Odd Man Rush

Note: If you know how I can fix the pictures so they don’t look so stupid, let me know.

10. The Red River Rivalry Game becomes a focal point of the National Championship discussion.

College football was once again a mess in 2008, and much of the controversy revolved around three Big XII South schools: Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech.  When three teams have identical records and they all beat each other, people (and computers) turn nit-picky when trying to determine which team is best.  For a while it looked like Texas might be the team because they beat Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, but ultimately Oklahoma got the nod based largely on style points.

9. Nolan Ryan rejoins the Texas Rangers as President.

Not many baseball fans know who their team’s President of Baseball Operations is, but most Rangers fans do.  It helps that he is the best player to ever put on a Rangers uniform, but Nolan Ryan has nevertheless been a very visible executive.  The legend was spotted regularly at the ballpark this summer enjoying his new old team play mediocre baseball.  Ryan reportedly spent this season "learning the ropes" and will have a more hands-on approach with the baseball side of the team this year, but his new role of President has ignited at least a glimmer of hope that this ship can, in fact, be righted.  

Is it possible for Nolan to start 20+ games this year?

8.  The Cowboys play their last game in Texas Stadium.

The game itself was an embarrassment, but the story here is that the Cowboys are all set to move in to the new place in Arlington.  Jones and company have done a great job with the design; nostalgics will still have their hole in the roof (a retractable one), and what’s not to love about all of the events the new stadium (not even finished yet) has already brought?  Dallas has already been promised a Super Bowl, a Final Four, the NBA All-Star Game, and there are even some unsubstantiated rumors that Dallas may put together an exploratory committee for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

7. The Mavericks lose in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.

For those fans looking for a silver lining, here’s a couple:

• The Mavericks didn’t lose to a #8 seed this time.
• Dirk Nowitzki didn’t suffer the indignity of winning the MVP, then losing in the first round.
• Dallas didn’t lose a potential series-clinching game.
• It’s not like anybody expected them to win this year, anyway.
  

6. Plano native Nastia Liukin wins Olympic Gold.

The media darling going into the Beijing Olympics was Shawn Johnson from West Des Moines, Iowa.  In the end, however, it was Plano native Nastia Liukin that came away with the gold, then returned to Dallas to a hero’s welcome.  The best part: she wasn’t underage.

5. The Cowboys put up a 13-3 record, then lose in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

The 2007 Cowboys expected to end an 11-year playoff drought after going 13-3 and sending 13 players to the Pro Bowl, but were unable to do so after running into the playoff juggernaut that was The New York Giants.  Despite beating the Giants twice in the regular season, the Cowboys couldn’t hang with them in a dogfight.  The final drive was capped by – what else? – a Tony Romo interception.

4. The Stars make the Western Conference Finals.

Nobody expected the Stars to be the team that achieved playoff success, but they were able to dispatch defending champion and division rival Anaheim Ducks despite a poor finish to the season and a #5 seed.  They took the first two games in California before winning Game 6 by a 4-1 score.  In the Conference Semifinals, they faced another division rival, the San Jose Sharks.  The Sharks were heavily favored going in, but the Stars prevailed in 6 games again.  Game 6 was an emotional, 4-overtime affair (the 8th longest game in history) that capped a series which featured 4 overtime games.  The Stars won 3 of the 4, shaking a stigma of soft overtime-play that had followed them since the institution of the shootout to decide regular season games.  Also convincing doubters was Marty Turco, who despite being labeled a choker, matched Evgeni Nabokov save-for-save in that Game 6.

The overmatched Stars eventually lost in 6 games to the eventual champion Detroit Red Wings, but were able to make a series out of it.  The end of the season led to high hopes for the 2008-09 season, but so far the Stars have disappointed.

3. The Cowboys miss the playoffs.

The Cowboys were so intent on winning a playoff game in 2008 that they forgot to qualify for the playoffs.  After starting the season as presumptive Super Bowl favorites (you should have heard local radio shows in July), the three-ring circus took over. The franchise quarterback hurt his pinky and couldn’t play, Tank Johnson, Terrell Owens, and Adam Jones took the media spotlight, the owner questioned Marian Barber’s toughness, and Wade Phillips acted as if none of it was a big deal.  Despite all the drama and losing that happened in the first half of the season, the Cowboys nevertheless faced a win-and-you’re-in situation against the hated Eagles.  What ensued was an embarassment that the franchise perhaps has not seen since losing to the lowly Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round in 1998.  The Cowboys didn’t just swing-and-miss in their final attempt to qualify for the playoffs in the 2008 – they swung and fell on their backside, then tripped on their way back to the dugout.  Inexplicably, Jerry Jones stood behind Wade Phillips, despite the erosion of the locker room over the course of the season.   Focus turned to Tony Romo, who turned the ball over 3 times, fueling speculation that Tony is maybe not a big-game quarterback.  Cowboys fans will hope that he will have a Marty Turco-type resurgence in next year’s playoffs – if they remember to make it first.

