Cheap Seats

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.

So when FC Dallas gets the championship of whatever league it's in, the Dallas Morning News is going to put them on the front 1A? Nope, they didn't. They did put Marty Turco on the front of 1A this week though.

So when the Dallas Desperados have the best record in Arena Football going into the playoffs, everybody is going to flip a lid? No, no one flipped a lid, except while laughing when the Desperados choked.

Yes, the Stars have plenty of bandwagon fans right now. But let's get real here. This isn't the time to regurgitate Bristol's anti-hockey propaganda. Dallas is genuinely into this team. Will they if the Stars get bounced against Detroit and start slow next year? Probably not.

But the Mavericks are in the same boat. The North Dallas Beautiful People comprise most of their fan base, too, and when the Mavs lose, they bolt. Just like the Stars. Just like the Rangers. The only difference is hockey is simply not as big as basketball or baseball.

Does that mean nobody cares? No. That's just ... stupid. I don't know why you people don't understand this. It's really very simple. I'm looking in your direction, Brian Estridge. Did you see FC Dallas get popular when it played for the MLS title because Dallas was desperate for a winning team? Did you, Brian? I didn't think so.

Maybe there's something to this ... hockey, after all.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

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...

Posted by Adam Boedeker at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

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.

He said all he can think about when he sees Kobe Bryant is his legal troubles in Colorado. All he can think about when he sees Hillary Clinton is a woman who let his husband cheat on her. Those softball players that carried an opposing player around the bases when she tore her ACL when she hit a home run? They were breaking the code of competition.

Kevin, what the hell. Bryant was tried in a court of law and acquitted. I think it’s safe to say his accuser had a screw or two loose. Hillary Clinton? I’m not sure why you’re even talking about her, but that was 10 years ago. Plenty of people and athletes have marital problems. It’s not your place to call them out on it.

Frankly, I find these comments disgusting. While I have no doubt that Kevin Kiley poops bricks of flowery-smelling gold, I bet there a few skeletons in his closet from, you know, 10 or 20 years ago that we could throw in his face.

I listened for about 10 seconds, then changed the station. Michael Irvin has actually grown on me a bit. That’s coming from a Giants fan. Kevin Kiley is a judgmental ego maniac who needs to pay more attention to what athletes are doing on the field, not chastising them for mistakes off of it.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

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.

Like in the glory days of the late 1990s, Dallas has earned the spotlight in a town where playoff success has been hard to find. The Stars lost those fans after three straight first round exits.

Like many have said before me, sometimes coming close and not delivering is worse than not coming close. It rips the heart out of fans, and those fans that have no real emotional attachment to hockey or this team would peace out faster than Ray Lewis at a shooting involving his posse.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and we have Morrow and Turco to thank for that.

In other news, Scarlett Johansson is engaged. That is terrible news for all us males.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

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.

But, I don’t think I need to throw out any stats about how hard it is to cough up a 3-0 lead, and given that Dallas wasn’t necessary outplayed in the loss, fans should still start coming up with money for tickets to the Western Conference Finals.

The Associated Press ran a story on the series I found utterly ridiculous. The Stars are 8-0-1 in their last nine games in San Jose, but the story seems to be giving credence to the Sharks' lame belief they are still in this series.

I understand the Sharks want to stay confident and upbeat. But use some judgement here, guys. This is over. It was over when the Stars went up 3-0.

Posted by Jeff Andrews at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments