Cheap Seats

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.

The bottom line is, someone has to be held accountable for what's happened since Dallas blew a 2-0 series lead and a double-digit lead in Game 3 with six minutes left in the NBA Finals against Miami two years ago. What seemed like a dynasty in the making became one of the biggest group of choke artists in recent league history.

There's one person in the Mavericks organization that is completely free of blame, and that's Dirk Nowitzki. Everyone else, from Mark Cuban to J.J. Barrea is expendable here. Well, Mark's not expendable, so we'll go with Donnie Nelson.

I talked about it with some friends yesterday afternoon before the game -- I felt like we would be witnessing the end of the Mavericks as we've come to know them over the last decade. I vividly remembered watching Dallas upset Utah in the opening round back in 2001 and wearing my homemade "Kiss My Azz, Utah Jazz" T-shirt to my U.S. History Post Civil War class and getting lots of high fives.

I remember the city's elation when Dallas beat San Antonio in the conference semifinals in seven games two years ago and then breezed through the Suns before blowing their 2-0 lead against the Heat. I remember thinking the Mavs were the epitome of a team on a mission last year when they won 67 regular-season games before bowing out in the first round to Nellie and Golden State. And then, this year...

I think the Mavs fans should be appreciative of what Avery did for this team. He obviously took them somewhere that Don Nelson couldn't in his time as head coach. He got them over the plateau and into the Finals.

There's no doubt this team had its guts ripped out in the Miami series and then that was worsened with last year's Golden State loss. The team had no chance of making a run as it was constructed this year, hence the Kidd trade. It needed to be blown up somehow, and that was the opportunity to do it. It obviously didn't work, but now this team must be blown up completely.

As much as I love Dirk and how much of a warrior he is, he's not untouchable in this either. In fact, he might be the only player with any significant value. Jason Terry's great at times, but is horribly inconsistent. Jerry Stackhouse's best days were behind him a couple of years ago. Brandon Bass is a great young player, but I'm not sure what he'd bring in return in a trade. I'd like to see Dallas hold on to Dirk and Bass and start over fresh, but I don't know that that's possible.

Two years ago, Josh Howard was untouchable. Now, he's a pothead that would rather attend his birthday party than rest up TWO NIGHTS BEFORE an elimination game! He's so gone, and I don't think Dallas will get much in return for him.

Basically, what I've been saying here is to prepare to see a three- or four-year run (at least) of mediocrity, at best because this thing is getting blown up to bits, and it started today with Avery's ousting. Ultimately, it'll be a good thing, but those fun-to-watch Mavericks teams that we've grown to love over the last decade are a thing of the past, and it's a little saddening.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

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.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

And while we're talking about how to improve the production of the NFL draft -- tell teams not to call the player four minutes before the pick comes in. When Matt Ryan opens his phone and is all happy and hugging his family, we know what happened.

I WANT TO HEAR WHO IS PICKED WHEN IT COMES OUT OF ROGER GOODELL'S MOUTH. That's it. Not two days before, not when the kid is extatic on the phone with a good chunk of change on the clock.

Maybe I'll just flip over to NFL Network. You've really been annoying me lately, ESPN.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

“Pacman” Jones’ arrival in Dallas gives the Cowboys an elite shutdown corner to go along with Terrance Newman, a game-breaking punt returner the team hasn’t had since the days of Deion Sanders, and tremendous flexibility in the upcoming draft as the Cows already have two first-round picks and one less glaring need.

The Cows could take a receiver to groom for a future without T.O. They could take a top-notch running back to complement Marion Barber. They could take an offensive lineman to add depth to an aging and important unit.

But let’s get down to what really matters with Pacman. He immediately has the tightest medallion on the team – the giant diamond Pacman medallion he wore on draft day. I can’t help but hear Lil’ Wayne in my head while looking at it. But he brings a number of off-the-field skills as well.

What if the Cowboys need to defend themselves at a bar? Pacman knows how to beat a guy half to death with a pool stick. He showed it in college when he did just that.

Will the Cowboys ever need to create a diversion at a strip club? I don’t know the answer to that question, but if they do, Pacman once littered $80,000 in cash on a stage of strippers, causing utter chaos. That sounds like a suitable diversion to me.

What happens if a Cowboy is in an unsatisfactory relationship? Pacman knows how to get rid of her. He’s been accused of punching and spitting on women multiple times. This guy is as versatile as it gets.

I just wish the Giants had traded for him.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

I’m going to take a page from comedian and raging liberal Bill Maher for this one.

New rule

No more signing the No. 1 pick in the draft before the actual draft. I want to know who the No. 1 pick in the draft is going to be at one time, and one time only – when Roger Goodell goes to the podium and announces the pick.

I know the NFL isn’t exactly hurting for ratings when it comes to the draft, and the draft is one of my favorite sporting events, sometimes more entertaining to me than the Super Bowl.

But, seriously. It blows the whole deal when you know the No. 1 pick before the draft. Imagine if you’d watched Goodell go up to the podium and announce Houston was taking Mario Williams No. 1 overall instead of Reggie Bush.

