DFW Sports Superthread

[CTroyMathis]

Post updated 02 Jan 07.

CURRENT TEAMS:
Dallas Cowboys (NFL)
Dallas Stars (NHL)
Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
Texas Rangers (MLB)
FC Dallas (MLS) (formerly Dallas Burn)
Dallas Fury (NWBL)
Fort Worth Cats (115 years broken - founding mbr. of Texas League) (CBL)
Frisco Rough Riders (Texas League Baseball)
Dallas Desperados (Arena Football League)
Dallas Dragons (NWFA)
Dallas Revolution (IWFL)
Dallas Diamonds (WPFL)
Fort Worth Rampage (UPFL)
Dallas Diesel (NAFL)
Fort Worth Texans (NAFL)
Dallas Magpies (US Australian Football League)
Dallas Harlequins (USA Rugby Super League) (1971 to present)
unknown Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team possible for 2008

OLD SCHOOL HOCKEY:
Fort Worth Brahmas (CHL/WPHL) (currently defunct, hoping to restart after 1 year absence.)
Dallas Black Hawks (original CHL)
Dallas Freeze (CHL)
Dallas Texans (USHL)
Fort Worth Wings (original CHL/CPHL)
Fort Worth Fire (CHL) (folded not too long ago - 2 teams/1 city same time thing...)
Fort Worth Texans (original CHL)
Fort Worth Rangers (USHL)

OTHER OLD SCHOOL:
Dallas Sidekicks (MISL) (currently defunct, hoping to restart after brief hiatus)
Fort Worth Cavalry (old Arena Football League)
Fort Worth Panthers (top 100 minor league team of all-time 5 times - very old Texas League)
Dallas Hams (very old Texas League)
Dallas Eagles (old Texas League)
Dallas Brown Stockings (late 1800s Texas League)
Corsicana Oil Citys (top 100 minor league team once - very old Texas League)
Dallas Diamonds (WPBL)
Dallas Americans (old American Soccer League)
Dallas Chaparrals (SA Spurs)
Dallas Texans (NFL - moved to Baltimore)
Dallas Texans (NFL - KC Chiefs)
Dallas Texans (old Arena Football League)
Dallas Tornado (old North American Soccer League)


Other periodical Sporting Events on the Prairie Empire:
Cotton Bowl
Texas-OU Game
Fort Worth Bowl
Texas Motor Speedway (some nascar thing...)
Lone Star Park
Byron Nelson Golf Classic (Irving)
Bank of America Colonial Tournament (Fort Worth)


Former periodical Sporting Events :
Addison Grand Prix (is there any incarnation of this left?)

[CTroyMathis]

Alright, so the beloved Stars bit the dust. I'm more pissed about that than if the Mavs lose. Oh well.

Is there anyone out there grinding their teeth in desperation/anticipation of the outcome of the Mavs in Game Seven against Sac-town?

The Rangers? Fantasy retro-draft: I want Charlie Hough, Rick Honeycutt, Jeff Z. (in his youth pitching in Kelowna), and a couple others I'll name later. Can we talk PITCHING? Whiskey tango foxtrot. The state that is infamous for breeding quality pitching that traverses the leap into the Bigs...is somehow a state that has the Texas Rangers more concerned about the long ball. Chicks dig the long ball, but, position number one is where it's at for the win! //rant over.

Come on, talk some sports. DFW isn't a perennial top 5 sports mecca for nothing...

[gc]

yeah well.....I could go on and on and on here. I am very disappointed with the Stars elimination from the Stanley Cup this year.....this was the year. Maybe next year.

I am nervous bout game 7 saturday night. The mavs are so close. They have not been to conference finals since the '88 season i think. It would be great to get back there again.

Cowboys....love 'em and always will.

Rangers....love 'em but they need some friggin pitching!

[CTroyMathis]

I'm a self-absorbed hockey freak. Doesn't mean I don't watch every other damn sport out there - but, hockey (original six or not) is in my blood. Too bad I didn't grow up getting to play it... I never will forget my stunned disbelief when the NorthStars moved here. It was one of my favorite teams before they even went south.

