1.  Things changed when Josh went down.

When Josh Howard rolled his ankle by steping on Peja Stojakovic’s foot, the fortune of the Mavericks immediately changed.  I was surprised that the announcers on the national broadcast didn’t make a bigger deal out of it.

Not from an excuse standpoint, but more so on the defensive end Josh could hardly stick with anyone.  He kept throwing up bricks off that bad wheel and the Hornets slowly crept back in the game.

2.  Why did Avery take Dirk out?

I have to say I was frustrated with Coach Johnson when he took Nowitzki out  just under two minutes into the fourth.  The Hornets already had momentum on their side, and it would have been nice to see what Dirk might have done to try to curb the tide.

By the time Avery called a timeout to get Dirk back in the game, it was too late.  This is do or die time, I just felt like the Mavs should have pulled out all the stops to try to get this win on the road.

3.  This team won’t win with jump shots.

Yeah we’ve said it over and over, but the evidence was on display so clearly in the 2nd half.  The only player for the Mavericks who even attempted to play with his back to the basket on Saturday was Jason Kidd  -and not with very much success I might add.  When times get tough and jumpers stop falling, you need someone that can get you easy baskets.

David West gave New Orleans exactly that after a slow start.  It’s like Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals is playing on a continuous loop.  Get the lead, throw up jumpers, lose the lead, lose the game.  All while the other team drives to the hole and gets easy baskets from the blocks.

It’s a nightmare.

A couple of months ago I wanted to write a post touting the virtues of bringing another baseball team into the market. I thought that downtown Dallas would make a fine home for the Florida Marlins. But that’s not what this post is about.

This post stems from the attendance at the Rangers’ second home game. The double header against the Baltimore Orioles saw a dismal 15,560 paid attendance. Talk radio (i.e. the Ticket) lamented the fact that a team playing in the 4th (or 5th) largest media market should never draw those types of numbers - even if the team sucks.

Yet as I thought about that opinion, I asked myself a question: What does media market have to do with attendance? Of course one would throw out the fact that you can translate media market stats into population, and I’d go to the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) for that. That nets us nearly 5,000,000 potential Ranger fans/game attendees for any given home game - right? WRONG!!!

In 2004, the Rangers had their last winning season and I lived in Grand Prairie, exactly 7 miles from the Ballpark. I, along with my family, attended about 12 games that season. The next year they didn’t play as well but we still went to about 10 games. If I wanted to go to a weeknight game, I could get in the car at 7 o’clock and make it for the bottom half of the 1st inning of a 7:05 start.

By the time the ‘06 season came around we had moved to Dallas. And though the team’s record hasn’t helped, it’s a hike to get out to the game. In ‘06 we didn’t catch one home game, and last year we only made one. Consequently, each of the last two years we have seen one road games (Houston) and one Rough Rider games (Frisco).

Let’s discount the fact that the team is abysmal right now. I think the Rangers are suffering from a Real Estate issue. And so here is my thesis: The Texas Rangers ARE indeed a small market team.

Only Tom Hicks could even imagine that those words would have any validity to them. Anyone who knows anything about baseball can vouch that it’s the most local of the major sports. There are 81 home games each season and with so many of them played during the week, the easier it is to get to the game the better.

I believe that a team counts on fans who work or live within 5 miles of the stadium for their core attendance. With eight home games a year, you can put a football team anywhere. It seemed like that when the ballpark was first built. The year The Ballpark opened, I drove up from College Station for 3 games. That was before Minute Maid was available and the novelty was still there. The thrill is (somewhat) gone.

Baseball depends on repeat business. The Rangers are probably of the belief that their potential customers live in Frisco, Garland, Burleson, and Roanoke. While possible game watchers do live in all of these locations, the chance that they will drive to see the Texas Rangers on a Wednesday night is minimal. Even if the team was good it would be a hassle.

Look at the teams who have built downtown stadium in the last 15 years - all of them with the exception of the Rangers. President George W. Bush and the previous owners forgot the most important rule of real estate LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

So here is the purpose of this whole exercise. Below, I have taken a selected number of stadiums and looked at the population within a 5 mile radius. This, I believe is the biggest problem that the Rangers face - outside of their roster and general manager.

