"Behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the (Cardinals) win it!"

Forgive my headline, but it was 25 years ago this year that the Red Sox were unable to end the curse against the Mets on the road and blew a two-run lead in Game 6 in historic fashion that is part of sports' lore

Not sure where to exactly begin, but twice the Texas Rangers were one-strike away from winning their first World Series and instead they will play Game 7 in St. Louis on Friday night.

Cardinals 10, Rangers 9 in 11 innings in 4 hours and 33 minutes.

"I understand it's not 'til you get that last out," Rangers manager Ron Washington said in the press conference after the game. "I was praying to we would get that last out and we didn't."

Brutal. How the Rangers come back to win Game 7 will be ... surprising. History says when you have a series as in the bag as this was and don't close it out you're done. Regardless, this has been a great series and deserves to go to the whole way. 

Neftali Feliz, Darren Oliver, Scott Feldman ... take your pick. The Rangers had two run leads in the bottom of the ninth and tenth and were unable to hold either. 

Reportedly the families were in the Rangers' locker room, as was the champagne only for all of it to be removed. Twice. Even Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa had been told to thank the fans after the game during the Rangers' celebration.

But once this game went to Mark Lowe in the bottom of the 11th it was over. 

Washington's decision to take down Feldman with two outs on and one on in the top of the 11th was the end. Esteban German pinch hitting for Feldman was a dud. Mike Napoli was on first, and was not going to score on anything but a triple or home run. German grounded out weakly to set up Lowe serving up David Freese's walkoff HR.

Washington should have white-flagged the inning to keep Feldman in the game and wait for the best hitters in his lineup to score.

There are so many aspects to this game that can be second-guessed, on both sides, but the Rangers and Washington are going to face the worse of it. They deserve it.

The Rangers will need the best short-term memory loss of their lives to get over this one.

 

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Even T. Boone & Switzer can agree to laugh at the Longhorns

This doesn't happen every day, but it seems that Oklahoma State owner T. Boone Pickens and former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer can agree to have  some fun at the expense of Mack Brown and the Longhorns.

Pickens was at a luncheon in OKC on Wednesday and took a shot at the Horns.

According to this story, T. Boone had an e-mail exchange with Switzer and the former Cowboys coach said OSU shouldn't "beat them as bad as the Sooners did because we want to keep Mack Brown as coach, we want somebody that both of us can beat."

On a more serious note, the Horns could be in some trouble. After getting fat on a weak non-conference schedule, they have lost their last two games by the combined score of 93-43.
After destroying Division III Kansas this Saturday, the Horns have ...

Nov. 5 vs. Texas Tech ... the Red Raiders' world looks so much different after stunning OU in Norman. I think they are frauds, but at some point even I have to admit their record isn't bad.
Nov. 12 at Missouri ... on the road, you never know. Horns should win.
Nov. 19 v. Kansas State ... no team owns Mack the way the 'Cats do.
Nov. 24 at Texas A&M ... no way.
Dec. 3 at Baylor ... the Bears got 'em last year in Austin, and RGIII embarrassing defenses these days. 

 

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C.J. Wilson wants to be made to feel "special"

C.J. Wilson is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA in five postseason starts in 2011.
In the 2010 playoffs, he went 1-2 with a 3.70 ERA in four starts.

And very shortly he will become the biggest free agent pitching prize on the market. I certainly stand by my claim before Game 5 of the World Series that the Rangers should let this guy go once the bidding goes stupid, which it will.

Wilson appeared on the Ben and Skin show this week and said that he wants to stay with the Rangers saying: "At some point you need to be made to feel special. If you have a girlfriend or a wife or whatever -- maybe both, some people like to party -- if you don't make them feel special, eventually they feel neglected and they feel left out. Texas is going to have their chance to do that after the World Series is over and we'll go from there."

This is what happens in free agency: Another team is going to make C.J. feel really wanted and desired and special and just pound him with cash because he is left-handed and is 31-15 over his last two seasons as a starter for a World Series team. That's pretty legit. His head will surely expand during the free agent courtship.

But when/if he doesn't live up to the massive contract he will surely sign, those special feelings may not exist any more.

Of course, a few extra million dollars in the bank may be all that he needs.

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ESPN shouldn't bother with Poynter, an ombudsman & quit faking journalism

It is cute to see ESPN play journalism and employ the nationally renowned Poynter Institute to act as its journalism watchdog and ombudsman. This is a mammoth organization that stands for Entertainment Sports Programming Network. Be sure to read that first word closely.

Thanks to my Twitter follower and former Fort Worth resident and University of Missouri grad @StephStouffer she passed along to me the ESPN mission values statement that is available if you click here.
Its mission statement reads: "To serve sports fans wherever sports are watched, listened to, discussed, debated, read about or played."

I read this whole page a few times to see if the word "journalism" is mentioned. It's not. 

