Saturday, May 10, 2008

New Coaching, Bench Clearing Brawls, Reality Shows, and Curses....

Let's run through all the area's main sport teams for a second and get everybody caught up!

The Mavericks have finally made this whole coaching thing official. Reports from all over the place have confirmed that Carlisle is the Mavs new coach, and the deal is 4 years. This is just the first of many off-season deals, let me tell you that right now. There is no telling what this team will look like next year, but my guess is that the results will be a lot better than this season's meltdown in New Orleans (or last season in Oakland, or the Finals in Miami). Just a few days ago I gave my thoughts on what is to come, and we will see what shapes up as the off-season has just begun.


The Rangers are....dare I say it....playing amazing! Even more shocking is the reason behind it is the pitching as of late. Looking back on the last 2 weeks we see a couple of things:
-3 SHUTOUTS in a row in the last 3 games! For all you Ranger fans that have forgotten what that was, that is when our pitchers don't let any of their batters get safely back to home plate. Not in 12 years has a Major League team had 4 shutouts in a row. Texas gets that chance tonight!
-Texas has won their last 10 of 14, and the last 4 series the Rangers have come out on top.
-The pitchers ERA on Texas through these last 14 games have been an astonishing 3.78!
-The Rangers have gone from last in the American League to just 5 games back in the AL Wild Card. Pennant Race here we come!
The most exciting game of the past 2 weeks by far has been against Seattle on Thursday night. After Kinsler and Laird were both intentionally pegged by Felix Hernandez, Richie Sexson of the M's came to the plate expecting to get hit from retaliation. Doesn't he know that he can't get a hit to save his life? If Gabbard was given advice to seek revenge, it wouldn't be against the hitless Sexson. The pitch was eye-level, but not even close to Sexson's head. The 6 foot 8 batter instantly charged the mound. I have to give credit to Gabbard, he threw his glove down and waited for the charging maniac. My award for "Biggest Pussy of the Week" goes to Sexson though, as he kept his batting helmet and flung it at Gabbard before wrestling him to the ground. Both benches cleared and after all the chaos, Sexson was ejected and is now suspended for 6 games.

Texas faces Oakland at home tonight, where Millwood will take the mound against Eveland. The first pitch is at 7:05.


Starting August 6th, HBO's reality series Hard Knocks will feature America's Team. Fans around here are excited, Jerry Jones is excited, the players however, are not. Many of the players are not wanting all of America to see them practice and get yelled at by the coaches. It should make for an interesting show. I can't wait to Tivo that bad boy!


The Stars got off to a dreadful start in the Western Conference Finals Thursday night, giving up 3 power-play goals. Turco is still winless at Joe Louis Arena, and he must break the curse tonight. Dallas needs to protect Turco's crease better, get more shots off, and avoid getting costly penalties. The puck drops for game 2 tonight at 6 pm. I will have the full story on the game tomorrow morning, so hopefully good news awaits. Preview of Game 2 is right here!


--ND

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