Observer contributing photographer Brian Harkin contributes the photos for USA Today’s stories today on SMU and head football man June Jones, who figures he can get the Mustangs to a BCS bowl within the next five years. (Optimism tastes just like pineapple!) There’s also the piece headlined: “SMU spends big…
In retrospect, last night’s title was won last summer. Three things I guarantee after last night watching the Celtics, not surprisingly, beat the Lakers for the NBA Championship: 1. Kobe Bryant isn’t, in fact, Michael Jordan. In the clincher, he went 22 minutes between baskets. 2. Coaching, I repeat, coaching…
Another season. Another empty spot on the Mavs’ mantle. The basketball season officially ends tonight, when the Celtics beat the Lakers in Boston and win the NBA Championship. In a tense, low-scoring game, gimme the Celtics minus the five, under the 191. For entertainment only, of course. Then, finally, we…
Somehow, the Rangers don’t miss this guy’s big bat. The Rangers have trotted out Ben Broussard, Chris Shelton and maybe soon even Hank Blalock to his old position. And in last month’s draft they picked the next him. But dig a little deeper – just a level or two down…
Now, and only now, I’ve earned the right to call this joint The Sportatorium. Just got my grubby little hands on Gentleman’s Choice, a new documentary by Dallas film producer Mickey Grant. Better late than never, those of you who stumbled onto this site looking for professional wrestling vignettes will…
A $4-Million Frank That’d be one Frank Catalanotto, says Forbes today on its list of sports’ “Best-Paid Bench Warmers.” Why come? Well, first off: He’s making $4 million this year. And he’s had all of 144 at-bats. And, notes Forbes, “Catalanotto has never reached 500 at-bats in a season during…
See here, I been to a race or two. I’ve been to the Daytona 500, attended several races out at Texas Motor Speedway and even penned one of my first Dallas Observer columns about racin’. It’s always been a little fascinating/unsettling seeing all the white faces, red necks and confederate…
The U.S. Open trophy will reside in Dallas. Sorta. Since Father’s Day is all about eating and sleeping and not mowing the lawn and eating some more – oh yeah, and watching golf – doesn’t it officially spill over into today? Thought so. No one in sports delivers more dramatic…
Almost 10,000 career assists, yet somehow Jason Kidd couldn’t pass on her. Mavs fans, you think this blog item is going to be about how good you should feel, considering you purged your sorrow six weeks ago as opposed to waking this morning to the grief of blowing a 24-point…
Guy on the right: Good golfer. Guy on the left: Great job. Dallas golf guru Hank Haney called the U.S. Open set-up at Torrey Pines in San Diego “the easiest I’ve seen in 30 years.” So far, his star pupil with the surgically repaired knee doesn’t agree. Update: Tiger just…
Milton Bradley and another emotional dust-up. Geez, whoda thunkit? At the risk of Milton Bradley catching a flight to Dallas this morning to come kick my ass, I’m going to re-affirm what we all already know: He’s a nut. (Quick timeout while I go double-bolt the door.) If you’re surprised…
When the Texas Rangers signed Milton Bradley this offseason, I was elated; Richie Whitt, not so much. At the time, I said Bradley could be an interesting trade chip, much like Eric Gagne and Kenny Lofton were last year. And now that Bradley’s having an all-star caliber season — and…
As first impressions go, this one sucked. On a dreary Saturday in late January, a couple hundred baseball fans packed a theater at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to listen to the team’s latest and potentially greatest center fielder. But the last thing Josh Hamilton wanted to talk was baseball. First…
Think he’s nervous yet? With the Rangers bobbling along around .500, manager Ron Washington’s job safe for at least another month and tonight’s game against the – vomit – Royals, there must be something sexy in our baseball world. Can I interest you in a 23-game hitting streak? Shortstop Michael…
Below, a video getting a lot of play on the YouTube today, in light of former NBA ref Tim Donaghy’s allegations that league officials had a hand in the outcome of certain games — including the Houston Rockets-Dallas Mavericks playoff series in 2005. “Go look at the tapes,” Mark Cuban…
On second thought, this wasn’t a foul. Wait, that was our first thought. With only a 1.7 percent chance of winning, the big-market Chicago Bulls stole the NBA Lottery. Pushing the NBA Finals back to relevancy, the league got lucky enough to have the Lakers and Celtics this summer. And…
Now, where’d we put that embalming fluid? If you sense a light blogging day, you’re very perceptive. 1. Not a lot of stimulating sportsiness in the air. 2. I’m chin-deep penning a cover story about you-know-who. So, in a very transparent attempt to be both dismissive and productive – I’ll…
Sure, now you get up. In news even more shocking than Big Brown finishing last or Roger Federer getting bagled in a Grand Slam final, this morning I came across this line: “R.A. Dickey pitched two scoreless inning for the win.” What the %$#@*&?! The way ex-Rangers are chunking the…
What, you mean most 34-year-olds don’t look like this? According to this story just posted on ESPN.com, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens has been placed in the NFL’s “reasonable cause” testing program for performance-enhancing drugs. Which means? Owens, who recently botched some telephone calls to set up off-season drug tests, can…
Yep, him again. This item pinged to me from Sportatorium superfan Clay Swartz (hey, us former UTA Shorthorn sports editors gotta stick together), who kept tabs on Tony Romo’s attempt to break 100 on the U.S. Open golf course in Torrey Pines, San Diego over the weekend. Romo and his…
Tommy Urbanski Fund Tommy Urbanski There are at least two Sunday New York Times pieces worth a look, far as locals are concerned. One’s a story about Tommy Urbanski, the Las Vegas strip-club manager on duty February 19, 2007, when then-Tennessee Titan Adam “Pacman” Jones made it rain at Minxx…
At the bottom of this bad-news story concerning cutbacks, on staff and actual news, at Tribune Company-owned newspapers, among them The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune , it also mentions the Trib’s impending sale of the Chicago Cubs. It notes that the books will be sent to prospective…