Basketball: I miss the eighties like I miss a daily teenage blemish. But, I miss the days of Mark Aguirre, Roy Tarpley (freak!), and Rolando Blackman. Hmmm... wasn't there some Davis guy thrown in there somewhere? Anyway...
Never will forget the free throws Blackman made to win an All-Star game once, back then. Not to say I don't like todays stellar team, just reminiscing. Yeah, I remember the last time Dallas went big time. Too long ago. Get your new-logo ass out on the court and play like you have five pair, Mavs. This is your chance. You blew it last year. Now don't blow it again. Crazy Cuban is the man.

Baseball and football: I'll get back to these later. Playoff NBA is here and now!

[CTroyMathis]

MAVS WIN. Way to go, guys!

[gc]

yes greatness!

[drycreek]

Whoooo hoo! Alright, it's about time we got some DFW sports talk going on here. How bout my Strangers, I LOVE THE RANGERS. Dude they just swept the dang Yankees in da Bronx. Heck yeah. Way to go Mavs! Always love the Boys always will, I say this in all seriousness, I think Tom Landry was a truly great man. He is my hero.

Anyway I guess I would have to say the Boys are my first love, but for some reason I love the Strangers (I don't know why I call them that, me and my friends came up with that a couple of years ago, I guess the joke goes, "Who are these guys and where did our major league baseball team go??", kind of an affectionate jab. I think that's why I love them so much, because they are always the bad news bears, so one day when they finally win it all it will mean that much more.

I support all the Dallas sports teams and always will, I am a firm believer in rooting for the dang home team, otherwise what in the heck is the point of having a city attachment why not root for the best team every year, hey wait a minute we already do that!

Oh one thing Troy, I'm all for the Stars, and I appreciate your fervor but I can't quite muster up the same emotion for the Stars that I can for the Boys, Strangers, and Mavs, I guess it's because I didn't grow up playing it as a kid, ya know. I hear though, that the Stars are wildly popular in the Metroplex, and that youth/ and High school leagues have begun to take off, true?

One last thing I love sports but to me there is no greater sport on the face of the earth than Collegiate Football. It is the best hands down, the pagentry, the devotion, the rivalries, the traditions. Maybe its because I'm at UT right now but I love College Football, it's just the best.

[gc]

Hey drycreek, I don't think you are the only one calling them the Strangers and collegiate football does rock.....epsecially Aggie football.

[drycreek]

Oh no! Your not an Aggie are you Garrett. Oh well you seem like a nice enough guy, I guess we can't all be Longhorns and wear the burnt orange!

[gc]

oh yes. I'm an Aggie. I won't hold it against you that you're a t-sip.

[tamtagon]

I'm glad the Mavericks made it to the western championship series. I'm also looking forward to seeing the Spurs sweep the Mavs. Dallas is my second favorite team, but the Spurs will always be #1 for me.

[gc]

hmmmm i am sorry to hear that

The spurs are a great team but let's not forget that Dallas matches up very well against them. I don't think a sweep is possible. They have played each other too well for it to be a sweep.

[CTroyMathis]

Another reason to hate that cess pool known as SA :

Spurs Won't Sell Tickets to Mavs' Fans to Keep Home Advantage
San Antonio, May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Most National Basketball Association teams try and silence their opponents' fans with a slam-dunk or 3-point shot. The San Antonio Spurs are going one better by not even letting them in the building.

When the Spurs host Dallas in Games 1 and 2 of their best-of- seven Western Conference final beginning tonight, there won't be many Mavericks' fans in attendance.

Dallas fans willing to make the 270-mile drive south to the SBC Center weren't permitted to buy tickets online because the Spurs restricted Ticketmaster sales to San Antonio-area residents.

``I think it's wrong,'' Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said in an e-mail interview. ``I guess they are afraid of Mavs' fans.''

Cuban said he was alerted to what the Spurs were doing by Mavericks fans, some of who had their online orders canceled. He also said he wouldn't limit online sales to Dallas-area residents for Games 3 and 4 at the American Airlines Center.

