Please, Not This Again! by Daniel

There are some stories that I just can’t get enough of. There are athletes who grab my attention no matter what they are talking about.

On the other hand, there are some players and story lines I am so sick of — I mean really just tired, fed up and flat out done with. Everyone has a list so here is mine:

No More, Please, List …

Mike Tyson (Let’s see. He raped a women … Enough said!)

Terrell Owens (I don’t care that he did a TV show and dont care if he celebrates. Great player, just tired of his act.) 

Yankees (All of them. I got Sporting News Magazine last night, and they had a big story on Cano and Cabrera. Really, who cares.)

NFL Draft (Nobody can predict how good these kids will be in the big time, so why waste hours listening to Mel Kiper Jr. flap his lips? By the way, most his information comes from agents. How right could he possibly be?)

Chris Berman (This is my sportscaster wild-card pick. He does a nice job, but why does he have to scream and sweat so much? One bad thing about having HD.)

With that said, there are some stories and athletes I would like to get more of. Here is that list …

College Football Coaches (They just all seem a little crazy. The hours they work, the stress they go through. Think about the fact that their lives depend on 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids, who are just as worried about girls as the next game.)

Golf Caddies (Talk about a cool job. But I would like to know more. How are they treated by the golfers they work for? How much more do they really make? Does the best caddy help a golfer very much compared to the worst caddy? And, how they feel about wearing those white uniforms at The Masters?)

Red Sox Nation (Did you know they really have a president, and a lot of people in the Nation tatoo Red Sox inside their lip? Not kidding!)

Dan Patrick (He just really does not take himself seriously. His radio show is great and maybe even better after leaving ESPN. Talk about guts to leave that network because you need a change.)

So, this is just a small list, but it’s a good start. What is your list?

Men Behaving Badly: Are Sports Fights Always Bad?

The phantom blogger is up from the ice, a day after licking his hockey wounds in a 4-1 Stars’ loss to Detroit on Thursday.

That was ugly. Detroit’s power play was, well, powerful.

But my attention has been briefly turned to baseball. Who’s the hottest team in the American League? Well, that would be the Boston Red Sox.

But, quick: Who’s got the second hottest club right now?

The Texas Rangers.

They’ve gone 7-3 in their last 10, and during a road trip nonetheless. Last night, they shut out Seattle for the second-straight evening, but this brawl got all the attention.

Richie Sexson charges the mound after Kason Gabbard threw at the catcher’s mitt. That’s right; the pitch was nowhere near Sexon, and the fight seemed like an orchestrated brouhaha to get the Mariners fired up.

Do I think that sort of thing works? Actually, I do. However, this brawl won’t do anything for the Mariners. Players have to pick their spots, and they have to be the right ones. According to Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve, the only guy hitting anybody was Mariners’ pitcher Felix Hernandez, who had apparently nailed two Rangers.

However, I’m a big believer in gimmicks. Anything to get the team more cohesive, and sometimes a little fight does ‘em good.

Not the lesson we want to pass to the kidows, but in the professional sports world, it’s not always a bad thing.

Move Over: I’m Jumping On! by Daniel

Alright people, move over. I’m getting on the Hornets bandwagon.

I’m not saying my fanhood will forever be with “Big Easy Basketball,” but for the next month, I’m riding shotgun with CP3 and Tyson Chandler.

I have lived in Oklahoma almost my whole life, but (of course) when I move for a couple years, the city gets an NBA team. So with that said, I have nothing really pulling me to the Hornets, although I did go to a couple games at the Ford Center as a fan and had a blast.

I will also admit that I really don’t like the San Antonio Spurs. There, I said it. (Man, I feel better).

Look, I covered the Spurs for a couple years, and they are great guys and all that. But as a team, they are just so danged boring. Watching Tim Duncan bank shots off the glass does not make me want to stand up and cheer. Great people … boring basketball.

So back to my bandwagon jump: The Hornets are exciting to watch. They have one of the best players in the game with Chris Paul, who I think is the second-best NBA player right now behind Kobe, and they are fun to watch … Did I mention that already?

I picked the Spurs to win the NBA title this year because they have all the right pieces, but I hope I’m wrong. If the Hornets beat S.A. and play the Lakers in the conference finals, the SportsXtra team might have to come peel me off my couch and drag me to work.

Move over, people! I’m jumping on the Hornets bandwagon and there is nothing you can do to stop me!

Most Exciting 2:00 In Sports

The phantom blogger has no case of the Mondays. Instead, a very interesting conversation between Mark Rodgers and Daniel Holdge on SportsXtra’s Sunday edition has him (er, me) considering the most exciting moments in sports.

Daniel suggested the 2:00 at the Kentucky Derby isn’t the most “exciting two minutes in sports” as the race has been called by many, and I’d agree.

It’s fun and all, but unless one has some loot riding on the festivities, it’s hard to get worked up about horses running around a track.

On the other hand, Sunday night’s NHL foray into Monday morning highlighted again what I consider to be the most exciting “two minutes” or “any minutes” in all of sports: NHL playoff overtime.

