Odd Man Rush

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!

The MLS All Star Game is tonight.  I’ll bet you didn’t know that.  Not a huge surprise.  I’d advise you to flip over and watch it, but I’m not sure I want to expose you to the many flaws that embody soccer in the United States.  You see, the MLS All Star Game smacks of desperation.  Allow me to enumerate the ways that this event is flawed.

1. The Match

The MLS big-wigs want to insult your intelligence.  They want you to believe that this league is just as good as those leagues across the pond that get all of the attention, those bastards.  That’s why they have the All Star Team (that’s right, it’s singular) play one of those vaunted teams.  The fact that it’s 2-1 at the half and our boys are leading is supposed to encourage you that, yes, the MLS is inhabited by a bunch of superstars.  What they don’t want you to know is that this team they’re playing (this year, it’s West Ham United) is actually in its preseason.  Early in its preseason.   This is easily the game’s biggest flaw and also a Catch-22 for MLS executives.  No matter what the result, the MLS comes out looking bad.  Another way to say that is that they are exposed.  If MLS wins, it doesn’t matter because they’re supposed to win.  If they lose, it’s absolutely terrible, because these guys are All-Stars.  The problem is, this set-up is the only way anybody pays attention to the match at all.  If they did it in the traditional manner (West vs. East), the vast majority of fans wouldn’t know who to cheer for.  At least those of us who care about soccer in the US can rally behind a single team.  Let’s not even mention that the MLS probably doesn’t have enough talent to make two teams that could be legitimately considered All-Stars.  In fact, let’s just move on.

2. The Telecast

The MLS thinks it’s doing itself a favor by getting its matches onto ESPN.  I think they’re shooting themselves in the foot, mainly because nobody at the four-lettered network has any respect for the game.  Hockey has a chance at making a legitimate comeback because there are anchors like Linda Cohn and John Buccigross that (thankfully) force the sports world to pay attention.  Soccer doesn’t have anybody like that at ESPN.  Soccer topics on opinion shows like PTI, Around the Horn, and others are openly mocked.  The telecast suffers as a result.  ESPN thinks they’re adding credibility by putting broadcasters like Eric Wynalda in the booth, but in reality it hurts more than helps.  Wynalda is an MLS fanboy who has spent the last 45 minutes in my living rooms ooh-ing and ah-ing over the MLS roster as if I’m going to suddenly agree with him that yes, the MLS is by far the best thing that has ever happened to soccer.  Additionally, they’ve got this Norm Chad-type who does weird and unnecessary segments at odd times during the match, further sucking credibility away from the entire sport.  If MLS execs had any pride, or any other options, they would stay away from ESPN.  Herein lies the problem, once more: they have no choice.  It’s either get in bed with a network that doesn’t respect them, or don’t be seen or heard.    

3. The MLS Itself

Answer me this: How is the MLS different from other, better leagues?  Don’t say that it sucks more, because that’s not what I’m getting at.  Sure, it’s a lot younger than those other leagues, so it’s got less history.  Players don’t want to stay in the league, often using it as a stepping stone to more money, fame, and by the way, better teammates.  But here’s what I’m getting at: the MLS has done nothing to distinguish itself.  Sure, it’s nice that soccer is an international game that is played the same way everywhere, but if that’s the case, why do we have all of these leagues?  Surely geography isn’t – or maybe it shouldn’t be – the only answer.  Frankly, the way the MLS so badly wants to be a European league is embarrasing.  I live in Dallas, so I cheer for FC Dallas, but FC?  Really?  How is that American?  We don’t even have an official mascot anymore.   So what can be done?  Like before, there’s a Catch-22 involved.