A statement on Ticketmaster's Web site said sales to games at the SBC Center would be restricted to residents of San Antonio, Austin and areas south of San Antonio. Residents were determined by credit card billing addresses, the Web site said. Orders by residents outside the area were canceled and refunds were given, Ticketmaster said.

NBA spokesman Tim Andree said the league doesn't have a policy that prevents teams from deciding who can buy tickets.

``We certainly don't think it's a good idea,'' Andree said.

Spurs spokesman Tom James said it's important for the team to take care of its fans by keeping the tickets for them.

``We have great fans and we want to support them,'' James said.

Ticketmaster spokeswoman Kandus Simpson didn't return messages left at her office.

[CTroyMathis]

Close game! Geez, stressful even.

Dallas 113
San Antonio 110

Ton of fouls as well.

I wonder if anyone from the DFW metropolitan area was able to sneak in... heh.

[ibryant]

Sorry Tamtagon...your second favorite team beat your first! Go MAVS!!! I went to school at Trinity University in San Antonio, but I will always be a Mavs, Stars, Cowboys, etc. fan! Oh wait, San Antonio doesn't have anthing but the Spurs...what a shame...

By the way, my brother and I are going to get tickets to the Mavs/Spurs game in San Antonio on Wednesday. I've still got several friends in San Antone who are from Dallas and would love to get tickets for us...so, I think we're heading that way!

I must say though, as much as I love the Mavs...the STARS are my favorite team and hockey is my favorite sport! Next year it's all ours!!!! We'll get it next year Troy!

[CTroyMathis]

I certainly hope the Stars can improve upon their greatness next year, too! All I can say is, Anaheim might as well win it all or I'm going to be a bit more upset. Heh! But, at the same time - who needs two major league (world) championships in recent memory to go to an Orange County suburb!

That would be quite cool if you get into the game to root for the Mavs! Hell, I'm sure there are plenty of scalpers and sellers in the papers/online who'd sell to the right bidder anyway...!

I wonder when and if anyone in the media will talk about the fact both teams originated in Dallas... hmmm. Not really remotely important, just an obscure observation.

[JBB]

TNT did have some discussion on the history of the Spurs during the broadcast last night. Nothing too extensive, but a brief overview nonetheless.

[CTroyMathis]

Hey, thanks JBB. I missed that part for sure, then.

[CTroyMathis]

Spurs up 2 games to 1 now. Looking pretty bleak for Mavs fans with Dirk likely out also...

BTW, this is the Admiral's last season, right? I wonder if he'll go into broadcasting and all that related stuff. Can't let such an NBA mainstay to just go off into the pasture. I wonder what his next life endeavor will be.

[gc]

I sure hope the mavs can pull off a win tonight to take this series to 6. We just ran our of steam.......and dirk.

[CTroyMathis]

Last night's game sure was torturously amazing. Wow. Well, SA still up 3 games to 2, though.

Anyone catch the "shut up" incident near the end of the game? With some heckler behind the SA bench? Classic...

[gc]

Yes, I did.

That game was amazing!

[drycreek]

I can't believe they won... incredible... inspired play says it best.

[tamtagon]

I sure am glad my two favorite teams are putting on a good show. It's exciting basketball to watch (esp. when Nash is on a roll), and the exposure will be good for both teams. I still want the Spurs to win the championship; if that happens, David Robinson will certainly be an unofficial patron saint of San Antonio.

[gc]

son of a *****!!!!!!!!!!

All of a sudden, i am a Nets fan.

i hate the spurs.

[downtownbum]

please dont say that garrett! i love the spurs except when they play the mavs. i think all mavs fans have to be very excited about the way these playoffs went. i think nick really established himself as a key member of this team, and seeing steve and nick outplay bobby jackson and the suddenly human mike bibby made me happy. i think the mavs are getting closer every year. PLEASE GET RID OF SHAWN BRADLEY!!!
also i am very disappointed in my stars, have lost all interest in the rangers, and expect the cowboys to win two super bowls this year.