Venue, City, 5 mile radius population

Yankee Stadium, New York City (2,502,621)

Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois (1,052,689)

U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, ILL (825, 341)

PNC Park, Pittsburg,PA (388,299)

Great American Ballpark Cincinnati (305,392)

Ballpark in Arlington, Texas (282,931)

Numbers gathered from GIS Planning, Inc.

Let me quickly hit a couple of points on Arlington:

#1 don’t pull the Glory Park card

The projected 2012 population in Arlington is 304, 598. Even with all the hopes and dreams folks are putting in Jerry World, a 10,000 person population surge would be massive and still not make the Rangers a big market baseball team.

#2 Broaden the radius dude

Yes if you broaden the population band to 10 miles, you get about 800,000 people. However 10 city miles doesn’t always constitute a quick trip.

#3 This doesn’t include work population

O.K. Let’s take The Hardline as an example. Imagine that today’s game against the Angels had a 12:05 start instead of 1:05. And by the way, the stadium was in downtown Dallas. They could have had an early show prep meeting, gone to the ballpark and caught most of the game, and headed over to the AAC in time for “Why Today Doesn’t Suck.” Mr. Generic Businessman could walk to the park and catch 4 inning over lunch and be back in time to catch up on his TPS report.

#4 Mass Transit

Baseball and mass transit go together like….well a hand and glove. How many times have I said that Arlington is the largest city in the United States without mass transit? If that doesn’t reek of small market, I don’t know what does.

So yes, I’m coming to the defense of Tom Hicks. You can’t charge big market ticket prices when you are playing in a small market town. The Ballpark in Arlington is one of the most beautiful stadiums in America. Unfortunately it’s not in one of America’s largest cities.

Healthy places to eat, parks, jogging trails, fitness centers and gyms are not easy to find in South Oak Cliff. They are not as near as prevalant as North Dallas, M Street area or Uptown. Why is that the case? What are the effects? Look at these statistics:

Many obesity-related diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cancer and heart disease are found in higher rates among various members of racial-ethnic minorities compared with whites.

• Diabetes has been reported to occur at a rate of 16 to 26 percent in Hispanic Americans and black Americans, aged 45 to 74, compared with 12 percent in whites (non-Hispanic) of the same age.
• Obesity appears to contribute to the higher risk of pancreatic cancer among black Americans than among whites, particularly for women.
• Among African Americans, the high prevalence of obesity and obesity-related conditions such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, are factors reported to contribute to their high death rate from coronary heart disease.
• The high prevalence of obesity is reported to be a contributing factor to the high prevalence of hypertension in minority populations, especially among African Americans who have an earlier onset and run a more severe course of hypertension.
• Cultural factors related to dietary choices, physical activity, and acceptance of excess weight among African Americans and other racial-ethnic groups, appear to play a role in interfering with weight loss efforts.
• African Americans and whites report that they exercise less as they get older, however, African American women of all ages report participating in less regular exercise than white women.
• African American men, age 45 and older, report less regular exercise than white women.

http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/fastfacts/Obesity_Minority_Pop.shtml

The health concerns with being obese and overweight are reason alone to try to be healthy. But looking a certain way creates self-esteem and evokes pride. What’s not to like about looking healthy and fit in a suit, dress or even a swimsuit. And I want to be clear, I am not talking about being model-skinny, like you find on magazine covers or on America’s Next Top Model. I am talking about looking and feeling a way that cultivate a sense of pride and air of confidence.

What can be done? I think we have to start eating at home much more often. And when we do, we have to make some sensible choices. We have to sacrifice preference and our culture tastes (fried, pork or salty) in lieu of nutrition and eating well-balanced meals.  We have to install proper diet habits in our kids. We have to make time to exercise and make exercise a part of our culture. There are a few parks in South Dallas, and we need them packed with people running, walking, doing jazzerize and playing a sport.  We have to treat our bodies as the temples God has bless us with.

