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…
We waited 5,100 days in between Texas Rangers’ playoff wins. Might we suddenly get two within 24 hours? As dominant as Cliff Lee was in the Rangers’ 5-1 Game 1 victory on Wednesday, I like the matchup of C.J. Wilson over Tampa’s James Shields even more in Game 2…
Before we go any further, click here. You’ll find a picture taken on May 29, 1972, in Arlington, during a Texas Rangers-Oakland Athletics game at what had only months before been Turnpike Stadium. The photo features then-Rangers skipper Ted Williams arguing with home-plate ump Jim Odom over a strike-out call…
The Texas Rangers are in the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys are authoring their annual drama. Texas-OU just captivated the Cotton Bowl. Big Tex is offering up fried beer at the State Fair. And, hey look, on TV it’s a Seinfeld rerun. I love Jerry, George, Kramer, Elaine and the gang…
10. Going up 1-0 in a best-of-five series is always nice, but an even better sign to me was the effective, aggressive play of Josh Hamilton. He singled in his first at-bat, cut loose a throw ambitiously behind a runner after a fly ball and even stole second base with…
The defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys were 2-3 under Barry Switzer and on their way to a playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Dallas Mavericks were embarking on a season that started with head coach Jim Cleamons and the Three Js — Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal…
An old Friend of Unfair Park will be skipping work this afternoon to watch Rangers Playoff Baseball — he’s got the note from Chuck Greenberg to prove he, like John Reed, has come down with Red Fever. (It’s after the jump for those likewise inflicted. It’s cute enough.) We were…
Though they didn’t pop the champagne in Oakland until Sept. 25, the Rangers clinched the AL West on July 9. That day changed a season. Changed a franchise’s credibility. Changed October plans. That day, of course, brought Cliff Lee. The Texas Rangers now have a post-season polished pitching ace. The…
Well, there’s no Shaft of Austin Powers or James Bond after all. But filmmaker Mike Jefferies has, as promised, just posted to the YouTube his short film Dear Mr Hicks, aimed at you-know-who over you-know-what. There are some familiar faces mixed in there, not that that’s important. But for some…
Fox Sports Southwest reporter Jim Knox seems a fine fella. His job on Texas Rangers games — interviewing Boy Scout Troop #137, talking to face-painting Sally and whatnot — seems almost impossible to make interesting. But if you’ve ever wanted to see Knox get his, well you’re day has arrived. Courtesy…
Seems like everyone except ESPN’s Buster Olney is picking the Tampa Bay Rays to beat our Texas Rangers in the best-of-5 American League Divisional Series. Which makes sense actually. The Rays are a 96-win team, the winner of baseball’s best division, with a 4-2 season series edge on Texas, and…
It’s been a question since forever: When oh when will the National Basketball Association or National Football Leaguer NFL start selling ad space on their team unis? Because, c’mon, the Euros do it and make millions. The WNBA does it. Some Major League Soccer teams do it. Why not everyone…
Be careful what you ask for. For the most part, seems like baseball fans in our parts feared the New York Yankees. Household names like Jeter and A-Rod and Pettite and Rivera and the 27 World Series have a way of intimidating opponents. Oh yeah, and the 1-9 playoff history…
10. Pretty sure the Sooners and Longhorns are just mediocre football teams. But I’m certain Texas was absolutely gutted — in emotion and field-position — by nine penalties. 9. The Longhorns will lose Oct. 16 at Nebraska, giving Texas three consecutive losses for the first time since 1999. Seems like we’re…
The 90 wins (just the fourth 90-win season in the franchise’s 39-year history). The nine-game win in the American League West (largest ever). The claw. The antlers. The playoffs. The excitement. Let’s face it, without Josh Hamilton in the post-season it would all amount to tantalizing foreplay with no payoff. Seeing…
Sam MertenFor a long while during the auction of Your Texas Rangers on August 4 — and into the wee small hours of August 5 — it looked as though Mark Cuban and Jim Crane’s Radical Pitch LLC might indeed take possession of the team. Every time Chuck Greenberg and…
Team president Nolan Ryan predicted a World Series victory for the Texas Rangers during a rally held this afternoon at the home plate gate outside Rangers Ballpark at Arlington. After general manager Jon Daniels issued brief comments to the few hundred fans gathered for the “Rangers Red Rally,” which celebrated…
I’ve seen Mavericks’ forward Popeye Jones inadvertently tip a jump ball into his own basket, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers two points. I’ve seen Cowboys’ defensive lineman Leon Lett inexplicably attempt to recover a blocked field goal on an icy Thanksgiving field at Texas Stadium, handing the Miami Dolphins a victory…
Odd confluence of sports and celebrities today.Like, for instance, this item outta the U.K.: Liverpool native and soccer-movie screenwriter Mike Jefferies has decided to take on Tom Hicks, who, as you’re no doubt aware, is still trying to keep hold of Liverpool FC. As Deadspin notes, Jefferies says he’s rounding…
lated by the Rangers’ AL West crown. But I’m not thrilled by the T-shirt. Gray? Coulda swore the Rangers’ colors were red and blue and … Gray? Or is it charcoal? And speaking of celebratory accessories …..
At the State Fair of Texas this year they’re selling—I kid you not—deep-fried beer and margaritas. Inside the Cotton Bowl on Saturday they’re giving away—in all likelihood—not a stuffed Snooki game prize but rather a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. There’s nothing quite like Fair Park in October,…
There was a crisp, cool nip in the air Monday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. We’ve experienced this before with the Texas Rangers. When the shadows grow long and the days dwindle short, baseball annually, promptly gives way to talk of the Dallas Cowboys, Texas-OU, the Dallas Mavericks, Fletcher’s…