There’d have been a boom on adult diapers because of all the fecal bricks being dropped.

Instead, we found out the night before that Houston wasn’t taking Bush, blowing the suspense and holding Pampers’ stock down.

Finding out Miami is taking Jake Long No. 1 doesn’t ruin the draft this year because there is no dominant story line or superstar player int he draft, but just for future reference, Goodell, we don’t like this.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 3:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's amazing how quickly life changes. One minute, I'm coming up with saxophone licks over a 2-5-1 cord progression in a tiny practice room at UNT. The next minute, I'm a low-rent sports writer breaking down 2A softball playoffs. How in the world did that happen?

I'm asking the same question of the Dallas Stars. One day, they were limping to the playoffs after a failed trade for Brad Richards. The next, they are dumping the defending champs and position themselves for a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.

I'm not going to pretend I know what clicked for them between playing the Sharks in a meaningless regular season finale and Game 1 of their series with Anaheim. All I know is they were playing like the Dallas Stars of February, not March.

Regardless of who they play in the next round, I'm picking a Stars win. The Sharks have looked erratic, disengaged and sloppy in round one. Colorado, despite the hot play of goalie Jose Theodore, are a beatable team that is a shell of the one that rolled through the playoffs earlier this decade.

Either way, the Stars will be exercising more demons. After finally getting out of the first round, Dallas might next have to play the team that caused its first-round futility, Colorado, which embarrassed Dallas two straight years.

And looming very large is a potential Western Conference Finals matchup with Detroit, which has had Dallas' number for the better part of two decades. Marty Turco specifically hasn't had success against the Red Wings, so the Stars will need to reverse some more history to win an improbable title this year.

The key for the entire playoffs for Dallas will continue to be its young defenseman. Matt Niskanen, Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric have filled in admirably for injured top pair Phillippe Boucher and Sergi Zubov. Ironically, Niskanen may have been the worst of the three in round one. He was way out of position on two Ducks goals in a Game 5 loss. He will need to be better, and all three will have to steadily improve.

How did I go this long without mentioning Stephane Robidas. What an absolute warrior.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

The NFL released the 2008 schedule for the upcoming season and the Cowboys play in five primetime games, which is pretty incredible. I'm going to attempt to break down the schedule and try to predict the Cowboys record for the upcoming season despite the fact that it's the middle of April and we still don't know if Pacman Jones will be playing in Irving this year.

Week 1
at Cleveland -- The Browns made some great strides last year and have one of the younger, more up-and-coming teams in the league. If this was in Dallas it'd be a blowout, but it will be a close game. As of now, I've got to go with the Cowboys.

Week 2
Philadelphia (Monday night) -- Home opener, Texas Stadium, Monday Night Football, Eagles, so on and so forth. Philly will struggle this year and has been on the decline for the last few years, plus T.O. always likes to play the Eagles. Cowboys 2-0.

Week 3
at Green Bay (Sunday night) -- The Aaron Rodgers era will begin in 2008 and the Packers returns a quality bunch of players that are extremely young and extremely talented. If Rodgers plays like he did in relief of Brett Favre last November, the Packers will win this game. Cowboys 2-1.

Week 4
Washington -- The Redskins always seem to give the Cowboys trouble but I think Washington will regress this year, leaving the Cowboys and Giants as the lone players in the NFC East. Cowboys win to go 3-1 in September.

October
Week 5
Cincinatti -- The Bengals have a lot to improve on from last season and the internal strife in that locker room doesn't seem too promising. Cowboys roll in this game as Chad Johnson makes outrageous claims that he's better than T.O. in the week prior and T.O. goes off, playa-style. Cowboys 4-1.

Week 6
at Arizona -- Everyone knows games in Arizona are basically home games for the Cowboys. Everyone also knows the Cards will not go anywhere with Matt Leinart under center despite their ridiculous talent at wide receiver. Cowboys roll to 5-1.

Week 7
at St. Louis -- This game has all the makings of a hiccup game. Last year, the Cowboys jacked around until the end of the third quarter before pulling away in a noon kickoff game. This year? Noon kickoff, but this time it's in St. Louis. I smell an unexpected loss here. Cowboys 5-2.

Week 8
Tampa Bay -- Well, it's actually just "Tampa" but whatever, NFL. The Bucs will be sorry next season, just as they were last season when they had the benefit of playing in possibly one of the worst divisions in NFL history. Cowboys rebound to go 6-2.

November
Week 9
at New York Giants -- Oh man, revenge is sweet. The Giants upended Tony Romo and the Cowboys' storybook season and paved road to the Super Bowl, and not only did they upset Dallas, they went on to two more upsets and a Super Bowl championship. Eli Manning is now legit and the Cowboys won't get their revenge -- yet. Cowboys fall to 6-3.

Week 10 -- bye

Week 11
at Washington (Sunday night) -- Again, Washington won't be good next year. Dallas will be. That equates to a season sweep in another primetime Sunday night game. Dallas is 7-3.