2. The Mavericks trade Devin Harris for Jason Kidd, then fire Avery Johnson.

I don’t know what to say about this.  In 5 or so years, this trade will be legendary in Dallas, like the Herschel Walker trade, but in reverse.  I guess if the objective for the Mavericks was to make the playoffs, Mission Accomplished.  Apparently it wasn’t though, because Mark Cuban subsequently fired Avery Johnson after the Mavs lost in the first round again.  Wait, it was Avery’s fault?  I’ll still be trying to figure this one out this time next year.

Do you think Cuban had one of these banners in his office when he fired Avery?

1. Josh Hamilton makes a comeback.

The trade that brought Hamilton to the Rangers technically happened in 2007, or one of these items would have been "Rangers trade away more pitching talent."  But it didn’t, and it’s more fun to focus on the positives anyway.  In my opinion, there was not a better story in sports this year than the Lance Armstrong-like story of Josh Hamilton, who battled a drug addiction and three years without baseball to become the American League RBI Champion in 2008.  Aside from his outstanding showing during the regular season (particularly the first half), Hambone took the spotlight in the Home Run Derby, wowing the Yankee Stadium crowd with 28 bombs in the first round, a new record.  In his post-"game" interview, Hamilton revealed that he had envisioned the spectacle in a dream, which inspired him in his comeback.  That, my friends, makes Josh Hamilton’s comeback the story of 2008.

Was the pitcher 71 years old in Hamilton’s dream, too?

I find all the New Year’s hoopla to be a bunch of bunk.  It’s just another day, right?  So usually I skip the resolutions and just take it as an excuse to get together with people and watch crappy bands on TV.  This year, though, I think I’ll resolve to update this thing more often.  I kind of quit because I felt like I was monopolizing the blog that was supposed to be a collaboration, but I’m done feeling guilty about that.  The other collaborators can feel free to contribute, of course, but be prepared to see regular updates here.  Let’s start with this post: the top DFW sports stories of 2008. 

20. Schellas Hyndman takes over head coaching job for FC Dallas.

Everybody knows that when you do a list like this, you don’t really put the 20th most important story here, you do the one that you wanted to write about but didn’t make the list.  Hyndman’s hiring didn’t exactly inspire conversation around Dallas-area water coolers, but it is important for FC Dallas.  The long-time SMU coach was a mid-season hire, so he get a good chance to implement his potent offense, but look for it next year.  Word is that this hiring may be what keeps Kenny Cooper from jetting for the EPL, and if that’s the truth, he’s already worth the money.

19. Avery Johnson out, Rick Carlisle in.

Avery was certainly the scapegoat for the Maverick’s recent struggles, but Carlisle may be exactly what the Mavs need to turn it around.  He’s been Don Nelson-esque in being able to get more out of less.  Under him, J.J. Barea has found his role and the Mavericks have played well against the teams they’re supposed to beat, which is more than they could say in the spring.

18. The Grand Prairie AirHogs reach the AAIPB Finals in their Inaugural Season.

This summer the expansion AirHogs got some local press by playing .604 baseball and getting hot in the playoffs, eventually losing 3 games to 1 in the finals.  Perhaps more important was the fact that they actually took some attendance away from the Texas Rangers, leading Tom Hicks to state that high gas prices, not the team’s struggles or the town’s new team, were taking away from attendance.  Meanwhile, the AirHogs are busy sending their players to major league farm systems.  Will a team with such high roster turnover be able to gain some staying power in the Metroplex?  2009 will tell.

17. Team leaders for the Cowboys, Rangers, and Stars all injured at critical times.

Team: Cowboys

Who: Tony Romo breaks the pinky on his throwing hand.

When: Right in the middle of the season, when the Cowboys faced winnable games against the Rams and the Bucs and an important statement game against the Giants.  They managed to only beat Tampa Bay.

Team: Rangers

Who: Ian Kinsler has season-ending sports hernia surgery.

When: In August, when it was probably too late anyway, but Kinsler’s departure killed any and all hopes.  He was having an MVP-type season (when he stopped playing, his numbers were better than eventual winner Dustin Pedroia) and was a clubhouse leader.  In 2009, Kinsler will need to play more than 130 games (his career high) if the Rangers are going to have a prayer.

Team: Stars

Who: Brenden Morrow tore his ACL, all but ending his season.

