It was quite the big deal back in ’80, when the Dallas Diamonds of the fledgling Women’s Professional Basketball League signed Old Dominion star and Olympic silver-medalist Nancy Lieberman to her first pro contract. I have a hazy memory of sitting among a few packed houses at Moody Coliseum, at…
On November 2, as you’ll recall, pro surfer Andy Irons’s body was found in a room at the Grand Hyatt DFW, a cache of prescription pill bottles by his bedside. His family insisted, no, those had nothing to do with the 32-year-old’s death. Instead, they said, the world champion, who’d…
It’s almost Christmas, and the Texas Rangers haven’t done anything to address the hole in the rotation left behind when Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and the opening created at designated hitter after the club declined a $9 million option on Vladimir Guerrero. Aside from rumors and a…
Every Ranger Down in Tex-ville Liked Cliffmas a lot… But the Philadelphia Phillies, Who lived way north of Tex-ville, Did not! The Phils hated Cliff Lee and ignored Cliffmas! The whole winter meetings season! Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be that their…
Mark Yost is the author Varsity Green: A Behind the Scenes Look at Culture and Corruption in College Athletics. But back in late September, he was more interested in a high-school game: Plano vs. Allen, which the Eagles won by the score of 30-13. Yost wasn’t really there to see…
The Mavericks continued to prove that they’re indeed the best team in the league as they improved their road record to a franchise-best start of 10-1 with a 105-99 victory last night in Orlando. Caron Butler led Dallas with 20 points and 4-for-6 shooting from three-point range, and Tyson Chandler…
The Mavericks are calling themselves streak busters after ending the Heat’s 12-game winning streak in Miami, but they should be calling themselves the best team in the NBA at this point in the season. After all, it was Mark Cuban who dubbed the Heat as the league’s best team a…
Since we can all feel OK about losing out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, it’s fair to evaluate Jon Daniels’ Plan B, especially with the trade of Zack Greinke — easily the best pitcher to be had on the market as a 27-year-old with filthy stuff, two years left on…
Back in ’08, Neiman Marcus offered in its annual Christmas Book something called the Super Bowl XL Opus MVP Edition, which, as you can see in the photo, is a mammoth keepsake — “the heaviest sports-related book ever published,” per Amazon’s description of the limited edition, not to be confused…
I know. I know. You’re tired of hearing about Cliff Lee. He’s a goner, and it’s not like the Rangers didn’t do their best to keep him here. Actually, I’d say Jon Daniels, Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg did too much in their attempt to convince Lee to stay, making…
On the other side, the Dallas Mavericks square off against the worst Christmas song of all time. They do not win…
(With Richie Whitt on vacation for the next two weeks, Dallas Observer staff writer Sam Merten has graciously agreed to pitch in. Commenters, on your mark…) Long before the Cowboys’ playoff chances were officially toast, this season felt doomed from the beginning. The devastating 13-7 loss to the Redskins on…
On October 17, as the Texas Rangers were smack-dab in the middle of the American League Championship Series, The News ran a very nice story about Charles Wangner, who, more than most, knew what it was like to be a long-suffering fan of the ballclub. Wangner, you see, had worked…
At the risk of sounding 103 years old, I need to ask a question: What has happened to football? On 105.3 The Fan I co-host the weekly radio shows of Dallas Cowboys’ defensive players Jay Ratliff (Mondays 6 p.m.) and DeMarcus Ware (Wednesdays 2:15). Each week they bemoan not being…
I was coming back from an interview last week when I heard Mark Cuban on with Bob and Dan talking about a book he’s reading: Death to the BCS: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series by Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter and Jeff Passan. In the book, the reporters…
Like the BCS, style points count. So do geeky, black-and-white stats such as touchdowns and quarterback ratings. Wins and losses? Definitely. Leadership? Uh-huh. When it comes to my weekly NFL Quarterback Rankings — if I had one of those little encircled R’s to signify a trademarked idea, it’d go here — the…
In a related story, Dallas Cowboys fans respectfully disagree. Well, don’t we? Brooking says he has something left in the tank, but we all saw him blocked out of the play – hell, out of the picture – on the Eagles’ clock-killing, game-winning drive last Sunday. I’ve seen – and…
Let me just say this one last thing about Cliff Lee and then we’ll move on. Maybe. Sorta. OK, probably not. Check that, definitely uh-uh. Don’t tell me the Texas Rangers tried hard. Don’t tell me we should be proud of sitting at the big boys table. Don’t tell me…
Yesterday, while looking for something entirely unrelated on Heritage Auction Galleries’ website, I came across this what-the-what: Dallas Cowboys 50th Anniversary Celebratory Helmet Created by 3-D Pop Artist Charles Fazzino Benefiting The Salvation Army. Twenty-four hours ago it was going for $800; now I see it’s up to $1,100. And…
Cowboys lose to Eagles? Check. Rangers lose Cliff Lee? Check. Mavericks lose to the medicore Milwaukee Bucks? No way in hell. Check?! I was hoping the Mavericks, who had their 12-game winning streak snapped in a head-scratching 103-99 loss, could push it to 15 entering Monday’s game against the Heat…
The Rangers had a chance to re-sign Cliff Lee, but his demand for more money and years than Texas was willing to offer resulted in his decision to return instead to the Philadelphia Phillies. In a conference call with reporters late this morning, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and CEO…
A proud franchise that once upon a time won Super Bowls behind a Doomsday Defense is these days shackled to the most disappointing season in team history by a defense that is simply doomed. Back in training camp down in The Alamodome in San Antonio, head coach Wade Phillips trumpeted a promising…