Week 12
San Francisco -- The Niners will be a much improved team from last season with Mike Martz controlling the offense and one of the league's best backs in Frank Gore (Big ups to Merkin Madness, my championship fantasy team that got a late surge from Gore last year). It won't be enough to beat Dallas at home in what used to the game's best rivalry back in the 90s and early 80s. Cowboys go to 8-3.

Week 13
Seattle (Thanksgiving Day) -- With the annual three-day break, the Cowboys will play one of their best Turkey Day opponents in quite some time and it will also mark the return of Julius Jones. Haha. So what. This will be a tough game but Tony Romo will shine in the national spotlight as Carrie Underwood sings the National Anthem and Tony Romo begs for her to take him back and she accepts. (Never understood why you dumped her for Jess, Tony. Horrible decision). Cowboys move to 9-3.

December
Week 14
at Pittsburgh -- Oh, the feared December slide that's plagued this team for what seems like ages now and it starts with their most difficult December game, a road trip to likely cold and windy Heinz Field. The Cowboys lose and fall to 9-4.

Week 15
New York Giants (Sunday night) -- As I said back in November, the Cowboys wouldn't get their revenge yet, that's because they'll get it on this day at home against the Giants. Boys win to move to 10-4 and get back in the running for an NFC East title and possibly a first-round bye.

Week 16
Baltimore (Saturday night) -- The NFL Network will roll into town sans Bryant Gumbel (thank you, lord) and will bring the offense-less Ravens with them. Thing is, Baltimore used to live off its insane defense and last year finished in the bottom half of the league in defense. Bad news for the Ravens. Cowboys simply annihilate the Ravens to move to 11-4.

Week 17
at Philadelphia -- Cowboys win and move to 12-4 to finish one game worse than their regular season record last year and have the Rams to think for it. The Cowboys will edge out the Giants for the division title and fall just short of the top seed in the NFC to the Packers after Rodgers has his breakout season. The Cowboys will earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and will make it to the NFC title game, which is where my prognostication stops. It's simply too early to make a Super Bowl prediction.

Tell me your thoughts. I bet I'll win.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's time for the North Dallas Beautiful People to step up.

First of all, I realize I am stealing that phrase from Randy Galloway, but no moniker fits the residents of the American Airlines Center's lower bowl better than "North Dallas Beautiful People."

What do they need to do? Help the Stars solve their home playoff woes. The American Airlines Center hasn't been the coziest confines for the Dallas Stars in the playoffs, or so their post-season record in the AAC suggests. Dallas has a home post-season record of 7-22 since the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

That means Dallas' surprising 2-0 lead on the Ducks won't mean much until we see how the Stars play at home tonight. A win would all but sink the Ducks. A loss gives a dangerous Anaheim team a chance to get back in.

Is Dallas' home record a fluke or is the AAC cursed? Probably neither, but I'll tell you what hasn't been helping -- the North Dallas Beautiful People.

Let's face it: the AAC atmosphere is not among the best for the NHL or the NBA. Let's be blunt: it sucks, especially for hockey. Most of the NDBP don't understand anything about hockey. They cheer when there's a goal or a fight. That's about all they understand.

The Stars have to earn at least a split in the next two games. I call on the NDBP to actually make noise, boo at bad calls, agitate the Ducks and be a factor in the game. Maybe they can even wear some Stars gear, instead of whatever designer clothing is hip at the W hotel this week.

Come on, Beautiful People. Don't let the Stars down.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

More like Bristol doesn't care about hockey.

ESPN has a monopoly on sports journalism. They do not, however, have anything invested in hockey anymore. Since the television deal between the two expired when the lockout began, it is not financially beneficial for people to watch hockey.

Lo and behold, right about when the lockout starts and ESPN stops getting paid by hockey, it replaces its hockey coverage with a loop of "Nobody cares about hockey."

You could even say it's a financial liability to Bristol for people to watch hockey. If people are watching hockey, they aren't watching nauseating amounts of coverage of the X Games and the Little World League Series on ESPN. That coverage is really just a gratuitous advertisement for ESPN's own programming.

And advertising for hockey doesn't put ice in Bristol's grill anymore. So hope you're ready for a lot more "Nobody cares about hockey."

How does Linda Cohn sleep at night.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Dallas Stars haven't proved they are a better team than the Ducks. They just proved they were more will to hustle on Thursday night.

The Stars ran Anaheim out of its own building with a 4-0 plucking of the Ducks, but let's not start patting ourselves on the back yet. The Ducks didn't show up for this one, and Pronger's play was a perfect example.

He simply watched Brenden Morrow skate around him and score late in the game. He regularly gave up space to Jere Lehtinen up the middle. For Dallas, it was literally like hunt dead ducks, and it won't come this easy in the coming contests.

Before I wear myself thin with bad duck references, let me just say this -- Steve Ott completely clipped the Ducks' wings with his agitating play in the first period. His scrappiness is Verbeek-ian. Although he'll never reach the same scoring heights as the real Little Ball of Hate because Verbeek's numbers were inflated by the run-and-gun '80's, Ott's ability to get under a team's skin is as valuable a tool as the Stars have.

