A Poignant Farewell to Bobby Bragan

Anyone who loves baseball ’round these parts knows the name Bobby Bragan — his association with the Fort Worth Cats alone (in the late ’40s and early ’50s, then again in ’05) was enough to make him legend, not to mention his years playing and managing in the big leagues…

2009 Cowboys in Review: My 10 Fave Plays

I’m generally considered a pissy guy with a half-glass-empty view of the world around attacking me. But there are times when I can be joyfully hopeful. The Cowboys’ season ended with a resounding 34-3 thud, but there were plenty of warm-n-fuzzy moments to keep us both satisfied about ’09 and…

Dallas is in the Super Bowl! Okay, How About AT the Super Bowl?

The Cowboys won’t be in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV February 7, but Dallas will be represented all over South Beach in the form of the latest and greatest in safe, sassy transportation – VAULT. I saw this thing – it’s like a giant combo limousine/Hummer/armored truck – pull up to a…

Dallas Mavericks at the Halfway Point: Good! Great?

When we last left your Dallas Mavericks – this is Cowboys’ country, right? – they were opening the NBA season with a humbling 11-point loss to the Washington Wizards. Tonight they travel to D.C. for … revenge? Naw, just to open the second half of the season. In between wars with…

Wade Phillips: Surprise, I’m … Back

Whether you view it the continuation of tangible progression or merely a continuity of mediocrity, Wade Phillips is back as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. A three-year deal is imminent. Simple question …..

Okay, So How Do the Cowboys Get Better?

Though I and some crafty old-timers think it’s a bad move, Wade Philllips will be back as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Yawn. The bar for Cowboys’ football has been lowered further than I expected. Once upon a time this proud franchise – America’s Team, anyone? – measured success…

Hey, it Could be Worse. Dwayne Goodrich Still Sits in Prison.

You think the current Dallas Cowboys are bumming today? Consider the plight of a former player, Dwayne Goodrich. You remember Goodrich. Couple years back he speeds through an accident scene on I-35 and kills two Good Samaritans. Ring a bell? Well, the good news for Goodrich is that in October…

Vikings 34, Cowgirls 3: My Top 10 Observations

10. Does this feel like 1991 to anyone else? An empowering playoff win, followed by an embarrassing blowout playoff road loss, leading to disappointment but not necessarily discouragement? That year it was Detroit, 38-6. This year it is Minnesota, 34-3. In ’92 the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. In ’10 …..

Dirk Does Dallas: 20,000+ Reasons to Cheer the Giant German

I was there in February 1999 in Seattle for rookie Dirk Nowitzki’s first points as a Dallas Maverick. Still can’t believe I was at American Airlines Center last night for his 20,000th. Shortly after then-general manager Don Nelson acquired Dirk in a draft-day trade for Robert “Tractor” Traylor in ’98, the German…

Dallas’s First Hockey Team, a Keepsake

Everything I know about the Dallas Texans hockey team comes from The Handbook of Texas History’s Dallas Stars entry:Professional hockey in Dallas dates back to 1941, when the Dallas Texans joined the minor-league American Hockey Association. The debut occurred at Fair Park Ice Arena on November 6, 1941, when the…

Who the Hail is Mary?

I rip (make that ripped, past tense) Wade Phillips all the time, but, um, looks like Minnesota Vikings’ head coach Brad Childress needs a history lesson. On Dec. 28, 1975, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to frigid Metropolitan Stadium for a playoff game against the Vikings. Trailing 14-10 with less than…

Super Bowl XLV: Century in the Making

In Texas, the old saying goes, there exist only two sports: Football. And spring football. God, after all, decreed Texas Stadium have a hole in its roof so he could look down upon his favorite team. Right? From the old wooden Fair Park Bowl through the Cotton Bowl, Texas Stadium…

‘Roid Rage: Mark McGwire – Yawn – Apologizes to Baseball

I guess the question at this point is, do you give a crap? About baseball players and their steroid use? During the 1998 Major League Baseball season I went to Houston a couple times as a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to cover the magical home-run chase between the St. Louis…