Don Fehr obviously doesn't realize the NHL is not the MLB

Don Fehr may be a brilliant lawyer who did right by the MLB player's union by consistently running baseball boss Bud Selig into the ground, but it does appear as if he has met his match.

No, not in NHL commish Gary Bettman - the sport of hockey.

The NHL announced today that all games have been cancelled through Dec. 30. How the league is doing this again inside of a decade is impressive.

This announcement is a matter of days after the two sides appeared this close to agreeing to a contract.

Unlike when Fehr negotiated labor deals with baseball, he always had the advantage of having several pressure points the league had to deal with that would help force the issue with the owners to make a deal. Namely, television. Fehr had leverage outside of just owners vs. owners.

With hockey, however, there are not enough outside pressure points the league has to deal with to force itself to make a deal it does not want. Fehr's leverage is considerably less in this negotiation.

So we wait until one side says "uncle!", which Fehr never has had to do before. But he has never faced hockey.

 

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Note to RGIII - Quit running

The Washington Redskins did the Dallas Cowboys a solid by defeating the New York Giants on Monday night to make the NFC East a race:

1. NY Giants 7-5
2. Redskins 6-6
3. Cowboys 6-6 

From a record standpoint, this is the least-good division in the NFL.

As much fun as it is to watch Washington's Robert Griffin III run around - he ran 5 times for 72 yards against the Giants - he has to start sliding, running out of bounds and not getting hit. RGIII throws a wonderful deep ball, but watching him against the Giants he is getting hit too much.

The zone-read is becoming more popular in the NFL and QB's are running a bit more. RGIII leads all NFL passers in rushing attempts and rushing yards. The next closest is Carolina's Cam Newton, who has run 95 times for 524 yards. This is not some stale black-white QB argument. Andrew Luck has run 44 times for 216 yards.

It doesn't matter. RGIII is a sturdy 6-foot-2, 217 pounds and is as tough as any QB, but it doesn't matter. The best QBs are the ones who aren't hit, and know how to avoid being hit. 

It's an acquired skill and one that RGIII needs to quickly learn. The Redskins and owner Dan Snyder sank so much into trading up to draft RGIII it would be a shame if he misses games because of an injury sustained during a run.

He is such a good guy and potentially so good for the NFL the more he is on the field the better it is for everyone involved.

RGIII has rushed 105 times this season for 714 yards with six touchdowns and an absurd 6.8 yards per carry average. Those numbers make it is soooooo enticing to let RGIII run because the 1st down stick is right there. Junk the short term gain for the long term goal.

 

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This Baylor grad leads the NFL in jersey sales

That's a headline I never thought I would write.

In his first season in the NFL, former Baylor qauterback Robert Griffin III is doing something Tom Brady made a career out of - beating Peyton Manning.

RGIII is the owner of the most popular jersey in the NFL, ahead of Manning. According to the NFL.com and its sales shop, NFL.com, Griffin's No. 10 is the hottest jersey for sale.

Here is a complete list: 

1. Robert Griffin III, Redskins
2. Peyton Manning, Broncos
3. Aaron Rodgers, Packers
4. Eli Manning, NY Giants
5. Tom Brady, Patriots
6. Andrew Luck, Colts
7. Victor Cruz, NY Giants
8. Tim Tebow, NY Jets
9. Troy Polamalu, Steelers
10. Patrick Willis, 49ers 

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Hey, Dallas Cowboys fans, Sean Payton can be a free agent

This should be good for Jason Garrett ... the NFL has voided the contract extension signed by suspended New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, which means he can be a free agent at the end of the season.

Let's see ... another losing, non-playoff season for the Dallas Cowboys and a free agent head coach like Sean Payton. 

Payton has not been allowed to coach since he was suspended by the NFL because of the whole Bounty Gate mess. Just a little misunderstanding.

