Sean Williams sums up the Mavs 1st 2 games by losing his lunch on the sidelines

Well, that was fast Sinead O'Connor's marriage is over after 18 days. Kardashian was a bit more committed to the institution.

.... .... .... .... .... 

We are told we have to be patient, so ... let's be patient. This is not the NFL where 0-2 equals the end of the year. Even in this hyper-compressed NBA season 0-2 is still meaningless.

Nonetheless, could the Mavs look any slower? (No)
Could the Mavs look any older? (Yes)

This guy here thinks the Mavs are better off with Lamar Odom rather than Tyson Chandler.

You know it's bad when the TV announcers are left to sift through the rubbage of last night's 115-93 loss against the Nuggets that they are left with the guy who barfed on the sidelines as the team's best player.

Sean Williams went 4-for-4 from the floor with 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal and 1 throwup. 

The Mavs are going to be 0-3 when they lose against the Thunder in OKC on Thursday night. The things should begin to look a little better.

Any team with Dirk and Lamar Odom is not going to look this bad forever, but I'm with you ... this looks bad.

 

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Craig James tells Fox News he lives on "Real Street"

Craig James has come out of hiding to formally announce he will run for U.S. Senate. He was on Fox and Friends this morning where he talked about his candicacy for the first time, and spewed some political verbage that sounded very Romneyian.

"I’ve started jobs and created jobs. I understand the economy and our world," James said on the show.

Here are my feelings on this subject from a previous column.

James was pithy on the show this morning, and full of not a lot to say. He's going to sell his story of that of a kid who was raised by a single mom and came from nothing. It's true - James is a self-made guy.

"I ate a lot of ketchup only sandwiches," James said on the show. "Our country is changing. Washington is off its rails. I'm living on Real Street. I understand the economy and our world."

The person I want to fix this economy is a college football analyst. And what is Real Street? Got me. But it sounds good, which is half the political fight.

The Fox host asked James about the Texas Tech fiasco and overcoming that:

"We supported our son. There are no allegations. It's indisupitable amongst players, coaches, trainers doctors," James said. "Everyone there knew that Adam (James) had a concussion and on back to back practices Mike Leach ordered him in dark, solitary confidement. You can't do that to a human being. As people have found out what happened they understand. There are some who don't want to open their eyes and understand reality. We supported our son. What does that mean to me?"

At this point James goes into some self-serving blah, blah, blah about how he can serve or ... some empty pile of junk.

"I will stand against evil. Right is right, wrong is wrong, it's never right to do wrong," he said.

A friend of mine who works for a senator in Austin told me a few lobbyists are already leaning on James to not run in this race. That he has no chance of defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the Republican primary in the spring.

"I'm out of the things I've enjoyed and I'm going to take that to Washington to make a change and make a difference," James said.

Click here for the FoxNews video.

According to a poll conducted by Baselice & Associates in early Nov., Dewhurst leads the pack with 50 percent. James was not a member of the race then so he's not included in the poll.

Prediction - James gets blown out in this race, will return to calling games in the fall, and will never try politics again.

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Contrasting the Mavs and Knicks centers after Game 1

Brendan Haywood is a pretty nice, affable and decent guy to talk to. He's also a pretty nice, decent backup center. 

We know that because not long after the Mavs gave him a big contract two summers ago they traded for Tyson Chandler, and shortly thereafter made Tyson the starter.

In the first game without Chandler as their starting center, the Mavs interior defense looked nothing like it did last season when he was in the middle. Chandler is now in New York, and made his debut just before the Mavs unrolled their 2011 title banner.

Haywood's line in Game 1: 14 min., 0-2, 3 reb, 2 turnovers, 4 fls, 0 points

In the Knicks first game with Chandler in the middle as their starting center: 
37 min., 1-2 fg, 5-8 ft, 3 reb, 2 assist, 6 blk., 2 fls, 7 points

Chandler is never going to be a scorer, but the guy can defend the perimter on screen and rolls, and just completely changes the way teams can go at the rim. He's already a hero in NYC.

It's just one game, and the 36-hour training camp could explain a lot of why the Mavs' looked so bad in their 105-94 loss against the Heat. But the Mavs are kidding themselves if they think Brendan Haywood can be a productive, defensive force in the middle of a contender.

 

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Quote of the day

Mark Zuckerberg: I was drunk, and angry, and stupid... 

Marylin Delpy: ...and Blogging. 

Mark Zuckerberg: And Blogging. 

 

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One team had Boise State's number: TCU

Last night in Las Vegas arguably the greatest four-year run in college football history ended when Boise State did as expected and put a beat down on Arizona State in the WhoCares? Bowl, 56-24.

