DALLAS - Call Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan an expert on the L.A. Kings and Phoenix Coyotes, a tiny bit less so regarding the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.
He saw the Kings and Coyotes about 100 times during the regular season. He saw the Devils twice and the Rangers once.
These are the NHL's Final Four. Glen is going with the New York Rangers to win this thing.
"(LA Kings coach Darryl Sutter's) system is to hunt. They are going to hunt you until they beat you. That is what they are doing right now," Gulutzan said. "They are putting on pressure until they are wearing you down. ...
"Just looking at this, the Rangers have more depth than anybody else. So if it's the Rangers/L.A. I just think, if you go past the first two lines of L.A., the bottom two lines the Rangers can put out a better bottom two lines. If it gets into a real grind, two-way hockey series, the Rangers have more. And the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist, and the Kings have Jonathan Quick, so that's a wash. It's going to come down to depth."
An L.A vs. New York Stanley Cup Finals, after which Gary Bettman should immediately retire. Never will his league enjoy higher ratings.
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The thrill and rarity of Texas Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton's 54 home run performance (that's what it feels like now) earlier this week in Baltimore has created a buzz over baseball that we aren't even paying attention to how bad Albert Pujols has been sucking. BTW - Albert is batting .198 with 1 HR, 11 RBI this season.
According to the Internet Machine, the Rangers are talking about signing Hamilton to a 75-year contract worth $3 trillion. Again, that's what it feels like now.
Aside from Hamilton talk, in case you didn't know, the Anaheim Angels are coming to Texas for their first series of the season against the Rangers beginning Friday.
This doesn't happen often, like almost never, but Friday night's scheduled pitching matchup is the rare matchup of the guy you had vs. the guy you have:
C.J. Wilson (4-2, 2.61 ERA) vs. Yu Darvish (4-1, 2.54 ERA)
Even though Wilson was instrumental in the Rangers' success in each of the past two seasons as a starter, by the time he hit free agency last winter fans sounded tired of his "Speed Racer, Most Interesting Man in the World" persona. There was a "Good riddance" feeling to his departure, which was bolstered by a pair of unimpressive post season performances. And then there was the fact he Tweeted out former teammate Mike Napoli's cell phone number.
He may rub you wrong because he can sound a bit too cool for school, but the man is a solid innings eater who doesn't get hurt.
When the Rangers said goobye to Wilson they obviously did so with the knowledge they were going to make a serious run at Yu, who so far in his MLB career looks like he can be a dominating starting pitcher.
But the Rangers didn't make this swap for April through September, but specifically October.
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Just in case you don't follow former Dallas Mavericks forward Lamar Odom's Twitter account, @RealLamarOdom, the man has finally returned to the world of 140 characters or less.
Beginning on May 3, Odom has Tweeted:
"being the best basketball player i can possibly be will allow 2 become the next P.Diddy . i know whats fly! Dis the Year . ThecomeBackKid!"
"puffs designs name is Sean John. i want the people 2 pick mine! Joseph LaMar or Joseph London. miss that Court ! Olympics here we come USA!"
" it was hard 4 me 2 get the picture of my cuz who at 24 was shot in the head"
OK, so by this we can deduce LamLam:
a. Wants to design his own line of clothing b. Wants to play for Team USA in the Summer Olympics in London c. Was really bothered by his cousin's death d. Plans on a comeback to the NBA e. Is not "All In" with the Dallas Mavericks' playoff theme
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On Dec. 13, the Dallas Mavericks had their media day. I wrote this ...
DALLAS - Lamar Odom said one thing you want to know, and one thing you need to know. What you want to know is that Odom plans to keep his reality TV gig, meaning theKardashians will be coming to Mavericks games. "That's what I do," Odom said Tuesday morning at the team's media day. What you need to know: "If [the Mavs] thought winning a championship was hard, defending it is tougher," he said. "It's tough. If any team can do it, this one can."
We care about these things. We should also care about how much longer Dirk has. How many more prime years does the greatest player in the history of the franchise have remaining?