[CTroyMathis]

Stars almost. Mavs almost.

So how about that grand sport of baseball!!?

At least, as far as we know, there's no cork in the stadium except in the wine bottles served to patrons in the super boxes.

Go Rangers, uhh...please!?
Yeah, baby, time for those future pitchers and other prospects we're getting in the draft to do some business...

For now, how about a picture of Ryan taking a young Ventura to school...heh.

[tamtagon]

I left the Braves-Rangers game early so I could watch the Spurs.

[CTroyMathis]

DIAMOND DOZEN
Twelve people with Texas ties who made a sparkling impression on the game of baseball
By Ray Buck
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/baseball/6294148.htm

Try to imagine Texas baseball without the Texas League, the Dixie Series, the Fort Worth Cats, the Houston Colt .45s ... or Nolan Ryan.

It would be like trying to imagine Texas without barbecue, bluebonnets, farm-to-market roads or the Alamo.

Unimaginable.

"There was a time in the '30s and '40s that baseball in Texas was like football in Texas now," said Buck O'Neil, 91-year-old baseball historian and a former Negro Leagues player and manager who barnstormed Texas.

"A lot of great ballplayers came out of Texas, they sure did," O'Neil said. "We'd get done playing in cities like Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. during the summer, then head for Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin. We knew we could find baseball weather in Texas just about year-round."

With its moderate climes and geographic size, the Lone Star State surely belongs in the Guinness Book of Records under the heading "Most bus mileage logged by baseball teams." If only somebody had watched the odometer.

In recognition of baseball's place of honor in a predominantly football state, the Star-Telegram has chosen the 12 most influential baseball people with Texas ties.

The rules are simple: Find either Texas natives or Texas contributors, living or dead, who have influenced the game of baseball.

"Judge [Roy] Hofheinz and Tom Vandergriff were the visionaries," said Ryan, referring to the two men considered most responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to Texas.

Ryan? He was responsible for striking out more batters (5,714) and throwing more no-hitters (seven) than anyone else in history.

And so, our "Diamond Dozen" list begins with ... The Judge, The Mayor and The Express:

1. Judge Roy Hofheinz

Hofheinz was best-known for being the architect of the Astrodome and creator of indoor baseball.

The Beaumont native, eccentric businessman and former Harris County judge built the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World" to such posh specifications that you would think he was going to live in it.

Actually, he did.

He set up housekeeping above the right-field wall. His playroom included a full-size pool table with a picture-window view of the playing field. His bathroom featured gold-plated fixtures and velvet toilet seats.

Did somebody mention a three-hole putting green? Yeah, he had one of those, too.

A former two-term Houston mayor in the '50s, Hofheinz set his grand scheme into motion in 1962 when he scooped up one of two expansion bids (the New York Mets being the other) from the National League, and called his new toy the Colt .45s.

Three years later, his team was playing inside the first domed stadium on the planet. The Astrodome featured a steer-snorting, six-gun shooting scoreboard and theater seating.

While the "Astros" wound up in last place in '65, their fans poured through the turnstiles to experience Hofheinz's futuristic ambience. Attendance that season topped 2.1 million.

Long before sports complexes, Hofheinz created the "Astrodomain," which included four hotels, the Astroworld amusement park and a convention-friendly Astrohall by the early '70s.

Hofheinz died in 1982. He clearly was a man ahead of his time.

2. Tom Vandergriff

Vandergriff gets credit for sticking to his convictions and bringing baseball to North Texas in 1972.

Mayor of Arlington at the time, Vandergriff was faced with more obstacles than Hofheinz was 10 years earlier.

In fact, Hofheinz became one of Vandergriff's obstacles.

When the National League decided to expand to Montreal and Dallas in '69, the flamboyant Astros owner persuaded his fellow owners to approve expansion instead to Montreal and San Diego. Hofheinz wanted Texas to himself.

Vandergriff had faced disappointment before. Before the '68 season, he tried to get the struggling Kansas City Athletics to relocate to the Fort Worth-Dallas area but lost out to Oakland.

