Dirk: The Big Germane

I could come in here and pour my glass-half-empty pessimism on you. Tell you how the Mavs’ 111-86 victory last night came against a team playing its fourth game in five nights. Remind you that, with weekend road games at the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, a two-game losing…

Andy Roddick’s Sweet on T.O.

Andy Roddick, T.O.’s lil’ buddy New York Times sports columnist Bill Rhoden this morning details a most “unlikely friendship”: Austin’s tennis hotshot Andy Roddick and Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens. This week the two are hanging out at the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida, where Roddick’s playing and Owens is…

Christian Principles and Youth Sports Apparently Do Not Mix

Back in October I wrote about a good guy and a great coach named Kevin Keane, who got politically blackballed by the Dallas Parochial League. In working that story it became disgustingly obvious that DPL athletics fall somewhere between sorely mismanaged and downright corrupt. In the months since the column…

The Texas Rangers Are Pleased to Meat You, Nolan Ryan

Now we know why Nolan Ryan’s the president of Your Texas Rangers: to move his meat. The headline of the release says it all, in capital letters: “TEXAS RANGERS ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH NOLAN RYAN BEEF.” As in, “The Texas Rangers announced today that all concession stands, suites and fine dining…

Sleeping in the Blogspot

So you’re saying wearing one of these will not get you into the Mavericks’ locker room, then? Damn it. I’ll have much more on Bloggergate in this week’s paper version of Unfair Park. (Wait till you get a load of how the thing really started.) But this morn’ I get…

Jerryworld: The Worst Timeshare Ever?

Speaking of Jerryworld, as we were below, a Friend of Unfair Park sent his missus to a meet-and-greet with the Dallas Cowboys’ owner last week. During that chat — with “prominent citizens,” says our Friend — Jerry Jones offered this novel approach to dealing with the exorbitant prices being charged…

Jerry, Your New Stadium’s Just Super

Forbes this morning features the “10 New Super-Stadiums” under construction ’round the world, and turns out that the billion-buck, under-construction Jerryworld in Arlington ranks No. 3 on the list, which is parsed by price tags, behind the New York Giants’ new Meadowlands stadium ($1.3 billion) and the New York Yankees’…

Hicks and Gillett Do Not Appear to Have a “Rational Relationship”

George Gillett, left, and Tom Hicks before their relationship became “unworkable” Been, like, days since our last item about Tom Hicks, George Gillett and the squabbling over Liverpool FC’s ownership. But today comes nasty word that Gillett, with whom the Rangers and Stars owner bought the fabled team one year…

Uh. Oh.

Josh Howard poured in 30 points. Jason Kidd finally had himself a game with 19 points and 15 assists. And the Dallas Mavericks unleashed a 70-point first half on the Denver Nuggets. So, guess what? The Mavs’ margin on 7th place in the Western Conference is all but poof. Nuggets:…

Pony Up, Power Down

SMU’s football team (and, really, how cute) is prepping for its annual Red-Blue Scrimmage, which takes place April 5 at 1 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. And this is how the Mustangs are trying to get you there. June Jones, you are so fired. –Robert Wilonsky…

Two Iconic Baseball Voices Announce a Texas Dream Team for the Ages

In this corner, entering his 30th consecutive season as the radio voice of your Texas Rangers…Eric Nadel! And in this corner, approaching his 2,000th consecutive game as a Major League Baseball public address announcer in Arlington except for one season…Chuck Morgan! Though mired in a local baseball environment that long…

Why It’s Worth Tuning Into Regular-Season Mavs Games After All

Well, besides seeing if they’ll make the playoffs, course. But courtesy Odenized (and, like, um, Fox Sports Net) comes this video from last night’s Mavs-Clippers game, during which a very tall benchwarmer with a bum ankle is sorta, kinda interviewed by Mark Followill during the latter half of the third…

We’re Still Better Than the Clippers!

What if it turns out Malik Allen was the most important of Dallas’ trade with the Nets? I went to Mavericks 103, Clippers 90 last night, and came away with some distinct impressions: Fresh off his three-hour appearance on The Michael Irvin Show, Adam “Pacman” Jones was on hand with…

Pacman Jones Advised by T.O. and Deion. God Help Us All.

For the most part, Adam “Pacman” Jones’ day on The Michael Irvin Show sounded like this: “I had a horrible childhood” and “It was blown outta proportion.” Finally, in hour three of his sit-in, we got to the relevant stuff. Jones, currently the property of the Tennessee Titans, does indeed…

The Beginning of the End?

Just got the official word from the Mavericks: “Dirk Nowitzki has a moderate high left ankle sprain and a mild left knee sprain. He is currently walking in a protective boot without crutches. No timetable is set for his return.” OK, words like “moderate” and “mild” are a relief –…

Mavs Now Without Leg to Stand On

For those who might have been Eastering yesterday, or just slow to rise, here’s the precise moment at which the Dallas Mavericks’ season officially ended. No doubt, Richie will be along shortly to blame it on Jason Kidd. –Robert Wilonsky…

Wade Phillips Shows His Cards?

KTVT-Channel 11 Making the virtual rounds today are screenshots from a recent KTVT-Channel 11 piece, shot inside the Dallas Cowboys’ inner sanctum, that appear to show how Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips are ranking the defensive backs available in the upcoming draft. To backtrack, Deadspin has an item today based…

The Biggest Upset in the History of March Madness …

Buy one today, while they still mean something … ain’t gonna happen tonight in Little Rock, Arkansas. But that won’t stop lil’ UT-Arlington from showing up as blowout fodder for the No. 1-seeded Memphis Tigers in the NCAA Tournament first-round game. After waiting 49 years for their debut, the Movin’…

Maverick Madness

From stage. To national stage. UT-Arlington, whose athletic legacy seemed eternally chained to both the humor of playing hoops on a theater floor in Texas Hall and the horror of axing its football program, is about to participate in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It’s historic. It’s surreal. It’s reaffirmation…