When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no “I’ll start tomorrow.”  ~V.L. Allineare

 College baseball has several hindrances that prevent it from being a mainstream sport.  Those hindrances are a season affected by imperfect weather, no television viewership, aluminum bats and the baseball draft.  I think the biggest problem is the weather between February and late May.  It is too cold, too windy and rains too much.  The weather keeps fans away and cancels too many games.  Cute girls don’t brave weather, and when they stay away, the fellas do the same.  College baseball has never been able to attract a television audience.  They can’t even get ESPN to broadcast their games.  They can’t even get ESPN to show highlights or scores of their games.  In today’s society, if you can’t get your sport on ESPN you are not an attractive sport.  Aluminum bats and the major league draft harm the sport.  People associate wooden bats’ “crack,” instead of the “ping” of aluminum.  Every June, the major league draft takes the best high school players and puts them in towns such as Peoria and Surprise, instead of on the campuses in Austin, Gainesville, Baton Rouge or Tucson.

This season, the NCAA moved college baseball’s start date back to late February.  They did this to help the schools in the North.  The North schools were at a disadvantage to the schools in the South because of the weather.  This change should help.  Hopefully, the NCAA will take steps to get college baseball on television more often so more fans will have access to their product.  If that happens, it will be hard to ignore.

The first thing I noticed was that this year’s team was more athletic than SOC teams from the past.   A common misconception is that the Golden Bears had won 3 straight titles because they were superior athletically.  The truth is they win because they outcoached and outwilled their opponents on a nightly basis.

On Saturday, SOC defeated Highland Park 58-52 at the Garland Special Events Center.  Center J’Mison “Bobo” Morgan scored 15 points in the win.  Next week Coach James Mays will take his team to Austin in a quest for a 4th straight title. 

In a contest that featured 10 ties and 12 lead changes, the game wasnot decided until the final seconds. McNeil led the Mustangs with 16points and he was joined in double figures by Solomon and DeWanzellDay, who added 10 points apiece.

Liberty Eylau forward Charles Jones had a double double, scoring agame-high 22 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds in the loss.He was joined in double figures by Jermaine Waller and Leon Ransom
scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

With the win, Dallas Roosevelt advances to the regional final againstKennedale, who defeated Pittsburg 66-63 in the other semifinal.

From Texas A&M Commerce Sports Information. 

Recruiting has been called the lifeblood of college football.  That might be too strong of a word, but it is the foundation on which college football programs and championships are built.  It is just not a coincidence that the best recruiters (Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Mack Brown, Bob Stoops and, even, Ron Zook) win year after year.  They win because they get the best players.  The lifeblood of college football will always be the importance the alumni and fans of a school place on winning on Saturdays.  PASSION- you can say.  Passion is the monster.  Recruiting feeds it and feeds off of it.

A couple of schools fed the monster this past Wednesday with strong recruiting classes.  Here are the results of some teams from the Big 12 and other Texas colleges with the players they signed (in parenthesis is a former college player they resemble (their college career, not their pro career)).  {Please note, I am not predicting these players will have the careers of the former star I am comparing them to.}

OU had a top five recruiting class that included three stars from Texas: Paris OL Stephen Good (D’Brickshaw Ferguson), Keller DE R.J. Washington (Andre Wadsworth) and Van RB Jermie Calhoun (Musa Smith).   They clearly had the best class in the conference.

Texas ‘hooked’ a top ten class filled with some good receivers, defensive tackles and defensive backs.  The players that you will see playing pretty quick for the Horns are Allen WR Dan Buckner (Mike Williams), Klein WR DeSean Hales (BJ Johnson), Austin WR DJ Grant (Mark Clayton (LSU, not OU)), Cedar Hill DT Jarvis Humphrey (Russell Maryland), Austin CB Aaron Williams (Quentin Jammer),  and Alief RB Jeremy Hills (Byron Hanspard).  The good news is that nine of the twenty players UT signed are already enrolled this spring and will play spring ball, including Nate Newton’s son Southlake RB Tre Newton (Skip Hicks).  The bad news for Texas is that they lost their biggest recruit, California RB Darrell Scott (Ki-Jana Carter), 24 hours before signing day. He signed with…

Colorado.  The Buffs got a great back that should start from Game 1, unless the recruiting police come knocking and start looking around.  They also signed two stud linebackers and a good offensive lineman.  They had the best recuiting class of the Big 12 North schools. Mizzou was second.

