Josh Hamilton

I'm not sure how I missed the acquisition of Josh Hamilton on that list, but I did. The former #1 pick has an article that was in the Dallas Morning News last Sunday that covers his battle with drugs. It's an inspirational story worth reading (Evan Grant Story on Josh Hamilton). Even though I deliver the Dallas Morning News every morning, I somehow miss articles... I guess it is like the mechanic who has a broken car... pretty weird, I guess. Johnny Out.

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NBA Playoffs 2008

First-Round Matchups

No. 1 New Orleans vs. No. 8 Golden State: This time, it wouldn't be the stunner it was when Warriors beat Dallas.

No. 2 Phoenix vs. No. 7 Portland: Blazers would lose but gain playoff experience in pre-Oden season.

No. 3 Dallas vs. No. 6 LA Lakers: This would be a tasty matchup, but who wants to see Kobe Bryant in the first round?

No. 4 Denver vs. No. 5 San Antonio: Spurs would own home-court, which means plenty given their road woes.

Western Semi-Finals

San Antonio-New Orleans: The fairytale season that might save the Hornets' franchise in New Orleans comes to an end, but the Hornets' Chris Paul serves notice that he's next in line as the Spurs try to go after that elusive repeat.

Phoenix-Dallas: The Mavericks try everything, but it's another small, run-and-gun team (sound familiar?) that gets a huge showing from Amare Stoudemire, and Steve Nash hits another clutch shot to eliminate the Mavericks.

Western Finals

Phoenix-San Antonio: Finally, Steve Nash sets foot on the NBA's biggest stage. He gets a helping hand from Amare Stoudemire, who dominates the Spurs, and the Suns prove that their breakneck pace can lead to the promised land.

NBA Finals

Phoenix-Boston: Boston breezes through the East, but the Suns know how to play Kevin Garnett. And two ex-Mavericks – Steve Nash and Raja Bell – join Michael Finley as NBA champions.

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NOTE: This is not my weather prediction, but Eddie Sefko's prediction. I thought I would post it here, so when playoff time comes around, I can see how his pans out vs. mine. I will be a little smarter and post mine a little closer, maybe around the first part of March. Johnny Out.

President Ryan

Texas Rangers Post Intrigues Ryan

Ex-pitcher says there's 'some attraction' to being team president

By RICHARD DURRETT

Nolan Ryan spoke with media members in Houston on Monday and said there would be "some attraction" to becoming Rangers president.

Rangers owner Tom Hicks declined to comment through a team spokesman. Last week, he confirmed that he and Ryan met in Round Rock on Friday to discuss a variety of issues, including the vacant front office position.

The president position was vacated when Jeff Cogen was named president of the Stars in November as part of the Stars' restructuring, which included Brett Hull and Les Jackson becoming interim co-general managers.

"I think from a baseball perspective, I think everybody would like to be involved in putting a ballclub together and try to put a winning effort together, so I think obviously from my perspective there would be some attraction to that," Ryan told the Houston Chronicle.

Ryan was at Minute Maid Park for the first day of the Nolan Ryan and Jeff Bagwell Elite Pitchers and Hitters camp for Astros prospects.

Ryan, who turns 61 on Thursday, played his final five seasons for the Rangers. That stint included his sixth and seventh no-hitters, his 300th win, his 5,000th strikeout and a memorable fight with Robin Ventura.

Ryan, currently a special assistant to the general manager, has one year remaining on his five-year contract with the Astros.

"Will something come of this? You know, it's too early to predict, and Tom and I have had a relationship over the years since my playing career," Ryan told the Chronicle. "So it was an opportunity for us to get together and visit on Friday."

It gives me an excuse to put this picture in here... Ventura. Knucklehead... it's all the same. Johnny Out.

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Valentine's Day

This is something I have been thinking about doing for my wife. It's a bit of a cost, but I think she would be surprised. I'll let it roll around in my head for a bit...

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Off-Season Moves

This is the list of who the Rangers have signed/resigned this off-season. To be honest, I don't think the Rangers have made enough "good" moves, if you call any of these a really good move to have a really great impact this coming season. Hopefully, time will prove me wrong. I really hope that it does. Johnny Out.

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Super Bowl Matchup

Well... the Giants win THREE road games to get the big game - and they did lose to the Patriots at the end of the regular season... could they lose to the Patriots to end their playoff run? Well, I think the Giants, who have beaten the Cowboys on the road and the PACKERS on the road in below zero temperature, will be a SUPER Surprise on Super Sunday. Look for the Giants to win the 'Bowl with a score of 31-27. I will add a few things to this post as the game approaches. Johnny Out.