"I don't know that question is that important to anybody but you," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle chided me. "You are talking about something that is in the future." Coach, Dirk is 33. Don't worry about the future when your Hall of Fame forward turns 34 in June. You just go with the now. The hyper-compressed NBA season is near, and we should all plan on the Mavs again being "around it" as one of the few teams with a legit chance at the title because of Dirk. But to expect them to win it again is a bit much because their actions were about the future rather than today. "Dallas let the goods get away," NBA analyst Chris Webber said Tuesday during a conference call. "Tyson Chandler is the reason they won the championship. He was a game changer.... First of all, they proved me wrong; they won a championship last year. Why would you change that? In my opinion, Tyson Chandler was the Defensive Player of the Year. He made the most impact "For all the years we watched Dirk, he's always been great, so I don't want to say he didn't get better last year. The difference last year was not Jason Terry; it was Tyson Chandler." Mavs GM Donnie Nelson and Prime Minister Mark Cuban earned a few years' worth of appreciation and latitude from this town and the basketball world for putting together the title team. They did it, and it was nothing but fun. Most NBA cities would kill for a run like that. Their decisions to bring in Odom, Vince Carter, Brandan Wright and Delonte West may offset the departures of guys like Caron Butler, J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson. This roster is deep, versatile, capable and will win a lot of games. There may even be some upgrades in those moves. These are go-for-it-now decisions that suggest they know their future is today. The decision to let Chandler go does not. Athletic, active 7-foot men are not plentiful on this earth; so, when you get one that can actually play, you keep him. He was the best center in franchise history. There was a reason the Mavs traded for Chandler only a few weeks after locking up Brendan Haywood two summers ago and then he became the starter - Chandler is better. How can the Mavs possibly replace what he did? As presently constructed, they can't. Haywood is a big body who can guard the interior reasonably well, but Chandler covered more ground than anyone on the team, and altered what the other teams could do. The Mavs can only duplicate his defensive presence if they land Dwight Howard, who according to an ESPN report, is willing to be traded only to the Mavs, Nets, Magic or Lakers. Don't hold your breath Superman will actually come here. Ever notice that big-time free agents always love the Mavs except when it comes time to sign with the team? (That's another column.) Letting Chandler go made the most financial sense as the team tries to be cap-responsible in two years when the new NBA rules really become punitive for the franchises that exceed the limit. The rub is that Dirk is 33. To do anything but keep Chandler is to not give Dirk the very best chance at winning another title. Modern-era NBA history says there is only one guy to be The Man for his title-winning team after this age, Michael Jordan. This includes Magic and Bird. Dirk may be able to hit 20-footers well into his 80s, and he may be in wonderful condition, but he will be this age for not too much longer. When he gets old, and he will, that's it. Assume when he's done we won't see his replacement for another decade. But that is the future, and Carlisle and the Mavs aren't worried about that. Except when they are, which is why Chandler isn't here, which is why asking the Mavs to defend their title may be tougher than even Odom thinks.
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The L.A. Clippers have other players who can dunk. Not only that, but Clippers have players other than Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. I didn't know that.
In Game 2 of the Clippers/Grizzlies series in Memphis on Wednesday night, it was former Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan trying to bring down the backboard. Me gusta!
Check this out:
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Today's lesson in The People Drafting NFL Players Are Merely Guessing ...
The Great QB Rose Bowl/BCS title game of 2006 has netted a pair of high first round NFL passers who are now hanging on for an NFL check.
Matt Leinart and Vince Young are just another couple of NFL JAG's (just another guy).
Former USC QB Matt Leinart, the 10th overall pick of the Cardinals in the '06 draft, is trying out for the Oakland Raiders for the right to backup Carson Palmer. He is expected to sign with that team.
Vince Young. Former No. 3 overall pick Vince Young. Vince Young, backup. To Ryan Fitzpatrick. In Buffalo. Buffalo, New York.
VY backed up Mike Vick in Philly last season, and had a chance to show he was an improved passer when Vick suffered various injuries. But it didn't click. Young was 1-2 as a starter, and completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 866 yards with 4 TDs and 9 picks. He's an NFL athlete, but not an elite NFL QB.
Meanwhile, the "third-best" QB in that draft - Jay Cutler - is on his second team and may be a massive malcontent but he is clearly the best NFL QB of that 2006 class.
For you Texas fans who can never get enough of this ...
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In a word: Holy God are the Los Angeles Angels bad. Wait. Sorry. That's more than one word.
We are one day away from the first month of the MLB season being complete and baseball's most expensive offseason operation is a disaster zone.
The L.A. Angels of Northern San Diego are challenging the 2001 Texas Rangers for one of the most expensive worst starts in recent memory:
C.J. Wilson (5 years, $77.5 mil) plus Albert Pujols (10 years, $254 mil) = 7-15 record, 9 games back of first place Texas.
C.J. has been pretty good; he is 2-2 in four starts with a 2.42 ERA. He has 11 walks in 26 innings, but it's hard to be too fusssy over that ERA.