For years, soccer leagues in America came and went.  Nobody really believed that any of them were here to stay.  The great Lamar Hunt, among others, brought us the first soccer league in a long time with any staying power, which is a good thing, despite all of my complaints in this post.  Evidence of MLS’ potential can be found in the relative financial success of the existing teams, especially in regards to building soccer-specific stadiums.  Things are looking up, but not in a Chicago Cubs "We haven’t won in 100 years but now we have a legitimate shot" kind of way.  No, it’s more of a Texas Rangers "We were supposed to have a crappy team but it’s actually a bit better than mediocre so let’s try to shovel it down all of the fans’ throats" kind of success.  Texas Rangers fans know exactly what I’m talking about.  Every July that we end up around .500, it seems like management throws the plan out the window and decides to go for it, despite the fact that we’re 10.5 games out with 60 to play.  In the same way, the MLS seems content to say "We got Beckham, come see us play!" and do nothing about the problems, whether real or perceived, that Americans have with the game.  I don’t want to suggest specific solutions here, mostly because the game would end up looking a lot like the recently folded Major Indoor Soccer League, but the MLS needs to do something.  Right now they have bigger Penis Envy than Texas A&M, and on top of that, they’re unwilling to listen to what Americans want from the game.  Innovative ways to increase scoring is a start (Maybe take some cues from the [gasp] NHL?).  After that we can worry about team names and other roadblocks to American fanship. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love the game of soccer.  I really believe that it is a beautiful game, simple and complicated at the same time.  I want so badly for the MLS to pull through and convert the haters, but it has some serious problems if it continues to refuse to distinguish itself from our neighbors across the pond.   The All-Star game, which tries so hard to hide the MLS’ problems, ends up exposing them, and that’s not going to gain many fans.

Just to report on the three questions posed the other night: everybody did a so-so job.  The Mavericks didn’t move up in the draft, which was disappointing.  On second thought, at least they didn’t mortgage their future for an unsure thing.  What they did do was draft another shooting guard who can’t play defense.  Great.  At least the Mavs are consistent.

Meanwhile in Houston, both Dallas teams clinched their respective trophies in non-traditional ways.  The Rangers lost their game to the Astros, but managed to stay ahead in run differential, 34-28, ensuring that the Silver Boot will stay in North Texas another year.  FCD and the Dynamo tied for the third time this season, but since the Hoops scored the most away goals (that’s the tiebreaker?!), they won El Capitan for the first time in its three-year existence.  Hey, if you’re going to hover around .500 all season, at least you can win your intrastate rivalry trophy on a technicality.

1.  Can the Rangers get to 2-over .500 and win the Silver Boot tonight?

If recent trends hold true, no.  The Rangers have been exactly .500 a whopping 19 times since opening day, but have never been able to get over the 1-over hump.  A good antidote can be facing Wandy Rodriguez, though.  Perhaps today’s call-up of Chris Davis can provide some motivation.  The Rangers’ vaunted farm system is starting to make its way to the big show, as Davis, Eric Hurley, and Max Ramirez will all be in Houston tonight.

2.  Will FC Dallas adjust to Hyndman in time to win El Capitan in Houston? 

Houston has held El Capitan in both years of the cannon’s existence, so there’s no better way for Schellas Hyndman to start his coaching career in Dallas (although this is his 2nd game) than by winning the trophy tonight.  Adrian Serioux and Drew Moor will return tonight, and they will be needed if the squad heeds the words of their coach and plays an aggressive style.  The Dynamo haven’t scored in 2 games, so perhaps the first team to score will win.  Homer Prediction: Hoops 2, Dynamo 1. 

3.  Will the Mavericks get anything accomplished in tonight’s draft?

Dallas’ only pick tonight is the #51 pick.  Doesn’t sound so bad?  Last year, the Chicago Bulls took JamesOn Curry at 51.  That’s right – JamesOn Curry.  So what can the Mavericks do?  Apparently, it’s kosher to pay teams for their pick in the NBA, so that’s good news for Mark Cuban.  The latest rumor is that he will buy Memphis’ pick (28), but if the Mavs want to try to squeeze through that window of opportunity that’s slamming itself shut, they should try to obtain a top 10 pick.  Maybe Miami, Minnesota, or Seattle would benefit from the services of Josh Howard?