danica patrick tantrum

Danica appears a tad upset after running out of gas with two laps left at Michigan this weekend.

random sports musings...

• It's just the first day of training camp and the Cowboys are already starting to dominate the local media outlets.

• How do you know when you're really bad? Just ask the Rangers, they lost again tonight to the lowly Kansas City Royals.

• I'd like to believe that Floyd Landis is innocent and that his Tour de France vicory was legit... with all the mis-information put out there by the media, here is a good article on the facts of Landis' plight.

• View the 50 top-earning athletes in the US here.... Keith Van Horn comes in at #40 on the list and is the only Dallas athlete to make it.

the rangers are buyers?

Maybe Jon Daniels' plan is to buy a whole new team? That's really what they're going to need to make the playoffs. The Rangers lost their 5th straight game tonight, this one to the lowly Royals, 11-3. Newly acquired Carlos Lee, who went 2-4, was in the lineup, but it didn't matter. I didn't see any of the game, but I didn't need to. One stat says it all... Runners left in scoring position with two outs - 6, total team LOB - 9. It's been the Rangers M.O. all season. They can't manufacture runs nor get the timely hitting when needed. Vicente Padilla giving up 7 runs in less than 4 innings didn't help, but when the Rangers don't hit, they don't win. It's really that simple. And even though they made a good trade to bring in Lee, the Rangers should be selling more than buying, as they are now a game below .500 and 2 1/2 games back of both Oakland and Anaheim in the West. I called it a while back and still believe that this team is done. They managed to hang around close until after the all-star break, but its time to pack it in. Cowboys training camp officially started today so its time to move on to better topics. T.O.’s first practice is tomorrow morning and that promises to be much more entertaining that the Rangers/Royals game.

baseball hometown heroes

Starting on July 18 (last Tuesday), fans have the opportunity to vote for the most outstanding player in the history of each MLB franchise based on specific criteria that makes the winner deserving of being called a hero. Read the rest of the article here.

The official Rangers nominees are:
Rusty Greer
Pudge Rodriguez
Nolan Ryan
Jim Sundberg
Mark Teixeira

My vote easily goes to Pudge, quite possibly the best catcher the game has ever seen.
Where's Kenny Rogers on this list?!? Seriously though, why no A-Rod (yeah everyone hates him but he's won 2 MVPs). Sundberg should be replaced by Buddy Bell and Michael Young should be in the top 5 instead of Tex at this point. If I had to stack rank the 5 Rangers though, it would be Pudge, Ryan, Tex (he would be above Ryan if he had more than 3.5 yrs), Greer and Sundberg.

Cast your vote here.

talladega nights trailer

This looks hilarious... watch the trailer here.

more on gary matthews jr

Thanks to his great first half (he leads the team with a .328 average and 5 SBs) and making the All-Star team, Gary Matthews Jr is finally getting some national recognition. See the story in The USAToday here.

stars schedule released

Check out the Stars 2006-2007 schedule here.

who needs mike james... not the mavs

Did the Mavericks truly lose out on the free agent they coveted most because they wouldn’t add a 4th year to the contract? Mike James, who would have fit perfectly behind Devin Harris and Jason Terry in the Mavs guard rotation, opted to sign with Minnesota instead. The public reason for James choosing the T-Wolves over the Mavs is that they wouldn’t add a 4th year to their offer. Why in the world not?

In that 4th year there is a chance that James could be a truly declining player. But that 4th year would have added only about $7.6M to the cap. Surely a team that didn’t mind carrying Keith Van Horn at $16M/year wasn’t scared off by the possibility that James would have been an albatross around the Mavericks neck four years from now.

James said all the right things about the Mavs. He willingly revealed a significant friendship with Avery Johnson and that he was “wowed” by Johnson during a Monday visit in Las Vegas. But apparently Dallas wouldn't take the extra step financially to sign James.

Who needs Mike James when you can sign Greg Buckner instead? Because that's just what the Mavs did today, they signed Buckner, who's only a year younger than James, to a 5-yr contract. Who needs a point guard like James that can dish and score when you can get one that does neither? Last year James averaged 20 pts and 6 assists per game in a breakout year. Buckner averaged a rather pedestrian 7 and 1.5, both above his career average.