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Superbowl Brackets

I'd been working on this... and now it just HURTS to look at it. A lot of people around here are complaining about Romo and Jessica Simpson... and Mexico. Me personally, I blame the offensive line for the loss. The Giants defense put a lot of pressure on Romo in the second half. So here is the Superbowl: NE Patriots and the Packers. The winner of that game? Well, it would be easy to just say the Patriots, but I will take the underdog: Packers!

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I'm back!

I know it feels like a year since I last posted (at least for me), but I am back. The Cowboys have home-field throughout, the Patriots go 16-0, and the Dolphins won a game. The Mavs have a slow start and the Stars a playing like a team again. And the Rangers... well, they haven't changed much since my last post. But that could be a good thing and not so much a bad thing.

I have said in another blog that I would be posting more. And even though I was meaning to post more in that particular blog, it will have a "trickle down" effect for my other blogs, especially this blog, since it is my second largest blog of the bunch.

Now, my family went down to the thing in December and picked up a few autographs. That was cool. the moves the Rangers have made this season... well, nothing feels really impacting for the upcoming season. And when the report came out on the steroids thing, well I wasn't surprised by what was on the report, well, with the exception of Kevin Brown. I just felt really disappointed seeing his name on there.

Still, with that being the only thing to be an eye-opener on that report, I guess that is OK. Now, do I think that Mark McGuire and all the others should be banned from the Hall? I used to think so... but then I thought about it. My feeling about the whole thing is changed. Did Mark McGuire hit homeruns off of Kevin Brown, Roger Clemens, and others who juiced? And didn't Clemens win against teams who were juiced? It was juice vs. juice in the era. And even though a relatively small percentage used, you also have to consider that there were probably a good deal more who didn't get caught. Think of it like this: if you have ever done something wrong and got away with it, well, that has to count for this whole steroids thing in baseball. There has to be a percentage of players who "got away with it" as well.

Now, don't think I condone the actions of cheating, but since "everyone WAS doing it", it actually levels the playing field. Juice vs. juice is what would define this era. Kinda like the "out of shapers" in the Ruth era. Not everyone was out of shape then, but a whole bunch seemed to be so... and the ones who took advantage of it were the ones in the history book. The same should go for this corrupt era. OK, off the soapbox...

The Mavericks had the best record going into the playoffs last year and got ousted in the first round. Not just ousted, but embarrassed. Humiliated, really. Actually, I don't think there is a word to define just what happened to them last season... and people in Dallas are comparing the Mavs to the Cowboys of this season. Different sport... but could it be the same situation next weekend? To me, that only boils down to whether Owens plays or not. Should T.O. play, it is a Cowboys win. Irregardless of who the 'boys play. Now, if T.O. doesn't play... well, the game should be a nail-biter. And it would probably be a nail-biter through the entire game. T.O. is practicing, so he should be in uniform and starting come next weekend. The real competition would come the NFC Championship, which should be Green Bay vs. Dallas in Irving, TX.

I was talking with my wife about how the Cowboys are leaving Texas Stadium for the next house in Arlington (and let's just hope it isn't called "The Stadium in Arlington"... that would make me throw up). Since the Cowboys are now so competitive, they could actually be playing in the Super Bowl hosted here a couple of years from now. That may be a first, a team playing in the Super Bowl in their home-town.

The Mavericks are not playing their best basketball. And that is a good thing to say since they are tied second in their division and tied third in the Western Conference. Of course, Phoenix is first and San Antonio is second... the Mavs are tied with New Orleans right now. What is good about this team is the threat of scoring from just about anybody. In fact, Josh Howard is just as big a threat as Dirk.

Going into tonight's game, Dirk leads the team with 21.9 points a game. Josh is second (and a close second) with 21.2 per game. They are only seperated by .3 minutes per game, or a third of a minute a game (20 seconds a game). They play the Miami Heat tonight, which will more than likely be a yawner, since the Heat are having issues finding the win column this season. They look nothing like they did two seasons ago, beating the Mavs in the finals.

I do not know if many actually look at the feature of "per 48 minutes", but it really shows just how dangerous the Mavericks are with scoring potential. The Mavs have five players over 20 points in the p48m. And they have another three on the cusp of 20 points.

Here's a list of all eight players:

• Dirk Nowitzki
• Josh Howard
• Jose Juan Barea (played only 18 games)
• Jason Terry
• Devin Harris
• Brandon Bass
• Jerry Stackhouse
• Nick Fazekas (played only two games)

So, as I wait for mid-February to come, I will try to interest myself in Basketball, and maybe the once a week football game... stats are what interest me the most anyway, and LORD KNOWS you can always find stats. Johnny Out.