Click here for a good column on Boise State's final game that will end this amazing run.

After a 15-year college career, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is finally done. Moore won 50 games, which is five more than any other quarterback in college football history. He lost three times.

Two of his three losses came against TCU. Boise State's senior class finished 6-0 against BCS teams. 

Their three defeats:
In 2008, Boise lost to TCU, 17-16 in San Diego.
In 2010  Boise lost to Nevada, 34-31 in Reno.
In 2011, Boise lost to TCU, 36-35 in Boise. 

It should be noted Boise State also defeated TCU, 17-10, in the Fiesta Bowl in 2010. 

Any way you cut this, these achievements from both schools are impressive.

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Dez Bryant's legendary high school coach dies of a heart attack

For Texas high school football fans, this is a real bummer.

Lufkin High School football coach John Outlaw reportedly died earlier this morning after suffering a heart attack. He was only 58.

Click here for the story in the Lufkin Daily News.

Outlaw coached for Lufkin for the last 17 years, and won the state title in 2001. He won his 300th game earlier this year.

He also coached current Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant.

 

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Fearle$$ football predictions - Do not touch the Cowboys/Eagles game

The Big Mac Blog began this season with $50 of Monopoly money. I plan to mock bet $10, against the line, five games from college/NFL every week to determine whether I should make my second career as a gambler.

To whoever said I am horrid at handicapping games - eat it! I was 4-1 last week, in the National Football League. That's just called gettin' it done, and get'n' paid. That's all that is. 

I am now a very healthy plus-$90 for the season. This chart here tracks my picks as the season has progressed; you'll notice how the curve continues to sky rocket.

Here are the results from last week's slaughter:

1. New Orleans Saints (-6.5) at Minny Vikings. SAINTS. WIN 
2. Carolina Panthers at Houston Texans (-6). TEXANS. LOSS
3. Tenn Titans (-6.5) at Indy Colts. COLTS. WIN.
4. New England Patriots (-7) at Tim Tebow. PATS. WIN.
5. Cleveland Browns at Arizona Cardinals (-6.5). BROWNS, but Cards win. WIN.

As you can see by the evidence, I am living large these days. Very confident. 

This week's picks:
1. Iowa vs. Oklahoma (-14) in the Insight Bowl. HAWKEYES, but Sooners win. I don't like OU sans Broyles.
2. Washington vs. Baylor (-9.5) in the Alamo Bowl. HUSKIES, but Baylor wins. 
3. Dolphins at Patriots (-9.5). PATRIOTS. Large.
4. Cardinals at Bengals (-4.5). CARDINALS. I can't see this being a wide margin.
5. Tim Tebow at Buffalo (-3). TEBOW. Bills are done, and Tebow is getting better.

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The real reason USC QBs keep coming back

Still trying to wrap my little man's brain around the fact that the Colts rallied from behind to defeat the Texans last night in Indianapolis. The Colts had Andrew Luck in the bag, but now they are going to need help.

If you are a Texans fans, this loss is a bad, bad sign of what is to come. This team has one and done in the playoffs written all over their brow.

Perhaps my mood as someone who was raised a Colts fan would be different had what happened earlier on Thursday afternoon been different. On Thursday afternoon, USC quarterback Matt Barkley told the world that he will return for his senior year in LA. He would have been a fine No. 2 pick behind Luck.

This leads me to ask - what is drawing USC players to return to college for their senior year where the money is under the table? He said it was because he has some unfinished business.

What could that be? The answer hit me sometime after watching Dan Orsomethingorother hit Reggie Wayne with the game-winning TD pass.

Barkley is staying for a girl. Wait, that's a load. He's staying for the girls. 
One prominent professional sports owner, who was a USC grad, simply told me of Matt Leinart's decision to stick around a few years ago for his senior year, "It's the sex."

Well ... that would make sense. But not entirely. Mark Sanchez left the USC early, was a first round pick of the Jets, and now he is rumored to be dating SI model Kate Upton. Click here for the gossip.  So it's not as if he's trading down. And Upton could be a student at USC; she's 19.

Either way, it appears as if Barkley has a road map to success. 

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The NHL & the NFL's concussion problem

DALLAS - Just today some former NFL players are suing the league over concussions. Jamal Lewis and Dorsey Levins are the highest profile plaintiffs in this suit.

In the wake of Colt McCoy's latest concussion the NFL is changing the way it handles the injury on the sidelines by having an independent trainer on the sidelines to immediately conduct tests. 

Click here for more of the details.

Great idea. Won't matter. Whether it is in the NFL or the NHL contact sports are going to produce brain-jarring collisions. Neither is new. What is new are the size and the speed of the people producing the hits.

