Is Josh Hamilton a 2011 All-Star?

Silver Boot secured? Check. First place in the AL West? Check. Representation in next month’s MLB All-Star Game? Che … Not so fast. While Ian Kinsler’s first two-homer game in almost two years lifted the Rangers over the Astros, 3-2, and gave them an intrastate five-peat, Texas may wind up with no starters…

Baseball Goes Bonkers: The Top 5 Championship Celebrations in Sports

Watched South Carolina win their second consecutive College World Series last night. Their celebration — gloves and hats flying in a giant infield dog pile — got me to thinking: Does baseball over-celebrate? Or, perhaps, do they do it just right? Think about the Mavs’ reaction after a 31-year wait to…

Ed-die’s Bet-ter … Clap-Clap-CLAPCLAPCLAP!

We’ve seen the Rangers in the World Series and the Mavs win the NBA Finals, and on Tuesday I was reminded just how great a Stanley Cup run can be when former Stars’ goalie Ed Belfour and current GM Joe Nieuwendyk were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. They’ll officially be inducted into…

Dirk Nowitzki Goes on Drinking Binges? You Don’t Say!

Still amazed that the Mavericks won the NBA championship. Still surprised they did it without a playoff point from Roddy Beaubois (who should be ready for 2011-12 training camp in October after another foot surgery). And I continue to be miffed at how little the sports world really knew about…

DeMarcus Ware the MVC: Most Valuable Cowboy

More than Tony Romo, Jason Witten and, yes, Mat McBriar, the most valuable Cowboy is DeMarcus Ware.Drafted 11th overall in ’05, the outside linebacker has led Dallas in sacks in all five of his seasons and is the only player in the NFL with at least 10 quarterback traps in…

Almost All My NBA Texas Exes Live in … Obscurity

Soon as the Mavericks “drafted” Texas shooting guard Jordan Hamilton, I received texts and tweets and a couple of phone calls from excited fans. Hamilton played for the Longhorns, so he must be good, right? W-R-O-N-G. Not sure if any school has more NBA busts than the one down south in Austin. Rick Barnes’…

Dirk Nowitzki’s Final Assist This Summer to … Michael Young

His Flamingo Fadeaway on the mound with a basketball was funny. And his cartoonish, exaggerated Max Patkin-like delivery was funnier. Dirk Nowitzki on Friday night was the best thing on a Rangers’ pitching mound in a while. Only thing better would’ve been if Michael Young’s leaping catch wouldn’t have saved Captain…

Texas Rangers and Josh Hamilton Are Fighting the Summer Blues

Alexi Ogando has suddenly produced three consecutive outings of five innings or less. Fourth outfielder David Murphy just went 1 of 9 to drop his average to .233. And the Rangers have lost 12 of their last 19 — including 3-3 on a homestand against the Astros and Mets — in…

The Top 5 Worst Draft Picks in the History of Your Dallas Mavericks

Determining the best Mavs’ pick of all-time is simple: Dirk Nowitzki. You know the story. In 1998 then-general manager Don Nelson took the giant German in a draft-day switcheroo with the Milwaukee Bucks for the late, not-so-great Robert “Tractor” Trayor. Just a week after their championship parade climaxed in the…

2011 NBA Draft: Meh.

Arizona forward Derrick Williams is a beast. He has 3-point shooting range, can score in the paint with either hand and has an NBA body that can bang and rebound on the low blocks. And that’s it. The rest of the 2011 NBA Draft class: Weak to questionable. Yes, even projected…

Charles Haley and Kenny Rogers Go Hunting For Redemption

I had the audacity to write the truth about Charles Haley. And this was my castigation. Between 1992 and 1994, I made a lot of visits to the Cowboys’ locker room at Valley Ranch. On most of them, I was serenaded by Charles Haley, one of the baddest people and…

The Best Team in Mavericks’ History: ’88 vs. ’11

While contemplating defensive coordinator Dwane Casey’s departure to be the Toronto Raptors’ head coach and whom they should take with the 26th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, a couple more Mavs-related items buzzed through my brain this week. 1. Who from the championship team should have their number raised to the roof in…

Mitch Moreland Closes the Case at Rangers’ 1st Base

First place, thanks to 1st base. With his 11th-inning homer to beat the looming storm last night in Arlington, Mitch Moreland not only provided a walk-off win over the Houston Astros but also further cemented our confidence that he’s the Rangers’ 1st baseman of the present, and the future. It’s been…

The Top 10 Lamest “Rivalries” in Sports

As I watched Mitch Moreland’s gargantuan, 472-foot homer sail into the soon-to-be stormy June night, I was reminded that the Rangers-Astros’ fight should be stopped on account of inhumane bludgeonry. Moreland’s blast — tied for third-longest in baseball this season — capped an 8-3 Texas cakewalk that continued its dominance…

And Then … There Was Baseball. Rangers, Your Move.

When we last left our Rangers they and pitcher Derek Holland were clubbed around in New York by the Yankees. Not, no last Wednesday. Way back on April 16.It was hours after the Rangers’ 5-2 loss in the Bronx that Saturday afternoon that the Mavericks rallied in the last six minutes…

And Now, Your Final Mavs Videos of the Season

And here I thought most Friends of Unfair Park were spent from yesterday’s festivities. Apparently not: Several have suggested we post the YouPlusDallas recap from the Mavs’ downtown parade and post-game festivities at the American Airlines Center — and who am I to argue, given that Jun Kang and Justin…

Dirk and Jason, Victors On Victory Avenue

Pardon the delay — our photographer Mike Mezeul II was among those stranded on DART trying to make his way home from the American Airlines Center following this morning’s parade and the VIP after-party at the AAC. But in just a few we’ll have the entirety of his slide show…