Intent upon persevering, Vandergriff finally convinced a self-made millionaire named Robert Short to pick up and move his woeful Washington Senators, who were averaging 94 losses per year for more than a decade.

On Sept. 20, 1971, the move was approved.

On April 15, 1972, the Rangers were playing.

Texas was big enough for two major-league teams, after all.

3. Nolan Ryan

Where do you begin?

"The Ryan Express" pitched 27 seasons in the majors, including nine with the Astros (1980-88) and five with the Rangers (1989-93).

Three of his record-setting seven no-hitters ('81 Astros, and '90 and '91 Rangers) came with one of these two teams.

Ryan is the only player in sports history to have his uniform number retired by three professional teams (Angels, Astros and Rangers).

He was a man of extraordinary numbers. He won 324 games and was baseball's first $1 million player, as a member of the '80 Astros.

Born 56 years ago in Refugio, Ryan grew up in Alvin and married his high school sweetheart. Only recently did Nolan and Ruth move from Alvin to Georgetown, to be closer to the Round Rock minor-league team, which Nolan and his sons, Reid and Reese, own and operate.

"The biggest surprise that I've had about retirement," Ryan said, "is how busy I've been since retiring."

He went into Cooperstown on the first ballot. Since the Baseball Hall of Fame opened in 1936, only Tom Seaver (98.84 percent) received a higher percentage of sportswriters' votes than Ryan did (98.79) in 1999.

In addition, he has a highway (Nolan Ryan Expressway in Houston) and countless babies named after him.

4. Rogers Hornsby

The greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history was born in Winters; grew up on Fort Worth's North Side (North Commerce Street), and is buried in Austin.

They called him "Rajah."

The great second baseman retired in 1937 with a National League-best .358 career batting average, still second only to Ty Cobb's .367.

During a 23-year career, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals, Hornsby was a two-time Triple Crown winner and a seven-time National League batting champion, all in the 1920s.

His .424 batting average in '24 is still the highest of the modern era.

He had swagger before swagger was popular. He scoffed at golf, saying that he wasn't about to play a game that required him to chase his own ball.

As a player-manager, he led the '26 Cardinals to a seven-game World Series win over the Yankees.

He managed 14 major-league seasons in all, with several clubs, and entered Cooperstown in 1942. That same year, he became manager and general manager of the Cats.

This would complete the circle that began for Hornsby as a star player for his hometown team before his 19th birthday.

5. Tris Speaker

A native of Hubbard, Tristram Speaker attended what is today Texas Wesleyan University. Then he played pro ball.

Only five players -- Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Cobb -- got into Cooperstown ahead of Speaker, a 1937 inductee.

He was "The Grey Eagle," known for his ability to go back on a fly ball from his post in shallow center field.

He hit 792 career doubles, a major-league record. His .345 career batting average ranks fifth all time behind only Cobb, Hornsby, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Ed Delahanty.

Speaker played 22 seasons in all, mostly with the Red Sox and Indians. He was player-manager on the Indians' 1920 World Series championship team.

Before joining the Red Sox in 1907, Speaker was a left-handed pitcher for Cleburne of the Texas League and an outfielder for Houston of the Southern League.

6. Rube Foster

Nobody cut a larger figure in the early stages of Negro League baseball than Andrew "Rube" Foster, both figuratively and literally.

The Calvert native with the rotund physique founded the Negro National League in 1920.

With that, he not only opened the doors for countless African-American players -- banned from playing in the major leagues until 1947 -- he also insisted on black ownership for his teams.

Before the '20s, Foster was a star pitcher and a heavy-duty hitter for several all-black barnstorming teams, which he also later managed.

In the dugout, he was considered a daring strategist under dead-ball era rules. His 1907 Chicago Leland Giants went 123-6.

Foster is one of 18 former Negro Leagues stars in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He became the 10th such inductee.

Foster was enshrined at Cooperstown in 1981 -- 51 years after his death.

7. Bob Watson

He is baseball's current court of law.