Dallas Cowboys owner/GM/president/scout/assistant coach Jerry Jones has always had a soft spot for Payton, who always had a soft spot for Tony Romo because both are Eastern Illinois grads. Payton was with the Cowboys as a member of Bill Parcells' staff from 2003 to 2005. 

The Saints hired him as their head coach in 2006 and in that time the Saints have gone 62-34, including a Super Bowl in the 2009 season.

Payton currently lives in the greater FW/d area, but where a head coach lives has zero to do with anything.

Will the Cowboys dump Garrett to hire Payton? Probably not, but it is Jerry so you can't rule it out.

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NBA commissioner David Stern retiring - not dying - but eulogies forthcoming

You personally may no longer care much for NBA commissioner David Stern and his rather strict, sometimes autocratic ways but there is no denying that in his tenure his company became a massive international brand.

On his watch the NBA became a global name, and leaped ahead of baseball and is firmly behind the NFL in terms of pro sports popularity.

Today, Stern announced that on Feb. 1, 2014 he will step down from the job and turn it over to Adam Silver. Stern took the job on Feb. 1, 1984. That's a pretty good 30 year run, even if it should have ended about five years ago.

Expect months and months of commentary as if Stern were dying, or is dead aleady.

David Stern was a kind man ....

The league has had its share of problems since he became its boss, and he has at times acted like a bully. In terms of the NBA pre-Stern and the NBA post-Stern, however, he deserves a large portion of the credit for pushing the league, expanding the league and marketing pro basketball in a way that had never been done before. 

It became a billion dollar empire with Stern, and the NBA firmly established itself behind the NFL in terms of North American popularity.

 

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Who is former Dallas Cowboys TE Martellus Bennett?

The absence of linebacker Sean Lee from the Dallas Cowboys was very likely greeted warmly by the New York Giants, and specifically tight end Martellus Bennett.

The former Dallas Cowboy and Texas A&M Aggie would likely have been covered by Lee, at least a little. 

After starting out so well in his first season with the Giants, Bennett's numbers have begun to flatten.

 

 

Here are his week-by-week stats:
v. Dallas 4 rec., 60 yds., 1 TD
v. TB 5 rec., 72 yds., 1 TD
at Car 6 rec., 73 yds., 1 TD
at Phi 1 rec., 2 yds.
v. Cle 3 rec., 30 yds.
at SF 1 rec., 9 yds.
v Wash 7 rec., 79 yds.

The production had really sloooooowed down after the third game. Marty B is still on pace for 57 receptions for 697 yards and 7 TDs; every one of those figures would be career highs by a wide margin.

He is playing with arguably the finest quarterback in the game right now and in a system that loves tight ends; you figure Marty B is apt to pop for another big game whether it is Sunday against the Cowboys or some other time soon.

The problem with Marty B remains is you are just never sure which player he is: The guy who ripped it up the first three games of the season, or the guy who vanished.

 

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Something that never happened in Texas: A-Rod is benched & further clouds his legacy

Had Alex Rodriguez remained with the Texas Rangers after he agreed to his 10-year, $252 million deal in December of 2000 he would have been a free agent after the 2010 season. But, trades and hemorraging owners happen.

Now at 37, age is clearly catching A-Rod. He batted .272 this season with 18 homers and a career-worst 57 RBI.

Today in a game that decides if a team's season is over or continues the manager is saying someone else is better than Alex Rodriguez.

Heading into Game 5 of the Orioles/Yankees series, A-Rod has been so bad it appears as if Yankees manager Joe Girardi is going with someone else.

According to ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney's twitter account, all signs point to A-Rod starting Game 5 on the pine. Olney wrote: 'I think this is a good guess on what the Yankees will do: Chavez at third and Ibanez in the lineup, either at DH or LF."

In Game 3 of the ALDS against the Orioles, A-Rod was taken out in the ninth inning to give way to a pinch hitter, Raul Ibanez, who just so happened to tie the game with a solo homer and win it a few innings later with another jack.