Mike Sherman at Texas A&M had a very good first recruiting class.  Coach Fran did most of the legwork, but Sherman will reap the benefits with McKinney WR Jeff Fuller (Sloan Thomas), Desoto RB Cyrus Gray (Ricky Williams, the Tech one), Aldine DT Rod Davis (Ty Warren), Desoto DE Tony Jerod (Chase Pittman).

Oklahoma State signed ”good kids that are good with the public, are good with the media,” but they did not sign any notable players.  Baylor and SMU signed large classes, and their new head coaches, Art Briles and June Jones, should be happy given their circumstances.  Texas Tech and TCU should be embarrassed. Both had few scholarships to award, and they wasted those few on juco players and lowly rated players.

In closing, unlike the actual season, there is no offseason in recruiting.  Which is an indication of its importance. Already there are 2009 recruits to attract, text and write. Texas already got one on Thursday.  National Signing Day 2009 is only 362 Days away and the monster is always hungry and needs to be fed.  

Pregame ten minutes before the kick:  Despite her large forehead, Pam Oliver is very good-looking.  She dresses well, but I can’t get a good read on her body. Will continue to investigate. 

Pregame two minutes before kick: Jason Witten doing a pregame interview.  I am starting to think he loves the spotlight, despite his hometown boy persona, as much as his QB. The first Jessica Simpson and Mexico reference has already been made(Joe Buck).

FIRST QUARTER

13:15: I would hate to have to tackle Brandon Jacobs all game long.

11:50: Long touchdown catch and run by Toomer with some impressively terrible tackling by Anthony Henry, Greg Ellis and of course Roy Williams.  Roy will blame the equipment manager. 7-0 Giants.

8:00: Roy Williams just missed another tackle. He will blame Kelly Rowlands. The Dallas defense looks they are playing two-below, instead of tackle. 

3:00:  Huge run by MB3. Genius decision by Wade. Dallas might have found a spark.  The Braids of Rage is the best player on the field right now.

END OF THE FIRST QUARTER; START OF THE SECOND: 0-7 GIANTS

14:55:   The popcorn is ready, TOUCHDOWN T.O.! Coughlin challenges the call and is denied. Coughlin looks like a grouchy neighbor that only cares about gardening his tulips.  7-7 tied up.

13:16:   Great sack by Chris Canty (and his scary facemask), nice tackles by Akin Ayodele and Anthony Spence, an offsides by Greg Ellis (results in a first down), and continued absence by Bobby Carpenter (worst draft pick ever?).

11:00:   Wifey just said that MB3’s roid rages are making him inhuman.  Former UT defensive back and newly engaged Aaron Ross (to former UT track star Sanya Richards) is now hurt. His fiancé is not only faster, but maybe tougher.  How was the UT secondary so bad in 2006 with Ross, Griffin twins and Tarell Brown?

5:00:  Big first down catch by Terry Glenn- his first catch of the year, and first down catches by T.O.  This drive has been awesome. The Giants’ Corey Webster just dropped an easy pick. That will hurt them…

2:00 Minute Warning:  Burger King’s commercials are as bad as their food.  Tony Romo has been masterful on this drive spreading the love around to everyone. 

0:53:  PUT YOUR HANDS UP REF!! Barber just punched it in from the one. 
Dallas just finished a 90-yard, 20-play drive that was a clock killer.  14-7 Dallas.

0:07:  Literally in a New York minute, the G-Men just scored to tie it 14-14.  “Mr. Fix It”- my ass.  The defense looks bad.