Dallas outlasted San Jose in four of them, winning 2-1 on a Brenden Morrow goal past the Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov to clinch its series 4 to 2. Despite the fact that I’ve posted a couple of times now regarding the Stars, I am not one of those guys who watches 30, 40 NHL games a year.

I watch playoff hockey, admittedly only with interest when the Stars are in it.

However, as somebody who watches a little of everything, as somebody who reveres college football, the NFL, the NBA, college hoops, baseball and even some auto racing, I firmly believe that the NHL’s playoff overtime provides the most exciting, nerve-wracking minutes in all of sports.

Heck, a Game 7 overtime in the NHL playoffs is almost unsettling it’s so exciting. It almost requires a sedative.

But for some perspective, what about other “exciting minutes in sports” … ?

Here are what I’d consider to be the most exciting minutes (two minutes or otherwise) in sports:
1. NHL playoff hockey overtime. Unbeatable.
2. NFL overtime. Love that it’s sudden death.
3. World Cup shootouts. Recall the 1999 women’s World Cup and that tremendous stop by Brianna Scurry.
4. Boxing. Last round of a close fight. I’m getting more and more into MMA, but boxing is still a worthwhile entertainment value. It’s hard to beat the buzz of a 12th round.
5. College football overtime. Underrated, and I hope that’s not a contradiction to my No. 2, but I don’t need to have a rooting interest to watch a college pigskin OT. It’s fun all by itself.

What are your favorites? Or do you disagree with us about the Derby?

Creative Destruction

Ah, the phantom sports blogger has a fever, and the only prescription for that fever is more cowbell. Or a quick blog post.

Anyhoo, you won’t see the great philosophers mentioned on sports blogs across the country unless it’s with reference to the likes of Yogi Berra or St. Louis great Mike Shannon. However, Mark’s post on Wednesday regarding the Mavs and their trade and Mark Cuban treating the team like a $100 fantasy league (pretty funny) was spot on.

As a Mavs fan, this had caused me sports agony for some time. After the Golden State series last year, I said that it was time to bust it up to build it up. And besides that being a knee-jerk sports reaction from rabid, pessimistic fans, this sports concept has its roots in philosophy.

Economic philosopher Joseph Schumpeter, among others, trumpeted the concept of creative destruction, which centers on the positive transformation that can happen through radical innovation.

Out of destruction a new spirit of creativity arises, wrote Werner Sombart, another purveyor of this notion. And, no, I didn’t know his quote off the top of my head. I found it on Wikipedia; however, having worked and survived through the dot-com boom and bust of a decade ago, I was already familiar with Schumpeter.

Alas, I have a sports point.

Ever notice that when pro teams totally change up their unis that they, all of a sudden, get good? Take the Denver Broncos. Take the New England Pats. The Seahawks sure as heck never sniffed a Super Bowl until the blue and silver was replaced by the blue and aqua-green.

The Tampa Bay Bucs finally won a Super Bowl, but it was in unis other than the bright orange of Leroy Selmon and Ricky Bell and Doug Williams.

And when the Houston Oilers up and moved to Memphis and then Nashville, they finally played in a Super Bowl as the Tennessee Titans.

When Mark Cuban took over the Mavs, he produced radical innovation, creatively destroying the entire culture of the Mavericks’ organization, rebuilding it into one that nearly won a world championship.

Sometimes the creative destruction manifests itself superficially, such as with the unis, and at other times it’s the result of a transformational leader. And all Cuban needs to do is to look back in time, to himself, to figure out how to right the Dallas Mavs’ ship.

However, the big reason I wanted to write this post is because I checked baseball standings today. May 1 is a date lots of baseball nerds look to, a measuring stick to see where their teams are headed. While no team is technically out of it, teams like Texas, Pittsburgh, Washington, Kansas City and Toronto have about 30 days to figure out what 2008 is going to be about — rebuilding or contending.

Which brings me to the Florida Marlins. The Marlins were supposed to be 100-game losers this year, having dumped Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis on the Tigers in another Florida baseball fire sale.

However, the Marlins are the masters of creative destruction. After their 1997 World Series title, they pretty much dumped everybody and rebuilt. Won another Series in 2003 — and, now, they’re tied for first in the NL East after April.

Not where anybody would have expected them to be.

But apparently somebody down in Miami is a fan of the great Joseph Schumpeter, and Dallas Mavs fans should hope Mark Cuban is as well. The best thing a pro sports organization can figure out is when the cause is lost because the sooner it’s realized, the sooner the ship can be righted.

Personally, I think the Mavs were a year too late.

I’ll Take Manhattan

In the history of trades, one will go down as the worst.

Allegedly, four centuries ago, the Dutch came up with a bunch of junk and gave it to a group from the Delaware tribe in exchange for Manhattan. Advantage Dutch, even though they never got to see Trump Tower erected. (Note: My son is 1/32 Delaware, but this didn’t get me a discount on my most recent trip to New York.)

In the history of NBA trades, two of the worst were made in the past year. Since I have a sportscast to anchor, I’ll deal with the deals in two parts. Today the spotlight shines, er, fades from the Dallas Mavericks. I like Mark Cuban. He’s a genius and he’s used that genius to become rich. Once he became rich, he remained the same person. Besides, who among us wouldn’t like to wear a t-shirt into some stuffy board meeting.

