Sports & Recreation

If this were a just world, Cowboys defensive play-caller Kris Richard would have an NFL team of his own to coach in 2019. It isn’t, though, so the Cowboys will benefit from his outstanding motivational and scheme work for at least one more season. With Richard, the Cowboys defense is capable of scaling great heights, as it did when it held the Saints’ prolific offense to 10 points the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Without him, it’s merely average.

Tie your shoes tight, and don’t forget the colorful hat! If that sounds hokey to you, consider the cause. The Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer Warrior Run really is for the kids, whose names are all over the place — on the T-shirt you get when you sign up for the race, on signs as you run. WOKC is a Dallas-based charity, and the Warrior Run provides hope to lots of kids. Competitive runners can compete, competitive donors can give, and since the run falls during Addison’s Oktoberfest, competitive drinkers can … drink? Well, you get the point.

For those who live in downtown or Deep Ellum, arrival of a long-promised bowling alley on the west side of Deep Ellum was taking forever. Finally, we have it, and we’re still thankful Punch Bowl Social is here. While the food is OK, this is a destination for gaming and for bowling — it puts other places to shame with its bowling lanes, and it’s a welcome addition to the developing neighborhood.

In 2017, Jaylon Smith was back, but he wasn’t back. Playing in his first games since having his college career ended by a horrific left knee injury — seriously, the video is not for the faint of heart — Smith lacked the lateral movement to compete in the NFL, leading many to question his future. The Notre Dame product changed everybody’s mind in 2018, combining with Leighton Vander Esch to form one of the league’s most dynamic young linebacking duos. Smith is a great story who’s on his way to becoming a great player.

Tucked into one of North Texas’ rare forested areas, North Shore Trail runs a 10-mile course along the north side of Grapevine Lake, between Rockledge Park in Grapevine and Twin Coves Park in Flower Mound. Although it’s also popular with hikers and joggers looking to find a bit of nature in the middle of the city, the trail is a real treat for mountain bikers. The steep, rugged terrain offers more climbs and dives than cyclists can typically find in this part of the world, with picturesque views of the lake scattered in between.

While Sunstone FIT has grown to offer a wider variety of fitness classes — hence a rebranding from Sunstone Yoga years back — yoga is still the studio’s bread and butter. Sunstone offers eight yoga series with options including classes in hot or warm rooms. Hot Yoga (originally called Fire) is Sunstone’s signature series. The class takes place in a carefully controlled room with a temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and -60% humidity and is based on a series of sequenced yoga postures, which can be adapted based on flexibility and fitness level. Single classes are $30; unlimited monthly memberships start at $99.

The timing was not ideal: The September day Texas oilman and philanthropist T. Boone Pickens died, administrators of the downtown YMCA to which he gave his name and lots of money inadvertently announced plans to sell the building. It was an awkward coincidence, but the downtown Y sits on valuable land in the heart of the city. Its managers had been contemplating a sale and move for about a year, thanks partly to the growing number of apartment buildings and offices offering their own workout rooms, according to news reports. So, the Y’s plans to look at relocating make sense, but we doubt many of those workout rooms offer a full sauna and steamroom, a gigantic swimming pool, floors of equipment and trainers to help members get in shape. The Observer‘s editor learned to swim at the downtown Y, and staff is frequently somewhat grateful he hasn’t drowned. Does your dinky “fitness center” have that? Does it have old guys who lose all sense of modesty when they enter a gym? The sight of naked old dudes imparts a valuable, Ozymandias-like life lesson to young men: This is your future; flesh is frail; be humble and polite. The downtown Y is a great community gathering and learning place; membership fees are reasonable and services are broad. Here’s hoping it’s replaced with something equally awesome. In the meantime …

Twenty minutes from downtown, Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve will make you feel like you’re in a whole different part of the state. With rolling terrain dotted with native trees, the 600-acre preserve looks more like a piece of the Hill Country than North Texas. The park’s nine miles of trails lead hikers through woods and grassland, past wildflowers and butterfly gardens. Most of the trails are less than a half-mile long, perfect for short strolls. Those looking for longer hikes can try the 1.9-mile Cedar Brake Trail or the mile-long Cattail Pond Trail.

Flywheel Sports offerers classes ranging from 30 to 90 minutes. Upper-body exercises are incorporated for a full-body workout, and all classes are set to music. Not for the faint of heart, Flywheel is a favorite among those best motivated by a little friendly competition. Compete with classmates to see your name climb the TorqBoard at the front of the room. You can also view performance stats via Flywheel’s app and website. Shoes, towels and lockers are complimentary. Single classes start at $28; unlimited packages start at $195 a month. Their Oak Lawn studio has closed, but Plano pedals on.

Luke’s locker is a sporting goods store by athletes and for athletes. The benefit of the employees being seasoned athletes sounds like a gimmick until one of them finds you the best pair of running shoes you’ve ever worn. Even if that isn’t your experience, you’ll still find knowledgeable sales associates with the common goal of taking you to the next level. If you add the Luke’s Locker event schedule to the equation (found online and in the store), the institution you thought just sold sports attire becomes a gym of sorts. In short, Texans looking to get serious about recreational athletics will find much to love about Luke’s Locker.

According to the University of North Texas’ media guide, Mean Green quarterback Mason Fine is 5 feet, 11 inches. That’s being generous. However tall Fine is — we’d guess 5-9 — he is, headed into his senior season, the most important player to the North Texas football program since Mean Joe Greene, having led the Denton school to back-to-back nine-win seasons. Whether he’s able to lead UNT to its first-ever Conference USA championship, Fine has turned a long-term laughingstock into a football contender.

Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is a fan favorite after just one season, thanks to the joy and reckless abandon he brings to the Cowboys defense. He’d be cool enough without a nickname, thanks to his myth-like childhood in the Idaho mountains, but the one he’s got — “Wolf Hunter” — is the perfect cherry on top.

Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks farewell was a long one. Every time the Mavs stopped in an NBA city for the last time during the 2018-19 season, fans lavished the big German with appreciation for his two-decade career in Dallas. Mavericks fans got to say their own goodbyes a few dozen times and turned every home game in which Nowitzki played into a celebration. Still, when the end came on April 9, no one was ready. Next season, for the first time since the 1997-’98 season, the Mavericks will have to find their way without the greatest player in franchise history.

After dropping to 3-4 after a loss to the Redskins, the Cowboys front office made a desperate move. In exchange for wide receiver Amari Cooper, the Cowboys gave the Raiders their 2019 first-round draft pick. Cooper, a two-time Pro Bowler, was better than advertised down the stretch in 2018, resuscitating an offense that had been dormant most of the season. While the Cowboys lost in the divisional playoffs, Cooper is the No. 1 wide receiver for the foreseeable future.

If you’ve been to a Cowboys or a Rangers game, you know what a nightmare parking can be. You have to fight traffic on the way to the stadium, find a place to park, pay through the nose and walk half a mile to the stadium, knowing you’ll have to walk the same half a mile after the game and fight the same traffic to get out. Or you could stop by the Grease Monkey before the game for a burger and a beer and take their game-day shuttle. At $5 per passenger, you might even come out ahead. But even if you don’t, you won’t have to deal with the sea of stadium parking lots, which makes you a winner.

Mike Minor hadn’t started a major league game in three seasons when the Rangers signed him leading up to the 2018 season. You’d never know from his performances during his first two seasons with the team. After a good 2018, Minor’s been great in 2019, making the American League All-Star team and hanging around the league’s leaders in ERA throughout the season. When Globe Life Field, the Rangers’ new stadium, opens in 2020, it is likely to be Minor who throws the first pitch.

For Stars goaltender Ben Bishop, St. Louis’ Enterprise Center might as well have been the Alamo. For three periods and almost two overtimes on May 7, Bishop saved the Stars from themselves, stopping 52 shots and keeping the Blues, the better team that night, at bay. Six minutes into the second overtime period, Bishop cracked, giving up the series-winning goal to the Blues’ Pat Maroon. Bishop’s performance was the noblest of noble failures.

It came like a lightning strike. Nomar Mazara, hitting in the bottom of the first against the Chicago White Sox’s Reynaldo Lopez on June 21, stepped up to the plate and launched a baseball into the stratosphere. Eventually, it came down, landing near the top of Globe Life Park’s upper home run porch, 505 feet away. To date, it’s the longest home run ever hit in the Rangers’ soon-to-be-former stadium. The Rangers lost the game, but Mazara won the night.

Though he turned 20 in July, Miro Heiskanen was the Stars’ best defenseman as a teenager during the 2018-’19 season. He takes care of his defensive responsibilities and has a stylish offensive game. Along with Dak Prescott, Luka Doncic and Jordan Spieth, Heiskanen helps make up a bumper crop of young, talented athletes who should thrill Dallas fans for decades.

The Dallas Mavericks lost an icon in 2019. Dirk Nowitzki, the team’s heart and soul for two decades, rode off into the sunset in May. Taking the sting out of the loss was Dallas’ favorite Slovenian import, Luka Doncic. After being selected with the third pick of the 2018 draft, Doncic arrived in Dallas with sky-high expectations. He exceeded them in his rookie year, averaging 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game on the way to winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

Faced with his first appearance on pay-per-view and more than 40,000 fans at AT&T Stadium, Errol Spence Jr., DeSoto’s homegrown welterweight champ, needed to make a memorable entrance. The Lancaster High School marching band did the trick, leading Spence into the ring before his March 16 title fight with Mikey Garcia. Spence dominated the ring walks, and the subsequent bout, winning all 12 rounds against Garcia.

Maurice Hooker almost lost his WBO super lightweight world championship without stepping into the ring. Three times he stepped on the scale March 8, and all three times he weighed in at more than 140 pounds, the super lightweight limit. Given a fourth chance, Hooker finally made weight, more than two hours after his first attempt. The next day, clearly weakened by his weight-losing efforts, Hooker won a 12-round decision over the previously undefeated Mikkel LesPierre. While he’d eventually lose his title to Jose Ramirez in July, the guts Hooker showed in July won’t be forgotten.

Allen had a No. 1 national ranking and a 30-game winning streak heading into its December state semifinal against Duncanville. But Duncanville had quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson. Jackson ran for three touchdowns, including a 92-yard scamper in the second quarter, and 174 yards. Jackson also passed for a touchdown. Duncanville didn’t win the state championship — they lost the Class 6A Division I state final on a Hail Mary pass — but they put a big dent in Texas’ biggest high school sports dynasty.

Before retiring in 2018, Jason Witten was a very good tight end for a very long time with the Cowboys, putting together a Hall of Fame career over 15 seasons. During the 2018 season, he was a very, very bad color commentator on Monday Night Football for ESPN. In February, Witten decided to come down from the booth and take another shot at winning his first Super Bowl. Good for fans of Monday Night Football, good for Cowboys fans.