He issues fines and hands out suspensions as Major League Baseball's vice president of on-field operations, having succeeded Frank Robinson in February 2002.

Few have ever dissuaded Bob "Bull" Watson during his nearly 40-year baseball career, which he began as a hard-hitting first baseman/outfielder in the Houston organization. He broke in with the Astros in 1966.

In 1976, he scored the one-millionth run in MLB history, but that was only a hint of the impact he would make on the game.

In October 1993, Watson became the first African-American general manager in the majors with the Astros. And he approached that job as he had approached a fastball during his 19 seasons as a player.

He jumped on it.

A career .295 hitter who had a good sense of timing in crossing home plate, Watson also served as Yankees GM in the late '90s.

But by then, he already had broken a different kind of baseball color barrier ... calling the shots above the playing field in the major leagues.

8. Jake Atz

The so-called "Atz's Cats" dominated the Texas League into the late '20s. From 1920 through '25, the Fort Worth team averaged 105 wins per season and won six straight league championships.

John Jacob "Jake" Atz was the best manager in Texas League history.

He was as tough as he was popular, and this fierce attitude carried over to his players on the field.

As a player, Atz -- a 160-pound infielder -- had his brief major-league career ended in 1909 when he was hit on the hip by a pitch thrown by Walter Johnson.

9. Cliff Gustafson

Who else could have picked up where the fabled Billy Disch and Bibb Falk left off with the University of Texas baseball program?

"Gus," as everyone called him, bucked the long odds of creating a modern-day dynasty in the college ranks by winning a NCAA-record 1,466 games, at a .795 winning clip, over 29 seasons, through 1996.

His Texas teams won two College World Series ('75 and '83) and 21 Southwest Conference titles.

He coached nine SWC Players of the Year and 35 first-team All-Americans.

10. Bobby Bragan

"Any man lucky enough to be a Fort Worth Cat was as proud of that as he would have been to play for the New York Yankees," Bragan was quoted as saying in Jeff Guinn's 1999 book, When Panthers Roared.

Bragan, Cats player-manager from '48 through '52, never had a team finish below .500 and won the Texas League championship in '48.

Bragan has just about done it all in baseball. He was a shortstop/catcher combination for the Phillies and Dodgers (1940-48), a major-league manager for the Pirates, Indians and Braves (1956-66), and a former Texas League president.

His passion for Texas-bred baseball makes him "Mr. Baseball" in these parts.

11. Paul Richards

The Colt .45s' first general manager was a wiry man with great baseball acumen. He came from Waxahachie.

Paul Richards served the majors as a player, manager and GM for more than nearly 50 years. He pioneered the floppy, oversized catcher's mitt to handle knuckleball pitchers.

"He was one of those people from Texas who was quite influential in baseball," said Ryan, who nominated Richards for the Diamond Dozen. "He was a true baseball man."

As manager of the Orioles in the early '60s, Richards laid the foundation for what would become baseball's most dominant pitching staff from the mid-'60s through the early '70s.

12. Larry Dierker

He no longer has to be in any official capacity with the team to have his presence felt at Astros games.

Minute Maid Park opened a new sports bar this season called Larry's Big Bamboo, located on the main concourse behind home plate. There you might find "Dierk" wearing one of his trademark Hawaiian-print shirts and shaking hands.

After 38 years with the same team -- as a player, a broadcaster and a manager -- Dierker is retired from active baseball.

He debuted in 1964 with the then-Colt .45s on his 18th birthday, then went on to win 139 games as a pitcher and another 283 games as a manager, all for the same organization.