How exactly does Buckner fit into the Mavs player rotation? Yeah he can play some D, but don't Harris, Jet and Adrian Griffin already fit that bill? If Devon Harris is starting at the point and Jason Terry is playing exclusively the two guard, maybe Buckner spells Harris? But I'm not sure that Harris is ready to be a full-time starter. So the Mavs basically have three backup points guards (if you throw in rookie Maurice Ager) and no starter. Good call there Mr. Cuban.

gmj

In the metroplex, we call this "pulling a Matthews".

nice catch by Grady Sizemore

rocky is back

The Italian Stallion Rocky Balboa is making yet another comeback. Fortunately, the preview looks much better than Rocky III, IV or V. For a guy that's almost 60, Sly puts on quite a show. See the trailer here.

jordan look-alike sues mj and nike

You gotta love it... Allen Heckard from Portland, Oregon is suing former basketball superstar Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight for a combined $832 million. Heckard filed the suit himself on June 29th in Washington County Court. Heckard says he’s been mistaken as Michael Jordan nearly every day over the past 15 years and he’s tired of it... like that would be a bad thing?

Read the article from King 5 News here.

eaton throwing in frisco

There is some Rangers action tonight even though the club is relaxing over the three-day All-Star break. RHP Adam Eaton is pitching tonight in Frisco for the Rough Riders. He's supposed to throw 45 pitches, which means he likely goes three innings, four at the max. Eaton, recovering from surgery to fix a torn pulley tendon in his right middle finger, would pitch in Frisco again on Saturday if all goes well tonight. Throwing almost exclusively fastballs during his rehab, Eaton indicated he may mix in a curve or two tonight.

rangers back in first

Tex and GMJ go yard, Rangers win. If you read this much (which you probably don't), you'd notice a trend. When the Rangers homer, they tend to win, when then don't, they lose. Johan Santana struck out 5 of the first 6 Ranger batters and things looked to be a repeat of Saturday night. Then Santana hung an 0-2 curve to Teixeira, who deposited it deep into the left field bleachers. Then in the 7th Matthews took a low and away fastball opposite field, creeping it over the wall and into the first row in right. Good thing for Gary that Michael Cuddyer isn't much of an outfielder, as that ball was easily catchable. GMJ wouldn't have let that one go out. The Rangers became the first team this season to hit two homers off Santana in a game and it was the first time in 40 starts -- since June 2, 2005, against Cleveland -- that Santana allowed more than one homer in a game.

At the All-Star break, the Rangers, at two games over .500, are in a first place tie in the AL West with Oakland.

Check out Evan Grant's "Birds Eye View of the Rangers" at mid-season here. My favorites... Vicente Padilla as the Common Cuckoo and Brad Wilkerson as the Red-Faced Warbler.

I've seen this in a few places over the last week, so for those who might be wondering about Ex-Ranger Juan Gonzalez, he's hitting .302 for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. There's no stat on how many DL stints he's make thus far.

Italy beat France in today's World Cup Final 2-1, winning on penalty kicks, 5-3 (was anyone watching?). The 2010 World Cup will be in South Africa.

Here's yet another reason why I can't stand Jeff "the flaming fag" Gordon.

they're celebrating in Rome

Cuddyer's 6" vertical turns into a home run for Matthews

hard to watch these rangers

I attended the Rangers game tonight... 6 hits and no runs for the home team... not good! Quite an anemic offense the Rangers have though I've been preaching that for quite a while now. They're still waiting to score with the big hit. DeRosa had one tonight, a double to left on route to a 2-4 night. Teixeira also had a big hit, a double to deep center, off the wall (to go along with his 3 K's). The problem is, they were in different innings and no one was on base either time. When there were runners on, the hitting was non-existent. A prime example of the Rangers hitting woes was the 7th inning. With one out, DeRosa on second and Blalock on first, Liriano was starting to struggle and Kinsler had worked the count to 3-0. I was thinking, he's got to be taking here. Hell, the whole stadium was probably thinking the same thing. Load the bases for Mench and then Laird. Except that didn't happen. Kinsler, 0-2 up to that point in the game, grounded weakly to short on a pitch up in the zone, forcing Blalock out at second on a fielder's choice. So instead of bases loaded with 1 out, it was first and third with two outs. Mench proceeded to ground out to third. This offense is bad and undisciplined and frustrating to watch.

On a positive note, the Rangers made several defensive gems during the game. Hairston threw out Castillo at the plate in the 4th to end the inning and keep the game scoreless. Then in the 6th, Teixeira picked a hot shot at first and started a 3-6-3 double play. Both of those plays were ESPN web gems; Tex's play landing him at number 2 on the night. Just as impressive were Laird's two caught stealings of Punto at second, one time in the 6th and then again in the 8th. I have a feeling he'll be the starter next year and maybe sooner.

Albert Pujols hit his 29th homerun tonight, a game winning shot in the 10th to beat the Astros 7-6.

random thoughts

so it was a slow sports day...

The Rangers are 2 games back in the West, no thanks to the Angels.