I don't want to pound in anymore sentences that use the word "duck" in an unclever, cheesy fashion, so I'll just say this -- the Ducks simply weren't able to take flight tonight, and their penchant for the penalty box was a symptom of that. The Ducks were a step behind every time, and they had to cheat to make up for it. That led to more penalties, which led to three Stars power play goals.

I'm not really into writing with cliche references to a team's mascot, so I'll leave it at this -- the Stars simply roasted the Ducks tonight, and Anaheim better fluff its feathers in place if it wants to fly in this series.

"Ducks" is the worst mascot in pro sports. I'd rather root for the Coney Island Corn Dogs. I'm not intimidated by anything that takes off if I throw a piece of bread the other way.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 12:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

What a night here in the Metroplex and its sports teams.

First off, the Stars pull off a quite shocking 4-0 win over defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks and did it on the road in one of the toughest atmospheres in the NHL. I won't pretend to know a lot about hockey so I'll defer here to Cheap Seats hockey expert, Jeff Andrews.

Before the Stars game, the Rangers swept a doubleheader to win their second consecutive series over Baltimore when the "Bulldog", Kevin Millwood, pitched the opener and continued his stellar start to the season and finally got some "run support" for a 3-1 win as he allowed just three hits through seven innings of work for his third straight quality, quality start. C.J. Wilson came on for the save, just like he did in Game 2 when he saved a victory for Jamey Wright, who relieved Kason Gabbard after he went 5 2-3 and gave up three in the Rangers' 5-4 win. Now your Texas Rangers are over .500 for the first time in Ron Washington's tenure as manager. Impressive.

Finally, the Mavericks had a thrilling win over Utah, which clinched its division the other night. The Mavs needed a win or a Golden State loss to clinch a playoff berth after many people, myself included, wrote them off for dead just a couple of weeks ago. Since Dirk has come back miraculously from his high ankle sprain, he's been playing like a man possessed and his supporting cast has stepped up its game too. That's now three straight, good wins for the Mavs, and two over quality teams in the Suns and the Jazz.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's hard to know what to expect from the 2008 NHL playoffs. One thing is for sure -- we will all be well entertained. What form that entertainment takes is a question.

The new NHL still hasn't devised a formula for success. It used to be boring us to death with the trap and getting a hot goalie. In the two years since the lockout ended, no team has concocted the next system that less ingenuous coaches will try to mimic.

That system could emerge from this year's playoffs, which excites me more than anything. We've had three regular seasons now. Everyone has adjusted, which is evident in the parody displayed in the regular season.

Which coach will become the next Jacques Lemaire? Hopefully he won't bore the pants off of us like Lemaire did. But I'm confident the NHL is headed in the right direction, and I have an inkling that direction will be paved in the coming months.

Alright, enough on that. Here are my picks:

Western Conference
1. Detroit vs. No. 8 Nashville
Detroit in five
The Predators are hot and have a scrappy team that no one wants to face, but Detroit has too much talent and too much depth.

2. San Jose vs. No. 7 Calgary
San Jose in four
The Sharks are the hottest team in any sports and my pick to win the Stanley Cup. Calgary's only chance is if Miikka Kiprusoff goes off.

3. Minnesota vs. No. 6 Colorado
Colorado in six
The Avs have quietly improved in the second half of the season. They have a former MVP in goal and a veteran team that knows how to win.

4. Anaheim vs. No. 5 Dallas
Anaheim in seven
The Stars haven't given us anything to suggest they can win a series in this conference. That said, I think they'll play a lot better than they have and give the Ducks a challenge.

Eastern Conference
1. Montreal vs. 8. Boston
Montreal in four
Former Stars GM Bob Gainey was ripped at the trade deadline for some curious moves. His team responded by taking the top seed. Canada hasn't had a team with as good a shot at the Cup since the 1994 strike.

2. Pittsburgh vs. No. 7 Ottawa
Pittsburgh in four
Sidney Crosby is the marquee name, but Evgeni Malkin may have a bigger impact this year, and could get the Conn Smythe nod if the Penquins prevail.

3. Washington vs. No. 6 Philadelphia
Philadelphia in six
Getting Alexander Ovechkin in the playoffs was huge for the league. Unfortunately his stay will be short-lived, not necessarily uneventful.

4. New Jersey vs. No. 5 New York Rangers
New Jersey in seven
The goalie matchup between Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist could take out the old and usher in the new. This series is the toughest to pick in the first round, but New Jersey's experience is an edge.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, that does it. Ian Kinsler just struck out looking as Greg Aquino sat down the Rangers in order in the ninth. There weren't too many people left at the park to see it.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

Heading into the bottom of the ninth and the Rangers trail 8-1. If I had some more patience I think I could count every single person still left in the stands from the sellout crowd of 48,808.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Josh Rupe is in a serious mess here. There's one out and the bases are juiced after a walk, a single and a hit by pitch.

And who's up? A ticked off Aubrey Huff who feels he was robbed of a home run in the sixth inning.

UPDATE: Huff came through, lining a single to center to drive in two more runs. He's now 4-for-4 with a walk and four RBIs on the day. Not bad for the Fort Worth Brewer graduate.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Josh Hamilton grounded out to shortstop with two outs and a full count to strand runners at first and second base. The Rangers got on the scoreboard on Kinsler's RBI single and trail 6-1 going into the eighth.