1. Judge Roy Hofheinz Colt .45s/Astros founder and Astrodome creator
2. Tom Vandergriff Ex-Arlington mayor brought majors to North Texas
3. Nolan Ryan Strikeout king had his jersey retired three times
4. Rogers Hornsby Fort Worth native is second all-time in batting
5. Tris Speaker Hall of Fame inductee No. 6 hailed from Hubbard
6. Rube Foster Calvert native founded the Negro National League
7. Bob Watson Ex-Astro became the first black major-league GM
8. Jake Atz Managed the Cats into a model minor-league franchise
9. Cliff Gustafson While at UT, was NCAA's all-time winningest coach
10. Bobby Bragan Known as "Mr. Baseball" around here for a reason
11. Paul Richards Great baseball mind, this "Wizard of Waxahachie"
12. Larry Dierker No one has worn more hats for the Astros

[CTroyMathis]

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/baseball/6294148.htm

continued:

Best of the rest

Twenty baseball figures with Texas ties who deserve an honorable mention (listed alphabetically):

Ernie Banks: With 512 career home runs, this Dallas native turned shortstop into an offensive position. At 72, he's still Mr. Cub.

Roger Clemens: Before his six Cy Youngs and 300 wins, the former Spring Woods (Houston) and UT star pitched the 1983 College World Series clincher.

Tom Chandler: Former Alpine Cowboys semi-pro manager set the coaching standard at Texas A&M with 660 wins and five SWC titles, circa 1959-84.

David Clyde: Straight to the '73 Rangers from Houston's Westchester High, Clyde is the poster child for what can go wrong for an 18-year-old in the majors.

Billy Disch: "Uncle Billy" is honored with his name on half of Disch-Falk Field. His UT teams won 21 of a possible 26 conference championships through 1940.

Gene Elston: The "Original Voice of the Colt .45s" stayed on as Astros play-by-play man for 25 years.

Bibb Falk: Replacing Shoeless Joe Jackson in left field after the Black Sox Scandal, Falk later succeeded Disch at UT and won two College World Series.

Mark Holtz: Popular "Voice of the Rangers" broadcast his final game on May 22, 1997, before losing a battle to leukemia less than four months later.

Dave Hoskins: This former Dallas Eagles pitcher was chosen by team owner Richard Wesley Burnett to integrate the Texas League in 1952.

Mark Johnson: The Aggies' successor to Chandler has won 804 games since '85, and five conference titles, and has a school-best .677 winning percentage.

Paul LaGrave: Beloved top executive and shrewd talent evaluator with the Fort Worth Cats, LaGrave has had a ballpark named after him since 1932.

Ted Lyons: Going straight from the Baylor Bears to the Chicago White Sox in July 1923, Lyons turned in a Hall of Fame career with 260 wins.

Joe Morgan: The Reds' two-time NL MVP played 10 seasons in Houston and made the Hall of Fame as a second baseman with speed and power.

Johnny Oates: Managed the Rangers to their only three divisional titles ('96, '98, '99) and posted a .515 winning percentage before becoming ill in May 2001.

Frank Robinson: Born in Beaumont, Robinson had a 586-home run, Hall of Fame career, then became baseball's first black manager (Indians) in 1975.

Alex Rodriguez: Baseball's $252 million man is still the highest-paid player by $2 million per year, or more than the median salary for 26 of the 30 teams.

Tom Schieffer: This former Rangers president and Fort Worth native is responsible for getting The Ballpark in Arlington built nine years ago.

Tal Smith: Tal's Hill -- named after this longtime baseball exec of the Astros -- is the center-field speed bump that helps give Minute Maid Park its charm.

Monty Stratton: The 1949 Monty Stratton Story, starring Jimmy Stewart, depicts a native Texan (Hunt County) who pitches in the majors after losing a leg in a hunting accident.

Ross Youngs: This Shiner native's .322-hitting, Hall of Fame career was cut short with the New York Giants by kidney disease. He was dead at 30.

[JBB]

Great article! Just think: as important as Vandegriff was to bringing baseball to Arlington, he will not be inducted into the inaugural class of the Rangers Hall of Fame next month.

[CTroyMathis]

Tex Schramm dies at 83
Former Dallas Cowboys president and general manager Texas "Tex" Earnest Schramm died today at his home in Dallas. He was 83.

Schramm, whose career with the Cowboys spanned 29 years, teamed with former coach Tom Landy to build the expansion Dallas Cowboys into a winning NFL team.