Tom Boonen is still wearing the maillot jaune in the tour de france, though as everyone knows, the tour doesn't really start until they reach the mountains next week.

I don't really like anyone left playing at Wimbledon. I was rooting for both Clijsters (she has so much talent but always seems to underachieve) and Sharapova (lets face it, she freakin hot) today and both lost. I'm so tired of Federerererer winning; someone, anyone, please knock him off his pedastool. Too bad this guy below is gone.



Randomness of the non-sports variety...

good to be blonde?


Here's a pretty cool web site... http://www.ohdontforget.com

Spidey 3 is coming out in May 2007, watch the trailer here.

millwood out, young reaches 1000

Kevin Millwood will be on the shelf until after the all-star break. Millwood hasn't tossed a ball since straining his right bicep Sunday against Houston. He wants to throw a bullpen session this weekend, but doctors told him not to throw until the ache in his arm is gone. Manager Buck Showalter indicated there was an outside chance Millwood could start Saturday or Sunday, but he's more likely to start July 14 or 15 after the All-Star break. John Wasdin will start in Millwood's spot on Friday. As a side note, has anyone else noticed that Millwood has virtually NO personality whatsoever?

Michael Young got his 1000th career hit with a single in the 4th inning of July 4th's 3-2 loss to Toronto. It came in his 827th career game, the fastest a Ranger has reached the plateau. Young is the ninth player in club history to record at least 1,000 hits. He is also tied for 10th among active players in fewest games played to reach 1,000.

rangers go deep... and win

It’s not shocking that the Rangers won tonight. Not because Padilla was pitching and he's had 5 quality stars in a row. No, it’s because the Rangers hit four homers on route to a 9-3 victory. The term small-ball means nothing in the Rangers clubhouse. The Rangers have the third fewest sacrifice bunts in the majors behind only Toronto and Boston and only Rod Barajas has more than one. Can you say pathetic? Almost as bad is the Rangers 8-16 record in one-run games.

Every Ranger but Brad "K" Wilkerson had a hit tonight with Matthews, Teixeira, Blalock, Kinsler and Mench having multi-hit games. Kinsler is 13 for 25 in his last 6 games.

Kinsler rounds third after going deep

Padilla had 10 strikeouts

Cordero closed it out going 2 1/3 for the save

quisy leavin

In the their never-ending quest to have every 6-10 and up whitie in the NBA make at least one stint with the team, the Mavs traded Marquis Daniels tonight to the Indianapolis Pacers, for of all players, Austin Croshere. Croshere has a career average of 7.5 pts and 4.3 rebounds per game... quite a pick-up for Cuban and co. This trade does virtually nothing for the Mavs except free up some cash after next year when Croshere's contract runs out. Daniels had 3 years left on his contract, though at a relatively reasonable ~$6M/year whereas the Mavs will cut ties with their new big man after paying his $9.5M+ this season. That and with the Mavs drafting Maurice Ager, minutes for Daniels would be harder to come by. I hate to see Daniels go if not just because I wont be able to hear Chuck Cooperstein calling him "Quisy".

matthew's jr, catch of the year?

As promised, here's Gary Matthews Jr's web gem.

nobody asked me but...

• The Rangers lost another 1-run game tonight. They are a .500 club (42-42) for a reason, and that's a complete and total lack of timely hitting. With the tying run on second base in the bottom of the ninth tonight, the Rangers failed on 3 successive at-bats to get just a single to drive the run in. Mench lined out weakly to second, Barajas reached on a dropped 3rd strike and Matthews flew out to right. 0-3 with RISP and the game on the line doesn't get it done. The Rangers wasted a very good 8-inning performance by John Koronka. The Rangers have now dropped 2.5 games back of Oakland in the West and are a sad 22-24 at home in the Ballpark.

• The Indians beat the Yankees 19-1 today... on Steinbrenner's 76th birthday. That's awesome! Happy freakin birthday, George!

• Albert Pujols has gone deep in back to back games hitting No. 27 on Sunday and No. 28 Monday night.

• The NL is 0-8-1 in the last 9 all-star games and has lost 10 of the last 14 World Series.

• I've made the statement before and after her US Open win on Monday, I'll say it again, Annika Sorenstam is the best golfer in the world... on any circuit. She has 82 professional wins, 68 on the LPGA tour. She’s also an 8-time player of the year in her 12 years on tour. Sorenstam has amassed 10 victories in the four majors along with 4 runner-up and 19 top-ten finishes.

Annika and the perfect swing

better late than never - info on the stars

I started this post almost a week ago... some serious procrastination going on. Some thoughts on the Stars...