In other news, the stands are clearing out even more. This is good news because I won't have to deal with traffic when I finally get out of here. Nice going, folks.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Rangers, yet again, have runners on first and second with one out with Ian Kinsler coming up. I smell a twin killing to end the inning.

UPDATE: Kinsler actually came through with a single to center to score David Murphy and the Rangers are on the board. There's runners on first and second with one out and Mr. Clutch, Michael Young is at the plate with an 0-for-3 ledger so far. He hit a rocket to right field that was caught for the second out.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Marlon Byrd just struck out to end the sixth inning and the seats are starting to clear out. Pretty sad, really. They couldn't even stick around for the seventh inning stretch. It has been a pretty dismal performance from the Rangers all around and now I'm scrambling on a column idea the DR-C readers would be willing to read. I had lots of feel-good stories ready to tell, but they've all fallen through with this vomit-inducing performance. O's lead 6-0.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Aubrey Huff, a Metroplex native, just jacked a 1-2 pitch to right field that bounced off the top of the wall and hit the yellow line. The first base umpire called it a home run, which scored three more runs for the O's.

Right fielder Marlon Byrd argued, as did Ron Washington and it's appeared to work as the umpires had a conference and ruled it a ground-rule double, and apparently gave Huff two RBIs, when it should be runners at second and third. I really have no idea what just happened and no one else here seems to either. Huff is hot and it giving the umpire a piece of his mind. Not really sure what happened there but the O's get two runs and now lead 6-0 through 5 1/2.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wright's done more good in an inning of work than Jason Jennings did in 4 2/3. Wright came in and got the third out with the bases loaded in the fifth and just picked off Baltimore shortstop Luis Hernandez at first base after giving up a single. He did it on the third try, you'd think Hernandez would get a clue.

Then he struck out Brian Roberts and just had an Ian Kinsler error let Nick Markakis on first on what should've been the third out. Kinsler is having a really rough day with the error and two double plays he's hit into it.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Rangers are batting in the bottom of the fifth and got a leadoff double from Gerald Laird before Ben Broussard was hit by a pitch. Now we have runners on first and second with no outs and the top of the lineup coming up. We'll see what happens..

UPDATE: Ian Kinsler just hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Two outs, runner at third.

UPDATE 2: Michael Young hit the first pitch deep to right field for the third out. Another great chance blown by your Texas Rangers. Kinsler has now hit into two double plays in his past two at-bats.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, the Rangers fans sure aren't showing much compassion for their hometown boy, Jason Jennings, who just got booed off the field after going 4 2-3 innings, giving up seven hits and four runs on two home runs.

Jennings, who is the only Rangers starter to not have a quality start this year has really been the runt of the litter when it comes to starting pitchers so far this year. Granted, we're not even two full rotations into the season but he's struggled while all of his teammates in the starting rotation have looked really good this season.

Jamey Wright enters with the bases loaded and is pitching to Adam Jones, who's 0-for-2 right now.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Rangers strike out again, literally. In the bottom of the fourth, David Murphy just fell victim to a nasty change up to end a threat with the bases loaded. O's lead 4-0 after four innings and the Rangers have blown a couple of good chances to get on the board.

Also, the wireless internet here always seems to be a problem, and today is no different. Just a fair warning to all the Cheap Seats fans out there.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jennings just gave up his second home run of the game -- this time a two-run shot from Luke Scott that traveled 389 feet to left center field. The O's now lead 4-0 no five hits and have even left four runners on base.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

Milton Bradley led off the second inning and Hank Blalock moved him to third on a single to give the Rangers runners at first and third with no outs.

Then, the old Rangers struck again...Marlon Byrd pop-up fly to second, wild pitch that Milton Bradley went home on and was tagged out and a lineout to first from David Murphy to end the inning with nothing to show.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

The longtime Metroplex sports writer and MLB.com superstar T.R. Sullivan just made the joke of the day in the press box.

After Scott Moore's first homer of the year that gave the O's a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Sullivan asked the Baltimore media relations folks, "What's y'alls magic number now?" implying the Orioles, who are a surprising 5-1 to start the season, are close to clinching a playoff spot.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

That didn't take long. Twenty-something pitches into the game and the fans here are booing either the umpire or starter Jason Jennings, a Mesquite Poteet alum. Jennings is struggling to find the strike zone as he has three walks already and has the bases loaded to pitch to catcher Ramon Hernandez with two outs. If he can get out of this jam, the Rangers will be fortunate.

UPDATE: Jennings picked up the third out to leave the O's with the bags loaded on a slow roller down the first base line that he and first baseman Ben Broussard were debating on who should pick up. Broussard ended up doing the honors although it was probably Jennings' ball and tossed it to Jennings on the bag for the third out. We're scoreless going into the bottom the first inning and Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Josh Hamilton.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Neil McCoy just sang the National Anthem as a HUGE American flag was unfolded in the outfield and a bald eagle flew from center field and landed on the pitcher's mound where its handler was waiting.