Schramm was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991 and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced Schramm would be inducted into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor during the 2003 season.

Schramm served as chairman of the National Football League Competition Committee from 1966 to 1988 and is credited with coordinating the merger of the established NFL and the fledgling American Football League in 1966.

After leaving the Cowboys in 1989, he became president of the World League of American Football, which later became known as NFL Europe.

[CTroyMathis]

BLALOCK IS THE MAN! WOW!

Eighth inning 2 run homer to put the AL in the lead.

[gc]

yes; saw that too...very nice

[CTroyMathis]

Damn. I almost thought this thing was going extra....again this year with that last out!

Good job AL!

[CTroyMathis]

During a long day of work and frowning eyebrows in concern for whatever it is you think heavily about - sports is a good retreat. Not the best perhaps, but, one of many. We need more sports talk in the general discussions!

Ok, so pop quiz:

What's the name of the band/group/whatever the hell they are - that sings the double-speed version of 'Cotton-eyed Joe' during the Rangers' home game 7th inning stretch?

You know that version - the hyper-peppy harmonica-laden, juice harp wetted, tambourine-smashin, electric violin rippling, and a female voice back-up echoing in a crazy rendition that gets to ya even if you can't stand country-ish stuff.

a) Radiohead
b) Rednex
c) Hillbilliez
d) JRs Midnight Runners

[gc]

D

[gc]

Troy, the answer to your question is JRs Midnight Runners....no?

Also, am I the only one excited about football starting? The Cowboys and Tuna? Are there any predicitions? I am always a foolish optimist when it comes to my sports teams.......

What about college football....I'm an Aggie (go figure, huh?). Is Franchione gonna do it for the Ags?

[CTroyMathis]

Doh! I could've sworn that I had responded already. I must've messed up a few days ago and not submited or something...

Nope, not that last one! (It's Rednex...) What a name, eh?!

[Columbus Civil]

Is Franchione gonna do it for the Ags?

I think we'll definitely see some improvement this season, but it won't be reflected by the record due to the extremely tough schedule. I think they'll finish 7-5, with 8-4 being the best possible outcome. The lack of depth on the defensive side really scares me, especialy at DB. I think we'll be OK on offense, especially if Reggie has a full recovery from his surgery (Long would be a great back-up).

[JBB]

Originally posted by GCarey
The Cowboys and Tuna?

Camp started this morning and I'm already worn out by the local media's hokey use of that nickname. "Camp Tuna" or "Tuna Report"...ughhh! I'm all for a moratorium on the use of "Tuna".

[gc]

alright alright JBB.....how about the Cowboys and Parcells?

I actually hate the Tuna nickname as well....

[CTroyMathis]

Make it Five

Lance Armstrong still... the reigning champ.

Wow.

[gc]

Lance is a stud for sure.

[CTroyMathis]

Should A-Rod stay or should he go?

[Columbus Civil]

I love A-Rod as a player, but his contract is hurting the club quite a bit. I don't know what team would be willing to pony up the cash to buy it out, though (other than NY - I've heard the Jeter for A-Rod rumors .. but we'd pretty much be trading a huge contract for a huge contract which does nothing to solve any problems). I wonder if the team is starting to hurt his playing somehow. His numbers aren't quite as good as they were last season. The walk off grand slam the other night was nice, however

[214]

a-rod should stay

[psukhu]

He should stay. There's no salary cap in pro baseball. Tom Hicks has deep pockets.

[Columbus Civil]

Tell that to Derian Hatcher

[mikedsjr]

A-Rod's staying because Tom Hick's would be demonstrating his failure as a baseball guy if he traded him.

Rangers are going to be ok. With or Without him.

Stars. I don't know anything about Hockey. Don't care about Hockey. Hockey can go back to Canada for all i care.

Cowboys. Cowboys are going to be fun to watch IMO. I love rebuilding years. New faces. New ventures. New challenges. New Coach. New system. I can't wait.

Mavericks. I love B-ball. And i wish they could have got them a center. I always love fresh faces on a team.