Because ESPN pays billions of dollars to the NBA, NFL, MLB and several high powered college conferences there is such a deep conflict of interest that exists it can not possibly follow the standards of conventional journalism like a news agency that follows, say, your local government.

How former SMU running back Craig James is still allowed to work as a broadcaster after the whole Texas Tech/Adam James/Mike Leach debacle says pretty much everything you need to know. ESPN is like a lot of big corporations that employ "selective integrity". The rules apply to everyone, except when they don't.

Or when ESPN hopped into bed with the University of Texas to create the Longhorn Network and, according to the contract that is now all over the Google machine after it was requested by Texas A&M under the open records act, Bevo can force ESPN to fire anyone on the network who "does not reflect the quality and reputation desired by UT."

Or the fact that ESPN on-air personalities from Chris Berman to Erin Andrews are allowed to act as spokespeople for companies.

I can't remember the last time Monday Night Football color analysts Ron Jaworksi or Jon Gruden didn't trip over themselves glorifying every single thing the players and coaches do, regardless of the score.

Considering the financial relationships that exist between ESPN and so many sports leagues and organizations, it does a fairly decent job of reporting the bad news. But it also employs a bevy of mouthpieces and shills that can't possibly be too harsh or they risk losing their source, or alienating their friends. 

ESPN has such a monopoly on the rights to carry so many different games in so many different sports that the viewer has little alternative but to watch, listen and read. But from a journalism standpoint, ESPN is not that much different than E! News.

Most sports fans read enough, and have enough readily available to them, to jump on the Internet to read a local newspaper story to determine if there is another side to a story.

The only people who truly care about this are the members of the media not employed by ESPN. We feign outrage, only until we're hired by Bristol and then it's all good. My media brothers and sisters who are so irritated by the four-lettered are all secretly lined up around the block hoping they call. Good for Erin Andrews, or any of the rest of them. The joke's on us.

Most sports fans don't even know what the Poynter Institute is, and cares even less what it thinks. Most sports fans just want to watch the games, know what is going on, and likely don't worry too much about journalistic standards from an organization that starts with the word "Entertainment".

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Thursday drive through: Ranking the scariest horror movies of all time

You're not going to believe this, but apparently Leonardo DiCaprio is dating another super model. So he goes from Bar Refaeli to Blake Lively to some girl named Madalina Somethingorother. Do you think he even knows her last name?

...

Halloween is about here and between the FX hit American Horror Story and now the latest Paranormal Activity movie it's time for a list. We can't have enough lists.

What are the scariest horror movies of all-time? No genre generates as many stupid movies as the horror flick, and most of them are so bad they aren't even worth mentioning. But when they hit, they can scare the living blank out of you.

The key element to watching any horror movie is what Catherine Trammel said in Basic Instinct, "Suspension of Disbelief".

1. The Exorcist
If you are ever in Georgetown in D.C. be sure to visit the famous cement stairwell that was made famous in this movie. "The power of Christ compels you!" still is a favorite line of mine to throw at my dog when she's been bad.

2. The Shining
Still can't watch this movie by myself. Between little Danny saying, "Red Rum" and those freaky little twins I get spooked every time.

3. The Blair Witch Project
Don't bother asking why the trio of amateur filmmakers refused to follow the creek out of the woods, or how why they held a camera to their eyes as they were chased by ghosts. This movie scared me so bad I couldn't sleep that night. "Tell us where you are Josh?!!"

4. Silence of the Lambs
I never know to put this movie into the horror or suspense category, but few movies had my stomach in a taut knot like this thing. "Are the lambs still screaming?"

5. Se7en
What makes this movie so scary isn't just that it's totally suspenseful, but the fact that someone wrote this twisted, dark and sick script. "Become vengeance David. Become wrath."

6. The Omen
When the nanny/housekeeper hangs herself at the little boy's birthday party I about lost it. "It's all for you!" Any time there is a chorus of either monk-ish music and or a little boy with an English accent  I'm out.

7. Halloween
The best slasher movie ever made. John Carpenter's classic really does the trick for a variety of reasons, including a memorable score that he himself created. "He's gone from here! The evil is gone!"

8. Jaws
This falls into the Silence of the Lambs category - is it a horror movie or suspense? Who cares? It remains timeless, and forever changes your approach to a day at the beach. "You're gonna need a bigger boat." 

9. 28 Days Later
It's not technically a zombie movie, but it is. And it's the best one ever made. All of London has "infection" which turns them into flesh-eating weirdos. The shots of desolate London are eerily incredible, because they are real. The filmmakers created those shots without computers. This movie has an alternate ending, which is considerably darker. 

10. Psycho
Our standards have changed so much since this 1960 movie was released, but this movie remains so effective because of the black and white, the music, that house and Anthony Perkins' performance. "A boy's best friend is his mother."