Cuban is now learning some lessons in the NBA: YOU CAN’T RUN YOUR PRO FRANCHISE LIKE A $100 FANTASY LEAGUE.

Jason Kidd was a great player in Dallas. Bringing him back because you loved the Mavs with Kidd once before is as bad of an idea as bringing back Alvin Harper as the missing piece to the Cowboys’ Super Bowl dreams. Dallas went from having the best record in the Western Conference last year and out in the first round to having a salary-cap strapped team with the seventh best record in the Western Conference and out in the first round.

Kidd is a stat-accumulating point guard who can’t play defense. Not even against Jannero Pargo, much less Chris Paul. Jerry Stackhouse was once a scoring machine and now is a shooting machine. Erick Dampier’s defensive prowess is manifest only against his shadow. Dirk Nowitzki can’t get his shot off without the help of a creative point guard (see Paul or formerly Kidd).

Now, I’m wondering how this team finished seventh in the West. Good news is this, Mavs fans: Cuban built an empire out of his dorm room at Indiana University. While he’s deconstructed a title-worthy team the past couple of seasons, he can build it again. However, it will have to be with different parts. Oh well, there’s always plenty of shopping to be found on Victory Lane.  

“Hope You Like The BCS” by Daniel

Well, if you are one of the few people who loves the BCS and how they decide a national football champion, it’s time to rejoice.

If you are like me and absolutely can not stand it, it’s time to write a blog complaining.

Today, a 12-member committee made up of 11 conference commissioners and the Notre Dame athletic director decided everything is going great and there is no need to change. ACC commissioner John Swafford even said the BCS was in an “unprecedented state of health.” So, basically what he’s saying is unless we the fans stop watching games and paying for tickets, nothing is going to change.

I hate that way of thinking.

Why can’t these 12 guys (who by the way met at an ocean-front hotel in Hollywood) just say, “Look. Things are going great, but let’s make it even better.”

College football is as hot as ever. I understand sometimes “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” but that does not apply here. Why in the world can’t we just get one more game — just one more to decide the real national champion.

SEC commissioner Mike Sliva is the new Big Man on Campus! He proposed a plus-one system, which we have all heard of, (where you play all the bowl games and add one national championship game after that) but no one would bite. Big 12 commish Dan Beebe even said, “There is a strong feeling in the Big 12 that what we have is working well.”

Come on, man. It’s working, but it could be better.

You can get a car to run with a little engine, but it works even better with a big block 350 (I think that’s right. I’m not much of a car guy, but you get the point.) It’s time for these guys to step up and say that even though we are making money hand-over-fist, a National Championship Game is best for college football and best for our fans!

With all that said, nothing can be done until after the 2014 season. There are many things in life I just don’t understand, but this has to be near the top. Why is it that hard to just add a game and be done with it?

It really can’t be that big of a deal.

What do YOU think?

Softball Story Part II

The story from ESPN.com I mentioned on Tuesday? Well, check out this video report, including an interview with the injured player:

Click here to watch video.

Incredible Softball Tale The Stuff Of Sports Movies

The phantom sports blogger is on the attack again, but I come offering a story that should warm just about anybody’s soul.

As a fan of sports movies, I often get both a warm fuzzy and a cringe at seeing some of the seemingly implausible endings.

Tom Berenger’s bunt at the end of “Major League” comes to mind, although I realize I’m not citing one of the masterpieces of sports cinema. A classic, yes, but the tale of the Indians wasn’t on par with “The Natural,” “Field of Dreams” or many other baseball tales.

But, I suspect you get the point.

And for the record, two of my favorite sports movie endings culminate with defeat — that of “Rocky” and the underrated “Mystery, Alaska.”

However, ESPN.com’s Graham Hays tells a tale between two college softball teams that is beyond anything scriptable. Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky hits the first and surely only homer of her college career only to tear her ACL rounding first.

By rule, if she couldn’t round the bases, she would have to stay at first, being credited with a single and certainly be replaced by a pinch runner.

However, two players from the opposing club, Central Washington, carry her around the bases to a standing ovation.

I highly encourage you to read the entire story by clicking here.

At once, it reminds everyone that no individual is bigger than the sport played while at the same time underscoring just how cool college sports can be.

This never, ever would have happened in a pro sport.

And if this had been the ending to a movie, I never would have believed it.

NFL Draft Review on KOCO.com

Hey, it’s your boy the phantom sports blogger here at koco.com, and if you were like me, you didn’t get to see much if any of the NFL Draft. I for one was too busy watching the Hornets take the Mavs to school and my beloved Dallas Stars continue an impressive — stunningly impressive — NHL playoff run.

So, we’ve put together comprehensive online coverage of this weekend’s draft, including draft reviews for each NFL team right here.

If your team isn’t in that immediate list of links, then look over to the right (on our NFL page) for the Choose A Team drop-down menu.

Or you can scroll to the bottom of our NFL section for links to team draft reviews by division.