Pujols, however, has been not good. In 88 at bats, he is hitting .216 with 7 doubles, ZERO home runs, and four RBI. Only nine more years on that guaranteed deal. Pujols fully expects his numbers to come around.
But this division history says be careful before writing this team off.
In 2001, the Rangers spent heavily on adding Alex Rodriguez, Ken Caminiti, Andres Galarraga to an already pricey bunch (Raffy Palmeiro, Pudge) for a team that wound up in last place by only 43 games.
On April 30, 2001 the Seattle Mariners were 20-5. The Texas Rangers were 11-14, second in the AL West, and nine games back of first place. It was in May when this team completely tanked.
Here is the part that all of Texas Rangers' nation needs to be aware of: In last place on this day in 2001 in the AL West were the Oakland Athletics at 8-17, 12 games out. The A's won 102 games that season to capture the wild card. That stacked "Money Ball" team gagged against the Yankees in the ALDS.
Bank on the Angels getting their stuff together, and Pujols going on some tear that boosts his numbers closer to his career average. The question will be is whether it is too late.
BTW - The Angels visit the Rangers for the first time on May 11 for a three-game, weekend series.
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Actually, your defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks' playoff slogan is "All In". Ironic because in the shortened offseason their management was anything but all in for this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are going with "Team is One" for the playoffs.
The Spurs? Don't appear to have one, but something like, "We're the only team in this town, we win a lot, and we don't need no stinkin' gimmicks".
The Lakers are slogan-less. Usually "We're the Lakers and You're Not" works.
The Clippers are going with, "What Do We Do Now?"
The Nuggets could use, "This Is Going To Be Quick".
If you don't recall, the Mavs defeated the Thunder in the West Finals last spring. The teams are just a bit different this year. The Thunder won the season series, 3-1.
12/29/11 OKC, 104-102 in OKC Here is the ending of that fun game:
1/2/12 Mavs, 100-87 in Dal
2/1/12 OKC, 95-86 in Dal
3/5/12 OKC, 95-92 in OKC
The Mavs have a chance if:
a.) They can rebound with the Thunder. In the four game series, the Thunder out-rebounded the Mavs, 44.8 to 39.8. This stat has to be at least even for the Mavs.
b.) Durant is going to get his, but Thunder guard Russell Westbrook must shoot a lot, and miss. This worked in last year's playoffs as Westbrook was a black hole. Westbrook averaged 22.8 points on 39% percent shooting against the Mavs this season.
c.) Dirk is the best player in the fourth quarter. Dirk's biggest transformation last spring was his ability to become the best player in the fourth quarter of every playoff game. If he is driving and attacking the rim, the Mavs have a shot. If he is settling for off-balanced jumpers over 6-foot-3 defenders, no way.
d.) Prayer. Who knows? Can't hurt, right?
PREDICTION: This happens with all good young teams as they grow: They go "through" some veteran team en route to the top. The Thunder have been through the playoffs now, got their teeth kicked in, and are mature enough to defeat a Mavericks team that just is not the same as one year ago.
The Mavs are older, tired, and clearly are fighting a case of "Been there, done thats". These guys know the score. Last year's team had energy whereas this team appears to be fighting itself to be interested.
Thunder in six.
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DALLAS - Where/how can the NBA fan sign a contract extension for another few years of this compressed 66-game regular season?
This NBA season was unique because of the lockout and the hurried nature of the entire league year, but I have loved it. Give me more four games in two nights, please.
Pretty much everyone associated with the teams from the players to the coaches to the support staffs are gassed because they aren't used to this baseball-style pace.
It has made for better theater. A fewer number of games increased the level of importance on each one, and you could watch your team play pretty much all the time. Did the quality of player suffer? Yes, but ... it didn't seem to bother the viewer/fan/customer.
There is an added level of unknown going into the playoffs that is normally associated with the NCAA tournament. The Heat, Bulls, Spurs, Lakers and the Thunders are the favorites, but it is easy to envision of these teams losing before the NBA Finals.
"I am enjoying this season because you have to have the mindset of making the best of whatever the situation," Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle EXCLUSIVELY TOLD ME! recently. "But come next year, we'll have certain realizations about the NBA regular season. It's not going to seem as busy as it normally does. That's probably a positive thing. And we'll learn from this going forward that will help us, and me, too.
"But as far as what my preference is? With a veteran team, if you had to spin a wheel or push a button, you'd want a regular type of season with a month-long training camp," Carlisle said. "That's not in the cards. We have to make the best of this."
Soon enough the NBA will return to the 82-game regular season, complete with only a smattering of back-to-backs and plenty of days off in between.
Boooo!
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