A few other favorites:
The Serpent and the Rainbow
Never saw it, but I'll never forget the line from the trailer, "Don't let them bury me ... I'm not dead!" 

Alien
I liked Aliens better, but this original was so quiet and eery that it's hard not to jump a few times.  "Perfect organism."

Rosemary's Baby
Just totally freaky all the way around. "God is dead! Satan lives!"

 

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Quote of the day

Arthur: I race cars, play tennis, and fondle women, BUT! I have weekends off, and I am my own boss. 

 

 

 

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The part of Mike Vick's game that gets no credit

Since returning to the NFL, Michael Vick has received buckets of credit for adapting his run-first quarterbacking style to that of a more conventional passer, which is why he secured his role as the starter in Philly.

There is another part of his game that he also changed, dramatically, that receives zero credit. Michael Vick sounds and looks like a completely different man in front of the camera compared to his days in Atlanta. Don't think for a moment that this is not one of the reasons the Eagles didn't give this guy a $100 million deal. 

To be a face of a franchise, one has to act and look the part, too.

Having watched and listened to Vick since he entered the NFL as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2001, I was probably like a lot of you who thought this guy sounded like another simple, dumb jock. He often projected an image that he was a punk.

In his two year break from football because of the dog-fighting incident, Vick now sounds like a 31-year-man doing his job. Someone has obviously worked with this guy on how to better present himself to the public eye. Whatever was said or advised, he listened and he deserves some credit. 

On his conference call today with the FW/d reporters, I asked Vick if he worked with anyone on this aspect of his "game".

"I think the time I spent at Leavenworth (prison) allowed me to reflect on the things that I didn't take advantage of," he said. "And going through those times I missed out on doing certain things. I always promised myself if I got to do it all over again I would do it different and take a different approach. Your mindset is everything and I approached everything with an open mind and tried to let things flow."

 

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Dear Terrell Owens, let it go ...

In a 24/7 media world we can never not have enough content, and Terrell Owens came through again. For the last time. I debated whether to opine about Mr. Owens, but his workout yesterday that yielded no NFL teams attending is too easy to miss.

T.O. ran routes without his shirt on, and looks like he is in fantastic shape. He's always been in fantastic shape.

His agent, Mr. Drew Rosenhaus, said Owens' workout created a lot of buzz. He's not lying. A lot of my media brothers and sisters are taking this opportunity to rip the blank out of Owens for continuing to be what he always has been: A narcissist. I have no idea how Owens could not be. He's surrounded by more sycophants than Monty Burns. He reminds me of that dude from the New Jersey housewives show ... only considerably  better looking.

But let us take a moment to ponder what NFL team may want the services of a 37-year-old WR who never really liked learning offenses, can't get off the jam, and is a known pain in a locker room.

- No team in the AFC East.
- The Ravens need a WR, but GM Ozzie Newsome wouldn't do this. So no team in the AFC North. 
- The AFC South is so bad it may no longer be in the NFL, but considering the Texans traded for Derek Mason I can't see them going for T.O.
- The Raiders? Never know. Al Davis is dead, but the team's painfully stupid trade for Carson Palmer suggests his legacy lives in Oakland.

- The NFC East? Mike Shanahan won't do this in D.C., where they really do need a receiver.
- A big N-O on the NFC North.
- Tampa Bay is 4-3 and the youngest team in the league, but I can't see coach Raheem Morris doing this.
- It would be fun to watch Steve Smith and T.O. trying to share the same QB in Carolina, but it won't happen.
- And the NFC West is the AFC South.

The NFL has moved on from Terrell Owens, only no one is being honest with him about his situation - he will no longer play football for a living. Of all the things Terrell Owens has done as a professional, this transition promises to be harder than anything he's done before.

The T.O. Show is done, and there is no popcorn.

 

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A picture of Tony LaRussa's failed call to the bullpen from Game 5

Saw this on my FB page and felt the need to share ... hope I see more of these in the days to come ...

 

 

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Let us sloooow down on this DeMarco Murray stuff

I am petitioning the NFL that all stats compiled after the first 30 minutes of games against the Dolphins, Colts and Rams be subjected to an asterisk. These teams are so awful anything accomplished against them outside of a win should be tossed aside.

This would then include a portion of Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray killing the Rams for 253 rushing yards on Sunday at JerryWorld.

It was a great day for Murray, and an offensive line that badly needed to feel good about itself. But no one 'round these here parts wants to acknowledge that the Rams have the WORST RUN DEFENSE IN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. 

The Rams run defense is worse than that of the Colts. Do you know how hard that is? The Colts run defense is worse than Kansas.

Prediction: Murray won't eclipse 100 yards against the Eagles, who have the 23rd-ranked run defense in the NFL, on Sunday night in Philly.

 

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