The coolest thing was the B-1 bomber flyover, to which the line of the day came from the Orioles.com writer sitting next to me. "That's the last thing you see if you live in Baghdad." A bit harsh, yes, but I thought it was funny.

Longtime Rangers radio man Eric Nadel just threw out the first pitch after being accompanied to the mound by new Rangers team president Nolan Ryan as they showed a clip of Ryan's 5,000th strikeout on the jumbotron. It was a pretty strike. I'd say he was under some pressure with Ryan standing right next to him.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Rangers are honoring a lot of former players right now before the National Anthem and the much-awaited B-1 Bomber flyover. The most notable names so far are Steve Buechele (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO), Pete Incagvilia, who's one of 19 players in MLB history to go straight to the bigs without ever playing in the minors, and most notably, former diminutive outfielder David Hulse, who's from my hometown of San Angelo and was friends with my brother-in-law in high school. As everyone knows, Hulse had the first hit in the Ballpark at Arlington.

I can't wait for this flyover. I'll report back later on describe how badly the windows shook.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

Former DR-C staff writer Chuck Cox just saw me in the press box and walked right in to say hi. It's just a little unnerving he anyone could get in without a pass, that's all.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Rangers' home opener is here, assuming the weather holds up, and your favorite Cheap Seats blogger is alive and well in the press box where I just got done eating lunch with my BELO big brothers, Tim Cowlishaw, Kevin Sherrington, Todd Wills and former DR-Cers, Tim MacMahon and Richard Durrett.

I've been here since about 9:45 this morning because all I heard was traffic was going to be beastly, but I had no problems and was down on the field to watch the Rangers take batting practice.

That brings me to my first Cheap Seats quick hits of the day:

1. Josh Hamilton, the Rangers newly acquired wonderboy from Cincinatti in the offseason, is an absolute batting practice stud. The center fielder, who's really been better in the field than at the plate in the Rangers' first six games, took 14 BP pitches and sent nine of them screaming into the stands -- four into the upper deck of Home Run Porch and one that almost made it to the roof. After his sessions, he went and signed autographs for little kids for about 15 minutes before heading in for pregame meetings.

2. During the batting practice, the autograph hounds were of course out in abundance. Gerald Laird was another Ranger who took some time for some inking, but there was one odd autograph subject -- Randy Galloway of Star-Telegram and ESPN Radio fame. Another local media member quipped, "What's this world coming to? Randy Galloway is getting autograph requests!" To which a passing Michael Young said, "What the [heck] is going on?" I laughed to myself.

3. This is my most interesting quickhit of the day...Rangers/Stars/Liverpool owner Tom Hicks made an appearance on the field and was schmoozing with the media, a schmoozefest I chose to stay out of because I would've let my Liverpool allegiances get the best of me, but what I witnessed was quite shocking. Brandon McCarthy, who was acquired from the White Sox more than a year ago for John Danks, walked by Hicks, shook his hand and Hicks said, "Hello, nice to meet you." I found it very odd that the owner hasn't met a guy that's been in his organization for more than a year, but that was just me.

Anyway, there's much more greatness to come. Stay tuned...

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

First off, I'd like to congratulate...myself...for winning the Denton Record-Chronicle office pool. Thanks to the 24 other entrants.

Secondly, there's an actual "official ladder of the NCAA tournament"? Seriously? Werner Ladders, huh? I guess I'll be going out tomorrow and buying one! And all along I thought Acme Brick being the "official brick of the Dallas Cowboys" was the most ridiculous sponsorship ever.

Third, Mario Chalmers is really good. Like, really good. Chalmers, of course, hit the big 3-pointer to tie the game with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, but he also had four or five steals and another couple of deflections. The biggest steal came on the Memphis inbounds pass with about a minute left to prevent the Jayhawks from having to foul. One thing I noticed time and time again during this game was the quickness to the ball from both teams. These were by far the two most athletic teams in the tournament.

Fourthly?...Memphis had debunked the criticisms for the past three games about the team's foul shooting woes it dealt with the entire season. Head coach John Calipari had continuously supported his players and kind of thrown the theory back in the media's face the past couple of weeks -- with good reason. But tonight, the foul shooting came back to haunt Memphis in the final minutes as Chris Douglas-Roberts had missed one foul shot all night before missing his final three attempts down the stretch and watched Derrick Rose miss a couple of key free throws down the stretch as well.

Fifth...Memphis is still amazingly good. The Tigers were a miraculous Chalmers 3 away from winning the national title. They still have an NCAA record 38 wins this year. Impressive.

Sixth, what's Bill Self's future? I've always been a Self fan and am glad to see him win it all. There's been this speculation this week that Oklahoma State, Self's alma mater, will make a push at the Kansas coach to replace Sean Sutton. One thing's for sure, the Pokes can pay Self whatever he wants with the help of gazillionaire booster Boone T. Pickens. The question is, will Self's win tonight make him more or less likely to bolt for his old stomping grounds? My inclination would be more likely, but I still don't think he'll do it, though $$$s can always be attractive.

