was put down at the race in a long time. That already has the nation on the fence about horse racing.

Now we have a Triple Crown candidate, Big Brown, going into the Belmont with a cracked hoof that his shady trainer insists isn't going to be a problem at the race. If people go into Saturday expecting to see history and end up seeing tragedy, it will be such a swing of emotion that horse racing, or horse whipping as I like to call it, may never recover.

OK, since the Stars got bumped from the NHL playoffs by Detroit, I've been bombarded with text messages asking what to expect from the offseason in Dallas. OK, I really only got one ... from Steve. *cough* ...

Nevertheless, demand seems to be at an all-time high at one, so listen to our Dallas Stars podcast for the sound of my voice, and read on for my specific analysis.

The biggest decision facing the Stars is certainly what to do with Mattias Norstrom. First of all, the fact that he is their biggest decision is a good thing. Dallas will go in to the season without a lot of turnover. Not that that's a surprise after the kind of year they had.

Norstrom is old. The biggest knock on him is his contract - over $4 million a year. But he is a solid, physical defender who brings great leadership as the former captain of the Kings. Even though you have the three rookie defensemen and Sergi Zubov, Philippe Boucher and Trevor Daley to fill out the defense, the team can always use a steady seventh or eighth option.

OK, I'm not going to lie, I'm really apt to pull out past predictions when they end up coming true. It turns out, my baseball predictions made on this here blog on March 31 are looking pretty good.

See below...

AL West: Mariners (OK, not so much on here, but I wasn't alone)
AL Central: Tigers (Again...)
AL East: Red Sox (Just trailing TAMPA BAY for first in the East)
AL wild card: Angels (Second best record in baseball)
NL West: Padres (Last place)
NL Central: Cubs (National league's best record)
NL East: Mets (Struggling, 5 1/2 games out)
NL wild card: Rockies (Really struggling)
World Series: Tigers over Mets in 7 (Hmm...)
Team on the rise: Tampa Bay Rays (no more devil) (Best record in baseball!)
Superstar on the rise: Texas Rangers OF Josh Hamilton (Triple Crown contender who's light years above anyone else in the RBIs department)
Biggest on-field story of the year: The Yankees missing out on the postseason for the first time since 1993. The lineup is ancient now and has no proven youth. The starting staff is dwindled down to nothing but rookies, who will one day be good, but not this year.
Roger Clemens indicted, retired or active: Active. He'll sign on with the Red Sox around the All-Star Break to try to distract from his ongoing legal battle. He'll finish with less than five wins and tarnish his god-like image in Boston. He'll be indicted, but it won't be until after the season. (Yanks are in last place in the East)

Rangers will teeter around .500, ultimately falling 5-10 games short. (Rangers are, as of this afternoon's loss to Tampa Bay, are one game under .500 and lost their first series in more than a month after a putrid start)

ESPN is reporting that it's likely NFL owners will opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players association next week.

We danced in this club back in 2006 when then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue kept the CBA in tact before handing the reigns over to the Principal Goodell AND struck a record-breaking television plan that has the the league continuing its domination of American sports.

Many of the things Tagliabue saved in '06 are at stake again next week. First of all, the salary cap. Um, if we play 2010 without a salary cap, I can tell you who will when the Super Bowl that year -- the team that buys all the free agents during the coinciding off-season. So probably the Cowboys. Then there could be a lockout.

That's lame, and the salary cap is what keeps the NFL stable and ahead of leagues like Major League Baseball, which is still trying to figure out what NFL owners did in the 1980s. Next on the chopping block would the NFL Draft as we know, which is still my single favorite sporting event.

Who has two thumbs and isn't listening to ESPN radio anymore? This guy.

All The Office references aside, I'm done with the station that continues to employ and allow mongoloids to speak on air. The Ticket, which is based entirely on being obnoxious and ridiculous, has passed up 103.3 FM in journalistic integrity.

Even The Ticket is actually talking about the Dallas Stars. I turned on the radio at 3 p.m. to catch Galloway, and all I heard was Brian Estridge continuing to spout this complete nonsense about nobody caring about hockey.

Brian, here are the sports nobody cares about: the MLS, the LPGA, Arena Football, TCU athletics, the Little League World Series, X-Games, the WNBA. There are many more, but when these things come up on your radio station, Brian, I somehow don’t hear “Nobody cares about [blank]” over and over again.