When: November 20, right in the middle of their start-of-the-season slump.  The Stars went 0-for-22 on power plays following the injury.

16. TCU goes 11-2, wins Poinsettia Bowl.

The Horned Frogs have been on the fringe of FBS greatness for some time now, and 2008 was another step in the right direction for this program.  Despite losing to Oklahoma early in the season, TCU expected to make a BCS bowl before they were knocked off by Utah in Salt Lake City.  However, they bounced back to beat previously undefeated Boise State in a comeback win in the Poinsettia Bowl.

15. The Romo-Witten-Owens drama distracts the Cowboys in December.

The he-said, he-said drama about who Romo likes to throw the ball to more was a bit of a head-scratcher.  Sure, T.O. has been involved in this kind of stuff before, but what was with all the anonymous sources and meetings?  Supposedly Owens rounded up the receivers to go to talk to Jason Garrett, and supposedly Owens and Witten got into a shoving match in the locker room.  All of a sudden, none of it actually happened and it was all Ed Werder’s fault.  What really happened here?  Let’s start with what we know: the Cowboys underperformed.  All the other love triangle stuff was just extracurricular.

14. Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban accused of insider trading.

I’ve never really understood insider trading: who decides what information is okay to trade on and what isn’t?  All I know is my high school government teacher used to get worked up about white collar crime being treated as no big deal.  The Securities and Exchange Commission decided this was a big deal, and now they’re after Cuban.  Mark posted a strongly worded denial on his blog, but the allegations doomed his attempt to acquire the Cubs, meaning it’s only the Mavericks who might have to deal with any potential fallout this thing might bring in the future.

13. The Stars start the ‘08-’09 season in the basement.

The NHL is ridiculous with their standings: why award points for an overtime loss anymore?  In any case, that means that almost nobody finishes below .500; last year only 7 of the 30 teams did so.  That should give you some perspective to just how bad the start of the season was for the Stars.  They started an abysmal 6-10-4 and just narrowly climbed above .500 for the end of 2008, now standing at 16-15-5.  Much of the blame for the horrible start can be attributed to Marty Turco, who began the season dead last in GAA and Save Percentage.  He has since turned it around, probably due to the fact that he is now actually being coached.

12. Adam Jones is reinstated – twice.

Roger Goodell reinstated Adam Jones largely because Jerry Jones promised he would behave as a Cowboy.  Despite not being able to live up to his promise, Jerry got his wish when Adam was reinstated a second time after getting into a scuffle with his bodyguard.  Jerry then got karma served to him when Adam was an instrumental part in the Cowboys’ end of season embarassment, commiting a personal foul and a fumble.

11. Sean Avery joins the Stars, then shows everybody why he’s the NHL’s Most Hated Man.

Sean Avery played 23 games for the Stars and wasn’t nearly as good at backing up his talk as Les Jackson and Brett Hull apparently thought.  He scored 3 goals during that time, then managed to draw a whole lot of attention to the Stars (and losing teams never need more negative press) by making disparaging remarks about Dion Phaneuf and his girlfriend.  Shortly after his 6-game suspension was served, the Stars announced he would not be returning to the team.  Maybe the infatuation that Dallas teams seem to have with negative personalities is starting to wane now.  One can only hope.

10-1 are coming tomorrow.  Happy new year!

I listened to GAC on the way home from work today when Matt Mosley, whom I’m normally in full support of, said something I just couldn’t get behind. He and a guest were talking about Adam Jones and Mosley came out and said, "Look, as far as I’m concerned this guy is guilty until proven innocent." Wow. At first I thought it was just a little harsh, but as I thought about it more I decided that I dub Mosley Nottruefan. Look. When the Boys picked up T.O., I called Brian and said, "Did you see this Crap." He immediately said, "Yes I did. What are we gonna do now?" After our short back and forth on the issue we hung up the phones and I decided that if the Cowboys were willing to give him a chance I would have to be willing, as a truefan, to give him a chance as well. Fast forward a couple of seasons and Jerry has welcomed Adam to the Dallas Cowboys Wellness and Rehabilitation Center, and you know what? I was skeptical, but I either had to buy in or suspend my fan-hood. I’ve decided to buy in and I’ll tell ya, I think that means if Adam doesn’t want to be called Pac-Man any more, then I call him Adam. And if the team, MY team, is willing to give him a chance to get his stuff back together then I give him that chance as well. I give him his full shot, as if he was any other guy off the street. He starts messing up then we can cut the chain, but until then Matt Mosley, let’s be a truefan and give the guy a fair shot. Let’s try not to doom the poor kid before he even steps on the field.