Seventh...Darrell "Slim Shady" Arthur did Dallas proud tonight. A double-double for the South Oak Cliff product will be slightly overlooked because of Chalmers' historic shot, but Arthur has played like a beast in the tournament after a decent regular season and after a somewhat disappointing freshman year.

Finally, go Big 12. The conference hasn't really gained the respect in basketball that it's probably deserved over the years and a lot of that has had to do with its performance in the NCAA tournament. From now on, the Big 12 will take its rightful seat among the great hoops conferences in the land, right up there with the Big East and ACC. The Jayhawks give the conference its first national title and it also had Texas in the Elite Eight and had just one of six teams (Baylor) lose in the first round of the tourney. Yay, Big 12.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

While it wasn't the game I foresaw in my bracket, I think the matchup between Kansas and Memphis could be the best possible championship game.

One thing's for certain, the game will be an up-tempo one that will be exciting to watch as history will also be at stake with Memphis going for its 39th win of the season after setting an NCAA record on Saturday with its 38th win.

The Tigers have proven a lot of folks wrong throughout their tourney run and head coach John Calipari has lived off the "us against the world" mantra, one that he's imprinted on his kids' brains and they've bought into it.

The Tigers' foul shooting has been better than good in their last two wins so that pretty much puts a big wrench into many people's logic as to why the Tigers would fail, including mine.

There's no doubt in my mind, the Tigers' 38-1 record has a lot to do with their rather spare conference, Conference USA, which includes such juggernauts as SMU, and they likely wouldn't have such a stunning record if they were in the Big 12 with Kansas. However, there's no doubt they've proven to be a great team.

The Tigers have a handful of superstars, most notable freshman sensation Derek Rose, along with one of the country's best swingmen in Chris Douglas-Roberts and big man Joey Dorsey, who's game resembles Ben Wallace.

Kansas, on the other hand, didn't even land anyone on the All-Big 12 first team but is led by Brandon Rush, who's taken his game to another level since the Big 12 tournament, Mario Chalmers and big man Darrell "Slim Shady" Arthur, a South Oak Cliff project, who claimed yesterday that Kansas can't be stopped if the Jayhawks play like they did in Saturday's semifinal win over the tournament's overall top seed, North Carolina.

The thing about that game was that UNC noticeably choked in the beginning, falling behind 40-12 before making a rousing comeback and almost taking the lead in the second half. Memphis straight up manhandled UCLA and the game was never really in doubt.

Kansas is the deepest team in the tourney and might be the best defensive team and Memphis is the most athletic one. It should be a great matchup and I'd expect some pretty good TV ratings. If Kansas wins, I win the DR-C pool and have a PS3 or Nintendo Wii coming my way (any suggestions would be appreciated), but I'm really leaning toward Memphis in this game.

I expect a close, high-scoring affair somewhere in the combined points range of 170, but I think Memphis pulls it out in the end with the only caveat being if the Tigers revert to their old foul shooting ways.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Actually, that should read my wallet was wrong. I actually can't stand UCLA, but needed them to beat Memphis and win Monday to win my pool.

Memphis is the real dang deal. The first team ever to win 38 games in a season and they still have one more to play. The Tigers will be a great test for either Kansas or UNC. I can't wait for this next game and Monday night's game is assured to be a high-flying shootout.

Memphis vs. Kansas -- Memphis wins.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

I had this game circled on March 16 when the brackets were released. I only prayed it would actually happen and now we're just hours away from it.

Like I told a friend earlier today, this game has all the makings of a classic. Unfortunately, usually when I say that about a game, it ends up being a blowout. I don't see that happening today as I don't think either team is capable of being blown out.

These are the two deepest teams in the tournament without a doubt with the slight edge in that department going to Kansas.

However, the Jayhawks have not looked too good the past couple of games and have had some close calls, including Sunday's nailbiter against Cinderella Davidson.

Kansas has historically had trouble "winning the big one" while the Tarheels are all about it, it just so happens they took the Jayhawks' coach from them a few years back who had that negative label until he won a national title in 2005 with the Tarheels.

Roy Williams has always sworn he would never play Kansas unless it was in a tournament setting and it just so happened the teams were matched up, well Roy, that day's come and I think we're in a for a delicious treat.

UNC has Tyler Hansbrough, one of the favorites for National Player of the Year honors, who's affectionately known as "Psycho T" for his relentless style of play. He averages almost a fourth of the Tarheels' 90-something points a game.

Kansas is also a high-scoring offense, but the Jayhawks have about eight or nine guys that could start for just about any team in the country. They're probably "led" by Brandon Rush followed closely by Mario Chalmers and Darrell "Slim Shady" Arthur, of SOC fame. But in reality, there's no standout player for Kansas as the Jayhawks couldn't even manage to land a player on the All-Big 12 first team despite winning the conference and being a Top 5 team throughout the season.

There's no question UNC has some amazing talent around "Psycho T" but there's also no doubt this team will go as far as Hansbrough takes it. Kansas plays true team basketball, but that workman's approach isn't enough in itself to beat the Tarheels.

