Hockey Night: Stars-Kings

A battle tonight between members of the NHL’s storied Second Six (of which only five remain). I’ll offer in-game observations and happy to field questions.

A pre-drop appetizer: the pre-season decision to make Tobias Stephan the successor to the traded Mike Smith in the goalie co-pilot seat. Given Dave Tippett’s comments yesterday about his reluctance to sit Marty Turco, was this akin to the Cowboys signing Brad Johnson as No. 2?

Speaking of the Cowboys, the Stars fan can at least be thankful this team, though sputtering toward a disappointing finish, isn’t fixated on whether or not the head coach is, has been or will ever be under a gag order.

(Programming note: I won’t be in the arena for Saturday’s game. Surely the Sturm Surge will keep the hockey conversation going.) Enjoy.

(more…)

When Evan Met Molly: The Sonic Chick Talks Baseball

Burning Question: Will Nolan Ryan Invest In The Rangers?

Tuesday night, when we first reported that Rangers/Stars owner Tom Hicks was putting stakes in his sports franchise up for sale, we speculated he’d seek out Nolan Ryan as part of that group. Yesterday, Hicks confirmed he would do just that.

The next step is this: Will Ryan accept the invitation?

(more…)

Is Adding The Wildcat Offense To Their Playbook The Dumbest Off-Season Move By The Cowboys So Far?

I love teams that have great running games. I grew up in Oklahoma, where you study the intricacies of the wishbone offense in 7th grade, in between classes on the Trail of Tears and subtraction. When I used to play a lot of Madden football on the PlayStation, I was never very good because I was more concerned with rushing for a hundred yards rather than, you know, outscoring my opponent. More recently, I loved watching Arkansas and then the Dolphins succeed with the Wildcat formation (the direct snap to the RB play). So I should be happy that Jerry Jones says the team could draft a quarterback (or use former QB and current Cowboys WR Isaiah Stanback) to use as part of a Wildcat package the team would implement in training camp. And I would be, if I hadn’t been driving around New England during the Christmas break, listening to Pats coach Bill Belichick address this very issue.

(more…)

5 Best Trades in Dallas Stars History

I thought while I have hockey on my mind that perhaps I could share a sports discussion I had in my head Tuesday night during the first period of the game.  I was marvelling at one of my current hockey fascinations, Mike Ribeiro, and once again pondered the absurd fleecing the Stars (Doug Armstrong, in particular) put on the Montreal Canadians (Bob Gainey, in particular) in the trade that brought the Stars their best offensive player all 3 seasons he has played in Dallas. Where would they be without that deal?

Here are the stats for the Stars’ leading scorers since the start of the 2006 when the Ribeiro trade was made:

Table Tutorial

He is absolute proof that the “change of scenery” theory has some validity.

So, I grabbed a media guide and every time there was a stoppage in play, I decided to put together my list of best trades in Dallas Stars History: (more…)

Brendan Donnelly Released From Minor League Contract And Daily Advisory

Last night, we wrote this about RHP Brendan Donnelly:

10:13: Brendan Donnelly has replaced Padilla. Big night for Donnelly. The “out” date in his minor league contract is Friday. I don’t expect the Rangers to pick it up. Now, he’s not pitching to make the Rangers roster, per se, but perhaps pitching to attract attention from the other 29 teams. And believe me, the Rangers aren’t the only ones with bullpen issues.

And this:

The bad: After RHP Vicente Padilla pitched six solid innings and threw more than 100 pitches, RHP Brendan Donnelly allowed a game-tying run on three hits for a blown save. The Rangers must either add Donnelly to the 40-man roster by Friday or allow him to explore free agency. Batters are hitting .464 against him this spring. That’s not likely to get him added.

Well, this morning, it got him released from his minor league contract. And now on to some daily business.

(more…)

Breaking News: Pretty Girls Dig Dr Pepper And We Dig Those Who Dig Dr Pepper (And Pretty Girls)

The gallery for our SportsSnaps Promotion, sponsored by Dr Pepper, is now up and running. Feel free to thumb through and see if you spot any of your friends/family/co-workers/exes on there enjoying two things that go great together: Dr Pepper and Sports. Better yet, add your own photo to the collection and be registered to win a chance to bring your family along to hang out with me at a game. It will be fun. I promise.

The steps are simple: 1) Get a Dr Pepper; 2) Attend any kind of sporting event (we are very lenient judges of what constitutes a sporting event); 3) Sip your Dr Pepper and smile (trust us, it comes naturally); 4) Have somebody take a picture of that Pepper induced smile and 5) Upload it right here (or simply click on the picture of our own Kyle Kearbey obviously enjoying the Doc). And feel free to repeat those steps as often as possible. We’ve got the Chicago politics approach here. Participate early and often.

See “The Chosen One” In Person Friday

Yesterday, my brand new Sports Illustrated arrived, and I turned quickly to the feature on Steven Strasburg. Fascinating stuff.

I know I should leave MLB Draft stuff to Mr. Hindman and Mr. Grant and pretty much anyone else on the blog. I certainly don’t know my college/high school baseball players, but I am willing to say this guy is pretty good.

102 mph?

$50 million?

Consensus #1 pick?

How would you like to see him with your own eyeballs on Friday night?

(more…)

Cactus League Miscellany

Spring stats don’t mean anything. Or do they? Whatever the case, I’ve been up since 3:30 am pouring over the Rangers Cactus League stats and box scores and here are few random observations for your edification:

Brandon Boggs, who is hitting .300 / .404 / .575 / .979, has played center field in each of his last five appearances this spring. He did not see time in center in any of his 17 previous games. He appeared in 101 games for the Rangers last year, seeing time in center just twice. I’ve always thought that Boggs was fully capable of playing quality center field, so on one had this doesn’t surprise me, but if the Rangers really anticipate breaking camp with Andruw Jones (who could back up Hamilton in center, as could Marlon Byrd), and with both Julio Borbon and Greg Golson likely to start of with Oklahoma, why the sudden need to see Boggs in center field every day? Or is there somebody else who wants to see him in center every day?

Nelson Cruz, who is hitting .313 / .378 / .906 / 1.285, has drawn four walks while fanning five times this spring. Small sample and all, but this might be more reinforcement that the change in his plate approach is real and permanent.

Willie Eyre was getting an inning every three days. It’s now been five days since he last pitched in a Cactus League game. In spite of his success (1.50 ERA in six appearances), have the Rangers resigned themselves to optioning Eyre to Oklahoma?

Who’s the long man? Every one of Dustin Nippert’s appearances this spring has lasted at least two innings. The only other bullpen candidate to pitch two innings in an appearance is C.J. Wilson who has done so in one of his five appearances. Nippert has a spring ERA of 2.08 and has held the opposition to a .212 average while posting a K/BB ratio of 3.00.