Former Texas Rangers’ Co-Owner Chuck Greenberg Talks

Talked to former Texas Rangers’ CEO and managing general partner Chuck Greenberg yesterday. You know, the guy who helped usher Tom Hicks out of the franchise, who dragged the team out of bankruptcy, who spearheaded the out-bidding of Mark Cuban in court and who hand-picked Nolan Ryan as a crucial…

March Madness, NFL Style: DeMarcus Ware a Madden Cover Boy?

While in the midst of a lockout, the NFL owners and players these days can’t even agree on what they disagree on. What to do for a football junkie? I know, let’s have a March Madness-style tournament, the winner of which gets as his prize: The cover of the Madden…

Stars Lose What Felt Like a Playoff Game to Dastardly Ducks

If the Dallas Stars wind up missing the NHL playoffs they’ll have a crazy bounce and crotch-kick, 4-3, loss on March 23 to blame. I don’t watch a lot of hockey but last night’s tilt had a post-season atmosphere at American Airlines Center. The Stars were seconds away — literally — from…

Bronze Beltre

After watching their prized free-agent acquisition make his spring training debut last week in Surprise, Arizona, the Texas Rangers’ franchise brain trust was abuzz. “He’s the real deal all right,” said manager Ron Washington. Chirped general manager Jon Daniels, “He’s like a magician.” Forget pitching aces Cliff Lee and Zack…

Rangers Re-Do: Frankie Francisco for Mike Napoli

Mike Napoli may help the Texas Rangers win some games this season, but right now he’s a big pain in the butt. How’s that? Because think of the team’s landscape had general manager Jon Daniels not acquired Napoli from the Toronto Blue Jays on January 25 for reliever Frankie Francisco…

Happy Birthday, Jason Kidd.

Can’t believe the 22-year-old I covered as a rookie in 1995 is now a 38-year-old man with 107 career triple-doubles. Seems like only yesterday we were watching his first – in a 130-11 win over the Lakers at Reunion Arena…

One Thing’s For Sure: Dez Bryant Intent on Keeping It Real

Whether it’s Roy Williams’ pads or his friends’ sagging pants, Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant makes some mind-boggling interesting decisions. And whether it was his underwear exposed or whether he was banned from NorthPark mall over the weekend or whether he launched obscenities at the police and parked in a fire…

A Football Lockout … In Wylie?

It’s not exactly the same as NFL owners shutting down its $9 billion business, but unless outraged parents in Wylie are successful in lobbying city officials to find their children a suitable venue and ample playing fields there may be no 20011 youth football in this Collin County town next…

If and When the NFL Returns, Its Returns Will Be Boring

And I know the league has a new focus on health and safety, but I don’t like the proposed rule changes being kicked about at the NFL owners’ meetings in New Orleans this week. Owners are expected to vote today on a rule that would move kickoffs from the 30 to…

Craig James, Now a Hall-of-Famer (at SMU)

I went over to The Hilltop’s website this afternoon to look for something unrelated and espied this announcement: “SMU announces the newest inductees into its Athletics Hall of Fame.” At the top of the pops: running back Craig James of the Pony ExcessExpress. No word whether his former agent, Sherwood…

My Top 5 Worries About the Texas Rangers at Spring Training

I know that stats are usually meaningless during baseball’s spring training. But trends and feels aren’t. The San Francisco Giants won the Cactus League in 2010 with an 23-12 record, but their opponent in the World Series – your Texas Rangers – went a last-place 10-19. Pitchers are usually ahead of…

Mavs Win, Clinch 11th Consecutive Playoff Berth

I know the big news over the weekend for the Dallas Mavericks was another home loss to another potential playoff opponent – this time to the San Antonio Spurs – but the fine print after last night’s blowout of the lowly Golden State Warriors was a clinched playoff spot. Some…

March Badness

I’ll admit it, my NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket sucks. Got off to a horrid start with Louisville losing to Morehead State and got progressively worse as the weekend wore on. The Sour 16 carnage: I’ve lost three of my Final Four teams including my projected champion Pittsburgh. In other words,…

You’ve Got Questions, Ron Washington Has Answers

Let’s make this simple, shall we? Sat down with Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington yesterday here in Surprise and asked him what I thought were some pertinent questions. Allow me to paraphrase, in the spirit of keeping this short and sweet in the wake of last night’s 3.5-hour, come-from-ahead 11-10 exhibition…

Rockies 11, Rangers 10: My Top 10 Observer-ations

[jump] 5. I asked Jon Daniels the other day to give me an under-the-radar player to watch, maybe even on the back fields here on the Surprise campus. The name: Doug Deeds. And what do you know? Deeds started last night in left field and singled his first time up. Dude has…

Michael Young: Still Here. Still Hitting.

Don’t know what else to call it, I’m just getting a weird vibe here in Surprise, Arizona. The defending American League champion Texas Rangers somehow only have two starters (C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis) inked into the rotation. Their elite closer (Neftali Feliz) might be a starter but his replacement (Alexi…

Dirk Misses. Mavs Lose. Carlisle Confounds. Again.

Couldn’t find the game on TV out here in the Arizona desert, but after watching the highlights I didn’t need to. I’ve seen this Mavericks movie a lot recently. The good guys die in the end. Last night in Portland the Mavs made their first 11 shots, hit almost 60…