END OF THE FIRST HALF; START OF THE 3^RD 14-14 TIED UP

7:00:  Dallas gets the ball to start the second half and are quickly moving it.  MB3 running at will, and if he can ever add a hurdle to his game, he will be unstoppable. Defenders are always going low on him now.  Dallas FG. Fasano (drops a touchdown pass-tough catch) and Flozell gets his weekly false start. 17-14 Boys.

3:07:  Dallas defense gets some huge plays by Ware causing NYG to punt. ”Huge” a/k/a Leonard Davis loses his cool and gets a huge penalty.  Crayton drops an easy pass that would have went for fifty yards.  Wasted, wasted opportunity.

END OF THE THIRD QUARTER; START OF THE 4^TH 17-14 DALLAS

13:30:  Dallas’ special teams and defense fails again.  NYG start at the
Dallas 45 and easily march in for the score.  NYG has the “mo,” and if
Dallas doesn’t get it back it could be church.

9:27:  Romo has played well, but he is getting little help from his o-line and receivers. STOP THE PRESSES! There has been a Bobby Carpenter sighting, not on defense of course, but on special teams.  He downs a punt inside the three.  And the
Dallas defense keeps it up making the G-Men go 3-and-out.

4:30:     More Dallas penalties. Dallas has managed to get every penalty in the book today, and it might cost them this game. It did cost them that drive.

2:00 Minute Warning: Dallas defense comes up huge. New York’s very conservative play-calling made it very easy.  And Eli was scared to win the game and played not to lose takes a sack. NYG to punt…

0:58:  The penalties continue and continue. They are making this impossible. Romo,
Witten and Barber with nice plays.  Crayton stopped running on a nice throw from Jessica Simpson’s boyfriend.  Romo with a pick to end the game. Excuse me, I need to go cry myself to sleep and then look at available free agents and my draft board…. Drive. Game. Season.

Then a fumbled snap costs the Cowboys a playoff game.

Next the Mavs go out in the 1st round to Golden State.

Now this.

Oh well, here’s my two cents.

10.  Too much pressure on Romo in the 2nd half

When Romo wasn’t sacked he was knocked down or ridden to the ground by a Giant.

9.    Dropped passes

There were a few and all of them were big.

8.    No defensive turnovers

The defense played well enough to win, but couldn’t come up with the ball.

7.    Davis’ unnecessary roughness penalty

Part of a 3 minute drive that ended up only a few yards from where it started.

6.    Romo misfire to Owens in 2nd half

A potential touchdown became a field goal in the Cowboys final scoring drive.

5.    Poor tackling

The Giants first touchdown was the result of 3 missed tackles.

4.    Zero contribution from special teams

Poor punt returns, poor punt coverage, poor kick coverage.

3.    Poor field position (see #4) 

Lost the field position battle all day long

2.    Romo’s unwillingness to throw the ball away 

QB took a 14 yard sack outside the pocket, then threw the ball away inside the pocket.

1.   Poor performance in December

You can’t turn it on and off.  The Boys played tonight like they did in every game last month.

I hope Tony takes a step back and looks at his overall scene.  In the last half of the season, I’ve heard the first rumblings of Romo frustration from Cowboy fans. The main way that you get the fans on your side is by winning.  0-2 in the playoffs is a blemish to say the least.

The season took a sour turn after the Philly game strictly for football reasons.  Having said that, Brother Tony should look to New England for an example of keeping the media focused on football - especially during the season.

Look at the Cowboys’ first two Super Bowl seasons in the ’90’s.  The perception was young hungry players with lunch pails.  ‘94, ‘95, ‘96, was the “Hollywood” Cowboy era.  The further they traveled down that road, the less support they had from fans.  But it was the losing that eventually caught up with them.

It would be all good, but I can’t understand why Tony is putting himself in the media’s crosshairs the way that he is.  I could care less whether the dude  goes to Mexico with whoever, but know that your teammates and coaches are going to have to answer for your actions.  It brought T.O. to tears knowing that Romo was going to have to answer more questions about his excursion.

Too much talking, too much explaining, too much non-football drama.  I say less talk and more action next season, let’s keep the focus on the field