Why is this your only analysis on hockey? Is it because you know absolutely nothing about the sport? Is it because you can’t pronounce any of the players’ names? Is it because you're too lazy to add another layer to your horizon and learn about a great sport? Why don’t other, less popular sports gets the “Nobody cares about this” treatment?

Fellow Stars fans, it may be time to pack up the tent for the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 2-0 hole Dallas has dug itself is likely too much to overcome, especially against a team as deep as Detroit. I'm not saying they can't do it, but the Stars will likely have to win both home games to stay in the series. Earn a split at home and it's essentially over.

But let me tell you what's really irking me: "Nobody cares about hockey and the only reason the Stars are getting attention is because Dallas is desperate for a winning team." I've heard that about 100 times from various local media outlets in the last few weeks.

Here is the latest article proving that Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach is possibly the most interesting coach in any sport anywhere. It really makes me wonder how it's possible for anyone to not like the guy.

He once had me trapped in his office talking about surfing for an hour and a half because really...who was I to walk out on a Mike Leach-led conversation? I think I was late for a class because of it...

I'm not breaking any news here, but I think the fish bowl we've put athletes in is getting a little too clear. I know Roger Clemens brought a lot of his troubles on himself, but I don't want to hear anything else about Roger Clemens for two or three years.

And while I was checking my e-mail today, Yahoo!'s top sports story? Carmelo Anthony gets a speeding ticket.

Really, Yahoo!? Really? This is the top sports news of the day?

I turned on ESPN radio today while I was in the shower, just in time to catch a few gems from Kevin Kiley, who apparently has decided he should be the moral voice of America.

For those of you who had to get up and go to work today, I am sorry. You missed a dandy of a game last night.

Brenden Morrow’s power play goal in the fourth overtime of Game 6 against San Jose capped one of the best games in Stars playoff history and finally vaulted embattled goalie Marty Turco into the NHL’s final four.

More importantly, though, the win validates the interest of casual hockey fans that have jumped on the Stars’ bandwagon. Dallas avoided blowing a 3-0 lead on the Sharks, which would have been crippling to the team for years.

Can you imagine what would have happened to this franchise had it blown a 3-0 lead in the series? It may have never recovered.

The Stars loss to San Jose on Wednesday was certainly disappointing, especially for the home crowd, which included me, but there's certainly no need to panic.

Dallas was just dead tired in the third period.

The frame the Stars have dominated throughout the playoffs was the undoing of Dallas' dreams of a sweep. Even warriors like Brenden Morrow were noticeably exhausted by the end of the game. It was pretty obvious midway through the third that Dallas didn’t have the energy to pull that one out.

Well, I've been saying it for a while now around the office, and people (most notably my boss, Todd Jorgenson) have scoffed at the idea, but it was time for Avery Johnson to go, and today he and Mark Cuban parted ways after just 3 1/2 seasons, and two seasons after he was anointed as the next Red Auerbach.

The Mavericks' fall from grace has been well-documented and in last night's Game 5 loss to New Orleans it was completed after they failed to get out of the first round for the second straight year.

Many fingers can be pointed in many different directions. There was the controversial Jason Kidd trade (which I still stand behind by the way), there's Josh Howard and his ill-timed, best-left-unsaid admission to having an affinity for the wacky tobacky, and many other things that could be blamed for what's happened.

Despite dominating in three straight playoff series, a friend of mine still isn't sold on Stars goalie Marty Turco.

Are you kidding me? Take a look at his numbers. In the first round against Vancouver last year, the Stars some how found a way to lose despite Turco throwing three shutouts in the series. THREE SHUTOUTS in one series.

This year, he's third in the league in playoffs goals against at 1.99. He leads the league in playoff wins. He out played former Conn Smythe winner J.S. Giguere against the Ducks. He's owning Vezina finalist Evgeni Nabokov in the second around against the Sharks.

The worst part is I know my friend isn't alone. What does he have to do to earn your approval? Poop Stanley Cups? I will say Turco occasionally makes a goofy play. He's made a few in the playoffs.

But when it's all said and done, he's been awesome. The best part is he's leading the Stars in clutch moments. The Stars have won four of their six playoff games in the third period or later. That also means Turco has been solid in the third period and overtime.

When they announced Turco would take over for Eddie Belfour, I was all for it. Turco was an elite minor league goalie and he won two NCAA titles with Michigan in college. He's always been a winner, and after a few playoff hiccups, he's winning at the highest level.

Maybe four shutouts in a series would silence the rest of the critics.