The Stars have lost some key players from last season's team and now have some holes to fill before the start of this season. Gone are Guerin, Arnott, Kapanen, Mitchell and Hedberg. Arnott wanted a long contract and big money after he careered last year and found it in Nashville. He also claimed he wanted to be the go-to guy. Guerin was bought out of his $6.7M contract to give the Stars some room under the salary cap to add some new younger talent. Niko Kapanen was traded to the Thrashers for Jaroslav Modry and Patrik Stefan.

The new pieces brought in so far are centers Patrik Stefan (the top pick in the '99 draft) and Mike Green (who?) and defensemen Jaroslav Modry and former Star Darryl Sydor. Nice roll players, but not the money players they have been brought in to replace. The Stars have 8 defensemen under contract now, but are still unsure who plays on the top line with Sergui Zubov... it very well may be rookie sensation Trevor Daley. The Stars eight defensemen include: Zubov, Daley, Boucher, Niinimaa, Modry, Klemm, Robidas and now Sydor. The Stars still need to add a #2 center, a scoring/play-making forward and figure out who will be the backup goalie to Turco.

For those who have gone into panic mode, of the Stars 11 double-digit goal scores from last season, 8 of them are returning. Several holes left to fill with not many players out there available to fill them, but Doug Armstrong has done a great job since he's been with the Stars so lets see what he can pull off.

The Stars drafted Ivan Vishnevskiy with their first round draft pick, the 27th overall. Vishnevskiy, a defenseman, is considered to be the fastest skater in the draft. He was born in Russia but has already played one season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and is expected to live in North America year-round. In the third round, the Stars took left-winger Aaron Snow, who is more of a two-way player who fits in the Stars’ style. He had 68 points in 68 games in his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League.

The Stars pre-season schedule was announced last week. Dallas will play the team that has eliminated them in the last two playoffs — the Colorado Avalanche — twice in the preseason this fall. The Stars also will see Pacific Division rival Phoenix twice (giving them 10 games against the Coyotes and coach Wayne Gretzky), as well as Tampa Bay twice and Atlanta once in the preseason.

The preseason schedule:
Monday, Sept. 18: vs. Atlanta Thrashers, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 19: at Colorado Avalanche, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 20: at Phoenix Coyotes, 9 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 22: vs. Phoenix Coyotes, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 24: at Tampa Bay Lightning, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 27: vs. Colorado Avalanche, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30: vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.

More Stars news here.

Guerin's $6.7M salary was too much

all-stars

Michael Young and Gary Matthews Jr will represent the Rangers as reserves in the All-Star Game in Pttsburgh next week. Not surprising that the Rangers have no pitchers making an all-star appearance. Interesting to note that Kenny Rogers made it... but how did this guy make the team with a 5.59 ERA???

Kevin Millwood left tonight's game after 3 1/3 innings with a strained right bicep. With Adam Eaton on the DL for another 3 weeks, the Rangers could be in trouble if Millwood ends up missing any significant time. Eaton threw a simulated game earlier today and said he felt good afterward though he's only throwing fastballs right now so as to not strain the surgically repaired middle finger.

Great movie on TBS tonight... Remember the Titans, though it's only very loosly based on the actual TC Williams team.

sports randomness

Though the Rangers sucked again last night, Gary Matthew's Jr made, in my opinion, the best catch of the year robbing Mike Lamb of a home run to dead center field. Not only did Gary bring one back, he went up a good 3-4 feet above the wall to get it. An incredible play. If I can find a video clip of it, I'll post it here.

Andy Roddick is over-rated. Billed as the next great American tennis player, he's quickly turning into a one hit wonder. He's a one-trick pony with a booming serve, but the rest of his game is average. Andre Agassi finished his last match at Wimbledon today, site of his first major victory back in 1982. Though he has fewer majors than Sampras, I think Agassi is the best American tennis player of all time. He's one of only five players to achieve the career grand slam and only the second American. Along with his 8 Grand Slam wins he's been the runner-up in 7 more Slam tournaments.

Did Dirk finally grow himself a pair? Dirk said nothing but the obvious - that Cuban’s sometimes ridiculous behavior was bothering the players, undercutting Avery Johnson’s attempt to build a “no excuses” squad and conceivably hurting the club on the floor. These comments aren’t new. But the fact that they came from inside the club and out of the mouth of their superstar is new. Cuban’s been able to shake off criticism from virtually everywhere else. But how does he hide from the fairly pointed remarks of his best player?

Lance Armstrong is retired and now the top contenders for this year's tour are banned on the suspicion of using performance enhancing drugs... is anyone going to watch? Former Armstrong Discovery Channel teammate, American George Hincapie, leads the tour after the prologue and first stage.