"We have athletes now that are training 12 months of the year. They are bigger. They are faster. They are stronger," Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan TOLD ME on Wednesday morning after his team finished a morning skate. "Look at 15 years ago, I know that working with NHL guys they would work out during the same but they were not Olympic athletes. They were good at their trade and they worked out. Now these are Olympic-trained athletes. They are in incredible condition. They go at a high pace. They all have personal trainers. 

"If they don't do it, they don't play. It's all about (Gulutzan rubs his hands together implying money)."

Below is a list of the NHL players listed on the injury report with concussions:

Bruins - Marc Savard
Hurricanes - Jeff Skinner, Jodi Pitkanen
Blackhawks - Marcus Kruger, Kim Johansson
Avs - Peter Mueller, Joey Hishon (Mark Oliver is out with a "head" injury)
Blue Jackets - Radek Martinek
Wild - Guillaume Latendresse
Islanders - Al Montoya, Brian Rolston, David Ullstrom, Steve Staios
Rangers - Michael Sauer
Senators - Jesse Winchester, Milan Michalek
Flyers - Chris Pronger
Penguins - Sidney Crosby, Zbynek Michalek, Kris Letang
Sharks - Tony Lucia, James Marcou 
Blues - Andy McDonald
Maple Leafs - Colby Armstrong
Canucks - Taylor Ellington

There are other players listed with undisclosed injuries. Players often don't want to admit to any type of concussion like symptoms because it violates the tough-guy code, and could hurt their bottom line. A guy figures he can endure a headache or some diziness because we're talking about six or seven figure salary. 

Ex-players from both sports are speaking up about their current state of health as a result from their playing days. In their lawsuit, Lewis and Levins are claiming memory loss, headaches and sleeplessness. 
Gulutzan says about the only thing he can't do is jump up and down with his kids on a trampoline.

That's nothing compared to the horror stories from several NFL players, or ex-NHL players such as Adam Deadmarsh or Brett Lindros.

What can the leagues really do? Since Penguins star forward Sidney Crosby suffered his concussion in January and missed the rest of the season and the start of this season, the league has increased its efforts to learn more and do something about this. It's bad for business when your marquee player is out for an extended period. That's why the NFL put an invisible halo around its quarterbacks.

NHL helmets can be better. Guys probably need to wear their mouth guards more often to prevent jarring. 

"Half of the guys just chew on those," Gulutzan sad.

Both leagues should do everything it can to know more and try to prevent injuries, but there is only so much that can be done. It's not as if the players aren't aware contact is not a part of either game, and I am not sure if a 20-year-old cares much about the possible long-term effects when he already thinks he is invincible, and there is so much financial security at stake.

"You hear about football and hockey and there are some people who have taken a toll; but there are those who left the game and not felt that toll," Philadelphia Flyers coach Peter Laviolette TOLD ME Wednesday. "I know they look at the game and the equiptment constantly. Look at the injuries we have - both of them happened by our own players. A knee to the back of the head and one guy got hit in the head by a puck from his own player. I'm not sure how these play into concussions with the boards and the hitting and physicality.  Maybe they are more relevant know because we know more about concussions.

"I don't know what else you can do." 

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The Mavs have one of the NBA's most disliked players

If anyone can pull off playing Sarah Palin it's not Tina Fey but Julianne Moore, who is playing the former Alaskan Gov. in this new HBO movie, "Game Changer"..

Watch the trailer on that link; Moore looks and sounds exactly like Palin. 

....

 

Fresh off their NBA title the Mavs were roundy praised as a team that played the right way, with a lot of guys who were so likeable from Dirk to Jet to J.J. to Tyson and on down the list.

Even when the Mavs make offseason changes they seldom bring in guys that don't do well on the Like meter. This 48-hour offseason, however, is different.

Forbes has released this list of the NBA's most disliked players, and a member of the Mavericks is on it.

This list is compiled by surveys done by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research, which sound very official to help make something totally subjective completely legit. Right?

1. Kris Humphries, Nets. Could it be becuase he's just an average baller?
2. Bron Bron, Heat. No explanation necessary.
3. Kobe Bryant, Lakers. Will remain a polarizing guy.
4. Tony Parker, Spurs. Why do I think if he and Eva were cool he would not be on this list?
5. Ron Artest, Lakers. See No. 2.
6. Chris Bosh, Heat. Too bad, this is a really good guy.
7. Carmelo Anthony, Knicks. Forcing your way out of a smaller market to NYC didn't build his fanbase.
8. Paul Pierce, Celtics. He's been around a while, will say big things, etc.
9. Dwyane Wade, Heat. The Superfriends thing will linger for a while.
10. Lamar Odom, Mavs. Khloe??!!!

 

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