A-Rod is 2-for-16 in this series with zero extra base hits and nine strikeouts.

This move continues to muddy what 10 years ago looked like a legacy that would be one of baseball's greatest. Nothing can take away from the numbers, or his immense talent, but the way this story is moving A-Rod will leave the game as a guy who was a series of empty numbers.

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Dallas Cowboys "Get Real" Chat No. 3: The Giants game really happened

Thanks for checking in for this Dallas Cowboys Get Real chat to cover the wreck that was their 34-18 loss at home against the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Don't worry, it was actually much worse than the final score indicated.
 
Post your comment underneath and we can begin a discourse.

THE COWBOYS BEAT NEW YORK? NOT THE JETS, THE GIANTS? IN NEW JERSEY: After watching the last three games it does seem a bit amazing these same Dallas Cowboys traveled up East and defeated the Giants, 24-17.

The number decrease since then is amazing:

at NYG: 433 yards offense; Romo 22 of 29, 307 yards, 3 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 20 carries, 131 yards
at Sea: 296 yards; Romo 23 of 40, 251 yards, 1 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 13 carries, 44 yards
v. TB: 297 yards; Romo 25 of 39, 283 yards, 0 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 18 carries, 38 yards
v. Chi.: 430 yards; Romo 31 of 43, 307 yards, 1 TD, 5 int; DeMarco Murray 11 carries, 24 yards

WHICH TEAM ARE THEY? The Cowboys have more matchup problems than you might think. The Giants were victims of their own unforced errors - dropped passes, etc. - the Seahawks out-physicaled the Cowboys, the Bucs were equally as ugly, and the Bears are much better defensively.

Despite an upgrade in talent here and there, the Cowboys simply don't look that much different than a year ago, and are playing like they are going to finish between 7-9 and 9-7.

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This former Texas Rangers should win the Cy Young in New York

Never easy to see a former Texas Ranger go out and kill it for a different team, especially after the original employer spent so much time and money to see it through, but it is really hard not to be happy for R.A. Dickey.

Goes to show you what a good knuckleball can do.

The New York Mets' season has once again been a stinking pile o' cat stuff, but Dickey has been fantastic as a starter. He is likely going to win the NL Cy Young award. His closest competition is going to be Gio Gonzalez of the Nationals and Johnny Cueto of the Reds.

On Thursday against the Pirates, Dickey improved to 20-6.

This season, Dickey has thrown a league-high 227.2 innings and 20-6 with a 2.69 ERA. How he won 20 games on that Mets team is amazing. The Mets are 72-84.

Dickey leads the National Leauge in innings, games started, wins and strikeouts. 

There simply is not a nicer guy in the bigs than R.A. Dickey.

 

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Martellus Bennett serving up a giant plate of crow

No one ever doubted Martellus Bennett's ability, but the "want to" chip awlays seemed to be lacking. It is turning out he wanted it more than maybe so many of us, me included, realized.

Marty B is doing with the Giants what he never did with the Texas A&M Aggies or certainly the Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps maybe it was playing for a head coach in College Station who didn't feature him the right way, or playing behind a tight end in Dallas whom he was never going to get the opportunity to be anything other than his caddie.

In his first season with the Giants, Marty B is tearing it up.

In three games he has 15 receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Marty B has touchdown catches in every game this season, including NYG's 36-7 win in Carolina on Thursday night. Those are his first TD catches since 2008 when he was a rookie with the Cowboys. He is on pace to shatter any previous career high in every category.

So whose fault is this that Marty B didn't do this, ever, with the Cowboys?

Some of it is on the coaches who simply were never going to give Marty B the chance to be ahead of Witten.
Some of it is on Marty B. He may be thriving now because the opportunity is there, and perhaps leaving the Cowboys and the state of Texas was the best thing for his career.

Marty B signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Giants in this past offseason and claimed it was his time to shine. It is turning out he was right.

 

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