If this were the lame CBI, and they played a best-of-three series, I'd take the Tarheels without hesitation. However, in one game, I think I'm going to stick with my guns here and take Kansas due to their team play and superior defense.

There you have it...Kansas and UCLA in the final and I win my pool. (Who says a guy can't think wishfully?) Enjoy the games.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

This is one of those games that would a nightmare for basketball novices who ruin bracket pools by picking games off name recognition and succeeding.

There's no program in the country with more tradition than UCLA. I can count on one hand, with fingers to spare, how many Final Fours Memphis has made.

My bracket (and my wallet) needs UCLA and Kansas to win today, but the more I think about it, I think they will both come out on the wrong end of the score.

This game does feature the two best freshman left in the tournament in Memphis point guard Derek Rose and UCLA's big man Kevin Love. As Paul Brogan once said, they both have some pretty girly names but both players' games have been real, real manly this year.

Assuming Memphis can play defense the way it has throughout the tournament, I see no reason why the Tigers can't win this game. Oh yeah, there is one...John Calipari's favorite subject = free throw shooting.

It's no mystery that Memphis struggled tremendously from the line this year, but they still managed to lose one game and they did shoot 21-of-26 from the line in last weekend's embarrassment of the Texas Longhorns in Houston.

This game will be a fairly low-scoring affair as Ben Howland's teams always D up with the best of them, and Memphis has shown some flashes of brilliance on the defensive end as of late.

What I think this game boils down to in the end is depth, and Memphis has more of it than UCLA. The Bruins are no doubt stacked with Love and point guard Darren Collison, who should have a colossal matchup against Rose. However, the Tigers are the most athletically superior team in the land and will try their best to keep the pace of the game somewhat quick. If they can do that, they will find themselves in the championship game on Monday, which also happens to be my birthday. I accept gifts without any shame.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Cheap Seats correspondent Matt Muench of the San Antonio Express-News checks in from San Antonio, where he attended all four teams practices today at the Final Four.

First off, UCLA freshman Kevin Love, who Paul Brogan so eloquently described just below, hit a full-court shot as the Bruins were goofing around at practice.

Speaking of goofing around, Memphis was not doing it. Matt tells me the Tigers appear to be, hands down, the most focused team in the tournament and are kind of the forgotten ones seeing as how they're flanked by three of the most recognizable programs in college hoops in Kansas, UCLA and North Carolina.

I'll have more in the way of analysis and predictions tomorrow, but I'm really starting to think the Tigers just might go ahead and win this whole thing. If they did, would they have to be considered one of the greatest teams of all time? They'd have just one loss. I mean you'd have to put them behind Bob Knight's 1975-76 Indiana team that went 32-0 and was the last team to go undefeated. They'd also be behind some of John Wooden's UCLA teams in the 60s and 70s, but with the changes in college basketball and the "modern era", the Tigers would definitely be the best in a good while. What are your thoughts?

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

That's now the team ERA of the Rangers starting pitching staff through four games.

Listen, I know we're just four games in, but the starting pitching is always a huge question mark with this team so it's kind of promising to see the starters going the way they have so far this season, especially tonight.

Lefty Kason Gabbard, who the Rangers acquired in the Eric Gagne deal with Boston last year, went seven strong shutout innings against the potent bats of the Angels tonight. Gabbard was the beneficiary of a nasty sinker that netted him 15 groundball outs, including three crucial double plays that ended Angels threats.

Though the Rangers ended up giving up six ninth-inning runs to win 11-6, Gabbard's stellar outing comes on the heels of similar outings from Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla in the first two games and a nice outing from Jason Jennings on Wednesday, in which he had one bad inning that lost the game.

A few other Rangers quick hits:

- Ben Broussard now leads the team in home runs with two. He jacked a grand slam to give the Rangers a 5-0 lead before things really blew up in the late innings. It was Broussard's sixth career grand slam, three of which are of the pinch-hit variety.

- Josh Hamilton is a beast. Not only is he making all kinds of crazy good plays in center field, he's also starting to live up to his spring hype at the plate. Hamilton crushed two pitches to the wall. The first resulted in a stand-up triple and the second could have been the same if the Rangers weren't nursing an 11-run lead and calling off the hounds. He stopped at second. He really needs to keep this up to make my preseason prediction blog look good. Read this story about Hamilton, by Hamilton. If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard his story, it's a pretty amazing one.

- I think Milton Bradley could end up being a big part of this team. Bradley hasn't been getting a whole lot of hits, but he's getting on base, and he's starting to steal bases too, which was a big question mark with his knee injury he suffered last year in the freak incident with an altercation with an umpire.

- Gabbard will be starting the home opener Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. against the Orioles, and I will be covering it. Get ready for some blog madness live from the Ballpark press box and field come Tuesday.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

PAUL BROGAN - FINAL FOUR RAP

My favorite rapper (not really) Paul Brogan gives his take on the 2008 NCAA tournament and his predictions for the Final Four, and his opinion of your girlfriend.

I'll be back later on with my analysis of tomorrow's games between Memphis and UCLA and the titanic clash of Kansas-North Carolina.

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments